Manila Standard - 2017 January 10 - Tuesday

Devotees defy terror threat, sizzling weather

VOL. XXX • NO. 332 • 4 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2017 • www.thestandard.com.ph • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

THRONGS of Catholic devotees braved sizzling weather and terrorist fears on Monday in a frenzied bid to touch a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ that is believed to have miraculous powers.

The annual procession of the Black Nazarene, which police said attracted more than one-million people, is one of the world’s biggest displays of Catholic devotion and showcases the Philippines’ status as the Church’s bastion in Asia.

Many Filipinos believe touching or getting close to the life-sized statue, which was brought to the Philippines in the early 1600s when the nation was a Spanish colony, can lead to the healing of otherwise incurable ailments and other good fortune.

“If you seek a favor it will be granted as long as you pray hard,” Lolit Gonzales, 45, said as she sat on the Next page

HEAVING FAITH. Catholic devotees fence in the carriage of the Black Nazarene which left the bayside Quirino Grandstand Monday morning for

the nearly day-long journey to the Quiapo Church, three kms away, with some 1.1-million devotees, by police estimates, lining the city streets. Medical caregivers attend to devotees who are either injured or unconscious (left top) while streetsweepers from the Metro Manila Development Authority and the Manila City Hall (left below) clear the vicinity of the Quirino Grandstand. Norman Cruz/Andrew Rabulan

Terror group rises from jihadist ashes DIWM, allies hatching bomb plots—general

By Florante S. Solmerin

Romero not immune from arrest, says House

By Christine F. Herrera PARTY-list Rep. Michael Romero is not immune from arrest even while Congress is in session, a House leader said Monday.

At the same time, the House is set to probe the Securities and Exchange Commission for allowing the transaction between Romero and Ramon Ang-owned San Miguel Corp. on the sale of the Romero-owned Manila North Harbor Port Inc. while there was an ongoing ownership dispute between Romero and his father Reghis Romero II.

“Mikee (Romero) loses his immunity from arrest because the arrest warrant was issued over a non-bailable offense.

Even if the House is in session, the leadership cannot stop authorities from serving the warrant for his arrest.

“The congressmen and senators’ immunity from arrest works only when the offenses are punishable by imprisonment of six years and one day and below.

Therefore, the House cannot protect Mikee,” the source, who requested anonymity, told the MaNext page nila Standard.

‘Auring’ weakens, leaves 1 dead; Bicol seen rainy CEBU CITY―A 15-year-old girl drowned Monday morning after the floodwaters brought by tropical cyclone “Auring” swept her away in Landahan village in Toledo City some 50 kilometers west of Cebu City, an official said.

The body of Hannah Bea Villaflores was recovered in Sitio Angkay at 11:40 a.m. about three kilometers from where she was swept away, said Alexander Abel-

la, disaster management officer of Toledo City. ”The flood was already chesthigh and she was washed away by the strong current,” Abella said.

He quoted witnesses as saying that the girl lost her balance and hurt her head before she disappeared into the water.

At least 20 families had been evacuated to the Barba Sports Next page

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ECURITY officials are closely monitoring a new umbrella organization of Mindanaobased terrorist groups, police and military sources told the Manila Standard Monday.

Called Dawlatul Islamiyah whose leader, Mohammad Jaafar Waliyatul Masrik, the group re- Maguid, was killed on Jan. 5. places Ansar Khilafa Philippines, “We’ve been monitoring the

Vice President Leni Robredo

TRUST in Vice President Leni Robredo remained high even after slipping seven points to 58 percent during the last quarter of 2016, the latest Pulse Asia survey showed.

The Fourth Quarter Ulat ng Bayan survey of Pulse Asia, contwitter.com/ MlaStandard

Fighters, the Maute group, AKP, and even “lost command” groups of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front were pulling together to launch bomb attacks.

“Their ultimate objective is to be recognized by the daesh [Islamic State] as a member or affiliate organization under the name DIWM here in the Philippines,” another security officer from the Next page police said.

Duterte’s frat brod top fiscal

By Rey E. Requejo NEWLY designated Prosecutor General Victor Sepulveda on Monday vowed to inventory all the cases being handled by the National Prosecution Service and to be updated on them.

“I intend to meet with the senior deputy prosecutors to brief me on what is going on especially on the pending cases,” Sepulveda told reporters.

He replaced Makati Chief Prosecutor Jorge Galvez Catalan Jr. who was designated NPS officer-in-charge after Prosecutor General Claro Arellano took a leave of absence, and before taking over his new post as head of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration at the request of Labor Secretary SilNext page vestre Bello III.

TENTACLES OF TERRORISM. Security authorities are closely monitoring the formation of a new umbrella terror group called Dawlatul Isamiyah Waliyatul Mastrik which officials say consists of existing local terror groups based in Mindanao.

Natl Treasures Award for 3 tribals

By John Paolo Bencito THREE artists in Mindanao were conferred the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan or National Living Treasures Award by President Rodrigo Duterte for being at the forefront of the practice, preservation and promotion of the nation’s folk arts.

Leni’s ratings sag, post-resignation

By John Paolo Bencito

formation of this new group for several months already through continuous intelligence gathering and comparing our assessments with the assessments of some independent experts on terrorism,” a military general who spoke on condition of anonymity said.

Intelligence reports said bombers from the Abu Sayyaf group, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom

ducted from Dec. 6 to 11 or days after Robredo’s announcement of her resignation as Housing secretary, revealed that the Vice President’s latest trust ratings suffered a four-point drop from 65 percent last September to 58 percent by December.

Robredo’s approval rating also fell four points to 62 percent in

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December from 66 percent in September. Those undecided about her performance rose to 23 percent, while those who expressed disapproval were at 16 percent.

A Social Weather Stations survey earlier showed a double-digit decline in Robredo’s approval rating, from 49 in September to 37 in December.

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In his Proclamation No. 126 issued on Jan. 6, Duterte conferred the award to Yabing Masalon Dulo, Ambalang Ausalin and Estelita Tumandan Bantilan. They will receive an initial grant of P100,000, a medallion and P14,000 in lifetime stipend per month.

Dulo, a B’laan ikat weaver from

South Cotabato, was awarded for her commitment to the safeguarding and promotion of the B’laan mabal tabih or ikat-weaving tradition.

Ausalin, a Yakan tapestry weaver from Lamitan, Basilan, was recognized for her commitment to the safeguarding and Next page

‘Lenileaks’ oust-Du30 plot doomed—Esperon

By John Paolo Bencito NATIONAL Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon on Monday warned that any plot to oust President Rodrigo Duterte would not succeed as a barrage of leaked e-mails suggested the existence

of such a scheme.

“To those who want to oust the President, just stop it,” Esperon said in Filipino during a radio interview, saying public support for Duterte remained very high.

In a separate interview, Esperon Next page

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Vanity tax on ‘lipo’ eyed

By Maricel V. Cruz

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HREE lawmakers on Monday backed a measure seeking to impose a 10- to 30-percent excise tax on cosmetic products and services such as liposuction, facelifts and noselifts.

Reps. Rodolfo Albano III of Isabela, Raneo Abu of Batangas, and Winston Castelo of Quezon City supported the proposal of Rep. Rodel Batocabe, president of the Party-List Coalition, to impose a vanity tax instead of increasing the tax on petroleum products that he said would only hurt the poor.

“I support the aesthetic tax and other taxes like the tax on sweetened beverages because these products are usually used or consumed by those who are in the higher-income earners,” Abu said in support of Batocabe’s proposal.

Batocabe says people who want to be “attractive, goodlooking and gorgeous” should

pay for the cost.

Abu says an excise tax on fuel will affect all sectors and will have a ripple effect on products and services that will mostly affect the low-income earners and the poor.

“Public transportation and goods will be hit the most,” he said.

Albano said the proposal to increase the tax on gasoline and imposing a 6-pesos-per-liter levy on diesel, kerosene, cooking gas and bunker fuel should no longer be entertained as it would burden the poor.

“We should push for the vanity tax because that is what we call tax on luxury,” Albano said.

Castelo said ordinary peo-

ple and hardworking employees should not be paying higher taxes.

“Instead, we should take a second look at the people engaging in vanity,” Castelo said.

Batocabe said people should pay for the cost of being physically beautiful as an alternative to imposing more taxes on petroleum products to generate P180 billion a year.

House leaders earlier said 180 billion a year was more than enough to offset the P130 billion projected to be incurred from the proposed reduction in individual income tax rates.

The government is seeking to increase the excise tax on gasoline to P10 from P4.35 per liter.

Leni’s...

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The period covered by the latest Pulse Asia survey did not include the possible effects of criticism against the Vice President for being out of the country to attend a family reunion while a powerful typhoon punished her hometown in Bicol.

The approval ratings of other government officials remained high, with Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III at 55 percent, with 36 percent saying they were undecided and 9 percent expressing disapproval. Trust in Pimentel remained high at 50 percent.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes A. Sereno had an approval rating of 47 percent, while House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez garnered 43 percent.

Approval and trust in the Senate remained high at 58 percent and 57 percent, respectively. The House approval and trust ratings were both at 51 percent, while the Supreme Court had a 55 percent approval and 53 percent trust rating.

The latest poll, with 1,200 adult respondents has a ±3 percent error margin at the 95 percent confidence level.

Natl...

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‘Lenileaks’...

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said the accusations hurled against Duterte in the leaked emails did not hold water.

“Look at these, what are their charges? They are insinuating [that Duterte should resign] because he cannot fix the drug problem and is asking for a three-month extension.”

In America, he said, the drug war has gone on for decades.

“Don’t be in a rush,” he said.

“Voters voted for the President because they wanted somebody to forcefully face the problem.”

He also said they would have to check the veracity of the alleged leak e-mails, which were first circulated on social media by pro-Duterte bloggers.

The leaked e-mails purportedly show exchanges among critics

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He said the bomb attacks in Davao City, Hilongos in Leyte, Midsayap in North Cotabato, and the foiled Manila bombing are interconnected.

“All those arrested perpetrators from all these incidents spoke of the formation of he DIWM. In fact, they came from different groups such as the Maute, Abu Sayyaf, AKP, and have backgrounds from the BIFF and MILF,” he said.

An Abu Sayyaf leader, Isnilon Hapilon, started the group in Basilan in February 2016, with a pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State.

On Monday, the Philippine National Police said it is closely monitoring five to 10 foreigners who are allegedly conducting training in terrorist camps in Mindanao.

At a press conference Monday, PNP chief Dir. Gen. Ronald dela Rosa said there might be more foreign nationals but said they would be difficult to identify as such if they were Malays.

Also on Monday, Armed Forces chief Gen. Eduaro Año said the military was using a new approach to combatting

Duterte’s...

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Sepulveda has been a govern prosecutor for 29 years. He is a fraternity brother of Duterte and Aguirre in Lex Talionis and an old friend of the Dutertes.

There are six cases pending against former Justice secretary

Devotees...

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LIGHT AND EASY. President Rodrigo Duterte enjoys a light moment with members of his Cabinet before their 10th meeting at the State Dining Room in Malacañan Palace on Jan. 9, 2017. Toto Lozano cyclone’s onslaught.

The weather bureau said “AuFrom A1 ring” weakened into a low-pressure area around 8 a.m. Monday Complex in Toledo City as of while some 40 kilometers east of noon on Monday following the Mactan in Cebu.

But weather forecaster Robb Gile said “Auring” will still bring moderate to heavy rain to the Bicol region, Samar, Calabarzon, Mindoro, Marinduque and Romblon. PNA

Congress resumes its sessions on Monday, Jan. 16, after a month-long holiday break.

The Standard tried but failed to reach Romero for comment since Sunday. Even his congressional staff claimed not to know Romero’s whereabouts.

On Jan. 6, a Manila regional trial court issued an arrest warrant against Romero for allegedly stealing P3.4 million from his family-owned Harbour Centre Port Terminal Inc. The two-page order was issued by Manila RTC Branch 11 Judge Cicero Jurado Jr., who did not allow bail for Romero and two of his co-accused, Edwin Jeremillo and Felicia Aquino, for qualified theft.

On Jan. 5, A Quezon City Regional Trial Court also issued a ruling barring Romero from claiming ownership of his family-owned HCPTI. Romero has lost the protracted legal battle to his father, construction magnate Reghis Romero II, who sued his estranged son for allegedly falsifying ownership of the port facility.

In a 12-page order, Branch 222 Presiding Judge Edgar Santos ordered Romero and his affiliates, as well as their agents, employees and successors-in-interest to stop acting on behalf of HCPTI as shareholder or member of the board of directors of the MNHPI. The order exposes some possible challenges in the ownership of Manila North Harbor Port Inc., which has been taken over by conglomerate San Miguel Corp.

SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said the group now controls a 78.33-percent interest in the contested port terminal firm.

Prior to the transaction, MNHPI was 65 percent owned

by HCPTI and 35 percent by San Miguel-owned Petron Corp.

SMC eventually acquired an additional 43.44-percent stake.

Santos, in his Jan. 5 order, also prohibited Romero and other respondents in the case from exercising any rights as the board of HCPTI and from representing themselves as the duly authorized representatives, with the power to act for and on behalf of Harbour Terminal, including any sale, transfer or disposition of its assets and shares.

The court said it was inclined

to believe that the 2011 deeds of assignments, which were used by the younger Romero’s camp to represent themselves as the rightful majority shareholders of Harbour Terminal, were forged.

“Such infirmities create serious doubt at this stage as to the authenticity of the said deeds. In view thereof, the Court deems at this stage that plaintiffs R-II Builders Inc. and R-II Holdings Inc. [of Reghis Romero], as the majority holders prior to the execution of the deeds of assignment, have established clear rights to be protected,” read Santos’ order.

The House leader chided the SEC “for sleeping on the job” and would be compelled to come up with strategies that would protect all stakeholders and stockholders of publicly listed SMC and Petron that would be affected by the court ruling.

“The SEC was sleeping on the job. It has a lot of explaining to do. They better make sure that no workers and stakeholders will be displaced by the transaction that was apparently consummated while the ownership dispute was ongoing. It is the job of the SEC to protect the interests of the public that would be affected by the sale transaction,” the source said.

of the President on how to drum up support for the “Duterte Resign” call of the Global Filpino Diaspora Council.

Among those included in the conversation were billionaire Fil-Am lobbyist Loida NicolasLewis, Nicolas-Lewis’ sister Commission on Filipinos Overseas chairwoman Imelda Nicolas, CFO Commissioner Jose Molano Jr., Inquirer US Bureau columnist Ted Laguatan, ABSCBN Europe News Bureau correspondent Gene Alcantara, and Northern Europe civil society leader Filomenita Mongaya Hogsholm.

Although Vice President Leni Robredo is not among those who posted a message to the group, the leaked e-mails have been dubbed “Lenileaks,” presumably because she would be installed as President if Duterte is ousted.

Nicolas-Lewis, whom Duterte

identified as one of the moving forces behind a plan to launch protest rallies against his administration, urged him to resign after his decision to ease out the vice president and failing to keep his promise to rid the country of drugs and criminality “in three to six months.”

In a statement, Nicolas-Lewis denied accusations that there is a conspiracy to unseat Duterte.

“Dissent is not equivalent to a plot or conspiracy. Since when has criticism become an element of sedition?” Nicolas-Lewis said.

“First: No plot to oust Duterte. Resign Duterte Movement is based on President Duterte’s own words that he would resign if drugs are still rampant six months after his inauguration.”

“Second, Global Filipino Diaspora Council is a public site.

If there is a conspiracy, would it be discussed in a public

page?” she added.

“In a democracy, opinions of varying shades, either praise or criticism, are a staple ingredient of a vibrant democracy,” she said.

Duterte had earlier issued a warning that he would soon get even with his critics, as soon as he finished addressing the country’s pressing problems.

On Sunday, a Palace official said the so-called Lenileaks wouldn’t be investigated, but hours later, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said he would raise the alleged ouster plot during the Cabinet meeting set Monday.

Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco played down the need to investigate the supposed ouster plot.

“Let’s just not dignify these [ouster plots.] Because you’ll legitimize these,” he told Palace reporters. With Rey E. Requejo

‘Auring’...

Romero...

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promotion of the Yakan tennun or tapestry-weaving tradition.

Bantilan, a B’laan mat weaver from Sarangani, was recognized for her commitment to the safeguarding and promotion of the B’laan igem or matweaving tradition.

The State’s recognition of such sociocultural contributions was formalized in 1992 through Republic Act 7355 or the Manlilikha ng Bayan Act. The awardees will also be granted a maximum cumulative amount of P750,000 in medical and hospitalization benefits as well as funeral assistance similar to those received by National Artists.

The main objective of the award is to honor and support traditional folk artists and to see to it that their skills and crafts are preserved. The award is tied with a program that ensures the transfer of their skills to new generations and the promotion of the craft locally and internationally.

In 2014, the Senate adopted Resolution 765 recognizing the accomplishments of the country’s living treasures.

Terror...

sidewalk after taking her turn pulling on a thick length of rope that moved the statue’s carriage forward.

The manicurist attributed the healing two years ago of a painful right knee, which her doctor had told her required surgery and medicine that she could not afford, to taking part in the procession at that time.

Gonzales said she had returned on Monday to ensure her knee ailment did not recur, since she had no health insurance and was the only breadwinner in her family.

The pilgrims walked Manila’s concrete streets as the temperature climbed above 30 degrees Celsius without footwear as a sign of penance and to imitate a barefoot Jesus carrying the cross before he was crucified.

The statue is called the Black Nazarene because of its charred color, believed to have occurred when it survived a fire aboard a ship when being brought to the Philippines from Mexico.

Replica crosses and other religious icons and images followed the cross carriage six abreast, borne on the back of trucks, atop pedicabs and manually drawn carriages in an extremely slow procession that was expected to last into the night.

One small truck carried nuns in white robes sprinkling holy water on the sweaty pilgrims and reciting the Holy Rosary prayer in Spanish.

Such extreme forms of worship are a hallmark of the Philippines which is 80 percent Roman Catholic, a legacy of four centuries of Spanish colonialism that ended in 1898.

President Rodrigo Duterte often gives conflicting signals about his religious convictions and criticizes the Church’s leaders, but he offered encouragement on Monday to those involved in the procession.

“Prayers are likely answered because we do not give up or get tired from asking God for the fulfillment of our heart’s desires,” Duterte said.

“Such is the phenomenal expression of faith of the millions of devotees in the form of gratitude, petition, and sacrifice shown in the image of the Black Nazarene every feast day on the 9th of January every year.”

This year’s event was held under the threat of Islamic militant attacks, with authorities reporting more than 5,700 police had been deployed to provide security.

National police chief Ronald

terrorists by neutralizing their top leaders.

Ano would not offer any specifics, but said the new approach would “finish this problem once and for all.”

Last week, a Sudanese national, Abu Naila, believed to be bound for Syria to fight for the Islamic State together and his wife Kadija were killed in a shootout with security forces on the outskirts of Sarangani province.

His death followed the killing of Maguid at a beach resort in Sarangani province.

At present, Año said they had been 51 battalions deployed to different areas of Mindanao, the biggest military contingent that has been amassed on the island.

“Not in our history has there been this massive deployment of our troops, but we are going to make sure that our campaign against the Abu Sayyaf will not be prolonged and we wanted this to finish it,” Año said.

Año said they have intensified its intelligence operations while drawing on community support to provide information on terrorists in their locality.

“We are encouraging the community to help us by reporting suspicious-looking… people in their locality,” Año said.

With Francisco Tuyay, PNA and now Senator Leila De Lima before the Justice department, where the panel of prosecutors have submitted five of the six cases for resolution while one has been filed before the Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court.

Sepulveda said they will resolve cases on a first-come, first-served basis and not on whether or not it is high-profile. dela Rosa had said repeatedly in recent days that extremists who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group may try to stage an attack.

A separatist rebellion in the south has claimed more than 120,000 lives since the 1970s, but the major rebel groups are now involved in peace talks with the government and no longer waging armed conflict.

Small hardline groups, however, still carry out attacks, particularly against Catholics.

The most recent was a bomb blast at a crowded market in Duterte’s hometown of Davao in September last year that killed 15 people.

Police said some 1.2 million devotees joined the procession at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park at about 5:30 a.m., but added that this was expected to rise to as much as 3.5 million later in the day.

The procession, called “Traslacion,” was expected to end in Quiapo Church at midnight of Jan. 9 and 10, or early Tuesday.

Hundreds of policemen and soldiers secured areas along the route of the procession.

The National Telecommunications Commission had also told telecommunications companies to shut down cellphone signals in parts of Manila, based on the request of the Philippine National Police as part of the security measures for the Traslacion.

Police said that there were no direct threat to the Traslacion even as they called on the devotees to be vigilant.

The Philippine Red Cross said it has attended to more than 1,239 devotees who suffered various ailments and injuries during the procession.

A pregnant woman was assisted by the Red Cross, while five people needed to be taken to nearby hospitals for treatment.

In his homily during the early Mass at the Quirino Grandstand, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle called on the devotees of the Black Nazarene to focus on loving and serving others.

“Love is not just an emotion.

Love is not just an idea. It translates to service. This is what unites us,” he said.

He also asked the people to stop judging others, in line with the Traslacion’s theme of love and unity.

“Division is often the fruit of judgment. And if we are always like this, we never attain unity because there is no ability to say that we are no different from each other,” the prelate said. Sandy Araneta, Vito Barcelo, AFP

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PNP eyes 2 brand new choppers for mobility

By Francisco Tuyay THE Philippine National Police is eyeing two brand new helicopters in its inventory in what police observers said was an apparent attempt to boost its anti-criminality campaign to enhance mobility during emergency situations in Metro Manila and adjoining provinces.

PNP Chief Ronald dela Rosa revealed the plans hours after the yearly “traslacion” of the Black Nazarene kicked-off Monday at the bayside Luneta Granstand.

Dela Rosa was monitoring the security atmosphere on the Black Nazarene procession inside Camp Crame while wishing he could oversee overhead the entire situation.

“How I wish I had a helicopter to make a fly-over at the crowd in the Traslacion of the Black Nazarene,” Dela Rosa told reporters.

The PNP has deployed thousands of policemen in Manila, particularly at the periphery of the Black Nazarene entourage, to ensure peace, order and stability.

Dela Rosa had high hopes for the planned acquisition of the two helicopters, included in the budgetary program requirement of the institution for 2017.

“I’m very hopeful that eventually we could buy the two helicopters,” Dela Rosa said.

He said the acquisition had been discussed and submitted for approval during last year’s 2017 budgetary deliberations at the Senate which in turn got affirmative and favorable response from Senators J.V Ejercito Estrada and Ralph Recto.

“We are very thankful to our senators in trying to have the PNP [acquire the] two helicopters,” Dela Rosa said.

The PNP submitted to Congress last year a proposed budget amounting to P110.4 billion, 24.6 percent higher than its 2016 budget, that included hiring of more personnel, purchase of guns and patrol vehicles to intensify its suppression of criminality.

Dela Rosa, however, failed to give detailed specifications on the choppers .

In 2013, the PNP included in its shopping list two attack helicopters designed to suppress insurgency and terrorism during the Aquino administration, but fell short of it target date.

PRINCIPAL SPONSORS. President Rodrigo Duterte and former president, now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, on the center aisle of Sanctuario de San Jose in Mandaluyong City on Sunday as principal sponsors during the wedding ceremony of Gonzalito Nicolo Duque and Kristel Anne Marie Bejar.

Tagle calls on drug users, pushers never to lose hope

By Vito Barcelo

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MID the rising number of victims of extrajudicial killings, Manila Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle called on drug users and pushers who voluntarily surrendered to the authorities “not to waste” God’s blessing of hope.

As drug-related violence shows no sign of stopping, the Catholic hierarchy, the Catholic bishops, have spoken with one voice, saying deaths from summary killings were cause for mourning.

According to police records, more than 5,000 people have been killed since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office six momnths ago, and about 1,400 were drug suspects killed in police operations and the rest by unknown assailants.

The Manila Cardinal also urged drug addicts to reform and to look to Christ, for only He could bring lasting fulfillment.

“God wanted to accept us all. I hope that we will not waste the blessing He is giving us,” Cardinal Tagle said.

“Don’t be afraid. Come to Him. Don’t be indifferent,” Tagle said.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said drug addicts must be given a

chance to reform because they too were “children of God equal in dignity with the sober ones.”

“Drug addicts are sick brethren in need of healing … deserving of new life not death,” according to CBCP president Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said, adding “they are patients begging for recovery.”

“They may have behaved as scum and rubbish, but the saving love of Jesus Christ is first and foremost for them. No man or woman is ever so unworthy of God’s love,” he added.

The prelate also called on those caught in the chains of drug addiction “not to be afraid” and to reform themselves.

