Manila Standard - 2016 December 28 - Wednesday

VOL. XXX • NO. 319 • 4 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016 • www.thestandard.com.ph • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

SATURNALIA SUPERSTITION. Nathaniel Jimenez and his grandmother Mercy peddle round fruits—and 12 kinds yet, believed by superstitious

folks and endorsed by vendors in the metropolis as bringing good luck—at their fruits stand in Manila’s San Andres district while a worker in a firecracker factory in Bocaue, Bulacan (left) waits for customers of her pinwheels and fireworks for the New Year’s Eve revelry. Norman Cruz/Manny Palmero

25 indicted for graft Rody vetoes use of agencies’ income

By John Paolo Bencito PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte barred several government agencies from using their incomes for next year after he vetoed certain provisions of the P3.35-trillion General Appropriations Act for 2017.

“In keeping with the powers vested in me by the Constitution, I am compelled to directly veto the new special provisions

which allow agencies to directly use their income. Under existing budgeting laws, rules and regulations, all income of agencies shall accrue to the General Fund of the National Government, unless authorized by a separate substantive law,” Duterte said in his veto message sent to Congress on Dec. 22, and which is expected to appear in the Dec. 29 issue of the Official Gazette.

“Consequently, all income con-

stitute an integral and intrinsic part of the revenue and financing sources of the National Government previously submitted to the Congress. Hence, including new special provisions in this Act which authorize agencies to use their income will effectively reduce the financing sources of this year’s GAA and at the same time, unjustifiably increase the appropriations of these agencies,” he added.

The President used direct veto on the “use of income” under the budget of the Energy Regulatory Commission, Commission on Elections and the Professional Regulatory Commission.

Duterte also said there is no substantive law to justify the transfer of funds from tariff proceeds on rice importation by the Department of Agriculture and the immigration fees by the Bureau of Immigration. Next page

P1-b calamity fund set aside for battered Bicol PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte promised more than P1 billion in calamity funds to help Bicolanos recover following the onslaught of Typhoon “Nina” (international name Nock-Ten).

Speaking in Camarines Sur, one of the areas devastated by the typhoon, the President said he has

ordered his Cabinet members to start giving aid to the victims of the typhoon.

“P1 billion standby in calamity [funds], you’ll have it,” Duterte said in his speech at Pili, Camarines Sur on Tuesday.

The President also vowed that the government would spend P50

million to P100 million to help farmers replant their seedlings.

He also assured the audience that there would be no corruption in the distribution of aid, saying he would throw any government officials who tried to steal calamity funds out of a helicopter.

“Let us not wait and wallow in

self-pity. Let us move forward immediately,” he said.

At least six people died and 18 others went missing after the typhoon lashed the country over the Christmas holidays.

The unusually late storm first hit the eastern provinces on Next page

2 ex-officials, Napoles in Malampaya fund mess

By John Paolo Bencito

T

HE Office of the Ombudsman on Tuesday filed graft and malversation charges against former Agrarian Reform secretary Nasser Pangandaman, former Budget secretary Rolando Andaya Jr., alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles and 22 others for illegally diverting more than P900 million from the Malampaya Fund to several non-government organizations controlled by Napoles.

Ombdusman Conchita CarpioMorales, however, cleared former President Gloria Arroyo of any wrongdoing in the case.

In a resolution, Morales said the respondents own acts “showed their undue interest in the immediate release of the funds…regardless of whether there was compli-

AS PART of its campaign to stem the spread of the HIV virus, the Health department is set to buy P50 million to P100 million worth of condoms next year.

At a press briefing Tuesday, Health Undersecretary Gerardo Bayugo said the expenditure was part of the P1 billion allotted to address the problem of HIV and AIDS in 2017.

At present, Bayugo said the DoH has 10-million condoms ready for distribution in the pilot areas, particularly in the high-risk areas in Metro Manila, Calabarzon and Central Luzon.

He said Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Ubial is proposing the distribution of condoms in schools, since statistics show that HIV is increasing among those aged 15 to 24.

“Two of three infections are happening among 15 to 24 years old and we need [to take] some action on this,” Bayugo said.

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By John Paolo Bencito

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Condoms as dole for teeners ready

Govt set to free 20 political prisoners PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has already ordered the release of some 17 or 20 political prisoners for humanitarian reasons, government negotiators said Tuesday.

Labor Secretary and government chief negotiator Silvestre Bello III assured leaders of the Communist Party of the Philippines that some of the sickly and elderly political detainees would soon be released.

“It is just a matter of time. The President will keep his word,” Bello said, explaining that the next release of rebels for humanitarian reasons is not tied to the bilateral ceasefire agreement that the government is seeking to forge with the rebels.

Peace Process Secretary Jesus Dureza said the impeding release only awaits the formal announcement by the President.

“Let us just wait for the formal announcement,” Dureza added.

Duterte earlier announced he would order the release of elderly and sick detained rebels in time for Christmas for humanitarian reasons.

The National Democratic Front, the political umbrella of

ance with applicable laws or rules governing such disbursements.” “[T]he respondents’ intent and purpose show cohesion and interconnection, demonstrating the attainment of the same objective through their separate acts as each contributed in the end result of

Lawyer named Subic Bay head ROADS IN RUINS. Roads in Tabaco City, near the world’s near perfect cone in Albay, are filled with debris on Tuesday after the

palm-dotted peninsula was flogged mercilessly by Super Typhoon ‘Nina,’ leaving at least six people dead and 18 others missing, on Christmas. AFP

Arrest order on colonel; 6 others in drug raps

By Rey E. Requejo and Sandy Araneta A COURT in Manila has ordered the arrest of Marine Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino in connection with the drug case filed against him by the Justice department in September. twitter.com/ MlaStandard

The court ordered the arrest of Marcelino, a former official of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, after dismissing his motion to dismiss the charges of possession of illegal drugs against him.

Authorities have also filed charges before the Justice department against three

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Chinese nationals and three Filipinos for manufacturing and distributing illegal drugs.

The National Bureau of Investigation said its agents had seized more than 890 kilograms of high grade shabu and arrested seven Chinese nationals and three Filipinos.

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MALACAÑANG on Tuesday named a former lawyer for a top cigarette manufacturer as the new administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority amid an ongoing scramble for the much-coveted post in the agency.

In a letter dated Dec. 21, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea appointed Wilma Eisma, a former manager for Corporate Affairs of Philip Morris and Fortune Tobacco Corp., to take the top post at the SBMA and replace its former chairman and administrator Roberto Garcia.

Before Eisma’s appointment, Malacañang tapped Randy Escolango as SBMA officer in charge following the claims from its chairman Martin Diño that he assumed the functions of both SBMA chairman and administrator.

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P1-b...

From A1 Christmas Day, flooding roads and farms, destroying homes and damaging ships as it crossed the archipelago, though the capital was spared.

In the worst incident, a ferry known as the m/v Starlight Atlantic sank off the coastal province of Batangas, killing one and leaving 18 crewmen missing, the coast guard reported after confirming the number of people on board.

Five others were killed by floods and falling objects knocked down when the storm hit, bearing gusts of 235 kilometers an hour, local officials said.

“Nina” took out power in many eastern provinces, with energy officials unsure when electrical services would be restored, a spokeswoman for the disaster-monitoring agency, Mina Marasigan, said.

More than 429,000 people were preemptively evacuated from their homes in vulnerable areas and over 330 flights were canceled due the typhoon, official figures showed, while houses and infrastructure also took a beating.

“We saw many houses destroyed by the strong winds. Infrastructure like schools and hospitals as well.

We are still awaiting the exact figures of how many houses were destroyed, and the exact cost of damage,” Marasigan told reporters.

“Nina” had been expected to bring heavy rains and winds to capital city Manila, home to 13-million residents, but the typhoon lost force as it crossed the eastern islands.

It left the main island of Luzon on Tuesday heading west to the South China Sea. The Agriculture department said the value of production losses in the agriculture sector caused by the typhoon may have reached more than P 300 million.

The department said that based on initial reports from its regional office, a total of 224,156 hectares and 154 farmers in Batangas and Quezon were affected by the recent typhoon.

“A maximum of 87,000 hectares of rice areas and 6,00 hectares of corn areas might be affected with a computed loss in value of P 295 million and P 85 million respectively. Field data will be provided as soon as it becomes available,” the department said.

“Some areas are impassable and flooded especially in Camarines Sur. Close monitoring is being undertaken by our deployed field personnel and LGU partners,” the department said.

The Department of Public Works and Highways, meanwhile, said it will rush repair wor on all roads and infrastructure damaged

by Typhoon “Nina” as it sought an additional funds.

The DPWH said it has mobilized work crews to attend to eight road sections that have been closed to vehicular traffic because of damage from Typhoon “Nina.”

Clearing operations are underway in Bicol Region, which was hit hard during Christmas Day, the department said.

The DPWH also said that clearing and repair work is ongoing Fatima, Hinabangan, Samar which was also declared hardly passable in Region VIII due to a major roadslip. Motorists were advised to take the San Juanico-BaseyMarabut Road instead.

More flights were canceled at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport due to bad weather brought by the typhoon, the Manila International Airport Authority said on Tuesday. AFP, Anna Leah E. Gonzales, Vito Barcelo, Joel E. Zurbano, PNA

Rody...

From A1 “Allowing these agencies to set aside and earmark said proceeds and collections will, in effect, result in double programming and increase our expenditure program without the corresponding revenue sources,” Duterte said.

The President also vetoed the use of express lane charges collected by the BI, earmarked to pay for “salaries of casual and contractual personnel, confidential agents and job employees, augmentation of salaries of personnel who render services beyond office hours, and payment of health insurance premium,” saying that the agency has been provided with funds to pay for the agency’s employees.

“It is important to note that said agency [has] been provided appropriations for overtime pay for FY 2017 and that, a total of seven hundred (700) positions have been created to address the issue on shortage of personnel of the agency. Without a separate substantive law as legal basis, the collected fees from the express lane charges should now be deposited as income of the General Fund,” Duterte said.

News

Taiwan warns of China threats T AIPEI―Taiwan’s defense minister warned Tuesday that the threats from China were growing daily after Beijing’s aircraft carrier and a flotilla of other warships passed south of the island in an exercise as tensions grow.

After sailing south of Taiwan itself, the Liaoning and five other warships on Monday passed the Taiwan-administered Dongsha Islands in the South China Sea that is also claimed by Beijing, according to Taiwan’s defense ministry.

The navy drills are seen as a show of strength by Beijing as its relations worsen with Taiwan and the United States, following

a protocol-breaking telephone conversation between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and US President-elect Donald Trump.

Chinese media had earlier reported that the aircraft carrier and escorts were headed for the Pacific on exercise for the first time.

It was the latest in a series of recent exercises staged by China, after its military aircraft passed

near Taiwan on Dec. 10 for the second time in less than a month.

Taiwan’s defense minister Feng Shih-kuan had called the timing of China’s air exercises a coincidence, but warned that the island still faced a military threat and called on youths to join the army.

Feng said Tuesday, during a promotion ceremony for generals, that the threats from the enemy were growing daily.

“I ask for strict training ... We train the soldiers so they can not only survive the war but also destroy the enemies and accomplish their missions,” he said without referring to China by name.

“The threat from our enemy is increasing day by day. We need to maintain combat vigilance at any time. This is my expectation of you all.”

Feng confirmed that Taiwan sent RF-16 reconnaissance aircraft to monitor the Chinese warships, which were spotted on Sunday some 20 nautical miles outside Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, in the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines.

Ties between Taiwan and China have turned increasingly frosty since Tsai’s election victory in January. Beijing has cut off official communication with her government, which took of-

fice in May, after it refused to publicly accept the “one China” concept.

Under Taiwan’s previous government, the two sides had stuck to the “1992 consensus,” in which they agree there is only one China without specifying which is its rightful representative.

China poses the main military threat to self-ruled Taiwan.

Beijing sees the island as part of its territory awaiting reunification―by force if necessary― even though the two sides have been ruled separately since the end of a civil war in 1949.

It has more than 1,000 missiles aimed at the island, according to Taiwan’s defense ministry. AFP

Filipino jihadist assured of aid from Foreign Affairs THE Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday it will extend legal and consular assistance to a 32-year-old Filipino worker who was sentenced to 10 years in prison after she was found guilty of being a member of a jihadist group and plotting attacks against Kuwait.

“We are verifying the report [on her sentence], but in any case our embassy is prepared to extend legal and consular assistance to the worker,” Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said.

He said the Philippine government will make sure her rights are not violated.

Kuwaiti authorities claim that the Filipina came to Kuwait in June 2016 to work as a domestic, and that she had pledged allegiance to ISIS and was planning to launch an attack in the Gulf Arab state.

They also claim that since her arrival, the Filipina had been communicating with Islamic State officials in Libya. They say Kuwait security forces were able to trace one of her email accounts and found messages that showed her communications with the jihadists in Libya. Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

BETTER BE WARNED. National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa gestures to deliver his message to all members of the PNP and other gun owners to avoid firing their guns indiscriminately during a command conference in Camp Crame on Tuesday. Manny Palmero

25...

From A1 defrauding the government of the P900-million Malampaya Fund,” the Ombudsman said.

Among the government officials who face two counts of plunder, 97 counts of violation of the AntiGraft and Corrupt Practices Act, and 97 counts of malversation through falsification of public documents are Budget Undersecretary Mario Relampagos, Agrarian Reform Undersecretary Narciso Nieto and Director Teresita Panlilio, and former Candaba mayor Rene Maglanque.

Also included in the suit were Jo Christine Napoles, James Christopher Napoles, Reynald Lim, Evelyn de Leon, Ronald Francisco Lim, Ronald John Lim, Eulogio Rodriguez, Simplicio Gumafelix, John Raymund de Asis, Rodrigo Galay, Alejandro Garro, Paquito Dinso Jr., Gerald Apuang, Napoleon Sibayan, Winnie Villanueva, Angelita Cacananta, and Ronald Venancio.

Former Social Secrertary Ruby Tuason, who applied for immunity from suit through the Witness Protection Program will likewise be charged for getting kickbacks amounting to P242.775 million.

The respondents were found to have acted to divert the fund releases drawn from the P900-million Malampaya Fund allocated by the DBM to the DAR in 2009.

The money, however, was coursed

Govt...

From A1 the CPP and the NPA, has demanded the release of 434 detained rebel leaders and members as compliance to the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, which the two peace panels signed during the Ramos administration.

Bello, however, asked the rebels for a little more patience as the government needs to comply with certain procedures before any release of political prisoners.

“There are some legal processes that we have to comply before they can be released,” he said.

Bello also said a final peace deal will have to be signed very soon so that it could be implemented during the Duterte administration.

The next round of talks that will be held in Rome will focus on social and economic reforms.

“We have tapped the expertise of economists from the University of the Philippines to draft the economic reform agenda of the government, which we will present on the negotiating table in Rome,” Bello said.

through 97 projects under non-government organizations controlled

by Napoles.

The Ombudsman said it was then Budget secretary Andaya who submitted to the Office of the President a request for authority to use the Malampaya Fund for relief operations, rehabilitation, and reconstruction of areas affected by typhoons “Ondoy” and “Pepeng.”

DAR officials were held liable for preparing and issuing 97 checks payable to the 12 NGOs. The NGO representatives under Napoles issued official receipts and fake liquidation documents such as reports of disbursements, delivery reports, certificates of acceptance, certificates of project completion, inspection and acceptance reports, fund utilization reports, independent auditor’s reports, reports of disbursements by external accountant and lists of beneficiaries.

The Ombudsman investigators likewise found that the documents were all fictitious as there were no deliveries of agricultural kits or packages. Signatures on a list for farmer-beneficiaries were forged.

Arroyo and then Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita were cleared in the investigation, however, as were Agrarian Reform officials Dominador Sison and Nilda Baui.

Morales said the National Bureau of Investigation had failed to prove that Arroyo and the three others conspired with the co-respondents in the illegal diversion of Malampaya Fund “or that they deviated from the regular procedure.”

“There was no nexus to the alleged commission of the crime of plunder, malversation through falsification of public documents and violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act,” Morales said.

She also noted that Arroyo’s only participation was to issue Executive Order 848, authorizing the Department of Budget and Management to release funds from the Malampaya gas project for programs identified by Malacañang.

In 2013, Arroyo’s camp cited as basis for the EO the Marcos-era Presidential Decree 910 containing guidelines for the disbursement of the Malampaya funds.

Morales, however, has ordered the Field Investigation Office to conduct further investigation into the allegation of Ruby Tuason, one of the accused, that Jess Santos was her brother’s contact in Malacañang.

Santos was a former lawyer of ex-First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.

Santos reportedly facilitated the released of the P900-million Malampaya Fund to DAR and knew the identity of the recipient of the P242.7 million coursed through Tuason as kickbacks or commissions.

“Let’s see what will happen.

If the investigation of FIO [Field Investigation Office] will point to the liability of Mrs. Arroyo, there’s nothing that will prevent the office to consider indicting her. Otherwise, the dismissal of case remains as is,” Morales said.

At least two days have been dedicated for discussions on social and economic reforms during the fiveday formal talks, which begin on Jan. 19.

Bello earlier visited one of the village strongholds of the rebel New People’s Army in Paquibato District, Davao City, to attend a peace forum which coincided with the 48th anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Speaking before 8,000 rebel sympathizers and supporters, Bello shared the same optimism with CPP founding chairman Jose Maria Sison who, in a video message, said the prospect of achieving peace under the Duterte administration is brighter than at any point in the rebel’s almost five decades of armed rebellion.

The head of the government peace panel was accompanied by Undersecretary Joel Maglungsod and Interior and Local Government Secretary Mike Sueno.

Bello assured rebel leaders that some of the sickly and elderly political detainees would soon be released.

Close to 5,000 people flocked to Barangay Mananum Bag-o in Medina, Misamis Oriental to mark the

48th anniversary of the CPP, ferried by hundreds of vehicles from different provinces in Region 10.

At the barangay hall, close to 100 New People’s Army rebels met their relatives, participated in a cultural production and attended the peace forum initiated by the Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform hosted by bishops, priests and nuns from various religious orders.

The PEPP is one of the third party facilitators for the peace process.

Wilfredo “Ka Paris” Mapano, one of the 20 political detainees recently released to join the Oslo peace talks offered an overview of the peace process.

Bishop Felixberto Calang of the Iglesia Filipina Independente (IFI) and PEPP said they were pinning their hopes on the political capital of President Duterte to pursue the peace talks and to establish a lasting peace with the communists.

He said, however, that Duterte’s on again, off again remarks were “worrisome.”

“Both sides also must do their best when it comes to the ceasefire. Both parties must come up with a bilateral ceasefire agreement,” Calang said.

With Lance Baconguis, PNA

Condoms...

From A1 A lack of knowledge and access to condoms and some legal hurdles have kept the young from using condoms, Bayugo said.

“But the secretary is convinced that this will help a lot in averting and even reversing the increasing trend of HIV,” Bayugo said.

“Let us equip the youth with the correct and consistent information against HIV and AIDS,” he added.

Bayugo said the distribution of condoms in schools will also address the high number of teenage pregnancies.

“The number of teenage pregnancy has doubled in the last 10 years. Teenage pregnancy is there, is becoming a big problem and premarital sex is happening and because of this, a lot of teenagers are getting HIV-AIDS,” he said.

Addressing the opposition of the Catholic Church, Bayugo said the program is not to control the population but to promote awareness about the danger of HIV and AIDS. “We are very much willing to seek their assistance and help in promoting awareness about the morality of our children—the proper way that children need to behave sexually and the condom is just there as a stopgap,” Bayugo said.

From January 1984 to October 2016, a total of 38,114 cases of HIV were reported in the country.

“In 2016, roughly 26 new HIV infections every day are being reported or a total of 7,756 HIV cases alone for 2016,” he said.

“Compare this to 2008 where we have only one case a day or one infection per day being reported. Most were reported from January 2011onward or about

Arrest...

From A1 Marcelino and his co-accused, Chinese national Yan Yi Shou, are questioning their arrest in Sta. Cruz, Manila, last January and their indictment by the Justice department.

They insist they were inside the seized shabu laboratory with nearly 77 kilograms of shabu only because they were conducting an intelligence operation at the time.

Marcelino claims he was in the apartment for a covert surveillance operation as a member of the Intelli-

Lawyer...

From A1 “Please be advised that the designation of Atty. Randy B. Escolango as Officer-in-Charge, Office of the Administrator, SBMA, has not been revoked by the Office of the President and thus remains in full force and effect,” Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra said in his letter on Nov. 28.

He said Diño was not the SB-

32,000 cases were reported from January 2011 up to October 2016,” he added.

Based on the current information, Bayugo said at least 1,912 Filipinos have died because of AIDS. “The predominant mode of transmission from 1984 to 2007 was unprotected heterosexual, meaning boy and girl. After 2009, male to male unprotected sex became the predominant mode of transmission,” he said.

Bayugo said the DoH, in coordination with the Department of Education, is hoping to start the distribution of condoms in schools beginning next year.

In the same press briefing, Bayugo announced that President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to issue an executive order directing local governments to strictly implement the Reproductive Health Law, following lapses in the implementation of the law by LGUs themselves.

Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines’s Permanent Committee on Public Affairs scored the government’s plan to distribute condoms to high school students, saying that the government should instead focus its efforts on educating people about the rise of HIV and AIDS in the country.

“Yes, we need to address the rising number of HIV cases in the country. But the government should invest more in educating people about the perils of sporadic sexual activity than procuring and distributing condoms,” Secillano said.

Novaliches Bishop Emeritus Teodoro Bacani Jr. said that the proposal would only create more problems because it would encourage the youth to engage in premarital or extramarital sex.

John Paulo Bencito, PNA gence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

He even submitted a certification from the Philippine Army Intelligence Group showing that he was sharing information on the alleged involvement of Army personnel in the illegal drugs trade from September to December last year.

Marcelino says he was arrested because PDEA chief Arturo Cacdac was “historically irate” at his continued involvement in the government’s anti-drug campaign.

But the court rejected his defense and upheld the finding of probable cause by the Justice department.

MA’s administrator but only chairman of the board of directors.

Diño was appointed SBMA chairman on Sept. 23 and assumed office on Oct. 3.

The SBMA has jurisdiction over the 67,000- hectare Subic Bay Freeport Zone and all the coastal boundaries of Subic Bay. It has registered 1,115 companies with US$6.0 billion worth of investment that has generated more than 87,000 jobs. John Paolo Bencito

News

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016

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ASG sub-leader, aide arrested

By Florante S. Solmerin A WOUNDED subleader of the Abu Sayyaf Group who sought medical treatment and his aide were arrested Tuesday inside a hospital in Zamboanga City, Major Felimon Tan Jr., spokesman of the Western Mindanao Command, said.

Tan said Hairulla Asbang, alias Ahadi, and his aide identified only as alias Jaber were arrested by policemen from Station 5 and military personnel at 6:45 p.m. inside the Zamboanga Peninsula Medical Center.

“The arrest was made by virtue of warrant of arrest for Kidnapping with Murder and Kidnapping and Serious Illegal Detention issued by Branch 10, 9th Judicial Region, Dipolog City and for Kidnapping with Homicide issued by Branch 34, 11th Judicial Region in connection with the Samal kidnapping case,”

Tan said The Samal kidnapping in 2015 involved Robert Hall and John Ridsdel, both Canadians beheaded by the ASG after their families failed to give P300 million ransom each from an original demand of P1 billion each; Hall’s Filipina fiance Marites Flor who was released with undisclosed amount of ransom payment; and Kjartan Sekkingstad, a Norwegian, who was also released with undisclosed amount of ransom payment shortly after President Rodrigo Duterte assumed power.

The four victims were abducted by armed men at the Ocean View Samal Resort in the Island Garden City of Samal and brought to Sulu.

Asbang was admitted at the said hospital at 7:30 a.m. of Dec. 26, 2016 for medical treatment of his gunshot wound, incurred during a previous encounter with government troops in Sulu.

CHRISTMAS SPIRIT. Public Attorneys Office chief Persida Rueda-Acosta hands out free medicines to inmates of the Correctional Institute for Women during the Nationwide Legal, Medical, Jail Visitation and Decongestion Program in Mandaluyong on Tuesday. Manny Palmero

Lam’s online casino still cannot operate—Aguirre

By Rey E. Requejo

J

USTICE Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Tuesday clarified the online gambling outlets of Chinese tycoon in his Fontana Leisure Park and Casino in Clark Field, Pampanga could not operate yet as they remained closed as ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte.

Aguirre made the statement after a report that Lam’s Fontana casino may now operate after Malacañang supposedly lifted its closure order.

“The closure order is lifted only

for locators of Clark Development Corp. inside Fontana—not for the casino or online gaming there,” Aguirre said in a text message.

“The lifting order was issued by the Palace thru Executive Secre-

tary Salvador Medialdea because the closure has already affected over 2,000 Filipino employees of these locators,” he explained.

However, the businesses of Lam, who remains subject of an arrest order issued by the President over his illegal casino business where 1,316 illegal Chinese workers were arrested last month, are not covered by the latest order.

“The closure order remains in effect insofar as the businesses of Lam are concerned,” the Justice Secretary stressed.

Last weekend, thousands of Filipino workers were reported

to have returned to work in Fontana last week hoping to get their suspended salaries and Christmas bonuses.

CDC president and chief executive officer Noel Manankil issued last Dec. 6 a cease and desist order on Fontana Development Corp., which operates the Fontana Leisure Estate here, following the arrest by Bureau of Immigration operatives and the police of 1,316 Chinese nationals working illegally in the resort hotel.

President Duterte later ordered the arrest of Fontana owner Jack Lam who, however, had already

House to probe oust Duterte rough out

fled to Macau.

In issuing a CDO on Fontana, CDC said it was merely following a directive from Malacañang, signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, ordering an investigation on Fontana’s “illegal or unlicensed gaming operations and employment of aliens without the proper permits in the said premises, in violation of Philippine anti-gambling, labor and immigration laws.”

Of the 1,316 arrested Chinese nationals, a total 592 were granted bail by the BI board of commissioners.

‘PH not yet ready for firecrackers total ban’

By John Paolo Bencito and Joel Zurbano THE Philippines is not yet ready for a total ban on the use of firecrakers for the holiday revelry in the next few nights, the authorities admitted Tuesday.

“The Philippines might not be ready for this policy. We’ll see next year because this requires a long information dissemination especially for those making firecrackers as they may have already purchased components abroad,” PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa told a news briefing at Camp Crame.

Health Undersecretary Gerardo Bayugo also echoed the government’s stance to hold the issuance of an executive order imposing the nationwide firecracker ban, saying they still need to consider many factors before imposing this policy.

“I have to agree because this administration came midway, even the production and investment, these will disrupt industry concerns,” Bayugo said in a Palace press briefing.

Bayugo said that they are also looking at the effects of a possible EO, if implemented, on the livelihood of pyrotechnic manufacturers.

Meanwhile, Environmentalist Ecowaste Coalition on Tuesday urged the people, especially young children and teenagers, not to spend their “aginaldo” (Christmas gifts) they have received to buy firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices.

The group made the appeal as the number of firecracker-related injuries rises as the New Year celebration draws near.

YULETIDE TUBES. Paper horn makers go double-quick in preparing their stuff in Manila’s Tutuban district, only four days away to New Year’s Eve for the sounds merrymakers will create to welcome 2017. Ey Acasio

By Maricel Cruz and John Paolo Bencito THE House of Representatives will conduct a congressional probe into the reported plot to topple down the Duterte presidency by former United States Ambassador Philip Goldberg.

“That is a bad news,” Alvarez told a radio interview.

“We need to investigate it and find out the bottom line of the report. Because if the report has basis, the reported plan [to oust President Duterte] was alarming. This is a clear case of the US interfering in the affairs of the Philippines,” Alvarez added.

Alvarez stressed any ouster plot against President Duterte and his administration will not in any way succeed, given the strong support of the military and the Filipino people.

“Our Armed Forces is professional and its leadership is strong. Their commander-inchief knows fully well they have a caring President who always looks after them, and that their concerns are addressed properly. They know for a fact that the President has been doing his best to potect the interests of the Filipino people,” Alvarez said.

In Malacanang, presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said Tuesday President Duterte continued to enjoy the trust of the Filipino people and would be difficult for him to be ousted.

“As we can all see, you know, the President continues to enjoy the trust of the people. And the people on the ground, apparently, appreciate what he’s doing. So again let me just say that, according to the article, whoever attempts this will find it difficult,” Abella said.

Abella also clarified the US State Department had denied participation in a supposed plot to unseat the President.

Police on alert for irresponsible gun owners on New Year’s Eve

By Francisco Tuyay POLICE have been ordered to patrol their respective communities and arrest those indiscriminately firing their weapons during the New Year revelry.

PNP chief Ronald Dela Rosa said all uniformed policemen would be deployed in all corners of the community on the lookout for irresponsible gun owners and loose gun holders firing their weapons at the height of the New Year’s celebration.

“When you see a person firing a gun inside his house, immediately barge in and don’t let the gun used concealed. This is for public safety. It would be pitiful for would-

be innocent victims,” Dela Rosa said.

At least 24 incidents of illegal discharge of firearms, nine of which occurred in Metro Manila with 17 persons arrested, seven of those policemen, four blue guards and the rest civilians for indiscriminate firing of guns in 2015 that claimed the life of a young girl in the Cordillera region.

The illegal firing of guns has injured 43 innocent civilians, most of whom from Metro Manila, seven in Calabarzon, six in Western Visayas, and five in the Cordilleras.

Dela Rosa has canceled the holiday break of all policemen to dedicate most of their time instead to the people safe-

guarding their safety against crooked cops and civilians while celebrating the 2017 revelry.

