Manila Standard - 2016 December 26 - Monday

23 hurt in firecracker mishaps THE Health Department said Sunday 13 of the 23 fireworks-related injuries reported as of Dec. 25 took place in Metro Manila.

Eight of the 23 cases were caused by the Piccolo, the leading cause of firecrackerrelated injuries in the past few years.

Manila had six cases, Quezon City three and Marikina, Las Piñas, Navotas and Pasay one each.

A case of firecracker ingestion was also

reported in Cainta, Rizal, where a six-year old boy apparently swallowed a portion of a sparkler.

The remaining cases were in Regions 1 with three cases, Region 4-A with two, Region VI with two and Region 7 and 11 with one each.

The reported cases were 55 percent lower than the five-year average from 2011 to Next page

VOL. XXX • NO. 317 • 4 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016 • www.thestandard.com.ph • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

16 hurt in church blast

Grenade disrupts Christmas Eve mass

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OTABATO CITY—Sixteen midnight Mass churchgoers, including a policeman and a three-year-old child, were hurt as a grenade exploded outside a crowded Catholic Church Saturday night at the poblacion in Midsayap, North Cotabato, some three hours before Christmas Day.

CHRISTMAS EVACUATION. Residents of Daraga, Albay spend Christmas day fleeing Typhoon ‘Nina’ which hit the Bicol region Sunday night and expected to also hit Metro Manila whose residents (left) were able to enjoy a drier day with loved ones. AFP

Thousands flee as ‘Nina’ approaches DARAGA—Thousands of residents fled coastal and other hazardous areas in the eastern Philippines on Sunday as a powerful typhoon barreled towards the disasterprone archipelago.

Officials warned 2.5-meter high waves and landslides posed the biggest threats as Typhoon “Nina” (international name ‘‘Nock-Ten’’) closed in on the Bicol peninsula and nearby islands.

“We went around with megaphones and gave instructions to our people to eat breakfast, pack and board the military trucks,” Alberto Lindo, an official of Alcala, a farming village of 3,300 people near the active Mayon volcano, said.

“There are large ash deposits on the slopes. Heavy rain can dislodge them and bury our homes in mud.”

Philippine and international weather services said ‘‘NockTen,’’ named after a bird found in Laos, was set to hit Bicol on Sunday before reaching the rest of the main island of Luzon on Monday.

The US Joint Typhoon Warning Center has forecast sustained winds of 231 kilometers an hour and gusts of 278 kilometers an hour when “Nina” makes landfall.

The typhoon will affect an area populated by nearly 42-million people, including the capital Manila, which was forecast to be hit on Monday.

Civil defense officials in Bicol said earlier nearly half a million people in the region were in harm’s way and needed to be evacuated.

The government called for preemptive evacuations in the region

on Friday, with nearly 4,000 residents moving into emergency centers and more than 8,000 others seeking shelter elsewhere, according to an official tally.

Evacuations were continuing early on Christmas Day with trucks provided by the military as well as local governments sent to coastal communities and other areas that have been hit by landslides or flash floods in previous storms.

“Nina,” which will arrive outside the normal typhoon season, disrupted the celebration of one of the most important holidays, with all ferry services and some commercial flights suspended.

Some of the thousands of commuters stranded at dozens of Bicol ports that were closed for the typhoon spent the night inside evacuation centers on Friday. Next page

Initial reports said two men aboard a motorbike hurled the grenade at a police vehicle parked just outside the church around 9:30 p.m. injuring people hearing mass just outside the crowded church.

Among those taken to the Amado Hospital were SPO4 Johny Calawigan Caballero 43; Ejimar Bargaso loques, 22; Princess Nicole Capundog, 3; Jessa Mae Banlawi 19; Little Joy Costales Singco 33; Jonel Rillo Orquiola, 14; and Kent Steven Robles, 16.

Those brought to the Pesante Hospital were Regor Pedrosa; Ronaldo Soles; Cheyserr Mae Rosete; Jofer Asis; and also Arniel and Jennilyn, both surnamed Silvano.

Admitted to other hospitals in Midsayap were Arissen Bagot, 13; and Ronald Duga, 30.

Another victim, Leah Butan, 60, lost a leg in the blast and was being treated at the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center here in Cotabato City.

Regor Pedrozo was brought to Davao City for further medical treatment.

Officials here said the Christmas Eve attack in front of a Catholic Church was meant for the police and not for the church.

Mayor Romeo Arania of Midsayap said investigation showed the explosion was clearly aimed at the police officers who were Next page

Yuletide Chief Justice’s clout wanes under Duterte messages

By Rey E. Requejo RELATIONS between the new Duterte administration and the judiciary in 2016 were far less rocky than they were when President Benigno Aquino III came to power in 2010 and used all his political powers and state resources to oust Chief Justice Renato Corona through impeachment.

In contrast, there was no test of

wills between President Rodrigo Duterte and Aquino-appointed Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno.

Still, the last six months have seen Sereno losing clout in the high tribunal, ending up in the minority in two major cases—the burial of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani, and the dismissal of plunder charges against former President Gloria Next page Macapagal Arroyo.

Chinese naval exercise involves aircraft carrier BEIJING―China’s navy plans a training exercise in the Pacific that would include for the first time its sole aircraft carrier, state media reported―a move likely to ratchet up regional tensions.

The duration of the drill and the route of the flotilla were not known. But the Soviet-made car-

rier is based in the northeastern city of Dalian, suggesting the fleet would enter the Pacific through a disputed island chain between Taiwan and Japan.

“A Chinese navy formation, including the aircraft carrier Liaoning, headed towards the West

somber

BETHLEHEM—Christian leaders from the Vatican to Bethlehem struck a somber note on Christmas Eve speaking of war, fear and division, as cities in Europe ramped up security in the shadow of the Berlin market attack.

At the Vatican, Pope Francis urged the world’s 1.2-billion Catholics to feel compassion for children, notably victims of war, migration and homelessness in his Christmas Eve mass.

Addressing a 10,000-strong crowd late Saturday in St. Peter’s Square, the pontiff urged worshippers to think of the children “hiding underground to escape bombardment,” in apparent reference to Syria.

In Bethlehem, some 2,500 worshippers packed the Church of the Nativity complex, built over the grotto where Christians

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CHRISTMAS SERVICE. Pope Francis kisses an image of the Infant Jesus during his traditional Christmas Eve mass at Saint Peter’s basilica in the Vatican. AFP

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part of the security team for the Christmas Eve mass.

“If it were for civilians, the grenade could have been lobbed in populated areas like the plaza or the Church or the market but it was thrown under a parked police car,” Arania said.

Arania quoted Supt. Bernard Tayong, Midsayap town police chief, as saying they have been receiving threats after successful anti-drug operations.

President Rodrigo Duterte was expected to arrive in Midsayap to visit the victims.

“Continue to be vigilant, be alert and inform the police about suspicious persons or baggage,” Arania told residents.

Senior Police Officer Jhonny Caballero, 41, team leader of a police unit securing the perimeter of Sto. Nino Parish church, was near the police car when the fragmentation grenade was rolled under the car. He suffered leg injuries.

Fr. Jay Virador of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate condemned the attack and urged parishioners to remain calm and continue praying amid the violence.

Arania also condemned the attack, saying the incident could be a retaliatory attack by illegal drug syndicates who would like to get back at the police for successful anti-drug operations.

A barangay chairman escaped a police-military operation in November but government forces recovered high powered firearms, including cal. 50 machine guns and assault rifles.

Arania said after that operation, the police have been receiving text message warnings of retaliation. PNA

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Pacific on Saturday for scheduled blue-water training,” Xinhua said Saturday, citing China’s navy spokesman Liang Yang.

Japan’s Defense Ministry confirmed eight Chinese vessels, including the carrier and three destroyers, had been spotted by one of its ships in the central part of the East China Sea on Saturday afternoon.

In recent days the Liaoning has been involved in exercises in the Yellow Sea, with J-15 fighter jets taking off from it and conducting air refueling and combat drills, Xinhua said.

Earlier in the month the Liaoning led large-scale exercises in the Bohai Sea that included live ammunition for the first time.

Tokyo controls the string of uninhabited islands known as the Senkakus in Japan and the Diaoyus in China that are also claimed by Beijing and Taipei.

The Chinese navy drills are seen as a show of strength by Beijing at a time of rising tensions with Taiwan and the United States following a protocol-breaking telephone conversation between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and US President-elect Donald Trump.

China views Taiwan as a renegade province and fiercely opposes diplomatic recognition of it as a country.

Last Tuesday the Chinese navy returned a US underwater probe it had seized in the South China Sea, where competing territorial claims have heightened tensions in the region. AFP

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2015 and 48 percent lower compared to the same period last year.

The youngest injured was aged five and the oldest 62.

Sixteen suffered blast injuries and most of those were hand injuries or 55 percent of the total.

“If you really love your children, you will not allow them to use firecrackers,” said Health Secretary Paulyn Jean B. Rosell-Ubial. PNA

NBI to hunt journalist’s killers J USTICE Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said Sunday he had ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct a parallel probe into the killing of journalist Larry Que in Catanduanes last week.

TYPHOON WATCH. Weather bureau employees monitor Typhoon ‘Nina’ before dawn Sunday. MANNY PALMERO

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In both cases, the Duterte administration had its way.

In November, the Supreme Court voted 9-5 to uphold the decision of President Duterte to allow Marcos’ interment at the hero’s cemetery, over the objections raised by petitioners who challenged the move.

Nine justices found that Marcos was qualified to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani as a “former president and commander-in-chief, a legislator, a secretary of national defense, a military personnel, a veteran and a Medal of Valor awardee.”

The decision triggered mass protests by victims of martial law, but the Marcos family and the Armed Forces proceeded with the burial on Nov. 18, even before appeals could be filed before the Supreme Court.

Another high-profile case was the dismissal of charges against Arroyo in July, shortly after Duterte took office.

Voting 11-4, the Court ordered the release of Arroyo after almost four years of hospital detention as it dismissed the remaining plunder case against her involving the P366million Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office fund anomaly during her term.

In its decision, the Court blamed the Ombudsman for its failure “to prove the predicate act of raiding the public treasury because it failed to prove that petitioners Arroyo and [PCSO budget official Benigno] Aguas, as public officers, had benefitted from the act.”

It held that the Ombudsman was only able to prove that Arroyo affixed her unqualified “OK” on requests for additional funds from the PCSO from its confidential and intelligence funds, which “could not be considered an overt act for purposes of plunder.”

In both these cases, Sereno found herself in the minority blocs with fewer than five fellow justices of the 15 members of the Court siding with her.

Observers have said that the Court is controlled by a majority bloc composed of appointees of Mrs. Arroyo and not by Sereno and other Aquino appointees.

Sereno’s waning power in the Court was further proven again in

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believe Jesus was born, for midnight mass in the Israeli-occupied West Bank near Jerusalem.

Like Pope Francis, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa also used his homily to plead for compassion for refugees and for a halt to the violence wracking the Middle East.

“We fear the stranger who knocks at the door of our home and at the borders of our countries,” he said at the mass, which was attended by Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and other dignitaries.

“Closed doors, defended borders, before personal and political choices, are a metaphor for the fear that inevitably breed the violent dynamics of the present time.”

Security was tight across Israel

December, when the justices voided schemes she implemented in the Judicial and Bar Council in the selection process for judicial appointments.

In a ruling written by Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, the Court struck down JBC’s clustering of nominees per vacancy as well as its removal of the Court’s recommendatory powers in the selection for Supreme Court posts.

The ruling specifically stated that the “changes in settled rules and practices recently adopted by the JBC under Chief Justice Sereno are disconcerting.”

“There appears to be a systematic move by the JBC, under Chief Justice Sereno, to arrogate to itself more power and influence than is actually granted by the Constitution and this Court, and at the same time, to ease out the Court from any legitimate participation in the nomination process for vacancies in the Judiciary, specifically in the Supreme Court,” the decision said.

The majority ruling, approved by nine justices, held that the sevenmember council should be censured for removing the long-standing rules that give the President a free hand to pick multiple appointments from a single shortlist and that allows the Court to submit its recommendations to the JBC before the council votes on a shortlist.

It held that the scheme clipped the power of the President to freely choose among nominees as the clustering has reportedly been a scheme to control or condition the appointments in multiple vacancies by the inclusion of “strong bets” in the same shortlist.

The Court ruled that the President may pick two or more appointees from the same shortlist just as President Aquino did in the vacancies in the Sandiganbayan and appointments of Associate Justices Geraldine Faith Econg and Michael Frederick Musngi last January.

It also scolded the JBC for “unceremoniously relieving” Justices Leonardo-De Castro and Presbitero Velasco Jr. from their posts in the council as consultants, thereby defying a practice since the JBC was created in 1987 that the two most senior SC justices sit in the council.

Those who concurred with the ruling and agreed to censure Sereno and JBC without reservation were

Associate Justices Arturo Brion, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Mariano del Castillo, Jose Portugal Perez, Jose Catral Mendoza, Bienvenido Reyes, and Francis Jardeleza.

Independent Court But while the SC appeared friendly to the Duterte administration in major cases, it has also demonstrated independence from the executive branch on several instances.

Duterte has reportedly promised to help detained former Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. during his campaign in Cavite, bailiwick of the Revillas.

But in its decision last Dec. 6, the SC dismissed Revilla’s petition seeking dismissal of the P224million plunder case against him in connection with the Priority Development Assistance Funds anomaly.

The justices voted 13-1 to dismiss the petition filed by Revilla in June 2014 seeking to stop his trial in the Sandiganbayan and void the plunder and graft cases filed by the office of the Ombudsman against him.

The majority ruling upheld the findings by the anti-graft office of existence of probable cause in the charges against Revilla.

This means the trial of the cases will proceed as scheduled in January 2017.

Revilla, however, still has another pending petition with the SC seeking to post bail.

The Supreme Court has also investigated the role of two judges in the cases against Albuera town Mayor Rolando Espinosa, who was killed inside the Leyte sub-provincial jail in Baybay City last Nov. 5 by policemen that Duterte has persistently defended.

The President publicly stated that he believes in the version of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group team that they killed Espinosa in a shootout.

However, the Court still decided to probe the issuance of the search warrant used by the CIDG during the operation.

The SC Office of the Court Administrator, which has administrative supervision over all judges nationwide, specifically directed Judge Tarcelo Sabarre Jr. of Basey, Samar RTC Branch 30 and Judge Carlos Arguelles of the Baybay City RTC Branch 14 to answer respective questions on their roles in

Espinosa’s cases.

Sabarre was ordered to explain the necessity and circumstances for his issuance of a search warrant on illegal possession of firearm charges against Espinosa, who was already under custody of authorities in a government detention facility.

Arguelles, on the other hand, was directed to explain his failure to immediately resolve the motion of Espinosa to transfer out of his place to another detention.

Apart from Sabarre and Arguelles, the Court also issued a similar order to Judge Janet Cabalona of Calbiga, Samar RTC Branch 33, who issued a search warrant against Allan Alvarez, an inmate in the regional penal colony in Abuyog, Leyte, who was also killed by CIDG men when he allegedly attempted to lob a grenade while the policemen were serving the warrant in August.

Bigger tests ahead While the relationship between the SC and the Palace has improved under the Duterte administration, bigger tests still lie ahead in the coming year.

The Court is set to tackle and resolve two big cases seen to test its independence from the Duterte administration--the petition for writ of habeas data filed by Senator Leila de Lima challenging the immunity from suit of the President and the electoral protest of former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. against Vice President Leni Robredo.

In her petition, De Lima sought issuance of writ of habeas data stopping Duterte from allegedly using government resources in his “personal vendetta” against her.

She challenged the applicability of presidential immunity in Duterte’s case, saying the violations of Republic Act No. 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials) and R.A. 9710 (Magna Carta for Women) by the President were beyond his duties as President.

De Lima, who has been tagged in illegal drugs trade in New Bilibid Prison and subjected to a congressional investigation, also asked the Court to compel Duterte to disclose how he was able to listen to her private conversation and direct that her private information illegally obtained by authorities be “deleted, destroyed, or rectified.”

where Christmas coincided with the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.

Prepared remarks by the leader of the world’s Anglicans noted 2016 had left the world “more awash with fear and division.”

“The end of 2016 finds us all in a different kind of world; one less predictable and certain, which feels more awash with fear and division,” Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was to say in his Christmas Day sermon on Sunday.

In Europe, many preparing to celebrate were still reeling from Monday’s truck attack on the Berlin Christmas market.

German authorities were working through the holiday season hunting possible accomplices to Tunisian Anis Amri, who was killed Friday in a shoot-out with Italian police near Milan.

Amri, 24, is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down holiday revelers at the mar-

ket on Monday, killing 12 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

Tunisia said Saturday it had arrested three men suspected of links with Amri, including his nephew.

Locals and tourists in Berlin visited the Christmas market targeted in the attack, and many took a moment to quietly light a candle or lay flowers for the victims.

“It’s really nice there are so many people here and it’s still open,” said Marianne Weile, 56, from Copenhagen.

“So even though you are really sad about what happened you can still keep Christmas. It’s not like this crazy guy ruined it for everybody.”

Security was also tight at Milan’s cathedral, where Italian police were out in force and concrete barricades were erected around the historic Piazza del Duomo.

In France, 91,000 police, gendarmes and soldiers were de-

ployed to guard public spaces including churches and markets.

Despite the security fears, many were braving winter temperatures to take part in traditional revelry.

Among them some 30 hardy Slovaks participated in a winter swim at Bratislava’s Zlate Piesky lake, some drinking beer in the nearly freezing water.

In London, meat-lovers converged on Smithfield Market for the traditional Christmas Eve auction at butcher Harts, waving banknotes in the air as they bid on turkeys, pork cuts and rump steaks.

Meanwhile, in debt-ridden Greece, Finance Minister Euclide Tsakalotos sent Christmas cards featuring the tight-fisted Dickensian protagonist of “A Christmas Carol,” Ebenezer Scrooge, in a jibe to the country’s creditors.

Christians in Syria’s Aleppo were preparing for celebrations after President Bashar al-Assad’s forces retook full control of the

He said he ordered the NBI to hunt down Que’s killer and to find out the motive behind the killing, the first involving a member of the media under the Duterte administration.

“I would like to give the assurance that justice will be served on the killing of Mr. Larry Que and other victims of media killings,” Aguirre said in a text message.

Que, a columnist and publisher of a newspaper in Catanduanes, was shot in the head by a man wearing a bonnet and a raincoat on Dec. 19 in Virac on Dec. 19, and then fled on a motorcycle driven by an accomplice.

Que died in the hospital the following day.

Que was killed after blaming local officials for the existence of a large shabu laboratory earlier seized in the province. He said the discovery of the lab brought shame to the province.

He also alleged in his column that the laboratory was set up

by Chinese nationals to help the Chinese residents in the island province.

Que’s murder is said to have caused fear among the journalists in Catanduanes who also reported the shabu laboratory, which was said to be the largest in the country.

Jinky Tabor, a local broadcaster, said she received death threats after acting as a witness in the case.

Early last month, Dagupan City reporter Virgilio Maganes was shot inside a tricycle while on his way home but survived the attack after playing dead.

The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility says 152 members of the media in the Philippines have been killed since 1986. Rey E. Requejo

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Elsewhere, the coastguard on Sunday ordered the beaches south of Manila to be cleared of holidaymakers by Monday.

“All forms of recreational activity [on the coasts will be banned,” coastguard spokesman Armando Balilo told ABS-CBN television.

He said residents of seaside slums in Manila have also been warned to leave their homes.

Storm surges devastated the city of Tacloban and nearby areas when Super Typhoon “Yolanda” (international name ‘‘Haiyan’’) struck the central Philippines in November 2013, leaving 7,350 people dead or missing.

An average of 20 storms and typhoons strike the Philippines each year, routinely killing hundreds of people. AFP city following a rebel withdrawal this week.

Members of Aleppo’s Catholic minority have been prepping for the first Christmas mass in five years at the Old City’s Saint Elias Cathedral, whose roof collapsed under a salvo of rocket fire.

“All our memories are here— this is where we celebrated all our feast days, our joys,” said Bashir Badawi, rummaging through rubble for wood and scrap metal to make a crude Nativity scene.

“We want to transform all this destruction into something beautiful.”

In Bartalla, near the Iraqi city of Mosul, Christians filled the pews of the fire-scarred Mar Shimoni church for the first service since the town was retaken from IS who seized it in 2014.

“I can never describe... our happiness and everything. We feel like life returned,” said Nada Yaqub. AFP

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No Xmas truce for Calida, Leila T

By Rey E. Requejo

HE tit-for-tat between Solicitor General Jose Calida and Senator Leila de Lima rages on even on Christmas Day with the top state lawyer calling the senator a “hypocrite with fetish for power, money and sex.”

Calida, who had earlier called De Lima a “drug diva,” referring to allegations that the senator benefited from the illegal drug trade with the connivance of her former chauffer with whom she had an illicit affair in addition to sexual liaisons with other security aides.

Calida made the statement after De Lima prodded the Cabinet to declare President Rodrigo Duterte as unfit for his post.

“Look who’s talking,” Calida said, adding that it is De Lima who is not fit to serve in public office.

“My unsolicited advice in the spirit of the season is for her to open her closet and get rid of the skeletons of Faustian fetish for power, money and sex before she lets out her invidious intrigues against the President,” Calida said in a text message.

Calida also cited a biblical passage in his advice to De Lima: “You hypocrite. First take out the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye (Matthew 7:5).”

The Solicitor General earlier called De Lima “the state’s public enemy number one, high priestess of hypocrisy and patron saint of narco-politics.”

He joined critics of De Lima

and personally assisted complainants who filed drug trafficking and graft charges against her in preliminary investigation in the Department of Justice last week, invoking his mandate as “tribune of the people.”

In her response, the senator accused Calida of having an “empty skull” for meddling in the Department of Justice cases that are supposedly already beyond his duties as solicitor general.

Calida again responded and challenged De Lima to a contest on who had a higher grade in criminal law during their respective Bar exams.

“I challenge her to reveal her grade in criminal law during the Bar exams. If her grade is higher than mine then I will resign as solicitor general. But if my grade is higher than hers she should resign as senator of the Philippines,” Calida dared.

Calida, a graduate of the Ateneo de Manila law school, scored 100 percent in the criminal law subject of the 1973 Bar exams.

“She is now the diva of drugs in this country,” Calida added.

The DoJ on December 21 concluded there was probable cause to charge De Lima over her alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade in New Bilibid Prison.

COMFORTING THE AFFLICTED. President Rodrigo Duterte spends some time with an infant stricken with cancer at the Southern Mindanao Medical Center in Davao City where he gave away gifts and financial assistance.

Tax breaks for Olympic donors okayed Panel approves caregivers law THE House committee on ways and means has approved the tax provisions of a bill seeking to give tax incentives, in the form of tax exemptions and tax deductions, to individuals and corporations giving donations, contributions, gifts and grants to Filipino Olympic medalists.

The committee, in a hearing presided by its vice chairman Rep. Joey Salceda, approved the tax provisions contained in House Bill 4054 authored by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas, Minority Leader Danilo Suarez, and Rep. Jericho Nograles, among others.

The committee on youth and sports development chaired by Rep. Conrado Estrella III earlier approved HB 4054 and endorsed it to the committee on ways and means for the approval of the bill’s tax provisions, namely Sections 5, 6 and 7.

House Bill 4054 provides that any donation, contribution, gift and grant of real or personal property to any Filipino athlete, who has won for the Philippines a bronze, silver or gold medal in the Summer Olympic Games, shall constitute an allowable deduction from the income of the donor for income tax purposes and shall be exempt from do-

nor’s tax in accordance with the National Internal Revenue Code, as amended.

The value of each donor’s donations, contributions, gifts, or grants eligible for the tax exemption and deduction shall only be up to an amount not exceeding P1 million for one taxable year.

