Manila Standard - 2016 November 16 - Wednesday

VOL. XXX • NO. 277 • 4 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016 • www.thestandard.com.ph • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Leila’s driver was her lover De Lima confirms affair with Dayan

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Rey E. Requejo

S

ENATOR Leila de Lima on Monday night finally confirmed she had an affair with her former bodyguard and driver, but maintained she had never authorized him or anybody to collect money from drug lords inside the New Bilibid Prison to bankroll her senatorial campaign.

• ‘Frailties of a woman,’ she says • Immoral act validated—Panelo • Disbarment, Senate ouster pressed “I am 100 percent sure that I have never received [drug money] or allowed anybody to be my bagman, whoever he maybe,” De Lima said.

De Lima was referring to Ronnie Palisoc Dayan, whom President Rodrigo Duterte identified as the bagman who collected drug money on her behalf to finance her campaign expenses when she ran for senator earlier this year.

In an exclusive interview with talk show host Winnie Monsod on GMA News TV, De Lima admitted that she and Dayan became “so close” for a few years until she broke off with him before she joined the senatorial ticket of the Liberal

CONTINUING CHALLENGE.

Party.

“We became so close. That’s it. I trusted him. Siyempre, naano po ang loob ko,” De Lima said.

During her 57th birthday last August, De Lima revealed that one of her two wishes was to have a love life so she will have somebody to share what she has been going through.

The President has vowed to destroy De Lima, claiming that when he was still Davao City mayor, De Lima, then chairwoman of the Commission on Human Rights, used him as a “whipping boy” and investigated him over vigilante killings in the city. She had also initiated a

Senator Leila de Lima, facing a disbarment case, finally confirmed she had an affair with her former bodyguard/driver. At left, the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption has offered P1 million to anyone who could tell the precise whereabouts of Ronnie Dayan which will lead to his arrest. Manny Palmero

Senate investigation on extrajudicial killings during Duterte’s bloody war on illegal drugs.

Responding to the question why she fell in love with Dayan considering his status in life, De Lima said it was part of the “frailties of a woman.” She said her relationship with Dayan lasted for a Next page

Malaysian Bounty on Dayan; protector known drug mule nabbed at airport

By Rio N. Araja

By Vito Barcelo GOVERNMENT agents arrested a suspected Malaysian drug courier at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Tuesday as he tried to smuggle high-grade cocaine worth more than P10 million into the country, Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said.

The suspected drug mule, identified as Nasiruddin Bin Mohd Hasnan, was intercepted by Immigration intelligence agents and members Next page

A P1-MILLION bounty will be given to anyone who will provide information on the whereabouts of Senator Leila de Lima’s bodyguard-driver, Ronnie Dayan.

At a news conference in Quezon City, Dante Jimenez, founding chairman of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, said the reward money came

from private individuals, starting with P100,000 from the VACC itself.

Ferdinand Topacio, VACC lawyer, said at least seven businessmen donated money to raise P1 million.

He presented the bounty to the media.

“I and two of my friends were having a dinner one night when it crossed to our minds if we could raise a reward money for Dayan’s arrest. They pledged to give out P100,000 each, then the effort just

snowballed until it became P1 million,” he said.

He said no politicians were involved.

Topacio said the VACC will coordinate with the Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group as to how to administer the reward.

“Police have a protocol. They would set up a hotline as all informants will be assigned their own codenames,” he said. Next page

Writ suspension a joke? Senators say so SENATORS were finally convinced that President Rodrigo Duterte was not serious about suspending the writ of habeas corpus as he was “merely thinking out loud.”

During the “mini” LegislativeExecutive Development Advisory Council (Ledac) meeting on

Monday night, Senate Aquilino Pimentel III said the issue on the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus was discussed before the actual meeting.

“He said he was only thinking out loud about what weapons… or methods are available to him. Thar’s all,” Pimentel

told reporters.

Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, who was also in that meeting, said he believes the President was not serious when he mentioned the possibility of suspending the writ of habeas corpus.

“He just said that, it was a

thought. He thought about it, but it was not necessary to do it,” Sotto said in a separate interview.

“It was just in passing. I don’t think the President is serious in considering it at all,” he added.

Sotto acknowledged that the President’s statement made some people jumpy.

Next page

DFA allays fears of Trump’s crackdown FOREIGN Affairs on Tuesday downplayed United States President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement he would be cracking down on illegal immigrants and said it did not expect a “calamitous impact” from it.

In a statement, Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said the three-million Filipinos who had emigrated to the US “have legal residency or citizenship status” and were paying their taxes and obeying American law.

“We do not expect Presidentelect Trump’s immigration pronouncements to have a calamitous impact on the Filipino community there,” Jose said.

He made his statement even as the Labor Department also downplayed the possible displacement of thousands of Filipino workers in the United States.

Trump had promised to deport two- to three-million illegal immigrants once he assumes office next year.

Next page

in Antipolo, Rizal; two in Las Piñas, two in Muntinlupa, one in Cebu, one in Quezon City, one in Makati. one in Caloocan and one in Manila.

Western Visayas had the highest number of recorded cases in the Philippines followed by Metro Manila, Calabarzon and Central Visayas.

Next page twitter.com/ MlaStandard

THE eldest daughter of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos on Tuesday blamed former President Fidel V. Ramos, who was chief of the Philippine Constabulary during her father’s Martial Law regime, for the human rights violations and forced disappearances during Marcos’ rule.

“To the people against the burial of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani [Heroes’ Cemetery] on grounds of alleged human rights violations during the Martial Law years... ask Ramos,” Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos said in a statement.

Next page

Brownouts after plants go offline

By Alena Mae S. Flores

10 more Zika cases bared HEALTH Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial said Tuesday the number of Zika patients had reached 33 as of November 13 after 10 more cases were recorded.

She said 12 cases were recorded in Iloilo, four in Bacoor, Cavite; three in Mandaluyong, three in Calamba, Laguna; two

Imee snipes at FVR over HR abuses

ENTHRALLING EXPERIENCE. Motorists, commuters and office workers taking Ayala Avenue in Makati City

begin a mesmerizing experience Tuesday—starting 6 p.m. until 10 p.m.—with the return of the Festival of Lights at the Ayala Triangle Gardens near the Manila Standard editorial office, a spectacle of lights for the past six years dubbed as one of the Seven Most Spectacular Lights in the World which runs until Jan. 8. Lino Santos

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CONSUMERS of Manila Electric Co. suffered brownouts Tuesday night as a result of “sudden plant outage.”

Meralco said that the plant outage occurred at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The power plants that went offline included Sta. Rita, San Lorenzo and San Gabriel natural gas plants and Quezon Power Philippines Ltd. “As of now, we do not have an estimated time of restoration yet.

All efforts will be exerted to restore power as soon as possible,” Next page Meralco said.

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News

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

PH, CH restore trade panel

By Sara D. Fabunan THE Philippines and China have agreed to restore its Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation by early 2017, Chinese Ministry of Commerce official said on Tuesday.

Department of Asian Affairs of China’s Commerce Ministry director general Wu Zhengping said both countries are now starting to discuss possible cooperation in infrastructure and trade improvement including the establishment of railways, airports, expressways, among others.

“I think China and the Philippines are good neighbors and friends for centuries. I think the cooperation between China and the Philippines will benefit both countries,” said Wu, who arrived on Monday.

“The reason why we want to invest to the Philippines is to take advantage of the dynamic growth of the Philippines, and use Philippines as a gateway to neighboring countries,” he added.

During his meeting with the officials of National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Public Works and Highways, and Department of Trade and Industry, Wu said they are starting to craft a framework under the Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation.

“It was a fruitful and successful meetings with the Philippine trade and economic officials for the past two days,” Wu said.

He said there are several cooperations that they have discussed including the improvement of infrastructure of ports, airports, railways and other means to further enhance the trading system of the Philippines among its neighbors.

“We are designing the framework to implement the projects... we all agreed that we will need to do the things right,” Wu said, adding that some of the projects will be under the Public-Private Partnership program.

Aside from infrastructure, Wu said, Chinese companies are also starting to invest with Filipino farmers who produces crops such as banana, mangosteen, and pineapple, among others.

He said there are more than 20 companies from China who already inquire to invest and take advantage the economic growth of the Philippines.

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Ubial said only four regions had recorded Zika cases but samples from the regional offices around the country were still being monitored by her department along with local government units and the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.

She said the pregnant woman who contracted Zika in Cebu had undergone two ultrasounds and presented no abnormalities in her pregnancy.

“She’s still alright and we are monitoring her,” Ubial said. She said the initial ultrasound and the second ultrasound were both normal.

Zika, which is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, is usually not life-threatening but it has been linked to a rise in birth defects in other countries, where hundreds of babies have been born with unusually small heads in recent years.

The Zika virus is transmitted to people through the bite of an infected mosquito from the Aedes genus, mainly Aedes aegypti in the urban areas and Aedes albopictus in the rural areas.

The Aedes mosquito bites aggressively during the day, and is the same mosquito that transmits Dengue and Chikungunya.

The Health Department has advised people who are experiencing the Zika symptoms skin rashes, fever, red eyes and headache to immediately consult a doctor. Macon Ramos-Araneta

Imee...

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“He was responsible for directing multiple abuses committed by the PC in the provinces, particularly in Samar and Leyte.”

Marcos also blamed his father’s Defense minister, Juan

Neda okays 7 big projects at Valenzuela City; the P9.2billion New Cebu international container port project; and an undisclosed amount for the New Nayong Pilipino complex in Entertainment City, Pasay.

Three projects, meanwhile, will focus on agriculture including the P601-million scaling-up of the second Cordillera highlands agricultural resources management project; the P5.4billion Malitubog-Maridagao irrigation project stage 2; and P21-billion Philippine rural development project expansion.

The NEDA board likewise tapped the Investment Coordinat-

By John Paolo Bencito

S

EVEN infrastructure projects amounting to more than P270 billion over the next three to five years got the nod of the National Economic and Development Authority board, chaired by President Rodrigo Duterte, to hasten investments in the Duterte administration’s “Golden Age of Infrastructure.”

Among the projects approved by the Neda board last Monday were the P214-billion, 653-kilometer south line of the NorthSouth railway project, which

will be the biggest PPP project to date; P2.8-billion improvement and widening of the General Luis-Kaybiga-Polo-Novaliches Road to MacArthur Highway

ing Committee of the National Economic and Development Authority to vet companies seeking to forge deals with the government following reports that Chinese firms with dubious reputations want to invest in key projects.

Five airport projects in Iloilo, Bacolod, Davao, Laguindingan, and Bohol that were originally packaged into one bidding were “unbundled” by the Neda board to allow the Transportation Department and the Civil Aviations Authority of the Philippines to decide on the bidding process.

Another infrastructure project on agriculture, the Chico River Pump

Bounty...

From A1 On Oct. 10, the House of Representatives’ committee on justice cited Dayan for contempt for his failure to attend the congressional inquiry into the proliferation of drugs at the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City.

It unanimously decided to cite Dayan in contempt for his absence despite being issued a subpoena on Oct. 1.

One Ernesto Florita received Dayan’s subpoena at his known address in Urbitztondao, Pangasinan.

Several high-profile NBP inmates testified that Dayan acted as De Lima’s bagman in the national penitentiary’s drug trade, raising money for De Lima’s senatorial

Writ...

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LOOKING AT THE FUTURE. Students of the Princeton Science School from Batangas City keenly watch a robot demonstration during a field trip to the first Elite Techno Park at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex in Pasay City. Lino Santos

Leila’s...

From A1 “few years,” when he had been long separated from his wife.

Until Monday, De Lima had kept silent on the rumored affair, neither confirming nor denying that Dayan was her lover. She never spoke about their romances, although in one interview, De Lima disclosed she and Dayan had been “very close.”

Dayan was also with De Lima when she was Justice secretary after her stint at the CHR. While she declined on several occasions to speak about her love life, which had been dragged into the House inquiry on the proliferation of illegal drugs at the national penitentiary when she was Justice secretary, De Lima conceded that it was “within the realm of possibilities” that Dayan used her name to collect drug money without her permission.

But she said if this were indeed true, she would have noticed it.

Since the controversy erupted, Dayan has not been seen at his residence in Urbiztondo, Pangasinan, a house that was allegedly built from funds given by De Lima and from drug money.

De Lima, however, said Dayan could have built the house with the help of a sister whose husband works abroad. She also said she gave “small amounts” to Dayan to help him.

In the Senate, De Lima refused to

Malaysian...

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of the Naia-Drug Interdiction Task Group at the airport arrival area.

Morente said Customs officials later seized from the Malaysian 216 pieces of high grade cocaine in pellet form weighing 4,617.5 grams in total.

The drug courier was caught following a tip from agents of the US Drug Enforcement Agency about the impending arrival of the suspect aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur, which originated from Addis Ababa and Togo.

Nasiruddin reportedly stayed in the Malaysian capital for 24 hours before proceeding to Manila.

answer more questions about her affair with Dayan, which she had admitted on national TV, saying she was not comfortable discussing it in public.

“This is all I can say, my answer is simple and I don’t want to answer it because I really don’t feel right engaging publicly about private matters,” she said.

She debunked the remark of Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II that her admission about her affair with Dayan could bolster the cases against her, saying that was merely his opinion.

Pressed again about Dayan, the embattled senator replied: “It’s a private matter. I’m never comfortable responding about private matters so please excuse me.”

In a statement entitled “Admission on her past relationship with former driver/bodyguard,” De Lima said she had already said her piece and would not want to add anything more.”

“I do hope that you will respect my right to privacy over my personal life and not impute any more malice,” she added.

“But for the sake of my supporters who may now have questions in their mind about me, let me get this straight again.

“Like many of us, including my detractors, some decisions and relationships in our past have not been the best and the wisest. I have learned from these experiences and resolved to use my pain to focus on the good I can do.”

De Lima vowed she had never have allowed her personal life to affect her work in public service.

Government agents tagged and monitored the courier as soon as he presented himself at the immigration counter and they later invited him to the Customs office for inspection.

“Subject did not have a checked-in luggage and the task group decided to allow a controlled delivery to determine who will pick up the subject at the airport. However, at 7:30 p.m., the task group decided to move in and arrest the subject when it became apparent that no one will pick him up as he hailed a taxi,” the Immigration bureau said.

“Examination of his carry-on luggage revealed the pellets of cocaine hidden amongst Lindt chocolates in a canister,” it added.

Ponce Enrile, for the atrocities during the Martial Law regime.

She pointed out to Enrile’s autobiography, Juan Ponce Enrile: A Memoir, where he wrote: “I was the administrator of Martial Law. The powers of Martial Law were delegated to me. Any abuse of Martial Law was my responsibility.”

“My track record as a public official, first as Commission on Human Rights chair and next as secretary of Justice, speaks for itself. My record and my reputation have been untarnished until now because of all these unjust, unfair and false allegations and fabricated lies against my alleged involvement in the drug trade. I have made my peace with my past and my family. I don’t know if my primary attacker can say the same.”

De Lima said her mission right now is to stop the extrajudicial killings and summary executions happening in the country, as well as to address other social issues.

She said she was even more determined in pursuing this goal despite the danger to her life and reputation.

Reacting to De Lima’s revelation, Aguirre said the senator may have dug her own grave, saying her admission reinforced the allegations against her and Dayan.

“It has very big implications [on the charges against De Lima] because it corroborates statements of the witnesses and establishes the link between her and Ronnie Dayan, who was pinpointed as collector of drug money,” Aguirre said.

He said De Lima’s admission also strengthens the probability that Dayan had collected money from high-profile inmates for De Lima’s financial needs and campaign funds.

“The probability of that [allegation] is higher now, and it becomes more believable now,” he said.

“He [Dayan] could have not done

DFA...

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The department said there were nearly four-million Filipinos living and working in the US who accounted for about a third of all the Filipinos abroad.

On Monday, Trump said he would be deporting millions of undocumented migrants.

“What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers, where a lot of these people, probably two million, it could be even three million―we are getting them out of our country or we are going to incarcerate,” Trump said in an excerpt released ahead of broadcast by

In a television interview last Friday, Ramos said the Marcos family owed the public an apology over the abuses committed during the Martial Law years.

He said the family should also return to the public coffers their ill-gotten wealth citing the recovered Swiss deposits of the family during his administration.

Before the meeting, Pimentel said, the President showed them a six-inch thick dossier with the names of government officials involved in the illegal drug trade.

Pimentel added that there was no need to dissuade Duterte from susit without such power and authority as common law husband of Secretary De Lima.”

The Justice secretary noted that his predecessor previously denied having an affair with Dayan and even cited the improbability of a simple driver or bodyguard being able to collect millions of drug money under her watch.

“She denied that [affair] earlier. And now, the truth has come out. Ronnie Dayan was her common-law husband,” Aguirre said.

Aguirre also said De Lima’s admission could seal her fate in the disbarment case recently filed against her by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) before the Supreme Court.

“There is no more doubt now that she had an affair with a married man.

That is immorality,” he said.

He said that although Dayan has been separated from his wife already, the affair with De Lima was still illicit and unlawful “as long as the marriage was not yet legally annulled at the time of their affair.”

“The Supreme Court is consistent in imposing the ultimate penalty of disbarment for lawyers involved in illicit affairs,” Aguirre said.

Aguirre also said the admission on De Lima only proves that the administration is not manufacturing charges and evidence against her.

A Palace official said De Lima should resign following her revelations. “[De Lima’s admission] opens her to expulsion proceedings in the Senate by the Senate ethics committee for

CBS’s 60 Minutes program.

The billionaire real estate tycoon also made security at the USMexico border a central plank of his presidential campaign that resulted in his shock election victory against his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Trump had promised to build a wall on the US border with Mexico and said it might not consist entirely of brick and mortar but also fences in some areas.

“There could be some fencing,” Trump said in his first prime-time interview since being elected president.

“But [for] certain areas, a wall is more appropriate. I’m very good at this, it’s called construction.”

Sara Susanne D. Fabunan and Vito Barcelo

During the latter years of the Marcos regime, Ramos and Enrile defected after they withdrew their support for the Marcos family and triggered the People Power Revolution. That led to the family’s exile to Hawaii with the assistance of the United States government.

Governor Marcos denied that

Irrigation Project was deferred after the National Irrigation Administration was instructed to reconfigure the project to include hydropower, and information on crops that could be profitably grown in the area based on soil type, and submit said information for ICC review.

The Neda board had previously approved nine projects worth P171.14 billion set to be completed within the next six years.

During the previous administration, the Neda board only approved only 12 projects, referring to the public-private partnership projects granted the go-ahead by the previous government. campaign.

On national TV Monday, De Lima admitted she had a romantic relationship with Dayan that went on for years.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre III said a big-time politician from the north was harboring Dayan, but would not say who it was.

Aguirre said the National Bureau of Investigation provided him the information, but he declined to give further details because it was still being validated.

“Apparently, he is being protected.

He is hiding in the North. He is protected by a big-time politician in Pangasinan and other Northern Luzon provinces,” the Justice sectary said.

Aguirre added that he found nothing wrong with the VACC offering a reward to help authorities find Dayan. With Rey E. Requejo pending the writ of habeas corpus because he was not going to do it.

“He didn’t talk about it. He only said that he was just thinking out loud,” Pimentel said.

Pimentel and Sotto, along with nine other senators, attended a meeting with Duterte in Malacañang Monday night to prepare for the Ledac in December.

Macon Ramos-Araneta immorality and grave misconduct in office apart from opening herself to a disbarment proceedings as a member of the bar for immorality and unethical conduct,” said Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo.

“To save the Senate from further embarrassment, she must voluntarily resign,” he added.

Panelo said that De Lima’s admission only bolsters everything that President Rodrigo Duterte said about her, including her involvement in the illegal drug trade.

“The admission by De Lima on her romantic albeit illegal and moral liaison with her bodyguard-driver validates the accusation of President Rodrigo Duterte that the senator committed unlawful and immoral acts and opens her to a criminal charge of adultery, her lover being a married man. It strengthens the case filed against her on her involvement in the drug operations,” he said.

Panelo added that De Lima’s cry of being a victim of political persecution—when she claimed that she has been repeatedly subjected to crude, personal and verbal attack –are meant to deceive the people.

“She has herself to blame for the present destructive predicament she is in. With her aforesaid admission, President Duterte has been vindicated on his accusations against De Lima and put a lie to her pretended protestations of innocence and her cry of being a victim of persecution.” With John Paolo Bencito

Brownouts...

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System operator National Grid Corp. of the Philippines, for its part, said that power restoration immediately started Tuesday night “while the cause (of the loss of power) is still being determined.”

“Yes, there was an ALD [automatic load dropping] due to insufficient power supply. Power, however, has been restored to the last affected areas around 850 pm,” Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said.

Meralco, the country’s biggest power distributor supplied power to its nearly six million customers in its franchise area.

The brownout occurred from 730 to 850 pm and affected parts of Bulacan, Manila, Quezon City, among others.

her family was guilty of the various charges raised by its critics.

Ramos was elected President from 1992 to 1998, and it was he who sealed the 1992 deal with the Marcos family to fly the late strongman’s remains from Hawaii to Paoay in Ilocos Norte and have him buried there.

But Ramos said his admin-

istration’s agreement with the Marcos family over the burial of the late dictator was only good until the end of his term in 1998.

Ramos’ comments came a week after the Supreme Court dismissed the petitions seeking to stop the burial of Marcos’ remains at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. John Paolo Bencito

News IN BRIEF New UP president named UNIVERSITY of the Philippines College of Law dean Danilo Concepcion was elected 21st president of the UP to succeed Dr. Alfredo E. Pascual, who will retire February 10 next year.

The UP Board of Regents elected Concepcion from a list of six nominees—J. Prospero de Vera III, Gisela Concepcion, Rowena Cristina Guevara, Benito Pacheco and Caesar Saloma.

Four of the 10 original nominees—Michael Tan, Consolacion Alaras, Orlando Mercado and Roger Posadas—were disqualified from the selection process due to age limits.

Concepcion finished Agricultural Engineering, summa cum laude, at the De la Salle Araneta University in 1979 and topping the board exam.

He graduated from the UP College of Law, cum laude, in 1983, passing the bar examinations as a topnotcher. He later earned his Master of Laws from the University of London in 1986 as a scholar of the British government. Rio N. Araja

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

AMLC reports on De Lima

By Rey E. Requejo

A

FTER President Rodrigo Duterte ranted in public against its slow action on requests for assistance, the AntiMoney Laundering Council finally submitted a long-awaited report on the bank accounts of people allegedly involved in narcotics trafficking.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II noted that it took all of two months for the AMLC to submit documents that were supposed to be included in the criminal charges that were to be filed by the National Bureau of Investigation against drug traf-

fickers and coddlers.

“After the President issued his warning to the AMLC in his speech at about 3 p.m. [on Monday], the NBI finally received a response from them at around 4:30 p.m. or in less than two hours,” Aguirre said,

in an interview.

Aguirre noted that the report that was finally submitted was obviously prepared even before the NBI submitted its charges against drug traffickers and their coddlers although it was dated November 11.

“We had been waiting for a response from AMLC for several weeks so the NBI could include it in the complaint. But because of the delay, the NBI could no longer wait and filed the case and decided to just pursue the AMLC report while the case is pending,” he lamented.

Asked what he thought could be the reason behind the delay on the part of AMLC, the Justice secretary said it would be up to the public to conclude.

In his speech during the foundation anniversary of the NBI last Monday, Duterte warned the AMLC and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to cooperate with his administration’s efforts to run after laundered money.

“I’d like to warn you, to avoid a confrontation between us, central bank people… I will call for you and you have to answer so many questions to me. You choose, either we cooperate in this government as a Republic to protect and preserve our people or make it hard for us [and] I will make it hard for you,” Duterte said.

Aguirre earlier aired his frustration against the AMLC, saying it has been giving the NBI a hard

time in building a case against De Lima.

He said he was surprised by the AMLC’s foot-dragging on the case when it was able to immediately look at the records then of former Vice President Jejomar Binay when he was investigated by the Senate on corruption allegations when he was still mayor of Makati City.

Aguirre also believes that the Duterte’s frustration with the AMLC can also be traced back to the election campaign when Senator Antonio Trillanes IV accused him of having P200 million deposited in a bank.

Duterte said that if only the council investigated, the public would have been informed that the allegations were false.

Barbers files ethics suit vs Pichay SURIGAO del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers on Tuesday filed counter charges of “unethical behavior” before the House Ethics committee against Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay Jr. for the latter’s allegedly illegal activities.

The filing of the complaint came a day after Barbers delivered a privilege speech urging President Duterte and Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to look into what he described as Pichay’s “corrupt activities.”

Barbers accused Pichay of willful violation of the anti graft law and the Constitution, abuse of authority, inappropriate behavior, conflict of interest and conduct unbecoming of a public official, for muscling his way into stealing the business identity, theft of minerals and profiting at least P86 million from a suspended mining firm in Claver, Surigao del Norte.

Barbers said Pichay’s conflicting financial interests with the government while discharging his public duties should not be tolerated In response, Pichay, who had earlier filed an ethics complaint against Barbers, expressed confidence a thorough and impartial investigation would show that Barbers had lied to the plenary during his speech yesterday.

“Firstly, Barbers lied when he claimed he was making his privilege speech and now filed this ethics complaint as a crusader against graft and corruption,” Pichay said.

Pichay said “the truth is, he is motivated by partisan politics and his burning desire to get back at me for supporting the political opponents of his family in Surigao del Norte.”

“However, I am not to blame for the losses of the Barbers in Surigao del Norte. Instead of blaming me, he should reflect on his actions which caused them to be repudiated by their own province-mates,” Pichay said. Maricel V. Cruz

PENSION HUDDLE. Committee on Government Enterprises and Privatization vice chairman and Leyte Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez huddles with committee chairman Rep. Jesus Sacdalan as their committee approved a report on 16 proposals to increase the pensions of SSS members by P2,000. Ver Noveno

Solons back SSS pension hike okay Ledac

By Maricel V. Cruz CONGRESSMEN, led by Leyte Rep. Yedda Marie Kittilstvedt-Romualdez, on Tuesday welcomed the move of a panel in the House of Representatives seeking a P2,000-increase in the pension of 2.15-million Social Security System pensioners.

“This is a good gift to our elderly and we hope that Congress will rally on its passage until it reaches the President’s table for his signature to make this measure a law,” Romualdez said as the House committee on government enterprises and privatization ap-

proved its committee report on Tuesday.

Romualdez seconded the motion endorsing the committee report for plenary deliberations.

“This will show ‘malasakit’ [compassion] and extend economic relief to retired private workers who are in their sunset years. The increase on their monthly pension is a good act of Congress to champion their plight,” said Romualdez, wife of former House Independent Bloc Leader Martin Romualdez of Leyte who also backed the measure during the 16th Congress.

Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep.

