Manila Standard - 2016 December 21 - Wednesday

US ENVOY AT RECEIVING END OF RODY’S RANTS

By John Paolo Bencito THE United States’ new ambassador to Manila, Sung Kim, got a taste of President Rodrigo Duterte’s acerbic tongue as he continued to abuse the US, calling it a “land of hypocrisy,” for criticizing his bloody war on drugs.

In a speech late Monday night, Duterte railed against the decision of US aid agency Millennium Challenge Corporation to defer naming the Philippines for a second grant over his deadly war on drugs.

“Come on, guys. Shut up. I do not need your assistance,” Duterte told an audience that included Ambassador Kim, members of the diplomatic corps, and the business community in Malacañang.

“Millennium Challenge? 400 million?

China is going to release to me 15 billion.

Go home. I do not need your aid.”

Duterte said he was insulted when the US aid agency deferred its assistance to the Philippines merely because of its concerns over the drug-related deaths attendNext page ing his war against drugs.

VOL. XXX • NO. 312 • 4 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2016 • www.thestandard.com.ph • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Sinos hand over drone to US ship near Subic

SCALDING LINGO. President Rodrigo Duterte meets with Ambassador Sung Kim at the sidelines of the 2016 Presidential Awards for Filipino Individuals and Organizations Overseas in Malacañang late Monday night before railing against the decision of the United States aid agency Millennium Challenge Corp. to defer naming the Philippines for a second grant over his deadly war on illegal drugs.

WASHINGTON DC—China has returned a US underwater probe it seized in the South China Sea, the Pentagon confirmed after Beijing’s capture of the craft prompted a dispute between the two powers.

The Chinese Navy handed over the drone near the location it had been seized, the Pentagon said, repeating US condemnation of Beijing’s actions in what it says are international waters.

“This incident was inconsistent with both international law and standards of professionalism for conduct between navies at sea,” Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said in a statement late Monday.

“The US has addressed those facts with the Chinese through the appropriate diplomatic and military channels, and have Next page

Du30 offers China deal Palace clueless on cops’ bonuses

By John Paolo Bencito and Macon RamosAraneta AN OFFICIAL said Tuesday he remained clueless about the claim of Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa that the Palace had approved the allocation for the bonuses of the country’s top policemen.

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella denied that Malacañang gave the top policemen cash gifts of P100,000 to P400,000 each.

“Based on the last statement that I received from the PNP chief, they did not receive anything and that it seems that nothing is forthcoming,” Abella said.

He made his statement even as Senator Panfilo Lacson said he wanted the government to explain the source of funding for

Opts for joint oil hunt, rejects shoal takeover

By John Paolo Bencito and Macon Ramos-Araneta

P

RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said he is willing to share oil resources with Beijing after pronouncing that the country could set aside a UN tribunal ruling in Manila’s favor, given the Philippines’ inability to protect its territory from Chinese military intrusions.

In his speech Monday, Duterte proposed that the Philippines and China instead share any oil found in the mineral-rich oil disputed waters.

“There will be a day, I told Xi Jinping, that we will have to take this up. But not now because I am here as a visitor. I cannot talk about it because I’m a visitor here. But I

will bring this up,” the President said before awardees of the 2016 Search for Outstanding Government Workers at Malacañang.

“I will bring this up, someday, but it will be during my time, that I have this arbitral award, so I have to push it. If you want, let’s just develop the oil there, and go Next page

‘WALK THE TALK.’ The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines is calling on the government to ‘walk the talk’ and solve the murder of Catanduanes columnist Larry Que of Catanduanes News Now, the first media killing under the Duterte administration as members light up candles at the Boy Scouts Circle in Quezon City condemning the slaying. Ey Acasio

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NBP locks gates after inmate fled

By Rey E. Requejo THE New Bilibid Prison has been placed on a temporary lockdown following the escape of an inmate, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said on Tuesday.

He said Manuel Paril Jr., who was convicted of homicide and frustrated homicide, escaped at 12:30 a.m. from the control gate of the maximum security compound.

He said he immediately ordered an investigation to find out the possible liabilities of the prison guards for the incident.

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MONTH-LONG RESPITE. Policemen headed by CIDG Region 8 chief Marvin Marcos (left), implicated in the November 5 killing of Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa and some of his co-accused are given a month by the Department of Justice Tuesday to respond to the charges filed against them. Norman Cruz

Digong: War forges ahead ‘until last drug lord killed’

By John Paolo Bencito and Rey E. Requejo PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte admitted that he does not have any evidence against politicians he tagged as being involved in the illegal drug trade to convict them in court. twitter.com/ MlaStandard

Taking again about his list of narco-politicians Monday, he said he only had enough information to establish probable cause.

“This is the drug industry. I cannot produce proof beyond reasonable doubt,” Duterte said.

He said, however, that he could

facebook.com/ ManilaStandardPH

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Newsman slain in 1st Employers case under Rody’s term reminded

By John Paolo Bencito

A COLUMNIST and publisher of a two-week-old community newspaper in Catanduanes was shot dead Tuesday, making him the first journalist killed under the Duterte administration.

Larry Que, who ran as mayor of Virac town and was publisher of Catanduanes News Now, was shot in the head by a gunman wearing a bonnet and raincoat who then fled on a motorcycle driven by an accomplice.

Que’s murder came after he wrote a column criticizing local officials following the recent discovery of a shabu laboratory in

thestandard.com.ph

the province.

His murder came after he criticized what he called local officials’ alleged negligence, which allowed the setting up on the island-province of a recently raided shabu laboratory that authorities claimed was the “biggest” so far discovered in the country.

Broadcaster Jinky Tabor, who acted as a witness to the raid on the laboratory, has also received threats, local journalists said Tuesday.

He also wrote it was likely the Chinese nationals who set up the laboratory had help from Chinese residents of the island province.

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on 13th mo.

By Vito Barcelo THE Department of Labor and Employment on Tuesday reiterated the call for all private employers to release and give the workers’ 13th month pay.

“In the spirit of Christmas, I appeal to employers to give your workers their 13th month pay.

Better yet, pay them now,” Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello said.

Bello said the 13th month pay is a general labor standard and private sector employers are Next page

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2016 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

PH to get P720-m arms aid C

HINA has earmarked a donation of military equipment worth 100 million yuan or around P720 million, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Tuesday.

He said a technical working group would be formed to study the acquisition procedures and the equipment to be requested with the grant.

He said he and President Rodrigo Duterte met Monday night with Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua and part of their discussion was a possible soft loan amounting to $500 million.

“He [Zhao] asked what they could give us worth 100 million yuan which is equivalent to 720 million pesos,” Lorenzana said.

“He gave us a list of equipment that we could ask for.”

Lorenzana said they were thinking of getting small arms, fast boats and night-vision goggles that could be given to them in the first or second quarter next year.

He said the soft loan worth $500 million for a big-ticket item could be finalized in the second quarter of 2017.

He said the other things they discussed with Zhao were issues on terrorism and illegal drugs.

“They want to help us fight terrorism and drugs,” Lorenzana said.

“I know your problems in terrorism, I know your problems in

drugs, so we would like to help you,” Lorenzana quoted Zhao as saying during their meeting.

Earlier, Duterte said Beijing should not be totally blamed for the proliferation of illegal drugs in the country where most of the listed leaders of the big-time drug syndicates were Chinese nationals.

Duterte’s war on drugs has already claimed the lives of 6,000 drug lords, pushers and users.

He intends to intensify his campaign to eliminate drug pushers who, he said, were made up mostly of rogue policemen, military officials, village captains, local chief executives and even congressmen and senator.

He claims Senator Leila de Lima received drug money especially when she was Justice secretary, which De Lima denies.

Duterte is continuously being criticized here and abroad for his bloody campaign against illegal drugs.

But Duterte continues to taunt the US government and has threatened to abrogate the RPUS Visiting Forces Agreement, which would send home the American forces and equipment stationed in the country.

Florante S. Solmerin

Digong:...

From A1

Wellie Lim, former mayor of Lugait town in Misamis Oriental, was tagged by Duterte as among those linked in the business of selling shabu in the region.

Earlier, the President named Iligan City’s Lawrence Cruz and Vicente Belmonte as some of the region’s political personalities who are in the narco-list.

Both Cruz and Belmonte used to serve as that city’s congressional representatives.

In a radio interview, Cruz denied being involved in the illegal drug trade as he feared he will end up like slain Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa who was gunned down by operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-8 inside his cell.

Emano said Lim called him up Monday night and told the governor he was “worried” that his name was on the list.

He said Lim told him the allegation is not true. Lim and Emano are both members of Padayon Pilipino, a local political party based in Northern Mindanao.

“He even asked my advice on how to clear his name,” Emano said.

Also on Tuesday, the Justice Department gave the 25 policemen charged in the killing of Albuera Mayor Espinosa and a fellow inmate Raul Yap inside their jail cells in Baybay, Leyte last Nov. 5 a month to submit their respective counter-affidavits.

During the preliminary hearing at the Department of Justice on the multiple murder cases and other criminal cases filed against the policemen, Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Lilian Doris Alejo ordered the respondents led by Supt.

Marvin Marcos to submit their counter-affidavits on Jan. 23, 2017 on the killing of Espinosa and Yap. The prosecutors gave the respondents copies of the complaint filed by the National Bureau of Investigation, which described the police operation as a rubout.

not just leave the problem to fester, as the country is already a narcostate.

He added that the anti-drug campaign would continue “until the last pusher is out of the streets and the last drug lord is killed.’

In various speeches, Duterte said thousands of government officials, including congressmen, governors, mayors and barangay captains were in the final narco-list.

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said the President’s admission guaranteed that the administration would adhere to due process in the prosecution of drug cases.

In a separate speech, the President said he will impose next year a limit of two security officers per politician.

Having too many security officers, he said, made politicians arrogant.

“We all know these politicians, they have an army escort of two, they have police [escorts], so nobody would touch them. Every time they go to places, people would know that there is an idiot there pretending to be a big shot when he is not. He wants his presence felt by the crowd,” Duterte said in a speech during the 2016 Presidential Awards for Filipino Individuals & Organizations Overseas at Malacañang.

“So, when there is no security, they are afraid,” he added.

The President said starting next year, politicians will only be allowed to have two security officers.

In Cagayan de Oro City, one of the three political figures in Northern Mindanao mentioned by Duterte as being allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade is willing to submit himself to the authorities to prove he is innocent, Misamis Oriental Gov. Yevgeny Vincente Emano said Tuesday.

Palace...

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President Rodrigo Duterte’s Christmas bonus to key officials of the Philippine National Police.

“Where did the Christmas bonus come from. If it came from the intelligence funds, it cannot be used for bonuses,” said Lacson who was chief of police during the administration of Joseph Estrada.

He said if the funds came from a private source it was also not allowed, and because it would amount to bribery.

And if there were funds the money should be divided equally among all the members of the Philippine National Police.

Asked why Dela Rosa announced the alleged cash gifts from Malacañang, Abella said he knew nothing about it.

“What can I tell you authoritatively is that, according to General Bato, it has not been released and apparently it is not forthcoming,” Abella said.

But in a radio dzMM interview early Tuesday

Prosecute Duterte—UN rights chief GENEVA—The UN rights chief urged the Philippines Tuesday to investigate President Rodrigo Duterte for murder, after he boasted that he in the past had personally killed suspected criminals.

Duterte said in a speech last week that when he was mayor of the southern city of Davao, where he served three terms between 1988 and 2016, he personally killed people to set an example for police.

He made the comments in a speech to businessmen as he discussed his campaign to eradicate illegal drugs, which has seen police and unknown assailants kill thousands of people since he became president on June 30.

“The Philippines judicial authorities must demonstrate their commitment to upholding the rule of law and their independence from the executive by launching a murder investigation,” UN rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said in a

statement.

“The killings committed by Mr. Duterte, by his own admission, at a time when he was a mayor, clearly constitute murder,” he said.

“It should be unthinkable for any functioning judicial system not to launch investigative and judicial proceedings when someone has openly admitted being a killer,” he insisted.

Duterte has said that as newly elected mayor of Davao, he and several local policemen ambushed a group of suspected kidnappers shortly after the gang collected ransom from the parents of the released hostage, a local teenage girl.

“Maybe my bullets killed them, maybe not, but after the [firefight] they were all dead,” he said.

He meanwhile told the BBC on Friday that he had personally killed “about three people” during his term as mayor.

Philippines Justice Secretary

Vitaliano Aguirre insisted that the President had not violated any law.

“If the suspect fought back, he must have been forced to kill him,” Aguirre told reporters last week.

But Zeid was adamant, warning that the acts clearly violated the Constitution of the Philippines.

“The killings described by President Duterte also violate international law, including the right to life... and innocence until proven guilty,” he said.

The UN rights chief’s statement also decried the “environment of alarming impunity and violence” created by Duterte’s deadly campaign to eradicate illegal drugs.

According to the UN, nearly 6,100 people had been killed since Duterte took office in late June.

“Despite police investigating thousands of the deaths perpetrated by vigilantes, there is surprisingly little information on actual prosecutions,” Zeid said. AFP

Du30...

From A1

Ernesto Abella said.

On Monday, Duterte said he will take up the arbitral ruling with Beijing at a later time, but will not give in to Washington’s pressure to press China on the issue now.

Beijing appeared receptive of Duterte’s remarks that he will set aside the arbitral ruling.

“We welcome and appreciate President Duterte’s relevant remarks. We believe that President Duterte’s policy on dealing with the arbitral ruling over the South China Sea issue coincides with the common interests of the two countries and their people, and shows the constantly deepening mutual trust and friendship,” said Hua Chunying, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said.

Hua said that since the successful visit of Duterte, the China-Philippines ties have achieved full and sustained improvement, bilateral mutual trust enhanced, all-around pragmatic cooperation in various fields extended and progress achieved.

“China is ready to continue to work with the Philippine side, increase constantly the political mutual trust and handle properly the maritime issues so as to achieve the common development of the two countries,” the Chinese official said.

Senator Francis Pangilinan on Tuesday said the President’s remarks on setting aside the UN tribunal ruling would imperil the national interest.

“To set aside the tribunal’s ruling does not redound to our interest as a nation. With due respect, such a pronouncement imperils the national interest in favor of China,” Pangilinan said.

Pangilinan pointed out that the

ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration recognized the Philippines’ territorial rights over some 531,000-square kilometers within the exclusive economic zone and the extended continental shelf under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. He said this area of 531,000 square kilometers of maritime space includes fisheries and oil, gas and mineral resources found within the area exclusive to Filipinos.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said Duterte’s statement on the tribunal’s ruling was part of his plan to pivot towards China, away from the US and Western democracies.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian called on the President to clarify what he meant by setting aside the ruling, saying the tribunal’s decision boosts the legitimacy of the Philippines’ territorial claims.

Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto said he believes that the Philippines would be better off pivoting to an independent foreign policy position rather than siding with any of the big powers, China included.

“Our motto should be: ‘Friend to all, but subservient to none.’ In other words, amity to all, hostility to no one,” Recto said.

Recto said foreign policy rebalancing should not mean that “we dump old friends for new suitors.”

“So what’s the advantage of running away from the claws of the American eagle only to rush to the embrace of a Chinese or Russian bear?” Recto said.

Recto said the Philippines must maintain friendship with all nations, even those it has “ongoing differences” with.

“We must continuously engage, not disengage,” he said.

Newsman...

ministration and its loyal supporters for “heaping insults, curses and even threats” towards the members of the press.

“It has not helped that Duterte, who has shown a total aversion to criticism, and some of his officials have time and again been openly hostile towards journalists and the media as a whole, with his loyal supporters taking the cue and heaping insults, curses and even threats through social media on several of our colleagues.”

“Nor has it helped that an army of trolls and social media operators are waging a campaign of lies through fake news sites that they tout as their ‘people’s alternative’ to ‘biased’ media or that Duterte’s spokesmen are forever having to explain his statements and blaming media for failing to see beyond what they insist is ‘hyperbole’ or, alternately, to apply ‘creative imagination.’”

The group said the government to stop blaming media for their mishaps, when the press is faithful in reporting the news.

“We call on this administration to walk the talk and prove its professed respect for press freedom, not only by quickly solving these brazen assaults on press freedom but, just as importantly, by ending its penchant of falsely blaming media for deliberately misinterpreting its often inconsistent and incoherent messages and instead working on making its communications crystal-clear,” the group said.

half-and-half. What will I do with the sea?”

Duterte said sending Marines to wrest back control of the disputed Scarborough Shoal, which China seized in 2012, was not a viable alternative.

“They’d be wiped out in just one minute. There’ll be a disaster,” he said.

“What will I do with the Scarborough Shoal? Swim there everyday? For what? To send my soldiers there to die? Floating?”

Over the weekend, Duterte said he was willing to set aside a UN tribunal’s decision that invalidated China’s claim over much of the South China Sea, a ruling that favored the Philippines.

Critics warned that the administration’s refusal to do anything to stop Beijing weakens any moves in the future to defend the country’s territory.

Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said that if the Philippines does not formally protest, China can later claim that the Philippines consented, or at least acquiesced, to China’s military fortifications in the Spratlys, including Mischief Reef.

The Palace on Tuesday took a step back from the President’s statement on the sharing of oil resources, saying it was not the policy of the government to share natural resources in the disputed waters.

Any such arrangement would be between Filipino and Chinese companies, he said.

“This is not a government-togovernment agreement, it’s between Philippine and Chinese businesses,” presidential spokesman

From A1 In a statement, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines condemned Que’s murder, and challenged authorities, particularly the Presidential Task Force on Violations of the Right to Life, Liberty and Security of the Members of the Media, to immediately solve his killing.

“These have created a climate of fear within the local media community. It should be stressed that the murder of Que is not the first assault on journalists under the current administration,” Dabet Panelo, NUJP secretary general, said in a statement.

“Thus far, we have to hear back from authorities despite the creation of task forces to investigate these thankfully botched assassination attempts.”

Panelo reminded authorities that on the day of Duterte’s inauguration, motorcycle-riding gunmen shot and wounded Saturnino Estanio of Radio Mindanao Network’s dxRS in Surigao City and his 12-year-old son.

A bystander was also injured in the incident.

Just last month, Pangasinan journalist Virgilio Maganes survived an attempt on his life by gunmen who apparently tried to disguise the hit as drug-related. They left behind a cardboard placard that said: “Wag nyo akung tularan drug posher ako (sic).”

The group scored the Duterte ad-

morning, Abella said it was Duterte who gave the P100,000 to P400,000 Christmas bonuses to each star-rank police official.

“It’s not yet certain where the funds came from. But definitely, it came from the President, he has his own funds. That’s all I can say at this stage, but I cannot say it’s fully confirmed,” Abella said.

Asked why the bonus was offered to only highranking officials, Abella also guaranteed, “We’ll find out, I’m sure that had a logical basis.”

On Monday, Dela Rosa said the Palace gave up to P400,000 but only to officers in the star rank and P50,000 to officials below this level.

Following his admission, he told reporters to stop pressing him on the cash gifts, saying it could be tapped from the President’s Intelligence Fund.

“Don’t ask where it comes from. But I tell you, it’s not from drugs. I suppose it comes from the President’s intelligence funds,” Dela Rosa told reporters.

US...

From A1

“With due respect to the Ambassador of the United States, [when] you’re dealing with Asians, be careful of your language,” Duterte said.

“You cannot do that to the Japanese and to the Koreans. They feel insulted,” Duterte said.

“When you said, ‘We will not give you [aid] because of these [drug-related killings, we] were pictured as someone starving to death. ‘You’re dead because you’re hungry.

We don’t care if you’re dead because of starvation.’ It’s actually a slur.

“It’s actually at the end of the day, I would say to you, it is dignity. Just because there are human rights violations you do not say that you will never have the aid. We do not need it.”

Duterte said the Filipinos’ dignity was hurt when the US had to cut its assistance because of the alleged human rights viola-

Employers...

From A1

duty-bound under the law to report their compliance with this worker benefit.

Under the law, all employers are mandated to pay their 13th month pay on or before December 24, regardless of the nature of their employment, and irrespective of the methods by which their wages are paid, provided they worked for at least one month during a calendar year.

The Labor Code provides that every covered employer is required to make a report of compliance with the law to the nearest DoLE regional office not later than January 15 of each year.

The 13th month pay is defined to mean one-twelfth (1/12) of the basic salary of an employee within a calendar year.

The basic salary includes all remunerations or earnings paid by an employer to an employee for services rendered, but may not include cost-of-living allowances, profit-sharing payments, cash equivalents of unused vacation and sick leave credits, overtime pay, premium pay, night shift differential pay, holiday pay, and all allowances and monetary benefits which are not considered, or integrated as part of the regular or basic salary of the employee.

tions perpetrated in nearly six months since he assumed office.

“Just because there are human rights violation, you would say you wouldn’t have this. We do not need it. Why do you have to say, ‘They will lose assistance?’ It is actually an insult.

“America is a land of hypocrisy. There are 40,000 Americans killed every year, drug-related.”

Kim, who was present at the event, was seen smiling awkwardly while the President was ranting against the Americans.

Duterte likewise blasted the United States, the former colonial master of the Philippines, for “living [off] the fat of the land.”

“You the United States were here, they were lord over it for 50 years and lived up with the fat of the land. But there they went out, it’s still, it was still a unitary type. And to hear them say, ‘we will cut your aid if these things happen again.’ Go on, shut up, shut up.”

Sinos...

From A1

called on Chinese authorities to comply with their obligations under international law and to refrain from further efforts to impede lawful US activities.”

A Chinese naval vessel seized the probe around 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay in the Philippines last week in an incident that heightened already tense relations between the world’s two largest economies.

The Pentagon statement said the US Navy drone was “conducting routine operations in the international waters of the South China Sea in full compliance with international law.”

For its part, China said the handover of the small vessel was “completed smoothly” after “friendly consultations” between both sides, according to a short defense ministry statement on its website.

Pentagon officials had previously said the drone would be handed over to the crew of a US warship in the vicinity of Scarborough Shoal.

Pentagon officials said last week that the Chinese had “unlawfully” grabbed the marine probe, which they described as a craft that gathers unclassified data—including water temperatures, salinity and sea clarity— that can be used to help submarines navigate and determine sonar ranges in murky waters.

China said it snatched the craft because it might pose a safety hazard to other vessels. It also said it “strongly opposed” US reconnaissance activities and had asked Washington to stop.

The incident has heightened ongoing tensions in the South China Sea, where Beijing has moved to fortify its claims to the region by expanding tiny reefs and islets into artificial islands hosting military facilities.

Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan have competing claims in the waterway.

While Washington takes no position on sovereignty claims in South China Sea, it has repeatedly called on China to uphold freedom of navigation.

Its military has conducted several operations in which ships and planes have passed near the sites Beijing claims.

US President-elect Donald Trump raised the rhetorical heat further last week, accusing Beijing of theft.

After Beijing and Washington announced the drone would be returned on Sunday, he tweeted: “We should tell China that we don’t want the drone they stole back.—let them keep it!”

China’s foreign ministry on Monday rejected Trump’s accusations Beijing had stolen the craft as “not accurate.”

The state-owned China Daily wrote in an editorial earlier that Trump’s behavior “could easily drive China-US relations into what (US President Barack) Obama portrays as ‘full-conflict mode’.”

Trump, who is set to take office on January 20, had already infuriated Beijing by questioning longstanding US policy on Taiwan, calling Beijing a currency manipulator and threatening punitive tariffs against Chinese imports.

On Tuesday, a second lawmaker urged the Philippine government to file a diplomatic protest against China and the United States following the discovery of an underwater drone 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay. Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano said the drone deployed by a US oceanographic vessel that was seized by China last week was covered by the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone.

China, he added, should have informed the Philippines that it seized the drone.