“Dead in their addictions, ‘living dead’ in the eyes of an unforgiving world, we bid our addicted brethren to rise up and live again,” he said.

Tagle said dozens of reformed drug addicts were provided help by the Fazenda da Esperanza (Farms of Hope), a Catholic drug rehabilitation farm, and other surrenderers who were still undergoing rehabilitation.

The Cardinal said the church launched the “Sanlakbay Para sa Pagbabagong Buhay” program, the Manila archdiocese’s response to the thousands of drug users who voluntary surrendered to the police authorities.

The cardinal added the Farms of Hope is a community-based approach to help drug dependents where they could slowly be integrated back into society.

“No person will be discarded

by Jesus. Every person is welcome to follow the light and hope. Every life has hope,” he added.

100-day maternity leave Leftists need not fear ‘Kapayapaan’—AFP with 30-day orbit pushed

By Maricel V. Cruz HOUSE leaders rallied behind the swift approval on second reading of a proposed law seeking to grant 100-day maternity leave with 30-day extension for those pregnant women working in public and private sectors.

Reps. Yedda Marie Kittilstvedt Romualdez of Leyte and Emmeline Aglipay-Villar of the Democratic Independent Workers’ Association party-list, hoped the House leadership would be able to prioritize the passage of the measure when Congress resumes session on Jan. 16.

“The swift passage of the proposal is very important to many women who are about to give birth. This is a very important measure that deserves the support of Congress. This would definitely give ample time for mothers to nurture, take care and breastfeed their newborns for the first 100 days,” Romualdez, one of the principal authors of the measure, said.

The proposed measure increases the maternity leave of pregnant worker from 60 days to 100 days, with 30day extension without pay.

Romualdez said the bill, once enacted, would provide better benefits to ordinary working women.

“It is really difficult to recover, especially if the delivery is through caesarian, I can relate to this experience,” said Romualdez, a mother of four and who

gave birth to her daughter Maddey through caesarian delivery.

For her part, Aglipay-Villar, chairman of the House committee on women and gender equality, said the House leadership had the full backing of the prowomen measure that had been approved at the committee level.

The House committee on women and gender equality endorsed the measure for plenary consideration.

For their part, Reps. Raneo Abu of Batangas and Robert Barbers of Surigao del Norte also supported the measure.

“Considering the challenges of traveling with our current traffic situation, especially for the expectant and new mothers in the major cities of the country, I fully support the timely bill,” Abu, a deputy speaker, said.

“This bill should provide those mothers with ample transition time to regain health and overall wellness as well as to assume their maternal roles before resuming full-time work,” he added.

Barbers said the proposed expanded maternity benefits should be given to women who just gave birth.

“I will support the expanded maternity benefits as this will give due protection to our women, especially the working pregnant...who have to contend with the challenges of bearing children up to delivery and post pregnancy,” Barbers said.

LEFTIST groups, especially those desirous of genuine peace and development, have nothing to fear from Development Support and Security Plan “Kapayapaan,” said Armed Forces of the Philippines chief-of-staff Gen. Eduardo Año.

“Kapayapaan” is the sequel of Internal Peace and Security Plan “Bayanihan” which formally ended last Dec. 31, after it was launched on Dec. 22, 2010.

“DSSP ‘Kapayapaan’ is the sequel of IPSP ‘Bayanihan’. While the ‘Bayanihan’s strategic approach is the whole-of-nation approach that focused on security aspect, the DSSP ‘Kapayapaan’ identified and included the AFP’ support to the challenges on governance, development and security,” Año stressed.

He also said IPSP “Bayanihan” brought in

good results as 71 out of the 76 provinces of the country were now peaceful and ready for further development.

“The strategic imperatives of Campaign Plan Kapayapaan includes the primacy of the peace process, with our roadmap for peaceful settlement to peace-inclined threat groups like CPP/NPA/ NDF, MILF and MNLF in addition to IPSP ‘Bayanihan’s stakeholder’s engagement, adherence to human rights, international humanitarian law and rule of law. The expanded purpose of DSSP “Kapayapaan” is linked with national vision and development plans of the national government,” he added.

The AFP chief stressed missions under DSSP “Kapayapaan” were purely to sustain the peace, ensure security and maintain public order.

DAY OF FUN. Christmas is extended to cancer-stricken children—thanks to the Cabinet Spouses

Association—of the Childhaus as Kuya Hans Sy and wife Carol Sy treat them to sumptuous lunch and snacks while shopping at the SM department store at the Mall of Asia in Pasay City Monday. Manny Palmero

IN BRIEF Court allows Jinggoy’s medical tests outside cell THE Sandiganbayan on Monday granted former Senator Jinggoy Estrada’s request for medical tests outside his detention cell in Camp Crame.

At a hearing, the anti-graft court granted Estrada’s motion to undergo the magnetic resonance imaging and X-ray for the pain on his left knee at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City.

Estrada said in his motion he was suffering from “patellofemoral pain syndrome” discovered by his doctor at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center after he complained of continuous pain and discomfort on his left knee.

Estrada’s doctor at Camp Crame then recommended the former senator might consider medical tests by another doctor.

Estrada is under detention for plunder charges over allegatios he amassed P183.793 million worth of kickbacks by allocating his Priority Development Assistance Fund or pork barrel from 2004 to 2012 to the fake non-government organizations allegedly owned by detained businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles, Estrada’s co-accused in the plunder rap. Maricel V. Cruz

Dismiss restoration of mega-dike, DPWH told THE activist fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas on Monday told the Department of Public Works and Highways to reject the revival of the mega dike project in Laguna de Bay, known as the Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike Project.

The LLEDP was one of the biggest projects of then President Benigno Aquino III under the Public-Private Partnership program, amounting to P122.8 billion.

The LLEDP has two proposed components—a 47-kilometer expressway dike from Muntinlupa, Taguig to Los Baños, Laguna; and the 700-hectare reclamation intended for commercial, residential and mixed use.

But the project was terminated early last year due to failed bidding accompanied by strong resistance from the Laguna lake fishers, settlers and other sectors concerned in the brackish lake.

Fisherfolk, residents, environmentalists and other concerned sectors oppose the project because this will pose grave threat to the fragile marine environment and species of the 90-thousand hectare lake.

Sandy Araneta

A4

Opinion

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2017

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

A so-called plot

T

HERE is a trail of correspondence linking groups affiliated with the previous administration and based in the United States to plans to seize power from President Rodrigo Duterte. The controversy now goes by the name Lenileaks, for the mere fact that the name of Vice President Leni Robredo is mentioned in the messages.

MANY try to make a big deal out of the supposed plot. The reason, it is said, is that Mr. Duterte has not made any progress in his fight against drugs despite the drastic measures— specifically the thousands killed—the administration

Adelle Chua, Editor

has taken in the past few months.

This kind of talk has been going on for months.

Apparently, even Filipinos living in other countries are dissatisfied with the brazen—abrasive—way Mr. Duterte has run the

nation since he took power more than six months ago.

Robredo herself has acknowledged her name was mentioned but denied any participation in the plot. The Vice President quit her Cabinet post after being told she should no longer attend regular meetings. While she was still alter ego of the President, Robredo made pronouncements that countered Mr. Duterte’s stand on various issues, creating a rift between the two top officials of the land.

Meanwhile, Palace officials played down any

threats from the supposed plot, confident that the President is much too popular to be ousted any time soon. A Pulse Asia survey last week said 83 percent of Filipinos trusted Duterte and approved of his performance.

Whether or not there is actually a plan, the fact is that this attitude of Filipinos has perhaps been responsible for our lack of continuity and inability to live with the leaders we chose in the first place.

Whatever our sentiments are about Mr. Duterte, he is proof that

democracy, however imperfect, still works in this country. He was duly elected by the most number of voters—16 million of them—representing a 38-percent plurality.

Perhaps his voters elected the idea of Duterte rather than the man himself, expecting him to be the nation’s savior. When he showed signs of imperfection, they wanted a change immediately. Those who did not vote for him, on the other hand, did not believe he could do anything right from the beginning. They, too, want him ousted for

their own agenda.

These ouster plots are thus a waste of time and resources. Mr. Duterte has not even made a dent in the national issues that should matter most— bringing sustained economic development, narrowing the income gap, eradicating the culture of entitlement and corruption. He has not even started to acknowledge the dangerous excesses to which he is prone— much less do anything about them. Must anyone be thrown out—and must we all start over?

EAGLE EYES TONY LA VIÑA

Gifts of three wise men

the anti-Duterte rallies supposedly orchestrated by Lewis. “We have supporters who have been reacting to our victimization and we have been at the receiving end of so much fake news; maybe this [scandal] is a reaction to [my supporters’ reaction],” she said.

I’m glad that both Lewis and Robredo finally decided to stop stonewalling on the controversy, even if they have yet to address the issue head-on. But right now, their non-answers are of a piece with the strange denial issued by yet another person identified in the controversy, who claimed that he received the emails in question but never opened or read them.

Doesn’t have to be true. You only have to come up with some sort of answer—any answer that comes to mind or is fed you, no matter how incredible.

If Robredo and Lewis are once again conjoined in controversy, nobody should be surprised anymore. As I’ve written earlier, the Bicolana politician

LAST weekend, to celebrate the feast of the Magi, the coming to Bethlehem of the three kings/ wise men to attend to the birth of Jesus Christ, I decided to treat myself and find peace by rereading books written by three of my philosophy professors, all Jesuit priests, at the Ateneo de Manila. Two of them—Francis Reilly and Thomas Green passed to eternal life years ago; one—Roque Ferriols—is all of 92 years old and recently published “Glimpses into my beginnings,” his memoirs of his early life as a Jesuit which coincided with World War II, the invasion of the Japanese, and the liberation in Manila. From these three wise and holy men, I received gifts of wisdom that I will carry with me through this New Year full of challenges.

Let me start with a story that Fr. Roque, the most brilliant Filipino I have ever met, recalls in Glimpses about an SVD missionary priest in Lubang Island, Mindoro, Fr. Benito Rixner. A Ferriols family friend, Fr. Rixner used to visit their home. According to Fr. Roque: “He was a simple priest, humble and charitable. He shared with us his experiences as a missionary. I remember that after each visit, and when he had returned to his mission, he always left us at peace with ourselves, a kind of silence that embraced us.”

Years later, after the liberation of Manila, Fr. Roque writes about his encounter with Fr. Rixner: “Rizal Avenue attracted droves of people. The city had awakened, and was buzzing with activities; business was flourishing, more shops and stores were catering to the needs of their customers on those days. The place was teeming with people, greeting each other when seeing each other accidentally, and one would hear various individuals saying, “You’re alive. Thank God!’ I was a Young Jesuit about to finish my juniorate. I was whiling away my time, looking at people walking down Rizal Avenue. In an instant, I saw a German priest that I have not seen in a long while and had not been part of my memory.

A light seemed to shine on me, “Fr. Rixner!” “Roque!” We shook each other’s hands and we were practically dancing on Rizal Avenue. When I returned home, and until now that I am writing this, I could still savor

Turn to A5

Turn to A5

When denials ring untrue LOWDOWN

JOJO A. ROBLES “DOESN’T have to be true,” according to a sister of the supposed financier of a plot to oust President Rodrigo Duterte, Imelda Nicolas, in one of the more memorable of the purported emails revealed in the raging #LeniLeaks controversy. “Just has to look that way.”

I remembered Nicolas’ admonition while I read the slick, diversionary response from the millionaire in New York City and the usual know-nothing reply from the beneficiary of the alleged plot from somewhere in the boonies.

Because about the only thing true that the two most important figures named in the scandal—Filipino-American heiress, lawyer, businesswoman, lobbyist and general busybody (but not, according to her, a plotter) Loida Nicolas

Lewis and Vice President Leni Robredo—did was to finally, if very obliquely, answer the charges hurled against them since Friday.

Lewis didn’t confront the issue directly, opting instead to insist on her right as an overseas Filipino to criticize the government. “Love of country is not limited to those who reside in the Philippines,” Lewis wrote in a Facebook post.

“A waiter on a cruise ship in the Caribbean, an accountant working with a New York City firm, a nurse caring for patients in the suburbs of London—we are all a part of the greater Philippine nation. Many of us had to leave our country to earn a living for ourselves and our families back home, but we did not leave behind our rights as Filipinos. Nor did we leave behind our love for our fellow countrymen. ” Lewis explained that it was out of “a spirit of caring and brotherhood that we speak out on developments in the Philippines. We will continue to do so because if we did not, we would be untrue to

who we are: Filipinos, like you.”

But the well-coiffed explanation failed to explain how Lewis was supposed to have used her New York office and secretary as a message center for anti-Duterte rallies that involved convincing heads of

If Robredo and Lewis are once again conjoined in controversy, nobody should be surprised anymore. prestigious schools in Manila and priests and religious to join, as the leaked correspondence alleged.

And how Lewis was supposed to

have coordinated with the staff of Robredo in the Office of the Vice President—something no ordinary overseas Filipino waiter, accountant or nurse could do—in order to express her caring and brotherhood after she publicly expressed her desire for Duterte to resign.

Doesn’t have to be true, Lewis must have been told by her expensive New York PR advisers—the same PR advisers believed to be feeding the US media the damaging publicity about the new Philippine government. Just has to look that way.

Robredo, on the other hand, also issued her first direct reply to the scandal yesterday. All the way from Marinduque, Robredo played the know-nothing victim to the absolute hilt.

“I don’t know what my participation is,” she said. “They say my name was mentioned, but I was not a member of the group [that was receiving emails and private messages]. ” Robredo evaded reports that her office (and the official funds spent for its upkeep) had been linked to

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Opinion TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

Why blame Bautista?

BEFORE the past year ended, Social Weather Stations came out with a survey that said eight out of 10 Filipinos lived in fear that they or their friends could be the next in President Duterte’s war on illegal drugs.

This clearly shows a climate of fear prevailing in the country!

But now comes another survey that says eight out of 10 Filipinos trust and approve of the President.

Aren’t these surveys contradictory?

How can people trust the President and yet live in fear at the same time?

I am not an expert, but I know that survey results depend on the questions themselves. This is why I think there must be a law governing surveys.

Aside from the results, survey takers should also publish the actual questions they asked the respondents. *** The so-called Comeleaks, where information on some 55-million voters were hacked in March last year, again made newspaper headlines a couple of weeks ago.

Actually, it was on December 29, 2016 that the Commission on Elections received the National Privacy Commission decision saying it had violated the Data Privacy Act of 2012. It also said that Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista committed a criminal act.

Because of this decision there was talk that the chairman could be impeached if he is found guilty.

But why indict the Comelec for the hacking of its Web site when it was the victim? And why single out the chairman when the agency is composed of seven commissioners? It is a collegial body and the chairman merely implements its decisions.

Records show that in the wake of data breach and hacking as a worldwide phenomenon, the Comelec was already following generally accepted standards and international best practices with regard to technologyrelated activities and services.

Records also show that in preparation for the May 2016 elections, specifically to prevent security breaches, the Comelec created a Task Force specifically to look into the website breach, designate Comelec resource persons to the NPC, instruct the executive director to comply with the reportorial requirements of the Data Privacy Act, and finally create and maintain a Voter Care Center.

In other words, the Comelec en banc showed good faith to the NPC by filing compliance reports as early as May 2015 with the assistance of the Department of Science and Technology- Information and Communications Technology Office, in coordination with the National Bureau of Investigation.

What strikes me as strange is that

the NPC says Chairman Bautista has sole responsibility for the data breach. But while these are important topics, they are best left to information technology experts. The Comelec is, after all, managed by seven lawyers.

I thus ask these questions on the logic of the NPC decision. If the IT specialists in Comelec are not found liable under the Data Privacy Act, what more the officials who merely oversee their work? So, if as Chairmam Bautista asks, there is a breach of the Supreme Court’s web site, will Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno be liable? *** Santa Banana, here we go again!

Last year, amid President bloody war against illegal drugs, Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa also vowed to go after illegal gambling operators nationwide.

They knew that drug lords are also gambling lords.

According to findings, illegal gambling is as pervasive and deeply rooted as illegal drugs. It has likewise corrupted local and national officials.

Now we again hear the Secretary of the Interior and Local Government saying they would go after the illegal gamblers who deprive the government of much needed revenue. The Philippine Charity Sweepst akes Office’s SmallTown Lottery was supposed to replace illegal gambling, but now it is as corrupt as ever.

Gambling operators are so brazen that in many localities, the winnings are broadcast three times a day. I am told parish priests get donations from such activities.

This is best left to information technology experts.

*** Last year, President Duterte tagged businessman Roberto V. Ongpin as an oligarch that must be destroyed. Ongpin resigned as chairman of PhilWeb. But Ongpin is no oligarch. In fact, he was persecuted for years by the Aquino administration.

Now Ongpin is pushing through with his plan for a state-of-the-art rehabilitation center in Atimonan, Quezon. It will be supported by the Balesin Island Club. Atimonan also has the big advantage of being reachable by land from Manila.

My gulay, if all those affluent Filipinos mentioned in Forbes Magazine would just do the same, we would have more than enough rehabilitation centers.

Bobby was my student at Ateneo High School. I am proud to have been his teacher. He is a businessman who believes in giving back to society and sharing his gifts to people.

When...

From A4 and the Bicolana junk-bond heiress go back a ways, when they joined forces in the 2013 elections to raise money in the US for Robredo’s first go at politics despite Philippine election laws that prohibit such overseas fund-raising, according to a suit filed against the current Vice President that continues to languish before the Commission on Elections.

And because of their shared Yellowness, both women are routinely suspected of plotting to bring down Duterte’s government. In response, Duterte has exposed Lewis as “a certain financier, a rich woman who married a black and is now a millionaire... planning to do massive demonstrations.”

As for Robredo, Duterte had a subordinate direct the vice president to stop attending Cabinet meetings as overall head of the government housing sector, allegedly for joining oust-Duterte protests. The prohibition forced the resignation of the vice president.

Both have repeatedly denied Duterte’s allegations. But as the current #LeniLeaks brouhaha shows, their denials don’t really have to be true.

They just have to somehow sound that way to their target constituency of Yellows. Even every Filipino uninfected with the Yellow virus can only shake his head in disbelief at the breathtaking audacity of their lies.

Gifts...

From A4 the peace and the silence that he had always left me.”

In reading and rereading these lines, weighed down by the death of the poor and anxiety for what may happen in the world and in our country, I was given the gift of peace by Fr. Roque.

Fr. Thomas Green, SJ, my professor in philosophy of science and philosophy of language, knew how to help women and men find peace. In addition to being a philosopher, he was a spiritual master, directed many aspiring priests in San Jose Seminary. He also wrote several books.

From “When the Well Runs Dry,” I share this text: “The life of prayer is perhaps the most

mysterious dimension of all human experience. We come to be at home with a God we cannot see. We discover that is it only by giving ourselves away totally that we come to truly possess ourselves, that we are most free when most surrendered.

We begin to realize that light is darkness and darkness light. We become lost in a trackless desert —and then, if we persevere despite our disorientation, we begin to realize that it is only in being lost, in losing ourselves, that we are found. The whole of our life, and not just our prayer life, becomes a paradox, an apparent contradiction concealing and revealing a deeper truth, because we begin to realize that we must live as we pray. The darkness, giving, surrender, and being lost

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10 , 2017

A5

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Why the Reds hate Marcos HAIL TO THE CHAIR VICTOR AVECILLA (Part 2) DESPITE their failure to subvert the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos in 1971, the local communists retained their obsession with overthrowing Marcos and installing a communist state in the Philippines, one subservient to Peking (the old name of today’s Beijing). By the end of 1971, the name of Commander Dante (Bernabe Buscayno in real life) was dutifully invoked by the local armed communist cadres who were collectively called the New People’s Army (NPA).

July 1972 was a turning point for the communists. A sea vessel called the MV Karagatan anchored off Digoyo Point in Palanan, Isabela was accosted by the Philippine Army’s 4th Infantry Brigade. The ship carried firearms and ammunition obtained from Peking and meant for distribution to the CPPNPA cadres. This incident infuriated Marcos, who lost no time in announcing it to the news media.

Word spread that Marcos was considering resorting to martial law to curb the threat to national security. Red leaders, however, downplayed the threat.

They were in for a big surprise.

On Sept. 23, 1972, President Marcos announced on national television that two days earlier, he issued Proclamation No. 1081 by which he placed the entire country under martial law. Marcos emphasized that martial law was not a military takeover, but a measure to save the Republic from the com-

munist insurgency threatening it.

With martial law in force, soldiers from the Philippine Constabulary then headed by General Fidel Ramos arrested suspected enemies of the state, including leaders and key figures in the local communist movement. Overnight, the violent anti-government rallies organized by the reds in the national capital ceased to exist.

The ensuing peace and order during the first six months of martial law made many citizens appreciate the new political situation.

Motorists obeyed traffic regulations, and pedestrians crossed only at pedestrian lanes. A nationwide curfew forced philandering husbands to come home earlier than usual. The televised execution by musketry of Lim Seng, a convicted drug lord, put an abrupt end to the drug menace.

This radical change in the national situation proved to be unsettling for the communists. Almost overnight, the reds lost their appeal to attract followers and became irrelevant. Only the die-hard cadres remained committed to the rebel movement. Those who evaded arrest moved around incognito, or fled to the mountains.

The martial law dragnet eventually led to the arrest and incarceration of Sison, Corpus, Buscayno and other red leaders. Their capture further damaged the local communist movement.

Since the communist insurgency in the Philippines in mid-1972 was an extraordinary menace, it required an extraordinary solution. President Marcos found the solution in martial law, and utilized that solution. It was a bold, unprecedented move a weak president would not have resorted to.

In fine, if the Philippines had been

led by a weak president back then, the country would have inevitably fallen to the communists, like what happened to South Vietnam in 1975.

There may have been abuses committed by the military establishment during martial law, but that does not erase the fact that martial law aborted the communists’ plan to create a communist state in the Philippines.

This is the main reason why the communists hate Marcos.

Further adding to the hatred the communists have for President Marcos is the decision of the latter to open diplomatic ties between the Philippines and Communist China a few years after the proclamation of martial law. This move inevitably forced Peking to see Marcos in a more favorable light, and discouraged troublemakers in Peking’s communist politburo from openly supporting their comrades in the Philippines. At that time, Peking needed international support for its one-China policy and it could not afford rattling its new ties wih Manila.

That’s another reason why the reds hate Marcos.

In addressing the problem of communist insurgency in the country, Marcos did not confine himself to a military solution. He also waved the olive branch and gave amnesty to rebels who were willing to renounce their rebellion and rejoin the mainstream of Philippine society. Many of them returned to their old jobs in the academe, and in noted private establishments.

That’s another reason why the communists dislike Marcos.

The assassination of Ninoy Aquino at the tarmac of the Manila International Airport in August 1983 was exploited by the communists. By blaming Marcos for the death of Ninoy, the reds hoped to revive the anti-Marcos sentiment

they peddled to the people, before the proclamation of martial law ended their dream of a communist regime in the Philippines.

Their plan backfired when Marcos created the Agrava Fact-Finding Board to investigate the Aquino assassination. The creation of the Agrava Board was not much of a concession in view of the military’s claim that a communist gunman killed Ninoy, but it was enough to once again delay the local communist timetable for subverting the government.

By 1984, the local communist movement was running out of strategies in its campaign to project itself as the only alternative of the Filipino people to a government under President Marcos. One-third of the seats in the Batasang Pambansa were held by the political opposition party UNIDO headed

by Salvador “Doy” Laurel, but the UNIDO was staunchly anticommunist. Moreover, the communists’ boycott of the May 1984 parliamentary elections effectively excluded them from the political mainstream.

A final chance at avoiding political oblivion for the communists came during the so-called “People Power” revolt in February 1986.

President Marcos could have allowed the use of force to disperse the crowds gathered at EDSA in Quezon City, but he refused to do so. To avoid needless bloodshed, Marcos relinquished power peacefully. Had Marcos chosen to fight it out, a civil war could have ensued, one which the communists could have used for seizing power once and for all.

Up to the end, Marcos foiled the communists.

That’s one more reason why they hate Marcos.

MAIL MATTERS

Civil Service clarifies issues raised by Fr. Aquino THIS refers to Fr. Ranhilio Aquino's article in the opinion section entitled "Negativing academic freedom" published in the Nov. 25, 2016 issue of the Manila Standard.

Allow us to clarify some issues raised by Fr. Aquino in said article, particularly the following: Curtailing the right of a university to determine who should teach on the pretext of enforcing civil service rules.

In this instance, Fr. Aquino said that the Supreme Court has been no less vigilant in defending academic freedom by reminding the Civil Service Commission (CSC), particularly in the UP vs. CSC case in 2001, that not even on the pretext of enforcing civil service rules may CSC curtail the right of a university to determine who should teach.