Raneo Abu also lauded the passage of the proposal as a show of President Rodrigo Duterte’s commitment to help the pensioners.

“This is a very worthy proposal that would show Congress’ sincere desire to serve people’s interests. It is feasible, necessary and urgent. The current pension benefit was not adjusted enough to meet the current cost of living standards. A major step towards sharing the inclusive growth to the elderly. I hope the Senate will also expedite the passage of the measure aimed at easing the plight of our SSS pensioners,” Abu said.

JBC sets interview of bets for 2 SC seats THE Judicial and Bar Council will start on Tuesday to interview nine of 17 nominees for the vacancies in the Supreme Court after the looming retirement of Associate Justices Jose Perez on Dec. 14 and Arturo Brion on Dec. 29.

Vying for Perez’ post are Public Attorney’s Office chief Persida Rueda-Acosta,

lawyer Rita Linda Ventura Jimeno, Pasig Regional Trial Court Judge Rowena ApaoAdlawan, Court of Appeals Justices Japar Dimaampao and Noel Tijam, Sandiganbayan Justice Samuel Martires and Department of Justice chief state counsel Ricardo Paras III and they will be grilled by the JBC today.

On the other hand, three nominees for

Brion’s post—CA Mindanao Executive Justice Romulo Borja, CA Justice Amy LazaroJavier and lawyer Joseph San Pedro—will face the council tomorrow, Nov. 17. There are 17 nominees for Brion’s post.

Seven other candidates for both vacancies will no longer be interviewed because of their previous interviews over the past year.

Laviña gets 2nd govt position as NIA chief

ACT OF REMEMBRANCE. Activists stage a protest at the Department of Justice in Manila to

commemorate the killing of eminent botanist Leonardo Co, forester Sofronio Cortez and farmer Julius Borromeo in the forests of Kananga, Southern Leyte on Nov. 15, 2010. Norman Cruz

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte named his campaign spokesperson and now Deputy Cabinet secretary Peter Tiu Laviña as the new administrator of the National Irrigation Administration, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said Tuesday.

“With Laviña at the helm of NIA, I expect smoother coordination between the [Department of Agrculture] and the water agency of the government, especially in the area of the scheduling of the release of irrigation water for the rice farms which had been a problematic issue for so long,” Piñol said.

“Laviña’s appointment as the new NIA head is a welcome relief for the DA especially since the agency, while officially un-

der the Office of the President, is one of the most important agencies supporting Philippine agriculture,” he added.

Laviña, one of Duterte’s former aides during his term as Mayor of Davao City, served as Duterte’s campaign spokesperson while his wife Evelyn is currently Undersecretary of the Agriculture department.

Laviña will replace Florencio Padernal, whom Piñol accused of derailing President Rodrigo Duterte’s Free Irrigation Program.

Piñol’s former provincial irrigation officer, Maguindanao engineer Czar Sulaik meanwhile will assume the post of Deputy Administrator for Operations.

lays out priority measures

By John Paolo Bencito ECONOMICS became the highlight of the latest meeting of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council last Monday with legislators agreeing to support the priority bills of the Duterte administration.

“The meeting last night with members of [Congress] was the President’s way of keeping in touch with the third branch of government, the independent legislature. It was not a Ledac meeting per se, although they did discuss legislation and the representatives expressed general support of the Chief Executive’s legislative agenda,” presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said.

Some of the priorities included the administration’s income tax reform package, which includes the reduction of income tax per individual, antimoney laundering law amendments, budget reform and government rightsizing bill.

Presidential Legislative Liason Secretary Adelino Sitoy said the informal Ledac meet was meant to iron out the priorities of both the Executive and the Legislative for their next meeting on December 5.

A Palace source, meanwhile, said that much of the discussions were about the war against drugs after President Rodrigo Duterte asked the leaderships of the Senate and House of Representatives.

The cooperative tone of the meeting was a departure from the practise during the administration of former President Benigno Aquino III who never convened the inter-branch body in his six years in office.

A4

Opinion

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

Adelle Chua, Editor

In Aquino’s footsteps

O

NE of the worst aspects of the previous administration was the lack of accountability, due largely to the refusal of President Benigno Aquino III to punish erring officials who were his friends or allies. This manifest itself early in the administration, during the Luneta hostage crisis, which set a pattern that would be carried out through Mr. Aquino’s six years in office, during which he spared those responsible for the “Yolanda” relief fiasco, the Mamasapano massacre, the breakdown in public transportation services, and the disastrous decline in the country’s agricultural output.

Now there are disturbing signs that President Rodrigo Duterte, who campaigned on a vow to change all that, is following in Mr. Aquino’s footsteps.

When Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa was shot dead in his cell at the Baybay City provincial jail by a police raiding team that said that he opened fire on them while they were serving a search warrant at 4 a.m., Mr. Duterte immediately took their

side, ignoring the suspicious, telltale signs of a rubout—and the commonsense question: Why would a person already in jail a) have a gun; and b) choose to shoot at a raiding team of 20 fully armed police officers?

Then on Monday, Mr. Duterte came to the defense of his national police chief, Ronald dela Rosa, who is being investigated by the Ombudsman for accepting an all-expense paid trip to Las Vegas for himself

and his family from Senator Manny Pacquiao to watch his championship bout with Jesse Vargas.

When Pacquiao paid a courtesy call on the President, Mr. Duterte said the boxer-turned-senator was correct in defending Dela Rosa.

“You can afford the trip anyway.

It is commensurate to your wealth.

There is no criminal liability,” Duterte, a former city prosecutor, said.

The Ombudsman recently said Dela Rosa’s all-expense paid trip to Las Vegas may be a violation of Presidential Decree 46, which makes it punishable for public officials and employees to receive gifts on any occasion; and Republic Act No. 6713, or the “Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.”

The PNP chief admitted in an interview in Las Vegas that Pacquiao, who was then fighting for the World Boxing Organization welterweight

title, invited him to watch his boxing match along with members of his family.

Dela Rosa maintained that there was nothing wrong with having the senator pay for his and his family’s trip because no public funds were used.

Sounding defiant, he told the Ombudsman to go ahead and investigate him. “Will I be jailed just because of an invitation?” he asked in Filipino.

Pacquiao has also defended footing the bill for Dela Rosa and his family.

“You know how it is with those of us from the South,” he said in Filipino. “It’s better to give something for free than engage in shenanigans.”

President Duterte, a lawyer and former prosecutor, should know better.

PD 46 and Republic Act 6713 make it very clear that public officials and employees must not accept

directly or indirectly gifts, gratuity, favors, entertainment or loans or anything of monetary value in the course of their official duties.

How do you parse that to make Dela Rosa’s junket legal or even ethically acceptable?

Moreover, Senator Pacquiao should be reminded that the law applies to all; there are no separate rules for “Bisaya” or people from the South. There is only one law.

Given the current political climate, we expect the President will try to brazen his way through this one.

But it is dismaying to see him follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, whose knee-jerk reaction was always to defend his friends, no matter what wrongs they committed.

It is difficult to reconcile this behavior with what Mr. Duterte once said: “My loyalty to my friend ends where my loyalty to my country begins.”

VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ

Trump good for PH

A ‘frail’ defense LOWDOWN

JOJO A. ROBLES SENATOR Leila de Lima appears to have overplayed the gender card when she admitted having an affair with her driver-bodyguard, Ronnie Dayan. Now she can only hope that the entire defense she built on persecution and blanket denial doesn’t crumble with this critical and self-serving admission of womanly frailty.

Dayan, of course, is the longtime driver-bodyguard of the embattled senator. According to various witnesses in and out of jail, the missing Dayan served as the “bagman” for De Lima, receiving huge sums from Bilibid-based drug lords on her behalf in order to allegedly fund her run for the Senate.

In a television interview aired Monday night, De Lima finally admitted having an intimate relationship with Dayan lasting several years. She said the “frailties of a woman” made her carry on with

her employee and subordinate.

As De Lima’s pursuer (in the legal sense, naturally), Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre, correctly pointed out, the senator has not presented “an iota” of evidence to rebut the many charges hurled against her, which formed the basis for at least four formal complaints lodged mostly before Aguirre’s department. As far as her relationship with Dayan is concerned, De Lima has repeatedly brushed aside reports that he was her lover, saying Aguirre has no business looking into her private life.

Until now. And taken together with reports that the senator will soon be subpoenaed in connection with the charges leveled against her, the admission could finally mean that De Lima is cracking under the pressure of the accusations.

Of course, I’m not talking about how De Lima’s latest revelation can be used in court; that’s up to the lawyers and judges involved in these cases to decide.

I’m merely pointing out that the senator’s “deny-to-death” strategy seems to be coming apart

—and that her declarations of gender victimhood may have led her to a possible admission that could hurt her down the road.

Leila can’t be the frail victim in her relationship with a subordinate because she was the one in the position of power.

Indeed, De Lima as always framed her battle with Aguirre and President Rodrigo Duterte as a gender war. At various times, the senator has claimed that the macho men now in government are un-

fairly victimizing her, a lone woman, or waved the militant feminist flag in a no-retreat, no-surrender stance against her supposedly chauvinistic tormentors.

But it does seem that De Lima has gone overboard with her new “frailties defense.” And when she deployed it in her long-running battle of the sexes with Duterte and Aguirre, she did nothing to win sympathy for herself from campaigners for gender equality.

A friend and colleague in journalism, the lawyer Dana Batnag, described it best in a Facebook post: “Because I’m a woman, and one who believes that statements that demean women shouldn’t be allowed to pass unnoticed, I’ll have to call out Senator De Lima for blaming her decision to have a relationship with her driver on the ‘frailties of a woman,’” Batnag wrote.

“I didn’t like it when the president whistled at a reporter during a press conference; I also don’t like it when a female legislator uses the gender card to defend herself,” Batnag added. “She could have just said, ‘frailties of a human being.’”

The women’s-rights partylist group Gabriela, in a related post, slammed De Lima, as well.

On its own Facebook page, this is what the militant feminist organization had to say: “So-called ‘frailties of women,’ [or] even [of] men or any gender for that matter, can never be cited as a defense for crimes, be it adultery, abuse of authority by a public official or drug trafficking. [They] should not be used, especially by one who holds a position of power like Senator Leila de Lima, as an excuse from criminal accountability or to paint herself as a victim.”

I can only guess that De Lima was moved to make her admission of frailty because the interview was conducted by a “friendly” known to be sympathetic to her and antagonistic towards Duterte.

But if De Lima had sought to win over the citizenry by admitting her relationship with her driver, I think she failed in an epic way.

No matter how hard she tries, De Lima cannot claim to be the frail victim in her relationship with her subordinate, simply because she Turn to A5

IS DONALD Trump good for the Philippines?

Yes, for two reasons. One, it has enabled President Duterte to backtrack on his hostility towards America and to gravitate back to the sphere of influence of Uncle Sam. At the end of the day, as the cliché goes, the United States is still the best friend, protector and ally an emerging country like the Philippines can embrace in this troubled, uncertain, and rapidly disintegrating world.

Starting this year, the US is no longer the largest economy on earth, according to the World Bank ($20.85 trillion China, $18.56 trillion US); the International Monetary Fund ($19.52 billion China, $17.94 trillion US); and the Central Intelligence Agency ($19.51 trillion China, $17.97 trillion US). But it remains the most powerful nation on earth.

America has the biggest defense budget, the best military technology, the best and widest military alliance, the most number of guns and aircraft carriers, the best information technology and internet (its Silicon Valley makes megabillionaires out of dropouts and billions out of garages), the highest share of the rich of total pre-tax income, the best film industry (which is a propaganda tool), and the best in access to advanced education. It is the biggest promoter of democracy and freedom and the most admired country in the world (according to Americans themselves and according to Filipinos). It is truly the home of the brave and the land of the free.

Wrote a New York Times columnist in 2014: “Sure, technically Norwegians may be wealthier per capita, and the Japanese may live longer, but the world watches the N.B.A., melts at Katy Perry, uses iPhones to post on Facebook, trembles at our aircraft carriers, and blames the C.I.A. for everything. We’re No. 1!”

Two, the 45th US President will revitalize the economy and trigger a Trump boom, at least in the short run. Such an economic expansion would spike demand for Philippines goods and services, create jobs for Filipino expats in America, and at least diminish the insularity of Americans afraid of losing their jobs to overseas competitors.

Turn to A5

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Opinion TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

A constitutional crisis OMBUDSMAN Conchita Car- the Supreme Court can settle it. pio Morales has ordered the Abangan. *** dismissal of Senator Joel VilWhen President Duterte said lanueva from government service and the filing of criminal he believed the account of the charges against him. This is members of the Criminal Invesfor the alleged misuse of pork tigation and Detection Group barrel funds worth P10 million that Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rowhen he was party-list con- land Espinosa Sr. was killed gressman in 2008. Despite this, in a shootout inside his prison Senate President Aquilino Pi- cell, he effectively emboldened mentel III and the entire Senate members of the police force to have refused to abide by the or- do their worst in the war against der. Thus, a constitutional crisis illegal drugs.

I say this because events and already exists.

Despite the fact that Pimentel circumstance showed that the was directed to implement the killing was “premeditated” and directive imposed as an admin- followed a “bad script” as found istrative penalty against Vil- during a Senate investigation.

Santa Banana, why would lanueva, who was found guilty of grave misconduct,serious Scene of the Crime Operatives dishonesty and conduct prejudi- be called to Espinosa’s prison cial to the interest of the service, cell before the killing itself if the Senate has chosen to disre- the crime were not premeditatgard the Ombudsman’s order. ed? And I saw during the Senate He argues that Villanueva’s mo- inquiry that the CIDG members tion for reconsideration has not were overconfident about their account. Perhaps they knew that yet been decided.

Based on the rules of the the President was behind them. *** Office of the Ombudsman, a And now we have the President pending appeal or motion for reconsideration cannot stop the defending Police Chief Ronald implementation of the anti-graft dela Rosa over the issue that he violated the Code of Conduct and agency’s decision.

Comes now the Senate argu- Ethical Standards for Public Ofing that the Ombudsman does not ficials and Employees when he have jurisdiction, under the Con- accepted from pugilist-senator stitution, to dismiss Villanueva, Manny Pacquiao an all-expense and that the fundamental law pro- paid trip (with allowance for vides that only Congress has the shopping and entertainment), power over its members. In short, with his family, to Las Vegas.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio the Senate argues that the Ombudsman has no jurisdiction over Morales has ordered the probe of De La Rosa.

Congress and the Judiciary.

The law prohibits public Section 27 of servants from Republic Act The senators accepting, di6770, or the rectly or indiO m b u d s m a n do not want to rectly, a gift Law states that from a person “all provision- recognize the other than a ary orders of member of his the Office of jurisdiction of the family or relathe Ombuds- Ombudsman. tives even on man are immethe occasion diately effective and executory, of a family and Rule III of celebration or the anti-graft agency Rule of Pro- national festivity“if the value cedure provides that while deci- is neither nominal or insignifisions can be appealed, motions cant, or the gift is given in anfor reconsideration cannot stop ticipation of, or in exchange for a favor.” Clearly, that gift given implementation.

The same Rules of Procedure by Pacquiao to Bato was not are specific that “... the refusal nominal nor insignificant.

I said this would be a test case. or failure by an officer without just cause to comply with an We have a law but it has not been order of the Office of the Om- implemented. I have written that budsman to remove, suspend, the Ombudsman has enough to demote, fine or censure shall be go on against Dela Rosa.

Why doesn’t the President ground for disciplinary action just allow the Ombudsman to against said officer.”

Here’s the kicker. Senate Ma- do her job since that is her busijority Leader Vicente Sotto said ness? Dela Rosa and Pacquiao that under Republic Act 6770 or may be ignorant of the law, but the Ombudsman Act of 1988, the that’s no excuse.

If President Duterte keeps on Ombudsman’s disciplinary powers do not extend to members of doing these things, his credibilCongress and the Judiciary. Sen- ity will not only be eroded. He ate President Pro Tempore Frank would be promoting the culture Drilon agreed with Sotto in his of lawlessness and impunity. *** interpretation of the OmbudsWhen President Duterte apman role, citing the Constitution where its states that Congress is pointed a new finance secretary in given the power to discipline and the person of Sonny Dominguez, a reputable businessman from expel its members.

On the part of Villanueva, he Davao, I had hoped that he would continues to maintain his inno- take a look at the tragedy of some cence and claims that his name 900 Bureau of Customs employwas forged. I distinctly recall that ees assigned to the Naia. They when then-Justice Secretary Leila have not been paid their overde Lima, now Villanueva’s fel- time, transport and meal allowlow senator, filed the case against ances when they rendered service him for misusing his Priority De- to airlines beyond the mandated velopment Assistance Fund, Vil- eight-hour.

I had hoped that Dominguez lanueva vowed that he would not be seen on the same stage with De would be different from former Lima. It was an empty boast— Finance Secretary Cesar Puriboth were Liberal Party senatorial sima who didn’t give a damn candidates and were often seen about a fair and equitable treatment of the 900 workers. together during the campaign.

It now appears I am mistaken.

Just how this controversy will end is a matter of speculation. Dominguez also has not lifted a But, it’s easy to predict that only finger on the matter.

A ‘frail’...

From A4 was the one who was in the position of power. And carrying on with her very public display of victimhood is how she intends to defend herself in court, I can’t see how she’s going to beat the rap.

It’s a very frail defense. From a supposedly very strong, willful and determined woman. *** It’s about time the Anti-Money Laundering Council is called out for its sins of commission and omission, as President Duterte (himself a victim of the “weaponized” AMLC during the previous administration) has done. I’m convinced

that any serious investigation of the agency will show that it allowed itself to be used in the service of Noynoy Aquino’s campaign against his political enemies—and is probably still working now to protect that defunct regime.

Duterte was only the last victim of AMLC: During Noynoy’s term, the agency was used against the late Chief Justice Renato Corona, businessman Roberto Ongpin and Vice President Jejomar Binay. Like Duterte, who never got any clearance from AMLC when Senator Antonio Trillanes claimed that he kept P200 million in one Ortigas-area bank, all of these personalities had been targeted for political assassination with the help of fake or real bank statements that only the agency has access to.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016

A5

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Motorcycle madness BACK CHANNEL ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO THE Metro Manila Development Authority implemented on Monday the strict motorcycle lane on Edsa and other main roads like C5, Commonwealth and Macapagal Avenues. As expected, the Motorcyclists Association of the Philippines protested the MMDA move as discriminatory and selective enforcement of traffic laws. Motorcyclists complained the MMDA regulation as unfair to the sector of society who cannot afford to buy a car, adding the tight one lane allotted to them would only add to the traffic congestion on major roads.

Oh, really? But aren’t there alternate roads for them to take when traffic on Edsa gets tight?

These alternate side streets are impassable to bigger vehicles but not motorcycles to use. Some neighborhoods have usurped them as basketball courts, street markets and garbage dumps. Basically, this is a problem of law enforcement by the local governments, which in this case is the responsibility of the local police and barangay officials.

If one looks at the problem

more closely, the metropolis monster traffic is traceable to the fact that we do not have an efficient public transport system. This is the reason why middle-class families buy cars to get to work.

The city’s two railway lines— Metro Rail Transit and the Light Rail Transit—have been allowed by government officials to deteriorate and rot. It’s a wonder we haven’t had a real train disaster resulting in a number of casualties. So far, all we had are the daily breakdowns of both MRT and LRT, making commuters learn to live with government incompetence and corruption. It will be recalled the MRT maintenance service contract was awarded to an undercapitalized company that had no track record in train service maintenance. Its only qualification? The little-known company was owned by a relative of then-MRT general manager Al Vitangcol who is now facing charges for graft. But his boss, former DoTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, has yet to be charged. For sure, he knew what Vitangcol and the MRT bids and awards committee were doing.

Motorcyclists claim that the two-day notice and information on the motorcycle lane was not long enough. It does not need a long and exhaustive information campaign for motorcyclists to

know the basic rules of the road.

These two-wheel vehicles use the road in a helter-skelter manner like they own it. I have been a victim of a near-crash with a motorcyclist; this is why I feel strongly about their unregulated presence on the road.

A year ago, while I was driving up the ramp on Buendia going to Edsa, I nearly hit a motorcyclist who cut in front of me. It was a unnerving experience. Apparently the jerk missed the signage indicating Cubao and he had taken the lane going to Bonifacio Global City. In attempting to get back on track he swerved from the left almost slamming into my car. The near-fatal accident made my blood pressure shoot up to 206. This I found out when I arrived at my destination at the Edsa ShangriLa Hotel. Feeling nauseous and tight in the chest I was taken by friends to the hotel clinic.

There, the nurse and a doctor tried to bring down my BP. When they could not, they suggested I be taken to a hospital.

When I said OK my doctor is at the Makati Medical Hospital.

They shook their heads and told me “Sir, traffic is still heavy on Edsa, you might not make it.”

This, of course, dismissed any alternative hospital venue. I was taken by ambulance to the nearby Medical City in Ortigas emer-

gency room and later confined as an in-patient for three days.

Now, you know why I feel visceral about motorcyclists running around unregulated. My peripheral vision and reflexes are still OK according to the doctor who examined me. But he advised I stop driving because of the perils posed by others on the road.

The morning and evening news on TV carry reports of almostdaily road accidents involving motorcycles and other vehicles. As the motorcycles are smaller, their drivers are usually the fatalities. With the designated lane, motorcyclists can no longer slither in and out of traffic to put themselves and other motorists in danger. This road regulation is an idea that would save motorcyclists from themselves.

There are other regulations I would suggest to the MMDA to make motorcyclists accountable.

Because their license plates are so small (unlike the regular vehicles), the numbers are hard to read. How about imposing that their license plate be emblazoned at the back of their chaleco or vest so victims and witness can identify the drivers who often figure in hit-and-run incidents? Their tinted helmets which cover their faces serve as masks especially when they commit even more serious crimes like robbery or riding in tandem ambush killings.

Build. Build. Build.

SO I SEE LITO BANAYO TWO weeks ago, National Economic and Development Authority Director-General Ernesto Pernia, Transportation Secretary Art Tugade, Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar and BCDA President Vince Dizon presented the Duterte administration’s infrastructure plan before media.

The event was largely unnoticed because of major news events such as the killing of Albuera Mayor Espinosa and the suspense over the Trump-Clinton electoral war in the US of A which at that time was reaching culmination. These days of course, the continuing speculation on how Trump’s victory will affect us and the rest of the world is what the headlines are all about.

The underlying rationale for government investment in infrastructure is simple: failure to invest in infrastructure means failure to grow and develop the economy. Whether in the 20th century or now, this is a truism.

GDP is C + I + G, where C is consumption expenditures; I stands for investment, and G is for government spending.

Government spends for myriad services, from keeping the peace and ensuring public safety, or public health, and public education. It also invests in infrastructure, roads and bridges, power generation, irrigation, ports and airports and a host of other projects including interconnectivity of the information highway.

Without such projects, the economy stands still, not only because by itself, construction of these projects hires a lot of manpower, thereby directly creating

Trump...

From A4 One reason for this expected boom is that Trump will force the repatriation back to America of some $2.5 trillion to $5 trillion of profits stashed by US corporations abroad.

He will offer these companies vastly lowered tax rates to discourage, if not stop, profit refugees like FMC Technologies $1.949 trillion, Apple $200 billion, Microsoft $108 billion, Citigroup $45 billion, Oracle $38 billion, Amgen $32.6 billion, Qualcomm $28.8 billion, and Gilead Sciences $28.5 billion.

That money, if repatriated, hopefully should open up factories or businesses, create jobs, and put more purchasing power in the hands of American consumers. Since there are about four million Filipino-Americans, the same money should benefit them eventually.

Meanwhile, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda has sent a paper in which he frets about the Trump presidency.

“Trump presents essentially a risk of protectionism with its consequences mainly on first US economic growth and 2nd on the flow of trade and services, migration and remit-

jobs, but because such projects open up economic opportunities that would not otherwise exist, or remain fallow in productivity without the needed infrastructure.

The International Monetary Fund estimates that a “sustained increase in public infrastructure spending to five percent of GDP would add a total of five to six percent to GDP after 15 years.”

Investments grow when there is adequate infrastructure. Without such, foreign capital will not come in, and domestic capital will remain in the doldrums.

Once investments come in, jobs are created, which in turn generate greater consumer spending. When a road is built to open up the hinterlands, agricultural productivity increases, farm incomes grow, the quality of life of the poor farmers become a lot better, and again, their consumer spending increases. The multiplier effect of infrastructure spending is tremendous.

The inadequacy of our public infrastructure is legendary.

Power costs are the highest in the region. Traffic in the nation’s capital is in gridlock. So it is in central Cebu, Baguio, and soon in Davao, Cagayan de Oro, and God knows where else. Commuters suffer day-in and day-out.

Our airports are clogged; our runway worse off such that one keeps praying a major catastrophe in the air while planes circle over the Naia complex will never happen. Our ports are sub-standard. The number of hectares of irrigated land when Marcos died was 1.4 million hectares. After 30 years, it has marginally grown to less than 1.6 million hectares, and yet we keep asking why we import rice.

The Philippine Institute for Development Studies under Neda tells us why. Marcos spent 3.2 percent of the GDP on the average of his long reign for public infrastructure. Cory Aquino spent less, 2.2 percent. FVR spent also 2.2

percent of GDP. Erap’s abbreviated term averaged 2.2 percent as well. In GMA’s nine-year tenure, it shrunk to 1.9 percent of GDP. PNoy, despite sluggish spending in the first two years, upped the average to 2.9 percent of GDP. If you look at the Marcos spending on infrastructure, as compared to the decrease in every administration thereafter, then stop wondering why Bongbong fared so well in the last elections, and why senior citizens keep saying things were better off for them during the Marcos years.

We are playing a catch-up game. Catch-up not to Japan or China, but catch-up to Thailand and Malaysia, and Vietnam as well.

So our economic managers and President Duterte, on Year One, allotted 5.4 percent of expected GDP in the 2017 budget that the House recently approved and is pending in the Senate. It intends to spend as much as an average of 7.4 percent of GDP throughout it’s six-year term. Great!

Apart from eliminating drugs and curbing corruption and criminality. Aside from securing internal peace with the NDF, the secessionists, and neutralizing the terrorists. And skeptics say Duterte has no economic program?

I went through the list of major projects that the infrastructure team announced a week after the President’s Tokyo trip, which came one week after the rapprochement with China: The Manila-Clark railway (finally!); a Metro Manila Bus Rapid Transport System, with the first phase connecting Edsa through a tunnel beneath McKinley Road, and thence by dedicated bus line from BGC to the Naia, with the guarantee that from BGC to Naia will take the commuter 15 minutes (wow!).

Then again, the Clark International Airport Terminal, de-

signed by the French, will finally be constructed, after sleeping for six years without any action.

Clark’s carrying capacity, with its small terminal, is only a maximum of 1 million passengers per year, which is why it cannot take up much of the traffic from Naia.

