Manila Standard - 2016 December 06 - Tuesday

VOL. XXX • NO. 297 • 4 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016 • www.thestandard.com.ph • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

RESIGNATION ACCEPTED. President Rodrigo Duterte meets with his Cabinet Monday, only hours after accepting the resignation of Vice President Leni Robredo as chairperson of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, with the President quoted by Communications Secretary Martin Andanar as saying “It is with a heavy heart that I accept the resignation...”

Cabinet dissenters free to quit—Palace ‘Toe the line or follow Leni’s hint’

By John Paolo Bencito, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz

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ABINET Secretary Leoncio Evasco scored Vice President Leni Robredo for publicly opposing President Rodrigo Duterte’s policies when she was still a member of his Cabinet.

“It is vital for the Cabinet to be united,” Evasco said. “It is important that while one is a member of the Cabinet, one should express one’s views discreetly and not be adversarial publicly.”

“According to the President, it is our duty to defend the dignity and integrity of the Filipino people. If Cabinet members cannot agree with the President’s policy, they are free to resign,” he added.

Robredo opposed several of Duterte’s policies, including his bloody war on drugs, the lowering of the age of criminal liability, the revival of the death penalty, his disrespectful treatment of women, foreign policy, and the burial of the late President Ferdinand Marcos in the

Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Evasco said joining the Cabinet entailed an implicit agreement with the President’s program, platform and policies.

“Cabinet members are personally appointed by the President; and it is also his prerogative to withdraw the same for reasons known only to him,” he said.

In an interview on ANC, Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said Robredo should have talked with the President.

“The President has never showed any feelings of animosity for her,” Yasay, who was in Moscow, said.

But Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said the President’s growing distrust for Robre-

do prompted him to send a message to the Vice President that she no longer should attend Cabinet meetings.

“Reading between the lines, it is saying that the President no longer has the confidence and the trust to be in one room with the Vice President and that is the official meeting of the President and the Cabinet officials, the Cabinet meeting,” Andanar told CNN Philippines.

On Sunday, Robredo said it “has become untenable” for her to stay in President Rodrigo Duterte’s Cabinet, after he issued a directive for her to “desist from attending” all meetings starting yesterday.

In her resignation letter, Robredo said Duterte’s directive “has effectively made it impossible” for her to do her job as chairwoman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council.

“Remaining in your Cabinet has become untenable,” she wrote.

“With due respect, I am tendering my resignation as HUDCC chairperson effective immediately.”

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Du30: Truce before detainees’ release

By John Paolo Bencito PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said that he is prepared to release 120 more communist rebels in government custody if the National Democratic Front signs a ceasefire agreement when peace talks resume in Oslo next week.

“If you can show me a document signed by either the Next page

Licuanan also gets message, stays put

By Rio N. Araja and Sandy Araneta UNLIKE Vice President Leni Robredo, Commission on Higher Education Chairman Patricia Licuanan is not resigning despite an order banning her from all Cabinet meetings.

“In the meantime, I will continue my work as Chairperson of CHED,” she said in a statement shared on her Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Licuanan said she received a text message from Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. “On Sunday 04 December Next page

Leila, Bato clash over reinstated cop

By Macon Ramos-Araneta TEMPERS flared between Senator Leila de Lima and Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa over the order of President Rodrigo Duterte to reinstate a policeman implicated in the November 5 killing of Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa.

At the Senate hearing Monday, De Lima confronted Dela Rosa to identify the “kumpare” who called him up and asked him to reinstate Supt. Marvin Marcos, head of the Region 8 Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, and who was tagged by drug lord Kerwin Espinosa as the recipient of drug pay-offs.

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Tugade’s Clark linked to gambling, Jack Lam

By Joel E. Zurbano A GROUP of commuters and road users on Monday urged President Rodrigo Duterte to investigate Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade and officials of the Clark Development Corp. in connection with the online gambling operations in Clark Freeport in Pampanga.

Ray Junia, chairman of the Road Users Protection Advocates (RUPA), said it was during Tugade’s term as CDC head when Jack Lam, one of the biggest gambling moguls in Asia, saw his operations inside the Fontana Leisure and Casino Hotel flourish.

“We call on the President to investigate Tugade and other CDC officials. This illegal operation would not have happened without the approval, silent or otherwise, of Tugade and his team at the CDC,” he said.

Junia said if Lam was brazen enough to try to bribe Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre for the release of 1,316 Chinese nationals working at the online gaming facility in Fontana, he could only imagine what perks may have gone Tugade’s way for the CDC to turn a blind eye on the illegal activity.

“Logic dictates that it was impossible for the CDC not to have noticed a crime was being committed right under their noses,” Junia added.

Duterte has already ordered Lam’s arrest after his alleged attempt to bribe Aguirre and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. chairperson Andrea Domingo.

Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa said he had already asked Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente to issue an Immigration lookout bulletin order against Lam. Next page twitter.com/ MlaStandard

UNFORGOTTEN CONVERSATIONS. Mylene Son (top), widow of slain police Chief Insp. Jesus Son, testifies Monday before a Senate inquiry on her graphic conversation with her husband, which included a run-in between Kerwin Espinosa, pointed to as a drug lord from Eastern Visayas (left middle row) and Ronnie Palisoc Dayan (right middle row), the security-driver-bagman of then DOJ Secretary Leila de Lima (middle, middle row) who grills PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa (not in picture) regarding controversial CIDG-8 chief Supt. Marvin Marcos (below) who was ordered relieved over the killing of Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. but was reinstated allegedly on orders of President Duterte. Lino Santos

De Lima’s ex-lover detained for lying

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

Visayas ‘drug queen’ surrenders to top cop

By Francisco Tuyay and Macon Ramos-Araneta

RONNIE Dayan was cited in contempt and detained in the Senate for lying and denying he knew the convicted drug lords in the New Bilibid Prison who had testified that they gave drug money to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to help finance her candidacy for senator.

President Rodrigo Duterte had earlier named Dayan as the “bagman” of De Lima who collected drug money to bankroll her candidacy in the May elections.

In the House hearing on the proliferation of illegal drugs at the national penitentiary, the convicted drug

A SUSPECTED “Drug Queen” and supplier of Kerwin Espinosa, tagged as one of the top shabu dealers in Eastern Visayas, surrendered to Police Chief Ronaldo dela Rosa in Camp Crame Monday morning.

Dela Rosa said Lovely Adam Impal surrendered to him and was immediately placed under police custody.

“Kerwin has mentioned a drug queen named Lovely Adam Impal who is of the same level as him. She surrendered to me this morning,” Dela Rosa said.

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ERC chief goes on leave

By Alena Mae S. Flores

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HE head of the Energy Regulatory Commission has gone on a month-long leave following suggestions he step down to give way to the investigation of the corruption allegations in the department raised by an employee who committed suicide as a result of it.

ERC Chairman Jose Vicente Salazar said in a statement his one-month leave would take effect immediately and that Commissioner Geronimo Sta. Ana had been appointed officer in charge of the Office of the Chairman.

“I have taken this step in or-

der to focus on helping in the ongoing and planned inquiries regarding issues related to the ERC, particularly those allegedly raised by the late director Francisco Jose “Jun” Villa Jr. prior to his recent death,” Salazar said.

“I believe that by focusing on this concern, the inquiries can be brought to a speedier and fitting conclusion. This is in the best interest of the ERC. The faster the facts can be brought out in the open, the sooner we can put the matter to rest.”

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian and Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi had both asked Salazar to step down as it was “the prudent thing to do.”

“My personal view is to make the investigation faster being conducted by the NBI, CoA and the other institutions,” Gatchalian said.

“This is also to relieve the pressure from the institution.”

Cusi on Friday said Salazar and

the other commission members should go on leave “to give way to the independent investigation.”

He said there should be a legal basis for abolishing the ERC as President Rodrigo Duterte had called for after the ERC commissioners failed to resign following the death of Villa.

Cusi said the ERC was created under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, and that if such body was abolished there should be a replacement body.

“There are a lot of factors that have to be considered: investors, generators, the public.

There have been delays simply because of the probe,” Cusi said.

House panel okays tobacco tax bill presence of the House leaders, who were full force in tightly guarding the proceedings.

The protest of tobacco farmers belonging to PhilTobacco Growers Association and Philippine Aromatic Tobacco Development Association representing 50,000 tobacco farmers across the Philippines, fell on deaf ears even if they insisted that they wanted to be heard of their opposition to the bill since they were not made to appear during the first hearing.

The first hearing was held on November 28, without the farmers present, and the second hearing pushed through on Monday with

the panel, chaired by Quirino Rep. Dakila Carlos Cua, promising that a committee report will be immediately transmitted to the plenary so that the bill will be passed and be made effective January 1, 2017, when the unitary tax was supposed to be implemented and for the law to mature.

Several lawmakers suggested that further public consultations be made to ensure that House Bill 4144, which seeks to introduce a big increase in tobacco Sin Tax and was authored by ABS Rep. Eugene Michael de Vera would serve the interest of the poorest of the poor.

“This proposed measure is regressive as studies show that 4.76 percent of the income of the one percent of the poorest of the poor goes to buying cigarettes while only 0.5 percent of the income of the rich goes to procure the same,” Albay Rep. Joey Salceda said. “The poor will be hit hard most.”

Nueva Ecija Rep. Estrellita Suansing expressed apprehension about the reports on tax evasion by cigarette companies and the purported illicit trade like smuggling and the panel could not provide “empirical data” on such incidents.

around the Cabinet about the VP’s statements; [these] didn’t sit well with some Cabinet members,” Andanar said.

In a separate statement, Andanar said that Robredo failed to do her job as a team player inside the Duterte Cabinet, leading to the “irreconcilable differences” between her and the President.

“As a Cabinet member, the Vice President is expected to be a team player where differences in policies and issues are discussed during Cabinet meetings.

The President in turn respects any decision agreed upon by his Cabinet,” Andanar said.

“Recent events, however, showed the differences between the President and the Vice President as becoming irreconcilable and public,” he added.

Andanar also reminded Robredo that the President wholeheartedly welcomed her into the Cabinet, even though she is a member of the opposition Liberal Party.

“A member of the Cabinet enjoys the full trust and confidence of the President for he or she acts as the President’s alter ego.

Having said this, the President entrusted the Vice President, whom we all know came from a rival political party, a position in his official family in deference to the wishes of our people who want both leaders to work together and succeed,” he added.

Andanar denied claims that the administration is conspiring with Robredo’s political rivals to unseat her as Vice President.

“That is a speculation from the camp of the Vice President.

It’s really up to them to sort that out,” he said.

Andanar added that the Cabinet was not interested in removing Robredo as Vice President.

“It is not the job of the Cabinet officials or the administration to fire public officials. Our job is to institute reforms in the government,” he said.

In the same ANC interview, Andanar said leftist members of the Cabinet who opposed the burial of Marcos in the heroes’ cemetery would stay because “they have said they understand Duterte.”

Robredo’s ally in the Liberal Party, Senate President Pro Tempore Franklin Drilon said forcing Robredo from the Cabinet was part of a plot to weaken her politically.

“The writing is on the wall,” he said. “The administration wants the political capital of VP Robredo diminished by stripping her of any opportunity to fulfill her mandate as Cabinet member and head of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council.”

“The reason for this sinister agenda is clear: when they ultimately install defeated vice

presidential aspirant [Ferdinand] Marcos [Jr.] as vice president, it will be at the least political cost on the administration,” Drilon added.

The administration’s actions―and inaction―were signs that it didn’t want Robredo to succeed, Drilon said.

“First, it cut her housing budget by P19 billion; second, it conveniently sat on her appointment recommendations to key shelter agencies; and third, it ignored an executive order that could make her agency more effective.”

Drilon also urged the public to be vigilant on the “next important battleground,” the appointment of justices of the Supreme Court.

The administration, he said, is poised to appoint a majority of the justices in the Supreme Court, as eight of the sitting magistrates are scheduled to retire in the next three years.

“More than ever and most especially in times like this, the country needs a more independent, resolute and uncompromising Supreme Court. Let us guard the process in order to make sure that only those who respect and believe in the rule of law will be appointed,” Drilon said.

“If we are not vigilant, the administration can have a full control of the judiciary as it has of the other branches of government.” With Joel E. Zurbano and Rio N. Araja

Visayas...

Tugade’s...

He said Impal implicated two police officers who allegedly protected her, and that one of them was her boyfriend.

Impal was accompanied by Chief Supt. Agripino Javier, the police director of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

“She got scared when Kerwin implicated her, and that’s why she surrendered because when your name comes out on national television, many people will be interested in you,” Dela Rosa said.

Espinosa also admitted having transacted with slain drug lord Jeffrey “Jaguar” Diaz, who had been known in Central Visayas as a top drug supplier.

Dela Rosa said Impal was brought to the Anti-Illegal Drugs Group office for questioning.

But Dela Rosa said he didn’t know if a warrant of arrest was out on Impal before she gave up, so he sent her to the AIDG for a thorough investigation.

“I will check if she has a pending warrant of arrest, but her surrender was an offshoot of the statement of Kerwin linking her to the drug trade,” Dela Rosa said.

The Hong Kong-based Lam is the chairman of the Jimei Group, one of the biggest gambling junket operators in Asia.

Through his lawyer Raymond Fortun, Lam admitted he met with Aguirre but denied the charges of bribery.

RUPA is also pushing for the ouster of Tugade from the Department of Transportation.

The group said that both the House of Representatives and the Senate have “said in so many words that Tugade is not fit to head” the department. It added

the powerful Commission on Appointments must stand firm on its earlier decision not to confirm Tugade as Transportation chief despite his reappointment.

RUPA earlier wrote the Commission on Appointments to register their opposition to Tugade’s appointment, scoring the secretary for his “incredible and fantastic solutions” such as his plan to install cable cars over the length of Laguna de Bay as well as to transform the Metro Railway Transit Line 2 into a Bus Rapid Transit.

Aguirre also ordered a lookout bulletin on Lam. “Considering the offenses allegedly committed and appar-

ent reports that he has already left the country, there is a strong possibility that he may attempt to place himself beyond the reach of the legal processes of this government by leaving the country,” Aguirre said in an order to Morente.

“We, thus, deem the issuance of an immigration lookout bulletin order against him prudent in order to at least monitor the itineraries of their flight, travel and or whereabouts, or if warranted, effectuate his immediate arrest pursuant to the directives of the President should the subject return to the country,” Aguirre added. With Rey E. Requejo and Vito Barcelo

legal processes take a while.

“We understand their angst and impatience but we are all forgetting that these efforts were never possible nor even imaginable in the previous times. It is only during the Duterte administration that these releases are all happening,” Dureza said.

Dureza likewise scored elements who are doubting the efforts of the Duterte administration to pursue with the release of political prisoners.

“We are appalled why some sectors are now even publicly attacking government for “not de-

livering enough” and for the perceived delay. Those mass actions and media attacks serve as good reminders for us in government that we need to do more,” he said.

“But putting undue public pressure on the government which has already taken unprecedented steps may not yield their intended results.”

“As the President always says and does, this administration will walk the extra mile for peace. Yes, let’s all be in a hurry but let’s all keep the pace and be in step with him so we don’t stumble,” he added.

By Christine F. Herrera IGNORING the protest of tobacco farmers that the passage of the amended sin tax bill was being railroaded, the House committee on ways and means, in its second hearing Monday, unanimously approved the measure that would shift back to two-tier structure from unitary tax system and increase the tax rate to P32 and P36 per pack beginning next year instead of the unitary P30 a pack.

Voting 26-0, the panel members expressed reservations and described the bill as “regressive” but voted yes, anyway, in the

Cabinet...

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Robredo also said that she exerted all effort to put aside their differences, maintain a professional working relationship, and work effectively despite the constraints, “because the Filipino deserve no less.”

Robredo on Sunday said that she received a text message on Saturday from Evasco relaying the President’s instruction through Christopher Go for her “to desist from attending all Cabinet meetings starting Dec. 5.”

The Vice President, in her statement expressed her dismay over the “obstacles” being thrown in her way by the Duterte administration, which prevented her from functioning as a Cabinet secretary, after the budget for all key shelter agencies was dramatically reduced to just P19 billion for 2017. She also cited the failure of the Palace to act on the key shelter agency appointments; and the failure of the President to sign the executive order raising the HUDCC to department level.

Andanar said some Cabinet members were angry at Robredo’s remarks against the President.

“There have been murmurings

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Du30...

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Republic of the Philippines representatives and the communists, then I will release the 120.

If they are ready to be released, I will release them before Christmas,” Duterte said in a speech at the lighting of the Christmas tree inside Malacañang.

Peace Secretary Jesus Dureza, meanwhile, said the government is doing its best to effect the release of the prisoners and the NDF should just wait because

Duterte draws flak over threats on HR

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan killing campaign,” Kine said in HUMAN Rights advocates on Monday slammed President Rodrigo Duterte for threatening to add them to his list of targets in his bloody war against drugs, saying such remarks were “very dangerous”.

In a phone patch interview aired over ANC Headstart, Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phelim Kine said that he was concerned for the life of his fellow human rights advocates after Duterte made his threat.

“President Duterte’s statement are very dangerous,” Kine said.

“President Duterte’s threat to add human rights activists to the target list of his abusive war on drugs constitutes a clear and present danger to the safety of activists who rightly express concern about a government-sanctioned

Licuanan...

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2016, I received a message from Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. relaying President Rodrigo Duterte’s instructions to stop attending Cabinet meetings starting Monday, 05 December, 2 p.m.,” her statement read.

“I assured Secretary Evasco that I would comply,” Licuanan said.

Licuanan is an appointee of then President Benigno Aquino III with a fixed term until 2018.

Earlier, she told education stakeholders that she would stay at her post under the Duterte administration until July 2018.

The Palace said Licuanan was barred from Cabinet meetings because of “irreconcilable differences” with the President.

Communication Secretary Martin Andanar said there would be no effort to east out appointees from the previous administration.

Licuanan was first appointed

De Lima’s...

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lords in Bilibid said they gave drug money to Dayan for De Lima.

Dayan on Monday stood by his earlier testimony that he did not know the drug lords in Bilibid and that he never received drug money from them.

Dayan, a former driver and bodyguard of De Lima, repeatedly told the Senate committee on public order and illegal drugs that he received campaign funds only from Kerwin Espinosa, the son of Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa who was killed in prison during an alleged shootout with policemen.

Dayan said he received from Kerwin a total of P8 million as agreed upon. He said he collected money from Kerwin five times and gave it to De Lima in 2014.

He also reiterated he was not aware that Kerwin was a drug lord and initially thought he was an engineer.

But the senators later con-

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Dela Rosa said he relieved Marcos on October 15, but was told to reinstate him by someone “higher up” who called him up. He did not identify the person, however, saying only that he was a “kumpare.”

Duterte later admitted that it was he who called up Dela Rosa, saying he wanted Marcos reinstated so he could conduct an independent investigation.

When De Lima asked Dela Rosa why he did not immediately identify Duterte, he said: “Switch positions with me, your honor, you be the PNP chief…”

At this point, De Lima grew angry and told Dela Rosa not to argue with her.

“I’m the one asking you a question here. Don’t argue with me.

I’ve enough of you, all of you are lying!” she said, pointing at her accusers in the hearing, including Espinosa and her former lover and alleged bagman, Ronnie Dayan, both of whom testified that she accepted drug payoffs for her senatorial campaign.

a separate statement sent on the same day.

He said Duterte, as the Leader of the State, must protect the lives of Filipinos and not threaten them with extrajudicial violence.

“The scary fact is that people whom the President threatens with death, including suspected drug dealers and drug users, are dying in large numbers, so human rights activists have a good reason to be concerned when the President appears to add them to hit list,” Kine said.

Wilnor Papa, campaign coordinator of Amnesty International Philippines, said Duterte should not “demonize human rights work.”

“You do not vilify human rights activists. We’re talking here of people and not of pigs or corn,” Papa said in the same interview.

by Aquino as CHED chairperson in 2010. Her second four-year term expires in 2018.

Duterte had earlier floated the idea of replacing Licuanan with Lapuz, his former professor at the Lyceum of the Philippines University.

The militant National Union of Students of the Philippines on Monday said they stand firm on their call for Licuanan’s resignation for persistently being “antistudent and pro-capitalist.”

“Patricia Licuanan is nothing but a manifestation of how those who are in power keep on protecting and forwarding the neoliberal interests of the capitalists on the people’s right to social services,” said Kevin Castro, NUSP spokesperson.

During her term, she supported tuition and other school fee increases and told students not to pursue college and to just finish technical-vocational courses to satisfy the global demand for cheap labor, Castro said. curred with the suggestion of Senator Manny Pacquiao to cite him in contempt for lying.

Pacquiao moved to cite Ronnie Dayan in contempt for his “lies” and contradictory statements in the Senate hearing. He earlier questioned Dayan’s conflicting answers to the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Committee chairman Panfilo Lacson said Dayan will remain under the Senate’s custody until they decide on his transfer to a detention facility.

Lacson said his committee, the lead panel investigating the death of Espinosa Sr., will meet with the members of the committee on justice led by Senator Richard Gordon to decide on the amended motion to have Dayan detained at the New Bilibid Prison.

“Regarding the status of Ronnie Dayan, in the meantime that he is being held, that he is being cited in contempt, or has been cited in contempt of this committee, you will stay first here in the Senate premises and we will resolve it,” Lacson said.

De Lima also criticized Dela Rosa for telling the media that he reinstated Marcos for “humanitarian” reasons.

“But the President never said [anything about] humanitarian considerations,” De Lima said.

During the hearing, Dela Rosa said he admitted that he was confused when he was asked to reinstate Marcos on the same day he was sacked.

“It was uncommon, your honor. To be frank, I was puzzled but who am I to question the wisdom of the President? Which he explained later,” said Dela Rosa.

Marcos insisted he had no powerful backers in Camp Crame when quizzed by senators about his reinstatement.

He also pointed out that the raid in which Mayor Espinosa was killed in his jail cell was a “legitimate police operation” and that the mayor was killed because he fired on the police raiding team.

Marcos also denied allegations of Mylene Son that he had something to do with the ambush and murder of her husband, Chief Insp. Jesus Son on September 16.

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Bello: Russia viable jobs market

By Vito Barcelo

IN BRIEF

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HE government is studying how to make Russia the next work destination for thousands of skilled workers who are being retrenched because of the Arabization policy in the Middle East, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello said Monday.

Overseas Filipino workers are forecast to remit at least $29.7 billion this year, making the Philippines the world’s third largest recipient of remittances, according to the World Bank.

“I already sent a memo to President [Rodrigo Duterte] requesting him to include the possible deployment of skilled and professional workers to Russia,” Bello said, referring to the agenda of Duterte’s scheduled visit to Russia next year.

He also said there is a demand for construction and household service workers in Russia and it will be a good alternative to the contracting jobs market in the Middle East because of declining oil prices.

“We noticed that there is a decline in the demand for OFWs in the Middle East. We have to look for other countries where there are demands for our OFWs,” he added.

In 2014, there were about 4,000 Filipinos working in construction, hotels, and households in Russia and Russian Ambassador Igor Khovaev said Russia is still looking to hire more Filipino household workers and caregivers aside from investing in the Philippines’ agriculture and oil industry.

“We are willing to sit down and discuss models and specific projects. Your country has a lot to offer including agriculture, oil industry,” Khovaev said. “As for the volume of trade, it is up to business people to sit down together.”

Khovaev also said that there are now job vacancies for Filipinos seeking work in Russia because Russian families are now hiring Filipino household workers because of the quality of their work and their facility with the English language.

“English language is not widespread in Russia. But currently, Russian families would want to hire Filipinas as household worker and caregivers because they can teach their kids how to speak in English,” the Russian envoy said.

So far, he said, there are 4,000 Filipinos working in Russia and Moscow is also looking to boost both country’s tourism industries.

Khovaev said Moscow is also looking to boost tourism between the two countries, adding that only 25,000 Russian nationals have visited the Philippines compared to the millions who have traveled to Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Health confirms 39 Zika cases THE Department of Health reported Monday that the number of Zika cases in the country has risen to 39 after the confirmation of four new cases.

According to the department, one woman from Biñan, Laguna who is five months pregnant, one from Mandaluyong City and two from Iloilo City have caught the Zika virus.

Health Secretary Dr. Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial put at three the total number of pregnant women who have contracted Zika.

The first pregnant case was a 22-year-old woman from Cebu who was detected with Zika during her 19th week of pregnancy last September, and the second was a 16-year-old in Las Piñas who was on her 32nd week of her pregnancy last November.

According to DoH spokesperson Dr. Eric Tayag, these women will be monitored during the entire course of their pregnancy and even up to two years after giving birth.

Tayag added that there is also a good indication that their babies will not possibly develop any congenital abnormality associated with Zika, such as microcephaly, a birth defect where a baby’s head is smaller than expected.

He explained that based on reports, congenital abnormalities in babies occur when the mothers get the virus during the first trimester of their pregnancy.

“Note that all of them got Zika after the first trimester period, so there is a good probability that their babies will not be affected,” he said, noting however that they have also received reports from Brazil that congenital abnormalities could occur at any stage, even a year after the baby is born, hence the need for continuous monitoring. PNA

Trillanes links Rody to drugs SENATOR Panfilo Lacson said President Rodrigo Duterte may be impeached if it can be proven that he also had dealings with drug lords as claimed by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV. “If that is raised in the Senate, I will be the first one to vote for it,” said Lacson after Trillanes showed three photos of Duterte with Lim taken during a wedding where they both stood as sponsors.

Trillanes presented the pictures to dispel the wrong notion of “guilt by picture taking.”

“If these pictures would be the basis, then hulihin ang presidente dahil kasama niya ang pinakamalakas na drug lord,” said Trillanes.

Trillanes said guilt cannot be proven by picture taking because many people approach politicians just to have their pictures taken.

Macon Araneta

Oil firms cut prices

NEW FRIENDS. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov welcomes Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. prior to their meeting in Moscow on Monday. AFP Photo

Action on teen pregnancies urged

By Joel E. Zurbano LOCAL leaders on Monday urged educators and parents to help the government reduce teenage pregnancies, which according to latest reports, costs the country around P33 billion each year in foregone earnings.

In the city of Taguig alone, teenage pregnancy remains high with more than 1,466 cases were reported during the first nine months of 2016.

Norena Osano, city’s Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health Nutrition coordinator, reported nonetheless that Taguig was able to

achieve the National Objectives for Health target for teenage pregnancy.

As of September, the teenage pregnancy rate in Taguig is 1.8 percent of the eligible population in the 10 to 19 years old female adolescent demographic. The national target is four percent of the eligible population group.