The CSC would like to stress that it did not intend to curtail academic freedom in said case.

There was a technical issue which certain UP personnel themselves wanted the Commission to resolve. A certain professor went on a two-year leave of absence while on assignment in another institution. When the two-year leave of absence was about to expire, he requested for an extension of another year. This was disapproved by UP officials concerned with a warning that he would be dropped from the rolls if he failed to report for work. The professor failed to report for work and came back only after almost five years of absence without leave.

At first, UP told him to re-apply. When he sought reconsideration, he was allowed to report back to work considering that there was no record that UP officially dropped him from the rolls. Two members of the Academic Personnel Committee of the Agricultural

Credit Corporation Inc. (ACCI) of UP Los Baños where he was particularly assigned, brought the matter to the CSC. The Commission has no other recourse but to resolve the matter based on Civil Service rules which are applicable to all government officials and employees including those in the state universities and colleges (SUCs) like the UP. The Commission ruled that the professor was considered dropped from the rolls pursuant to Section 33, Rule XVI of the Revised Civil Service Rules which was the existing rate at that time. However, since his case is non-disciplinary, he can be reappointed to any vacant position subject to existing Civil Service law and rules. Section 33, Rule XVI of the Revised Civil Service Rules specifically provides automatic separation from the service if an employee fails to return to work after the expiration of the allowed maximum period of one year leave without pay. The case was brought before the Court of Appeals which ruled in favor of CSC's decision.

The Supreme Court, however, ruled otherwise considering that UP did not officially drop him from the rolls.

The CSC would like to emphasize that the ruling made in the aforementioned case would not serve as a prohibition to actions that are taken or made by CSC in the exercise of its mandate.

It is basic in law and in jurisprudence that Decisions of the Supreme Court apply in a case to case basis and the burden to prove whether the acts of CSC is ultra vires is on the person/entity alleging the same.

2. "... the Civil Service Commission that chimes in - often-

times very distractingly - into university life. Many who, by purely academic standards, are well-regarded in their own fields of specialization, recognized by academe and renowned by scholarly circles are spurned by the Civil Service Commission, denied rank, title and salary, because of missing on one or the other silly bureaucratic requisite."

This is bothering but it is a baseless and unfounded statement.

Nevertheless, the CSC would like to look at this as an occasion to clarify its mandate. While the Commission fully respects and supports the right of state universities and colleges to exercise academic freedom, it is also firm in its constitutional mandate as the central human resource agency of the government to uphold the merit and fitness principle, adopt measures to promote morale, efficiency, integrity, responsiveness, progressiveness and courtesy in the civil service, integrate a human resources development programs for all levels and ranks, and institutionalize a management climate conducive to public accountability.

Further, in keeping true to its mandate, the Commission likewise upholds the prerogative of the appointing authority of SUCs to select and appoint their officials and employees pursuant to the doctrine laid down by the Supreme Court in the case of Luego vs. CSC (G.R. No. L- 69137, August 5,1986). As to qualification standards, the CSC simply sets the minimum and basic requirements of positions in the government as it has always encouraged government agencies, including SUCs, to set higher standards for particular positions if deemed necessary. In

SUCs, this is particularly manifested in CSC Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 19, s. 2005 (Model Merit System for Faculty Members of State Universities and Colleges and Local Colleges and Universities) which was developed in consultation with the Philippine Association of State Colleges and Universities (PASCU) and the Association of Local Colleges and Universities (ALCU).

In 2012, this CSC amended MC No. 19, s. 2005 by promulgating MC No. 10, s. 2012 (Educational Requirement for Faculty Positions in State Universities and Colleges and Local Colleges and Universities). Then in 2013, CSC MC No. 17, s. 2013 (Qualification Standards for Faculty Positions/ Ranks in State Universities and Colleges and Local Colleges and Universities) to implement the Memorandum of Agreement between CSC and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) allowing SUCs and LCUs to modify their qualification standards provided in the two previous MCs. From the foregoing, CSC would like to emphasize that promotion of its constitutional mandate to implement Civil Service laws and rules which cover all government officials and employees, including those in SUCs and LCUs, should never be considered as a stumbling block in the exercise of academic freedom nor distraction in the operations of SUCs and LCUs but rather a safeguard to ensure that the merit and fitness principle is promoted in the entire bureaucracy, free from partiality and bias of the appointing authority.

cannot be restricted to one hour a day, which we we call “our time for prayer.” The Lord refuses to be a compartmentalized God; we come to realize that “my work is my prayer,” but in an entirely different and much deeper sense than that in which the phrase is usually uttered today.”

Later in the same book, Fr. Tom writes about this darkness again: “When we begin to realize that the darkness is light, and that ever so slowly the Lord of love is fashioning in us the eyes to see, the dominant motif of our prayer becomes gratitude —gratitude even, and perhaps especially for the trials which have previously caused us misery, since we now realize that it is precisely through these trials that the Lord is fashioning in us

the resurrection person. And our greatest joy, our greatest expression of gratitude, is to be able to share with others the good news which we have learned: ‘We are writing this to you so that our joy may be complete!’ (1 Jn 1:14)” From Fr. Green, I received the gift of hope, of assurance that all will be well, that this darkness that we may be experiencing will not only pass but it is light, that the trials before us are transforming us to be, in Green’s words, resurrection persons.

Finally, Fr. Francis Reilly SJ, professor of metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy of religion, gives me the gift of faith that anchors both peace and hope.

In his book “A Quiet God,” subtitled as “quiet words especially for searchers,” Fr. Reilly

explores the various ways of proving the existence of God through rational discourse.

Among others, he reflects on how evil could co-exist with a kind and powerful God. Fr. Frank asserts, among others, that “moral evil in the world is our work, not God’s, and that his plan is to give us a share in his own freedom so that we can freely choose to some extent what the world will be like.”

At the end of A Quiet God, Fr. Frank writes: “Even in calling us God is quiet. He does not shout but speaks softly through others, through the situations which we face with alert intelligence, through his revealed word, but he does enable us to find him in acts of intelligence and freedom.” In a letter to those

who have difficulty in believing in God, Fr. Reilly is encouraging: “He calls personally to us, trying to persuade us to admit him into our lives. God, we can discover, takes the initiative in making himself present to us and we experience his presence in his word. Believing therefore has a very personal quality to it, and the God who invites us personally to accept himself and his word is one who comes to us gently and with total respect.”

Peace, hope and faith. To all my readers, I pray that you too will receive this New Year these gifts of my Magi—from my three philosophy professors, all wise and holy men of God.

ALICIA DELA ROSA-BALA Chairperson, Civil Service Commission

Facebook: deantonylavs Twitter: tonylavs

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News

Climate treaty ratified by July FILIPINO senators on Monday assured their French counterparts that President Rodrigo Duterte will, as he had earlier said, sign into law the Senate ratification of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and he will do so by July.

The assurance was made during a meeting between both Philippine and French senators at the Hotel Sofitel in Pasay City which tackled the Paris treaty, diplomatic relations, and government systems.

Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel said that the timetable is that by middle of the year it will be submitted to the Senate for concurrence after President Duterte signs it and Pimentel is confident that once the signed treaty reaches the Senate, it will get the 16 votes needed for its ratification.

Senator Loren Legarda, head of the Philippine-France Parliamentary Friendship Association, said that to date, 32 out of 33 agencies have already submitted their certificates of concurrence.

“Once the [last] agency submits then it will be up to the President and then he will submit it for concurrence. Hopefully soon this year it will be transmitted

IN BRIEF Diesel prices hiked P0.10 DIESEL prices went up by P0.10 per liter for kerosene starting Tuesday.

Seaoil Philippines, PTT Philippines, Flying V, Unioil Philippines and other oil companies issued separate advisories of the weekly price adjustment. The oil firms, however, did not move gasoline prices.

“This is to reflect movements in the international oil market,” Seaoil said.

Latest Energy Department monitoring showed that crude prices generally posted significant monthly gain in December, supported by the impact of the planned production cut from Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-Opec countries.

Opec and non-Opec members’ agreement to slash their production by around 1.8 million barrels a day in their latest meeting in Vienna on Nov. 27 pushed up prices starting December.

Analysts said crude oil prices may steadily increase towards $60 a barrel by the end of 2017, with further upside capped by a stronger dollar exchange rate, a possible recovery in the North American output, and likely noncompliance with planned output.

Last Jan. 3, oil companies implemented an increase of P0.70 per liter in gasoline, P0.60 per liter in diesel and P0.55 per liter in kerosene.

Cooking gas or liquefied petroleum has increased by P4.15 to P4.18 per kilogram due to the month-on-month increase in LPG Contract Price by $69 per metric to US$477/MT. Alena Mae S. Flores

to the Senate,” Legarda said.

French Senator Gerard Miquel, for his part, said that he has met with Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. the same day and was assured of the “willingness” of the Philippine government to ratify the treaty.

“We met this morning with Secretary of Foreign Affairs who assured us of the willingness of the Philippine government to ratify the agreement by July,” Miquel said.

Miquel also expressed gratitude for the continued cooperation between the Philippines and France in celebration of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between both countries.

“We agreed that France and Philippines have to work together.

Production of clean renewable energy is very important but there are other issues on which we can be potentially helpful,” Miguel said.

He cited the recycling of water and preservation of natural resources as potential issues that can be further addressed in the Philippines with the help of France.

France is one of the least polluted countries and least emitters of greenhouse gas in Europe, according to Miguel. PNA

NO TO COAL. Members of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice calls for a stop to the operation of the existing coal-fired power plants in Limay, Bataan. Lino Santos

Drilon admits seeking pork S

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

ENATE President Pro Tempore Franklin Drilon admitted that he was among the senators who listed pet projects for funding under the 2017 national budget but stressed the list was subject to the approval of President Rodrigo Duterte.

“I submitted. I’m not ashamed of it. I submitted.

It’s up to the President to review it,” Drilon told journalists when asked if he was among the senators who asked for funds for their pet projects.

But the senator insisted that the request for pork barrel funds was allowed since it was made before the enactment of the budget and complied with the Supreme Court’s proscription against “post-enactment” intervention.

“That’s the basic difference between the system before and the system now. During the [Priority Development Assistance Fund] time, the President has no choice but to implement the projects. Today, that is not so,” Drilon said.

But Drilon denied the claim of Senator Panfilo Lacson that senators were asked to submit up to P300 million worth of projects for inclusion in this year’s P3.35trillion national budget.

“There’s no such ceiling. Yes, we admit that the leadership of the Senate, the [chairperson] of the committee [Senator Loren Legarda], asked us what are the projects and who will submit these for the approval of Congress and for the approval of the President,” he added.

But Lacson maintained that the senators were indeed asked to submit projects for pork barrel funding.

“In the matter of the P300 million submissions by senators, I will stand by my assertion. Senators [Vicente] Sotto and [Francis] Pangilinan confirmed that they too were asked to submit but they decided against it,” said Lacson.

He said the two other senators commented quite openly on the P300-million pork barrel allocation per senator after they learned of the P1.5 million allocation for

at the sidelines of the meeting with French senators at Sofitel Hotel in Pasay City.

“So I think we have a basic difference in our description or definition of what constitutes a return to the pork barrel system,” also said Pimentel.

Pimentel also pointed out that the preparation of the budget “is basically an executive function.

“If the Executive wants to involve other people like legislators, who are we to question the inclusive approach of the executive branch?”

“They have their own styles.

There’s the bottoms up budgeting, meaning to say the executive wants to involve local government officials, how come the executive should be prevented from involving legislators in the budget process,” said Pimentel, adding that he found nothing wrong with that.

Protect witnesses, Lacson urges PNP

EMB denies graft claims THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau denied allegations that there were irregularities in the procurement of 48 units of air quality monitoring stations (AQMS) installed across Metro Manila and other parts of the country.

In-charge of EMB’s Office of the Director and its Concurrent Assistant Director Jacqueline Caancan said the purchase of such equipment was aboveboard and free of corruption, noting that the agency followed every step of the procurement and bidding rules.

“The procurement of said equipment went through the standard bidding procedures conducted by our Bids and Awards Committee and acquired through competitive public bidding,” Caancan said.

“The procurement is in accordance with Republic Act No. 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act,” added Caancan.

Caancan was reacting to newspaper reports claiming the procurement of the equipment, supposedly worth P1 billion, was riddled with anomalies and irregularities.

The reports refer to the EMB’s purchase of AQMS from 2011 to 2015, composed of both Open Path Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS), and Particulate Matter Stations (PM 10/ PM 2.5). Anna Leah E. Gonzales

each congressman coming from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Lacson claimed some congressmen were asked to identify up to P5 billion each and up to P300 million for some senators.

Bt Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel II said there was nothing wrong with lawmakers identifying projects before its approval because the Supreme Court only prohibits the involvement of legislators in the implementation of projects, and not during the budget process.

“So in this particular case, when a legislator helps in the budget process but it can be implemented after the enactment of the budget law without the legislators’ intervention, then that’s no longer the act declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court,” Pimentel said

EDUCATION FOR ALL. Youth groups stage a protest at the Palma Hall of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City to demand the swift implementation of free tuition in state universities and colleges. Lino Santos

Fil-Ams take oath in Honolulu THREE Filipino-Americans recently took their oath of office as reelected members of the Honolulu City Council maintaining the ethnic community’s four-man presence in the city council.

The newly reelected officials are Council members Kymberly Marcos Pine, Joey Manahan and Ron Menor. The fourth Filipino-American in the ninemember Honolulu City Council is Council member Brandon Elefante.

The ethnic Filipino officials took their oaths before Supreme Court Associate Justice Sabrina McKenna in the presence of Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell, Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho, former Governor John Waihee III and special guest Philippine Consul General Gina Jamoralin.

According to the last US Census, Filipinos make up the second-largest ethnic group in Hawaii with almost 200,000 citizens who identified themselves as being of Filipino ethnicity, surpassing ethnic Japanese.

Unlike in previous censuses, there are more ethnic Filipinos who now identify themselves as Filipinos and Hawaii’s FilipinoAmerican community is believed to be the strongest in the United States, according to Dr. Amy Agbayani of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

“We’re number one in the number of immigrants coming in every year, and we have been since 1965,” she said.

Filipinos have been emigrating to Hawaii between 1906 and 1910 when there was a need for workers in Hawaii’s sugarcane plantations.

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 allowed more Filipinos to bring family to Hawaii and this allowed more Filipino arrivals, particularly Filipino women, to enter the state.

The increase in arrivals also caused some backlash with Filipinos claiming various degrees of discrimination, particularly in the 1970s.

In 2010, the US census showed that Filipinos surpassed Japanese as Hawaii’s largest ethnic group with a total population of 342,095 of which 197,497 were full Filipinos, the total population of Japanese was 312,292 of which 185,502 were full Japanese.

According to surveys conducted by the American Community Survey showed that Filipinos overtook Japanese between 2007 and 2008.

SENATOR Panfilo Lacson on Monday urged the Philippine National Police to provide an ample protection to witnesses whose testimonies are vital to the successful prosecution of cases against high profile and powerful drug suspects.

Lacson made the appeal after the killing of Ferdinand Rondina, an alleged bagman of suspected drug lord Rolando “Kerwin” Espinosa Jr., who had information on drug payoffs to policemen and government officials.

Rondina, 38, was watching TV at the barbecue stall of his sister outside his house in Ormoc City on Friday when two men wearing bonnets shot him repeatedly. The gunmen then approached the wounded Rondina and shot him in the face, according to witnesseses.

Lacson warned that all the gains by the government in its drug war would be rendered useless, if this kind of situation is not corrected.

“It is the government itself that

will feel the brunt of not sucessfully prosecuting illegal drugs cases,” said the former PNP chief.

Opposition Senator Leila de Lima, who is also being implicated in the drug trade, said this should all be taken within the context of an administration that has become immune from criminal liability.

Senator Chiz Escudero asked PNP Director General Ronald dela Rosa if they already have leads in the killing. “What have they done leading to the resolution of yet another extrajudicial killing in Ormoc?” he asked.

Escudero also wanted Dela Rosa to explain the status of policemen who were involved in the killing of Espinosa’s father Albuera Mayor Roland Espinosa inside a subprovincial jail in Leyte.

Senate President Pro Tempore Franklin Drilon said everyone in this country is entitled to protection whether you are a witness or not.

Officials urge prayers vs challenges to safety KIDAPAWAN CITY—North Cotabato Acting Gov. Shirlyn Macasarte-Villanueva on Monday rallied her people to pray for peace and to help the province survive challenges, including the country’s biggest jail attack and escape, Christmas Eve bombing and last year’s violent farmers’ mass protests.

“Last night, I joined the call of our young people of Midsayap to light candles and pray for peace in our province,” Macasarte-Villanueva said a few days after the bloody attack by armed men on the North Cotabato District Jail in Barangay Amas, Kidapawan City.

Along with North Cotabato Board Member Rolly Sacdalan, MacasarteVillanueva took time out and prayed with young people in Midsayap, a town rocked by bombing on Christmas Eve that left 17 persons injured.

“It’s a good initiative that was also observed in other towns. Indeed, when we pray together, He hears and honors them,” she said.

Police Chief Insp. Joyce Birrey, speaking for North Cotabato Police Office, told the Philippine News Agency that police offices across the province have been distributing mug shots and vital information of each escapee who remains at large in an effort to fast-track recovery of inmates who escaped the facility in Barangay Amas, Kidapawan City on Wednesday.

Sports

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2017 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Thomas holds off Hideki for crown Rained L Dakar

OS ANGELES—Justin Thomas held off red-hot Hideki Matsuyama to win his third USPGA Tour title on Sunday with a finalround 69 at the Tournament of Champions at Kapalua, Hawaii.

Thomas’s four-under par effort gave him a 22-under total of 270 and a three-shot win over Japan’s Matsuyama—who arrived in Hawaii having won four of his prior five tournaments worldwide.

Thomas was, in fact, the only man to beat Matsuyama in that span, at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia in October.

But the 23-year-old American had to survive some tense mo-

ments on the back nine to again best Matsuyama, who started the day two behind Thomas and carded an three-under 70 for 273.

Former world number one and defending champion Jordan Spieth matched the best round of the tournament with a final-round 65, heading a trio sharing third on 276 alongside Pat Perez, who carded a 67, and Ryan Moore, who posted a 71.

It was a further stroke back to US

Open champion Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Brendan Steele.

Thomas was rolling with three birdies on the front nine. After a bogey at 10, and birdies at 11 and 13, he grabbed a five-stroke lead over Matsuyama at 22-under.

But Matsuyama narrowed the gap with a remarkable eagle at the par-four 14th, where his flop shot from 60 feet off the green found the hole.

Things got even more tense at 15, where Thomas hit out of the fairway into dense vegetation in a hazard en route to a double-bogey seven that sliced his lead to one stroke as Matsuyama parred the par-five from almost the same spot

in the fairway.

Matsuyama had a 10-foot birdie putt to move into a tie for the lead at 16, but left it inches short.

And at 17 he three-putted for bogey as Thomas rolled in a threefooter for birdie to rebuild his lead before they both birdied Kapalua’s par-five 18th.

“It’s a great feeling,” said Thomas, whose victory in the elite 32man event for last season’s title winners was his first tour title on US soil after his back-to-back CIMB Classic wins.

“I obviously stumbled a bit more than I would have liked on some of those holes, but I think it really shows where my game’s at right now.

“I stuck it out to still get it done.”

Satisfied Spieth Spieth, who started the day in 19th, 10 shots off the pace, had eight birdies in his sparkling eightunder effort, including four in a row starting at the 12th.

“Very, very satisfying,” he said.

“To come back, fire a strong one today ... I certainly take a lot of confidence off this round going into next week.”

World number one Jason Day, back in action this week after three months off rehabbing a troublesome back, had his ups and downs but finished on a high note with an eagle to cap his three-under 70. He finished tied for 13th on 279. AFP

sees stage slashed

LA PAZ, Bolivia—Dakar Rally organizers have been forced to slash Monday’s seventh stage as the gruelling 9,000km race continues to be plagued by torrential rain in Bolivia.

The run from La Paz to Uyuni, which should have featured a 322km timed stage, will now be reduced to 161km, with over 600km, instead of 300km, in liaison.

Bolivia’s stages in the race have been badly affected by the weather with Friday’s run from Tupiza to Oruro shortened and Saturday’s Oruro to La Paz stage cancelled completely.

Twelve hours of heavy rain fell on Friday night leaving large parts of the Oruro bivouac sinking in 20cm of mud and forcing competitors and fans to cover their shoes with plastic bags as they sloshed through the quagmire.

As the 39th running of the Dakar heads into its second week, defending champion Stephane Peterhansel has a 1min 09sec lead over Peugeot teammate and nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb in the auto standings.

In the race for the motorcycling title, Englishman Sam Sunderland of KTM has a 7min 07sec advantage over Portuguese Paulo Goncalves.

Packers, Steelers advance with home triumphs WASHINGTON—Aaron Rodgers matched a Green Bay playoff record with four touchdown passes Sunday while Le’Veon Bell ran for a Pittsburgh playoff record 167 yards and two touchdowns to spark first-round home routs.

The Packers stretched their NFL win streak to seven games by ripping the New York Giants 38-13 as Rodgers threw for 362 yards and four TDs. Also matching a one-game Packers mark was Randall Cobb, who hauled in three touchdown throws, including a spectacular “Hail Mary” desperation toss to end the first half.

“We hit a ‘Hail Mary’—that got us going,” Rodgers said.

“We got going really well. We’re better with 18 [Cobb] on the field and he showed it tonight.”

Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger connected on two touchdown tosses to Antonio Brown in addition to Bell’s heroics as the Steelers humbled Miami 30-12.

“Those guys up front did a great job opening holes for me,” Bell said. “It was a total team effort. I just ran hard and picked my spots.”

Green Bay booked a secondround matchup next Sunday at Dallas. The Packers lost at home to the Cowboys 30-16 last October.

“Can’t wait,” Rodgers said.

The Steelers booked a secondround game next Sunday at Kansas City. Pittsburgh routed Kansas City 43-14 in October but this time the Chiefs will play at home.

“We kind of gave it to them last time so they’re going to come in with the mindset not to let that happen again,” Bell said. “We’ve got to step up and play our best.”

Pittsburgh’s victory also sent the Houston Texans to seasonwins leader New England next Saturday, the same day Seattle will visit Atlanta in the other second-round playoff game.

Justin Thomas of the United States plays a shot on the 12th hole during the final round of the SBS Tournament of Champions at the Plantation Course at Kapalua Golf Club in Lahaina, Hawaii. AFP

Hot Saso wary of Philippine Ladies Open chances IN-FORM Yuka Saso sets out as the marked player among the elite field all primed up for the Philippine Ladies Open Golf Championship 2017, which gets going Wednesday, Jan. 11 at Wack Wack Golf and Country Club’s West Course in Mandaluyong.

But despite her run of impressive feats, the 15-year-old Fil-Japanese has opted to downplay her chances in the country’s premier amateur championship presented

by Champion Infinity, saying the field is strong and anything can

happen at Wack Wack.

“There are too many good players around, especially the Thais. So I’ll just pray and hope for the best,” said Saso, who will be coming into the event exuding confidence following her wire-to-wire triumph in the Phillippine Amateur Golf Championship last Sunday where she beat Korean Hee Ji Kim by nine.

The national team spearhead and Queen Sirikit Cup veteran also won the third World Junior Girls championship and led the Philippines to the team crown in

Canada last September, reached the semifinals of the 2016 US Women’s Amateur and won a pro tournament on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour, also last year.

Still, Saso said the PLO field is teeming with talent, picking the Thais and the Taiwanese as the likely title contenders along with the Malaysians, the Koreans and the Singaporeans.

She also named Harmie Constantino and a host of local players, who are all raring to get a crack at the crown in the blue-rib-

anca Pagdanganan, Diana Araneta, Felicia Medalla, Kristine Torralba, Mikaela Arroyo and the mainstays of Team The Country Club, led by Pauline del Rosario, Sofia Chabon, Mikha Fortuna, Abby Arevalo and Bernice Ilas along with 12-year-old Annyka Cayabyab.

But the Thais are also out to reclaim the crown won by compatriots Supamas Sangchan twice in 2013-14 and Pimnipa Panthong in 2015 before Princess Superal nailed one last year at Tagaytay Midlands.

Donayre: Latoel hungry for a win

Warriors...

From A8 Memphis ended the third quarter on an 8-0 run that included back-to-back threes from guard Troy Daniels and veteran Vince Carter in the final four seconds.

The Grizzlies led 63-51 going into the final quarter.

Elsewhere, Kyrie Irving, LeBron James and Kevin Love combined for 80 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers blew a 20-point third-quarter lead but held on to defeat the host Phoenix Suns 120116.