Similar regional airports will be updated.

A Subic-to-Clark cargo railway that will optimize the use of Subic as a port and the expansive Clark as a light manufacturing facility. The Mindanao railway, or at least, Phase One of this Mindanao dream and Duterte pledge.

The Sta. Monica bridge link to connect Makati and Taguig with the Pasig Kapitolyo area, to alleviate traffic in Edsa. And completion of the NLEX to SLEX superhighways that were entered into as PPP projects by the PNoy government.

There are more, including the much-needed upgrading of our decrepit mass railway transit systems and our moribund Philippine National Railways.

Can these be done? What about the financing of such major projects?

Now perhaps you see why Duterte launched his aperture Chinoise and his reassurance to the Japanese. Now you see why there is a need to balance our foreign policy into one where we shall be a friend to all and an enemy to none.

What about the corruption attendant to many major projects in the past?

“You think we are brave enough to do that under Duterte?” asked DOTr’s Tugade.

If the mantra is Build, Build, Build, and it is followed religiously according to the timelines drawn, and the President pounces on all in government to act with deliberate speed, with the private sector cooperating in one great national purpose, why indeed can we not achieve all these?

tances,” writes the congressman, one of the best if not the best and most inclusive-minded analyst in the Philippines today.

Based on Joey’s analytics, the biggest threats to the Philippines are (1) in economic aspects, these consist of impacts on robust BPO business with US at 5.7 percent of Philippine GDP (mainly trade), 2.8 percent remittance from US/GDP (mainly economic slowdown and deportation), and 4.5 percent export/GDP (trade/economic slowdown). These combine to 13 percent of the Philippine economy exposed to the US which makes it the second highest to Singapore. Moreover, exports to the US are mostly electronics and they have low GVA of 20 percent compared to BPOs and (constructively) remittances; (2) social costs of the deportation of 360,000 TNT or tago-nang-tago, although there are 3.4 million Filipinos in the US, 88 percent are legal and Trump is not against legal migrants.

The perceived kindred spirit of Duterte and Trump should prove useful in negotiating for Philippine economic interest—(1) No tax on outsourcing and no pressure on BPO principals, and (2) Pathway to citizenship for 360,000 undocumented Filipinos in the US or a more gradual process, say

over 4 years.

1. Exports. Contrary to widespread perception, the Philippine GDP is only 4.5 percent (export/ GDP) exposed to the US market, it is second least exposed compared to its neighbors with Indonesia being least exposed at 2.5 percent. Moreover, the Philippines has only a $1.5 billion trade surplus over the US aided

by GSP preferences. Since exports to the US are mostly electronics and they have low GVA of 20 percent compared to BPOs and (constructively) remittances which are relatively small for the other Asean-5. This compares to Japan’s exports to the US accounts for 2.6 percent of Japan GDP in 2015.

2. BPOs. The US BPOs account for 5.7 percent Philippine GDP. US account for 77 percent of the $22 billion BPO sector (both as market and investor) which generated 1.1 million jobs in 2015. Trump wants to bring jobs back to home, as attempted before by President Obama possibly through a tax on outsourcing or simply through persuasive influence over BPO companies or the industries they cater to.

But this will be significantly countered by the Philippine competitive advantages: a) neutral accent English; b) competitive-trainable;

c) socio-cultural predisposition to western lifestyles; d) hourly wage. A call center agent in the Philippines makes US$2.00.

A call center agent in the US gets US$10.50.

3. Overseas Filipino remittances.

In 2015, remittances from the US amounted to $8.4 billion which increased by $1 billion over 2014’s $7.4 billion. This is equivalent to 2.84 percent of Philippine GDP. Based on BSP report, 32.8 percent of total OFW remittances in first eight months of 2016 originated from the US. While the figure includes remittance from other countries but coursed US-based correspondent banks and couriers which sadly cannot be disaggregated as to their ultimate source, it corresponds with the CFO estimate that 35 percent of Filipinos overseas are in the US. This sector accounting to 2.8 percent of Philippine GDP may be affected by a slowdown in the US economy.

During the 2008 financial crisis, remittances from the US fell by $502 million from $7.83 billion to $7.32 billion whereas in the Asian financial crisis, it prompted a spike from $4.11 billion to $6.4 billion! biznewsasia@gmail.com

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

News

MM cops ready vs hike in crime

By Joel E. Zurbano POLICE on Tuesday warned the public against criminal groups that are expected to increasingly search for victims at commercial centers, shopping malls, public conveyances and other crowded areas in Metro Manila as the Christmas season draws near.

Metro Manila police director Oscar Albayalde ordered all district commanders—Central Police District, Northern Police District, Southern Police District, Eastern Police District and Manila Police District —to double their alert status in their respective areas of jurisdiction in anticipation of possible crimes to happen this holiday season.

On Tuesday, two suspected members of the so-called Estribo Gang held up the driver, conductor and passengers of a northbound public utility bus owned and operated by Gloren Transport along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue in Makati City.

Supt. Jenny Tecson, spokesperson of the Southern Police District, said two men pretended to be passengers boarded in Pasay City the bus bound for Fairview with registration plate (UVL-915) around 12:15 am.

Upon reaching the EDSA-Ayala Avenue Flyover, the two men pulled out their pistols, announced the heist and divested the cash, mobile phones and other personal valuables of the victims.

“The victims further claimed that upon reaching the MRT (Metro Railway Transit-3) Buendia Station, the robbers alighted from the bus and hurriedly walked heading towards unknown direction bringing along with them the loot and the firearms used,” Tecson said.

Aside from Estribo Gang and other robbery-holdup groups, the National Capital Region Police Office also cautioned the people to be aware of the presence of members of Salisi Gang, Siksik Gang and Riles Gang in crowded areas this Yuletide season.

The police described Salisi Gang as gang members who lurk anywhere where there are people— malls, restaurants, fast food joints, bus terminals, airports, seaports, and computer shops—and are “just waiting for you to get distracted.”

They either divert their victims’ attention or wait until their targets are distracted before they move in for the kill.

SANTA IS COMING TO TOWN. A father introduces his child to Santa Claus at a store specializing in images of the famous saint on Lacson Avenue in Sampaloc, Manila. Lino Santos

FM tomb 60% finished; only burial date awaited

By Florante S. Solmerin

T

HE construction of the tomb of the former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani is more than halfway complete and the military is only awaiting the final date of the burial, Army spokesman Colonel Benjamin Hao said on Tuesday.

“The Army is upbeat of the 60 percent complete,” Hao said. preparations of the burial site Marcos’ remains will be burand the construction is already ied where three former presi-

dents—Elpidio Quirino, Diosdado Macapagal and Carlos Garcia—were buried.

Hao said the Army is on standby for instruction specially on the final date of the burial ceremony.

“No burial schedule has been set so far. But again we are just waiting whatever order and the Army is prepared. We will follow orders,” he said.

Hao clarified that the Army will not speed up a single cent in

the tomb preparations of Marcos.

“The works is being handled by a private contractor and I think the Marcos family shoulders the cost. I believed they opted to spend extra to make the tomb suits their loved one beign a former president,” he said.

He said the Marcos family is also “authorized” to construct a statue of the former president but he declined to reveal details.

Meanwhile, Hao said the Army will give Marcos military

honors befitting a former head of state.

“Former presidents deserve a military honor fitted for them.

When we say military honor it means arrival honors, funeral march, tribute, and final benediction. These are normal procedures,” he explained.

“Then there will be three volleys of fires followed by taps and then folding of the flag by the bearers that will be given to the family,” he added.

Farmers demand Luisita breakup

By Sandy Araneta THE militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas on Tuesday said the distribution of lands in Hacienda Luisita should go beyond the confines of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program that is limiting the possibilities and ways on how to fairly distribute the lands to its rightful beneficiaries.

“Like what we have been asserting for the past 12 years since the gruesome massacre of peasants of Hacienda Luisita, only genuine land reform can address the perennial problem of land monopoly in the hacienda,” says KMP Secretary General Antonio Flores.

Flores said the “ongoing contradiction and political division” among groups inside Hacienda Luisita beneficiaries is the handiwork of the Cojuangcos using the very same sham CARP.” “CARP is a total failure. It will never be effective in providing the legal framework for a truly redistributive land distribution that is based on social justice,” the peasant leader said.

“We call on the Department of Agrarian Reform [DAR] and Luisita farmer-beneficiaries to go beyond the legalities and explore other ways on how to distribute

LOONY TRAFFIC.

A traffic enforcer wears clown mask to ease tempers at the busy corner of Epifanio delos Santos Avenue and Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City.

Norman Cruz

Police shoot dead jihadist bomb maker A BOMBER of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a faction of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, was killed in an encounter with government forces Tuesday in Matalam, North Cotabato, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group said on Tuesday.

The police identified the slain terror suspect as Mohammad Nor Hassan, alias Bulaoa or Kamarudin Sulayman, 43, with a total of P1.3-million bounty on his head.

Sulayman was in the military and police lists of jihadist bomb makers involved in the series of bombings in Central Mindanao since 2006.

“He was killed in an encounter during the service of a warrant of

arrest by police and Army personnel at around 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday in Barangay Central Malamote,” the CIDG said.

It said Sulayman had allegedly attempted to throw a grenade to the arresting team that prompted them to shoot him hitting him in the different parts of his body.

Hassan, who was wanted for murder, multiple frustrated murder, and multiple attempted murder, was brought to Babol Hospital but declared Dead on Arrival (DOA) by the attending physician.

CIDG12 regional chief Superintendent Felix Servita Jr. said recovered from the killed bomb maker were a caliber .38 revolver, several ammunition, and a hand grenade. Florante S. Solmerin

Hacienda Luisita lands in the swiftest way possible. Farmers have waited for decades, blood was spilled and many lives were sacrificed for the life and death struggle in Luisita. Justice is long overdue,” Flores said.

The KMP leader also urged Luisita farmers and farmworkers to relentlessly campaign for genuine land reform that is supportive of free land distribution.

“Hacienda Luisita farmers should muster the strength and unity under the call for a genuine land reform. Farmers should resist and counter the Cojuangco-Aquinos continuing maneuver to maintain control over the lands,” Flores said.

“Land distribution beyond the confines of the sham CARP is the only way to break land monopoly in Hacienda Luisita and other vast landholdings,” the KMP leader said.

Hacienda Luisita lands can be distributed for free to enable poor peasants, farmworkers and peasants in the lower to middle tier uplift their economic and social conditions.

In the distribution of land, the principle of equity can be applied based on the following considerations: the total labor power of the beneficiary family or household; the quality and location of the land, and the type amount of land available for distribution in the area; the size of crop to be planted.

DoJ explains death penalty

By Maricel V. Cruz THE Justice department on Tuesday asked the House sub-justice committee on judicial reforms to be given more time to defend its proposal to reimpose death penalty in the country.

Appearing before the panel presided by Leyte Rep. Vicente Veloso, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre was having a hard time answering queries from Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman as to whether capital punishment has been proven effective to deter heinous crimes. “[As of the moment], I have no empirical data to measure the reaction of people to show that because of this fear of the penalty, the commission of crime will be less,” Aguirre told the House panel.

But he said based on his personal

experience, people would be discouraged from committing crimes when they know the death penalty is in effect and will be imposed commensurate to the gravity of crimes they commit.

Lagman stressed Congress needs to have cold data and hard statistics on the proposal to reimpose death penalty “so we can validate statements truly after execution cases of drug trafficking and drug abuse has decrease,” Lagman said.

There should “verifiable evidence,” Lagman said.

Aguirre also said that death penalty was not actually abolished but merely suspended.

“It’s always there.. it was not abolished... and that it may be reimposed where there are compelling reasons,” Aguirre said.

One of the sub-committee mem-

bers, Parañaque Rep. Gus Tambunting, said the death penalty should be studied well.

“Does Government have the right to take away the life of a human being, especially with our flawed justice system. Won’t it be anti poor?

Will the rich who can leave the country and hire expensive lawyers, get away with it?” Tambunting said as he asked several questions to be considered by Congress before passing a proposal to revive death penalty on heinous crimes.

Veloso had earlier stressed the need for Congress to conduct extensive hearings on death penalty, saying restoring the penalty of death on heinous crimes involves administration of justice.

He also cited the Constitution and jurisprudence relative to the deliberation on the death penalty proposals.

IN BRIEF 7 choppers grounded AIR Force spokesman Colonel Antonio Francisco on Tuesday said the seven remaining Polish-made Sokol helicopters have been grounded a day after the crash that injured the pilots and other military and police personnel including a police general recently in Palawan.

But he said investigation over the crash incident was still ongoing and the real cause of the engine failure has yet to be determined.

Francisco said the pilots and crew have been transferred to the PAF hospital for further medical treatment and observation.

“All the Sokol were grounded as of the moment a day after the incident. I was not given feedback yet about the ongoing probe,” he said.

Among the injured in the crash was Chief Superintendent Wilben Mayor. The crash happened days before the November 10 ASEAB Chiefs of Justice Conference held in Puerto Princesa City. The officers were on board the chopper conducting aerial inspection as part of the preparations for the series of conferences when it crash-landed in the middle of a rice field.

In 2014, one of the choppers crashed shortly after takeoff inside a military camp in Marawi City. Then commander of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division and now Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Ricardo Visaya was among survivors from that crash.

Meanwhile, Fancisco said the grounding of the Sokols has little effect to the airlift capability of PAF as there are other choppers available for use. Florante S. Solmerin

RP-US war games start THE Philippine Army and their counterparts from the United States Army started on November 14 a month-long military exercise in Puerto Princesa City.

Army spokesman Colonel Benjamin Hao said the training engagement of the Philippine Army with the US Special Operations Forces this time is called “Balance Piston 16-4.”

“This is an annual training event to hone our soldiers’ skills on basic war fighting.

Also to improve relationship of the two armed forces,” he said. “The exercises only involve a small unit of soldiers, around 30 to 40 personnel. I don’t know how many from the US side.”

“This is in line with the guidance from higher headquarters to reduce live firing. But definitely, there would be marksmanship training inside camp because you have to improve your marksmanship skills,” he said. Florante S. Solmerin

Sports

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Pocari promises to win more titles P OCARI Sweat’s methodical, if masterful disposal of Customs in the just-concluded Shakey’s V-League Season 13 Reinforced Conference Finals only underscores the team’s desire to win many more championships and dominate the league.

“We’re practically bringing back almost the same cast next season. Expect us to go for a third title,” said Pocari team manager Eric Ty after the Lady Warriors hacked out a 25-14, 25-10, 22-25, 25-23 victory to sweep their bestof-three series with the Customs

Transformers late Monday.

Except for setter Gyzelle Sy, who is set to join another team, Pocari will remain intact for next season’s campaign with Michele Gumabao, Myla Pablo, Fil-Am setter Iris Tolenada, Melissa Gohing, Elaine Kasilag, Siemens De-

siree Dadang and Shola Alvarez all staying put.

Ty also vowed to toughen up his already formidable roster.

“I’m looking at several players who we could add to the team and could make us stronger,” he said.

With the right mix and motivation, the Lady Warriors bucked the odds, including the sport’s most recognizable figure, and came out a winner the second time around.

And going two-for-two for a newcomer in a cutthroat competition is no easy feat.

But coach Rommel Abella has put together one mean squad – no super-

stars but a bunch of gritty warriors ready to step up at any given time.

Tapping two tall, talented American reinforcement did anchor their successful title campaign in the import-laced tournament but the locals also put in their share, outplaying and outshining their counterparts throughout to complete their romp.

The Lady Warriors actually did it in style, sweeping their last 10 games after dropping a five-setter to the Air Force Jet Spikers in their opening match last Oct. 5. They took the top seeding in the Final Four and dominated the import-

less UST side to seal a dream showdown with Alyssa Valdez and the Transformers.

But the projected fierce duel didn’t turn out as such as the Lady Warriors imposed their will on the net and choked the Transformers with their solid blocking to complete the sweep.

Like in their Open Conference win, skipper Michelle Gumabao said they did nothing special in their latest feat but made sure to limit the heart-and-soul of the Transformers.

“I think we just focused on her because she was the one who

brought her team up,” said Gumabao, referring to Valdez, whom they held to just 12 hits in their 2522, 25-18, 25-18 Game One win and 10 in Game Two after the conference MVP normed 19 points in the elims and semis.

The ploy to shackle Valdez actually seemed to have backfired in Game Two as Thai reinforcement Kanjana Kuthaisong came away with a season-high 32 hits, putting the Transformers back into the game after two lopsided set losses with a third set win. Customs kept it close in the fourth, only to lose it all on miscues at endgame.

Folayang game plan key to win

By Reuel Vidal

Eduard Folayang (right) and his coach Mark Sangiao celebrate after Folayang pounded Shinya Aoki into submission at the Singapore Indoor Stadium to win the ONE Championship Lightweight world title. ONE Championship

IN mixed martial arts battles, the margin between victory and defeat is razorthin which is why Eduard Folayang had to execute his game plan perfectly to beat MMA legend Shinya Aoki to win the ONE Championship world lightweight crown.

After keeping Aoki at bay through three rounds Folayang met the lunging Japanese with a flying knee to the temple which rocked his opponent out of his senses early in the third.

Aoki grabbed Folayang instinctively but the Filipino fighter pushed him aside then pinned Aoki to the cage. Folayang delivered another vicious knee and when Aoki turned his back and assumed a fetal position Folayang rained down vicious blows at the side of his head which forced Referee Yuji Shimada to halt the bout.

“That was our game plan. We knew we had to meet Aoki’s lunges with knees.

That was our game plan from the start.

We expected to win by TKO or KO. Or we could have lost by submission. We all saw how Aoki tried to submit Eduard in the first two rounds,” said Folayang’s coach and friend Mark Sangiao.

Red Lions maul UP to rule 14th Fr Martin Cup

By Peter Atencio THE San Beda-A Red Lions denied the University of the Philippines their first ever title in recent years, pulling off a 63-61 win last Sunday in the winner-take-all finals showdown of the 14th Fr. Martin Cup Division 2 Basketball Tournament at the Far Eastern University gym in Morayta, Manila.

Cameroonian cager Eugene Toba had 12 points, including a triple which turned

out to be the winning basket in the last 14.4 seconds.

The Chiang Kai Shek Blue Dragons, led

by Shamasheh Banez by 12 points, turned back Summer Cup champion National University, 74-47, to claim the junior honors.

Jeremer Cabanag and Van Abatayo topscored with 13 points for the Red Lions, who turned to their defense in the remaining time to keep the Maroons from scoring and forcing overtime.

Mali cager Ibrahim Outtara powered the Maroons with 14 points, and made efforts to score at the buzzer. He did, but Outtara’s shot went in right after the buzzer sounded.

“Credit the boys for the victory. They were down 8, 9, 10 points. But they didn’t give up. They had heart. They didn’t fold.

They didn’t turn away,” said Red Lions-A coach Ford Arao.

The Red Lions-A, behind Toba and Clint Doliguez with 26 and 23 points, reached

the finals at the expense of the Far Eastern University Tamaraws, 90-67, in the semifinals last Saturday.

The Fighting Maroons, who finished with an impressive 8-1 win-loss record, squandered an 10 point, 57-47, advantage in the fourth period after Cabanag struck with eight points in the last 4:46.

Cabanag’s split charity in the last 1:04 then allowed the Red Lions to move within range, 60-61.

San Beda Lady Red Spikers share early volleyball lead

San Beda College’s Satrriani Espiritu (10) spikes the volleyball past the tight defense of Ladeiheen Magbanua (12) of EAC during the preliminaries of the women’s NCAA season 92 volleyball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Center, San Juan.

THE San Beda Lady Red Spikers are off to a rousing start in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 92 volleyball tournament with a straight set, 2725, 25-17, 25-22, victory over the Emilio Aguinaldo College Lady Generals at the Fil-Oil Flying V Centre, San Juan last Monday evening.

Cesca Racraquin led San Beda’s swirling attack at the net which netted her a game-high 20 points. Satrriani Espiritu led the team’s stonewall defense at the net with four completed

blocks out of 16 attempts to finish with nine points.

Ladeiheen Magbanua led the shocked Lady Generals with 11 points. EAC’s attackers could not get anything going especially with the fence erected at the net by the San Beda blockers led by the longlimbed Espiritu.

Meanwhile, tournament favorites San Sebastian College Lady Stags composed themselves in time to beat the Arellano University Lady Chiefs, 23-25, 26-28, 25-19, 25-18, 15-12, to share the ear-

ly leadership with San Beda.

The Lady Red Spikers hope to advance to the NCAA Final Four for the first time ever. They will be coming off a stint in the 2016 Shakey’s V-League Collegiate Conference which no doubt helped the team smooth out kinks in their game.

While Racraquin and Espiritu dominated at the net, team captain and setter Becca Cuevas masterfully orchestrated her team’s offense with 35 excellent sets in just three sets. Reuel Vidal

Gentle Strength headlines 21st Marho Championships THE HOARSE WHISPERER JENNY ORTUOSTE IT’S that time of the year again for the first and oldest racing festival, the Metropolitan Association of Race Horse Owners Championships, to be held Sunday (Nov. 20) at Santa Ana Park.

The MARHO Cup racefest was established in 1995 as a modest celebration of racing but through the years became a major event and an annual tradition, as more sponsors came on board. The event seeks to incentivize race participants to reach for excellence in the sport, providing hefty prizes as rewards.

This year’s event is the 21st edition and is sponsored as always by San Miguel Corporation, Philippine Racing Commission, Philippine

Charity Sweepstakes Office, and the Philippine Racing Club Inc., host of the event.

Also providing support are Nathaniel Velasco’s Transprint Corporation, Tony Tan’s Uratex Foam and Shelltex Bed, and Detdet Fernando’s Siomai House.

Multi-awarded racemare Gentle Strength of lawyer Benhur Abalos topbills the 2,000-meter MARHO —San Miguel Corporation Classic, which also features Hot and Spicy, Kanlaon, and Lakan.

The MARHO Cup—Santa Ana Park 3YO Colt Mile showcases the talents of Pinagtipunan, Son Also Rise, Tapped It, and Underwood.

Lady Pio, Leave It To Me, Real Flames, Since When, and This Time will battle it out in the MARHO Cup—PCSO 3YO Filly Mile.

The MARHO Cup—Philracom 2YO Juvenile Colts and Fillies (1,300 meters) will see action from Aerotap, Batang La Paz, Changes,

and Stravinsky.

The Juvenile races have been merged and the Sprint will not be held this year. *** Will there be a rematch between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather?

Pacquiao may have hinted as much in an Instagram photo he posted the other day that shows images of himself and Mayweather screen-printed on the lining of his blazer. That, or another project is in the works.

So is Manny cooking up another boxing event, so soon after his Nov. 5 defeat of Jessie Vargas to win the World Boxing Organization welterweight title?

Mayweather was in the audience to watch Pacquiao in his comeback fight, and said he went there to accompany his daughter. But he congratulated Manny after the latter climbed the ropes to smile at

Mayweather in his ringside seat.

Pacquiao said, “Thank you,” and grinned.

Pacquiao, however, refused to be drawn by speculative questions and said that he would be willing to fight anyone who came forward. One of the names touted as a possible challenger was Terence Crawford, but Pacquiao would have to move down to 140 to fight him.

So something is in the works, but we’ll have to wait and find out what it is.

Meanwhile, would it be too much to ask Pacquiao to do more work as a senator? That’s a full-time job in itself! *** My latest book, Fictionary, a collection of sixteen new and awardwinning stories, was released last Nov. 3 by University of Sto. Tomas Publishing House.

The book contains works that have won the Nick Joaquin Literary

Award in consecutive years - “How I Spent My US Vacation” (2013), “Wolves I Have Known” (2014), and “Marry Me” (2015). “The Cups” placed in a contest. Several of the stories are set in a horseracing milieu. Half of the stories in this book have been published; the others are new for this collection.

My first book was Fire and Ice, a novel, published by Solar Books in 1993.

Fictionary will be available in bookstores six to eight weeks from now, or around late December. Meanwhile, it can be purchased directly from UST Publishing House: please call 406-1611 local 8424 and look for Paul, Val, or Carlo, or leave a message at the House’s Facebook page. *** Dr. Ortuoste is a California-based writer. Facebook: Gogirl Racing and Jenny Ortuoste, Twitter: @gogirlracing and @jennyortuoste, and Instagram: @jensdecember.

Eduard’s mentor said there were no surprises from Aoki who also executed his own game plan to the letter. With the victory Sangiao said he and his fighter are not about to relax.

“With great power comes great responsibility. Now that he has won the world title we have to think how he could maintain his condition. It’s difficult to keep in shape once you’ve accomplished something. We cannot afford to relax,” said Sangiao.

“We are not about to stop. We will continue to do our job. We showed that we could produce a world champion.

We want to do everything to maintain the standing of of Eduard.”

Sangiao said he considers Eduard a brother. That is why he is so happy for Folayang’s success.

“I can’t begin to express my feeling. We were almost in tears after the victory. This victory is for Eduard and the team. This is for the country as well,” said Sangiao.

“I was so happy. I couldn’t believe what just happened. After the win I just looked up and thanked the Lord. This is God’s promise. But you can’t just rush things. If you work hard and pray, God will grant you his blessings in his own perfect time,” said Folayang.

Team PH ready for Asia tilt TEAM Philippines kicks off its campaign in the 2016 Asia-Pacific Senior Amateur Championship beginning today, Wednesday, Nov. 16, hoping to gain an early boost and momentum with a strong start at the Alabang Golf Club in Muntinlupa.

Benjie Sumulong, Mari Hechanova, Richie Garcia, Abe Avena, Rolly Viray and Alan Alegre try to bank on their local knowledge of the tricky layout in their bid to break into a projected Australia-New Zealand title clash and reclaim the crown the country won when it last hosted the event at Mt. Malarayat in 2007.

Sumulong spearheads the host’s drive at 9 a.m. against David Cherry of Australia, Tomio Otomo of Japan and Yangkwon Kim of Korea while Hechanova joins Gordon Claney of Australia John Ball of Hong Kong and Michael Barltrop of New Zealand in the 9:10 a.m. flight.

Garcia tees off next at 9.20 a.m. against Lionel Berruti of Switzerland, Ian Frost of Australia and Andrew Mc Kechnie of New Zealand, while Avena launches his bid against Amith Luthra of India, Frank Borren of New Zealand and Kab Soo Lee of Hong Kong at 9:30 a.m.

Viray slugs it out with Anthony Taylor of Hong Kong, Willie Ong of Singapore and Sanjay Kolhatkar of India at 9:40 a.m. while Alegre anchors Team Phl’s campaign against Kuwalkii To of Hong Kong, Muhammad Khan of Pakistan and Dadi Toka of Papua New Guinea at 10:20 a.m.

With the format shifting from threeto-play, two-to-count, when the Phl reigned at Malarayat, to six-to-play, four-to-count format, the hosts feel to have the edge owing not only to their skills and talent but also to their familiarity with the layout.