“Although we were able to beat the target, a disturbing trend is that pregnant teenagers are getting younger. We will have to modify our programs to meet this challenge,” said Dr. Osano.

Despite the city’s on-target performance, Mayor Laarni Cayetano finds the situation

unacceptable.

“The teenage mothers are basically still children and adolescents who should be in school getting an education and then a career. Their unplanned pregnancy restricts them to their homes taking care of a child.

The adverse consequences on their future are multifold and cannot be downplayed,” she said.

To promote the advocacy against teenage pregnancy, teen centers were set up and incorporated in the health centers of Bagumbayan, Western Bicutan and Central Signal.

CBCP: Govt encouraging promiscuity DISTRIBUTING condoms will likely spread the deadly HIV/ AIDS virus and just a waste of taxpayers’ money, according to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the CBCP’s public affairs committee, made the remark after the Department of Health said it will distribute condoms in schools to prevent

the spread of HIV-AIDS among the youth.

But the CBCP opposes the government’s safe-sex drive, saying that students should be given knowledge, not condoms, and branded the campaign as nothing but a waste of taxpayers’ money.

“Distributing condoms will only condone sexual activity among students,” Secillano said.

Health authorities have also expressed concern over the increasing number of teenage pregnancies, and are considering sex education for students between the ages of 15 to 24.

Secillano recognized there is a need to address the problem but urged the government to use a cultural and values-based approach for HIV/AIDS prevention.

“The government should in-

vest more in educating people about the perils of ‘sporadic sexual activity’ than procuring and distributing condoms,” he said.

“The Church has to continue with its mandate to educate and inform people about the dignity of every person and continue to promote understanding of the Theology of the Body,” CBCP’s Youth Ministry chairman Fr. Conegundo Garganta said.

OIL firms rolled back diesel prices by P0.25 per liter effective Tuesday to reflect the movement of oil prices in the world market.

Oil prices have been inching up but was disrupted as US employment data remained unchained. The US is the one of the world’s largest oil consumer.

Energy officials last week warned that consumers may expect higher oil prices following the recent decision of both the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries members and non-members to cut production levels.

“It may induce price increase in the local market,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said.

Cusi added that the peso depreciation will also affect the movement of oil prices.

Crude oil prices surged in the global market on Wednesday last week after both Opec and non-Opec producers had agreed to cut oil production by almost 1.8-million barrels per day (about two percent of global output) to help prop prices.

“This is Opec’s first production cut in eight years and the first in 15 years that non-Opec Russia will also join production…We can expect an increase in prices,” Phoenix Petroleum assistant vice president Raymond Zorrilla said.

Eastern Petroleum president Fer Martinez said the recent understanding between Opec and Russia appears to suggest the “oil price may spike but it’s too early to speculate.”

Martinez, however, said non Opec countries like the US are also influencing global prices.

Alena Mae S. Flores

Senate approves PH membership in AIIB THE Senate on Monday approved on its final reading the ratification of Articles of Agreement of the China-led international financial institution, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Senate Resolution No. 241 was passed on third reading with 20 affirmative votes, one negative vote from Senator Risa Hontiveros and zero abstention.

The resolution was sponsored

by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and co-sponsored by Senator Loren Legarda, chairperson of the Senate Subcommittee on the AIIB ratification.

“The Agreement considers the importance of regional cooperation to sustain growth and promote economic and social development

of the economies in Asia and thereby contribute to regional resilience against potential financial crises and other external shocks in the context of globalization,” the resolution said.

It further stated that the Agreement “realizes that the considerable long-term need for financing infrastructure development in Asia will be met more adequately by a partnership among existing multilateral development banks and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.”

The AIIB is formed by 57-founding member states like China, India, Russia, France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

The Philippines signed the Articles of Agreement of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank last Dec. 31, 2015 in China. PNA

GENDER IDENTITY. Leyte 1st District Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez (right) discusses with Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman, author of the House bill seeking to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity during the Committee on Women and Gender Equality meeting at the House of Representatives. Ver Noveno

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Opinion

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

The last straw

L

ENI Robredo is still vice president, but has resigned Sunday as chairperson of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council which made her concurrently a member of the Cabinet.

In a statement, Robredo said the Duterte administration was preventing her from doing her job as housing czar and was keeping her out of the loop. She cited the P19-billion slash in the budget for key shelter agencies and, more proximately, a text message sent her by Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. telling

Adelle Chua, Editor

her to not bother attending Cabinet meetings beginning this week.

This was the last straw, Robredo said.

For its part, the Palace acknowledged that the President and the Vice President did have “irreconcilable differences” that would make it impossible for the two of them to work

together constructively over the long term.

It is likely Ms. Robredo did not arrive at this decision to quit overnight. We imagine she may have weighed the consequences of staying put versus resigning. It was clear she tried to get along with the President in the beginning—remember that oft-repeated, giggly encounter on the grounds of Camp Aguinaldo? Perhaps the signs were slow in coming and perhaps she did want to do a good job, too, no matter the odds.

We believe, however, that being slighted or eased out should have been less of an impetus.

Events other than that text message—which could be argued as just hurt feelings—dissuading her from attending meetings should have been the last straw.

For instance, Robredo could have resigned when President Duterte made that comment about ogling her legs and knees during the commemoration of the third year anniversary of Super Typhoon “Yolanda.” It showed he did not

respect her at all. Duterte may believe he can get away with most things but that should not have been one of them. He has made many comments offensive to women; for Robredo to do nothing about these, on her own behalf and on behalf of all women who are reduced to body parts, smacks of cowardice.

Another compelling reason came up just a few days later—the burial of former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani following the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the

petitions opposing the plan. Two officials of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines quit precisely because of this. Robredo was vocal about her opposition, too —but again, did nothing.

This would have been a definitive last straw.

We would have respected—admired—Robredo’s decision to quit over these issues. It would have shown she was aware of her non-negotiables and was willing to take a stand.

Hurt feelings are simply a lame excuse to go.

EAGLE EYES TONY LA VIÑA

Human rights are forever

*** The appointment of Robredo to the Cabinet was made at a time when Duterte was endeavoring to show that his was going to be an inclusive government. That was the time when he was recruiting ex-rebels from both the left and the right into his official family and restarting peace talks with various groups dedicated to bringing down the government, in a gesture of reconciliation.

But Robredo, unlike the others invited to join Duterte’s Cabinet, failed to understand that she was not brought in to become some sort of in-house critic of the administration. I’m sure Duterte never had to tell her that she should just do the job she was given and not to issue regular press releases taking the stand that was contrary to the President’s; that she failed to figure that out says something of her

ON SATURDAY, December 10, we celebrate the 68th year anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is a monumental document proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris in 1948, a recognition of the inalienable rights and inherent human dignity all members of the human race. The UDHR consists of 30 articles, which have been incorporated, in international treaties, economic transfers, national constitutions, and other laws, including our 1987 Constitution.

The Philippines, being an original member of the United Nations, participated in that historic occasion. Among others, we have consistently incorporated basic human rights in our Bill of Rights, progressively making this Article of our fundamental law stronger in every new iteration. We have not been perfect, of course. In the last Aquino government, we saw how Lumad leaders were hunted down, their communities uprooted and displaced, and schools closed down; supposedly in the name of anti-insurgency but really an attempt to control their natural resources by outsiders. Even a former President, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, was arbitrarily detained for nearly five years for weak cases that could not stand judicial inquiry. But those failures are nothing to what we saw in the Marcos martial law regime and nothing to what we are not witnessing in Duterte’s war against drugs.

In the 1987 Constitution, acknowledging our failure to implement human rights norms, we did create a Commission on Human Rights that is now at the forefront of holding the Duterte government accountable for its human rights excesses. I know personally CHR chairman Chito Gascon and his fellow commissioners Leah Armamento, Roberto Cadiz, Karen Dumpit, and Gwen Pimentel-Gana. They are courageous and resolute in the face of an antagonistic government; they are my heroes and we should support them unconditionally.

Aside from our domestic efforts, in the last 30 years, after we overthrew the Marcos dic-

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Leni liberated LOWDOWN

JOJO A. ROBLES VICE President Leni Robredo has resigned from the Cabinet.

Although, if you ask me, she had already stayed far too long before she finally left.

My own belief was that Robredo would stay on until she could weaponize her resignation politically, to “make a statement” out of it in the manner of the socalled Hyatt 10. She would, together with her colleagues in the Liberal Party, wait for the arrival of widespread disenchantment with the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte and then she would go, thus maximizing the propaganda mileage of her resignation.

But Duterte, the provinciano mayor, would one-up the “decent” Yellows and their de facto

standard-bearer once again.

Through his Cabinet secretary Leoncio Evasco, Duterte would order Robredo not to attend any more Cabinet meetings as chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, starting yesterday.

Robredo took this directive to mean that she was being forced to resign, by text message, no less, after Evasco said he failed to reach the vice president by phone. And she declared that this was part of a larger plot to “steal” the vice presidency from her, as well.

Robredo fell into a trap Duterte had set, because I don’t think she was really being fired.

I think Duterte wanted Robredo to quit on her own accord, while giving her the option of not leaving the Cabinet if that was what she really wanted, by ordering Evasco to send her the message.

Commission on Higher Education Chairman Patricia Licuanan, a Cabinet-rank holdover

from the previous administration, has also been told by Evasco to stop attending Cabinet meetings. Licuanan merely said that, yes, she would no longer be

As for Robredo justifying her staying on as long as she did, because she and Duterte shared a similar goal of helping the poor, that’s just a lot of cow manure. Almost from Day One of her appointment, Robredo has been declaring publicly how she disagreed with DuRobredo terte on various issues—from the so-called extrajudicial killshould feel ings to the Marcos burial—difliberated to ferences that should have made her quit a long time ago. be out of the Then there was the speech where Duterte made fun of Roadministration bredo’s knees and asked her that she has about her supposed congressman-boyfriend. It took Robredo repeatedly and a full day to understand that she consistently had been ridiculed in public and to react angrily—but still she criticized. didn’t quit.

The fact that she endured everything until she resigned in a huff yesterday made me think attending, adding that she was that Robredo had finally decided staying on in her post; she hasn’t that she would no longer stick to been fired yet. the LP timetable. Never if, de-

pending on who you talked to, she resigned too early or too late.

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Opinion

VICE President Leni Robredo was actually fired by President Duterte from her post as chairperson of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council.

She was told by Cabinet Secretary Jun Evasco that the President didn’t want her to attend Cabinet meetings anymore. That was a clear message from Mr. Duterte that she no longer enjoyed the confidence of the appointing power. Thus, she must resign. And that was exactly what she did.

Malacañang cited “irreconcilable differences” as the cause of her resignation. My gulay, when an alter ego of the President no longer believes in the appointing power, they should resign if they have any selfrespect or delicadeza left.

This also applies to other Cabinet members: Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo, Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano, National Anti-Poverty Commission head Liza Maza, among others. They have been very vocal in their opposition to the Marcos burial. But they are not stepping down because it appears they enjoy the perks they are getting.

What bigots and hypocrites!

What made me laugh was the statement of Robredo that her resignation was all part of plot to “steal the vice presidency.” Steal the vice presidency when in fact it was she, with the help of BS Aquino and the Liberal Party, who stole the vice presidency from former Senator Bongbong Marcos.

Now that the Presidential Electoral Tribunal is set to rule in favor of Bongbong Marcos, Robredo and the Yellows are saying that there’s a plot to steal the vice presidency. To me, my gulay, this is Robredo’s conscience bothering her.

Another member of the cabinet who was also told not to attend cabinet meetings was Patricia Licuanan, chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education. Just why she has not yet resigned is a big question.

This reminds me that there are still hundreds of “leftovers” from the BS Aquino administration, and they are all enjoying their perks!

circumstances. But it seems Dela Rosa is also clinging to his post. *** Malacañang is committing a big mistake in insisting on the appointment of lawyer Randy Escolange, former deputy administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, as administrator of the Subic Freeport.

President Duterte must not forget that in the many instances when both the chairman and the administrator were appointed, conflict became inevitable. On the other hand, when a single appointee acted as both chairman and administrator, there was peace at the SBMA. I recall the time when the nowSenator Dick Gordon was both chairman and administrator of the Subic Freeport. That was a good, peaceful time. The same thing happened during the term of Felicito Payumo.

But I also remember the time, during the term of President Gloria Macapagal Aroyo, there was a chairman and there was an administrator, and both of them quarrelled over turf all the time.

I was in Subic when both the chairman and the administrator were ready to shoot each other. They were arguing on who should occupy the Admiral’s Cottage.

The Bases Conversion and Authority Development Act of 1992 is not very clear on who should be appointed and to what post. Still, a mere executive order cannot amend the law.

I also believe that both the chairman and the administrator should just be one person.

This is an issue that has festered at the Freeport for so long. Congress must clarify the law.

The President said a clear message to Robredo.

*** I can believe the news reports that demoralization has set in among the rank and file of the Philippine National Police. This is because of the reinstatement of Supt. Marvin Marcos, regional head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, who was not only named as having been involved in the illegal drug trade, but was the head of the raiding team that served a search warrant on jailed Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa. That raid is suspected to have been a rubout; he knew who among the police were also involved.

This is clearly a case of double standard—one, for friends and allies of the President, and another one for others in the police force. I cannot buy the excuse of Duterte that Marcos was reinstated because he wants to look into the paper trail.

So why didn’t Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa resign when told by “a higherup” that Marcos should be reinstated after he himself had relieved Marcos?

Any self-respecting government functionary should have resigned under the

Human...

From A4 tatorship among others for its human rights excesses, our diplomacy has also constantly been pro-human rights. As recent as the 2015 Paris negotiations on climate change, we were seen as credible champions of the integration of human rights in to the international climate regime. Unfortunately, that has changed. Slowly but surely, we are becoming a pariah globally on human rights.

Contrary to the view that human rights is a western thing and that the oriental or developing country view is different, the UDHR emanated from the collective wisdom of all civilized nations as part of humanity and was not an imposition by the Western World. The rights recognized in the 1948 Declaration are all based on the predicate that a human being is endowed with faculties unique unto themselves and are not founded on lower life forms like animals. Intellect, reason and con-

*** I am surprised that Customs Commissioner Nick Faeldon is concerned about the long-delayed overtime pay of Customs, Personnel at the MactanCebu International Airport, which has remained unpaid despite a Supreme Court ruling favoring the Customs people.

But there is another Supreme Court ruling mandating that the Board of Airline Representatives, led by both Philippine Airline and Cebu Pacific, together with all foreign airlines requiring overtime of Customs personnel is a biggest tragedy right here at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport where some 900 Customs personnel worked.

They have not been paid their overtime, travel and meal allowances amounting to close to P1.7 billion.

The news report said that Faeldon has written to Finance Secretary Sonny Dominguez who has written to both PAL and Cebu Pacific to remind them of the financial obligation. Just why the Customs Commissioner is acting only on behalf of Customs personnel in Cebu surprises me.

It is really tragic when we know that many of the 900 Naia Customs personnel have since retired or passed away without getting their pay.

Not one of the past five Customs Commissioners before Faeldon looked into the matter. And now Secretary Dominguez has not lifted a finger, either.

Now, Faeldon is moving, why is he being selective?

science are some attributes which other life forms do not possess. Utter disregard of this basic precept has resulted in “in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people.” (preamble, UDHR).

The most fundamental and basic of human rights is the right to life.

Under Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the Philippines is a State Party, “every human being has the inherent right to life.” Article 6 of the ICCPR also says that the right to life “shall be protected by law” and that “no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.” Extrajudicial killings and arbitrary executions are proscribed under this convention.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights defines “extralegal, arbitrary or summary

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December 7, 1941 and beyond

TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

She was actually fired

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016

HAIL TO THE CHAIR VICTOR AVECILLA TOMORROW, December 7, marks the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack on the American naval installation at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

The surprise attack triggered the start of the Pacific theater of World War II. With troops from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy lording it over Europe since 1940, and with Japanese troops across mainland China, the war became worldwide, indeed.

Prior to the attack, the United States was officially a neutral country, albeit sympathetic to the British and French in the war in Europe.

A day later, US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt spoke before Congress, called December 7, 1941 a day “that will live in infamy,” and sought a declaration of war against Japan. Congress obliged and America was officially at war, first with Japan, and later with Germany and Italy.

Hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese planes also bombed the Philippine Islands (then an American protectorate) and other American possessions in the Pacific. General Douglas MacArthur, head of the US military presence in the Philippine Islands, moved his troops to Bataan and Corregidor to buy time for the reinforcements and supplies promised by President Roosevelt, but which never came.

Withal, the fall of “Pearl of the Orient” became inevitable.

Upon orders from Washington, D.C., Manuel Quezon and Sergio Osmeña, president and vice presi-

dent, respectively, of the Philippine Commonwealth, were evacuated to the US where they established a government-in-exile. MacArthur joined them there.

In January 1942, Manila fell to the Japanese, and a brutal occupation of the Philippine Islands ensued. The hard times were somehow mitigated by the Japanese-sponsored Republic of the Philippines headed by President Jose P. Laurel, who tried his best to cushion the effects of enemy occupation on his people.

Numerous atrocities were committed by Japanese troops and their Korean conscripts in the Philippine Islands—inhumane treatment of prisoners of war and guerillas; mass murder of innocent civilians, including women and children; rape of Filipino women—particularly the “comfort women” conscripted to provide sex for Japanese soldiers; seizure of private properties, including food supplies and medicine; abolition of free speech, press freedom and freedom of assembly; and the establishment of a climate of fear and repression throughout the occupied territories. Japanese soldiers were particularly cruel to the local Chinese suspected of supporting the Kuomintang—the nationalist party of China.

The end of the war in 1945 had different consequences for the Philippines and Japan.

Although the Philippines finally obtained its independence from the United States in 1946, the US imposed conditions on the grant of independence and the release of war reparations. These included parity rights—where Americans enjoy the same rights Filipinos have in the exploitation of Philippine natural resources, in commerce, and in the practice of the professions—and the establishment of military bases in

the islands.

US President Harry Truman also rescinded the promise given by his predecessor, President Roosevelt, that Filipino soldiers who fought the Japanese during the war will be given the same compensation and military recognition like those of their American comrades-in-arms.

Although a mutual defense treaty was signed between Manila and Washington, D.C., that treaty appears superficial. Except for occasional donations of discarded planes and medium-sized sea vessels, the US never really upgraded the fighting capacity of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Surprisingly, Japan and Korea got better treatment. The US banned Japan from re-arming itself and undertook the defense of its former enemy. America likewise restructured the economy of Japan to make it the industrial giant it is today.

After the Korean War in the 1950s, South Korea got US fighter jets and artillery to defend itself against possible invasion from its communist neighbor, North Korea.

The assistance Japan and South Korea got from the US was purportedly part of America’s plan to make Japan a buffer state against any expansionist plans the Soviet Union and Communist China may have had in East Asia during the Cold War. Pre-war Japan resorted to war and ended up a devastated country. Postwar Japan resorted to industry and is now an economic powerhouse. Thus, it may be reasonably assumed that post-war Japan has realized the folly of war.

That may also explain present-day Japan’s peaceful attitude towards its Asian neighbors, the Philippines included. Unlike its troublesome old self, modern Japan regulary assists

in the infrastructure development of the Philippines. With the exception perhaps of the World War II comfort women apology and compensation issue, relations between Manila and Tokyo have been very warm for the past decades.

Sadly, the same can hardly be said for the contemporary ties between the Philippines and the US. Washington, D.C. has gotten used to treating the Philippines as a second-rate ally in the Pacific, especially after Manila booted out all US military bases in the country in September 1991.

Policy makers in Washington, D.C. may not be aware that the shoddy treatment Manila gets from the US is the cornerstone of the anti-US propaganda being used by communists in the Philippines and their Red Chinese allies to destabilize the constitutional order. The same may be said of international terrorist groups operating in the Philippines.

Fortunately, not all is lost. The recent invitation to visit Washington, D.C. in 2017 which US President-elect Donald Trump extended to President Rodrigo Duterte may be the start of remedial steps towards fixing Philippine-American relations. Politics aside, Manila can be America’s best ally in Southeast Asia in its expensive war against the international drug menace and terrorism. Since Duterte hates both the drug menace and terrorism, Duterte and Trump will have a common denominator which can jumpstart their discussions, this time as co-equals with a common interest.

When that happens, Dec. 7, 1941 may be commemorated not just as the start of World War II in the Pacific, but as a day when the blood ties between Filipinos and Americans got permanently forged by a war brought against them.

A job is more than a paycheck value—it sends a message that society cares about you and has a place for you.

I say “probably” because this just isn’t something economists think about much, so it doesn’t appear in the research literature much. To most people, the idea that jobs give people dignity and a sense of self-worth seems laughably obvious. Sociologists have probably researched this too, which supports my contention that the US needs more input from sociology and less from economics. But among economists, there remains a relentless unwillingness to consider the importance of dignity and social respect.

There are a few exceptions. David Blanchflower and Andrew Oswald have measured the impact of unemployment on happiness, and found that having a job is an important determinant of how satisfied people are, regardless of how much money they have.

Meanwhile, some of the little sociology research I do know about shows that job status is important for keeping marriages together.

Meanwhile, out in the real world, Americans are hurting from a lack of jobs. A number of deep dives into the mindset of Donald Trump voters, both before and after the election, have focused on the loss of status and self-respect that less-educated men in decaying industrial regions have suffered as

jobs have been lost and replaced by government benefits. One way to see this is in the decline in the percentage of men in the US labor force: The dramatic Democratic loss in the Midwest in the 2016 election should be a wake-up call. The Democrats have been the party of the social safety net, and have long wondered why so many working-class Americans don’t seem to appreciate those benefits.

Trump, meanwhile, sailed to victory in the Midwest, in part by railing against globalization. Economists David Autor, David Dorn and Kaveh Majlesi have found that regions that experienced more Chinese import competition were much more likely to vote for Trump.

Other studies by Autor and Dorn have found that that same import competition was responsible for throwing lots of Americans out of work and that nothing else replaced those jobs. So it seems that many voters in the Midwest didn’t want checks in the mail—they wanted work. And they voted for a candidate who promised them jobs, even if he was very vague on his plans for doing so.

What kind of concrete plans would address Americans’ hunger for jobs?

An easy step is to promote demandbased policies that keep employment high, like fiscal stimulus. A more drastic measure would be a federal job guarantee. Although many such jobs would

pay low wages and would contain some element of make-work, it’s probably better to have unemployed people doing something marginally useful. A third option is to focus on slashing regulations that make it more costly and difficult to hire employees.

Perhaps the deepest change would be to tweak US corporate culture, restoring the value of long-term employment.

Obviously, it’s easy to go too far in this direction—witness Japan—but it could be that US labor arrangements are simply too short-term and insecure to provide the social benefits that workers in Japan, South Korea and much of Europe enjoy. Tax incentives for long-term labor contracts, or for labor hoarding during recessions, could put the government’s thumb on the scale in favor of employment over pure dollars.

Whatever policies are appropriate, it’s clear that economics pundits and policy wonks need to shift our thinking a bit. We shouldn’t be so quick to assume that every dollar of income is the same to people. We should read more sociology, talk to more workers and pay more attention to things like dignity, respect and a sense of community—intangibles that aren’t sold in any market.

Maybe someday, academic economists could even put these things into their models, too. Bloomberg

political acumen—or the lack of it, actually.

Robredo was left to figure out that Duterte didn’t really have to give her a job. But I guess she started to believe that her Cabinet position was an entitlement and that Duterte could not possibly fire her simply because she was the Vice President and deserving, for some reason that is not in any statute book, of her high post.

Furthermore, I think Robredo must have decided that she would resign, first verbally on Sunday and then in writing yesterday (albeit without the traditional “irrevocably” to intensify the verb “resigning”) because she was playing a little game of her own with the President. She wanted Duterte to take back his order and to say that all is forgiven.

That was not to be. Late yesterday, Malacañang declared that the President was accepting Robredo’s resignation, regretfully.

The Liberals’ designs on Ro-

bredo aside, I never understood why she accepted a job in the Duterte Cabinet in the first place, if she had no real desire to back up the President’s policies and positions—or at least to remain silent about them.

Like those “solid accomplishments” that she claimed to have racked up in the last five months, this is something I fail to comprehend.

On the plus side, I think Robredo should feel liberated that she is no longer a member of the administration that she has

repeatedly and consistently criticized. Now she can focus on the job of fighting the electoral protest against her, something that really needs her undivided attention.

If, as Robredo claims, there truly is a plot to steal the vice presidency from her, she must give up her Cabinet position and work full-time to keep it.

Or else, she might no longer be invited to do her monthly glammed-up, glossy-magazine cover shoots—and that would be truly tragic.

executions” as the “deprivation of life without full judicial and legal process, and with the involvement, complicity, tolerance or acquiescence of the Government or its agents.” It further explains that extralegal, arbitrary or summary executions include “death through the excessive use of force by police or security forces.” According to the International Court of Justice, “where there are allegations that persons have been arbitrarily deprived of their life, involving a violation of the right to life, international law requires that there must be a prompt, independent and effective investigation into such allegations and that those responsible be brought to justice.”

Fortunately, under international law, victims are not without remedy, foremost of which are the International Criminal Court and the system of human rights rapporteurs and experts created by the United Nations. I write about the ICC below and reserve the rapporteur/expert system for another column.

The ICC is an international tribunal that has the jurisdiction to pros-

ecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. According to the Rome Statute that created the ICC, genocide are “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”; crimes against humanity are acts “committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack”; and war crimes are “acts of aggression” defined as “the use of armed force by a State against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Charter of the United Nations.” Thus far, the ICC has conducted investigations into a number of cases that fall under its jurisdiction including, the indictment and conviction of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the prosecution of certain individuals in Central African Republic, Sudan, Kenya, Libya

and Mali accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The spate of drug related extrajudicial killings—nearing 5,000 persons now, mostly poor and including some children - as a result of President Duterte’s war against drugs has once again people talking about the ICC. The International Commission of Jurists has written a letter to the President calling on him to unequivocally denounce extrajudicial killings, whether of alleged criminals or of any person in the Philippines. It also urged the Government of the Philippines to conduct prompt and impartial investigations into the police operations that resulted in these deaths. The chief prosecutor of the ICC has put on record that it is carefully watching events unfolding in the Philippines and promised to take action if warranted.

In response, through statements from President Duterte and Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay, we have threatened to leave the Court. To do so would be a big blow

to our diplomacy because we have been in recent years one of the major champions of the ICC and have successfully campaigned for the election of two of its Judges – Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago (who was not able to sit at the Hague because of illness) and Dean Raul Pangalangan who is now ably serving in the court. Justice Pangalangan is in The Hague in his individual capacity but he does the country proud with the work he does there.