Earlier, Kabayan party-list Rep. Harry Roque made a similar point. AFP, Maricel V. Cruz

NBP...

From A1

Records showed that Paril was supposed to be released this month after completing his sentence.

He was previously released on parole but was brought back to the NBP after violating its conditions.

“The NBP is on a temporary shutdown pending the completion of search operations,” Bureau of Corrections Director Benjamin Delos Santos said in a text message.

“There is a possibility escapee Paril is still within the prison grounds.”

Initial findings showed that Paril was at the control gate when he broke an access door to the second floor of the administration building.

He is considered second mostwanted person in Quezon Province.

While he was about to complete his sentence for the homicide and frustrated homicide cases, he is still facing two charges for rape in Gumaca, Quezon.

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2016 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Gov’t allocates P1-b seed fund

By John Paolo Bencito

T

HE Duterte administration has allocated P1 billion per region as seed fund that can be used by micro, small and medium enterprises as seed fund to start businesses, a senior Cabinet official said.

“We are happy to note that upon the initiative of our President, he has taken from his budget P1 billion and transfer it through DTI [Department of Trade and Industry] ... to be lent out to the micro-entrepre-

neurs as a start. The vision and promise of the President is P1 billion per region,” Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said during the Negosyo Para sa Kapayapaan in the Sulu event at Malacañang on Monday.

Junking of ‘No PhilHealth ID No Benefits’ proposed

By Macon Ramos-Araneta THE Senate has included a provision in the 2017 national budget cancelling the need for patients seeking treatment in hospitals to present a PhilHealth card as a condition to avail themselves of benefits from the state health insurer, Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto said.

He said scrapping the “No PhilHealth ID, No benefits” policy was among provisions the Senate had crafted to guarantee universal health coverage.

He sponsored the budget provision which states that “in the attainment of universal coverage, no Filipino, whether a PhilHealth member or not, shall be denied of PhilHealth benefits. PhilHealth identification card is not necessary in the availment of benefits.”

The provision forms part of the 2017 General Appropriations Bill that President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to sign before the end of the month.

But the major PhilHealth-related initiative, Recto said, was the one pushed by Senator Loren Legarda, which appropriated P3 billion to pay for the insurance premiums of an estimated “last eight-million uninsured Filipinos.”

This backlog was discovered in the course of budget deliberations, Recto said.

“Because the Senate did its job, the discrepancy was found.”

The P3-billion Senate infusion sponsored by Legarda “will close the last mile in health insurance,” Recto said.

“This is the culmination of a long work process through successive administrations. In 2001, at the start of GMA’s term, the number of sponsored beneficiaries was just 200,000 urban poor families,” he said.

“Then the number of the sponsored increased yearly. By 2010, the individuals covered, including self-paying, numbered 78 million. President Aquino added 20-million new enrollees, increased the paying members to about 45 million, plus retained the previous grantees and expanded the benefits,” he said.

Mushroom tech for backyard planters

By Macon Ramos-Araneta TO PROMOTE urban farming and boost food security among Filipinos, Senator Cynthia A. Villar on Tuesday spearheaded a two-day training module on mushroom culture and production technology for backyard planters and budding entrepreneurs.

Villar linked up with the Bureau of Plant Industry for the production training activity, which started Tuesday until today at the Villar Sipag farm school in Las Piñas.

“We need to help our kababayans in whatever and however way we can. By teaching them the proper ways of mushroom cultivation and production, we will not only encourage urban farming and address food insufficiency but also open up opportunities for small-scale enterprises, “ Villar said.

Villar added: “We cannot and should not always depend on government for self sufficiency. We should learn to help ourselves so we can make do with whatever we have.”

Villar stressed the important role that mushrooms contribute to the livelihood of rural and peri-urban dwellers.

“Mushroom production helps in improving food security and boosts income generation because the cultivation process takes only a short time,” she said.

“To start off that program, he is allocating P1 billion to our project to really help the startups, the market vendors, hawkers, small farmers, and even from 5,000, 10,000, 30,000 up to 150,000 to 250,000, we can accommodate through this microfund,” Lopez said.

The P1-billion fund is part of a planned P19-billion financing which the government wants to provide the country’s micro and small businesses in the coming years to kill the 5-6 money lending scheme in the country.

“We are trying to remove and kill the ‘5-6’ industry. We

are replacing this with an alternative micro funding. So far we are able to set aside P1-billion new funds. It’s a project of President Duterte to really provide startup funds for the micro entrepreneurs,” he added.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier warned that loan sharks or those lending money under the 5-6 scheme would not be allowed to operate under his administration This, as members of the private sector committed for Sulu’s development, including Manuel V. Pangilinan group, which pledged development in telecom, hospitals, and coco-

nut mill industry.

Ramon Ang’s San Miguel Corp. made a commitment to build a 50 megawatt coal power plant and to reorganize Sulu’s school of arts and trade.

It also promised to create a feed mill supply chain.

The National Book Store also committed to provide school supplies for at least 100,000 school kids in Sulu, while the Department of Agriculture will provide tractors, farm implements and agricultural training.

Other donors are Bounty Fresh Good, Inc., W Group,

Gawad Kalinga, Lucio Tan Group, Kapatid Agri Group, and the federation of FilipinoChinese businessmen.

Lopez said the government would be giving an additional P50 million as startup for Sulu farmers.

“We are happy to say that for the Sulu project, we are happy to allocate P50 million for the Sulu farmers and all our projects will do for Sulu to jumpstart the economy in Sulu.

That is our little contribution for a start. If we do well, we can do another P50 million for the area.”

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Opinion

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2016

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

Adelle Chua, Editor

Our ambivalence

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RECENT opinion poll captures the public’s ambivalence over the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs. The sheer numbers are mind-boggling: more than 6,000 suspected drug pushers and users killed since President Rodrigo Duterte took office on June 30 with the promise of eradicating the drug menace in three to six months.

The President has missed his deadline, but clearly not from want of trying. The death toll so far suggests an average of 34 drug suspects killed every day.

unprecedented, fat Christmas bonuses--vow that the bloody campaign will continue, while simultaneously disavowing that the summary executions are state-sanctioned.

We ought to be horrified—but there are no major street demonstrations; more people turned up to protest the burial of a dictator who died 27 years ago than the faceless thousands who were recently killed on the mere suspicion of using or selling drugs.

In fact, the most recent survey by the Social Weather Stations showed that 85 percent of Filipinos were satisfied with the administration’s campaign against Duterte and his police of- illegal drugs. ficers—recently rewarded by About 88 percent of the re-

spondents also agreed that the drug problem in their communities has declined since President Duterte took office on June 30, with only 4 percent disagreeing.

But this satisfaction is a twoedged blade.

The same survey shows that a high eight out of 10 Filipinos fear they might fall victim to summary executions that have come to characterize the government’s war on drugs. Accounts in which innocent bystanders—including innocent children—were killed, or the likelihood that unscrupulous police officers can easily use the anti-drug campaign as a cover to commit murder—do nothing to bolster public confidence.

Oddly enough, the chief of the

Philippine National Police, Dir. Gen. Ronald dela Rosa, seems to exhibit some of this ambivalence himself. Decked out in a Santa hat during a recent police Christmas party, Dela Rosa apologized for the killings that stem from the government’s campaign against illegal drugs.

In a speech at the PNP Headquarters in Camp Crame, Dela Rosa asked policemen to seek forgiveness from God. “Pray for the Lord’s forgiveness for the killings. We don’t admit that we are behind them, but because of the war on drugs, many are getting killed,” he said in Filipino.

Later, in an interview, he said: “Let me be frank. While I am

begging for forgiveness for what is happening right now, I am also begging your indulgence to please understand if the killings will continue.”

The plea for forgiveness seems odd—and even hypocritical.

It suggests that while the police chief is aware on some basic, human level that killing suspects without a trial is fundamentally wrong, he is willing to look the other way as long as the government is winning the war on drugs.

While this may be so, the latest opinion poll shows that Filipinos may no longer be afraid of drug pushers—they’re now deathly afraid of the police, who are duty-bound to protect them, not kill them.

VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ

Tax the rich, pay the poor

De Lima’s defiance LOWDOWN

JOJO A. ROBLES SENATOR Leila de Lima, according to the solicitor general, is now Public Enemy Number 1. If she really is that, how come she’s still traipsing around the world, accepting awards from bodies of dubious distinction and generally making a national nuisance of herself while thumbing her nose at the Duterte administration?

I don’t know about you, but I’m weary of De Lima’s sensational trial by publicity, of which this ranking, conferred upon her by no less than the government’s top lawyer, is only the latest curious development. If the various worthies who claim they have the goods on Leila don’t come up with an actual warrant soon and a real conviction eventually, they’d be in dire danger of being laughed out of town—with the senator herself leading the cho-

rus of laughter.

De Lima, for all her failures and frailties, knew how to pursue, arrest and lock up people that her boss, Noynoy Aquino, wanted pursued, arrested and locked up. As Aquino’s secretary of Justice, De Lima fearlessly implemented Aquino’s unrelenting policy of political vendetta, collecting the figurative scalps of heavyweights like Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Renato Corona and not just one but three incumbent senators.

Never mind that, along the way, De Lima encountered stiff opposition from the Supreme Court, United Nations tribunals and armies of high-priced defense lawyers. Leila did not let rulings from the high court or the UN or even simple reason and logic get in the way of her tireless hunting and gathering; if Aquino wanted these people taken down, all she asked was how hard did he want them to fall.

In the end, of course, De Lima’s half-assed charges fell apart

like cities made out of Lego bricks, almost as soon as her patron left the palace. But the filing of cases that would stick was not

It’s ironic that an administration accused of cutting legal corners seems paralyzed

by De Lima’s nonexistent defenses.

De Lima’s goal, after all—her job was to jail and to force resignations, not to build the “airtight” cases that her successor-in-office believes are the conditio sine qua non before proceeding.

The point is not that President Rodrigo Duterte’s men should just throw De Lima in jail without the benefit of a proper case

buildup, like Aquino would have done, were he in Digong’s Marikina-made shoes and confronted by a problem like Leila.

All I’m saying is that Duterte, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre, Solicitor General Jose Calida and the rest should stop leading the public on, exposing all of De Lima’s now-famous frailties and cupidity if they can’t even bring all of it to the next level.

And no, calling her the most badass public enemy of all doesn’t quite cut the mustard. *** It’s truly ironic that an administration that is being accused of cutting legal corners in order to end the problem of the proliferation of narcotics seems paralyzed in the face of De Lima’s virtually nonexistent defenses. Even the prurient and cooperative Congress, which was only too willing to act as the forum for the very public disrobing of De Lima (again, only figuratively) and exposing her supposed links to drug syndicates

inside the national penitentiary, can’t even enforce its summonses on the senator.

More than ever, I refuse to buy De Lima’s line that she is the helpless victim of a campaign being waged against her with the help of all of the awesome forces at the administration’s command. From the looks of it, it is De Lima who is showing that she’s the boss of the entire government, which can’t even serve her with a subpoena, summon her to a hearing or even stop her from leaving at the airport, like she did to a departing, court-cleared Arroyo.

(Aguirre can’t even demand cooperation from the Anti-Money Laundering Council, which used to be such a willing and important—if sometimes, as in the case of Corona, flawed—tool in the pursuit of money stashed away by people in Malacanang’s hit list. AMLAC, headed by the suspiciously named Julia Abad, can even afford to ignore Duterte himself, when he fumes publicly that the council should hand over bank Turn to A5

ALBAY’S Second District Rep. Joey Salceda filed this week House Bill 4688, the Tax Reform for Acceleration and INclusion or TRAIN, more than three months since he presented the idea to Congress on September 3. It will create wealth for the poor, Joey says, to the tune of P156 billion a year.

Joey is one of the country’s best economists and thinkers. He is a conscientious congressman. So when he files a measure like HB 4688, you can be sure it is a substantial piece of legislation.

HB 4688 targets the rich by shifting their tax burden from income to consumption.

The rich will now pay at least 25 percent their income as tax. Their present average tax (with all kinds of exemptions): 1.8 percent. The rich will also pay more in taxes on their cars—20 percent for value above P600,000, from zero today. Diesel on their cars will be taxed P6 per liter; gasoline at P10 per liter. Since SUVs of the rich are usually diesel-fed, and diesel is hardly taxed, the government subsidizes the rich’s ostentatious display of wealth.

Meanwhile, the average wage earner will pay less. He presently pays an average of 20 percent on his income which is withheld at source. The tax will be zero if he earns only P218,832 a year or P18,236 a month. A clerk who makes P231,292 will also pay zero instead of paying P12,673 at present. A call center agent who makes P273,000 a year will reduce his tax from P9,209 at present to P1,567, an 83-percent reduction.

What about the very poor? They will get cash, P6,000 subsidy a year, through their ATMs. Without conditions, unlike at present.

According to Joey, the key features of his bill are: 1. Full and immediate adjustment of Personal Income Tax in the first year. “The PIT income bracket creeping is one of the most horrific and protracted (instances of) social injustice,” Joey winces.

He laments that the Philippine PIT is the most regressive in the entire Asia. “And we do this to the most dependable pillar of taxes— the employees whose share of nation-building is automatically withheld, with compliance at almost 99 percent since they have no choice,” he says. The net benefit of reforming the setup would be P156 billion, he estimates.

2. HB 4688 provides that 25 percent of the compensating revenues from excise tax on petroleum of P165 billion be earmarked for subsidies to the lowest 50 percent income class, by way of fare vouchers Turn to A5

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Opinion TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

De Lima’s...

SO I SEE

documents of persons of interest like the senator.)

If the whole point of publicly demolishing De Lima is to force her Corona-like resignation, that’s not going to happen. This is, after all, a senator who had to be evicted from her committee chairmanship by a vote of all of her colleagues—and even then, not even they could stop her from joining an investigation where she herself was being accused of large-scale illegal activity by the witnesses, who included her own former lover-driver.

If all of the sound and fury generated against De Lima is intended to make her the poster girl of what happens to high officials who abuse their powers not only in compliance with their master’s wishes but also to benefit personally and fi-

LITO BANAYO LAST Monday night, a suspected terrorist drove a black 40-foot container truck into a Christmas market in busy Kurfurstendamm in central Berlin, killing at least nine and causing severe injuries to some 50 others as of the time of this writing.

An American tourist, one of the horrified many who were spared from the carnage, was shaking in fear when she told a news reporter that “she went to Berlin instead of Paris, because I thought it is safer here.”

The whole world recalls that a similar terrorist incident happened at the Boulevard des Anglais in Nice, killing even more tourists and residents gathered for a holiday fireworks show.

What happened in Berlin the other night was a repeat of the modus operandi employed by terrorist cells now spreading mayhem wherever and whenever.

What is the whole world coming to?

In the Turkish capital of Ankara on the same day, a young policeman assassinated Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov in front of a shocked audience of diplomats and culturatti attending a photo exhibit.

Shouting the usual “Allahu akbar!” after the kill, the young policeman then fired more shots into the air and smashed the pho-

nancially, then we’re still a long way from that goal. And now, more and more people want to know: what is the real endgame of this exercise?

I used to think that the arrest, prosecution and detention of De Lima was the inevitable and logical progression of all the dirt that was being dug up against her. Now I’m not so sure anymore that De Lima will get what she so richly deserves, because of the role she played in the previous government.

If De Lima remains untouchable, I may soon have to revise my belief that this is a government that will stop at nothing in its pursuit of criminals, especially narco-politicians. I will still wait for the government to prove me wrong, but not for very long.

tos in the exhibit, claiming that he did what he had just done because of what Russia was doing in Syria.

And to think that just last December 10, 44 people were killed in bombings in the financial and tourist capital of Istanbul.

What is the whole world coming to?

The American in Berlin probably remembers the simultaneous bombings at the Theatre Bataclan in the 16th arrondissement, at a St. Denis stadium, and a café in Paris in 2015. And before that, the massacre of journalists by terrorists shouting “Allahu Akbar” at the offices of Charlie Hebdo. And of course, the carnage in beautiful Nice by the Riviera.

The world has never been the same since terrorism reared its ugly head, punctuated by the Nine-Eleven terror in New York’s World Trade Center and in Pennsylvania in September of 2001.

Writing for another paper in the aftermath of the horror that enveloped the heart of every citizen of the world, I recalled to mind a favorite Burt Bacharach song entitled “The Windows of the World,” where the melancholy refrain was “What is the whole world coming to?”

Terrorism is not alien to us in these islands either. There have been a spate of bombings related to terroristic activities here as well. The December 30, 2000 bombings in the LRT station at Caloocan, along with several other sites in Metro Manila. Those were the days preceding Edsa Dos.

The Valentine’s Day bombing of a bus in Edsa upon Makati, during the term of Erap’s successor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Police findings later established that the two bombing incidents were perpetrated by cells of a similar terrorist group.

Most recently, the Davao City bombing incident while the President himself was in his beloved city, arriving at the bloody scene just a scant hour later.

In Aleppo, a five-year civil war that has killed a hundred thousand Syrians and deprived hundreds of thousands more of their homes, displaced into a forced diaspora in Europe and elsewhere, ended in the most brutal and senseless manner.

Bashar al-Assad remains in power, but at what tragic cost?

And will the conflict of power really end in Aleppo?

What people the world over cheered as the Arab Spring, from Tunisia to Egypt to Libya has degenerated into more human tragedy, more internal conflict, and more unrest and instability in the Middle East.

And then comes Donald Trump, soon to be president of the US of A, whose pronouncements have began to discombobulate leaders in capitals as diverse as Beijing, Tokyo, Taipei, Mexico, Ottawa and Europe as well.

In a luncheon meeting with the minister of a foreign government last week, he said, not without a sad tonality, “the world has become too unpredictable.”

And all we had been discussing before that was Donald Trump.

Terrorism will take its toll on

economies all over the world. See how nervous capital suddenly took a dive in the stock market indices in almost all capitals right after the Berlin terror incident and the Russian ambassador’s assassination, by an officer of the law at that.

Note how tourism and travel will be affected.

On a medium and even longterm basis, how the international economic order will retreat into insular mode, affecting trade and investments all over.

What indeed, is the whole world coming to? *** With a bit of irony, although purely coincidental, Senadora Leila was in Berlin at the time the Kurfurstendamm violence took place.

Speaking before a Conference on Cultural Diplomacy in Germany’s capital, she most undiplomatically damned the government of Rodrigo Duterte for human rights violations.

Of course it is called washing the nation’s dirty linen internationally, but then again, what could one expect from the embattled senadora?

I really am beginning to believe the story on my mind that I wrote about last Monday. Will she opt for asylum and is she laying the predicate for such? *** Let me greet our readers, and our editors and Manila Standard’s officers and staff as well, wishing upon all the brightest cheer of the holidays and the best of health and luck in the coming year!

Lessons from a dark year in Syria

By Noah Feldman THE fall of Aleppo at the close of 2016 signals an especially depressing future for the civil war, the region, and the vast number of refugees within Syria and beyond. For all practical purposes, the end of this battle means that the Syrian dictatorship has, with Russian help, won its war for survival.

However, there is no clear path for the Assad regime to wipe out the last of the rebels. So fighting will continue, and a rump Syrian Sunni statelet will persist.

And because displaced Sunnis will remain deeply wary of going home to places now controlled by the hostile regime, the long war’s refugee problem may become permanent. That’s no small matter. In scope it dwarfs the Palestinian refugee crises of 1948 or 1967.

The human rights failure in Aleppo is on par with other failures in recent decades, from Srebrenica to Rwanda. The international community had no leverage with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad or Russian President Vladimir Putin as they remorselessly bombed the city, killing thousands of civilians.

Worse, the tactic worked, which sends a lesson to other future rights violators that they should use whatever means necessary to achieve victory.

Yet like every such tragedy, the fall of Aleppo also has a particular meaning for the struggle in which it has taken place. Spe-

Tax...

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mst.daydesk@gmail.com

What is the whole world coming to?

Living in fear A SOCIAL Weather Stations tice Secretary and now Senasurvey says that eight out of tor Leila de Lima has become 10 Filipinos live in fear that Public Enemy Number 1 as they or their friends may be far as the Duterte administhe next victims of Presi- tration is concerned. Even dent Duterte’s war on illegal the Office of the Solicitor General has been tasked to drugs.

The survey, however, also handle complaints against showed that the same num- her.

I know De Lima is perseber of people still support the President’s anti-drug cam- cuted, pilloried and tried by paign. I think this is the gen- publicity. Even her private eral sentiment, considering life has been exposed to ridihow deeply rooted and per- cule. It appears President vasive the drug menace has Duterte wants to destroy her. become. If nothing is done to Ordinarily, she should be pitstop this, in a few years the ied.

I too would like to sympaPhilippines will become a thize with her—but I cannot, narco-state.

I know firsthand how drug considering the fact that she addiction can destroy fami- acted as President Aquino’s lies, because of my previous attack dog during the previwork at the DARE Founda- ous administration.

Who can forget what she tion.

In more ways than one, the did to former President Gloria survey validates the allega- Arroyo, who was supposed to tions of the President that go abroad for treatment for there are no less than 4 mil- a debilitating bone ailment? lion drug addicts and 10,000 The Supreme Court had ruled drug networks operating na- that Arroyo could travel. But since Aquino wanted her detionwide.

More than 6,000 have also tained, De Lima defied the Supreme been killed in Cou r t’s the drug war ruling. As since President a result, Duterte asThe killings Arroyo was sumed office. detained Some of them in a hospiwere killed are a problem, tal for four by the police; not a solution. years. some, by soDe Lima called vigilanalso acted tes. There now as the atappears to be a state of lawlessness—and the tack dog against three minorpolice does not seem able to ity senators accused of plunder in connection with their stop it.

This state has instilled fear pork barrel funds. Meanamong the people. The sur- while, Aquino allies accused of the same got off scot-free. vey shows this.

It’s just so bad she is now While some progress has been made in the war against at the receiving end of the illegal drugs, there has also criticism. Still, I cannot embeen some collateral damage pathize with her. which could be a cause for *** concern. All these could lead During the birthday celto something else, perhaps a declaration of Martial Law or ebration of boxing icon Mana revolutionary government ny Pacquiao in General Santos City, President Duterte by the President.

I deplore the fact that the called him “president to be.” people seem to have been I could not help but laugh.

I said to myself, “Oh no!” desensitized to the daily I believe that the presidenkillings that are happening.

Have the Filipino people cy is a matter of destiny. Afsunk so low in their morals? ter all, who would think that And we are supposed to be a a tough-talking city mayor would become the leader of Christian country at that!

What is ironic is that Presi- 102 Filipinos?

But I wonder: Why would dent Duterte gave hefty Christmas bonuses to police Filipinos elect a fourth-gradgenerals and other officers as er who can barely speak Enga reward for their efforts in lish because of sheer popularity? the anti-drug campaign.

This is what ails this When PNP Director-General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa countr y. We elect public ofasked God for forgiveness f icials just because they are for all the killings and added popular.

I have nothing personal that there might be more, that against the senator, though. says a lot!

Investors in Camp John I don’t know if it is the intention of President Duterte Hay Development Corp., all 1,631 of them, are hopeful to instill a climate of fear.

I am just an observer. But that their issues will be reas a Catholic, I do not see solved with the new adminisanything good in Filipinos tration at the Bases Converliving in fear. The killings sion Development Authority.

The Baguio City governhave become a problem, not ment is also hoping that it a solution. would finally get its 25-percent share in the full devel*** Santa Banana, former Jus- opment of the property.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2016

and direct income transfers to be administered by the Department of Social Welfare and Development and to be designed by an inter-agency committee to include Department of Budget and Management, DSWD and the Department of Finance.

The direct income transfers will make the entire tax package more progressive with the lowest 10 percent seeing their incomes rise by 12 percent. It will be effective for three years.