“I am cancelling their privilege to go on New Year’s break. They have enough time to be with their families before 5 p.m.” Dela Rosa said.

“Let’s dedicate the 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. [stretch] to the people, forget your family and focus first on your duty,” Dela Rosa said.

He also warned Regional Directors, Chief’s of Police, and Provincial Directors for potential relief from their posts if someone was killed caused by stray bullet incidents. “ If someone is killed due to indis-

criminate firing, the COP or police station commander would be automatically relieved,” Dela Rosa said.

“I formulated these in order for Regional Directors to focus on their job and, for those RDs on vacation, they have to cancel [their vacation] and report to their assignment to supervise their men properly in the implementation of ‘zero casualty’ during the New Year celebration,” Dela Rosa said.

As for policemen involved in the indiscriminate firing of guns, Dela Rosa said “they will be facing grave misconduct charges and punishable by separation from the police service.”

A4

Opinion

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

Adelle Chua, Editor

One welcome change

T

HERE was a time when Christmas Eve was truly a silent night—when families could gather in their homes in peace and quiet, and when idiots had not yet discovered that the holiday could be used as an excuse to set off firecrackers.

Sadly, those days are gone, and as we hurtle toward the New Year, the number of people injured in firecracker explosions has reached 47—with 25 new cases as of the morning of Dec. 26.

Those figures come from Health Department reports from 50 hospitals across the country, in a surveillance effort that runs from Dec. 21 to Jan. 5, 2017.

Most of the victims—42 of 47—were male, and children aged 15 and below accounted for 72 percent of the injuries.

Metro Manila had 25 of the cases, fol-

lowed by Region 6 with six cases and Regions 1 and 4A with five cases each.

Experience and common sense tell us that the number of firecracker-related injuries is bound to rise sharply as the revelry reaches a fever pitch on New Year’s Eve. In the runup to 2016, the number of fireworks-related injuries climbed to 760 over a 13-day period that started in December 2015.

Again, most of the cases—or 56 percent—were in Metro Manila.

Against this backdrop, it is refreshing to see that some cities have taken it upon themselves to ban the sale and use of firecrackers within their areas of jurisdiction.

In Muntinlupa, for example, an ordinance passed in December 2014 makes it unlawful for any person or business establishment to manufacture, sell or offer for sale, distribute, possess or use any firecrackers or pyrotechnic device within

the city.

Cotabato City, too, has outlawed the use of firecrackers for New Year and Eid’l Fit’r celebrations.

Beyond these local efforts, however, it is high time Congress moved to impose a total ban on firecrackers nationwide, to minimize senseless injuries.

We are encouraged that Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez has voiced his support for proposals to impose such a ban, given the huge amount of public funds used to treat these injuries every year.

A representative of Davao del Norte, Alvarez notes that a firecracker ban in Davao City pushed by Duterte when he was still mayor has proved effective.

Of course, a total nationwide ban would kill the firecracker industry and mean the loss of employment—but many of these jobs have proved unsafe and hazardous to workers anyway.

The passage of a law in 1992 to make

the industry safer has failed to stop deadly accidents from occurring.

In November, an explosion at a fireworks factory in Sta. Maria, Bulacan killed five people, including two children and injured 30 others. In October, another firecracker factory in Bocaue exploded, killing two people and injuring 20 others.

Faced with no choice, investors in the fireworks industry would have to find safer, and more productive use of their capital—and workers who are laid off could receive retraining for jobs in other industries.

A total nationwide ban on the use and sale of firecrackers would also make it pointless for criminal syndicates to smuggle in imported pyrotechnics, which have been killing off the local industry anyway.

Mr. Duterte ran for President on the promise of change. A nationwide ban on firecrackers would be one welcome change indeed.

VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ

Balesin Club update

whole life and yours.

And that brings us to an important reflection tonight that it would be good for every Catholic to announce, proclaim, and live by in these our troubled times.

No person is so evil, no person so hopelessly bad that he can be considered “unsalvageable”— disposable human material. Precisely because a Savior has been born, no one is beyond redemption and when we pronounce judgment on someone else and exclude him from the circle of those whom we consider “redeemable”, fit or worthy for life, we endanger our own redemption, for if there is anything that closes heaven’s door to us, it is closing the door on others!

No judge, no court, no legislator, no one at all is ever competent to say that a person is no longer worthy of life, and no country can ever dream of prosperity if it refuses to recognize that all have been redeemed, that what would otherwise be consid-

NOW that it is vacation time, may I reprint a letter sent by Bobby Ongpin to Balesin Club members: I am in Balesin as I write this Nov. 21 and so you will understand if I sound somewhat effusive in this update. This is what my beloved Balesin does to me!

They switched on the runway lights for the first time last night and I must tell you, I have never seen a more beautiful sight. As you know, we have spent a tidy sum to get the runway lights installed, but it will be a game changer for Balesin.

As you are all aware, since about the middle of this year, we have been limited by CAAP to two morning flights a day because of the congestion at Naia. This was aggravated beginning August when we were allowed to fly only once and only very early in the morning and the airport was closed to General Aviation from noon until 7 p.m.

This constraint obviously made life difficult for our members because most weekends they could come only on Saturday morning and go back the next day Sunday, also in the morning. This made their stay in Balesin almost not worth it.

Additionally, we could not confirm the flights until the night before the flight because CAAP could only confirm the schedules to us at 5 p.m. the day before.

This made the situation even worse, and I understand why many members had to cancel flights or decided not to go at all.

Thus, a few months back, we started also flying out of Clark, but while this helped alleviate the problem especially for those who live in the northern part of Metro Manila and around Central Luzon, it was inconvenient for most of our members. Therefore, when we got the notice from CAAP about the noon to 7 p.m. “curfew” at Naia in August, we decided to bite the bullet with what we felt was the only solution, i.e., to light up the Balesin runway for night flights.

This has several major advantages: we can have unlimited flights after 7 p.m. and thus make it easier for our members to enjoy Balesin on a weekend. One can leave

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A Christmas homily PENSEES FR. RANHILIO CALLANGAN AQUINO TODAY I would like to share the homily I delivered during the midnight Mass on December 24: The morning after Lawin devastated Tuguegarao, we asked ourselves what kind of a Christmas we would have. The destruction was just so widespread, the discouragement so pervasive that to many, it was not too bad an idea to skip Christmas this year.

But here we are tonight, as a community chastised by the powers of nature and the fragility of all that we possess, celebrating the Birth of the Savior, perhaps also celebrating our rebirth as a town after having been tested in the crucible of privation and misery. “…at this time, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be made of the whole in-

habited world. This census, the first—took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria…”

There are historical specifics here, and even if scholars debate the details, the point of the Evangelist is clear. This is not a “once upon a time” story.

It is no romance “somewhere in time”. It did happen, and we can say when! Myths are timeless, or better, have no setting in time.

Jesus’ birth is no myth!

Caesar Augustus—the first in a line of Emperors, so powerful that with him came an era of peace. But when the angels sang to the shepherds—shepherds who were farthest removed from the seat of power, from any association with Caesar Augustus, with Herod, with Quirinius—they sang of a different peace. Gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis…Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace to men of good will. This was not the peace that the powerful could bring about by quelling

all dissent and suppressing all disagreement. It was heaven’s peace of which the angels sang, and now it was bestowed on all men and women of good will,

No person is so evil, no person so hopelessly bad that he can be considered “unsalvageable”— disposable human material. people whose hearts and minds were open to heaven’s peace!

There is one more part of the angelic message that we must heed. The angels announced: “I bring you news of great joy, a joy

to be shared by the whole people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” First, the gospel opened by informing us of August’s plans for the ‘whole world’—a census, so that he could tax his subjects more efficiently. But once more, we hear mention of the ‘whole world’ —but this time, it is good news, and not just any good news like a 14th month pay, but that a Savior is born, and he is the Lord.

Have you ever suffered a flat tire on a lonely stretch of road, remotely distant from human habitation, and it is rainy, like it has been the past few days in Tuguegarao? Then you know what gratitude, joy and relief come upon you when some kind soul comes down the road, pulls over and helps you with your problem. That person is your savior —but here, we have to do only with tires. What the angels announced as good news for the whole world was a Savior of the whole world, a Savior of my

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Published Monday to Sunday by Philippine Manila Standard Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Roxas, corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. Telephone numbers 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558 (connecting all departments), (Editorial) 832-5554, (Advertising) 832-5550. P.O. Box 2933, Manila Central Post Office, Manila. Website: www.thestandard. com.ph; e-mail: contact@thestandard.com.ph

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Opinion TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

2017 will define our future THE coming year will show provided, Martial Law is us where we are headed toothless with its many limfor insofar as our economy itations, like congressional and foreign relations are and judicial interference. concerned.

And then, there’s the move It will also show us what of Duterte and his rubberkind of Congress we in- stamp House of Representastalled, and whether we are tives to restore the death headed in the right direc- penalty so much so that the tion.

President himself said he There are so many things would want five to six exwe should be concerned ecutions a day. about. For instance, PresiIt seems like the Philipdent Duterte has asked for pines has become a barbaric another six months to wage state. Have we sunk this low. his war against illegal drugs, Closer to home is the criminality and corruption. traffic nightmare. The DeHe said this would not end partment of Transportation until the last drug lord or wants emergency powers drug pusher is killed. to resolve it. It is a problem Does this mean more kill- that doesn’t seem to have ings, more summary and ex- an immediate solution with trajudicial killings? some 360,000 vehicles sold Santa Banana, it would every year. seem that eight out of 10 It can only get worse, I beFilipinos will continue to lieve. live in a climate of fear and It’s a problem brought impunity, as the most recent about by six years of corrupSocial Weather Stations sur- tion, sheer incompetence, vey showed. The drug men- and lack of vision by the BS ace will remain in the Phil- Aquino administration. ippines for as long as there’s *** demand for illegal drugs.

For me, however, the bigConsidering the fact that gest problem that we are there are close to four mil- facing is President Duterte’s lion drug abusers and drug pivot to China, in his puraddicts, suit of his and more so-called than 10,000 i nde pendillegal drug ent foreign networks policy.

Many operating But does nationwide, challenges this indeit’s practi- will confront pendence cally mismean we sion impos- the Duterte must abansible for administration. don our Duterte to decadessolve this old ties problem in with Washsix years! ington?

The war on illegal drugs It’s like Duterte is pushis just one issue. There’s ing the country over the also the war on corruption. edge. Our Asian neighbors It is deep-rooted and perva- —Japan, South Korea, Taisive and not even a revamp wan, Vietnam, Singapore, of government agencies can Malaysia, and Indonesia are eradicate it. all aligned with the United For so long as there’s hu- States. man discretion involved in Even now China is arming government transactions, all the islets and reefs it has corruption will never go converted into landing field away. What is needed is a for missile-carrying ships. change in values.

There is nothing we can do The administration also about it, not even after winfaces the problem of illegal ning the arbitration case in gambling. The corruption The Hague. that stems from here has *** reached Crame and AguiCan’t our so-called indenaldo. Philippine National pendent foreign policy make Police Chief, Director-Gen- us friends with all nations? eral Ronald dela Rosa, has Do we have to pivot to promised to do away with China and even Russia in gambling but he has hardly the pursuit of foreign investdone anything. Perhaps he ments that we have to set is committed to killings and aside what we have won in more killings in the context the Permanent Court of Arof the war on illegal drugs. bitration in The Hague?

The President has also The persona of President vowed to shift to federalism. Duterte defies convention Will the Senate agree? My and protocol. He is often gulay, the issue of amending misunderstood because of the 1987 Constitution is con- his foul mouth—will he ever troversial enough. One way change? I don’t think so. to do this, through ConstituI have accepted him as he ent Assembly, is, even when I sometimes would allow congressmen struggle with his hyperbole. to tinker with the funda- I base my opinions on what mental law of the land for comes out of his mouth. Peotheir own agenda. ple actually like entertainPresident Duterte wants ment—he is a true maverick.

Section 18, Article VII of I wonder, though: What the 1987 Constitution (on will he do when, after six the proclamation of Martial months, he realizes the drug Law) amended. As currently menace is still around?

A Christmas...

From A4 ered useless, hopeless, irreparably bad has been touched by none other than the Lord!

“Lord” is a title so common, so frequently uttered, that we forget that the Jews and the Old Testament zealously guarded the term, reserving it only for God. So when the angels proclaimed to the shepherds that the child born that night was Christ, the Lord, they were in effect saying: God himself has come as our redeemer. In this child, in his Christ—his anointed—God has

touched our world.

“Wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger”…the swaths of cloth were practical: they were the most a poor couple so far from home could find with which to protect their infant child from the bitter cold. So many people do not even have swaddling clothes, because the bitterness of our indifference, selfishness and greed can be more biting than the cold of a winter night.

But there was also prophecy in the swaddling clothes—for clothes that wrapped, clothes that swathed, would one day figure in the Narrative of the Resurrection.

So that even now, we know that

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016

A5

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Hope amid the tricks of 2016 SO I SEE LITO BANAYO THE end of the year and the beginning of a new one is always a time for recalling the memorable events of the year just past and hoping that things will change for the better in the next. So has it always been.

2016 will go down in history as a year of surprises. Tricky even, as tricky as the monkey under which sign the year (until Jan. 27, 2017) transpired.

For us Filipinos of course, it was political season. Nothing in the country is more keenly watched than this once-everysix-years presidential contest.

And the 2016 contest proved to be quite tricky.

In early 2015, Vice President Jojo Binay was a sure winner by most calculations. Everybody expected it to be a Binay-Roxas contest.

Nobody thought Grace Poe would enter the scene, not as a vice-presidential candidate as many expected but a top prize gunner herself.

Nobody also gave any serious attention to a political “upstart” from Davao City who started moving around the country to preach his message of federalism, along with how he hated drugs.

Towards the end of 2015, though, Grace Poe, having survived a challenge to her constitutional bona-fides, was considered the lady to beat. The newbie in the national scene, though exciting, had little financial support, a party whose members would fit into a rundown jeepney, and did not possess the polish expected of a serious presidential contender.

But then, 2016 played a trick on the usual prognosticators of Philippine politics. Rodrigo Roa Duterte, foul language, promdi ways and all, topped the elections with more than 16-million votes, with Mar Roxas, the man who was consigned earlier to the cellar among four, as a distant second.

Duterte’s victory was not only a surprise; it was stupendous.

During the second half of the year, with the new Philippine president surprising both local and international observers even more with his abrupt shift of foreign policy from one of mendicancy to the US of A to an inde-

pendent foreign policy that had China as fulcrum, the world’s attention shifted to the heated presidential race in America.

This time, the urbane lady politician with politically “correct” messages, topped with pedigree and the endorsement of a fairly popular incumbent, was challenged by a blustering braggadocio with extreme views couched in politically “incorrect” language.

Similarly, everybody in their country and even the world thought Hillary was a cinch, but once again, in the Year of the Monkey, Donald Trump sprang a major surprise.

And now, the whole world awaits with bated breath what tricks the Donald will act as POTUS by the 20th of January.

There were other “tricky” events in 2016: Brexit, which discombobulated all of Europe.

Terrorist attacks, principally those in France, the usual in the Middle East, and lately, in Berlin of all places.

Not to mention tricks coming from nature. Until the very end of the year, the country was battered by a strong typhoon, Nina, right after our farmers endured a prolonged El Niño.

Right after America’s newly

elected leader takes his oath of office, the Year of the Rooster comes cackling in.

Our President was born in the Year of the Rooster, and don’t tell me “so that’s why he never seems to get tired talking.”

Mar Roxas is a rooster as well, and so is Alan Peter Cayetano, and Chiz Escudero.

Any common denominators?

A Singaporean diplomat told me that if the Year of the Monkey was full of surprises and tricks, the year of the Rooster will be one of noise and could be quite contentious. Sabong ng sabong?

Whatever, let this writer wish one and all good health, happiness, a good disposition, and a bounty of blessings from the Almighty in 2017.

2016 has been quite eventful, quite game-changing. On a personal note, it was a happy year.

Problems that bugged me in the past were solved to my satisfaction. Resolved challenges and good opportunities came my way.

Let us all hope that after a tricky year, the year that is coming soon will be quite auspicious for the country.

A happy and prosperous New Year to all!

Lessons from a dark year in Syria

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

However, there is no clear path for the Assad regime to wipe out the last of the rebels. So fighting will continue, and a rump Syrian Sunni statelet will persist. And because displaced Sunnis will remain deeply wary of going home to places now controlled by the hostile regime, the long war’s refugee problem may become permanent. That’s no small matter. In scope it dwarfs the Palestinian refugee crises of 1948 or 1967.

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

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

Yet like every such tragedy, the fall of Aleppo also has a particular meaning for the struggle in which it has taken place. Specifically, Assad’s victory shows

Balesin...

From A4 Manila after work on a Friday

night at 7 p.m. or even later (we plan two flights, 7 p.m. and then 8:30 p.m.), enjoy Fridaynight dinner at Balesin and the whole day Saturday and Sunday and then leave Balesin on Sunday evening back to Manila, and thus have a full and satisfying weekend.

Now, a word about night flights.

I have been told that some are concerned about flying at night. But for me (I started flying in 1957 long before jet planes were around and must have logged over a million miles, both in small private aircraft and big jetliners, since then), night flights are in fact preferable, even safer.

Many pilots have told me that they

heaven is announcing that the Lord comes not in splendor and in power, but in the helplessness of a child.

And redemption will be won for us by one who, now wrapped in swaddling clothes—the clothing of the poor—will one day be wrapped in burial cloths, because he will take upon himself the fragility and mortality of our condition.

The temptation is very great to think that things will be better if we are severe, harsh, unrelenting, punishing. But Christmas should make us wise. The song of the angels is the greatest antithesis to the gunfire that leaves us all scared, frightened and unsure. And the peace of

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

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

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

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

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

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

Assad can tolerate a country with a much-reduced population.

Nearly 5 million Syrians are now abroad. That still leaves

perhaps 18 million Syrians in the country, of whom 6 million are displaced internally. (Estimates of deaths and injuries run as high as a half million.) If Sunnis abroad never come back, Assad won’t miss them.

To win some international favor, Assad may eventually say that he welcomes all Syrians home. He might even offer a limited amnesty to some who rebelled against him. But who would trust such a promise?

And what Sunni would choose to go back to Assad’s Syria after the atrocities that have taken place?

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

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

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

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

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

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

The status of Kurdish enclaves in Syria is another story.

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

The sad but I think inescapable conclusion is that the Syrian refugee crisis has a high probability of becoming permanent—even if the war eventually ends in a de facto Assad victory. It shocks the conscience to think of almost 5 million people unable to return to their homes. But as 2016 ends, there is little prospect of that changing. Bloomberg

would rather fly at night because the runway lights are much more visible and therefore easier to land the aircraft than during the day, especially when it is hazy or raining.

CAAP approved our night flight infrastructure in November. Thereafter, our aircraft and our pilots are required to take several practice runs, landing at night on the island before finally getting approvals for the Balesin runway to operate as a 24-hour aerodrome.

The newspapers have reported that Boracay’s Caticlan airport is now open for A320s because the original runway, which was only 850 meters long, has now been doubled to 1,700 meters. Boracay doesn’t have runway lights, so there are no night flights.

The Balesin runway is actually 1,530 meters, unfortunately just

short of the 1,700 meters required by A320s. But many smaller jets have been landing on Balesin since day one without any problem.

The second major development is that we now have our AOC (Airline Operators Certificate). This means that we can apply for scheduled flights in the mornings and even during the curfew hours of the afternoon.

By this week, we can begin two Manila-balesin flights at 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. The plan is at least five times per day: 2 in the morning, 1 in the afternoon and 2 at night.

We are aware that you are now making your Christmas holiday plans and we want you to have this dependable schedule where we can confirm flights to and from Balesin during the holiday season and beyond.

We are negotiating to acquire a

second ATR72, also with a 68-passenger capacity. We hope to have this in service during the busy Christmas holidays, although the regulatory and contractual aspects may stretch beyond that.

But we feel confident that we can get it flying sometime in January and this will be heaven-sent, because the first quarter of the year until Easter time and after the school term is over is always the busiest time at Balesin.

Thus, by early next year, we feel confident that not only can we give confirmed flight schedules on a timely basis, but can also assure you that we can accept bookings of up to 500 or 600 passengers a day by flying our two ATR72s, our one Jetstream and our two Cessnas.

heaven is not the peace that comes from daily executions and from the silencing of all opposition and dissent. It has to be heaven’s peace, or it is not peace at all.

This year, we celebrate the Parish as a Communion of Communities.

And while we would certainly like active parishes, Mary, at the scene of the Nativity, best tells us what a parish should busy itself with: “As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.” The parish must first be a communion in reflection, and the signs of the times—as prime place for reflection—should always be pondered upon in the dazzling light

of Christmas. Yes, we need active and busy members of the parish but all of this will be for nothing if activity is not inspired by reflection on all that has happened to us by the gentle hand of God. One of the challenging pieces the Coro loves to sing is the Handel’s composition “For Unto us a Child is Born”, and it comes from our first reading tonight. Jesus’ titles, by prophesy, are: Wonder-Counselor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince of Peace…and these are the titles that alone can make difference in our troubled times. These titles and attributes, none can arrogate unto himself, nor are they conferred by

Email: biznewsasia@gmail.com votes, no matter that these may be in the millions, nor are they bestowed by trolls, no matter that these be rabidly faithful. They are Divine titles, God’s titles, God’s self-revelation!

I end this homily, as a Tuguegaraoeno, by expressing the thanks and praise of a grateful parish to Fr. Gerry Perez, who celebrates his last Christmas with us as Pastor, to thank him for his zeal. While he has left us a beautifully refurbished Cathedral and a gymn that is also a refugee center, more importantly, he leaves us a parish invigorated, and parishioners empowered to announce the good news to the whole world.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016 Standard A6 TODAY Manila

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Palace criticizes Martial Law scare

Customs seizes diamonds smuggled from Malaysia

By John Paolo Bencito

By Vito Barcelo

MALACAÑANG on Tuesday scored Vice President Leni Robredo for twisting President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent statements and making it appear that the chief executive is intent on declaring Martial Law. “In context, the President was saying that if Martial Law was taken for what it was supposed to be, which is to protect and preserve the safety of the people, then it should be facilitated,” presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said.

“However, Vice President Leni [Robredo] seems to have amplified her concerns and seems to make it appear as if President was actively planning to do it. But if you read it in context, it was not in that way,” Abella added.

In a speech delivered in Pampanga on Dec. 22, Duterte said that he wants the Constitution amended to make it less difficult for any president to declare Martial Law. He said it should be the sole prerogative of any president, citing the alleged inefficiency of having Congress and the High Court to concur with the declaration.

Robredo scored the President for his pronouncement, saying it was “appalling” for Duterte to “challenge the democratic safeguards of the very constitution he swore to uphold.”

Robredo said that Duterte’s statement was a “threat of a return to Martial Law and one-man rule” and called it “the worst Christmas gift to the Filipino people.”

In an earlier interview, chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo said the Vice President’s fears were “misplaced,” reminding her of existing “safeguards” provided by the Constitution.

“It’s misplaced, in the sense that she may have misunderstood the context. I know where she is coming from, and I can understand the fears of victims of Martial Law but we have to consider the character of this man. He will not tolerate any violation of any law,” Panelo said.

A

the pocket of the balikbayan box sent by a certain Arturo Rivera and was consigned to a T LEAST 22 pieces of stolen diamonds Lajane Basilio of Bataan.

Faeldon said they received worth millions of pesos were seized by information from the Nathe Bureau of Customs. tional Bureau of Investigation that an illegal shipment from Customs Commissioner bayan box sent from Kuala Malaysia will be arriving in Nicanor Faeldon said the Lumpur.

Manila through a balikbayan diamonds were brought into The gems were in a reseal- box. the country through a balik- able plastic pouch hidden in “It is disheartening to confis-

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

HAUL. Department of Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II and National Bureau of Investigation Director

Dante Gierran present at least 890 kilos of illegal drugs seized during several operations of the NBI-Task Force Against Illegal Drugs from September to December. PNA

MALACAÑANG told social workers and the Manila city government on Tuesday not to hide the true situation of homeless street dwellers residing in the city amid reports that they will again be “rescued” as part of efforts to prepare for the Miss

INVITATION TO BID

* area includes the equipment room, cable route and wall for mounting the frame panel/s Bid forms and Bidding Guidelines and Terms of Reference for the Lease of PNOC Property may be secured from the Disposal Committee Secretariat at the 2/F Estate Management Department, PNOC Bldg. 6, Energy Center, Rizal Drive, BGC, Taguig Cityfrom December 23, 2016 to January 17, 2017, 9:00 am to 3:00 pmafter payment of a non-refundable amount of P2,000. The pre-bidding conference and the public bidding shall be conducted on January 11, 2017 (2:00pm) andJanuary 18, 2017 (2:15pm), respectively, at the G/F PNOC Bldg. 6. Should the above-mentioned dates be declared non-working holidays, the bidding activities shall be held on the next working day.

1.

2.

INVITATION TO SUBMIT OFFER TO NEGOTIATE LEASE OF PROPERTY

The Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) invites all interested parties to negotiate for the LEASE on an “as-is whereis” basis of the following properties: Location TCT No. Area (sqm) Floor Price (PhP) Kawit, Cavite T-440381/ 614 P523,620/yr.

The property is a vacant lot located on the northwest side of Tirona T-440382 P43,635/mo.

National Highway within Bgy. Binakayan, about 200m west from Covelandia Road and about 2km from Kawit Municipal Hall. It is located within an area where land development is generally for commercial purposes.

Lease Term: 10 years Cabanatuan CIty, Nueva Ecija T-114825 117 P85,176/yr.

The property is an idle lot located along Gabaldon St. in an area P7,098/mo. where land development is generally for commercial use. It is secured by a barbed wire fence with one (1) guard posted thereat.

Lease Term: 10 years PNOC shall accept Letter of Intent (LOI) to Lease PNOC property starting the first working day after the publication of the Invitation to Submit Offer to Negotiate (December 23, 2016) from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. As long as the property has not been leased, PNOC shall accept LOIs one (1) month before expiration of the validity of the floor priceon May 22,2017 (Kawit, Cavite property) and May 28, 2017 (Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija property). The offeror shall submit the LOI together with the signed Negotiation Guidelines, Terms and Conditions for the Lease of Property to the Disposal Committee Secretariat at the 2/F Estate Management Department, PNOC Bldg. 6, Energy Center, Rizal Drive, BGC, Taguig City. The Negotiation Guidelines, Terms and Conditions may be secured from the Disposal Committee Secretariat after payment of a non-refundable amount of P2,000.

Award of the lease of the above properties shall be based on the BEST BID/OFFER received from the bidders/offerors.

PNOC reserves the right to accept any bids/offers or portions thereof as may be advantageous to PNOC, to reject any and all bids/offers, to cancel the bidding/negotiation process, or to waive any formality thereto without incurring any liability to the affected bidders/offerors. PNOC assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders/offerors for any expenses incurred in the preparation of the bid/offer.For inquiries, please call tel. nos. 8126071/7897669 or cellphone no. 09175312772.

(MS- DEC. 28, 2016)

FILIPINOS can now prepare and save up for retirement by investing in a Personal Equity Retirement Account, the country’s first-ever voluntary retirement account with tax incentives, Senator Juan Edgardo Angara said.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has recently launched the retirement account, eight years after Republic Act 9505 or the PERA Act of 2008 was signed into law.

“Many Filipinos have not been accustomed to saving or investing. It’s best to start saving early on, and the PERA law gives Filipinos an incentive to do so,” Angara said.

“So for those who received extra bonus this Christmas, go to the bank and apply for PERA,” added Angara, who was then still a congressman when he authored the law.

The counterpart measure was pushed in the Senate by his father, former Senator Edgardo Angara.

The PERA law aims to promote savings mobilization and capital market development to contribute to fiscal sustainability through the provision of longterm financing.

A national survey on financial inclusion conducted by the BSP showed that only 10.8 percent of

Filipinos save for retirement or old age.

“We’re happy that the BSP finally launched this investment tool that will help and encourage Filipinos save up for their sunset years or for emergency medical situations,” Angara said.

The PERA law allows individuals to open up to five PERA accounts through accredited PERA administrators, which can be a bank or a financial company, and invest up to P100,000 annually.

Overseas Filipino workers can invest up to P200,000 annually.

Individuals who invest in PERA are entitled to a 5-percent income tax credit.

All income earned from PERA investment products— which include unit investment trust funds, share of stock of mutual funds, insurance pension products, government securities, and other financial products— upon reaching retirement or death are tax-exempt.

Payments will be made when the individual reaches the age of 55. This can be either in lump sum, a pension for a definite period, or lifetime pension.

Early withdrawals will be subject to a penalty, except in cases when the individual is totally disabled due to an accident or hospitalization.

Abella: Don’t hide the homeless

The Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) invites all interested bidders to bid for the LEASE on an “as-is where-is” basis of the following properties: Location TCT No. Area (sqm) Floor Price (PhP) Portion of PNOC Building 5 Roof Deck 73* P1,026,768/yr.

The property is situated at the PNOC compound within max. leasable P85,564/mo. the Bonifacio Global City, a premier business district area, includes the where land development is of mixed-use. It is beside STI equipment room, College and British School Manila; and near Kidzania, cable route and Market Market and Serendra Condominium. The site is wall for mounting ideal for installation of telecommunication equipment and the frame panel/s related facilities.

Lease Term: 5 years Calamba City, Laguna 0603,600 P4,305,600/yr.

The property is a vacant lot located on the southwest side 2012010213 P358,800/mo. of the National highway within Bgy. Parian, about km from Calamba crossing and about 4km from Calamba City Hall. It is located along a main thoroughfare where land development is generally for commercial purposes.

Lease Term: 15 years

II.