I hope our decision-makers realize the irreparable long-term damage it would cause to our country’s reputation if we left the ICC. They should realize that they will not be in their positions forever and they have to worry about the country also and not just themselves.

Respect for human rights is not a passing or seasonal fashion. Human rights are not relative. Human rights are absolute and must forever be respected.

Facebook: deantonylavs Twitter: tonylavs

By Noah Smith IN THE aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, I’m starting to rethink one of my basic beliefs about the economy.

For a long time, I’ve believed that what mattered most for economic well-being was money. Median income, consumption, wages—all the things I cared about most were measured in dollars.

Because of this attitude, I’ve supported lots of policies aimed at boosting the amount of money in the average person’s pocket. I’ve called for Japan to liberalize its markets, and for the US to encourage workers to move to places with better opportunities. And I’ve often assumed that a dollar of government redistribution is just as good as a dollar of wages.

I’m starting to think I was wrong.

Maybe not completely wrong, but I did ignore a big, important source of economic well-being: jobs.

In most of economic theory, a job isn’t treated as something inherently valuable—it’s just a conduit through which money flows from employer to employee. But most people probably care not just about the amount of money they get, but how they get it. If they see themselves as having earned their daily bread, they feel better about themselves than if they got a handout. A job also probably has an important symbolic

Leni...

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News

Alvarez: House leadership to take necessary action vs De Lima

By Maricel V. Cruz and Rey E. Requejo

S

PEAKER Pantaleon Alvarez said Monday the House leadership would take what he called the necessary action against Senator Leila de Lima whose members earlier said had been obstructing justice.

Alvarez said his office was still waiting for the recommendation from the House committee on justice, chaired by Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, which conducted the probe into the illegal drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison.

The Department of Justice has turned down the appeal of Sena-

tor Leila de Lima to have her graft and drug trafficking charges transferred to the Office of the Ombudsman.

At the Department of Justice, Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II stressed there was no valid justification to grant the plea of De Lima to stop the DOJ from con-

ducting its preliminary investigation on the four complaints filed by the Volunteers against Crime and Corruption, the National Bureau of Investigation, former NBI deputy directors Reynaldo Esmeralda and Ruel Lasala and highprofile inmate Jaybee Sebastian.

“There is no valid reason at all to transfer the cases to the Ombudsman. The respondents should not be allowed to choose their investigators, and engaged in forum shopping,” Aguirre said in a text message.

This means the continuation of the preliminary investigation hearing scheduled on Dec. 21, when De Lima and other respondents are required to

answer the charges and file counteraffidavits, will proceed.

De Lima failed to show up during the first preliminary investigation hearing on Dec. 2.

But she instead filed a motion, through a representative, asking the DoJ to refer the four cases to the Office of the Ombudsman, which she said had impartiality to investigate the charges against her, to allow “an objective and independent investigation on said cases.”

Alvarez, however, stopped short of saying De Lima might be arrested, adding “She is a very scheming person... [if we pursue the issuance of arrest order], she might draw sympathy from the people as if she is be-

ing harassed when she is not.”

De Lima had argued the charges against her as a public official were within the exclusive original jurisdiction of the Ombudsman according to the 1989 Ombudsman Act. “The importance of an independent and impartial investigation, forming part as it is of the fundamental right to due process, cannot be overemphasized,” De Lima stressed.

However, Aguirre disagreed with De Lima’s argument, saying “her standard defense is that DoJ is manufacturing evidence against her in all four [cases] where she is being accused as the drug protector. Yet, she has not presented any iota of evidence to prove her accusation.”

Military sets window hours for motorists

MEGAWORLD Corp. has joined the Pasig River Ferry service program of the Metro Manila Development Authority by offering free-shuttle services at stations in Escolta in Manila and Guadalupe in Makati City.

The free shuttle service will cater to ferry passengers going to and from Divisoria and Lucky Chinatown in Binondo, as well as Uptown Mall in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City.

“The part of Megaworld here was to provide the shuttle service.

They [Megaworld] were able to see the effectiveness of the ferry,” said MMDA acting chairman Thomas Orbos.

Orbos said the free shuttle service in Escolta and Guadalupe stations will be launched on Friday to be spearheaded by officials of the Inter-ageny Council on Traffic (I-ACT) and representatives of Megaworld.

“Of course you can ride [the shuttle service] even if you are not going to the mall or are going to Divisoria,” he said.

The MMDA chief said the free shuttle service would be very helpful not only for the employees of Uptown Mall and Lucky Chinatown but mall goers as well, especially holiday season shoppers.

THE Anti-Trapo Movement of the Philippines on Monday filed graft and ethics charges against Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office Chairman Jose Jorge Corpus and other officials for the questionable expansion of operations of small-town lottery.

The group’s founding chairman, Leon Peralta, also included in the complaint board members Betty Nantes, Mabel Mamba and Francisco Joaquin III; Assistant General Manager for Gaming Product Development and Marketing Sector Conrado Zabella; Anna Liza Inciong of the legal department, department manager for Gaming Technology Department Arnel Casas; department manager for Product & Standard Development Department Roger Ramirez, and several other employees.

The group said the accused expanded the STL operations nationwide just to give undue advantage to 18 STL licensees, some of whom were tagged by the National Bureau of Investigation as behind some illegal numbers games operations. Rio N. Araja

THE House committee on labor and employment has approved a consolidated proposal seeking to strengthen the regulation of employment of all foreign nationals in the country by imposing penalty on those who transfer employment without the prior approval of the Secretary of Labor and Employment, among others.

The committee, chaired by Cagayan Rep. Randolph Ting, approved House Bill 277 authored

by Reps. Karlo Alexei Nograles of Davao City and Jericho Nograles of PBA party-list, in consolidation with House Bill 710 filed by Aurora Rep. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo.

The bills seek the amendment of Articles 40, 41, and 42 of Title II, Book One of Presidential Decree No. 442, as amended, otherwise known as the “Labor Code of the Philippines.” Title II pertains to Employment of Resident Aliens. Maricel V. Cruz

WALKING IS FASTER. Public Works Secretary Mark Villar and Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade inspect a walkway connecting the airport and

Newport City. The walkway was designed to accommodate up to 2,000 persons and will allow people to reach their destination in 10 minutes. Lino Santos

CoA to ex-TRC officials: Return illegal bonuses

By Rio N. Araja THE Commission on Audit on Monday ordered former officials and employees of the Technology Resource Center to return illegal bonuses of P14,695,097.84 paid to them in 2011 without any clearance from the Department of Budget and Management.

In its decision, CoA’s Commission Proper denied a petition for review filed by former TRC director general Dennis Cunanan

seeking a recall of the notice of disallowance issued by the TRC audit team on Oct. 23, 2012.

Cunanan, facing multiple graft raps before the Sandiganbayan for supposed involvement in the Priority Development Assistance Fund scam, appealed the disallowance.

He said the audit findings had no “sufficient legal and factual justification.”

But CoA Chairman Michael Aguinaldo, along with Com-

missioners Jose Fabia and Isabel Agito, affirmed the decision of CoA’s Corporate Government Sector 6 that the Omnibus Incentive Benefit was illegal.

Under the law, any additional benefit or allowance not yet integrated into the standardized salaries of employees requires prior approval by the DBM. “TRC recognized this authority when it wrote the DBM Secretary on May 11, 2011 requesting approval of the OIB in its corpo-

rate operating budget for 2011.

Despite the lack of approval from the DBM, TRC continued to pay the OIBs to its officers and employees,” CoA said. “[T]he BOD of TRC does not have an unbridled and plenary power to determine the salary, benefits, and allowances of its personnel. It is only the DB that has the mandate to classify positions and determine the appropriate salaries per specific positions.”

Megaworld backs Pasig River ferry

By Joel E. Zurbano

Raps filed vs PCSO execs

Panel okays alien workers regulation

By Florante S. Solmerin CAMP Aguinaldo will soon open its two gates to civilian motorists with the allowed window hours only to pass through to help ease off traffic on Edsa, camp commander Brig. Gen. Allan Martin said on Monday.

The camp, as an alternate route, had been requested by the Metro Manila Development Authority.

Martin said they would be charging P500 per “route sticker” issued to both private and public vehicles for one year only.

The expiration of the sticker is on Dec. 31, 2017.

The ingress and egress are Gate 3 along Edsa and Gate 6 along Bonifacio Avenue.

Martin clarified the route sticker was different from the regular decal issued by the camp.

“Decal can pass through Gate 1 and they can go [to places allowed inside the] camp. The [route sticker] will be just a route from Gate 6 to Gate 3, and vice versa,” he said.

Martin said motorists could pass through inside the camp from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. during Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

For Tuesdays and Fridays, the window hours are 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Martin said the General Headquarters, Headquarters Support Command had been accepting and processing applications for stickers.

He said requirements were the vehicle’s OR/CR, identification card and/or government ID, and original copy of clearance from the National Bureau of Investigation.

IN BRIEF

The agency now has 14 operational ferries. In September last year, the agency also inaugurated a new fiberglass ferry.

Orbos said the fare was reasonable for the commuters—ranging from P20 to P95—depending on the destination, and the major advantage of this mode of transport is the absence of traffic, resulting in faster travel time.

“Try the Pasig River ferry. It will help the environment and at the same time it would be faster to travel from here [Makati] going to Manila for it will only take you less than an hour,” he added.

At present, the ferry service has 11 stations which include Pinagbuhatan, and San Joaquin in Pasig City; Guadalupe and Valenzuela in Makati City; Hulo in Mandaluyong City; PUP Sta. Mesa, Sta. Ana, Lambingan, Lawton, Escolta, and Plaza Mexico all in Manila.

It operates from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. during weekdays and 9 a.m. to 12 noon on Saturdays.

Last month, the MMDA marked its 41st anniversary giving free rides to passengers of Pasig River Ferry.

Orbos said the free boat rides was one way of giving back to the people for their support to the ferry system since April in 2014.

The Department of Transportation has a plan to improve the service of the ferry system, according to Orbos.

Teo orders more scuba promotions TOURISM Secretary Wanda TulfoTeo on Monday directed their communications group to aggressively promote the Philippines’ scuba-diving destinations and advocate environmental conservation.

At least 36 entries won awards in various categories, including DoT Photographer of the Year awards for Yoshio Osawa and Dennis Corpuz for their originality and composition in showcasing the bursting underwater life.

Undersecretary Kat de Castro, head of DoT Public Affairs, Communication and Special Projects, said 131 divers from 17 countries, as well as, local aficionados from all over the archipelago, competed in a five-day underwater photo contest. Sandy Araneta

PRIVACY ISSUES.

Information and Communications Technology Secretary Rodolfo Salalima speaks at the opening of the National Privacy Commission summit in Quezon City. The newlycreated agency convened around 200 government information security officers in the country’s first data privacy summit.

Ey Acasio

CA reinstates dismissed special prosecutor Sulit

By Rey E. Requejo THE Court of Appeals has paved the way for the reinstatement of Wendell Barreras-Sulit to her post as special prosecutor of the Office of the Ombudsman, three years after her removal for approving the plea bargain deal in the plunder case involving retired military comptroller Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia in 2010.

In a two-page resolution, the CA’s Special Tenth Division upheld its earlier decision reversing the dis-

missal order issued against Sulit by the Office of the President during the Aquino administration in 2013.

The appellate court made the ruling after the Office of the Solicitor General withdrew its motion for reconsideration, thereby leaving its earlier decision unchallenged.

The CA, through Associate Justice Zenaida Galapate-Laguilles, granted the petition of Sulit and found that the OP in the previous administration erred in dismissing her from government service in the administrative case.

The appellate court turned down the findings of the OP that Sulit’s approval of the plea bargain agreement with Garcia was unlawful.

According to the CA, the deal was approved by the Sandiganbayan, making it aboveboard and within the process mandated by law.

The CA held the Palace’s administrative penalty on Sulit and review of her action was actually an encroachment of judicial power of the anti-graft court.

The appellate court stressed that Malacañang has no authority to de-

termine whether or not the evidence presented before the Sandiganbayan was strong to sustain a conviction.

“The act of the OP [Office of the President] in determining the probative value of the evidence presented in the cases of plunder and money laundering in this administrative proceedings is not only misplaced and uncalled for but also constitutes and encroachment of judicial power. The authority rests solely upon the appropriate court—the Sandiganbayan in this case,” the CA decision stated.

Sports

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Matsuyama is Hero champ NASSAU—Hideki Matsuyama captured his fourth title in the past two months Sunday by holding off reigning British Open champion Henrik Stenson to win the Hero World Challenge by two strokes.

The 24-year-old Japanese star served notice that he will be a contender to become his homeland’s first male major golf champion by taking the 18-man invitational event hosted by 14-time major winner Tiger Woods.

“He’s going to be one of the top guys to beat for a very long time,” said Woods, who made his comeback this week from a 16-month back injury layoff.

Sixth-ranked Matsuyama finished on 18-under par 270 after

a closing one-over par 73 while Sweden’s fourth-ranked Stenson, who trimmed an eight-shot deficit to two, shot 68 to stand on 16-under 272.

“I think he’ll be a major champion within the next couple years,” said fifth-ranked Jordan Spieth of the United States, who followed a 2014 Challenge title with 2015 Masters and US Open triumphs.

Matsuyama won at the Japan Open and World Golf Championships HSBC Champions in October,

settling for a runner-up spot in Malaysia in between, and won last month at the Taiheiyo Masters in Japan.

After adding the Challenge trophy, could a historic major be next for Matsuyama?

“That’s my goal and one of the things I’ll be working hard to accomplish,” Matsuyama said.

Matsuyama has five top-10 efforts in 17 major starts, including a career-best fourth at this year’s PGA Championship. He was fifth in last year’s Masters and shared seventh this past April at Augusta National.

“Starting next week, all my focus and preparation will be for the Masters,” he said. “Hopefully

along the way I can play well on the PGA Tour, but my next goal is the Masters.”

Stenson sank a six-foot birdie putt at the 16th to pull within two and both parred the 17th. At 18, Matsuyama found the right rough and went over the green with his approach while Stenson gave himself a 10-foot birdie chance.

Matsuyama responded by chipping within inches of the cup. Stenson lipped out on his birdie putt and both closed with pars to give the Asian star the $1 million top prize at the $3.5 million event.

“It’s going to give him a boatload of confidence going into next year,” said Woods, who finished 15th. “Look at his swing, look at

his game and look at the body that he has -- it’s built for a workload and it’s built to handle the test of time. He’s going to be one of the players that we’re going to have to beat for a long time.”

US Open champion Dustin Johnson and fellow Americans Matt Kuchar and Rickie Fowler shared third on 275, two strokes ahead of US trio Bubba Watson, Brandt Snedeker and Spieth.

“He’s on an awesome run,” Spieth said of Matsuyama. “It’s hard to call it a run when it just means that somebody’s got the game clicking. You can’t really call it a run because even when he doesn’t play that well, he still plays well.

He has all the keys.” AFP

6 Filipino jr booters to train in Barcelona SIX Filipino kids get exclusive training with FC Barcelona in Spain through Astro Kem Bola and TM Football Para sa Bayan programs.

After 89 years since legendary football superstar Paulinho Alcantara retired from FC Barcelona, homegrown Filipino booters will once again step on the popular La Liga team’s pitch, but this time for an advanced training and schooling with some of the Spanish club’s most revered coaches and trainers.

The six young Pinoy footballers aged 10-12, who luckily punched a ticket to the 12-day Astro Kem Bola Overseas Training Programme in Barcelona, Spain this month are Lance Lawrence Locsin, Jared Alexander Peña, Ryan Philip Johansson, Astrid Heiress Ignacio, Mikaela Jacqueline Villacin and Jasmine Cassandra Agustin.

The team was the product of a two-month long TM Football Para sa Bayan talent search organized by Globe Telecom in July and August.

Globe was tapped by Malaysian media and entertainment powerhouse Astro to be its partner in discovering talented young athletes and helping them further harness their craft.

Globe Director for Citizenship Fernando Esguerra expressed elation over the selection of the six players especially after going through tough competition against other footballers from the South East Asian region.

The six were among 12 Filipino players who qualified for the Astro Kem Bola Advanced Training Programme held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia two months ago which was also participated by 60 players from Malaysia and Singapore.

“We are so happy with the turnout, to think that this is the first time that Globe has partnered with Astro in this international activity. We are looking forward to being part of the Astro Kem Bola program again in the succeeding years,” Esguerra said. “The TM Football Para sa Bayan is now beginning to turn out quality players after four years of incubation.

Hopefully this will be an avenue for furthering the football development in the country. This is just the first step albeit one big, giant step.”

The Philippine players will join 22 kids from Malaysia and four from Singapore to train with coaches from FC Barcelona.

Datuk David Michael Yap, Astro Vice President of Community Affairs said: “Astro is committed to championing sports and sportsmanship to aspiring athletes within the region. We continue this commitment through Astro Kem Bola.”

“Nothing is more rewarding than seeing potential turn into reality. In a special way for these young kids, the experience gives them a unique opportunity to really see how far their talent can develop at such an early age. I’m sure they will do us proud,” added Ray Guinoo, TM Portfolio and Brand Head.

TM FPSB technical director and Green Archers United coach Hans Peter Smit was not surprised with the naming of six to Barcelona. “I personally saw the potential of these kids having supervised the program and try-outs in Iloilo, Bacolod, Davao and Muntinlupa a couple of months ago,” said Smit. “This is a chance of a lifetime for these very young players. I wish that these kids will take it all in and savor the experience and use what they will learn to their advantage! What they will learn is a win- win situation not just for them personally but for Philippine youth football.”

Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu (left) and Coach Chieffy Caligdong (right) together with the young Philippine football players (from left) Mikaela Jacqueline Villacin, Jasmine Cassandra Agustin, Astrid Heiress Ignacio, Ryan Philip Johansson, Lance Lawrence Locsin, and Jared Alexander Peña.

Online listup for Bull Run now open THE Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. Bull Run is set on Jan. 22, 4 a.m. at the Fort Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City.

The online registration is now officially open through www.runrio.com.

Now on its 13th year, the PSE Bull Run is targeted at a bigger audience as the PSE once again promotes the importance of being fit both physically and financially.

“As our economy continues its upward path, we know that the rigors and demands in our companies and communities will continue to grow as well.

The PSE Bull Run presents an opportunity for all of us to have a healthy work-life balance,” said PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Hans Sicat.

Interested participants may now register online to secure their slots in any of the three running categories. Registration/entry fees vary at P950 for 21K; P750 for 10K; and P650 for 5K category.

The registration fee across all categories is inclusive of the race bib, d-tag, official singlet, certificate, and a finisher’s shirt. Participants in the 21K will also be given a finisher’s medal.

“We call on running enthusiasts to register now for the PSE Bull Run. Let us all start 2017 by getting physically prepared and be fit to invest,” Sicat added.

PNP wins 1st JCO tablenet title THE Philippine National Police Civil Security Group captured the first-ever JCO Invitational Table Tennis tournament men’s team event title recently at the Harrison Plaza Table Tennis Center in Manila.

PNP-CSG blasted the NRG table tennis team, 3-2, in the

Harrison Plaza Table Tennis Club settled for third place each.

Harrison Plaza Table Tennis Club, headed by Canee Torres, Camille Torres, Keziahbien Ablaza and Ruth Chavez, defeated Genuier’s Engineering School, 3-0, to take home the women’s open team event crown.

finals to win the title of the twoday competition organized by the Table Tennis Association of the Philippines, headed by Senator Antonio ‘Sonny’ Trillanes IV. The PNP-CSG is composed of Jose Ortalla Jr., Glenn Nayre, Kerby Colis and Jong Ortalla.

Jeju-Do, South Korea and

Forum tackles rugby, dragon boat MEMBERS of the Philippine Volcanoes and Dragon Boat teams liven things up in the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum as they serve as special guests in today’s session at Shakey’s Malate.

The Volcanoes will be talking about the Asia Rugby U19 Division 1 Championships here in Manila,

while the Filipino paddlers are going to discuss their recent success in the Asian Dragont Boat Championships held in Puerto Princesa.

Assistant coach Jake Robrigado Letts and U19 players Kingsley Ballesteros and Joshua Aragon represent the national rugby team in the public sports program aired live over DZSR Sports Radio 918 and

presented by San Miguel Corp., Accel, Shakey’s, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

On the other hand, Philippine Canoe-Kayak Dragon Boat Federation president Jonne Go will lead the side of the Filipino paddlers. Go is also the newly elected auditor of the Philippine Olympic Committee.

PHILCYCLING OFFICERS. Tagaytay City Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino (fourth from left, seated) is reelected as president and Alberto Lina (fifth from left, seated) as chairman of the PhilCycling during the association’s general assembly Saturday at the Golden Bay Restaurant in Pasay City. Also in photo are (from left, seated) Atty. Billy Sumagui (secretary general), Oscar Rodriguez (vice president), Philippine Olympic Committee representative Col. Jeff Tamayo, International Cycling Union and Asian Cycling Confederation representative Gen. Hemkasri Decha of Thailand and Maria Jovita Tan (director); and (from left, standing) Atty.

Joselito Manalo (treasurer), Jose Villa (director), Tagaytay City Administrator Gregorio Monreal and directors Moe Chulani, Jun Lomibao, Carlos Gredonia, Salvador Paholio, Juancho Ramores, Ronnie Ferrer, Pablito “Bong” Sual and former Tour champion Paquito Rivas.

Parrticipants of the Color Manila Blacklight Run in Clark are shown here.

Color Manila lures 6,000 runners in Blacklight event COLOR MANILA, leading organizer of ‘concept-fun runs’, had a very successful return to Clark, Pampanga last Dec 3 for its CM Blacklight Run. They had a record number of 6,000 participants joining the said event, the biggest event Colo Manila has had outside of Manila, to date.

The event was held at the Clark Parade Grounds and marked the third time that Color Manila has held an event in Pampanga. Participants had various race finishes of 3K, 5K, and 10K to choose from.

“We had two other events brought to Clark this year, the last event was CM Blacklight as well, and because of the partnership we have with the Clark Development Corporation, we have been able to grow our number of participants from 3,000 to 6,000 in just a span of three months. The run has become a much-anticipated event for runners and first-time runners alike”, says Justine Cordero, Vice President of Color Manila.

Manila-Visayas rivalry continues in SBP Passerelle BACOLOD—The age-old rivalry between the big city and the Visayas heats up anew at the national finals of the 2016 SBP Passerelle Twin Tournament backed by Milo as they forged a double face-off for the championships of both the SBP and Passerelle divisions at the St. La Salle Coliseum in Bacolod City.

In the SBP division, defending champion La Salle Greenhills earned a seat in the championship

game and a chance for a second straight title after crushing Xavier University of Cagayan de Oro, 75-44, and Berkeley School of Baguio, 62-35.

Not to be outdone, Visayas champion University of the Visayas toppled Berkeley School, 50-40, and Xavier University, 5642, to grab the second ticket in the finals.

While La Salle Greenhills is considered a title favorite due to

its high-octane offense, UV will rely on its defense to score a major upset. Berkeley School and Xavier University will play for third place.

In the Passerelle division, defending champion Adamson University flexed its muscles in big wins over International School for Better Beginnings (69-48) and Holy Child College of Davao (63-28).

Host Bacolod Tay Tung High

School followed suit via a 67-60 win over Holy Child College and an 82-48 beating of ISBB. The NCR champion is heavily favored to repeat as champions owing to its deep and talented line-up which is a virtual collection of blue chip prospects from all over the country.

Tay Tung though, will rely on its grit and heart to score an upset win for the Visayas. Holy Child will face ISBB for third place.

Thousands of participants from Pampanga, Manila and some nearby provinces such as La Union, Baguio, Tarlac, Pangasinan and Bulacan joined the event. Some foreigners also flew all the way from Indonesia, US, and other countries, just to be able to experience the night run.

“What makes Color Manila different is that, it is not about who finishes the race first, since everyone gets a medal. For most of the participants, it is about creating that venue wherein you can exercise and bond with your friends at the same time, as you all go through the various race challenges and experience having colored powder thrown at you,” said Jay Em, President of Color Manila.

Resident DJ Marxx Monterola with MC Dino also entertained the participants after the event.

Color Manila’s next Blacklight event will be held in Dagupan in partnership with CSI The City Mall on Dec. 10, their last event for 2016.

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

P0 M+ P0 M

Sports

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

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016

Centro Escolar nears title Games Thursday

(Olivarez Sports Center, Parañaque City) 12 noon – TIP vs CDSL (Battle for 3) 2 p.m. – Olivarez vs CEU (Game 2)

WHAT was expected to be a tight contest turned out to be a walk in the park for Centro Escolar University as the Scorpions humbled the Olivarez College Sea Lions, 66-41, in Game 1 of their title series in the Universities and Colleges Basketball League Monday at the Olivarez Sports Center in Paranaque City.

The top-seeded Scorpions exploited to the fullest their size and heft advantage against the smallest squad in the seventeam tournament as they took the initiative early with their powerful inside plays.

Not even Olivarez’s vaunted pressure defense was enough to stop CEU from inching closer to winning the bragging rights as the league’s first champion.

Expectedly, it was the 6’5” Rod Ebondo, who led the team’s third quarter rampage that saw the Sea Lions take a 49-31 lead going into the final 10 minutes of play.

Ebondo finished with only 14 points, but hauled down 17 of the team’s 53.

Despite their hustle and energy, the Sea Lions grabbed only 40 boards—no thanks to CEU’s air-tight defense.

The Sea Lions did well in the first two quarters, shooting quite well and defending ferociously—thanks to their home crowd—as they fell behind by only six points (28-22) at the end of the first half.

But when Ebondo and company asserted their might inside, the Sea Lions found themselves helpless.

Jason Opiso and Orlan Wamar also shone offensively, helping Ebondo push CEU beyond Olivarez’s reach with their impressive shooting.

Wamar and Opiso fired three triples apiece of the team’s 11against Olivarez’s four of the game.

“We stared flat. That’s why the game was close in the first half. But we managed to make several adjustments in the second half,” said CEU coach Yong Garcia. “During the halftime break, I told my players to follow our game plan and they did. That’s the time we started pulling away,” said CEU coach Yong Garcia.

Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder is all set to dunk the ball against the New Orleans Pelicans at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. AFP

Westbrook’s 5th straight triple-double lifts Thunder L

OS ANGELES—Russell Westbrook became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1989 to notch five straight triple-doubles in the NBA, his latest on Sunday powering Oklahoma City to a 101-92 victory over the Pelicans in New Orleans.