James had 12 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, including two three-pointers 25 seconds apart to stretch a two-point Cleveland edge to a 115-109 lead with 2:47 left.

Irving scored 27 points and Love added 25 points for Cleveland, which beat Phoenix for the fourth straight time.

The Cavaliers improved to 28-8 on the season and have won 15 of their last 18 games and have their best 36-game start since going 30-6 to start the 2008-09 season. Cleveland is 8-2 against the Western Conference.

Eric Bledsoe had 31 points and Devin Booker added 28 for the Suns, who missed a chance for their first three-game winning streak since November 2015. AFP

bon event backed by Lexus, Metro Pacific Investments, CranUTI, Texas Eagle, San Miguel Corp., Botanika, Enclave, Taishan Insurance Broker’s Inc. , Inquirer, Cherrylume, Alveo, Manila Golf, G&W Clubshares, Alabang Ladies Golf Chapter, Canlubang Golf Club, Forest Hills Golf Club, Sta. Elena Golf Club, Tagaytay Higlands, Gatorade, Ladies Philippine Golf Tour, Vermogen, Atty. Gilberto Duavit and Water World Trading Inc. They include Sofia Legaspi, Bi-

Vaughn Donayre: Fight preparation is doing great. Everything is going well in training camp. I am working on fight specific to beat Vincent Latoel. I won’t let him take away this one from me.

FILIPINO fighter Vaughn “The Spawn” Donayre is not taking Vincent Latoel lightly as he expects his Dutch-Indonesian opponent to have a must-win mentality when they square off against each other on the undercard of ONE: Quest for Power in Jakarta, Indonesia on Jan. 14.

Latoel, a highly decorated kickboxer from Deventer, Netherlands, aims to snap his two-fight losing skid at the expense of Donayre.

The 37-year-old mixed martial arts veteran stumbled in two of his ONE Championship outings in 2016, yielding to former Lightweight World Champion Kotetsu Boku in February before suffering the same fate at the hands of Filipino standout Edward Kelly last August.

According to Donayre, it is a no-brainer that Latoel is driven to put himself back on

the winning track.

“It’s given that he wants to win because he lost two of his fights in 2016. I expect him to be hungry for that win,” he said.

Even though he has a winhungry foe in front of him on fight night, Donayre is not allowing Latoel to ruin his goal of having his hand raised in triumph.

Like Latoel, Donayre’s back is also up against the wall as the 5’10” Cebu native looks to break his four-bout losing spell inside the ONE Championship cage.

“If he is hungry to win, I’m more motivated and determined to win this fight. I am giving everything for this fight to make sure that I will get the victory,” Donayre stated.

With the ambition to insert his name into the winner’s column and regain his reputation as one of the Philippines’ best lightweight competitor,

Teng makes PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup debut JERON Teng makes his much-awaited debut when the 2017 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup opens on Jan. 19 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.

The La Salle standout leads AMA Online Education as it opens the festivities against Province of Batangas at 3 p.m. for the

lone game of the opener.

The duel will commence following the opening ceremonies scheduled at 2 p.m.

Ten teams will battle for the title this conference, with Cafe France, Tanduay, and Racal emerging as favorites for the plum.

The tournament will be played on a single-round

robin format, with teams playing nine games each.

The top two teams will proceed outright to the semifinals, while squads ranked three to six will advance to the quarterfinals, with teams three and four owning twice-to-beat advantages.

The bottom four teams will be eliminated.

Winners of the said quarterfinals series will face off against the top two seeds in a best-of-3 series, while the Finals will also be contested in a best-of-3 championship tiff.

Games will be played on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays with game times set at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Donayre revealed that he is pushing himself to the limit in training.

“Fight preparation is doing great. Everything is going well in training camp. I am working on fight specific to beat Mr. Latoel. I won’t let him take away this one from me,” he declared.

Donayre believes that he has the skillset to defeat Latoel, but he refused to downplay his cage counterpart’s experience.

Latoel is a seasoned combatant with over 30 professional bouts under his belt and has faced the best combatants in the Asian MMA circuit like Eduard Folayang, Eddie Ng and Adrian Pang.

“He is very experienced and willing to put everything on the line to win. That makes him dangerous. Vincent is someone who just comes to fight,” Donayre said of Latoel.

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

P0 M+ P0 M

Sports

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

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2017

Lions eye another sweep in 2nd round Games Today

(Rizal Football Field) 8 a.m.- San Beda vs Letran (jrs) 10 a.m.- St. Benilde vs Arellano U (jrs) 12 nn.- San Beda vs LPU (srs) 2 p.m.- St. Benilde vs Arellano U (srs)

SAN Beda College seeks to duplicate its undefeated first-round performance as it clashes with Lyceum of the Philippines University in today’s start of the Final Four of the 92nd NCAA football tournament at the Rizal Football Field.

The Red Booters clinched the firstround pennant via a six-match sweep it capped with a 6-0 bashing of the Arellano University Chiefs, the defending champions, on Dec. 12 last year and will clinch the title outright if they could top the single-robin format Final Four.

They face off with the Pirates, who finished tied with the Perpetual Help Altas at No. 4 with six match points apiece, but ended up clinching the fourth and last berth via better goal differential, 0 to -9.

Interestingly, San Beda, which is eyeing a league-best 22nd seniors’ title, had a hard time beating LPU, 3-0, in their first meeting on Dec. 8.

“We should be physically and mentally prepared because it gets tougher from here on,” said San Beda coach Michael Pediamonte in Filipino. “We also can’t underestimate any team.”

No. 2 St. Benilde and No. 3 Arellano University clash in the other match set at 2 p.m., which will precede the 12 noon showdown between San Beda and LPU. If San Beda goes on to rule the second round, it will go on to claim the championship.

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

San Beda’s junior counterparts, likewise seeks to top the second round as it tackles No. 4 Letran at 8 a.m., while No. 2 St. Benilde, the defending champion, faces off with No. 3 Arellano University at 10 a.m.

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

Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors goes up for a dunk against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. AFP

Warriors rebound from loss; Grizzlies whip Jazz S ACRAMENTO—The Golden State Warriors, who lost to the Grizzlies a day earlier, overcame a lackluster first half Sunday to avoid back-to-back losses with a 117-106 win over the Sacramento Kings.

The Warriors improved to 32-6 on the season as they rebounded from a 128-119 loss to Memphis Saturday in a game which saw them blow a 24-point lead.

Longest streak in history Stephen Curry finished with 30 points and Kevin Durant added 28 on Sunday for the Warriors

who have played 124 straight contests without losing consecutively, the longest streak in NBA history.

Klay Thompson finished with 18 points, and Zaza Pachulia scored 10, and the Warriors beat the Kings for the 13th straight time.

Draymond Green contributed nine points, 10 assists and seven rebounds.

Meanwhile, guard Mike Conley finished with 19 points and nine assists as the Memphis Grizzlies managed to hold off a fourth quarter rally from the Utah Jazz for an 88-79 NBA win Sunday.

Forward Zach Randolph came off the Grizzlies’ bench in front of a crowd of 16,100 at the FedExForum to post a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

“I was really happy with the effort,” Grizzlies coach David Fizdale said. “We gave it from

start to finish.”

The error-prone Jazz dropped to 23-16 on the season. They are first place in the Northeast Division and the Grizzlies are in third in the Southeast, but the Grizzlies (24-16) are in fifth overall in the Western Conference standings, one spot in front of Utah.

The Jazz committed 18 turnovers that Memphis turned into 26 points. Forward Gordon Hayward led the Jazz with 22 points, George Hill tallied 15 and forward Trey Lyles chipped in 11 points off the bench.

The Jazz rallied from a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter to get

Cabagnot is week’s top cager

Team Pradera seeks strong start in golf tilt TEAM Pradera vows to go all-out early in a bid to gain the proverbial momentum as it slugs it out with the best in Southeast Asia in the Pradera Ladies Golf Challenge slated Jan. 15 to 17 at the Pradera Golf Club in Lubao, Pampanga.

“Since match play is a head-to-head battle, the best way to put pressure on an opponent is to keep the ball in play. If you don’t attack, your opponent will probably attack you back,” said Chona De La Paz, one of the team captains of Team Pradera in the first-ever Ryder Cup-style duel pitting the country’s top amateurs against SEA’s leading players.

Two-time LPGA Tour winner Jennifer Rosales,

the other Team Pradera skipper along with NGAP’s Rolly Romero, looks beyond the competition, saying the event also serves as a vehicle to foster camaraderie with the Phl’s neighboring countries.

“I’m happy and excited for our girls to have this new event. This firstever Ryder Cup-style format is a good event for greater golf relations with our SEA neighbors.

I’m really excited and looking forward to it,” said Rosales, also a fivetime Philippine Ladies Open champion.

Former Thailand Amateur Open champion Pauline del Rosario and four-time Veritas World Junior titlist Annyka Cayabyab head the

10-player Team Pradera all primed-up for what promises to be a shootout in the event put up

by Archen Cayabyab and Lubao Mayor Mylyn Pineda-Cayabyab in consultation with Coach Norman Sto. Domingo.

“This event will not only showcase the individual talents of the participants but also their teamsmanship and I believe the effect of this match will influence a cordial and friendly relations among SEA neighbors,” said Archen Cayabyab, who promised to hold the event annually at the country’s newest, sprawling golf complex.

“I also thanked the team captains for giving their time and wisdom to the girls.”

J-RO: Big motivation and inspiration for Team Pradera

Cibulkova, Wozniacki win in Sydney SYDNEY—Slovakia’s world number six Dominika Cibulkova dropped just two games in blistering heat to win her opening match at the Sydney International on Monday.

The diminutive Cibulkova, who upset world number one Angelique Kerber to win the WTA finals in Singapore last October, swept past Germany’s world number 31 Laura Siegemund 6-2, 6-0.

Cibulkova, who lost to China’s Li Na in the 2014 Australian Open final, will next play Canadian wild card

Eugenie Bouchard in the second round of the WTA leadin tournament to next week’s Australian Open.

“When you start a season, you always start with some confidence, not doubt, but you always need to get into this match rhythm,” said Cibulkova.

“It’s not easy if I would expect myself to play like I did in the (WTA) final against Kerber, I think that would be too much expectation.

“This is the time of the year when you just have to warm up yourself in the matches.”

within five at 82-77 with 69 seconds to play on a basket by guard Hill. But with 24 seconds left in the game, Jazz center Rudy Gobert fouled Memphis center Marc Gasol from behind the threepoint line.

Gasol made all three free throws to boost the lead to 85-77 and Utah never got closer than six points.

“That is what they do,” said Hayward. “They’re good at it.

They’ve got guys that pressure the ball and are good defenders, forcing you to do things you don’t want to do at times and speed you up.”

Turn to A7

Cibulkova, who lost to Agnieszka Radwanska in the Sydney final four years ago, was knocked out in the quarterfinals of last week’s Brisbane International by France’s Alize Cornet in straight sets.

Kerber and Radwanska, the top two seeds, have a bye into the second round at Sydney.

Former world number one and seventh seed Caroline Wozniacki dumped Olympic champion and last year’s finalist Monica Puig out of the tournament 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.

Puig, who lost to Russia’s

Svetlana Kuznetsova in last year’s final, had 12 break point opportunities but could only convert three, while Wozniacki put away three of four break points.

British sixth seed Johanna Konta was too strong for Australian Arina Rodionova 6-3, 6-4 and fellow Australian Sam Stosur again bombed out in the first round, going out 6-3, 6-1 to Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

“It was tough conditions out there. I don’t really know what to say,” said Stosur, who hasn’t

won a match in almost five months.

“I don’t feel like I played bad.

I don’t feel like I played obviously as well as I can. It was just kind of done, and that was it.”

Russian eighth seed Elena Vesnina withdrew with a lower back injury when trailing American Coco Vandeweghe 6-2, 4-0.

In the men’s draw, Australian qualifier Matthew Barton eliminated British number two Kyle Edmund 7-6 (7/3) 7-6 (7/5) and will next face either Gilles Muller or Alexandr Dolgopolov. AFP

THERE’S no stopping San Miguel Beer playmaker Alex Cabagnot these days, not even a depressed nasal fracture.

Though advised by doctors to undergo surgery, Cabagnot managed to still get a green light to play, provided he wears a facial mask to protect his injured nose.

Except for that mask, nothing has changed for the left-handed guard, who averaged 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists as the Beermen went 2-0 in a span of three days to become the first Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week awardee in 2017.

The 34-year-old Cabagnot beat the likes of SMB teammates Arwind Santos and June Mar Fajardo, Rain or Shine’s Jericho Cruz, NLEX guard Carlo Lastimosa and GlobalPort’s highscoring gunner Terrence Romeo for the citation for the period of Dec. 28, 2016-Jan. 8, 2017.

Although he felt uncomfortable to play with the facial mask the first time he wore it last Friday, Cabagnot managed to heat up fast, firing 10 points in the opening period to set the tone for San Miguel, which went on to clobber Blackwater, 118-93.

The win helped San Miguel gain the first playoff spot in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup. The University of HawaiiHilo standout finished the game with a near double-double output of 14 points and 9 rebounds against the Elite.

Two days later, Cabagnot helped San Miguel get the upper hand after banging nine of his 16 points in the third period as the Beermen scraped past Barangay Ginebra, 72-70 as they improved to a tournament-best 7-1.

Govt bares P1-b fund to replace 5-6 lending

B2

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2017

B1

16 solar plants secure FIT rates

By Alena Mae S. Flores

T

HE Energy Regulatory Commission granted a feed-in tariff rate of P8.69 per kilowatt-hour to 16 solar projects as endorsed by the Energy Department under the second round of installation target.

“We already completed the issuance of CoCs [certificate of compliance] for the solar power plants covered by the second round of FiT rate which is P8.69 per kWh,” ERC spokesman Rexie Digal said.

Digal said ERC completed the issuance of the CoCs on Dec. 5

to 8, 2016.

An FiT rate is an incentive in the form of guaranteed power rate given to renewable energy producers for 20 years.

The regulator acted on the list of solar projects that met the March 15, 2016 deadline of the department to fill the 450-

MW second round of installation target for solar. The first round of solar installation target was placed at 50 MW with a tariff rate of P9.68 per kWh. Former Energy secretary Zenaida Monsada last year endorsed to ERC 17 projects totaling 417.05 MW under the second wave of installation target.

“Pursuant to the ERC rules, the power plants issued COEs by the DoE were correspondingly issued their FIT-COCs,” the regulator said.

The department earlier issued certificates of endorsement to the following projects: 23-MW solar power project of San Car-

los Solar Energy Inc.; 6.23-MW Centrala solar project of nv vogt Philippines Solar Energy One Inc.; 13.14-MW Pampanga solar project II of Raslag Corp.; 2.66MW Burgos solar project II of Energy Development Corp. and 50.07-MW Tarlac solar project of PetroSolar Corp.

Other projects endorsed by the DoE are 14.15-MW Hermosa solar power project of YH Green Energy Inc.; 10.26MW Cabanatuan solar project of First Cabanatuan Renewable Ventures Inc.; 63.3-MW Calatagan solar project of Solar Philippines Calatagan Corp.; 20-MW Currimao solar project

of Mirae Asia Energy Corp.; 8.- MW Valenzuela solar project of Valenzuela Solar Energy; 2.04-MW Lian solar project of Absolut Distrillers Inc.; and the18-MW Bais solar project of Monte Solar Energy Inc. The department also endorsed the 22.33-MW Clark solar project of Enfinity Philippines Renewable Resources Inc.; 10.49-MW Kibawe solar project of Asian Greenergy Corp.; 5.02-MW Palauig solar project of Sparc Solar Powered Agri-Rural Communities Corp.; 15-MW Bulacan III solar project of Bulacan Solar Energy Corp. and 132.5-MW Cadiz solar project of Helios Solar

Govt clears 2Go Group buyout of China firm

IN BRIEF BPI trust fund set to start operations BPI Asset Management and Trust Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of the Philippine Islands, is set to commence operations next month after getting a license from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

BPI AMTC, formerly a trust division of BPI called BPI Asset Management and Trust Group, will operate as a stand-alone trust corporation beginning Feb. 1, 2017.

“Please be informed that the BPI Asset Management and Trust Group [BPI’s trust division] has been granted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas a license to operate as a stand alone trust corporation called BPI Asset Management and Trust Corp.,” the bank said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Monday.

“BPI AMTC [a wholly-owned subsidiary of BPI] will start operations on Feb. 1, 2017. There will be no change in the existing contracts, processes and investment management/ operating teams,” the bank said.

BPI said with the stand-alone trust company, it was poised to take advantage of the growing asset management business in the country.

Julito G. Rada

By Darwin G. Amojelar THE holding company of 2GO Group Inc. secured the approval of the Philippine Competition Commission to buy out a Chinese investor for $275 million.

PCC said in Decision No. 07M-071 2016 that it cleared the acquisition by Negros Holdings & Management Corp., the parent firm of 2Go Group, of the entire interest of China-ASEAN Cooperatief U.A. in ChinaAsean Marine B.V. China-ASEAN Cooperatief is a China fund established to invest in infrastructure, energy and natural resources in Asean member countries.

“In view of recommendation from the Merger and Acquisition Office that on the basis of information obtained from the parties and pertinent public documents the acquisition by Negros Holdings & Management Corp. of share in ChinaASEAN Marine B.V. does not result in a substantial lessening of competition in the relevant market,” PCC said.

“The notified transaction will not give rise to any change in the prevailing conditions or competition in any of the affected markets resulting from the transaction as the parties are engaged in the same business activity and the transaction only seeks to formalize the acquiring control on said activity,” it said.

PCC sad it would take no further action with respect to the transaction.

Upon the completion of the transaction, NHMC shall own 100 percent of the shares in CAMBV, which owns 39.88 percent of the voting interest in Nenaco whose subsidiaries include 2Go Group.

NHMC owns 60.29 percent of the voting interest in KGLINM Holdings Inc., which in turn owns 59.59 percent of the

Energy Corp.

Digal said all projects that were endorsed were given feedin tariff COCs “except Nv volt because it’s still being inspected and processed.”

Solar developers that failed to secure endorsements earlier asked the ERC to review the process and asked for transparency on the eligibility parameters.

The Confederation of Solar Developers of the Philippines Inc. asked the government to allow 27 solar power projects with a capacity of 400 MW to also avail of FiT rates given their huge contribution to the economy and low impact to consumers.

PH faces threats from protectionism

ECOZONE INVESTOR. KVK Philippines Inc. president Yorimasa Inaba (left) signs a registration agreement with Philippine

Economic Zone Authority director-general Charito Plaza as an ecozone export enterprise to engage in assembly and sub-assembly of different types of faucets, pipe fittings and related parts accessories at the First Philippines Industrial Park – Special Economic Zone in Batangas province.

Chinese firm plans 100-km gas pipeline

By Alena Mae S. Flores A CHINESE company submitted an unsolicited proposal to build the 100-kilometer Batangas-Manila natural gas pipeline that is now under evaluation by state-owned Philippine National Oil Co. PNOC president Ruben Lista said the Chinese company’s unsolicited proposal, which included a free carry equity for the government in the project, would be “subject to Swiss Challenge.”

Lista said the Chinese company planned to utilize BatMan gas pipeline for liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas.

Lista said the government was reviewing its options in building the gas pipeline and other proposals with the Nation-

al Economic Development Authority.

The government previously planned to bid out BatMan gas pipeline for private sector participation.

The Public Private Partnership Center earlier tapped Rebel Group International BV as transaction advisor for BatMan natural gas pipeline in behalf of PNOC. The PPP Center was tasked under Executive Order No. 8 series of 2010 signed in Sept. 9, 2010 (then as BuildOperate and Transfer Center) to facilitate the coordination and monitoring of the PPP programs and projects.

BatMan 1 natural gas pipeline is estimated to cost between $100 million and $150 million.

Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. earlier offered to take an equity stake in BatMan

1 gas pipeline to fast-track the development of the natural gas industry but previous energy officials said it would be “most optimal” for the government to own and operate the pipeline.

Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. also expressed interest in BatMan 1 project.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency earlier expressed interest to fund BatMan 1 project.

Jica conducted a study on the prospects of the Philippine natural gas sector. The study found that there was a 600-megawatt demand from industries located along the pipeline.

Jica said demand from these industries, excluding additional demand from power generation firms, would justify the construction of the pipeline.

Economic zone investments fell 26% to P218b in 2016

By Othel V. Campos INVESTMENT pledges approved by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority dropped 26 percent last year to P218.2 billion from P295 billion in 2015.

Peza director-general Charito Plaza said the uncertainties of the recent presidential election affected the economic zones’ performance in 2016.

“Adding to this were the pronouncements of US President-elect Donald Trump that dampened the interest of American companies operating in the Philippines to expand further,” Plaza said in a news briefing Monday .

Employment at economic zones hit 1.32 million jobs in 2016, while exports by ecozone locators in the first three quarters reached $38.9 billion.

Plaza said the top investments promotion agency would make up to recover lost investments by trebling or quadrupling investment projects in 2017.

“With new ecozones all over the country, we are hopeful that investments will triple or even quadruple this year. This is a huge leap we want created with our aggressive invitation to investors,” she said.

Peza approved 61 new economic zones in 2016, including a mixture of private, public and local government unit-ecozones. Thirdy more applications for ecozones were pending and were up for signing or approval by Malacañang Palace.

Among the 61 new ecozones were three manufacturing establishments, five agro-industrial complexes, 1 medical tourism area, 50 IT centers

and parks and 2 tourism companies.

Together, they put in P70.5 billion in combined investments.

Peza said 358 economic zones were actively operating in the Philippines as of end-2016. These economic zones host 3,780 companies or locators.

“Many countries are looking at the Philippines as the new investment haven because of its strategic location and the safe, peaceful policy of the new government free from bureaucratic red tape and corruption,” said Plaza.

Peza remitted P521 million in dividends to the national treasury for the period covering 2015.

The Board of Investments, the other major investment promotion agency, said investment projects surged 20.4 percent in 2016 to P441.8 billion from P366.7 billion in 2015, boosted by for-

eign commitments.

Registered projects in 2016 marked the highest in three years, or since 2013 when the figure hit P466 billion. Last year’s 20.4-percent growth also exceeded BoI’s 7-percent growth target for 2016.

Trade Secretary and BoI chairman Ramon Lopez said the growth in investment pledges was driven by continued confidence of investors in the country’s sustained strong macroeconomic fundamentals, the government’s socio-economic agenda and recent state visits by President Rodrigo Duterte in China, Japan and Singapore.

“With the investment missions that we are doing, investors have gained greater awareness of the Philippines’ strong and growing economy,” Lopez said.

THE Philippines is among the countries in AsiaPacific whose growth faces imminent threats from the growing protectionist sentiment in the West, especially the United States, according to Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp.

Frederic Neumann, co-head of HSBC Asian Economic Research, said while it might take some time to craft measures designed to pull production back in the US, its economic impact might be felt over the coming quarters.

“For one, there might be voluntary restraint by some firms in sourcing goods from Asia to stave off potentially more severe official restrictions,” Neumann said.

Neuman said for Asean, investments could be largely affected, as a number of companies curtailed capital expenditures and worries over market access could amplify this year.

“Foreign direct investment, a key driver of growth in much of Asean, for instance, may slow and so could spending by local companies looking to export part of their production.

Growth in Asia, in other words, might suffer even well before restriction on exports to the West become binding,” Neumann said.

Julito G. Rada

B2

Business

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Market sustains climb; Globe up Global Ferronickel plans S share sale worth P800m TOCKS rose for a fifth day, as Asian markets tracked a strong lead from New York where two of the three main indexes closed at record highs.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, gained 28 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at 7,276.34 Monday.

This pushed up total gains this year to 6.4 percent.

The broader all-share index also advanced 12 points, or 0.3 percent, to settle at 4,366.15, on a value turnover of P5.2 billion. Advancers outnumbered losers, 104 to 88, while 48 issues were unchanged.

Eleven of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by mining company Pacifica Inc. which surged 31.6 percent to P0.05. Globe Telecom Inc. jumped 6.3 percent to P1,790, while rival PLDT Inc. rose 4.2 percent to P1,536.

Meanwhile, Asian investors followed their US counterparts, who remain upbeat that President-elect Donald Trump will introduce measures that will fire the world’s

top economy.

Friday’s US jobs report provided mixed signals as it showed fewer than expected posts created last month but that November’s figures were upgraded. It also said average hourly earnings rose from the prior month.

On Wall Street the Dow moved to within 0.37 points of the 20,000 mark before easing back slightly but the Nasdaq and S&P 500 each ended at alltime highs.

The upbeat readings filtered through to Asia, where Hong Kong added 0.3 percent in the morning, Sydney surged 1.2 percent and Singapore put on 0.4 percent.