The value of the donation in excess of P1 million shall be subject to donor’s tax and shall no longer be allowed as tax deduction.

The approved Section 5 of HB 4054, titled “Coverage,” provides that only donations, contributions, gifts and grants made within one year made from the

date the Olympic medal was won shall be made eligible for the tax incentives. The grant of tax exemption and deduction herein shall not be available for donations, contributions, gifts and grants to medalists in demonstration and exhibition sports events in the Summer Olympic Games.

The approved Section 6 titled “Government Incentives” provides that any award, incentive or grant given by the government, its corporations, institutions, instrumentalities and agencies, to Olympic medalists for winning an Olympic medal shall be exempt from taxes.

Senator supports gaming closure

By Macon Ramos-Araneta SENATOR Joel Villanueva has expressed his support on the call of President Rodrigo Duterte to shut down all online gambling operations in the country.

On his social media post, Villanueva said that he is “definitely supporting this initiative” adding that “gambling promotes greediness.”

It can be noted that in November, the Bureau of Immigration raided more than 1,300 illegal Chinese workers who were employed at a firm in Clark known to be operated by gambling tycoon Jack Lam. According to the Bureau of Immigration, 612 of the 1,335 Chinese nationals arrested had no work permits, 95 were overstaying, while 91 had no passports or any travel documents at all.

It was further discovered in an inquiry initated by the Labor Committee chaired by Villanueva that there are also other economic zones which do not impose a limit on the number of foreign workers employed by firms within their area.

Villanueva specifically cited Cagayan and Clark economic zones which do not have such requirement.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, SUCH AS IT WAS. Young people of Santo Domingo town in Albay province walk to the Central Elementary School which was turned into an evacuation center ahead of the arrival of Typhoon ‘Nina’ on Sunday. AFP PHOTO

THE House committee on labor and employment has approved the proposed “Caregivers Welfare Act” that seeks to institute policies for the protection of the rights of caregivers in the country and promotion of their welfare.

Approved by the committee chaired by Rep. Randolph S. Ting (3rd District, Cagayan) is House Bill 269 authored by Rep. Geraldine B. Roman (1st District, Bataan) which also seeks to ensure the policies will maintain excellent and globally competitive standards for the caregiver professional service.

“In recognition of the very important role of caregivers in national development, policies in the practice of the caregiving profession must be instituted to protect our caregivers from abuse, harassment, violence and economic exploitation,” said Roman, a vice chairperson of the committees on women and gender equality, and on veterans affairs and benefits.

Roman said professional and responsive caregiving is vital to medically and physically challenged individuals. “The country’s aging population, the increase in the number of children born with medical issues and prevalent illnesses are the reasons why the demand for caregiving service continues to rise in the country,” said Roman.

The lawmaker said many countries, such as the United States, Canada and those in the Middle East, Europe and even Asia like Japan and Korea prefer Filipino caregivers because of their unconditional and genuine care for their clients.

The sudden rise in the popularity of professional caregivers in the country and abroad has prompted the government to require all caregiving schools in the country to register their program with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

She said the Tesda is tasked to manage and supervise technical education and skills development, so that each caregiver who will be working here and abroad will be equipped with all the skills needed to perform the job properly and efficiently.

The bill refers to a caregiver as “a graduate of a caregiving course from an accredited training institution that is recognized by the government, or is certi-

fied competent by that same institution, and renders caregiving services.”

It further provides that before the start of a caregiver’s service, an employment contract shall be executed by and between the caregiver and the employer in a language or dialect understood by both parties.

A copy of the duly signed employment contract shall be given to the caregiver which shall include the following: duties and responsibilities of the caregiver; period of employment; compensation; authorized deductions; hours of work and proportionate additional payment; rest days and allowable leaves; board, lodging and medical attention; termination of employment; and any other lawful condition agreed upon by both parties.

The Department of Labor and Employment shall develop a model employment contract for caregivers which shall be made available at all times and free of charge to caregivers, employers and the general public.

In case where the employment of the caregiver is facilitated through a private employment agency, the Private Employment Agency shall keep a copy of all employment contracts of their caregivers, to be made available for verification and inspection by the DoLE. Prior to the execution of the employment contract, the employer may require the following: caregiver’s training certificate issued by the school or institution accredited by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority; medical certificate or health certificate issued by a local government health officer; and barangay and police clearance.

The caregiver’s working hours shall be based on the employment contract signed by the parties and in accordance with the labor rules, laws and regulations. Them caregiver shall be entitled to an aggregate rest period of eight hours per day and 24 hours per week.

The minimum wage of the caregiver shall not be less than the following : P7,000 a month for those employed in the National Capital Region: P5,500 a month for those employed in chartered cities and first-class municipalities; and P4,000 a month for those employed in other municipalities.

Opinion

A4 MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

Taking responsibility

S

INCE resigning from the Cabinet, Vice President Leni Robredo has sought to portray herself as a unifying factor within the opposition to keep the administration in check.

“There are so many of us against the policies of the President. I hope I will be able to portray the role of unifying all the discordant voices,” Robredo told a foreign news agency earlier this month.

Last week, she took on that role by opposing President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration that

Adelle Chua, Editor

he would seek to make the declaration of Martial Law the prerogative of the executive, without the constitutional checks and balances from Congress or the Supreme Court.

Robredo said the threat to return to one-man rule

by President Duterte would be “the worst Christmas gift to the Filipino people,” and

called for vigilance against attempts to amend the Constitution to let this happen.

The message should resonate with all those who suffered first hand the abuses of Martial Law, as well as those who do not wish to see their individual liberties compromised again in the name of national discipline and progress.

Robredo’s statement, however, falls short of galvanizing opposition to Martial Law simply because the vice president herself is not a credible

messenger, and lacks the gravitas to unite all the political forces that might be brought to bear against any of the administration’s excesses.

Robredo, after all, belongs to the discredited Liberal Party that lost the last election. There is a reason the Liberals—under the leadership of then President Benigno Aquino III and Interior secretary Manuel Roxas II—lost so miserably to a dark horse such as Duterte, and to date, none of its remaining officials have taken responsibility for this failure.

For most of the Liberal Party politicians, it was much easier to jump ship than to take responsibility for failure, and those who remained now speak and behave as if the Aquino administration was the model of good governance during its six years in power.

Clearly, it was not. After all, if President Aquino and his Liberal Party allies did such a great job during their years in power, certainly, the people would have resoundingly voted them back into office.

To date, neither Robredo

nor any of the remaining Liberal Party politicians have taken responsibility for the corruption, mismanagement and hubris that marred the Aquino administration, beginning with the disaster they brought upon the country’s agriculture and its transportation system, and the real damage they did to the country’s democratic institutions.

These failures, like the excesses of Martial Law, cannot be glossed over, and any leader like Robredo who tries will ultimately be rejected as a pretender.

Factchecking’s infiniteregress problem

By Megan McArdle

The coming pressure on professional women

By Victoria Bateman IF THERE’S one thing economists tend to agree on, it’s the benefits of free movement of labor. Lowering barriers to immigration has the power to add up to $90 trillion a year to the global economy, doubling global gross domestic product and dwarfing the impact of reducing barriers to trade and capital flows. Not only does immigration boost the economy, it has also helped empower professional women in the UK and US economies over the last 50 years.

The entry of professional women into the labor market has been supported by an army of low-paid—often immigrant —domestic helpers. According to sociologist Lynn Prince Cooke, the upside of the higher income inequality in the US and UK economies compared with continental Europe has been the

availability of low-cost labor to which educated women have been able to subcontract out their traditional domestic duties, from cleaning and childcare to preparing meals and looking after the elderly.

At the end of the day, where would “power couples” be without the low-paid, often female and immigrant, labor on which they depend?

In the US, educated women have benefited from the availability of cheap unskilled immigrant workers from Latin America, while those in the UK have benefited from Eastern European labor—precisely the immigrant labor that voters and governments have on their radar. Reduced immigration will leave us with a choice: Either life will be more difficult for professional women, or professional men will have to do more around the home.

Meanwhile, countries

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Either life will be more difficult for them, or professional men will have to do more around the home. that need immigrants to make up for declining fertility rates among natives will find this source unavailable. Fertility in the US and UK has fallen below the replacement ratio of 2.1 and the proportion of women with no children has increased significantly. According to the UK Office for National Statistics, of the women born in 1940, nine out of 10 went on to have

children. By 1967, double the number of women were not having children (one in five) and, if trends continue, estimates suggest that by 2018, a quarter of middle-aged women will be childless. In the US, and according to the Census Bureau’s 2014 census, 28.9 percent of women aged 30 to 34 have no children.

There have been various recent policy initiatives aimed at encouraging Western women to have more babies. They include cash inducements (as offered in Singapore and Turkey), subsidized child care (popular in Scandinavia and increasingly so in the UK), additional paid leave and even national fertility-boosting songs and, in Russia, an annual day earmarked for baby-making.

Immigration, and especially the availability of domestic

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help and childcare options, allows Western women to make a choice about their fertility without excessive pressure from government. If immigration barriers go up, there’s a real risk such pressure will increase rather than decrease. In a recent paper, the authors argue that women’s access to birth control has contributed to over-saving and secular stagnation. It’s not such a stretch to imagine that policy-makers, faced with challenging demographics and the need to boost growth, would seek to nudge more women into parenthood.

Attempts to restrict immigration in the era of Brexit and Trump will not only damage the economy, they could restrict the lives of professional women. If that happens, the male population will find itself having to pick up some of the slack— and 2017 might not be a year of marital bliss.

THE most highly trafficked post I ever wrote was about fake news on social media.

I dashed it off in perhaps 15 minutes, squatting on the floor of an airport between flights. I had seen a Martin Luther King Jr. quote going viral on Twitter after the death of Osama Bin Laden: “I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy.” I agreed with the sentiment, but I have a sideline in detecting fake quotes on the internet, and this felt … wrong. It didn’t appear on any of his quote pages. It also didn’t appear in any of his writing, as far as I could tell. I wrote a blog post pointing out that this seemed to be fake, and boarded my plane.

By the time I got settled at my destination, the post had started to blow up. Apparently, every time someone posted or tweeted the King quote, someone else would offer a rebuttal consisting of a link to my writing.

The story of the fake turned out to be completely innocent; someone had offered this, their own thought, followed by a Martin Luther King quote, and the magical power of the internet had somehow mashed them together. Much fake news is, of course, not so benign. Some people think Russia is creating fake news to destabilize Western governments. Other fake news is generated by scammers looking to cash in on gullible partisans.

With people claiming that fake news may have helped get Donald Trump elected, there’s pressure on social media organizations to crack down on this phenomenon. And so Facebook has rolled out a new initiative to make it easier for people to report fake news, and has tapped a group of factchecking organizations to help vet the stories people report.

I’m not against this initiative, exactly. But it does leave me with a version of the question asked by the Roman poet Turn to A5

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Opinion The next big climate-change battle starts in India

By Noah Smith SOME climate activists worry that Donald Trump’s presidential election will be the death knell for the global environment.

That’s almost certainly untrue. Whatever Trump’s attitude toward climate science and energy policy, two big outside factors will be much more important—technological progress and policy in developing nations.

First, the good news. Renewable energy technology is already unstoppable. No longer does solar power depend on government subsidies for survival— it’s increasingly beating fossil fuels on pure raw economics.

A new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance lays out the numbers. Solar is getting so cheap, so fast, that it will quickly come to represent the lion’s share of new electric-power generation: Assuming battery technology continues to improve, BNEF predicts that a decade from now, solar will start to replace some fossil-fuel plants. In other words, in many places it will be cheaper to simply scrap coal plants and build new solar plants in their place.

All of this is great news for the climate.

It means that we don’t have to halt economic growth or radically change the way that capitalism works in order to save the planet, as some more climate activists had assumed. Once again, human ingenuity will let us escape the trap of natural limitations.

But here’s the bad news: Technology will only get us part of the way there. BNEF predicts that even with solar racing ahead, carbon emissions will continue at or slightly above current levels for the next three decades. That’s new carbon that’s getting pumped into the air every year, to add to

the giant stockpile that already exists. Since averting climate change requires dramatic reductions in emissions, this means more needs to be done. In the short term, technology’s amazing progress is getting canceled out by rapid emissions increases in developing countries.

China is the problem everyone knows about. The country already releases about twice as much carbon as the U.S. each year.

Recently, however, China has made a dramatic effort to reduce emissions, and it seems to be working. Much more needs to be done, but the leadership in that country is taking the problem seriously—possibly more seriously than the US. More worrying is India. This country, almost as big as China in terms of population, is still desperately poor and is understandably determined to develop. The easiest way to get richer is to industrialize and dig up a bunch of coal and burn it —and India is endowed with a very large coal deposits. According to the BNEF report, Indian emissions are set to soar: So it’s increasingly in India, and to a lesser extent Southeast Asia, where the fight against global warming will be lost or won. In order to prevent dangerous climate change, India will need to industrialize differently from the way Europe, the US and East Asia did. It will have to skip most of the coal stage and go right to solar. The falling cost of solar will help with that, obviously, but India’s unusually abundant, cheap coal resources mean it will be late to the renewable party unless the government takes action. Although the Narendra Modi administration has made big promises on cutting carbon emissions, many question the government’s ability and will to follow through, especially given the country’s traditional

reluctance to address the issue.

That reluctance was understandable. Although India is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change—it has lots of coastal areas susceptible to flooding, and lots of poor people who would suffer from food price swings—it also needs to industrialize as quickly and as cheaply as possible. It’s manifestly unfair for India to hobble its growth when most other nations got rich by burning fossil fuels with abandon. That will create popular pressure for the government to do less than it should.

The simple solution would seem to be for rich countries to pay India and other fast-developing nations to skip coal and go straight to solar. However, with European economies in the dumps and the US now headed by the Trump administration, such a grand bargain seems unlikely.

A more realistic idea is to trade investment, trade access, and technology for dramatic action on the climate issue. If India imposes a high tax on carbon, and adopts other incentives to substitute solar for coal very quickly, developed countries should do two things. First, they should direct large amounts of investment India’s way, and drop trade barriers that keep out Indian goods. Second, they should set up technology transfer programs that give away clean energy know-how—solar, wind and nuclear—to India.

This kind of grand bargain would satisfy Indians’ desire for fairness, while also helping it industrialize quickly. It would strike a big blow against climate change. And it’s something that Europe, Japan and other rich countries can do, even if the US opts out under Trump. Though solar has given humanity a possible window out of the climate-change trap, bold policy is needed to take advantage of that window. Bloomberg

If you’re so smart, why aren’t you rich?

By Faye Flam HOW much is a child’s future success determined by innate intelligence? Economist James Heckman says it’s not what people think. He likes to ask educated non-scientists—especially politicians and policy makers—how much of the difference between people’s incomes can be tied to IQ. Most guess around 25 percent, even 50 percent, he says. But the data suggest a much smaller influence: about one or two percent.

So if IQ is only a minor factor in success, what is it that separates the low earners from the high ones? Or, as the saying goes: If you’re so smart, why aren’t you rich?

Science doesn’t have a definitive answer, although luck certainly plays a role. But another key factor is personality, according to a paper Heckman co-authored in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences last month. He found financial success was correlated with conscientiousness, a personality trait marked by diligence, perseverance and self-discipline.

To reach that conclusion, he and colleagues examined four different data sets, which, between them, included IQ scores, standardized test results, grades and personality assessments for thousands of people in the UK, the US and The Netherlands.

Some of the data sets followed people over decades, tracking not just income but criminal records, body mass index and self-reported life satisfaction.

The study found that grades and achievement-test results were markedly better predictors of adult success than raw IQ scores.

That might seem surprising—after all, don’t they all measure the same thing? Not quite. Grades reflect not just intelligence but also what Heckman calls “non-cognitive skills,” such as perseverance, good study habits and the ability to collaborate —in other words, conscientiousness. To a lesser extent, the same is true of test scores.

Personality counts.

Heckman, who shared a Nobel Prize in 2000 and is founder of the University of Chicago’s Center for the Economics of Human Development, believes success hinges not just on innate ability but on skills that can be taught. His own research suggests childhood interventions can be helpful, and that conscientiousness is more malleable than IQ. Openness—a broad trait that includes curiosity—is also connected to test scores and grades.

IQ still matters, of course. Someone with an IQ of 70 isn’t going to be able to do things that are easy for a person with an IQ of 190.

But Heckman says many people fail to break into the job market because they lack skills that aren’t measured on intelligence tests. They don’t understand how to behave with courtesy in job interviews. They may show up late or fail to dress properly. Or on the job, they make it obvious they’ll do no more than the minimum, if that.

John Eric Humphries, a co-author of the paper, says he hoped their work could help clarify the complicated, often misunderstood notion of ability. Even IQ tests, which were designed to assess innate problem-solving capabilities, appear to measure more than just smarts. In a 2011 study, Uni-

Fact-checking’s...

From A4 Juvenal: Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Who will guard the guardians? Who will fact-check the fact-checkers?

The problem, as multiple critics of fact-checkers have pointed out (including me), is that determining what constitutes a “fact” is often not so easy. If I say that 42 clowns showed up at my house in Washington D.C. this morning and danced the merengue in my front yard, we can be certain that no such thing occurred, because 42 clowns could not stand in my tiny front yard, much less do something like this.

But what if I say that my house has lost a great deal of value due to the poor urban management of Mayor Muriel Bowser? That’s a hard claim to evaluate. I have not attempted to sell my home during the administration of Muriel Bowser, nor did I during the previous administration, so we don’t know what has happened to the price.

We could look at sale prices of similar homes, but those will not be an exact match. Moreover, I could retort that I am comparing my home’s value not to that of a few years ago, but to a counterfactual world in which Bowser wasn’t elected.

Think that’s a crazy thing to describe as a “fact”? Policy anal-

versity of Pennsylvania psychologist Angela Duckworth found that IQ scores also reflected test-takers’ motivation and effort.

Diligent, motivated kids will work harder to answer tough questions than equally intelligent but lazier ones.

Teaching personality or character traits in school wouldn’t be easy. For one thing it’s not always clear whether more of a trait is always better. The higher the better for IQ, and perhaps for conscientiousness as well. But personality researchers have suggested the middle ground is best for other traits—you don’t want to be so introverted that you can’t speak up, or so extroverted that you can’t shut up and listen.

What does any of this have to do with economics? “Our ultimate goal is to improve human well-being,” Heckman says, and a major determinant of well-being comes down to skills.

A newer study published this month in the journal Nature Human Behaviour focused on the flip side of success: hardship. After following some 1,000 New Zealanders for more than 30 years, researchers concluded that tests of language, behavioral skills and cognitive abilities taken when children were just three years old could predict who was most likely to need welfare, commit crimes, or become chronically ill.

The lead author of that paper, Duke University psychologist Terrie Moffitt, says she hopes the results would foster compassion and help, not stigma. Her results also suggested that helping people improve certain kinds of skills before they’re out of diapers would benefit everyone. Bloomberg

ysis traffics in these sort of counterfactuals all the time. And that’s the sort of thing fact-checkers are frequently called upon to evaluate.

The currency of politics is what we might call “dubious statements”—things that have some basis in truth, but which, through sins of omission or commission, are spun into better support for one’s cause than the original material really offers. They are not as clearly false as, say, me claiming to be the Queen of Slovenia.

But they are biased. Correcting for that bias is a tricky business, because of course, the fact-checkers themselves have biases.

Numerous people have argued, correctly in my view, that factchecking sites share the center-left slant of the mainstream media itself. Dubious statements need to be clarified by context, and factcheckers often seem to be more generous in providing the context for liberal speakers than for conservative ones. Nor, as Juvenal wryly suggested millennia ago, is there any permanent solution for that problem. If you appoint guardians for the guardian class, then you have to worry about your superguardians.

You can, of course, limit the problem. The more narrow the powers of the guardians, the less you have to worry about abuse. Facebook seems to understand this, since they apparently intend to confine their fact-checks to “very clear-cut falsehoods.” But just how clearly can we cut?

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

A5

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Merry Christmas.

Don’t be stupid.

By Virginia Postrel AS WE head toward the rare concurrence of Christmas Eve and the first night of Hanukkah, America’s annual ritual of infusing holiday greetings with identity politics is in full swing. Ever alert for cultural grievances, some conservatives have even damned the Obamas for sending out seasonal cards wishing recipients “a joyous holiday season and a wonderful new year.” The nerve.

This year, the ritual grousing has gotten a boost from President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign promise to bring back “Merry Christmas.” Back in October 2015, he pledged that: “If I become president, we’re gonna be saying Merry Christmas at every store. You can leave ‘Happy holidays’ at the corner.”

Trump’s recently completed “thank you tour” featured stages set with Christmas trees and signs reading “Merry Christmas USA.” You could read that This is as nothing more awkward, not than festive seasonal defensive. decor or as a swipe at non-Christians.

The annual “Merry Christmas” dispute is one of the weirdest things about contemporary America.

Having grown up a devout Christian in an almost entirely Christian town—in my high school the Bernsteins were part of the tiny Catholic minority—I understand why “Happy Holidays” sounds euphemistic and forced to many people. They celebrate Christmas, they love Christmas, they can’t imagine why anyone would object to their good wishes, and they resent the implication that there’s something wrong with their ways.

In my 20s, however, I converted to Judaism and, aside from buying gifts for my Christian relatives, stopped celebrating Christmas. So when people wish me a merry Christmas, it can feel a little awkward.

Awkward, not offensive.

Whether you say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy holidays,” I’ll happily accept your good wishes. Because interpreting the more inclusive “Happy holidays” as a “war on Christmas” is both stupid and rude.

It’s stupid because there is in fact an American holiday season that stretches from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day. There’s also a specifically Christian season that includes Advent, beginning on the Sunday closest to Nov. 30, and extends until Epiphany on Jan. 6. A devout Christian should be just as comfortable saying “Happy holidays” as “Merry Christmas.” (What do you have against the magi?)

Treating the good feelings of “Happy holidays” as a grievance is rude because you’re swerving out of your way to hurt and exclude people who already feel a bit alienated this time of year. On the flip side, taking offense at someone’s reflexive “Merry Christmas” is also inconsiderate. Accept the wishes for what they are—an expression of good cheer and common humanity.

Every religious tradition has a version of the Golden Rule: “Do unto others….” In the spirit of the season (whatever holiday you may observe), try putting yourself in another’s place. Bloomberg

Take the example I started with. I’m reasonably sure that those words were never recorded in King’s official works. Can I be certain he never said them? Of course not; the man didn’t live his life with a tape recorder running and a transcriptionist standing ready 24/7. It’s possible that I “debunked” a true statement. It is, to be sure, not likely, but it’s possible. Can we definitely say that viral meme was “fake news”? And might your opinion on that be influenced by your opinion on whether it’s moral or wise to celebrate the death of another human being who happens to be a loathsome terrorist?

As Vox’s Timothy B. Lee points out, the fact-checkers Facebook is working with “won’t have a ‘half true’ or ‘mostly false’ option.

They’re going to have to decide which news stories to rate as fake —thereby branding them as ‘disputed’ in the Facebook newsfeed —and which ones to leave alone.” And here we reach the ultimate paradox of Juvenal’s epigram. The more narrow the questions to which fact-checkers confine themselves, the less room they will have for their own biases to matter—but the more fake news they will leave floating around social media. They can be trustworthy or they can be useful, but they may not be able to manage both.

And there we are: We need guardians, and we cannot entirely trust them. It’s a high-tech version of a problem that has been with us for at least 2,000 years.Bloomberg

A6 MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

News

BRAVING THE STORM. Families are oblivious to the slight drizzle and howling winds as they hang around Rizal Park in Manila on Christmas Day. Ey Acasio

Solon slams regulators for 2013 power rate hike

Angara: Establish medical grants

By Rio N. Araja

LAMENTING the shortage of doctors, especially in rural areas, Senator Juan Edgardo Angara is pushing for the passage of a bill that seeks to establish a medical scholarship program to increase the number of doctors serving underprivileged Filipinos in farflung communities.