Sima Genesis 0231 that arrived on Dec. 5 from Port of Klang, Malaysia.

Faeldon said the package was only valued at P56,000.

But based on global prices, diamonds are priced at $1,400 or P70,000 per carat.

Faeldon said the diamonds are now under the custody of the BoC-Manila International Container Port.

‘Use retirement account’—Angara

PHILIPPINE NATIONAL OIL COMPANY

I.

cate a balikbayan box, believing it contains gifts and items for loved ones of overseas Filipinos in the Philippines,” the Customs chief said.

“We could not tolerate Filipinos abroad using these boxes in all forms of smuggling as it violates our laws,” he added.

The diamonds were shipped as part of 246 packages in a container van aboard the vessel

ATTY. GRACIELA M. BARLETA Chairman Committee for the Disposal/Utilization of PNOC Real Estate Properties

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Universe pageant next year.

“The President has said: ‘Leave them there.’

Leave them there so that the people see exactly where we are,” presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said.

The Palace has received reports that at least 100 street dwellers were Republic of the Philippines PROVINCE OF QUIRINO rounded up in MaCabarroguis nila more than a -oOomonth before the BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE country hosts the INVITATION TO BID FOR 65th Miss Universe Furnishing and Delivering of One (1) Unit Brand New Bulldozer pageant.

Contract No. 2016-072 An official from December 28, 2016 the Manila Social The Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) of the Provincial Government of Quirino, Welfare and Dethrough the 5% LDRRMF intends to apply the sum of P 11,445,030.00 being velopment Office the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for 2016-071 Furnishing and Delivering of One (1) Unit Brand New Bulldozer who asked not to for the Provincial Government of Quirino. Bids received in excess of the ABC be identified said shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

The Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) of the Provincial Government of Quirino the “rescue” was now invites bids for Furnishing and Delivering of One (1) Unit Brand New part of the city’s Bulldozer. Delivery of the Goods is required 90 Calendar Days. Bidders should have completed, within five (5) years from the date of submission and receipt preparations for of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is the pageant. contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

The Palace, howBidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using ever, stressed that non-discretionary pass/fail criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 9184 (RA 9184), otherwise known as the the government “Government Procurement Reform Act”. will not resort to the Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or tactics of the previorganizations with at least seventy five percent (75%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines. ous administration Interested bidders may obtain further information from Bids and Awards of hiding homeless Committee (BAC) of the Provincial Government of Quirino and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below from 9:00 AM to 4:00PM. Filipinos from visitA complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders ing foreigners. from December 28, 2016 to January 16, 2017 from the address below and “We are not hidupon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of Ten Thousand Pesos (P10,000.00). ing our true situaThe BAC will issue hard copies of Bidding Documents at the BAC Secretariat, tion,” Abella said.

Capitol Hills, Cabarroguis, Quirino, upon payment of the applicable nonrefundable fee. The Pre-Bid Conference shall open only to interested parties Social Welfare who have purchased the BD’s. Bids must be accompanied by a bid security, in Secretary Judy the amount and acceptable form, as stated in Section 27.2 of the Revised IRR. Taguiwalo had The Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) of the Provincial Government of Quirino will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on January 4, 2017, 3:00PM at Special earlier stressed nd Projects Unit Conference Hall, 2 Floor, Commercial Building, Capitol that hiding street Compound, Capitol Hills, Cabarroguis, Quirino, which shall be open to all interested parties. dwellers is a Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before January 17, 2017, “mere hypocricy” nd 3:00PM at Special Projects Unit Conference Hall, 2 Floor, Commercial that should be disBuilding, Capitol Compound, Capitol Hills, Cabarroguis, Quirino. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the continued. amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

Ta g u i w a l o’s Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted. predecessor, CoraProspective bidders shall submit their duly accomplished forms as zon Soliman, was specified in the BD’s in two (2) separate sealed bid envelopes to the BAC heavily criticized Chairman. The first envelope shall contain the technical component of the bid. The second envelope shall contain the financial component of the for clearing out bid. Contract will be awarded to the Lowest Calculated Responsive Bid as street dwellers determined in the bid evaluation and the post-qualification. during the visit of The Provincial Government of Quirino reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to Pope Francis and contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or during the 2015 bidders.

Asia-Pacific EcoFor further information, please refer to: (SGD) Engr. Dencio A. Pagbilao nomic Cooperation Chairman, Bids and Awards Committee Summit which the Province of Quirino +639175007275 country hosted. +639177756155

(MS-DEC. 28, 2016)

John Paolo Bencito

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Sports

A7

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Chelsea posts record 12 consecutive wins LONDON, United Kingdom—Pedro struck twice as Premier League leaders Chelsea registered a club record 12th successive league win by beating Bournemouth 3-0 at Stamford Bridge on Monday.

Antonio Conte’s side can edge ever closer to Arsenal’s Premier League record of 14 consecutive wins when they face Stoke at the Bridge on Saturday.

Victory then would set up the possibility of matching the record, set across the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons, when they travel to face London rivals Tottenham on January 4.

On this form, few would bet against the Blues extending their current run after they moved nine points clear of second placed Liverpool, who host Stoke on Tuesday.

In control long before Pedro put them ahead with a superb individual strike in the 24th minute, they effectively killed off Bournemouth’s hopes with Eden Hazard’s 49thminute penalty before Pedro’s deflected second wrapped up the win.

Diego Costa’s one-match ban meant Conte was forced to reshuffle his forward line for the

first time since his team embarked on their winning run, with Michy Batshuayi hoping to make his first league start since his arrival from Marseille.

Conte, though, had made it clear in the build-up to the game that the 23-year-old still has work to do as he attempts to acclimatise to life in the Premier League.

And Batshuayi once again found himself on the bench as the Chelsea boss opted to stick with his established senior players, moving Hazard into the middle with Willian and Pedro operating either side of the Belgium international.

Conte also made an enforced change in midfield with Cesc Fabregas slotting in alongside Nemanja Matic in place of the suspended N’Golo Kante.

Chelsea’s form has been such, however, that the changes had little effect on Conte’s side, who once again demonstrated the confidence that comes with winning matches.

Last December, Bournemouth’s win at Stamford Bridge helped hasten the departure of former Blues manager Jose Mourinho. AFP

ORDER OF MERIT WINNER. Chihiro Ikeda (left) receives her trophy from ICTSI Public Relations head Narlene Soriano after clinching her first Order of Merit title in the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour. The former SEA Games individual champion earned P514,121 on one victory at Orchard and a slew of Top 10 finishes in the 10-leg circuit sponsored by ICTSI, beating Symetra Tour campaigner Mia Piccio (P415,012) for the coveted individual crown.

National doubles unwraps today T HE sixth National Doubles Amateur Golf Championship unfolds today, Wednesday, Dec. 28 with World Junior Girls’ champion team member Harmie Constantino and the Legaspi sisters—Missy and Mia—spicing up the Division I field at Camp Aguinaldo Golf Club in QC.

Constantino, who teamed up with Yuka Saso and Sofia Legaspi to capture the World Junior Girls’ diadem in Canada last September,

will partner with Gabriel Macalaguim in the three-day championship serving as the final leg of the annual National Amateur Golf

Tour organized by the National Golf Association of the Philippines and sponsored by the PLDT Group, the MVP Sports Foundation, Smart and Metro Pacific Investment Corp.

The Legaspi siblings, on the other hand, are raring to prove their worth, together with the Kristine Torralba-Alex Etter pair, as they join the centerpiece event of the annual tournament hosted

by CAGC which features the country’s top and up-and-coming

players in the ranks.

Jobim Carlos and Iñigo Raymundo ruled last year’s edition of the event via come-from-behind fashion over Ira Alido and Aidric Chan last year. But Carlos has joined the pro ranks, while Alido has tapped new partner in Paolo Wong.

Former pro Eddie Bagtas is also in the fold and will team up with Bobby Iñigo, while Bagtas’ son Leandro has picked Alexi Garzon as partner. The other fancied

pairs in the premier division are the Adrian Romero-JP De Claro, Ryan Monsalve-Lanz Uy and Carlo Villaroman-Raymart Tolentino tandems.

But focus will be on Constantino, who scored a big victory on the local ladies pro circuit at the Mt. Malarayat leg.

Yuto Katsuragawa, the spearhead of Manila Southwoods’ romp in big club tournaments, including in the recent Fil-Am Championship, is linking up with Carl Cor-

Mallari named PBA Player of the Week ALEX Mallari made sure Mahindra won’t end the Holiday season winless.

The left-handed Mallari banged in a career-tying 23 points, hauled down 11 rebounds, issued four assists and added four steals to gift the Floodbuster a thrilling 97-93 overtime win against Blackwater Elite on Christmas Day at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.

The Fil-American wingman was at his best in the payoff quarter, firing nine points to help Mahindra stage a giant comeback from a 15-point deficit and force the extension period.

Mahindra then, rode on the momentum of its late-game fightback to finally barge into the win column after opening the Philippine Cup with five straight losses.

Mallari’s scintillating perfor-

mance earned him the last AccelPBA Press Corps Player of the Week for 2016, beating out the likes of Phoenix rookie Matthew Wright, Ginebra’s Japeth Aguilar, Rain or Shine big man Jewel Ponferada and Blackwater freshman Mac Belo.

Known for his ability to slash to the basket, Mallari was on attack basket every time he sees a slight opening from Blackwater’s seemingly relaxed defense.

“The lanes were open so I kept attacking. Coach (Chris Gavina) kept telling me to attack so I attack,” said Mallari, a four-time PBA champion, who was traded to Mahindra in the offseason.

Mahindra will take a long break before swinging back to action on January 11 against Meralco at the Mahindra Floodbuster guard Alex Mallari (11) protects the basketball against Blackwater Elite Smart Araneta Coliseum. defender Denok Miranda.

Australia’s Big Bash allows Russell to use black bat MELBOURNE, Australia—West Indian Andre Russell will be allowed to use a black bat in Australia’s T20 Big Bash League after making modifications, Cricket Australia said Tuesday.

The Sydney Thunder star used the bat with a black blade and pink handle during last week’s opening BBL match against the Sydney Sixers after Cricket Australia

initially gave the all-clear.

But they reversed their stance after feedback from match officials that it was leaving black marks on the match ball.

BBL officials said Russell will now be able to resume using the bat after reviewing modifications made to it.

“Following feedback from the match officials that the bat used by Andre in

the opening night of the season left black marks on the match ball, he has worked with his bat manufacturer to modify the bat,” BBL chief Anthony Everard said.

“A clear laminate cover has been applied to the bat which complies with regulations to ensure the ball discolouration does not occur again.”

Under BBL regulations, a player can use a coloured bat as long as it is same colour as their team’s primary kit colour, or black.

Cricket Australia said it has the discretion to deny any approvals and the umpires can also request a player change the bat if they believe it is affecting the integrity of the match. AFP

Cavs benefited from officiating errors in narrow win LOS ANGELES—The Cleveland Cavaliers received a couple of Christmas gifts from game officials in their thrilling 109-108 holiday triumph over the Golden State Warriors, the NBA said Monday.

In their latest “Last Two Minutes Report” detailing officiating errors late in games, the league said Cleveland’s Richard Jefferson should have been called for a foul with 3.1 seconds remaining after his foot made contact with that of Kevin Durant, affecting the Golden State star’s speed, quickness, balance and rhythm.

Durant ended up sprawled on the court, unable to connect on a potential game-winner.

“I fell,” Durant said Sunday, “and I didn’t fall on my own.”

Jefferson, however, said the officials made the right call.

“We all think we’re fouled on every play in every single game,” Jefferson said.

The NBA Finals rematch between the league powerhouses was the most-streamed NBA Christmas Day game ever, generating 359,000 unique viewers, according to Nielsen Company figures released Monday by ABC sister network ESPN. The game averaged a hefty 10.163 million viewers via the ABC broadcast and streaming combined.

The NBA champion Cavaliers rallied in the fourth quarter, courtesy of such Cleveland crowd-pleasing plays as LeBron James’s monster dunk with 1:43 remaining which put the Cavs

up 105-103—their first lead since the first quarter.

“King” James hung on the rim and flexed his arms—a move that the league acknowledged Monday in the officiating report should have seen him handed a technical foul for “deliberately hanging on the rim” after the dunk was completed.

In that fateful game Kyrie Irving’s turnaround jump shot over Klay Thompson with 3.4 seconds left lifted the NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers to a 109-108 Christmas Day triumph over the Golden State Warriors.

The rematch of last June’s NBA Finals headlined the league’s holiday slate, and didn’t disappoint.

The Cavaliers—who rallied

from 3-1 down in the championship series last season to deny the Warriors a second straight title—trailed most of the game and were down by as many as 14 earlier in the fourth quarter.

James’s rim-rattling dunk with 1:43 to play put Cleveland up 105-103—their first lead since early in the first quarter —and Irving capped the comeback with a clutch shot that recalled his championship-winning three-pointer in the final minute of game seven last June.

“He’s just a killer on the court,” Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said.

A beaming Irving said it was the perfect holiday treat.

“It’s nothing like the playoffs,” Irving said, “but the intensity was

up there. This is what you want to be a part of as a professional.”

Irving finished with 25 points, while James had 31 points and 13 rebounds. Kevin Love had 20 points and six rebounds for the Cavs.

Durant, who arrived at Golden State as a free agent in the off-season, was superb in his first appearance in the Warriors-Cavs rivalry.

Durant scored 36 points and pulled down 15 rebounds. But after Irving’s key basket he was unable to get off a potentially game-winning shot, getting tangled with Richard Jefferson and hitting the floor. No foul was called and time ran out.

“I was trying to make a move.

I didn’t fall on my own,” an irked Durant said. AFP

pus while Jelbert Gamolo teams up with Gab Manotoc and Tomi Arejola partners with Nik Gatmaytan.

The field will slug it out under the four-ball (best-ball) format in the first round with action shifting to aggregate in the next before the two-ball foursome in the final round, according to the organizing NGAP. For details, call NGAP at (02) 7065962 (Cathy or Charlyn) or CAGC (02) 9132750 (Arlene).

Crashed plane ran out of fuel BOGOTA, Colombia—Preliminary investigations have confirmed that a plane that crashed in the Colombian mountains last month killing 71 people including most of a Brazilian football team was out of fuel, officials said Monday.

The LaMia airlines charter flight crashed just outside Medellin on November 28, virtually wiping out the Chapecoense Real football club as they traveled to the biggest match in their history.

Freddy Bonilla, the head of Colombia’s civil aviation authority, said investigations indicated the British Aerospace 146 jet had run out of fuel.

That has been the leading theory on the crash ever since a harrowing recording emerged of the pilot radioing the control tower to report a fuel emergency.

The pilots “were aware of the fuel limitations they had at the time. It was neither adequate nor sufficient,” Bonilla told a press conference.

However, they did not sound the alarm until several minutes before the crash, he said.

The plane was overweight by about 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds), but that did not appear to have played a “decisive” role, he added.

According to the civil aviation authority, the pilots requested priority to land at 9:49 p.m. (0249 GMT) because of a fuel problem. They then began their descent before receiving authorization.

At 9:53 p.m., one of their engines stopped.

Three minutes later, all four were gone.

The plane declared an emergency at 9:57 p.m. because of a “total electrical failure,” then disappeared from the radar.

A minute later, the pilots descended to 9,000 feet—1,000 less than the minimum altitude for the region.

At 9:58 pm, the plane slammed into the Cerro Gordo mountain at a speed of 115 knots (around 130 miles per hour). AFP

LOTTO RESULTS

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

P0.0 M+ P0.0 M+

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

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Sports

Diaz shoo-in to SEAG squad

By Peter Atencio

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016

Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) and Indiana Pacers counterpart Paul George (13) chase down a loose ball at the United Center on December 26 in Chicago, Illinois. AFP

Bulls gore Pacers, 90-85 L

OS ANGELES—The Chicago Bulls halted a three-game losing streak with a 90-85 victory over the Indiana Pacers during their National Basketball Association game in Chicago.

Dwyane Wade scored 21 points and handed out five assists for the Bulls, who led by as many as 16 in the first half but saw the Pacers pull even early in the fourth quarter after Chicago managed just 12 points in the third period.

The teams traded big shots in the final minute. Indiana forward Paul George drained a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 86-85 with 45.3 seconds remaining.

Chicago’s Nikola Mirotic answered with a jump shot that made it 88-85 with 21.2 seconds to play.

Wade stole a pass from Aaron Brooks and sprinted end to end for a dunk to finish the scoring with

1.2 seconds left.

It was close in Brooklyn, where Randy Foye hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Nets to a 120-118 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

The Nets, who saw point guard Jeremy Lin exit with a hamstring strain in the third quarter, halted a five-game losing streak.

The Washington Wizards erased a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 107-102. Otto Porter scored 32 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and John Wall added 18 points and 16 assists for the Wizards, who avenged their 123-96

loss to the Bucks on Friday.

The Detroit Pistons made the most of LeBron James’s absence, snapping a five-game skid with a 106-90 victory over the NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers.

A day after their 109-108 triumph over the Golden State Warriors in a Christmas Day thriller, the short-handed Cavs had no answer for the Pistons.

Tobias Harris came off the bench to lead Detroit with 21 points. The hosts shot a modest 44.6 percent overall, but they connected on 16 of 28 (57.1 percent) from three-point range.

Six Pistons scored in double figures, with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope contributing 18 points, Marcus Morris 15 and Jon Leuer and Reggie Jackson 13 apiece.

With James watching from the sideline in street clothes, the Pistons seized a 50-44 halftime lead.

They held the Cavaliers to 38 percent shooting and forced 22 turno-

vers, leading to 29 Detroit points.

Kyrie Irving led the Cavaliers with 18 points and eight assists.

Kevin Love added 17 points and 14 rebounds for Cleveland, who saw a five-game winning streak end as they fell to 23-7 -- still the best in the Eastern Conference.

Cleveland is 23-4 when James is in uniform and 0-3 without him this season.

“He’s probably the best player in the world,” Pistons forward Jon Leuer said. “When he’s not in there, it’s a different feel, for sure.

They still have some talented guys with Kyrie (Irving) and Kevin (Love), their shooters and how they space the floor.

“It still makes it difficult, but LeBron kind of facilitates everything.”

James Harden and the Houston Rockets, left out of the NBA’s five-game Christmas party, showed the league what it missed in a 131-115 victory over

Wild Oats XI pulls out

Sports facilities not ready SPORTS facilities which will be built inside the proposed Clark Green City in Capas, Tarlac will not be ready when the Philippines hosts the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

Consultants of the Bases Conversion Development Authority informed PSC chairman William “Butch” Ramirez, and said the place won’t be ready in two years.

“It’s from the Japanese consultants. They said that even if there are funds, it’s (two years) very tight,” said Ramirez.

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.

Three sites have been proposed on a 100-hectare area which the BCDA will allocate to the Philippine Sports Commission from the 9450 hectare Clark Green City.

Ramirez informed the BCDA that there is no need to rush, and there’s no need to get it ready by 2019.

There are other places in the country that are good enough to host the 2019 SEA Games.

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. Peter Atencio

the Phoenix Suns.

Harden notched his 24th doubledouble with 32 points and 12 assists in the Rockets’ second victory over the Suns in less than a week.

This one was decisive. The Rockets scored 39 points in the first quarter and led by as many as 34 in the second half, making 15 three-pointers along the way.

Harden’s performance was his ninth game of the season with at least 30 points and 10 assists.

Forward Ryan Anderson added 15 points -- 10 of them in the first quarter when the Rockets took the game by the throat.

In Orlando, the Magic also led wire-to-wire in a 112-102 triumph over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Forward Aaron Gordon scored 30 points and was a perfect four for four from three-point range.

His 12 consecutive points in the third period helped turn back a Grizzlies rally. AFP

OLYMPIC silver medallist Hidilyn Diaz is expected to be a shoo-in for the national team which will be sent to the 29th Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur this August.

Diaz, who will seriously begin her preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics this year, fits the criteria which the task force composed of top Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission listed.

The task force listed down three sets of criteria in their effort to select the right number of athletes who can go to the Games.

“We are coordinating with the PSC on the government side on the criteria to send athletes to the Games,” said karatedo secretary-general Raymund Lee-Reyes, who co-leads the task force on the POC side.

Last week, an initial list of 535 athletes from 31 sports were submitted to the SEA Games organizing committee on Friday, which was the deadline for submission by numbers.

PSC chairman Butch Ramirez made it clear that only athletes capable of winning medals would join the delegation in the 11-nation biennial meet set Aug. 19 to 31.

Ramirez leads the PSC selection group along with PSC commissioners Mon Fernandez, Charles Maxey, Arnold Agustin, Celia Kiram, executive director Carlo Abarquez and national training director Mark Velasco.

On the POC’s end, joining Carrasco are POC auditor Jonne Go, POC board member Robert Mananquil and Dave Carter of judo.

Athletes who had previous experience in the SEA Games tops the priority list for the selection group.

Second are those who made achievements in other international meets.

Third on the list are development athletes, those who young potentials with high performances, and have measureable achievements, and have excelled in team events.

Eight-time winner and favorite Wild Oats XI competes at the start of the Sydney to Hobart race. Wild Oats XI has retired from the grueling Sydney to Hobart race due to a broken hydraulic ram, organizers said on December 27. AFP

Beermen try to hold on to lead

By Jeric Lopez THE league-leading San Miguel Beermen try to tighten their grip on first place as it plunges back to action in the final playdate of the year in the 2016-17 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup. The Beermen (4-1) shoot for another win tonight but standing in their way are the skidding Meralco Bolts (2-3) as the two teams face each other at 7 p.m. Earlier, the GlobalPort Batang Pier (3-2) and the Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Master (33) lock horns 4:15 p.m. at the Mall of

Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Being the veteran championship team that it is, San Miguel has been steady all conference long thus far.

Its consistent play has once again placed it at the top of the heap.

Still, San Miguel coach Leo Austria doesn’t want any relaxation from his team, especially against the dangerous Bolts.

“We can’t afford to have a complacent game against any team even if we’re at the top,” said Austria.

The Beermen are also well-rested, heading the game following a 16-day layoff.

SYDNEY, Australia—Disaster struck for eight-time winner Wild Oats XI as she was forced to retire from the Sydney to Hobart race Tuesday with keel damage, amid favourable winds that saw the leaders chase record times.

It was the second-straight year that the local favorite—the race’s most successful yacht—had to pull out from the gruelling 628-nautical-mile (1,163 kilometer) event.

“The race leader Wild Oats XI has been forced out of the race with a keel problem, a hydraulic problem,” Wild Oats’ media manager Rob Mundle said in a video posted online.

“The yacht is in the middle of Bass Strait.

She’s now turned back to head towards Eden [a town some 480 kilometers south of Sydney]. She should be there sometime early tomorrow.”

Mundle added that the crew were safe and there were “no great dramas with the yacht”.

The supermaxi withdrew from the bluewater classic last year after her mainsail ripped, with rival Comanche—which is not contesting the race this year—taking

line honours.

The setback also struck months after Wild Oats owner, multi-millionaire Australian winemaker Bob Oatley, died aged 87.

Wild Oats, skippered by Mark Richards, on Tuesday morning was leading the race to challenge the record of 1 day 18hrs 23mins 12secs that it set in 2012.

But as she approached the north-east coast of Flinders Island in eastern Bass Strait, she suffered damage to the hydraulic ram, which adjusts the angle of the canting, or swinging, keel beneath the hull.

The crew were able to manually center and stabilize the keel, but made the decision to withdraw from the race, organizers said.

Perpetual LOYAL—helmed by Anthony Bell—assumed the lead after the withdrawal, with Giacomo in second place ahead of Maserati, Hong Kong businessman Seng Huang Lee’s entrant Scallywag and Beau Geste.

It remained on race record pace and, supported by good easterly winds Tuesday, could finish hours inside the record early Wednesday morning in Hobart, organizers added. AFP

San Miguel Beer point guard Alex Cabagnot (right) attempts a layup against the tightguarding Jonathan Uyloan of the Meralco Bolts.

The Beermen battle the Bolts tonight.

UBS sees peso falling to 51 per dollar in ’17

B3

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016

B1

PhilWeb’s license up for auction

By Jenniffer B. Austria

G

AMING regulator Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. said PhilWeb Corp.’s gaming license will be up for public bidding in compliance with the law.

PhilWeb said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it was informed by Pagcor that renewing the company’s intellectual property censing and management agreement “is no longer feasible without going though Republic

Act 9184.”

RA 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act, prescribes the necessary rules and regulations for the modernization, standardization and regulation of the procurement activi-

ties of the government.

“We would like to clarify that during the meeting between Pagcor and PhilWeb representatives last Nov. 4, 2016, we explained to your representatives that the selection of the service provider for Pagcor’s online gaming operations will be in accordance to the Republic Act 9184 preferably through public bidding,” Pagcor chairman and chief executive Andrea Domingo said in a letter to PhilWeb chairman Gregorio Ma. Araneta III. “Further we explained to your representative that merely renew-

ing the IPLMA, without going through RA 9184 is no longer legally feasible. The situation when the IPLM was originally implemented by Pagcor was essentially the lone service provider more or less a decade ago, is no longer the same,” Domingo said in the latter.

Pagcor, however, assured PhilWeb that it was expediting the procurement process for a new service provider and that the agency was on schedule within the timeline earlier provided to PhilWeb. PhilWeb’s IPLMA expired on Aug. 10 without being renewed

by Pagcor, after President Rodrigo Duterte earlier vowed to stop the proliferation of online gambling in the country.

PhilWeb, which has been managing the gaming regulator’s egames network for the past 14 years, had to close down its network of e-games outlets, which affected 5,000 workers.

Pagcor majority shareholder Roberto Ongpin also divested his entire stake in PhilWeb in favor of Araneta for P2 billion.

PhilWeb then submitted a new application for an omnibus

IPLMA for the e-Games network.

Araneta earlier expressed hope that PhilWeb would be able to have its gaming license renewed before the end of 2016.

Araneta said once the license was renewed, PhilWeb would immediately re-operate the 286 existing e-Games outlets of Pagcor, putting its 5,000 employees and operators back to work.

Duterte, however, said he ordered the closure of all online gaming facilities in the country, amid the controversy involving Chinese operators.

FDA orders Sanofi Sangley airport seen easing Metro Manila traffic to stop dengue ads

By Darwin G. Amojelar

THE Philippine Food and Drug Administration said it issued a summons with cease and desist order against pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur Inc. for airing television and radio advertisements of dengue vaccine Dengvaxia.

FDA said the airing of the advertisement was in violation of Administrative Order No. 65 s.

1989, prohibiting advertisement in any form of prescription or ethical drug.

FDA’s Center for Drug Regulation and Research monitored the airing of the advertising materials on dengue vaccination. It also reported the unauthorized promotion of dengue vaccine in the malls.

FDA said it issued the summons on Dec. 13 and directed Sanofi to cease and desist from disseminating advertisements

for Dengvaxia in any form of mass or social media.

Sanofi was also directed to stop activities promoting and marketing the vaccine. FDA said as of Dec. 15, the company failed to comply with FDA’s directive to take down the said advertisements.

“Since Sanofi has not complied, we have issued summons directing them to cease and desist from airing the advertisements and show cause why they should not be penalized for violating the law,” FDA director general Nela Charade Puno said.

Puno said to ensure immediate compliance, “the FDA already sent letters to TV and radio stations directing them not to air the said unauthorized ads.”

Puno also said FDA would monitor compliance by Sanofi and the stations.

All-Asia Resources and Reclamation Corp. said the proposed Sangley gateway will keep about 8,000 trucks and 40,000 cars out of Metro Manila daily, easing up traffic while providing a comprehensive solution for a world-class airport, a seaport and an industrial complex.

The consortium led by tycoon Henry Sy and the Tieng family proposed the Philippine Global Gateway project worth P1.3 trillion to decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and its surrounding roads.

Under the project, ARRC plans to build an international airport, seaport, economic zone and real estate components in Sangely Point.

“Ours is a complete package, not just an airport proposal. It is an integrated approach that ad-

dresses traffic congestion, job creation, exports, port congestion and our lack of a manufacturing base,” said Wilson Tieng, president and chief executive of ARRC. He said the Philippines is so strategic in Asia that it should be its manufacturing and export hub.

“But how can Hong Kong,

Singapore and Japan, for example, do just-in-time production when we cannot deliver on time due to traffic in our streets, our airport, and our seaport? So we thought of putting all three― an international airport, seaport and industrial complex―in one location,” he said.

The project was envisioned several years ago but could not

be submitted because the previous administration was not open to unsolicited proposals.

Tieng said All-Asia finally submitted the proposal on Aug, 1 to the Transportation Department and presented it to the Cabinet and President Rodrigo Duterte on Aug, 22 where it was “very well received, to say the least.”

The first phase is the reclamation of 2,500 hectares of sea northwest of Sangley, “Using the latest technology, we can finish the reclamation in two years and immediately build to finish the airport two years later just like other airports in Japan and South Korea, and other reclamation projects in Hong Kong and Macau. So if we get the go-signal by Jan. 1, 2017, for instance, we should have a new international airport we can all be proud of by 2021,” he said.

B2

Business

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Market rebounds; MPIC climbs PAL set S to buy 12 TOCKS rebounded Tuesday, after a long holiday weekend as the deep slide last week encouraged investors to search for bargains.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, climbed 94 points, or 1.4 percent, to close at 6,658.20. This trimmed the bellwether’s losses this year to 4.2 percent.

The heavier index, representing all shares, also advanced 48 points, or 1.2 percent, to settle at 4,070.60, on a value turnover of P3.3 billion. Advancers outnumbered losers, 90 to 78, while 57 issues were unchanged.