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+

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

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016

Adamson to decide UAAP standings

By Peter Atencio THE Adamson Soaring Falcons will have an opportunity to create mayhem in the tightening race for the best Games Today (at the MOA Arena) seats of the Fi2 p.m. UE vs FEU nal Four semi4 p.m. Adamson vs Ateneo finals of the 79th University Athletic Association of the Philipines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament.

This is what’s going to happen if the Soaring Falcons prevail in their 4 p.m. showdown with the Ateneo Blue Eagles at the Mall of Asia Arena.

If Adamson wins by 30 points or less, and the defending champion Far Eastern University Tamaraws prevail in their 2 p.m. match with the University of the East then Ateneo-Adamson playoff for the no. 2, seeding will take place.

On the other hand FEU will take the fourth seed.

In another scenario, if Adamson wins by 31 points or more, and FEU wins, an FEU-Adamson playoff for the no. 2 happens, and Ateneo settles for the no. 4.

Coach Franz Pumaren is aware of the scenarios that can happen, and is hopeful that his players can give the Blue Eagles a good fight.

“Basically, Ateneo is playing well.

They have a new aura. They are very confident. Hopefully, we can give them a good fight that the fans can enjoy,” remarked Pumaren.

Last Sunday, the Soaring Falcons, led

by Pappi Sarr with 22 points and 15 rebounds, continued their push for their best finish in many seasons, trouncing the National University Bulldogs, 77-53.

Their fourth straight win handed the Soaring Falcons their eighth triumph in 13 outings, and this put them in a share of third with the Tams.

The Blue Eagles are on a five-game winning streak and are in second at 9-4.

If Ateneo wins and FEU is victorious also, Ateneo will take no. 2 position, while FEU is no. 3 Adamson is no. 4 Blue Eagle coach Tab Baldwin said he is aware of the many expectations coming into their game with Adamson.

“I think we understand that the expectations have begun to escalate a bit,” said Baldwin.

Sports San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (2) drives to the basket during the game against the Miami Heat on November 14 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. AFP

Leonard pushes Spurs past struggling Heat, 94-90 L OS ANGELES—Kawhi Leonard finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs won their second straight game at home with a 94-90 victory over the Miami Heat on Monday.

Leonard had five points in a key stretch in the fourth quarter as the Spurs sent the Heat to their fifth consecutive loss in front of a crowd of 18,400.

The Spurs led 86-81 with 2:22 to play after seven con-

secutive points in a minuteand-a-half span by the Heat’s Dion Waiters.

But Leonard hit a free throw, reserve guard Patty Mills added two more free throws, and forward LaMarcus Aldridge

grabbed a key offensive rebound to power the Spurs to a rare home victory.

The Spurs have struggled at the AT&T Center this year, losing their first three home games of November.

San Antonio made five of its six free throw attempts in the final minute.

“Miami is a team that gets after it -- they play physical; that’s their style,” Spurs center Pau Gasol said.

“You have to play through

contact. You have to know who you’re playing against and adapt and match their aggressiveness and try to hurt them with execution.

“They did their job and we did ours, and we won.”

Aldridge added 18 points and Gasol tallied 12 for San Antonio, who committed a seasonhigh 17 turnovers. Guard Tony Parker posted 11 points and Mills added 10 as the Spurs improved to 8-3 on the season.

“We lost focus in the third

Pacquiao teases public about Floyd rematch

Philippine boxing icon Manny Pacquiao talks to members of the media, shortly after arriving from the US at the Manila airport. Pacquiao has teased fans about a possible rematch with Floyd Mayweather by showing off a suit with pictures of himself and Mayweather on the lining. AFP

BOXING icon Manny Pacquiao has teased fans about a possible rematch with Floyd Mayweather, smiling as he gamely showed off a suit with pictures of himself and Mayweather on the lining.

Pacquiao, 37, posted on his social media accounts Monday a photo of himself wearing the suit with his picture on the right side of the coat and Mayweather’s on the left.

“Like my jacket?”, Pacquiao, who was elected to the Philippines Senate in May, captioned the photo.

Pacquiao’s post, which had received 215,000 likes on Facebook by Tuesday, fuelled talk of “Pacquiao-

Mayweather 2” which began after he won the World Boxing Organization welterweight title from Jessie Vargas earlier this month.

Mayweather had taken up an invitation from Pacquiao to watch the Filipino multiple world champion’s Las Vegas comeback from ringside.

Pacquiao said after the fight that he was eager to avenge his 2015 loss to Mayweather in the richest fight in history.

“Not only for myself, but the fans of boxing want the rematch, then why not? We can easily talk about that it is not a problem,” Pacquiao said.

Pacquiao’s promoter Bob

Arum said last week a rematch was likely.

“I give it 75 percent,” Arum told ESPN. “Do I know it’s gonna happen? No. Do I know if Floyd wants the fight? No. I know nothing more than the public knows at this point and what I observed.”

Pacquiao’s camp said Tuesday, however, that talk of a rematch could wait.

“Boxing is not yet in his mind right now,” Pacquiao’s media relations chief Aquiles Zonio told AFP. “He’s focusing on his legislative works.

“It will be known by January when will be his next fight and who will be his next opponent.” AFP

Verstappen hailed for rain romp SAO Paulo, Brazil—Max Verstappen earned comparisons to Formula One’s greatest champions after his spectacular charge through the field to finish on the podium in Sunday’s rain-hit Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Dutch teenager was likened to racers who became renowned for their sublime skills in wet conditions such as Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, who won the race.

Nico Rosberg also impressed as he held steady to come second and the German will be crowned world champion with a podium finish in Abu Dhabi on November 27 as the season goes down to the wire.

Despite the Sao Paulo heroics of the Mercedes pair, plaudits in-

stead rained down on the 19-yearold Red Bull ace.

“Well, they don’t get much better than that,” said his Red Bull team chief Christian Horner. “I think what we witnessed was something very special.”

“You have to compare it to the great moments,” he said.

“You don’t often witness a motor race like that and I think what we saw was something very, very special.”

Verstappen was 16th after a late pit-stop but then roared back to third in a drive that turned the Interlagos crowd’s mood from carping misery to thrilled appreciation.

The fans who had booed and signalled with their thumbs down

when the race was paused for a second red flag, ended the three-hour contest drenched but thrilled by the flawless performance of Hamilton and the brilliance of Verstappen.

The signs had been there early on as the young Belgian recovered from a high-speed spin on his approach to the straight and narrowly avoided a collision with the wall.

He would later claim his instinctive piece of skill had increased his heartbeat, but provoked a different reaction from the pit.

“It almost necessitated an underwear change for most of us on the pit wall,” said Horner.

“But, again, he was extremely calm in the way he came on the radio… All afternoon, he seemed

Red Bull Racing’s Belgian-Dutch driver Max Verstappen powers his car through the rain-slicked track during the Brazilian Grand Prix at the Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo, Brazil. AFP

in control apart from that moment.”

Verstappen’s remarkable drive came just days after Horner had criticised rival Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff for telephoning his fa-

ther Jos Verstappen, suggesting that he request the teenager take great care not to become entangled in the duel for the drivers’ crown between the two Mercedes men. AFP

quarter with eight turnovers -- their pressure was good and we didn’t react to it very well,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

“We tried to dribble too much, the ball didn’t move around, and Miami got back in the game.”

The struggling Heat dropped to 2-7 on the season. Miami was led by Waiters’ 27 points while center Hassan Whiteside had 23 points and 17 rebounds and reserve guard Tyler Johnson scored 11. AFP

Suzuki Cup will attract thousands FANS numbering in the thousands are coming to watch the 2016 Asean Football FederationSuzuki Cup. They won’t be coming just from the Philippines. Spectators are expected to come from Bangkok, Singapore and Jakarta and are expected to fill up the Philippine Sports Stadium in Bocaue, Bulacan and the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium in Manila.

As thousands are expected go to the venues in buses, members of the Philippine Azkals national men’s football team are inspired and are expected to be at their best when they face Singapore in their opening match at 8 p.m. in Bulacan.

“The players are playing for flag and country. That’s why we expect passionate competition in all matches,” said Philippine Football Federation (PFF) general secretary Edwin Gastanes.

Gastanes talked about the coming tournament during yesterday’s weekly PSA Forum at the Shakey’s Pizza Restaurant in Malate, Manila.

The Azkals are in Group A, which is considered the “Group of Death.”

This is because the defending champion Thailand is in the same bracket with the Philippines, along with 2012 champion Singapore and semifinalist Indonesia.

Gastanes said the Philippine may have the highest ranked team in the region. Peter Atencio

Holding companies post higher net profits B3

Business

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

B1

OFW money hits nine-month high

By Julito G. Rada

M

ONEY sent home by more than 10 million Filipinos working overseas continued to rise in September, insulating the economy from global volatilities and fueling domestic spending.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said cash remittances grew 6.7 percent year-on-year to $2.383 billion in September, the highest since it reached $2.47 billion in December 2015.

This brought cash remittances

in the first nine months to $20 billion, up 4.8 percent from $19 billion a year ago. Remittances account for about a tenth of the gross national income.

Top countries that contributed to the growth in cash remit-

tances were the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Qatar, Taiwan and Kuwait.

“Remittances from land-based workers increased by 11.9 percent during the month, compensating for the 10.5-percent decline in sea-based workers’ remittances,” Bangko Sentral said.

It said the declining remittances from sea-based workers might be due to stiffer competition in the supply of seafarers.

Personal remittances, which include non-cash items, also rose 6.3 percent in September to $2.626 billion from $2.469 bil-

lion a year ago.

Remittances and BPO revenues provide steady inflows which boost private consumption.

Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the economy could withstand the adverse effects of protectionist policy of newly-elected US President Donald Trump, as the Philippines was beginning not to rely too much on western economies.

Trump said during the campaign period US immigration policies might be tightened and outsourcing activities reduced in a bid to bring back jobs to the US.

“Our economy does not rely on exports too much. That is why even during the crisis in 2008, we were not so much affected,” Dominguez said at the sidelines of a Senate budget hearing.

“We have declared that we are reorienting our economy towards Asia, and we are going to have less reliance on the West. I think that was very prescient of the president who gave that direction,” he said.

Dominguez, however, said he did not want to speculate about the future of the business process outsourcing companies operating in the Philippines, mostly Americans.

Farm output rose 3% in Q3

Dominguez said the BPO sector began to flourish in the Philippines at the time of US President George W. Bush, a Republican president.

“That is a Republican move, that was when the BPO sector flourished. But we have to see what makes sense. Is it more efficient for Americans to do it here or not?” he said.

Dominguez said the cost differential in doing BPO jobs in the US and the Philippines remained substantial. He said the depreciation of the peso versus the US dollar would even “make us more competitive.”

PSE COMPOSITE INDEX Closing November 15, 2016

8300 7840 7380 6920 6460 6000

6,857.15 14.33

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales FARM and fishery production, which accounts for more than a tenth of the gross domestic product, rebounded with a 3-percent growth in the third quarter after declining in the first two quarters, on higher crop harvests, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Tuesday.

The PSA said in a report despite the improved production in the third quarter, total agriculture output in the first three quarters was still down by 1.5 percent, compared to a 0.65-percent expansion registered in the same period last year.

Total value of production based on current prices reached P360.9 billion in the third quarter, higher by 7.3 percent than P336.3 billion in the third quarter of 2015.

The crops subsector which accounted for almost half of the total production grew 5.24 percent in the third quarter, from a 4.72-percent contraction a year ago.

Rice production increased 16.35 percent in the third quarter to 3 million metric tons of palay from 2.5 million MT in the same period last year.

Corn production also went up by 10.61 percent to 2.66 million MT from 2.40 million MT. Coconut production, however, went down 7.20 percent from 3.98 million MT to 3.69 million MT. The livestock sector grew 3.89 percent in the third quarter this year, on higher production of cattle, goat and dairy. The poultry sector grew 2.43 percent in July to September.

PESO-DOLLAR RATE

Closing NOVEMBER 15, 2016 43.00 45.40 46.60 47.80

P49.170

49.00

CLOSE

HIGH P49.050 LOW P49.270 AVERAGE P49.180 VOLUME 600.900M

P442.00-P662.00 LPG/11-kg tank

LGU BUSINESS SUMMIT. The European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines cites the need to make Philippine economic growth inclusive, as it announces the holding of LGU Business Summit on Nov. 22 at Marriott Hotel Manila in Pasay City. Shown during a news briefing ahead of the summit are ECCP vice president Henry Schumacher and assistant corporate secretary Gerry Constantino. Teddy Pelaez

PH targets billions from the Middle East

By Siegfrid Alegado and Clarissa Batino THE Philippines is training its sight on billions of dollars of investment from the Middle East.

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority, which oversees hundreds of industrial parks offering tax perks, is identifying sites that can stock Qatar’s oil reserves and land that can be planted with crops for export to the United Arab Emirates after receiving proposals, director general Charito Plaza, 58, said in an interview. The potential investment is billions of dollars, she said.

IN BRIEF PLDT announces leadership revamp PLDT Inc. on Tuesday announced another round of revamp among senior executives as it described 2016 a horrible year.

“This is the final revamp in terms of senior management. So this is your management team rise or fall,” PLDT chairman Manuel Pangilinan said.

The country’s largest telecommunication company said it implemented leadership changes in line with digital transformation pivot. Pangilinan would remain president and chief executive until his replacement was found in 2017. “For me, I would like to see some traction in terms of the revenues for PLDT in the course of 2017 and some improvements in core profitability and then that’s the time for me to let go if I can see that this management is on the right track,” Pangilinan said.

PLDT executive vice president Eric Alberto was appointed as chief revenue officer reporting to Pangilinan effective Dec. 1 while PLDT Global Corp. president Alex Caeg was appointed head of wireless consumer division sales and distribution of Smart.

Senior vice president Ray Espinosa was appointed chief corporate services officer. Ralph Burner was appointed chief customer experience and data analytics advisor; Jerry Braceas as chief information adviser; Liza Sichon as chief people and culture officer; Keith Walter, as IT transformation advisor of the business transformation office; Carlo Ople, as enterprise, international and carrier business digital marketing strategy head; and Joseph Nelson Ladaban as PLDT Group corporate-wide chief credit collection and churn management head.

Darwin G. Amojelar

“The Middle East market is untapped,” Plaza, a former lawmaker and a military reserve officer with a rank of brigadier general, said on Nov. 8 after a 12-day working trip overseas.

“With President [Rodrigo] Duterte’s independent foreign policy, we are now open to everybody,” she said.

The Philippines, which receives the lowest foreign direct investment among major Southeast Asian nations, is preparing swathes of land for manufacturing, tourism, farming and mining while areas for potential reclamation are also pinpointed, Plaza

said in her office in Manila.

Officials are readying a map by early 2017 to show investment destinations in each region, she said.

The recent investment roadshows included Qatar and Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Plaza said. The government plans other roadshows in untapped markets like Russia and Iran, she said. Companies operating in Philippine economic zones include American, Japanese, Taiwanese, Chinese and Dutch.

Duterte’s repeated attacks against the US are starting to scare some investors with the na-

“This was driven mainly by higher marketing margins, lower cost of sales and lower operating costs. Inventory holding gain contributed P1.193 bullion as of year to date third quarter 2016,” Pilipinas Shell said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

Pilipinas Shell’s income from operations also went up to P9.54 billion in January to September from P6.21 billion in the same period last year.

Net sales decreased 17.3 percent to P101 billion from P122 billion in the same period last year as a result of low global oil prices.

Cost of sales dropped to P82.48 billion from P106.76 billion.

Sales volumes dropped 1 percent to 4.377 billion liters in the nine month period from 4.443 billion a year ago. Pilipinas Shell’s retail volume, however, grew 4.2 percent, driven by differentiated fuel offerings, successful marketing campaigns and contribution of new-to-industry sites. Alena Mae S. Flores

Money market body seeks regulatory status

THE Money Market Association of the Philippines Inc., an umbrella organization of banks and non-bank financial institutions, has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission an application to operate as a self-regulatory organization for overnight index swaps/ MART said in its application filed with the SEC markets and securities regulation department on Nov. 4 that it planned to operate as SRO for the country’s overnight index swaps or OIS market.

An OIS is a fixed/floating swap, with the floating leg tied to a daily overnight reference rate. The term ranges from one month to one year.

According to MART, the OIS market was initiated as a tool to manage interest rates risks. The development of this market will enable the creation of a new PhP curve that will provide an alternative benchmark to the existing interest rates currently used by banks for funding or hedging short term PhP transacShell’s net income tions and potentially serve as the basis for pricing PhP denominated loans. climbs 91% to P6.4b The OIS market is envisioned to be an inter-bank over-thePILIPINAS Shell Petroleum Corp., the country’s second largest oil company, said Tuesday net income jumped 91 percent in the counter market under an SRO environment.

The SEC said it would view MART’s application. first nine months to P6.36 billion from P3.33 billion in the same Jenniffer B. Austria period last year.

tion’s electronics and semiconductor industry warning some American companies are holding off investing in the Philippines.

PEZA-approved investment fell 38 percent in the first 10 months of the year to 107.34 billion pesos ($2.2 billion).

Plaza, who campaigned for Duterte in elections this year, said she hasn’t received any complaints among foreign investors and assured that “no one is pulling out.”

“President Duterte has his own war against drugs,” Plaza said.

“We have our own war against unemployment and inequality.”

Bloomberg

P36.70-P45.40 Unleaded Gasoline

OPRICES IL TODAY

P27.40-P30.97 Diesel P28.50-P36.85 Kerosene Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Tuesday, November 15, 2016

F OREIGN E XCHANGE R ATE Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

49.1300

Japan

Yen

0.009227

0.4533

UK

Pound

1.249600

61.3928

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128896

6.3327

Switzerland

Franc

1.002004

49.2285

Canada

Dollar

0.738007

36.2583

Singapore

Dollar

0.706914

34.7307

Australia

Dollar

0.754500

37.0686

Bahrain

Dinar

2.652520

130.3183

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266724

13.1042

Brunei

Dollar

0.704424

34.6084

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000075

0.0037

Thailand

Baht

0.028216

1.3863

UAE

Dirham

0.272287

13.3775

Euro

Euro

1.073700

52.7509

Korea

Won

0.000856

0.0421

China

Yuan

0.146088

7.1773

India

Rupee

0.014755

0.7249

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.231214

11.3595

New Zealand

Dollar

0.709800

34.8725

Taiwan

Dollar

0.031304

1.5380 Source: PDS Bridge

Support Filipino Entrepreneurs

Do Your Christmas Shopping at the SikatPinoy National Trade Fair The DTI-Bureau of Domestic Trade Promotion is bringing the best products from all over the regions to Metro Manila at the 2016 SikatPinoy National Trade Fair, scheduled from December 7-11, at the SM Megatrade Halls in Mandaluyong City.

Just in time for the holiday shopping season, fair visitors will be able to find unique gifts and novelty items not readily found in the department stores.

There will be food, health and wellness products, fashion, jewelry, furniture, home décor, handicrafts, knick-knacks, collectibles, and other interesting gift items in this once a year shopping event. If you’re on the look out for those one-of-a-kind gifts that show both your good taste and high regard for the recipients, this is the perfect venue for you.

Themed “Piling-Piling Produktong Pilipino” the more than 200 exhibitors have been carefully chosen to reflect the best products from local SMEs from the country’s 16 regions. Corporations and other institutional buyers will be able to support local SMEs by shopping for corporate gifts from the exhibitors of the 2016 SikatPinoy National Trade Fair. For those who miss the taste of comfort food from the regions and want to have a taste of home for Christmas noche buena, there will be regional food delicacies at the fair.

The DTI-Bureau of Domestic Trade Promotion organizes national domestic trade fairs to provide Filipino entrepreneurs with a venue to showcase their products and expand their market presence. Aspiring entrepreneurs who wish to start on their own business ventures are also strongly encouraged to visit the SikatPinoy National Trade Fair to take a look at what the exhibitors are offering, and to be inspired by the SMEs who have been able to successfully set up a viable business.

For more information, contact the DTI-Bureau of Domestic Trade Promotion at telephone no. 751-3223, fax no. 751-3224, or email bdtp@dti.gov.ph. Please “Like” the Facebook page www.facebook.com/sikatpinoyfairs for updates on Sikat Pinoy events.

B2

Business

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Market extends losses; DMCI up Jollibee S earned tocks fell for a third day, as traders remained on edge over Donald Trump’s plans for global trade agreements.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, shed 14 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 6,857.17 Tuesday, the lowest in more than eight months. This widened the bellwether’s losses this year to 1.4 percent.

The heavier index, representing all shares, also dropped 7 points, or 0.2 percent, to settle at 4,163.33, on a value turnover of P7.7 billion. Losers outnumbered gainers, 112 to 72, while 42 issues were unchanged.

Eleven of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led

by DMCI Holdings Inc., the investment company of the Consunji family which climbed 6.4 percent to P13 and Nickel Asia Corp. which advanced 4.2 percent to P8.18.

Meanwhile, many trading floors in Asia have taken a hit recently over worries Trump will throw up tariffs to the world’s biggest economy.

His plans for huge spending and tax cuts at home have also fanned expectations the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates more sharply than initially planned, sending the dollar soar-

ing and fuelling an exodus from emerging markets.

However, after a two-day retreat on most regional bourses, there was a tentative recovery with Jakarta 0.5 percent higher and Bangkok added 0.2 percent. There were also gains of 0.7 percent in Singapore and a 0.5 percent rise in Wellington while Hong Kong gained 0.2 percent in the afternoon.

However, Tokyo was marginally lower, having surged more than eight percent to a ninemonth high since Thursday on the back of a rally in the dollar against the yen.

Shanghai was off 0.1 percent, while Sydney and Seoul each shed 0.4 percent.

are expecting further increases in volatility as markets attempt to second-guess the policies that might eventually come out from the US,” Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney, told Bloomberg News.

The dollar dipped back from a five-month high of 108.54 yen, but traders suggested it could test the 110 yen mark as soon as this week, with eyes on Fed chief Janet Yellen’s congressional testimony later this week.

The central bank is widely expected to hike borrowing costs next month but her remarks Thursday will be pored over for clues about its plans for next year.

“By all accounts, there appears “Risks are elevated, and we no stopping the US dollar’s re-

cent ascent based on the current interest rate trajectory,” Stephen Innes, senior trader at OANDA, said in a note.

And Takuya Kanda, a senior researcher at Gaitame.com Research Institute said: “The dollar is currently rallying on expectations only. But the policies Trump has called for are all dollar-positive. After pausing around 107 to 108, the dollar will resume its uptrend toward 110 yen by year-end.”

The dollar sank against higher-yielding currencies, with the South Korean won, Australian dollar, Thai baht and New Zealand dollar all well up. The euro rose after hitting an 11-month low of $1.0709 Monday.