Westbrook scored 28 points, pulled down 17 rebounds and handed out 12 assists for his 10th triple-double of the season and his fifth in a row.

His streak is the longest since Jordan posted seven straight in 1989.

“It’s just a blessing,” Westbrook said. “I’m very, very blessed to be

able to play the game I love. Like I’ve said before, I never take it for granted. Every time I step on the floor, I’m blessed beyond belief.”

Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said before the game that in his opinion Westbrook is “the best athlete in the NBA”.

“It’s fun watching him play

against everybody else,” Gentry said, though it wasn’t as much fun watching Westbrook unleash his talents on his own team.

Thunder center Enes Kanter recorded 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Victor Oladipo added 15 points for Oklahoma City, who withstood 37 points and 15 rebounds from Pelicans star Anthony Davis.

Rookie Buddy Hield broke out of a slump with 16 points, all in the second half, for the Pelicans, who trailed by as many as 15 but cut the lead to seven points with three minutes remaining.

Davis had a chance to trim the deficit to five, but he missed back-to-

back shots on the same possession.

Westbrook then produced a fastbreak finger roll to stretch the edge back to 93-84 with 2:39 to play.

An Oladipo free throw and two three-pointers from Hield pulled New Orleans within 94-90. But they would get no closer and Westbrook’s three-pointer in the final minute put the game away.

“I don’t think I have any words to describe him,” Kanter, the Thunder’s Turkish center, said of Westbrook. “English is my second language.”

Gentry said the Pelicans did about all they could do.

“I thought we did about as good of

Perpetual tossers overpower Mapua bets, jump to 2nd spot

San Beda College middle blocker Criselle Amador foils Rosalie Pepito of Jose Rizal University during the women’s NCAA preliminaries.

SBC won, 2517,25-12,2522, at the Filoil Flying V Center, in San Juan Sonny Espiritu

stored the confidence of DEFENDING champiGames today Perpetual Help after it sufon Perpetual Help over(Filoil Flying V Center) 8 a.m.- CSB vs LPU (jrs) fered its only loss of the powered Mapua, 25-23, 9:30 a.m.- CSB vs LPU (m) 25-18, 25-20, yesterday season, a heartbreaking 11 a.m.- CSB vs LPU (w) 12:30 p.m.- SSC vs EAC (w) to jump into a three25-18, 29-27, 23-25, 272 p.m.- SSC vs EAC (m) way logjam for second 29, 10-15 decision to San 3:30 p.m.- SSC vs EAC (jrs) place in the men’s diviBeda on Nov. 20. sion of the 92nd NCAA “We’re getting our volleyball tournament at the Filoil confidence back after our loss,” said Flying Center in San Juan City.

Perpetual Help coach Sammy Acaylar.

Allan Jay Sala-an unloaded a matchThe troika of Sala-an, Esmail and best 13 hits, including nine on kills Taneo who came through in the tightwhile Kasim Esmail and Rey Taneo, Jr. ly-fought opening set by scoring cruscattered 11 and 10 points, respectively, cial kills and making key defensive to power the Altas to No. 2 alongside St. plays up front.

Benilde and San Beda on 3-1 (win-loss) Mapua was just never the same from records. there as Perpetual Help started to play Relan Taneo facilitated the Las Pinas- more aggressive. based school’s relentless attacking by The Cardinals, who were led by Rey dishing out 30 excellent sets.

Arth Andaya’s 11 points, fell to their The win has also slowly but surely re- third defeat against two triumphs.

Green Waters take early lead MVP-to-be Mbala vows BAGUIO CITY—Denied last week of a podium finish in the seniors’ competitions, Douglas Puckett found another ally within his family as they led Green Water Golfers to a three-shot lead at the start of competitions in Fil B of the Fil-Am Golf Invitational presented by San Miguel at the Baguio Country Club.

Meanwhile, defending Fil Championship titlist San MiguelNorthern Cement braces for a showdown with eight-time champion Manila Southwoods and a Rupert Zaragosa powered Srixon Forest Hills early Tuesday at the John Hay fairways.

“Bahala na kahit wala si Rupert lalaban kami,” said San Miguel captain Eddie Bagtas, who last week led San Miguel – NCC to its second straight title in the Seniors’ Fil Championship.

“We won last year with Rupert with us, but then the boy left for

Forest Hills. But then we have to take our chances. Bahala na kahit wala si Rupert. It’s anybody’s game,” said the former professional, who now hinges his hopes on a team which without him has an average age of 19.5 points.

Bagtas will have Jelbert Gamolo, GJ Katigbak, Gabby Manotoc and Meynard Ko to defend San Miguel honors when the game starts at 6:30 a.m. at the par 69 course.

Out to challenge the defending champion is Southwoods, winner of seven straight from 1996 to 2002 who will be bannered by some of the country’s top young amateur golfers. Yuto Katsuragawa, Kristoffer Arevalo and Ryan Monsalve returns to erase the ghost of last year’s last-day collapse to lose by four shots to San Miguel and now will get enough muscle from Ira Anido, Aidric Chan and Carl Corpus at the longer John Hay where Bagtas and

crew rallied last year to win.

“We ave a very young team this year, particularly in for the Fil Championship division in line with Manila Southwoods’ program of showcasing emerging youthful talents to infuse excitement and drama in the 67th edition of this annual event,” said Thirdy Escano of Southwoods.

He said: “Though our players may be young, they all possess the skills, discipline and drive to secure the Fil Championship plum for our club.”

Zaragosa has found a home at Forest Hills, his third in the FilAm since he started his Fil-Am three years ago with then AAV Robros Venturelinks.

Now he hopes to lift the title anew with Juson Eustaquio, Dan Cruz, Luigi Miguel Guerero and JP de Claro with Forest Hills which want to win anew after its 2013 win. Dexter See

to play smarter, better

By Peter Atencio CAMEROONIAN big man Ben Mbala vowed to play smarter, if not better in Game 2 of the La Salle Green Archers’ best of three finals with the Ateneo Blue Eagles.

The 6’7” Mbala, who will be awarded the season MVP honors this Wednesday, is aware that the opposing team is working hard to stop him.

Their double teams and even their triple teams are forcing him to commit errors and turnovers.

“Looking at the stats sheet, I had five turnovers. I think it’s due to their double team and their defense on me on the post,” said Mbala after the Green Archers took Game 1 of the 79th University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball finals with a 67-65 win over Ateneo.

Mbala feels that he should be able adjust to the defense of the Eagles accordingly.

The Green Archers are a win away from their ninth crown and they can get it if they prevail in Game 2.

Mbala topped the overall stats race with 92.4286 points, beating teammate Jeron Teng for the MVP plum.

Teng settled for the Mythical Five awards with Mbala with 57.23 points.

Another teammate, Aljun Melecio, was adjudged the Rookie of the Year.

Reymar Jose of Far Eastern University is also in the Mythical 5 with University of the Philippines’ Paul Desiderio and Thirdy Ravena of Ateneo.

Afril Bernardino of NU is the women’s MVP recipient.

Mbala, who averages 20.7 points and 16 rebounds, made 20 points and 15 rebounds in Game 1.

a job on Russell in the first half as you can do,” he said. “That being said, the guy still ends up with 17 rebounds, 11 assists, 27 points or whatever it is.”

In New York, Derrick Rose and Carmelo Anthony scored 20 points apiece to lead the Knicks to a 106-98 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

It was the third time in four games that Rose scored 20 points. Brandon Jennings added a season-high 19 points and Kristaps Porzingis chipped in 15 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots for the Knicks, who handed Sacramento their third straight defeat. AFP

Regina earns LPGA card REGINA de Guzman hit a clutch birdie on No. 15 to save a 72 and finish tied at 14th to earn a full LPGA status but Dottie Ardina fumbled at the finish and missed the 20-player cut by one with a 74 in the LPGA Qualifying Tournament Final Stage in Florida Sunday.

De Guzman, tied with Ardina at 16th after four rounds, stayed within the cutoff score with a slew of pars, moved to 13th with a birdie on No. 7 but tumbled down with a double-bogey mishap on No. 13. But the 24-yearold amateur bounced back with the crucial birdie on the par-3 15th, her 72 and a five-day total of 355 netting her one of the coveted cards for next year’s staging of the world’s premier ladies tour.

“I had fun. I’m very lucky and grateful to be able to do this,” said De Guzman, a San Jose State U senior who primed up for the event by winning a tournament two weeks ago, also in Florida.

Ardina also looked headed to finally earning the elusive card after bucking two bogeys at the front with a birdie and an eagle on the par-5 eighth for a one-under card. But she stumbled with a bogey on No. 12 and dropped two more shots on Nos. 15 and 16 and hobbled with a 74.

She ended up dropping to joint 21st with a 357, one stroke behind Thai Pavarisa Yoktuan and amateur Karen Chung of US, who took the last two slots in the Top 20 with 68 and 72, respectively, for 356.

While De Guzman earned a full Category 12 status on the LPGA for 2017, Ardina, along with those who finished at 21st to 48th, again settled for a Category 17 or priority status the way she did in 2013 when she finished tied for 32nd in the final stage.

Alsons investing $180m in new coal-fired plants B3

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016

B1

Mining production shrinks 11%

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales

M

INERAL production shrank 11 percent in the first three quarters from a year ago, following the suspension of several mines, the government said Monday.

Data from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau showed mineral production dropped to P75.93 billion in January to September from P85.47 billion registered in the same period last year.

“Poor base metal prices of nickel and copper coupled with

the suspension of six nickel mines in the provinces of Palawan and Zambales led to the anemic performance of the metallic sector,” MGB said.

MGB said the value of gold production which accounted for almost half of the total

value reached P33.57 billion, while direct shipping nickel ore and mixed nickel-cobalt sulfide amounted to P28.21 billion.

Value of copper production amounted to P13.32 billion, while collective values of silver, chromite and iron ore reached P840 million.

MGB said the average price of nickel in the nine-month period went down 30.65 percent to $3.95 per pound from $5.70 per pound last year, while copper prices also dropped 20.49 percent to $2.04 per pound from $2.57

per pound.

Prices of precious metals, gold and silver rose 6.49 percent and 6.36 percent, respectively during the period.

MGB said the average price of gold increased to $1,256.7 per ounce this year from $1,180.13 last year, while silver reported an average of $17.05 per ounce from $16.03 per ounce in 2015.

The Environment Department suspended the operations of six nickel mines in Zambales and Palawan. The mining operation

of Ore Asia Mining and Development Corp., the lone iron ore producer operating in Bulacan province, was also suspended in August 2016.

MGB said in terms of peso value, the top five mining projects in the first nine months were the Didipio Copper Gold Project, Masbate Gold Project, Toledo Copper Operations, Padcal Copper-Gold Project and Coral Bay HPAL Project. “ A new entrant to the production scene is Runruno Gold-Molybdenum Project of FCF Min-

IN BRIEF

PSE COMPOSITE INDEX Closing December 5, 2016

Weak peso to raise Mitsubishi car prices

8300 7840 7380 6920 6460 6000

6,776.41 110.33

PESO-DOLLAR RATE

Closing DECEMBER 5, 2016 43.00 45.40 46.60 47.80

P49.690

49.00

CLOSE

HIGH P49.660 LOW P49.750 AVERAGE P49.709 VOLUME 334.400M

P430.00-P661.00 LPG/11-kg tank P35.40-P44.10 Unleaded Gasoline P25.75-P29.32 Diesel

OPRICES IL TODAY

PEPSI-JULIE’S PARTNERSHIP. Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc. marks another milestone by signing an exclusive partnership with

Julie’s Bakeshop—a homegrown bakery chain that traces its roots from Mandaue City in Cebu. With the partnership, patrons of Julie’s can enjoy baked goods and pastries with Pepsi products including Mountain Dew, Gatorade and Tropicana juices. Shown during the signing of the agreement are (from left) PCPPI chief executive Yongsang You, president Furqan Ahmed Syed, Julie’s president and chief executive Joseph Gandionco and Julie’s co-founder Rodrigo Gandionco.

Govt paying billions after losing court cases

P28.50-P36.85 Kerosene

By Gabrielle H. Binaday

P20.75-P21.75 Auto LPG Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Monday, December 5, 2016

F OREIGN E XCHANGE R ATE Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

49.7210

Japan

Yen

0.008829

0.4390

UK

Pound

1.270600

63.1755

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128944

6.4112

Switzerland

Franc

0.989511

49.1995

Canada

Dollar

0.752559

37.4180

Singapore

Dollar

0.704225

35.0148

Australia

Dollar

0.743700

36.9775

Bahrain

Dinar

2.652872

131.9034

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266631

13.2572

Brunei

Dollar

0.701754

34.8919

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000074

0.0037

Thailand

Baht

0.028081

1.3962

UAE

Dirham

0.272301

13.5391

Euro

Euro

1.064700

52.9379

Korea

Won

0.000858

0.0427

China

Yuan

0.145138

7.2164

India

Rupee

0.014702

0.7310

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.224719

11.1733

New Zealand

Dollar

0.712600

35.4312

Taiwan

Dollar

0.031352

1.5589 Source: PDS Bridge

erals Corp. located in Quezon, Nueva Vizcaya,” MGB said.

MGB said the company was he fourth financial or technical assistance agreement approved by the government in 2009.

The initial mine output of FCF which started commercial operation in June 2016 was 93 kilograms of gold and 20 kilograms of silver.

The gold mine has an estimated 18.10 million metric tons of ore reserve with an average grade of 1.93 grams/ton Au and estimated mine life of 10 years.

THE Finance Department on Monday blamed previous administrations for the additional tax burden being paid under the Duterte administration because of failed court cases.

“The government is liquid at this point, but paying for these pecuniary claims will mean setting aside for such possible court-ordered payments huge amounts of taxpayers’ money that should otherwise be used to augment the budget for the Duterte administration’s accelerated spending over the next six years on infrastructure, human capital and social protection for the poor and other vulnerable sector,” it said.

“Every time I sign a check for some mistake that has been made in the past, my hands almost

bleed,” Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said.

The agency said it was racing for the likelihood of unprogrammed payments to private companies that dragged the government into court to collect tens of billions of pesos worth of claims from bungled publicprivate partnerships dating as far back as the 1990s.

These included controversial ventures such as the Poverty Eradication and Alleviation Certificates bonds and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 operation.

It said the Duterte administration faced the unenviable task of paying―literally―for the “sins of the past” administrations, courtesy of previous and possibly future court rulings favoring contractors or concessionaires that presumably have scores to

settle with the state.

It said the government would likely have to cough up P5 billion to pay RCBC Capital for the amount the Bureau of Treasury kept back as final withholding tax―as ruled by the Bureau of Internal Revenue ―when these 10-year zero coupon PEACe bonds were ssued during the past Arroyo administration.

This is because the Supreme Court ruled that RCBC Capital was entitled to rely on a much earlier position issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue in 2001, which stated that the PEACe bonds were not deposit substitutes, and thus not subject to the 20-percent FWT. The BTr sold these notes with a 10-year tenor in October 2001 through a public auction that was won by RCBC on behalf of the Caucus of Development NGO Network.

It said in the case of the NAIA 3 project which got entangled in one legal dispute after another as an offshoot of the financial troubles that had buffeted the winning bidder Philippine International Air Terminals Co., the SC ruled on April 19 that the government must pay the contractor $326.93 million in just compensation.

The Supreme Court nullified the Piatco contracts but ruled that just compensation was incidental because of the structures already built by Pitaco before the deal was voided.

The high tribunal also directed the government to pay Piatco an extra amount equivalent to a 12-percent legal interest from September 2006 to June 2013 plus sixpercent interest from July 2013 up to the time the government will have made full payment.

MITSUBISHI Motors Philippines Corp. will soon increase the prices of its vehicles, including those of Fuso trucks.

The price hike is to due to the weakening of the Philippine peso against the US dollar in recent months. The value of the Philippine currency continues to fall, now hovering near 50 a dollar.

MMPC officials said while Mitsubishi would like to maintain the prices of its vehicles, it was compelled to adjust the prices because the strong dollar significantly raised the importation costs of vehicles.

Mitsubishi imports Mirage, Mirage G4, Montero Sport and Strada from Thailand and Pajero, Lancer Ex, ASX and the Fuso trucks and buses from Japan.

MMPC said the price hike would range from 3 percent to 5 percent or around P10,000 to P20,000 per unit.

New buyers are advised to take advantage of the current prices and the on-going promotions before the foreseen price hike.

Mitsubishi sold 50,246 vehicles in the first 10 months, or 17.18 percent higher than 44,800 units sold in the same period last year.

Othel V. Campos

T-bill rates increase ahead of Fed meeting TREASURY bill rates rose Monday, ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting which will likely increase its interest rates this month.

The Bureau of Treasury awarded P11.058 billion worth of short-term debt papers to investors. It fully awarded P8 billion for the 91-day debt instruments, partially awarded P3.058 billion for the 182-day papers and rejected the offer for the 364-day Treasury bills.

“Well of course it’s driven mainly by the Fed meeting that’s being anticipated, so a lot of positions are for shorter term and even probably held in cash. Even in term facility in central bank, there was also undersubscription,” National Treasurer Roberto Tan told reporters after the auction.

“A lot of players are now standing on the sidelines and probably waiting for Fed decision and probably waiting for reaction of Bangko Sentral,” Tan said.

Interest rates for the 91-day or threemonth debt facilities rose 7.1 basis points to 1.55 percent while the 182-day bills rates increased 6.7 basis points to 1.876 percent. The yield on the 364-day debt papers also went up 19.7 basis points to 1.88 percent. Gabrielle H. Binaday

Steel companies commit Banana plantation owners protest NPA extortion to invest $1b in five years By Anna Leah E. Gonzales

By Othel V. Campos STEEL companies are investing at least $1 billion in the next five years to modernize the steel sector and generate 161,000 direct and indirect jobs in the country.

Philippine Iron and Steel Institute president Roberto Cola said major players professed their intention to expand capacities while new players committed to invest soon.

Steel Asia Corp. announced the biggest investment of $500 million in three steel plants to support the local production of steel plates, section bars and wire rods, while Chinese miner Nicua Mining Corp. unveiled its plan to diversify into steel manufacturing with a $250-million investment in Leyte.

Capitol Steel Corp., PagAsa Steel Works Inc. and other smaller players are sharing in the remaining $250 million.

Cola said the country’s infrastructure was growing faster than the economy and could face supply challenges if construction aggregates like steel were not enough to fill in the required volume.

The Philippines is projected to register significant increase in steel consumption, together with Indonesia and Vietnam, due to their relatively fast-growing economies.

The group said the combined per capita consumption of these three economies comprised about a third of the world’s average per capita consumption of 225 kilograms.

Recent data showed that steel consumption in Asean 6―Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam―registered a 6.3-percent growth to 67 million metric tons in 2014 from 63 million MT in in 2013.

The region’s net importation of around 40 million MT comprised the bulk of the 2014 demand.

The Asean 6 apparent steel consumption is projected to grow 5 percent to 6 percent in the next three years and will hit 80 million MT in 2017.

Asean steel manufacturers are producing similar low-end steel products and are facing stiff competition from other countries, especially China.

BANANA producers and traders said Monday members of the New People’s Army continue to harass them despite the ongoing peace talks between the government and the communist rebels.

Businessmen said rebels were asking money ranging from P5,000 to as high as P5 million a month from agricultural plantations, private contractors, quarrying operators, public market stallholders and smalltime entrepreneurs.

The businessmen, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said the biggest adverse impact of revolutionary taxes, apart from the unchecked government red tape and corruption, would be on foreign investors invited by President Rodrigo Duterte to do business in the Philippines.

“Now the business community would logically wished that the administration find solutions to this worsening scenario in the countryside,” the businessmen said.

Worried businessmen said they were concerned what the peace talk could really mean

to their businesses because the rebels were reportedly taking advantage of the government’s unilateral cease fire.

Big banana plantations have been seeking government support in fighting extortionists from the communist rebels who were demanding revolutionary taxes.

Dole- Stanfilco, a multinational banana firm operating in Tag-

bina, Surigao del Sur earlier shut down its operations indefinitely after it was subjected to a series of attacks by the NPA for refusing to pay revolutionary taxes.

The firm’s decision expectedly resulted in loss of jobs in the area.

“If we pay, we will lose our shirts and would be forced to close shop. If we refuse to pay, our lives

and those of our family members will be in danger,” said a businessman in Toril, Davao City.

The businessmen claimed that groups identifying themselves as NPA rebels were asking “commission” ranging from five percent to 10 percent from private contractors doing multi-millionpeso projects for the government and private companies.

RESILIENT FARMS. Systems

Wide Climate Change Office director Alice Ilaga (left) shows to Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol (center) and undersecretary for operations Ariel Cayanan the accomplishments of the Adaptation and Mitigation Initiative in Agriculture in strengthening and mainstreaming various climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives. In a span of one year and a half, AMIA was able to produce maps that can be used as guide to landscape planning, policy studies to institute reforms in DA core functions of research, extension and regulation of irrigation and farm-to-market roads including technical and managerial capacity building.

B2

Business

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Market sinks; Sta. Lucia, LT rise BDO readies P60-b S stock rights offering TOCKS sank the most in two weeks in line with the movement of Asian markets as Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s resignation sparked worries about political instability in the eurozone and beyond.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, fell 110 points, or 1.6 percent, to close at 6,776.41 Monday. The bellwether was also down 2.5 percent since the start of the year.

The broader all-share index tumbled 47 points, or 1.2 percent, to settle at 4,118.65, on a value turnover of P5.3 billion.

Losers outnumbered gainers, 124 to 61, while 39 issues were unchanged.

Five of the six major subindices posted losses, with only

mining and oil registering gains.

Four of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by property developer Sta. Lucia Inc. which climbed 3.4 percent to P1.23 and conglomerate LT Group Inc. which rose 1.7 percent to P13.16. PLDT Inc. gained 0.8 percent to P1,280, while Cemex Holdings Philippines Inc. went up 0.2 percent to P11.30.

Petron Corp. lost 6.1 percent to P9.50, while conglomerate Ayala Corp. slid 4 percent to P710.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks declined amid concern Italy’s vote against constitutional reform will embolden nationalist movements.

The euro briefly dived to 20-month lows against the dollar on the news, which also sparked demand for the safe-haven yen—a negative for Japanese shares.

Investors largely shrugged off data released Friday that showed the US unemployment rate at a nine-year low in November, virtually guaranteeing a Federal Reserve interest rate hike this month.

Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.82 percent, or 151.09 points, to end the day at 18,274.99, while the Topix index of all firstsection issues was off 0.75 percent, or 11.02 points, at 1,466.96.

The euro slumped to $1.0506 in early deals, its lowest since March

2015, but it later recovered to $1.0556.

And the yen, which is often bought as a safe haven in times of uncertainty, picked up in early deals. The dollar fell to 112.88 yen from 113.51 yen in New York on Friday before bouncing back to 113.52 yen in the afternoon.

Renzi announced his resignation hours after losing a referendum on constitutional reform Sunday.

The defeat and Renzi’s departure threatens to plunge Italy into a new phase of political uncertainty and possible economic turmoil.

Some analysts fear a deeper crisis of investor confidence that could derail a rescue scheme for the country’s most indebted banks, triggering a wider financial crisis across the already struggling eurozone.

With AFP, Bloomberg

By Jenniffer B. Austria BDO Unibank Inc., the banking unit of conglomerate SM Investments Corp, set the terms of the planned P60-billion stock rights offering in January.

BDO said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission eligible shareholders would be entitled to subscribe to 1 new share for every 5 common shares owned as of record date tentatively set at Jan. 6, 2017.