Thirteen of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by Harbor Star Shipping Services Inc. which jumped 15.1 per-

cent to P2.67 and conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. which gained 6.5 percent to P6.38. Universal Robina Corp. went up 4.7 percent to P157.

Meanwhile, Tokyo stocks ended a three-day decline Tuesday as a sliding yen encouraged investors to look for bargains, but several Asian markets remained closed for the long holiday weekend.

Japanese stocks eked out a small rise, although Toshiba shares dived nearly 12 percent on reports it is likely to record a huge special loss related to a

US subsidiary’s acquisition of a nuclear power service company.

The company is expected to post a roughly 100 billion yen ($850 million) one-time loss for the fiscal year ending March 2017, the leading business daily Nikkei reported.

On forex markets, the yen weakened against the dollar and remains 15 percent down from a high in August, despite a small rise last week against the US currency.

But while Tokyo recorded a very modest 0.03 percent gain, Shanghai drifted lower, ending the day down 0.3 percent. South Korean shares rose 0.2 percent.

Hong Kong, Sydney and Wellington were closed for public holidays.

Energy companies were among

the losers in Shanghai but China’s state-backed builders extended a rally the day after the Ministry of Transport announced ambitious plans to spend 1.8 trillion yuan ($259 billion) on highways and waterways in 2017.

Trading is expected to be light this week as financial markets end a volatile year, with US stocks near a record high following the surprise US election victory of Donald Trump, and the Dow is tantalizingly close to breaking the 20,000 barrier.

“The financial markets seem to have already priced in expectations toward a Trump presidency, and are shifting toward a market that’s waiting to gauge his actual policies,” Hideyuki Ishiguro, a senior strategist at Daiwa Securities in Tokyo, told Bloomberg

News.

“We also have a lack of market participants with overseas markets closed.”

Japan released data Tuesday showing consumer prices fell for the ninth straight month in November, as the nation struggles to shake off deflation that has plagued its economy.

Core consumer prices declined 0.4 percent on-year, the internal affairs ministry said.

Crude was mixed with West Texas Intermediate rising marginally but Brent giving up ground.

Prices have been boosted after OPEC announced at the end of last month its members would slash output by 1.2 million barrels per day beginning in January.

With Bloomberg, AFP

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2016

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

LOW

CLOSE

AG FINANCE 3.38 ASIA UNITED 47.7 BANK PH ISLANDS 87.4 BDO UNIBANK 107 BRIGHT KINDLE 1.3 CHINABANK 38 COL FINANCIAL 16.34 EAST WEST BANK 18.4 FILIPINO FUND 6.67 FIRST ABACUS 0.67 MEDCO HLDG 0.57 METROBANK 71.6 NTL REINSURANCE 0.78 PB BANK 14.2 14.2 PHIL NATL BANK 54.55 PHIL STOCK EXCH 245 PSBANK 90 90 RCBC 33.95 33.95 SECURITY BANK 193 SUN LIFE 1,641 1,641 UNION BANK 74.45 VANTAGE 1.26 1.29

3.5 47.9 88.2 107.7 1.42 38.05 16.34 18.4 6.67 0.67 0.57 72.2 0.78 14.12 54.7 245 89 33.75 196.2 1,640 74.8 1.25

FINANCIALS 3.37 3.5 47.5 47.9 87.4 87.95 106 107.3 1.3 1.41 37.8 38.05 16.08 16.08 18.34 18.4 6.64 6.64 0.64 0.64 0.55 0.56 71.55 72 0.76 0.78 14.12 72,200 54.5 54.7 243 244 90 2,190 33.85 116,700 193 194.5 1,641 105 73.7 74.5 1.25 28,000

14,000 47,390 10,500 502,350 488,080 367,560 32,327,488.50 1,885,040 202,149,947 6,000 8,380 33,500 1,272,220 961,400 30,200 485,792 38,800 712,222 167,096 10,000 66,424 250,000 163,890 570,000 318,570 1,509,720 108,720,937.50 442,000 339,680 1,023,236 52,410 2,856,804.50 1,470 357,666 195,120 3,945,895 -3,725,870 586,640 114,053,856 172,265 43,150 3,212,629 -302,195.50 35,380 -

ABOITIZ POWER 41.5 AGRINURTURE 4.37 ALLIANCE SELECT 0.82 ALSONS CONS 1.25 ASIABEST GROUP 19.28 BASIC ENERGY 0.185 BOGO MEDELLIN 86 CEMEX HLDG 11.4 CENTURY FOOD 15.72 CIRTEK HLDG 23 CNTRL AZUCARERA CONCEPCION 57 CONCRETE A 90 CONCRETE B 119 CROWN ASIA 1.86 DAVINCI CAPITAL 6.48 DEL MONTE 11.92 DNL INDUS 11.08 EEI CORP 5.94 6.15 EMPERADOR 7 ENERGY DEVT 4.89 FIRST GEN 21.8 21.8 FIRST PHIL HLDG 67.8 GINEBRA 12.8 12.8 HOLCIM 16.48 16.5 INTEGRATED MICR 6.03 IONICS 1.55 1.55 JOLLIBEE 191.5 196 LIBERTY FLOUR 77 LMG CHEMICALS 2.6 MABUHAY VINYL 3.83 MANILA WATER 27.05 MAXS GROUP 22.8 MEGAWIDE 14.78 MERALCO 261 266 MG HLDG 0.235 0.249 PEPSI COLA 3.33 PETRON 9.58 10 PHINMA ENERGY 2.09 PHX PETROLEUM 5.66 PHX SEMICNDCTR 1.38 PILIPINAS SHELL 69.75 PRYCE CORP 4.95 PUREFOODS 225 RFM CORP 4.94 5 ROXAS HLDG 2.7 SHAKEYS PIZZA 11.22 SWIFT FOODS 0.142 TKC METALS 1.4 UNIV ROBINA 152 VICTORIAS 4.31 4.63 VITARICH 1.35 1.35 VULCAN INDL 1.1

42.5 4.7 0.85 1.28 20.35 0.196 86 11.5 16.04 23.35 20 61 92.95 155 1.86 6.48 11.98 11.14 5.94 7.14 4.99 20.9 67.8 12.8 16.2 6.06 1.4 191 77 2.6 3.83 28.5 24 15 261 0.235 3.33 9.58 2.13 5.7 1.39 69.85 5.06 225 4.8 2.7 11.34 0.142 1.44 157 4.31 1.28 1.1

INDUSTRIAL 41.4 42.3 4.37 4.68 0.79 0.83 1.22 1.25 18.22 19.98 0.185 0.195 86 86 11.3 11.3 15.64 16 22.75 23.3 21.3 20 57 60 90 92.95 119 155 1.86 1.86 6.32 6.32 11.92 11.92 11.04 11.06 6.11 1,106,500 7 7.14 4.89 4.94 21.8 5,284,100 67.5 67.6 12.8 100 16.5 167,400 6.03 6.06 1.52 828,000 193.7 176,610 75 75 2.58 2.58 3.83 3.83 27.05 28.5 22.8 24 14.46 15 265.4 222,690 0.249 20,000 3.33 3.33 10 894,000 2.08 2.13 5.62 5.62 1.38 1.39 69.05 69.65 4.95 5 221 225 4.85 1,544,000 2.5 2.7 11.22 11.3 0.141 0.141 1.4 1.44 150 157 4.63 5,000 1.33 1,561,000 1.1 1.1

520,700 21,969,180 5,576,000 25,541,090 895,000 717,910 -24,000 824,000 1,022,140 161,000 15,400 307,662 610,000 113,680 1,850 790 67,940 1,938,900 22,053,562 1,772,600 28,281,550 10,124,000 230,358,515 21.3 1,000 20,650 1,060 62,360 15,600 190 17,631 60 7,940 74,000 137,640 32,700 211,482 3,400 40,540 2,396 7,915,200 87,700,446 6,746,220 -4,431,894 160,700 1,142,983 -650,609 6,756,000 33,387,900 112,381,640 10,285,600 56,230 3,802,749 -1,564,976 1,280 2,761,900 -1,942,050 254,800 1,538,569 961,503 1,232,470 34,246,180 -8,252,509 350 26,547.50 9,000 23,280 4,000 15,320 544,800 14,873,385 119,000 2,827,175 -563,430 163,800 2,446,266 164,446 58,749,572 -13,935,808 4,840 2,490 276,000 919,080 19,980 8,822,956 -1,421,217.00 4,185,000 8,763,290 983,220 521,200 2,969,290 29,000 40,030 1,314,630 91,587,462 228,300 1,135,286 148,995 1,310 294,570 7,542,540 4,363,100 14,000 37,480 1,212,100 13,709,476 280,000 39,550 5,680.00 115,000 161,090 406,130 62,172,256 22,190 2,038,390 -58,050 14,000 15,400 -

ABACORE CAPITAL 0.395 ABOITIZ EQUITY 67.9 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 12.3 ANSCOR 6 6 ATN HLDG A 0.3 ATN HLDG B 0.305 AYALA CORP 715 COSCO CAPITAL 8.51 DMCI HLDG 12.3 FILINVEST DEV 8.2 GT CAPITAL 1,209 HOUSE OF INV 5.82 JG SUMMIT 66.4 LODESTAR 1.08 1.15 LOPEZ HLDG 7.69 LT GROUP 12.5 12.86 METRO PAC INV 6.07 PACIFICA 0.037 0.037 PRIME ORION 1.9 REPUBLIC GLASS 2.51 SAN MIGUEL CORP 91 SEAFRONT RES 2.39 SM INVESTMENTS 615 SOC RESOURCES 0.84 SOLID GROUP 1.2 TOP FRONTIER 257.8 UNIOIL HLDG 0.285 WELLEX INDUS 0.19 ZEUS HLDG 0.26

0.42 68 12.5 5.88 0.3 0.305 715 8.51 12.68 8.2 1,218 5.82 68.05 1.08 7.79 12.5 6.38 0.037 1.9 2.51 94 2.5 627 0.84 1.2 261.6 0.285 0.193 0.26

HOLDING FIRMS 0.395 0.41 66.75 67.6 12.22 12.5 6 7,800 0.29 0.29 0.305 0.305 710 710 8.4 8.42 12.28 12.68 8.19 8.2 1,209 1,212 5.43 5.43 66.35 68 1.1 4,726,000 7.67 7.79 12.8 763,200 6 6.38 0.037 15,800,000 1.9 1.9 2.47 2.47 90.65 92.5 2.39 2.5 605 627 0.82 0.82 1.19 1.2 257.8 261.6 0.285 0.285 0.19 0.193 0.24 0.24

20,660,000 8,447,600 966,470 64,942,558 717,300 8,910,660 -6,030,616 46,605 1,690,000 495,150 250,000 76,250 -76,250 41,770 29,721,215 2,616,600 21,986,471 2,852,200 35,634,252 155,900 1,278,370 54,530 66,100,350 900 5,004 2,200,670 149,209,585.50 5,273,720 7,290.00 567,700 4,397,949 156,449 9,733,424 -5,308,528 22,112,600 137,577,103 584,600 920,000 1,748,000 3,000 7,450 97,000 8,946,302.50 76,000 189,050 93,530 58,221,490 215,000 176,560 293,000 351,250 5,950 82,990 21,705,650 220,000 62,700 30,000 5,760 3,830 1,160,000 281,580 2,600

8990 HLDG 7.43 A BROWN 1.05 1.05 ARANETA PROP 2.02 ARTHALAND CORP 0.39 AYALA LAND 30.2 BELLE CORP 3.1 CEBU HLDG 4.93 CEBU PROP B 5.71 CENTURY PROP 0.55 CITY AND LAND 1.06 CITYLAND DEVT 1.43 CROWN EQUITIES 0.154 CYBER BAY 0.56 DOUBLEDRAGON 37 EMPIRE EAST 0.7 EVER GOTESCO 0.125 FILINVEST LAND 1.55 GLOBAL ESTATE 0.99 IRC PROP 1.26 1.26 MEGAWORLD 3.52 MRC ALLIED 0.127

7.8 1.02 2.09 0.4 30.7 3.11 4.93 5.71 0.56 1.06 1.43 0.155 0.58 37.8 0.7 0.125 1.55 0.99 1.25 3.56 0.13

CLOSE

PHIL ESTATES 0.265 PHIL REALTY 0.4 PRIMEX CORP 3.25 ROBINSONS LAND 25 ROCKWELL 1.56 SM PRIME HLDG 26.8 STA LUCIA LAND 1.09 SUNTRUST HOME 0.9 VISTA LAND 4.9

0.265 0.4 3.3 25 1.56 27.9 1.1 0.91 4.95

0.265 0.4 3.24 24.3 1.5 26.8 1.04 0.9 4.8

2GO GROUP 7.6 ABS CBN 43.5 44.1 ACESITE HOTEL 1.34 APC GROUP 0.48 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.04 BLOOMBERRY 5.96 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.061 CALATA CORP 2.36 CEBU AIR 92 92 DFNN INC 8.57 8.87 GLOBE TELECOM 1,435 GMA NETWORK 6.2 GOLDEN HAVEN 15.94 GRAND PLAZA 15.42 HARBOR STAR 2.38 IMPERIAL A 14.62 IMPERIAL B 130 INTL CONTAINER 69.8 IP EGAME 0.0089 0.0089 IPEOPLE 11.4 11.4 IPM HLDG 9.05 9.09 ISLAND INFO 0.2 ISM COMM 1.34 LBC EXPRESS 15.3 LEISURE AND RES 4.2 MACROASIA 2.39 MANILA JOCKEY 2 MELCO CROWN 3.84 METRO RETAIL 3.91 MLA BRDCASTING 17.3 NOW CORP 2.45 PACIFIC ONLINE 11.06 PAL HLDG 5.02 5.16 PAXYS 3.05 3.05 PHIL RACING 8.1 PHIL SEVEN CORP 135 PHILWEB 11.6 12 PLDT 1,330 1,335 PREMIUM LEISURE 1.17 PRMIERE HORIZON PUREGOLD 36.8 ROBINSONS RTL 72.9 SBS PHIL CORP 5.53 SSI GROUP2.51 2.53 STI HLDG 0.97 0.97 TRAVELLERS 3.27 WATERFRONT 0.35

7.7 43.3 1.34 0.495 0.04 6 0.063 2.4 90 8.4 1,480 6.24 16 15.42 2.85 15.28 130 69.8 0.0089 11 9.05 0.201 1.35 15.3 4.39 2.39 2 3.89 4.15 17.3 2.45 11.06 5.02 3.05 8.1 135.1 10.2 1,306 1.17 0.45 37.75 72.9 5.88 2.5 0.93 3.4 0.35

SERVICES 7.6 7.6 43.3 6,500 1.34 1.34 0.48 0.495 0.038 0.04 5.9 6 0.06 0.062 2.25 2.26 92 97,080 8.62 346,000 1,435 1,465 6.12 6.17 15.6 16 15.02 15.02 2.35 2.67 14.6 15.28 130 130 68 68.6 0.0089 4,000,000 11 400 9.09 494,000 0.198 0.201 1.31 1.31 14.52 14.54 4.01 4.15 2.39 2.39 2 2 3.78 3.85 3.91 4.08 17.3 17.3 2.35 2.38 11.06 11.06 5.16 1,200 3.05 1,000 8 8 135 135 11.3 4,216,000 1,310 37,350 1.15 1.17 0.45 0.445 36.8 37.4 71 71.05 5.3 5.88 2.5 298,000 0.95 1,484,000 3.27 3.4 0.35 0.35

9,500 72,210 282,970 1,000 1,340 520,000 251,850 78,600,000 3,094,300 328,400 1,957,111 839,533 12,130,000 748,310 4,397,000 9,961,770 239,280 8,922,932 -1,953,617.50 2,977,934 85,000 10,575 15,526,200 292,400 1,802,718 150,700 2,394,610 1,600 200 3,044 32,553,000 85,504,090 1,000 14,676 10 1,300 265,390 18,231,734 35,600 4,480 4,489,320 4,450,000 889,760 -60,000 79,000 103,590 8,300 121,742 1,427,000 6,073,630 -1,192,530 41,000 97,990 2,000 4,000 3,961,000 15,197,500 5,916,000 23,941,490 1,300 22,490 390,000 936,050 9,680 15,000 165,900 165,900 6,038 3,050 74,500 596,580 391,870 52,902,550 47,707,018 458,648 48,977,790 2,426,205 3,159,000 3,694,150 0.45 810,000 360,800 279,200 10,324,755 55,100 3,914,398.50 1,811,100 10,474,961 748,200 -2,770.00 1,398,210 537,880 356,000 1,195,010 -259,060 10,000 3,500 3,500

ABRA MINING 0.0033 APEX MINING 2.68 ATLAS MINING 4.96 ATOK 9.7 10.38 CENTURY PEAK 0.5 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.465 DIZON MINES 11.38 FERRONICKEL 3.05 GEOGRACE 0.27 LEPANTO A 0.192 LEPANTO B 0.195 MANILA MINING A0.012 MANILA MINING B 0.013 MARCVENTURES 2.46 NICKEL ASIA 7.7 NIHAO 2.93 2.93 ORNTL PENINSULA 1.02 ORNTL PETROL A 0.011 PETROENERGY 4.19 PHILODRILL 0.012 PX MINING 8.56 PXP ENERGY 3.5 SEMIRARA MINING UNITED PARAGON 0.0087

0.0034 2.7 4.96 9.7 0.5 0.48 12 3.05 0.275 0.195 0.195 0.012 0.013 2.46 7.8 2.83 1.04 0.012 4.19 0.012 8.6 3.5 129 0.009

MINING & OIL 0.0033 0.0033 2.6 2.7 4.96 4.96 10.38 2,000 0.49 0.49 0.455 0.46 10.88 11.92 2.84 2.95 0.265 0.265 0.192 0.195 0.195 0.195 0.011 0.011 0.013 0.013 2.3 2.43 7.48 7.8 2.83 2,000 1.01 1.04 0.011 0.011 4.05 4.19 0.012 0.012 8.5 8.51 3.35 3.35 131 129 0.0082 0.0083

48,000,000 160,500 272,000 717,500 16,000 79,360 20,080 75,000 36,980 1,430,000 665,400 58,500 687,654 11,443,000 33,230,210 280,000 74,900 2,750 3,510,000 679,450 200,000 39,000 200,000 2,300 100,000 1,300 1,474,000 3,509,670 3,154,600 24,186,466 5,760 693,000 707,770 -175,440 8,200,000 94,000 6,000 24,580 3,200,000 38,400 165,100 1,406,454 -126,600 831,000 2,812,750 185,840 130 456,420 59,341,393 9,000,000 77,100 -8,200

ABS HLDG PDR ALCO PREF B DD PREF 104 FGEN PREF G GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B LR PREF 1.04 MWIDE PREF PCOR PREF 2A PF PREF 2 1,034 SFI PREF 1.83 SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2H

43.75 103.1 104.2 111.5 5.9 1,025 1,020 1.04 110.1 1,070 1,035 2.1 77.5 78

44 103.1 104 111.5 5.9 1,025 1,020 1.03 110.1 1,070 1,034 1.83 78.2 78

PREFERRED 43.75 44 103 103 104.2 10,420 111.5 111.5 5.9 5.9 1,025 1,025 1,020 1,020 1.03 766,000 110.1 110.1 1,070 1,070 1,035 2,500 2.1 14,000 77.5 78.2 78 78

11,100 488,375 488,375 51,400 5,294,300 1,085,680 140 15,610 776,700 4,582,530 -4,582,530 5 5,125 105 107,100 791,480 60 6,606 6,606 15,000 16,050,000 2,587,000 27,510 2,500 194,800 47,650 3,716,700 -

-25,553,555

LR WARRANT

2.19

2.25

WARRANTS 2.15 2.19

199,000 440,110

-

ALTERRA CAPITAL ITALPINAS 3.74 MAKATI FINANCE XURPAS 7.62

9.5 3.75 2.9 7.65

9.5 3.45 2.9 7.11

8.91 3.75 2.9 7.11

35,790,075.50 2,382,732

48,433,813

-17,607,170 6,214,220

OPEN

HIGH

VOLUME 0.265 0.4 3.28 25 1.54 27.9 1.07 0.91 4.82

MS

PROPERTY 7.43 7.6 1.04 312,000 2.01 2.03 0.38 0.395 30.15 30.15 3.08 3.11 4.92 4.93 5.7 5.7 0.54 0.54 1.05 1.05 1.36 1.41 0.15 0.15 0.55 0.55 37 37.8 0.7 0.7 0.123 0.123 1.5 1.54 0.98 0.98 1.25 234,000 3.51 3.51 0.123 0.13

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

LOW

3,875,131.50 108,363,477

NAME

-658,718 -7,261,842 10,000

-8,806,818

-21,757,390

-6,909,410

88,269,664.50

2,452,786

-2,892,515

23,534,044.50

-5,729,935 839,673 75,296

14,484,445

173,594.50

-26,954,220

1,993,864

328,400 2,496,096 45,886 321,430 494,000 999,160 -203,000.00 5,560,000 2,158,950 197,500 3,845,100 116,712,685 -92,607,380 593,000 1,838,310 71,750 20,000 98,580 4,000 22,820 3,864,000 2,101,130 96,250 133,000 140,190 93,000 129,510 1,790,000 270,350 1,506,000 844,940 -56,000 160,100 6,010,880 41,000 28,700 710,000 88,150 2,480 3,780,000 5,830,470 -5,038,820 1,113,000 1,097,440 293,840 28,363,000 100,071,200 -16,512,700 4,580,000 578,570 42,520

FIRST METRO ETF 109

110.4

TRADING SUMMARY FINANCIAL

SHARES

6,538,504

INDUSTRIAL

58,818,721

HOLDING FIRMS

79,783,208

PROPERTY

82,323,827

SERVICES

165,494,678

MINING & OIL

92,945,615

GRAND TOTAL

491,507,044

SME

8.91 139,000 2.9 5,199,200

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 109 110.4

VALUE

10,000 2,650 2,650 100,000 40,000 169,000 555,060 338,200 8,401,435 -4,765,515 26,000 40,330 3,090 3,583,700 98,935,370 -23,500,820 14,454,000 15,406,850 -4,240 29,000 26,200 6,010,000 29,009,330 -23,148,710.00

41,800 -

2,505,275

5,815,720.00 -1,838,604.50

-6,723,120 -4,494,570

-147,250

-13,500 456,050.00 3,393,280.00 -

-

-18,439,800

-1,024,391

1,557,740

-

-

245,500 2,264,114 201,706 510,080 7,000 20,300 37,661,494 -19,419,601 11,720

1,287,298 -

VALUE 1,634.46 (up) 7.94 564,639,160.41 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 10,494.17 (up) 235.18 913,863,428.93 HOLDING FIRMS 6,788.17 (up) 113.57 841,321,753.759 PROPERTY 2,968.10 (up) 41.43 SERVICES 1,260.48 (up) 1.38 401,006,059.71 MINING & OIL 11,820.32 (down) 102.99 392,489,442.23 PSEI 6,658.20 (up) 94.53 128,635,244.14 All Shares Index 4,070.60 (up) 48.10 3,283,699,041.684 Gainers:90 Losers:78; Unchanged: 57; Total: 225

aircraft

By Darwin G. Amojelar PHILIPPINE Airlines said it placed orders for up to 12 Q400 aircraft from Bombardier Commercial Aircraft.

The country’s flag carrier said it ordered six Q400 aircraft with option for another six planes to expand its interisland domestic operations.

“These new Q400s, ideal for short runways, have 10 more seats than our existing Q400s, as well as premium economy section,” PAL said.

PAL owns four Bombardier DHC 8-300 aircraft and five Bombardier DHC 8-400 aircraft, which it dry leased to partner PAL Express.

PAL’s domestic network, including those operated by partner PAL Express, covers 31 cities and towns in the Philippines.

It serves the following domestic destinations: Bacolod, Basco, Butuan, Busuanga, Cagayan, Calbayog, Catarman, Caticlan, Cebu, Cotabato, Davao, Dipolog, Dumaguete, General Santos, Iloilo, Jolo, Kalibo, Laoag, Legazpi, Manila, Masbate, Naga, Ozamiz, Puerto Princesa, Roxas, Surigao, Tablas, Tacloban, Tagbilaran, Tuguegarao and Zamboanga.

Domestic operations contributed 20 percent to PAL’s revenues last year.

PAL expects to carry 15 million domestic and international passengers in 2017, higher than the projected 13.5 million passengers this year, a top executive said.

PAL president and chief operating officer Jaime Bautista said the airline would likely achieve the target of 13.5 million passengers this year.

PAL flew 11.9 million passengers in 2015, up from 9.6 million passengers in 2014.

Bautista said new routes, more destinations and frequency and China charters would drive passenger growth in 2017.

GMA-7 rolls out digital service GMA Network Inc. said its digital terrestrial television (DTT) service will be available in three major cities in the first half of 2017.

GMA chairman and chief executive Felipe Gozon said the DTT service would be initially available in Mega Manila, Cebu and Davao by the first half next year.

“At the moment we are experimenting. As to the technical it’s already completed,” Gozon said.

The broadcast network was also in talks with PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. for its digital TV service.

Gozon said the company planned to offer at least four digital TV channels.

The network would initially spend P416 million on transmitter facilities for the DTT project.

The amount covers three high-powered transmitters and their related antenna and connectivity requirements and a fully-mirrored head-end system, which is a master facility for grouping and digitally encoding programs.

GMA is adopting the Japanese DTV standard or ISDBT in compliance with the rules and regulations of the National Telecommunications Commission.

GMA’s technology arm GMA New Media Inc. unveiled a prototype of the Network’s DTT product at the Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (IMMAP) Digiconn.

Darwin G. Amojelar

Standard

TODAY

UBS sees peso falling to 51 per dollar in ’17

By Julito G. Rada

S

WISS financial giant UBS expects the peso to fall to 51 a dollar in 2017 and 55 a dollar in 2018 amid the policy tightening in the US which is expected to boost the greenback.

“We look for USD/PHP at 51 in 2017 and 55 in 2018,” UBS said in a research note. The peso closed at 49.81 a dollar Tuesday.

UBS said it also expected gross domestic product growth in the Philippines to slow down to 5.6 percent next year, after accelerating in 2016.

“So far 2016 has seen extremely strong domestic demand and, in particular, booming investment growth delivered better than expected real GDP growth. The drivers of this boom were likely election related spending [including a large fiscal impulse] and loose monetary conditions that fueled credit growth,” UBS said.

“We expect both of these to reverse in 2017 as deficit projections show a smaller fiscal impulse, and global monetary conditions tighten. We forecast real GDP growth of 5.6 percent and 6 percent year-on-year in

PRESENT: Vice Mayor Councilor “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ LnB President

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Business

Manila

2017 and 2018, respectively,” it said.

UBS said the current account in the Philippines deteriorated sharply over the past four quarters, as growth accelerated.

Bangko Sentral reduced last week the current account surplus target this year to $2.5 billion from the previous assumption of $5.8 billion.

“We anticipate a recovery in the current account balance from this low – looking for a small surplus of 0.3 percent of GDP in 2017 as weaker domestic demand curbs import growth, but expect acceleration in growth in 2018 and rising oil prices to induce a deficit of 1.3 percent of GDP in 2018,” UBS said.

UBS also said inflation might accelerate next year from a generally benign trend in 2016.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas targeted inflation this year to settle at 2 percent to 4 percent.

MONIQUE Q. LAGDAMEO - Presiding Officer SHIRLEY C. ASPILLAGA MARIE ALETHEA SJ. CASAL-UY GRAZIELLE IONY N. DE LARA-BES FERDINAND T. EUSEBIO VIRGILIO V. HILARIO JR. DIVINA A JACOME LUIS S. JAVIER JR. LEONARDO M. MAGPANTAY ROMEO C. MEDINA MA ARLENE M. ORTEGA NELSON S. PASIA MARY RUTH C. TOLENTINO EVELYN DELFINA E. VILLAMOR MARIA CONCEPCION M. YABUT NEMESIO S. YABUT JR. ARMANDO P. PADILLA

Councilor ENRICO J. PUNO ========================================================================== On motion presented by Han. G.I.N. de Lara-Bes, which was duly seconded by all Members present, the Sangguniang Panlungsod of the City of Makati approved City Resolution No. 2016-A-035 on second and final reading.