3. The annual inflation adjustments on excise tax on petroleum will not be implemented if the Dubai crude exceeds $85/barrel in the prior year.

4. HB 4688 is also the first step in making tax rates on income in the Philippines competitive to the region—an inevitable structural adjustments to the AEC or Asean Economic Community.

5. This will be the centerpiece

cifically, Assad’s victory shows that with air support from a great power and no compunction for collateral damage, an armed regime can displace rebels from urban space, even when the rebels have substantial civilian support.

The US could have gotten Islamic State fighters out of Syrian cities using the same scorched earth techniques, had it been inclined to ignore international law and not to care about the loyalty of the bombed civilians after the conf lict was over.

The difference isn’t just that Assad and Putin don’t care about being prosecuted by the International Criminal Court. It’s that Assad himself doesn’t care about winning Sunni hearts and minds, now or ever.

Rather, Assad has judged that he is perfectly happy if Aleppans, like other Syrian Sunnis, never return to their homes if and when the conflict ends or is reduced.

This is the most consequential upshot of the whole Aleppo bombing campaign: Its “success” was achievable only on the assumption that Sunni Syrian refugees are never coming home. No one who suffered under this bombing is going to forgive and forget, at least not if Middle Eastern history is any guide.

By killing civilians, the Assad regime is saying it doesn’t care.

Assad can tolerate a country with a much reduced population. Nearly five million Syr-

ians are now abroad. That still leaves perhaps 18 million Syrians in the country, of whom six million are displaced internally.

(Estimates of deaths and injuries run as high as a half million.) If Sunnis abroad never come back, Assad won’t miss them.

To win some international favor, Assad may eventually say that he welcomes all Syrians home. He might even offer a limited amnesty to some who rebelled against him. But who would trust such a promise? And what Sunni would choose to go back to Assad’s Syria after the atrocities that have taken place?

As for the internally displaced, those in the Sunni-controlled areas like Idlib province and the Islamic State area around Raqqa can also stay put, so far as Assad cares.

In the long run, Assad might ideally want to bring the entire country under his control. But for now, there is a substantial political advantage to be had from the presence of radical jihadis on the battlefield. It makes Assad into an international champion fighting Islamic State and Al Qaida. It justifies continued Russian support. And it keeps the jihadis out of regime-controlled territory.

That is one reason Assad can be expected to tolerate Sunni statelets like the one in Idlib province for some time into the future.

The other reason is that Assad can’t utterly defeat either the Al Qaida affiliate Fateh al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra),

which controls much of Idlib, or Islamic State, or even the more moderate rebels of the Free Syrian Army. In major urban centers, sustained bombing can make life unbearable and troops can occupy the space when opponents are gone. But in towns or rural areas, bombing is of limited value, and holding space that has been conquered requires manpower that Assad simply does not have.

That’s a big part of why Palmyra fell back into Islamic State hands after being held by the regime for months. Assad simply didn’t have enough fighters to hold the town while pursuing his other initiatives. And Russian air power was ineffectual against light insurgent troops like those of Islamic State.

The status of Kurdish enclaves in Syria is another story. Turkey would like to see them eliminated, but right now it’s still opposed to Assad. Over time, the fate of these spaces depends on whether Turkey eventually reverts to its traditional position of colluding with its neighbors, including enemies, to keep Kurds from gaining sovereignty.

The sad but I think inescapable conclusion is that the Syrian refugee crisis has a high probability of becoming permanent—even if the war eventually ends in a de facto Assad victory.

It shocks the conscience to think of almost five million people unable to return to their homes. But as 2016 ends, there is little prospect of that changing.

Bloomberg

program that seeks to reduce poverty to single digit and grow the economy by 9 percent and transform the Philippines into an Asian economic powerhouse, an OECD by 2028 with $1.2 trillion in GDP (value of economic output per year).

Joey calls his tax reform bill the TRAIN of the Duterte Express.

He committed to file it during the Philippine Development Forum in Davao last November with the participation of national government agencies CSOs, ODA partners, and LGUs. Joey also has what he calls TARA or Tax Administration Reforms Act. It is another bill which he intends to file February next year.

“Tax administration” measures that are necessary in order to achieve genuine tax reform that aims to (i) improve the effectiveness of the tax administration especially in detecting and prosecuting noncompliance, and (ii) improving the tax paying environment, that especially focuses in giving compliant taxpayer the assurance of protection

against abuse.

There are two basic goals: Improve the tax environment and make tax administration more effective.

Measures that will improve the tax environment are the institution of a genuine taxpayer bill of rights that serves to “protect” taxpaying, law-abiding citizens from dysfunctional practices and their practitioners; implementation of an estimated payments system for individual business taxpayers in order to minimize fluctuations in revenue collections while lowering the cost of compliance. This is already provided for in Sec. 74 of the NIRC but lacks implementing rules for defining a “safe harbor” and imposition of penalties for falling below this threshold.

There will also be provision of an effective and transparent tax appeals mechanism: independent taxpayers appeals mechanism, independent of the BIR. Measures that will improve the tax environment will be to make filing of VAT and percentage tax

returns quarterly as provided for by law. Monthly VAT filing is inconsistent with the NIRC, and imposes undue burden especially on smaller taxpayers. Removing monthly filing for both will lessen the number of tax returns by half, lowering compliance costs and making the volume of useful information more manageable.

Electronic filing and payment options will also be made available to all taxpayers and for all tax types. This is a better solution than using sales data to compute tax due. This will entail essentially a shift from the use of eFPS (Javabased) to the eBIR forms which has a more advanced design.

There will be a presidential directive to BIR to streamline refund system and pay VAT refund to exporters. This is to enhance confidence in the overall tax system and tax administration. If COA imposed mandatory audit, then TARA will clarify through legislation the limits. biznewsasia@gmail.com

News

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2016 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Be part of solution, Evasco says

By Jimbo Gulle

I

NSTEAD of blasting the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco on Tuesday challenged critics to “stop and instead participate” in the government’s program to restore millions of Filipino drug addicts.

Speaking at an event to announce the construction of another multimillion-peso drug rehab center funded by the Alliance Global Inc. conglomerate of tycoon Andrew Tan, Evasco said whether the critics liked it or not, “the country knows” that it has a drug problem.

“The President is not just only neutralizing people who are engaged in manufacturing, in pushing the sale of drugs, but the President has, in his heart, [the desire] to rehabilitate those who are into this menace,” Evasco said, referring to the bloody

drug war that has claimed over 6,000 lives as of last count.

“Now, during this [memorandum of agreement] signing, I’d like to confront groups and individuals, including some in power, members of the Catholic Church, to really participate in this program rather than criticize what this government is doing,” the Cabinet Secretary said at the Marriott Convention Center in Pasay City.

“This is a challenge to one and all—stop criticizing, instead participate in this program to rehabilitate our own people.”

Evasco added it was “the responsibility of the state to immediately rehabilitate” drug users and “bring them back as members of our forces to produce the good of society.”

The latest rehab center, to be donated by Tan’s Alliance Global and to be built inside the Camp Bagong Diwa compound in Taguig City, is a step in that direction. The Department of Health will run and manage the center that will be completed in 2018, the company said in a statement.

Evasco was joined in the MoA signing by Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno, Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial, Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano and Kevin Tan, representing his father as executive director of Alliance Global, which counts Megaworld, Emperador Distilleries, McDonald’s Philippines, and Resorts World Manila among its holdings.

Tan told Manila Standard that the rehab center in Taguig would cost

more than the P350-million facility Alliance Global just donated to Davao City, Duterte’s hometown, this month.

It is part of the firm’s P1.2-billion commitment to the government to finance three to four rehab centers across the country, he added.

“This [Taguig center] is more expensive than Davao, at least around that much,” Tan said. “We are still costing this out, but this is still within our P1.2-billion budget for one or two more centers.”

Through one of its foundations, the Tan holding firm will build a 500-bed rehab center on 6,852 square meters inside Camp Bagong Diwa, the headquarters of the National Capital Region Police Office and a longtime facility for drug dependents in Metro Manila.

Alliance Global did the same in Davao, tapping its Resorts World Philippines Cultural Heritage Foundation Inc. to partner with the Philip-

pine Amusement and Gaming Corp., the Department of Health and the Davao City government for a 200-bed center on a 19,909-square-meter lot in Malagos. That project broke ground on December 6 and will be completed in December 2017.

Although smaller in land area compared to the one in Davao, the Camp Bagong Diwa rehab site would accommodate more than double the drug reformists and will sport a physical therapy center, an outpatient department building, a swimming pool, basketball court and gym.

Sueno said engaging in sports would be a good way to help drug addicts reform, as many groups and individuals—like his daughter, a former college athlete— wanted to help the government’s anti-drug effort by working with those under rehab.

Ubial, meanwhile, said the government was looking to build rehab

IN BRIEF

9 PNP officials in new positions

Army brass get new stars FOUR senior officers were officially installed as one-star and two-star generals of the Philippine Army during simple ceremony at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.

Newly-appointed Army chief Lt. Gen. Glorioso V. Miranda led pinned additional stars on Brigadier Generals Robert M. Arevalo, the Army chief-of-staff, and Danilo G. Pamonag, Special Operation Command head who were promoted to two-star rank or major generals.

Those who received their first stars were Colonels Jesus A. Manangquil Jr. and Gilbert I. Gapay were promoted to one-star rank or brigadier general.

Manangquil is the current head of the 101st Infantry Brigade based in Jolo, Sulu; while Gapay is the assistant division commander of the Mechanized Infantry Division in Capas, Tarlac. PNA

DoTR rolls out new P2P THE Transportation Department on Tuesday said it launched a point to point bus route between Ortigas and Alabang.

The RRCG Transport P2P Bus Service from Alabang to Ortigas will operate from 8 a.m. to 6 a.m.

For an introductory fare of P80, RRCG’s P2P bus service provides free Wi-Fi, CCTV and an on-board GPS for passenger’s convenience and additional security.

This adds to the existing five P2P routes operating in Metro Manila.

The existing routes are Trinoma to Glorietta 5 in Makati/Centris to Glorietta; Robinsons Galleria to Park Square Makati; Alabang Town Center to Greenbelt 1; SM North Edsa to SM Megamall and Fairview to Makati. Darwin G. Amojelar

BoC expects to surpass goal THE Bureau of Customs on Tuesday expressed confidence that the agency will overshoot the P409billion revenue target this 2016 after getting higher import volumes and bigger importation efforts.

“It’s very likely to exceed. That’s what we expect,” Customs acting spokesman for enforcement and intelligence operations Neil Estrella said in a Palace press briefing.

As of the first half of December, the BoC is already at 93.3 percent of the P409-billion target for the whole year, citing the higher revenue collection performance this month when they exceeded their goal by more than P3 billion.

“Our momentum was not lost.

It is continuous unlike the previous years when we saw a drop in revenues during November and December,” the Customs official added.

For the first half of December, the BoC has already collected more than P19.947 billion, accounts to 57 percent of the P35.116 billion assessed target for the last month of the year.

John Paolo Bencito

centers in Bukidnon, Sarangani, and General Santos City in Mindanao and Capiz and Bohol in Visayas, as the Department of Health sought to expand its capacity to treat drug dependents in partnership with private companies like Alliance Global.

The DoH would use the new Bagong Diwa facility to start a doctor’s residency program for addiction medicine and a center for excellence in drug rehabilitation, Ubial said, as she described drug addiction as a “mental health problem.”

Cayetano also clarified that the Bagong Diwa facility is not exclusively for Taguig’s residents but to anyone that passes the DoH’s screening process within Metro Manila. The mayor thanked the NCRPO for its cooperation in clearing the lot for the rehab center, and Alliance Global and the national agencies for picking the city to host the facility.

By Francisco Tuyay

MEGAWORLD DONATION. Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano, Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Ubial, Alliance Global Inc. executive director Kevin Tan, Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno, Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. and Interior Undersecretary John Castriciones join hands after Alliance Global donated a rehabilitation center inside Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City Tuesday. PNA

Duty-free ‘balikbayan’ boxes start Dec. 25 OVERSEAS Filipino workers can enjoy the duty- and tax-free entry of their balikbayan boxes starting December 25 so long as it is worth less than P150,000, the Bureau of Customs announced Tuesday.

“The Bureau of Customs is happy to announce that to our millions of OFWs, starting this Christmas Day, balikbayan boxes with value not exceeding P150,000 will be exempt from duties and taxes,” BOC acting spokesperson for enforcement and intelligence operations Neil Anthony Estrella said during Tuesday’s press briefing in Malacañang.

Estrella said the 15-day publication of the implementing rules and regulations of the Section 800 (g) of the Customs and Modernization and Tariff Act will expire on December 25.

He said the BoC and the De-

partment of Finance have already signed the Customs Administrative Order 05-2016 which lifts taxes on balikbayan boxes for Qualified Filipinos While Abroad.

“Considered QFWA are OFWS, Filipino citizens who are residing abroad and Pinoys who are holders of student, investors, and tourist visas,” Estrella said.

“To be covered by this ruling, balikbayan boxes shall contain personal and household effects only, and content should not be in commercial quantities or intended for sale,” he added.

Estrella said QFWA can avail of the privilege to a maximum of three times each year.

The BoC official also announced that the bureau has created an online OFW corner which serve as on-

line portal for issues and concerns of the OFWs. “This is where our OFWs can file any balikbayan box related complaints or questions they have for the Bureau of Customs,” he said.

A link to the OFW corner may be found at the uppermost part of our website, customs.gov.ph.

Estrella said Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon has directed all the bureau officials and employees to maintain heightened alert against illegal smuggling of goods in the country.

He said Faeldon has issued a memorandum in compliance with Republic Act No. 7183 which prohibits the importation of finished firecrackers and fireworks.

“Only importation of ingredients in making workers is allowed by law, pro-

vided it also has accompanying documents and permits,” Estrella said.

“This memorandum was released after the Bureau of Customs was blamed for the proliferation of smuggled firecrackers, being circulated and distributed locally,” he added.

In related development, Estrella said the BoC operatives seized 20 20-footer containers containing rice and other items worth P40 million last December 16 and P700 million worth of smuggled fuel last December 18.

“All these efforts are in pursuant to the instructions of President Rodrigo Duterte to the Bureau of Customs in his fight against corruption and smuggling,” Estrella said.

Since Faeldon assumed office five months ago, Estrella said the BoC was able to seize nearly P2 billion worth of illegal drugs. PNA

Metro Manila film fest gives 30% discounts

By Joel E. Zurbano STUDENTS, senior citizens and persons with disabilities will enjoy a 30 percent discount in this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival, the Metro Manila Development Authority announced on Tuesday.

This after members of the MMFF Executive Committee came up with a resolution to ensure the success and adopt measures to attract more viewers to watch all the eight entries in the festival which begins on December 25.

The committee resolution, however, stated that the 30 percent discount shall be implemented only starting on the third day of the Festival or Dec. 27, 2016 until Jan. 3, 2017.

MMDA acting chairman and concurrent MMFF head Thomas Orbos said that one of the promotional activities suggested by the committee is to have the 30 percent discount, in which

the movie producers and theater owners agreed.

Meanwhile, the MMFF committee dispelled reports that Star Cinema is pulling out its entry, “Vince & Kath & James,” purportedly due to the 30 percent discount on ticket prices.

“Just like all the other producers, they have been supportive of the MMFF initiatives in bringing more people to the Festival every year,” said Orbos.

Orbos is optimistic that this year’s line-up of movies in the MMFF would surpass the P1.020 billion total gross it earned last year.

This despite the absence of the usual big films and top-grossing films like those who starred country’s top comedians Vic Sotto and Vice Ganda, whose entry films this year “Enteng Kabisote and the Abangers”, and “Super Parental Guardian”, respectively, failed to get a slot for this year MMFF. This year’s official entries includes: “Die Beautiful” starring Paolo Ballesteros; “Kabisera” featur-

ing Nora Aunor, Ricky Davao, JC De Vera, Jason Abalos and Victor Neri; “Saving Sally” top billed

by Rhian Ramos and Enzo Marcos; “Seklusyon” featuring Rhed Bustamante, Phoebe Walker, Elora Espano, Neil Ryan Sese, Ronnie Alonte, Lou Veloso, Dominique Roque, John Vic De Guzman and JR Versales; “Sunday Beauty Queen” starring Hazel Perdid, Maylyn Jacobo, Cherry Bretania and Leo Selomenio; “Vince & Kath & James”” stars Julia Barretto, Joshua Garcia and Ronnie Alonte; “”Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 2: Forever is Not Enough”” top billed by Eugene Domingo and Chris Martinez; and “Oro” starring Joem Bascon.

The MMDA supervises the MMFF while its chairman is the concurrent head and organizer of the annual event.

Last year, The MMFF earned P1.020 billion total gross, which is more than P15 million the festival earned in 2014.

NINE senior police officers were appointed to new positions after the retirement of four police directors created vacancies in the Philippine National Police hierarchy.

Designated to their new posts effective December 20 were Chief Superintendent Noel Constantino as acting director for police-community relations, Chief Superintendent Gilbert Sosa as director integrated police operations in Northern Luzon and Chief Superintendent Agripino Javier as acting Northern Mindanao regional director.

Chief Superintendent Eliseo Rasco was also named acting Cagayan Valley regional director while Chief Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac was designated Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao regional director.

Replacing Sindac at the Logistics Support Service is Chief Superintendent Amador Corpus.

Other police officials assigned to new posts were Chief Superintendent Danilo Maligalig as deputy director for administration of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group based in Camp Crame.

Maligalig is the younger brother of Major General Leopoldo Maligalig, former superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy who retired from the service in 2008.

The movement of third-level officials also include Senior Superintendent Joseph Adnol as deputy regional director of Northern Mindanao and Senior Superintendent Debold Sinas as secretary to the Directorial Staff.

Last December 15, PNP Director General Ronald dela Rosa approved a major reorganization with the designation of 11 senior officials to key post in the Command Group, Directorial Staff, Police Regional Offices and National Support Units.

The new set of designations of senior police officials was triggered by the recent retirement of four police directors with twostar ranks, thus creating vacancies in the higher echelon in the PNP organization.

Morente: I can work with anybody

By Vito Barcelo

TPB CHIEF. Tourism Secretary swears in actor Cesar Montano as chief operating officer of the Tourism Promotions Board, an attached agency of the Department of Tourism, that promotes tourism locally and all over the world.

“I CAN work with secretary of Justice.”

This was the response of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente to Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II’s remark that the latter cannot work with the top BI official because of two top officials who were sacked by President Rodrigo Duterte because of the alleged P50-million bribery scandal.

The justice secretary is pushing for a total revamp of the bureau and said he can no longer work with Morente, who is supposedly very close to dismissed BI intelligence chief Charles Calima and Edward Chan, who were tagged in the bribery scandal.

The BI chief is also being implicated in the bribery case involv-

ing former deputy commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles filed by former police officer Wally Sombero, a close associate of gambling tycoon Jack Lam. But Morente strongly denied the accusation, saying the bureau has already achieved numerous accomplishments in terms of public service and implemented changes in the bureau, particularly at the international airports and seaports nationwide.

“In the last 38 years of my military and police service, I have worked with superiors with different personalities, management and leadership styles. As a professional, the focus has always been on the task at hand, and achieving the targets.

“I have been working with Secretary Aguirre since July 2016, and a number of milestones have been

achieved in the last five and a half months. My training and my oath of office is to serve the Filipino people and protect the interests of our country,” he said.

Morente said he will serve at the pleasure of the President, and the reform agenda that he have implemented is according to his specific direction to secure our borders, improve service efficiency and eradicate corruption in the bureaucracy.

The BI chief has encouraged all his fellow servants in government, particularly in the Bureau of Immigration, not to lose sight of the mandate.

“Let’s stay focused on serving the Filipino people. This is not the time to stray from the path of change under President Duterte’s leadership,” he added.

Sports

A7

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2016 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Bacolod wins softball Under-18 national title BACOLOD’S softball team remained unscathed until the end as they rallied to defeat Tanauan City, 4-0, in the 2016 Cebuana Lhuillier-ASAPHIL Under-18 National Softball Tournament championship game on Monday at the Sto. Niño Softball Field.

The Tanauan City team fell short in snatching the tournament, title this year and ended up as the tournament’s first runner-up, while another strong contender, the Sta. Maria, Bulacan team, finished second runner-up.

Top-seeded Katie Ezra Jalandoni of the Bacolod team was hailed as the Most Valuable Player and the Best Pitcher of the 10-day tournament.

Bacolod softbelles Neo May Mahinay and Mary Joy Maguad received the Most Home Runs award, with Gladelyn Alipato getting the Best Runs Batting award.

Meanwhile, the tournament’s

Best Slugger was awarded to Lyca Blanco of the Rizal Team, while Best Hitter went to Alma Tauli of Sta. Maria, Bulacan Team.

“Each year, we witness a great display of talents and skills throughout this tournament.

This year is not an exception. I am glad that big improvements in the state of Philippine softball are clearly shown through this year’s matches. I am confident that we would be able to build a formidable national team from this pool of players,” ASAPHIL President and Cebuana Lhuillier President and CEO Jean Henri Lhuillier said.

The tournament, participated in by 19 teams from various parts of the country, determines the top players that will be recruited to the national team and will compete in the Junior Women’s Softball World Championship on July 24 to 30 in Clearwater, Florida.

The Bacolod softball team bested 18 other contenders and emerged as champion of the Cebuana Lhuillier-Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines 18-Under National Women’s Softball Tournament. Tanauan City and Sta. Maria, Bulacan came in first runner-up and second runner-up, respectively.

SBC seeks football crown A

FTER clinching the first-round pennant, San Beda College sets its sight on ruling the four-team second round and reclaim the the NCAA football title it lost to eventual winner Arellano University in last year’s heartbreaking season.

Drawing strength from their renewed confidence, the Red Booters got back at their conquerors with a vengeful 6-0 bashing of the Chiefs that

capped a six-match sweep of the first round.

San Beda also bested St. Benilde, the biggest threat to its title-aspirations this year, in a

4-1 win that underscored the former’s seriousness to nail a league record 22nd senior football crown, one ahead of former member La Salle’s 21.

“We’re just focused on preparing for the second round,” said San Beda coach Michael Pediamonte, who was responsible for the latter part of his team’s fiveyear reign starting in 2010.

“But of course, at the back of our mind, we’re also thinking of that 22nd title because that is really our motivation as a

team,” he added.

The second round will start on Jan. 6 next year with San Beda clashing with Lyceum of the Philippines University, which clinched the fourth and last semis ticket by finishing with six points on two wins and four losses and edging Perpetual Help goal differential, at 1 p.m.

The other semis pairing pits No. 2 St. Benilde with No. 3 Arellano University at 3 p.m.

If San Beda goes on to rule the second round, it will go on

to claim the championship.

Otherwise, it will play the second winner in a one-game title contest.

San Beda’s junior counterparts, likewise, seek to top the second round as it tackles No. 4 Letran aty 9 a.m., while No. 2 St. Benilde, the defending champion, faces off with No. 3 Arellano University at 11 a.m.

The Cubs clinched the firstround pennant by finishing with 16 match points on five triumphs and a draw.

Dizon, Ledama score Dagitab net twinkills

MIDNIGHT RUNNERS. Members of the Midnight Runners team, which is made up mostly of recovering addicts and homeless people run through the streets of Skid Row in Los Angeles Dawn breaks over downtown Los Angeles as a small group of men and women set off on a six-mile run from Skid Row, the epicenter of the city’s homelessness crisis. They are part of the Midnight Runners, an unusual running team made up mostly of recovering addicts and homeless people seeking a new lease on life. AFP

Philracom turns over donation to Senate Spouses Foundation THE HOARSE WHISPERER JENNY ORTUOSTE THE Philippine Racing Commission was in the news recently for sponsoring two charity races held last Nov. 30, the proceeds of which were turned over to charitable organizations last week.