Angara said uneven distribution of doctors and healthcare professionals in the country is very alarming.

He said most doctors and medical specialists are concentrated in urban centers and larger municipalities, leaving remote communities largely unserved.

According to the Department of Health, there is only one doctor for every 33,000 Filipinos—a far cry from the World Health Organization standard which is one doctor for every 20,000 population.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that three out of five Filipinos pass away without seeing a doctor, nurse or any other allied health professional.

Of the 946 slots this year for the Doctor to the Barrios program of the DoH, in which the government shoulders the pay of doctors deployed to poor and remote towns, the actual number of takers was only 373.

3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, for inayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate on jury to the public and for failing to resolve a pending matSunday criticized the Energy Regulatory ter before them,” he said.

Commission for allegedly protecting those “This has gone far enough. behind the increase in power rates during the It’s been three long years Malampaya shutdown in 2013. when the incident happened.

If not for a petition filed with Zarate questioned the delay in rates throughout the shutdown. the Supreme Court, we could the release of the report on the al“ERC executives can be have been cheated. It’s good leged conspiracy to raise power charged under Republic Act the high court stopped the

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power rate increase,” Zarate added.

Zarate warned that another round of power rate hike looms in early 2017 due to a 20-day shutdown of the Malampaya natural gas facility.

“Now, the Manila Electric Co. will seek a power rate increase amid another shutdown of the Malampaya plant

even if there has been no final report yet of the alleged conspiracy between ERC and Meralco into the Malampaya shutdown [in 2013],” he said.

He also criticized former ERC chairperson Zenaida Ducut for being remiss in her duty to protect the welfare of millions of power consumers.

“This has taken far too long,” the lawmaker added.

Bello to revamp ‘incompetent’ labor officials LABOR Secretary Silvestre Bello III warned he will revamp incompetent and dishonest labor inspectors and officials amid complaints they have turned deaf and blind on violations of labor and safety standards in workplaces.

“I will reorganize some of the people in the department, including labor inspectors,” Bello said.

Bello said the erring labor inspectors will also face administrative charges if found guilty of accepting bribes from employers.

“There are reports that some labor inspectors are blind and are turning a deaf ear on the violations of different companies and employers. One example of this violation is the current working state of sales ladies who were prohibited to take short breaks on their duties,” he said.

Bello said the Labor department will continue to fight for the rights and protection of the workers as he urged the public to report to or file a complaint at Hotline 1349 on erring labor inspectors.

He cited as example reports of private hospitals requiring nurses to pay for them to undergo training and gain experience.

“This is a clear violation of labor standards. What kind of policy is that? Hospitals should be screened properly by our labor inspectors,” he said.

“For our inspectors to allow that is the highest form of incompetence and dishonesty,” Bello added.

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

NBI nets P3-b shabu in San Juan

By Sandy Araneta

ICE SHOW. The Seven Dwarves delight young and adult audiences alike at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. Ey Acasio

AFP hails hike in Medal of Valor cash award THE Armed Forces of the Philippines said the decision of President Rodrigo Duterte to increase the gratuity of Medal of Valor awardees from P25,000 to P75,000 effective next month shows the Chief Executive’s appreciation for the sacrifices and bravery shown

by Filipino soldiers in the battlefield.

AFP public affairs office chief Col. Edgard Arevalo said this will inspire soldiers to perform even better.

“This shows the Chief Executive’s appreciation of the heroism and gallantry of our soldiers in the field, especially those whose bravery have earned them the Medal of Valor, our highest decoration and honor in combat,”

Arevalo said.

“This also serves as a challenge for our troops to do their utmost in securing the peace and fighting enemies of the state,” he added.

The Medal of Valor is the nation’s highest combat medal, having being awarded to only 40 military personnel, of which 17 are still alive.

Of those who are still alive, six are still in the active service, namely Col. Bartolome Bacarro, Col. Custodio Parcon, Col. Cirilito Sobejana, Brig.

Gen. Noel Buan, Lt. Col. Herbert Dilag, and Capt. Robert Salvador.

“This is an early Christmas gift. It will be a big help for our famnilies,” Bacarro said. PNA

THE National Bureau of Investigation has arrested six people and seized about P3.35 billion worth of shabu over the weekend in San Juan City.

The NBI said this was one of the biggest hauls in the government’s intensified narco-war, which has focused heavily on eliminating street-level dealers.

The raid on Friday afternoon, which yielded 560 kilos of shabu kept in 56 bags, was the result of a month-long surveillance on the house along Mangga St. in Barangay Little Baguio.

Police said six people were in the house where the drugs were seized—three Filipino and the others were either Taiwanese or Chinese.

“We have been watching the house for more than a month after an informant came to authorities, telling us about the illegal drugs trade in the area,” said Eastern Police District chief Romulo Sapitula said.

Sports

A7

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Patafa makes strong stand against doping

By Peter Atencio THE Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association will not engage nor tolerate the use of banned substances among its athletes.

Patafa president Philip Ella Juico said this in support of the International Association of Athletics Federations stand.

The IAAF made such a stand after the World AntiDoping Agency released a report made by Prof.

Richard McLaren after the 2012 London Olympics, and this became the reason why many Russian athletes were banned during the 2016 Rio de Janiero Olympics.

“We do not engage in doping. First, it’s unethical.

Second, we (Patafa) cannot afford it,” said Juico, who talked about the Patafa’s stand in his capacity as a member of the IAAF Values Commission.

Dallas Mavericks veteran forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) scores form under the goal against the Los Angeles Clippers at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. AFP

Lim grateful to be part of Davis Cup team ALBERTO Lim, the country’s top junior netter, expressed his honor and gratitude to be named to the Philippine Davis Cup team despite his young age and relative inexperience.

“I’m so honored to be part of team,” said Lim, “It’s a great team so I will do everything to help the team reach its goal. This is for the country so I need to play very hard.”

Lim’s selection as the youngest member of the PH Davis Cup team was a testament to his growing stature as the future of the sport.

A freshman at the University of the East, Lim is currently ranked No. 52 in world junior rankings.

He comes just in time to help the country face a formidable challenge when they take on old rival Indonesia in their muchawaited showdown in February at the Philippine Columbia Association (PCA) tennis courts in Paco, Manila.

Though he’s only 17, Lim can certainly help the country’s campaign having beaten some of the country’s top players in winning the PCA Open title last year.

In becoming the youngest PCA champion, Lim, who was 16 then, beat PJ Tierro in the final, (6-5, 7-6 (7-5), 8-time champion Johnny Arcilla in the semis ((7-5, 4-6, 6-1) and Francis Casey Alcantara in the quarters ((7-6 (7-6), 3-6, 6-3).

In the French Open last May, Lim earned the respect of his peers with a stunning 6-3, 6-1 win over American third seed Ulises Blanch.

Aside from Lim, Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) Secretary-General Romeo Magat said the other members of the team are Fil-Am Treat Huey, Ruben Gonzales and Alcantara.

Martin Misa has also been tapped by Philta president Buddy Andrada as PH Davis Cup administrator while Karl Santamaria as team captain.

Nowitzki returns to action H E’S back.

Dallas Mavericks veteran forward returned with a vengeance, scoring 17 points, despite playing only in the first half, to help the Dallas Mavericks post a scrambling 90-88 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Harrison Barnes scored the winning 10-foot running jumper with 3.7 seconds left but Nowitzki’s return gave the team a much-needed boost. Barnes finished with team-high 24 points.

Nowitzki looks fully recovered from an Achilles strain which forced him to miss 14 consecutive games. Wesley Matthews added 16 for the Mavericks.

Jamal Crawford scored 26 points for the Clippers, who were playing without both

of their stars, Chris Paul (hamstring) and Blake Griffin (knee).

Their bench turned in another strong effort, outscoring the Mavericks’ reserves 54-21. The previous night, the Clippers bench outscored the Spurs’ 58-33.

But the Clippers turned the ball over 20 times and could not maintain a late lead.

Los Angeles scored the first six points of the second half to take a seven-point lead and was up by eight late in the period, be-

fore Barnes hit a pair of jumpers to leave the Mavs down 72-68 after three quarters.

The Clippers led 51-50 at the half despite 17 points in 15 minutes from Nowitzki. The forward was making his first start in 15 games and was intentionally held out in the second half.

Nowitzki was glad to be back. He’s aware that at this stage of his career he will have to overcome physical limitations brought on by age.

“Just had a little setback. It’s unfortunate. At this stage of my career, I don’t move well anyways. I try to stay positive and try to keep a positive attitude with the guys on off days,” said Nowitzki.

At 38 years old Nowitzki is only too aware of his basketball mortality. He has appeared in only six games this season

because of the Achilles injury.

Like any player in the twilight of his career, Nowitzki has seen a dip in production this year, averaging 12.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.

However, having scored more than 29,000 points during a 19-year career, Nowitzki is the greatest player in Mavericks history and one of the best international imports the NBA has ever seen: The reliable forward, who has played in 70 or more games in 14 different seasons, was an integral part of the Mavericks’ lone championship run. They’ve made the postseason in 15 of the past 16 years.

Nowitzki’s return gives Dallas the face of their franchise back as they look to rebound from a nightmarish 8-21 start. AFP

Child patients receive Christmas cheer THE staff of the Philippine Heart Center expressed their gratitude to players of JrNBA program for their surprise visit. Child patients in the pediatric ward received toys, lunch boxes and warm greetings from JrNBA alumni Jarrel Lim and Tyler Tio as

well as former coach or the year Ruben Lanot.

PHC Chief Nurse Raquel Tejada said the JrNBA visit did a lot to raise the morale of the children and their parents and inspired parents of previous patients to also engage in charitable works for the

kids during the Holiday season. This is an yearly activity of the Jr. NBA players and Larc&Asset PR. Lim, who is playing for the UP Fighting Maroons, and Tio, who will soon suit up for the Ateneo Blue Eagles said the Christmas activity

was truly heart-warming and gratifying.

“We will definitely be back next year and would like to involve more JrNBA players in this simple but meaningful endeavor. The JrNBA is all about inspiring kids and reaching out to children who

need cheering up the most is definitely part of our definition as NBA goodwill ambassadors,” said Lim. JrNBA Philippines, the grassroots program of the National Basketball Association, will be back in action in January, 2017. Boys and girls aged 10-14 years old are encouraged to join the program which is now on its 10th year in the Philippines.

Lim, Tio, Lanot and the staff of Larc & Asset distributed stuffed toys and lunch boxes to young heart patients in an NBA Cares activity.

The three Jr. NBA personalities went from ward to ward to talk to the kids and spread Christmas cheer. Besides giving gifts, the basketball personalities encouraged the kids to continue their battle against their various conditions.

JrNBA personalities standing, from right: Ruben Lanot, Tyler Tio and Jarrel Lim, distribute stuffed toys and lunch boxes to young heart patients at the Philippine Heart Center in an NBA Cares activity.

Desperate New Zealand practices on Christmas CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand - New Zealand set aside Christmas festivities to pack in a final training session on Sunday before their Boxing Day series opener against Bangladesh in Christchurch.

After being flayed by Australia in a 3-0 series hiding earlier this month, the Kane Williamson-led side are desperate to get back on the right side of the ledger and put the record straight against

According to McLaren’s report, more than 1,000 Russian athletes across 30 sports were involved in or benefited from “an institutional conspiracy” of doping.

The cover-up, which dates back to at least 2011, evolved into a sophisticated doping program on “an unprecedented scale” In a statement sent to the Patafa, the IAAF said agrees with Prof. McLaren that it is time that this manipulation stops and with this aim has been working in close cooperation with Prof. McLaren’s team and WADA and continues to do so.

“Based on the individual athletes that Prof. McLaren’s team have shared with us, over half (53%) of the elite athletes have already been sanctioned or are currently undergoing disciplinary proceedings,” said Juico in quoting the McLaren report.

Bangladesh.

In world rankings, New Zealand are number four and Bangladesh seven, but on the field the margin is not so great.

New Zealand won the last time they met in the 2015 World Cup by three wickets but before that, in Bangladesh, New Zealand lost the 2013 series 3-0 and went down 4-0 on the tour before that in 2010.

Williamson sees the advan-

tage for New Zealand in this three-match one-day international series – to be followed by three Twenty20s and two Tests – is that this time they are at home and playing in familiar conditions.

“It’s important we look to exploit those as best we can, and get back to our plans which allows us to give ourselves a chance,” he said as the New Zealanders trained in the nets on Christmas Day.

“You’re always looking to improve and when you go away on tour and get beaten, like we were in Aussie, there’s a number of things that you perhaps think you’d have liked to have done a little bit better.

“But when you’re under pressure, a lot of the time in those games it’s a different prospect.”

Williamson said the whitewash in Australia had been thoroughly analysed with coach Mike Hesson and there were obvious lessons to

be learned.

“It’s important that we’re looking to be aggressive and take wickets,” he said.

For Bangladesh, it is their first away series since visiting the West Indies in August 2014.

Since then they have won six of seven home series which included 2-1 wins over India and South Africa and a 3-0 sweep over Pakistan before losing 2-1 to England two months ago. AFP

Lampard may return to Chelsea LONDON, United Kingdom – Frank Lampard admitted on Saturday he would relish a return to Chelsea as a player and is keen to rejoin the Premier League leaders in some capacity even if he is not offered a deal.

The former England midfielder is Chelsea’s all-time leading goalscorer and is keeping his options open after leaving New York City FC following a two-year spell with the MLS side.

Appearing alongside Blues captain John Terry on Sky Sports, Lampard said: “Myself and John are Chelsea through and through so whatever happens, in some capacity I will be at Chelsea.

“Whether it’s with my season ticket, watching them, I don’t know yet, I’ll have very close contact. Whether I’ll have the role (as a player), it’s not all in my hands so I can’t go any further on that.

“I’m very relaxed about it, which is a nice place to be. If the right thing comes, I’ll take it. Obviously Chelsea, I’d love that, but it doesn’t work that way always.”

The 38-year-old left Stamford Bridge in 2014 after scoring 211 goals in a 13-year spell at Chelsea, briefly playing for Manchester City before heading to the United States. AFP

NO LOTTO DRAW

Sports

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

A8 MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

Browns subdue San Diego WASHINGTON, United States – The Cleveland Browns will not become the second NFL team to endure an 0-16 campaign after edging San Diego 20-17 on Saturday in their penultimate game of the season.

Browns defensive end Jamie Meder blocked a 32-yard field goal try by San Diego’s Josh Lambo with 3:45 remaining that would have pulled the Chargers level and Lambo was wide to the right on a 45-yard field goal attempt on the game’s final play to preserve Cleveland’s long-awaited victory.

“You don’t want to say it was our Super Bowl, but it really was,” said left tackle Joe Thomas, who is in his 10th season with the Browns. “Certainly, the emotion and the joy and the happiness after the game in the locker room felt really good.”

The only team in NFL history to finish 0-16 was the 2008 Detroit Lions.

The Browns improved to 1-14 after their first victory since December 13 of last year. That’s a 21-game losing skid in all if you include three final losses in the 2015 campaign and four pre-season defeats this year.

“It’s just a wonderful feeling to get that monkey off our backs,” Browns linebacker Chris Kirksey said.

Philip Rivers flipped 1-yard touchdown passes to Antonio Gates and Tyrell Williams but the Chargers fell to 5-10 after failing to find the end zone on their final five possessions. AFP

FLYING WITHOUT WINGS. Australia’s Josh Kerr seems to have taken flight during the competition in the 2016 Billabong Pipe Masters in Pipeline, Oahu, last week. AFP

Mahindra shocks Blackwater in OT

By Peter Atencio

T

HE Mahindra Floodbuster received a well-deserved Christmas gift when it upset the Blackwater Elite, 97-93, in overtime in the 2016-2017 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup at the Philippine Arena, Bocaue, Bulacan, yesterday, December 25.

Velasco to select best site

GOOD locations have been identified on places where the proposed site of the national sports training center inside the Clark Field in Pampanga can be built.

And three sites have been proposed on a 100-hectare area which the Bases Conversion Development Authority will allocate to the Philippine Sports Commission from the 9450 hectare Clark Green City.

Philippine Sports Commission chairman William “Butch” Ramirez has tasked national training director Marc Velasco to look into the feasibility of putting up such a facility in any of the three sites.

“Two access roads are now being built in the area. And one is close to the airport, and the BCDA has given us an overview of the proposed areas,” said Ramirez.

Ramirez said the proposed area could be in the Capas-Bambang area, while the others inside the Clark Green City can either be in the East Gate, the Hillside Terrace and the more posh Uptown Corridor.

Once a choice has been made, a main stadium, a velodrome, a multipurpose arena and a swimming pool can be built in the place.

The construction of such a facility will depend of the negotiations to put the ageing Rizal Memorial Sports Complex (RMSC) on sale.

Peter Atencio

The Floodbuster, virtually a laughingstock in the league prior to the scrambling victory, thus arrested a five-game skid while receiving a perfect Christmas blessing for their efforts.

Alex Mallari, a castoff from the Star Hotshots, played arguably his best game in his career in leading Blackwater to victory. He defied the Blackwater defense by scoring backto-back baskets to push his team to a 95-85 lead in the final minute.

Blackwater threatened, cutting the gap to just two points at 95-93, but Ryan Arana sealed the victory for Mahindra with a pair of free throws in the final 1.8 seconds of the game to finalize the count.

Mallari finished with a game-high 23 points for Mahindra. Ryan Arana, with 19 markers and Nico Salva with 14, were the other double digit scorers for the Floodbuster.

With the victory the Floodbuster (1 win, 5 losses) tied the NLEX Road

Warriors (1-5) at 11th and 12th place in the standings.

Leading the standings are the San Miguel Beermen (4-1), the Talk N Text Tropang Texters (4-2), the Rain Or Shine Elasto Painters (4-2), the GlobalPort Batang Pier (3-2) and Star (3-2).

From solo second Blackwater (43) fell all the way down to 6th place in the standings. The other teams include the Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters (3-3), the Alaska Aces (3-3), Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (2-3)

and the Meralco Bolts (2-3).

Arthur Dela Cruz bulldozed his way inside the paint to lead the Elite with 18 markers. Point guard Nard Pinto chipped in 15 markers. Mac Belo, virtually an unstoppable scoring machine in his previous games, was limited to 14 points.

Blackwater has surprised all the experts with the way it has caught up to the league’s elite at the top of the standings midway through the single round elimination.

Adamson Baby Falcon leads UAAP MVP race ADAMSON University guard Encho Serrano delivered impressive statistical numbers after the first round of the UAAP Season 79 juniors basketball tournament.

The Baby Falcons completed a seven-game sweep, thanks to Serrano, who currently leads all comers with 73.4286 statistical points based on the figures released recently by Imperium Technology.

Making a statement in the MVP chase, the 5-foot-11 Serrano is second in the scoring department with 19.3 points per game, while also averaging 8.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists this season.

Serrano is eyeing to be the second straight guard after last season’s winner Aljun Melecio of De La Salle-Zobel to win the league’s highest individual award.

Adamson University is also coming off a successful campaign in the Philippine Secondary Schools Basketball Championship last weekend after dethroning Chiang Kai Shek College.

Ateneo’s SJ Belangel, meanwhile, is trailing Serrano with 70.5714 SPs in second place, while Juan Gomez de Liaño of UP Integrated School is running third with

69.2857 SPs. Rounding up the Top 5 are National University’s John Lloyd Clemente (64.5714) and Far Eastern UniversityDiliman’s Kenji Roman (60.1429).

Belangel is one of only two players in the league averaging in double-double with 15.7 points and 10 rebounds per game for the Blue Eaglets, who finished fourth in the first round with a 4-3 record.

Gomez de Liaño, the younger brother of Fighting Maroons stalwart Javi, led the way in scoring with 20 points per contest, while Clemente is in No. 3 with 16 points per game, respectively.

Roman, for htis part, is the league-leader in rebounds with 11.6 boards per outing.

The back-to-back seeking Bullpups wound up second in the first round with a 6-1 card, while the Baby Tamaraws have five victories in seven matches in third spot.

The Junior Maroons are currently tied with the Junior Archers at 2-5 in joint fifth.

Second round action resumes on Jan. 14 after a month-long holiday break with a four-game bill at the Filoil Flying V Centre.

FEAR THE BEARD. Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) dribbles past Brooklyn Nets defender Jeremy Lin (7). Harden, much-maligned as a poor defender and playmaker has proven all the naysayers wrong by leading the Rockets near the top of the standings in the competitive Western Conference of the National Basketball Association. AFP

Philippines’ Mangrobang wins bronze in Dakhla Sprint Triathlon KIM Mangrobang finished third at the Dakhla Sprint Triathlon Africa Cup last week, achieving a podium finish for the second time at the Women Elite level.

With this finish, Mangrobang jumped 48 spots in the ITU World ranking to 154th. This race is part of her preparation for the 2017 SEA Games and eventual participation in

the 2020 Olympics.

She came out of the swim in second place with the lead pack of 4 that included Jenny Manners (GBR), Alessia Orta (ITA), atnd Greta Santosi (HUN). This lead group worked hard to widen their lead going into the run.

A strong finish, however, by Emmie Charayron (FRA) saw the French-

woman catching Santosi, Orla, and eventually Mangrobang.

Manners hung on to win in 1:05:56, followed by the closing Charayron (1:06:28), and then Mangrobang (1:06:41) who held off Orla, Sena Takahasi (JPN) and Santosi.

“Kim is progressing well and this a good step towards qualifying for the 2020 Olympics,” said a happy

Coach Sergio Santos, training director of the DESMOR High Performance Camp, where the Philippine elite athletes have been training since 2014.

Mangrobang’s campaign is supported by the Triathlon Association of the Philippines (TRAP), the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and San Miguel Corporation.

tClaire Adorna, 2015 SEA Games Women’s gold medalist, is also currently in DESMOR as was Nikko Huelgas, 2015 SEA Games Men’s gold, and Edward Macalalad. John Chicano and Kim Kilgroe have attended Brett Sutton’s HP Camps throughout 2016 as well. Attendance at these training camps is in preparation for the 2017 SEA Games.

Business

New FIT rate mode proposed B3

PLDT’s Pangilinan says ’17 a challenge

By Darwin G. Amojelar PLDT Inc. expects 2017 to be a tough year for its wireless business amid intense competition.

“It’ll be a tough year especially on the wireless side of the business. For fixed lines we are optimistic in terms of enterprise and home,” PLDT chairman and chief executive officer Manuel Pangilinan said over the weekend.

Pangilinan said revenues of the fixed line business were likely to grow by double digits next year.

“For wireless business its still in discussion in terms of revenue picture for 2017,” he added.

Pangilinan said the company would meet its core net income guidance of P20 billion and reported net income between P27 and P28 billion this year.

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

Pangilinan had described the financial result as “annus horribilis,” or a horrible year.

Core profit, which excludes foreign exchange gains or losses and other non-recurring income, fell 20 percent to P21.74 billion in the first nine months of the year from P27.08 billion.

Consolidated revenues also declined 2 percent in the ninemonth period to P125.39 billion from last year’s P127.87 billion.

The consumer wireless business group posted service revenues of P55.8 billion, down 5 percent from the previous year. Mobile internet revenues jumped 37 percent while wireless broadband increased 13 percent.

Revenues from voice and SMS services fell 15 percent and 14 percent, respectively.

This stemmed from a 5 percent reduction in subscribers count on aggressive unlimited voice and SMS offers by competition.

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

B1

BSP post key—Dominguez

By Gabrielle H. Binaday

F

INANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said he has reminded President Rodrigo Duterte of the “most important appointment” he will make in his six-year term as the country’s highest official in power.