The final offer price will be computed based on the 15-trading day volume average price of the

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2016

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 3.38 6,000 47.8 6,900 90 2,990,340 114 1,074,940 1.45 282,000 38 148,900 16.5 239,100 19.16 671,900 6.68 1,000 0.66 20,000 1.76 28,000 729 250 0.69 2,987,000 75 2,003,620 0.76 588,000 14.12 92,400 55.6 890 258 50 135 660 92 40 35.2 281,700 183.7 494,530 1,731 160 75 75,500

19,380 329,810 269,071,087.50 122,851,691 429,690 5,646,400 3,945,166 12,857,110 6,692 13,200 49,380 184,065 2,044,960 150,629,356 461,880 1,307,470 49,171 12,900 85,950 3,680 9,919,995 90,890,592 277,315 5,659,014.50

243,870 7,430,729.50 22,024,149 4,265,995 -3,669,616 -5,472,790 -74,120,209.50 61,600 -1,673.50 -4,967,020 -18,358,219 -25,960 958,990.00

42.5 4.32 0.9 1.28 21.1 0.202 85.25 11.26 17.1 150 23 20 58 89 1.87 7.17 11.9 11 6.21 7.1 5.02 21.8 67.7 12.58 15.66 6.17 1.72 212.8 75.15 2.35 3.69 29.8 26.25 14.46 257.4 0.25 4.94 3.3 9.5 3.28 11.3 2.02 5.56 1.35 67 4.9 230.2 4.42 2.88 4.3 0.142 1.49 170.5 4.17 1.68 31.2 1.05

INDUSTRIAL 42.95 422,300 4.35 629,000 0.9 382,000 1.3 303,000 21.95 3,500 0.202 350,000 85.3 560 11.3 17,203,000 17.1 184,500 150 10 23.45 234,200 20.2 2,900 58 150 90 2,340 1.89 422,000 7.18 196,300 12.1 5,100 11.06 859,900 6.21 592,400 7.25 5,019,300 5.02 24,196,000 22.2 113,800 68 127,750 12.58 10,000 15.66 704,800 6.18 203,300 1.73 239,000 212.8 159,670 75.2 3,510 2.61 291,000 3.7 22,000 29.9 606,800 26.6 222,900 14.46 2,883,000 258 111,180 0.25 10,000 4.94 4,000 3.3 365,000 9.5 9,722,600 3.28 10,000 11.3 2,000 2.05 3,180,000 5.79 106,100 1.35 120,000 67.15 923,820 4.95 1,116,000 235 53,200 4.5 666,000 2.9 87,000 4.3 10,000 0.142 70,000 1.5 218,000 170.7 867,270 4.6 368,000 1.68 1,832,000 31.2 200 1.11 11,000

18,126,845 2,748,250 344,530 393,250 76,005 70,820 47,760 194,738,252 3,202,802 1,500 5,488,285 59,760 8,700 208,307 793,940 1,412,054 61,620 9,509,536 3,742,187 36,210,883 122,191,156 2,510,355 8,667,263 125,800 11,037,168 1,270,459 412,710 34,098,810 266,691 778,170 81,360 18,175,880 5,925,125 41,902,292 28,771,770 2,500 19,760 1,204,610 93,898,138 32,820 22,620 6,457,460 598,197 162,100 62,124,826 5,514,240 12,500,610 2,989,500 251,640 43,000 9,970 327,460 148,162,950 1,668,700 3,132,130 6,240 11,610

-4,390,895 678,320 48,400 90,457,116 -134,330.00 -4,690 11,280 -5,132 -482,320 -1,562,241 -7,703,485 -14,063,498 -1,050,930 -863,110.50 -54,810 -4,780,294 -1,090,265 -182,600 -8,654,046 -1,515,358 277,090 -13,675,122 2,200,570.00 6,750 43,224,553.50 3,729,300 11,706,190 1,063,860 -4,300 -25,109,183 1,600,450 -474,950 -

0.395 71.55 12.86 1.08 5.91 0.305 710 1,000 8.2 13.1 8.24 0.184 1,170 6 69.4 4 1.36 7.62 12.8 6.4 0.037 1.9 2.55 80.05 625 1.16 235.6 0.295 0.26

HOLDING FIRMS 0.395 670,000 72 987,620 12.88 4,801,800 1.18 6,000 5.91 14,900 0.305 350,000 710 429,580 1,000 5 8.28 1,501,900 13.14 5,770,300 8.28 172,100 0.184 20,000 1,170 150,220 6.2 104,300 69.4 1,278,320 4 1,000 1.46 39,141,000 7.8 589,000 13.16 6,693,500 6.48 24,401,600 0.037 30,000,000 1.9 89,000 2.55 211,000 85.5 416,830 625 198,900 1.16 12,000 237 25,420 0.295 1,180,000 0.26 60,000

265,100 71,192,215.50 62,032,446 6,580 88,851 106,750 307,679,625 5,000 12,429,053 76,015,308 1,421,401 3,680 177,056,855 626,278 89,457,813.50 4,000 58,038,970 4,588,048 86,573,964 158,774,932 1,110,500 169,150 538,050 35,137,529.50 126,552,975 13,920 6,019,410 363,850 15,600

-52,545,730 -36,603,022 -122,254,945 3,343,687.00 -4,574,166 22,261,585 16,801,590 -2,537,216 -15,987,250 85,653,948 -795,826 -43,474,995 83,250 -

104,275 262,150 1,179,230 201,550 405,690,330 15,818,820 72,207 4,675,130 238,680 1,058,020 216,100 15,509,740 77,839,715 49,369,450

-8,400 -6,598,840 -6,029,970 -1,076,400 95,600 13,318,080 3,503,935 -20,270,030

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

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

3.2 47.9 93 115.5 1.39 37.75 16.5 19.16 6.7 0.66 1.77 735 0.7 76.1 0.8 14.1 56 258 130 92 35.4 184.1 1,749 74.25

3.38 47.9 93 115.5 1.55 38 16.58 19.16 6.7 0.66 1.77 740 0.7 76.1 0.87 14.2 56 258 135 92 35.4 184.1 1,749 75.15

3.2 47.7 89.7 113.4 1.39 37.6 16.5 19.08 6.68 0.66 1.76 729 0.68 74.4 0.76 14.1 55 258 130 92 35.1 183.5 1,730 73.85

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 FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG GINEBRA HOLCIM INTEGRATED MICR IONICS JOLLIBEE LIBERTY FLOUR LMG CHEMICALS MABUHAY VINYL 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 ROXAS HLDG SPC POWER SWIFT FOODS TKC METALS UNIV ROBINA VICTORIAS VITARICH VIVANT VULCAN INDL

43 4.52 0.9 1.3 21.3 0.206 85.25 11.3 17.4 150 23.5 20 58 89.2 1.92 7.23 12.18 11 6.45 7.1 5.19 22.2 67.8 12.58 15.66 6.47 1.72 218.6 76.65 2.35 3.69 30.05 26.5 14.94 259 0.25 4.94 3.31 10.12 3.28 11.5 2.06 5.62 1.36 68.1 4.95 231 4.47 2.9 4.3 0.143 1.5 172.7 4.55 1.74 31.2 1.05

43 4.52 0.92 1.31 22 0.206 85.3 11.42 17.4 150 23.5 21 58 90 1.92 7.35 12.18 11.16 6.49 7.29 5.2 22.2 68.15 12.58 15.66 6.47 1.75 218.6 76.65 3 3.71 30.4 26.6 14.94 261.8 0.25 4.94 3.32 10.12 3.3 11.5 2.07 5.79 1.36 68.1 5.05 235 4.5 2.9 4.3 0.143 1.51 172.7 4.61 1.76 31.2 1.11

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

0.405 73 13.08 1.08 5.95 0.305 740 1,000 8.29 13.4 8.24 0.184 1,185 6.33 70.8 4 1.38 7.62 13.2 6.52 0.038 1.9 2.55 85 649.5 1.16 237.8 0.305 0.26

0.405 73.2 13.08 1.18 6 0.305 740 1,000 8.44 13.4 8.29 0.184 1,185 6.33 70.8 4 1.53 7.8 13.2 6.67 0.038 1.95 2.55 85.5 654 1.16 238.4 0.31 0.26

8990 HLDG A BROWN ARANETA PROP ARTHALAND CORP AYALA LAND BELLE CORP CEBU HLDG CENTURY PROP CITY AND LAND CITYLAND DEVT CROWN EQUITIES CYBER BAY DOUBLEDRAGON FILINVEST LAND

7 1.11 2.23 0.33 33 2.91 5.16 0.53 1.08 1.35 0.157 0.54 40.4 1.71

7 1.11 2.23 0.33 33.4 2.94 5.16 0.55 1.08 1.4 0.157 0.55 42.8 1.73

6.92 1.08 2.1 0.325 31.8 2.82 4.96 0.53 1.02 1.35 0.154 0.53 39.05 1.67

VOLUME

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

GLOBAL ESTATE IRC PROP KEPPEL PROP MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED PHIL REALTY PRIMEX CORP ROBINSONS LAND ROCKWELL SHANG PROP SM PRIME HLDG STA LUCIA LAND SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND

0.96 1.18 5.48 3.7 0.144 0.415 3.11 26 1.49 3.21 27 1.19 0.93 5

0.96 1.18 5.48 3.7 0.151 0.42 3.18 27.1 1.53 3.21 27.2 1.3 0.93 5.06

0.94 1.13 5.47 3.53 0.141 0.41 3.11 25.55 1.49 3.2 26.4 1.16 0.93 4.94

0.95 1.18 5.47 3.64 0.145 0.42 3.15 27 1.5 3.2 26.5 1.23 0.93 5

1,546,000 583,000 2,700 66,001,000 27,900,000 190,000 77,000 1,878,300 7,000 20,000 4,854,100 87,009,000 3,000 1,362,000

1,465,400 666,460 14,795 238,042,910 4,106,470 78,250 240,570 49,959,490 10,500 64,040 129,076,890 108,644,830 2,790 6,801,210

-132,173,440 16,840,680 1,530 12,840 -1,560,650 -11,307,340 -1,853,579

2GO GROUP ABS CBN ACESITE HOTEL APC GROUP APOLLO GLOBAL BLOOMBERRY BOULEVARD HLDG CALATA CORP CEBU AIR DFNN INC GLOBE TELECOM GMA NETWORK GOLDEN HAVEN HARBOR STAR IMPERIAL A IMPERIAL B INTL CONTAINER IP EGAME IPEOPLE IPM HLDG ISLAND INFO ISM COMM JACKSTONES LBC EXPRESS LEISURE AND RES LORENZO SHIPPNG MELCO CROWN METRO RETAIL MLA BRDCASTING NOW CORP PACIFIC ONLINE PAXYS PHILWEB PLDT PREMIUM LEISURE PRMIERE HORIZON PUREGOLD ROBINSONS RTL SBS PHIL CORP SSI GROUP STI HLDG TRAVELLERS

7.5 45.15 1.54 0.52 0.042 6.39 0.07 2.74 97.8 6.9 1,390 6.15 15.04 1.91 15.8 120 72.7 0.0095 12.26 9.12 0.179 1.32 3.26 13.6 5.52 0.93 4.15 3.69 17.1 2.68 11.34 2.94 14.1 1,273 1.18 0.43 39.8 76.5 5.15 2.54 1 3.3

7.5 45.15 1.54 0.52 0.042 6.52 0.071 2.76 98.3 6.95 1,392 6.15 15.04 1.93 15.8 120 74.45 0.0095 12.26 9.12 0.184 1.39 3.26 13.6 5.52 0.93 4.17 3.69 17.1 2.77 11.34 3.09 14.4 1,292 1.18 0.43 39.8 76.5 5.29 2.54 1.02 3.38

7.5 44 1.33 0.5 0.04 6.32 0.069 2.67 97.8 6.7 1,355 6.15 14.36 1.85 14.98 120 70.65 0.0093 12.26 9.11 0.178 1.32 3.26 13 5.16 0.91 4.06 3.56 15.5 2.51 11.34 2.9 13.6 1,260 1.16 0.41 38.8 74 5.05 2.5 0.98 3.3

SERVICES 7.5 44.3 1.4 0.51 0.04 6.32 0.069 2.69 98 6.92 1,360 6.15 14.36 1.87 15 120 74.45 0.0093 12.26 9.11 0.18 1.37 3.26 13.5 5.34 0.91 4.1 3.56 15.5 2.54 11.34 3 14 1,280 1.18 0.43 39 75 5.25 2.5 1.01 3.32

30,400 24,300 371,000 5,465,000 11,900,000 1,855,300 14,430,000 2,911,000 313,110 391,000 56,675 173,900 98,600 3,920,000 10,500 130 493,230 15,000,000 2,000 467,600 2,520,000 47,000 10,000 5,100 1,493,800 41,000 3,674,000 626,000 4,000 6,089,000 100 69,000 1,688,400 169,485 6,358,000 830,000 1,523,800 729,310 669,000 126,000 30,717,000 706,000

228,000 1,076,965 512,960 2,777,290 487,500 11,927,664 1,006,950 7,844,400 30,676,245 2,690,575 77,481,885 1,069,485 1,448,110 7,397,380 157,742 15,600 35,610,904.50 140,800 24,520 4,259,886 456,170 64,270 32,600 67,630 7,979,492 37,740 15,077,350 2,253,870 66,300 15,919,830 1,134 203,810 23,679,552 216,441,610 7,460,150 347,900 59,432,580 54,682,766 3,460,480 317,070 30,892,410 2,353,700

9,380 -2,277,440 2,093,994 401,500 -8,833,269.50 1,879,107 -16,871,120 -149,400 -15,600 -17,069,912 -75,680 2,409,396 774,250 -658,000 121,720 147,500 -779,476 31,952,360 -297,390 10,896,670.00 -5,246,540 -45,250 13,195,400 -368,650

ABRA MINING APEX MINING ATLAS MINING ATOK BENGUET A BENGUET B 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 PETROENERGY PHILODRILL PX MINING PXP ENERGY SEMIRARA MINING TA PETROLEUM UNITED PARAGON

0.0035 2.92 5.29 9.63 2.16 2.19 0.465 12.88 3.47 0.275 0.195 0.196 0.012 0.012 1.89 7.89 3.07 1.17 0.012 4.05 0.012 8.55 3.9 131.9 2.91 0.0085

0.0035 2.96 5.29 10.4 2.3 2.3 0.49 13.02 3.69 0.28 0.195 0.197 0.012 0.012 2 8.15 3.12 1.24 0.012 4.1 0.012 8.64 3.9 132.9 2.95 0.0085

0.0034 2.9 5.01 9.63 2.16 2.19 0.465 12.42 3.46 0.275 0.193 0.195 0.012 0.012 1.86 7.89 3 1.15 0.011 4.02 0.012 8.4 3.7 131.6 2.9 0.0085

MINING & OIL 0.0035 49,000,000 2.94 134,000 5.1 588,700 10.4 4,300 2.3 2,000 2.3 12,000 0.485 9,320,000 12.7 169,800 3.6 20,914,000 0.28 190,000 0.194 2,580,000 0.195 2,230,000 0.012 11,000,000 0.012 1,000,000 1.93 1,012,000 8.15 7,837,500 3.11 104,000 1.21 1,260,000 0.011 1,300,000 4.05 4,000 0.012 5,700,000 8.63 278,000 3.7 1,247,000 131.8 285,810 2.9 123,000 0.0085 11,000,000

167,100 392,400 3,006,767 43,235 4,460 27,220 4,477,400 2,153,710 75,733,370 52,950 499,740 435,400 132,000 12,000 1,954,570 63,348,666 317,690 1,516,080 14,400 16,220 68,400 2,393,425 4,672,210 37,690,630 356,830 93,500

-34,000 -450,623 -6,570 4,170,960 -345,320 -12,136,233 788,483 30,190 880,320 -

ABS HLDG PDR AC PREF B2 DD PREF FGEN PREF G GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF B PF PREF 2 SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

43.6 526 103.8 121 5.86 1,021 1,037 77.95 82 77.65 79.65 77.6 78

44 526 103.8 121 5.9 1,021 1,037 77.95 82 77.65 79.65 77.8 78

43.6 526 103.6 121 5.86 1,020 1,037 77.95 80.55 77.6 79.5 77.55 78

PREFERRED 43.6 62,600 526 1,000 103.6 2,500 121 10 5.87 50,000 1,020 2,000 1,037 5 77.95 900 80.55 80,610 77.6 10,200 79.5 4,300 77.6 92,400 78 600

2,732,845 526,000 259,240 1,210 293,750 2,040,500 5,185 70,155 6,551,885 791,552.50 341,887.50 7,179,817.50 46,800

-1,532,470 -

LR WARRANT

2.48

2.68

2.47

WARRANTS 2.51 118,000

297,650

-

ALTERRA CAPITAL ITALPINAS XURPAS

2.56 3.37 9.77

2.9 3.38 9.8

2.56 3.37 9.62

2.71 3.37 9.65

13,102,830 84,260 8,664,362

-2,991,352

FIRST METRO ETF

114.1

114.1

112.5

1,987,076

-

MS

PROPERTY 6.95 1.09 2.18 0.325 31.8 2.82 4.96 0.53 1.04 1.37 0.154 0.55 40.2 1.67

15,000 239,000 543,000 620,000 12,414,700 5,509,000 14,500 8,635,000 226,000 761,000 1,390,000 29,132,000 1,903,200 28,878,000

TRADING SUMMARY FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL HOLDING FIRMS

SHARES

13,383,684 77,080,531 119,512,482

PROPERTY

281,729,581

SERVICES

117,495,175

MINING & OIL

127,574,092

GRAND TOTAL

742,478,581

SME

4,764,000 25,000 892,400

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 112.5 17,540

VALUE 1,674.24 (down) 16.52 883,451,616.432 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 10,904.00 (down) 112.33 999,943,438.74 HOLDING FIRMS 6,856.58 (down) 159.25 1,345,784,173.941 PROPERTY 2,994.03 (down) 56.44 SERVICES 1,279.03 (down) 1.11 1,111,745,951.64 MINING & OIL 12,127.96 (up) 33.40 694,091,071.88 PSEI 6,776.41 (down) 110.33 199,623,589.962 All Shares Index 4,118.65 (down) 47.84 5,258,489,520.933 Gainers:61 Losers: 124; Unchanged: 39; Total: 224

bank’s common shares prior to pricing date set on Jan. 2, 2017, subject to a discount.

The bank’s planned rights offering is subject to regulatory approval by the corporate regulators.

BDO said it planned to offer up to 800 million common shares, which would come from the unissued common shares of the bank to raise as much as P60 billion in proceeds.

The bank currently has 850.98 million unissued common shares with a par value of P10 per share.

Meanwhile, BDO declared cash dividends amounting to P1.1 billion to its stockholders payable on Dec. 29. BDO said its board approved the dividend declaration on Dec. 3, 2016.

It said the source of dividend payment was the “surplus profits of the bank.” The dividend payment was recently approved by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

BDO maintained its status as the biggest bank in the country. In the first nine months of 2016, BDO posted a 10-percent profit increase to P19.3 billion, driven by strong loans and deposits.

The bank’s core lending, deposit-taking and fee-based businesses delivered solid results during the period, offsetting a more normalized contribution from treasury activities.

First Metro eyes new exchange listed fund FIRST Metro Investments Corp., the investment banking unit of Metrobank Group, plans to conduct a P1-billion follow-on offering of its equity exchange traded fund next year.

First Metro chairman Francisco Sebastian said in a news briefing the company also planned to launch a second ETF next year that would track a new set of stocks.

ETFs are exchange-listed products that mirror indexes, commodities, bonds and currencies and allow investors to buy and sell them like stocks.

It allows investors to diversify their portfolio by buying a single product that represents a wide range of securities underlying an index.

First Metro launched First Metro Philippine Equity Exchange Traded Fund in 2013 to track the movement of the 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index.

“The follow-on offering will probably be finalized within the next four weeks and probably early next year will be a good time to do it.

We’re also watching the index. We’ve seen the index at 8,100. We will time it so that it’s probably at least well below 7,000. [It] will be a good time to get into the market for a long-term play,” Sebastian said.

“We encourage investors to stay in the market because the long-term fundamentals of this market are just very positive,” he said.

Philippine Stock Exchange president Hans Sicat also expressed confidence about the prospects of ETFs in the country.

“ETF is the fastest growing asset class. Global ETFs are over $3 trillion globally.

It tells you that we have here in the Philippines is really just the start and with more education and more familiarity that probably should increase in terms of not just absolute size but hopefully as proportion,” Sicat said.

Jenniffer B. Austria

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Manila

Business

Standard

TODAY

B3

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Will US move away from globalization?

SMART DONATION. PLDT-Smart Foundation and Smart Communications donate a School-in-a-Bag to the Shining Light Foundation, an organization co-founded by celebrity Gary Valenciano in 1989 to support needy students, Christian missionaries, and people with diabetes.

Shown at the donation rites are (from left PLDT vice president and head of SME Nation Mitch Locsin, PSF president Esther Santos, SLF president Angeli Valenciano, SLF director Gary Valenciano, Smart public affairs head Mon Isberto, and PLDT first VP and head of enterprise Jovy Hernandez. Smart this year created School-in-a-Bag to provide public schools in remote areas, especially those without electricity, with digital tools and content. Each bag contains a solar panel, a laptop, a tablet, a mobile phone, a pocket WiFi with starter load, an LED TV and learning modules.

Alsons investing $180m in new coal-fired plants

By Alena Mae S. Flores

A

LSONS Consolidated Resources Inc. plans to invest $180 million in coal-fired power projects in the next three years, a senior official said Monday.

Alsons executive vice president and chief operating officer Tirso Santillan said the amount would correspond to the company’s 30 percent equity stake in power projects lined up until 2019 and costing about $600 million.

He said 70 percent of the projects would be funded by debt and 30 percent by equity.

The company plans to build a 105-megawatt second unit in the coal-fired power plant of subsidiary Sarangani Energy Corp. in Maasim, Sarangani province at a cost of $250 million. Alsons started operating the first unit of 105 MW early this year.

The company through unit San Ramon Power Inc. is also set to build a 105-MW power plant in Zamboanga City next year with a cost of $320 million over three years.

Santillan said the company was also pursuing renewable energy projects, such as solar and hydro, pending power supply agreements with electric cooperatives.

The 15-MW Siguil hydro project is estimated to cost $50 million to construct, while the company’s 20-MW planned solar project will cost $30 million.

Santillan. meanwhile, said Alson Power may post a lower net income this year to slightly over P400 million from P600 million.

“2016 is the first year of merchant activities in power business,” Santillan said.

The power output of Alsons’ Western Mindanao Power Corp. and Southern Philippines Power Corp. were previously under contract with National Power Corp. until it lapsed in 2015.

“As a merchant plant, circumstances are different, our revenues from those two plants are much lower. But then, on the other

hand, we added SEC (Sarangani Energy) for 2016—which was a capacity non-existent in 2015,” Santillan said.

He said the diesel plants were just expected to earn about P400 million this year from P800 million for Western Mindanao, P300 million for Southern Philippines and P150 million for Mapalad Power.

“This year, all three plants will earn about P400 million,” Santillan said.

Alsons is Mindanao’s first and most experienced independent power producer and has has played a pivotal role in helping end the power crisis in the country’s second largest island.

Alsons’ affiliated power facilities are expected to reach a total generating capacity of 588 MW by 2019, or approximately 25 percent of Mindanao projected peak power demand for that year.

The Alcantara Group, through its other units, is also engaged in aquaculture and agribusiness, property development and services. It has been an active player in the economic development of Mindanao and the rest of the Philippines for over 60 years.

Consunji honored by UP alumni engineers DMCI Holdings Inc. chairman and president Isidro Consunji was conferred the Most Distinguished Alumnus Award by the University of the Philippines Alumni Engineers.

The annual recognition is given to outstanding UP alumni engineers “who have distinguished themselves in their areas of specialization” and “whose contributions to the university, the society and the country have made them outstanding models of inclusive growth.”

A 1971 Civil Engineering graduate of UP Diliman, Consunji led the diversification of premier construction company D.M. Consunji Inc. into real estate, energy, mining and water services.

Consunji has been president of DMCI Holdings since its establishment in 1995. Under his leadership, the engineering conglomerate became one of the biggest and most valued publiclylisted companies in the Philippines.

Finance bucks new cigarette tax bid

By Gabrielle H. Binaday

CONSUNJI

Salceda files bill creating nuke body ALBAY Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda recently filed a bill in Congress creating the Philippine Nuclear Regulatory Commission, an independent nuclear regulatory body focused on the control of peaceful uses and application of nuclear energy.

House Bill 4369, titled “Comprehensive Nuclear Regulation Act of 2016,” is considered a vital piece of legislation as the country embarks on a renewed effort to strengthen science and technology and boost industrial growth.

Salceda said PNRC would be attached to the Department of Science and Technology , and would work to harmonize with similar regulatory structures in other countries, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, such as Chi-

na, South Korea, Japan, Australia and Singapore.

Salceda said the PNRC would “ensure consistency with the nation’s obligations under relevant international instruments.” It will also modernize the country’s nuclear civil liability and compensation regime in line with internationally accepted standards.

Salceda’s bill aims to harness the peaceful uses of nuclear energy that will benefit various fields, including health and medicine, energy production, scientific research, agriculture, industry, and education.

It also seeks to recognize, mitigate and protect individuals, society and the environment from the potentially harmful effects of ionizing radiation, including those

that could result from improper use, accidents or malicious acts.

The proposed PNRC will develop an “independent regulatory framework that will decide on and resolve issues affecting public health and safety, protection of the environment, and nuclear security and safeguards, beyond the reach of entities with self-motivated interests,” said Salceda.

He said the resolution of these issues within an autonomous regulatory structure would generate in the public a higher level of trust and confidence in the application of nuclear technologies.

He added a positive public mindset was “imperative for the continued and improved utilization of nuclear energy and radioactive materials in the country.”

THE Finance Department on Monday expressed strong opposition to the decision of a House committee level to keep the two-tiered excise tax structure for machine-packed cigarettes in the country.

Finance submitted its position in a paper to the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives, objecting to House Bill 4144 filed by ABS Partylist Rep. Eugene De Vera on November 18.

Despite the strong opposition from Finance, several stakeholders and tobacco farmers, the House committee approved the bill during its second reading.

The bill seeks to discard the unitary tax imposing a P30 excise tax on all brands slated for January 2017 as provided under RA 10351.

“Tax differentiation is not germane to the principle behind the excise taxation of cigarettes. More than a revenue measure, the Sin Tax Reform Law or RA 10351 is a health measure with a primary goal of curbing tobacco use in particular among the young and the poor because of its known detrimental effects to health,” Finance said.

“Prices and equity reason therefore should not figure in the tax structure. Thus, one of the key features of the law is the gradual shift to unitary taxation. A unitary rate by 2017 will further the gains of the law when it comes to its revenue and health objectives,” Finance added.

ARGUABLY the most powerful element of the campaign platform of Republican candidate (and now President-elect) Donald Trump in the recent US Presidential campaign was his argument that the outgoing Obama administration had pursued external trade policies that took American jobs abroad to foreign workers. Trump took aim at the regional free-trade organizations that the US had entered into and was in the process of joining.

Candidate Trump was emphatic about NAFTA (North American Free Trade Association), which is made up of the three North American countries, and TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership), which has yet to become operational. The Donald was imprecise about what he would do with NAFTA, but he knew what he would do with TPP. One of the first actions he would take as President would be, he said, to take the US out of the Pacific-area organization.

This raises an existential question. Is the country with the world’s largest economy, after seven decades of advocacy of the idea of universal free trade—this began with its signing in 1947 of GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade), the forerunner of WTO (World Trade Organization)—about to turn its back on globalization? Is the world about to see the emergence of the economic equivalent of Fortress America?

The American-jobs-are-being-exported campaign rhetoric appears to have resonated with workers in states—mostly in north-central America—that had been considered safely blue (Democratic). The Electoral College votes of Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan brought Trump to the 270-vote winning mark.

In recent days President-elect Trump has reiterated his desire to pull the US out of TPP, and, with a Republicancontrolled Congress, he might very well try to do that. But the US’ turning its back on globalization completely is another, far more serious matter. I offer two reasons why there is likely to be no turning back, not even during the four years of the Trump administration.

The first reason is historical in character. In the modern era the US has been a staunch advocate and unwavering supporter of the concepts of free trade and globalization. The politicians in Washington D.C. always have one eye focused on America’s manufacturing industries and have always tried to strike a balance between the welfare of America’s working class and the need to achieve high levels of production efficiency and consumer welfare, which are attained by subjecting to foreign competition the products of the US’ factories, workshops and farms. Whenever the policymakers in Washington D.C. have perceived a real threat to America’s industries and workers, they have usually reacted not by disengagement from trade arrangements and prohibitions of foreign goods but by appropriate changes in the US Tariff and Customs Code.

As stated earlier, Donald Trump may move for the US’ disengagement from the not-yet-operational TPP. But disengagement from NAFTA would be a very serious and highly disruptive action. Not only has NAFTA been operating for nearly two decades but it involves US relations with Canada and Mexico, two of its closest allies.

My second reason for believing that the US is not about to turn its back on globalization relates to present geopolitical circumstances. China has become the world’s second largest economy and, some observers say, could before too long, overtake the US economically.

And, although the US is still the only superpower, China is beginning to flex whatever military muscle it has. In no part of the globe is American-Chinese rivalry more intense than in the area encompassed by the ocean that the US and China share. Indeed, this growing rivalry is the explanation for the pivot to Asia effected by the administration of President Barack Obama. On China’s side, Asia-Pacific influence is demonstrated by its establishment of a development financing institution to rival ADB (Asian Development Bank), which is controlled by Japan and the US. The American architects saw the 12-member TPP not only in terms of its economic benefit—chiefly the exchange of production efficiencies and employment opportunities—but also in terms of its strategic value, viz., its being a vehicle for the further projection of American power and leadership.