The charity races were hosted

by Philippine Racing Club, Inc. COO Santiago N. Cualoping III at PRCI’s Santa Ana Park in Naic, Cavite, for the benefit of the Senate Spouses Foundation, chaired by Mrs. Bing Pimentel, mother of Senate President Koko Pimentel; and the Rotary Club of Manila Bay (RCMB) Foundation, for the benefit of Pintig Puso Foundation and Luwalhati Foundation.

Government network People’s Television Network, Inc. aired a clip last week that showed officials of Philracom at the Senate of the Philippines for the turnover ceremony. These included Chairman Andrew A. Sanchez; Commissioners lawyer Wilfred de Ungria, Bienvenido C. Niles Jr., lawyer Jose Santillan, and Lyndon Guce; and Executive Director Andrew Rovie Buencamino, a veterinarian.

Mrs. Pimentel thanked Philracom, saying, “…if you do it to the least of your brothers, you do it unto me. [This is our way of]

reaching out to our brothers and brothers in need. We thank all those who helped.”

RCMB Secretary Genevieve Gandia said that their share of the proceeds will fund two projects: their Pacemaker Bank project, which has 250 patients waiting for pacemakers; and the Luwalhati ng Maynila Home for the Aged.

Dr. Buencamino remarked that Philracom “can hold charity races for charitable institutions…We exist to serve the marginalized.”

This charity aspect of the local racing industry is a feature shared by some other racing organizations. For instance, the Hong Kong Jockey Club operates as a non-profit organization and is the area’s largest community benefactor. Its HK Jockey Charities Trust donated a record HK$3.6 billion in 2014 for charitable causes in Hong Kong.

Philracom has more charity races lined up for 2017 as it ramps up its efforts in line with government goals related to social welfare. *** Dr. Buencamino, who was recently in Hong Kong to attend the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) International Movement of Horses Committee (IMHC) conference, reports in its aftermath that the Philippines is now “recognized by [IFHA] as an affiliate member of the [Committee].”

Founded in 1993, IFHA is the organization of racing authorities around the world. The group’s objectives are to coordinate and harmonize rules of member-countries regarding racing, breeding, and wagering; ensure the quality and fairness of racing; and other similar goals, with the aim of promoting good regulation and best practices.

The IMHC was conceptualized in 1990 to look into quarantine problems. It became a permanent committee in 1994, and received its present name in 2004.

Today the committee facilitates the international movement of racehorses, and looks into equine health policies and related government regulations to harmonize them across membercountries. It seeks to do the same for breeding horses.

The Philracom began applying to join IFHA during the time of then-Chairman Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II, who was setting up a quarantine area and fulfilling other requirements for IFHA membership during his term. Negotiations for membership proceeded slowly under the succeeding administration, to be subsequently renewed and fasttracked under the term of Chairman Andrew A. Sanchez. *** Dr. Ortuoste is a Californiabased writer. Facebook: Gogirl Racing and Jenny Ortuoste, Twitter: @gogirlracing and @ jennyortuoste, and Instagram: @jensdecember.

MELANIE Faye Dizon and Nilo Ledama flashed top form to snare two titles each as they shared top honors in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala Dagitab Festival regional age-group tennis tournament 2016 at the City of Naga Tennis Club in Cebu yesterday.

Dizon, playing out of San BedaTaytay, overpowered Zethley Alferez, 6-1, 6-3, to clinch the girls’ 18-and-Under crown, hours after subduing a tough Elsie Abarquez in a grueling finale, 6-2, 4-6, 15-13, for the 16-U diadem.

Ledama, on the other hand, pulled through in a pair of 64-player draws, holding off Vinz Luminoque, 6-1, 6-3, to pocket the boys’ 14-U title then stunning top seed Venz Alforque, 6-1, 7-6(5), for the 16-U crown in the Group 2 event sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop and presented by Slazenger which drew a record more than 320 entries.

Dizon and Ledama actually came home with three titles each as they capped their impressive campaign with victories in the doubles with the Manila former teaming up with Tracy Llamas

Standard

to rout Precious Coderos and Wyn Paglinawan, 8-2, in the 18-U finals.

Ledama, one of the rising stars from Pagadian City, also partnered with Kenneth Tenepre to upend Alforque and Luminoque, 8-5, for the 14-U plum.

“The big turnout only inspires up to continue supporting and developing the sport and as we continue to discover and produce talents from this series of ranking tournaments, we have lined up a bigger circuit next year,” said Palawan Pawnshop president and CEO Bobby Castro.

Meanwhile, hostilities in the Open category are being played at presstime with top seed Clarice Patrimonio and No. 2 Khim iglupas vying for the finals against Rachelle de Guzman and Shaira Rivera, respectively, in the ladies singles and No. 1 Johnny Arcilla and second ranked PJ Tierro seeking another title duel in the men’s side against Ronard Joven and Elberto Anasta, respectively, according to PPS-PEPP Regional Age Group Tennis Event organizer and Sports Program Development director Bobby Mangunay.

La Salle booters complete sweep LA Salle Zobel struck hard in the second half to fend off University of Santo Tomas, 3-0, and this allowed them complete a first round sweep of the 79th University Athletic Association of the Philippines junior football tournament Saturday at the Moro Lorenzo Field.

Marco Ibana scored twice for the Junior Archers, who fought their way out of a one-goal deficit.

This earned the Junior Archers a total of nine points to remain on top of the standings.

Chester Pabualan also netted a brace as defending champion Far Eastern University-Diliman blanked Ateneo, 4-0, to stay in second place with six points.

Ibana found the back of the net in the 51st and 53rd minutes to hike his goal total this season to three.

Miguel Basmayor (66th minute) and Sherwin Basidanan in the (76th) found their way in the scoresheet for De La Salle-Zobel.

The Tiger Cubs, who remained tied with the Blue Eaglets at one point, actually opened the scoring via a Rojim Catap goal in the ninth minute.

The top two teams after the elimination round will progress in the one-game final.

Action in the second round resumes on Jan. 14 after the Christmas break.

LOTTO RESULTS

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

P0.0 M+ P0.0 M+

TODAY

COMPUTER SET TURNOVER. The Wong Chu King Foundation (WCKF) sponsored brand new computer sets to Police Station Precint 1 in Barangay Olympia, Makati City to ensure efficiency in its daily operations in properly maintaining order and safety within the community. The new computer sets also symbolizes WCKF’s support in the current administration’s anti-drug campaign. In photo are (L-R) WCKF volunteers Michelle S. Murriel, WCKF volunteer Mario Evasco, PO2 Lani Grace Babaran, WCKF volunteer Camelo Noel H. Navarro, Police Chief Inspector Warlie Hermo, WCKF volunteer Sophia P. Gonzalo, WCKF head coordinator Cristina C. Villanueva and PO2 Ryan Urbanes.

AFC cites PFF action

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

A8

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2016

By Peter Atencio

Sports Indiana Pacers power forward Thaddeus Young (21) tries to drive to the basket against the Washington Wizards during the game on December 19 at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. AFP

Young’s clutch shot pushes Indiana past Washington I NDIANAPOLIS—Thaddeus Young’s short jump shot with one second left on the clock lifted the Indiana Pacers to a 107-105 win over the Washington Wizards on Monday.

“I just made a play, that was the biggest thing,” Young said of his jumper from 10 feet. “My teammates put me in a position to make that play by having a lot of guys on the court that could space the court out.”

Washington’s Bradley Beal missed a potential game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer in front of a crowd of 18,100 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse arena.

Paul George led the Pacers with 27 points and teammate Jeff Teague

Fierce shootout looms

A FIERCE shootout among the top guns looms as the $80,000 ICTSI Philippine Ladies Masters unwraps today, Wednesday, Dec. 21 with a number of explosive pairings on tap at the Alabang Country Club in Muntinlupa.

Taiwan LPGA Tour Order of Merit leader Lin Tzu-Chi drew Fil-Am and former LPGA Tour campaigner Demi Runas and Thai ace Chorphaka Jaengkit in the first flight at 7 a.m. on No. 1, while LPGA Tour-bound Dottie Ardina slugs it out with pro-am winner Yeh Hsin-Ning of Taiwan and Thai Saraporn Chamchoi at 7:20 a.m., also on the first hole.

Korean Lee Jeong-Hwa, seeking a sweep of the three ICTSI Ladies Philippine Tour and Taiwan LPGA Tour-sanctioned events here after ruling the Spendido and Southwoods legs last March, sets out against Fil-Am and Luisita leg winner Cristina Corpus and Taiwanese Lee ChiaPei on No. 10 at 7:10 a.m. while former three-time LPGT OOM winner and LPGA Tour campaigner Cyna Rodriguez tees off at 10:50 a.m. with Taiwan’s Huang Szu-Hsuan and Dussavi Soppimjit of Thailand, also at the backside of the par-72 layout.

“No one holds an advantage here. The course looks easy but trouble lurks in every corner so we have to be focused,” said Ardina, who missed gaining a full LPGA Tour card with a joint 21st finish in the LPGA Q-School Final Stage but is assured of an LPGA stint in 10-15 events as Category 17 qualifier.

added 23. Myles Turner fouled out with 20 points and eight rebounds.

“They switched out and denied Paul,” Pacers coach Nate McMillan said.

“Thaddeus did what he was supposed to do and come to the ball. With four seconds to go you want to attack the basket. It was the right thing instead of just settling for the hero long jump shot.

“He put his head down and attacked the basket. It was an ag-

gressive move by Thaddeus.”

Elsewhere, Dennis Schroder and Paul Millsap combined to score 61 points in leading the Atlanta Hawks to a 110-108 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Schroder scored 31 points on 10 of 16 shooting to go along with eight assists. Millsap poured in 30 points, 11 rebounds and hit three of five from beyond the arc.

Thabo Sefolosha added 15 points as the Hawks raised their record to 14-14.

Oklahoma City was led by Russell Westbrook, who had a game high 46 points. He also racked up 11 rebounds and seven assists.

In Minneapolis, the Minnesota Timberwolves held onto a late advantage to escape with a 115-108 win over the Phoenix Suns at the Target Center.

The win for the Timberwolves came two days after they let a 12-point lead slip away with just over two minutes to play against Houston. The Rockets eventually won that game in overtime.

On Monday, Wolves center Karl-Anthony Towns scored 28 points and grabbed 15 boards for his 18th double-double of the season—and his eighth straight.

Canada’s Andrew Wiggins had 26 points in the win, and Zach LaVine chipped in 23.

In Chicago, Rajon Rondo narrowly missed a triple-double with 10 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds, and the Chicago Bulls rolled to a 113-82 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Beal, who hit both two free throws to narrow the Pacers’ lead to 105-103 with 50 seconds left, had tied the score by hitting a jumper with 15 seconds left.

Marcin Gortat tallied 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Wizards (12-15). Teammate John Wall delivered 19 points.

Washington erased a deficit by scoring the first nine points of the fourth quarter to tie it 88-88.

George’s basket made it 90-88 and halted the Wizards’ run. AFP

THE Philippine Football Federation was awarded the Asian Football Confederation President’s Award for Grassroots Football for developing countries during the 2016 AFC Awards Night held in Abu Dhabi, UAE on December 1.

It was the second time that the PFF earned the recognition since 2014 during the AFC’s 60th Anniversary celebration.

In this award, member associations are commended for their efforts to promote and develop grassroots football.

Part of the criteria is the member association’s efforts in partnering with external organizations to execute technical programs.

Among the technical programs include grassroots football-related courses, workshops, basic skills training and talent identification.

It was through PFF’s Kasibulan: Grassroots Development Project, grassroots courses and festivals are regularly held throughout the year in different parts of the country.

For 2016, a total of 53 training sessions and festivals were conducted nationwide involving 15,086 youth players and 3,577 teacher-coaches.

Officials said renewed emphasis in grassroots football started after PFF president Mariano Araneta was elected in 2010.

“I am delighted to receive the award on behalf of the federation. The recognition should motivate us to do more,” said Araneta.

Part of the initiative was to ensure that the actual grassroots football coaches in the provinces received adequate training from FIFA experts who conducted grassroots proactive courses in different venues for the last four years.

Places like Iloilo City, Davao City, Baguio and San Carlos City have been the actual venues of these FIFA courses and workshops.

“We thank all those who helped us promote grassroots football in the Philippines.

The award is meaningful as it shows that we are on the right track in developing the youth,” said Araneta.

GlobalPort eyes PBA lead

By Jeric Lopez GlobalPort Batang Pier guard Terrence Romeo (7) tries to dribble past Blackwater Elite defender Roi Sumang.

GlobalPort targets a share of the PBA lead when they take the floor against the Elite today at the FilOil Flying V Arena.

GLOBALPORT Batang Pier guns for a share of tournament lead when it battles Blackwater Elite in the resumption of the 2016-17 Philippine Basketball Association Philippines Cup. The second-running, the Batang Pier (3-1) doesn’t plan on slipping down the standings but the Elite (3-2) is equally bent on climbing up the leaderboard as the two teams meet at 7 p.m. in the main event at the FilOil Flying V Center in San Juan tonight.

Preceding that is a battle between two teams in the bottom half of the ladder as the Meralco Bolts (2-2) and the Phoenix Petroleum

Fuel Masters (2-3) bang heads in an equally interesting bout at 4:15 p.m. in the first game.

Should GlobalPort post another win, it will join San Miguel Beer (41) at the top of the heap while a loss will push it to the middle and give the Elite solo second place instead.

Since coach Franz Pumaren fully implemented his system, GlobalPort has been adapting well and playing consistent basketball through four games.

A big reason for that is the improved play of its already prolific superstar Terrence Romeo, who has been doing a little bit of everything for his team.

“Terrence (Romeo) improved even more.

We’re seeing the new Terrence now. Not only is he scoring heavily for us, but he’s helping the team win even more by making his teammates look good and by sharing the ball well,” said GlobalPort coach Franz Pumaren.

GlobalPort was very impressive in its last assignment, taking down Ginebra, 91-84, last week through Romeo’s 35-point explosion, the season’s best so far.

After two straight defeats, Blackwater was able to bounce back emphatically, routing NLEX, 96-85, also last week.

Both the Bolts and the Fuel Masters are coming off losses in their previous games as they head into their duel.

Vera brings renowned MMA coach to Manila FORMER professional mixed martial artist turned fight coach, George Castro, is set to arrive in Manila the first week of January to make good on Brandon Vera’s promise to bring the worldfamous Alliance MMA gym to Philippine shores.

Castro, who has worked with Vera for the past four years, previously served as the strength and conditioning coach at Alliance MMA in San Diego, California.

“The plan is to bring a new style – my style of training – to the Philippines. I want to go everywhere and show everybody what I

know and spread my knowledge,” said Castro. “Asia has a bunch of tough fighters with a lot of heart, especially in the Philippines.”

Castro is no stranger to working with world-class talent, having had a hand in the careers of fighters like Jeremy Stephens, Ross Pearson and Wilson Hayes.

A veteran of the fight game, Castro began his MMA career in the early 2000s, being introduced to the sport by MMA veteran Don Frye. He was then later acquired

by MMA fighter Dominick Cruz at Alliance MMA where he then met Vera.

The two clicked instantly.

“He (Brandon Vera) is ‘The Truth’. He keeps it real, he’s one hundred percent He’s black and white. I’m the same way. I just keep everything legit, no lying, no backstabbing. Let’s just be real with each other,” said Castro.

“If we click, we click, if we don’t, we don’t. With Brandon we did click, so that’s why we became so close. Even though I’m a little bit older than him, I consider him my big brother.”

Castro, along with ONE Heavyweight World Champion Vera, is expected to bring elevated combat

sports training into the country.

MMA is huge in the Philippines.

More and more youth are starting to take up martial arts as a sport.

But because eastern martial arts is more focused on the striking aspect of fighting as opposed to the west which has focused largely on wrestling and grappling, the level of well-roundedness of local fighters as a whole is slightly below par. That’s all set to change with Castro’s arrival.

Castro believes that technique can easily be taught but that it is very difficult to find athletes who are completely dedicated to their

craft. He however stressed that he sees a lot of potential in the Philippines.

“If you have the heart and you love to work hard and you love to grind, I will always take that person and train somebody like that.

Because we can teach that person skill but heart and dedication, you can’t teach,” said Castro.

“Putting up Alliance MMA is going to be great. We’re going to help a lot of young fighters and maybe hopefully pull some kids off the streets and give them a better chance at life like MMA did for me.”

Investment pledges in Q3 down sharply B3

Okada casino opens today

By Jenniffer B. Austria OKADA Manila, the $2.4-billion integrated resort and casino owned by Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada, is set to open today.

Okada Manila, the third and the newest resort and gaming facility to open within Entertainment City in Parañaque, is expected to generate 8,000 jobs once the whole development becomes fully operational.

Information posted on Okada Manila’s website showed the outdoor area of the property would be opened to the public and the entertainment program would start at 4 p.m.

A portion of the casino would also open during the preview period, with visitors allowed to sign up for Okada Manila’s Reward Circle membership club.

The hotel and the restaurants within the complex are not yet open for guests.

“The preview period begins on Dec. 21st until the grand opening.

Guests are invited 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to experience all that Okada Manila has to offer,” Okada Manila said.

“However, the hotel is not open at this point during our preview period.

Okada Manila will soon launch our booking engine, so our guests will be able to reserve future dates at our divine accommodations,” it said.

Under the plan, Okada Manila will have a twowing hotel with 993 rooms ranging from 55 square meters for deluxe rooms to 1,400sqm villas.

The casino floor will occupy a total floor area of over 26,000 sqm and provide up to 500 table games and 3,000 electronic gaming machines.

The facility will offer 21 food and beverage outlets serving international cuisine, from casual to fine dining.

The first two restaurants that will open within the complex are Medley Buffet and Red Spice. “Exact dates and times for the launch of each of these restaurants will be announced in the coming weeks,” Okada Manila said.

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2016

B1

Govt establishing OFW Bank

By Gabrielle H. Binaday

S

TATE-RUN Land Bank of the Philippines will acquire Philippine Postal Savings Bank and transform it into OFW Bank

by September 2017, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said Tuesday.

Dominguez said OFW Bank, which would be 30-percent owned by overseas Filipino workers, would have an authorized capital of P3 billion. The bank will be eventually listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange.

He said while the requirements and procedures to establish the OFW Bank were still being completed, LandBank would begin setting up a representative office in Saudi Arabia to cater to the banking needs of 800,000 Filipino workers in that country.

Dominguez said the OFW Bank would be established through LandBank’s acquisition of Postal Bank, which would be converted into a LandBank subsidiary. OFWs will own 30 percent of the bank, he said.

“The acquisition of the Postal Bank will be completed by the third quarter of 2017, after all required procedures are completed and approvals are secured. The LandBank has sufficient resources to complete this

transaction,” said Dominguez, who chairs the LandBank board of directors.

LandBank was the country’s 4th largest commercial bank with a total capital of P90.9 billion and assets amounting to P1.3 trillion as of end-September.

“A bank dedicated to the needs of OFWs is one of the promises of President Duterte to Filipino migrant workers,” the Finance Department said.

LandBank president Alex Buenaventura said it would take eight months to accomplish the requirements that would convert the Postal Bank into a LandBank subsidiary.

“The OFW bank will be a listed company with an authorized capital of P3 billion and a subscribed capital of P2 billion, of which P1 billion is paid-up by the LandBank. Another P1 billion will be open for subscription to OFWs who can acquire them by buying shares in the bank,” Buenaventura said.

LandBank needs to seek the approval of the Governance Commission for Government Owned and Controlled Corporations, the Philippine Competition Commission, Bangko Sentral’s Monetary Board and Securities and Exchange Commission to make OFW Bank operational.

“We are going to do focus

group discussions with representatives of our target markets to determine where and what services are needed, and what name and logo to adopt for the bank,” Buenaventura said.

Dominguez said for the meantime, LandBank “will seek to establish a unit in Saudi Arabia to assist the OFWs there,” while the OFW Bank was being estab-

lished.

Buenaventura said LandBank decided to open the Saudi unit in Riyadh because 40 percent of OFWs based in that country were residents there.

“The LandBank unit will be opened near the Philippine labor office or near a place where OFWs usually converge and meet,” he said.

DUTERTE BILLS. Bangko

Sentral ng Pilipinas starts the release of 27 million pieces of new banknotes worth P8.75 billion bearing the signature of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo shows the new bills. Guinigundo said five million pieces were printed each for the P1,000, P500, P100, P50 and P20 bills, while two million pieces were printed for the P200 bills.

Julito G. Rada

B2

Business

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2016 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Peso falls to 50:$1; stocks slump

By Julito G. Rada

T

he peso touched the 50-a-dollar level for the second time this year, closing at near a 10-year low, while stocks slid for a fourth day, as traders were spooked by geopolitical concerns following deadly attacks in Europe and prospects of further interest rate hikes in the US next year.

The peso lost three centavos to close at 49.999 a dollar Tuesday, the weakest in over a decade or since it settled at 50.12 a greenback on Nov. 16, 2006. It reached an intraday low of 50 a dollar, on volume turnover of $363.80 million.

The last time the peso breached the 50-a-dollar barrier was Nov. 24, 2016.

“What we know is there is

higher demand for dollars… It is also possible that there is high demand for dollars for debt servicing,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said in a briefing Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the euro retreated against the dollar after at least 12 people were killed and dozens injured late Monday when

a lorry was driven into a packed Berlin Christmas market in what police said was “a probable terrorist attack”.

That came after an off-duty policeman shot dead Russia’s ambassador to Turkey in Ankara, prompting a vow from President Vladimir Putin to step up the fight against “terrorism”. Also Monday, three people were hurt in a gun attack on a mosque in Zurich.

The incidents led to a promise

by US President-elect Donald Trump to wipe “terrorists” off the face of the Earth.

“There are some investors who might see something like the assassination in Turkey and the potential terror attack in Berlin as opportunities to lock in profits with a couple of weeks left in the

year,” Philip Orlando, chief equities strategist at Federated Investors, in New York, told Bloomberg News.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, shed 55 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 6,658.66 Tuesday, the lowest in 10 months.

The heavier index, representing all shares, also tumbled 26 points, or 0.7 percent, to settle at 4,072.85, on a value turnover of P6.8 billion. Losers outnumbered gainers, 132 to 51, while 42 issues were unchanged.

Eight of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by property developer Megaworld Corp. which climbed 4.6 percent to P3.45 and Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. which gained 1.4 percent to P71.

Other Asian markets also closed lower. Hong Kong was 0.6 percent lower in the afternoon while Shanghai ended down 0.5 percent, with mainland Chinese investors fret over a weakening yuan and rising bond yields that are making borrowing more costly.

Jakarta fell 0.3 percent and Kuala Lumpur lost 0.2 percent while Bangkok and Mumbai were also well down.

However, Tokyo ended 0.5 percent higher after the Bank of Japan held fire on its stimulus but gave an upbeat view of the world’s number-three economy as exports pick up on the back of a weaker yen. The Nikkei fell slightly Monday for the first time after a nine-day rally.