Dominguez is referring to the appointment of a new Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor, who will have a fixed six-year term starting July next year as incumbent central bank Governor Amando Tetangco Jr leaves his post.

“If you ask me, he should be retained,” said Dominguez, favoring a possible third term of Tetangco.

“I mean the guy’s really good.

He’s recognized abroad as one of

the top central bankers for many years,” Dominguez added.

Tetangco has served the Bangko Sentral for two consecutive terms since being appointed as governor in 2005 by then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and re-appointed by former President Benigno Aquino III on 2011.

Tetangco was the first Bangko Sentral governor who has served for two consecutive terms. A possible third year

term will require an amendment to the central bank charter, which limits the number of terms Monetary Board members can serve to two.

Dominguez also addressed issues of the possible nomination of banker Antonio Moncupa to the post.

“In other countries, it’s weird for a banker to be a central bank governor,” he said.

Tetangco earlier said he favors one of his deputies to be his successor.

Tetancgo said in a text message for a seamless transition, the next Bangko Sentral governor should be one with central banking experience in response to a question on whether he will back his deputies, Nestor Espenilla and Diwa Guinigundo, for the job. Both deputy governors

said they would accept the job if offered.

Dominguez said he was still hoping Tetangco would accept a third term if the legal impediments were lifted.

“That’s what I told Rody [President Duterte], this is the most important job appointment you will ever make,” he said.

“First of all he has the same term as you, even longer and this guy can help you very much especially in inflation control and this guy knows how to do it, so if the guy knows how to do it, why would you want to change?”

Dominguez asked.

Tetangco, 64, declined to say whether he turned down an offer from President Rodrigo Duterte to stay in office after his second, six-year term ends.

In order to remain, the govern-

ment will need to amend a law that limits the governor’s tenure to two terms.

“The next BSP governor will have the support of a competent, dedicated and committed team focused on achieving the institution’s mandate,” Tetangco said.

Tetangco started his career at the central bank in 1974 as a statistician. He has kept inflation under 3 percent for almost two years and is set to keep the benchmark interest rate at a record-low of 3 percent on Thursday, according to all 18 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Tetangco’s looming departure comes at time when emerging nations are bracing for capital outflows as the US embarks on a steeper tightening path. The peso is trading near levels unseen in a decade.

CEBUANA LHUILLIER PARTNER. Cebuana Lhuillier teams up with Marketing Convergence Inc., the company behind SM Advantage Card, to strengthen the company’s loyalty program. The partnership allows Cebuana Lhuillier’s 24k Rewards cardholders to convert their points to SM Advantage Card points, consequently offering loyal customers more rewards options to choose from.Signing the partnership deal are (from left) Baldwin Golangco, president of Marketing Convergence; Jean Henri Lhuillier; president and CEO of Cebuana Lhuillier; and Alejandro Cruz, vice president of loyalty and e-commerce marketing of Marketing Convergence Inc.

LandBank allocating P115b in loans to farmers STATE-owned Land Bank of the Philippines said over the weekend it may lend about P115 billion to small farmers and fisherfolk in six years to keep President Rodrigo Duterte’s goal of dispersing the economic benefits to the countryside.

LandBank said it was committing to increasing lending to small farmers and fisherfolk from P37.9 billion to

P115 billion over the six-year period.

New LandBank president Alex Buenaventura said he would initiate a “reengineering” of the credit facilities for small stakeholders in the agriculture sector and encourage them to enter into “corporatives” to accomplish the goal.

A company under the proposal will be formed to manage the consolidated farms of small farmers, who plan to take part in the corporative. The corporation would be owned 40 percent by LandBank and 60 percent by participating commercial banks. The farmers would provide the manpower to keep their lands profitable.

Buenaventura said under his

IRRIGATION SUPPORT.

National Irrigation Administration administrator Peter Tiu Laviña (left) shakes hand with Commercial Counselor Jin Yuan of the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines during a courtesy call.

The diplomat expressed interest in supporting and helping the agency on upcoming irrigation projects.

proposal, 99 percent of the corporation’s earnings would be distributed to the participating farmers “pro-rata according to their respective land ownership,” while 1 percent would be declared as dividends to the corporate owners.

He the proposal would enable commercial banks taking part in the corporative to fulfill their part under the Agri-Agra Law that requires the allocation of 15 percent of their total loanable funds to farmers and fisherfolk and another 10 percent to agrarian reform beneficiaries.

Many banks prefer to pay the fines for failing to comply with the law’s requirements. Buenaventura is set to discuss the proposal before concerned

regulatory bodies.

“Also, a portion of the profits earned every harvest by the farmers would be used by them to buy equity in the corporation, until such time that the 60 percent owned by commercial banks is fully divested to the small farmers,” Buenaventura said.

The corporative business model of LandBank will serve as a common vehicle for the lead government agencies to promote inclusive growth among their targeted small farmers: the Department of Agrarian Reform, the Department of Agriculture, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process and the National Commission on Indigenous People. Gabrielle H. Binaday

IN BRIEF MRT 3 installs 27 new elevators

THE Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT 3) has installed 27 brand new elevators in most stations for the convenience of train passengers.

Unlike the old hydraulic elevator models in MRT-3 stations, the new units are cable elevators with permanent magnet, which do not need oil to operate.

Installer Powerlift Corp. will maintain the units once a month to check the wiring and clean the interior of the elevators.

Apart from the 27 new units, five more are being installed at North Avenue Station (NB), Ortigas Station (SB), Buendia Station (Concourse), and Ayala Station (SB).

MRT-3 general manager Deo Manalo said the new elevators would ease the commute of passengers during the holidays. Senior citizens, pregnant women, and persons with disability will be given priority. Darwin G.

Amojelar

Banks open more branches—BSP

THE total number of bank branches as of the third quarter this year increased to 11,024 from 10,936 a quarter ago as lenders continued their expansion programs to widen their presence nationwide, latest data from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas show.

Universal and commercial banks accounted for 6,147, up from 6,133 as of end-June 2016. Universal banks had 5,628 offices, up from 5,616 a quarter ago. Private domestic banks increased to 5,077 from 5,073, government banks to 536 from 528, while foreign bank branches remained at 15.

Branches of commercial banks slightly increased to 519 from 517. Under this category, private domestic banks improved to 399 from 397, foreign bank subsidiaries remained at 104, and foreign bank branches were steady at 16.

There are currently 41 head offices of universal and commercial banks in the country, the biggest of which is the BDO Unibank Inc. of retail tycoon Henry Sy.

Julito G. Rada

Business

DECEMBER 26, 2016 B2 MONDAY, extrastory2000@gmail.com

Year-end market rally not likely

By Jenniffer B. Austria

T

RADING at the Philippine Stock Exchange during the last three trading days of the year is expected to remain biased toward the downside amid the continued outflow of foreign funds and the hawkish stance of the US Fed next year.

Analysts said the expected Santa Claus rally during the last trading days of the year would not likely happen this year amid this outlook.

Luis Limlingan, managing director at the Regina Capital Development Corp., however said the market could turn positive this week as long as the index stayed above between 6,550 and 6,500 points.

“Index’s high volatility conditions remain to be a big hurdle

coming in to this week as we still expect intraday swings of 100 basis points. As such, any rallies this week should be considered as a selling trigger until clear reversal signals are spotted,” Limlingan said.

“Market volatility can be also utilized when entering short term positions but we strongly suggest putting tight stops for protection against sudden reversals which we expect to be commonplace even up to the first few weeks of

2017,” he added.

The PSEi last week plunged 4.2 percent to close at 6,563.67, while the broader All Shares Index declined 3.3 percent to P4.022.50 as global uncertainties arose following the policy normalization by the US Fed, keeping the investors sidelined The index year-to-date is now down 5.59 percent.

All sub-indices were also in red led by holding firms which was down 4.8 percent, property, which was lower by 4.6 percent and industrial which dropped 4.3 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers this week by P4.8 billion as total foreign selling amounted to P4.8 billion against total foreign buying of P13.7 billion.

Weekly top price gainers were Italpinas Development Corp., which climbed 15.2 percent

to P3.70 per share, Metro Retail Stores INc., which gained 6.8 percent to P3.90, and RFM Corp., which advanced 3.5 percent to P4.95 .

The weekly top price losers were led by PhilWeb Corp., which declined 10.4 percent to P11.20, Filinvest Land Inc., which dropped 10 percent to P1.54 and San Miguel Corp., which lost 9 percent to P91 apiece.

Wall Street stocks, meanwhile, finished modestly higher Friday, with pharmaceutical stocks gaining, but the Dow again fell short of 20,000 points in light trade ahead of the holiday weekend.

The Dow ended at 19,933.81, up 0.1 percent.

The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.1 percent to 2,263.79, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.3 percent to 5,462.69. With AFP

Meralco rolling out more smart meters

By Alena Mae S. Flores MANILA Electric Co. is preparing next year the rollout of an additional 235,000 smart meters that will serve prepaid customers and allow post-paid electricity users as well to manage their consumption.

Meralco vice president and head of marketing and customer solutions and product development Jose Antonio Valdez told reporters Meralco was completing this month the rollout of 40,000 prepaid retail electricity meters under the Kuryente Load brand.

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS WEEKLY STOCKS REVIEW STOCKS

DECEMBER 19-23, 2016 Close Volume

AG Finance Asia United Bank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Bank of PI China Bank BDO Leasing & Fin. INc. Bright Kindle Resources Citystate Savings COL Financial Eastwest Bank First Abacus Manulife Fin. Corp.

MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl. Reinsurance Corp.

PB Bank Phil Bank of Comm Phil. National Bank Phil. Savings Bank Philippine trust Co. PSE Inc. RCBC `A’ Security Bank Sun Life Financial Union Bank Vantage Equities

3.5 47.7 105.00 87.40 38 3.85 1.37 9 16.2 18.4 0.7 790.00 0.560 71.55 0.78 14.04 21.20 54.55 90 129.5 248 34 200 1658.00 74.50 1.25

161,000 38,400 17,500,990 6,737,110 592,500 415,000 2,002,000 500 52,500 1,597,900 22,000 450 29,953,000 14,924,230 2,280,000 134,100 41,800 226,590 3,770 1,120 21,050 621,200 2,890,930 1,465 371,740 310,000

FINANCIAL 592,490.00 1,826,640.00 1,847,614,168 588,615,231.00 22,510,845.00 1,553,930.00 2,837,480.00 4,500.00 847,734.00 29,599,160.00 15,000 360,800.00 17,527,070.00 1,053,620,269.50 1,861,640.00 1,889,930.00 910,400.00 12,387,466.00 340,101.50 143,715.00 5,064,460.00 21,462,990 562,443,066.00 2,421,730 27,696,142.00 377,860.00

Aboitiz Power Corp.

Agrinurture Inc. Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cons.

Asiabest Group Basic Energy Corp.

Bogo Medelin C. Azuc De Tarlac Cemex Holdings Century Food Conc. Aggr. ‘A’ Conc. Aggr. ‘B’ Cirtek Holdings (Chips) Concepcion Crown Asia Da Vinci Capital Del Monte DNL Industries Inc. Emperador Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) EEI Euro-Med Lab First Gen Corp.

First Holdings ‘A’ Holcim Philippines Inc. Integ. Micro-Electronics Ionics Inc Jollibee Foods Corp.

Liberty Flour LMG Chemicals Mabuhay Vinyl Manila Water Co. Inc. Maxs Group Megawide Mla. Elect. Co `A’ MG Holdings Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp.

Pepsi-Cola Products Phil.

Petron Corporation Phil H2O Pilipinas Shell Phinma Corporation Phinma Energy Phoenix Petroleum Phils.

Phoenix Semiconductor Pryce Corp. `A’ RFM Corporation Roxas and Co. Roxas Holdings San Miguel ‘Pure Foods `A’ Shakeys Pizza SPC Power Corp.

Swift Foods, Inc. TKC Steel Corp.

Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp.

Vulcan Ind’l.

41.5 4.34 0.84 1.24 19.28 0.185 86 20.95 11.4 15.6 87.8 104 23.35 57 1.86 6.4 11.9 11.080 7.00 4.94 5.99 1.8 22.2 67.8 16.52 6.03 1.580 190.60 70.00 2.62 3.85 27.3 22.9 14.54 258.80 0.249 5.10 3.28 9.58 3.42 69.8 11.62 2.09 5.65 1.33 5 4.95 2.34 2.65 225 11.2 4.16 0.143 1.41 150 4.64 1.35 1.08

8,169,900 3,039,000 2,696,500 11,692,000 31,900 4,670,000 900 13,100 60,941,500 9,340,500 2,170 90 29,318,500 185,950 723,000 2,008,800 156,500 20,161,200 2,194,700 55,222,400 880,800 4,000 2,817,600 954,780 2,150,500 1,249,900 1,671,000 5,005,130 5,450 232,000 5,000 12,998,500 2,108,200 10,052,700 1,384,230 1,240,000 347,000 8,359,000 13,659,000 21,000 3,438,630 221,600 15,095,000 7,055,900 206,000 5,905,700 13,213,000 180,000 70,000 510,940 39,814,600 418,000 1,340,000 447,000 9,550,680 7,000 15,838,000 148,000

INDUSTRIAL 348,503,100.00 12,850,940.00 2,275,520.00 14,277,530.00 590,892.00 880,360.00 77,571.50 265,072.00 703,790,652.00 150,184,270 194,941.50 10,050.00 660,015,760.00 10,683,593 1,343,770.00 13,003,131.00 1,872,016.00 229,295,254.00 15,443,831.00 275,281,794.00 5,231,155.00 7,160.00 62,964,820.00 64,812,904.00 34,965,172.00 7,542,936.00 2,711,540.00 958,102,329.00 395,158.50 622,360.00 18,160.00 372,909,480.00 50,516,815.00 150,381,960.00 357,721,618.00 297,370.00 1,751,644.00 27,744,450.00 133,849,078.00 72,480.00 238,972,596.50 2,566,612.00 31,989,570.00 40,306,441.00 278,770.00 29,728,114.00 64,735,710.00 394,510.00 190,550.00 117,511,936.00 461,910,874.00 1,901,580.00 189,780.00 646,020.00 1,487,204,735 32,240.00 23,031,760.00 159,780.00

Abacus Cons. `A’ Aboitiz Equity Alliance Global Inc. Anscor `A’ ATN Holdings A ATN Holdings B Ayala Corp `A’ BHI Holdings Inc. Cosco Capital DMCI Holdings F&J Prince ‘A’ Filinvest Dev. Corp.

Forum Pacific GT Capital House of Inv. JG Summit Holdings Lopez Holdings Corp.

Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp.

LT Group Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

Pacifica `A’ Prime Media Hldg Prime Orion San Miguel Corp `A’ SM Investments Inc. Solid Group Inc. Top Frontier Unioil Res. & Hldgs Wellex Industries Zeus Holdings

0.385 66.95 12.30 6.00 0.300 0.305 708 1140.00 8.5 12.60 5.6 8.20 0.180 1209 5.40 66.00 7.79 1.1 12.8 5.99 0.0380 1.130 1.900 91.00 615.00 1.20 259.600 0.3000 0.1750 0.255

77,656,000 14,210,040 25,808,500 208,300 3,200,000 210,000 2,091,830 5 5,284,100 42,762,100 1,600 1,417,500 310,000 68,585,560 565,500 11,492,030 6,639,200 43,634,000 14,810,100 260,124,000 75,000,000 32,000 2,223,090 1,236,120 2,188,880 1,045,000 52,380 2,070,000 70,000 3,610,000

HOLDING FIRMS 34,185,820.00 990,466,085.00 325,509,520.00 1,238,758.00 976,950.00 64,050.00 1,493,764,485 5,700.00 44,861,880.00 546,330,270.00 8,984.00 11,540,602.00 55,940.00 468,594,865.00 3,345,659.00 768,562,555.00 51,455,859.00 51,512,270.00 191,363,244.00 1,600,429,992.00 2,775,800.00 36,500.00 54,597,521.00 116,880,117.50 1,352,037,345.00 1,263,480.00 13,580,028.00 618,100.00 12,390.00 910,900.00

8990 HLDG Anchor Land Holdings Inc. A. Brown Co., Inc. Araneta Prop `A’ Arthaland Corp.

Ayala Land `B’ Belle Corp. `A’ Cebu Holdings Century Property City & Land Dev. Cityland Dev. `A’ Crown Equities Inc. Cyber Bay Corp.

Double Dragon Empire East Land Ever Gotesco Global-Estate Filinvest Land,Inc. Interport `A’ Megaworld MRC Allied Ind. Phil. Estates Corp.

Phil. Realty `A’ Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry

7.200 6.99 1.05 2.120 0.395 30.050 3.1 4.93 0.550 1.06 1.370 0.154 0.550 37.5 0.700 0.130 0.98 1.54 1.27 3.53 0.129 0.2500 0.400 30.00

508,400 30,300 2,754,000 1,907,000 60,150,000 45,114,900 13,452,000 200,000 25,677,000 369,000 7,758,000 5,460,000 29,845,000 1,105,200 1,566,000 3,710,000 11,305,000 73,130,000 2,105,000 157,173,000 50,170,000 580,000 290,000 5,300

PROPERTY 3,742,395.00 185,247.00 2,908,140.00 3,994,380.00 26,285,600.00 1,389,025,280.00 41,604,400.00 988,150.00 13,969,170.00 396,810.00 11,116,120.00 824,760.00 16,673,870.00 41,303,020.00 1,048,090.00 608,490.00 11,113,740.00 115,524,300.00 2,674,340.00 544,334,860.00 6,622,240.00 151,700.00 116,000.00 161,050.00

Value

DECEMBER 12-16, 2016 Close Volume Value 3.7 47.95 111.00 89.60 38.15 3.84 1.60 8.2 16.16 18.9 0.66 825.00 0.610 73.5 0.78 14.1 21.30 54.55 90.2 115.2 253 35.2 199 1705.00 74.55 1.28

544,000 76,900 15,110,000 9,779,750 681,500 123,000 5,456,000 3,400 387,000 986,700 303,000 4,190 42,162,000 10,166,020 1,337,000 83,500 5,000 280,280 8,490 480 54,890 694,600 2,689,230 1,255 503,480 272,000

1,969,390.00 3,673,250.00 1,691,455,350 866,423,191.00 25,890,805.00 463,450.00 8,895,150.00 27,880.00 6,268,252.00 17,143,812.00 207,130 3,373,700.00 26,665,850.00 752,689,862.00 1,027,300.00 1,177,436.00 106,500.00 15,305,914.50 776,593.00 59,490.00 13,502,886.00 24,451,915 537,266,510.00 2,156,650 37,454,348.50 353,560.00

43 4.25 0.89 1.29 18.78 0.200 91.25 21.40 11.75 17 95.9 138 23.2 58.5 1.9 6.91 12.42 11.940 6.98 5.11 6.05 1.75 22.15 68 16.04 6.06 1.690 205.00 76.00 2.7 3.57 29.95 24.5 14.92 257.40 0.240 5.05 3.36 10.28 3.68 70 11.52 2.04 5.70 1.35 5.05 4.78

3,986,700 1,742,000 5,107,000 6,791,000 165,600 1,750,000 390 12,800 95,587,900 8,030,200 3,800 940 1,381,000 1,188,430 632,000 3,524,600 91,700 39,057,800 4,680,600 71,142,900 3,581,700 7,800 5,992,100 596,260 992,600 1,045,700 604,000 2,958,230 3,920 412,000 21,000 5,855,200 2,536,600 11,044,000 3,893,470 510,000 24,200 6,199,000 22,909,600 582,000 7,396,340 4,800 15,543,000 270,100 663,000 1,490,300 1,183,000

173,625,080.00 7,349,540.00 4,496,100.00 9,196,970.00 3,207,989.00 337,930.00 33,879.50 265,479.00 1,119,697,536.00 137,058,012 355,023.00 119,864.00 31,729,740.00 69,514,101 1,204,280.00 25,567,228.00 1,119,712.00 448,436,616.00 33,461,131.00 377,643,405.00 22,106,032.00 137,050.00 98,838,685.00 40,530,967.00 16,615,354.00 6,336,459.00 1,025,970.00 621,423,010.00 303,507.00 1,145,130.00 76,790.00 174,307,445.00 62,412,210.00 166,695,146.00 1,005,783,272.00 124,300.00 122,210.00 20,465,340.00 236,471,644.00 2,044,920.00 375,812,665.50 54,306.00 31,745,560.00 1,558,656.00 910,640.00 7,584,356.00 5,535,410.00

2.79 231 12.1 4.55 0.143 1.50 159.5 4.65 1.52 1.06

147,000 88,840 49,585,200 566,000 6,920,000 585,000 14,849,610 6,329,000 9,366,000 253,000

407,460.00 20,664,194.00 601,798,366.00 2,590,960.00 972,610.00 879,130.00 2,371,033,899 27,475,510.00 14,980,400.00 271,130.00

0.520 74.00 12.90 5.95 0.320 0.320 732

182,904,000 7,210,550 20,999,700 51,300 9,860,000 860,000 2,668,360

94,405,485.00 512,145,920.50 267,025,474.00 305,485.00 3,252,750.00 288,700.00 1,878,414,210

8.83 12.90 5.5 8.14

5,622,600 35,172,300 20,000 196,100

47,603,229.00 471,624,050.00 97,150.00 1,579,551.00

1210 6.10 69.25 7.8 1.35 12.7 6.3 0.0370 1.240 1.910 100.00 651.00 1.20 262.000 0.2900 0.1950 0.270

580,365 4,668,000 7,772,010 16,727,300 41,415,000 22,724,700 107,516,200 157,100,000 592,000 1,390,000 3,675,860 2,133,190 456,000 69,800 866,450 530,000 790,000

721,956,345.00 28,472,160.00 539,107,365.50 129,041,871.00 57,599,310.00 299,503,454.00 687,592,950.00 5,889,600.00 806,400.00 2,657,250.00 360,533,055.50 1,376,886,555.00 542,560.00 17,992,646.00 235,000.00 96,150.00 203,000.00

7.300 6.23 1.12 2.120 0.465 31.550 3.08 4.92 0.560 1.08 1.450 0.154 0.560 37.6 0.690 0.145 1.00 1.71 1.27 3.47 0.139 0.2500 0.410 31.00

1,119,300 16,100 1,630,000 800,000 279,180,000 102,953,000 9,571,000 337,100 71,230,000 862,000 15,999,000 5,460,000 15,151,000 2,337,800 1,091,000 60,000 31,535,000 40,718,000 2,653,000 164,872,000 59,970,000 1,360,000 310,000 15,000

7,959,295.00 99,751.00 1,810,360.00 1,699,920.00 136,456,800.00 3,316,436,540.00 29,214,110.00 1,676,268.00 41,150,240.00 950,610.00 23,102,510.00 827,890.00 8,507,640.00 88,062,300.00 742,570.00 8,480.00 31,451,600.00 69,701,390.00 3,371,310.00 582,750,750.00 8,649,790.00 345,350.00 124,500.00 465,430.00

STOCKS

DECEMBER 19-23, 2016 Close Volume

DECEMBER 12-16, 2016 Close Volume Value

Value

Primex Corp.

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

3.25 24.95 1.56 3.26 27.00 1.12 6.99 0.900 4.950

1,400,000 8,022,100 692,000 38,000 54,945,100 37,023,000 2,100 2,076,000 37,378,300

2GO Group’ ABS-CBN Acesite Hotel APC Group, Inc. Apollo Global Berjaya Phils. Inc. Bloomberry Boulevard Holdings Calata Corp.

Cebu Air Inc. (5J) Centro Esc. Univ.

Discovery World DFNN Inc. Easy Call “Common” FEUI Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Golden Haven Grand Plaza Hotel Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. Imperial Res. `A’ Imperial Res. `B’ IPeople Inc. `A’ IP E-Game Ventures Inc. IPM Holdings Island Info ISM Communications Jackstones LBC Express Leisure & Resorts Macroasia Corp.