With Bloomberg, AFP

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2016

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 47.55 26,500 94.35 1,728,050 110.7 2,572,320 1.28 15,000 37.6 84,300 16.56 255,300 19.02 278,600 0.65 320,000 1.89 21,000 691 300 0.76 2,125,000 75.6 2,655,820 0.81 18,000 14 400 21.9 15,300 55.4 36,260 265 820 144 320 35.65 165,500 207 490,110 1,601 1,430 74.5 90,940 1.31 209,000

1,258,880 163,126,457 285,267,120 19,200 3,193,740 4,230,670 5,319,030 211,310 38,430 207,690 1,634,350 201,025,372 14,720 5,600 335,080 2,016,393.50 212,430 43,786 5,906,650 101,019,868 2,292,430 6,777,515 273,440

1,183,085 -40,294,728 8,282,924 -382,175 -3,410,806.00 -4,433,642.00 -892,270 -83,119,075 -3,100 138,025.50 13,070 1,596,005 -12,361,346 -16,490 -387,400 -

42.1 3.64 0.88 1.36 19.28 0.196 105 11.62 16.04 160 22.8 24 59.6 89 2.02 7.03 12 10.9 6.6 7.02 5.2 1.76 21.75 63.3 12.58 16.8 6.04 1.75 208 83.1 2.08 31.2 25.9 14.26 275 0.26 4.54 3.11 9.32 3 11.28 2.09 5.72 1.42 68.2 3.63 224 4.4 4.02 0.141 1.61 168.4 4.5 2.01 1.09

INDUSTRIAL 42.9 1,355,700 3.73 512,000 0.88 945,000 1.36 308,000 20.7 115,700 0.196 300,000 105 120 11.62 23,798,100 16.14 1,368,800 160 70 23.4 330,100 24.1 17,200 60 153,520 89 170 2.03 236,000 7.12 1,060,400 12 27,500 11 5,641,300 6.64 310,300 7.02 625,400 5.2 18,137,400 1.76 5,000 21.75 1,644,300 64.55 240,180 12.58 12,800 16.84 46,400 6.06 130,800 1.75 756,000 208 2,605,300 83.1 30 2.08 70,000 31.3 5,137,500 26.95 187,700 14.4 2,796,800 275.6 99,250 0.26 10,000 4.54 7,000 3.19 4,829,000 9.32 1,399,000 3 1,000 11.54 6,600 2.13 2,099,000 5.87 132,200 1.44 1,455,000 68.8 1,433,000 3.7 205,000 224 12,250 4.45 268,000 4.3 38,000 0.141 1,490,000 1.61 65,000 170 2,575,630 4.58 6,000 2.01 3,517,000 1.09 186,000

57,931,215 1,921,910 836,120 420,540 2,435,651 59,160 12,600 281,490,788 22,071,144 11,200 7,691,660 421,645 9,447,441.50 15,378 477,810 7,554,259 332,694 62,094,976 2,067,269 4,407,451 94,887,257 8,800 36,420,350 15,455,559 161,270 779,950 791,414 1,342,060 564,040,832 2,493 145,600 161,621,300 5,056,100 40,451,172 27,380,092 2,600 32,100 15,544,650 13,183,470 3,000 75,460 4,403,400 764,895 2,066,580 98,831,416 755,250 2,748,828 1,186,100 159,220 210,710 105,880 437,984,996 27,080 7,211,150 205,210

-17,820,510 491,600 -37,622,954 7,453,058.00 -348,000 24,100 1,482,188.50 6,090 9,680 19,647,872 16,499 -1,080,974 -31,384,673 -507,750 -9,019,549 -524,588 638,677 21,000 -164,583,936 -138,808,980 -1,835,225 643,938 -4,085,288 -2,215,140 -3,517,824 2,891,100 57,300 24,634,311 627,700 2,244 -507,460 40,200.00 -72,634,789 -14,570 -

0.36 72.15 12.5 5.78 0.31 722 8.14 12.02 7.9 1,180 6 68.15 1.15 7.41 13.66 6.6 0.039 1.85 2.57 79.9 657 1.18 234 0.192

HOLDING FIRMS 0.36 1,420,000 73.6 1,959,100 12.5 5,073,100 5.85 12,100 0.315 590,000 723 1,067,430 8.2 2,268,700 13 18,083,900 8 101,400 1,206 260,160 6 30,600 68.15 2,776,960 1.25 38,563,000 7.6 771,200 13.78 2,457,000 6.61 24,342,000 0.039 100,900,000 1.85 1,494,000 2.58 14,000 80.2 153,200 660 316,260 1.18 88,000 236 8,800 0.192 1,010,000

513,400 144,118,985.50 65,166,722 70,266 187,650 776,311,780 18,583,486 233,993,854 811,080 314,006,955 185,250 191,310,793 48,347,530 5,836,100 34,079,798 163,273,866 4,108,700 2,768,670 36,070 12,308,950.50 209,144,390 103,840 2,076,058 199,920

-40,527,638.50 -9,582,318 -217,581,225 2,258,683 79,419,810 -54,330,255 -33,815,446 226,500 527,213 -2,220,328 -79,596,179 -41,000 3,115,269.50 -35,627,655 -

6,628,334 2,754,290 4,347 592,640 395,300 522,157,885 13,768,020 163,325 17,027,760 235,450 219,650 3,057,340 18,276,185.50 66,290 15,218,340 921,500 101,920 104,640 165,030,330 1,756,200 52,000 2,558,940 19,350

-1,539,851 22,400 23,200 -186,036,120 -2,405,560 -2,711,480.00 2,700 5,212,469.50 -1,485,590 95,000 25,832,880 -287,380 -

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

ASIA UNITED BANK PH ISLANDS BDO UNIBANK BRIGHT KINDLE CHINABANK COL FINANCIAL EAST WEST BANK FIRST ABACUS IREMIT MANULIFE MEDCO HLDG METROBANK NTL REINSURANCE PB BANK PBCOM PHIL NATL BANK PHIL STOCK EXCH PHILTRUST RCBC SECURITY BANK SUN LIFE UNION BANK VANTAGE

46.6 94 108.2 1.28 38 16.7 19.04 0.67 1.82 690 0.78 75.2 0.88 14 22 55.4 258 134.1 35.7 203.2 1,590 74.5 1.32

47.55 94.95 111.9 1.28 38 16.7 19.26 0.67 1.89 695 0.79 76.5 0.88 14 22 56.9 265 144 35.8 207.2 1,649 74.55 1.32

46.6 94 108.2 1.28 37.6 16.56 19.02 0.65 1.82 690 0.76 75.15 0.81 14 21.9 55.4 257 134.1 35.65 203.2 1,590 74 1.3

ABOITIZ POWER AGRINURTURE ALLIANCE SELECT ALSONS CONS ASIABEST GROUP BASIC ENERGY BOGO MEDELLIN CEMEX HLDG CENTURY FOOD CHEMPHIL CIRTEK HLDG CNTRL AZUCARERA CONCEPCION CONCRETE A CROWN ASIA DAVINCI CAPITAL DEL MONTE DNL INDUS EEI CORP EMPERADOR ENERGY DEVT EUROMED FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG GINEBRA HOLCIM INTEGRATED MICR IONICS JOLLIBEE LIBERTY FLOUR LMG CHEMICALS MANILA WATER MAXS GROUP MEGAWIDE MERALCO MG HLDG PANASONIC PEPSI COLA PETRON PHIL H2O PHINMA PHINMA ENERGY PHX PETROLEUM PHX SEMICNDCTR PILIPINAS SHELL PRYCE CORP PUREFOODS RFM CORP SPC POWER SWIFT FOODS TKC METALS UNIV ROBINA VICTORIAS VITARICH VULCAN INDL

42.1 3.65 0.91 1.38 19.5 0.197 105 11.8 16.04 160 23.3 25.9 62.2 94.4 2.09 7.2 12.1 10.9 6.72 7.05 5.2 1.76 22.2 63.3 12.6 16.8 6.05 1.81 231 83.1 2.08 31.2 25.9 14.26 277 0.26 4.7 3.25 9.6 3 11.54 2.13 5.88 1.42 69 3.63 224.6 4.47 4.05 0.141 1.64 168.5 4.5 2.1 1.11

43 3.8 0.91 1.4 21.75 0.199 105 12.08 16.58 160 23.5 25.9 62.2 94.4 2.09 7.2 12.16 11.06 6.75 7.15 5.27 1.76 23.25 65 12.6 16.84 6.07 1.82 231 83.1 2.08 32 27 14.7 278 0.26 4.7 3.25 9.6 3 11.54 2.14 5.88 1.44 69.4 3.7 224.6 4.47 4.3 0.143 1.65 171.6 4.58 2.12 1.2

ABACORE CAPITAL ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL ANSCOR ATN HLDG A AYALA CORP COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP METRO PAC INV PACIFICA PRIME ORION REPUBLIC GLASS SAN MIGUEL CORP SM INVESTMENTS SOLID GROUP TOP FRONTIER WELLEX INDUS

0.375 72.15 12.8 5.81 0.31 739 8.2 12.02 8 1,210 6.1 68.5 1.17 7.41 14.26 6.81 0.041 1.88 2.58 80 657.5 1.18 235.6 0.198

0.375 73.95 13.1 5.85 0.32 739.5 8.29 13.22 8 1,220 6.1 69.95 1.29 7.6 14.26 6.95 0.042 1.88 2.58 80.9 665 1.18 236 0.198

8990 HLDG A BROWN ANCHOR LAND ARANETA PROP ARTHALAND CORP AYALA LAND BELLE CORP CEBU HLDG CENTURY PROP CITYLAND DEVT CROWN EQUITIES CYBER BAY DOUBLEDRAGON EMPIRE EAST FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE IRC PROP KEPPEL PROP MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED PHIL ESTATES PRIMEX CORP PTFC REDEV CORP

7.2 1.14 6.21 2.3 0.29 32.15 3.15 5.05 0.58 1.15 0.146 0.54 52.5 0.74 1.74 0.94 1.05 4.36 3.72 0.142 0.26 3.15 32.25

7.21 1.15 6.21 2.3 0.3 32.75 3.21 5.05 0.59 1.15 0.149 0.55 52.9 0.75 1.78 0.96 1.06 4.36 3.84 0.146 0.26 3.15 32.25

7.12 1.1 6.21 2.22 0.285 31.15 3.08 5.01 0.56 1.12 0.146 0.54 50.2 0.73 1.73 0.94 0.99 4.36 3.7 0.14 0.26 2.97 32.25

VOLUME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

ROBINSONS LAND ROCKWELL SHANG PROP SM PRIME HLDG STA LUCIA LAND SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND

26 1.5 3.27 26.1 0.91 0.9 5.03

26.75 1.56 3.27 26.6 0.97 0.91 5.12

25.8 1.5 3.24 26 0.91 0.9 5.03

26.2 1.54 3.27 26 0.95 0.9 5.07

3,080,500 16,000 14,000 15,017,600 14,790,000 77,000 2,540,300

80,725,245 24,580 45,560 392,736,235 14,050,350 69,320 12,889,603

-27,303,185 1,580 53,373,635 2,225,347

2GO GROUP ABS CBN ACESITE HOTEL APC GROUP APOLLO GLOBAL BERJAYA BLOOMBERRY BOULEVARD HLDG CALATA CORP CEBU AIR CENTRO ESCOLAR DISCOVERY WORLD FAR EASTERN U GLOBE TELECOM GMA NETWORK GOLDEN HAVEN HARBOR STAR IMPERIAL A INTL CONTAINER IP EGAME IPEOPLE IPM HLDG ISLAND INFO ISM COMM JACKSTONES LBC EXPRESS LEISURE AND RES MANILA JOCKEY MELCO CROWN METRO RETAIL MLA BRDCASTING NOW CORP PACIFIC ONLINE PAL HLDG PAXYS PHIL SEVEN CORP PHILWEB PLDT PREMIUM LEISURE PRMIERE HORIZON PUREGOLD ROBINSONS RTL SBS PHIL CORP SSI GROUP STI HLDG TRAVELLERS WATERFRONT

7.64 45.5 1.3 0.55 0.047 5.01 6.5 0.073 2.79 104 9.98 2.4 954 1,440 6.15 12.24 2.13 14.96 73.5 0.0091 12 9.1 0.196 1.38 3.3 13.06 4.89 2 4.11 3.99 20.5 2.55 11.28 5.2 2.5 160 9.04 1,351 1.12 0.41 41.6 73.5 5.6 2.55 0.75 3.25 0.345

7.75 46 1.3 0.57 0.05 5.42 6.7 0.074 2.8 105 9.98 2.4 954 1,445 6.2 12.52 2.17 14.96 73.95 0.0091 12 9.14 0.196 1.39 3.31 13.06 4.99 2 4.28 3.99 20.5 2.59 11.28 5.3 2.5 160 9.08 1,408 1.14 0.41 41.6 74.5 5.75 2.57 0.78 3.25 0.36

7.64 45.1 1.3 0.55 0.046 5 6.45 0.072 2.7 104 9.95 2.4 954 1,400 6.12 12.2 2.1 14 72.15 0.0091 12 9.1 0.19 1.33 3.3 12.5 4.88 2 4.09 3.79 20.5 2.4 11.28 5.2 2.5 160 8.7 1,340 1.12 0.405 40.45 72.1 5.5 2.54 0.74 3.11 0.345

SERVICES 7.7 45.5 1.3 0.55 0.046 5.42 6.65 0.072 2.71 104.4 9.97 2.4 954 1,400 6.15 12.52 2.15 14.48 72.6 0.0091 12 9.12 0.193 1.33 3.31 12.5 4.99 2 4.1 3.8 20.5 2.4 11.28 5.2 2.5 160 8.71 1,340 1.14 0.405 40.9 72.15 5.65 2.55 0.77 3.11 0.355

86,800 35,900 1,000 511,000 40,700,000 18,100 11,505,600 20,950,000 1,040,000 336,990 3,400 4,000 20 166,665 111,200 100,200 1,173,000 13,600 1,292,280 27,000,000 100 566,500 6,330,000 287,000 5,000 300 155,000 39,000 3,546,000 13,021,000 700 1,771,000 1,000 7,300 5,000 350 771,800 182,475 6,164,000 210,000 2,330,100 1,559,480 130,200 1,830,000 10,688,000 968,000 220,000

663,705 1,636,155 1,300 281,730 1,915,100 96,320 76,224,083 1,524,570 2,852,550 35,222,246 33,888 9,600 19,080 236,216,750 683,151 1,243,674 2,501,570 192,926 94,185,365 245,700 1,200 5,165,623 1,218,520 384,800 16,520 3,862 763,560 78,000 14,742,980 50,213,420 14,350 4,358,220 11,280 38,100 12,500 56,000 6,823,033 249,523,025 7,022,190 85,800 95,733,510 114,295,719 728,245 4,670,360 8,147,730 3,064,070 78,200

-31,200 10,232,810 275,000 1,399,241 -172,854,375 3,752 6,036,260.50 -709,650 -238,920 2,612 182,650 -3,185,560 -3,371,710 13,950 35,200 38,862 10,010,185 1,166,240.00 -38,801,930 -36,064,792 11,220 499,860 1,256,800 -2,363,360 25,200

ABRA MINING APEX MINING ATLAS MINING BENGUET B CENTURY PEAK COAL ASIA HLDG DIZON MINES FERRONICKEL GEOGRACE LEPANTO A LEPANTO B MANILA MINING A MANILA MINING B MARCVENTURES NICKEL ASIA NIHAO ORNTL PENINSULA ORNTL PETROL A PX MINING PXP ENERGY SEMIRARA MINING TA PETROLEUM UNITED PARAGON

0.0034 2.88 5.16 2.3 0.57 0.405 8.91 3.9 0.28 0.2 0.197 0.012 0.013 1.75 7.85 3.05 1.04 0.011 7.98 3.62 122.3 2.98 0.0092

0.0035 3 5.18 2.3 0.57 0.415 9.05 4.1 0.29 0.2 0.197 0.012 0.013 1.75 8.2 3.08 1.05 0.011 8.2 3.7 125.3 3 0.0092

0.0034 2.86 4.85 2.18 0.56 0.405 8.88 3.66 0.28 0.195 0.195 0.012 0.013 1.69 7.85 2.99 1.01 0.011 7.98 3.59 122.3 2.98 0.0092

MINING & OIL 0.0035 76,000,000 2.93 150,000 4.95 1,435,600 2.18 10,000 0.57 134,000 0.415 1,390,000 9 110,200 3.75 12,347,000 0.28 160,000 0.195 6,780,000 0.196 2,080,000 0.012 100,000 0.013 800,000 1.71 515,000 8.18 19,936,900 3.05 167,000 1.01 108,000 0.011 25,800,000 8.17 601,400 3.6 2,476,000 124.3 149,840 3 3,000 0.0092 2,000,000

259,100 438,380 7,162,809 21,940 76,110 568,500 990,917 47,326,600 45,000 1,336,930 407,800 1,200 10,400 883,060 161,319,529 504,670 111,030 283,800 4,856,008 8,990,300 18,640,667 8,960 18,400

2,980 -685,055.00 2,295,740 -4,197,884 -278,214 -1,134,490 -7,573,992 -

ABS HLDG PDR AC PREF B2 DD PREF FGEN PREF G GLO PREF P GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF B LR PREF MWIDE PREF PCOR PREF 2A SFI PREF SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

45.8 540 104.9 121 532 6.1 1,021 1.05 110 1,091 2.3 77 81 77.5 78.5 80 79.5 77.5 78.1

45.95 540 105 121 532 6.1 1,021 1.06 110 1,091 2.3 77 81 77.5 78.5 80 79.5 77.5 78.1

45.15 540 104.9 120 532 6.1 1,020 1.05 110 1,090 2.3 77 80.5 77.5 78.5 79.8 79.5 77.5 78.1

PREFERRED 45.15 106,100 540 10 104.9 36,100 120 80,100 532 4,570 6.1 10,000 1,020 1,055 1.06 15,000 110 1,000 1,090 2,500 2.3 1,000 77 14,000 80.5 17,000 77.5 6,500 78.5 2,000 79.9 2,700 79.5 6,300 77.5 14,200 78.1 900

4,821,260 5,400 3,787,664 9,692,000 2,431,240 61,000 1,076,670 15,890 110,000 2,725,525 2,300 1,078,000 1,368,610 503,750 157,000 215,780 500,850 1,100,500 70,290

-2,432,345 -

LR WARRANT

2.31

2.35

2.3

WARRANTS 2.3 144,000

331,830

-

ALTERRA CAPITAL ITALPINAS XURPAS

2.99 3.67 9.7

3.02 3.84 9.83

2.84 3.66 9.38

2.85 3.66 9.45

4,010,480 308,590 18,386,342

-33,170 7,590 -2,836,311

FIRST METRO ETF

117

117.5

115.3

3,218,450

16,200

NAME

MS

PROPERTY 7.12 1.1 6.21 2.28 0.285 31.5 3.09 5.01 0.56 1.12 0.147 0.54 51.85 0.74 1.75 0.95 1.01 4.36 3.8 0.141 0.26 2.97 32.25

923,200 2,485,000 700 262,000 1,360,000 16,348,400 4,392,000 32,500 29,753,000 207,000 1,500,000 5,652,000 352,230 90,000 8,659,000 971,000 101,000 24,000 43,537,000 12,330,000 200,000 847,000 600

TRADING SUMMARY FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL HOLDING FIRMS

SHARES

11,110,461 88,794,975 206,403,312

PROPERTY

165,608,573

SERVICES

157,039,743

MINING & OIL

154,464,759

GRAND TOTAL

786,834,011

SME

1,393,000 84,000 1,905,900

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 115.5 27,690

VALUE 1,708.98 (UP) 8.80 784,448,044.00 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 10,893.49 (DOWN) 166.45 2,008,300,161.27 HOLDING FIRMS 6,986.32 (DOWN) 0.28 2,318,975,359.55 PROPERTY 3,004.72 (UP) 0.06 SERVICES 1,301.20 (DOWN) 10.02 1,275,497,279.44 MINING & OIL 11,750.29 (UP) 72.81 1,030,731,741.31 PSEI 6,857.15 (DOWN) 14.33 254,485,031.1756 All Shares Index 4,163.33 (DOWN) 7.59 7,698,366,315.23 Gainers:72 Losers: 112; Unchanged: 42; Total: 226

P4.38b in 9 months

By Jenniffer B. Austria Restaurant chain operator Jollibee Foods Corp. said Tuesday third-quarter net income rose 6.1 percent to P1.33 billion from P1.25 billion in the same period last year, led by strong samestore sales growth and expansion of store network.

Jollibee said in a disclosure to the stock exchange systemwide sales grew 12.4 percent in the third quarter to P36.32 billion from P32.3 billion in the third quarter of 2015.

It said on a worldwide basis, same-store sales grew 6 percent, while new stores contributed a growth of 6.4 percent.

Jollibee said in the first nine months of the year, net income jumped 13.8 percent to P4.38 billion, while systemwide sales increased 14.1 percent to P107.7 billion.

The fastfood chain opened 201 new stores in January to September, including 133 in the Philippines and 68 abroad.

“Sales of our businesses continued to be strong. We expect to end the year 2016 with the highest systemwide sales growth in five years and the highest organic growth in at least a decade driven by strong same-store sales growth and the highest store network expansion,” Jollibee chief executive Ernesto Tanmantiong said.

The Philippine business grew 14.1 percent in the third quarter, the US by 14.6 percent and Southeast Asia and the Middle East by 26.6 percent. China business declined 2.4 percent.

Operating income in the third quarter also declined 6.7 percent on higher expenses.

First Gen’s net income rises 42% to $170m

By Alena Mae S. Flores FIRST Gen Corp. said Tuesday net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company jumped 42 percent in the first nine months to $170 million from $120 million in the same period in 2015.

First Gen said in a disclosure to the stock exchange its newest natural gas-fired power plant―the 414-megawatt San Gabriel Flex Plant― booked an income from liquidated damages caused by its construction delay while Energy Development Corp. and First Gen Hydro Power Corp. both delivered higher earnings.

First Gen’s consolidated revenues from the sale of electricity decreased to $1.17 billion in the first three quarters from $1.4 billion a year earlier.

“Not only is power from natural gas competitivelypriced, it is also the cleanest among fossil fuels. Moreover, its operating capabilities are the most ideal for our consumer-dominated load profile. These plants were built specifically to serve our grid’s unique demand requirements,” First Gen president and chief operating officer Francis Giles Puno said.

First Gen said on a recurring basis, attributable net income in the first nine months was flat at $128 million.

Business Italian ‘ninangs’ on the rise WOMen power is on the rise not only in the realm of business and politics but crime as well, with more and more females emerging as the brains behind criminal activities. Just to be clear, we are not referring to the local scene where a female politician is being tagged as the ‘bilibid queen’.

Rather, it’s the alarming increase in the number of female mafia bosses – dubbed by the media as godmothers – who are invading the Italian mafia circles. These women are reportedly giving the carabinieri a lot of headache because they are turning out to be more scheming, brutal and calculating than men.

In Naples, there is this so-called Camorra clan where wives are taking over the turf of their husbands who have either been jailed or killed. According to reports, the number of women that are taking on more active roles in criminal activities in many parts of Italy are now 10 times higher than it was three decades ago – and they have no qualms about ordering murders to eliminate rivals or police authorities.

The Italian Ministry of Justice estimates that over 150 women are also locked up in jail. One of the notorious mafia godmothers is Giuseppa “Giusy” Vitale, the sister of Sicialn Mafiosi Leonardo Michele and Vito Vitale who took over when her brothers were incarcerated.

But since she is a women, she was initially excluded from meetings, although her brothers saw her as the logical choice to lead the family since she already knew how the family “business” operated and she was also privy to a lot of secrets. Over the years, she would be in and out of jail for a variety of crimes including murder.

It was in one of these jail terms that she met a pentito – someone who works with authorities – and began singing like a canary – not

because she suddenly had an attack of conscience but because she was worried about the future of her two children who were growing up without her and asking questions about the mafia –which she could not really answer. Giusy’s collaboration with law enforcers prompted her brother Leonardo to disown her, even reportedly putting a contract out on her for betraying the family.

Reports have it that she has been placed under a witness protection program and is now in hiding. It would appear that even in criminal activities, there is such a thing as equality between sexes. *** Still in Italy, a woman won the right to have her child follow her surname instead of her husband’s – with the local court defying the centuries-old practice of having children adopt the father’s surname.

The couple went to court because both the mother (Italian) and the father (Brazilian) wanted to give their child their surnames, which is the norm in many Latin countries. Following the rejection of this request by Italian authorities, the couple then elevated their case before the European Court of Human Rights that ruled in their favor, saying the old law violated the principle of gender equality that is enshrined in the Italian constitution.

The ECHR ordered the Italian government to have the law changed – something which has been languishing in the Italian Senate for many years.

••• For comments, reactions, photos, stories and related concerns, readers may email to happyhourtoday2012@yahoo.com. You may also visit and like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ happyhourmanilastandard. Cheers!

PAL hosts 60th Asia-Pacific airlines assembly AIRLINE chief executives of carriers based in the Asia-Pacific region will converge in Manila to discuss common concerns as Philippine Airlines hosts this year’s 60th Assembly of Presidents of the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines.

The two-day assembly will be held at The Fort Shangri-la Hotel, Bonifacio Global City on Nov. 17 to 18, 2016, with Transportation undersecretary

for aviation and airports Roberto Lim as guest speaker during the opening ceremony.

“The annual gathering of AsiaPacific air carriers provides the unique platform to synthesize our distinct responses to challenges peculiar to our region,” said PAL president Jaime Bautista.

According to AAPA, the Asia-Pacific region accounts for 32 percent of the total global passenger traffic and 40 percent

FOR MANILA STANDARD 1/2 PAGE

of passenger traffic.

Although airlines have been enjoying steady growth mainly due to increased passenger and cargo demand as well as low fuel prices, the region continues to confront such issues as terror threats, airport congestion, disease control, safety, government taxes, etc.

Last year, the assembly passed 10 resolutions covering safety oversight to consumer

protection.

“Asia Pacific airlines are well placed to confront challenges in the region while remaining at the forefront of industry product and service innovation... Aviation is widely recognized as a key driver of economic and social development, promoting travel and tourism, and facilitating the growth centers,” said AAPA director general Andrew Herdman.

B3

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Holding companies post higher net profits

By Jenniffer B. Austria

F

OUR major conglomerates on Tuesday reported higher profits in the first nine months of the year, amid strong domestic demand.

JG Summit Holdings Inc., the investment company of tycoon John Gokongwei, said net income climbed 44.4 percent in the first nine months to P23.2 billion from P16.1 billion a year ago, on solid contributions of airline and petrochemical businesses.

JG Summit said the increase was mainly due to the double-digit income growth of budget carrier Cebu Pacific which benefited from the drop in fuel prices and fuel hedging gains and the performance of its petrochemicals business which expanded significantly since the start of its integrated operations in November 2014.

GT Capital Holdings Inc., the investment company of tycoon George Ty, said in a disclosure to the stock exchange nine-month net income surged 46 percent to P12.3 billion from P8.4

billion a year earlier, boosted by robust performance of its automotive business and higher contributions from associates.

Cosco Capital Inc., the retail holding firm of billionaire Lucio Co, said net income grew 9.3 percent in January to September to P5.05 billion, as consolidated revenues rose 11.5 percent to P90.84 billion.

Lopez Holdings Inc., the investment company of the Lopez family, also booked a net income of P5.52 billion in the nine-month period, up by 27 percent from the same period last year on steady performance of subsidiaries First Philippine Holdings Corp. and ABS-CBN Corp.

The company’s unaudited consolidated revenues, however, declined 8 percent to P65.6 billion from P71.1 billion a year ago.

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

B4

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016

Business

Asia-Pacific leaders talk trade

L

IMA, Peru—Top world leaders will meet this week to chart a future for free trade— almost a dirty word in a world upended by Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election.

US President Barack Obama, China’s Xi Jinping, Japan’s Shinzo Abe and Russia’s Vladimir Putin will be among the leaders in the room in Lima, Peru for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit from Thursday to Sunday.

APEC summits, which gather leaders from 21 Pacific Rim

economies, are meant to forge unity on free trade in a region that accounts for nearly 60 percent of the global economy and nearly 40 percent of the world’s population.

But this year’s event may be unlike any other, coming on the heels of Trump’s shock win in the November 8 election.

The brash billionaire has un-

leashed deep uncertainty about the postwar world order with his attacks on free trade, immigration and the US role as “policeman of the world.”

By successfully tapping the anger of working-class whites who feel left behind by globalization, Trump has amplified a sense of malaise that began in June with Britain’s “Brexit” vote to leave the European Union—another shock victory for a populist politics of disillusionment with an increasingly borderless world.

President-elect Trump will not be at the APEC summit, but he may well be the dominant pres-

ence in the room.

“I think APEC will be about two things—huge questions about what a Trump presidency will mean for trade and work on all non-US pathways forward to advance free trade,” said Deborah Elms, executive director of the Asian Trade Centre in Singapore.

“The US has apparently chosen to hunker down, raise barricades and return to a glorious past of splendid isolation.”

It risks being an awkward summit for Obama, who will wrap up his final foreign tour as president in Peru after stops in Greece and

Germany.

Obama, who campaigned against Trump as “unfit” to succeed him, must now reassure colleagues that a Trump presidency will not in fact spell disaster.

Leaders will be looking for signals on the future of Obama’s much-vaunted “rebalance” to Asia and the Pacific.

American allies such as Japan and South Korea are worried the Republican president-elect will cut back the US military, economic and diplomatic presence in the region—leaving them exposed to a dominant China and belligerent North Korea. AFP

Chile’s cold south makes wine in warming climate

By Miguel Sanchez PUELO, Chile―A decade ago, no one would have thought of making wine in Chile’s windswept southern Patagonia region.

But now it is warming, and winemakers are seeking their fortune here while the country’s production falls overall.

Traditionally cold and wet, the region now has enough sunshine to grow high-quality Pinot Noir grapes.

“We have managed to make the grape mature,” says Sergio Subiabre, head of sales for Villasenor Wines.

“We can make a wine with the same characteristics, the same alcohol and sugar content, as one from central Chile.”

‘More flavors’ Chile’s central vineyards have for years been recognized as a source of decent wine.

The country as a whole is the world’s eighth biggest producer.

But its southern region was seen as too chilly and rainy― until Subiabre and others planted their vines on the remote banks of the Puelo River in recent years.

“We are surrounded by volcanoes and mountains. All that volcanic earth adds lots of minerals to the wine,” he says.

“That distinguishes it from wines from central Chile. Our wines have more flavors.”

Wine to China The company planted its first Pinot Noir vines six years ago.

It sold 1,500 bottles after its first harvest in 2014―all of them to China.