To withdraw from TPP would be to offer China a strategic advantage on a silver platter.

Free trade has for a long time been the cornerstone of US trade policy and globalization has become entrenched as a part of America’s economic vocabulary. Was the US not one of the principal moving spirits behind WTO’s creation?

To be sure, American workers need relief from competition from foreign producers. But the answer lies not in a turning away from globalization. Mr. Trump’s administration should look in other directions for that.

E-mail: rudyromero777@yahoo.com

SEC Memorandum Circular No. 18 Series of 2016 To

: FINANCING AND LENDING COMPANIES

SUBJECT

: STREAMLINING THE DOCUMENTARY REQUIREMENTS FOR FINANCING AND LENDING COMPANIES

DATE : 8 November 2016 x-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------x WHEREAS, in accordance with the requirements of the Securities Regulation Code, the Amended Code of Corporate Governance and other laws, rules and regulations being implemented by this Commission, registered financing and lending companies are required to submit, among others: (1) SEC Form Q-EPS; (2) Certification of the Corporate Secretary on the attendance of Directors on Board Meetings; and (3) Corporate Governance Scorecard.

WHEREAS, it is the government’s policy to make doing business in the Philippine easier.

IN VIEW OF THE FOREGOING, covered financing and lending companies are no longer required to submit (1) SEC Form Q-EPS; (2) Certification of the Corporate Secretary on the attendance of Directors to Board Meetings; and (3) Corporate Governance Scorecard.

This Circular shall take effect immediately.

Mandaluyong City, Philippines. 8 November 2016 For the Commission:

TERESITA J. HERBOSA Chairperson (MS-DEC. 6, 2016)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

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

B4

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016

Business

Euro sinks to 20-month low H ONG KONG―The euro hit a 20-month low Monday and most Asian stocks retreated as a fresh wave of uncertainty hit markets after Italy’s prime minister resigned following a heavy referendum defeat.

Analysts warned the single currency could soon hit parity with the dollar because investors are spooked by a long-running banking crisis in Italy and the possibility of elections that could usher in anti-EU parties.

Matteo Renzi stood by his promise to resign after his attempt to change the constitution was overwhelmingly rejected in Sunday’s poll, leading to fears about the future of one of the eurozone’s biggest economies.

“His defeat in the face of populist moves will spawn concerns over the rest of Europe,” said Yunosuke Ikeda, chief currency strategist at Nomura Securities in Tokyo.

Anti-establishment populist movements are gaining ground globally, fanning worries about the world order. Last month Donald Trump won the US election and in June Britain voted to leave the European Union.

Yannick Naud, head of fixed in-

come at Banque Audi (Suisse) SA in Geneva, told Bloomberg News: “There is now a possibility of the euro reaching parity to the dollar.

Maybe not right away, but it is a possibility if there is certainty regarding new elections.”

The news sent the euro tumbling to $1.0506 at one point, its weakest since March last year, before it edged back up slightly.

The dollar also fell to 112.88 yen from 113.51 yen in New York Friday before recovering.

The yen is considered a safe bet in times of turmoil.

The New Zealand dollar was off 0.5 percent against the greenback after the country’s Prime Minister John Key made a shock announcement that he was to resign.

Commenting on Italy’s referendum, Nomura’s Ikeda said the result was less of a surprise than the Brexit vote or Trump’s election victory.

“As Prime Minister Renzi has now resigned, some investors might think all the bad news is out now.”

The result also sent the yield on Italy’s 10-year government bonds surging to 2.027 percent from 1.902 percent Friday as traders shift out of the country.

Regional equity investors turned negative after a recent run-up fueled by Trump’s win, which many say could lead to stronger growth in the world’s top economy.

Tokyo ended down 0.8 percent, while Shanghai slipped 1.2 percent, Sydney eased 0.8 per-

cent and Seoul was 0.4 percent lower.

“There’s a sense of fatigue from investors who have had a busy month after the US election, Opec meeting and now Italian referendum,” said Gary Huxtable, client adviser at Atlantic Pacific Securities, in a note.

“It looks like markets are taking a bit of a breather before the focus shifts to next week’s US Federal Reserve meeting.”

Hong Kong was down 0.7 percent in the afternoon. Shenzhen’s Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China’s second exchange, closed off 0.8 percent as worries over Italy overshadowed the start of an exchange link-up with Hong Kong. Wellington slipped 0.7 percent. AFP

US opts to re-route N. Dakota pipeline CANNON BALL―The US Army Corps of Engineers on Sunday nixed plans for a controversial oil pipeline crossing in North Dakota, a major victory for Native Americans and environmentalists who had staged months of protests.

The pipeline had been set to cross under the Missouri River and man-made Lake Oahe, which are drinking water sources for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

“It’s clear that there’s more work to do,” Jo-Ellen Darcy, the US Army’s assistant secretary for civil works, said in a statement.

“The best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternate routes for the pipeline crossing.”

The Standing Rock Sioux objected to building the 1,172mile (1,886-kilometer) pipeline underneath the river and lake because of fears of possible leaks. The tribe also said the route would cross through areas with sacred historic artifacts.

The conflict between the tribe and pipeline operators Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco Logistics Partners galvanized North American native tribes and supporters, who have camped in the thousands near the construction site for months in an effort to block it.

Some 2,000 US military veterans joined the protest this week in a symbolically important move before a deadline for demonstrators to vacate the area on Monday.

“We wholeheartedly support the decision of the administration and commend with the utmost gratitude the courage it took on the part of President Obama, the Army Corps, the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior to take steps to correct the course of history and to do the right thing,” Standing Rock Sioux chairman Dave Archambault said in a statement.

“We are not opposed to energy independence, economic development, or national security concerns but we must ensure that these decisions are made with the considerations of our indigenous peoples.”

Pipeline operator Energy Transfer Partners did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

However, a group representing the pipeline operators, the Midwest Alliance for Infrastructure Now, condemned the decision, blaming it on President Barack Obama.

“This purely political decision flies in the face of common sense and the rule of law,” it said in a statement. “Unfortunately, it’s not surprising that the president would, again, use executive fiat in an attempt to enhance his legacy among the extreme left.” AFP

MARKET LINK. HKEX chairman CK Chow (second from left) and Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying (right) prepare to strike a gong to mark the start of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect on December 5, 2016. A long-delayed trading link between the Chinese city of Shenzhen and Hong Kong is launched, opening another door to the mainland’s cosseted stock markets but a China slowdown, weak yuan and expected US rate hikes have analysts sounding a note of caution. AFP

China ruins list of ‘green’ products GENEVA, Switzerland―China has scuppered attempts by world trade heavyweights to eliminate or reduce tariffs on a list of environmentally friendly products, the European Union said on Sunday.

A list of around 300 “green” products had been prepared by the US and EU to be presented at WTO talks on Sunday in Geneva for the 18 participants― including Japan, Australia, South Korea, Singapore and Turkey―to discuss.

But to the surprise of all present, China submitted its own list of products, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said, thus derailing talks.

“They took away many of our priorities,” Malmstroem, who deplored the Chinese move, told journalists.

“The Chinese list had commonalities with the original list but there were lots of differences―too many to absorb them.

“It would have been very helpful if they had engaged earlier in this sort of specifics because, of course, they came out with a list that surprised everybody.”

Talks on the Environmental Goods Agreement began in July 2014, based on a proposal at the World Economic Forum in Davos six months earlier.

But Malmstroem insisted the participants at the World Trade Organization talks were determined to find a solution.

“Everybody said, all delegations said... this is a very important agreement. We are committed to conclude this and we will reinforce our efforts next year,” she said.

The US-EU list included solar panels, wind turbines and air quality monitors while China’s list contained electric bicycles, according to a WTO spokesperson.

Over $1,000 billion (940 billion euros) worth of “green” goods are traded every year, according to the WTO. Asked by reporters if China’s stance had been a reaction to US President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial telephone conversation with Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen on Friday, Malmstroem declined to comment.

China reacted with fury at Trump’s contact with Tsai and his referring to her as the Taiwan president in a tweet. AFP

Sony has a hit that’s bigger than Pokemon Go in Japan NINTENDO Co. might have scored a hit with the explosive debut of Pokemon Go this year.

On its home turf, however, Sony Corp. has quietly dispatched its rival with a popular mobile game called Fate/Grand Order.

The game, based on an anime TV series called Fate, allows players to travel back in time and team up with historical figures like Julius Caesar, Leonardo da Vinci and Joan of Arc to rescue humanity from looming disaster. While the basic version is free to play, people can pay for tokens that make it easier to add characters and speed up gameplay.

Fate/Grand Order has been at or near the top of Japan’s app revenue rankings all year and has been downloaded more than 7 million times since its July 2015 debut. It has made more money than Pokemon Go among Android users 104 out of 133 days this year, and 51 days on iOS devices, in the same period, according to researcher App Annie.

“In terms of the amount of money people are spending, it’s up there above Pokemon Go,” said Damian Thong, an analyst at Macquarie Group Ltd. in Tokyo. “The intensity and engagement level for Fate/Grand Order is a lot higher.”

When Sony reported its latest quarterly figures last month, Sony chief financial officer Kenichiro Yoshida singled out the game at a press conference, saying “it continues to positively” contribute to the music division, where it’s based. Fate/Grand Order helped to lift Sony Music’s operating profit by 23 percent to 16.5 billion yen.

Revenue rose 8 percent to 150 billion yen. The game’s success is a sign of how important Sony’s gaming and entertainment businesses are for chief executive officer Kazuo Hirai, as the company struggles with razor-thin margins and competition in televisions, cameras and other hardware. The

Atsuhiro Iwakami (right), president of Aniplex Inc., a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., listens during an interview at the company’s head office in Tokyo, Japan. Aniplex Inc.’s Fate/ Grand Order smartphone game, published with Type-Moon, and, developed by Delightworks Inc., is displayed on an Apple Inc. iPhone 5 smartphone in this arranged photograph in Tokyo, Japan, on Friday, Nov. 25, 2016. Bloomberg

company plans to expand its mobile games effort with more titles in more markets in the coming months.

The original Fate television series and more recent game emerged from Sony’s Aniplex studio, created in 1995 to produce anime TV shows and movies. Atsuhiro Iwakami, 44, the studio’s president, said the idea to branch out into gaming was hatched three years ago when he realized the show’s complexity and large cast of characters lent itself well to the mechanics of mobile games.

“Sony Music was quite generous with its budget and said, why don’t you give it a shot,” Iwakami, himself a gamer and former pro-

ducer on Fate, said in an interview.

Aniplex partnered with game developer DELiGHTWORKS Inc. and creative studio TypeMoon to produce Fate/Grand Order. Iwakami said he received little push-back from Sony, even though the game was made independently from the PlayStation division.

About 200 people were involved in its production, he said.

“Whether you look at the number of downloads or users or revenue, it has exceeded our expectations,” Iwakami said, declining to share specific figures.

While mobile puzzle games such as Monster Strike and Clash Royale are also huge hits in Japan, Fate/ Grand Order relies on a narrative,

which has players traveling through time to days of the American Revolution or Roman Empire. While that approach has helped, it’s also proving to be a challenge because the game’s writers and producers need to keep coming up with fresh content to keep fans engaged.

“If our writers get stuck with story, the game will have to stop temporarily,” said Iwakami. “Even if I wanted to push the business forward and have someone else write it, I can’t.” Like many Japanese mobile games, Fate/Grand Order makes money through the “gacha” gameplay technique, which encourages players to buy virtual items without knowing what they are until after the purchase.

In 2012, regulators banned some of the tactics, which they said manipulated people’s emotions.

Earlier this year, CyberAgent Inc. came under fire for enticing some players to spend thousands of dollars on rare in-game items.

The game has been released in China, where Iwakami said it’s doing well, and it may be rolled out in other Asian countries. Expansion in the US, Europe and other Western markets is also possible, he said.

Sony, which is stepping up its efforts in mobile games, launched a new studio in March called ForwardWorks.

Aniplex isn’t collaborating with the new unit, Iwakami said, though that might change in the future.

For now, Iwakami said he’s focused on maintaining Fate/Grand Order’s momentum, as long as his writers can keep fans engaged.

Like its corresponding TV series, the game needs new stories and narratives to keep people engaged. Every time there’s a gap in the story line, usage drops.

“It will be a challenge for Aniplex to keep coming up with new narratives and characters over the next years, but so far they have been successful with it,” said Serkan Toto, founder of Tokyo-based consultant Kantan Games Inc. Aniplex is working on developing other new mobile games. A game called Band Yaroze that debuted in October, based on starting a rock band, hasn’t taken off and isn’t near the top of app download charts. In March, it will release a title based on the Puella Magi Madoka Magica anime series. Re-creating the success of Fate/Grand Order will be challenging, because it relied heavily on the popularity of the Fate anime series, said Macquarie’s Thong.

“Sony needs more of this: more experimentation and the willingness to take risk,” Thong said.

“Hirai has always talked about willingness to try and explore and move into different areas.”

Bloomberg

LGUs

QC council vows to pass tax measure this month

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor jimbo.gulle@gmail.com TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016

C1

By Rio N. Araja THE Quezon City Council on Monday vowed to pass a proposed ordinance revising the city’s fair market values of land this month and implement it by January, following a series of 29 public consultations.

Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte, the council’s presiding officer, said the 38-member council is bent on fast-tracing the approval of Proposed Ordinance No. 20CC-1441, which would approve the schedule of fair market values of lands, basic unit construction cost for buildings, and other structures for the revision of real property assessments per the provisions of the Local Government Code.

Belmonte, along with several city councilors, city assessor Rodolfo Ordanes and assistant city assessor for operation Sherry Gonzalvo, also promised to mitigate the impact of the adjustment of property values on those paying real-property taxes.

“We will pass on second reading a measure this Monday and another one on third reading next week to grant tax discounts to fine-tune the fair market value adjustment’s implementation in January,” the vice mayor told reporters.

Ordanes and Gonzalvo assured there would be no 500-percent increase on real-property taxes if Ordinance No. 20CC-14 is passed.

“We are taxing assessed value at five percent only,” Gonzalvo said. “What is subject to tax is not the market value, but the assessed value. We get the assessed value by multiplying the market value by five percent [assessment value],” she told the Manila Standard.

Ordanes said while the fair market value would increase up to 500 percent, “we have lowered the current tax assessment level of 18 percent to 5 percent for residential properties.”

As far as commercial properties are concerned, the existing assessment level of 45 percent is lowered to 15 percent under the proposal, he added.

This issue began when the Commission on Audit and the Department of Finance called the Quezon City government on its failure to adjust the fair market values of land and building costs over the past 21 years.

Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte shows reporters sample computations for real property taxes under a proposed ordinance that would adjust fair market values of land in the city—for the first time in 21 years—in a press conference at Quezon City Hall on Monday. Belmonte also promised tax breaks for senior citizens and single parents under the new property value scheme. Manny Palmero

Teen pregnancies cost PH P33b

By Joel E. Zurbano

L

EADERS in Taguig City on Monday urged educators and parents to help the government in its mission to reduce teenage pregnancy, which latest studies from the United Nations say costs the country around P33 billion each year in foregone earnings.

In Taguig alone, teenage pregnancy remains high with more than 1,466 cases reported during the first nine months of 2016.

Still, Taguig achieved the National Objectives and health targets for teenage pregnancy, said Dr. Norena Osano, Taguig’s Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health Nutrition coordinator.

As of September, the teenage pregnancy rate in Taguig is only 1.8 percent of the eligible population in the 10 to 19 years old female ado-

lescent demographic. The national target is four percent of the eligible population group, Osano said.

“Although we were able to beat the target, a disturbing trend is that pregnant teenagers are getting younger. We have to modify our programs to meet this challenge,” she said.

Despite the city’s on-target performance, Taguig Mayor Laarni Cayetano found the situation unacceptable.

“The teenage mothers are basi-

cally still children and adolescents who should be in school getting an education and then a career. Their unplanned pregnancy restricts them to their homes and taking care of a child. The adverse consequences on their future are multifold and cannot be downplayed,” Cayetano said.

The United Nations Population Fund stated in its State of World Population 2016 report that girls who reach adulthood with proper education and their health and rights intact could triple their lifetime income, thereby fueling progress for generations and entire nations.

Klaus Beck, UNFPA Representative in the Philippines, says the practices that harm girls and violate their human rights―starting at the age of 10―prevent them from realizing their full potential as adults, and from contributing to the economic and social progress of their communities and nations.

He warned that sex-related diseases, teenage pregnancy and child labor are undermining girls’ health, rights and opportunities and threaten the world’s new and ambitious development agenda.

Without the girls’ contribution, says Beck, the United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and its accompanying 17 Sustainable Development Goals may never be achieved.

“In the Philippines, teenage pregnancy limits far too many girls’ hopes, dreams and aspirations. It also costs the country around P33 billion each year in foregone earnings,” Beck said.

To fight teenage pregnancy, “teen centers” were set up and incorporated in the health centers of Bagumbayan, Western Bicutan and Central Signal, the mayor said.

The centers are manned by volun-

tary peer educators trained by the Department of Health, international non-government organization “Save the Children,” and city health staff members.

The peer educators counsel teenagers, both students and outof-school youth, on their problems.

Taguig intends to widen the program to include all 31 health centers of the city, Cayetano said.

The Taguig City Health Office also trained midwives to assist adolescents visiting health centers.

With the help of the City Social Welfare and Development Office, counseling and house visits are regularly offered to teenagers.

Cayetano also asked for the cooperation of parents, teachers and school principals to make sure that students who get pregnant will get the counseling they need and will still be able to go back to school after giving birth.

‘Cracker makers need ISO

F. Sionil Jose to grace Ilocano writers’ event

By Honor Blanco Cabie F. SIONIL Jose, National Artist for Literature, will speak before some 100 Ilocano writers in Metro Manila during the 50th anniversary of their association on Dec. 11 at the Penthouse of the Aberdeen in Quezon City.

The 92-year-old, Rosales-born Jose, whose lineage is from the Ilocos and whose forefathers migrated to Pangasinan, is expected to discuss “roots” in the term’s meaning in literature and ancestry.

The most widely read Filipino fictionist in the English language, Jose owns the Solidaridad Book Shop in Manila, and his novels have been translated into 22 languages.

The two-part anniversary program includes handing awards to

14 former presidents of GUMIL Metro Manila, the group of Ilocano fictionists and non-fictionists residing in the metropolis, founded in December 1966 in Manila by pillars of Ilokano literature headed by Dr. Hermogenes F. Belen of La Union.

GUMIL Metro Manila, one of a dozen chapters of the national organization GUMIL Filipinas, has published more than 30 books and anthologies, which include the works of its members.

The second portion will be the cultural presentation, where two books will be launched – “Fighting Pogi” by Dionisio S. Bulong, from Sta. Teresita, Cagayan, editor of the Ilokano magazine Bannawag from 1978 to 2005, and “Kalinawa” by Linda LingbaoanBulong of Peñarrubia, Abra.

HOSPITAL TURNOVER. San Juan City Mayor Guia Gomez cuts the ceremonial ribbon Friday during the turnover and blessing of hospital equipment to St. Martin de Porres Hospital, donated by Sterling Bank of Asia, represented by its president Cecilio Paul D. San Pedro (right) and Hospital Administrator Dr. Mercedita J. Macabulos (left).

Makati starts handing out cash gifts to over 75k seniors THE city government of Makati on Monday started the distribution of year-end cash gifts to 75,565 senior citizens as part of the Blu Card program during the holiday season of the city’s Social Welfare Department for the elderly.

The distribution, City Social Welfare chief Ryan Barcelo said, will

run from December 5 to December 14. He said the qualified beneficiaries are set to receive their cash gifts on scheduled dates from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at designated venues.

On the instructions of Mayor Abigal Binay, the MSWD will also hand out tickets for the traditional Pamaskong Handog bags to the recipients of the cash

“If the child commits a mistake—in this instance, she got pregnant—I truly believe that this is not the end for her to have a bright future. I want the city government to find every means to help and support these children in continuing their education,” the mayor said.

Taguig Social Welfare Officer Jurita Olvido said the support from the parents should never stop because they still need to provide the needs of their children—education, health and protection.

She stressed that “there is a great importance in strengthening the values formation and supervision of the parents on their teenage kids.”

The new development agenda, which was endorsed by world leaders in 2015, is the United Nations’ global blueprint for peace, prosperity and a sustainable future to 2030, leaving no one behind.

gift. The bags can be claimed at the City Hall Quadrangle starting Thursday, December 8.

This year, each gift bag contains assorted canned goods, including imported luncheon meat, tuna flakes, corned beef, spaghetti packs, fruit cocktail, cheese, condensed milk and two T-shirts.

Scheduled for distribution yesterday were BLU Card holders from barangays Bangkal, Carmona, Dasmariñas and Pinagkaisahan. The elders got their cash gift at their respective barangay halls.

The gift distribution for those from San Miguel Village in Poblacion was done at their multi-

purpose hall, while seniors of Barangay Comembo got theirs at the village covered court.

On December 6, the distribution for barangays East Rembo and Poblacion will take place at their respective covered courts. For barangays Guadalupe Viejo and Southside, it will be done at their barangay halls. Joel E. Zurbano

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga— Only those certified by the Geneva-based International Organization for Standardization or lSO can resume producing and selling firecrackers, fireworks and pyrotechnics in Bulacan, the Department of Labor and Employment office here said Monday.

If that is the case, Bulacan Gov. Wilhemino Sy-Alvaro said about 100,000 of his province mates will be jobless this holiday season, he said in a statement.

This developed as Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello asked for two more weeks before lifting the ban on the production and manufacturing of firecrackers and fireworks, which Filipinos use to celebrate the Christmas and New Year holidays.

The delay was due to the “comprehensive and integrated approach to the safety and health of the workers in the 24 towns of Bulacan,” said Jerry Borja, labor and employment information officer of DoLE Central Luzon.

Borja said only a few manufacturers and producers in the region are ISO certified, while about 80 percent are not because they are mostly small backyard operators. Romeo Dizon

C2

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016

LGUs

Cordillera SUCs cancel sports meet L

UNA, Apayao—The Cordillera Administrative Region Association of State Universities and Colleges decided to cancel its regional socio-cultural and sports competitions this year to allow its members to fix their facilities after the recent onslaught of Super Typhoon “Lawin.”

Dr. Nieves A. Dacyon, CAR- College, said the group’s memASUC president and incumbent bers reached a consensus on the president of the Apayao State cancellation.

“We have to wisely use our meager resources to allow our respective institutions to recover from the damages our structures suffered from the recent onslaught of Lawin in the region last October,” Dacyon stressed.

“The decision to cancel this year’s regional socio-cultural and sports competitions was an agreement of all the officials involved in the conduct of the said activity.”

The school representatives also agreed to send their best entries

in the socio-cultural and sports events to national competitions organized by the Commission on Higher Education and the national organization of SUCs. Dacyon said that Apayao State, Abra State Institute of Science and Technology, Benguet State University, Ifugao State University, Kalinga State University, Mountain Province State Polytechnic College and the University of the Philippines College Baguio suffered

significant damages to their structures and facilities during the superstorm.

School administrators thus needed to focus on potential rehabilitation works, coupled with various programs and projects that would allow the schools to recover faster, Dacyon said.

She expressed confidence that CARASUC delegates will be able to bring home awards in their respective fields after the national completions owing to

Barangay councilor killed in drug bust CA M P V ICENTE LI M, Lag u na —A barangay councilor listed as a high value target by the Laguna police on its drug watchlist was killed in an encounter with police in Victoria town on Monday.

Laguna Provincial Director Sr. Supt. Joel Pernito identified the councilor as Estelito Victoria, who served Barangay Daniw in Victoria.

Pernito said Victoria was on the top priority list of their anti-drug Operation Double Barrel, and was arrested last July 1. He was charged for Violation of Sec. 11 and 12 of Art II of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drug Act of 2002, but got out on bail and continued to sell illegal drugs, the provincial police chief added.

Pernito said they conducted a buy-bust operation against Victoria at Daniw, but the suspect sensed he was dealing with an intelligence officer and fired at PO2 Noel Hacutina Jr., team leader of the police squad, wounding the officer on his left arm.

Victoria was brought to Laguna Medical Center after the encounter, but was declared dead on arrival.

Hacutina, on the other hand, was conferred the Medalya ng Sugatang Magiting by PRO Calabarzon Chief Supt. Valfrie Tabian on visiting the wounded policeman at the hospital. Roy Tomandao

ARMM SUMMIT.

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Mujid Hataman speaks about the changes in the region over the past four years during the 3rd ARMM LGU Summit in Davao City. This year, Hataman said the region produced six Seal of Good Governance awardees, as he dared the local executives to do more. Omar Mangorsi

Zambo chicken now livelihood option

IN A bid to promote native chicken production as an alternative source of livelihood in the Zamboanga Peninsula, a government research and development consortium, led the conduct of a twoday technology transfer activity to promote mass production of native chicken in the province.

Based in Zamboanga City, the Western Mindanao Agriculture and Aquatic Resources Research and Development Consortium gathered farmers engaged in native chicken production as well as potential raisers to inform and later educate them on Zampen Native Chicken production.

Native chicken production is considered to be the most competitive and sustainable subsector of the local poultry industry owing to its numerous advantages

such as low capital investment, simple management system, and the emergence of new markets, among other advantages.

Dubbed as Zampen Native Chicken FIESTA, the recently held event was initiated by the Los Baños, Laguna-based Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology.

It adopted the theme “Manok Zampen: Livelihood Option for Every Juan in the Region as it highlighted WESMAARRDEC’s 29th anniversary.

Coined as FIESTA for brevity, the term is the acronym for the phrase: Farms and Industry Encounters through the Science and Technology Agenda.

FIESTA aims to facilitate the

flow of technology not only to the farmers but also to the country’s micro, small and medium enterprises for them to benefit from the government’s R&D undertakings, thereby enabling them to contribute more to economic development.

The gains of Zampen Native Chicken were boosted by the testimonies of stakeholders most notable of which was that of Bureau of Corrections’ administrative staff Wilfredo B. Castillo.

Castillo narrated how Zampen Native Chicken production at the San Ramon Penal Farm in Zamboanga City has provided the inmates with a productive activity and a livelihood opportunity once they have served their sentence.