With AFP, Bloomberg

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2016

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 3.68 65,000 47.6 9,800 87 1,500,770 3.74 366,000 105.1 3,996,060 1.45 932,000 38 87,300 16.14 29,700 18.4 699,700 800 300 0.57 4,314,000 71 3,740,220 0.76 105,000 14.1 75,600 54.5 66,170 240 5,160 129.5 730 90 400 34.8 104,800 196.7 571,870 1,635 820 74.5 91,100 1.21 143,000

239,920 465,695 130,278,523.50 1,372,300 420,957,390 1,352,800 3,317,400 479,426 12,952,968 240,000 2,476,900 260,793,901.50 79,800 1,065,924 3,608,085 1,236,500 94,400 35,995.50 3,653,380 111,292,072 1,352,700 6,781,607.50 175,730

204,690 52,468,314.50 -158,428,978 3,317,400 -608,396 116,000 -140,721,244.50 2,423,045 -393,600 -3,524,400 -67,957,168 -470,009 -

42.55 4.15 0.84 1.19 18.36 0.19 11.4 16.4 22.25 20.5 90 96 1.82 6.2 11.74 11.32 5.86 6.96 4.93 22 67.4 15.9 5.99 1.65 193 76 3.58 29.4 24.3 14.82 255.2 0.239 5.05 3.33 9.83 3.42 11.32 2.05 5.7 1.33 69.05 4.98 227.6 4.78 2.2 2.72 11.5 4.54 0.141 1.45 155 1.39 1.1

INDUSTRIAL 43 2,290,500 4.28 533,000 0.84 1,218,000 1.19 4,451,000 19.2 18,800 0.19 940,000 11.48 27,333,500 16.44 962,500 23.2 307,100 20.5 1,300 90 560 99 70 1.84 237,000 6.3 878,600 11.96 47,700 11.5 5,776,200 5.86 182,000 7.12 740,100 5 19,545,000 22.75 416,100 67.7 264,070 15.9 13,300 6 383,600 1.65 457,000 195 600,480 80 850 3.58 3,000 29.5 4,497,900 24.8 196,800 14.88 859,800 257 429,990 0.24 990,000 5.1 65,700 3.33 2,436,000 9.84 2,797,200 3.42 8,000 11.64 46,200 2.18 6,343,000 5.74 1,067,500 1.33 45,000 69.6 494,340 5 202,000 230 398,990 4.95 555,000 2.2 1,000 2.72 40,000 11.58 13,615,300 4.66 235,000 0.141 240,000 1.45 130,000 157 1,054,380 1.43 2,664,000 1.1 14,000

97,861,765 2,242,440 1,034,510 5,347,080 347,124 178,860 317,352,000 15,905,626 7,110,770 26,700 50,400 7,710 437,580 5,581,978 568,150 66,582,180 1,072,681 5,252,874 97,582,003 9,319,965 17,861,739.50 212,100 2,310,087 756,280 116,823,410 67,320 10,740 132,733,005 4,889,470 12,798,062 110,342,300 237,240 334,696 8,112,050 27,566,068 27,360 534,104 13,554,440 6,136,790 60,520 34,258,892 1,009,970 91,767,356 2,682,810 2,200 108,840 158,797,938 1,076,580 33,840 189,840 165,083,733 3,782,040 15,400

-50,476,440 1,184,510 43,000 -3,999,060 91,213,126 -5,713,144 -4,800 -97,580 -673,116.00 -315,191 -4,421,683 28,203,631.00 2,203,790 7,188,163.50 212,100 1,549,304 -51,725,673 13,643,265 -3,405,030 5,375,622 -50,135,248 342,820 -22,508,925 3,041,400.00 -53,520 22,755,058 740,000 -18,080,300 671,480 5,245,002 158,100 -57,460,460 -1,450 -

0.5 72.1 12.68 5.99 0.325 727.5 8.78 13.2 8.2 5.6 0.181 1,195 6.1 68 1.31 7.78 13 6.13 0.037 1.16 1.9 99 637 1.23 260.2 0.176 0.26

0.43 70 12.6 5.88 0.31 700.5 8.37 12.86 8.1 5.6 0.172 1,170 6.1 65.95 1.17 7.6 12.48 5.76 0.037 1.13 1.9 91 618 1.2 252 0.17 0.255

HOLDING FIRMS 0.445 24,080,000 70.7 4,667,180 12.64 6,668,500 5.99 59,100 0.31 640,000 715 643,250 8.46 1,364,700 12.86 7,799,600 8.2 1,215,700 5.6 400 0.173 90,000 1,192 172,000 6.1 150,000 66.3 2,778,050 1.2 12,499,000 7.75 289,700 13 3,582,400 6.06 53,214,900 0.037 21,700,000 1.13 21,000 1.9 400,000 99 400,710 624 550,270 1.23 442,000 260 12,310 0.17 30,000 0.26 50,000

10,930,000 331,649,406 84,255,618 351,339 199,750 457,719,685 11,518,654 101,055,354 9,912,939 2,240 15,960 203,464,415 915,000 184,246,368 15,472,000 2,232,190 45,989,644 316,837,378 802,900 24,070 760,000 38,226,957 343,347,325 538,900 3,181,424 5,200 12,900

-179,157,571 -15,911,856 -46,321,000 4,975,897.00 -13,596,466 -1,711,500 -5,341,820 -910,730 -107,177,075.50 -1,230 -123,318 -1,942,786 -77,157,290 -2,374,033 -204,486,530 601,950 -

7.21 1.1 6.99 2.2 0.48 31.4 3.14 0.55 1.1 1.5 0.151 0.55 37.8 0.71 1.69 1 1.27 3.45 0.137 0.265 0.4 3.29

7.1 1.06 6.99 2.1 0.425 30.3 3.04 0.54 1.06 1.44 0.15 0.54 36 0.69 1.58 0.97 1.25 3.21 0.129 0.26 0.4 3.23

492,488 286,350 699 1,294,560 7,694,400 346,460,590 4,689,240 4,383,190 88,320 3,544,740 120,500 1,307,140 9,688,550 13,900 28,236,580 4,466,400 1,043,590 158,158,390 2,450,160 149,200 20,000 656,860

215,642 45,000 -112,652,790 375,320 -191,950 -13,500 -1,956,970 -26,257,580 -18,701,880 130,000 -52,000 -

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

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

3.7 47.95 85.9 3.75 107 1.55 38 16.38 18.82 800 0.59 70.5 0.76 14.04 54.6 240 128 90 34.9 195 1,670 74.6 1.25

3.8 47.95 87 3.75 108 1.59 38 16.38 18.84 800 0.59 71 0.76 14.1 54.7 240 134 90 34.9 197.4 1,670 74.6 1.25

3.68 45.6 85.5 3.74 104.9 1.4 38 16.14 18.38 800 0.56 69 0.76 14.04 54.5 236.2 128 89.95 34.8 191 1,635 73.6 1.21

ABOITIZ POWER AGRINURTURE ALLIANCE SELECT ALSONS CONS ASIABEST GROUP BASIC ENERGY CEMEX HLDG CENTURY FOOD CIRTEK HLDG CNTRL AZUCARERA CONCRETE A CONCRETE B CROWN ASIA DAVINCI CAPITAL DEL MONTE DNL INDUS EEI CORP EMPERADOR ENERGY DEVT FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG HOLCIM INTEGRATED MICR IONICS JOLLIBEE LIBERTY FLOUR 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 AND CO ROXAS HLDG SHAKEYS PIZZA SPC POWER SWIFT FOODS TKC METALS UNIV ROBINA VITARICH VULCAN INDL

42.8 4.26 0.86 1.24 18.82 0.195 11.5 16.7 22.25 20.5 90 120 1.87 6.64 11.98 11.54 5.99 7.15 5.02 22.45 67.95 16 6.06 1.68 195.1 76 3.58 29.6 25 14.98 259.2 0.24 5.05 3.33 10.26 3.42 11.32 2.07 5.75 1.4 69.7 5.01 230 4.78 2.2 2.74 11.98 4.55 0.141 1.47 158.5 1.44 1.1

43 4.28 0.87 1.25 19.4 0.195 11.7 16.72 23.2 21 90 120 1.89 6.7 11.98 11.62 5.99 7.15 5.07 22.75 67.95 16 6.06 1.68 197.9 80 3.58 30 25 14.98 259.8 0.24 5.1 3.4 10.26 3.42 11.64 2.18 5.75 1.4 69.7 5.01 230 4.95 2.2 2.74 11.98 4.66 0.141 1.48 159.5 1.46 1.1

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

0.495 72.05 12.66 5.95 0.31 727.5 8.54 13.2 8.14 5.6 0.181 1,195 6.1 68 1.31 7.6 13 6.13 0.037 1.15 1.9 94.8 635 1.2 259 0.176 0.255

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

7.2 1.07 6.99 2.14 0.48 31.2 3.11 0.55 1.07 1.48 0.151 0.54 37.8 0.71 1.69 0.98 1.27 3.3 0.137 0.265 0.4 3.29

VOLUME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

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

30.5 26.1 1.5 3.21 27.1 1.17 0.87 4.93

30.5 26.45 1.56 3.27 27.25 1.17 0.87 4.95

30.5 25.5 1.5 3.21 26.75 1.13 0.86 4.9

30.5 26 1.54 3.27 27.25 1.14 0.86 4.95

800 1,660,200 25,000 4,000 11,075,900 5,845,000 282,000 712,000

24,400 43,041,000 38,100 12,900 299,403,405 6,659,830 243,540 3,506,010

-10,491,905 16,980 -77,012,680 -2,526,850

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

7.43 44 1.34 0.49 0.041 5.1 5.83 0.066 2.39 93.7 7.7 2.22 3.05 1,438 6.2 15.7 16 2.31 135 71.25 0.0091 9.09 0.213 1.34 3.25 15.1 4.93 2.49 2.05 3.84 3.67 17.96 2.5 5.18 2.91 135.2 12.16 1,349 1.16 0.435 37.75 72 5.11 2.6 0.96 3.29 0.335

7.6 44 1.35 0.49 0.042 5.3 5.83 0.068 2.4 93.7 8.5 2.22 3.07 1,450 6.24 15.7 16 2.31 135 71.25 0.0092 9.09 0.215 1.34 3.25 15.32 4.94 2.49 2.05 3.84 3.69 17.96 2.58 5.18 3.07 135.2 12.16 1,349 1.17 0.44 37.9 72.95 5.2 2.61 0.97 3.29 0.35

7.43 43.6 1.33 0.48 0.036 5.08 5.72 0.064 2.27 91.55 7.6 2.22 3.05 1,425 6.2 15.26 16 2.2 135 69.75 0.009 9 0.203 1.33 3.18 15 4.85 2.43 2.05 3.73 3.55 17.52 2.38 5.16 2.91 135.2 11.16 1,289 1.15 0.43 36.8 72 5 2.54 0.93 3.18 0.335

SERVICES 7.44 43.6 1.34 0.48 0.04 5.3 5.8 0.065 2.33 91.55 8.16 2.22 3.06 1,440 6.22 15.5 16 2.24 135 70.45 0.009 9.05 0.205 1.33 3.18 15.3 4.85 2.43 2.05 3.81 3.69 17.54 2.4 5.18 3.07 135.2 11.36 1,300 1.17 0.435 37.05 72.05 5.1 2.54 0.94 3.18 0.35

18,800 18,200 125,000 3,218,000 916,500,000 7,100 4,996,400 43,130,000 10,344,000 434,390 1,551,000 18,000 7,000 102,530 125,700 90,200 200 2,692,000 10 409,350 64,000,000 480,000 23,660,000 828,000 18,000 61,000 898,000 82,000 6,000 3,117,000 9,699,000 1,600 901,000 3,200 3,000 7,000 1,305,900 102,300 4,941,000 1,060,000 2,268,500 504,580 242,200 658,000 12,502,000 862,000 400,000

139,902 794,990 168,600 1,557,320 35,793,400 36,282 28,828,751 2,815,400 23,938,800 39,960,986.50 12,447,298 39,960 21,430 146,608,175 781,666 1,393,306 3,200 5,985,410 1,350 28,770,724.50 578,800 4,343,580 4,901,190 1,101,390 57,750 927,076 4,375,670 199,910 12,300 11,794,150 35,286,710 28,352 2,197,260 16,548 8,890 946,400 15,125,896 133,089,250 5,732,300 459,950 84,355,705 36,333,299 1,227,333 1,685,810 11,814,660 2,773,070 139,850

1,440 103,200 2,650 -9,977,903 1,214,910 14,451,135.50 -2,105,150 22,967,525 1,550 -2,963,811.50 -72,400 118,280 1,180,670 -4,820,040 -10,602,970 0 -1,479,334 -42,435,360 -63,250 -39,600 -16,054,690 12,523,630 -61,430 7,636,600 -496,320 -

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

0.0034 2.7 5.04 2.17 0.54 0.495 12.12 3.29 0.28 0.194 0.195 2.48 8.04 2.98 1.18 0.012 0.011 4.18 0.012 8.68 3.25 131 2.87

0.0035 2.8 5.04 2.17 0.54 0.495 12.28 3.29 0.285 0.194 0.195 2.54 8.04 3.03 1.18 0.012 0.011 4.18 0.012 8.68 3.48 131.5 2.88

0.0033 2.68 4.75 2.17 0.51 0.465 11 3.12 0.27 0.191 0.195 2.41 7.84 2.79 1.12 0.012 0.011 4.18 0.012 8.49 3.25 129.7 2.87

MIINING & OIL 0.0033 107,000,000 2.8 58,000 4.84 359,000 2.17 6,000 0.51 178,000 0.465 3,750,000 11.68 114,900 3.17 9,382,000 0.275 690,000 0.192 3,190,000 0.195 760,000 2.47 1,833,000 7.87 4,004,300 2.96 383,000 1.14 913,000 0.012 300,000 0.011 2,000,000 4.18 2,000 0.012 141,600,000 8.68 562,200 3.42 3,680,000 131.2 449,040 2.87 5,000

361,900 160,920 1,742,480 13,020 93,170 1,781,350 1,328,610 30,051,910 188,700 612,430 148,200 4,517,830 31,500,758 1,087,110 1,040,560 3,600 22,000 8,360 1,699,200 4,811,951 12,463,620 58,721,430 14,360

-537,830 -3,843,070 208,250 645,790.00 511,253 -363,420 -23,296,900 -

ABS HLDG PDR AC PREF B2 ALCO PREF B DD PREF FGEN PREF F FGEN PREF G GLO PREF P GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B LR PREF PF PREF 2 SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H

43.9 544 103 104 114 118 540 6 1,017 1,025 1.05 1,023 80.55 75.95 77.05 77.5

44.15 544 103 104.4 114 118 540 6 1,017 1,025 1.05 1,023 80.55 75.95 77.05 77.5

43.8 544 102 103.7 114 118 540 6 1,017 1,020 1.04 1,021 80.5 75.1 77.05 77.2

PREFERRED 44.1 118,600 544 10 102 45,910 104 26,900 114 8,000 118 100 540 2,000 6 141,000 1,017 810 1,020 18,395 1.04 46,000 1,021 700 80.5 27,100 75.1 37,900 77.05 1,300 77.2 47,410

5,213,430 5,440 4,688,705 2,793,448 912,000 11,800 1,080,000 846,000 823,770 18,764,400 47,940 715,405 2,181,686 2,862,045 100,165 3,673,945

-2,686,000 -846,000 -

LR WARRANT

2.36

2.36

2.29

WARRANTS 2.3 305,000

707,880

-

ALTERRA CAPITAL ITALPINAS MAKATI FINANCE XURPAS

2.21 3.2 2.81 8.98

2.37 3.2 2.81 9

2.21 3.1 2.79 8.38

2.33 3.2 2.79 8.48

3,414,560 400,140 134,040 27,131,551

561,020 3,200 -7,904,703

FIRST METRO ETF

112.1

112.2

110.9

3,539,701

-

NAME

MS

PROPERTY 7.12 1.09 6.99 2.1 0.43 31.3 3.05 0.55 1.1 1.49 0.15 0.54 37.8 0.69 1.6 0.99 1.27 3.45 0.13 0.26 0.4 3.25

68,700 268,000 100 607,000 17,240,000 11,242,100 1,517,000 8,045,000 82,000 2,412,000 800,000 2,412,000 260,300 20,000 17,504,000 4,586,000 828,000 47,473,000 18,660,000 570,000 50,000 202,000

TRADING SUMMARY FINANCIAL

SHARES

16,906,568

INDUSTRIAL

107,285,201

HOLDING FIRMS

143,674,104

PROPERTY

154,543,676

SERVICES

1,113,908,853

MINING & OIL

281,320,699

GRAND TOTAL

1,822,503,180

SME

1,472,000 126,000 48,000 3,181,200

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 111 31,740

VALUE 1,619.72 (down) 1.02 964,347,027.95 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 10,557.32 (down) 25.40 1,800,343,916.52 HOLDING FIRMS 6,792.97 (down) 112.70 2,192,131,574.56 PROPERTY 2,986.28 (up) 5.31 SERVICES 1,257.79 (down) 23.37 935,702,956.505 MINING & OIL 11,968.40 (down) 69.75 697,559,448.20 PSEI 6,658.66 (down) 55.47 152,416,052.946 All Shares Index 4,07285 (down) 26.80 6,777,133,889.17 Gainers:51 Losers:132; Unchanged: 42; Total: 225

PLDT expects franchise extension

By Darwin G. Amojelar PLDT Inc. said Tuesday it expects Congress to renew the franchise of its mobile phone unit before it expires in March 2017.

“The House bill extending the legislative franchise of Smart for another 25 years has been approved on second reading by the plenary body of the House of Representatives last Dec. 13, and approval on the third and final reading is expected as soon as the House resumes in January 2017,” PLDT said.

The country’s largest telecom company said Smart would seek the approval the Senate as soon as possible, or once the House approved on the third and final reading the amended House bill and officially transmitted the same to the Senate when sessions resumed.

PLDT said Smart was not required to immediately cease operations as soon as its franchise expired in March next year.

“There is no law or jurisprudence that requires such immediate cessation of public services to the prejudice of the public,” PLDT said.

“Furthermore, in the worst case, Smart can transfer its mobile telecommunication business to Digitel Mobile Philippines Inc., another duly enfranchised and operating mobile telecommunication operator owned by PLDT,” it said.

PLDT, partly owned by Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd. and Japan’s NTT group, earlier booked a net income of P15.87 billion in the first nine months, down by 37 percent from P25.34 billion a year earlier.

Aboitiz gets nod to buy into GNPower

By Alena Mae S. Flores ABOITIZ Power Corp., through wholly-owned subsidiary Therma Power Inc., has secured an approval from the government to acquire indirect partnership interests in GNPower Mariveles Coal Plant Ltd. Co. and GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co. Aboitiz Power said the Board of Investments and the Philippine Competition Commission approved Therma Power’s application on Nov. 21 and Dec. 19, respectively.

Therma Power will hold indirect effective interests held by affiliated investment funds of The Blackstone Group L.P in World Power Holdings L.P. and Sithe Global Power L.P. Therma Power will own a 66.1-percent effective beneficial ownership interest in GNPower Mariveles and 40-percent effective beneficial ownership interest in GNPower Diningin.

The acquisition is valued at $1.2 billion and will be funded by a combination of internally generated cash and financing from foreign banks.

GNPower Mariveles is a 604-megawatt subcritical thermal power plant which started operations in 2014, while GNPower Diningin is a new project consisting of 1,338 MW (2 by 668 MW) supercritical thermal power plant in Bataan.

Business

B3

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2016 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Are Cebu Pacific pilots stressed?

BANK OF COMMERCE BRANCHES. Bank of Commerce opens three new branches in the Visayas as part of efforts to widen its presence

in the south, bringing its network in the Eastern and Western Visayas region to 21 branches. The newly opened branches are in the cities of Bacolod (Chinatown Premier Mall), Iloilo (Atria Park District) and Tacloban (Justice Romualdez Street). Shown during the Iloilo branch opening are Bank of Commerce president and CEO Roberto Benares (fifth from right), flanked by Iloilo City administrator Norlito Bautista (fifth from left) and the bank’s executives and clients.

Investment pledges in Q3 down sharply

By Gabrielle H. Binaday

T

OTAL local and foreign investment commitments in the first three months of the Duterte administration dropped 20 percent to P133.8 billion for the July-toSeptember period of 2016 from P168.2 billion year-on-year, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Wednesday.

The PSA said the figures were based on projects approved by seven investment promotion agencies—Board of Investments, Clark Development Corp., Philippine Economic Zone Authority, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Authority

of the Freeport Area of Bataan, BOo-Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao and Cagayan Economic Zone Authority.

Foreign investors accounted for P26.7 billion of the total investment pledges during the period, while local companies

shared the balance.

Approved commitments in the third quarter brought total approved investments for the first three quarters at P411.2 billion, up 16 percent from P354.6 billion recorded in the same period a year ago.

South Korea ranked first among the investors for the Julyto-September period, with commitments of P6.5 billion or 24.3 percent of the total. The United States and Singapore ranked second and third, respectively, with investments of P4.6 billion and P4.1 billion.

The National Capital Region stands to receive the largest amount of foreign investments,

valued at P5.5 billion or 20.4 percent. It was followed by SOCCSKARGEN region with pledges of P4.7 billion and Negros Island with P4.5 billion or 17 percent Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply topped the list of industries in the third quarter period of 2016, with P42.2 billion in investment pledges from both Filipino and foreign investors.

The projected employment from approved investments in the three-month period is expected to generate 33,590, down 31 percent on year.

“Out of these anticipated jobs, 83.2 percent would come from projects with foreign interest,” the PSA said.

DBCC maintains growth forecast in 2017, 2018 THE inter-agency Development Budget Coordination Committee on Tuesday maintained the growth forecast for the Philippines at 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent for 2017 on strong macroeconomic fundamentals and despite external uncertainties.

“This implies that we are not affected on what’s going on.

Trump presidency does not affect us,” Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno told reporters at the press briefing of the 2nd DBCC meeting under the Duterte administration.

The DBCC also maintained the 7 percent to 8 percent growth target for 2018 to 2022.

“No compelling reading to change it. We have same growth drivers and essentially same risks and uncertainties next year,” Economic and Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said.

The committee, however, adjusted the foreign exchange assumptions for 2017 to P48 to P50 per US dollar from the previous estimates of P45 to 48. It also adjusted the foreign exchange assumption for 2018 to P48 to P50.

“Basically we’re comfortable with 50 per us dollar for upper bound of exchange rate basically because we have steady inflow of dollars,” Diokno said.

The Libor rate and Dubai crude oil projections were also unchanged at 1 to 2 percent for 2017 and $40 to $55 per barrel, respectively.

The DBCC, however, reduced the export growth target to 2 percent and 5 percent for 2017 and 2018, respectively, and kept import expansion steady at 10 percent for 2017 to 2018.

It maintained the borrowing

program at a 80:20 ratio in favor of domestic financing.

The Asian Development Bank last week upgraded its 2016 growth forecast for the Philippines to 6.8 percent from the previous estimate of 6.4 percent, following three quarters of strong growth.

The Manila-based multilateral lender, in its Asian Development Outlook supplement report, also revised upward the 2017 growth outlook for the country to 6.4 percent from 6.2 percent.

Gabrielle H. Binaday

THE Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines should look very closely into the death of 45-year-old Cebu Pacific co-pilot Margarito Austria Jr., who sources claim suffered a heart attack during a landing roll at the Cebu Mactan International Airport last Saturday (Dec. 17).

Austria, a former Philippine Air Force helicopter pilot prior to joining Cebu Pacific, has no history of heart problems and had a healthy lifestyle who shunned smoking and drinking, people who knew him well disclosed.

According to reports, Austria suddenly complained of dizziness on the final approach and was rendered unconscious while the pilot handed the touchdown. Austria was immediately brought to the Mactan Doctors Hospital, but was declared dead on arrival.

Friends and former colleagues of Austria were shocked to learn of his passing, describing him as an affable and well-liked person. Insiders attribute Austria’s death to the stress he was allegedly getting from red eye flights—or those that depart late at night or early morning. They are disputing rumors claiming that the Cebu Pacific pilot’s death is due to food poisoning.

The same sources allege that a lot of pilots have been also complaining that the scheduler gives them these flights even before the body clock has adjusted or even before the pilots have had sufficient sleep or rest—reportedly telling the pilots they can hack it because they are still young anyway, or words to that effect. Sources also claim that aside from Austria, another pilot had reportedly suffered a stroke.