The vineyard continues to produce at that rate. The next

Enologists walk along the vineyard at Villasenor winery, where the “Puelo Patagonia” wine is produced, in Puelo, Los Lagos Region, Chile. Amid thousand-year-old woods and snow-covered mountains in the Chilean Patagonia, wine businessmen discovered an incredibly propicious microclimate for wine making where, due to climate change, there are unusual high temperatures and rainfall has decreased. AFP

batch has already been ordered in advance by Chinese and US buyers for $120 a bottle.

That is a lot for a Chilean wine.

“Chile has always had a weakness in that it is known as a producer of cheap wines,” says Maximiliano Morales, a wine marketing consultant.

But drawing on the fame earned by Patagonia’s stunning landscapes among tourists “generates added value,” he says.

Wine race Villasenor is now experimenting with Sauvignon Gris and Pinot Gris.

Vapers say smokers deserve alternatives NEW DELHI―Vapers called on the World Health Organization to allow the world’s one billion smokers to have equal access to safer alternatives to cigarettes.

Officials in closed-door meetings between the WHO and government health ministries in Delhi this week were considering banning electronic cigarettes, despite acknowledging they are significantly safer than cigarettes. They ejected vapers and consumer groups from their ‘public’, taxpayer-funded meetings on Monday.

Consumers fought back at a conference nearby. “On behalf of millions of us who now vape instead of smoke, and in support of the one billion smokers who deserve access to safer alternatives to cigarettes, we adopt today The Delhi Declaration, calling on the WHO and our countries’ representatives at COP-7 to allow us to have equal access to safer alternatives to cigarettes,” said Tom Pinlac, president of The Vapers Philippines.

E-cigarettes have been endorsed by the UK government as 95 percent safer than cigarettes. They are widely available in England, the USA and the EU, leading millions of smokers to quit cigarettes for good, according to a study published this month in the scientific journal Addiction. They have recently become the most popular way to quit smoking in Switzerland.

Ironically, it is Swiss-based WHO bureaucrats who are leading the call to clamp down on vape products. A report by an unnamed author at the WHO Secretariat in Geneva is the basis for this week’s negotiations.

Despite acknowledging that ecigarettes are “very likely ...less toxic than cigarette smoke” and that smokers switching to ecigarettes “would represent a significant contemporary public health achievement,” the report recommends banning or severely restricting electronic cigarettes, citing concerns about youth experimentation and the lack of clinical studies on longterm safety.

And other winemakers are following the trend.

“There has always been a race to produce wines in the south.

That has prompted many producers to experiment,” says Morales.

“Here we can see a genuine example of how more varieties of grape are adapting to the region,” he adds.

“New economic activity is being generated, precisely because of the rise in temperature.”

Climate change Scientists say Patagonia’s rivers have receded over the past

three decades and it now has more sunshine.

They say average temperatures have risen by two degrees Celsius. Just a decade ago, there was 30 percent more rain.

“In the Puelo River the water level has fallen due to a decrease in rainfall and less snow,” says Jose Luis Iriarte, a researcher at the IDEAL environmental institute at Chile’s Southern University.

Subiabre says the temperature in the area swings from 14 degrees Celsius (57 degrees Fahrenheit) to as much as 32 degrees

C in the summer, pushing grapes to quick maturity in the last few months of growth.

But climate change is not good for all winemakers.

Global warming is disrupting harvests in warmer climates than Patagonia―such as neighboring Argentina, Brazil and elsewhere in Chile.

That caused world wine production in 2016 to reach its lowest level in two decades, the International Organization of Vine and Wine said last month.

Production in Chile fell by a fifth overall. AFP

Jaguar unveils electric vehicle MONDAY at a private party in Los Angeles, Jaguar unveiled its first all-electric vehicle, the I-Pace Concept.

The four-door, five-seat SUV, which will go on sale in 2018, runs off a liquid-cooled 90kWh lithium battery pack that gets 220 miles of driving on one charge. Jaguar executives said the vehicle will produce the equivalent of 400hp and achieve 516 pounds-feet of torque.

This is the first all-electric vehicle Jaguar has produced, but not the first time the company has dabbled in harnessing electric power. Jaguar revealed the hybrid electric Project C-X75 concept in 2010 at the Paris Motor Show; the supercar could hit 60mph in less than three seconds and hit 100mph in less than six seconds—in theory, at least. Top speed exceeded 200mph.

While Project C-X75 was never slated for actual production, Jaguar says I-Pace will hit the market in nearly the same form in which reporters saw it today. The company hopes to tap into the electric vehicle market that hit a half-million sales globally last year, according to Jaguar press statements.

Hours before the official launch party, Jaguar design director Ian Callum led private press previews in LA and London, including a virtual reality presentation that allowed reporters to “look” all around its exterior and interior workings.

Hard details remain scarce, especially considering the lack of tactile feedback that VR provides, but the inside includes lightweight slim seats and a sport driving position for the driver.

The dashboard seemed to have touch screens and a relatively minimal aesthetic, with broad visibility on the sides and above the driver.

During the presentation, Callum described the I-Pace as having more in common with that precursor hybrid supercar than it does with conventional crossovers and SUVs. Magnetic electric motors at the front and rear axles of the car deliver all-wheel-drive-like traction and aggressive acceleration—the I-Pace will be able to hit 60mph in fewer than 4 seconds, which falls behind Elon Musk’s Tesla Model X P100D in Ludicrous mode but 2 seconds faster than the baseline Model X 75D. Thanks to the absence of a combustion engine and transmission tunnel running through the center of its body, the silhouette of the car is sleeker and lower than conventional SUVS, with increased interior space and improved driver visibility behind the wheel.

Bloomberg

Singapore home sales climb to one-year high SINGAPORE home sales rose to the highest in more than a year in October as developers marketed more projects on pent-up demand from homebuyers.

Developers sold 1,252 units last month, compared with 509 units in September, according to data released Tuesday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority. That’s the biggest monthly sales tally since July 2015, the data showed.

Developers launched 1,467 units last month in Singapore, more than three times the number in September. The largest sales came from the Forest Woods project by Serangoon Green Pte which sold 364 units of the 519 marketed. The Alps project by MCC Land sold 334 of 626 units launched for sale.

The surge in sales came even as Singapore’s government has been steadfast in its commitment to cool the housing market, maintaining real estate curbs rolled out since 2009. Singapore’s home prices and sales have eased since the government began introducing housing

curbs, with some of the strictest measures implemented in 2013.

The city-state’s home prices dropped for a 12th quarter in the three months ended Sept.

30, and residential values are down 11 percent from their peak three years ago. The existing stock of unsold homes may take three years to sell, according to Augustine Tan, President of the

Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore. In addition to the oversupply, home vacancy rates are at their highest in more than 11 years, Tan said in September.

Leaders in neighboring Hong Kong this month moved to cool property prices, raising the stamp duty to 15 percent for all residential purchases -- except for first-

time buyers who are permanent residents. Demographia last year found Hong Kong housing to be the least affordable it’s measured in 11 years of surveying large urban markets. Singapore, while by no means a cheap city to own property, ranked 27th on the list with its overall affordability score holding steady in recent years. Bloomberg

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016

C1

GREENHILLS RAREE-SHOW. San Juan City Mayor Guia G. Gomez joins officials of Ortigas and Co. Ltd., which marks its 85th anniversary this year, as the firm literally brings to light its Christmas Display 2016, an impressive mannequin show themed ‘One Life. One Story. One Fairytale’ at the Greenhills Shopping Center. Joining in the lighting ceremony recently are (lower photo, from left) Ortigas Malls assistant general manager Carlotta Soller, Ortigas and Co. chief operating officer Thomas Mirasol, Rosario Animated Display’s Loudette Rosario, Mayor Gomez, Ortigas Malls vice president Renee Bacani, Jimmy Ortigas, Maite Ortigas and children from CSWD-San Juan.

LGUs LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

Erap expands dialysis center

By Sandy Araneta

A

S THE number of kidney failure cases in the country rises, Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada on Tuesday provided another P38 million to fund the expansion of the dialysis center at the city-run Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center in Tondo.

Estrada said he hopes to provide free and quality dialysis treatment to more Manileños suffering from kidney illnesses

such as end-stage renal disease but do not have the financial means to avail themselves of the much needed procedure.

“Kidney dialysis is so expensive, and I worry a lot about the poor patients who do not even have enough money to eat, much more get such costly treatment.

I have ordered the expansion of the dialysis center at [the medical center],” Estrada said.

The key part of the expansion project is the acquisition of more dialysis machines to accommodate more patients, Estrada added.

Medical Center Director Dr. Luisa Aquino said the city government would buy 28 more dialysis

machines valued at P1 million each.

The district hospital, one of the six city hospitals renovated by the Estrada administration, presently has 26 functioning dialysis machines.

“In a few more months we will [already have] 54 dialysis machines. It is a priority project of Mayor Estrada,” Aquino said.

The acquisition of more dialysis machines, she said, will save more lives, as many kidney patients have not been able to get such treatment because of the high cost.

“In private hospitals, and in even in NKTI [National Kidney and Transplant Institute], I think it is P4,000 to P4,500 per session; small private hospitals charge around P2,000, so it is indeed very expensive,” Aquino pointed out.

At GABMMC, the procedure is given free to city residents as the expenses are shouldered by the city government, the hospital director added.

“All the patients with kidney problems in Manila need a dialysis center because it is some-

Moreno orders release of bonus

Novo Ecijanos warned of major flash floods CABANATUAN CITY—A top official of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has warned the people of Nueva Ecija against massive flash floods like the deadly 1991 deluge in Ormoc City that killed over 5,000 people.

This, in case of strong rains in the eastern portion of the province which could send debris cascading from the mountains.

“We will be counting dead bodies,” warned Noel Lacadin, chief of Geosciences division of the MGB regional office in Central Luzon.

Lacadin issued the warning during the two-day first geo-hazards summit sponsored by the MGB at The Podium special events center which ended here Saturday.

Lacadin said Palayan City and Cabanatuan have become susceptible to flash floods because

of the Dituhin creek in Barangay Calabasa, Gabaldon where debris could cause the water systems to overflow and create a run-off.

“There will be dead people just like in Ormoc,” he said, citing the Nov. 5, 1991 incident when Typhoon “Uring” brought heavy rainfall, generating flash floods within a three-hour span.

The rainfall was not absorbed in Ormoc City because it was deforested and poorly cultivated, triggering a large runoff that overwhelmed the Anilao– Malbasag watershed and rushed downstream to the city.

In just three hours, Ormoc was devastated with thousands of homes damaged or destroyed.

A total 4,922 people were killed in the city alone, with 2,300 perishing along the riverbank. Outside of Ormoc City, 159 people were killed across Leyte and Negros Occidental. Ferdie Domingo

NUTRITION HONOR. Party List-Rep. Anna Villaraza-Suarez (3rd from left) receives the Green Banner Award from the National Nutrition Council on behalf of Quezon Gov. David Suarez. The award is the highest honor given to local government units with excellent implementation and management of nutritional programs.

Cebu leads call for national protection of sharks CEBU CITY—About 100 Cebuanos, advocates, members of non-government organizations and fisherfolk joined the festive shark parade here Tuesday to call for the city’s commitment to protect shark species.

From Pasil Fish Market the shark parade participants in colorful shark costumes headed to Cebu City Hall. Cebu

City Mayor Tomas Osmeña immediately signed an executive order ensuring the protection of shark and ray species.

The announcement from the City Government means the whole of Cebu Island now has local ordinances that seek to protect sharks.

Cebu LGUs, along with environmentalists, scientists and interest groups, are

now calling for the protection of sharks and other marine species at a national level through the creation of interconnected ocean sanctuaries.

Vince Cinches, Oceans Campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia and co-founder of Save Sharks Network of the Philippines, said: “The decision of Mayor Osmeña is important as it turns the whole of Cebu into a

shark and ray sanctuary.

“This is a very welcome development, as we just concluded the country’s 2nd Shark Summit, where an agreement was made toward the protection of all shark and ray species. But our gains in Cebu and the implementation of the Cites listing will only work if we take this to the national level.”

PDIC urges creditors of closed rural bank to file claims ALL creditors of the closed Rural Bank of Luna (Isabela) Inc. have until Dec. 12, 2016 to file their claims against the assets of the closed bank either personally or by mail.

Creditors refer to any individual or entity with a valid claim against the assets of the closed Rural Bank of Luna and include depositors whose deposits exceed

thing they would be needing for a lifetime, about two to three sessions a week,” Aquino said.

According to the Department of Health, there are 130 per million-population suffering from kidney failure each year or about 120,000 cases, or about 10- to 15 percent increase per year.

Upon assumption to office in 2013, Estrada put up the dialysis center at GABMMC. Last April, he also put up a state-of-the-art Eye Care Center at the same hospital for vision-impaired patients.

the maximum deposit insurance coverage of P500,000.

The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. said in a statement that creditors and depositors with uninsured deposits may file their claims personally at the PDIC Receivership and Bank Management Department IV, 5th Floor, SSS

Bldg., 6782 Ayala Avenue corner V.A. Rufino St., Makati City.

Meanwhile, all claims filed by mail must be addressed to Mr. Edzel D. Aurelia, Deputy Receiver, and sent to the same address.

A sample Claim Form against the assets of the closed bank may be down-

loaded from the PDIC website, www. pdic.gov.ph.

As statutory Receiver, the PDIC is mandated to disallow claims filed after said date.

Creditors’ recourse is to file their claims with the Liquidation Court within 60 days from receipt of the final notice of denial of claim.

CAGAYAN DE ORO—City Mayor Oscar Moreno has ordered the release of the yearend bonus to all city government employees.

Moreno issued a memorandum directing City Administrator Dionnie Gersana, City Budget officer Percy Salazar, City Accountant Beda Joy Elot and City Treasurer Glenn Banez to start the processing of the payroll for this.

The city government has more than 1,000 employees, both regular and job order status.

Moreno said the city government is taking proactive steps in assuring it is able to respond to its mandatory responsibilities towards its employees.

Earlier in June this year, Moreno also ordered the release of mid-year bonus equal to one month salary.

Moreno said the year-end bonus to all its employees will also be equivalent to one month salary and was expected to be released starting Tuesday.

“This will apply to all city government officials and employees—both regular and job order status,” Moreno said.

“I just hope the bonus will help our employees,” Moreno said.

Meanwhile, after failing to bag the coveted Seal of Good Local Governance from the Department of the Interior and Local Government this year, the city government will strive to do more in 2017.

Gersana said failing to bag the Seal of Good Governance is not a setback for the city but a challenge to do better next year.

Lance Baconguis

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Manila

Standard

Republic of the Philippines

TODAY ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City

IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION FOR AUTHORITY TO DEVELOP, OWN AND/OR OPERATE DEDICATED POINT-TOPOINT FACILITIES TO CONNECT THE ATIMONAN ONE ENERGY COALFIRED POWER PLANT TO THE NEW PAGBILAO SUBSTATION OF THE NATIONAL GRID CORPORATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (NGCP) WITH PRAYER FOR PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY

Pabgilao Substation. The connection facility under this option will consist of a 500 kV transmission line and 230 kV transmission line. As with Option 2, under this option, the New Pagbilao Naga transmission line will be split at the tapping point so that the 500 kV line from the A1E CFPP will connect directly to the Tayabas Substation side of the Naga - Tayabas line and the 230 kV line from the A1E CFPP to connect directly to the Naga Substation side.

A 500/230 kV transformer must be installed to link both voltage levels.7 The following is the configuration for this connection option:8

ERC CASE NO. 2016-013 MC ATIMONAN ONE ENERGY, INC. (A1E), Applicants.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES: On 19 May 2016, Atimonan One Energy, Inc. (A1E) filed an application for authority to develop, own, and/or operate dedicated point-to-point limited transmission facilities to connect the Atimonan One Energy Coal - Fired Power Plant to the New Pagbilao Substation of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), with prayer for the issuance of provisional authority.

In support of the said application, A1E alleged the following:: THE APPLICANTS 1. A1E is a corporation duly organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the Republic of the Philippines with office address at 8th Floor Rockwell Business Center Tower 1, Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City.

A copy of A1E’s Certificate of Incorporation, Articles of Incorporation, Certificate of Filing of Amended Articles of Incorporation, Amended Articles of Incorporation, By-Laws, General Information Sheet, and latest audited financial statement are hereto attached and made integral parts hereof as Annexes “A,” “B,” “C”, “D,” “E,” “F,” and “G,” respectively.

2. A1E may be served with orders and other processes of this Honorable Commission through the undersigned counsel.

NATURE OF THE APPLICATION 3. This Application is submitted to this Honorable Commission pursuant to Section 9(f) of Republic Act No. 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (“EPlRA”)1, Rule 5, Section 5 (a)(i)2 of the EPIRA Implementing Rules and Regulations, and Section 4.2 of Resolution No. 16 Series of 2011, or the Resolution Adopting the Amended Rules on the Definition and Boundaries. of Connection Assets for Customers of Transmission Provider3 for its consideration and approval of A1E’s proposed development, construction, ownership and/or operation of an approximately twenty three (23) kilometers, 500 kV, bundle of four (4), 795 MCM ACSR conductor, double circuit, steel tower transmission line (the “Dedicated Transmission Facility Project”) which shall connect A1E’s 2x600 MW Coal-Fired Power Plant (the “A1E CFPP”) to the 500 kV Switchyard of the New Pagbilao Substation of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (“NGCP”).

STATEMENT OF FACTS 4. A1E was originally incorporated as the Luzon Natural Gas Energy Corporation on 11 January 2013 until the amendment of its corporate name on 8 October 2014 to Atimonan One Energy, Inc. (earlier defined as “A1E”).

5. Under its Articles of Incorporation, as amended, A1E’s primary corporate purpose is “to develop, design, acquire, build, construct, erect, assemble; commission, install, own, maintain, operate, rehabilitate and manage all necessary and convenient facilities, plants, buildings, structures, equipment, machineries, sub-stations, transmission lines, poles, wires, and other properties used in the generation, delivery and/ or transmission of electricity, including but not limited to natllral gas-fired power generating plants, gas receiving terminal, regasification facility, gas-turbine and other plants andfacilities used in connection therewith; and to carryon the general business ofgeneration, delivery and/or transmission of electric energy and other sources for lighting and power purposes and wholesale ofelectricity to power companies, distribution utility companies, electric cooperatives, retail electricity suppliers, aggregators, and other customers to such extent, and in such manner as may be permitted by applicable law and reglliations; and to enter into contracts either alone or jointly with other companies or persons for ‘the purpose of carrying out the foregoing.”

6. In consonance with the foregoing purpose, the A1E CFPP involves the development, construction, operation, and maintenance of a 2x600 Megawatt (“MW”) Coal-Fired Power Plant located in Brgy. Villa Ibaba, Atimonan, Quezon Province. The project entails the construction of two (2) high-efficiency 600 MW units for a total net generating capacity of 1200 MW and which is projected for completion by 2021.

7. In accordance with the agreed connection scheme with the NGCP, the A1E CFPP will directly connect through the Dedicated Transmission Facility Project to the 500 kV Switchyard of the New Pagbilao Substation which the NGCP will construct.

8. As agreed with NGCP, the A1E CFPP will be connected to the NGCP’s Luzon Grid through the construction of a 500 kV Radial Connection to the New Pagbilao Substation. This proposed project, subject of the instant Application, involves the construction of a Dedicated Transmission Facility Project which is a twenty three (23) kilometer, 500 kV, bundle of four (4), 795 MCM ACSR conductor, double circuit, steel tower transmission line.

9. The configuration of this connection is shown as follows:

The conducted System Impact Study captures the NGCP’s recommended connection scheme and grid reinforcement as indicated in ‘Option A. Radial connection to NGCP’s New Pagbilao substation’ for the interconnection of the 2x600 MW Atimonan CoalFired Power Plant together with the committed and other proposed power plants in Quezon province. As mentioned in the discussions of Option A page 18 of the SIS report, ‘This option is intended if NGCP decides to construct the New Pagbilao Substation at 500 kV and 230 kV.’”

A more detailed description of the Dedicated Transmission Facility Project is hereto attached and made an integral part hereof as Annex “H.” 11. On January 2015, EAGLEngineering Solutions Corporation (“ESC”) performed a System Impact Study (“SIS”) to determine the impact of connecting the A1E CFPP to NGCP’s transmission system. The SIS recommended the interconnection of A1E. CFPP via a radial connection to the NGCP’s New Pagbilao Substation.

12. Three (3) connection schemes were considered for the interconnection of the CFPP to the Grid, namely; 12.1. A 500 kV Radial Connection to NGCP’s New Pagbilao Substation (“Option A”); 12.2. A Bus-In connection between New Pagbilao-Naga Transmission· Line with lines going to the New Pagbilao Substation at 500 kV and lines going to the Naga Substation at 230 kV (“Option B”); and 12.3. A Bus-In connection between Tayabas - Naga Transmission line with lines going to the Tayabas Substation at 500 kV and lines going to the Naga Substation at 230 kV (“Option C”) as an interim connection only.

12.4. With respect to Option A, it was found that this option is best if the NGCP decides to construct the New Pagbilao Substation at 500 kV and 230 kV. The configuration for this option was shown above.4 12.5. With regard to Option B, this is preferred if the NGCP decides to construct the New Pagbilao Substation as a 500 kV substation.

The connection facility will consist of 500 kV transmission line (8 km, 500 kV bundle of four (4), 795 MCM ACSR conductor, double circuit, steel towers). The New Pagbilao - Naga transmission line will be split at the tapping point so that the 500 kV Substation and the 230 kV line from the power plant to connect directly to the Naga Substation side of the New Pagbilao - Naga line.5 The following figure shows the configuration of this connection option:6

12.6

As per the SIS, Option C is preferred if the NGCP does not construct the New Pagbilao Substation or as an interim connection if the A1E CFPP gets completed before the New

Projected Financial and Economic Cost Analysis Gantt Chart

“R”

Conceptual Engineering Design and Drawings

“S”

Online Application for A1E’s Environmental Compliance Certificate

“T”

Local Government Resolutions in support of instant Application

“U”

A1E Statement of Compliance

“V”

Compliance Plan

“W”

Summary of Compliance Plan

“X”

Department of Energy Power Outlook for 2015-2020

“Y”

Endorsement of the Department of Energy

“Z”

Affidavit in Support of Provisional Authority

24. Applicant A1E respectfully submits that the following facts and circumstances clearly warrant the issuance by the Honorable Commission of a provisional authority or interim relief in the instant Application.

24.1. The need for the electric power generated by the A1E CFPP is beyond question and a matter that this Honorable Commission may take judicial notice of. Thus it is in the interest of the government to help A1E to achieve commerciality and commence operations at the soonest practicable time. Needless to state, the construction of the dedicated point-to-point transmission facility is a pre-requisite for the testing and commissioning, and ultimately, the commercial operations of A1E CFPP. Thus, a provisional authority urgently needed to prevent the projected insufficiency of electric power in the affected area.

A detailed discussion of the foregoing is provided in the SIS, a copy of which is hereto attached and made an integral part hereof as Annex “I.” A copy of the RTSIS is hereto attached and made an integral part hereof as Annex “J.” A summary of the Connection Options of A1E are attached hereto and made an integral part hereof as Annex “K.”

24.2. Moreover, the A1E CFPP will utilize high efficiency supercriticalpressure pulverized coal-fired boiler technology that will use .coal from Indonesia and/or Australia as main fuel to produce power.

State-of-the-art air pollution control devices such as electrostatic precipitator, seawater flue gas desulfurizer, and low NOx burners will be installed in the plant to comply with Philippine DENR standards. The sooner the A1E CFPP is operational, the sooner it can augment existing power supply to the Luzon grid.

14. It is well to note that the NGCP. has already filed with this Honorable Commission an Application for the New Pagbilao Substation entitled “In the Matter of the Application for the Approval of the Pagbilao EHV Substation Project with Prayer for the Issuance of a Provisional Authority,” docketed as ERC Case No. 2015-078 RC. In the said Application, the NGCP specifically stated in part:

24.3. To be sure, the issuance of a provisional authority by this Honorable Commission will enable A1E, to immediately start with the construction of the transmission facility, thus preventing any delay in the commercial operations of A1E CFPP. In fact, the A1E CFPP is included in the Department of Energy’s (“DOE”) Power Outlook for 2015-2020 and forms part of the recognized power projects of the DOE as presented to the Senate Committee on Energy.13

“5. Four (4) new power plants will be constructed in the Quezon province starting 2015, namely: 420 MW Pagbilao CFPP Expansion; 500 MW San Buenventura Power Ltd. Co. (SBPL) CFPP; .

3X200 MW Energy World Corporation (EWC) CombinedCycle Power Plant (CCPP); .and 1,200MW Atimonan CFPP.

A copy of the DOE Power Outlook for 2015-2020 is attached hereto as Annex “X” as well as the endorsement of the Department of Energy, a copy of which is attached hereto and made an integral part hereof as Annex ‘’Y.’’

6. These incoming power will have a total capacity of 2,720MW. However, the existing transmission facility at the Tayabas 500/230 kV Substation cannot accommodate this additional capacity. Thus, NGCP proposes the implementation of the proposed Project in order to accommodate the incoming power plants.” (Emphasis ours.)

A copy of the Affidavit executed by Angelito Lantin and Daniel Neil in support of the prayer for issuance of provisional authority is hereto attached and made an integral part hereof as Annex “Z.”

15. In a Letter dated 25 August 2015, NGCP informed A1E that it was technically feasible to connect the CFPP to the Luzon Grid. The Facilities Study on the Dedicated Transmission Facility Project was subsequently approved by the NGCP as evidenced by its letter dated 11 March 2016.

24.4. Considering the foregoing, there is clear and sufficient basis that the issuance of a provisional authority or interim relief pending the issuance of a final order or decision in the instant Application is imperative.

A copy of the Letter dated 25 August 2015 is hereto attached and made an integral part hereof as Annex “L.” The letter from the NGCP dated 11 March 2016 approving the Facilities Study for. the Dedicated Transmission Facility Project is likewise attached and made an integral part hereof as Annex “M.”

25. In view of all the foregoing, Applicant respectfully submits the instant Application for the Honorable Commission’s urgent and utmost consideration.