Manila Broadcasting Manila Jockey Melco Crown Metro Retail NOW Corp.

Pacific Online Sys. Corp.

PAL Holdings Inc. Paxys Inc. Phil. Racing Club Phil. Seven Corp.

Philweb.Com Inc. PLDT Common PremiereHorizon Premium Leisure Puregold Robinsons RTL SBS Phil. Corp.

SSI Group STI Holdings Travellers Waterfront Phils.

7.6 44.2 1.34 0.485 0.040 5.15 5.96 0.0620 2.4 92 9.9 2.39 8.57 3.06 950 1445 6.24 15.98 15.40 2.32 69.85 14.62 135 11.4 0.0089 9.06 0.198 1.3400 3.18 15.1 4.19 2.40 17.54 2.05 3.9 3.90 2.350 11.06 5.18 3.07 9 135.00 11.20 1313.00 0.455 1.170 36.00 71.05 5.49 2.50 0.930 3.27 0.330

4,577,360.00 203,935,335.00 1,044,380.00 123,850.00 1,493,400,530.00 42,675,380.00 14,699.00 1,822,480.00 184,034,876.00 SERVICES 161,900 1,244,734.00 85,400 3,731,280.00 157,000 212,570.00 3,995,000 1,937,650.00 1,332,700,000 53,133,800.00 25,600 131,720 18,735,900 111,070,457.00 151,430,000 9,716,570.00 24,400,000 58,078,330.00 977,540 90,070,213.50 1,555,800 12,494,090.00 130,800 307,770 12,596,300 103,816,916.00 29,000 94,210.00 280 266,000.00 522,795 752,624,620 525,500 3,268,386.00 840,600 13,303,346.00 400 6,280 29,374,000 67,035,200.00 3,283,940 228,234,153.00 25,200 379,530 50 6,750 800 9,118.00 150,000,000 1,352,900.00 2,401,000 21,750,640.00 84,790,000 17,580,480.00 1,912,000 2,521,010.00 23,000 74,000.00 363,400 4,374,538.00 9,702,300 42,306,784 245,000 600,280.00 2,900 51,778 9,000 18,450.00 21,637,000 83,585,670.00 69,772,000 269,926,090.00 3,959,000 9,705,650.00 10,900 120,220.00 16,500 84,643 13,000 37,990.00 2,000 18,000.00 476,600 64,400,128.00 17,732,700 177,770,290.00 463,890 614,373,150.00 8,060,000 3,621,900.00 24,381,000 28,250,360.00 8,224,000 304,344,460.00 2,911,070 211,229,972.00 2,080,300 11,029,429.00 1,703,000 4,350,390.00 32,423,000 30,600,040.00 3,835,000 12,534,490.00 3,050,000 742,100.00

3.26 25.90 1.57 3.21 28.80 1.16 7 0.920 5.010

1,465,000 5,667,200 514,000 600,000 77,387,700 25,196,000 10,400 1,480,000 43,185,700

4,752,260.00 149,348,830.00 778,000.00 1,922,860.00 2,192,769,855.00 29,408,300.00 72,407.00 1,352,090.00 216,383,103.00

7.44 44.25 1.34 0.500 0.046 5.54 6.03 0.0700 2.53 97 9.92 2.58 7.50

87,500 48,700 405,000 1,419,000 2,537,430,000 12,835,800 28,422,500 269,820,000 32,355,000 1,848,770 7,100 9,000 1,846,000

660,921.00 2,165,130.00 551,440.00 712,010.00 129,783,080.00 70,677,765 174,126,157.00 19,589,480.00 85,939,840.00 169,213,535.00 68,698.00 23,270 13,547,061.00

1000 1426 6.15 15.34 16.00 2.23 69.8 15.02 120 11.4 0.0093 9.08 0.209 1.3400 3.26 14.46 5.05 2.46 17.92

3,140 598,250 1,075,200 570,200 56,600 28,090,000 6,268,200 62,400 60 5,100 16,000,000 2,486,600 190,520,000 1,217,000 10,000 110,200 2,032,600 1,506,000 10,800

3,129,850.00 854,267,595 6,611,870.00 8,758,048.00 915,756 60,972,770.00 443,355,545.00 935,472 7,200 58,156.00 150,600.00 22,618,715.00 38,795,060.00 1,621,540.00 32,650.00 1,588,554.00 10,186,367 3,656,370.00 209,732

3.92 3.65 2.480 11.08 5.29 2.93 8.75 135.10 12.50 1350.00 0.435 1.160 38.00 71.05 5.40 2.65 0.960 3.35 0.355

23,187,000 28,442,000 9,872,000 63,100 11,800 12,000 2,070,000 37,130 4,774,300 1,202,505 51,160,000 37,484,000 3,775,700 3,144,220 258,000 3,300,000 82,384,000 4,397,000 430,000

91,765,080.00 104,689,000.00 25,657,100.00 701,824.00 61,468 33,360.00 18,061,400.00 5,059,515.00 61,503,058.00 1,605,870,915.00 23,631,050.00 43,851,580.00 146,247,390.00 227,619,776.50 1,398,818.00 8,779,860.00 81,445,020.00 15,055,800.00 151,400.00

Abra Mining Apex `A’ Atlas Cons. `A’ Benguet Corp `A’ Century Peak Metals Hldgs Coal Asia Dizon Ferronickel Geograce Res. Phil. Inc. Lepanto `A’ Lepanto `B’ Manila Mining `A’ Marcventures Hldgs., Inc. Nickelasia Nihao Mineral Resources Omico Oriental Peninsula Res. Oriental Pet. `A’ Oriental Pet. `B’ Petroenergy Res. Corp.

Philex `A’ PhilexPetroleum Philodrill Corp. `A’ Semirara Corp.

TA Petroleum United Paragon

0.0033 2.70 4.96 2.1400 0.5 0.460 11.36 3.110 0.270 0.195 0.196 0.0120 2.46 7.8 2.83 0.4750 1.0200 0.0110 0.0110 4.10 8.68 3.45 0.0120 130.00 3 0.0085

429,000,000 424,000 1,692,400 43,000 1,456,000 10,170,000 292,100 61,350,200 3,000,000 16,440,000 10,410,000 12,900,000 17,055,000 16,605,000 809,000 10,000 7,619,000 349,900,000 35,300,000 67,000 2,478,100 12,551,000 449,700,000 2,105,380 117,000 15,000,000

MINING & OIL 1,434,500.00 1,163,060.00 8,208,118.00 92,790.00 750,880.00 4,884,110.00 3,372,010.00 206,750,420.00 819,500.00 3,169,330.00 2,033,510.00 154,000.00 43,492,910.00 129,938,750.00 2,298,570.00 4,750.00 8,420,250.00 4,008,800.00 388,400.00 274,880.00 21,307,219.00 43,376,390.00 5,524,600.00 275,250,941.00 336,420.00 127,000.00

0.0035 2.78 5.00 2.1400 0.56 0.510 13.10 3.450 0.280 0.193 0.195 0.0110 2.61 8.14 3.03 0.4700 1.3000 0.0110

895,000,000 626,000 675,000 133,000 1,727,000 66,714,000 391,600 17,433,000 3,920,000 22,780,000 22,780,000 68,100,000 44,925,000 20,823,700 778,000 1,000 7,618,000 87,700,000

3,088,000.00 1,739,340.00 3,276,280.00 291,570.00 966,870.00 34,270,165.00 5,098,182.00 61,604,540.00 1,092,800.00 4,464,180.00 4,448,190.00 791,100.00 106,739,930.00 166,993,477.00 2,329,550.00 470.00 3,808,000.00 1,006,300.00

4.17 8.71 3.34 0.0130 131.50 2.88 0.0084

217,000 5,627,000 10,876,000 344,600,000 4,740,710 57,000 86,000,000

885,130.00 48,147,739.00 37,917,370.00 4,295,300.00 623,329,669.00 167,790.00 707,000.00

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ Alco Preferred B DD PREF First Gen F First Gen G GLOBE PREF P GMA Holdings Inc. GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B Leisure and Resort PCOR-Preferred A PF Pref 2 PNX PREF 3B SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred D SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred F SMC Preferred G SMC Preferred H SMC Preferred I Swift Pref

44 544 544 103 103.9 114 119 540 5.9 1016 1030 1.04 1089 1035 110 80.55 75.1 77.5 79.5 77.05 78 77.2 2.4

1,071,800 40 10 178,010 112,500 8,230 3,100 40,740 697,600 910 22,990 1,128,000 130 770 450 106,950 38,260 32,860 63,350 29,000 231,890 143,900 2,000

PREFERRED 47,217,250.00 21,760.00 5,440 18,293,565 11,692,808.00 938,220.00 368,800.00 21,982,980.00 4,175,762.00 925,370.00 23,452,045.00 1,188,890 141,570.00 787,855.00 49,500.00 8,609,898.00 2,889,945.00 2,548,450.00 5,036,325.00 2,233,700.00 18,000,663.00 11,259,230.00 4,800.00

44.5 545 545 101.5 104 113

261,700 35,900 20 250,210 106,820 270

11,647,240.00 19,426,500.00 10,900 25,662,970 11,091,806.00 30,680.00

540 5.94 1025 1030 1.08

800 1,631,600 13,465 17,390 7,000

432,000.00 9,693,102.00 13,664,475.00 17,871,700.00 7,560

1022

40,405

41,439,400.00

81 78 77.5 80.5 77.7 77.5 78.5 2.4

471,750 229,500 103,400 52,900 152,900 156,800 379,200 11,000

38,159,089.55 38,842,450.00 8,015,345.00 4,278,195.00 11,917,955.00 12,148,980.00 29,662,590.00 26,400.00

LR Warrant

2.120

WARRANTS & BONDS 2,210,000 4,902,140.00

2.400

446,000

1,082,680.00

Alterra Capital Makati Fin. Corp.

Italpinas Xurpas

9.4 2.82 3.7 7.68

4,753,800 78,000 1,557,000 23,192,300

SME 19,021,928.00 220,060.00 5,677,280.00 193,689,313.00

2.3 2.88 3.21 9.35

9,562,000 45,000 724,000 6,556,500

23,862,800.00 128,980.00 2,346,730.00 61,226,363.00

First Metro ETF

109

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 136,400 15,136,739.00

113.6

45,480

5,193,267.00

WEEKLY MOST TRADED STOCKS Apollo Global Philodrill Corp. `A’ Abra Mining Oriental Pet. `A’ Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

Megaworld Boulevard Holdings IP E-Game Ventures Inc. Island Info Abacus Cons. `A’

VOLUME 1,332,700,000 449,700,000 429,000,000 349,900,000 260,124,000 157,173,000 151,430,000 150,000,000 84,790,000 77,656,000

STOCKS Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

Ayala Corp `A’ SM Prime Holdings Universal Robina Ayala Land `B’ SM Investments Inc. Metrobank Aboitiz Equity Jollibee Foods Corp.

VALUE 1,847,614,168.00 1,600,429,992.00 1,493,764,485.00 1,493,400,530.00 1,487,204,735.00 1,389,025,280.00 1,352,037,345.00 1,053,620,269.50 990,466,085.00 958,102,329.00

“We started the year with about 20,000. And we received approval (from the Energy Regulatory Commission) for 100,000 beginning next year,” Valdez said.

Smart meters allow customers to manage consumption. It is currently used by prepaid electricity users and is expected to include postpaid users soon.

Meralco said it would roll out 100,000 prepaid meters within 2017 in Mandaluyong, Pasig and Makati.

“Our target market is 101 to 350 kilowatt-hours,” Valdez said, adding Meralco was also willing to serve those below 100 kWh, although the meter was expensive.

“We try to make sense of it on a business perspective.

Customers are able to save around 20 percent so customers are very happy,” he said.

Valdez said Meralco planned to file with the ERC the business rules for the Advance Metering Infrastructure that would allow the rollout of the service to postpaid electricity users,.

“ERC issued the rules of advanced metering infrastructure and Meralco is supposed to file its own business rules on AMI within the first quarter. It includes postpaid users also,” he said.

Valdez said Meralco would file the business rules on AMI to pave the way for the 235,000 additional meters within the first half next year.

He said even post-paid customers would be able to know their consumption through text or some other portal.

2nd phase of Naia toll road opened

By Darwin G Amojelar SAN Miguel Corp. opened its newly completed Phase 2-B of the NAIA Expressway toll-free for one month.

“Toll will be free for motorists coming from the Skyway and the Villamor area, going to Macapagal and NAIA Terminal 1 and 2.

Similarly, vehicles coming from Macapagal and Terminals 1 and 2 going to NAIA Terminal 3, Villamor and Skyway, will also be able to pass, toll-free,” SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said.

NAIAX Phase 2-B pertains to the stretch from NAIA Road to NAIA Terminal 3, Villamor and the Skyway System.

“With the arrival of many balikbayans and tourists this holiday season, along with the expected increase in vehicular traffic at around this time, we’re hoping that opening this section for free will provide our motorists even more convenience and a reason to smile,” he added.

Earlier, San Miguel and the Department of Public Works and Highways partially opened the section connecting to Skyway, to help ease traffic congestion at the NAIA 3 area during the holidays. The section is set for full completion within the first quarter of 2017.

Meanwhile, motorists using NAIAX Phase 2-A, the segment that connects Macapagal Road to Terminals 1 and 2, will continue to pay the regular toll of P35.

San Miguel also waived toll fee for a month when it opened Phase 2-A earlier this year.

Business BoI okays two SME projects

By Othel V. Campos THE Board of Investments granted incentives to Sooraj Garments Manufacturing Inc. and Hardware Labs Performance Systems Inc. in a bid to develop small and medium enterprises.

The two were the first SME investment projects approved by the agency under its newlystreamlined registration process.

The BoI delegated the processing and approval of projects of micro and small enterprises to the executive director for industry development services for projects in Luzon, and to the division chiefs and officers-incharge of BoI extension offices in Visayas and Mindanao.

“The delegation of functions aims to speed up processing of applications and thus promote ease of doing business in support of the growth and development of businesses especially MSMEs,” Trade Secretary and BoI chairman Ramon Lopez said.

The delegation applies to project activities in agriculture, services, tourism and manufacturing sectors with project cost of P15 million and below.

Sooraj Garments is a new export producer of garments with an annual capacity of 808,080 pieces per year. Located at Binangonan, Rizal, the P1.9million project will employ 64 people on a non-pioneer status.

Hardware Labs, meanwhile, is a new export producer of cryocell refrigeration cooling at an annual capacity of 780 pieces module. The P4.155million project is located in Mabalacat, Pampanga and will employ seven people on a nonpioneer status.

“Given their dynamic and productive characteristics, SMEs are seen as crucial for the country’s inclusive economic growth, employment creation, and innovation,” Trade undersecretary and BoI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo said.

New FIT rate mode proposed

By Alena Mae S. Flores

T

HE Confederation of Solar Developers of the Philippines is pushing for a new concept in lieu of a third round of feedin tariff to support the sector, an industry official said over the weekend.

CSDP president Reynaldo Casas told reporters the move would ensure the sustainability of the solar industry while government debated on whether to issue a new round of installation target and feed-in tariff for solar or not.

“The issue of a third FIT is another dimension.

CSDP has crafted a concept that we will advocate to the regulatory bodies in lieu of a third FIT—it’s like a principle of auctioning but more regionally.

It’s a different concept altogether,” he said.

The feed-in tariff is a form of incentive to renewable energy developers as it charges a fixed rate per technology source over a 20-year period.

“We have the framework. It’s subject to more validation. We need to validate the concept with regulatory bodies,” he said.

CSDP, whose member power plants produce a total of 543 MW of solar electricity and with a combined investment of P45 billion, will formalize and present the concept paper in January.

“We are in a hurry because we want to make sure the industry is not in a frozen state as it is

today. Nobody’s moving,” Casas said.

Around 300 MW of solar capacity set to be built to meet the March 15, 2016 deadline of the Energy Department were not endorsed for feed-in tariff availment.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, meanwhile, wants to review the Renewable Energy Law passed in 2008 to determine its impact on the electricity consuming public. atchalian said the RE Law had been existing for over five years “and it’s about time to review this law.”

The Joint Congressional Power Commission is tasked to review the RE Law. “Let’s not veer away from the original intention of the law, which is to decrease carbon emissions.

We have reduced our carbon emissions,” he said.

Gatchalian, who heads the Senate Committee on Energy, said the government should now look at how the reduction impact to the ordinary consumers.

“We have to review this. Right now, there is no intensive review, whether the intention of the law and the social benefit to Juan dela Cruz is being met,” he said.

Gatchalian said he would convene with his committee next month to initiate the review.

“I talked to the counterpart in the lower house, this January we will be convening the JCPC and we will also review the Epira and the RE law. Not only the provisions of the law, the effect of the law to our constituents,” he said.

The passage of the RE Law ushered the entry of thousands of megawatts of renewable energy projects under the feed-in tariff scheme.

Samal Island. Ferina Santos

Davao Light energizes cable to connect Samal DAVAO CITY—Distribution utility Davao Light and Power Co. played big brother days before Christmas when it energized the submarine cable connecting Samal Island to mainland Davao, ensuring a more reliable supply of power to the popular tourist destination.

Island Garden City of Samal Mayor Al David Uy thanked Davao Light for allowing Samal Island to take advantage of the Davao Light substation in Pampanga district in Davao City as a jump-off point for the submarine cable into Samal.

He said the assistance of Davao Light was more significant considering that Samal Island was not covered by the Davao Light franchise area, but under the Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative.

Davao Light executive vice president and chief operating officer Arturo Milan said the AboitizPower distribution utility was more than happy to be a good neighbor to Daneco.

“We are happy to support our neighboring communities and to help the people of Samal, our fellow Mindanaoans, so they could cele-

brate this joyful occasion with uninterrupted power supply,” Milan said.

“We, in AboitizPower, remain committed to integrate positive social development into our business operations. We are always ready to do our part to contribute in developing a better community for our people” Milan added.

He hopes the power connection will further propel the economy of the island, especially with the infrastructure efforts of the national government well under way. The Department of Public Works and Highways

recently announced the allocation of around P1.19 billion for the feasibility study of the Davao-Samal bridge project that will connect the island to the mainland.

Samal used to be connected to the mainland until a wayward ship cut off the submarine cable in March 2016. More expensive modular power generating sets were rushed into the island to provide power for the numerous resorts, agribusiness, and commercial establishments in the area. The island has a population of over 100,000 people.

Diosdado Banatao: Success story of a leader and technology innovator EMY G. TIU

GREEN LIGHT THE CEO Series’ sixth guest speaker was Engineer Diosdado “Dado” Banatao. The event was free and open to the public and I was fortunate to attend even if it was held on a Friday morning.

Engineer Dado has a wide experience as an entrepreneur and invented the chips that we used in our mobile phones and laptops. He is the managing partner of Tallwood Venture Capital.

The early years I was amazed at the life story of Dado. It’s a rags-to-riches story. He came from the north, in Cagayan province. His father was a rice farmer and he was really hardworking so that his children can finish their studies.

He studied high school at Great Glory of God where he learned his arithmetic skills and no memorizing but instead they count things like an abacus. Then he went to Ateneo de Tuguegarao where he started to learn from the Jesuits. He left home for his high school studies at the age of 11 and had the discipline to do his home work alone.

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MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016 extrastory2000@gmail.com

After high school, he studied at Mapua Institute of Technology and passed the board exam. After college, he started to looked for the job but can’t find the right job for him. In addition, he turned down the job offer in Manila Electric Co., the traditional employer of electrical engineers.

Instead, he found an interesting jobh in Philippine Airlines as a trainee pilot.

Designing the chips However, his career as a pilot was short lived. Dado moved to Seattle to work at Boeing as a design engineer in systems integration department for the company’s new commercial airliner.

When he got bored, he wanted to study again and go back to graduate school. He took the Graduate Study Program at the University of Washington for 18 months, where he was full time student with full salary for two hours work. Then he transferred to Stanford University where he learned a lot from his Master Degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and this was the beginning of who he is today.

Six years later as a design engineer, he started his first company. Unfortunately the company failed because it ran out

of funds. However, he didn’t give up. With the same idea and starting from scratch again, he improved the second company and offer it to the public and this is the beginning of his successful rise in the computing world.

He studied the PC inside out and when he faced challenges, he didn’t give up. The more difficult the problems, the more they stay in their office and labs working on the design solutions.

Never give up He encouraged DLSU students to study reverse engineering as well as do some designs and challenge themselves to do something new. Most of all, he emphasized that they should not give up: there will always be challenges in life. It is either you give up or challenge yourself. If you give up, you’re done.

According to Dado, technology can help eradicate poverty because the only known solution is economic development.

And the only solution to economic development is sustainable growth through innovation. To have Silicon Valley in the Philippines, we will need well trained research and design engineers and experts. He also firmly believes that the only known solution to reduce

the gap between rich and poor is entrepreneurship.

Dreams for the future He wishes that before he dies, he sees a progressive Philippines. He advocates government funding the right things such as institutions like the university system and considering the innovations to be developed in the country.

I’ve learned a lot from Dado and one of this is hard work really leads to success. Let us continue to pursue our dreams, ambitions and aspirations in spite of adversities in life. We should dream, believe, act and achieve.

Kudos Engineer Diosdado Banatao! May you inspire more Filipinos.

The author is an MBA student at the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business. This essay is part of a journal she keeps in fulfillment of the requirements of the course, Trends and issues in Business and Management: CEO Series. Visit her blog at http://ceoseries.blogspot.com/.

The views expressed here are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.

THE PILIPINAS CONFERENCE

From left: With Go Negosyo Founder and Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcio; former Foreign Affairs Sec. Albert Del Rosario; International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) Chairman and CEO Ricky Razon; Ayala Corp. Chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel De Ayala II and Stratbase ADR Institute Victor Andres Manhit

A year-ender to top all other year-enders, so to speak. And why not? 2016 was a year that will not be easily forgotten in human history. The volatility and the temperament were not just here, mind you, but also in the US, in Europe, and in other parts of the world. To say that “Change is Coming” is rhetorical because, indeed, change has happened and change will definitely stay.

The Stratbase Albert Del Rosario Institute for Strategic and International Studies (ADRi) hosted such a yearend conference dubbed “The Pilipinas Conference” that sought to look at the vision and outlook for Philippine economic growth and diplomatic leadership under the Duterte administration.

The conference was made up of panel discussions on these primordial topics: federalism, regional security, the economy and Philippine Business in Southeast Asia. I led the fourth Panel Discussion on “The Philippine Footprint in Southeast Asia and Beyond” together with RFM Corporation President and CEO as well as Philippine Center for EntrepreneurshipGo Negosyo Founder and current Presidential Adviser on Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion, Ayala Corporation Chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel De Ayala II, and International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) and Bloomberry Resorts Chairman and CEO Ricky Razon.

It’s not often that we get these leaders of industry in one forum; thus, my task was to ensure we maximize their presence and milk them of their views and ideas. We were not disappointed. It was, by far, the most engaging, thoughtprovoking, and profound panel that I have been part of. Indeed, starting from their vantage point as CEOs and captains of industry, all of them were able to eloquently and succinctly share with the audience their respective views; which was clearly culled from a strong academic background, a deep understanding of business and realpolitik.

We were taken on an exciting tour of the inevitability of a “ New World Order” and what we must do to prepare for it.

My opening salvo was to ask what made these captains of

International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) Chairman and CEO Ricky Razon, and Ayala Corp. Chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel De Ayala II

With International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) Chairman and CEO Ricky Razon

Vice President Leni Robredo

industry decide to “expand their horizons” abroad or beyond the Philippines. Striking in this discussion was what Ricky Razon said, that “the easiest place to do business is the one where you make the least money.” Some grain of truth there.