Shanghai and Seoul were

marginally higher, while there were also gains in Wellington and Jakarta.

Stephen Innes, senior trader at Oanda, said the focus would now be on a speech by Federal Reserve boss Janet Yellen on Friday, which would be pored over for clues about the bank’s outlook for its next interest rate hike.

With Trump’s promises of big spending and tax cuts expected to fuel inflation, bets are on the Fed to hike rates at least three times this year, after December’s increase.

“Given the markets focus on all things Feds, we could be in for bustling (Asia-Pacific) session at the end of the week,” he said. AFP, Bloomberg

By Jenniffer B. Austria NICKEL miner Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. revived a plan to sell shares to finance expansion projects, an executive said Monday.

Global Ferronickel president Dante Bravo said in a text message the company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a registration statement involving the sale of up to 250 million shares.

The planned share sale could raise P800 million in proceeds,

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 3.89 38,000 48.15 17,300 91.6 721,940 3.96 32,000 114.8 1,675,960 1.45 211,000 38.4 48,100 16.04 242,800 19.2 188,700 6.8 100 1.75 5,000 825 10 0.71 56,143,000 77.75 3,345,260 0.76 2,342,000 14.22 12,800 55.3 8,310 245 3,120 130 220 90.3 1,120 35.1 31,600 216.2 1,355,530 75.05 265,490 1.25 20,000

144,740 831,810 66,242,896.50 124,500 191,252,411 300,400 1,847,040 3,890,058 3,612,180 680 8,750 8,250 39,022,460 259,960,887.50 1,780,580 181,650 460,545 765,630 28,900 101,136 1,110,045 293,083,298 19,920,076.50 25,000

769,475 -3,231,473 101,160,950 -837,740 9,590 -13,175,800 107,327,862.50 123,640 55,500 -96,120 537,290 67,507,212 -66,091 -

INDUSTRIAL 43.3 1,657,700 4.45 575,000 0.86 536,000 1.42 1,945,000 19.38 3,600 0.208 180,000 86 190 11.66 756,600 15.98 1,019,200 160 30 23 2,300 19.12 4,400 60 830 92 500 109 220 1.99 278,000 6.69 274,000 12.3 5,700 11.9 1,362,700 6.38 470,200 7.35 407,700 5.22 11,674,800 21.6 1,982,400 68.45 51,080 12.52 100 16.48 1,200 6.11 214,400 1.67 766,000 215 803,570 73.9 270 2.8 12,000 29.65 1,121,800 27.6 224,900 14.78 235,600 277.8 98,770 0.248 330,000 5.06 1,900 3.3 247,000 9.78 5,693,500 3.75 1,000 11.6 2,500 2.33 1,460,000 5.79 238,600 1.53 423,000 71.4 1,059,910 4.95 67,000 229 20 5 53,400 2.19 2,027,000 2.8 43,000 11.66 1,845,800 4.31 52,000 0.147 5,690,000 1.54 128,000 169 831,470 4.56 1,000 1.78 7,081,000 1.17 483,000

71,852,475 2,554,230 459,540 2,773,400 68,540 37,440 16,345 8,792,884 16,317,186 4,800 51,990 88,360 49,797 45,745 24,189.50 556,400 1,790,092 69,994 16,066,244 2,998,951 2,981,119 60,907,151 42,843,900 3,497,886 1,252 19,790 1,308,288 1,257,380 172,689,410 20,134 33,620 33,139,720 6,210,045 3,493,224 27,458,078 80,980 9,614 816,780 55,665,836 3,750 29,000 3,402,780 1,379,631 635,390 75,680,566.50 330,350 4,580 267,114 4,438,210 120,180 21,465,768 223,500 835,070 196,840 140,289,791 4,560 12,642,100 554,160

9,917,980 4,470 3,679,868 -3,872,868 16,000 -3,084,060 -2,072,935 147,975 15,612,973 8,162,795 -1,694,595.50 -11,550 800,158 23,100 -13,020,888 -19,992,935 -3,821,530 640,760 -7,389,294 4,980 230,800 -19,902,225 -29,000 2,690,780 -621,497 60,062,629 51,005 7,747,990 -34,656,818 477,110 -

12,069,950 126,648,974 30,249,842 165,940 594,000 45,000 138,173,300 14,956,155 79,087,424 433,296 98,000 38,000 72,967,680 61,572 96,545,010 28,661,480 4,442,204 42,529,256 155,738,241 107,368,700 370,630 21,467,640 274,677,950 16,900 587,530 281,358 583,300 46,840 150,060

-59,842,578.50 1,622,846 -7,193,965 7,541,656 15,036,326 -127,955 5,700 -18,376,780 26,349,778 103,360 -2,227,022.00 -28,676,002 32,823,128 -217,800 728,153 2,493,120 9,400 -

556,662 677,010 6,100 555,260 21,518,750 315,126,285 2,656,810 2,369,120 5,200 142,350 4,734,470 1,894,630 35,640,405 21,000 24,021,660 2,511,050 480,400 36,800 58,825,930 5,092,000 166,000 1,971,170

114,462 -12,090,175 244,850 -530,180 488,035 -19,600 14,450,980 -2,400 -19,641,160 7,630 -

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

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

3.8 47.1 92 3.81 113.7 1.45 38.4 16.2 19 6.8 1.75 825 0.66 77 0.77 14.12 55.5 248 133 90.3 35.15 218.4 75.2 1.25

3.9 48.15 92.75 3.96 114.8 1.51 38.4 16.2 19.22 6.8 1.75 825 0.74 78 0.77 14.22 55.5 249 133 90.3 35.15 218.4 75.4 1.25

3.8 47.1 91.55 3.81 113 1.37 38.4 15.8 18.9 6.8 1.75 825 0.65 76.95 0.75 14.12 55.3 245 130 90.3 35.1 214.4 75 1.25

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

43.8 4.45 0.86 1.4 19.68 0.208 86.05 11.68 16.1 160 22.5 20.35 60 91.65 118 2 6.48 12.3 11.84 6.38 7.3 5.19 21.8 68.5 12.52 16.5 6.12 1.62 214 74.8 2.81 29.85 27.5 14.92 277.6 0.249 5.06 3.3 9.69 3.75 11.6 2.36 5.72 1.48 71.45 4.97 229 5.01 2.15 2.83 11.6 4.4 0.143 1.54 169.8 4.56 1.86 1.18

43.8 4.49 0.88 1.47 19.68 0.208 86.05 11.68 16.14 160 23 20.4 60 93 118 2.04 6.73 12.3 11.92 6.42 7.35 5.24 21.8 68.5 12.52 16.5 6.13 1.67 215.4 74.8 2.81 29.85 28 14.94 280 0.249 5.06 3.33 9.9 3.75 11.6 2.36 5.8 1.55 71.55 4.98 229 5.05 2.19 2.83 11.68 4.4 0.15 1.58 169.8 4.56 1.86 1.2

43.2 4.4 0.85 1.4 18.9 0.208 86 11.56 15.94 160 22.5 19.12 59.9 91 97.05 1.99 6.48 12.22 11.6 6.33 7.25 5.19 21.45 68.4 12.52 16.48 6.09 1.6 213.4 73.9 2.8 29.3 27.2 14.78 277.4 0.243 5.06 3.27 9.65 3.75 11.6 2.3 5.7 1.4 71.15 4.86 229 5 2.15 2.76 11.54 4.28 0.143 1.53 166.5 4.56 1.75 1.11

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

0.42 74.8 13.4 1.12 6 0.3 786.5 8.84 13.12 8.14 7 0.19 1,350 5.87 74 1.27 8.03 13.2 6.91 0.041 2.03 95.9 690 0.82 1.28 263 0.285 0.187 0.246

0.445 75.25 13.4 1.21 6 0.3 790 8.84 13.12 8.15 7 0.19 1,350 6.18 74.7 1.36 8.06 13.2 7.06 0.057 2.04 96.3 690 0.87 1.28 263 0.3 0.188 0.246

0.41 74.5 13.28 1.12 6 0.3 770.5 8.79 13 8.14 7 0.19 1,330 5.86 74 1.25 7.91 12.82 6.87 0.041 2 94.5 670 0.82 1.25 262 0.28 0.187 0.246

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

7.7 1.12 6.1 2.38 0.46 34.4 3.17 0.58 1.04 1.44 0.185 0.6 49.7 0.7 1.69 1.02 1.2 4.6 3.78 0.15 0.415 3.89

7.7 1.13 6.1 2.4 0.55 34.45 3.2 0.58 1.04 1.44 0.186 0.6 49.95 0.7 1.71 1.02 1.24 4.6 3.78 0.157 0.415 3.92

7.6 1.11 6.1 2.28 0.44 33.95 3.14 0.57 1.04 1.38 0.179 0.58 47 0.7 1.65 1.01 1.2 4.6 3.72 0.149 0.415 3.8

VOLUME

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HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

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

27.3 1.55 3.24 30.1 1.1 6.98 0.93 5.01

27.4 1.56 3.3 30.6 1.12 6.98 0.93 5.06

26.8 1.55 3.24 29.5 1.09 6.98 0.9 4.98

26.95 1.56 3.3 30.6 1.1 6.98 0.93 5.06

1,460,500 30,000 38,000 12,138,700 4,982,000 200 60,000 1,140,600

39,408,480 46,780 124,400 366,235,395 5,469,900 1,396 55,270 5,727,323

5,320,930 100,410,795 -3,338,025

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

7.6 44.6 1.34 0.047 10.98 5.22 6.4 0.069 2.58 93 9.52 8.1 2.25 974.5 1,680 6.3 16.5 2.88 15.7 74 0.0092 9 0.225 1.33 15.7 4.25 1 2.38 2 4.09 4.31 18.3 2.75 11.3 5.15 3.05 131 10.32 1,475 1.35 0.495 41 76 6.02 2.74 1.05 3.3 0.345

7.65 44.95 1.36 0.054 10.98 5.49 6.4 0.07 2.59 94.4 9.87 8.23 2.25 974.5 1,795 6.3 16.88 2.93 16.44 74.5 0.0092 9 0.229 1.36 15.76 4.33 1.05 2.49 2 4.11 4.36 19.2 2.81 11.3 5.5 3.1 131 11.5 1,539 1.37 0.495 41 77.45 6.19 2.77 1.05 3.32 0.35

7.6 44.5 1.34 0.046 10.98 5.15 6.31 0.069 2.52 92.95 9.52 8.1 2.2 974.5 1,669 6.25 16.1 2.87 15.6 74 0.009 9 0.222 1.33 15.3 4.12 0.9 2.38 2 4.03 4.21 18.3 2.72 11.3 5.15 3.05 131 9.88 1,475 1.29 0.485 40.5 74.8 6 2.7 1.02 3.23 0.345

SERVICES 7.65 44.9 1.36 0.051 10.98 5.47 6.33 0.069 2.55 93 9.87 8.16 2.2 974.5 1,790 6.25 16.88 2.89 16.36 74.2 0.009 9 0.225 1.36 15.52 4.16 1.05 2.49 2 4.04 4.34 19.2 2.76 11.3 5.35 3.05 131 9.95 1,536 1.32 0.49 40.85 75.3 6.03 2.72 1.03 3.23 0.345

9,000 20,300 256,000 321,800,000 2,100 15,800 657,900 11,680,000 1,441,000 165,390 1,300 148,500 4,000 60 150,975 278,800 146,400 4,114,000 3,900 1,193,590 25,000,000 435,000 17,530,000 499,000 3,300 364,000 127,000 18,000 12,000 3,399,000 4,929,000 2,500 3,227,000 100 6,000 25,000 10 7,281,500 187,620 18,380,000 5,110,000 421,400 125,320 663,700 572,000 5,860,000 627,000 200,000

68,835 910,610 348,060 16,497,000 23,058 83,820 4,176,455 805,990 3,674,980 15,454,220 12,656 1,216,040 8,900 58,470 262,919,350 1,743,837 2,433,256 11,890,000 61,588 88,549,153 225,200 3,915,000 3,939,160 672,070 51,308 1,522,650 126,690 44,070 24,000 13,816,520 21,115,260 47,590 8,905,860 1,130 31,340 76,920 1,310 78,008,646 284,443,000 24,552,960 2,493,950 17,237,210 9,438,609 4,052,901 1,568,370 6,055,990 2,047,270 69,750

776,100 2,139,456 4,900 25,500 -1,733,177.50 121,728,235 14,500 -64,857,259.50 9,200 44,800 -813,860 -43,940 -4,153,170 -7,837,100.00 -210,380.00 -8,563,772.00 -27,057,140 -130,000 4,258,320 278,518 -282,520 2,316,820 -52,500

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

0.0033 2.95 5.08 2.16 0.53 0.48 12.46 3.27 0.26 0.215 0.217 0.012 0.012 2.56 8.23 2.88 1.14 0.011 0.011 4.15 0.013 8.95 3.79 132.4 3.02 0.0083

0.0036 2.98 5.21 2.31 0.54 0.485 12.48 3.3 0.27 0.218 0.219 0.012 0.012 2.64 8.23 2.9 1.15 0.012 0.011 4.15 0.013 9.2 3.85 133.3 3.02 0.0093

0.0033 2.8 5.05 2.16 0.52 0.475 11.52 3.17 0.26 0.214 0.217 0.012 0.012 2.51 8.06 2.8 1.1 0.011 0.011 4.04 0.012 8.95 3.68 132.3 3.02 0.0083

MINING & OIL 0.0036 2,384,000,000 2.83 380,000 5.18 229,800 2.31 5,000 0.52 276,000 0.475 1,290,000 12.32 27,100 3.2 8,384,000 0.27 450,000 0.215 11,090,000 0.219 1,940,000 0.012 12,000,000 0.012 124,000,000 2.62 929,000 8.23 1,463,300 2.88 210,000 1.15 606,000 0.012 168,300,000 0.011 300,000 4.04 6,000 0.012 7,500,000 9.09 2,290,600 3.7 1,904,000 132.4 1,999,720 3.02 3,000 0.0093 25,000,000

8,298,900 1,084,040 1,186,869 10,950 146,400 618,200 323,950 27,179,430 121,000 2,385,060 422,600 144,000 1,488,000 2,398,220 11,989,715 601,500 671,960 2,006,700 3,300 24,790 97,200 20,852,298 7,133,460 264,995,324 9,060 226,800

-3,600 518 -58,300 3,554,290 5,350 -10,510 -288,150 -3,857,382 -31,900 11,000 6,500 2,716,948 -11,310 -78,782,380 -

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

44.75 103 103.8 108 113.1 533 5.9 1,020 1,025 106 1,045 2.02 80.3 77 78 80 79 77.2 77.6

45 103 104.3 108 113.1 533 5.91 1,020 1,029 109 1,045 2.4 80.5 77 78 80 79 78 78

44.7 102.5 103.8 108 112 533 5.9 1,016 1,025 105.5 1,045 2.02 80.3 77 78 80 79 77.2 77.5

PREFERRED 45 78,100 102.5 1,230 104.3 5,880 108 10,000 112 100,000 533 10 5.9 851,400 1,020 3,810 1,025 3,790 109 940 1,045 50 2.03 14,000 80.5 19,250 77 7,100 78 3,120 80 13,140 79 4,130 78 13,400 78 113,290

3,501,185 126,335 610,534 1,080,000 11,202,088 5,330 5,023,460 3,871,160 3,885,030 99,420 52,250 29,470 1,549,393 546,700 243,360 1,051,200 326,270 1,034,560 8,789,220

2,411,035 39,634 -5,011,640 231,000 156,000 -

LR WARRANT

2.29

2.3

2.23

WARRANTS 2.3 141,000

320,310

22,500

ALTERRA CAPITAL ITALPINAS MAKATI FINANCE XURPAS

9.2 4.4 3 8.76

9.2 4.4 3 8.98

9 4.32 3 8.76

9.13 4.4 3 8.88

156,500 74,000 6,000 972,200

1,417,844 323,350 18,000 8,636,716

1,812 -86,800 -2,980,027

FIRST METRO ETF

119

119.9

118.2

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 119.9 9,080

1,080,519

-

NAME

MS

HOLDING FIRMS 0.445 27,800,000 74.95 1,689,700 13.38 2,263,100 1.21 140,000 6 99,000 0.3 150,000 784.5 175,920 8.8 1,698,700 13 6,079,800 8.15 53,200 7 14,000 0.19 200,000 1,331 54,765 6.18 10,500 74.7 1,294,620 1.3 21,956,000 8 555,900 12.88 3,296,300 6.9 22,421,600 0.05 2,103,500,000 2.04 185,000 95.15 224,710 690 402,560 0.87 20,000 1.25 464,000 263 1,070 0.3 2,030,000 0.188 250,000 0.246 610,000 PROPERTY 7.7 1.12 6.1 2.31 0.485 33.95 3.18 0.57 1.04 1.4 0.182 0.6 48.7 0.7 1.65 1.02 1.2 4.6 3.75 0.152 0.415 3.86

72,600 602,000 1,000 241,000 43,240,000 9,267,900 840,000 4,133,000 5,000 102,000 25,950,000 3,195,000 740,600 30,000 14,334,000 2,463,000 397,000 8,000 15,702,000 33,280,000 400,000 509,000

TRADING SUMMARY FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL HOLDING FIRMS

SHARES

67,096,755 55,331,483 2,198,041,582

PROPERTY

177,836,128

SERVICES

438,967,025

MINING & OIL

2,755,716,930

GRAND TOTAL

5,694,209,006

SME

VALUE 1,757.98 (UP) 6.49 938,048,225.67 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 11,060,73 (UP) 12.70 835,344,217.43 HOLDING FIRMS 7,396.84 (DOWN) 4.35 1,230,387,221.685 PROPERTY 3,281.19 (UP) 1.59 SERVICES 1,404.65 (UP) 26.62 971,029,844.79 MINING & OIL 12,385.12 (UP) 36.77 904,329,506.782 PSEI 7,276.34 (UP) 28.14 354,462,559.254 All Shares Index 4,366.15 (UP) 12.35 5,245,082,575.71 Gainers:104 Losers: 88; Unchanged: 48; Total: 240

based on the stock’s closing price of P3.20 per share.

“We will issue up to 250 million shares. The price is still to be determined upon SEC approval of the registration,” Bravo said. He did not provide other details including the timetable for the offering.

Global Ferronickel’s planned share sale would be lower than its original plan in 2015.

The nickel mining firm, formerly Southeast Asia Cement Holdings Inc., said in 2015 it planned to raise up to P31.03 billion from the sale of 7.079 million shares at a maximum offer price of P4.38 apiece.

It later reduced the size of the offering to P21 billion by trimming down the number of offer shares to 4.98 billion, while maintaining the maximum offer price of P4.38 per share.

The fund raising activity was put on hold after the steep drop in the company’s share price. It said it would wait for its stock price to hit near P3 per share, before pushing through with the planned follow-on offering.

Global Ferronickel signed a cooperation agreement with China State-owned Enterprise, Baiyin Nonferrous Group Co. Ltd. in October 2016 for the construction of a $700-million stainless steel plant with an annual capacity of one million tons using lower grade nickel ore sourced in the Philippines.

Globe raising P20b

By Darwin G. Amojelar GLOBE Telecom Inc. said Monday it plans to tap the debt market to raise up to P20 billion within a threeyear period.

The telecom company, controlled by conglomerate Ayala Corp., said its board of directors approved the filing of a three-year shelf registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission for up to P20 billion in principal amount of debt securities in one or more tranches.

“The purpose of which is to allow Globe within a three-year period to go to the market to offer retail bonds,” Globe corporate communications head Yolanda Crisanto said.

“Currently no decision has been made as to when this offer will take place,” she said.

Globe issued P4 billion worth of seven-year bonds and P3 billion worth of 10year bonds in July 2013 to fund the acquisition of Bayan Telecommunications Inc., capital expenditures and debt refinancing.

Globe said it would spend about $2 billion over five years to provide the country’s households with fiber optic cables.

The company said it was on track to hit the target of rolling out 2 million home broadband with speed of at least 10 Mbps by 2020 in line with its commitment to improve fixed internet in the Philippines.

Unlike its mobile internet rollout, the strategy of Globe for home broadband is to provide reliable and high speed fixed internet one area at a time.

The company announced that to date, over 260,000 home broadband lines were already deployed.

“We are catching up on the deployment of infrastructure for home broadband, after focusing on mobile for many years,” Globe president and chief executive Ernest Cu said.

Business

B3

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Isuzu bullish after record sales in ‘16

ABOITIZ PACKAGES. The Aboitiz Foundation, the corporate foundation of the Aboitiz Group, in coordination with Pilmico Foods Corp. and Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc., turns over 205 boxes containing 14,285 The Care Packages to non-government organization Kaya Natin! Movement for Good Governance and Ethical Leadership, for immediate distribution to areas affected by Typhoon Nina. Aboitiz Equity first vice president for government relations DJ Sta. Ana (right) leads the turnover of The Care Packages to Kaya Natin, represented by lead convenor and trustee Harvey Keh.

Govt bares P1-b fund to replace 5-6 lending

By Othel V. Campos

T

HE government will initiate this month a P1-b lending program designed to replace the so-called 5-6 loans with an affordable micro-financing for the country’s micro, small and medium enterprises.

The government is launching the Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso, or P3, program in Mindoro and Leyte islands and Sarangani, among the top 30 poorest provinces, following the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte to eliminate 5-6, where borrowers are charged with a 20 percent interest rate in one short transaction.

“The P3 is designed to bring down the interest rate at which micro-finance is made available to micro enterprises,” said Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.

The 2017 budget has included an initial funding of P1 billion

for the program, part of the planned P19-billion financing initiative for micro and small businesses in the next five years.

The program’s fund will be lent out in the business centers of the poorest provinces, chosen based on poverty incidence, where the participating microfinance institutions and Small Business Corp. can operate.

An attached agency of the Trade Department, SB Corp. will administer the P3 program, including the creation of a program management office, which will open a separate back

account for the P3 program to oversee the fund.

“Fund delivery to microenterprises shall be carried out in either by wholesale lending to non-bank financial institutions like MFI-NGOs, and cooperatives which shall onlend the fund to beneficiaries or by direct lending by SB Corp.,” Lopez said.

Priority beneficiaries include micro-enterprises and entrepreneurs that do not have easy access to credit, such as, micro-entrepreneurs, market vendors, agri-businessmen and members of cooperatives, industry associations and cooperators.

Loanable amount per endborrower starts at P5,000 for start-ups to a maximum of P300,000, earning an interest rate of 26 percent per annum with no collateral requirement.

The proposed rate is significantly below the 20 percent per day/week/month charged by

5-6 lenders. It is also lower than what is charged by most microfinance institutions.

MFIs may opt for portfolio guarantee cover of up to 15 percent of their P3 loan portfolio from SB Corp. at a guarantee fee of 0.4 percent.

The guarantee feature is seen to help MFIs address the P3 Program’s inherent risk. The guarantee fund will be secured from the P3 fund.

P3 allocates P100 million for direct lending by SB Corp., in which the target loan beneficiaries are the small enterprises in priority and emerging industries, start-up businesses and technology innovators.

“This alternative funding dedicated for micro and small enterprises is meant to discourage the 5-6 money lending system in our country,” said Lopez, adding that through the established MFIs, the government would reach even the smallest of entrepreneurs in the country.

Okada ready to compete for gaming market share JAPANESE billionaire Kazuo Okada, owner of the $2.4 billion Okada Manila, is ready to compete for a slice of the lucrative gaming industry in the Philippines.

Okada Manila, the country’s biggest integrated casino resort, opened its doors on December 30, upping the ante in the country’s bid to become the next Asian gambling hub.

Attracting tourists and gaming enthusiasts from around

Asia to the Philippines is Okada’s objective in competition with Solaire and City of Dreams Manila. Despite the head-start of the two gaming giants, the Japanese tycoon is undaunted.

The opening of Okada Manila reflects Okada’s perseverance in achieving his dream of building a world-class integrated entertainment resort, blending it with Manila’s trademark hospitality and excellent ser-

vice.

Okada Manila was not an overnight success, however. It encountered numerous challenges along the way.

Four years after winning one of four licenses to operate in Entertainment City in 2008, Okada’s Tiger Resort, Leisure & Entertainment Corp. faced a plethora of regulatory and land ownership issues that led to the delay in the construction and opening of his casino resort.

CEBU PACIFIC ADVOCACY. Cebu Pacific, strengthens its partnership with the United Nations

Children’s Fund to reach millions of undernourished children in the country. Since July 1, 2016, CEB began accepting contributions of all currencies from passengers. The contributions are being used to fund nutritional supplements distributed to poor households with pregnant mothers or malnourished children. Proceeds contribute to the UN children’s agency’s First 1,000 Days campaign, which provides optimal nutrition, from a mother’s pregnancy to a child’s second year of life.