16. Based on the 2014-2015 Transmission Development Plan (“TDP”) of NGCP, the A1E CFPP is included in the List of Luzon Generation Capacity Addition9 and is considered in the Proposed Transmission Projects for 2016-2025.10

WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is respectfully prayed to the Honorable Commission that:

PRAYER

1. An Order be issued granting provisional authority for the implementation of the development, ownership and/or operation of the dedicated pointto-point facilities by A1E to connect to the transmission system of NGCP; and

A copy of the 2014-2015 TDP are hereto attached and made an integral part hereof as Annex “N.”11 17. The estimated cost of the transmission line reflected in the total capital investment, based on a twenty-three (23) kilometer transmission line, is equivalent to PhP1,706,681,095.58. It should be emphasized that the switchyard on the high side portion of the Dedicated Transmission Facility Project is owned by A1E. A copy of the Project Cost Estimates is hereto attached and made an integral part hereof as Annex “O.” A copy of the Projected Financial and Economic Cost Analysis of the A1E CFPP is attached hereto and made an integral part hereof as Annex “P.” 18. A1E has a proposed timeline for the completion of the Dedicated Transmission Facility Project. A copy of the Gantt Chart illustrating such timeline is hereto attached and made an integral part hereof as Annex “Q.” A copy of the Conceptual Engineering Design and Drawings are hereto attached and made an integral part hereof as Annex “R.” 19. A1E has likewise submitted an Application with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (“DENR”), through its internet based tool, for the issuance of an Environmental Compliance Certificate (“ECC”) for the Dedicated Transmission Facility Project. Copies of the documents evidencing such submission with the DENR are hereto attached and made an integral part hereof as Annex “S” and series.

20. A1E likewise respectfully manifests that it is in the process of securing the following documents pertinent to instant Application:

10. The Dedicated Transmission Facility Project is required only for the purpose of connecting the A1E CFPP to the New Pagbilao Substation of NGCP and will be used solely by the A1E CFPP.

“P” “Q”

23. Under Rule 14 of the ERC Rules of Practice and Procedures, the Honorable Commission is authorized to issue a provisional authority or interim relief prior to a final decision in the instant Application, provided that the facts and circumstances alleged warrant such remedy.

“2.3 Recommended Connection Scheme - Option A

d.

Project Cost Estimate

ALLEGATIONS IN SUPPORT OF THE PRAYER FOR PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY

13. The SIS of ESC was submitted for evaluation to NGCP, which issued a Review of Third Party System Impact Study (“RTSIS”) in May 2015. In Section 2.3 of the said RTSIS, NGCP stated in part:

a. b. c.

“O”

20.1. A1E is currently negotiating with the NGCP regarding the execution of a Connection Agreement with NGCP for the physical interconnection of the generation and connection facilities of the A1E CFPP to NGCP’s transmission system. This is pursuant to the approval of the NGCP of the Interconnection Facilities Study as stated in the NGCP’s letter dated 11 March 2016.12 20.2. A1E has determined that the Meralco Industrial Engineering Services Corporation (“MIESCOR”) is considered a possible contractor to operate and maintain the Dedicated Transmission Facility Project. A1E undertakes to submit an Operations and Maintenance Agreement once it is executed.

2. After hearing on the merits, a Decision be rendered approving the instant Application.

Other reliefs just and equitable under the foregoing premises are likewise prayed for.

The Commission has set the Joint Application for initial hearing, expository presentation, pre-trial conference and evidentiary hearing on 29 November 2016 (Tuesday) at ten o’clock in the morning (10:00 A.M.) at ERC Hearing Room, 15th Floor, Pacific Center Building, San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City.

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 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. YAPTARUC, JOSEFINA PATRICIA A. MAGPALE-ASIRIT, and GERONIMO D. STA. ANA,, Energy Regulatory Commission, this 18th day of October 2016 in Pasig City.

20.3. A1E is also currently undergoing the bidding process for the Engineering Procurement and Construction (“EPC”) Contracts and cannot as of yet submit the copies of the EPC Contracts and the Secretary’s Certificate containing resolutions of A1E’s Board of Directors approving the construction of the transmission line and execution of the EPC.

ATTY. NATHAN J. MARASIGAN Chief of Staff Office of the Chairman and CEO

20.4. A1E also undertakes to file an Application for a Certificate of Compliance with this Honorable Commission.

20.5. A1E likewise attaches copies of the resolutions issued by the concerned local government units in support of the transmission line project of A1E as Annexes “T” and series.

21. A1E hereby undertakes to comply with the provisions of the Philippine Grid Code in relation to the operation of the Dedicated Transmission Facility Project as evidenced by the Statement of Compliance with the Philippine Grid Code, a copy of which is hereto attached and made an integral part hereof as Annex “U,” Compliance Plan, a copy of which is hereto attached and made an integral part hereof as Annex “V” and the Summary of the Compliance Plan, a copy of which is hereto attached and made an integral part hereof as Annex “W.” 22. In summary, A1E hereby submits copies of the following documents, which are either identified as Annexes above or are additional documents in support of the Application:

ANNEX REFERENCE

1

xxx (f) xxx A generation company may develop and own or operate dedicated point-to-point limited transmission facilities that are consistent with the TDP: Provided, That such facilities are required only for the purpose of connecting to the transmission system, and are used solely by the generating facility, subject to prior authorization by the ERC: xxx 2

Certificate of Incorporation

Section 5. Dedicated Point-to-Point Limited Transmission Facility of a Generation Company. (a) Subject to prior authorization from ERC, TRANSCO or its Buyer or Concessionaire may allow a Generation Company to develop, own and/ or operate dedicated point-to-point limited transmission facilities; Provided, That: (i)

3

Such dedicated point-to-point limited transmission facilities are required only for the purpose of connecting to the Grid which will be used solely by the Generation Facility, and are not used to serve End-users or Suppliers directly;”

Section 4-2. Connection Assets for Generation Customers of Transmission Provider “Connection Assets for Generation Customers of Transmission Provider include those assets from the last Single Mechanical Connection of a User System or Equipment of a Generator, at its Connection Point, to the last Single Mechanical Connection which is not shared with another Generator within the Grid. xxx “A generation company may develop and own or operate dedicated point-to-point limited facilities provided, that such facilities are required only for the purpose of connecting to the transmission system. and are used solely by the generating facilit:y subject to prior authorization by the ERC,”

4

DOCUMENT

“A”

“Section 9. Functions and Responsibilities.

See page 19 of the System Impact Study of 2 x 600 MW Coal-Fired Power Plant of Atimonan One Energy, Inc. (AlE) dated January 2015.

Likewise, see page 13 ofthe NGCP SIS Review Report which provides as follows: Recommended Connection Scheme - Option A The conducted System Impact Study captures the NGCP’s recommended connection scheme and grid reinforcement as indicated in “Option A. Radial connection to NGCP’s New Pagbilao substation” for the interconnection of the 2x600 MW Atimonan Coal-Fire Power Plant together with the committed and other proposed power plants in Quezon province. As mentioned in the discussions of Option A page 18 of the SIS report, “This option is intended if NGCP decides to construct the New Pagbilao Substation at 500 kV and 230 kV.”

“B”

Articles of Incorporation

“C”

Certificate of Filing of Amended Articles of Incorporation

“D”

Amended Articles of Incorporation

“E”

By-Laws

“F”

General Information Sheet

The potential constraint during N-1 contingency at the Taguig-Paco 230 kV corridor within Metro Manila was also identified.

The constraint is imminent when the existing and all the incoming power plants including the A1ECFPP in South Luzon, are at simultaneous dispatch. This problem will be addressed by the proposed Metro Manila backbone development project ofNGCP.

“G”

Audited Financial Statements

As regards the voltage assessment, no issues have been identified as a result of the connection of A1ECFPP.

“H”

Project Description

Using the network model provided by NGCP, the proposed power plant will contribute to the increase in the levels of fault current in nearby buses but is not significant to initiate upgrading ofthe existing power circuit breakers.

“I”

System Impact Study

“J”

Review of Third Party System Impact Study

“K”

Summary of Connection Options

Transient stability simulation results show that with the New Paghilao 500/230 kV substation constructed to cater the connection of A1ECFPP together with the other power plants in Quezon area, the system will remain stable and were able to regain synchronism for short circuit events that were cleared under normal and delayed fault clearing. During peak load scenario, only the outage of both two (2) 600 MW units of AlECFPP will cause the frequency to drop causing activation of an ALD (Automatic Load Dropping) relay. Furthermore, during off-peak load scenario, outage of one 600 MW unit will already cause a frequency drop ALD activation is expected.

“L”

NGCP Letter dated 25 August 2015

“M”

NGCP Letter dated 11 March 2016

“N”

Transmission Development Plan

The entry of the 2x600 MW A1ECFPP will involve the construction of a 23-km double circuit 500 kV line composed of 795 MCM ACSR conductors (bundle of four) on steel towers that will radially connect the AlECFPP to the 500 kV switchyard of the New Pagbilao substation.

To reduce the power merging at the Tayabas 500 kV Substation, the 500 kV lines going to Ilijan and Dasmarinas will be terminated at the New Pagbilao 500 kV substation by constructing a 17-km double-circuit 500 kV (4-795 MCM ACSR) line extension. This scheme will reduce the criticality of the Tayabas 500 kV subslation and will improve grid security and at the same time will provide room to accommodate other future generation capacity additions in the area.

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

See page 19 of the System Impact Stu day of 2 x 600 MW Coal-Fired Power Plant of Atimonan One Energy, Inc. (A1E) dated January 2015. ld.

See page 20 of the System Impact Stu day of 2 x 600 MW Coal-Fired Power Plant of Atimonan One Energy, Inc. (A1E) dated January 2015 Id. See page 24 of the TDP. See page 57 of the TDP. With the relevant page 56 tabbed for ease of reference.

Please see Annex “M” Please see Slide No. 9 of Annex “X” (MS-NOV. 16, 2016)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016

Tears, beers as tourists talk about earthquake W OODEND, New Zealand―There were tears and beers Tuesday as the first wave of tourists to escape a quake-hit New Zealand town described scenes of “pandemonium” when the massive tremor struck as they slept.

“It frightened the life out of me,” said David Foulds, as he stepped off one of the fleet of military helicopters ferrying people from the cut-off seaside town of Kaikoura to Woodend near the main South Island city of Christchurch.

“When it was all over we scarpered and there was pandemonium in the town,” he said, reliving the 7.8-magnitude nightmare on Monday which cut road and rail links.

Foulds was among more than 100 tourists, clutching what possessions they could carry, who were airlifted to Woodend on the outskirts of Christchurch which itself is still recovering from a destructive earthquake that claimed 185 lives in 2011.

With a constant wave of aftershocks continuing to rock the Kaikoura region, a popular whale-watching spot, many of the evacuees wept, overcome by emotion.

Others cheered and profusely thanked waiting

workers from the Red Cross disaster welfare support unit and local volunteers who turned up to meet them, arrange food and accommodation and assist with onward travel arrangements.

The relieved tourists also expressed admiration for the calmness and generosity of the Kaikoura locals who took them in after the shaking stopped in the early hours on Monday.

“We’re happy now we can get some decent rest and hopefully continue the trip,” said Toon van Dyck from Belgium who is holidaying with his wife Hanne and oneyear-old son Max. “It feels good to be out, but to be honest we felt safe there all the time and the people have been taking great care of us providing us with everything we need, food and good companionship.”

It was a similar experience for Foulds, a holidaymaker from Auckland who had

arrived in Kaikoura with his wife too late on Sunday night to find accommodation and was sleeping in his car.

“We stopped at this house and this family took us into their home and we stayed there for two days,” he said.

“It was a humbling experience, but a frightening experience,” he added before being whisked off to Christchurch airport for a flight back to Auckland after deciding to cancel the rest of his trip.

Van Dyck, however, had no intention of cutting short his holiday and put the severe tremor down to one of life’s experiences.

He said he felt confused but safe during the shaking and planned “to make the best of the coming five weeks”.

“I was surprised. I had known of the Christchurch

MARKETS AND SECURITIES REGULATION DEPARTMENT REGISTRATION OF SECURITIES In Relation to an lnitial Public Offering

FLUXION INC.,1 in the process of amending its name to XELEB TECHNOLOGIES INC. (Registrant) x------------------------------------------x

NOTICE

Primary Offer

No, of Shares 296,000,000

Issued and Outstanding Shares (which shall not be included in the offer)

1,183.748.562 1,479,748,562

According to the papers presented, the following persons are the key directors/officers3 of the Corporation: Current Directors and Officers: NAME Raymond Gerard S. Racaza Jose Vicente T. Colayco Nico Jose s, Nolledo Fernando Jude F. Garcia

NAME Raymond Gerard S. Racaza

Nico Jose S. Nolledo lsabelle D. Daza Erwan Jean A. Heussaff Alvin D. Lao Jun S. Yupitun Fernando Jude F. Garcia Alexander D. Corpuz Mark S. Gorriceta

PREMIERE. Director Pablo Larrain and actress Beth Grant attend the

premiere of ‘Jackie’ at the AFI Fest 2016 presented by Audi at The Chinese Theater on November 14, 2016, in Hollywood, California. AFP

NOTICE is hereby given that the OFFICIAL RECEIPT with series no. 6529151-6529200 issued by Northpoint Development Bank in the name of Ms. Krischelle Batiao have been misplaced and not traceable. If found, inform to Northpoint Development Bank, #33 Mabini St., Brgy. Sto Niño, San Pedro, Laguna.

Tel. No.: 808-7911

POSITION Chairman of the Board President Chief Executive Officer Director Chief Operating Officer Treasurer Director Director Director lndependent Director lndependent Director Chief Technology Officer Chief Finance Officer Corporate Secretary Chief Legal officer Chief Compliance Officer

Said Registration Statement and other papers/documents attached thereto (collectively known as “RS) and the subsequent updates are open to inspection by interested parties during business hours, and copies thereof, photostatic or otherwise, shall be furnished to every party, upon request, at such fees as the Commission may prescribe. The RS may also be downloaded from the website of the Corporation at www.xelebtechnologies.com.

VICENTE GRACIANO P. FELEMENO,JR. Director 1

2

The company is currently in the process of securing approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) the following amendments to its Articles of lncorporation: i. Amendment of its name from Fluxion, lnc. to XELEB TECHNOLOGIES lNC.; ii. Amendment of its Par Value from Php 1.00 to Php 0.025; and iii. Amendment to increase the number of Directors from Five to Seven Dlrector.

The company is currently in the process ofsecuring approvalfrom the SEC the application to increase the Authorized Capital Stock from Php 5,000,000.00to Php 100,000,000.00 consisting of 4,000,000,000 common shares.

(MS-NOV. 9 & 16, 2016)

(MS-NOV. 16, 2016)

Republic of the Philippines Province of Ilocos Sur

Republic of the Philippines

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE

Roxas Boulevard Corner Pablo Ocampo, Sr. Street Manila 1004 INVITATION TO BID FOR THE DOF 7TH FLOOR EDPC BUILDING RENOVATION

MUNCIPALITY OF SINAIT OFFICE OF THE BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE (BAC) INVITATION TO BID FOR GOODS

1.

The Department of Finance (DOF), through the General Appropriations Act for CY 2016, intends to apply the sum of FOURTY FOUR MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED TWENTY SEVEN THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED AND 06/100 PESOS (PhP44,727,700.06) being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for the DOF 7th Floor EDPC Building Renovation. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening

2.

The DOF, through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), now invites Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) registered contractors to apply for eligibility and to bid for the bids for the DOF 7th Floor EDPC Building Renovation.

Completion of the Works is within one hundred twenty (120) calendar days. Bidders with valid PCAB License: Medium A License Category B should have completed a contract similar to the Project which is equivalent to fifty percent (50%) of the ABC. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

3.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using nondiscretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 9184 (RA 9184), otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”. Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least seventy five percent (75%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines.

4.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from the BAC Secretariat and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during office hours.

5.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested Bidders on November 16, 2016 up to December 5, 2016 from the BAC Secretariat, General Services Division 7th Floor EDPC Building, BSP Complex P. Ocampo Sr., Street corner Roxas Boulevard, Manila and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents, pursuant to the latest Guidelines issued by the GPPB, in the amount of Twenty Five Thousand Pesos (Php 25,000.00).

November 15, 2016 The Municipal Government of Sinait, through BUB-DA and R.A. 7171 intends to apply the sum specified below as being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for the following projects to wit: Name of Projects Purchase of Four-Wheel Drive Tractor (2units)and Rotavator(2 units) Purchase of Farm Implements

Approved Budget Cost (ABC)

Source of Fund

Duration of Works

Sinait, Ilocos Sur

P2, 750,000.00

BUB -DA

30cd

Sinait, Ilocos Sur Sinait, Ilocos Sur

P13,149,936.00

R.A. 7171

45cd

P 9,999,480.00

R.A. 7171

45cd

Location

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

The Municipal Government of Sinait now invites bids for the said Projects stated above.

Completion of the Works is required as stated above under Duration of Works. Bidders should have completed, within ten (10) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instruction to Bidders.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using nondiscretionary pass/fail criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 9184 (RA 9184), otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from Municipal Government of SinaitBAC Office and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.

It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the DOF website, provided that bidders shall pay the fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.

6.

The DOF will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on November 23, 2016, 10:00 a.m. at the DFG Conference Room, which shall be open only to all interested parties who have purchased the Bidding Documents.

7.

Bids must be delivered to the BAC Secretariat, General Services Division 7th Floor EDPC Building, BSP Complex P. Ocampo Sr., Street corner Roxas Boulevard, Manila on or before December 5, 2016 at 8:45 a.m. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

BAC Office or MPDC Office – Sinait Municipal Hall, Sinait, Ilocos Sur. A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders from the address above and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents ISSUANCE OF BID DOCUMENTS – November 16-December 5, 2016 The Municipal Government of Sinait thru BAC will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on Nov. 23, 2016 @ 9:30 A.M. at MPDC Office Sinait Mun. Hall, Sinait, Ilocos Sur which shall be open to all interested parties.

Bid Opening shall be on December 5, 2016, 10:00 a.m. at the DFG Conference Room, 4th Floor, DOF Building. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidder’s representatives who choose to attend at the address below. “LATE BIDS SHALL NOT BE ACCEPTED.” 8.

Bids must be delivered to the address above on or before December 5, 2016 @ 9:30 A.M.at Sinait Mun. Hall Main Bldg., Sinait, Ilocos Sur. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives with the Authority of the Signatory who choose to attend at the address above. Late bids shall not be accepted.

The Municipal Government of Sinait reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

For further information, please refer to:

The schedule of bidding activities are as follows: ACTIVITIES Advertisement/Posting of Invitation to Bid Issuance and Availability of Bid Documents Pre-Bid Conference Request for Clarification Issuance of Supplemental Bid Bulletin Deadline for Submission of Bids Opening of Bids

OPENING OF BIDS – DECEMBER 5, 2016 @ 9:30 A.M. @ Sinait Municipal Hall, Sinait, Ilocos Sur..

9.

SCHEDULE November 16, 2016 November 16, 2016 – November 23, 2016, 10:00 a.m.

November 25, 2016 by email November 28, 2016 December 5, 2016, 8:45 a.m.

December 5, 2016, 10:00 a.m.

The DOF reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

10. For further information, please refer to: Lilia R. Tan, Head- BAC Secretariat Department of Finance BAC Secretariat, General Services Division, 7th Floor EDPC Building, BSP Complex P. Ocampo Sr., Street corner Roxas Boulevard, Manila Telephone N.: 526-8475/Telefax No.: 525-4227 Email Address: ltan@dof.gov.ph/rramirez@dof.gov.ph

BAC SECRETARIAT MPDC Office Sinait Mun. Hall Main Bldg. (1st floor) Mobile # 09176836121 e-mail address: bacoffice_lgusinait@yahoo.com (Sgd). EMELFA C. INES BAC Chairman ( M S - N O V. 16 , 2 016)

POSITION Chairman of the Board President Chief Executive Officer Director Chief Operating Officer Treasurer Director Director Chief Technology Officer Director Corporate Secretary Chief Legal Officer Chief Compliance Officer

Key Directors and Officers upon approval of the amended Articles of Incorporation

Jose Vicente T. Colayco

Purchase of Farm Inputs

: : :

In connection with the sworn Registration Statement (“RS”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on 07 0ctober 2016, Notice is hereby given that on 21 October 2016 a revised Registration Statement was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on behalf of Fluxion Inc., which is in the process of amending its name to XELEB TECHNOLOGIES lNC., for the registration of up to 1,479,748,5622 common shares with a par value of Php 0.025 per share and to be offered at a maximum offering price between Php 2.04 to Php 2.54 per share, broken down as follows:

www.sti.edu

email us at advertise@ the standard.com. ph or call us at 832-5547

earthquake but I never thought it would happen while I was here for a short period, right in the place where I was staying in the camp ground.”

Peter Moeller, holidaying from Germany with his wife, daughter and grandchild on “the trip of a lifetime” to celebrate his 60th birthday, admitted he feared for their safety when the earthquake struck.

Their rented mobile home felt as if it was going to topple over and “everything fell and smashed on the floor,” he said.

“We knew of Christchurch (quakes) but never thought it would happen to us.”

When the shaking stopped and he checked to make sure everyone was safe, there was only one thing to do.

“We drove up a hill and drank a beer.” AFP

IN THE MATTER OF THE

Alexander D. Corpuz Mark S. Gorriceta

RESERVE YOUR AD SPACE NOW!

C3

(MS-NOV. 16, 2016)

(SGD) GIL S. BELTRAN Undersecretary and DOF-BAC Chairman

(MS-NOV. 16, 2016)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

C4

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016

Bomb trial starts in Bangkok

World

BANGKOK―The long-delayed trial of two Uighur men accused of bombing a Bangkok shrine finally kicked off Tuesday as a military court allowed Beijing to supply translators for the suspects despite their objections.

Yusufu Mieraili and Bilal Mohammed are accused of planting a bomb in a Hindu shrine in Bangkok’s commercial heart in August 2015 that left 20 dead, mostly ethnic Chinese tourists.

The blast came weeks after Thailand’s junta forcibly repatriated 109 Uighurs to China, where rights activists say the Muslim minority faces cultural and religious repression.

The timing prompted speculation that the attack was part of a revenge plot against a country that had been a key transit hub for Uighurs as Thailand’s military leaders grew closer to Beijing.

Thai authorities have rejected that theory saying the attackers were part of a peoplesmuggling network angered by a recent crackdown, a motive most analysts say is simply not compelling.

The trial for the two men, who have been held in military prison for over a year, was delayed several times as the court struggled to find a suitable interpreter and rejected one provided by the defense. AFP

DINNER. Guests attend Glamor Women of the Year 2016 Dinner at Paley in Hollywood, California. AFP

Obama set to reassure Europeans A THENS―US President Barack Obama will arrive in Athens on Tuesday, the first stop on a final foreign trip that will aim to reassure worried Europeans following Donald Trump’s surprise presidential election victory.

The 44th president of the United States had likely imagined his farewell visit to Europe―coming after eight years in power―in different circumstances.

But Trump’s defeat of Hillary Clinton last week will be on everybody’s minds as the future of several key global deals―on issues such as Iran’s

nuclear program anad the environment―looks uncertain.

During a press conference in Washington on Monday, Obama tried to reassure worried allies, stressing that dismantling or unraveling such agreements was not easy.

After traveling to Greece, Obama will head to Germany to meet Chancellor Angela

Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and British and Italian prime ministers Theresa May and Matteo Renzi.

He will conclude his trip with a stop in Peru for a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. Among the leaders he is expected to meet there is President Xi Jinping of China.

Obama on Wednesday will visit the Parthenon in Athens, then deliver a speech― sure to have considerable resonance, given the recent US elections―on the challenges of globalization.

The question of Greek debt, which is choking the economy, and the hundreds of thousands of migrants who have arrived

in Greece fleeing conflict in the Middle East will be the focus of talks during Obama’s first visit to the country.

Shortly after his arrival in Athens, where thousands of police officers have been deployed amid tight security in the capital, Obama will hold a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

“It’s a symbolic and rare visit that recognizes Greek efforts to manage its debt and to stabilize the country,” government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said.

According to Greek Finance Minister Euclide Tsakalotos, the election of Trump could strengthen Greece’s position

against its creditors.

“We live in an uncertain world and this could help Greece. Because the European Union and the eurozone must show that they can resolve their problems among themselves,” he told German newspaper TAZ. Subjected to tough austerity measures, Greece is struggling to emerge from recession despite a recent upturn in its finances.

“In order for the reforms to be sustainable, people need hope,” Obama said in an interview with Greek daily Kathimerini.

He promised to continue urging Greece’s creditors to “take the necessary measures, particularly in regard to debt

Dictators’ victims to talk of abuse

Iran says missile testing to continue TEHRAN―Iran’s missile program is “non-negotiable” and tests will continue, foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said on Tuesday, following criticism from European Union diplomats.

“Iran’s defense capabilities cannot be compromised and are under no circumstance negotiable,” he told state television IRIB. “Missile tests are conducted within the framework of Iran’s defense policies.”

A meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday urged Tehran to refrain from ballistic missile testing.

Iran’s military has carried out a number of missile tests in recent months, which the United States and European governments have said are a breach of its commitments under last year’s nuclear deal.

Western powers say the missiles are capable of carrying nuclear warheads and therefore go against the deal, under which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for a lifting of global sanctions.

The EU foreign ministers called on all sides to respect the agreement―reflecting concerns over US president-elect Donald Trump’s vow to ditch it.

Ghasemi welcomed the EU’s “interest and determination to develop ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran and the renewed emphasis on the commitment of this union in the full implementation by all sides” of the nuclear deal. AFP

relief, so it can return to robust economic growth”.

Obama will also highlight “the compassion and the generosity” that the Greek people have shown to refugees and migrants landing on their shores.

Rights group Amnesty International called on him to take advantage of the visit “to draw attention to the appalling conditions suffered by the tens of thousands of refugees trapped in Greece”, and to demand wealthy nations assume responsibility.

Civil servants, communists, far-left groups and anarchists all plan to hold demonstrations as Obama swings through the Greek capital. AFP

PRESS CONFERENCE. German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen talks to reporters following a Defense Council meeting in Brussels. AFP

World leaders to tackle climate change MARRAKESH―A week after climate change denier Donald Trump’s election to the White House, world leaders will on Tuesday address a key UN meeting in Marrakesh to keep a climate rescue plan on track.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon, King Mohammed of conference host Morocco, and France’s President Francois Hollande will open a “highlevel” segment of the annual UN forum―the first since last year’s adoption of the Paris Agreement to stave off calamitous global warming.

This will be followed by speeches from nearly 60 heads of state and government from mainly African

countries, but also some from Europe and several island states.

“We expect of the heads of state to reiterate their commitment [to the dea]... and send a strong message to Trump and the rest of the world,” Celia Gautier of the Climate Action Network, a grouping of NGOs, told AFP on Monday.

The election of Trump, who has called climate change a “hoax” and has threatened to “cancel” the Paris pact, has been uppermost on the minds of many delegates and negotiators gathered since last Monday to thrash out a roadmap for putting the agreement into action.

The hard-fought deal set an ob-

jective of limiting average global warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-Industrial Revolution levels by cutting planet-heating greenhouse gases from burning coal, oil, and gas.

Many fear that withdrawal by the United States, a champion of the deal under Barack Obama, would shatter the political goodwill built up over years of negotiations, and put the very planet-saving goals of the deal at risk.