Other points of discussion included the preparation that each of their companies did with the forthcoming Trump administration in the US, especially on certain policy pronouncements he has made like, for example, with BPOs and the review of existing trade agreements; the kind of advice they would give the audience and their companies on the “change” that is happening; their take on the present foreign policy thrust of the administration; and about the highly-sensitive topic of change in the form of government and lifting of the restrictive economic provisions of constitution.

The responses were varied, but not necessarily unrelated to what each had to say. All points mentioned seem to add up to a whole—a particular direction, a particular framework. I believe all panelists were of one mind in how they wanted business to flourish, in how they expected government to act. It’s just that they expressed these different parts of a whole in different ways.

Truly, the kind of year-ender that should cap an otherwise interesting or, shall I venture to say, amazing year. But don’t take my word for it. View it yourself at https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_ gJYvWjozU&t=3501s.

Happy Holidays!

Ayala Corp. Chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel De Ayala II

From left: With Go Negosyo Founder and Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion; International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) Chairman and CEO Ricky Razon; and Ayala Corp. Chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel De Ayala II

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

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Brazil to beat crisis in 2017 SAO PAULO, Brazil—“We will beat this crisis,” Brazil’s unpopular President Michel Temer said in a Christmas broadcast on Saturday, as the country remained mired in recession and uncertainty.

The conservative leader, who succeeded Dilma Rousseff, impeached in August, noted that Brazil was closing out a year “of immense challenges” but he projected optimism for the year to come.

Brazil, Latin America’s biggest economy, is facing its third year of recession, with climbing unemployment, high inflation and a growing list of austerity measures.

At the same time, there is ongoing political turmoil following Rousseff’s ouster, and major corruption scandals— involving the state-run oil company Petrobras and construction giant Odebrecht— that are claiming political scalps.

Next year, the central bank forecasts that Brazil will emerge from recession— only just—with 0.8 percent growth. But the bank has already revised down its figures recently and may yet do so again.

Temer insisted that Brazil was now “on the right path” and his government would implement measures to boost growth.

He noted that lawmakers had already passed a constitutional reform freezing public spending at its current level for the next two decades, as well as tightening up the generous pensions system and easing strict labor laws.

“I am utterly conscious of the country’s problems and the task I have before me,” he said.

According to the polling firm Datafolha, Temer has an approval rating of only 10 percent. More than 60 percent of Brazilians want him to step down before he completes the rest of Rousseff’s term, which runs to the end of 2018. AFP

Business

Saudi Arabia selling 49% stake in Aramco S AUDI Arabia is planning to sell almost half of Saudi Arabian Oil Co., the world’s largest oil company, al-Eqtisadiah reported.

A 49 percent stake will be sold within 10 years, according to the Riyadh-based newspaper, which cites an unidentified senior government official. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in April that an initial public offering is planned for 2018, or even a year earlier, with the country planning to sell less than 5 percent.

Saudi Arabia, under pressure from lower crude prices, has been planning the share sale as part of an effort to generate revenue and reform its economy. The government hopes to raise about $100 billion from the IPO of its flagship asset. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will use the proceeds, and eventually control more than $2 trillion and

help wean the kingdom off oil.

“Going from 5 to 49 percent is a huge jump but if you do it gradually over 10 years and in small chunks it is possible,” John Sfakianakis, head of economics research at the Gulf Research Center in Riyadh, said by phone on Saturday. “The Saudis are looking at their sources of revenue beyond 10 years and they are asking what should we do more to diversify our non-oil income.”

The Saudi government relies heavily on oil sales for revenue, and its finances have taken a blow since prices started tumbling in 2014. Total projected revenue this year, at 528 billion riyals ($141 billion), is less than half what it collected in 2013, when oil was trading above $100

and made up 90 percent of revenue. Brent crude, the global benchmark, closed Friday at $55.16 a barrel.

Taking a company as large as Aramco to the market may pose challenges for Saudi Arabia.

Selling any part of Saudi Aramco to the public will require “full audits and a large amount of transparency,” Paul Sullivan, a professor of security studies at Georgetown University in Washington, said by e-mail on Saturday. “They would need to audit for the valuation of tangible and intangible assets, such a human capital, pipelines, refineries, information systems, management quality, and good will. Getting such data for an IPO audit will be a massive undertaking.”

Money from a 49 percent stake sale will be used by the Public Investment Fund on local and international projects, according to Eqtisadiah. The fund will play

a major role in Saudi Arabia’s new economy, being big enough to buy Apple Inc., Google parent Alphebet Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. “To buy more shares in Aramco, investors need to see how the first tranche of 5 percent performs,” Mohamed Ramady, London-based independent analyst, said by phone Saturday.

“The government needs to look at many options for selling more shares, including bringing in strategic shareholders and other international oil companies who will be interested in having a stake in Saudi Arabia’s gigantic oil reserves.”

Saudi Aramco is planning to report its quarterly results starting next year, chief executive officer Amin Nasser said in November. The initial sale will involve all of the company, not just the refining business, he said in October. Bloomberg

BRISK SALES. Butchers unpack pork cuts during the traditional Christmas Eve meat sale at Smithfield market in the city of London on December 24, 2016. AFP

Oil prices advance to $53.02 per barrel CRUDE closed at a 17-month high in New York as investors weighed Opec production cuts against signs of greater exports from Libya and a US stockpile glut.

Futures were little changed, capping a 2.2 percent gain this week. Libya’s biggest oil terminal loaded its first cargo in about two years, after reopening two of its biggest oil fields following years of conflict. US stockpiles expanded by 2.26 million barrels last week, keeping inventories at the highest seasonal level in more than three decades, according to government data on Wednesday.

Oil has rallied since the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed last month to curb production for the first time in eight years.

The deal was bolstered by a pledge from 11 non-Opec nations including Russia and Mexico to also trim supply.

Iraq is fully committed to the Opec accord, Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaibi said Thursday in Cairo at a meeting of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries, known as OAPEC. “There’s some pre-holiday consolidation going on,” Tim Evans, an energy analyst at Citi Futures Perspective in New York, said by telephone.

“We’re going to be paying attention to headlines, especially those that indicate compliance with the Opec production cuts and those about the recent rise in Libyan oil output.”

West Texas Intermediate for February delivery rose 7 cents to settle at $53.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the highest close since July 14, 2015. Total volume traded was about 64 percent below the 100-day average at 2:54 p.m.

Brent for February settlement rose 11 cents to $55.16 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

Prices are down 0.1 percent for the week. The global benchmark crude closed at a $2.14 premium to WTI. Libya pumped just under 600,000 barrels a day last month, Bloomberg estimates show. That’s less than half of the 1.6 million before the 2011 uprising that halted production and closed ports. It’s targeting output of 900,000 barrels a day by the start of 2017 and about 1.2 million barrels by the end of next year, according to National Oil Corp. Chairman Mustafa Sanalla. Bloomberg

Pierre Cardin not selling brand for less than a billion euros

By Joelle Diderich AFTER seven decades in the fashion industry, Pierre Cardin will have you know that he’s in no rush to get out.

His eponymous label has been for sale for a quarter of a century, though don’t bother haggling over the price: the fashion designer who pioneered brand licensing won’t entertain offers below 1 billion euros ($1.04 billion).

“If you don’t have the money, then don’t buy it―nobody’s forcing you to,” the 94-year-old said in an interview at his cluttered Paris office opposite the Elysee presidential palace. “I can afford to die without selling it.”

Cardin, the first designer to license his name for products ranging from mattresses to frying pans, first floated the idea of a sale in the late eighties. Over the years, he’s periodically revived the possibility―most recently at a fashion show in Paris this month celebrating the 70th anniversary of his design career.

Yet with earnings declining, the luxury industry generally struggling and the number of Cardin licenses less than half what they were at their high point two decades ago, the attractions aren’t what they once were.

“One billion euros for the Pierre Cardin brand seems rich at first sight,” said Luca Solca,

an analyst at Exane BNP Paribas. Such a valuation for a licensing business would be at the higher end of the luxury sector, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Deborah Aitken.

Net income at Societe de Gestion Pierre Cardin, the arm which gathers the designer’s license revenue, fell 13 percent to 3.3 million euros in 2015, according to Societe.com, a French clearinghouse of company information. Revenue was 32.5 million euros, it said. The number of Cardin licenses active worldwide is down to 350 from about 800 in the 1990s.

Maxim’s offer Cardin, a self-made millionaire, declined to provide figures or to comment on market estimates. He said he recently received a 2.5 billion-euro offer for his Maxim’s restaurant empire, though was in no hurry to seal a deal. In 1981, Cardin bought the historic Paris restaurant that in its heyday attracted Aristotle Onassis and Rita Hayworth, and set about expanding the brand worldwide.

“It’s like a child you raised that wants to escape. I have never needed money, you understand.

I have always lived on my own dime,” said the designer, who trained as an accountant with the Red Cross during World War II and still signs every check himself. Cardin lives a stone’s throw from his office, where he arrives

Pierre Cardin during an interview in his office in Paris, France, on December 19, 2016. Bloomberg

in the late morning most days and works alongside shelves lined with copies of the various books published about him.

Even at 94, Cardin travels fairly regularly despite suffering from back pain, and decamps to his chateau in southern France most weekends. He still stages fashion shows, although not during the official fashion calendar, including one in July at

the Lacoste chateau, which was once owned by the Marquis de Sade.

Casanova’s palazzo The Italian-born designer started his label in 1953 after stints at Paquin and Christian Dior and was the first couturier to offer ready-to-wear creations, heralding the advent of democratic fashion. Among his inventions are the bubble dress and

the collarless men’s suit style popularized by the Beatles, and he also pioneered the “Space Age” look in the 1960s alongside Andre Courreges and Paco Rabanne.

His Paris flagship store sells Sixties-style A-line dresses costing as much as 2,800 euros, and his perfumes, including Innovation and Legend, are made by Five Star Fragrance of the US,

which also produces scents for Donald Trump and rapper Jay Z. Cardin is ranked 166th on the annual rich list published

by French magazine Challenges, with an estimated fortune of 400 million euros, though he wouldn’t comment on how much he’s worth. “It’s much more than people say and much less than they think,” he said.

The youngest of 11 children, the designer has no shortage of surviving relatives. His greatnephew, Rodrigo Basilicati, is listed as an administrator of his holding company Pierre Cardin Evolution, though Cardin declined to say if Basilicati was his designated heir.

In addition to his fashion and restaurant businesses, Cardin has a portfolio of properties including the French chateau and Casanova’s palazzo in Venice. Another of his assets is the futuristic Palais Bulles―the “Bubble Palace,” a collection of terracotta-colored domes that includes a 500-seat amphitheater―on a hillside near Cannes.

That’s currently on the market for 300 million euros, he said.

Again, bargaining is not an option.

“I don’t need to sell it,” Cardin said, leafing through photographs that showed him alongside luminaries from Fidel Castro to Nelson Mandela. “I’m not tempted by money―me, it’s all about success.” Bloomberg

LGUs

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor Roger M. Garcia, Assistant Editor jimbo.gulle@gmail.com mslocalgov@gmail.com MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

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WET CHRISTMAS. Floods hit Eastern Samar anew as rivers swelled and overflowed villages in the towns of Jipapad, Arteche, Oras, Dolores and Maslog owing to continuous heavy rains since Friday. Dolores town saw 28 barangays under water, affecting 3997 households and leading to the death of Primitivo Lazarra, 62, who drowned in Barangay San Vicente. Mel Caspe

Espenido welcomed as Ozamiz police chief noting that the order came from PNP Director General Ronald dela Rosa himself and not from ZAMIZ CITY—Mayor Reynaldo the regional director, as was the Parojinog Sr. said he welcomed the usual practice in the past. arrival of controversial Chief Insp. Jovie Earlier, Espenido said it is his duty to obey orders from the Espenido as the new police chief here so they PNP higher command, although can work together “in fighting illegal drugs and he insisted he did not know why he was being transferred from in maintaining peace and order.”

Visayas to Mindanao.

For his part, Parojinog said he Espenido came from Albuera, as well, said Supt. Surki Sere- is ready to work with Espenido as Leyte and was involved in con- ñas, the regional police office Ozamiz’s new city police director.

In an interview, the mayor troversy when he filed criminal spokesperson. cases against suspected drug Sereñas said the officers were said he prefers a police chief lord Kerwin Espinosa and his fa- supposed to arrive at the police who is not from Ozamiz so he ther Rolando Sr., who was killed regional office on Dec. 8, but can be effective in helping the inside his detention cell in Bay- they requested to report for duty city government’s anti-drug bay, Leyte by operatives of the at the PNP-10 headquarters at campaign in line with President Criminal and Investigation De- Camp Alagar, Barangay Lapa- Rodrigo Duterte’s directive.

Since Espenido is “a stranger” tection Group last month. san on Dec. 19 instead.

Aside from Espenido, 15 othHe said the reassignment is part in Ozamiz, his work “will not be er police officers from Albuera of the Philippine National Police influenced by anyone,” he said.

“That way, he can really dig were transferred to Ozamiz headquarters transfer program,

By Lance Baconguis

O

deeper and the truth will come out,” Parojinog said, referring to some reports that mistakenly identified local government officials as involved in the illegal drug trade.

He said he and his daughter, Vice Mayor Nova Princess Parojinog, were among those on Duterte’s “narco-list,” an accusation he denied. He cited his “relentless efforts” to stamp out the shabu trade in Ozamis, even before the President declared war against illegal drugs.

The city’s support to the police, such as transportation, fuel and other logistical needs, will always be provided “no matter who sits as the city police chief,” the mayor added.

Parojinog said he expects Espenido to reimplement the police visibility campaign, especially in Ozamiz’s commercial district to prevent criminal activities.

Digong spreads cheer in hospital DAVAO CITY—As is his custom, President Rodrigo Duterte visited the House of Hope center for cancer patients at the Southern Philippines Medical Center here on Christmas Eve. Duterte handed out gifts and cash assistance to the children currently confined at SPMC, particularly the patients in the cancer ward who came from the different provinces around Davao.

Since he was still mayor of Davao, Duterte made it a tradition to visit the shelter during Christmas, as the House of Hope caters to 2,000 cancer patients. It is the only facility in Mindanao that has experts on different kinds of cancer.

The center is financed by different private groups and the

Caloocan village reconnected anew THE city government of Caloocan recently ordered the reconnection of electricity to Pangarap Village in time for Christmas despite the refusal of a real estate developer to let government vehicles and utility providers through to the settlement.

Carmel Development Inc. had been denying access to Pangarap Village despite a writ of preliminary injunction issued by Regional Trial Court Branch 123 last April 25, 2016 ordering the access of service and utility providers into the village located in Barangays 181 and 182, the city government said.

CDI did not heed the court’s decision as Caloocan City Mayor Oscar Malapitan received mounds of complaints from residents of Pangarap who lack power for their homes.

Malapitan then turned to the local police, public safety and barangay personnel for assistance for the reconnection of

electricity to the village.

“For humane reason, especially it’s Christmastime, we also want our residents in Pangarap to enjoy in celebrating this season,” the mayor said.

Pangarap Village sits on a 156-hectare property in Barangays 181 and 182 in Caloocan North. It was declared a resettlement area in 1973 by thenPresident Ferdinand Marcos, but Presidential Decree 293 was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1988.

Carmel Development then staked its claim on the property and tried to make the resettled families leave to clear the land for the $1.12-billion MRT Line 7 project proposed by the national government, which would pass through the area, the city government said.

Malabanan even wrote CDI allow access to Pangarap Village, especially to workers of utility firm Meralco, to repair their electrical facilities.

Jun David

WISH LIST. To

Erap: Don’t lose your kids in ‘Divi’

celebrate Christmas, the Akbayan Party-list posted placards along Matiyaga Street in Quezon City to calls on lawmakers to abandon the death penalty and ‘batang bilanggo’ (child prisoner) bills, which would ‘stand for their respect of life and love for children.’

Manny Palmero

city governments of Davao.

The city’s collections for antismoking violations are given to the House of Hope Foundation to finance the needs of the children there. Davao also pays for their medication through the “Lingap Para sa Mahirap” program, which started during Duterte’s term as mayor back in the 1980s.

Duterte also donated his house in Villa Margarita to the House of Hope, which now serves as a transient home for the patients who came from faraway places.

On Christmas last year, Duterte was caught on camera crying, after the children sang to expressing their gratitude for his constant visits and assistance to them. F. Pearl A. Gajunera

Manila’s health services ready for the holidays MANILA Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada on Sunday directed the city’s six government hospitals and 59 health centers to prepare for any untoward incidents during the celebration of Christmas up to the welcoming of the New Year.

He also called on parents to give “closer care” for their children and keep them away from

firecrackers and the injuries they cause. Estrada also advised those with unstable medical conditions “to avoid intake of too much fatty foods,” and to those who celebrate with wines and liquor to “drink responsibly.”

“This is a time for peaceful, joyful and meaningful celebration for all the families, so eve-

rybody must strive to make sure that no untoward incidents will happen to any member of the family,” the mayor said.

“But in case there will be an emergency, our hospitals and health centers are fully prepared and equipped to respond. We have enough doctors, nurses, medicines, and facilities and equipment

to give immediate cure and care for our patients,” he added.

Dr. Regina Bagsic, overall coordinator of the six Manila hospitals, said they have intensified preparations for the holidays.

“Our hospitals are ready to handle firecracker injuries. We have stockpiled our supplies. We have enough medical personnel, includ-

ing doctors, and other emergency teams on standby,” Bagsic said.

The Sta. Ana Hospital, Ospital ng Tondo, Ospital ng Sampaloc, Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center, Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center, and Justice Jose Abad Santos General Hospital are manned by about 600 doctors. Sandy Araneta

EMPHASIZING that the birth of the child Jesus Christ is the center of the celebration of Christmas, Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada on Sunday expressed alarm over children getting lost amid the holiday shopping rush, especially in the Divisoria area.

“For me, this is very ironic, and very saddening. We are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, and yet, there have been reports of children getting lost amid busy movement of the hundreds of thousands of people doing their Christmas rush shopping,” Estrada lamented.

As shoppers in Divisoria reach a million a day as Christmas nears, Estrada advised the public not to bring children to the crowded marketplace if possible.

“It’s better not to take the small children shopping.

They will have a difficult time here, including the parents,” Estrada said.

Last weekend, Manila Police District director Joel Coronel said they recorded six cases of missing children in Divisoria alone. All were returned to their families after a quick search, he added.

Sandy Araneta

C2 MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

LGUs

Cordillera irrigation not all free L

A TRINIDAD, Benguet—Bank accounts and farmers’ existing payables with banks for irrigation services are not part of the free irrigation service fees the national government will implement starting next year, the Cordillera office of the National Irrigation Administration clarified over the weekend.

created more problems on their part because it gave the farmers an excuse not to pay their obligations to the agency this year.

However, NIA will still collect the back accounts due from farmers to increase the available funds for the rehabilitation and upgrading of irrigation systems, leading to more efficient and effective service.

“We will still collect these Engineer John Socalo, announcement by some governNIA-CAR regional irrigation ment officials of free irrigation back accounts because we have manager, said the premature service fees for famers next year to clean our records, thus, we ap-

peal to the farmers to voluntarily settle their back accounts with the nearest provincial irrigation office to clear their names from being indebted with the agency,” Socalo stressed.

While the free irrigation service will continue next year, Socalo said Congress needs to approve the necessary amendments to the law that allows the collection of irrigation service fees.

The NIA’s collection ef-

ficiency of 60 to 70 percent annually only indicates there are numerous farmer-beneficiaries who do not promptly pay their irrigation fees with the agency, despite being able to harvest and subsequently market their produce from their farms serviced by NIA, he added.

It is unfortunate, Socalo said, that many farmers “evade paying their obligations to the government after benefitting from the

government’s irrigation systems, and the free irrigation service should not be a license for their exemption from the settlement of their obligations.”

NIA-CAR operates the Kalinga-based Upper Chico River Irrigation System, the Ifugaobased Hapid Irrigation System, and the Apayao-based West Abulug Irrigation System, apart from maintaining various communal irrigation systems regionwide. Dexter A. See

Pampanga indigent students get cash SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga— Viah Aireen de Guzman, a 17-year-old student here, has all the reason to be happy this Christmas.

Why? She was part of 1,000 students who received P7,690 each in cash incentives as disadvantaged but deserving students of Pampanga whose parents are financially incapable of sending her to school.

In return, De Guzman must work for 20 days at the Provincial Employment and Services Office for 20 days during summer vacation.

The students are beneficiaries of the Special Program of Employment for Students, who received their cash incentives during a ceremony at the Bren C. Guiao Convention and Sport Center here.

The program is a joint project of the regional Department of Labor and Employment office, Gov. Lilia Pineda and the PESO. Arlene Tolentino, DoLE Pampanga head, said the program helps indigent students to complete their education through employment during the semestral break and summer vacation.

Tolentino said the program’s budget for 2017 is P82 million, with Pampanga shouldering 60 percent and DoLE 40 percent of that amount. Romeo Dizon

ACHIEVERS LAUDED. The City Government of Muntinlupa recognized Dr. Manuel Loquias, Dr. Raul C. Navarro, Mr. Jedd Ilagan and Ms. Regale Olarte—residents who exemplified

excellence and dedication in their respective fields—last Dec. 19 during the city’s 99th Founding Anniversary. Mayor Jaime Fresnedi awarded plaques of recognition joined by former Press Secretary Toting Bunyi, former senator Rodolfo Biazon—who was also an awardee—Rep. Ruffy Biazon and PCCG Commissioner Atty. Rey Bulay.

PCCI pushes Isabela rice production

By Brenda Jocson ECHAGUE, Isabela—The Cagayan Valley chapter of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in partnership with Isabela State University, is pushing to increase rice production in the region through scientific farming methods in barangays.

Gary Chong, PCCI Santiago City President, said the partnership aims to reach the goals presented by So-

cio-Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia to President Rodrigo Duterte in the 2040 “Ambisyon Natin” government roadmap.

“Our aim is for every Filipino to live in a prosperous, predominantly middle-class society where no one is poor by having enough supply of rice,” Chong said.

The collaboration between PCCI and ISU would realize the goal of increasing rice production in Region 2 through the em-

powerment of scientific farming in villages, he added.

Cagayan Valley has at least 160,000 hectares of irrigated farm lands, 20,000 hectares of upland and rain-fed farms, and 150,000 hectares of corn land along riverside and rolling terrain.

The group’s recent studies say these areas could yield a maximum of 15 tons per hectare or 15,000 kilos of wet crops amounting to P210,000 in earnings per hectare provided

scientific farming is applied.

On a single cropping within six months, farmers could earn over P25,000 per month net per hectare from their rice harvests, excluding other agricultural products like fruits, corn, vegetables and coffee.

The study also says that when a Cagayano farmer exceeds the baseline P25,000 monthly income from scientific farming, no farmer’s wife would opt to work overseas as a domestic helper.

Eco group decries sand mining claim LINGAYEN, Pangasinan— Leaders of a pro-environment group here have denounced the “unfair, vicious, (and) recycled” reportage on alleged black sand mining four years ago, on the shores of Lingayen Gulf, which the national government has declared reserved for eco-tourism development.

Aroen Mo Ak Sambayanan, led by Sabangan Barangay Kagawad Vicente Oliquino, said the reports appearing in national dailies are “mere black propaganda” aimed at railroading development projects here.

They pointed particularly at the 18-hole world-class golf course within the 300-hectare eco-tourism zone in this capital town, proclaimed by then-President Fidel V. Ramos as an ecotourism reserve.

Under Presidential Proclamation No. 1258, Ramos also empowered the provincial government to pursue the development of the area.

Oliquino was one of eight original complainants against the alleged black sand mining here, but said he had long stopped pursuing the case before the Office of the Ombudsman as AROMAS realized the case was being used as a political issue by former Alaminos City Mayor Hernani Braganza.

Braganza ran for governor against then-incumbent Amado T. Espino, Jr. who won by a landslide.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources later issued an environmental compliance certificate for the

golf course project.