The tycoon denied allegations he made improper payments to obtain preferential treatment, stressing the provisional license awarded to Tiger Resort had similar terms to those secured by other Entertainment City licensees.

In May 2015, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. forfeited a P100-million assurance bond posted by Tiger Resort for failing to meet contractual deadlines to complete the project by March 2015. The state-run gaming agency also threatened to suspend Tiger Resort’s gaming license.

Aside from these challenges, Okada has been dealing with the after effects of his controversial fallout with gaming tycoon Steve Wynn who forced the Japanese billionaire out of his holdings in the Wynn Resort in Las Vegas and Macau.

People close to the tycoon say he was close to throwing in the towel, but his faith in Filipinos prevailed in the end—leading to his decision to go against all odds.

“I have been around in search of a country that can host my dream but in every country I go to, I always see Filipinos.

I observe them at work and in dealing with other people. If we take the Filipinos’ brand of hospitality—that genuine smile and “malasakit”—and combine it with the Japanese standard for discipline, then we can create something that will only be seen here,” Okada told reporters in an earlier interview.

ISUZU Philippines Corp. posted its best annual performance in 2016 with sales of 27,361 units, up 21 percent from 22,581 units in 2015.

The company registered a record sale of 2,965 units in December, up 25 percent from 2,365 units year-on-year.

“Isuzu Philippines Corporation’s record sales performance in 2016 is clearly a benefit coming from a strong domestic economy that inspired consumer confidence and spending.

It also mirrors the continued uptick of the entire local automotive industry, which is also enjoying unprecedented results,” said Isuzu president Hajime Koso.

Leading the sales were Isuzu trucks and buses with 1,716 units, a 219-percent jump over 2015 sales.

Sales of the Isuzu D-MAX pickup rose 27 percent to 3,966 units from a year ago.

“The introduction of changes to models and the sustained promotional and marketing campaigns have all helped in driving customer interest toward the Isuzu brand last year. A strong network of dealerships, as well as excellent after-sales services, also contributed in ensuring that Isuzu was able to maintain its upward trajectory,” Koso said.

Isuzu mu-X remained the company’s best-selling model with deliveries of 12,657 units, topping the vehicle’s 2015 sales by 16 percent.

Supporting the company’s flagship model are sales of the Isuzu Crosswind that grew 13.7 percent to 4,659 units from the previous year, and those of the N-Series light-duty commercial trucks, which rose 11 percent to 4,363 units.

Othel V. Campos

How much GDP increase in 2017?

THOSE who have to keep track of the performance of the Philippine economy for professional or academic reasons are doing two things at present. These are: (1) waiting for the release by NSA (National Statistics Authority) of its figure for the full-year 2016 growth of this country’s GDP (gross domestic product) and (2) preparing a forecast for the Philippine economy’s growth in 2017.

The first task is decidedly easier than the second. This is because the GDP growth figure for the first three-fourths of 2016 is already known, to wit, 7 percent, which is the approximate average of the 6.8 percent growth rate of first-quarter 2016, the second quarter’s 7 percent and the third quarter’s surprising 7.1 percent. Considering that these were no earth-shaking changes in the Philippine economic environment during 2016’s final quarter, an economic analyst would not be far off the track if his calculations were to produce a full-year GDP growth figure of around 7 percent.

The second task of a tracker of Philippine economic performance—preparing a forecast of the Philippine economy’s growth in 2017—is much more difficult. This is so for two reasons. The first is that 2017 is just beginning and there are no existing figures for prior-quarter performances of the economy.

The second is that there are many more imponderables for the forecaster to contend with under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte than under past newly-installed national administrations.

The remarkable performance of the economy in 2016— certainly during the year’s third quarter—was the product of the strong economic fundamentals (especially healthy fiscal ratios, strong reserve position, price stability and a sound commercial banking system) bequeathed to the Duterte administration by its predecessor. The fundamentals are still in place, but an otherwise fine economic picture is beginning to be clouded by bad sounds and movements on the political side of Philippine society. The history of this country has abundantly shown that the Philippine economy is unable to maintain a respectable growth rate when political instability gets in the way.

Assuming that the prevailing political circumstances do not change during the remainder of this year, what increase is the Philippine GDP likely to achieve in 2017?

The members of the international financial community— multilateral institutions as well as commercial and investment banks—have already announced their forecasts. Not one of them believes that 7 percent GDP growth will be possible for the Philippines in 2017, but they all forecast above-6 percent growth.

The IMF (International Monetary Fund) expects the Philippine economy to grow by 6.7 percent (revised from the earlier 6.2 percent). ADB (Asian Development Bank) is not as bullish: it expects this country’s GDP to grow by 6.4 percent in 2017.

The foreign commercial and investment banks’ forecasts of 2017 Philippine GDP growth revolve around 6.5 percent.

Barclays, the British bank, expects the growth to be 6.8 percent (previously 6.3 percent). The forecast of another British banking giant, HSBC (Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is 6.5 percent. The Japanese investment bank Nomura Securities is more sanguine about this country’s 2017 growth prospects; it expects Philippine GDP to grow by 6.9 percent this year (up from 6.7 percent).

From the foregoing it appears that the international community considers the 7.1 percent GDP growth of 2016’s last quarter to have been something of a fluke. This must explain why all the major international forecasts of 2017 Philippine economic growth are below 7 percent.

Do I think the Philippine economy is not capable of achieving 7 percent-and-above GDP growth on a sustained basis? I do, but not with the kind of disruptive political environment that Rodrigo Duterte is creating. A mixture of good economics and bad politics is bad for GDP. Hopefully, the nation’s political situation will turn for the better as the year progresses. But as of today I would put the economy’s 2017 growth at no more than 6.5 percent.

E-mail: rudyromero777@yahoo.com

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

B4

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2017

Business

Detroit braces for Trump tweets

By Luc Olinga

D

ETROIT―The global auto industry on Monday was bracing for more confrontational tweets from Presidentelect Donald Trump, with the festive Detroit auto show due to kick off here.

As he prepares to take office later this month, Trump has used his Twitter account to take aim at auto makers, warning that they may face stiff import tariffs for selling cars made with foreign labor on the US market.

As recently as Thursday, Trump trained his sights on Toyota for building cars in Mexico, after having similarly spotlighted Ford and General Motors.

In what appeared to be a preemptive maneuver, Fiat Chrysler announced late Sunday that it is returning manufacture of the Ram heavy-duty truck to the United States from Mexico, while investing $1 billion in Michigan and Ohio factories and creating 2,000 jobs.

After having taken on several auto makers in succession, the annual celebration of the global auto industry in a state which

narrowly voted for Trump in November seems like a very inviting target for the president-elect.

Scott Houldieson, a regional executive with the United Automobile Workers in Chicago, told AFP that Mexican auto workers earned between $5 and $8 an hour, versus an average of $20 for newly hired Ford workers in the United States.

At corporate headquarters and in the halls of Detroit hotels where executives have gathered, a pressing question has been whom the president-elect would target next. Have Ford, Toyota and GM weathered the storm?

A representative for one automaker who declined to be named told AFP that keeping close watch on Trump’s Twitter account, his favored means

of public address, had become a priority for the company’s social media team.

Other manufacturers said they followed a broad spectrum of media.

“We monitor the entire media landscape, including social media, for all news,” Volkswagen spokeswoman Jeannine Ginnivan told AFP. AFP got a similar reply from a representative for Audi, a Volkswagen AG brand which began producing the new Q5 model in Puebla, Mexico in September.

Volkswagen-branded cars are also produced in the country.

The Audi plant, the first for the brand in North America, has a production capacity of 150,000 cars a year and employs as many as 4,200 people.

Fiat Chrysler, which took a US

taxpayer bailout in 2009 following the global financial crisis, emphasizes its presence in the United States.

“Since June 2009, we have announced $8.4 billion in US-based investments and have added almost 25,000 new US jobs,” said Jodi Tinson, a spokeswoman.

Trump has harshly criticized the trade policies of previous US presidents, claiming they resulted in millions of job losses in the United States. He has also threatened to withdraw from or renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, which involves Canada, the United States and Mexico.

Under the treaty, if at least 65 percent of a car’s parts have a North American origin, it can be sold duty-free in the region. AFP

German industrial output up November GERMAN industrial production rose in November, adding to signs that Europe’s largest economy saw a strong finish to the end of last year.

Output, adjusted for seasonal swings, gained 0.4 percent from October, when it advanced a revised 0.5 percent, the Economy Ministry in Berlin said on Monday. The reading, which is typically volatile, compares with a median estimate for a 0.6 percent increase in a Bloomberg survey. A separate report from the Federal Statistics Office showed exports increased 3.9 percent in November, with imports up 3.5 percent.

The reports follow a string of data published last week that underlined Germany’s economic strength heading into a year that will bear challenges from national elections in autumn to risks from Britain’s exit negotiations with the European Union. A survey of purchasing managers suggested manufacturing and services expanded at the fastest pace in a year in December, unemployment continued to decline and the inflation rate posted a record increase to 1.7 percent.

“Germany is doing well― the economy is growing fast enough to bolster employment and slow enough to avoid inflationary tensions,” said Andreas Scheuerle, an economist at Dekabank in Frankfurt. “If it wasn’t for the rest of the world, it would be in an optimal position.”

The euro was little changed after the report and traded at $1.0535 at 8:28 a.m. Frankfurt time.

Output was bolstered by a 1.5 percent surge in construction, according to the Economy Ministry. Manufacturing rose 0.4 percent in November from the previous month, while energy production fell 0.4 percent. Production was up 2.2 percent from a year earlier.

“In manufacturing and construction, production picked up noticeably after a weak summer half,” the ministry said in an e-mailed statement. “Orders in manufacturing and construction, as well as sentiment indicators in these sectors, promise solid output growth in the winter half.” Bloomberg

MCDONALD’S SALE. Employees serve a customer at the cash register of a McDonald’s fast food restaurant in Beijing on January 9, 2017. US fast-food giant McDonald’s will sell a controlling stake in its China and Hong Kong business for up to US$2.08 billion to a consortium including state-owned Citic and the Carlyle Group, it was announced on January 9. AFP

Oil prices stop gain near $54 per barrel OIL halted its advance below $54 a barrel as an increase in US drilling countered signs Opec members including Saudi Arabia are sticking to planned output cuts to stabilize the market.

Futures slid as much as 0.6 percent in New York after rising 3.2 percent the previous three sessions. US drillers added rigs for the 10th straight week to the highest level in a year, according Baker Hughes Inc. Saudi Arabia is among Opec producers leading a reduction in supply, the group’s Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo said in an interview with Kuwait’s official news agency.

Oil last year capped its biggest annual gain since 2009 as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and 11 other nations agreed to curb output starting Jan. 1 in an effort to trim a global inventory glut. While producers from Iraq to Kuwait say they have started to curb supply, an increase from countries such as Libya―exempt from cuts― could put pressure on prices.

“The oil market has found a temporary equilibrium point and appears content to sit around that level at the moment,” said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney. “We are getting anecdotal evidence of Opec production cuts and that’s enough to hold the market firm.”

West Texas Intermediate for February delivery slid as much as 33 cents to $53.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $53.72 at 2:38 p.m. in Singapore. Total volume traded was about 60 percent below the 100-day average.

The contract rose 23 cents to $53.99 a barrel on Friday to cap a fourth weekly gain.

Rig Count Brent for March settlement lost as much as 29 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $56.81 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The global benchmark crude traded at a premium of $2.26 to March WTI. US drillers boosted the rig count by 4 to 529 last week, according to data Friday from Baker Hughes. It’s the highest level since the week ended Jan. 1, 2016. Companies have added more than 100 rigs since the end of September. Bloomberg

Big Paris department stores to finally open on Sundays

By Delphine Paysant PARIS―Sunday shopping at Paris’s prestigious department stores is finally becoming a reality, giving them a much-needed shot in the arm following terror attacks that have scared away foreign visitors to the world’s fashion capital.

President Francois Hollande’s Socialist government has chipped away at France’s laws preventing shops opening on Sunday.

Regional officials have received authority to allow stores to open more Sundays every year, but the major initiative was the creation of special international tourism zones where shops could operate on Sunday.

That was a particularly important move for Paris, a perennial favorite for tourists, but whose famous department stores and luxury boutiques lining Boulevard Haussmann and the Champs Elysees had to stay shut.

Implementation of the 2015 reform has been slowed down however as stores negotiated with unions on pay conditions.

Working on Sundays remains controversial, although high unemployment and the higher wages on offer have helped to soften opposition.

Earlier last week, Printemps finally got enough union support for its wage package for Sunday openings, the last of Paris’s major department stores to strike a deal.

It plans to begin opening its doors on Sundays in a few months.

Galeries Lafayette, the other major department store based

This file photo taken on December 04, 2012 shows people shopping at the Galeries Lafayette department store in Paris. Sunday shopping at Paris’s prestigious department stores is finally becoming a reality, throwing them a lifeline following terror attacks that have scared away tourism. President Francois Hollande’s Socialist government has chipped away at France’s laws against shops opening on Sunday. AFP

on Boulevard Haussmann and a particularly popular destination for cash-rich Chinese visitors, made its first regular opening last Sunday.

Another high-end store, Le Bon Marche, also plans to begin Sunday shopping after reaching a deal with unions last year.

The flagship BHV store near Paris city hall was the first to strike an agreement with unions in November 2015 and has been opening its doors since July last year.

Six months later, “the results are extremely positive, with sales increasing by 10 percent since the Sunday openings,” BHV’s management told AFP.

That beat the forecast of a 6-8 percent gain that the store made when it began Sunday shopping.

“Since September, Sunday has become the second best sales day for BHV Marais, behind Saturday,” said Galeries Lafayette group, which owns the store.

And it isn’t only tourists who are availing themselves of Sunday shopping hours.

“There is undoubtedly a real appetite from the public, especially those who shop regularly in the adjacent streets in the Marais (neighborhood where Sunday shopping has been allowed for several years under a separate exception) to drop by BHV now as well,” said the company.

It also noted new clients visiting the store, both from the neighborhood and the greater Paris region, who said they didn’t have time to shop there other days of the week.

Missing out In terms of jobs, Sunday openings resulted in the addition of 150 full-time posts at BHV Marais.

At Galeries Lafayette, they’ve already recruited 330 people to handle the Sunday openings and the total is expected to rise. And that doesn’t account for the staff at the in-shop boutiques that are employed by the brands directly.

The store is targeting a 5 to 10 percent increase in sales.

The Sunday openings will help Galeries Lafayette, which like Printemps makes around half of their sales from foreign tourists, with this lucrative segment.

There are fears that many well-heeled tourists with cash to spend were preferring to spend Sundays in London or Madrid where they could shop.

According to calculations by one retail trade association, the Galeries Lafayette and Printemps shops on Boulevard Haussmann alone were missing between 168 million and 240 million euros in sales per year by keeping their doors closed on Sunday.

The two stores are hoping for a repeat of the experience of the Beaugrenelle shopping center, located near their Eiffel Tower, which saw a 28-percent jump in visits by tourists after it began to open on Sundays.

The Sunday openings will also help the department stores make the best of a bad situation.

Paris has been struggling to lure back tourists after the November 2015 terror attacks that killed 130 people.

Tourist arrivals to France overall were down 8.1 percent in the 10 months from January to October, and in the Paris area alone, tourism revenue is expected to plunge by 1.5 billion euros this year.

The MKG Group consultancy estimated that French hotels and their restaurants lost out on 900 million euros in revenue last year due to foreign tourists staying away, with Parisian hotels bearing nearly all of the brunt of the shortfall. AFP

LGUs LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor Roger M. Garcia, Assistant Editor jimbo.gulle@gmail.com mslocalgov@gmail.com TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2017

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BAUANG BEAUTY. Mutia Ti Bauang 2017 Nadine Cabangcla (left) receives the crown from her predecessor, 2016 winner Danica Madayag (right) during the beauty pageant’s coronation night at the Farmer’s Civic Center in Bauang, La Union. Christine Junio

Baguio chilly at 11 degrees Celsius

By Dexter A. See

B

AGUIO CITY—Temperatures in the country’s undisputed Summer Capital have started to drop over the past few days, and got to 11 degrees Celsius on Monday morning, the coldest so far this year.

Wilson Locando, a weather specialist with the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration or Pagasa, said the cold spell in Baguio and other elevated areas in Benguet and Mountain Province

will extend to early March.

The temperature is expected to drop further with the prevailing enhanced northeast monsoon, Locando added.

The lowest temperature recorded by Pagasa in Baguio was 6.3

degrees Celsius on Jan. 18, 1961, while the fifth lowest mark was 7.5 degrees Celsius recorded on Jan. 15, 2009.

Baguio’s temperature started to drop to 13 degrees Celsius in the first week of January from the usual 15 to 16-degrees morning temperature, before dropping four degrees more as recorded by weathermen early Monday.

Locando said Baguio’s cold spell usually prevails from November to March every year, but the coldest days happen during January and February, when the enhanced northeast monsoon or “amihan” in the

vernacular is at its peak.

With the sudden chill in Baguio, health authorities urged the public to prepare for the resurgence of cold weather illnesses “that would significantly affect their productivity in their work and responsibilities in their personal life.”

Dr. Lakshmi Legaspi, Cordillera regional director of the Department of Health, said residents and visitors to Baguio and the highlands must make sure they protect themselves from respiratory illness and mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika.

They also need to watch out for

food and water-borne illnesses and strengthen their immune system, Legaspi added.

Dr. Rowena Galpo, City Health Services Officer, reminded residents and visitors to keep themselves warm by wearing thick clothes to combat the serious negative effects of the cold to their health.

Galpo noted that common respiratory illnesses during this time of the year include cough and colds, pneumonia, bronchitis, and asthma, among others.

She expressed confidence that with the regular cool weather in Baguio from November to Febru-

Chinese eye P3-b outlay in Davao

2,017 Munti students join Centennial Walk A SEA of colors covered Muntinlupa’s National Road on Saturday as exactly 2,017 students from 27 public schools in the city marched in the “Centennial Walk,” one of the kickoff activities of the city’s Centennial Celebration this year.

Through the Muntinlupa Centennial Commission and Schools Division Office, the students participated in the parade from Agro Homes, Putatan to Muntinlupa City Hall Quadrangle for the Salute of Colors and marching drills before making their way to the Muntinlupa Sports Complex in Tunasan.

Mayor Jaime Fresnedi, Rep. Ruffy Biazon, and Department of Education executives led the program where the students, together with school principals, teachers, and parents, performed a series of dance numbers.

Fresnedi thanked the participants’ parents for allowing them to join the activity. He said that it is good to expose the next generation to local activities at a very young age, as it instills nationalistic pride in them.

The mayor also invited everyone to join the yearlong celebration of Muntinlupa’s Centennial, which will conclude on December 19.

Other activities lined up for the celebration include a Centennial Roadshow Caravan, Centennial Women’s Congress, Sale Extravaganza, Centennial Bancathon, Centennial Travel Expo, Lakbay Bulilit, Serenata sa Plaza, and LGBT Parangal, among others.

An unveiling of heritage houses in Muntinlupa and the restoration of historical sites will also be conducted during the celebration.

By F. Pearl A. Gajunera

Exactly 2017 students participate in the ‘Centennial Walk’ and salute of colors as part of the yearlong celebration of Muntinlupa’s Centennial Anniversary on Saturday at the Muntinlupa Sports Complex in Tunasan. Mayor Jaime Fresnedi graced the activity and thanked the Muntinlupa Centennial Commission and Schools Division Office for allowing the youth to participate in the celebration. Muntinlupa will commemorate its 100th Founding Anniversary on Dec. 19.

QC buying P19.5-m air quality monitoring system

By Rio N. Araja COUNCILORS in Quezon City have given Mayor Herbert Bautista the green light to acquire an air quality monitoring system designed to measure the volume of air pollutants and other particu-

late matter emitted by vehicles and establishments.

City Council Resolution No. SP 6905 of 2016 also authorized the mayor to allocate P19.5 million for the purpose.

Bautista said the project will be overseen by the Department of Environment and Natural

Resources’ Environmental Protection and Waste Management department.

The air quality monitoring system will be operational this year, he added, with the city hall compound as the pilot area.

Citing a recent study conducted by the University of the

Philippines’ Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology, the city government said Katipunan Avenue and Quezon Avenue were identified as having the highest concentration of pollutants.

The UP-IESM has proposed to assist the city government in

setting up an air pollution monitoring and management program and a health risk assessment for Quezon City to determine the risks of exposure to levels of inhalable outdoor pollution in hotspots that represent roadside, residential, recreational and urban background sites.

‘Makatizens’ urged to enroll, renew PhilHealth IDs

By Joel E. Zurbano RESIDENTS of Makati City can now avail of or renew their Philippine Health Insurance to subsidize their medical care and receive other benefits it offers, as it is sponsored by the city government.

“I call on Makatizens to prioritize their registration with PhilHealth for their own sake as well as for the benefit of their loved ones,” said Makati Mayor Abigail Binay.

“As an active partner of PhilHealth in making quality health care accessible to everyone, the city gov-

ary, people know how to protect themselves by now.

The public must also brace for the expected increase in influenza-like illnesses that could result in dengue fever, considering that dengue is now a year-round illness that could increase anytime once the immune system is not strong enough to combat the virus, Galpo said.

She appealed to Baguio natives and tourists to seek early medical attention once they contract any illness in the city, so they could be properly diagnosed by the personnel assigned to the different health facilities in the city and regionwide.

ernment aims to achieve optimum coverage especially among the less privileged residents.”

New applicants and old members can enroll and renew their “PhilHealth ng Masa” membership at the PhilHealth Division, at the fourth floor of Makati City

Hall Building I, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The enrollment and renewal period started last Jan. 3 and will end on Feb. 28, 2017.

City Social Welfare Department chief Ryan Barcelo said residents may enroll and renew their PhilHealth ng Masa mem-

bership on scheduled dates, as follows: Jan. 9 to 13 for Barangays Poblacion, Valenzuela, Carmona, Kasilawan and Tejeros; and January 16 to 20 for Barangays Guadalupe Viejo, Pinagkaisahan, Pitogo, South Cembo and Northside.

DAVAO CITY—A Chinese investor plans to build an aquaculture processing plant in the city that will generate an estimated 10,000 jobs for Davaoeños.

On Monday, officers of Zhe Jian Fang Yuan Ship Industry Co. Ltd. led by their chairman Wen Lin Jin met with city officials to lay down their plans for a plant that would process marine products for export to China and other countries.

Davao City Investment and Promotion Center Head Lemuel Ortonio said the Chinese are looking for a 3,000-hectare area to build their plant for their long-term investment worth P3 billion.

“The plant will process marine products into dried goods that will be exported mainly to China,” he said, noting the project would be a big boost to the city’s economy.

Though the business will be solely owned by Chinese investors, the management vowed to hire 10,000 Davaoeṅos to work with them, Ortonio said.

“The city will not hold any ownership in the processing plant,” he added.

Aside from job opportunities, the Chinese investors will also transfer their latest technology in fishing, Ortonio said. The company is also venturing into shipbuilding and repair, and would integrate that into the aquaculture plant.

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2017

LGUs

Town saddled with P403m in loans

By Ferdie G. Domingo

S

AN JOSE CITY, Nueva Ecija—Until year 2025, the San Jose city government will be swimming in debt following P403 million in total loans made under the previous administration.

Mayor Mario Salvador told a press briefing that the biggest challenge facing his administration is paying these outstanding loans spread over the next nine

years, or well after his term ends in 2019.

“This is one of the biggest hurdles my administration is facing, and we have to live with

it,” Salvador said, adding that San Jose’s development funds for 2016 had already been obligated when he assumed office in July.

The loans were incurred by Salvador’s predecessor, former three-term mayor Marivic Belena, whose husband, former three-term mayor Alexander Belena, lost to Salvador in last May’s elections.

Documents furnished by Salvador to newsmen showed that the city government contracted loans on eight occasions start-

ing in October 2009 up to last year. The long-term loan packages were payable in seven and 10 years.

The biggest loan was the P82 million the city government obtained in March 2015 from the Nueva Ecija Lending CenterCabanatuan branch of the Land Bank of the Philippines, which is set to be paid in full by March 2025.

In November 2012, the Belena administration also contracted a P69.6-million loan for the city government center building, to

be paid up in November 2022.

Other loans included P16.1 million for San Jose’s computerization project, P139 million (in two tranches) to buy heavy equipment, P62 million for school buildings, P38 million for the public market parking area and P3 million for the vegetable section of the public market.

Of the eight loans, only the computerization project has been fully paid, with the city having an outstanding balance of P289 million, Salvador said.