CITY RESOLUTION NO. 2016-A-035 Authors: Hon. M.C.M. Yabut, Hon. M.A.S.J. Casal-Uy, Hon. D.A. Jacome, Hon. G.I.N. de Lara-Bes, Hon. N.S. Yabut Jr., Hon. M.A.M. Ortega, Hon. N.S. Pasia, Hon. V.V. Hilario, Jr. and Hon. E.D.E. Villamor Co-Authors: Hon. S.C. Aspillaga, Hon. F.T. Eusebio, Hon. L.S. Javier, Jr., Hon. L.M. Magpantay, Hon. R.C. Medina, Hon. M.R.C. Tolentino and A.P. Padilla A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE HONORABLE MAYOR MAR-LEN ABIGAIL S. BINAY AND/OR OSPITAL NG MAKATI (OSMAK) OFFICER-INCHARGE (OIC)-MEDICAL DIRECTOR DR. VERGEL P. BINAY, MD, FPSGS, MBAH, TO NEGOTIATE, ENTER INTO AND SIGN A MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT (MOA), ON BEHALF OF THE CITY GOVERNMENT OF MAKATI, WITH ARELLANO UNIVERSITY REGARDING THE TRAINING OF NURSING STUDENTS OF ARELLANO UNIVERSITY WITH OSMAK, SUBJECT TO EXISTING LAWS, RULES AND REGULATIONS. WHEREAS, it is of common knowledge that in addition to classroom work, there is required number of hours that nursing students must spend in a medical facility to enable them to practice the theories they have learned in school; WHEREAS, the ultimate goal of nursing is to administer the best care possible to patients and such goal can be attained only when nursing students have undergone actual training wherein they can learn the basics of quality care and allow them to experience what takes place in different areas of the hospital; WHEREAS, significant part of the medical training of nursing students prepares them to enter the field armed with the knowledge they need in order to excel in their chosen field; WHEREAS, Arellano University desires its nursing students to undergo the required training in Ospital ng Makati (OSMAK); WHEREAS, OSMAK, in return, expressed its intent to accommodate the nursing students of Arellano University in its facilities for their training; WHEREAS, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the City Government of Makati and Arellano University is required to be executed in order to effectuate the abovementioned purpose; WHEREAS, Section 8 (a) (6), Article III of R.A. 7658, otherwise known as the Charter of the City of Makati, states that the city mayor, as the chief executive of the city government, shall represent the City in all its business transactions and signs on its behalf all bonds, contracts, and obligations, and such other documents upon authority of the sanggunian panlungsod; WHEREAS, the Sangguniang Panlungsod, in consideration of the necessity of allowing the nursing students of Arellano University to use the facilities of OSMAK in their training, hereby authorizes Honorable Mayor Mar-Len Abigail S. Binay and/or Ospital Ng Makati (OSMAK) Officer-in-Charge (OIC)-Medical Director, Dr. Vergel P. Binay, MD, FPSGS, MBAH, to negotiate, enter into and sign such Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), on behalf of the City Government of Makati, with Arellano University.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD OF MAKATI CITY, METRO MANILA, BY VIRTUE OF THE POWERS VESTED IN IT BY LAW, IN SESSION ASSEMBLED, to authorize the Honorable Mayor Mar-Len Abigail S. Binay and/or Ospital Ng Makati (OSMAK) Officer-in-Charge (OlC)-Medical Director, Dr. Vergel P. Binay, MD, FPSGS, MBAH, to negotiate, enter into and sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), on behalf of the City Government of Makati, with Arellano University regarding the training of nursing students of Arellano University with OSMAK, subject to all laws and existing legal rules and regulations.

Let copy of this Resolution be furnished the Arellano University, Ospital ng Makati and other concerned offices for their information, guidance and reference.

This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon its approval.

ENACTED BY THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD OF MAKATI, METRO MANILA, in its Regular Session held on 2 November 2016.

HON. MARIE ALETHEA SJ. CASAL-UY

HON. GRAZIELLE IONY N. DE LARA-BES

Zeitgeist 2016 IT IS the last week of 2016, time to tell the stories of the year ending.

Questions and Choices It was a year of questions. It was a year of choices.

It was a year dominated by politics and many of the choices citizens made surprised analysts. The US chose Trump over Clinton.

The Philippines chose Duterte over Roxas and Poe. Great Britain chose to leave the EU. The elections in the US and the Philippines created rifts among friends and family. As the dust settled, emotions continued to run high and in both countries, the verbal battle continues to be waged.

As a result of March 2016 decision of the International Olympic Committee, the Refugee Olympic Team composed of ten refugees competed as independent participants in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. It is a sign of the magnitude of the refugee crisis that a Syrian refugee, Ibrahim Al-Hussein, was asked to carry the Olympic flame through the Eleonas refugee and migrant camp in Greece as part of the 2016 torch relay. The International Crisis Group reports that the total number of international refugees now stands at 65 million. It is a crisis of global proportions with no clear solution in sight.

Technology It was a year of technology.

On July 11, 7-Eleven announced its first commercial drone delivery. The delivery included a chicken sandwich, donuts, coffee, candy and Slurpees and was delivered to a residence in Reno, Nevada. But that wasn’t the exciting news. The real news is that 7-Eleven, who partnered with startup drone maker Flirtey, announced that, in November, it made 77 drone deliveries as part of its delivery pilot in Reno. This is the first regular drone delivery service to operate in the United States and is a slap in the face to Amazon, which announced its own drone delivery system, Prime Air, in 2014 and only made its first delivery in December to a

customer in the UK countryside.

Much less technologically inspiring but certainly more popular, Niantic partnered with Nintendo to release the year’s most explosive gaming app. Pokemon Go. Arguably one of the most successful mobile game launches of all time, the game was downloaded over 100 million times in less than a month.

On the commercial front, Alibaba paid $1 billion for a controlling stake in Lazada, the dominant online retailer in Southeast Asia.

Alibaba announced that revenues for its biggest single day sale of the year, Singles day which occurs on November 11, was USD 17.73 billion, a 32 percent increase over 2015. By contrast, total US consumer spending from Thanksgiving day through Cyber Monday was $12.8 billion. A report

by Marcia Kaplan on practicalecommerce. com points out that online shoppers for the period outnumbered actual store shoppers 108.5 million to 99 million.

VR gear became more wildly available but the technology still has to find a truly commercially successful application. More companies announced interest in self-driving cars.

But perhaps the most interesting tech story for the year, is as much a surprise as the outcome of the US elections, Nokia researchers announced that it had demonstrated internet speeds often terabit per second, approximately 100 times faster than Google Fiber, the current fastest provide in the United States.

Loss and Redemption This year, the world lost artists, leaders, and pioneers. The world of entertainment lost Gene Wilder, loved by entire generations for his role as Willy Wonka; Alan Rickman probably best known to the younger generation as the actor who played Severus Snape in the Harry Potter movies. Florence Henderson, the mother in the long-running TV series, The Brady Bunch, and Zsa Zsa Gabor.

We lost musical geniuses this year: David Bowie and Prince, both musical icons. In the last few weeks of the year, George Michael

HON. ROMEO C. MEDINA

HON. MA ARLENE M. ORTEGA

HON. NELSON S. P PASIA

PRESENT: Vice Mayor Councilor “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “

MONIQUE Q. LAGDAMEO - Presiding Officer SHIRLEY C. ASPILLAGA MARIE ALETHEA SJ. CASAL-UY GRAZIELLE IONY N. DE LARA-BES FERDINAND T. EUSEBIO VIRGILIO V. HILARIO JR. DIVINA A. JACOME LUIS S. JAVIER JR. LEONARDO M. MAGPANTAY MA. ARLENE M. ORTEGA NELSON S. PASIA MARY RUTH C. TOLENTINO EVELYN DELFINA E. VILLAMOR MARIA CONCEPCION M. YABUT

LnB President

ARMANDO P. PADILLA

LnB President

ARMANDO P. PADILLA

Councilor ROMEO C. MEDINA “ ENRICO J. PUNO “ NEMESIO S. YABUT JR. ========================================================================== On motion presented by Hon. M.A.M. Ortega, which was duly seconded by all Members present, the Sangguniang Panlungsod of the City of Makati approved City Resolution No. 2016-A-045 on second and final reading.

CITY RESOLUTION NO. 2016-A-045 Authors: Hon. M.C.M. Yabut, Hon. M.A.S.J. Casal-Uy, Hon. D.A. Jacome, Hon. G.I.N. de Lara-Bes, Hon. N.S. Yabut Jr., Hon. M.A.M. Ortega, Hon. N.S. Pasia, Hon. V.V. Hilario, Jr. and Hon. E.D.E. Villamor Co-Authors: Hon. S.C. Aspillaga, Hon. F.r. Eusebio, Hon. L.S. Javier, Jr., Hon. L.M. Magpantay, Hon. M.R.C. Tolentino and Hon. A.P. Padilla A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE HONORABLE MAYOR MAR-LEN ABIGAIL S. BINAY AND/OR OSPITAL NG MAKATI (OSMAK) HOSPITAL DIRECTOR DR. VERGEL P. BINAY, MD, FPSGS, MBAH, TO NEGOTIATE, ENTER INTO AND SIGN A MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT (MOA), ON BEHALF OF THE CITY GOVERNMENT OF MAKATI, WITH THE PHILIPPINE CEREBRAL PALSY INC., REGARDING THE AFFILIATION AND TRAINING OF OSMAK REHABILITATION MEDIClNE RESIDENTS, SUBJECT TO EXISTING LAWS, RULES AND REGULATIONS. WHEREAS, Philippine Cerebral Palsy Inc. is an organization involved with the treatment and rehabilitation of Cerebral Palsy (CP) patients; WHEREAS, the Ospital ng Makati (OSMAK), as part of its continuous effort in strengthening the residency training program of its Rehabilitation Medicine Residents for rehabilitation of Cerebral Palsy patients, desires such residents to undergo training in Philippine Cerebral Palsy Inc.; WHEREAS, Philippine Cerebral Palsy Inc. expressed its intent to accommodate the OSMAK Rehabilitation Medicine Residents in their center; WHEREAS, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), between the City Government of Makati and Philippine Cerebral Palsy Inc. is required to be executed in order to effectuate the abovementioned purpose; WHEREAS, Section 8 (a) (6), Article III of R.A. 7658, otherwise known as the Charter of the City of Makati, states that the “city mayor as the chief executive of the city government shall represent the City in all its business transactions and signs on its behalf all bonds, contracts, and obligations, and such other documents upon authority of the sanggunian panlungsod”; WHEREAS, the Sangguniang Panlungsod, in consideration of the benefits of the subject MOA with Philippine Cerebral Palsy Inc., hereby authorizes Honorable Mayor Mar-Len Abigail S. Binay and/or OSMAK Hospital Director Dr. Vergel P. Binay, MD, FPSGS, MBAH, to negotiate, enter into, and sign such MOA, on behalf of the City Government of Makati, with Philippine Cerebral Palsy Inc. for the abovementioned purpose.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD OF MAKATI CITY, METRO MANILA, BY VIRTUE OF THE POWERS VESTED IN IT

BY LAW, IN SESSION ASSEMBLED, to authorize the Honorable Mayor Mar-Len Abigail S. Binay and/ or Ospital ng Makati (OSMAK) Hospital Director Dr. Vergel P. Binay, MD, FPSGS, MBAH, to negotiate, enter into and sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), on behalf of the City Government of Makati, with Philippine Cerebral Palsy Inc., regarding the affiliation and training of OSMAK Rehabilitation Medicine Residents, subject to existing laws, rules and regulations.

Let copy of this Resolution be furnished to the Ospital ng Makati, Philippine Cerebral Palsy Inc., City Administrators Office and other offices, departments and agencies concerned for their information, guidance and reference.

This Resolution is subject to existing laws, rules and regulations and shall take effect upon approval.

ENACTED BY THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD OF MAKATI, METRO MANILA, in its Regular Session held on 5 December 2016.

HON. SHIRLEY C. ASPILLAGA

HON. ROMEO C. MEDINA

HON. MARIE ALETHEA SJ. CASAL-UY

HON. MA ARLENE M. ORTEGA

HON. GRAZIELLE IONY N. DE LARA-BES

HON. NELSON S. P PASIA

HON. FERDINAND T. EUSEBIO

HON. ENRICO J. PUNO

HON. VIRGILIO V. HILARIO JR.

HON. MAR MARY Y RUTH C. TOLENTINO

HON. DIVINA A JACOME

HON. EVEL EVELYN DELFINA E. VILLAMOR

HON. ENRICO J. PUNO

HON. VIRGILIO V. HILARIO JR.

HON. MAR MARY Y RUTH C. TOLENTINO

HON. DIVINA A. JACOME

HON. EVEL EVELYN DELFINA E. VILLAMOR

HON. LUIS S. JAVIER JR.

HON. MARIA CONCEPCION M. YABUT

HON. LUIS S. JAVIER JR.

HON. MARIA CONCEPCION M. YABUT

HON. LEONARDO M. MAGPANTAY

HON. NEMESIO S. YABUT JR.

HON. LEONARDO M. MAGPANTAY

HON. NEMESIO S. YABUT JR.

ABSENT: Councilor ROMEO C. MEDINA “ ENRICO J. PUNO “ NEMESIO S. YABUT JR. ==========================================================================

On motion presented by Hon. V.V. Hilario, Jr., which was duly seconded by all Members present, the Sangguniang Panlungsod of the City of Makati approved City Resolution No. 2016-A-046 on second and final reading.

CITY RESOLUTION NO. 2016-A-046 Authors: Hon. M.C.M. Yabut, Hon. M.A.S.J. Casal-Uy, Hon. D.A. Jacome, Hon. G.I.N. de Lara-Bes, Hon. N.S. Yabut Jr., Hon. M.A.M. Ortega, Hon. N.S. Pasia, Hon. V.V. Hilario, Jr. and Hon. E.D.E. Villamor Co-Authors: Hon. S.C. Aspillaga, Hon. F.r. Eusebio, Hon. L.S. Javier, Jr., Hon. L.M. Magpantay, Hon. M.R.C. Tolentino and Hon. A.P. Padilla A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE HONORABLE MAYOR MAR-LEN ABIGAIL S. BINAY AND/OR OSPITAL NG MAKATI (OSMAK) HOSPITAL DIRECTOR DR. VERGEL P. BINAY, MD, FPSGS, MBAH, TO NEGOTIATE, ENTER INTO AND SIGN A MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT (MOA), ON BEHALF OF THE CITY GOVERNMENT OF MAKATI, WITH THE PHILIPPINE ORTHOPEDIC CENTER, REGARDING THE AFFILIATION AND TRAINING OF OSMAK REHABILITATION MEDICINE, SUBJECT TO EXISTING LAWS, RULES AND REGULATIONS. WHEREAS, Philippine Orthopedic Center is a tertiary specialty government hospital under the Department of Health of the Republic of the Philippines, which is tasked to provide health care delivery to patients with musculoskeletal disorder and related conditions. It was designed to serve as a center for trauma and orthopedics in the country; WHEREAS, the Ospital ng Makati (OSMAK), as part of its continuous effort in strengthening the residency training program in Rehabilitation Medicine, desires such residents to undergo training in Philippine Orthopedic Center; WHEREAS, Philippine Orthopedic Center expressed its intent to accommodate OSMAK Rehabilitation Medicine Residents in their center; WHEREAS, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the City Government of Makati and Philippine Orthopedic Center is required to be executed in order to effectuate the abovementioned purpose; WHEREAS, Section 8 (a) (6), Article III of R.A. 7658, otherwise known as the Charter of the City of Makati, states that the “city mayor as the chief executive of the city government shall represent the City in all its business transactions and signs on its behalf all bonds, contracts, and obligations, and such other documents upon authority of the sanggunian panlungsod”; WHEREAS, the Sangguniang Panlungsod; in consideration of the benefits of the subject MOA with Philippine Orthopedic Center, hereby authorizes Honorable Mayor Mar-Len Abigail S. Binay and/or OSMAK Hospital Director Dr. Vergel P. Binay, MD, FPSGS, MBAH, to negotiate, enter into, and sign such MOA, on behalf of the City Government of Makati, with Philippine Orthopedic Center for the abovementioned purpose.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD OF MAKATI CITY, METRO MANILA, BY VIRTUE OF THE POWERS VESTED IN IT BY LAW, IN SESSION ASSEMBLED, to authorize the Honorable Mayor Mar-Len Abigail S. Binay and/or OSMAK Hospital Director Dr. Vergel P. Binay, MD, FPSGS, MBAH, to negotiate, enter into and sign a MOA, on behalf of the City Government of Makati, with the Philippine Orthopedic Center, regarding the affiliation and training of OSMAK Rehabilitation Medicine Residents, subject to existing laws, rules and regulations.

Let copy of this Resolution be furnished to the OSMAK, Philippine Orthopedic Center and other offices, departments and agencies concerned for their information, guidance and reference.

This Resolution is subject to existing laws, rules and regulations and shall take effect upon approval.

ENACTED BY THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD OF MAKATI, METRO MANILA, in its Regular Session held on 5 December 2016.

HON. SHIRLEY C. ASPILLAGA

HON. ROMEO C. MEDINA

HON. MARIE ALETHEA SJ. CASAL-UY

HON. MA ARLENE M. ORTEGA

HON. GRAZIELLE IONY N. DE LARA-BES

P HON. NELSON S. PASIA

HON. FERDINAND T. EUSEBIO

HON. ENRICO J. PUNO

HON. VIRGILIO V. HILARIO JR.

MAR RUTH C. TOLENTINO HON. MARY

HON. DIVINA A JACOME

EVEL HON. EVELYN DELFINA E. VILLAMOR

HON. LUIS S. JAVIER JR.

HON. MARIA CONCEPCION M. YABUT

HON. LEONARDO M. MAGPANTAY

HON. NEMESIO S. YABUT JR.

HON. ARMANDO P. PADILLA LnB President

HON. ARMANDO P. PADILLA LnB President

HON. ARMANDO P. PADILLA LnB President

HON. MONIQUE Q. LAGDAMEO Vice Mayor & Presiding Officer

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

MONIQUE Q. LAGDAMEO - Presiding Officer SHIRLEY C. ASPILLAGA MARIE ALETHEA SJ. CASAL-UY GRAZIELLE IONY N. DE LARA-BES FERDINAND T. EUSEBIO VIRGILIO V. HILARIO JR. DIVINA A. JACOME LUIS S. JAVIER JR. LEONARDO M. MAGPANTAY MA. ARLENE M. ORTEGA NELSON S. PASIA MARY RUTH C. TOLENTINO EVELYN DELFINA E. VILLAMOR MARIA CONCEPCION M. YABUT

HON. FERDINAND T. EUSEBIO

Attested by:

joined the list of those we lost.

This year, we lost astronaut John Glenn, author Harper Lee (To kill a Mockingbird), legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, golfer Arnold Palmer, former Cuban prime minister Fidel Castro, former Israeli Shimon Peres, former US first lady Nancy Reagan, and Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Disasters, both natural and manmade continued to plague the world. From typhoons to earthquakes, terrorist attacks to war, the toll in property, lives and human suffering continued to mount. But across the world, men and women rose to the challenge, finding ways to survive, helping in the face of struggle.

In the business world, one of the most interesting stories is one of redemption. In 2013, Nokia announced the sale of its mobile phone business to Microsoft. It seemed a dark day for Nokia. What many people did not know at the time was that this sale was one of the steps in a long struggle to reshape Nokia. What many perhaps did not know is that Nokia parlayed its acquisition of Alcaltel Lucent to rebuild itself into one of the world’s largest telecom network service providers.

In July of 2015, Microsoft wrote off $7.6 billion related to the Nokia acquisition, which was its venture into the world of mobile hardware. In May of this year, Nokia announced the return of Nokia to the smartphone market via a licensing agreement to HMD Global, which has also agreed to acquire use of the Nokia brand from Microsoft. In an interview with McKinsey, published December 2016, Nokia’s chairman, Risto Siilasmaa, pointed out how much Nokia’s fortunes have changed, from an enterprise value of $1.5 billion in mid2012 to its current enterprise value of $30 billion.

So that was 2016, a year of surprises and challenges, a year of change but a also a year of inspiration and redemption.

Have a great 2017 everyone!

PRESENT: Vice Mayor Councilor “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ ABSENT:

ABSENT:

HON. SHIRLEY C. ASPILLAGA

B3

Certified true and correct by:

Certified true and correct by:

Certified true and correct by:

ATTY. DINDO R. CERVANTES Secretary to the Sangguniang Panlungsod

ATTY. DINDO R. CERVANTES Secretary to the Sangguniang Panlungsod

Attested by:

(MS-DEC. 28, 2016)

HON. MONIQUE Q. LAGDAMEO Vice Mayor & Presiding Officer

ATTY. DINDO R. CERVANTES Secretary to the Sangguniang Panlungsod

Attested by: HON. MONIQUE Q. LAGDAMEO Vice Mayor & Presiding Officer

(MS-DEC. 28, 2016)

(MS-DEC. 28, 2016)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

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

B4

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016

Business

Crude extends winning streak OIL extended the longest winning streak in more than four months before Opec and other producing nations start reducing output to stabilize the market.

Futures advanced 0.1 percent in New York, climbing for a seventh session. Prices are set to recover next year as production cuts help to re-balance an oversupplied market, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid AlFalih said last week. Opec and 11 nations from outside of the group including Russia have agreed to trim about 1.8 million barrels a day from January.

Oil has traded near $50 a barrel since the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed last month to curb production for the first time in eight years. Iraq, the secondbiggest Opec producer, is fully committed to the accord, Oil Minister Jabbar Al-Luaibi said Thursday in Cairo at a meeting of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries.

“Current oil prices reflect positive factors we’ve been seeing recently, including expectations about output cuts by Opec and non-Opec nations,” said Will Yun, a Seoul-based commodities analyst at Hyundai Futures Corp. “Questions remain on whether the rally will continue because unless there are new bullish items, the market may see more uncertainties in the long term.”

West Texas Intermediate for February delivery rose 6 cents to $53.08 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 3:55 p.m. in Tokyo after climbing as much as 0.6 percent earlier. There was no trading Monday because of the Christmas holiday. Total volume traded was about 56 percent below the 100-day average. Prices are up about 43 percent this year.

Brent for February settlement lost 8 cents to $55.08 a barrel on the Londonbased ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract rose 11 cents to $55.16 on Friday.

The global benchmark was at a premium of $2.01 to WTI. Bloomberg

POST-CHRISTMAS SALES. CusTomers look at shoes at Selfridges department store in central London, on December 26, 2016, during the post-Christmas, Boxing Day sales. AFP

Japan’s inflation falls th for 9 straight month T OKYO―Japan’s consumer prices fell for the ninth straight month in November, official data showed Tuesday, while household spending declined and unemployment ticked up.

It was a further blow to efforts from the government and the Bank of Japan to pump up the world’s number three economy with massive public spending and aggressive monetary easing.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came to office in late 2012 and launched a growth plan―a mix of massive monetary easing, government spending and redtape slashing.

But economists are increasingly writing off the “Abenomics” spend-for-growth policy.

Core consumer prices declined 0.4 percent on-year, the internal affairs ministry

said. There was a forecast of a 0.3 percent fall among private economists.

Tokyo officials have blamed external factors, such as falling energy prices and uncertainty related to emerging economies, for their failure to achieve a promised two percent inflation target.

Last month, the central bank said it expected to hit two percent inflation by March 2019―four years later than its original target and the latest in a string of delays.

Under deflation, general price falls can discourage companies from making capital

investments, while also slowing production.

Deflation can also discourage spending by consumers, who might postpone purchases until prices drop further or save money, creating further pressure on businesses.

“When you look at CPI along with the consumer spending data, you see domestic demand itself is weak,” Hiroaki Muto, chief economist at Tokai Tokyo Research Centre, told Bloomberg News.

“Exports and production are recovering but consumers haven’t loosened their purse strings,” he said.

“I don’t see anywhere the kind of dynamism that will make two percent inflation achievable,” Muto said.

The internal affairs ministry also said that Japan’s household spending fell for the ninth consecutive month, declining

1.5 percent in November from a year ago.

The nation’s unemployment rate edged up to 3.1 percent in November from the 3.0 percent registered in October, the ministry said.

BoJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda has repeatedly voiced his optimism about the economy and his commitment, with the solid US economy while emerging economies also moderately pick up.

In a speech on Monday Kuroda said consumption should gradually improve, while citing “a significant fall in crude oil prices” as negatively impacting prices in Japan.

It “has been a tough year, both for businesses and the Bank (of Japan),” Kuroda said of 2016 in a speech to a gathering hosted

by Keidanren, Japan’s largest business lobby.

Bloomberg

Vietnam stocks are becoming attractive VIETNAM stocks are pricier than their Southeast Asian peers for the first time in two years―and they are about to become more expensive.

“There is room to grow,” said Dominic Scriven, Ho Chi Minh City-based Chairman at Dragon Capital. “We are looking for 19 percent net growth for earnings next year,” as the economy expands and inflation remains stable, he said.

The benchmark VN Index is trading 15.9 times earnings, compared with the MSCI South East Asia Index which is at 14.7. A 15 percent gain in the VN Index has led to its outperformance versus the MSCI Frontier Markets Index and the South East Asia benchmark gauge. The gauge rose 0.4 percent as of 11:38 a.m. local time mid-day break Tuesday.

The market’s “valuation is expected to continue rising in 2017,” because of upcoming listings of attractive companies, said Le Nguyet Anh, head of research at ACB Securities JSC. “Meanwhile, for the currently listed stocks, decent earnings growth will be the major price growth momentum.”

The strong premium this year is “due to its good macroeconomic performance and political stability, while the rest of the region went through political transformations and tougher economic times,” said Attila Vajda, managing director at Project Asia Research and Consulting Pte in Ho Chi Minh City. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, elected earlier this year, has unnerved investors with his frequent outbursts against the US and violent war on drugs. Thailand has experienced deadly street clashes and tainted corruption trials since an army coup in 2014.

Economists predict Vietnam will be among the world’s fastest-growing economies in 2016 as it benefits from a manufacturing industry that has grown in importance over the years.

Increased foreign-direct investment helped push the VN Index to an eight-year high of 688.89 on Oct. 19. The government aims for GDP growth of 6.7 percent next year, which will be the fastest pace since 2007. Profit at companies on the benchmark gauge are projected to grow 23 percent in the next 12 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The market still faces the “hurdle of liquidity,” said Andy Ho, VinaCapital’s chief investment officer. He recommends the government lift the foreign ownership limit in the banking sector as one way to boost the market liquidity.

Last year, Vietnam allowed some industries to raise the foreign ownership limit to 100 percent from 49 percent, however, the cap for the banking sector still remains at 30 percent. Bloomberg

Finns rank tops in internet usage on smartphones and tablets

By Anne Kauranen HELSINKI, Finland―On the crowded morning metro in Helsinki, silence prevails.

Everyone is hunched over their smartphone screens, reading the news, checking emails or watching videos.

A loud “yeah!” breaks the quiet, along with delighted screech from a toddler whose mother has just handed him her smartphone to calm him down with a video.

Finland, once a world leader in mobile telephony with Nokia, is in a class of its own when it comes to internet usage on smartphones and tablets, thanks to cheap subscription plans.

In the first half of 2016, Finns used nearly twice as much mobile data on portable devices as South Koreans, who came second in a recent comparison of 32 European and Asian countries

by Swedish telecommunication specialist Tefficient.

Finns spend so much time on their phones that authorities are concerned: the city of Helsinki’s department of health and social services recently launched a campaign telling parents to get their priorities straight.

In a controversial video that angered many parents, a black raven swoops down and carries away a little girl on a beach

while her mother focuses on her smartphone, followed by the message: “Negligence is modern day violence.”

Offended Helsinkians flooded the city with negative feedback, accusing it of criticizing all phone usage, and especially women by depicting only the child’s mother in the video.

But the city said it was intended to highlight the fact that some mothers spend too much time on their smartphones instead of playing with their children, and that some fathers are largely absent from their children’s lives.

Parents copying teens Anna Andersson, a 33-yearold mother on her way home from a pilates class with her sixmonth-old baby, says she wasn’t offended by the campaign.

“People got quite provoked by it but in my opinion there was a point,” she tells AFP. She says she uses internet more on her phone than on her laptop but less so now that she has a child.

“The baby has efficiently reduced the time I spend online.”

The country’s largest operator Elisa says Finnish parents are following in the footsteps of their teenage children, who have led the way in recent years in consuming more and more internet content on the go.

This file photo taken on January 29, 2015 shows a person holding a YotaPhone 2, the new model of Russian mobile broadband services provider and smartphone manufacturer YotaPhone, during its presentation in Helsinki, Finland. Finland, once a world leader in mobile telephony with Nokia, is in a class of its own when it comes to Internet usage on smartphones and tablets, thanks to cheap subscription plans.

AFP

“Fastest growth in usage comes from watching live images, or videos,” Elisa’s head of broadband subscriptions, Matias Castren, tells AFP.

He says mobile data consumption peaks especially in the evenings, when many Finns– from teenagers to pensioners― are glued to their phones and

tablets to watch films, shows, video clips or just browse around social media, instead of watching television like they used to.

Connecting people Several factors may explain the love of smartphones.

Since the golden days of Nokia, Finland’s former business crown jewel and once the world’s top handset maker, Finns have been keen to adopt new technology.

Harsh cold winters require good infrastructure, and Finland early on built nationwide mobile networks offering good coverage.

And Finns are often considered taciturn with an introverted nature, and some admit preferring to keep in touch with friends and family over the Internet instead of a phone call.

For a nation of 5.5 million, there are 10.9 million mobile connection plans in Finland― nearly two per inhabitant.

Hannele Houston, 34, is a perfect example. She owns a smartphone and a tablet, both with internet connections.

“On my phone I read news and use maps and journey planners for finding optimal routes. On my tablet I listen to music, pay my invoices and look for recipes,” she explains.

A key factor that allows Finns to devour data on the go is that fast connections are affordable.

Tefficient’s comparison found

that in the Netherlands, where operators charged the most for a gigabyte of mobile data, it cost 14 times more than in Finland, where it was the cheapest of all 32 countries compared.

“The Finnish market differs significantly from other countries in the sense that we have lots of unlimited data plans,” explains Kalle Muhonen, manager at Finnish operator Sonera.

The Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority’s statistics confirm that.

More than half of all phone and tablet connections in Finland come with an unlimited data plan for a fixed monthly price, meaning consumers can browse on their phones as much as they like without having to fear a monster invoice at the end of the month.

One happy customer of an unlimited data plan is 13-year-old Inam Alam, who shows off a new game he has just downloaded on his smartphone.

He sometimes receives hundreds of messages on social media in a single day from his classmates, but he doesn’t think that’s unusual. He says it’s normal.

“Nowadays we use our phones even for our assignments at school, like at language classes when we learn new words and then practice them with online games,” he says. AFP

LGUs

Bill aims to protect sharks and rays SENATOR Juan Miguel Zubiri has filed a bill seeking to prohibit all trade in sharks and rays, both of which are being threatened by unchecked overfishing, including bycatching.

Senate Bill 1245 proposes to forbid “the catching, sale, purchase, possession, transportation, and exportation of all sharks and rays or any part” of the animals all over the country.