While waiting for news from Washington, many now look to the rest of the world to strongly restate their commitment to the pact―with or without the US.

All eyes will be on Marrakesh, where 39 kings and presidents and 18 prime ministers are scheduled to address the 22nd Conference of Parties (COP22 for short) of the UN’s climate convention, which gathers 196 nations and the EU bloc.

To date, 109 of the 197 parties have officially ratified the Paris Agreement, which entered into force on November 4 after crossing the threshold of 55 ratifications by countries representing 55 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.

They included the United States, which represents about 14 percent of global emissions, and China which accounts for 25 percent. AFP

TUNIS―Victims of murder, rape and torture under successive dictatorships before Tunisia’s 2011 uprising will be heard this week as the country tries to come to terms with decades of abuse.

The Truth and Dignity Commission has tracked human rights violations committed between July 1955―a year before Tunisia gained its independence from France― and December 2013 when the fact-finding body was established.

By June this year the commission, tasked with identifying those responsible for the abuse and make them accountable as well as rehabilitate and compensate victims, had received more than 62,000 complaints, nearly a quarter filed by women.

On Thursday and Friday, dozens of those wronged will speak of the horrors they experienced in television and radio broadcasts that will be aired live from 1930 GMT. “It will be a historic moment which our children and our grandchildren will read about in history books,” said commission head Sihem Bensedrine.

These talks will be an opportunity for “public opinion to know what happened... and to understand why these violations should never happen again,” she said.

Men and women from different political backgrounds and regions will be given a chance to testify about the abuse they suffered, Bensedrine said. AFP

Life

Leather goods label McJim offers essential classic leather accessories such as belts, wallets and bags that will add elegance and style to men’s corporate ensemble.

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016

FASHION & BEAUTY

Dress for success

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A TRUE GENTLEMAN. Know the basic things to wear and the important things to do to look like a respectable and confident man in the office.

with classic leather

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RESSING up for success has never been given more significance in the corporate world than now, when intense competition in the workforce compels you to be not just good at what you do but to look the part, too.

In fact, a person who dresses sharply gets a powerful confidence boost and an appearance of being capable to get the job done.

McJim is well too aware of this and pitches a few surefire tips for men who want to make the cut in the professional world: • Look beyond denim. Eschew your favorite pair of jeans for well-cut classic trousers or slacks. This will give you a sleek professional look while ensuring comfort even on a long day in the office.

• Lose the T-shirts. Wearing Tshirts, sweat shirts and hoodies at work and corporate events is a big no-no. If the office dress code is business attire or smart casual, a plain-hued short- or long-sleeved polo or one with subtle prints is a fine option.

• Suit up. Invest in suits, coats and blazers. No matter what your profession is, at some point you will need to throw a coat over your shirt. Standard or neutral colors are usually best during the day and in the evenings, too. A timeless single-breasted, two-button suit in charcoal gray or navy blue is a wise choice as well.

• Shoes matter. Invest in a good pair of leather shoes to complete your classic work ensemble. Leather shoes of high quality are no longer a luxury in this day and age; these have become a necessity.

• Accessorize. There is more to looking professional than just donning corporate attire. To infuse your image with class and style, wear the appropriate accessories.

Leather is your best bet at any time.

For 40 years now, McJim, a brand that creates leather goods of high quality, has been recognized for having

the must-have accessories not only for work, but also for important events like weddings, graduations and other social gatherings.

An essential men’s accessory is the belt. McJim offers good quality leather belts with distinctive looking metal buckles. The belts are available in various designs and colors—basic dark brown, basic modernist black and reversible minimalist.

A leather wallet is another must-have accessory for everyday use. A fine leather wallet lends a professional, gentlemanly vibe to male professionals. McJim makes men’s wallets from real leather, with different styles to suit varied functions. Considered an excellent investment, McJim wallets are built to last for years.

Finally, a leather bag has become a favored staple accessory among male professionals. Triedand-true classics, leather bags offer both style and function. McJim has you covered for any occasion with its sturdy and stylish offerings— whether it’s shoulder bag, body bag or gadget bag you need.

With McJim accessories, there is a guarantee that you always have the right accessories for the look and image you are going for. You won’t go wrong with McJim; it’s always a safe option.

Plus, McJim accessories feature a young and contemporary taste in style and look, that’s why it is recommended for all men, young or old, father or son. Remember, what you choose to wear—the outfit and the accessories—reveal who you are, and McJim is an ideal choice.

A bonus tip: always be well groomed.

Complement the perfect ensemble with a good haircut, trimmed and clean fingernails and overall good hygiene.

Star-studded Converse Fall/Holiday 2016 launch CONVERSE recently launched its Fall/Holiday 2016 collection featuring a selection of Counter Climate sneakers. The event was held at the posh Sky High Bar, Ace Water Hotel and Suites in Pasig.

The launch was attended by Converse Philippines brand influencers headed by multi-platinum recording artist Julie Anne San Jose, teen heartthrob Miguel Tanfelix, TV and theater personality Pepe Herrera, The Voice Kids Season 2 finalist and MCA Music recording artist Kyle Echarri and The Voice Season 1 finalist and Homeworkz’ newest re-

Converse PH brand influencer Pepe Herrera

Converse Philippines CEO Margarita Go with actors Julie Anne San Jose and Benjamin Alves

cording artist Paolo Onesa.

The Fall/Holiday 2016 launch was also graced by other celebrities including couple Ali Khatibi and Cristine Reyes-Khatibi, actor Benjamin Alves, teen actress Bianca Umali, Homeworkz recording artist Francis Lim, model-host Vince Velasco, courtside reporter Rizza Diaz, De La Salle volleyball player Cha Cruz, and PBB 737 grand winner Miho Nishida.

Eighties iconic band The Dawn also graced at the Counter Climate launch and performed their songs.

Vince Velasco, Rizza Diaz and Cha Cruz

Bianca Umali and Converse PH brand influencer Miguel Tanfelix

The Voice Kids Season 2 finalist Kyle Echarri

Ali Khatibi and Cristine Reyes-Khatibi

Life

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016 isahred@gmail.com

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O celebrate its 21 years in the industry, Plains & Prints, the style purveyor of chic, timeless designs for women, partnered up with ICanServe Foundation for its milestone CSR project.

As a partner of every woman for the past two decades, Plains & Prints re-commits to its promise of inspiring and celebrating women through a creative intitiative which brings together the country’s top fashion designers: Rhett Eala, Rajo Laurel, Randy Ortiz, Maureen Disini, and Vania Romoff.

Held at The Gallery, Greenbelt 5, the fashion event’s proceeds would help support ICanServe Foundation campaigns and initiatives.

“Unlike any other campaigns Plains & Prints has launched, this campaign is unique because this is our way of fulfilling our responsibility to society by being involved in one of the major issues women are facing today—breast cancer,” explained Roxanne Ang-Farillas, owner and founder of Plains & Prints.

“In addition, every piece showcased in this campaign will serve as a reminder to all women who are battling the disease or will, at some point, go through this, that they have a strong network of support, and that this battle is something we can win over and emerge from even stronger together.”

Touched by the journeys of breast cancer survivors, the renowned designers crafted and curated uniquely inspiring collections. From romantic silhouettes to modern, structured lines, the collections aimed to show the sheer strength of character and the beauty of each woman/survivor.

Eala’s collection focused on femininity with pieces that make a woman feel “beautiful, comfortable, sophisticated and sexy.” He incorporated touches of pink—the color of breast cancer awareness, and married it with navy and white for a strong yet feminine fashion statement.

Plains and Prints President Erickson Farillas and Roxanne

The exclusive collection made by five of the country’s top designers in collaboration with Plains and Prints for the benefit of ICanServe foundation

Fashion for a cause

Plains and Prints owner and founder Roxanne Ang-Farillas (third from left) with designers Rajo Laurel, Maureen Disini, Randy Ortiz and Vania Romoff

Laurel shared his inspiration for his collection, “It has always been my philosophy to empower women through my designs. I create clothes that women can wear with conf idence. The f irst piece is a soft and ‘f lowy’ wrap dress, which is done in a ver y moder n way, while the other is designed with more architecture. The contrasts ref lect the complexity and duality of a woman.”

Ortiz showed his masterful touch with more sporty aesthetic. “The pieces are more structured and for the active woman. For me, a woman is all about being versatile, so I created pieces that you seamlessly and easily transform from day looks into evening ensembles. This is for the 21st century woman.”

Disini, on the other hand, shared, “I wanted to design light, simple, and easy to wear ensembles. I want-

ed pieces that are relevant to the times, and which can take you from day to night.

Another talented creative visionary, Romoff, captured the feminine mystique with romantic silhouettes. “Taking lead from the colors of femininity such as pink, I built on that with lots of flowers and details. For women, I envisioned ensembles that are soft, easy-to-wear, and romantic.”

Through the beautiful, sophisticated styles presented by the designers, Plains & Prints hopes to inspire women to see the beauty in their ordeal and being.

“My dream is to continuously create meaningful collaborations— touching the lives of women and maintaining a valuable lasting relationship with them. We will continue to fuel women’s devotion to excel and to bring out their true essence and strength,” ends Farillas.

Ortiz’s collection features a sporty aesthetic suitable for the active woman

Romantic silhouettes and floral prints are highlighted in Romoff’s designs

Disini created simple and easy to wear ensembles that can be worn day and night

Confident women will relate to Laurel’s flowy and architectural dresses

SHOPPING for shoes can be a great adventure in itself, especially if one is challenged by size. In the past, women with larger feet would have to contend with not so interesting selections, never being on-trend with their footwear, or worse, having to squeeze their feet into the largest style available.

Fortunately, times have changed and larger shoe sizes have become more available in exciting designs.

The good news is that SM’s Parisian

Plus carries both trendy yet comfy designs in sizes 9.5 to 12.

Style indeed comes in all sizes.

There are gladiator and ballet f lats for casual wear, as well as lowheeled pumps and block heels for dressier days. Colors also range from the classic ones to trendier hues of rust and navy.

Parisian Plus shares some shoe shopping tips for walking in style.

Heels elongate the legs making the feet appear smaller.

Gladiators and caged styles cut the feet giving these a smaller illusion.

Block or chunky heels give added support and balance.

Stock up on black or darker hues.

Parisian Plus is exclusively available at all SM Stores nationwide.

Get connected with Parisian Plus through Parisian Shoes and Bags on Facebook and @SMParisian and @ SMShoesandBags on Twitter and Instagram.

GO BIG

on style with

Parisian Plus

Wear heeled shoes on formal ocassions and flats or gladiator shoes on casual days. From left: Black Herra strappy flats, T-strap block heels, Olive Hami flats, and rust colored flats

Plus sizes now at Uniqlo Parisian Plus offers a lineup of trendy and comfortable shoes

UNIQLO continues to make the good life of Filipinos better by expanding the size offerings of select LifeWear items for both men and women.

Uniqlo’s sizes now start at extra small up to XXXL for better fit and comfort. The expanded sizes are avail-

able for jogger pants, flannel shirts, and comfort beauty items. Check out the entire collection at www.uniqlo. com/ph/product/women/special/newsizes.

The petite and plus-size pieces are available at SM Megamall, SM Aura,

and SM Makati.

For more updates, consumers may visit www.uniqlo.com/ph and social media accounts, Facebook (facebook.com/uniqlo. ph), Twitter (twitter.com/uniqloph) and Instagram (Instagram.com/uniqlophofficial).

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016

Sitti celebrates

A Brighter Tomorrow at Marriott Manila

Sitti celebrates a decade of music with a concert where she infuses bossa with EDM

Isabella and Your Song will have rapper Looney and balladeer Jason Dy as guests. The UST Percussion Ensemble will also be on stage to share the spotlight with her.

She is managed by Asian Artists Agency and is signed with MCA Music major record label which, by coincidence, asked her to employ electronic music for her new album.

Fans have something more to feel excited about as Sitti already wrote a couple of songs called “Tangled” and “Bid Your Love” and will unleash

An “Annie the Musical” inspired room at the Marriott Hotel Manila

10th anniversary with

‘ElectroSITTI’

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HE country’s premier bossa nova singing act, Sitti, will celebrate 10th anniversary on the music scene in electrifying fashion.

She will do it live by way of a big concert where she’s bound to experiment with the electronic dance music (EDM) craze.

The out-of-the-box offering is a two-night live concert dubbed ElectroSITTI and to be held at the Music Museum (1502 in Greenhills, San Juan), 8 p.m. on Nov. 25 and 26.

Sitti is collaborating with her friend and EDM master DJ Silverfilter. She hopes to please a good number of youngergeneration music fans.

Sitti shares, “It’s both exciting and challenging to do something you’re not known for. I became friends with artists from the EDM community and I thought of embracing the genre and tie it up with the 10th anniversary of the release of my first album Café Bossa.”

It was released in January 2006 and spawned hit singles including “Para Sa Akin” and her versions of “I Didn’t Know I Was Looking For Love” and

WHAT if angels walk among us today? How are they supposed to look like?

In a movie called Fallen, Australian director Scott Hicks depicts angels as gorgeous beings: they are tall, sexy, blueeyed and golden-haired. Think of the English actor Jeremy Irvine only with blonde locks and translucent wings that appeared only twice in the movie.

The 26-year-old actor is one of the fallen angels in the romanticfantasy film that begins with giving the audience a quick overview of what fallen angels are and how they end up on earth after an epic celestial war between them and their creator.

Fallen angels are described as the ones who chose love instead of choosing sides.

Fallen is the first installment in Lauren Kate’s book series, a romance-fantasy novel that follows the story of a 17-yearold girl named Luce Price (Addison Timlin).

“Tattooed On My Mind.” By September that year, the album was certified double platinum, with over 60,000 units sold.

ElectoSITTI, also serving as Sitti’s birthday concert as she turns 32.

And the loud and festive birthday party begins.

“I’m having fun doing EDM and I am working on a new album that will showcase my experimentation with it. I like to introduce myself to the younger market,” explains Sitti who is visually glowing a year after tying the knot with the love of her life, businessman and music aficionado Joey Ramirez.

The multi-talented charming woman, who is also into acting both on stage, having performed in Katy The Musical and Spring Awakening, and on TV, appearing in ABS-CBN shows

In the big screen adaptation, Luce is sent to Sword & Cross reform school following a crime she didn’t commit. On her first day at the boarding school, she meets Cam Briel (Harrison Gilbertson) and Daniel Grigori (Irvine), to whom she feels mysteriously drawn.

Both men are fallen angels, and that explains it. Cam and Daniel have been fighting for the love of Luce for centuries. As a mortal, Luce is cursed to die whenever she falls in love and kisses Daniel and reincarnated seventeen years later.

In her latest reincarnation, Luce is a present-day teenager who feels different because of her strange visions. While she is smart and pretty and very much likable by many, Lucy is considered psycho by most people especially when her exboyfriend died during a fire.

She’s being blamed for the latter’s death, reason she is sent to a reform school.

While Daniel and Luce are the couple in love for centuries, this time, the former tries to avoid (but secretly protects) the latter to defy the cycle that gives him eternal heartbreak. Cam sees this opportunity to take advantage

kind of love

English actor Jeremy Irvine plays a fallen angel who has been in love with Addison Timlin’s character for centuries

Wednesday, November 16, 2016 50 Huntsville loc.

51 Come clean 54 Be strongly attracted 60 Intuition 61 Kid or rib 62 Ms. Dinesen 63 Precambrian et al.

64 Web-footed mammal 65 WXY, on a phone 66 Pause 67 Joyous outburst 68 Silences DOWN 1 Verdant 2 1977 whale movie 3 Dumb — — ox 4 Ruins, probably 5 Try to get back online 6 El Cid or Batman 7 Bearded flower 8 Agreeable 9 Response to a rodent 10 Projecting 11 Mountain goat 12 Candy-striper 13 Beowulf’s quaff 21 Pre-Tina Turner 22 Wire gauge

both live and ground-shaking come ElectroSITTI nights.

Sitti has come a long way since performing in her first gig at a hotel on Roxas Boulevard that since changed its name today.

She noted, “You got to pay your dues to make it. I did that for four years before getting my big break. There will be ups and downs in anybody’s career but the important thing is you are enjoying the gig and you always welcome change.”

For ElectroSITTI Tickets, log on at ticketworld.com or call (02) 9260556.

A supernatural

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Good dirt 5 Dry white wine 10 Where Anna taught 14 Bear, to astronomers 15 A bit creepy 16 Irish Rose’s guy 17 Flip through 18 Dark red 19 Helen of Troy’s mother 20 Stay calm (2 wds.)

22 Kind of drink 23 Thai neighbor 24 Engage in rivalry 25 Twangs and drawls 29 Muffin morsels 33 Dalai Lama’s capital 34 Cel character 36 Lighter- — -air 37 Sardine holder 38 Unwritten tests 39 Mr. Vigoda 40 Matty of the diamond 42 Back talk 43 Abdul or Prentiss 45 Curl 47 Housed a horse 49 Peggy or Brenda

your day at the hotel’s cafe. Your stay won’t be gray and lonely with all these plus the hotel’s ample facilities that includes an outdoor swimming pool, Quan Spa and well-equipped Health Club.

Want more reasons to get that well worth break you and your family deserves? The adjacent Newport Mall boasts their Game Zoo that features up-to-date arcades and recreational games plus state-of-the-art kiddie and adult rides. Moms and dads can check out different outlets too, so everyone will surely be delighted with a staycation that has it all.

Don’t wait another day and book now to experience this affordable deal for only Php13,888 with Marriott Manila’s “Annie the Musical Room Package” until Dec. For inquiries and reservations, call (02) 9889999 or visit manilamarriott.com. To keep up on their latest offerings, follow @marriottmanila at Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat and, @ manilamarirott on Instagram.

THERE’S no better way to spend a weekend other than bonding with your family and kids with Marriott Hotel Manila’s “Annie the Musical Room Package”. A special treat for both kids and kids-at-heart, the hotel brings you more reasons to spend quality time with your loved ones in a comfortable room, nestled in heavenly sheets and looking forward for what tomorrow will bring as they add a theatrical thrill to your stay.

Stick up your chin and grin as “Annie the Musical Room Package” includes an overnight stay in Marriott Manila’s Deluxe Room, breakfast buffet for two (2) adults while children below 12 years of age gets to eat free at the Marriott Café and, (drumroll please…) two (2) Gold Tickets to ANNIE, the Musical play at the Newport Performing Arts Theater! You’ll definitely love the day tomorrow with an extensive array of breakfast favorites that will please the palate of both the young and the old and a selection of sweet treats that will bring rainbow to

24 Some campers 25 Vow venue 26 — con carne 27 Rule 28 Swagger 29 Eats fast 30 Self-move firm (hyph.)

31 Postpone action 32 Golfer Sam — 35 Lout 38 Ess molding 41 Most unbecoming 43 Sanskrit dialect

44 Tapering off 46 Endorse 48 Pub 51 Maintain 52 Like some straits 53 CEO degs.

54 — — grip!

55 Room price 56 Offshore 57 Vast region 58 Lemony taste 59 Just scrapes by 61 Go one better

to win Luce’s love. However, in the universe where love always wins, Daniel and Luce end up being together after a revelation that gives the latter a clearer picture of her past, which explains the strange yet familiar visions that have been haunting her for years.

A battle between Cam and Daniel commences then it ends up with Daniel hovering above the clouds with Luce in his arms. This of course signifies that an installment is in the offing.

There are a few comparisons made between Fallen and Twilight because both series center on a love triangle and a girl who is defenseless and must be protected by her male counterpart, who happens to be an immortal. But in a broad sense, Luce is an entirely different protagonist, and that reaffirms that Fallen is not Twilight with fallen angels.

Like the way she is depicted in the story, Timlin makes Luce even more likable. She makes the character, a troubled teenager, appealing in a sense that it makes the screen heroine relevant amid the story’s theme.

The trouble with this kind

of genre though, especially a story based on a novel that has already been read by millions, there’s a level of expectation that the screen version has to meet. While the actors and stunning location perfectly match what people may already have in mind, the love story that the Fallen movie wants to sell lacks the intensity that would make one go crazy about falling in love with fallen angels. It also raises the question as to why it takes centuries for a great love that recurs every 17 years to defy the laws of angels.

With high level of expectation, Fallen fails to meet even half of what it had to accomplish as a screen version. The absence of stunning visuals (the first requirement of a fantasy film) and the intense connection between the two main characters make this supernatural romantic movie just another love story that audience will forget once a new one of the same theme arrives.

The open-ended conclusion does not even attract excitement to see what is going to happen next between Luce and Daniel, at least of course in the movie version.

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016

The members of the cast of “Banana Sundae” are on mission to bring big laughs as they prepare for an anniversary show to celebrate another year of bringing laughter every weekend

ISAH V. RED

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ROM having an all-girl cast to a full barkada, ABSCBN’s weekend comedy show Banana Sundae has been serving tasteful gags and delightful laughter just the way Filipino audiences want it for eight years now.

When asked what’s the secret behind the show’s success, John Prats said, “I think it is because we are really good friends in real life. We are a real barkada off cam, so every taping (day), it’s just like meeting up with friends and just having a good time.”

Pokwang furthered, “We really watch out for each other and are concerned for each other’s welfare and well-being.”

Meanwhile, Jessy Mendiola, who is one of the recent additions to the Banana Sundae family recounted how she felt the warmth of true friendship in her first few weeks in the show.

“At first I was having a hard time doing comedy, but they were all very helpful. They guided me and made me feel very welcome. We really treat each other as family,” she said.

To thank avid fans for their solid support, the Banana Sundae barkada will stage an anniversary show at Kia Theater tomorrow.

Angelica Panganiban, John Prats, Pokwang, Pooh, Jayson Gainza, JC De Vera, Jessy Mendiola, Ryan Bang, Jobert Austria, Sunshine Garcia, Aiko Climaco and Badjie Mortiz will form groups and give explosive numbers with guests they personally handpicked.

Banana Sundae is a consistent top-rater on weekends and a trending topic on social media with hit segments such as “Hugot” and “Baby Luv” and various spoofs of current national events. Bobot Mortiz directs alongside segment director Jem Reyes, executive producer Rocky Ubana, creative manager Willy Cuevas, and headwriter Ricky Victoria under the business unit led by Reily Santiago.

The two-part airing of Banana Sund8: The 8th Anniversary Special will be on Nov. 20 and 27, after ASAP on ABS-CBN. *** Star Cinema brings together three of the country’s finest dramatic actors Dingdong Dantes, Paulo Avelino, and Angelica Panganiban in a thought provoking family drama titled The

IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT SUNDAES AND BANANAS

‘Banana

Sundae’ TURNS

Director Maryo J. delos Reyes with the lead cast of “the Unmarried Wife” Angelica Panganiban, Dingdong Dantes and Paolo Avelino

Unmarried Wife.

Directed by the award-winning Maryo J. Delos Reyes from a screenplay written by Vanessa Valdez, The Unmarried Wife is a love story with a different look on relationships.

The narrative is centered on Anne (Panganiban) - a young woman who carries severe inhibition on love due to a traumatic childhood experience.

Her reservations on falling in love are wiped out after finding her great love in the person of Geoff (Dantes). However, her blissful relationship with her husband is short-lived because of Geoff s infidelities. As she struggles to fight for her family, her friend Bryan (Avelino) offers to heal her emotional wounds with the promise of being the lover that she truly deserves.

It should be noted that The Unmarried Wife marks the much-awaited reunion of Angelica with Delos Reyes and Valdez since they collaborated in the 2007 blockbuster A Love Story.

Panganiban, widely known and respected as one of the finest in the industry, is acclaimed for his versatility as an actress smoothly and effectively transitioning from one role to another: from heavy drama to romance to comedy.

She seamlessly delivers powerful and bold performances that represent a myriad of female images that evoke empowerment to women from all walks of life.

Moviegoers will once again witness Angelica’s immense talent as an actress as she breathes life to the character of Anne - a scorned woman who is deeply conflicted between two of her greatest loves.

Dantes on the other hand, returns to Star Cinema for the fourth time. His very first starrer under Star Cinema was the 2011 horror flick Segunda Mano, where he starred opposite Panganiban also. The Unmarried Wife is his reunion project with the actress after the 2012 smash hit One More Try. Dantes was able to solidify his stature as a dramatic actor proven by the various awards he received after starring in the Star Cinema produced.

The film also marks the debut of Paulo Avelino in a Star Cimema drama. He wowed Filipinos around the world recently with his impressive performance in Star Creatives’ I-Emmynominated primetime series Bridges Of Love.

The Unmarried Wife is also the muchawaited return of Maryo J. Delos Reyes to Star Cinema since he directed the romanticdrama I’ll Be There in 2010. This is also the second collaboration between Delos Reyes and screenwriter Valdez since A Love Story almost one decade ago.

With the amazing talents of Dingdong, Paulo, and Angelica coupled with the inimitable storytelling tandem of Delos Reyes and Valdez, The Unmarried Wife is sure to deliver an emotionally charged cinematic experience.

The Unmarried Wife hits the screens nationwide today.

SINAG MAYNILA FILM FESTIVAL 2017

‘Sine Lokal, Pang-Internasyonal’ ENTRIES are now being accepted for the third season of Sinag Maynila Film Festival.

Sinag Maynila and its featured local indie films have been gaining traction in various international film festivals—Vesoul International Asian Movies Film Festival, Busan International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival among others.

Under the supervision of Sinag Maynila CEO and Founder Wilson Tieng, and worldrenowned and internationally acclaimed film director Brillante Ma Mendoza, the diverse and captivating stories of the produced films garnered attention overseas.

With the tremendous success of the film

festival’s debut in March 2015, more talented filmmakers took their chance in getting a nod to be part of the competing roster for the following season. Being selected for Sinag Maynila has been closely associated with the opportunity for international recognition, hence the new tagline “Sine Lokal, Pang-Internasyonal”.

For Sinag Maynila Film Festival 2017, it is opening more doors for the immensely talented and artistic crowd. Apart from the Full-Length, Short Film, and Cinefone, two new categories are now on deck—Animated Films and Documentary.

To get the full mechanics, log on to http:// sinagmaynila.com/2017-mechanics/. Deadline of entries for all categories is Dec.12.

Do you have a compelling story to tell the world?

Send it to us at Solar Entertainment Corporation, 3/F Worldwide Corporate Center, EDSA cor. Shaw Blvd., Mandaluyong City, 1552. Entries must be submitted in a long brown envelope properly labeled with the filmmaker’s name, title of film, contact details and indicating the category. Entries sent via online links will not be entertained.

For more details and updates, visit http://sinagmaynila.com/, Facebook.com/ SinagMaynila, Twitter and Instagram via @ sinagmaynila, or email us at sinagmaynila@gmail. com. Subscribe also to the official SinagMaynila YouTube account: https://www.you tube.com/ channel/UCmZPI6kPKUCsbim9eQ