CAAP said the lives of the 136 passengers of Cebu Pacific Flight 5J548 were not put at risk during the incident, but many are understandably concerned at the possibility that the same incident could happen in the very near future—while the aircraft is still a long way from the airport, with both pilots experiencing dizziness due to fatigue and undiagnosed stress. Scary possibility.

‘Mistress killer’ on the loose

If you have been getting a lot of feeds on Facebook showing photos of a half-naked woman beating beaten almost to death by several women, chances are you’re seeing the handiwork of Zhang Yufen, China’s renowned female detective whose moniker is “mistress killer.”

Zhang is making brisk business out of helping cheated wives gather evidence of their husband’s adulterous activities in order to get compensation in a divorce—and take revenge against the mistresses at the same time. She capitalized on her personal experience of having been dumped sometime in the ‘90s by her husband—left penniless and homeless with no way of getting evidence to make him provide child support—to put up a detective agency and track down the philandering man. It took quite a while, but she successfully obtained a divorce and a payout.

In the process, Zhang came across other women who also wanted to get evidence against their cheating husbands and their mistresses. In 2008, she put up Alliance Against Mistresses, working with volunteer citizen reporters who run a website that exposes corruption. Apparently in China, infidelity is often the hallmark of corruption especially among public officials—and Zhang sees her organization as one of the very few that dares to stand up for justice for the cheated wives.

Many are disturbed however by Zhang’s encouragement of physical violence against the (suspected) mistresses, saying it’s the husband who should be beaten and humiliated in public.

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

Middle SINCE this column began on the 24th of June in 2005, I have been writing for a Friday publication.

That, then editor-in-chief Jojo Robles, explained to me meant that I could essentially bridge the work week to the weekend—hence, a much more light-hearted take on business and management.

This week, things change. This column will begin to appear Wednesdays.

I have been thinking of what it means to write for a Wednesday paper. The Friday edition, as I have now begun to think about it, was essentially an integration of events and news of the past week— an attempt to make sense of the week before it ended. Wednesday, however, is very different. It is smack in the middle of the week. It is a time for evaluation. It is a time for reviewing what has been done and what still needs to be done.

It is a time for reckoning and decision-making.

Wednesday is a far more serious day than Friday.

I suppose this week, the penultimate week of 2016 is a great time to think about evaluation and reckoning. I will, after all, will remember 2016 as a time of great change, and unexpected decisions.

Geopolitics On December 8, Facebook released a list of 2016 global top 10 most discussed stories in Facebook. Pokemon Go was third and the Olympics as sixth. The remaining five of the top 7 were political stories.

It was no surprise to see the US elections topping the chart as it had in 2015. The US story, after all, had all the elements of great prime

time news. The Democrats and the Liberals had both chosen newsworthy candidates. Clinton, the Democratic candidate, would have been the first female president of the United States. The Republican party, on the other hand, had Donald Trump, billionaire and reality TV personality.

What was truly surprising about the US elections was the outcome. Up until a few hours before the results became final, virtually every poll and exit poll was predicting a Clinton win with between 80 percent and 90 percent confidence. Clearly, a change had taken over the American electorate that had gone unnoticed except by only a very few.

It was, for me, the second global political shocker of the year. The first was Brexit. The British vote on whether or not to exit the European Union seemed to be clearly in favor of staying until a few weeks prior to the election when the difference began to narrow. However, many analysts still seemed confident that the British electorate would choose to stay. The resulting decision to exit surprised even those who voted for exit.

The result of the Philippine election did not surprise me. Every major survey company had put Duterte, a relative political outsider, in the lead by a wide margin. This is, sadly, the second time Roxas has lost a run for a key national post. Unlike the first, which was a surprise as no one seemed to have kept track of Binay’s grass roots campaigning, this should not have been a surprise. While the Duterte campaign started late, much of it was implemented in that most public of arenas—social media.

So that is part of the story of 2016. The political

arena is changing rapidly. You ignore these changes at your peril.

Family and Enterprise Closer to home, this year represented my first full year of not being part of the operations of Solutions, the company I had helped found in 1993. I had slowly been lessening involvement since a little before the 15th anniversary of the company and had finally turned over the acting presidency to one of my partners in the middle of 2015.

For me, 2016 was to have been a year of rest and rumination. My alma mater, the UP high school is celebrating its centennial and my husband and I are celebrating our 30th year wedding anniversary.

We had planned to spend more time with family, and more time with friends.

However, a rapid response to a work email led to me getting involved in the relaunch of the Master in Entrepreneurship (ME) program of the Asian Institute of Management (AIM). Work for the ME, plus the myriad other things involved in transitioning new mechanisms under the new President and Dean of AIM, used up much of my available time.

Next It is too early to tell whether the choice of national leaders in the US and the Philippines will lead to the positive changes their supporters anticipated. Actually, the more accurate statement would be that these leaders themselves, with the team they decide to work with, will help determine the fate of their nations. Even more accurately, it is what their citizens decide to do that will shape the future of these countries.

What has been clear for a long time is that

governments do not hold all of the power. In the United States and many developed countries, entrepreneurs, businessmen and philanthropists have shown how much the private sector can contribute. In the Philippines, during natural catastrophes, Filipinos have shown their resilience and generosity. The challenge is to be able to harness this Filipino positive spirit for long-term growth.

In my home, my goal is to spend more time with my husband and to help my children push the boundaries of what is possible for them, to help them find their happiness.

In the AIM classroom, with the Bulawan Redemptors (ME2018) and with the MBA and EMBA students, I always say that our goal is profitable growth—but it must be founded on respect for the law and the right values. In the often contentious social media space, my response to those who ask about the job of citizenship is the same. We must start with obeying the law and paying the right taxes.

Core The middle, after all, is really the core. When seeking to find our balance while traversing tricky paths, we are often told—find your center of gravity. So this shift from the end of the week to the middle of the week, seems appropriate for me.

This individual center, that core of peace within you—that is the foundation of true knowledge and contentment.

Merry Christmas to all!

••• Readers can email Maya at integrations_ manila@yahoo.com. Or visit her site at http:// integrations.tumblr.com.

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

B4

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2016

Business

US job market strong —Yellen WASHINGTON―The US job market is at its strongest since the start of the financial crisis and there are signs workers will start to see the benefits in their paychecks, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Monday.

In the first speech by a Fed official since the central bank raised interest rates last week for only the second time in a decade, Yellen was moderately optimistic about job prospects, even though the economy is growing slowly.

She told graduates of the University of Baltimore that “after years of a slow economic recovery, you are entering the strongest job market in nearly a decade.”

The unemployment rate, now at 4.6 percent, “is near what it was before the recession,” she said.

Yellen added that job creation is continuing at a steady pace and there are also indications that wage growth is rising and living standards are improving for most families.

However, she said, “Challenges do remain. The economy is growing more slowly than in past recoveries, and productivity growth, which is a major influence on wages, has been disappointing.”

The lack of wage growth despite the low unemployment rate and the longest streak of job growth on record―81 consecutive months of job creation―has posed a conundrum for the Fed and contributed to the decision to hold off on raising interest rates until now.

Fed officials expect three rate increases next year.

Yellen both lauded a strong labor market and said degrees will help young people to take advantage of the opportunities the modern world presents.

“While globalization will likely continue and technology will continue to advance, we don’t know how fast the economy will grow, what new technologies will be developed, or how quickly and consistently employment will expand,” Yellen said. “Success will continue to be tied to education, in part because a good education enhances one’s ability to adapt to a changing economy.”

AFP, Bloomberg

LOOTING. An improvised microbus passes across a military checkpoint after massive lootings occuRred in Ciudad Bolivar, Bolivar state,

Venezuela, on December 19, 2016. A jet load of new currency finally arrived in Venezuela on December 18 after its delayed arrival sparked protests and looting that jolted President Nicolas Maduro’s unpopular government. AFP

BoJ upbeat on economy as weak yen lifts exports

T

OKYO―The Bank of Japan on Tuesday lifted its view of the economy for the first time in over a year, as the sliding yen boosts exports, offering some hope for Tokyo’s stuttering growth program.

Policymakers held fire on further stimulus and said they would maintain a plan to keep the yield on government 10-year bonds around zero, part of a broader bid to stimulate growth in the world’s number three economy.

The bank’s final meeting of 2016 came on the heels of stronger-than-expected November export data and the first rise for more than a year in its closely watched Tankan survey of business confidence.

“The drop in the yen has given the bank some flexibility,” said Toshihiko Sakai, a senior dealer at Mitsubishi UFJ Trust

and Banking.

“It’s taken pressure off the BoJ to ease more.”

Bank governor Haruhiko Kuroda said things were looking brighter as exports and factory output gather steam―the bank said they were “sluggish” in a November statement.

That was its first upgrade to its view on the economy since May 2015.

The negative impact of a slowdown in emerging economies and Britain’s vote to exit the European Union were fading, Kuroda said.

“There were headwinds in the first half of the year, but they’ve

now disappeared,” he added.

Japan has been on an unsure recovery path and the central bank remains way behind reaching a two percent inflation target that is a cornerstone of government efforts to revive the economy.

There are also questions about whether the BoJ can keep buying government bonds at the current pace without shocking debt markets.

Kuroda on Tuesday brushed aside talk about tapering the BoJ’s massive 80 trillion yen annual asset-purchase scheme and suggested there was no limit to what measures the BoJ can take.

“We have to press on with strong monetary easing to reach the inflation target as early as possible,” he said.

“I do not subscribe to the view that policies face limits, like walls standing in the way.”

The yen has tumbled against the greenback since Donald Trump’s shock US presidential election win in November fanned speculation that his plans for big government spending and tax cuts will force the Federal Reserve to hike borrowing costs.

The Fed’s indication last week that it could lift them three times next year sent the dollar surging against the Japanese unit.

That is good news for Japan’s exporters as a weak yen boosts their competitiveness and profitability.

On Tuesday, the dollar bought 118.06 yen from 117.07 yen earlier in the morning.

Kuroda said the yen’s level against the dollar was “not surprising,” noting it brought the rate back to where it was earlier this year, before Brexit.

Investors tend to buy Japan’s currency to shield themselves in times of turmoil. AFP

Court says IMF head is guilty PARIS―A French court on Monday found IMF head Christine Lagarde guilty of negligence over a massive state payout to a tycoon when she was French finance minister, but she will continue to lead the fund.

Lagarde was spared her a fine or prison sentence, and the International Monetary Fund board meeting in Washington said it retains “full confidence” in her ability to continue to lead the organization.

Speaking to reporters in Washington, Lagarde said she was not happy with the court ruling, even though she faces no penalty, but would not appeal.

“I am not satisfied, but there comes a point in time when one just has to stop, turn the page, and move on and continue to work with those who have put their trust in me,” Lagarde said, calling the process a “painful” one.

A special court in Paris found against Lagarde over her handling of a dispute between the state and flamboyant businessman Bernard Tapie, which ended in a 404-millioneuro ($422 million) award for Tapie.

The court rapped Lagarde for failing to contest the massive payment, which was linked to Tapie’s sale of the Adidas sportswear brand to Credit Lyonnais bank.

However, the court exempted her from any penalty, citing her “international reputation” and the fact that at the time of the events in 2008 she was busy fighting a global financial inferno.

The high-flying 60-yearold former corporate lawyer became the first female IMF chief in 2011, succeeding her disgraced compatriot Dominique Strauss-Kahn. And despite her legal troubles she was reappointed in February to a second five-year term.

The IMF executive board, which represents the 189 member countries, met on Monday in the wake of the court decision, and said it “reaffirms its full confidence in the managing director’s ability to continue to effectively carry out her duties,” and will continue to work with her “to address the difficult challenges facing the global economy.”

The French government expressed continued support for Lagarde, saying it “retained its utmost confidence in her capacity to carry out her responsibilities.” AFP

Turkey opens 1st road tunnel under Istanbul’s Bosphorus Strait ISTANBUL, Turkey― President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will on Tuesday open the first ever road tunnel underneath the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, the latest project completed in his plan of transforming Turkey’s infrastructure.

Turkey in October 2013 opened the Marmaray rail tunnel underneath the iconic waterway, the first link beneath the waters that divide Europe and Asia.

But from Tuesday it will be possible for the first time in history to drive underneath the Bosphorus due to a project aimed at relieving congestion in the traffic-clogged Turkish mega city.

Erdogan is expected to drive himself to make the first journey from Europe to Asia in the Avrasya (Eurasia) Tunnel along with Prime Minister Binali Yildirim after the opening at 1100 GMT. ‘Earthquake proof’ The tunnel required an investment of $1.2 billion (1.15 billion euros), including loans of $960 million, and will reduce driving time for the route from up to 2 hours to 15 minutes.

It was built by a consortium consisting of private Turkish

construction company Yapi Merkezi and South Korea’s SK Group.

The project comprises a 5.4 kilometer (3.5 mile) tunnel, with the portion beneath the Bosphorus 3.4 kilometers long.

The two-story tunnel was built with a special tunnel boring machine which had a daily progress speed of 8-10 meters (26-32 feet) on average.

According to the designers, the earth dug in the project would be enough to fill 788 Olympic pools, the cement poured would fill 18 stadiums, while the iron used could build 10 Eiffel Towers.

With Istanbul lying on an active seismic zone, the tunnel has been designed to withstand a 7.5 magnitude earthquake.

It would be undamaged even if Istanbul saw a once-in-500year earthquake. And the tunnel could resume operation “with slight maintenance works” in the event of a once-in-2,500year earthquake.

‘Won’t stop there’ Turkish Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan told AFP ahead of the opening that it had been a “huge challenge” to build the tunnel at a depth of 106 meters under the seabed.

He revealed the authorities

A picture taken on December 16, 2016 shows the entrance to new Eurasia tunnel in Istanbul. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spearheaded a drive to build new stadiums, airports, bridges and tunnels across Turkey, including Istanbul’s latest mega-project: the first-ever road tunnel linking the city’s European and Asian sides under the Bosphorus Strait. AFP

now planned to build a third tunnel under the Bosphorus that would have three storeys and carry both cars and trains.

“I think the Avrasya tunnel will hugely ease the lives of the residents of Istanbul,” Arslan told AFP. “But we are not just going to stop there.”

Erdogan has said he is aiming to build a “new Turkey” with transformed infrastructure in time for the 100th anniversary in 2023 of the foundation of the modern state by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Other schemes, which Erdogan boasts are his “crazy

projects,” include a gigantic third airport for Istanbul, the first ever bridge across the Dardanelles straits and even a Suez-style shipping canal for Istanbul.

Erdogan has vowed that his ambitions will not be derailed by the failed July 15 coup and the

swathe of terror attacks Turkey has suffered this year.

Just one month after the attempted coup, Erdogan opened the third bridge across the Bosphorus named after the mediaeval sultan Selim the Grim.

“These kinds of events will not deviate us from our path,” Erdogan said at the weekend after 14 soldiers were killed in an attack blamed on Kurdish militants.

The tunnel opening also comes one day after a Turkish policeman crying “Aleppo” and “Allahu Akbar” shot dead Russia’s ambassador to Turkey at an exhibition centre in Ankara.

Suggestions for the naming of the new tunnel included Ataturk himself and the late-period Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II, an arch-conservative whose reputation has undergone a major revival in Turkey in recent years.

But the authorities have settled on the far less politically-loaded Avrasya Tunnel, despite a highprofile campaign by officials for the public to submit names.

“In public consultations, many names came out but Avrasya really was the most ideal,” said Arslan. AFP

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Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor Roger M. Garcia, Assistant Editor jimbo.gulle@gmail.com mslocalgov@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2016

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LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

RIPE FOR PICKING. Farmers harvest sweet potatoes from their field in Sabangan, Mountain Province, just in time to earn some extra cash for the Yuletide season. David Chan

‘No wrong with taking money from hospitals’ The MHD came up with a program to pour more funds into the health centers in the HE Manila City Council on Tuesday denied community city’s six districts to strengthen any irregularity in the planned reduction of their capability to handle less the budgets of six city-run hospitals in 2017, serious illnesses and distribute required maintenance drugs saying it only meant to streamline the distribution the directly to patients, especially of free medicines to residents. senior citizens, Sison said.

“The directors of the six hosCouncilor Casimiro Sison, the “So what they can do? They pitals agreed, you can ask them,” council’s majority floor leader, just cannot reject patients at the councilor said, as he hit third clarified that the P360 million to the OPD. The hospital patients district Councilor Bernie Ang be taken from the hospitals will are being side-stepped. Funds for alleging that the slashed hosmerely be transferred to 59 com- meant for in-patients are dis- pital budgets would be diverted munity health centers that would sipated and being transferred to hire more casual employees. purchase and distribute mainte- to the outpatients,” Sison ex“We had a series of budget nance drugs directly to barangay plained. deliberations for 2017, and not residents.

After careful deliberation, he one among those budget delibThis move, Sison said, is in- said the council agreed to re- erations was attended by Mr. tended to relieve the pressure on move P59,856,650 from the sub- Bernie Ang, who keeps on talkthe public hospitals whose out- mitted budget of each hospital ing here. Not even once. He nevpatient departments have been and “deliver” it to the Manila er attended,” Sison said. overwhelmed by many patients Health Department under Dr. Ang could not be reached for requiring continuous medications. Benjamin Yson. comment as of press time.

By Sandy Araneta

T

The City Council also passed on second reading Proposed Ordinance No. 7810 appropriating P14.88 billion as the executive budget of Manila for 2017.

Yson, for his part, said the additional funds for the health centers is barely enough to pay for the cost of maintenance drugs. He originally proposed to the city council a budget of P1.05 billion a year to procure the medicines.

“Our health centers are the ones that promote wellness in the communities, meaning it’s more of a prevention campaign. Hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, these cases should be handled in the health centers,” he explained.

But these chronic diseases, Yson said, require daily maintenance medicines that are too expensive for poor city residents to afford.

Taguig to hasten biz license works

By Joel E. Zurbano THE Taguig City government announced on Monday it will open next month a one-stop shop to hasten the registration and renewal of business licenses and accommodate the increasing number of business establishments in the city.

The Business One-Stop Shop, which will run from Jan. 2 to 20, 2017, streamlines the process for renewing business licenses and registrations. It will have extended hours on the weekend of Jan. 14 and 15, 2017.

The BOSS project will be held simultaneously at the Taguig City Hall Auditorium and at the ninth floor of the City Satellite Office at SM Aura, giving business owners two accessible venues to register.

Lawyer Alvin Esmenda of the City Treasurer’s Office is encouraging business owners to take advantage of the new cashless transaction facility at the SM Aura satellite office. Resi-

Corporate taxpayers honored

Rooftop garden set for Davao City Hall

By F. Pearl A. Gajunera DAVAO CITY—The once-bare rooftop of the four-storey Davao City Hall annex building has burst into life—transformed into a garden of colorful flowers, green herbs and vegetables by the Department of Agriculture.

The garden was opened Monday afternoon with the official turnover of the project by the DA to the Davao City Agriculturist’s Office.

The 250-meter roof deck garden used empty containers and plastic bottles to grow the plants, and was a collaborative project of the DA, CAO, and the Allied Botanical Corp.

As part of the Urban Edible Landscape Project, the garden will serve as the laboratory for

the city government’s planned massive urban gardening project.

“It is a demo unit for urban container gardening,” CAO chief Leo Brian Leuterio said, adding that Dabawenyos could grow organic vegetables and herbs and spices right in their homes or offices. “We will open this to the public soon with the primary intention of inspiring people in the community to replicate the concept in their own backyards.”

DA Undersecretary Evelyn Lavina attended the event and expressed the department’s full support to the city’s plans and programs on agriculture.

Agriculture is among Mayor Sara Duterte’s 10 priorities for the city, saying previously she wanted to make sure that Dabawenyos, especially children, have enough food to eat.

AMBULANCE TURNOVER. Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office Chairman Jose Jorge E. Corpuz and

General Manager Alexander F. Balutan led the turnover of ambulance units to seven towns in Isabela province, Tayabas in Quezon and Jala-Jala in Rizal on Tuesday in Mandaluyong City. The Manuel A. Roxas Hospital in Isabela, People’s General Hospital in Tuguegarao City, Cavite Naval Hospital, Claro M. Recto Hospital in Infanta, Quezon, Peter and Paul Medical Center in Candelaria, Quezon, along with Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija and the First Scout Ranger Regiment of the Philippine Army in San Miguel, Bulacan also received ambulances.

Beware of ‘bocha’ in Makati markets, city warns

By Joel E. Zurbano THE Makati city government on Tuesday warned residents of buying “bocha” or double-dead meat being sold by unscrupulous individuals during the holiday season.

Makati’s Veterinary Services Office issued the warning to con-

sumers to be extra cautious when buying meat products to keep their families safe from food poisoning during the holidays.

MVSO chief and city veterinarian Ma. Katherina Mangahas said vendors may be selling meat from carcasses at low prices to entice consumers, such as a meat stall at the Kalayaan wet

dents and businessmen can also use their VISA credit and debit cards to pay for business permits and other fees, he added.

While the documents are being processed, business owners can enjoy a free massage, watch a movie and enjoy refreshments provided inside the venues. The first 100 customers will also be given token items like umbrellas and clocks.

“We have already achieved our goal of molding Taguig into a business-friendly community; our current task is to continue providing our commitment of efficient and transparent services while incorporating new innovations along the way,” Mayor Laarni Cayetano said.

Taguig has been awarded a Blue Certification Award by the Office of the Ombudsman for its streamlined frontline services, and was recognized by the Civil Service Commission for having the highest rating in the Anti-Red Tape Act compliance measures among 46 first-class cities.

market that was found selling ‘buto-buto’ or meat on bone at only P30 per kilo.

“We urge the buying public to be extra careful some vendors are taking advantage of this time of the year to fool consumers by mixing doubledead meat with fresh ones.

Unusually low prices should

warn consumers to think twice before they buy any product,” Mangahas said.

The MVSO chief also warned the public against buying frozen meat products on display outside the freezer.

“Selling of frozen meat is legal. However, it should be kept inside the freezer because

decomposition and contamination happens when the frozen meat starts to thaw,” Mangahas said.

The National Meat Inspection Service prohibits the sale of frozen meat in the market when the stall is not equipped with freezers, chillers or refrigerators, she added.

THE city government of Taguig on Tuesday named 10 private companies as its top taxpayers for 2016.

Team Energy Corp., Alveo Land Corp., BGNorth Properties Inc., Fort Bonifacio Development Corp., Metro Retail Stores Group Inc., Station Square East Commercial Corp., Makati Development Corp., BGSouth Properties Inc. and Samsung Electronics Phil.

Corp made the list.

“This annual event is a tribute to you, our partners, and an opportunity for us to acknowledge your important role in developing our city. You are all instrumental in sustaining the city’s various socioeconomic and infrastructure programs,” said Mayor Laarni Cayetano.

Taguig aimed to create more opportunities for its citizens and to continue a great partnership in doing business with these investors through its businessfriendly policies such as low tax rates, transparent and corruption-free environment, and the implementation of ease of doing business strategies like the annual Business One-Stop Shop and the cashless transactions of taxes and other fees. Joel E. Zurbano

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LGUs

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2016

Condom plan to backfire, solon says

By Ferdie G. Domingo

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ABANATUAN CITY—A lawmaker warned over the weekend that the Department of Health’s plan to distribute condoms to high school students could backfire and may only arouse malice among them.

Nueva Ecija second district Rep. Micaela Violago told reporters here that the condom distribution would also heighten sexual curiosity among students, thus the DoH should go slow on its controversial plan.

“If you ask me, before you ever think of distributing condoms to students, you better educate them about sex. It’s education first before distribution,” Violago said.

She said she found it awkward

that students “would be exposed to such kinds of mature thinking” without making them learn first.

“For me, teach them first about sex education, then afterwards, distribution may come.