The city government still owes creditors, including interests P70 million for the heavy equipment, P53.5 million for the city government center building, P89.6 million for the FMRs, P64 million for the school buildings, P41.5 million for the parking area and P3.3 million for the market’s vegetable section.

The mayor said the city is still largely dependent on its Internal Revenue Allotment as a source of funds amounting to P458.1 million and representing 76.48 percent of its annual budget.

‘Why is coal-fired plant still running?’

SAVING THE HARVEST. Farmers in Barangay Magpanambo, Polangui, Albay start harvesting their rice, which was damaged by flash floods at the height of Typhoon ‘Nina’ that hit the Bicol Region last week. Albay is one of the top rice-producing provinces in the country. Ver Noveno

Northern Tesda to train more construction workers provinces get PCSO vehicles IN A joint ceremony held at the Ilocos Norte Provincial Capitol Auditorium, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office on Friday turned over 13 ambulances to Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur and Abra.

Jose Jorge Corpuz, PCSO chairman, reiterated their commitment to providing health and welfare assistance to Filipinos. “This is for the Filipino people━all Filipinos. As long as you come to PCSO, we will help you,” he said.

Ilocos Norte received six ambulances, exceeding Gov. Imee R. Marcos’ request for two units.

One unit each was given to the municipalities of Dingras, Bangui, Pagudpud and Sarrat; the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council; and the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center in Batac City.

Coordinating with other provincial offices and national agencies, Ilocos Norte’s PDRRMC has been instrumental in providing crisis response and speeding up recovery during and after natural disasters, most recently when Super Typhoon “Lawin” (international name Haima) struck the province in October 2016.

“Resiliency is defined by early recovery, by how fast damaged communities can get back up,” Marcos said during her 2016 State of the Province Address a week after Lawin swept Northern Luzon.

The ambulance in care of the PDRRMC will also be used for the Provincial Incidence Response Management 911, Ilocos Norte’s 24-hour emergency hotline launched last month.

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga— The Technical Education Skills Development Authority in Central Luzon will prioritize the training of construction workers in the region to supply the manpower needs of P7 trillion in infrastructure projects the national government plans to implement in the next six years.

Nomer Pascual, chief of the Technical Division of Tesda in Central Luzon, said the move

aims to supply the construction industry with the workers it needs as the government expects the number of projects to rise dramatically.

Industry reports say the Philippine construction sector needs about 200,000 workers, but only half are available and just 25,000 are actually employed, resulting in the delay of existing projects.

Pascual said an estimated 10,000 students have finished skills training under the 149 programs of Tes-

da last year, and 8,068 were in the construction program.

The workers would go into the construction of more condominiums of the private sector, which would in turn house the expansion of companies in the $23-billion business process outsourcing industry in the country.

Remittances from overseas Filipino workers, which are estimated to reach $25 billion in 2016, will also drive the economy and lead

to more houses and construction work, Pascual added.

Electricians, plumbers, pipe fitters, masons, welders and other skilled laborers could finish Tesda’s construction skills program in just two months, Pascual noted.

“An electrician can work anywhere, even in his neighborhood or at nearby establishments, and earn money even without going to the construction sites or fields,” he said. Romeo Dizon

LIMAY, Bataan—The CoalFree Bataan Movement on Monday lamented the continued operation of ashfall-causing coal-fired power plants in this town.

“We have read in the news that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau in Region 3 already ordered the shutdown of the SMC Global Power plant and told the Petron Corp. RMP 2 coal plant to ‘stop dumping newly generated bottom ash,’” said Derek Cabe, coordinator of the Coal-Free Bataan Movement.

“We checked this morning and found out the Limay coal plants are still in operation.”

Asked to react to the DENREMB’s reported plan to shut down the plant, San Miguel Corp. president Ramon Ang on Friday said it was “not true news” without elaborating.

In a statement, Petron said its ash pond “is located within our facility and near our offices. It has the necessary regional and local permits, is surrounded by dikes and regularly watered to prevent dispersion.”

Ash from the pond, certified by the DENR as non-hazardous, “will be used as raw material for our cement manufacturing plant,” added Petron, which also has its 180,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Limay.

Butch Gunio

POLICE OUTREACH.

Hundreds of drugs surrenderers received gift packages, toys and used clothes from the Nagcarlan Municipal Police headed by Chief Insp. Reynaldo N. Vitto and Supt. Serio Manacop of the Laguna Provincial Police Office.

The event was held in Barangay Banca Banca, Nagcarlan, Laguna, in partnership with the Police Provincial Advisory Council headed by Celso C. Dioko, Nagcarlan Mayor Nelson M. Orsuna, and Councilor Rexon Arevalo.

Roy Tomandao

Benguet-Goldrich Antamok waste disposal project on

By Dexter A. See BAGUIO CITY—Benguet Corp. and its development partner, Goldrich Natural Resources Exploration and Development Inc., has signed separate agreements with the City Government of Baguio and the Municipal Government of Itogon for the conversion of its Antamok properties into an engineered sanitary landfill.

The landfill would have a waste-to-energy compost plant geared toward sustainable environmental preservation and protection in the concerned localities, the mining firm said.

The Antamok project is in the mine rehabilitation plan to be implemented in the affected areas under the final mine rehabilitation and decommissioning plan approved by the MGB, Benguet Corp. added.

Once implemented, the Antamok project will effectively address the solid waste management of the Baguio-La TrinidadItogon-Sablan-Tuba-Tublay or BLISTT area, following the provisions of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, and that the project is imbued with public interest, the firm said.

The proposed facilities for

the project will cover a portion of BC’s 60-hectare property to be used for the proposed engineered sanitary landfill and waste-to-energy plants.

Signing the agreement on behalf of Benguet Corp. was Executive Director Isidro C. Alcantara Jr., while Goldrich was represented by its president, Atty. Jaime A. Paredes Jr. Baguio was represented by Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan while Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan also signed the pact.

Under the agreement, BC will turn over its Antamok properties in favor of Goldrich that

are needed for the landfill and waste-to-energy project, as well as give Goldrich access to the properties through Benguet Corp.’s surrounding properties for the entire economic life of the project.

BC shall retain ownership of Antamok and can access it any time for operations and repairand-maintenance activities of its underground facilities and other mine structures in the area.

At the end of the agreement, which lasts 25 years and renewable for another 25, the possession of the patented lands shall revert to Benguet Corp.

The mining firm will also secure the approval from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau as part of the mine rehabilitation program of Antamok.

Meanwhile, Itogon will deliver and dispose exclusively at Antamok all the town’s solid waste generated and collected by its communities once the engineered sanitary landfill is ready for operation. The town will only do so upon receiving written notice from Goldrich, and issue the endorsement necessary for the implementation, operation and maintenance of the Antamok project.

World IN BRIEF Fresh rain inundate south Thailand BANGKOK―Swathes of southern Thailand remained submerged Monday as fresh rain deepened misery in the flood-stricken zone, prompting a scramble to pump water from the worst-hit areas.

Twenty-one people have been killed and nearly one million people affected by floods after days of unexpected rain across the country’s southern neck, disaster relief officials said.

Downpours and flash floods have also disrupted holidays on tourist islands including Samui and Phangan, disappointing tens of thousands of visitors hunting Thailand’s peak season sun.

Despite the end of the monsoon season weeks ago, there were no immediate signs of respite for the flood-battered region.

The Thai Meteorological Department warned of continuing “heavy rains which may cause flash floods” across 10 southern provinces, while the army intensified relief efforts.

Thailand’s junta has deployed boats with special pumping equipment to Nakhon Si Thammarat province, which has seen floods reach rooftops in some areas, causing deaths and extensive damage to property.

“We are sorry for the families who have lost their loved ones,” Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan told reporters.

“The government and army will help as much as we can.”

Television images showed villagers wading through muddy water in remote flooded hamlets. AFP

Porn back in view at Vegas show LAS VEGAS―For the first time in more than a decade, adult entertainment was back in view at the Consumer Electronics Show gadget extravaganza in Las Vegas.

Naughty America had a room in a virtual reality section of the show floor, where it demonstrated how its video performed on rival headsets from HTC, Samsung, and Facebook-owned Oculus.

“It was packed at times,” company chief information officer Ian Paul said as CES came to a close on Sunday.

“It felt like the walking dead with people banging on the doors,” he quipped, in reference to a hit zombie television series.

It was the first time in 16 years that the porn industry was back in bed with the premier gadget extravaganza, which marked its 50th anniversary this year, according to Paul.

“We were admitted because we are doing VR, not on the basis of being adult,” Paul said. AFP

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Danube fisherman hauls suicide jumpers to safety B

ELGRADE―Putting her backpack down, she climbed over the fence and jumped into the rushing waters of the Danube below: the 16 year-old girl was the 29th attempted suicide to be saved by Renato Grbic, a Belgrade fisherman and restaurant owner.

Factory makes giant Trump chickens JIAXING, China―A Chinese factory is hatching giant inflatable chickens resembling Donald Trump to usher in the Year of the Rooster.

The 16-foot fowls sport the distinctive golden mane of the US president-elect and mimic his signature hand gestures with their tiny wings.

Cartoon figures of animals from the Chinese zodiac are ubiquitous around Chinese New Year at the end of this month.

The balloon factory is selling its presidential birds for as much as 14,400 yuan ($2,080) on the Chinese shopping site Taobao for a 10-meter version.

“I saw his image on the news and he has a lot of personality, and since Year of the Rooster is coming up I mixed these two elements together to make a Chinese chicken,” factory owner Wei Qing told AFP. “It is so funny, so we designed it and tried to sell it and it turned out to be popular.”

The cartoon balloon appeared to be based on a sculpture designed by US artist Casey Latiolais, which was unveiled at a shopping mall last month in Taiyuan, capital of the northern province of Shanxi.

Wei said he was not aware that the American designer had created the original, but added that “there are some differences in the facial expression. And that one is glass. Ours is inflatable.”

Trump has captured the Chinese imagination and riled its authorities, threatening to get tough on trade practices he says are unfair after taking office on January 20. AFP

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2017

PRESENT. Actress Lola Kirke attends Amazon Studios’ Golden Globes Celebration at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 8, 2017, in Beverly Hills, California. AFP

On that October day “she was lucky that I was nearby with a friend to pull her out,” said her rescuer, an athletic 55-year-old.

“I was sitting in my taverna when a neighbor ran in and said someone had jumped from the bridge. So I took my boat... I pulled her out,” Grbic recalled in an interview with AFP. Built in 1946, the Pancevo Bridge has the notorious distinction of being a hot spot for Belgrade’s most desperate.

Until 2014, the road and rail bridge was the only crossing point over the River Danube in the Serbian capital and was spared during the 1999 NATO bombing campaign against Serbia over its war with ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

The city’s central Brankov Bridge is another draw for suicide bids but the Sava River flowing underneath “is a pool” compared with the Danube, said Grbic.

The mighty Danube may conjure up romantic visions of epic waterway tours through enchanting European countryside in some of the 10 countries it flows through.

But Europe’s second longest river will carry anyone who wants to jump into it for many kilometers, and in winter, its temperature is barely above zero degrees C (32 degrees F).

“Life expectancy” before fatal hypothermia “is 15 to 20 minutes,” Grbic said, whose family of river fishermen has lived at their waterside residence for four generations.

On the section where his tavern “At Renato and Goca” is located, the Danube is almost one kilometer wide. In the winter mist, it is hard to make out even the other side of the bank.

Some victims die of cardiac arrest when jumping or hitting the water some 66 feet down, such as a 73-year old man two years ago.

“Those who survive have a survival reflex. They scream, swim,” Grbic, a married, father-of-three grown-up sons, said.

Every year the authorities register 25 to 30 suicide attempts off Belgrade bridges.

“But these are only registered cases,” said Sasa Knezevic, deputy chief of Belgrade’s river police unit, adding the figures peak towards the end of the summer.

Police usually act to prevent suicides when they spot potential cases through video surveillance but the closest river police station is about 15 minutes upstream, said Grbic.

“I have known Renato forever,” Knezevic said. “If it was not for him, many people would not be saved after jumping into the river.”

Grbic said he spent 90 percent of his time fishing. His 29 rescues of Pancevo Bridge jumpers span nearly two decades and his efforts have won him official recognition.

A wall in his restaurant is adorned with elaborate certificates for bravery awarded by local authorities, as well as newspaper articles about him. He was also among around 200 Serb nationals recognized for their outstanding achievements in 2008. AFP

Serbs set to hold divisive holiday A cup of nostalgia at Chinese teahouse CHENGDU, China―At 4:00 am the kettles crackle on a charcoal stove as regulars crowd inside an ancient Chinese temple turned teahouse, a relic in a country being overrun by Starbucks cafes.

Wearing a cap and a blue vest, Li Qiang gets up in the middle of the night, as he does every day, to light the fire and prepare portions of tea in tiny cups that can be purchased for a modest two yuan (29 US cents) each.

Outside the Guanyin Pavilion teahouse, named for the goddess the temple was once dedicated to, elderly men chat as they wait for the 300-year-old building’s large wooden doors to open.

Inside, decorations from past eras are visible in the shadows: religious frescoes and motifs on high beams, dating from before it was converted just over a century ago.

Lower down, decaying paintings on wooden panels depict Communist China’s founder Mao Zedong surrounded by solar rays, or slogans glorifying socialism and hoping for the Great Helmsman’s longevity.

“Nothing has changed since the Cultural Revolution,” says Li. The 50-seat teahouse in Chengdu, capital of the southwestern province of Sichuan, and the way of life it represents are a throwback to the past in a society that is becoming increasingly frenetic and internationalized by its status as the world’s second-largest economy.

Unlike upmarket teahouses in the city center, the state-owned establishment does not offer rare and expensive teas at premium prices.

Instead, customers sit on bamboo chairs in small groups, under the pale glow of naked light bulbs suspended from the high ceiling.

“Nowhere else in Chengdu will you find a similar tea house,” says customer Ning Shucheng, who is in his 80s. “There are none. They have been ruined or completely

demolished.”

Teahouses were once emblematic of Chinese urban culture but are now struggling to revitalize their public image in the face of ever-expanding foreign or foreign-inspired coffee chains.

“Here we are all local people, faithful,” laughs another customer, a 73-year-old surnamed Zhang.

Pouring boiling water into thermos bottles decorated with flowers, Li greeted everyone.

“For them this is a second home, it’s like being in a family,” he explains, especially for those whose own children live far from Chengdu.

Li was around 30 when he was appointed manager more than two decades ago, but has been careful not to change anything during his tenure.

He muses: “What’s the point?

This is a place that breathes humanity, the lives of the regulars.

This is not profitable, admittedly, but how could I give it up? Some regulars walk 10 kilometers every morning to come here.”

Across the street, an umbrella repairer opens his stall, while a butcher can be heard chopping meat in the distance. Under a lean-to, a hunchbacked hairdresser plugs in his hair clippers.

The teahouse offers customers a place to socialize and escape a materialistic and individualistic society they struggle to fit into, according to Tian Zaipo, a comparatively young client at 50.

“In today’s world people are getting further and further apart,” he says. “It’s so good to see your friends here.”

But he acknowledges that a new generation of Chinese beverage drinkers preferred coffee shops -- US chain Starbucks had only 400 outlets in the country in 2011, but within five years had almost six times as many, and was aiming to double that.

“The young people do not come anymore,” said Tian. AFP

SARAJEVO―The Serbs in Bosnia are set to hold a deeply divisive holiday on Monday, a date tied to the fragile nation’s brutal 1990s war and a sensitive issue for other ethnic groups.

This year’s Republic Day marks the 25th anniversary of the creation of the Bosnian Serb-run entity Republika Srpska (RS) on January 9, 1992.

The date has huge emotional resonance in Bosnia, stirring memories of nationalist fervor, trauma and bloodshed.

It marks the proclamation of a “Republic of Serb people” in Bosnia that took place three months before the inter-ethnic 1992-1995 conflict that claimed 100,000 lives.

The founders of the RS included Radovan Karadzic -- sentenced in March to 40 years’ jail

for genocide and crimes against humanity committed during the war that also displaced more than two million people.

An overwhelming majority of Bosnian Serb voters in September opted in a controversial referendum organized by the RS’ defiant national leader Milorad Dodik to continue to hold the holiday.

Bosnia’s constitutional court ruled that the holiday was illegal for discriminating against nonSerbs and canceled the referendum, but Dodik pressed ahead regardless.

The referendum was criticized by the United States and the European Union, but supported by Dodik’s ally Russia.

“No one can make people’s feelings disappear, or prevent us from celebrating on January 9.

It’s completely legitimate,” Dodik

said Friday.

RS’ capital Banja Luka will see police officers parade through the streets. Dodik had asked Serb troops from the Bosnian national army to take part, but the federal government has refused.

The nationalist leader has warned he will consider the federal army an “enemy force” should Serb troops stay away.

The Dayton peace agreement that ended Bosnia’s war split the country into two semi-independent entities, the RS and a Muslim-Croat Federation.

But analysts say that the institutional bonds between the entities remain weak and prone to instability.

Some fear Dodik is warming up for a referendum on the independence of RS, which he has repeatedly threatened to carry out. AFP

FOR QUESTIONING. Choi Soon-sil, the jailed confidante of South Korean President Park Geun-hye, arrives

for questioning into her suspected role in a political scandal at the office of the independent counsel in Seoul.

Park is accused of colluding with her confidante Choi Soon-Sil to coerce large companies like Samsung into handing over millions of dollars to two dubious foundations that Choi allegedly plundered. AFP

Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

C4

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2017

20-year-olds celebrate their coming of age

World

TEST RUN. The test run of a light show illuminates the building of the Elbphilharmonie three days before the official inauguration of the new concert hall in Hamburg,

northern Germany, on January 8, 2017. Years overdue and tens of millions over budget, the spectacular new concert house is poised to put Germany’s venerable port city of Hamburg on the map as a global attraction. The dazzling building will have its gala opening on January 11, 2017. AFP

Musical wins big at Golden Globes LOS ANGELES―The whimsical modern-day musical “La La Land” pirouetted its way into major Oscars contention Sunday as it swept the board at the Golden Globes, the glitziest party of the showbiz year.

Damien Chazelle’s nostalgic tribute to the Golden Age of Hollywood musicals picked up all seven of the statuettes for which it was nominated -- giving the film momentum as it launches its campaign for next month’s Academy Awards.

Its success struck an optimistic note during a three-hour ceremony marked by impassioned political speeches voicing anxiety over Donald Trump’s election following a campaign which stirred simmering racial tensions.

“This is a film for dreamers,” said Emma Stone, who took home the prize for best actress in a musical/comedy for her role as aspiring actress Mia. “I think that hope and creativity are two of the most important things in the world. And that’s what this movie is about.”

Her co-star Ryan Gosling -who plays jazz pianist Sebastian -- won best actor honors, while Chazelle took home prizes for best director and screenplay.

“La La Land” had earned awards for best original score and best song for “City of Stars” shortly after the glitzy ceremony began -- setting the tone for a record-breaking night.

Prior to Sunday, the record for the most Globes was shared by the 1975 release “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and the 1978 movie “Midnight Express,” with six wins apiece.

Gosling joked about breaking up his statuette to share with Stone and Chazelle, before getting serious with a heartfelt tribute to his partner, the actress Eva Mendes.

“I would like to try to thank one person properly and say while I was singing and dancing and playing piano and having one of the best experiences I’ve ever had on a film, my lady was raising our daughter, pregnant with our second, and trying to help her brother fight his battle with cancer,” he said.

Kenneth Lonergan’s unflinching “Manchester by the Sea” earned a Globe for Casey Affleck as best actor in a drama, but the film lost out to Barry Jenkins’s coming-of-age movie “Moonlight” for best drama. AFP

TOKYO―Draped in dazzling kimonos, thousands of expensively made-up young Japanese women marked their entry into adulthood on Monday -- with many planning a night on the booze to celebrate.

Formal “Coming of Age” ceremonies, which began as a rite of ancient samurai families, were held nationwide for Japan’s 20-year-olds, reminding them of their responsibilities after becoming old enough to legally drink and smoke.

As they fidgeted with mobile phones and stifled yawns during the speeches, the contrast in financial outlay between the sexes was obvious, with most males opting for the kind of plain business suit they will wear as future “salarymen”.

“I’m happy I can finally drink alcohol and go clubbing,” college student Rumiko Matsumoto told AFP while getting a $100 manicure in Tokyo’s trendy Shibuya district ahead of the ceremony.

“When my nails are dry, I have to get my eyelash extensions done, do my hair and get fitted for my kimono.

“I’m very nervous,” she added. “It’s a special day, the first step towards being an adult.

“My parents told me I have to take responsibility for my own actions now. But first I want to celebrate by going drinking.”

As more than four thousand gathered at Tokyo’s Toshima-en amusement park on Monday, the fog of hairspray used to fix exquisitely coiffured perms hung in the cold air as young women queued for a roller-coaster ride.

Some women make appointments a year in advance to have their hair and make-up done and beauty salons often stay open all night to meet the rush for styling.

Many pay over $10,000 for their glittery kimonos, with beauty treatments such as elaborate nail decorations often costing hundreds of dollars more.

“I did think ‘yikes, I’m an adult’ when I turned 20,” said sales assistant Reiko Nakamura as a beautician fussed over her synthetic lashes.

“I have to think about my future so it’s a little scary,” she added, admiring her dagger-sharp Hello Kitty nails. “For now I just want to enjoy a night out drinking with friends I haven’t seen since primary school.” AFP

Streep slams Donald Trump L OS ANGELES―Three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep berated President-elect Donald Trump for his divisive rhetoric as she received a lifetime achievement award at the Golden Globes on Sunday

.The 67-year-old fought to control her emotions as she received a standing ovation during her acceptance speech for the Cecil B DeMille Award, handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

“You and all of us in this room, really, belong to the most vilified segments in American society right now. Think about it. Hollywood, foreigners, and the press,” she said to her peers with a laugh.

“But who are we? And, you know, what is Hollywood anyway? It’s just a bunch of people from other places.”

Streep spoke out with less than two weeks to go until the inauguration of Trump, who ran a divisive presidential campaign vilifying Mexicans and calling for a ban on Muslim immigration.

Trump’s election came with the movie industry embroiled in its own debate about an Oscars shutout for non-white actors as well as unequal pay between the sexes.

“Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners. If you kick ‘em all out, you’ll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts,” she said, holding back tears.

Streep, considered among the best actresses of her generation, was presented with the award to mark a career which has seen her win eight Golden Globes and collect 29 nominations.

She tore strips off Trump for the infamous campaign speech during which he did a decidedly unflattering impression of disabled reporter Serge Kovaleski -- the Republican president-elect

denies mocking the man.

“It was that moment when the person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country imitated a disabled reporter -- someone he outranked in privilege, power, and the capacity to fight back. It kind of broke my heart when I saw it,” she said.

“I still can’t get it out of my head because it wasn’t in a movie. It was real life. And this instinct to humiliate, when it’s modeled by someone in the public platform, by someone powerful, it filters down into everybody’s life, because it kind of gives permission for other people to do the same thing.”

“Disrespect invites disrespect.

Violence incites violence,” she said.

“When the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose.”

She urged the “principled press to hold power to account, to call them on the carpet for every outrage,” to cheers from the floor.

She also spoke of the privilege of being given the chance to act for a living and remembered her friend, “Star Wars” actress Carrie Fisher, who died after Christmas, one day before her mother Debbie Reynolds.

“As my friend, the dear departed Princess Leia, said to me once: take your broken heart, make it into art.”

Streep was nominated for best actress in a musical or comedy film at the glitzy ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel for her performance in Stephen Frears’s “Florence Foster Jenkins” but lost out to Emma Stone. AFP

PARTY. Actress Donna Mills attends The Weinstein Company and Netflix Golden Globe Party, presented with FIJI Water, Grey Goose Vodka, Lindt Chocolate, and Moroccanoil at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 8, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California. AFP

Pro-democracy lawmaker attacked at airport HONG KONG―Hong Kong’s youngest legislator Nathan Law was attacked by anti-independence protesters at the city’s airport late Sunday after flying back from a political forum in Taiwan.

Law, 23, was met by a crowd of angry pro-Beijing demonstrators in the arrivals hall, shouting, throwing liquid in his face and trying to hit him as police struggled to bundle him through.

It came after Law and other

high-profile Hong Kong prodemocracy activists, including Joshua Wong, had been greeted by protests in Taipei as they arrived for the forum on Saturday.

The two-day event was aimed at linking democracy movements in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Law is one of a new wave of legislators who supports the idea of self-determination for semiautonomous Hong Kong -- a notion that has infuriated Beijing.

At one point during the attack at Hong Kong airport on Sunday, television footage showed Law stumbling down a staircase after a water bottle was thrown at him.

Protesters shouted: “Trip and die!” and one called Law a “traitor”.