“No effort must be spared to protect the biodiversity of our waters as well as the natural balance of our marine ecosystem, for the enjoyment and economic benefit of future generations of Filipinos,” Zubiri said.

The proposed Sharks and Rays Conservation Act seeks to impose penalties of up to 12 years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to P1 million, or both to violators, including those who “inflict injury on sharks and rays.”

The country has at least 60 species of sharks and 32 species of rays, according to the Marine Wild Fauna Watch of the Philippines Inc. The most celebrated Philippine shark is the butanding, or whale shark, a slow-moving filter-feeding animal regarded as the largest fish in the sea, measuring 40 feet or longer.

The butanding is featured on the reverse of the P100 bill.

Marine scientists believe that whale sharks may actually have breeding grounds, not just feeding areas, in the country. This was bolstered by the discovery of the smallest living specimen of the whale shark—measuring only 38 centimeters—at a beach in Pilar, Sorsogon.

The shark population has been under severe pressure in recent years, as the numbers killed have climbed due to demand driven by the fin soup trade in Hong Kong and China.

The United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization estimates at almost $1 billion the value of global trade in shark commodities alone.

Meanwhile, manta and mobula rays are also at grave risk due to soaring demand for their gills, which are widely used in traditional Chinese medicine.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor Roger M. Garcia, Assistant Editor jimbo.gulle@gmail.com mslocalgov@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016

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CLAM SELFIE. Edward Quezon, a tour guide with Taklobo Tours at Samal Island in Davao del Norte, shows off the giant clam to tourists on a recent dive. About 3,700 giant clams or ‘taklobo’ are scattered across a 14-hectare sea sanctuary and community eco-tourism project managed by the AdeCor United Fisherfolks Organization in partnership with the local government of the Island Garden City of Samal and the Davao del Norte State College. Omar Mangorsi

BFAR warns of bad shellfish

By Mel Caspe

T

ACLOBAN CITY—The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources has dispatched its personnel to the coastal areas of Carigara Bay in Samar and Naval Waters in Biliran province to warn against harvesting, selling, buying and eating all types of shellfish and alamang (fermented shrimp paste) gathered from these areas.

This came after an 81-year-old shellfish poisoning in Biliran man and a nine-year-old girl died brought about by Harmful Algal among eight victims of paralytic Bloom in the coastal areas, offi-

cials of BFAR Region 8 said.

BFAR has requested the barangay officials of Balaquid, Cabucgayan and Tukdaw in Kawayan, Biliran as well as the Provincial Health Office and the Municipal Agricultural Offices of Biliran and Carigara to help spread the information to neighboring barangays until the bureau issues a new shellfish bulletin declaring the areas free of red tide.

The Provincial Fisheries Office in Biliran has likewise inspected markets around Naval and Biliran to confiscate shellfish but found none in

those markets.

Seven of the eight poisoning victims were brought to the Biliran Provincial Hospital on December 21 and 23 after eating leaf oysters, locally known as “masabay” or “sabay.” As of this writing, six of the eight victims have fully recovered.

BFAR continues to monitor other coastal waters positive with HAB—Irong-Irong and Cambatutay Bays in Western Samar; Matarinao Bay, Eastern Samar; the coastal waters of Calubian and Carigara Bay, Leyte; Gigantes Islands in Carles, Il-

oilo; Dauis and Tagbilaran City, Bohol, per Shellfish Bulletin No. 38 dated December 20.

The bureau will ensure there is no domestic movement of all types of shellfish and “alamang” in these areas as they are not safe for human consumption, its officials said.

However, in areas where there is HAB, BFAR informed the public that fish, squid, shrimp and crab are safe for human consumption, provided they are freshly caught and washed thoroughly, and their internal organs are removed before cooking.

Muntinlupa clamps down on use of firecrackers Jinggoy: Asthma bothers Estrada IN THE city of Muntinlupa, all kinds of firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices are prohibited, and the city government encourages locals to report offenders to authorities, officials stressed Tuesday.

Through City Ordinance 14092, it is unlawful to manufacture, sell, and use firecrackers or pyrotechnic devices within Muntinlupa.

Muntinlupa Public Information Officer Tez Navarro said the

ordinance was passed to protect the health of the people and the environment from the harmful effects of firecrackers.

Mayor Jaime Fresnedi invites Muntinlupeños to celebrate the New Year by using alternative noise-making equipment and not resorting to firecrackers.

The local government aims to lower incidents of firecrackerrelated injuries this season, Navarro added. From December to January last year, the City Health

Office recorded 13 cases of injuries incurred from firecrackers such as Piccolo (six incidents), Kwitis (two), Five Star (one), Pla Pla (one), and unknown pyrotechnic devices (three).

The Ospital ng Muntinlupa and other local hospitals are already prepared to receive firecracker-related cases, she added.

The Bureau of Fire Protection, Business Permits and Licensing Office, Public Order and Safety Office, and their barangay coun-

terparts have been inspecting markets and sidewalk vendors across the city.

Locals are encouraged to report illegal distribution and use of firecrackers to authorities through the hotline numbers (02) 887-0527 and (0917) 536 8493.

Violating the firecracker ordinance carries penalties as follows: First Offense nets a fine of P1,000 or imprisonment of not more than one month, second offense has a fine of P3,000 or imprisonment

of not more than six months, and third offense carries a fine of P5,000 or six months in jail.

Apprehended establishments will have their permits and licenses revoked apart from the penalties provided in the ordinance, Navarro said.

However, commercial establishments and barangays can conduct or sponsor community fireworks displays in a designated area approved by authorities for the benefit of city residents, she added.

IN BRIEF Pangasinan employee nabbed for carjacking SAN JOSE, Nueva Ecija—Police arrested over the weekend a municipal employee in Pangasinan and his nephew, who were tagged for stealing a car in this city over four months ago.

Senior Supt. Antonio Yarra, the new provincial police director, identified the suspects as Petrocinio Toralba, 40, a municipal employee of Binalonan, Pangasinan, and Christian Toralba, 21, of Sumabnit, Binalonan.

The suspects yielded a golden yellow car with license plate WLG-580, an unlicensed caliber .45 revolver and live bullets.

SPO1 Joel Beltejar, San Jose police investigator, said the car was stolen on September 10. The vehicle, owned by Noel Tallara, was spotted by an informant along Barangay Rueda here, and was intercepted along Bonifacio St. Beltejar said the Toralbas were charged with carnapping and illegal possession of firearms. Ferdie G. Domingo

Farmer stabbed dead by dad-in-law CONNER, Apayao—A 24-year-old farmer died after being stabbed by his father-in-law after creating a commotion in their residence at Allangigan in this town on Monday.

Police identified the victim as Levino Carag Daguio, 24. His father-in-law, Emiliano Batalliones Mabborang, 75, voluntarily surrendered to responding authorities.

An initial police investigation revealed Daguio went to Mabborang’s house armed with a bolo. He entered the house and attempted to hack his father-in-law, but the latter was able to grab a spear and stabbed the younger man’s stomach.

Concerned residents tried to rush Daguio to a hospital, but he tried to harm the people helping him, until he was found lifeless several hours after the incident, police said. Dexter A. See

PLAYING SANTA. Personnel of the Indang Municipal Police Station and Philippine National Police Academy

cadets pack toys in boxes to distribute to children at Agus-os Elementary School in Indang. Tabbed as ‘Pulis Ko, Santa Ko,’ the activity initiated by the Women and Children Protection Desk of Indang MPS aims to give joy to the youth and to remind them of the true meaning of Christmas. Benjamin Chavez

By Sandy Araneta MANILA Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada’s asthma attack that forced him into a hospital was largely due to overfatigue from too much work, city hall officials and his son Jinggoy said Tuesday.

Estrada was released from Cardinal Santos Memorial Medical Center last Friday after contracting what was initially reported as pneumonia. His son, former Senator Jinggoy, later clarified it was due to asthma.

“Mayor Estrada works a lot, from morning until late evening, and it probably caused his asthma,” a city hall doctor said, asking not to be named because he wasn’t authorized to speak about it.

In an earlier statement, Jinggoy Estrada pointed out that his father had no pneumonia but suffered from tightness of breath due to over-fatigue and the weather.

The mayor is now resting at home after being discharged from the hospital, Jinggoy added.

While Estrada has no known history of asthma, the city hall doctor told Manila Standard the mayor’s difficulty in breathing could have been brought about by overfatigue, which is common among asthma sufferers.

“I cannot comment on his attending physician’s findings.

But we all know the mayor’s working habits. Most of the time he forgets to rest,” Jinggoy said.

LGUs

Standard WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016 C2 TODAY Manila

Sandiganbayan drops case vs ex-Bataan gov SAMAL, Bataan—The Sandiganbayan Special Second Division has dismissed a graft case against former Bataan governor Ding Roman because of the “inordinate delay” of 11 years by the Office of the Ombudsman in investigating the case, according to Roman’s lawyer.

Atty. Jay Consunji, a native of this town, told Manila Standard the case stemmed from the construction of a mini-theater at the Bataan State College, which was filed last year against Roman and several others.

In a resolution passed on Dec. 14, the Sandiganbayan granted Roman’s appeal to void the charge sheet because his right to a speedy case disposition was violated, Consunji said.

The lawyer said the Sandigan-

bayan granted their urgent motion to quash information and dismissed the case against Roman and his co-accused.

“This court cannot ignore the prejudice against the accused caused by the lengthy delay of years in the conduct of the preliminary investigation proceedings and determination of probable cause. The unreasonable length of time will cause tactical disadvantages to the accused, especially on the preparation of his defense,” the lawyer said, quoting a portion of the resolution.

“Based on the above-mentioned factors, this court finds that there was inordinate delay in the proceedings and that the constitutional right to speedy disposition of cases of the accused has been violated,” the resolution added. Butch Gunio

PRESENT: Vice Mayor Councilor “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “

MONIQUE Q. LAGDAMEO - Presiding Officer SHIRLEY C. ASPILLAGA MARIE ALETHEA SJ. CASAL-UY GRAZIELLE IONY N. DE LARA-BES FERDINAND T. EUSEBIO DIVINA A. JACOME LUIS S. JAVIER JR. ROMEO C. MEDINA MA. ARLENE M. ORTEGA NELSON S. PASIA MARY RUTH C. TOLENTINO EVELYN DELFINA E. VILLAMOR MARIA CONCEPCION M. YABUT NEMESIO S. YABUT JR.

LnB President

ARMANDO P. PADILLA

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Aurora passes 2017 budget without cuts

By Ferdie G. Domingo

B

ALER, Aurora—The Sangguniang Panlalawigan has passed on third and final reading Aurora’s 2017 budget amounting to an all-time high of P861.9 million without making any cuts to allocations for the various provincial departments and offices.

Vice Gov. Rommel Rico Teh Angara, who presides over the provincial board, said the approved budget was significant as it would ensure the delivery of basic services to the people of Aurora in its eight municipalities.

“It is highly important to deliver the needed services to people from all sectors in Aurora as well as the needed infrastructures, and this budget will help achieve that goal,” Angara said.

Board Member Jennifer Araña, who chairs the SP committee on finance, budget and appropriations, said the 2017 budget represents a highwater mark in Aurora’s history as it

marked the first time not a single centavo was slashed from the budget of each provincial office.

“I recommended not to slash the budget of the respective offices because during our marathon deliberations, we considered their performance and accomplishments during the current year,” Araña said.

About 19 percent of the P861,930,620.29 under the appropriation ordinance goes to Office of the Provincial Governor or P170 million, followed by the Provincial Health Office getting over P139 million.

The SP itself will get P70.48 million, followed by the Provincial En-

gineering Office (P46.79 million), General Services Office (P30.08 million), Engineering Pool Office (P25.19 million), Provincial Agriculturist (P20.19 million), Assessor’s Office (P17.34 million), Veterinary Office (P14.76 million), Environment and Natural Resources Office (P14.54 million), Provincial Jail (P13.68 million), Planning and Development Office (P12.49 million), and Treasurer’s Office (P12.18 million).

The provincial accounting office will get P8.07 million, followed by the Social Welfare and Development Office (P7.7 million), Risk Reduction and Management Office (P7.7 million), Budget Office (P7.24 million), Human Resources Management Office (P7.13 million), Employment, Sports, Culture and Arts, and Youth Development Office (P6.9 million), Tourism Office (P5.16 million), Population Office (P4.65 million), Cooperative Office (P4.3 million), Administrator’s Office (P3.48 million) and Legal Office (P1.9 million).

QC gets tough on pedicabs The Quezon City Department of Public Order and Safety has cracked down on pedicabs counterf lowing along Agham Road going to Trinoma Mall at North Avenue in response to mounting public complaints.

To date, the DPOS, through the Tricycle Regulatory Unit, has assigned traffic personnel to the area specifically to monitor and apprehend these pedicabs regularly.

“We expect a reduction of their illegal operations,” said DPOS head Elmo San Diego.

ABSENT: Councilor VIRGILIO V. HILARIO JR. “ LEONARDO M. MAGPANTAY “ ENRICO J. PUNO ====================================================================== On motion presented by Hon. N.S. Yabut, Jr., which was duly seconded by all Members present, the Sangguniang Panlungsod of the City of Makati approved City Resolution No. 2016-A-038 on second and final reading.

CITY RESOLUTION NO. 2016-A-038 Authors: Hon. M.C.M. Yabut, Hon. M.A.S.J. Casal-Uy, Hon. G.I.N. de Lara-Bes, Hon. D.A. Jacome and Hon. N.S. Yabut Jr. Co-Authors: Hon. S.C. Aspillaga, Hon. F.T. Eusebio, Hon. L.S. Javier, Jr., Hon. R.C. Medina, Hon. M.A.M. Ortega, Hon. N.S. Pasia, Hon. M.R.C. Tolentino, Hon. E.D.E. Villamor and Han. A.P. Padilla A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE HONORABLE MAYOR MAR-LEN ABIGAIL S. BINAY, TO NEGOTIATE, ENTER INTO AND SIGN A MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT (MOA), ON BEHALF OF THE CITY GOVERNMENT OF MAKATI, WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS (DPWH) AND DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT (DILG) REGARDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SPECIAL LOCAL ROAD FUND UNDER RA. 8794, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE MOTOR VEHICLE USER’S CHARGE LAW OR MVUC LAW, FOR VARIOUS STREET LIGHTING PROJECTS OF THE CITY AND FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY TREASURER TO OPEN A SEPARATE TRUST FUND ACCOUNT, TO BE KNOWN AS THE ROAD FUND DISBURSEMENT ACCOUNT, WITH THE LAND BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES (LBP), SUBJECT TO EXISTING LAWS, RULES AND REGULATIONS. WHEREAS, Section 1 of R.A. 8794, otherwise known as the Motor Vehicle Users’ Charge (MVUC) Law declares that “ it is the policy of the State to provide for and ensure the adequate maintenance of national and provincial roads through sufficient funding for the purpose”; WHEREAS, Section 7 of the same law states that “all monies collected under this Act shall be earmarked solely and used exclusively (1) for road maintenance and improvement of road drainage, (2) for the installation of adequate and efficient traffic lights and road safety devices, and (3) for air pollution control”. It further provides that five percent (5%) of all monies collected shall be deposited in the National Treasury under Special Local Road Fund , (SLRF) which shall be apportioned to provincial and city governments in accordance with the vehicle population and size of the road network under their respective jurisdiction and shall be used exclusively for maintenance of local roads, traffic management and road safety devices. It also directs that the Special Road Support Fund, the Special Local Road Funds and Special Road Safety Fund shall be under the DPWH; WHEREAS, Section 3 and 5 of Executive Order No. 124 dated 30 January 1987, the DPWH shall decentralize its responsibilities to the fullest extent possible and may delegate to any agency it determines to have adequate technical capability, any of its powers and functions. Consistent with this policy of decentralization, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) shall assist the LGUs in developing the latter’s capabilities by allowing them greater participation in the local road maintenance and safety provisions; WHEREAS, the DILG is an agency mandated to exercise general supervision over the local government units (LGUs) and is tasked to strengthen the capability of LGUs in the delivery of devolved services including the maintenance and construction of local roads and to coordinate the activities undertaken by the LGUs which includes the City of Makati; WHEREAS, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), in consideration of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)’s mandate over local government units (LGUs), has proposed that DILG extends its assistance to provinces and cities through the Special Local Road Fund for the maintenance of local roads; WHEREAS, it is necessary that a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) should be entered into for the purpose of delineating responsibilities regarding the implementation of policies, standards and procedures at the local government unit (LGU) level in accordance with the pertinent provisions of Special Local Road Fund - (SLRF) under the Motor Vehicle User’s Charge (MVUC) Law and its Internal Rules and Regulations (IRR);

PRESENT: Vice Mayor Councilor “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ LnB President

PRESENT: Vice Mayor Councilor “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ LnB President

MONIQUE Q. LAGDAMEO - Presiding Officer SHIRLEY C. ASPILLAGA MARIE ALETHEA SJ. CASAL-UY GRAZIELLE IONY N. DE LARA-BES VIRGILIO V. HILARIO JR. DIVINA A. JACOME LUIS S. JAVIER JR. ROMEO C. MEDINA MA. ARLENE M. ORTEGA NELSON S. PASIA ENRICO J. PUNO MARY RUTH C. TOLENTINO EVELYN DELFINA E. VILLAMOR MARIA CONCEPCION M. YABUT NEMESIO S. YABUT JR. ARMANDO P. PADILLA

ABSENT: Councilor “

FERDINAND T. EUSEBIO LEONARDO M. MAGPANTAY

========================================================================== On motion presented by Han. D.A. Jacome, which was duly seconded by all Members present, the Sangguniang Panlungsod of the City of Makati approved City Resolution No. 2016-A-022 on second and final reading.

CITY RESOLUTION NO. 2016-A-022 Authors: Hon. M.C.M. Yabut, Hon. M.A.S.J. Casal-Uy, Hon. D.A. Jacome, Hon. G.I. de Lara-Bes, Hon. N.S. Yabut Jr., Hon. F.T. Eusebio and Hon. M.A.M. Ortega Co-Authors: Hon. S.C. Aspillaga, Hon. V.V. Hilario Jr., Hon. L.S. Javier, Jr., Hon. R.C. Medina, Hon. N.S. Pasia, Hon. E.J. Puno, Hon. M.R.C. Tolentino, Hon. E.D.E. Villamor and Hon. A.P. Padilla A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE ENROLMENT OF THE CITY GOVERNMENT OF MAKATI (CGM) IN THE ELECTRONIC FILING AND PAYMENT SYSTEM (EFPS) PLATFORM WITH ANY AUTHORIZED GOVERNMENT DEPOSITORY BANK (AGDB) IN THE REMITTANCES OF WITHHOLDING TAXES TO THE BUREAU OF INTERNAL REVENUE (BIR), EMPLOYEES’ LOAN AMORTIZATION, PREMIUM CONTIBUTION, AND ALL OTHER MANDATORY CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE GOVERNMENT SERVICE INSURANCE SYSTEM (GSIS), PHILIPPINE HEALTH INSURANCE CORPORATION (PHIC), AND HOME DEVELOPMENT MUTUAL FUND (HMDF) AND FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MAYOR TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT IF NECESSARY WITH THE AGDB IN THE ENROLLMENT OF THE CGM IN THE EFPS PLATFORM, SUBJECT TO APPLICABLE LAWS, RULES AND REGULATIONS. WHEREAS, Section 27 of RA. 8792, otherwise known as the Electronic Commerce Act of 2000, provides that within two (2) years from the date of the effectivity of this Act, all departments, bureaus, offices and agencies of the government, as well as all government-owned and-controlled corporations, that pursuant to law require or accept the filing of documents, require that documents be created, or retained and/or submitted, issue permits, licenses or certificates of registration or approval, or provide for the method and manner of payment or settlement of fees and other obligations to the government, shall accept the creation, filing or retention of such documents in the form of electronic data messages or electronic documents, to issue permits, licenses, or approval in the form of electronic data messages or electronic documents, to require and/or accept payments, and issue receipts acknowledging such payments, through systems using electronic data messages or electronic documents; or to transact the government business and/or perform governmental functions using electronic data messages or electronic documents; WHEREAS, Revenue Regulation No. 9-2001 issued on 3 August 2001, provides the regulation of electronic filing of tax returns and payment of taxes; WHEREAS, Philhealth Circular No. 025, Series of 2012 requires all employers to use and/ or adopt the electronic Premium Remittance System (EPRS) as the mode of preparation and submission/transmission of the Employer Remittance Report (RF-1); WHEREAS, Pag-IBIG Fund Circular No. 355, requires all employers from the government and private sector the mandatory enrolment to and remittance through accredited electronic payment and collection facilities;

WHEREAS, the Sangguniang Panlungsod hereby authorizes Mayor Mar-Len Abigail S. Binay to sign the aforesaid Agreement pursuant to Sec. 8 (a) (6) of R.A. 7854, to wit: “the City Mayor, as the chief executive of the city government shall represent the City in all its business transactions and sign on its behalf all bonds, contracts, and obligations, and such other documents upon authority of the Sangguniang Panlungsod or pursuant to law or ordinance”;

WHEREAS, acting on the recommendation of the Accounting Department and Treasury Department of the City of Makati, the Sangguniang Panlungsod takes an appropriate action on the matter;

WHEREAS, in view of the foregoing, the City Government of Makati shall also maintain a separate Trust Fund Account, to be known as the Road Fund Disbursement Account, by opening a Local Currency Current Account (LCCA) with Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP).

1. The enrolment of the CGM in the EFPS Platform with any AGDB in the remittances of withholding taxes to the BIR, employees’ loan amortization, premium contribution, and all other mandatory contributions to the GSIS, PHIC and HDMF. 2. The City Treasurer to determine from among the bank accounts maintained by the CGM in any AGDB as source account for remittances of taxes to the BIR, employees’ loan amortization, premium contribution, and all other mandatory contributions to the GSIS, PHIC and HDMF subject to the approval of the City Mayor. Provided that at least one bank account shall be enrolled for each of the following funds: 2.1 General Fund (GF) Proper 2.2 GF - Ospital ng Makati 2.3 GF - University of Makati 2.4 GF - Youth and Sports Development Department 2.5 GF - Economic Enterprise Management Office 2.6 GF - Other Special Accounts and Economic Enterprises that maybe required by law 2.7 Special Education Fund 2.8 Trust Fund 3. The City Accountant and/or the Head of the Remittance Division of the Accounting Department to be the “Maker” in the EFPS platform. A “Maker” is in charge with the encoding of transactions in the EFPS Platform and prepare all necessary documents such as remittance list, remittance advice, etc.

4. The City Administrator and the City Treasurer to be the “,Authorizer” in the EFPS Platform. An “Authorizer” is a person/s in charge to approve the transfer of funds from the account of the CGM to the depository accounts of the concerned agency (ie. BIR, GSIS, PHIC, HDMF)

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD OF MAKATI CITY, METRO MANILA, BY VIRTUE OF THE POWERS VESTED IN IT BY LAW IN SESSION ASSEMBLED, to authorize Honorable Mayor Mar-Len Abigail S. Binay, to negotiate, enter into and sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), on behalf of the City Government of Makati, with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) regarding the implementation of the Special Local Road Fund under R.A. 8794, otherwise known as the Motor Vehicle User’s Charge Law or MVUC Law, for various Street Lighting Projects of the City and further authorizing the City Treasurer to open a Separate Trust Fund Account, to be known as the Road Fund Disbursement Account, with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), subject to existing laws, rules and regulations.

FURTHER RESOLVE, to authorize the City Treasurer, to open a Trust Fund Account to be known as Road Fund Disbursement Account with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), subject to existing laws, rules and regulations.

Let copy of this Resolution be furnished to offices concerned for their information, guidance and reference.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD OF MAKATI, METRO MANILA, BY VIRTUE OF THE POWERS VESTED IN IT BY LAW, IN SESSION ASSEMBLED, to authorize:

This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon approval.

RESOLVED FURTHER, to authorize the City Mayor, City Treasurer and the City Administrator to sign any documents necessary to enroll the CGM in the EFPS Platform of any AGDB.

MANILA, in ENACTED BY THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD OF MAKATI, METRO MANILA its Special Session held on 17 November 2016.

RESOLVED FINALLY, that this Resolution shall be deemed valid and effective unless written notice of its revocation or amendment is delivered to Land Bank of the Philippines.

MONIQUE Q. LAGDAMEO - Presiding Officer SHIRLEY C. ASPILLAGA MARIE ALETHEA SJ. CASAL-UY GRAZIELLE IONY N. DE LARA-BES FERDINAND T. EUSEBIO VIRGILIO V. HILARIO JR. DIVINA A JACOME LUIS S. JAVIER JR. LEONARDO M. MAGPANTAY ROMEO C. MEDINA MA. ARLENE M. ORTEGA NELSON S. PASIA MARY RUTH C. TOLENTINO EVELYN DELFINA E. VILLAMOR MARIA CONCEPCION M. YABUT NEMESIO S. YABUT JR. ARMANDO P. PADILLA

ABSENT: Councilor

ENRICO J. PUNO

==================================================================== On motion presented by Han. E.D.E Villamor, which was duly seconded by all Members present, the Sangguniang Panlungsod of the City of Makati approved City Resolution No. 2016-A-032 on second and final reading.

CITY RESOLUTION NO. 2016-A-032 Authors: Hon. M.C.M. Yabut, Hon. M.A.S.J. Casal-Uy, Hon. D.A. Jacome, Hon. G.I.N. de Lara-Bes, Hon. N.S. Yabut Jr., Hon. M.A.M. Ortega, Hon. N.S. Pasia, Hon. V.V. Hilario, Jr. and Hon. E.D.E. Villamor Co- Authors: Hon. S.C. Aspillaga, Hon. F.T. Eusebio, Hon. L.S. Javier, Jr., Hon. L.M. Magpantay, Hon. RC. Medina, Hon. N.S. Pasia, Hon. M.R.C. Tolentino, and A.P. Padilla A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE HONORABLE MAYOR MAR· LEN ABIGAIL S. BINAY TO ENTER INTO AND SIGN A MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT (MOA), ON BEHALF OF THE CITY GOVERNMENT OF MAKATI, WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH-NATIONAL CAPITAL REGIONAL OFFICE (DOHNCRO), METROPOLITAN WATERWORKS AND SEWERAGE SYSTEM REGULATORY OFFICE (MWSS-RO), DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES-NATIONAL WATER RESOURCES BOARD (DENRNWRB), DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH - NATIONAL REFERENCE LABORATORYEAST AVENUE MEDICAL CENTER (DOH-NRL-EAMC), MAYNILAD WATER SERVICES, INC. (MAYNILAD), MANILA WATER COMPANY, INCORPORATED (MANILA WATER) AND METRO MANILA LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS (LGUS) REGARDING THE CREATION OF METRO MANILA DRINKING WATER QUALITY MONITORING COMMITTEE (MMDWQMC), SUBJECT TO EXISTING LAWS, RULES AND REGULATIONS. WHEREAS, the Department of Health - National Capital Region (DOH-NCRO), through its various instrumentalities, shall establish a surveillance program to oversee the operations of water supply systems and monitor the quality of water produced to ensure compliance with the Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water (PNSDW); WHEREAS, the Department of Health-National Capital Region (DOH-NCR) pursuant to its objective to promote health through a water quality surveillance program, is empowered to collaborate with various agencies and local government units; WHEREAS, in line with this thrust of DOH-NCRO, the Metro Manila Drinking Water Quality Monitoring Committee is created to ensure safe drinking water supply for the residents of Metro Manila; WHEREAS, careful perusal of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) would show that the terms and conditions stipulated therein are beneficial to the city and its inhabitants.

WHEREAS, the Sanggunian Panlungsod hereby gives authority to Mayor Mar-Len Abigail S. Binay to sign the aforesaid MOA pursuant to Section 8 (a) (6), Article III of R.A. 7854, otherwise known as the Charter of the City of Makati.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD OF MAKATI CITY, METRO MANILA, BY VIRTUE OF THE POWERS VESTED IN IT BY LAW IN SESSION ASSEMBLED, to authorize the Honorable Mayor Mar-len Abigail S. Binay to enter into and sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), on behalf of the City Government of Makati, with the Department of Health - National Capital Regional Office (DOH-NCRO), Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System Regulatory Office (MWSS-RO), Department of Environment and Natural Resources - National Water Resources Board (DENR-NWRB), Department of Health - National Reference Laboratory -East Avenue Medical Center (DOH-NRL-EAMC), Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (MAYNILAD), Manila Water Company, Incorporated (MANILA WATER) and Metro Manila Local Government Units (LGUs) regarding the creation of Metro Manila Drinking Water Quality Monitoring Committee (MMDWQMC), subject to existing laws, rules and regulations.

Let copy of this Resolution be furnished to DOH-NCRO, MWSS-RO, DENR-NWRB, DOH-NRLEAMC and other offices concerned for their information, guidance and reference.

This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon its approval.

ENACTED BY THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD OF MAKATI, METRO MANILA, MANILA in its Regular Session held on 2 November 2016.

HON. SHIRLEY C. ASPILLAGA

HON. ROMEO C. MEDINA

HON. MARIE ALETHEA SJ. CASAL-UY

HON. MA ARLENE M. ORTEGA

HON. GRAZIELLE IONY N. DE LARA-BES

HON. NELSON S. PASIA P

HON. FERDINAND T. EUSEBIO

HON. ENRICO J. PUNO

HON. VIRGILIO V. HILARIO JR.

HON. MAR MARY RUTH C. TOLENTINO

HON. DIVINA A JACOME

HON. EVEL EVELYN DELFINA E. VILLAMOR

This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon its approval.