But without educating them, you will only instigate malice to come in,” she said.

Violago said this after Education Secretary Leonor Briones said top-level discussions have started between the Department of Education and the DoH on how they could roll out the condom program, which is meant to arrest the surge in cases of Human

Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome among young people.

The condoms would be distributed among junior and senior high school students next year.

The DepEd said it could explore other measures to address the rising HIV and AIDS cases among young Filipinos without compromising the parents’ right and responsibility to educate their children against the dangers of engaging in premarital sex and the state’s mandate to protect minors from abuses.

Instead of a comprehensive sex

education program as proposed

by Violago prior to handing out the condoms, DepEd plans only to hold counseling sessions, the lawmaker said.

Violago, a member of the House committee on health, said the plan might only create more trouble unless the youths are educated.

“Because of the generation gap between the elders and the youths, this plan might cause the young ones to be rebellious, because the more you tell them not to do this or that stuff, the more they would insist on doing it,”

she said.

The government should channel its energies and resources to address the problem of premarital sex and teenage pregnancies, Violago said. She said in her district, girls as young as 13 get pregnant.

“For example, in Barangay Caanawan in San Jose, there was this 13-year-old mother I came across and this 15-year-old in Barangay Bagong Sikat. It’s very disturbing,” she said.

“I find this very alarming, so we should find a way to address this,” the lawmaker said.

Cops kill top drug pusher in Davao DAVAO CITY—The alleged top drug pusher in Sto. Tomas town in Davao del Norte was killed on Saturday after elements of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Region 11 and Sto. Tomas Municipal Police Station tried to implement a search warrant at his house in Barangay Libertad, police said.

Arnold Florida was slain after firing a .38 caliber revolver at the police as they served the warrant, PDEA 11 Regional Director Adzhar Albani said.

Authorities recovered P1.9 million worth of shabu from Florida’s house and arrested eight other suspects: Raul Mohammad Asiaw, Shanon Jay Valparaiso, Abel Muñez, Jose Delos Reyes, Adonis Florida, Chris Florida, Omar Timbreza, and King Florida. They will be charged with violating Republic Act 9165 or the Dangerous Drug Act of 2002.

Arnold Florida was “among the most elusive drug personalities of Sto. Tomas” and could have distributed drugs in the entire Davao region since Sto. Tomas is just east of Davao City, Albani added.

Sto. Tomas Mayor Benigno Andamon had warned Florida his drug den would be searched weeks before the warrant was issued, but persisted with his illegal drug activity, the PDEA official added. F. Pearl A. Gajunera

LIGHTS ON. Gen. Raul F. Farnacio, commanding general of the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division, is surrounded by Christmas lights and lanterns as he led the Stormtroopers’ ceremonial launch of their Belen and Parol Making Contest at Camp Lukban in Catbalogan City, Samar. Mel Caspe

300 in Subic sitio gain Christmas gifts Free use SUBIC, Zambales—Around 300 residents of Sitio Sampaloc in Barangay Cawag here received early Christmas presents during a giftgiving activity led by Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

Volunteers from RP Energy and SBMA ran a short Christmas program for the local community last Friday. Kids and parents alike participated in the activities that included games,

intermission numbers and photo opportunities with a popular food chain mascot.

“This gift-giving activity is meaningful not only for the community, but for us employees.

We believe in sharing the joy of Christmas most especially to the kids,” shared Litz Santana, vice president and head for External Affairs at Meralco PowerGen Corp., the majority shareholder of RP Energy.

SBMA Public Relations department manager Armina Llamas said: “We are very happy to be part of this gift-giving activity, and we look forward to partnering with RP Energy as well as other Subic Bay Freeport Zone locators, in more community development initiatives.”

The gift-giving activity was also made possible through the help of Kinabukasan Integrated School and the local council of

Barangay Cawag. It was in line with RP Energy’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, which include programs focused on education.

Through its education programs, RP Energy aims to uplift the quality of education in its host communities through school and library rehabilitation, provision of teaching materials, and capability building for teachers. Butch Gunio

Baguio warns errant buildings on parking lots BAGUIO CITY—Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan has ordered city government offices to shutter buildings that continue to convert their parking spaces into mini-markets, saying time was up for them to do so.

Domogan ordered the City Buildings and Architecture Office to withdraw the occupancy permits granted to building owners once their designated parking spaces remain operating as commercial stalls, while the City Permits and Licensing Division was directed to cancel permits issued to establishments occupying designated parking spaces of buildings across Baguio.

“We already discussed the matter with the owners of the buildings at least three times, and we gave them sufficient time to bring back their parking allocations until such time that their lease agreements with their tenants shall have expired,” Domogan stressed.

“We believe that now that it is nearing the end of the year, the building owners shall have complied with the agreement for them to bring back their parking spaces.”

Inadequate parking spaces in the city, the mayor said, is one of Baguio’s major problems, which is why building owners should maximize their parking allocations.

This would keep clients of these building owners from parking their vehicles anywhere else, contributing to traffic around the city, especially in the central business district area, Domogan added.

Making parking available within their structures “will definitely help in lessening the number of illegally parked vehicles on roads and other public places in the city,” he added.

The CBAO had identified building owners that illegally converted their parking spots to commercial spaces and rented the same to other merchants.

Domogan expressed confidence the building owners will soon comply with the agreements “to prevent the eventual closure of their operations, disrupt the businesses within their structures, and guarantee sustained business operations for their own benefit.” Dexter A. See

SENIORS PROJECT. Muntinlupa City Mayor Jaime Fresnedi leads the inauguration and blessing

of Park Homes Pavilion in Tunasan, which will serve as a multi-purpose hall for senior citizens.

Muntinlupa shows how important its ‘seasoned’ constituents are through infrastructure projects, programs and services. The Muntinlupa Office for Senior Citizen Affairs also provides financial assistance, medicine sustenance, grocery packages, and cinema passes to resident seniors.

SAPPHIRE ANNIVERSARY.

Lawyer Rudy D. Tacorda, 73, and his wife, Consolacion Buñing Tacorda, recently celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary at Tangyaw Beach Resort in Iba, Zambales. Flanking the couple on their sapphire anniversary are the priests who celebrated Mass for the occasion, Fr. Louie Caupayan (left) and Fr. Larry Toledo.

of South tollways MOTORISTS using the tollways to and from the south of Manila may pass through the Naia Expressway, Skyway System, the South Luzon Expressway, and Star Tollway for free on the eves of Christmas and New Year.

Toll fees will not be collected from 10 p.m. of December 24 up to 6 a.m. on Christmas Day, and from 10 p.m. on December 31 up to 6 a.m. of Jan. 1, 2017.

Vertex Toll Development Inc., Skyway O&M Corp., Manila Toll Expressway Systems Inc., and Star Tollway Corp., the respective operators of the tollways, extend this toll-free privilege to the south tollway-using motorists in appreciation of their patronage and their way of wishing them a merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

To raise the standards of safety, speed and convenience on their tollways and deliver high customer satisfaction, SOMCO and MATES have embarked on improvement projects in 2016, several of which have been completed in time for Christmas.

On the Skyway System, a massive road surface rehabilitation was undertaken for both the at-grade and elevated sections. Similarly, MATES undertook and completed the road repair and asphalting of SLEX stretches like Mamplasan, San Pedro, and Alabang, among others. The thermoexpansion joints of Biñan, Sta. Rosa and Carmona bridges have also been rectified.

A comprehensive flood control work has been a top priority, especially in Skyway’s MakatiPasay area and SLEX’s Alaska area, known as flood-prone portions of the south tollway. Vertex recently opened NAIAX’s Phase 2, which links Terminals 1 and 2 to Macapagal Boulevard, and the NAIAX ramp, which connects Terminal 3 at Andrews Ave. to the Skyway System.

World IN BRIEF 22 killed in clash in Yemen ADEN―At least 22 people were killed in clashes between government forces and rebels on the outskirts of the flashpoint city of Taez in southwest Yemen, military sources said Tuesday.

The fighting late Monday north of Taez, held by loyalists but partly surrounded by Shiite Huthis and their rebel allies, left at least 14 rebels and eight soldiers dead, they said.

Residents said relative calm was restored on Tuesday.

In the north, two loyalist officers were killed in clashes around the Red Sea port town of Midi, the sources said, while a rights activist said a 13-year-old girl died when a shell fired by rebels crashed into her home in the southern province of Dhaleh.

Yemen’s 20-month-old conflict has killed more than 7,000 people and wounded nearly 37,000, the United Nations says.

The Huthis overran the capital Sanaa and other parts of the impoverished country in September 2014, prompting a Saudi-led Arab military coalition to intervene six months later in support of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi. AFP

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2016

UN plans new peace talks A

LEPPO―Thousands of traumatized Syrians left the rebel enclave of Aleppo Monday as the UN voted to deploy observers there and said it planned new peace talks in Geneva in February.

Walk of shame for stealing a bicycle JAKARTA―Two Australian tourists accused of stealing a bicycle have been forced to take a “walk of shame” through an Indonesian island with signs round their necks, an official said Tuesday.

“I am thieve [sic]. Don’t do what I did,” the signs read.

The tourists, whose identities were not revealed, allegedly stole the bicycle about 10 days ago on Gili Trawangan, a popular tourist destination in central Indonesia.

CCTV recordings showed the two Australians taking a bike from the hotel, said village chief Muhamad Taufik.

The hotel manager reported the case to the authorities who caught the pair the following day, Taufik added.

“We interrogated them, made an agreement, paraded them around the island and forced them to leave Gili,” Taufik told AFP. The two were the first foreigners this year to undergo a “walk of shame” on the island. A few Indonesians have been forced to take part this year in similar parades for theft.

National laws are in force on the island but it is unclear whether the Australians underwent a formal police investigation.

“The walk of shame parade is a regulation in our village. I don’t know whether the police are charging them now, what matters to me is that they’re now gone,” Taufik said.

Such parades have taken place for years on Gili Trawangan, a tiny island off the coast of Lombok and just east of the major resort island of Bali. AFP

Mission closed after shooting incident ANKARA―The United States on Tuesday closed its missions to Turkey for the day after a shooting incident overnight outside the American embassy in Ankara that followed the assassination of the Russian ambassador in the Turkish capital.

“An individual approached the US Embassy Ankara main gate and discharged a firearm,” the embassy said in a statement, adding no-one was hurt and the individual was detained.

A ‎ s a result, the embassy and consulates in Istanbul and Adana were closed for normal operations, it added.

The incident took place at 3:50 am (0050 GMT) Tuesday, hours after a Turkish policeman shot dead Russian ambassador Andrei Karlov as he was opening a photography exhibition.

The US embassy is located in Ankara directly on the other side of the street from the arts center where the shooting took place in the Turkish capital.

The United States has repeatedly warned its citizens of security risks in Turkey after a string of attacks blamed on Kurdish militants and jihadists this year.

“The US Mission reminds US citizens to review personal security plans” and to “maintain a high level of vigilance and take appropriate steps to enhance your personal security,” it said. AFP

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CHRISTMAS EVENT. A South Korean diver wearing a Santa Claus outfit swims with fish in a tank during a Christmas event at the Lotte World Aquarium in Seoul on December 20, 2016. Christmas is one of the biggest holidays celebrated in South Korea with Christians forming over half the population. AFP

Court backs bid to relocate Okinawa base TOKYO―Japan’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in favor of the central government in its bid to relocate a US airbase on Okinawa, dealing a significant blow to opponents of the plan led by the island’s governor.

The Japanese and US governments want the base in the middle of a crowded city moved to a sparsely populated area for safety reasons. But many locals tired of the preponderance of American bases on Okinawa want it relocated off the island altogether.

Okinawa is strategically situated in the East China Sea from where US troops and aircraft can react to potential conflicts throughout Asia. It has been a bastion of American military power since the end of World War II. Okinawa governor Takeshi Onaga had tried to block efforts to reclaim

land for the new offshore facility and he and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe filed rival lawsuits in a bid to settle the issue.

In September a high court ruled that the central government’s position should be respected because it has “fundamental responsibility” for Japan’s defense and diplomacy.

The Okinawan government appealed that ruling but it was dismissed by the Supreme Court Tuesday.

Tokyo and Washington first proposed moving the Futenma air base, a Marine Corps facility, back in 1996 but insisted it remain on Okinawa.

Opponents demand that a replacement be built elsewhere in Japan or overseas, saying they cannot tolerate noise, accidents and crimes committed

by US service members.

The Supreme Court decision came a

day after the Marines resumed flights of a controversial hybrid aircraft after one crash-landed just off Okinawa’s coast last week.

No one was killed when the MV22 Osprey went down but the accident sparked fresh local anger. In response, the Marines suspended flights of the tiltrotor aircraft in Japan pending an investigation but resumed them on Monday.

More than half the 47,000 American troops in Japan under a decades-long security alliance are stationed on Okinawa, the site of a major World War II battle that was followed by a 27-year US occupation.

A series of crimes including rapes, assaults and hit-and-run accidents by military personnel, their dependents and civilians have long sparked protests. AFP

“It is the intention of the United Nations to convene those negotiations in Geneva on 8 February 2017,” UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said after the Security Council unanimously adopted a French-drafted resolution to monitor evacuations from Aleppo, with Russia’s backing.

But in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin said after Russian ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov was shot dead by a policeman in Ankara that the killing could “disrupt” the peace process in Syria and harm Turkish-Russian ties.

Damascus denounced the “despicable” murder of Karlov, who a witness said was shot dead by a gunman who shouted “Aleppo” and “revenge”.

James Nixey, head of the Russia and Eurasia program at think tank Chatham House, said the diplomat’s murder could affect Aleppo evacuations.

Families in Aleppo had spent hours waiting in below-freezing temperatures, sheltering from the rain in bombed-out apartment blocks and waiting desperately for news of a new wave of departures.

After an agonizing delay, the operation resumed under a complex agreement that will see regime forces exert full control over Syria’s second city.

Buses transported more than 7,000 people out of the city, said Ingy Sedky, spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross.

She said the evacuations were expected to continue overnight.

“There are still thousands -- it’s a huge crowd, women, children,” she said.

The evacuees included seven-year-old Bana alAbed, whose Twitter account had offered a tragic account of Syria’s nearly six-year war, as well as 47 children who had been trapped in an orphanage.

Ahmad al-Dbis, who heads a team of doctors and volunteers coordinating evacuations, saw dozens of buses and ambulances arrive at the staging ground west of Aleppo.

He said the evacuees were in “a very bad state after waiting for more than 16 hours” at a regime checkpoint without being allowed off the vehicles.

The government had suspended evacuations on Friday, insisting that people also be allowed to leave two northwestern villages under rebel siege.

The ICRC and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said around 500 people left in a dawn convoy out of Fuaa and Kafraya.

The Britain-based Observatory said at least 14,000 people, including 4,000 rebels, have left the opposition sector since the evacuations began on Thursday while at least 7,000 remain.

A rebel representative said hundreds of people would also be evacuated from Zabadani and Madaya, two army-besieged rebel towns near the border with Lebanon, as part of the deal.

Dbis said the Aleppo evacuees’ departure was delayed for hours in sub-zero temperatures, compounding their plight from months of siege and army bombardment.

“They hadn’t eaten, they had nothing to drink, the children had caught colds, they were not even able to go to the toilet,” he said. AFP

Prosecutors say fake painting is genuine SEOUL―A painting attributed to one of South Korea’s most renowned artists has been declared genuine by state prosecutors, despite the insistence of the late artist herself that it was a fake.

The painting “Beautiful Woman” by Chun Kyung-Ja has been the focus of a bizarre, decadeslong dispute over its authenticity, and Monday’s announcement by the prosecutors looks unlikely to end the matter, with Chun’s family vowing to pursue efforts to have it declared a forgery.

Born in 1924 in a small town in the southern part of the Korean peninsula, Chun Kyung-Ja was best known for her paintings of female figures and flowers using vivid primary colors that broke with traditional South Korean styles.

Her works have recently sold at auction for between $700,000 and $1 million.

Before her death last year at the age of 91, Chun had repeatedly insisted that “Beautiful Woman” -- a 1971 portrait owned by the South’s National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art -- was not one of hers.

“Parents can recognize their children. That is not my painting,” she insisted.

The museum was equally adamant that it was, and in April a prosecutorial probe was launched after one of Chun’s daughters filed a complaint, accusing for-

mer and current MMCA officials of hurting the artist’s reputation by promoting the painting as authentic.

But in their report on Monday, the prosecutors found in favor of the museum, citing forensic evidence and the opinion of local art experts.

They also clarified the provenance of the painting, saying it was once owned by the former head of the South Korean spy agency and was appropriated by the government after he was executed for assassinating thenpresident Park Chung-Hee in 1979.

“We tried to uncover the truth by using all possible technologies available for authentic assessment of arts,” a member of the prosecutors’ team said.

Chun’s family on Tuesday rejected the conclusion and accused the prosecutors of seeking to help the state museum authorities save face.

“The prosecutors conspired with the MMCA to ignore the scientific opinion of a world-class imagery assessment firm and... produced this ridiculous result,” the family’s lawyer said in a statement.

The statement referred to the French imagery analysis firm Lumiere Technology that had earlier estimated the possibility of the painting being authentic at less than 0.0002 percent. AFP

ENDANGERED. This picture taken on November 8, 2016, shows Andatu, a Sumatran rhino, one of the rarest large mammals on earth, at the Rhino Sanctuary at Way Kambas National Park in eastern Sumatra. There are no more than 100 left on the entire planet and Andatu, a four-year old male, is one of the last remaining hopes for the future of the species. He is part of a special breeding program at the Way Kambas National Park in eastern Sumatra that is trying to save this critically endangered species from disappearing forever. AFP

Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2016

World

Turkey detains six over Russian envoy’s murder A NKARA― Turkish authorities were on Tuesday holding six people over the assassination of the Russian ambassador to Ankara by an offduty policeman, as Russia urgently sought answers over the murder.

With the Turkish capital already on high alert after a string of attacks this year, an individual also fired outside the US embassy in Ankara overnight in a separate incident.

President Vladimir Putin declared “we have to know who directed the hand of the killer” and the Kremlin said a Russian investigative team were flying to Turkey to probe the murder.

An unprecedented three-way meeting between the foreign ministers of Turkey, Russia and Iran in Moscow over the Syria crisis was meanwhile set to go ahead despite the killing.

Ambassador Andrei Karlov was shot four times in the back

by Turkish policeman Mevlut Mert Altintas, 22, as he opened an exhibition of Russian photography in Ankara.

Dramatic images showed Karlov stumble and then crash to the ground on his back as the attacker brandished his gun at terrified onlookers who cowered behind cocktail tables.

The gunman shouted “Allahu Akbar” (“God is greatest”) and then said all those responsible for what has happened in Syria and Aleppo would be held accountable.

Altintas had set off the metal detector security check when he entered the exhibition in central Ankara as he was carrying a gun, the pro-government Sabah daily said.

But after showing his police ID, he was waved through and allowed to proceed.

The Hurriyet daily added that Altintas, who had worked for Ankara’s anti-riot police for the last two and a half years, had stayed at a nearby hotel to prepare for the attack.

It said Altintas, who was off duty at the time, had put on a suit and tie and shaved at the hotel before heading to the exhibition centre.

He was later killed by police after a shootout that lasted over 15 minutes.

Altintas was born in the town of Soke in Aydin province in western Turkey and attended a special school for training future policemen. AFP

Smog chokes Chinese cities for fifth day BEIJING―Heavy smog suffocated northeast China for a fifth day Tuesday, with hundreds of flights canceled and road and rail transport grinding to a halt under the low visibility conditions.

More than 20 cities have entered a state of red alert since Friday evening, implementing emergency measures aimed at cutting emissions and protecting public health from the toxic miasma.

Across the region, construction sites closed and authorities reduced the number of vehicles allowed on the roads in hopes of reducing the thick haze.

In Shijiazhuang, the capital of northern Hebei province, planes could not take off or land, according to a post on a verified social media account of the city’s international airport.

Levels of PM 2.5 -- microscopic particles harmful to human health -- climbed to 844 in the area, according to the web site aqicn.org.

The number is almost 34 times the World Health Organization’s recommended maximum exposure level of 25 over a 24-hour period.

On the previous day, the count of PM 10, larger particles that contribute to the thick haze, was off the charts, exceeding the maximum reading of 999.

On the streets of Beijing, buildings disappeared into a yellowish haze so thick that the city closed several major highways over safety concerns.

PM 2.5 levels hovered around 400 mid-day, according to data provided by the US embassy in the city.

As of 11:00 am Beijing Capital International airport had canceled 217 flights, it said in a post on its verified social media account.

Trains, too, were running slowly, with at least 11 delays in the capital and another 34 halted in the neighboring port city of Tianjin.

A red alert, issued when severe smog is expected to last more than 72 hours, is the highest of Beijing’s four-tiered, color-coded warning system.

In December last year the capital issued its first ever red alert since the adoption of an emergency response program for air pollution in 2013, despite frequent bouts of serious smog.

Most of China’s smog is blamed on the burning of coal for electricity and heating, which spikes when demand peaks in winter. AFP

Governor fights charges of blasphemy

CEREMONY. Indian Bollywood actress Sonal Chauhan attends the 14th Stardust Awards 2016 ceremony in Mumbai. AFP

JAKARTA―Jakarta’s Christian governor returned to court Tuesday to fight allegations of insulting the Koran that could see him jailed under tough blasphemy laws in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country.

The high-profile case against Basuki Tjahaja Purnama -- the first Christian to govern the capital in more than 50 years -- has captivated attention in Indonesia, and fanned concerns about hardliners pushing their agenda in the nation of 255 million.

Purnama, better known by his nickname Ahok, ignited a firestorm of criticism when he quoted a verse from the Islamic holy text in September.

The governor apologized but his remarks angered Muslims -- both moderate and conservative -- who marched against him in the largest rallies seen in Indonesia in years.

In a teary, nationally televised defense last week, Purnama denied ever intending to offend his Muslim countrymen and asked the judges to dismiss the case.

Purnama’s lawyers deny the charges, claiming proceedings are being rushed and the judges subject to public pressure.

But prosecutors Tuesday argued the charges were in line with the law. They claim the governor insulted Muslims by claiming his political opponents were using the Koran to sway voters against him.

“Based on our analysis and judicial description, the entire objection filed by the accused and his lawyers is not based (on) the law and have to be rejected,” prosecutor Ali Mukartono said.

Outside the courthouse, hundreds of hard-line Islamists chanted “God is Great” and waved banners demanding Purnama be jailed.

“We want the judges to decide to arrest Ahok because he is already a suspect and the police and attorney general are not bold enough to arrest him,” Thirman Elon, an anti-Purnama protester said. AFP

Cop used his ID to enter show ANKARA―The Turkish policeman who assassinated Russian ambassador to Ankara Andrei Karlov at an Ankara exhibition center used his police ID to enter the show while armed, reports said on Tuesday.

Mevlut Mert Altintas, 22, set off the metal detector security check when he entered the exhibition in central Ankara as he was carrying a gun, the pro-government Sabah daily said.

But after showing his police ID, he was waved through and allowed to proceed.

The Hurriyet daily added that Altintas, who had worked for Ankara’s anti-riot police for the last two and a half years, had stayed at a nearby hotel to prepare for the attack.

It said Altintas, who was off duty at the time, had put on a suit and tie and shaved at the hotel before heading to the exhibition center.

He was later killed by police after a shootout that lasted over 15 minutes.

Altintas was born in the town of Soke in Aydin province in western Turkey and attended a special school for training future

policemen.

The mayor of Ankara, Melih Gokcek, known for his outspoken comments, speculated on his official Twitter account that the attacker may be linked to the group of Fethullah Gulen blamed for the July 15 coup aimed at toppling President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

His suggestion has yet to be echoed by other officials but was repeated in the progovernment press, which claimed what Ankara terms the Fethullah Terror Organization or FETO was behind the attack.