Dr. Synan Baguio, officer-incharge of the Livestock Research Division of PCAARRD, dis-

cussed the selection, breeding, and production management of Zampen Native Chicken, while Alfred Parungao of the same division, discussed concerns on range management protocols and feeding strategies for sustainable chicken production.

Meanwhile, Dr. Paterna Saavedra, and Dr. Teresita A. Narvaez, researchers from the Western Mindanao State University, WESMAARRDEC’s base agency, tackled issues on breeder native chicken and hatchery management including pricing and marketing strategies for Zampen Chicken, respectively.

Providing additional income for farmers and known as a source of high-quality meat, native chicken is an important component of the country’s rural farming system.

Bill to modernize PH metrology filed TO EFFECTIVELY and efficiently adapt to the needs of contemporary times, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda has proposed the standardization and modernization of units of measurements, to enhance the “global competitiveness of Philippine products and services” and facilitate national economic progress.

Salceda filed House Bill 4368 that seeks to amend Republic Act 9236 or the National Metrology Act of 2003 and strengthen the existing National Measurement Infrastructure System by creating a new agency, the National Measurement Institute or NMI. “What you can’t measure is not important,” Salceda said, stressing the practical but vital requirements of being globally competitive, of which a standardized unit of measurement is among them.

HB 4368, titled “Enhanced National Measurement Infrastructure System,” will accord greater consumer protection, transparency and confidence in measurements, which is a foundation of trade, science and technology, and quantitative research in many disciplines.

The measure encourages the adoption of international best practices in measurements in response to future development and requirements and “provide support to Research and Development” in metrology, said Salceda.

The bill covers research and development in the fields

their inherent talents and skills “that will help them achieve honor and pride for their schools.”

Dacyon said it was more important for the schools to concentrate on fixing their facilities so their respective students can go back to learning and use the facilities sooner.

Abra State was supposed to host this year’s competitions, scheduled in the first week of December, until “Lawin” struck.

Dexter A. See

of “environment and climate change, public health and safety, transport, Information Technology (ICT), Biotechnology/ Genomics, Material Science, Nanotechnology, Photonics, Metrology in Chemistry, Space Technology applications, and other emerging and enabling technologies.”

HB 4368 “supports the harmonization of national metrological standards with international standards, mutual recognition arrangements and statistical controls as envision in the ASEAN economic integration, the World Trade Organization, and international accords and covenants resulting to globally competitive and quality products and services that conforms with national standards,” the lawmaker added.

Under the bill, the newly created NMI would be placed under the National Measurement Board previously organized under RA 9236, will be headed by an executive director, and will be under the administrative and technical supervision of the Department of Science and Technology, Salceda said.

The NMB will also be strengthened to include the secretary/ chairman or the duly authorized representatives of the Department of Energy, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of National Defense, and the committees on science and technology of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

IN BRIEF Loren fetes ‘Sentro’ SENATOR Loren Legarda commended the continued expansion of Sentro Rizal, saying it is a great opportunity to promote cultural exchange among different countries, allowing the rest of the world to further understand and appreciate Filipino culture, arts and language.

Sentro Rizal is the international cultural arm of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. It was recognized

by Section 42 of Republic Act 10066 or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009, which specifies a center “whose main purpose is the promotion of Philippine arts, culture and language throughout the world.”

Speaking at a gathering in Cavite, Legarda explained that Sentro Rizal is a repository of all kinds of material relating to the promotion of Philippine history, arts, culture, language and tourism. Benjamin Chavez

467 jaywalkers held DAVAO CITY—Around 467 Davaoeños were apprehended for violating the city’s antijaywalking ordinance just four days after it was reimplemented. Under the Davao City Traffic Code of 1992, pedestrians cannot cross the street outside the pedestrian lane.

City Traffic and Transportation Management Office Chief Rhodelio Poliquit said the ordinance has been “sleeping for a long period of time” and now is the right time to strictly implement it.

F. Pearl A. Gajunera

GenTri drug lectures

BANK CLOSED. The Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has prohibited Xavier-Tibod Bank

Inc., a microfinance rural bank, from doing business effective December 2. Under Resolution No. 2133, the MB directed the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. as receiver to proceed with the takeover and liquidation of the two-unit rural bank with head office on Pabayo St., Divisoria, Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental.

THE General Trias City Police recently conducted symposiums on drug abuse and control at the Governor Ferrer Memorial National High School and Luis Y. Ferrer Jr. Senior High School South Square Village as part of the city’s Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Week.

Police Sr. Insp Xelacor Marie C Garcia, SPO2 Sarah Jane F Drio, and SPO1 Carlito S. Barbuco from the General Trias City Component Police Station spoke at the meetings attended by 496 teachers and students from Grade 11 of both schools.

The half-day activity had with theme “Listening to Children and Youth in the First Step to Help Them Grow Healthy and Safe.” Benjamin Chavez

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

World

Manila

Standard

TODAY

IN BRIEF Pre-dawn fire kills 11 in Pakistan hotel KARACHI―A pre-dawn inferno at a four-star hotel in Pakistan’s Karachi killed 11 people Monday and wounded 75, police said, with desperate guests jumping from windows and scrambling down knotted bedsheets to escape.

The blaze at the Regent Plaza Hotel in the center of the port megacity broke out when many guests were still asleep, with a lack of fire alarms and emergency exits leaving many trapped in their rooms.

At least two Pakistani international cricketers were among the guests, one-dayers Sohaib Maqsood and Hammad Azam, though they were not believed to be seriously injured.

“The hotel had no fire safety system and no fire exit to evacuate people, they had no fire alarm,” Karachi mayor Waseem Akhtar told reporters at the site.

“Trapped people showed courage and made ropes of bed sheets and came out one by one, many people have been injured,” hotel guest Saeed ur Rehman, himself wounded in the fire, told AFP. AFP

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016

No homes but only rubble in Syria’s war-torn Aleppo A

LEPPO―Kafa Jawish hadn’t slept in days, daydreaming of seeing her home in east Aleppo for the first time in four years, but when she arrived she found little more than rubble.

Search for bodies continues OAKLAND―The grisly search for bodies in the charred remains of a California warehouse will enter its third day Monday, with relatives of the missing being asked to provide DNA samples to speed up identification.

Only half of the burned-out building has so far been examined, with the confirmed death toll at 33, and officials admitted Sunday they do not know how many more dead they will find.

“We’re expecting the worst and hoping for the best in regards to how many more victims we find,” Sergeant Ray Kelly of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department said.

He said the search effort is expected to last days, with between 50 and 100 people believed to have attended the rave at the warehouse, which was used by artists.

In a macabre indication of what the fire may have done to the bodies, authorities are asking relatives to preserve hairbrushes and toothbrushes to assist in matching DNA samples. AFP

2 ships leave to confront whaling fleet SYDNEY―Two ships have left Australia bound for the freezing Southern Ocean to confront the Japanese whaling fleet in an annual high-seas battle, environmental activist group Sea Shepherd said Monday.

The organization’s flagship Steve Irwin departed for Antarctic waters along with fast new patrol vessel Ocean Warrior, built with financial support from the Dutch, British and Swedish lotteries.

It has a powerful water cannon and is capable of outrunning the whalers, which an official at Japan’s Fisheries Agency said would be protected by a fleet of patrol boats.

“Sea Shepherd has engaged in repeated acts of sabotage over the years. Those actions threaten the lives of Japanese crew members and we cannot tolerate it,” said the official, who declined to give his name.

Japan has previously sought court action to halt the anti-whaling campaigns, saying the activists ram their ships, snare propellers with ropes and harass crew with paint and stink bombs. AFP

Strong quake strikes Indonesia JAKARTA―A strong 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of eastern Indonesia on Monday, US seismologists said, but no tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The undersea quake hit about 190 kilometers northeast of Maumere, a holiday destination in Flores, at 09:13 am (0113 GMT) at a depth of 522 kilometers, said the US Geological Survey.

Indonesia’s disaster agency said officials were checking to see if the quake had any impact.

Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates collide. AFP

C3

STAR SCREEN AWARDS. Indian Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone attends the 23rd annual ‘Star Screen Awards 2016’ in Mumbai on December 4, 2016. AFP

The 36-year-old was among hundreds of Syrians returning to east Aleppo in recent days after the army recaptured large swathes of the city from rebels and encouraged residents to visit neighborhoods and homes they left years earlier.

She could barely contain her excitement as she sat on a government bus heading to her neighborhood of Haydariya in northeast Aleppo, recaptured by the army earlier in the week.

“I left my house four years ago and I’m just so happy to be going to see it, I haven’t slept for three days because I’m so excited,” she told AFP as the bus wound its way from western Aleppo.

“I want to ululate with happiness when I see my house safe and sound,” she said, dressed warmly in a black coat and headscarf that framed her smiling face.

Stuffed into a bus crowded with other passengers, she and her husband Tajeddin Ahmed discussed their plans to return home, after years living in the Syriac Quarter in central Aleppo.

“I’m going to go back to living in my house no matter what condition it’s in,” she said firmly.

“We’re tired of paying rent, we miss our house and our families and our neighbors.”

The couple fled Haydariya in July 2012, when rebels entered the city, leaving at dawn one morning without any of their belongings and moving into the ancient Syriac Quarter.

More than half of Syria’s population has been displaced internally or abroad by the conflict that began with anti-government

Republic of the Philippines Province of Bataan City of Balanga BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE OFFICE

Hearings put tycoons in hot seat SEOUL―South Korea lawmakers on Monday kicked off an unprecedented series of hearings that will grill the country’s business elite over a corruption scandal engulfing impeachmentthreatened President Park GeunHye. The powerful heads of familyrun conglomerates, or “chaebols,” such as Samsung and Hyundai will be among those testifying before a parliamentary investigation ahead of an impeachment vote to remove the president on Friday.

The hearings opened on the back of a series of weekly mass demonstrations in Seoul that have seen millions of people take to the streets to call for Park’s ouster.

Park is accused of colluding with her secretive confidante, Choi Soon-Sil, to strong-arm giant corporations into “donating” nearly $70 million to two dubious non-profit foundations.

Choi, who has been indicted on charges of coercion and abuse of power, is accused of syphoning some of the donated funds for personal use. She denies all criminal charges.

Choi is set to appear at the televised hearings on Wednesday, marking the first time she will answer questions in public on her role in the scandal.

Tuesday’s testimony will be devoted to interrogating the corporate tycoons, including Samsung group scion Lee JaeYong, Hyundai chairman Chung Mong-Koo and seven heads of other conglomerates including LG, Lotte, Hanjin and CJ. They are among the wealthiest and most powerful people in the country, but the “Choigate” scandal has taken the lid off simmering public resentment over their influence and perceived sense of privilege at a time of slowing economic growth According to company sources cited by the largest-circulation newspaper, Chosun Ilbo, many of them have been going through

frantic preparations to avoid any public humiliation, holding mock question and answer sessions with aides and memorizing responses to sensitive issues.

Some researched subway and bus fares in case they are asked to prove their common-touch creden-

tials, while others sent managers on recces to the national assembly -- timing the walk to the hearing room and working out routes to avoid the press, Chosun said.

Chaebol heads are unused to being questioned or held accountable -- even to their shareholders. AFP

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT NATIONAL HOUSING AUTHORITY Invitation to Bid The National Housing Authority (NHA), through the Corporate Budget approved by the NHA Board for the year 2016 intends to apply the sum of the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payment for the following contract: Ref. No. 2016 -12199

Project Procurement of Gift Certificates for CY 2016

ABC/ Source of Funds (P) 3,000,000.00 (Corporate Receipts)

Duration (c.d.)

7 c.d.

(Delivery Period)

Work Description Delivery of Gift Certificates for CY 2016 to all NHA Officers & Employees As Well As Other Public/Private Agencies/ Officers Rendering Services to the Authority

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

The NHA now invites bids for the above-cited project. Delivery of the Goods is required within the duration herein cited upon receipt of Notice to Proceed. Bidders should have completed, within five years from the date of submission of bids, a single contract similar to the Project costing at least 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.

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”. Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines.

A complete set of Bidding Documents shall be issued only to bidders/authorized official representatives or employees of the bidder who can show proof of Notarized Authority to secure bid documents for the specific Project and Official Company ID upon submission of a Letter of Intent (LOI) and upon Cash Payment of non-refundable fee of P3,000.00 for Ref. No. 2016-12-199 at the Office of the NHA-BAC 2 Secretariat, 2nd Floor NHA Main Building, Diliman, Quezon City starting on December 5, 2016. For further information, the NHA BAC 2 Secretariat may be contacted at Tel/FAX No. 928-8272.

The NHA will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on December 12, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. at the SLB-AMO Conference Room, Annex Building NHA Main Complex, Elliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City, which shall be OPEN only to all interested parties who have purchased the Bidding Documents.

Bids must be delivered at the on SLB-AMO Conference Room, Annex Building NHA Main Complex, Elliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City on December 20, 2016, not later than 10:00 a.m. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount as stated in BDS. Bid opening shall follow immediately after the deadline of submission of bids at the same venue. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders representative who choose to attend at the address above. Late bids shall not be accepted.

The NHA 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.

(SGD) AR. SUSANA V. NONATO Chairperson Bids and Awards Committee 2 NATIONAL HOUSING AUTHORITY Elliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City (MS-DEC. 6, 2016)

protests in March 2011 before spiraling into a war that has killed over 300,000 people.

“I want to go back to the house that I lived in with my family and go back to living together safely and happily,” said Ahmed, 45.

“I’m really hoping we’ll find the house in good shape.”

His phone rang as they talked: an old neighbor who couldn’t leave work asked Ahmed to check on his house too.

As the bus set out, Jawish expressed hope that her neighborhood might be relatively untouched, reasoning it was far from the front lines that saw the worst fighting.

East Aleppo has seen some of the worst violence of the war, and has been pounded by the army since it began an operation to recapture the city in mid-November.

As the bus edged closer to Haydariya, Jawish’s smile dropped away, and she and Ahmed fell silent.

Along the road, buildings were partially or fully collapsed, windows long blown out and furnishings destroyed or looted.

The route itself was cratered in places, and the bus bounced as Ahmed stared grimly out of the window, murmuring prayers.

Jawish tried to pick out places that held memories, spotting an area she used to picnic with her husband.

Growing impatient with the bus’s slow, careful progress, she tried in vain to convince her husband to get out and walk the rest of the way so she could get to her house quicker. AFP

INVITATION TO BID NO. GOODS-064-2016 64

The Provincial Government of Bataan, through the General Fund intends to apply the below listed procurement w/ corresponding Approved Budget of the Contract (ABC).

Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected a bid opening.

Name of Project 1.

Approved Budget of the Contract (ABC)

Purchase of Medical Ambulance & Motor Vehicles for the use of Metro Bataan Development Authority, PDRRMO, Crime Lab and PGO

=P=17,970,000.00

The Provincial Government of Bataan now invites bids for the above listed Procurement.Delivery of goods is requiredon or before the maturity date stipulated on contract. Bidders should have completed, at least one (1) contract that is similar to the contract to be bid. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions 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”.

Bidding is open to all interested bidders, whether local or foreign, subject to the conditions for eligibility provided in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from Office of Bataan Bids & Awards Committeeand inspect the Bidding Documents from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the same office.

Bid documents will be available only to eligible bidders upon payment of a nonrefundable amount of using standard rates approved by GPPB as stated on their Resolution No. 04-2012 listed below.

Approved Budget for the Contract

Maximum Cost of Bidding Documents (in Philippine Peso)

500,000 and below

500.00

More than 500,000 up to 1 Million

1,000.00

More than 1 Million up to 5 Million

5,000.00

More than 5 Million up to 10 Million

10,000.00

More than 10 Million up to 50 Million

25,000.00

More than 50 Million up to 500 Million

50,000.00

More than 500 Million

75,000.00

The Provincial Government of Bataanwill hold a Pre-Bid Conference on December 12, 2016 at 10:00 A.M atProvincial BAC Office, PEO Capitol Compound, Balanga City, Bataan, which shall beopen only to all interested parties who have purchased the Bidding Documents.

Bids must be delivered on or before December 27, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. at Provincial BAC Office, PEO Capitol Compound, BalangaCity, Bataan. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated on IRR of RA 9184 and Bid Securing Declaration in standard form.

The winning bidder has the option to deliver the items requested by the end-user with higher technical specification & better technology provided it will be beneficial to the government & will not incur additional expenses on the part of the procuring entity.

Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend opening of Bids at Bataan BAC Office. Late bids shall not be accepted.

In case of the above dates is declared a special Non-Working Holidays, it will automatically reset on the next working days.

Other necessary information deemed relevant by the Provincial Government of Bataan Activities 1. Advertisement/Posting of Invitation to Bid 2. Eligibility Check 3. Issuance and availability of Bidding Documents 4. Request for Clarification 5. Opening of Bids

Schedule December 5 - 11, 2016 Refer to date of Opening of Bids December 5 -27, 2016 December 16, 2016 December 27, 2016

The Provincial Government of Bataan 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: Engr. Josephine R. Valenzuela Provincial BAC / PEO Bataan Provincial BAC / PEO Office, Capitol Compound, BalangaCity, Bataan 047-237-9316 bac@bataan.gov.ph

(MS-DEC. 6, 2016)

(SGD) ENRICO T. YUZON BAC CHAIRMAN

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

C4

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016

World

FOGGY MORNING IN DUBAI. The sun rises behind skyscrapers amid the clouds on a foggy morning in Dubai on December 5, 2016. AFP

John Key quits after 8 years at the helm WELLINGTON―Popular New Zealand Prime Minister John Key announced his shock resignation Monday, saying he was never a career politician and it was the right time to go after eight years in the job.

The former Merrill Lynch currency trader called it “the hardest decision I’ve ever made”, with no plans on what to do next other than spend more time with his family.

“Being leader of both the party and the country has been an incredible experience,” he told a regular weekly news conference.

“But despite the amazing career I have had in politics, I have never seen myself as a career politician.”

Key recently marked his eighth anniversary as prime minister and 10th year as leader of the center-right National Party, which is set to meet next week to elect his successor.

His deputy Bill English, who led the party to its worst result in the 2002 election, is widely seen as favorite to take over and was endorsed by Key, although he did not immediately confirm he wanted the role.

“Certainly, I wouldn’t stand if there wasn’t strong caucus support for me standing,” he said, adding that since the 2002 flop he had received “a masterclass every day from John Key about how to do politics”.

As discussion about Key’s decision to walk away swirled around social media, the downto-earth politician -- once voted the leader most New Zealanders would love to have a beer with -insisted he was “not the kind of guy that has to hang on to power for power’s sake”.

Opinion polls had consistently pointed to him becoming the first political leader in New Zealand history to win four consecutive elections when the country votes next year, but he said records were not a consideration.

“If you’re staying for the record of the time you’re staying for the wrong reason,” he said.

“It’s been an incredible experience and it’s been a real privilege and I’m going to die happy -- I hope that’s a long time in the future -- but I’m going to feel really proud of what we’ve done,” he said.

Key came into politics relatively late, entering parliament in 2002 and assuming leadership of the National Party four years later. AFP

Bittersweet gala honors Pacino, Taylor WASHINGTON―Al Pacino, The Eagles, James Taylor, gospel and blues singer Mavis Staples and Argentine pianist Martha Argerich were celebrated Sunday for their lifetime achievements at the last major arts gala attended by President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle.

It was a bittersweet moment, with Obama making one of his final goodbyes to celebrated artists as president.

The first couple received a long standing ovation as they entered the Opera House of the Kennedy Center, a monument to the late president John F. Kennedy.

As he kicked off the evening, host Stephen Colbert said America was lucky to have a “passionate, intelligent and dignified” president.

That brought applause and by far the longest standing ovation from the sold-out crowd in the Opera House, paneled in dark red woven fabric under a massive Lobmeyr crystal chandelier gifted by Austria.

Colbert then joked: “Sir, I don’t know why you stood up. I was talking about Michelle.”

“This is a joyous day. It’s the best Christmas present!” Staples told AFP on the red carpet about receiving what is considered the nation’s highest honor for lifetime achievements in the performing arts.

At 77, Staples lives up to the maxim that age is only a number.

“People ask me, ‘Mavis, when are you going to retire?’ Retire for what? I love what I’m doing and I intend to sing until I can’t sing no more, forever,” she said.

Aretha Franklin, Sean Penn, Kevin Spacey and Ringo Starr were among a series of surprise Alisters -- the awardees are notoriously kept in the black about who will pay tribute to them prior to the event -- who serenaded and hailed the legacy of the award recipients.

Virtuoso Israeli-American violinist Itzhak Perlman, now wheelchair-bound, and 29-year-old Chinese pianist Yuja Wang played on the huge stage in honor of Argerich, with Perlman saying he felt lucky to have been alive during her time.

At an earlier reception at the White House, Obama called the awards “one of the perks of the job that I will miss.” AFP

UN appeals for $22b in aid G ENEVA―The United Nations appealed Monday for a record $22.2 billion (20.9 billion euros) to provide aid in 2017 to surging numbers of people hit by conflicts and disasters around the world.

The work of humanitarians “is more necessary and courageous than ever,” UN humanitarian aid chief Stephen O’Brien said in Monday’s report.

“More people have humanitarian needs, not least because of protracted crises lasting longer and longer.”

The global appeal by UN agencies and other humanitarian organizations aims to gather funds to help the 92.8 million most vulnerable of the nearly 129 million people expected to require assistance across 33 countries next year.

The numbers are staggering, especially when considering that three war-ravaged countries -Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan -alone account for about a third of all of those in need.

The amount appealed for tops the $20.1 billion requested last December for 2016 -- a year when “humanitarian actors have saved, protected and supported more people than in any previous year since the founding of the United Nations,” O’Brien said.

In the end, the UN broadened its 2016 appeal to $22.1 billion, but donors coughed up just $11.4 billion for aid projects this year.

“With persistently escalating humanitarian needs, the gap between what has to be done to save and protect more people today and what humanitarians are financed to do and can access is growing ever wider,” O’Brien said.

Making matters worse, O’Brien said that “with climate change, natural disasters are likely to become more frequent, more severe”.

Aid needs have been rising

steadily for decades. When the UN launched its first global appeal 25 years ago, it estimated that just $2.7 billion would cover aid needs around the globe in 1992.

But the situation has worsened dramatically in the last few years.

Globally, “humanitarian needs continue to rise and humanitarian efforts are hampered by reduced access, growing disrespect for human rights and flagrant violations of international humanitarian law,” O’Brien said.

The report highlighted “severely constrained” humanitarian access in places like Syria, Yemen, Iraq and South Sudan, which is “leaving affected people without basic services and protection.”

“Mines, explosives, remnants of war and improvised explosive devices impede humanitarian access and threaten the lives of vulnerable populations in conflictaffected regions,” it said.

The Syrian conflict, which has killed more than 300,000 people since March 2011 and forced more than half the population to flee, is set to absorb the biggest portion of the funds.

The UN wants a full $3.4 billion to go to helping those inside Syria, with another $4.7 billion destined for refugees and their host communities in the region.

Second in line is South Sudan, which has been wracked by civil war since 2013 and where the UN has warned “ethnic cleansing” is taking place.

The UN plan is to spend a total of $2.5 billion to help South Sudanese in need, including $1.2 billion for refugees from the country. AFP

PERFORMANCE. Actress/singer Olivia Holt performs during the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards show at Wynn Las Vegas on December 2, 2016, in Las Vegas, Nevada. AFP

Stay calm, Taiwan urges China after Trump call TAIPEI―Taiwan urged China to stay calm Monday after the Taiwanese leader’s unprecedented phone call to US President-elect Donald Trump angered Beijing, as residents and analysts in Taipei expressed fears at the possible fallout.

Ties between Taipei and Beijing have grown increasingly frosty since China-skeptic Tsai Ing-wen took power in Taiwan in May, ending eight years of cross-strait rapprochement.

Beijing has since cut off all official communication with the selfruled island, which it still views as part of its territory.

Tsai’s call on Friday was the first between a Taiwanese leader and an incoming or serving US president since Washington switched recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979.

China has protested to Washington at Trump’s breach. The incoming president responded with

a Twitter broadside accusing China of currency manipulation and militarizing the South China Sea. On Monday Taiwan’s China affairs minister Chang Hsiao-yueh urged Beijing to consider the matter with a “calm attitude”.

“The government values ties with (China) and the president has reiterated time and again that Taiwan will not go back to the old way of confrontation... I don’t think there is an act of provoca-

tion,” she told reporters.

Tsai herself has made no comment but the presidential office has insisted there is “no conflict” between Taiwan maintaining relations with the US and with China.

In Taipei some said they now fear a Beijing backlash.

“I doubt that a short phone call will help Taiwan that much in the long-term, but it will infuriate China and they will likely take vengeful moves against Taiwan,”

said receptionist Hu Chi-hui, 38.

Saleswoman Ho Li-chin, 43, said she fears China will try to isolate Taiwan even more in the international community.

Political analysts said Tsai was gambling that the call would increase her bargaining power with Beijing.

Fan Shih-ping of the National Taiwan Normal University, said Tsai wanted to show Beijing that “giving Taiwan the cold shoulder would drive it further towards the US”. AFP

Life

Filipino musician Jose Valdez is the first to introduce the 10-string guitar in the country.

CULTURE & MEDIA

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016

D1

Using gift of music to inspire others T

HE classical guitar expertise of Jose H. Valdez, one of the four honorees of The Many Faces of the Teacher 2016 (TMFT), has brought him to many places, including prisons, churches, hospitals and well-lit auditorium stages.

But these days, Valdez, a sought-after music teacher, can be seen performing before students who hope to master the art of playing the classical guitar.

Maestro Valdez, also known as the “Father of Classical Guitar in the Philippines,” divides his time among four schools — Philippine Women’s University Manila, St. Paul University Manila, St. Scholastica’s College Manila, and University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman.

In his teaching career, which spans some 45 years, he has mentored over a hundred aspiring musicians from different age brackets and walks of life.

When Valdez was a child, he was diagnosed with German polio, a disease that left Valdez with deformed lower limbs.

There was no cure for that ailment back then but Valdez’s folks remained hopeful that he would be healed. He shares that his mother, a Batangueña, would visit churches and offer prayers for him.

Meanwhile, his father, a military man who played the clarinet and conducted bands in the army, gave him a guitar and encouraged him to use it. No one in the family knew how to play the guitar so he studied it himself.

“He taught me music. There was music in the family but nobody played the guitar,” he shares.

Years after the diagnosis, Valdez was cured of polio, an occurrence that he refers to as a miracle.

“It was a miracle. When I got well, the

love of music stayed with me,” Valdez says.

“I persevered with my guitar. I got better and became a concert guitarist.”