HON. SHIRLEY C. ASPILLAGA

HON. ROMEO C. MEDINA

HON. MARIE ALETHEA SJ. CASAL-UY

HON. MA ARLENE M. ORTEGA

HON. SHIRLEY C. ASPILLAGA

HON. ROMEO C. MEDINA

HON. GRAZIELLE IONY N. DE LARA-BES

HON. NELSON S. P PASIA

HON. MARIE ALETHEA S.J. CASAL-UY

HON. MA ARLENE M. ORTEGA

HON. FERDINAND T. EUSEBIO

HON. ENRICO J. PUNO

HON. GRAZIELLE IONY N. DE LARA-BES

HON. NELSON S. PASIA P

HON. VIRGILIO V. HILARIO JR.

HON. MAR MARY RUTH C. TOLENTINO

HON. FERDINAND T. EUSEBIO

HON. ENRICO J. PUNO

HON. DIVINA A JACOME

HON. EVELYN DELFINA E. VILLAMOR

HON. VIRGILIO V. HILARIO JR.

HON. MARY MAR RUTH C. TOLENTINO

HON. DIVINA A. JACOME

HON. EVELYN DELFINA E. VILLAMOR EVEL

HON. LUIS S. JAVIER JR.

HON. MARIA CONCEPCION M. YABUT

HON. LUIS S. JAVIER JR.

HON. MARIA CONCEPCION M. YABUT HON. LUIS S. JAVIER JR.

HON. MARIA CONCEPCION M. YABUT

HON. LEONARDO M. MAGPANTAY

HON. NEMESIO S. YABUT JR.

HON. LEONARDO M. MAGPANTAY

HON. NEMESIO S. YABUT JR.

HON. LEONARDO M. MAGPANTAY

HON. NEMESIO S. YABUT JR.

APPROVED BY THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD OF MAKATI, METRO MANILA, MANILA in its regular session held on 15 September 2016.

HON. ARMANDO P. PADILLA LnB President

HON. ARMANDO P. PADILLA LnB President

Certified true and correct by:

Attested by: HON. MONIQUE Q. LAGDAMEO Vice Mayor & Presiding Officer

HON. ARMANDO P. PADILLA LnB President Certified true and correct by:

Certified true and correct by:

ATTY. DINDO R. CERVANTES Secretary to the Sangguniang Panlungsod Attested by:

(MS-DEC. 28, 2016)

ATTY. DINDO R. CERVANTES Secretary to the Sangguniang Panlungsod

ATTY. DINDO R. CERVANTES Secretary to the Sangguniang Panlungsod

Attested by: HON. MONIQUE Q. LAGDAMEO Vice Mayor & Presiding Officer

HON. MONIQUE Q. LAGDAMEO Vice Mayor & Presiding Officer (MS-DEC. 28, 2016)

(MS-DEC. 28, 2016)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

World

Manila

Standard

TODAY

Hit movie worries Japanese director PARIS―Makoto Shinkai has a problem, a big problem. His mystical teenage body-swap movie “Your Name” has become such a massive hit it’s beginning to worry him.

“It’s not healthy,” the boyish director told AFP. “I don’t think any more people should see it.”

Every week it gets closer to being the biggest Japanese animated film of all time.

And now there’s talk of Oscars.

“I really hope it doesn’t win,” he added.

It would be funny if Shinkai wasn’t so in earnest about getting off the promotional circuit and back to work.

He just wants to get on with his next story about teched-up Japanese teens.

But the little animated film has become a runaway cultural juggernaut in Asia, and now it’s winning awards in the United States and Europe.

One in seven Japanese have already paid to see its brilliantly plotted supernatural love story about a boy and a girl who exchange bodies as a comet is about to hit the Earth.

Inevitably it has led to 43-yearold Shinkai being called the “new Miyazaki” -- the natural successor to the now retired master animator Hayao Miyazaki, whose 2001 classic “Spirited Away” is still the most successful Japanese film ever.

But the comparison makes the diminutive Shinkai even more uncomfortable.

“Of course I’m happy when people mention his name and mine in the same breath. It’s like a

PRESENT: Vice Mayor Councilor “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ LnB President

dream. But I know they are overpraising ‘Your Name’ because I am absolutely not at Miyazaki’s level.

“Honestly, I really don’t want Miyazaki to see it because he will see all its flaws.”

Despite the rave reviews, Shinkai insists his film is not as good as it could have been -- a refreshingly novel approach for the man who is supposed to be promoting it.

“There were things that we couldn’t do,” he said, explaining that his team of animators led by one of Miyazaki’s greatest disciples, Masahi Ando, wanted to keep working on it but with money running out he had to cry stop.

“For me it’s incomplete, unbalanced. The plot is fine but the film is not at all perfect. Two years was not enough.”

But Shinkai knew he had a hit on his hands when he showed it in Los Angeles before its Tokyo premiere. “The audience laughed then they sobbed... I had drawn a graph when I was making it about how the audience might react, and it was just like that.

“Obviously I was happy to see it worked but at the same time I was afraid that it had worked too well. I said to myself, ‘Damn, maybe I overdid it’.”

More than anything, the movie’s motor is the comedy Shinkai extracts from the hilarious gender swap set up, with its running gag of the horrified boy waking up in a girl’s body, and yet unable to stop himself feeling her breasts.

“I wanted to talk about the way we see sexuality now but in a funny way,” he said. AFP

OCHI, Russia―Russian divers were scouring the Black Sea Tuesday for more debris and bodies from a Syria-bound military plane after finding the first wreckage underwater, as officials dismissed terrorism as a cause of the crash that killed all 92 people on board.

The Tu-154 jet, whose passengers included more than 60 members of the internationallyrenowned Red Army Choir, was heading to Russia’s military base in Syria when it went down off the coast of the resort city of Sochi shortly after take-off on Sunday.

Investigators have yet to confirm the cause of the crash, but officials said that an act of terror was not being considered as a possible explanation, despite the plane and its black boxes still being underwater.

On Monday, a spokeswoman for the Sochi-based search and rescue branch of the emergency ministry confirmed that the first parts of the plane had been found underwater.

“The debris is at the depth of 27 meters one mile from shore,” spokeswoman Rimma Chernova told AFP. The Russian military added that divers had retrieved “two elements of the plane’s control mechanism.”

Later the defence ministry said part of the plane’s fuselage, mea-

suring 11 feet by 15 feet, had been recovered and brought to shore Monday evening.

Authorities announced that the search operation would continue overnight and into the following days.

Russia’s federal security service said it is looking into four suspected causes of the crash, which do not include terrorism.

“No signs or facts pointing to a possible act of terror have been received at this time,” Russia’s Federal Security Service said in a statement carried by national news agencies.

The probe is focusing on a pilot error, a technical fault, bad fuel and a foreign object in the engine as the four main scenarios, it added.

The military has cordoned off part of the Sochi shore, with soldiers standing in a chain and motor boats participating in the search regularly unloading at the pier, an AFP photographer reported.

More than 3,000 people are racing to find the remaining bod-

ABSENT:

Councilor FERDINAND T. EUSEBIO “ LEONARDO M. MAGPANTAY “ NELSON S. PASIA ============================================================================= On motion presented by Hon. L.S. Javier, Jr., which was duly seconded by all Members present, the Sangguniang Panlungsod of the City of Makati approved City Resolution No. 2016-A-029 on second and final reading.

Councilor ENRICO J. PUNO ========================================================================== On motion presented by Hon. M.A.M. Ortega, which was duly seconded by all Members present, the Sangguniang Panlungsod of the City of Makati approved City Resolution No. 2016-A-033 on second and final reading.

A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE HONORABLE MAYOR MAR-LEN ABIGAIL S. BINAY TO ENTER INTO AND SIGN A MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT (MOA), ON BEHALF OF THE CITY GOVERNMENT OF MAKATI, WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT BUREAU - NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION (DENR-EMB-NCR), DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS -UNIFIED PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE- FLOOD CONTROL MANAGEMENT CLUSTER (DPWH-UPMO-FCMC) AND THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS OF MANILA, MANDALUYONG, PASIG, QUEZON, AND TAGUIG REGARDING THE CREATION OF THE MULTIPARTITE MONITORING TEAM (MMT) FOR THE PASIG-MARIKINA RIVER CHANNEL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT (PHASE III) JBIC, PHP252, SUBJECT TO ALL APPLICABLE LAWS AND EXISTING RULES AND REGULATIONS. WHEREAS, the Department Of Public Works and Higways -Unified Project Management Office- Flood Control Management Cluster (DPWH-UPMQ-FCMC) has been issued an Environmental Compliance Certificate that requires as a condition the formation of a Multipartite Monitoring Team (MMT), composed of the Department Of Natural Resources - Environmental Management Bureau - National Capital Region (DENR-EMB-NCR), Department Of Public Works And Highways - Unified Project Management Office-Flood Control Management Cluster (DPWHUPMO-FCMC), concerned local government units of Manila, Pasig, Mandaluyong, Quezon, Taguig and Makati and the concerned non-government organizations on the PasigMarikina River channel Improvement Project (Phase III) JBIC, PH P252; WHEREAS, the ECC also requires the establishment of an Environmental Guarantee Fund (EGF) as a fund source for the indemnification of damages that may be caused by the project and immediate rehabilitation and/or restoration of affected ecosystems, and of an Environmental Monitoring Fund (EMF) to cover the expenses of environmental monitoring and surveillance activities; WHEREAS, Section 8 (a) (6), Article III of R.A. 7854, otherwise known as the Charter of the City of Makati states that; “the City Mayor, as the chief executive of the city government shall represent the City in all its business transactions and signs on its behalf all bonds, contracts, and obligations, and such other documents upon authority of the Sanggunian Panlungsod”; WHEREAS, upon careful review of the terms and conditions stipulated in the aforesaid MOA, the Sangguniang Panlungsod hereby authorizes Mayor Mar-Len Abigail S. Binay to sign the MOA since such terms and conditions are beneficial to the city and its inhabitants.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD OF MAKATI, METRO MANILA, BY VIRTUE OF THE POWERS VESTED IN IT BY LAW IN SESSION ASSEMBLED, to authorize the Honorable Mayor Mar-Len Abigail S. Binay to enter into and sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on behalf of the City Government of Makati, with the Department of Natural Resources - Environmental Management Bureau - National Capital Region (DENR - EMB - NCR), Department of Public Works and Highways Unified Project Management Office- Flood Control Management Cluster (DPWHUPMO-FCMC) and the Local Government Unit Of Manila, Mandaluyong, Pasig, Quezon, and Taguig regarding the creation of the Multipartite Monitoring Team (MMT) for the Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project (Phase III) JBIC, PH-P252, subject to all applicable laws and existing rules and regulations

used to launch air strikes in support of Moscow’s ally President Bashar al-Assad.

“These people were flying to Syria to support and wish happy holidays to those who are serving their military duty there,” Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said after opening a government meeting, which held a moment of silence.

Other passengers included military officers, journalists and popular charity worker Yelizaveta Glinka, also known as Doctor Liza, who had been flying with a cargo of medical supplies for a hospital in the coastal city of Latakia.

Another passenger was the head of the defence ministry’s culture department Anton Gubankov, who worked to popularise the armed forces, including by authoring the song “Polite People” which honoured special forces officers who oversaw the annexation of Crimea.

President Vladimir Putin ordered a national day of mourning on Monday, with state television flashing black and white pictures of the victims across the screen while entertainment programmes were cancelled.

People brought flowers to improvised memorials at the port in central Sochi and the city’s airport, as well as to the Moscow headquarters of the Red Army Choir and the office of Fair Aid, the NGO that Glinka headed, which primarily worked with Moscow’s homeless. AFP

MONIQUE Q. LAGDAMEO - Presiding Officer SHIRLEY C. ASPILLAGA MARIE ALETHEA SJ. CASAL-UY GRAZIELLE IONY N. DE LARA-BES FERDINAND T. EUSEBIO VIRGILIO V. HILARIO JR. DIVINA A JACOME LUIS S. JAVIER JR. LEONARDO M. MAGPANTAY ROMEO C. MEDINA MA. ARLENE M. ORTEGA NELSON S. PASIA MARY RUTH C. TOLENTINO EVELYN DELFINA E. VILLAMOR MARIA CONCEPCION M. YABUT NEMESIO S. YABUT JR. ARMANDO P. PADILLA

ABSENT:

CITY RESOLUTION NO. 2016-A-033 Authors: Hon. M.C.M. Yabut, Hon. M.A.S.J. Casal-Uy, Hon. D.A. Jacome, Hon. G.I.N. de Lara-Bes, Hon. N.S. Yabut Jr., Hon. M.A.M. Ortega, Hon. N.S. Pasia, Hon. V.V. Hilario, Jr. and Hon. E.D.E. Villamor

CITY RESOLUTION NO. 2016-A-029

Co-Authors: Hon. S.C. Aspillaga, Hon. E.J. Puno, Hon. M.A.M. Ortega, Hon. M.R.C. Tolentino, Hon. E.D.E. Villamor and Hon. A.P. Padilla

ies and debris in a massive operation that includes 45 vessels, planes, helicopters and drones, along with divers and remotelyoperated deepwater machines.

Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said some of the bodies could have already been carried off by the “strong current” to Abkhazia, the separatist region of Georgia, and some of its own rescue workers have joined the search operation.

Along with the first 10 bodies, 86 body fragments were brought to the Russian capital for DNA analysis, defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

He said searchers have finished looking over the on-land territory around the crash site while divers are working over an area with a radius of 500 meters The Tu-154 jet went down on Sunday morning minutes after taking off at 5:25 am (0225 GMT) from Sochi’s airport, where it had stopped to refuel after flying out from the Chkalovsky military aerodrome in the Moscow region.

Onboard were 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble -- the army’s official musical group, also known as the Red Army Choir -- and their conductor Valery Khalilov.

“The ensemble has been orphaned by a third,” said state channel Rossiya.

The choir was set to perform for Russian troops at the Hmeimim airbase in Syria, which has been

PRESENT: Vice Mayor Councilor “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ LnB President

MONIQUE Q. LAGDAMEO - Presiding Officer SHIRLEY C. ASPILLAGA MARIE ALETHEA SJ. CASAL-UY GRAZIELLE IONY N. DE LARA-BES FERDINAND T. EUSEBIO VIRGILIO V. HILARIO JR. DIVINA A JACOME LUIS S. JAVIER JR. LEONARDO M. MAGPANTAY ROMEO C. MEDINA MA. ARLENE M. ORTEGA NELSON S. PASIA MARY RUTH C. TOLENTINO EVELYN DELFINA E. VILLAMOR MARIA CONCEPCION M. YABUT NEMESIO S. YABUT JR. ARMANDO P. PADILLA

ABSENT:

Authors: Hon. M.C.M. Yabut, Hon. M.A.S.J. Casal-Uy, Hon. D.A. Jacome, Hon. G.I.N. de Lara-Bes, Hon. N.S. Yabut Jr., Hon. L.S. Javier, Jr., Hon. V.V. Hilario, Jr., Hon. R.C. Medina and Hon. N.S. Pasia

C3

Parts of crashed plane found in the Black Sea S

PRESENT: Vice Mayor Councilor “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ LnB President

MONIQUE Q. LAGDAMEO - Presiding Officer SHIRLEY C. ASPILLAGA MARIE ALETHEA SJ. CASAL-UY GRAZIELLE IONY N. DE LARA-BES VIRGILIO V. HILARIO JR. DIVINA A JACOME LUIS S. JAVIER JR. ROMEO C. MEDINA MA. ARLENE M. ORTEGA ENRICO J. PUNO MARY RUTH C. TOLENTINO EVELYN DELFINA E. VILLAMOR MARIA CONCEPCION M. YABUT NEMESIO S. YABUT JR. ARMANDO P. PADILLA

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016

Co-Authors: Hon. S.C. Aspillaga, Hon. F.T. Eusebio, Hon. L.S. Javier, Jr., Hon. L.M. Magpantay, Hon. R.C. Medina, Hon. M.R.C. Tolentino and A.P. Padilla A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE HONORABLE MAYOR MAR-LEN ABIGAIL S. BINAY AND/OR OSPITAL NG MAKATI (OSMAK) OFFICER-INCHARGE (OIC)-MEDICAL DIRECTOR DR. VERGEL P. BINAY, MD, FPSGS, MBAH, TO NEGOTIATE, ENTER INTO AND SIGN A MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT (MOA), ON BEHALF OF THE CITY GOVERNMENT OF MAKATI, WITH JOSE R. REYES MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER (JRRMMC) REGARDING THE CLINICAL ROTATION OF THE RESIDENT TRAINEES OF OSMAK TO THE DEPARTMENT OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY OF JRRMMC, SUBJECT TO EXISTING LAWS, RULES AND REGULATIONS. WHEREAS, Jose R Reyes Memorial Medical Center (JRRMMC) is an institution principally providing medical care for service patients and the training of specialists in various medical fields which includes the Section of Gynecologic Oncology and Trophoblastic Disease under the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; WHEREAS, Ospital ng Makati (OSMAK) desires to have its resident trainees to be assigned and trained in JRRMMC, specifically in the Section of Gynecologic Oncology and Trophoblastic Disease under the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; WHEREAS, JRRMC, in return, · expressed its intent to accommodate the resident trainees of JRRMMC in its facilities for their training; WHEREAS, in line with the principle of reciprocity, JRRMMC and the Ospital ng Makati (OSMAK) have deemed it practical and advantageous to establish a working relationship focusing on Gynecologic Oncology and Trophoblastic Disease which will enhance the efficiency of both institutions and will benefit the general public; WHEREAS, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the City Government of Makati and JRRMMC must be executed in order to effectuate the abovementioned purpose; WHEREAS, Section 8 (a) (6), Article III of RA. 7658, otherwise known as the Charter of the City of Makati, states that the city mayor, as the chief executive of the city government, shall represent the City in all its business transactions and signs on its behalf all bonds, contracts, and obligations, and such other documents upon authority of the sanggunian panlungsod; WHEREAS, the Sangguniang Panlungsod, in consideration of the benefits of the subject MOA to the constituency of the city, hereby authorizes Honorable Mayor Mar-Len Abigail S. Binay and/or Ospital Ng Makati (OSMAK) Officer-in-Charge (OIC)-Medical Director, Dr. Vergel P. Binay, MD, FPSGS, MBAH, to negotiate, enter into and sign such Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), on behalf of the City Government of Makati, with JRRMMC. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD OF MAKATI CITY, METRO MANILA, BY VIRTUE OF THE POWERS VESTED IN IT BY LAW, IN SESSION ASSEMBLED, to authorize the Honorable Mayor Mar-Len Abigail S. Binay and/or Ospital Ng Makati (OSMAK) Officer-in-Charge (OIC)-Medical Director, Dr. Vergel P. Binay, MD, FPSGS, MBAH, to negotiate, enter into and sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), on behalf of the City Government of Makati, with Jose R Reyes Memorial Medical Center (JRRMMC), regarding the clinical rotation of the resident trainees of OSMAK to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of JRRMMC, subject to existing laws, rules and regulations.

Councilor ENRICO J. PUNO ========================================================================== On motion presented by Han. D.A. Jacome, which was duly seconded by all Members present, the Sangguniang Panlungsod of the City of Makati approved City Resolution No. 2016-A-034 on second and final reading.

CITY RESOLUTION NO. 2016-A-034 Authors: Hon. M.C.M. Yabut, Hon. M.A.S.J. Casal-Uy, Hon. D.A. Jacome, Hon. G.I.N. de Lara-Bes, Hon. N.S. Yabut Jr., Hon. M.A.M. Ortega, Hon. N.S. Pasia, Hon. V.V. Hilario, Jr. and Hon. E.D.E. Villamor Co-Authors: Hon. S.C. Aspillaga, Hon. F.T. Eusebio, Hon. L.S. Javier, Jr., Hon. L.M. Magpantay, Hon. R.C. Medina, Hon. M.R.C. Tolentino and A.P. Padilla A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE HONORABLE MAYOR MAR-LEN ABIGAIL S. BINAY AND/OR OSPITAL NG MAKATI (OSMAK) OFFICER-INCHARGE (OIC)-MEDICAL DIRECTOR, DR. VERGEL P. BINAY, MD, FPSGS, MBAH, TO NEGOTIATE, ENTER INTO AND SIGN A MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT (MOA), ON BEHALF OF THE CITY GOVERNMENT OF MAKATI, WITH SKIN AND CANCER FOUNDATION, INC., REGARDING THE ROTATION OF RESIDENT DOCTORS OF THE FOUNDATION IN OSMAK FOR TRAINING PURPOSES, SUBJECT TO EXISTING LAWS, RULES AND REGULATIONS. WHEREAS, the Skin and Cancer Foundation, Inc., an entity engaged in the training of medical doctors who specialize in the field of Dermatology, has identified Ospital ng Makati (OSMAK) as an ideal training ground for its resident doctors; WHEREAS, such foundation offered to render free dermatological care services to the patients of the said hospital; WHEREAS, the City Government of Makati desires to accept the offer of Skin Cancer Foundation in order to support OSMAK’s need of medical doctors in the field of dermatology; WHEREAS, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the City Government of Makati and Skin and Cancer Foundation, Inc., is required to be executed in order to effectuate the abovementioned purpose; WHEREAS, Section 8 (a) (6), Article III of R.A. 7658, otherwise known as the Charter of the City of Makati, states that the city mayor, as the chief executive of the city government, shall represent the City in all its business transactions and signs on its behalf all bonds, contracts, and obligations, and such other documents upon authority of the sanggunian panlungsod; WHEREAS, the Sangguniang Panlungsod, in consideration or the benefits of the subject MOA to the constituency of the city, hereby authorizes Honorable Mayor Mar-Len Abigail S. Binay and/or Ospital Ng Makati (OSMAK) Officer-in-Charge (OIC)-Medical Director, Dr. Vergel P. Binay, MD, FPSGS, MBAH, to negotiate, enter into and sign such Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), on behalf of the City Government of Makati, with Skin and Cancer Foundation, Inc. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD OF MAKATI CITY, METRO MANILA, BY VIRTUE OF THE POWERS VESTED IN IT BY LAW, IN SESSION ASSEMBLED, to authorize the Honorable Mayor Mar-Len Abigail S. Binay and/or Ospital Ng Makati (OSMAK) Officer-in-Charge (OIC)-Medical Director, Dr. Vergel P. Binay, MD, FPSGS, MBAH, to negotiate, enter into and sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), on behalf of the City Government Of Makati, with Skin and Cancer Foundation, Inc., regarding the rotation of resident doctors of the foundation in OSMAK for training purposes subject to eXisting laws, rules and regulations.

Let copy of this Resolution be furnished the Skin and Care Foundation, Inc., Ospital ng Makati and other concerned offices for their information, guidance and reference.

Let copy of this Resolution be furnished to the DENR-EMB-NCR, DPWH-UPMO-FCMC and other offices concerned for their information, guidance and reference.

RESOLVED FURTHER, that copy of this Resolution be furnished the Jose R Reyes Memorial Medical Center (JRRMMC), Ospital ng Makati (OSMAK), and other concerned offices for their information, guidance and reference.

This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon its approval.

This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon its approval.

ENACTED BY THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD OF MAKATI, METRO MANILA, in its Regular Session held on 2 November 2016.

ENACTED BY THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD OF MAKATI, METRO MANILA, in its Regular Session held on 26 October 2016..

ENACTED BY THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD OF MAKATI, METRO MANILA, in its Regular Session held on 2 November 2016.

HON. SHIRLEY C. ASPILLAGA

HON. ROMEO C. MEDINA

HON. SHIRLEY C. ASPILLAGA

HON. SHIRLEY C. ASPILLAGA

HON. ROMEO C. MEDINA

HON. MARIE ALETHEA SJ. CASAL-UY

HON. MA ARLENE M. ORTEGA

HON. MARIE ALETHEA SJ. CASAL-UY

HON. MA ARLENE M. ORTEGA

HON. GRAZIELLE IONY N. DE LARA-BES

HON. NELSON S. P PASIA

HON. GRAZIELLE IONY N. DE LARA-BES

HON. NELSON S. P PASIA

HON. FERDINAND T. EUSEBIO

HON. ENRICO J. PUNO

HON. FERDINAND T. EUSEBIO

HON. ENRICO J. PUNO

HON. VIRGILIO V. HILARIO JR.

HON. MAR MARY RUTH C. TOLENTINO

HON. DIVINA A JACOME

HON. EVEL EVELYN DELFINA E. VILLAMOR

HON. LUIS S. JAVIER JR.

HON. MARIA CONCEPCION M. YABUT

HON. LEONARDO M. MAGPANTAY

HON. NEMESIO S. YABUT JR.

HON. MARIE ALETHEA SJ. CASAL-UY

HON. ROMEO C. MEDINA

HON. MA ARLENE M. ORTEGA

HON. GRAZIELLE IONY N. DE LARA-BES

HON. NELSON S. P PASIA

HON. FERDINAND T. EUSEBIO

HON. ENRICO J. PUNO

HON. VIRGILIO V. HILARIO JR.

HON. MAR MARY Y RUTH C. TOLENTINO

HON. DIVINA A. JACOME

HON. EVEL EVELYN DELFINA E. VILLAMOR

HON. DIVINA A JACOME

HON. EVEL EVELYN DELFINA E. VILLAMOR

HON. LUIS S. JAVIER JR.

HON. MARIA CONCEPCION M. YABUT

HON. LUIS S. JAVIER JR.

HON. MARIA CONCEPCION M. YABUT

HON. LEONARDO M. MAGPANTAY

HON. NEMESIO S. YABUT JR.

HON. LEONARDO M. MAGPANTAY

HON. NEMESIO S. YABUT JR.

HON. VIRGILIO V. HILARIO JR.

HON. ARMANDO P. PADILLA LnB President

Attested by: HON. MONIQUE Q. LAGDAMEO Vice Mayor & Presiding Officer

This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon its approval.

HON. MAR MARY Y RUTH C. TOLENTINO

HON. ARMANDO P. PADILLA LnB President

HON. ARMANDO P. PADILLA LnB President

Certified true and correct by:

Certified true and correct by:

ATTY. DINDO R. CERVANTES Secretary to the Sangguniang Panlungsod

ATTY. DINDO R. CERVANTES Secretary to the Sangguniang Panlungsod

Attested by:

(MS-DEC. 28, 2016)

HON. MONIQUE Q. LAGDAMEO Vice Mayor & Presiding Officer

Certified true and correct by: ATTY. DINDO R. CERVANTES Secretary to the Sangguniang Panlungsod

Attested by: HON. MONIQUE Q. LAGDAMEO Vice Mayor & Presiding Officer (MS-DEC. 28, 2016)

(MS-DEC. 28, 2016)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

C4

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016

World

First trial of policemen in Turkey coup to begin I STANBUL― Almost 30 Turkish police will go on trial in Istanbul on Tuesday charged with involvement in the July 15 coup bid, the city’s first trial of alleged putschists.

With indictments prepared against over 1,200 people, and some 41,000 under arrest in total, the trials following the failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are set to be the most far-reaching legal process in Turkish history.

Five months after the coup, small-scale trials of suspects have already began in the provinces and on Monday 60 people went on trial in the southwestern city of Denizli.

But the trial in Istanbul -which is to take place in a gigantic courthouse in the Silivri prison in Istanbul -- is to be the most significant to date and the first in the Turkish metropolis.

The accused are charged with seeking to overthrow the government as well as allegedly being members of the group led

by US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen who the authorities accuse of leading the plot.

Gulen, who Ankara wants to see extradited from the United States, vehemently denies the charges.

Of the 29 police set to go on trial in Silivri on Tuesday, 24 are under arrest, one on the run and the rest on bail.

If convicted, 21 suspects each face three life sentences and the other eight officers could be handed prison terms of between seven-and-a-half and 15 years.

“Time to bring the traitors to account,” said the pro-government Sabah newspaper.

Those accused are alleged to have refused to protect Erdogan’s residence in Istanbul on the night of the coup.

However there has been growing international alarm over the extent of the crackdown amid the state of emergency imposed after the coup, with critics concerned it has been used to target Erdogan’s opponents.

With the crackdown showing no sign of relenting, the interior ministry said 1,096 people suspected of Gulen links were detained in the last week alone.

Since the coup, the authorities have investigated almost 101,800 people, placing some 41,000 under arrest.

Erdogan said last week that the assassination of the Russian ambassador to Ankara was carried out by a Turkish policeman loyal to Gulen, a claim not yet accepted by Moscow. AFP

Principal quits over Nazi parade TAIPEI―The principal of a Taiwanese high school has stepped down after students held a Nazi-themed parade ahead of the Christmas weekend, triggering a furor and harsh criticism from Israel.

Photos and videos circulated online of students wearing mock Nazi uniforms while holding swastika flags and banners, some laughing and dancing, during a parade on Friday to celebrate the school’s 62-year anniversary.

A teacher also joined in the procession and was seen giving a Nazi salute as he stood inside a tank made of paper cartons, according to local media.

As the students marched, a compere announced: “Here comes Hitler, salute to him students, or the tank will crush you later or you will be taken to the gas chamber,” according to a video posted on Apple Daily’s website.

As criticism mounted, Cheng Hsiao-ming, head of Kuang Fu High School in northern Hsinchu city, apologized for allowing the parade to go ahead and tendered his resignation.

“I apologize to the victims and the public... We made a mistake and I will take the responsibility to step down,” he said Sunday, promising that other school officials would also be punished.

The Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei issued a statement condemning the incident as “tasteless” and “outrageous”.

“It is deplorable and shocking that seven decades only after the world had witnessed the horrors of the Holocaust, a high school in Taiwan is supporting such an outrageous action,” it said in a Facebook post.

Germany’s de facto embassy in Taiwan said in a statement that the students failed to understand that the Nazi symbol stands for human contempt and oppression.