AROMAS recently staged a protest-rally in front of the house of Rolando Rea, a septuagenarian about to go blind, whose statements about black sand mining activities in the coastal barangays of Sabangan, Malimpec and Estanza were published in two national newspapers.

In one of the published reports, Rea claimed that black sand extracted from the golf course project area was sold for P10 million and shipped to China. He had also demanded that the proceeds of the sale be returned to the government.

According to AROMAS, during the May 2016 gubernatorial contest, Rea was used by former fifth district Rep. Mark Cojuangco who promised him, if he wins, to grant the 5-hectare lot he is claiming as his own within the 300-hectare ecotourism zone.

Oliquino lambasted Rea for fabricating lies and reaffirmed their Oct. 30, 2014 sworn testimony that “not a single grain of the extracted magnetite mineral was taken out of the area.”

“The hill of black sand remains intact in the area where the extracted minerals were unloaded,” the AROMAS leaders said in a joint affidavit.

The group’s testimonies were corroborated by Environment Management Bureau regional director Ma. Victoria Abrera, who inspected the area, a provincial government property, where the black sand was stockpiled. Dexter A. See

IN BRIEF Tublay LGU worker gains Dangal plum TUBLAY, Benguet— Abner Omaging Lawangen, an employee of the municipal government here, was bestowed a Dangal ng Bayan Award during the Honor Awards Program of the Civil Service Commission at Malacañang last December 19.

The Dangal ng Bayan award is conferred to individuals for “performance of an extraordinary act of public service and consistent demonstration of exemplary ethical behavior.”

President Rodrigo R. Duterte personally handed the award to Lawangen. He was honored for the professionalism and responsiveness he showed in his work in disaster risk reduction and management. Dexter A. See

1 dead, 3 arrested in Calamba drug op

LAOAG PLAYTIME. Children ride the seesaw and sample the other rides at the playground at the Ilocos Norte Provincial Capitol grounds in Laoag City. The provincial government is opening four other playgrounds and fitness parks at Dingras, Badoc, Batac City, and Bacarra before the end of 2016 to gauge the fitness project’s success before building more playgrounds in all towns of Ilocos Norte.

CALAMBA, Laguna— A man was killed, three were arrested and another escaped after an operation by police against known drug pushers in Sitio Bihonan, Barangay Real here on Saturday.

Calamba City Chief of Police Supt. Albert Tapulao said suspect Antonio Santiago died in a shootout, while arrested were alias JayR, Roger and Eugene. Another suspect, Identified as Larry Amlon, escaped.

Recovered from the suspects were one cal.

45 pistol, one improvised shotgun and an undetermined amount of suspected shabu.

Roy Tomandao

World IN BRIEF Heavy snow strands Japanese TOKYO―Heavy snow in northern Japan caused transport chaos over the holiday weekend, with flights and train services canceled and thousands of passengers forced to camp out at a regional airport for three straight nights.

Sapporo on Hokkaido island had up to 38 inches of snow as of Friday night, the city’s heaviest snowfall in half a century, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The snow blanketed New Chitose Airport, the main gateway to the northern island region, and caused hundreds of flights to be canceled.

Some 2,500 people were forced to stay there on Thursday night, 6,000 on Friday night and 2,600 in Saturday night, according to a security official at the airport.

The passengers’ plight was compounded by the fact that most flights had been fully booked due to the holiday, national broadcaster NHK said.

More than 280 flights to and from the airport were canceled on Friday alone, along with hundreds of train services in the region during the weekend, according to local media.

But the weather had significantly improved by Sunday morning and most if not all the stranded passengers at the airport should be able to leave by Sunday evening, said the security official.

Hokkaido, known for its big mountains and powder snow, attracts many ski enthusiasts from Australia and China along with Japanese.

AFP

Rouhani, Putin hail Aleppo ‘victory’ TEHRAN-Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin welcomed the “Syrian army’s victory against the terrorists in Aleppo” during a late-night phone call, Iranian media reported on Sunday.

“The Syrian army’s victory sends a message that the terrorists cannot achieve their objectives. We must stop terrorists using the ceasefire to rebuild their forces and create new bases in other regions of Syria,” Rouhani said following the call on Saturday night, according to a statement published by state media.

Putin also welcomed the defeat of rebel forces in Syria’s second city and said cooperation between Tehran and Moscow “will continue”.

They said peace talks would take place in Kazakhstan, without providing further details.

Iran and Russia have been the key backers of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and label all rebel forces in the country as “terrorists”.

“The result of this cooperation is a major victory in the fight against international terrorism,” added Putin.

Syrian troops this week retook control of eastern Aleppo, which has been held by disparate rebel groups since mid-2012, after a devastating month-long offensive that has caused tens of thousands of refugees to flee their homes.

Russia’s entry into the conflict in September 2015 -primarily through air strikes -- helped turn the tide for Assad, while Iran has provided military advisers and front line “volunteer” fighters. AFP

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

C3

Israel defies landmark vote J

ERUSALEM―Israel was defiant on Sunday over a UN vote demanding it halt settlements in Palestinian territory after lashing out at US President Barack Obama over the “shameful” resolution.

ANNIVERSARY. A participant, wearing the uniform of the World War II-era Hong Kong Volunteer Defense Corp, stands in front of a street crossing as he and other volunteers raise public awareness of the Battle of Hong Kong in the territory’s Wan Chai district on Christmas day, December 25, 2016. This Christmas marks the 75th anniversary of the colonial British surrender of Hong. AFP

Queen Elizabeth hails unsung heroes LONDON―Queen Elizabeth II will pay tribute to inspirational unsung heroes in her Christmas Day broadcast to the Commonwealth on Sunday.

The 90-year-old monarch will put the focus on “ordinary people doing extraordinary things”, according to the text of her annual message.

The head of the Commonwealth will urge people to achieve “small things with great love” in the speech, which is an integral part of Christmas Day traditions in Britain, and for millions around the world.

“I often draw strength from meeting ordinary people doing extraordinary things: volunteers, carers, community organizers and good neighbors; unsung heroes whose quiet dedication makes them special,” she said, in the prerecorded message.

“They are an inspiration to those who know them, and their lives frequently embody a truth expressed by Mother Teresa.

“She once said: ‘Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love’.”

Recalling the Rio 2016 Olympics, Queen Elizabeth was to pay tribute to

Britain’s 67 medalists who propelled the country to second in the medals table -- the kingdom’s best performance in an away Games.

“There was a time when British Olympic medal winners became household names because there were so few of them,” she said.

She said the athletes spoke of being inspired by previous generations, and were now inspiring the next.

The monarch also singled out Grenada, the Bahamas, Jamaica and New Zealand -- four countries where she is also queen -- which won more Olympic medals per head of population than other nations.

Though she recalled the Games and her 90th birthday celebrations, the head of state did not mention the referendum in which Britain voted to leave the European Union, the dominating feature of 2016 in the UK. She chose to focus on smaller-scale decisions instead.

“Even with the inspiration of others, it’s understandable that we sometimes think the world’s problems are so big that we can do little to help,” she said.

“On our own, we cannot end wars or wipe out injustice, but the cumulative impact of thousands of small acts of goodness can be bigger than we imagine.”

The royal family gather for Christmas at Queen Elizabeth’s private Sandringham estate in Norfolk, eastern England.

As per tradition, the royal family were expected to walk to church together on Christmas Day. Queen Elizabeth, who is the supreme governor of the Church of England, often refers directly to her guiding Christian faith in her Christmas message.

“Christ’s example helps me see the value of doing small things with great love,” she was to say in conclusion.

“The message of Christmas reminds us that inspiration is a gift to be given as well as received, and that love begins small but always grows.

“I wish you all a very happy Christmas.”

The queen’s Yuletide message is an annual tradition screened at 1500 GMT in Britain on Christmas Day, as many families recover from their turkey lunch. It is broadcast at convenient local times across the Commonwealth. AFP

The Security Council passed the measure Friday after the United States abstained, enabling the adoption of the first UN resolution since 1979 to condemn Israel over its settlement policy.

By deciding not to veto the move, the US took a rare step that deeply angered Israel, which accused Obama of abandoning its closest Middle East ally in the waning days of his administration.

The text was passed with support from all remaining members of the 15-member council, with applause breaking out in the chamber.

The landmark vote came despite intense lobbying efforts by Israel and calls from US President-elect Donald Trump to block the text.

While the resolution contains no sanctions, Israeli officials are concerned it could widen the possibility of prosecution at the International Criminal Court.

They are also worried it could encourage some countries to impose sanctions against Israeli settlers and goods produced in the settlements.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the resolution as a “shameful blow against Israel at the United Nations”.

“The decision that was taken was biased and shameful, but we will withstand it,” the Israeli leader said.

“It will take time, but this decision will be annulled.”

Netanyahu said Obama had broken a longstanding US commitment not to “dictate the terms of peace to Israel” at the UN body.

He said he had instructed the foreign ministry to review engagements at the United Nations, including funding for UN agencies and the presence of UN representatives in Israel.

The resolution, Netanyahu said, was “part of the swan song of the old world that is biased against Israel, but, my friends, we are entering a new era,” he said of Trump’s imminent presidency.

Trump reacted after the vote by promising change at the UN. “As to the UN, things will be different after Jan. 20th,” he tweeted referring to the date of his inauguration.

He added: “The big loss yesterday for Israel in the United Nations will make it much harder to negotiate peace. Too bad, but we will get it done anyway!” Trump said in a message on Twitter.

The US has traditionally served as Israel’s diplomatic shield, protecting it from resolutions it opposes.

It is Israel’s most important ally, providing it with more than $3 billion each year in defense aid.

That number will soon rise to $3.8 billion per year under a new decade-long pact, the biggest pledge of US military aid in history.

But the Obama administration has grown increasingly frustrated with settlement building in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied for nearly 50 years. AFP

Unrest as Sudanese refugee dies in camp SYDNEY―A Sudanese refugee held at an Australian offshore detention camp has died after a “fall and seizure”, officials said, with the incident reportedly sparking a protest at the controversial facility.

The 27-year-old, named by refugee advocates as Faysal Ishak Ahmed, died in a Brisbane hospital in eastern Australia after being flown to Queensland from Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island, the immigration department said Saturday.

“A 27-year-old Sudanese refugee has sadly died today from injuries suffered after a fall and seizure at the Manus Regional Processing Center,” the department said.

“The department is not aware of any suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.”

An immigration spokeswoman added in a statement sent to AFP Sunday there was a “disturbance involving a group of residents in the mess area” of the detention center following Ahmed’s death.

There was minor property damage but no reported injuries, she said. The disturbance had since ended. PNG police were not immediately available for comment.

Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul said Ahmed “had been suffering seizures -- resulting in him collapsing -- for weeks without treatment”.

He told AFP asylum-seekers

had protested after his death, with guards temporarily withdrawing from the compound.

Ahmed was the third man held at Manus to die in almost four years.

Iranian Reza Barati died during a riot in February 2014, while compatriot Hamid Khazaei passed away in a Brisbane hospital in August of the same year.

Canberra sends asylum-seekers who try to reach Australia by boat to remote camps in PNG and Nauru. They are blocked from resettling in Australia even if found to be refugees.

Conditions in the camps have been widely criticized by refugee advocates and medical professionals, who say some asylumseekers suffer from mental health problems due to their prolonged detention.

The government last month inked an agreement with Washington to resettle some of the refugees in the United States.

But it is unclear how many would be eligible and if the incoming Donald Trump administration -- which has vowed to tighten immigration -- would honor the deal.

Australia agreed in August to close the Manus camp following a PNG Supreme Court ruling in April declaring that holding people there was unconstitutional and illegal. AFP

FESTIVAL. A Jewish man dances to mark the start of Judaism’s festival of light, Hanukkah in central Moscow on December 24, 2016. The annual “Festival of Lights” marks the rebellion of Maccabee Jews against the Greeks in 165 BC, which some believers say included a number of miracles pointing to divine providence. AFP

Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

C4 MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

World

No survivors in crash of Syria-bound plane M OSCOW―A Russian military plane crashed on its way to Syria on Sunday, with no sign of survivors among the 92 on board, who included dozens of Red Army Choir members heading to celebrate the New Year with troops.

The Tu-154 plane crashed in the Black Sea shortly after taking off from the southern city of Adler where it had been refueling, defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told Russian news agencies.

It disappeared from radars just two minutes after it took off at 5:25 am (0225 GMT).

The ministry told agencies there was no sign of any survivors at the crash site and that four bodies had been recovered off the coast of the resort city of Sochi, after authorities launched a frantic search operation.

“Fragments of the Tu-154 plane of the Russian defense min-

istry were found 1.5 kilometers from the Black Sea coast of the city of Sochi at a depth of 50 to 70 meters,” the ministry said.

President Vladimir Putin has ordered Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to head a government commission to investigate the crash.

The plane had been on a routine flight to Russia’s Hmeimim airbase in western Syria, which has been used to launch air strikes in Moscow’s military campaign supporting its ally President Bashar al-Assad in the country’s devastating civil war.

Among the plane’s 84 passengers were Russian servicemen as

well as 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, the army’s official musical group also known as the Red Army Choir, and its conductor Valery Khalilov. They were headed to Syria to participate in New Year celebrations at the airbase.

Nine journalists were among the passengers, with state-run channels Pervy Kanal, NTV and Zvezda saying they each had three staff on board the flight.

There were also eight crew members on board, the ministry said.

A list of passengers published by the defense ministry also included Elizaveta Glinka, a doctor and charity worker who serves on the Kremlin human rights council.

Mikhail Fedotov, who heads the council, said Glinka was travelling to Syria to bring medication to a university hospital in the coastal city of Latakia near the airbase, agencies reported.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told news agencies that Putin was being kept updated on the

search operation and was in constant contact with defence minister Sergei Shoigu.

Konashenkov said that Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Popov had flown to Adler along with a team tasked with clarifying the circumstances surrounding the crash.

The ministry has not put forward any possible causes of the crash.

Konashenkov said that the aircraft had been in service since 1983 and had flown some 7,000 hours since. The plane last underwent repairs in December 2014 and was serviced in September, he said.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said a criminal probe had been launched to determine whether violations of air transportation safety had led to the crash.

Investigators are currently questioning the technical personnel responsible for preparing the plane for take-off, the committee said.

Tu-154 aircraft have been involved in a number of accidents in the past. AFP

CHRISTMAS EVE. Iraqi Christians attend a Christmas Eve service at the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, on December 24, 2016. AFP

Santa Claus coming to Tehran

Intensive care for Carrie Fisher

TEHRAN―Tehran might not seem like the most obvious pitstop for Santa Claus, but Iranians love the chintzy side of Christmas and it is also one of the safest places in the Middle East for Christians.

The past month has seen shoppers flocking to the Armenian district of Somayeh -- the biggest Christian area in the city -to pick up fake trees, and stock up on baubles, reindeer toys and plastic snowmen.

“It’s really interesting and attractive for us,” said Niloufar, a Muslim women in her thirties who was out shopping with her husband on Christmas Eve. “I love the decorations, the tree. We see it as showing a kind of respect for other beliefs. And of course I like all the chocolates!”

Shoppers line up for selfies with one of several Santas stationed outside stores on the main drag.

One Father Christmas, full of the festive spirit, breaks into an impromptu dance to a popular Iranian pop song playing outside a food stall.

Hamed Davoodian owns a grocery store on the street, and says the community never faces any trouble from the authorities.

“Why should we? (Armenians) have been here for 400 years. They are great to us,” he said, adding proudly that Christians fought alongside their fellow Iranians during the brutal war with Iraq in the 1980s.

“There were 30 to 35 martyrs from our neighborhood,” he said.

Thousands of Christians have emigrated to the United States and elsewhere since the Islamic revolution in 1979, leaving only 120,000 Christians according to the last official count.

Most are Armenian -- who are Orthodox Christian -- along with a few thousand Assyrian Catholics.

Despite the exodus, Christians are officially recognised and protected -- along with Jews and Zoroastrians -- under laws introduced by the revolution’s founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

There are limitations. Converting Muslims is illegal, which leads authorities to crack down on Persian-language Bibles. Services must be carried out in the original language of the ethnic group. AFP

LOS ANGELES—Hollywood star Carrie Fisher was spending Christmas Eve in intensive care after suffering a massive heart attack near the end of a transatlantic flight.

The 60-year-old “Star Wars” actress was preparing to land in Los Angeles around midday Friday (2000 GMT) when she went into cardiac arrest, and was given CPR by an emergency responder on board.

She was removed from the emergency room to an intensive care unit at UCLA Medical Center on a ventilator, her brother Todd Fisher said late Friday.

He has been giving regular statements on her health but was unavailable to update the condition of the actress Saturday morning.

“She’s obviously a very tough girl who’s survived many things. I encourage everyone to pray for her,” he told ABC7’s Eyewitness News shortly after she was admitted.

Harrison Ford, who played swashbuckling smuggler Han Solo opposite Fisher’s Princess Leia in the original “Star Wars” trilogy and last year’s “The Force Awakens,” said he was “shocked and saddened” in a statement released to the press on Saturday.

“Our thoughts are with Carrie, her family and friends,” he added, describing Fisher as a “dear friend.”

News reports Saturday said Fisher had just finished filming the third season of her latest screen project, the Amazon comedy television series Catastrophe which is set in London.

She was catapulted to worldwide stardom as the rebel warrior Princess Leia in the original “Star Wars” trilogy, which has been a cultural phenomenon since the release of the films from 1977 to 1983.

Fisher’s “Star Wars” co-stars led tributes as Hollywood reacted with shock to news of her collapse.

“As if 2016 couldn’t get any worse... sending all our love to @carrieffisher” tweeted Mark Hamill, who plays her on-screen twin Luke Skywalker in the “Star Wars” saga.

There were also posts from “Warwick Davis, who appeared in various “Star Wars” theatrical and straight-to-TV movies, Peter Mayhew, who plays the Wookie Chewbacca and Gwendoline Christie, who played Captain Phasma alongside Fisher in “The Force Awakens.” AFP

CHRISTMAS. Indian Christians gather around a figurine of the baby Jesus as they celebrate Christmas in Bhubaneswar on December 25. AFP

Indonesian policemen kill terror suspects JAKARTA―Indonesian police Sunday shot dead two terror suspects and arrested two more, only days after foiling separate plans by an IS-linked group for a Christmas-time suicide bombing near the capital.

The pair were fatally shot at a house in Purwakarta 100 kilometers east of the capital Jakarta after allegedly resisting arrest.

“We ordered them to surrender and even fired warning shots, but they resisted and started to attack our officers

with machetes, so we had to take them down,” national police spokesman Awi Setiyono told AFP. Police raided the house after arresting and interrogating two men on Sunday morning.

The suspects attacked officers with knives but gave up after being shot and wounded, police said.

After being interrogated, they led police to a house at a separate location where two more members of the group were hiding.

Several sharp weapons were

seized from the house but no explosives were found.

Police said the suspects and the dead men were members of the Jamaah Ansharut Daulah group, a local militant outfit which supports the Islamic State group and was responsible for a November attack on a church which killed a toddler on Borneo island.

“Their target is to attack police officers, in police posts or even at home. They wanted to attack with sharp weapons such as knives and machetes,” Setiyono said.

Less than a week before Christmas, Indonesian police thwarted a suicide-bomb plot planned for the holiday season and shot dead three militants in a raid at South Tangerang just outside Jakarta.

Indonesia suffered a string of deadly homegrown attacks during the 2000s, including the 2002 Bali bombings which killed over 200 people.

A sustained crackdown has weakened many of the most dangerous extremist networks but there have been fears of a resurgence in militancy. AFP

Life

Little Quiapo’s signature pancit palabok

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com

FOOD

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

D1

Little Quiapo’s Big Story THE JOYCE OF EATING JOYCE BABE PAÑARES

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ITTLE Quiapo has, over the past 67 years, become synonymous with cult favorites halohalo and pancit palabok. It was the go-to place of our grandparents and parents for reasonably priced, delicious food. It was the “in” place to go for a date, or for family get-togethers.

“We have always been old school,” says 28-year-old Miguel Caleon, grandson of Irineo Bartolome, a sorbetero (ice cream vendor) who decided to put up a food stand at the UP campus in Diliman in 1949 and named it Little Quiapo, a reference to the bustling Quiapo area. In his book Icons and Institutions: Essays on the History of the University of the Philippines (1952-2000), Oscar Evangelista described the original Little Quiapo stand as “a meeting place for students and residents as the cost of its tasty hamburger and thirstquenching halo-halo at 15 centavos and 20 centavos, respectively, was a bargain.” The busy eatery, where the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice now stands, also became the starting point for the traditional UP Lantern Parade.

“Our customers are predominantly parents and grandparents – seniors who would order our halo-halo even if they are diabetics. They would bring their children, and eventually their grandchildren.

And these kids who grew up eating in our restaurant have passed the tradition on to their own children,” Caleon adds.

Tucked along Malakas St. at the back of the main SSS building in Quezon

The bustling Quiapo vibe is recreated with various food products for sale—from shing-a-ling to toasted squash seeds, to Sagada oranges and ripe mangoes.

City is one of two enduring branches of Little Quiapo. There are no fancy, flashing lights or giant bees to entice you to come in. There is no drive-thru either. Instead, there are baskets of fruits (depending on the season, you can chance upon Sagada oranges, mangoes, and chico) and assorted suman made of glutinous rice or cassava. Upon entering, there are assorted packed snacks at the left side of the cashier: fish crackers, shing-a-ling made from miki noodles, toasted watermelon seeds, toasted squash seeds, chicharon, and salted egg chips, among others.

Looking at Little Quiapo’s menu is like looking at snapshots of history – these are the dishes that have been part of the lives of at least three generations

A cult favorite: Little Quiapo’s halo-halo

of Filipino families for more than half a century now.

“Most of our dishes are decades-old.

We have always served mostly Filipino dishes so you get the feeling of not really having left home whenever you eat at Little Quiapo,” Caleon says.

A solo order of pancit palabok will set one back for only P90. It comes with a generous serving of sauce, which Caleon says was influenced by his grandfather’s Kapampangan roots. For P25, you can ask for additional sauce and toppings of squid, pork chicharon, and sliced boiled egg.

Their main dishes, which are good for two to three people, include fried boneless bangus (P259), chicken pork adobo (P303), pochero (P292), sinampalukang manok (chicken cooked in tamarind, P271), kare-kare (P387), beef steak (P296), and tokwa’t baboy (deep fried tofu with pork strips, P199).

With Caleon and his 24-year-old brother Martin at the helm (Martin handles the Little Quiapo B.F. Homes branch in Parañaque), the restaurant’s menu now includes dishes that appeal to the younger crowd. There’s the salad with bagnet slices with Mang Tomas vinaigrette; rice toppings such as chopsuey rice, adobo rice, and kare-kare rice; tenderloin steak, and French fries overload.

“Our guests continue to enjoy the dishes that they have come to love over the years even as we offer new items in our menu,” Caleon says.

And the secret ingredient to the restaurant’s staying power? His grandfather, says Caleon, always reminded his staff to “treat customers like kings.” Couple that

Salad with bagnet slices drizzled with Mang Tomas vinaigrette

A generous serving of kare-kare with sweet and salty bagoong

with passion to whip up delicious comfort food cooked the way you do at home everyday and you will surely have an enduring big winner like Little Quiapo.

For feedback, send comments to joyce.panares@gmail.com.

Photos by Sonny Espiritu

Perfect party place YOU’RE sure to find the perfect place to suit your preferred theme or ambiance from Cravings’ group of restaurants that boast of great locations and tasteful aesthetics.

For a chic modern setting, the Cravings restaurants located on Katipunan, QC and in Salcedo Village, Makati are great choices that can accommodate gatherings of up to 150 people; while The Blackboard at The Podium and Where’s Marcel? give casual celebrations a trendy atmosphere.