“An attack on friendship by treacherous FETO,” said Sabah. “A bullet from FETO,” added the Star daily.

The mainstream Hurriyet said that authorities were investigating the assassin’s possible links to the Gulen movement.

They were particularly focusing on friends Altintas may have had at the police academy, it added.

Gulen denies having any link to the failed coup bid and supporters also issued a statement rejecting any connection to the attack on the Russian ambassador. AFP

AFTER THE CARNAGE. A truck is made ready to be towed away on December 20, 2016 at the scene where the truck crashed into a Christmas market near the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedaechtniskirche (Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church) in Berlin.

German police said they were treating as “a probable terrorist attack” the killing of 12 people when the speeding lorry cut a bloody swath through the packed Berlin Christmas market. AFP

RENE MOURIS

Affordable luxury launched

Life FASHION & BEAUTY

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2016

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NLY recently, Fashion left New York and Paris and said “Hello” to Manila, when Rene Mouris—an affordable luxury brand from Paris had its Philippine grand launch at City of Dreams Manila Grand Ballroom.

The event showcased all its premiere collection of timepieces that captivated the Philippine market. Celebrities Sunshine Dizon, Sunshine Cruz, Ara Mina, Gina Alajar, Gloc 9, Geoff Eigenmann, Rochelle Pangilinan, Arthur Solinap, Jessa Zaragoza and Dingdong Avanzado graced the event, which featured on the runway collections from the Philippines’s world renowned designers.

It was truly an evening filled with revelations as Rene Mouris unveiled not just its collection but also a Filipino International endorser, Job Abogado as the face of Rene Mouris, who was featured in a TV commercial which had its world premiere during the same event.

An exciting collaboration with a German luxury vehicle—BMW had its share of the limelight as well.

Aside from runway shows, guests were treated to performances from invited celebrities. Amazing prizes were given away during the event.

Zuri Trading, Philippine exclusive franchisee for Rene Mouris, stated, “Our vision is to be the leader in the industry by providing the best innovative products and be at the forefront of modern contemporary lifestyle.

“Our mission is to serve and provide extraordinary craftsmanship, cutting edge design and prompt after sales service at reasonably priced products.”

23-year-old image model Job Abogado is the Filipino international endorser of French affordable luxury timepiece label Rene Mouris

Dingdong Avanzado (right) and wife Jessa Zaragoza with daughter Jayda

A fashion show featured Rene Mouris’s premiere collection of timepieces that captivated the world—and now the Philippines

Gina Alajar

Sunshine Cruz

Rene Mouris General Manager Miguel Perreira, Managing Director Javaid Mehmood and Zuri Trading CEO Frank Ong at the launch of the timepiece brand in the Philippines

Models, led by Job Abogado, showcased the luxury watches of Rene Mouris that are suitable for any occasion

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2016 isahred@gmail.com

Life

Levi’s Tailor Shops personalize iconic brand’s jeans, jackets

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HE timeless Levi’s brand took living in Levi’s up a notch by giving shoppers the option to customize their Levi’s jeans or Trucker jackets.

The original Levi’s stores in SM Mall of Asia, SM Megamall, Robinsons Ermita and TriNoma feature Levi’s Tailor Shops, where customers had their Levi’s jeans and Trucker Jackets customized for a perfect fit and a brand-new feel.

Loyal fans of Levi’s authentic pieces had their newly-purchased jeans or Trucker Jackets personalized by adding cool patches, distressing, or minor altering for a better fit. Meanwhile, others bought their ole favorite Levi’s Jeans or Trucker Jacket, and gave their well-loved pair a spiffy new life through customization.

Even local celebrities had their Levi’s pieces personalized. Actress-singer Glaiza de Castro customized her Levi’s jeans at the Levi’s Tailor Shop SM Megamall. Actor Alex Medina had his Levi’s altered to suit his personality at Levi’s Robinson’s Ermita.

At the Levi’s Tailor Shop TriNoma, celebs who amped up their Levi’s experience include Hale guitarist and vocalist Champ Lui Pio, footballer, actor and chef Steven Silva, and actress Kate Alejandrino. Spongecola’s Yael Yuzon also checked out the tailor shop at Levi’s Mall of Asia.

Singer-model Yheen Valero even worked on Levi’s pieces personally, as he was the celebrity tailor at Levi’s TriNoma.

Kaths Laudit, Levi’s marketing head, said opening the shops was the brand’s way of making the Levi’s experience more unique to various individuals. “Having your Levi’s pieces customized to your preference shows how you want to make ‘living in Levi’s’ more you,” she added.

At Levi’s Tailor Shops in SM stores, every P3,000 worth of purchase—inclu-

Glaiza de Castro customizes her favorite Levi’s pair to suit her cool and chic personality

Denim jeans brand Levi’s opened Levi’s Tailor Shops at selected stores on Nov. 19 to 20

sive of any men’s jeans, women’s jeans or Trucker Jacket—entitled customers to avail of free customization of two Levi’s pieces: jeans and/or Trucker Jacket.

Meanwhile, for Levi’s Tailor Shops in non-SM stores: customers had one free customization for every P3,000 single receipt purchase of Levi’s items, inclusive of men’s jeans, women’s jeans and Trucker Jacket.

Besides offering the services of Levi’s Tailor Shops, Levi’s also had another holiday gift to its customers: a preholiday sale in all original Levi’s stores.

In all SM Original Levi’s stores and

in SM stores nationwide, customers enjoyed a 30 percent off on all regular priced women’s and men’s jeans on opening day last month.

Meanwhile, on the same dates, Levi’s fans also flocked to a pre-holiday sale of up to 50 percent off on selected Levi’s items at Alabang Town Center, Festival Mall, Market! Market!, UP Town Center, Gateway Mall, Greenhills, Rockwell, Marquee Mall, Solenad Nuvali, Ayala Legazpi, Vista Mall Taguig, Greenbelt 5—and at Robinsons Galleria Cebu, Santiago, Ermita, Pangasinan, General Trias, Magnolia, Malolos, Antipolo, Ilocos and Tagum.

Yael Yuzon adds a personal touch to his jeans at the Levi’s Tailor Shop in SM Mall of Asia

Fun and action at The Cosplay Mania 2016

Parisian holiday with Nadine Lustre

Nadine Lustre for Parisian’s fun and feminine holiday collection

SM’s iconic brand, Parisian recently unveiled its holiday collection at the Hottest Fair event at the SMX Convention center with brand ambassador Nadine Lustre leading the way with stunning shoes and bags that redefine holiday cheer and chic.

This is the time of year, after all, when a girl’s schedule is packed—requiring her to dress to impress in office parties, get-together with family, and meeting up with old friends, wherein she’ll need quite a few show stopping outfits with equally stunning pairs of shoes.

Parisian has a pair for every event in your holiday social calendar. There are strappy and laced-up heels for those lunch dates or even party nights; pumps and pointed flats with pompom accents for lunch dates; boots and loafers with a lot of attitude for weekend getaways.

Whether you’re on your way to the boardroom or to a weekend brunch, Parisian Bags also t a k e s style level a notch higher with fringe accents on flap bags, floral patches on handbags and stud details on backpacks. Parisian’s elegant clutches are a l s o perfect for fancy night outs.

Parisian’s Holiday collection is available at all SM Stores and Simply Shoes branches nationwide.

COSPLAY Mania 2016 was a fantasy world of geek and Otaku culture where cosplayers, hobbyists, artists and performers converged to share their mutual love for Japanese manga and anime. And Daiso Japan made sure to be part of the action this October just like what they did last February, teaming up with Cosplay.ph, the leading Cosplay website and online community in the country.

As one of the major sponsors of the successful convention, Cosplay.ph distributed thousands of Daiso Japan paper bags at the event that were quickly filled with loots and freebies that were given away. Daiso Japan also set up a booth at the venue, its unique and certified kawaii items are a big hit among collectors and fans of authentic Japanese merchandise.

“Being partners with Cosplay.ph for the second time strengthened Daiso Japan’s appreciation and support of this artistic and kawaii Cosplaying events that are a major part of Japanese youth culture,” Bernice Jayne Chioa-Bunoan, Daiso Japan’s marketing manager, said. “It is through these events that Daiso Japan finds its direct link to its Japanese kawaii roots.”

Beyond magical costumes, a full lineup of games, awesome music and fantastic cosplay performances made for an exciting and unforgettable gathering of like-minded aficionados where they could be themselves, swap stories with other guests and have fun.

And what fun the guests had joining the Con Quest Card promo which Daiso Japan was a part of. Guests only had to have a selfie under the Cherry Blosoom tree and upload this on their Facebook to tag Daiso Japan.

They then had their Con Quest Card stamped by a Daiso Japan representative. Upon completion of all stamps, guests had the chance to bring home loot bags stuffed with freebies from the event.

With its vast selection of functional, quirky and super adorable products priced from P88, Daiso Japan has established itself as the leading source of affordable Japanese merchandise in the country. Daiso Japan has 55 stores nationwide through Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc., which holds the exclusive sub-license to sell authentic Daiso merchandise from Japan and operates the legitimate Daiso Japan store concept in the Philippines.

Cosplayers had their photos taken under the Daiso Cherry Blossom tree

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2016

‘KUTITAP’ at ALIW

The country's premier classical dance company Ballet Manila performing 'Kutitap,' a moving story of an angel sent down to earth as a cripple

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ALLET Manila has put together the allFilipino Christmas ballet Kutitap as a regular feature at the Aliw Theatre for the entire holiday season.

recreating scenes that spell Christmas to the Filipino people—from the traditional simbang gabi and noche buena, to the more recent experience of waiting for loved ones to come home to celebrate the holidays with family and friends after years of working overseas.

The storyline follows an angel sent down to earth as a cripple, who gets enmeshed in a love triangle between a pedicab driver, a ballerina, and rich boy The 50-minute program features .

Along the way, he finds himself the entire company of Ballet Manila

amid circus performers who symbolize the frenzied urban jungle.

Upon witnessing a change among the rude, rich characters, he transforms back to an angel and heralds the Christmas season.

Kutitap is a joint choreographic work by Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, Osias Barroso, Rudy De Dios, Gerardo Francisco, Nino Guevarra, Michael Divinagracia, Ricardo Mallari, Romeo Peralta, and Roduardo Ma, danced to the tune of unforgettable Christmas carols masterfully arranged

by Arnold Buena.

Acrobats, clowns, aerial acts, contortionists, and other circus performers have also been added in a creative weaving of various entertainment forms.

“We are happy to present our Pinoy audiences with this heartwarming show that we know will strike a chord with them especially at Christmas, which symbolizes family togetherness, love and sharing,” says Macuja-Elizalde. “Ballet Manila

will not only bring them cheer, but also offer them thoughtful messages for reflection and valuable lessons for the young generation.”

Kutitap will regale audiences throughout the Christmas season on Dec. 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30, at 7 p.m., with 4 p.m. matinees and an additional evening show at 10 p.m. on Dec. 25 and Jan. 1. 2017.

Admission is free for all Star City guests on a first-come, first-served basis.

For information, call 832-3713.

A partnership that highlights global Pinoy talents SOMETIME in August 2010, popular comedian and TV host Ellen DeGeneres posted something on Twitter that intrigued some of her 60 million followers on the online news and social networking service provider.

She tweeted, “I’ve learned two things about TV. It’s always good with vodka and some of the best singers are from the Philippines.”

DeGeneres posted this tweet after hearing Charice Pempengco sing. Since then, the TV host has invited amateur and virtually unknown Filipino singers to sing in her show. Most of these talents were found online, often via YouTube.

The same tweet was also the highlight of Gary V’s message when he was asked to say something about global Pinoy talents last week.

The seasoned singer, along with Christian Bautista, Dingdong Avanzado, and Noel Cabangun, represented Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit (OPM), as its Vice President, during a press launch held on Dec. 15 at Blackbird Makati.

The event witnessed the announcement for the official preview of the unveiling of The Fountain at Okada Manila, the newest integrated resort to open in Entertainment City in Parañaque. Also during the intimate lunch with the press, executives from Okada Manila formalized their support for local arts and entertainment.

The integrated resort partners with OPM organization to serve as the official venue for the best that Philippine music artists has to offer. The main performance venue will be The Fountain, the second biggest of its kind in the world that is

equivalent to 50-Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Other concerts and performance will be held within the property making OPM entertainment available to Okada guests 365 days a year.

According to Steve Wolstenholme, president of Tiger Resort, Leisure & Entertainment Inc., the company behind the 44-hectare property, Okada Manila will have a preview event tonight, which he touted as “spectacular affair” that will serve as their gift to the Philippines.

“The Fountain will be the iconic symbol of the

9,000 sqm, features two expansive stages with a maximum capacity of 4500 guests.

“It’s all about Filipino entertainment, we have a great team that’s doing something special for Okada Manila. It’s all about bringing Filipino entertainers to the people of the world. It’s a game changer for Manila. The Philippines is a wonderful country and our chairman Mr. Okada has identified this many years ago, he’s been doing business here since 2008,” the executive shared adding that it is Okada Manila’s advocacy to promote world-class entertainment led by the best Filipino artists.

Complementing Wolstenholme’s words, Gary V was also delighted to represent Filipino artists in the momentous event. He was raving about not just popular music talents but also those who provide entertainment overseas.

“Even beyond OPM, there are artists who are waiting for opportunities like this. If you go to some parts of the world, if you go to cruise liners and other entertainment venues, you’ll see a lot of Filipino artists providing music that people from all over the world enjoy,” Mr. Pure Energy stated.

He takes pride in the idea that Okada Manila considers Filipino talents as at par with what they see as best in the world. And as a glimpse of this collaboration, Gary V shared that Okada Manila’s December Preview Opening Event will feature an outdoor concert from some of the country’s biggest headliners.

“This (partnership) means a lot to us. With this, Okada Manila President Steve Wolstenholme (second from left, front row) joined by (from left) folk singer Noel we are definite that our local artists will no longer Cabangun, WET (the company behind design and construction of The Fountain) executive Jim Doyle, Dingdong have to seek for other opportunities elsewhere. We Avanzado, (from left, back row) Creative Director Giulio Scatola, Gary V and Christian Baustista can keep them here,” he concluded.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Wednesday, December 21, 2016

ACROSS 1 Brass component 5 “10-4” speaker 9 Jeans iron-on 14 Sheik colleague 15 Flight prefix 16 “Tiny Alice” penner 17 Belmont Stakes 18 Clue 19 Reads hastily 20 Make — scarce 22 They offer arms 24 Count on 26 Long sigh 27 Compares 30 Transfers data 35 In reserve 36 Sloth’s hangout 37 Enticement 38 Demented 39 Vistas 42 Financial average 43 Invited 45 Chairperson 46 Martini extra 48 “Braveheart” setting 50 Chased the puck 51 MacGraw of films 52 Cast a vote 54 Mottos

58 Large leaf (2 wds.)

62 Sultan’s menage 63 Ellipse 65 Hoedown prop 66 “Tosca,” e.g.

67 Solar plexus 68 Eurasian mountains 69 Slalom runs 70 New singles 71 Actor — Hackman DOWN 1 Goose egg 2 Somali-born model 3 Congenial 4 Like a blue jay 5 Pumice stone target 6 Complaints 7 Historical period 8 Mounted up 9 Philosopher Blaise — 10 Germ killer 11 Aspen transport (hyph.)

12 Per — 13 Dame Myra of the piano 21 Sea eagles 23 Lower-risk 25 Kind of warning

27 Ewe kids 28 Physicist — Newton 29 Buster 31 Look after the hens 32 Examine the books 33 Flock 34 Basted, perhaps 36 Archie or Jughead 40 — -link fence 41 Rustic 44 Knickknack

stand 47 Pretty beetle 49 Pack animals 50 Pasture entrances 53 — tectonics 54 Brake pad 55 Drinks like Rover 56 Natural resources 57 Feeling miffed 59 Remove the rind 60 Arkin or Alda 61 Edit out 64 Annoy

Philippines, of Manila. The latest and the greatest integrated resort will be launched on Dec. 21. This will make a difference to every single person living here in the Philippines,” Wolstenholme told the press.

The executive emphasized that their partnership with OPM will be an integral part of the entertainment aspect of the resort, which also has entertainment venue enclosed in a glass dome that houses the largest UV-protected indoor beach club in Southeast Asia. The beach club, which measures

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2016

"Juan for all, All for Juan" segment hosts Jose Manalo and Wally Bayola continue to bring cheers and help less fortunate Filipinos

IN ‘EAT BULAGA’

It’s Christmas everyday in Juan for all, All for Juan R

EMEDIOS Chaves of Lubao, Pampanga prayed hard that she would be chosen as a “Sugod-Bahay” winner when Eat Bulaga came to her barangay in July for the segment “Juan for All, All for Juan.” The reason: she wanted to see her son Lito, a tattoo artist based in East Timor, whom she had not seen for 16 years. They would only communicate occasionally via email, and only through his cousins. Clearly, Remedios was longing for her son since her husband passed away.

“Lagi ko noon sinabi na, ‘Diyos ko, paano na kaya ang anak ko.’ Akala ko kung ano na nangyari,” she said.

Remedios saw “Juan for All, All for Juan” as her only means to finally be reunited with her son.

And Lito, whom Eat Bulaga was unable to contact at first, found out his mother became a “Sugod Bahay” winner, thanks to a fellow Filipino in East Timor, who saw the episode on the Internet.

“Noong una, tumawag si Bossing Vic Sotto.

Hindi ako makontak. Nalaman ko na lang na nanalo nanay ko n’ung sinabi ng kaibigan ko na may ‘Sugod Bahay’ daw, nakita n’ya sa Youtube.

Pinakita sa akin. Sabi ko, nanay ko nga yan.

Nakita ko rin na maraming nagsasabi sa Facebook na, ‘Umuwi ka na, hinahanap ka ng nanay mo.’

Naiyak ako. Nagulat talaga ako,” Lito said.

Eat Bulaga did not disappoint Remedios. Not only was she able to talk to Lito via a video call days after her “Sugod-Bahay” win, the noontime show even sent her to East Timor, where she stayed for 15 days.

“Noong nakita n’ya ako, syempre, katakot-takot na iyakan ang nangyari kasi 16 years kaming hindi nagkita,” Remedios said.

Their lives have changed since then, thanks to Eat Bulaga. Remedios now has a small sarisari store in Pampanga as a means of livelihood.

Meanwhile, Lito returned to the Philippines two weeks after his mother’s visit in East Timor. He has decided to stay here for good.

“Babalik ako ng East Timor after one year para kunin yung mga anak ko. Pagkatapos, dito na kami sa Pilipinas titira. Lagi kasing naglalambing nanay ko. Matanda na raw siya, gusto n’yang makasama na kaming pamilya n’ya,” Lito said.

“Malaking bagay. Malaking tulong ang Eat Bulaga. Binuo niya ang pamilya namin,” Remedios said. “Parang Pasko araw-araw.”

This is a sentiment common among winners of “Juan for All, All for Juan.” Not only has the show given entertainment and joy to various communities in the Philippines. It has also made many viewers, especially contestants from

"Juan for all, All for Juan" also features Sugod Bahay segment where Dabarkads get know the interesting stories of the lucky 'Eat Bulaga' viewer chosen as their beneficiary for the day

Dabarkads Maine Mendoza and Paolo Ballesteros with Nanay Remedios Chaves

depressed areas in the country, feel that Christmas can come everyday, right on their doorsteps.

“Juan for All, All for Juan began as an Eat Bulaga segment in February 2009, with hosts Ruby Rodriguez and Wally Bayola going to different barangays every day. It started out as a simple “Bring Me” game, where the hosts at Broadway Centrum tell the viewer-contestants what items to give Ruby and Wally in order to win prizes.

The segment eventually evolved. Now, “Juan for All, All for Juan” is the heart of Eat Bulaga, thanks mostly to “Sugod-Bahay” portion, where the Eat Bulaga mainstays get to personally interact with

the segment winners in their homes without fail, rain or shine. Current segment hosts Wally, Jose Manalo, Paolo Ballesteros, and Maine Mendoza agree that “Juan for All, All for Juan” is special for everyone involved.

“Everyday, nakikita namin yung iba’t ibang istorya ng tao,” Wally said.

“Masarap yung pakiramdam na kasama ka dito. Maraming hosts ang Eat Bulaga, at maswerte kami na magkaroon ng sariling portion na kailangang alagaan mo,” said Jose. “Arawaraw may pressure. So yung feeling dapat mahalin mo yung segment, kung paano mo palalaguin sa

tulong ng mga nasa Broadway.”

Jose, who grew up in Tondo, Manila, said he enjoys spending time with the people outside Eat Bulaga. “Masarap yung pakiramdam sa part ko, kasi sabi nga nila ang artista dapat lumilingon sa kanyang pinanggalingan. Ito yun, e. Hindi ako nawawala sa mundo ko noong araw. Sa tulong ng “Juan for All,” hindi ako naaalis sa lugar ko.

Nabigyan lang ako ng trabaho pero andoon pa rin ako sa lugar ko” “Mahilig akong makipagchikahan sa mga matatanda,” said Paolo, who initially joined “Juan for All, All for Juan” as temporary substitute for Wally, who was down with sore eyes. He clicked with the segment and has become a mainstay ever since. “Nakakatuwa rin na kapag nasa barangay kami tapos may lalapit sa amin na naging winner na before, tapos chichikahin namin kung ano ginawa nila sa premyo nila.”

Maine, the latest addition to the Eat Bulaga family, joined the show via “Juan for All, All for Juan.” “Dito ako nagsimula. Iba yung pagwelcome sa akin dito. Family ang trato sa akin dito kahit (noong) una pa lang. Noon hanggang ngayon, sobrang saya, hindi nagbabago yung pakiramdam,” she said. “Masarap to get along with different kinds of people and to hear with different stories.”

The TV host-actress said she personally chose to do “Juan for All, All for Juan” instead of doing hosting duties in the Eat Bulaga studio.

“Niloloko nila ako na lilipat na ako sa Broadway.

Pero sabi ko, parang hindi ko kayang iwan yung barangay kasi ditto ako nagsimula. Dito rin ako magtatapos. Ayokong iwan kung saan ako nagsimula. Sobrang napamahal na ito sa akin.”

Jose believes Juan for “All, All for Juan” is a blessing to the segment winners and the Eat Bulaga viewers at home.

“Yung viewers, mas nagiging matatatag sila sa tulong ng ‘Juan for All, All for Juan.’ Doon nila pwedeng makita na may mga taong mas nangangailan ng tulong kaysa sa kanila, na dapat di sila magalit o magtampo sa mundo,” he said. “Yung mga pinupuntahan naman namin, nabibigyan naming sila ng bagong pagasa na hindi huminto yung mundo nila sa tulong ng ‘Juan for All, All for Juan.’ At the same time, yung mga payo nina Tito, Vic, and Joey, nagagamit nila yun.”

The hosts of “Juan for All, All for Juan” and their fellow Dabarkads feel they also get something in return from being one with Filipinos at the barangay.

“Give and take siya, e. We learn mula sa mga kwento nila, and kami naman nakakapaghatid ng papremyo,” Wally said.

Maine said, “Marami kaming nalalaman dito sa barangay. Mas marami akong natututunan tungkol sa buhay dito. Dito ko nare-realize na ang swerte ko pala talaga. At the same time, sobrang saya kasi nakakatulong ka rin sa tao.”

Jose said, “Araw-araw Pasko para lahat sa lahat dito. Hindi lang araw-araw Pasko – namimigay din tayo ng saya at pagasa sa bawat pamilya at tahanan na napupuntahan namin.

Hindi lang kami pumapasok para sa show.

Pumapasok din kami sa buhay ng tao.”