Taiwan’s education ministry has also apologized over the incident and demanded the school immediately improve students’ history education.

East Asian pop culture and commercial art has a long history of fascination with Hitler and the Nazis.

Occasionally, Hitler turns up in Asian advertisement campaigns, and a pub called “Nazi Bar” briefly operated in Taipei in the 1990s. AFP

Exiled leader of opposition gets 5 years

PERFORMANCE. Peru’s bullfighter Andres Roca Rey performs during a bullfight at the Canaveralejo bullring in Cali, department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia, on December 26, 2016, in the framework of the 59th Fair of Cali. AFP

Court refuses to drop blasphemy case JAKARTA―An Indonesian court on Tuesday refused to drop blasphemy charges against the Christian governor of the capital Jakarta, as hundreds of people protested outside the court where the trial is taking place.

Basuki Tjahaja Purnama -- the first Christian to govern the capital in more than 50 years -- sparked anger in the Muslim-majority country when he quoted a verse from the Koran while campaigning ahead of elections for the Jakarta governorship.

The high-profile case against Purnama, better known by his nickname Ahok, has captivated attention in Indonesia,

and fanned concerns about hardliners pushing their agenda in the nation of 255 million.

Judge Dwiarso Budi Santiarto ruled that the charges filed by prosecutors were legitimate despite complaints from the defenSe which said the trial was rushed and surrounded by too much public scrutiny.

Outside the court, hundreds of protesters chanting slogans including “God is Great”.

“We Muslims demand Ahok to be jailed or punished as severely as possible,” said Suyono, who like many Indonesians go by one name.

Purnama remains a candidate for reelection in February, though he could

be jailed for a maximum of five years if found guilty.

He had been a favorite to win but the lawsuit has seen polls turn against him.

“I don’t really care that the judges have rejected the governor’s objection.

We will still campaign for the governor whatever happens,” Jappy Pellokila, a Purnama supporter, told AFP. Almost all blasphemy cases in Indonesia have resulted in convictions and rights groups fear the case is eroding the country’s reputation for tolerance and diversity.

The trial has been adjourned until January 3. AFP

PHNOM PENH―Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy was sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday over a post on his Facebook page, a conviction that makes his return from self-imposed exile unlikely.

The conviction caps a major crackdown this year on the critics of the country’s strongman leader Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has run Cambodia for more than three decades, and often with the help of pliant courts.

Activists say Hun Sen is trying to keep his opponents under pressure ahead of regional elections next year and a general election in 2018.

Scores of opposition politicians and rights group workers have been jailed or seen legal cases filed against them in recent months.

Rainsy, who lives in France, was convicted in absentia by Phnom Penh’s Municipal Court on Tuesday for a post placed on his Facebook page by a third party about Cambodia’s border with Vietnam, a highly contentious issue in the country.

Anti-Vietnamese sentiment runs high in Cambodia and parts of the border are still disputed.

Hun Sen’s critics accuse him of being too close to Vietnam, a charge he denies and bristles at.

The case concerned copies of a 37-year-old treaty between Cambodia and Vietnam over their shared border that were posted on social media last year.

Cambodians authorities said the treaty was a forgery and began arresting people who posted it, including opposition senator Hong Sok Hour who was jailed in November for seven years.

Hong Sok Hour posted the treaty on Rainsy’s Facebook page, leading to charges being filed against the opposition leader.

Rainsy was convicted of being an accomplice in “falsifying public documents, using fake public documents (and) incitement causing unrest to national security,” judge Leang Samnath said during a hearing. AFP

Brazil fears 19 migrants drowned BRASILIA―At least 19 Brazilian migrants are feared drowned off the Bahamas as they tried to cross illegally to the United States, officials in Brasilia said Monday.

The group went missing “during a purported crossing by sea from the Bahamas to the United States,” a foreign ministry statement said.

The migrants’ families have not heard from them since November 6, the foreign ministry said.

“There are about 20 Brazilians [who have gone missing]. So far, there is no information about their whereabouts, nor about the vessel that supposedly was going to take them to the United States,” the foreign ministry added.

Brazilian media reports said there were also dozens of other migrants aboard the boat, which officials suspect went down while attempting the roughly 80-kilo-

meter crossing between the Bahamas and the Florida coast.

The Brazilian embassy in Nassau, Bahamas and the Brazilian consulate in Miami, Florida, are in contact with family members and authorities to try to locate the missing persons, officials said.

The Brazilian foreign ministry said it was not ruling out the possibility that the migrants could be in prison or missing for other reasons.

But silence from everyone in such a large group, known to have been being trafficked into the US, raises many concerns.

Several Brazilian media outlets reported that family members of the missing migrants told them their kin paid thousands of dollars to “coyotes,” people traffickers who smuggle them into the US. The busiest such route was from Grand Bahama to the Palm

Beach area of Florida; now it may include Bimini closer to Miami, or other Bahamian islands.

The sister of one of the Brazilians missing after allegedly traveling to the Bahamas told CBN radio station Globo that it was the third time he was trying to enter the US. He was deported in 2013 after living illegally in the US for eight years, she was quoted as saying.

This time “we do not know who took him.

“There are a number of people.

One takes them to Belo Horizonte.

Another takes them to Sao Paulo.

And then another on to the Bahamas,” she was quoted as saying.

Choosing the route to the US through the Bahamas is not common among Brazilians, Eduardo Siqueira, associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Boston, who studies migration from Brazil to the US, told AFP. AFP

LIGHTING EXPORT. People walk on the ‘Passerelle du Palais de Justice’ in front of the Lyon courthouse at night on December 2, 2016, in Lyon. The city of Lyon exports this particular lighting all over the world through his famous Festival of Lights (Fete des Lumieres) as well as his urban lighting. AFP

Miniature Vara handbags for stylish little girls

Life FASHION & BEAUTY

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016

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Kids can wear Ferragamos, too F

ERRAGAMO MINI, an exclusive capsule collection of children’s footwear and accessories from luxury Italian house Salvatore Ferragamo, was launched at this season’s Pitti Bimbo, the international fair showcasing the latest in children’s fashion and lifestyle products.

Designed for girls and boys aged 3 to 8 years old, the collection exudes the same romantic yet spirited charm as its adult counterparts. Reworking a selection of iconic Ferragamo styles, such as the Varina ballet flats, the Double Gancio mocassins, Ferragamo Mini showcases those pieces that define the House’s understated and modern chic – but mini.

With the same commitment to finest Italian craftsmanship, Ferragamo Mini, which also features sneakers and bold miniature Vara handbags, proves that elegance is both ageless and fun, as the whole family can mix and match complementary styles as, together, they revel in Lo Splendore della Vita [the splendour of life].

An accompanying film captures the same light-hearted sensibility that flows through the womenswear and menswear ready-to-wear campaigns, with children joyfully tucking themselves between curtains, chairs and pillows in a game of hide-and-seek – yet with the same colorful burst as Mama and Papa’s contemporary abstract prints, they don’t remain hidden long.

The Mini collection will be available in Korea, Singapore, Australia and other regions. For more information, please visit mini.ferragamo.com.

In the Philippines, Salvatore Ferragamo is located at Alabang Town Center, Greenbelt 4, Newport Mall, Rustan’s Makati and Rustan’s Shangri-La.

Ferragamo Mini features a selection of iconic styles of the Italian brand, such as Varina ballet flats, Double Gancio mocassins, Vara handbags and other sneakers in their mini versions

Love at first sight with Robinsons New Romantics Collection

Ladies can wear their best look this season, and beyond, with chic and staple pieces from Robinsons Department Store’s exclusive ladies’ wear brands Liberte and Stella.

THERE is no better time to look your best than in the most wonderful season of the year. The glow of Christmas gives a delightful ambience of excitement and pure bliss, best shared with family and the people you treasure the most. To help ladies prepare for these special moments, Robinsons Department Store has launched the New Romantics, a holiday collection that is sure to enamor everyone.

The holiday collection carries pieces that give a dreamy feel to the modern woman’s wardrobe, with irresistible cuts and intricate details that will make you love the holidays even more. There are plenty of designs to choose from, with Robinsons Department Store’s exclusive ladies’ wear brands—Stella and Liberté—giving a peek into the world of romance.

Stella dresses, tops and culottes are perfect for glamorous get-togethers and all-day affairs that demand grace and radiance. Ladies can easily prepare ensembles that exude sophistication and confidence that will get those in the room waiting for your next move.

Meanwhile, young women who are looking for chic closet staples can rustle through the Liberté collection and build up the wardrobe that will get heads turning. Their personality can shine through the alluring pieces and new pairings that reflect the whimsical, exciting feeling of Christmas.

Ladies are sure to look absolutely pristine, with soft, flattering fabrics of the New Romantics holiday collection capping the year of style. Stella dabbles with minimalist designs and bold prints to make a lasting impression this season. For more explorative styles, Liberté offers different lengths and textures to choose from.

There’s really a lot to love at Robinsons Department Store with their New Romantics holiday collection.

Discover how the Stella and Liberté ensembles can get you looking your loveliest this Christmas.

Check out Robinsons Department Store’s latest fashion pieces at www.robinsonsdepartmentstore.com.ph and follow Robinsons Department Store on Facebook and @RobinsonsStore on Twitter.

Life

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016 isahred@gmail.com

Jewelry with a soul

Pamela Bahre’s quest for beauty and divinity led her to study jewelry designing and making

By Bernadette Lunas

T

HE material and sentimental value makes jewelry special. But, a piece with your soul in it is one for keeps.

This is what model-turned-jewelry designer Pamela Bahre intends to do with each of her piece: to capture the soul of its wearer. Each is crafted specially for the bearer to resonate with their soul’s desires and needs.

“I don’t really create things, I just channel them. I allow myself to just be the channel of something,” Bahre told Manila Standard during the launch of her Cosmos collection at APHRO in The Alley, Makati City.

The way Bahre sees things is an enigma. Born and raised in Santiago de Chile to parents of German-Austrian heritage, she has learned at an early age that she was able to perceive people’s auras and see their divinity.

Driven by the quest for truth and beauty, she left Chile as a teenager to support her family as an international fashion model. Her life was packed in a suitcase, moving from one country to another, such as Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Thailand, South Africa, USA, Germany, Greece and Turkey.

Bahre’s long stint as a model afforded her the opportunity to see the vast expanse of beauty and divinity in different people from all walks of life. “I did have a great exposure to things that are considered beautiful,” she shared.

But her connection with the divine inspired her to look for something more fulfilling, which she has found in metals and gemstones.

“I always like stones and metals, and I do have a great affinity with the mineral kingdom,” she said.

Metals and gemstones are known to store, transmit, transmute, amplify and nullify energies—energies, which can be earthly or cosmic.

She studied to be a Master Bench Jeweler in Chile, and in 2007, designed

and handcrafted her first personal jewelry collection. After receiving positive feedback from friends and family, she further honed her skills and studied Gemology in Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in Hong Kong; she graduated in 2011.

Bahre said she learned jewelry making from the best goldsmiths in Chile, and a few more things whenever she travels abroad.

She shared that having no prior background in jewelry designing and making, she struggled at first. “The first pieces were difficult because I was just learning. Those were probably the most difficult I made.”

But, today, she said she could create a simple wire band in half an hour.

Now based in the Philippines for four years, she continues to hone her craft, creating pieces for herself and clients who approach her. Bahre doesn’t make collections, but rather accepts consultations and makes custom pieces for each customer. This way she’s able to create something that truly resonates with the wearer.

“I want my jewelry to really bring forth the very best in the people wearing them,” she enthused, adding, “My aim for my jewels is to help clear the path of the bearer; to embody this consciousness, this state of being where all, including us, is whole, perfect and complete.”

Bahre only works with noble metals, such as silver, gold and platinum; while she uses many kinds of gemstones— precious and semi-precious—in their natural form and with less treatment as possible.

The designs she creates are not your usual run-off-the-mill jewelry: edges are rugged, surfaces are rough, no two

Bahre’s jewelry pieces are made of noble metals and gemstones

designs are the same, and the lines flow almost naturally. She even said that her jewelry pieces are for “very adventurous people,” particularly those in the art industry.

“This jewelry is not for everyone, because some people may find it too crazy, too big. This is not conventional jewelry,” she said matter-of-factly.

To schedule your personal consultations with Pamela Bahre, cal 0949888-9238 or email pimidivina@ovex. us. Visit pamelabahre.com to see her designs.

Ipanema opens more stores IPANEMA, Brazil’s fun, chic and colorful brand of sandals and flip flops, opened its latest outlet at SM City Sta. Rosa in Laguna as part of its expansion.

With the opening of this latest branch, residents within the area can conveniently shop for the latest Ipanema footwear.

The new store carries the latest Ipanema styles and collections, each one inspired by the spectacular coastal neighborhood of Ipanema in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro.

“Our expansion in this part of the South couldn’t have come at a more opportune time,” explains Cecille Loretizo, head of Marketing, ELRO Retail Corp. “This new store, which carries Ipanema sandals exclusively, boasts a wider election of the latest footwear from

this iconic Brazilian brand.”

Apart from the newly opened Ipanema outlet at SM City Sta. Rosa, Ipanema store is set to open in SM City Dasmariñas and more stores in the upcoming months, signs of ELRO’s strong outlook in the market as it aims to further grow its retail footprint in the country.

The new Ipanema store is located on Level 1, SM City Sta Rosa.

Ipanema stores are also located at SM City Lucena, Clark-Angeles, North Edsa, Bacolod, Pampanga, Cauayan-Isabela, Gensan, Iloilo, Roasales and Cabanatuan; as well as at SM Lanang Premier in Davao, SM Seaside Cebu, Ayala Centrio Cagayan de Oro, Ayala Abreeza Davao, Ipanema opens its latest store in Sta. Rosa, Laguna and Robinsons Place Antipolo.

The new store of Brazilian footwear carries a wide selection of Ipanema sandals and flip flops

Give the gift

of exquisite beauty BE AGELESS by design.

Gift yourself, your friends and loved ones with the latest beauty breakthrough in skincare: Helix-D. Available as a face and neck serum as well as an eye serum, Helix-D possesses a powerful combination of water-magnet hydrators and anti-oxidants, while The Double Helix is composed of encapsulated cellular envelopes that contain “Power-Peptides” and Matrikines that penetrate deep into your skin.

With the Helix-D Face and Neck serum, a reduction in the appearance of facial and neck wrinkles along with a tightening of sagging skin can be enjoyed thanks to powerful anti-oxidants that provide day-long moisturizing and hydration. The result is smoother and softer looking skin like never before.

The Helix-D Eye Serum, meanwhile, with its new eye serum active complex, can reduce fine lines, dark circles and reduce puffiness. What’s more, you can also experience increased firmness and collagen renewal – youthfulness like no other.

With their research and development team working together with several international laboratories, you can be assured that Helix-D is one of the most technologically advanced skincare solutions in the world, combining elegance and 21st century anti-aging science.

Helix-D is available at the beauty section of SM Stores in SM Aura, SM Makati, SM Megamall, SM North EDSA and SM Mall of Asia.

Visit www.fastbeautyph.com and follow them on Facebook and Instagram at @fastbeautyph.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016

Iconic American rock band Journey with frontman Arnel Pineda will once again stage “Don’t Stop Believing” concert in February

Journey with

Arnel Pineda in Manila

Alden Richard and Maine Mendoza in a scene from their romantic movie shot in Italy

AlDub still the most

POPULAR LOVE TEAM T HE tandem of Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza, otherwise known as AlDub, is still the hottest onscreen pair in the country as far as Google Search is concerned.

that is if Google Trends is really that reliable in terms of measuring someone’s success and popularity. Remember, Pokemon Go that triggered worldwide craze is the most searched term in 2016 but it’s not the top income generating app.

Among the best When someone from the Philippines says that the Filipino singers are among the best in the world, we might still doubt this claim.

However, when it came from someone who didn’t know that Karaoke singing is in our DNA, then this claim is painted with some sense of credibility.

Case in point, The Voice Global, a After dominating the Google YouTube channel that curates the best Philippines’ “Year in Search” report and most outstanding performances in 2015, AlDub has proven once from The Voice and The Voice Kids more that its popularity online is worldwide, has named The Voice still unmatched in 2016. For one, Kids Philippines Season 3 contestant in the search categories listed by Sharla Cerilles from Parañaque as the California-based technology one of the best auditions in The Voice company, there are no other Kids. local showbiz stars or love teams The Voice Global with almost that appeared, not even in the 400,000 subscribers and which videos individual categories that named have more than 100 million views the most searched male and female to date has selected the best of the personalities in the land. best from the singing competitions’ On the list topped by reigning Miss international franchises. From a total Universe Pia Wurtzbach, Maine of 60 franchises all over the world, Mendoza ranked second as the most Cerilles landed in the third spot for searched female personality in the the best blind auditions. country. Alden Richards, on the other Cerilles was in Sharon Cuneta’s hand, is the sixth most searched male camp in the local edition of the talent personality in 2016. The list, which show. She was later eliminated during puts President Rodrigo Duterte the Sing-Off round when Cuneta as no. 1, is dominated by Korean picked Antonetthe Tismo, who superstars Song Joong Ki (no. 2) and ended as the season’s first runner-up.

Gong Yoo (no. 4).

In second spot is another young Meanwhile, in the “Who is…?” Alden and Maine, apart from Pia Wurtzbach, are the only local Filipino talent named Lukas Janisch. search category, the search term “who celebrities that made it to Google Philippines’ list of most The 13-year-old Filipino-Austrian is Aldub?” ranked second to Harley searched male and female personalities won The Voice Kids Germany earlier Quinn, the fictional supervillain this year and during the blind audition, appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, and in he sang his own rendition of Alicia Keys’ 2001 hit “Fallin’,” while the box office hit film, The Death Squad. he’s on the piano.

Alden and Maine made headlines early this month when GMA The video uploaded by the channel on Dec. 16, completes the list of Network announced that the onscreen couple would finally star in best blind audition for The Voice Kids with franchises in Peru, Lebanon, a television series, the only project that they can’t include in their Russia, Brazil, Vietnam, Ukraine, Thailand, Germany and Indonesia. resume yet as a love team. The two are set to star in their very first It’s fun watching the video because it tells us how Filipino talents primetime series, Destined To Be Yours scheduled next year. can go head to head with the rest of the world. The only downside If in case this primetime soap would be successful and generate of the video is, it also tells us how cheap looking the set for the local interest among TV viewers, AlDub will likely still dominate 2017, franchise is compared to the franchises mentioned above.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Wednesday, December 28, 2016

ACROSS 1 Decrees 6 Spear, as a fish 10 Letter opener 14 Birdbath slime 15 Felipe or Matty 16 Indigo plant 17 Dainty ornament 18 Fix, as lipstick 19 Blow a — 20 Fashion accessory 21 Cowardly (hyph.)

24 “Sweet” girl of song 26 Quarts, plus 27 Gold Medal org.

28 Feeling sad 30 Memento 33 Where to browse 34 Tall bird 37 Mars, to Plato 38 Writer — Ivins 39 Part of MIT 40 Keep fit 41 Flat-topped hill 42 Shade-loving plant 43 Grants 44 AKA Obi-Wan 45 On the shelves 48 It may face the rear (2 wds.)

52 Big change (2 wds.)

55 Suffix for forfeit 56 Au — (nanny) 57 Chits 58 Leg bone 60 Noted lava spewer 61 Director — Ephron 62 Slicker 63 It follows anything 64 Veld grazers 65 Deep Blue’s game DOWN 1 Earl “—” Hines 2 Old war story 3 Banded gem 4 Hull sealant 5 Marine mammal (2 wds.)

6 Attic end 7 Band together 8 Court jester 9 To no avail 10 Kind of pin 11 Desensitize 12 Chorus platform 13 Yukon transport 22 Ltd. cousin 23 Honchos 25 Rumors, perhaps 28 Whitman and Kelly 29 She, to Marie 30 — Mahal

31 Conquistador’s quest 32 Oktoberfest need 33 Dust particle 34 Annapolis grad 35 Wyo. clock setting 36 Ms. Hagen of films 38 Confusing 39 Charged particles 41 Composer — Bartok 42 Freethinker

43 Hooded snakes 44 Ka-pow!

45 Dismantle a tent 46 Groovy 47 Razorbacks 48 Homes for hombres 49 — Blake of jazz 50 Zodiac ram 51 Muscle injuries 53 Lake bird 54 Expert 59 Fritz, to himself

THE iconic rock band Journey, featuring the Philippines favorite son, Arnel Pineda, will perform Feb. 17, at SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds.

Tickets to the show are now on sale through SM Ticket Outlets or www.smtickets.com.

On the heels of being inducted into the prestigious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Journey returns to Manila for the first time since 2009. This concert will be with original members Neal Schon (lead guitarist) and Ross Valory (bass guitarist); Jonathan Cain (keyboardist), Steve Smith (drummer) and Arnel Pineda (lead vocalist). Steve Smith returned to the band last year, playing with the group for the first time since1998.

“This is a special concert for many reasons,” Pineda said. “ I’m so excited to perform again for my fellow Pinoys. It’s very special to me.” The show will be recorded for possible Pay-Per-View and VR. In 2007, Neal Schon discovered Pineda singing Journey covers on YouTube and that launched Pineda’s career as the new lead singer of the band. Since that time, Journey has created two new albums, toured four continents and performed for nearly four

million fans, earning the group Billboard’s prestigious “Legend of Live Award.” They’ve also been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Journey is one of the most popular rock bands of all time.

They have sold over 80 million albums worldwide, earning 19 Top 40 singles and 25 gold, platinum and multi-platinum albums.

They are also responsible for creating some of the most familiar sounds and lyrics in modern music history, with iconic hits such as “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’,” “Faithfully,” “Lights,” “Any Way You Want It,” “Stone In Love,” “Who’s Crying Now,” “Wheel In The Sky,” “Open Arms,” “Separate Ways,” “Only the Young,” “Be Good to Yourself,” and the top selling digital catalog track in history, “Don’t Stop Believin’.” VH1 named JOURNEY one of the top 100 artists of all time. Their Greatest Hits album is certified 15 timesPlatinum, bringing Journey into the elite club of Diamond-certified holders.

The Journey concert on Feb.17 is part of an Asian tour that also stops in Japan, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, S. Korea and Taiwan.

U.S. Marines with the children of Reach Youth Ministries

Holiday joy to youngsters ON DEC. 22, Ambassador Sung Kim and U.S. Marines from the Marine Security Guard Detachment from the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines distributed toys to children at Reach Youth Ministries, a local organization that provides educational, livelihood, and values formation programs to youth from the nearby San Andres Bukid communities.

U.S. Embassy employees and local businesses donated the toys as part of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots program.

The mission of the U. S. Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to less fortunate children.

The Toys for Tots Program is an annual tradition at the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines.

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016

NORA AUNOR

shines in ‘KABISERA’

PRIMERA ACTRIZ. Superstar Nora Aunor’s performance in “Kabisera” compensates the film’s amateurism direction and second rate screenplay

T

HERE is no doubt that Nora Aunor is the star ISAH V. RED of Kabisera, an entry to the annual Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) ongoing until the second of January next year.

Kabisera is inspired by true events in a family who fell victim to what is now known as EJK or extra judicial killings.

Aunor plays Mercy, wife of Ka Tunying (Ricky Davao), a barangay captain, executed summarily by policemen in a small town in a Southern Tagalog province, after being implicated in a bank robbery along with his son Andy (JC de Vera) who eventually was also killed by guys riding in tandem while on his way to his girlfriend’s house.

Mercy, with the help of a human rights lawyer (played

by Victor Neri), pursues legal means to clear the names of her husband and son.

Despite the fuzzy storyline, loosely woven plot, tentative direction, terrible musical scoring, and unintelligible editing, Aunor’s performance shines as the best element of this sophomoric work.

The superstar proves she is the country’s greatest actor – never mind if the material is second rate – and she strengthens the film’s weaknesses with her bravura performance.

I won’t discuss the shortcomings of the director and writers in crafting this film as I don’t want to sound like a professor hectoring students on their projects. But the film needs a major overhaul in so many

aspects – screenplay in particular and editing specifically. It also needs a major redraft of its characterology as well as plot development.

I know the guys behind this movie will justify that they did a film outside of the conventional cinema, but to make a film interesting and to move the audience and allow empathy for the characters, the narrative must be compelling enough to keep the audience at the edge of their seats.

Aunor drew several applauses from the audience in her performance, but that doesn’t make the film better.

Directors Arturo San Agustin and Real Florida tried their best to make Kabisera look spunky, but hampered by lackluster editing and unimpressive cinematography. While it has the advantage of competent performers – Ricky Davao, JC de Vera, and Jason Abalos – among the cast, but they failed to tighten the screenplay to make their presence more memorable than just giving them minutes for some melodramatic pauses.

And Mercy’s move to sit at the dining table’s kabisera, which could have been a scene to mark a significant plot development, gets lost in the melodrama as she exhorts his children to be cooperative in

her pursuit of justice. *** Team Yey! leads in reminding kids that Christmas is more than just the season of gift giving in the Christmas campaign, “Happy Ang Pasko, Basta Sama-Sama Tayo” of ABS-CBN TVplus’ Yey!.

The video, seen on the all-day children’s channel on digital TV, features kids of all ages sharing what Christmas means for them based on their experiences.

Some of the kids expressed that Christmas is all about love for the family. AJ, who hosts the Team Yey! Segment, “Galaw Go!,” said that Christmas time is a season when his whole family is complete.

Meanwhile, Raven, who hosts storytelling sessions every Friday, together with other Team Yey members – Sofia and Alyssa – echo AJ’s sentiment. All kids mentioned that Christmas turns

enjoy watching value-laden and action-packed adventures in Superbook Re-imagine Season 2, 6 a.m. every weekend . Fun movies like Cloudy with the Chance of Meatballs 2 (Dec. 31) will be shown on Kidzine, Yey’s weekend movie block.

To watch Yey!’s “Happy Ang Pasko, Basta Sama-Sama Tayo,” visit and subscribe to the Yey Channel on Youtube. For more information on the shows on Yey!, follow Yey on Facebook (facebook.com/Yeychannel). *** Gabbi Garcia and Ruru Madrid won’t let go even after the heartbreaking scene of the characters –Alena and Ybarro – they play in Encantadia in a recent episode.

That scene had many fans wiping tears from their eyes, so Gabbi and Ruru made a pact before the GabRu fans that they will never let go of each other.

Multi-awarded filmmaker Brillante Mendoza to direct made-fortelevision movies for TV5

Ruru Madrid and Gabbi Garcia

THE TEAM YEY! squad reminds kids that Christmas is more than just a season of gift giving

into one special occasion when family reunions happen during the holidays.

Other children also reminisced their best Christmas memories such as caroling, baking cookies, and seeing streets turn festive because of the Christmas lanterns.

“Yey!’s Christmas campaign affirms the belief that Filipino children don’t view Christmas purely as a season of gift giving and grand celebrations. Love for family remains as a core value that children cherish and I am glad that this was manifested in their heartfelt answers,” Yey! channel Head Danie SedillaCruz said.

She also remarked that the Christmas campaign aims to make Filipino children realize that time spent with family makes Christmas more meaningful.

“A simple Christmas can also be happy and memorable. We want kids to always remember that,” Sedilla-Cruz added.

For the holidays, kids can

That vow they made while singing a cover of James Arthur’s “Say You Won’t Let Go.” The pair even posted it on their respective social media accounts. That allayed GabRu’s fans’ fear that the pair is going their separate ways. That post has now reached a quarter of a million views on Facebook. * ** TV5 is bringing another first to Philippine free television.

After its unmatched sports coverage of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) season, fearless news reporting segments and its unique Tagalized versions of popular US television series, it will now give the Filipino audience the brilliance of a worldclass director right in their homes.

On Dec. 19, TV5 proudly announced its collaboration with acclaimed director Brillante Ma. Mendoza for Brillante Mendoza Presents. The show will feature made-for-television movies created exclusively for TV5.

The name Brillante Mendoza is synonymous with excellent

films that reflect the unfiltered realities of society. Viewers can expect the same quality of storytelling and craftsmanship in Brillante Mendoza Presents.

For TV5, this is a testament to their commitment to provide viewers with shows that raise the level of free TV entertainment.

Mendoza has been making the rounds of international film festivals since his first movie Masahista in 2005. He is the only Filipino to have won Best Director in the prestigious Cannes Film Festival for his feature film Kinatay, a story of a young man who suddenly finds himself in a criminal syndicate.

Most recently, his film about a small-time drug dealer in dire need of bail money, Ma’ Rosa, earned a Best Actress award for the Jaclyn Jose at the Cannes Film Festival.

His success in the international arena has given so much pride for the Philippines. With Brillante Mendoza Presents, TV5 is giving the director another space to feature his work and reach out to Filipinos from all walks of life.

The stories will be authentic and unique, definitely a far cry from the usual TV dramas.

Brillante Mendoza Presents will air once a month starting January on TV5. Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind opportunity to watch the work of a true film master.

Tune in to TV5 for more updates on this new program. * ** Last Monday, the ultimate squad goals of the 90s returned to fight against evil spirits that put the mortal world at risk.

Join Eugene, Alfred, Dennis and Vincent as Ghost Fighter returns to the Kapuso Network to share a few lessons on friendship, compassion, and teamwork.

This animated series begins when Eugene, a good-for-nothing gangster, sends the afterlife gods in shock after saving a child from a car accident that eventually takes his own life. Now undecided whether to put Eugene in heaven or hell, the son of the afterlife’s king Jericho appoints Eugene as the Detective of the Underworld.

Together with his friends, Eugene will be battling with anything and anyone that could compromise both the mortal and spiritual world’s safety.

Join their adventures on GMA Astig Authority 8 a.m. weekday mornings.

The well-loved characters in the 90s anime Ghost Fighter