The artisanal vibe of Epicurious in Shangri-La Mall makes for a good party venue for connoisseur friends while Lucia Ristorante’s romantic vibe and Italian fare is made for a more intimate fete.

Casa Roces makes family gatherings a dressy occasion with its homey ambiance punctuated with a touch of Old World elegance while B&P All-Day Breakfast’s playful vibe will appeal to the young and young-at-heart.

For grander occasions, the C3 Events Place in Greenhills can serve your needs and can accommodate up to 200 people.

If a few hours of dinner may not seem enough, Cravings’ out of town locations—country-inspired Sisterfields in Tagaytay and Seven Suites Hotel in Antipolo—are the best choices for more bonding time.

You can also bring Cravings to your home or office starting at just P750++ per head, which includes classic favorites, a soup and salad spread, barbecue and pasta cooked on the spot, a carving station, coffee counter and a dessert bar.

Already have a date in mind? Book your party in advance and get exclusive offers and premiums such as a bottle of wine on the house, a complimentary round of coffee and a free premium cake.

Potluck trays An array of classic Filipino dishes, festive seasonal fillers and delectable desserts are available in take-home party trays that will make your house party and potluck revelries merry and bright.

Choose from Cravings Classics, cer-

S’Mores Cookie Sandwich Classic, Peanut Butter and Red Velvet

Chocolate Caramel Cake, Carrot Cake, Cherry Walnut Cheesecake and Devil’s Food Cake available at Cravings

Pasta Paella with Chorizo, Olives and Bell Peppers and Fresh Salt Crusted Norwegian Salmon

tified crowd favorites: Roast Beef with Mushroom Sauce, Very Moist Cordon Bleu, Four Cheese Lasagna, and Annie’s Organic Salad Bowl that come in family and party sizes. Seasonal holiday treats will make your holiday meal even merrier: Crackling Pork Bagnet stuffed with Arroz Valenciana, Roast Turkey with Chestnut Raisin Stuffing that comes with gravy or cranberry sauce, and Mediterranean-Style Roast

Leg of Lamb.

Other special choices are C2’s Crispy Kare-Kare, B&P’s Pineapple Glazed Ribs, Pasta Paella with Chorizo, and Fresh Salt Crusted Norwegian Salmon—delicious dishes that will make your house party memorable!

And what party is complete without something sweet? Make your guests sigh in satisfaction with Cravings Ultimate Cakes: Chocolate Caramel Cake,

Carrot Cake, Cherry Walnut Cheesecake and Devil’s Food Cake.

Have a lot of parties to attend? Cravings is giving away sweet freebies when you buy in bulk. A single receipt worth P12,000 of potluck dishes entitles you to a free whole cake. You also get a free cake when you buy 10 cakes.

For more information, visit www.mycravings.com or call (02) 425-0907.

Life

D2 MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016 isahred@gmail.com

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HIS may be the best time to try shopping at the Best Value Factory Food Outlet, one of the best-kept secrets in the industry. And, best of all, unlike other warehouse outlets, you don’t need to be a member.

People in the food industry and those with small and medium scale food businesses have been flocking to Best Value even before it opened its doors to the public at large—and now you can, too.

It offers factory prices on a host of goods particularly cooking oils, specialty fats, baking and culinary ingredients and a whole sundry of items you won’t normally find at a supermarket and normal retail outlets.

Best Value has a wide assortment of goods at great value and superb quality.

Most of its products come from OleoFats, an affiliate company, which manufactures products for food industry leaders and famous food chains.

Initially, the store was just an outlet to sell to Oleo-Fats customers who didn’t meet the larger volume orders, according to Princess Guia, Best Value’s ebullient sales and operations supervisor. But this year, it realized that expansion meant choices, and so it decided to carry other brands as well, making it a full-fledged store.

The expansion is the store’s answer to customers’s clamor. For instance, since it already sold the soft serve mixes, customers also looked for the cones, the syrups and the toppings.

“They wanted basic commodities, like flour and sugar, so our goal is to complete the product lines,” says Guia.

“This is why you’ll also see products adjacent items such as packaging material and chocolate and cookie molds.

Food Service and HoReCa (Hotel, Restaurant, Café) industries make up a large portion of the customer base. The rest have food kiosks/stalls bakeries, some are hobbyists and homemakers.

Pretty much anyone will benefit from the store’s products.

“For all your culinary needs” is not just a tagline. It has a range of mixes, syrups, sauces, toppings, flavorings,

spices, breadings, among other dry goods and even frozen meats. While food items are the primary product, there are also others, like soaps, cleaners and laundry detergents because the food service companies also need those and their parent company, D&L Industries, manufactures those products as well.

The company also encourages entrepreneurship with its HANEP (Buhay) Negosyo Packages. The store sells equipment such as soft serve icecream makers, granita slushee mixes, juice mixes, 3-in-1 vendo, and popcorn maker.

It also conducts seminars and demos to educate interested customers, for free.

As always, it’s the people who really make the experience shopping here an enjoyable experience. Best Value knows their customers not just because they’re often repeat customers, but because it engages them, and it’s those personal touches that really make the customers feel heard. When some of their shoppers went looking for organic apple cider vinegar in the shop because there was a shortage in the usual places, Guia herself searched for other suppliers and it wasn’t long before they were on the shelf. It is this kind of personalized service and the products themselves that have brought fast growth to the company and definite expansion plans for next year. As Guia puts it, “We are also learning from the customers.”

Warehouse shopping

sans membership

Best Value offers a wide variety of food items and other goods valued at factory prices

Best Value Factory Food Outlet is at 62 Calle Industria, Bagumbayan, Quezon City. For information call (02) 635-0680 loc 386 or 0918-9039328. The store is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

Visit and like their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BestValueFFO.

A host of frozen and chilled items are available in the store

Best Value Factory Food Outlet Sales and Operations Supervisor Princess Guia with Best Value’s staff

Festive fizz from Wine Story OVER the years, champagne has been the preferred choice for celebrations of all kinds—royal, political, national, fashionable, sporting—whatever the occasion.

Today, Champagne is how we celebrate life’s finest moments. The Bicentennial celebrations of the French Revolution; the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup 98; the Cannes film festival; family birthdays, Christmas and New Year. No celebration is complete without bubbly.

Take your pick from elegant champagnes from Champagne Thiénot that are lively on the palate and can nicely complement your holiday feast, at Wine Story.

an elegant, delicious wine with a distinctive, delicate aromatic style. It showcases Thiénot’s exacting standards in crafting Champagne driven by red fruits, freshness and great finesse. With 45 percent Pinot Noir (of which 7 percent are red wines produced from old vines), 35 percent Chardonnay and 20 percent Pinot Meunier, the wine is among those highly ranked by international wine critics. Thiénot Rosé is creamy and well-balanced, features citrusy acidity backing openknit flavors of crème de cassis, gumdrop, dried apricot, almond skin and pastry, with a mineral-tinged finish.

Cuvée Alain Thiénot 2002 Exemplifying the trademark savoirHere are some superb champagne faire and exacting standards synonymous with the Champagne House, Cuvée Alain options from Wine Story: Thiénot is a stunning blend of ChardonThiénot Brut NV (75cl or 37.5cl bottle) nay and Pinot Noir. Only crafted in outstanding years, this This blend of the is exceptional Chamthree classic ChamThienot pagne of great compagne grape varieRose plexity and perfect ties forms the sigfeatures harmony. The wine is nature Thiénot style a delilively and well-knit, of finesse, fruit and cious and backed by vibrant freshness, offering delicate acidity that drives springtime notes, taste flavors of baked pear, magnificent balance grated ginger, marziand a lingering finpan and lemon curd. It ish. The Champagne is fresh and accessible, House’s great classic with a creamy finish. is an exotic sparkler, It is perfect drink now displaying rich carathrough 2021. melized smoke and Wine Story stores brioche notes, balare located at Shananced with citrusy gri-La Plaza in acidity and flavors of Mandaluyong (02) ripe apple, candied 633-3556; Serendra pineapple, lemon Bonifacio High Street, meringue and crysin Taguig (02) 846tallized honey. It has 6310; and Unit W-104 a mouth-watering One Rockwell, Rockfinish. well Center, Makati Thiénot Rosé (02) 869-0932.

Thiénot Rosé is

The store serves Food Service and HoReCa industries

Some items at Best Value are not normally available in other supermarkets

B ITES The Joy of Sharing PHOENIX Court, the fine dining Chinese restaurant of The Bellevue Manila, offers its very own Christmas Set Menu until Dec. 28.

Make the most of your get-togethers this season as you enjoy mouthwatering dishes like Roasted Peking Duck, Chilled Prawn Salad and Thai Shredded Chicken Salad, Pan-Fried Fillet of Beef with Black Pepper and Chilled Mango Sago Cream specially-made by the restaurant’s team of expert chefs.

For inquiries, call (02) 771-8181 local 2211, email tbmnl@thebellevue.com or visit www.thebellevuemanila.com.

Holiday doughnuts THE Yuletide season is probably the biggest and most anticipated time ever especially for Filipinos. It’s the perfect reason for us to share a delicious feast with loved ones and to bring out all our favorite treats, such as Krispy Kreme’s limited edition holiday doughnuts.

Whether as gifts or served as dessert for your Christmas party, the Krispy Kreme holiday doughnuts are the perfect addition to any Christmas list or feast.

There are fun flavors and variations to choose from like Holiday Sprinkles and Holiday Tree. You can also look forward to uniquely shaped doughnuts like Snowflake and Snowman.

Krispy Kreme is also offering its Nutty Cocoa Ring topped with Nutella.

Get each of the holiday doughnuts or the Nutty Cocoa Ring topped with Nutella for P48 per piece or buy a dozen for P430 to share or give to your loved ones. You have until January 8, 2017 to avail of these great doughnuts.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

Globe Telecom’s ‘Star Wars’ video raises awareness for PGH’s pediatric clinic rehab

A kid from the PGH pediatric ward trying on the Stormtrooper helmet

Senior Citizens Association of Kamuning officers and members, during a Pansedal Forum at Kamuning Bakery, offer support for MMFF films like Sunday Beauty Queen at Pandesal Forum of Kamuning Bakery Cafe

QC’s first bakery

supports 2016 MMFF movies

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OVIE fans are encouraged to watch all eight entries of the 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) and to share reviews on social media and ask more theaters to show these films. This call was voiced by filmmakers behind Sunday Beauty Queen, Saving Sally, Oro and Kabisera along with MMFF leaders Boots Anson Roa-Rodrigo, Ed Cabagnot, Moira Lee, MMFF Selection Committee’s Nic Tiongson, Krip Yuson and Mae Paner, Quezon City Congressman Alfred Vargas’ representative Noel Ferrer---at two sessions of the “Pandesal Forum” with media at 77-year-old, artisanal Kamuning Bakery Café in Quezon City.

Apart from the support of Kamuning Bakery Café for the 2016 MMFF, the senior citizens association of Quezon City’s oldest Barangay Kamuning offered a “surprise Christmas gift” to express support for the film Sunday Beauty Queen, for all OFWs worldwide KIX, action entertainment TV channel airs The Ultimate BROcation, tomorrow, 9 p.m. Wednesdays, a hilarious reality show about four celebrities from different countries discovering Hong Kong in an all-expense paid vacation, tailor-made for bros.

The show stars R&B sensation Billy Crawford with three other Asian celebrities: Thailand’s “bad boy” DJ and TV host P.K.; award-winning Malaysian hip-hop artist SonaOne; and Singaporean maverick chef Bjorn Shen.

These bros bond in Hong Kong for five days with no girlfriends, no kids and no sleep, oh and get this – these four guys don’t even personally know each other.

The bros’ five-day trip to Hong Kong is undoubtedly filled with amazing party scenes, food trips, fast cars, unique adventures and of course, a whole lot of hilariousness.

Catch their crazy antics as the BROs tried bubble soccer and martial arts

and for the 2016 MMFF by singing Christmas carols wearing traditional Filipiniana attire at the Dec. 20 Pandesal Forum with Cabagnot, Paner, Sunday Beauty Queen director Babyruth Villarama, OFW domestic helper from Hong Kong Mylyn Jacobo

Hilarious getaway

Billy Crawford (center) joins Malaysian rapper SonaOne, Singaporean chef Bjorn Shern, and Thai DJ PK in a dudes-only holiday in Hong Kong

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Monday, December 26, 2016

ACROSS 1 No different 5 Sgt. Preston’s org.

9 London elevators 14 Plenty, to a poet 15 Q.E.D. part 16 Hunter constellation 17 Broad 18 Attila’s subjects 19 Welsh dog 20 Cannes summer 21 Memorable first 22 Most logical 23 Bulwark 25 Iotas 26 Had a bite 27 Tree trunk 28 Ad — committee 31 Race-car engine 34 Hubble, e.g.

36 Libra’s stone 37 Mr. Pasternak 38 Antiquity 39 Dentist’s supply 41 Gump and Rooney 42 Compass dir.

43 Up to the job 44 Dished out?

45 Country addrs.

46 Soap operas 50 Alcoves 53 Like 1950’s LPs

, TBA producer Vincent Nebrida, and others.

Villarama became teary-eyed and OFW Jacobo turned emotional during the senior citizens’ medley of Filipino and Western songs.

Sunday Beauty Queen is the first ever documentary film to join the MMFF. Rated G for general patronage by the MTRCB, it was also graded “A” by the Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB) unanimously by all 10 CEB reviewers. It’s one of the film entries in the 2016 MMFF that may not make it to a third day of screening.

For the first time, the 2016 MMFF jurors include officials of prestigious international film festivals – Paolo Bertolin of the Venice International Film Festival and Philip Cheah of the Singapore International Film Festival. They shall join other jurors like actor John Lloyd Cruz. Cabagnot who said Batangas Congresswoman Vilma Santos Recto had begged off.

54 Kipling classic 55 Loathe 56 Unwritten promise 57 — monster 58 “Cheers” barmaid 59 Helm position 60 Footnote abbr.

(2 wds.)

61 TV’s Lou Grant 62 Techie 63 Table salt DOWN 1 Storm drain 2 Santa — racetrack 3 Internet hookup 4 Pasture grazer 5 End a layoff 6 Pizza feature 7 Minds the phone 8 Qt. parts 9 Pinpoints 10 Shackles 11 Dragon’s breath 12 Clothing 13 Fit of pique 21 Green Hornet’s valet 22 Boot bottoms 24 Casals or Picasso 25 Actress Angelina 27 European

capital (var.)

28 Tough guy 29 Grand Ole — 30 So-so grades 31 Voice quality 32 Right after 33 Scream and shout 34 Plugs away 35 Ms. Lauper 37 Ruth and Zaharias 40 Party provider 41 Phobia or nautic lead-in 44 — off

(prevented) 45 Geneva’s river 46 More annoyed 47 Curly-tailed pooch 48 Soft purple 49 Mean-spirited 50 Nothing, to Pedro 51 White wader 52 Biggers’ sleuth 53 Double agent 56 Sickly pale 57 Mil. rank

fighting stunts, which are a lot harder than they look. They also tried the fly boarding adventure, where each BRO got to channel their inner ‘Iron Man’ in an attempt to ‘fly’ on a water surface. Let’s just say that it made their superhero dreams come true.

And speaking of feeling super, they also raced each other to the top of The Peak. But instead of focusing on the race, the BROs set their male egos aside and enjoyed the experience and of course, the amazing view, with a couple of bro-hugs on the side.

If you want to experience your own BROcation, don’t miss the chance to join “The Ultimate BROcation Watch and Win Contest”! The winner can tag along two friends and experience the best of Hong Kong like never before.

All you have to do is go online at: KIX-TV.com/BROcation and answer a simple question. That’s it!

The contest runs until Jan. 11, 2017.

THE new Star Wars movie, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the country’s no. 1 mobile brand, Globe, reinforces its partnership with the iconic movie franchise through a heartwarming video inspired by triumphant children. Now a viral material since its launch on the telco’s official Facebook page, it has over 41 million views and has been recognized by top online news outlets such as CNN, Mashable, Huffington Post, and UpWorthy, among others.

The video tells the story of a girl who goes about her every day wearing a Stormtrooper helmet that ultimately piques the curiosity of people around her. One day, she enters her classroom and is surprised that her whole class too was wearing the same helmets, showing her support. This then leads to the heartwarming reveal of the girl’s condition when she takes off her helmet to reveal the oxygen mask.

Beautifully demonstrating a child’s resilience and triumph over challenges, the video garnered praise from all over the world, especially from the Star Wars community of fans. Ultimately, the video was produced to raise awareness for the company’s partnership with the Philippine General Hospital (PGH).

Apart from just promoting the new Star Wars movie, Globe puts more meaning and community involvement into its campaign by collaborating with PGH to raise awareness for the rehabilitation of its pediatric clinic.

The rehabilitation of its facility will give children patients a more equipped space ideal for their recovery.

“They say courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow. Out to make a difference, we want to pay tribute to the real heroes of today – the triumphant kids at the PGH Pediatric Ward.

These heroes courageously battle through cancer every day, and we are more than proud of all of them. This inspired us to put more meaning to the Star Wars campaign by actually empowering our customers to lend a helping hand through donations right on their mobile device. Prepaid and Postpaid customers will easily be able to donate using their prepaid load or charged to their postpaid bill,” shares Issa Cabreira, Globe senior vice president for Consumer Mobile Business.

In line with its support for the PGH, Globe representatives and ambassadors recently visited the kids at the PGH Cancer Institute to give a day full of surprises. From good food to exciting gifts for the kids, Globe organized a fitting finale to its visit by surprising the kids and their families with the appearance of Stormtroopers! These volunteers were from the 501st Legion dressed in full Stormtrooper gear that provided entertainment for all kids.

Customers who want to help join the movement to create courage for our everyday heroes can learn more about how they can donate by visiting www.globe.com.ph/ surf/rogue-one. Follow @enjoyGLOBE on Twitter and Globe Telecom on Facebook for #RogueOnePH updates.

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016 Arci Muñoz

ISAH V. RED

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T’S an extra special and extra fun New Year as Star Cinema opens 2017 with Extra Service - a sexy action-adventure for the whole family to enjoy.

Directed by Chris Martinez, widely known for his quirky and irreverent films Here Comes The Bride and Kimmy Dora And The Kyemeng Prequel as well as the groundbreaking indie flick Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank, which he wrote, Extra Service is a team effort with screenwriter Alpha Habon, whose most notable work is The Super Parental Guardians, and the stars Coleen Garcia, Arci Muñoz, and Jessy Mendiola, arguably three of the sexiest and hottest actresses in the industry today.

The film is centered on the amazing adventures of Aw (Garcia), Em (Muñoz), and Mendiola (Gee), who are mild-mannered massage therapists by day and solve crime as sexy secret agents by night. As the crime fighting #SexySquad, Aw, Em, and Gee are tasked to embark on a top-level secret mission to retrieve the precious “Perlas Ng Silangan” in exchange for their lives and freedom.

It should be noted that this is the very first big-screen collaboration between Coleen, Arci, and Jessy, who are all certified cover girls and epitomes of “girl power” based on their individual achievements as actresses.

Coleen first gained mainstream recognition after starring on the teen, dance musical, drama anthology Good Vibes in 2011. Her stint on that show was followed by a consistent string of TV appearances, most notably in It’s Showtime where she became a regular host, and starring roles in such series as Little Champ (2013) and Pasion De Amor (2015 to 2016). She was also featured in a handful of movies such as the independent film #Y (2014) and the commercially successful Ex With Benefits (2015) and Love Me Tomorrow (2016) - all for Star Cinema.

Arci took the industry by storm with her riveting performance in ABSCBN’s top-rating afternoon series Pasion De Amor. She is currently in the primetime hit Magpahanggang Wakas with Jericho Rosales. She also debuted in Star Cinema in an unforgettable supporting role in A Second Chance in 2015, and followed up this year with a starring role opposite Gerald Anderson in Always Be My Maybe.

Jessy is a homegrown talent of ABSCBN and currently holds the prestigious and coveted title as FHM Philippines’ “Sexiest Woman in the Philippines.”

She took the iconic title role of Maria Marcedes from 2013 to 2014 a role that was made popular by international telenovela queen Thalia. She also

Coleen Garcia

Welcome 2017 with

‘EXTRA SERVICE’

starred in the primetime series You’re My Home. Currently, she’s one of the mainstays in the gag show Banana Sundae, which airs (of course) on ABSCBN every Sunday afternoon.

Jessy also appeared in a string of Star Cinema movies that include The Reunion (2012), Call Center Girl (2013) and The Trial (2014), as well as well as on the StarFlix-produced mobile series Must Date The Playboy- the very first mobile series of ABS-CBNmobile.

Playing their love interest in the movie are three of today’s hottest actors: Enzo Pineda and Vin Abrenica – marking thier first film project for Star Cinema and Skylight Films – and Ejay Falcon.

Extra Service opens in cinemas nationwide on Jan. 11 next year. *** GMA Network’s commitment to producing child-friendly programs has been recognized once again by the Anak TV Foundation, with several of its shows taking home the iconic Anak TV Seal Award.

Leading this year’s list of Anak TV Seal awardees are Public Affairs programs –Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho (KMJS), I-Witness, AHA!, Pinoy MD, Born to Be Wild, and Wish Ko Lang.

Earning Anak TV seals as well are Alamat and Dream Home. This year’s awardees also include GMA News TV’s Ang Pinaka, Biyahe ni Drew, Good News, I Juander, Brigada, Front Row, and Pop Talk.

These programs were chosen by over 5,000 adult jurors from various sectors from different geographic areas in the Philippines in assessment screenings from March to November.

Meanwhile, recognized as Makabata Stars of 2016 or personalities who are most “credible, wholesome, and worth emulating by the youth” were Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera, Michael V., Drew Arellano, Kara David, and Vicky Morales. They have been selected by over 11,000 voters made of adult professionals, university students, and educators nationwide.

Jessy Mendiola

Various Kapuso news and public affairs and entertainment programs were also selected as top household favorites including 24 Oras, Encantadia, I-Witness, KMJS, and Pepito Manaloto.

Meanwhile, the Kapisanan ng mga Kamag-anak at Migranteng Manggagawang Pilipino, Inc. (KAKAMMPI) also recognized various GMA programs and personalities that unselfishly share their time, skills, and resources for the welfare of OFWs. At the 6th OFW Gawad Parangal, GMA News Online was conferred the Outstanding Online News for OFWs and was elevated to the Hall of Fame.

Jiggy Manicad won as Favorite Male TV News Reporter while Tricia Zafra was Favorite Female TV News Reporter.

Noontime show Sunday Pinasaya took home the Best Variety Show award with its hosts, Gladys Guevarra (as Chuchay) and Mary Jane Arrabis (as Boobsie) winning the Favorite Comedian Duo award.

The Best Talk Show award went to Yan ang Morning!. Meanwhile, the top-rating primetime soap Because of You took home the Best Wholesome Story award, with lead actor Gabby Concepcion winning the Best Actor award. Kapuso leading man Aljur Abrenica was chosen as Favorite Actor for his performance in the drama series Once Again.

DongYanZia—Dingdong and Marian, together with their first born, Zia—was awarded the Most Popular Family in the Showbiz Industry. *** Solenn Heussaff cheered ethnic tribes in Bukidnon during the recent 4th Sacred Customary Compact Celebration of Unity and Peace. The Encantadia star offered her own painting to the tribe, Apart from that, she had an immersion with the tribal group. “Words can’t describe how this felt and what an honor it was for me to meet all of them today and the Datus as well. Blessed I could help in my own way,” she said.

Real life couple Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes are recognized as Makabata Stars of 2016, along with Zia, they are awarded as the Most Popular Showbiz Family , too

Anak TV Favorite Actor Aljur Abrenica

Solenn Heussaff offering her artwork to an ethnic tribe in Bukidnon