Valdez’s first solo concert was held at Girl Scouts of the Philippines (GSP) Auditorium on Padre Faura in Manila, and sponsored by a religious organization.

In 1971, the 18-year-old Valdez was the youngest and the first Filipino guitarist to perform at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ (CCP) Little Theatre, now Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino.

That concert signaled the start of Valdez’s career.

Valdez would then hold performances in partnership with religious organizations to promote the guitar as a concert instrument.

Valdez hit another career milestone in 1973 when he introduced the first 10-string guitar in the country, which is used in Spain for the adaptation of lute music. Valdez changed the setup so he could play transcribed classical Filipino music from the 16th century.

In the early days of being a musician, he searched for a school where he can study guitar as his major instrument. It was a futile attempt because no school in Manila offered such a course.

That bend in the road led Valdez into the field of education. Since he already gained the reputation as a pioneer concert guitarist, he was asked to take up teaching positions in different schools around Manila.

When Valdez started teaching, he found himself single-handedly developing a guitar curriculum, the first of its kind in the country. Due to his excellence in executing the program, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) finally recognized the guitar as

a major instrument degree.

Valdez continues to enrich music education by publishing materials filled with compositions and arrangements for the guitar. So far, he has penned some 29 books, covering a range of genres but mostly about Philippine classical music.

In his guitar curriculum, there is a onehour, one-on-one session between teacher and student called “Applied Music,” patterned after the concept of apprenticeship.

“In music, you plant artistry, you see it grow. It cannot be mass produced. Every student is different, everyone has to be taught individually,” he shares.

“The part of the teacher is to draw the instrument to the student. It is like saying, ‘he has to fall in love with the instrument the way I did’,” Valdez muses.

He continues, “That way, the student would do it on his own even without me telling him to do it. Then I can say that truly I am a successful teacher.”

Helping budding musicians

Through “Kabataang Gitarista,” an organization founded by Valdez and in cooperation with CCP, formal training can be had by underprivileged students with the musical inclination.

Valdez shares that they provide college scholarships to select students from public high schools in Pasay, Manila and Paranaque. To date, they already have three scholars.

“These kids are great. They really want to learn so they embraced the program,” he notes.

His hope, he says, is to see an expanded guitar curriculum in all high schools in the country, to give students a choice between joining a rondalla or a guitar ensemble.

Valdez goes on to say that he formed another organization in Davao City National High School with a promising guitar ensemble.

Educators also enjoy the fruits of Valdez’s labor. Last year, he says, the Department of Education (DepEd) launched a classical guitar program that is customized for teachers.

Young Filipino pianist making waves in US

By Maté Espina MATTHEW CALDERON, 19, won the Lynn Concerto Competition last month in Boca Raton, Florida. His prize—a dream come true—to perform Brahms’ First Piano Concerto with Lynn Philarmonia led by conductor Guillermo Figueroa, a Portorriqueño at the World Performing Arts Center.

“Winning the competition gave me the opportunity to perform my dream piano concerto with a full orchestra three times. It was an exhilarating, fulfilling and inspiring experience performing the piece in its entirety because of its notorious length (50 minutes) and the great emotional scope and depth the music requires the pianist to deliver in a frame of three movement,” Matthew said.

Earlier this year, Matthew also won the top spots in the 2016 Gray Perry Young Collegiate Competition and the Byrd Piano Ensemble Competition and the 2015 Music Teachers National Association - senior division. He also shared the stage with student Jiaxian Li in a piano duo, winning the FSMTA Byrd Memorial Piano Ensemble Competition.

Matthew who hails from Los Banos, Laguna, started playing the piano at the age of six under Jerome Baes. He went on to study at the prestigious Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA) as a national government scholar.

While at the PHSA, Calderon was given intensive training in piano under the tutelage of Prof. Mary Anne Espina and got a chance to participate in master classes, festivals and competitions both in the Philippines and abroad.

In 2012, Calderon joined the Mozart International Piano Competition in Bangkok, Thailand where he placed second and the lone winner in his category. The following year he debuted as a classical pianist at the age of 16 with the Manila Chamber Orchestra at the

19-year-old pianist Matthew Calderon makes waves in the US as he recently performed his dream concerto with the Lynn Philarmonia

Ayala Museum and following that with the Manila Symphony Orchestra and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra.

He finished high school with high honors and was given a distinction of artistic excellence award for music.

Following that, he received a four-year full tuition scholarship to pursue Bachelor’s Degree in Music, major in Piano

Performance under Roberta Rust, Ph.D, at Lynn University Conservatory of Music in Boca Raton, Florida where he is now in his junior year.

“Ever since coming to the U.S., I’m always very enthusiastic having piano recitals and joining competitions,” he said, and these experiences have helped him improved his craft and make waves

in the world of classical music.

At Lynn, Matthew had the opportunity to play in a master class of renowned concert artists including English-Australian pianist Stephen Hough. Last summer, he studied at the Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival in Tampa, Florida under full scholarship where he received training from

pianists and teachers around the world.

With a year to go at Lynn University, Matthew plans to pursue further studies in music and perhaps, fulfill his next dream—to play for the Filipino audience in a major concert here in the Philippines.

Undoubtedly, with his talent that dream is within reach.

Life

D2

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016 isahred@gmail.com

D I G I TA L

MEDIA

Six Game Design and Development students of DLS-CSB are named among the finalist for the Game Design competition

Game design competition finalists Leon Gallery’s last and biggest auction for 2016 features exquisite pieces such as Tres Marias by Benedicto ‘BenCab’ Cabrera

Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo’s La Inocencia is deemed as among his most important works in a private collection

Assemblage of historic pieces for ‘Kingly Treasures’

L

EON Gallery, the premiere auction house in the Philippines, embarked on the country’s last and biggest auction for 2016 with “Kingly Treasures.”

Recently recognized by Blouin Art, the influential international magazine for art collectors, as among the 250 Best Auction Houses Worldwide for 2016, Leon Gallery holds the record of the highest sale of a single lot sold at auction in the Philippines.

With formidable pieces from a wide range of periods, the “Kingly Treasures” roused the most excitement on the local art scene before the yearend. It was very honored to feature the incomparable La Inocencia by Felix Resurrecion Hidalgo. Deemed as among the most important works of the artist in a private collection, the piece painted at the dawn of the 20th century in 1901 has remained in the hands of a single, illustrious family for 115 years. It has hung on the same wall in the sala of the Legarda Mansion in San Miguel District since 1938 when Don Alejandro Legarda moved to the exclusive neighborhood around Malacañan Palace. It previously presided over the grand salon of the Legarda ancestral home on Calle San Sebastian, now R. Hidalgo St. in Manila.

A gem from the golden age of the 13 Moderns, some collectors believe that the works of H.R. Ocampo from the 1950’s were his strongest and best. 55-G The Wall from 1955 shows Ocampo’s mastery of detail, color and texture.

It clearly emphasizes the superb talent of the homegrown master.

Fernando Zobel pieces from the 1950’s are exceedingly rare. More rare and unique are his works from that period in red. Saeta 248 is a work that may never be found again, possessing a rather powerful and dominant appeal.

Among the other highlights were large-scale works entitled Fish and Fishermen by the legendary Ang Kiukok. Widely recognized as the father of Philippine conceptual art, a Roberto Chabet oil on canvas piece was another rarity included in the auction. Another major highlight was the exquisite Tres Marias by Bencab – the artist’s entry to the 18th Asian International Art Exhibition in the Hong Kong Heritage Museum

A game made by Karlene Valmonte Mega Touch by Elmer Borlongan

Isabelo Tampinco’s Angel

from December 2003 to March 2004. Fresh from a first and highly successful solo show in London at the Saatchi Gallery, Andres Barrioquinto’s immensely romantic Silent Air was also in the spotlight.

Adding to artworks were important antiques.

The sculpture Angel by Isabelo Tampinco is an impressive and highly poignant work. For furniture, the Gabaldon kamagong bed, a Huanghuali set of furniture, and an 18th Century Balayong cabinet were all part of this auction.

Leon Gallery invited art enthusiasts and collectors to the special preview of this historic assemblage of masterpieces from Nov. 24 – Dec. 2, 2016 before the auction on Dec. 3. The catalogue is available for download at www.LeonGallery.com.

Leon Gallery is located at G/F Eurovilla 1, Rufino Corner Legazpi Streets, Legazpi Village, Makati City.

Silent Air by Andres Barrioquinto

For more information, visit www.Leon-Gallery.com or contact Leon Gallery at (02) 8562781 or info@leon-gallery.com. Like or follow @ LeonGalleryMakati on Facebook and Instagram.

Financial Literacy Day for Filipino students VISA, the global leader in payments, has hosted the first ever Financial Literacy Day for students in Manila, in cooperation with Teach for the Philippines (TFP) and the Money Museum at Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

On the Visa Financial Literacy Day, 40 students from third to sixth grade levels went on a tour of the Money Museum at the BSP headquarters, where they familiarized themselves with the rich heritage of the Philippine currency.

After the museum tour, the students and Visa volunteers participated in a fun-filled financial literacy workshop facilitated by the TFP alumnus Kevin de Guia. The workshop taught students the importance of learning how to manage money for everyday needs.

“At Visa, we believe financial literacy skills are vital to providing a secure future for individuals, families, communities and the country. When people understand how to manage their money, economies work properly, and a greater section of society can be prosperous. We’re proud to be working with government and private sectors to boost financial literacy efforts across the region,” said Stuart Tomlinson, Visa country manager for the Philippines and Guam.

The Philippines has one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, which means that the population with financial capability is also rising. However, a study by S&P Global Financial Literacy shows that only 25 percent of Filipino adults are financially literate.

“We are happy to be partnering with Visa to help spread the importance of financial literacy.

Learning doesn’t have to be confined within the four walls of the classroom. Through fun and

THE Electronic Sports and Gaming Summit (ESGS), a three-day event organized by the Game Design Association of the Philippines, recently named the finalists for the Game Design competition.

The ESGS, held at the SMX Convention Center, showcased the best and the newest in the world of gaming, which ranges from games on computer, consoles and mobile, from top publishers and independent developers.

Six students from the Game Design and Development (GDD) Course of the School of Management and Information Technology (SMIT) at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) were among the finalists.

These were Team Captain Vincent P. Layog (Tesselate), Rouienald Macabitas (After Image), Daryll Española (Seizmore Fin), John Alson Hechanova Entuna (Ragnarok Protocol), Karlene Valmonte (Face to Phase), and Admor Aloysious Aguilar (Project Breach). The entries are capstone projects of the GDD students.

During the convention, the entries were showcased in the “Game On” area, where industry experts tested and experienced their creations.

The winners in the competition will be announced at a later date.

IN THE GALLERY

Cerda illustrates the commercialization of war

‘Delectable Threats’ by Keb Cerda ArtistSpace, Ayala Museum Until today only

IN Keb Cerda’s latest exhibition, Delectable Threats, the artist presents his signature images of war and violence, and tackles the commercialization of war through satire and parody. This time, he illustrates military hardware as food and beverage items being processed, likening them to mass-produced goods that appeal to one’s appetite.

As such, paintings reveal assembly lines, not just of machines capping bottles or coating sweets but also, contraptions that assemble weapons, battle gears and even armies. By comparing weapons of mass destruction with consumer products, lifethreatening and potentially destructive objects turn into mouth-watering and delectable treats for the consuming public to enjoy. Such play between taste and pleasure on one hand, and aggression on the other, satirizes the enduring occurrence of armed conflicts and atrocities, perpetuated by humanity like an insatiable craving that needs to be constantly satisfied.

Cerda takes this hypothesis to the fore by experimenting with new media. Apart from the traditional tools of his trade, he has tapped mobile technology in his latest exhibition to provide viewers new dimensions in experiencing and constructing the meaning in art. Interestingly, viewers will see the fusion of food processing and war imagery through a mobile application called Omniscope, which animates the paintings into video clips.

Cerda is a graduate of the Technological University of the Philippines and finished with a degree in Advertising. His works mainly reference history and politics through the appropriation of archival objects such as old photographs, and offers personal reflections and commentaries by injecting humor and parody to the original images.

Visa and Teach for the Philippines team up to educate young students the importance of managing money

engaging activities like this, children are able to appreciate better the importance of financial education,” said Patricia Lim, TFP Chief Strategic Resource officer.

“Being financially literate—having the skills to budget, save and spend responsibly—is a pre-

requisite for inclusive economic growth. Visa will continue to help Filipinos make the most of their growing economy,” said Tomlinson.

For more information on Visa’s financial literacy activities, visit www.practicalmoneyskills.com.

Military hardware likened to mass-produced food

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016

VARGAS files People’s Broadcasting Corporation Charter bill

DETERMINED.

Former actor and Quezon City Representative Alfred Vargas lobbies a more comprehensive charter to make the state-run broadcasting network be internationally competitive

Albay’s pride eyes Miss World 2016 title

I

N AN effort to modernize the country’s government broadcasting network and enhancing public information management, Quezon City Representative Alfred Vargas filed House Bill 2143 or the People’s Broadcasting Corporation Charter bill.

“It’s high time the Philippines operates a highstandard, internationally competitive government station like BBC of Great Britain, PBS of the United States of America, or Al Jazeera of Qatar,” said Vargas.

“To realize this, a more comprehensive charter should be in place,” he stressed.

The bill seeks the creation of the People’s Broadcasting Corporation (PBC). The PBC shall engage in radio and television broadcasting.

It aims to foster national pride and identity by serving as a vehicle for the State for purposes of

education, information, entertainment, science and technology, arts, culture, and sports. The PBC also intends to enhance the people’s awareness of the government’s programs, policies, thrusts, and directions.

The proposed charter also asserts the independence of the PBC. It shall be autonomous in all matters concerning the form and substance of its contents, and the management of its affairs.

Under the bill, the PBC shall have its principal office in the Metro Manila Area and shall also establish secondary broadcast hubs in Visayas and

Mindanao.

Financial provisions of the bill include annual appropriations for PBC for at least 10 years and a mandate to generate funds from advertising and airtime sales.

“To attain the ambitions of the envisioned PBC, proper funding and revenue-generating mechanisms should be in place,” Vargas added.

The bill directs that the human resources administration of PBC shall be consistent with the provisions of the Civil Service law, rules and regulations.

Sunshine Place celebrates 2nd anniversary THE Sunshine Place recently celebrated its second anniversary with art, music, and of course, lots of laughter and sunshine.

With its retro party theme, the anniversary celebration was a memorable get-together of the students, participants and instructors of Sunshine Place’s various classes and activities. Voice students Elize Lirag and lawyers Gil Cortez and Rogelio Vinluan shared their renditions of wellloved songs by Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and Anne Murray. Yeba students re-lived the 1978 American musical-romantic comedy, Grease in their dance number as Social Ballroom students performed with wonderful hits from the ‘80s.

Furthermore, members enjoyed Chair & Le Bran dancing, and a very special performance

by Penthouse 7’s Sandy Hontiveros, Milky Evangelista, Pipo Liboro and Boyet Sison of The Penthouse Live dance party on TV of the 1970s.

One of the highlights of the event was an art exhibit featuring the works of Sunshine Place members in ceramic acrylic and watercolor painting, as well as Ikebana, memoir writing, Discover Writing and Phenomenal! classes. Special awards were also given to the Sunshine Place’s most active members during the event.

Mrs. Felicidad Sy was the guest of honor during the event, and was joined by Sunshine Place President Lizanne Uychaco, Painting instructors Fidel Sarmiento and Tere Buiser, Discover Writing/Phenomenal! instructor Barbara Gonzalez and Memoir Writing instructor Dr. Oscar Peñaranda.

Sunshine Place, a senior hub under the Felicidad Tan Sy Foundation, is a venue for adults to live actively, through engaging in recreational classes and ageappropriate physical training programs. It is the venue to be entertained, to socialize and to reflect; a place of happiness and wellness for one’s mind, body and soul.

The center offers a wide range of activities for its members and guests. There are Ikebana (Japanese art of flower arrangement) tutorials, writing

Mrs. Felicidad Sy with the team at Sunshine Place, a hub for adults where they can actively engage in recreational classes and age-appropriate training programs

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Tuesday, December 6, 2016

ACROSS 1 Natural elevs.

5 Lofty capital 10 Bulb’s place 14 Nope (hyph.)

15 Noel and Liam’s band 16 Toward shelter 17 Thank you, in Tokyo 18 Dirigible 19 Old ruler of Venice 20 Residential area 22 So what?

(2 wds.)

24 Myrna of filmdom 25 Runner’s concern 26 Dagwood specialty 30 Buyer 35 Flurry 36 Instant grass 37 Boadicea’s people 38 Sells off 41 Shows up for 43 Auto option 44 Blonde shade 45 Forest grazer 46 Sgt. Preston’s beat 47 Put someplace (2 wds.)

50 Bullfight bravos

53 Manhattan sch.

54 Enjoyed 58 Interstellar dust cloud 62 State positively 63 Nouveau — 66 Blow hard?

67 “Typical Male” singer 68 Walking — — 69 Latin I verb 70 Malicious 71 Feet containers 72 Dit opposites DOWN 1 Flood residues 2 You, once 3 Frostbitten 4 Ought to 5 DC mover and shaker 6 Mr. Linden 7 So far — — know 8 Lion, in Africa 9 Tomato jelly 10 “Shane” portrayer 11 — vera 12 MHz part 13 Orange skin 21 Propel a dinghy 23 Catch on (2 wds.)

25 Prof’s degree 26 Unhappily

classes, music and voice lessons; Yeba and social ballroom dance classes; and nutrition counseling & customized fitness training programs. One can also take time to reflect in the chapel that is open every day and holds a 12:15 p.m. mass every Friday.

For more information, visit the Sunshine Place at #56 Jupiter St., Bel-Air, Makati City; or call (02) 856-4144 and (0917) 515-5656; and email seniorhubjupiter@gmail.com.

27 Farewell 28 Serbian tennis star 29 IBM and GE 31 — in the hole 32 Bamboo swordplay 33 Provide capital 34 Above the horizon 39 Anka’s “— Beso” 40 Hombre’s address 41 Film speed no.

42 Paint additives

44 Hirt and Gore 48 Do batik 49 Made a knight 51 Bad, bad Brown of song 52 Minneapolis exurb 54 Feed too well 55 Tel — 56 —, vidi, vici 57 Kind of tradition 59 Bear in the sky 60 Mascara target 61 Grows older 64 Railroad unit 65 Took cover

Catriona Elisa Gray, 22, wants to follow in the footsteps of 2013 Miss World Megan Young

CATRIONA Elisa Gray recently left for the United States to compete against 120 candidates in the 66th Miss World. Born to a Scottish father and Bicolana mother from Oas, Albay, Gray shared her hopes and dreams for a strong and victorious showing in the pageant.

“Miss Gray will proudly walk on stage to represent the Philippines, and with her she brings all the prayers of the Filipino people,” Miss World Philippines national director Cory Quirino said during Cat’s send-off held at the C3 Events Place in Greenhills. “I call on the support of the Filipino community in the US for a strong Filipino delegation during the Miss World pageant,” Quirino added.

Born in Cairns, Queensland, the 22-year-old commercial model finished high school studies in Australia before moving to Manila in 2012.

She has a Master’s degree from Berklee College of Music, Boston, Massachussets. A nature-lover, she is an avid outdoor thrill-seeker who has a deep passion for music and arts, composing songs and creating flower dresses.

Gray is a volunteer at Young Focus, which aims to provide free and accessible education to children up to college, particularly, school sponsorship program for the children of Smokey Mountain. She has taken on a personal mission to raise funds for the fulfillment of the Paraiso: The Bright Beginnings Project, procurement and renovation of a Pre-School building for children 3 to 5 years of age.

Miss World 2016 will be held at the Gaylord Convention Center in Washington D.C. on Dec. 18. Eton B. Concepcion

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016

Gabbi Garcia BLOOMS INTO A FINE WOMAN

Starring in a supporting role is Bela Padilla who plays Joy, the love team partner of Edgar Allan’s character. * ** 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten bagged the best picture award at the Cinema One Originals film fest 2016.

Kapampangan filmmaker Petersen Vargas’ coming-of-age drama led the winners with three, including Best Picture.

The movie also won the Best Supporting Actor Award for Hashtags member Jameson Blake and Best Cinematography for Carlos Mauricio.

“Thank you, Kapampangan cinema, which has given me the opportunity to tell stories,” said Petersen in his acceptance speech. “It has always been Kapampangan cinema that I’ve been inspired of and inspired by.”

The film depicts the story of Felix, a hard-working but friendless student, whose life changes when two halfAmerican brothers get into the school he is attending. The story takes place in Pampanga as Vargas paid tribute to his Kapampangan roots.

Samantha Lee’s millennial LGBT love story Baka Bukas, also wong three awards – Best Actress for Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Best Sound for Andrew Milallos, and the Audience Choice Award.

Keith Deligero’s Lily took home the most number of awards that night, with Best Director, Best Editing, Best Actor (Rocky Salumbides), and Best Supporting Actress (Natileigh Sitoy).

Jules Katanyag’s geriatric action film Si Magdalola At Ang Mga Gago, bagged the Special Jury Prize.

Cinema One Originals is an annual film festival that allows talented Filipino storytellers to showcase their stories through film. It is a local independent

DEBUTANTE. Kapuso Television darling Gabbi Garcia turns 18 and celebrates her birthday with the people who left significant mark in her journey through life

A

S GABBI Garcia turned 18 on Dec. 2, stars aligned for a magical night filled with fun and spontaneity.

The GMA Artist Center’s teen princess stepped into the limelight as the sweet girl who brought her fresh charm and undeniable grace onscreen.

From portraying teenybopper roles alongside screen partner Ruru Madrid, Gabbi transformed herself into a fierce and sophisticated actress when she took the role of Sang’gre Alena in the remake of the iconic telefantasya of GMA Network, Encantadia.

In barely three years, she was able to make a name in the industry by being herself—bubbly and fun, yet sultry and refined. Now that she is celebrating her coming of age, she will be spending an enchanting night with the people who left a significant mark in her journey through life.

Gabbi shared a part of her that people have never seen before, and did it with elegance as she donned three dresses created by Mark Bumgarner and Martin Bautista. Meanwhile, fellow Kapuso stars close to Gabbi’s heart did special performances to revel on her becoming a woman.

Tagged as #SincerelyGabbi, the actress wanted her debut to be

ISAH V. RED

everything out of the ordinary, and she promises to steer clear of tradition.

“I want it to be a night where all my loved ones are present. Pero ayaw ko ng masyadong traditional,” said Gabbi.

“I want to have the typical 18’s but not strictly going by the rules. I just want to spend a fun night with all the special people in my life.” *** VIVA Films’ Working Beks gave the audience wider understanding of the different things gay persons deal with, not just romance. Chris Martinez said this was in line with the other Working movies that have preceded it –Ishmael Bernal’s classics Working Girls (1984) and Working Girls 2 (1987), and Joey Reyes’ star-studded hit, Working Girls (2010).

Playing the “Beks” (short for “beki”) are TJ Trinidad as Tommy, John Lapus as Gorgeous, Prince Stefan as Jet, Joey Paras as Mandy, and Edgar Allan Guzman as Champ.

The story revolves around a day in their intertwined lives. Each of them has to make a crucial decision that can change the course of their career, love

life, health, finances, and destiny.

Tommy (TJ Trinidad) is a respected marketing director up for a promotion as Senior VP. He is well loved in the office, and, at home leads a healthy family life with his longtime partner and their two teenage daughters. But to his and everybody’s surprise, his most coveted position is no longer his for the taking.

Now, Tommy is about to raise hell.

If there’s anyone else entitled to raise some hell, that’s Gorgeous (John Lapus).

Already the breadwinner of his family, his mother even asks him to extend financial help to their relatives. Worse, when his estranged and abusive father returns, his mother readily welcomes him back. The only way Gorgeous escapes this harsh reality is “fangirling” over the matinee idol, Champ.

Rumors have it that Champ (Edgar Allan Guzman) is gay, especially after a kissing video of him and another man circulated on the Internet. He’s been in hiding for days, but luckily, his mother is there to support him. Now, he finally agrees to an interview on primetime TV. Meanwhile, one of those affected by Champ’s video scandal is Mandy (Joey Paras). It is his wedding day, but he is having cold feet as his sexual desires for men have been reawakened. Mandy’s fiancée seems to understand, but urges him to contemplate if his life would be complete without her.

Another one experiencing an

WORT IT. The lead cast of Chris Martinez's 'Working Beks,' which aims to give audience a wider understanding of the different struggles gay people deal with

MasterCard and Uber team up to bring a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the fans of Grammy Awards

Ethan Salvador (left) accepts the Best Supporting Award on behalf of Jameson Blake.

Keith Deligero (right) receives the trophy for Best Director

anxiety attack is Jet (Prince Stefan), the promiscuous call center agent who learns that the guy he recently hooked up with committed suicide because he had HIV. It’s about time Jet gets himself tested for sexually transmitted disease, but the memories of his recklessness are already killing him.

Working Beks is a realization of a longtime dream project for Martinez.

He said in one of his interviews, “This is my tribute to the gays. I’ve been writing since 2004…I’ve been directing for 8 years, I think sa mga pelikula na sinulat ko makikita na parang meron siyang mga characters na gay or gay sensibility, pero wala pa talaga akong pelikula na para or tungkol sa gays… gusto ko talagang gumawa ng ganito.

Dream project po siya talaga.”

Martinez emphasizes that this is a movie about love, respect, and gay empowerment. “Lumalaban po ang mga bakla dito, hindi po sila nagpapaapi.

(The gays here fight back, they don’t let themselves be oppressed).’’

But even if that’s the case, it is not an outright activist film. Martinez said, “So it’s still a heartfelt light comedy drama and entertainment…Hindi siya mabigat, pero most probably, matatouch kayo. (It’s not heavy drama, but most probably, it will move you).’’

film festival of Cinema One, one of the cable channels of Creative Programs, Inc., a subsidiary of ABS-CBN. This year, it celebrated its 12th year with the tagline “Anong tingin mo?” to highlight different ways of looking at movies and the multi-layered diversity that has been the hallmark of the festival. * ** Mastercard brings you a once-in-alifetime Priceless moment – a chance to win tickets to personally experience the glitz and glamour of the 59th Grammy Awards®!

The leading global payments and technology company teams up with worldwide transportation service Uber to deliver this thrilling experience for cardholders. Each ride gets you a chance to win a trip for two to watch the Grammys, and strut your stuff on the red carpet. For an entry to the raffle promotion, use your Mastercard on your next Uber trip, enter the code ‘GRAMMYS’ in the promotions tab of your Uber app and take a ride before Dec. 24.

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