They also held banners that read: “Get out of Hong Kong” and “Destroy Hong Kong independence”.

Two people were arrested, ac-

cording to local media reports.

Police were not able to immediately confirm any arrests.

Law’s political party Demosisto said he had been injured, but gave no further details on Monday.

Once a taboo concept, the idea of independence for Hong Kong has gathered momentum since mass protests in 2014 failed to win political reform and fears have grown that Beijing is tight-

ening its grip on the city.

Two pro-independence lawmakers were last year barred from taking up their seats in the legislature.

Law and three other pro-democracy lawmakers will face a court hearing in February that will also seek to disqualify them.

The forum in Taipei was hosted by Taiwan’s New Power Party, which is advocating for recognition of Taiwan as a nation. AFP

Life

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2017

CULTURE & MEDIA

D1

CCP PRESENTS

‘Noli Me Tangere, The Opera’ From left: Bianca Camille Lopez, Aretha Angcao, Nerissa de Juan and Jade Riccio performing ‘Kay Tamis ng Buhay’ (Photo by Orly Daquipil)

T

HE Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and J&S Productions Inc. will co-present the Philippines’ first full-length opera, Noli Me Tangere, The Opera. The opera, which premiered at the Far Eastern University in 1957 and made its CCP debut in 1974, marks its 60th anniversary with a limited six-performance run at the CCP’s Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo from Jan. 28 (gala premiere) to Feb. 3.

Based on Dr. Jose Rizal’s 1887 novel, Noli Me Tangere, the opera was written by National Artist for Music Felipe de Leon (“Payapang Daigdig,” “Sarong Banggi”) and with libretto by National Artist for Sculpture Guillermo Tolentino. Both creators, who were obsessed with Dr. Rizal’s landmark novel, finished the opera in 1957.

According to New York-based dramaturge Randy Gener, the opera was, however, “not the first Filipino opera ever written. That honor belongs to Sandugong Panaguinip, a 1902 work with a Spanish libretto by Pedro Paterno, translated into Tagalog by Roman Reyes, with music by Ladislao Bonus.

Sandugong Panaguinip is a one-act opera of five scenes, while De Leon’s Noli opera was written in three acts, making it the country’s first full-length opera.”

This production, which earlier had critically-acclaimed engagements in New York, Washington D.C., and at the Resorts World Manila, features more than 200 opera singers, musicians and crew, 16 scene changes, and a brand-new staging. Jerry Sibal, a sought-after event designer in New York City, who is also designing new sets and costumes, debuts as director.

The newly formed 53-piece Noli Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Herminigildo Ranera plays the show’s score and orchestrations, arranged in the Western operatic tradition with overflow passages reminiscent of Mozart, Puccini and Wagner, and sung in Tagalog (supertitles in

Cast and production members of the Philippines’ first full-length opera, ‘Noli Me Tangere, The Opera’ which will be staged at the CCP. (Photo by Orly Daquipil)

Director, stage, scenic and costume designer Jerry Sibal and executive producer Edwin Josue (Photo by Orly Daquipil)

English to be provided).

Noli Me Tangere, The Opera follows the story of Juan Crisostomo Ibarra, who returns to the Philippines after pursuing scholarly studies in Europe.

He plans to open up a school and marry Maria Clara, his betrothed. However, parish priest Padre Damaso, the archenemy of the Ibarras, is out to hinder Crisostomo’s plans, which creates a

CCP President Raul M. Sunico (Photo by Kiko Cabuena)

dramatic storyline of forbidden love, betrayal and revenge.

Both novel and opera depict the abuses suffered by the indios in the hands of Spaniards. They also paint a picture of the so-called “social cancer” such as the rotten system of governance, the illicit ways of the church in the islands, and the unfavorable trade of the privileged class, which is still very much relevant

today. “We’d like to instill in the youth that nationalism is very important.

We’re very educated, talented and skillful. The only problem we’re facing right now is the love of country,” explained Sibal.

“We’d also like to create more appreciation of the opera art form. The opera is (the) highest form of art because it has architecture, literature, theater and

‘Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci’ in HD A TWIN bill of Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci is the second offering of the CCP’s Metropolitan Opera in HD Season 4 today at Greenbelt 3 cinemas.

Opera’s most enduring tragic double bill returns in an evocative new production from Sir David McVicar (Giulio Cesare, Maria Stuarda, Il Trovatore), who sets the verismo action across two time periods but in the same Sicilian setting. Marcelo Álvarez rises to the challenge of playing the dual tenor roles of Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana and Canio in Pagliacci. Rae Smith (War Horse) has designed the moodily atmospher-

ic 1900 village square setting of Cavalleria Rusticana, which transforms to a 1948 truck stop for the doomed vaudeville troupe of Pagliacci.

Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from a play and short story written by Giovanni Verga.

Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on May 17, 1890 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. Since 1893, it has often been performed in a so-called Cav/Pag double-bill with Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo.

The CCP’s Met Opera in HD series features screenings of the latest oper-

atic productions of the Metropolitan Opera in New York through HighDefinition digital technology.

Other productions scheduled for screening at Greenbelt 3 cinemas for 2017 are: Così fan tutte (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) on Feb. 14; Madama Butterfly (Giacomo Puccini) on March 14; Turandot (Giacomo Puccini) on April 4; and Tristan und Isolde (Richard Wagner) on May 9.

For more information, call Greenbelt 3 cinemas Customer Service Hotline at (02) 757-7883 or CCP Sales and Promotions at (02) 8323706; or send an e-mail at ccpsalesandpromo@gmail.com.

Marcelo Alvarez plays Turiddu in ‘Cavalleria Rusticana’ and Canio in ‘Pagliacci’

classical music combined together. The beauty of Noli Me Tangere, The Opera lies in its use of our own language, Tagalog, and the Filipino love song kundiman combined with Western opera influences,” he said.

Dr. Raul Sunico, CCP president, said, “We’re glad to welcome back Noli Me Tangere, The Opera to the CCP main stage after 30 years since Fides Cuyugan-Asensio’s Music Theater Foundation staged it in 1987. Theatergoers and music lovers shouldn’t miss this rare musical experience; it’s every Filipino’s story set to one of Felipe de Leon’s finest scores.”

For special ticket deals and discounts to the 60th-anniversary production of Noli Me Tangere, The Opera, contact J&S Productions Inc. (0926) 038-0548, (0921) 890-3816, (02) 998-2356, or the CCP Box Office (02) 832-3704/06, or visit www.ticketworld.com.ph.

For more information, visit NoliMeTangereTheOpera.com.

Life

D2

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2017 isahred@gmail.com

The Ateneo Chamber Singers will represent the Philippines as they join forces with Singapore’s SYC Ensemble Singers and Japan’s Gaia Philharmonic Choir for the choral event ‘Tatlo’ happening on Jan. 14 at Solaire.

CLASSICAL MUSIC PERFORMANCE

International choral winners converge in ‘Tatlo’ T

HE award-winning Ateneo Chamber Singers (ACS) open 2017 with a bang by mounting an epic choral event at 7 p.m. on Jan. 14 at Theatre at Solaire.

Simply entitled Tatlo, the concert brings together three internationally renowned choirs from three different countries: the ACS, led by Jonathan Velasco and representing the Philippines, join forces with the SYC Ensemble Singers of Singapore led by Jennifer Tham, and the Gaia Philharmonic Choir of Japan led by Ko Matsushita.

All three choirs are international competition winners and have made waves in the global choral scene.

To add to the magnitude of this event, the ACS brings in no less than the ABSCBN Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Gerard Salonga to perform with the three choirs.

The ACS has enjoyed a fruitful working relationship with the orchestra through the years. Some of their latest collabora-

tions include The Magic of John Williams (December 2015), Andrea Bocelli’s Cinema Tour in Manila (April 2016) and the Live Screening of Ignacio (July 2016).

This time, Salonga conducts all three choirs and his orchestra as they perform Leonard Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms,” a choral masterpiece that features a solo quartet and boy soprano/ countertenor, described to be a work that contrasts spiritual austerity with impulsive rhythms.

The three choirs will also treat the audience to spot numbers that will highlight the sound and musical strengths of each group.

Tickets are available at Ticket World, go to www.ticketworld.com. ph or call 891-9999 for reservations and more information.

SYC Ensemble Singers, led by Jennifer Tham, are international competition winners and have made waves in the global choral scene.

Journal for 21st century

DIGITAL MEDIA

Educational app brings Filipinos a step closer to their dreams FOR Danica Rose Garay, shifting careers from teaching to being a doctor is not easy. For one, she has to take and pass the National Medical Admission Test (NMAT), and she doesn’t have the luxury of time to enroll in a review center as it tend to be expensive. Selfstudy is her only viable option.

Zookal was like manna from heaven for her. She is now reviewing for free for her upcoming NMAT exam.

“I find reviewing with Zookal so much easier. Questions are categorized so I can go straight to those relevant for me. The immediate response from the app, whether the answer is right or wrong, and the accompanying explanation are very helpful features,” she says.

“Zookal also changed my study habits. Since I carry my phone anywhere and anytime, I can study in between tasks, or when commuting.

There’s no need to lug around books and wads of papers as review materials, I just click on the app, and start reviewing,” she added.

Criselda, who’s preparing for the Licensure Examination for Teachers, says reviewing while working is no longer an impossible task.

“Zookal helped me a lot in such a way that it gave me a chance to review everywhere. I was working while preparing for the LET so it was really convenient for me. I could just open the app and read during my free time at the workplace. I could even do it during my commute time. It’s amazing!” says Criselda.

“I actually recommended Zookal to some of my friends already. I told

them they need not pay for an expensive review center to prepare for a test. All they need is to download this impressive app. Zookal is an amazing tool to help people achieve their dreams, I am just so grateful it was developed,” adds Criselda.

Embracing technology

HR practitioner and Sunlife Advocate Aaron Hinlo-Roca handles Internship Relations and is a community service partner of universities in Regions 7 and 8.

He required incoming interns to pass the Civil Service examination and be eligible to work for government. They reviewed for the exam for two weeks using the app on a dry run, and he saw that it was effective as an online learning resource.

“It was very interactive. While we also used books for the review, the app was very helpful. Zookal revolutionizes studying; you just need data connection and you can learn anytime, anywhere. We must embrace technologies like this. It is timely and relevant not only for students but also for professors and practitioners like me,” says Aaron.

Wish list

One thing Aaron wishes for is an offline version of Zookal so students without connectivity can still use it for their learning.

Meanwhile, having administered admission tests as a teacher, Danica Rose would like to see more of practice questions involving abstract reasoning.

“This type of test measures the spatial and the IQ of the test taker in pre-

dicting outcome. Also, you can master it through constant practice. It’s quite hard to make but I know it will help a lot of test takers. For the tips I guess, they could put videos and mnemonics styles to cater learners who have diverse learning styles,” Danica Rose suggests.

She also wants to see a “timer” feature in the app so one can easily evaluate how fast one can answer the questions and challenge to do it faster next time. It makes for good practice since almost all exams are timed.

In its latest update, Zookal already has a timer feature that allows just that.

Zookal for all

If you think Zookal is relevant only for those who are reviewing for exams, you are wrong.

“I recommended it to my friends and family members to help them boost their intelligence in their field of expertise as well as in other areas of learning,” says Danica Rose.

“It may be an online reviewer but it is never boring using the app. My friends and I use it for fun just like the popular TV show ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire.’ With Zookal, learning is never boring,” adds Aaron.

100,000 Filipinos and counting

Since its launch in September last year, “There are now more than 100,000 Filipinos closer to their dreams; that alone assures me and my co-founders that we are doing an excellent job in doing good for the future of Filipino students and professionals through Zookal,” said Jon Tse, Zookal co-founder.

Filipino educators

IN A rapidly evolving world, in which about modern-day teaching, giving spenew and exciting things constantly grab cial attention on exemplary educators, people’s attention, teachers, more than novel teaching techniques, and ideas ever, need to look for ways to keep stu- that spur creativity. Contents are writdents engaged and interested. ten by, co-written with, or had sought Simply put, they need to be crea- the opinion of brilliant individuals in tive. The chalk-and-blackboard, speak- the teaching profession. and-listen type of teaching is no longer With an enough to prepare learners for appended the challenges of tomorrow. social media What today’s students need is a component dynamic at Diwa’s learning Fa c e b o o k environpage, Qualm e n t ity Teachers that enis able to cou re ncou r age a g e s interaction collaboand colration labor at ion a n d among educreativcators and ity so students. they can Q u a l absorb ity Teacher lessons comes out better f o u r as they times in d e v e l - Quality Teacher, which comes in printed a school and digital edition, is a journal made for op 21st Filipino educators who strive to become year in digital format, with c e n t u r y excellent at what they do. the first issue in print as well. skills.

To subscribe to the digital Diwa format, you may like Diwa’s Learning Systems Inc, the country’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ leading provider of K-to-12 educational diwalearningsystems) and click the subresources, and Bato Balani Foundation scription link. Quality Teacher’s digital Inc (BBFI) have always been driven by edition is free for educators from Diwa the goal to keep the teaching methods of partner schools. The printed first issue of Filipino educators attuned with the fast- every school year is P200. changing times, so they can get ahead and remain ahead. One way Diwa and If you want to subscribe to or know BBFI is working to reach this goal is by more about Quality Teacher, or if you co-publishing Quality Teacher, a jour- want to share your insights, knowledge nal for Filipino educators who strive to and expertise to other Filipino educabecome excellent at what they do. tors, send a message at qualityteachQuality Teacher contains stories er@diwamail.com.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2017

New films eclipse MMFF entries

INTENSE. Dimples

Romana and Sylvia Sanchez in a trending performance in the primetime family drama

‘The Greatest Love’ GRIPS NETIZENS

T

HE online world was set ablaze as netizens witnessed the intense confrontation of Gloria and her children in ABS-CBN series The Greatest Love, which landed a spot on the list of trending topics on Twitter last Thursday.

SuperRayveeGaga. @JetMonticello shared, “Their acting was so heavy! They are all so good.”

Even TFC subscriber @tracy_erickson expressed how excited he was for the episode. “I can’t wait to watch #TGLBloodWar. This show keeps my TFC subscription alive,” he quipped.

Aside from netizens, audiences nationwide also showed their support for the Kapamilya series as it scored a national TV rating of 17 percent last Thursday versus Sa Piling ni Nanay’s 12.6 percent.

The episode’s official hashtag #TGLBloodWar garnered Don’t miss the extraordinary story of a woman’s unconditional, thousands of tweets from netizens that shared their reactions and uncompromising, all-encompassing love for her children in The praised the cast.

Greatest Love after Doble Kara on ABS-CBN or ABS-CBN HD “This scene is crazy! This is truly explosive,” said @ (SkyCable ch 167).

SKYdirect subscribers start year with glamorous treatment A GLAMOROUS movie experience awaits SKYdirect subscribers as three beauty queen-inspired rom-com flicks hit the TV screens this month for free.

As the Miss Universe pageant fever starts to shroud the entire nation, SKYdirect subscribers can catch Basta’t Kasama Kita, a classic Pinoy love story starring Aga Muhlach and real-life Miss Universe Dayanara Torres; Kung Fu Divas, a comedy film top billed by Ai Ai Delas Alas and Marian Rivera centered on a small town beauty queen pageant rivalry; and The Adventures of Pureza, headlined by real-life sweethearts Jason and Melai Cantiveros about the dreams of a young woman to become a model and their quest to find a renowned top model beauty queen.

The three movies will be available for the entire month

of January on channel 28 for subscribers with load.

Load for SKYdirect and SKYcable may be purchased at SKYzone, SM, Cebuana Lhuillier, 7-Eleven, Load

Xtreme, and Load Central partners. Subscribers may also choose to convert their ABSCBNmobile, Globe, or TM prepaid load.

For more information,

PAGEANT FEVER. Skydirect subscribers are treated to beauty queen-inspired films this month

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Tuesday, January 10, 2017

ACROSS 1 Froggy 7 Auto-sticker stat 10 Capricorn 14 In the pact 15 Oxygen source 16 Thus 17 Kind of ticket 18 Louis XIV, for one 19 Sweet 16 org.

20 Giant strides (2 wds.)

23 Horror flick extra 26 Codgers’ queries 27 Liability opposite 28 Herb or guru 29 Air-safety agcy.

30 Kind of angle?

31 Web addr.

32 Pillbox or bowler 33 Noonday naps 37 Temper 38 Call in sick 39 Inc. cousin 40 Tire support 41 Cruel rule 43 Discoverer’s shout 44 Ms. Thurman 45 Summer hrs.

46 Feel grateful

visit mysky.com.ph or follow SKY on their social media accounts at Facebook. com/SKYdirect, and @ myskyupdates on Instagram and Twitter.

47 Road-sign image 48 Birdbath slime 51 Make do with 52 Pierre’s lid 53 Bug eater (2 wds.)

56 Foster a felon 57 Coral islet 58 Cuts the cake 62 Solar plexus 63 Hotfoot it 64 Flat expanses 65 1917 abdicator 66 Vintage 67 Woodsy DOWN 1 Bought 2 Fiesta cheer 3 Cotton Belt st.

4 Off-color 5 Asian capital 6 Novelist — Ferber 7 Graham of modern dance 8 Preacher-like 9 Unlikely to smile 10 Origin 11 Killer whales 12 Slack-jawed 13 Clink glasses 21 Tidily 22 Rio Grande town 23 NASA outfit

(hyph.)

24 Escape artist Houdini 25 Girl-watcher 29 Hard to make out 30 Ten percent 32 Gretel’s brother 33 Further behind 34 More loyal 35 “La Dolce Vita” actress 36 Chic 42 Plug add-on 46 Approved

47 Turn-down 48 By itself 49 Garage jobs 50 “Ninotchka” name 51 Click “send” 52 — the Kid 54 Canyon reply 55 Bakers’ meas.

59 LII, twice 60 Actress — Hartman 61 FICA number

O R O ’ S controversy failed to generate higher revenue for the film as it was pulled out from the cinemas, pending re-editing of the now infamous “dog slaughter” scene.

So many new films (local and foreign) have opened last Wednesday and from what we’ve heard, “most of them are doing a kill at the tills.”

The sad part of the whole controversy was the ruling imposed by the panel of MMFF executives that found irregularity and deception from the producer and director of the movie.

“They lied to us when they told us that no animal was harmed during the filming,” quoted Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) Chairperson Liza Diño.

Because of that, director Alvin Yapan and producer Shandy Bacolod have been suspended for one year from participating in the MMFF. Earlier this year, Oro was also stripped off of the Fernando Poe Jr. Memorial Award for Excellence it won after PAWS (Philippine Animal Welfare Society) and other individuals that advocate “pro-animal” causes called the attention of Senator Grace Poe. “It is a sad happening but we are obliged to obey. It’s just that I personally found the banning of director Yapan quite offensive.

Hindi naman yata makatarungan na i-ban ang aking direktor na makasali uli (in the MMFF).

Freedom of expression at ito ay isang constitutional right ang paggawa ng pelikula. Kung may nagawa kang mali, puwede kang parusahan. Ang mali kasi it opens a door for reforms. But it doesn’t end your right as a human being,” expressed Bacolod who also admitted the mistake and asked for forgiveness for what they did.

Well, MMFF is not MMFF without controversies. But how true are the words by some groups that the Oro team is only paying for the wrongdoing and bad things they did even when the film was just starting to shoot?

Some of these protesters said, “Nagbabayad lang sila kasi malupit at hindi sila propesyonal na kausap. Mayayabang pa sila.

KARMA lang iyan sa kanila.”

Ouch!! **** However, we find Sen. Tito Sotto’s proposal for MMDA to establish a film festival exclusive for the indie movies “too selfserving.”

In a resolution he filed in the Senate, he is calling for the said government agency that runs the annual MMFF to create a festival exclusively for independent movies (doesn’t he know of quite a number already?) and

this should be done according to him on semestral breaks.

Christmas as the time for families especially children is the argument he used citing that MMFF must show family-friendly movies like it did in the previous years.

His resolution also states, “the absence of the mainstream films in the MMFF entries for 2016 was prejudicial to the regular MMFF moviegoers, particularly the children, who always look forward to these movies to bond, enjoy, be entertained, and share a good laugh with their family and friends.”

Well, do we need to shout out his being a Sotto to feel what we feel on this? We saluted and supported Sen. Sotto’s cause/ advocacy against illegal drugs in the country, but on this, excuse lang muna noh! ***** Meanwhile, does Mocha Uson enjoy her rebirth in showbiz?

She is more controversial and famous now and is always in the news, and mind you, a headliner at that, something she never experienced even during their “fresher” years as a member of an all-female sexy group that promotes nothing but sexiness, and even lesbianism.

Her recent appointment as MTRCB member generated buzz and bashing as usual but should one take a look at her credentials, she has it naman.

She has quite an impressive resume being the daughter of a former RTC Judge, a teacher and a graduate at University of Sto. Tomas. But the nagging question is, does she have the right attitude and decorum for such a position?

We will find out very soon as this piece believes in giving a chance to people who want to serve and be a voice of “change.”

So Mocha don’t disappoint us ha? **** Speaking of Filipino movies that will hit the theaters soon, how true is the item that this hunk actor who feels superior than his costars allegedly wants to have his own promo gimmick and does not want to join his co-actors who share similar titular role?

According to our spy, this hunk actor claims that his schedules do not match those of his co-actors and that he brags to have his own “media” friends and contacts who can help him publicize and promote their quite “interesting movie” about legal issues and exams?

Hmmm...you will know very soon as our same spy said, “He really has that attitude. He always feels superior and thinks he is the more visible among his peers because of his other exposure in other entertainment field.”

The cast and director of the coming-of-age horror film which will start commercial screening on Jan. 18

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2017

MEET THE

‘Darkroom’ SQUAD

I

T’S never too early for some jump scare experience especially if it’s with some of the most good- looking and promising young actors of today.

VIVA Films proudly presents Ella Cruz, Bret Jackson, AJ Muhlach, Donnalyn Bartolome, Andrew Muhlach, Rose Van Ginkel, Caleb Santos, Samantha Capulong, and Jack Reid in Darkroom, a documentary horror movie directed by Pedring Lopez (Nilalang, Binhi).

In the tradition of Blair Witch Project and The Ring, the movie follows a group of teenage friends who seeks the thrill of ghost hunting, and stumbles upon an old camera. As they carelessly play with it, they unknowingly summon the demon that exists inside. The demon possesses one of them, thus setting off a chain of horrific events that could turn fatal for everyone.

Bret and Ella play Vin Flores and Maine Azores who are still in the early stage of a romantic relationship. Vin is a car enthusiast, while Maine is a bookworm and an introvert. She is known as the “Campus Crush”, which makes Vin proud to have her.

Though Vin has the ability to lead the squad in any activity h e

wants to pursue, Mina Montero (Rose Van Ginkel) is his greatest influence when it comes to movies. A film major, Mina makes it a point to attend every screening of indie films.

Mina is Yssah Jusay’s (Donnalyn Bartolome) crush since they were in high school is. She is the perkiest person in their squad, and has the ability to make things more fun every time she’s around. Another person who likes Mina is Josh (Caleb Santos), the audioman in the group.

Mina has a younger brother named Mac, played by Jack Reid. Mac is a balikbayan, and is buddies with Franz, played by Andrew Muhlach.

Another pair of sweethearts is that of Gail Brion and Kurt Tuazon (Samantha Capulong and AJ Muhlach) who have a band called Game of Love. She has issues over fashion. Everyone knows that she’s the one who courted Kurt, who happens to be the first boyfriend of Maine. Kurt is the leader of Game of Love. He is into body piercing but doesn’t want to have a tattoo. Around the campus, he is referred to as “Rakista” because of his usual get up.

Darkroom also stars Lander Vera Perez and Abby Bautista.

Catch these diverse yet interesting characters as they experience the most unexpected and terrifying events in their young lives.

Darkroom opens in

cinemas on Jan. 18. *** The best of the best housemates from each ISAH V. RED edition of ABS-CBN’s hit reality show Pinoy Big Brother Lucky Season 7 has already been chosen to complete Kuya’s first-ever Dream Team.

Last Friday, regular housemate Jerome Alacre was selected by the Lucky 7 teen housemates to get the third and last Lucky House after his fellow housemates Tanner Mata and Aura Azarcon had been picked.

Jerome got three out of seven votes from the teen housemates, who made their decision based on how Jerome and other remaining regular housemates Cora Waddell, Baninay Bautista, and Wil Dasovich handled themselves in the White Room task and how they answered very personal questions in an intense face-toface Q and A. Now that Big Brother’s Dream Team is complete, the Lucky Houses from the regular edition composed of Tanner, Aura, and Jerome; Lucky Suns from the teen edition Edward Barber, Kisses Delavin, and Maymay Entrata; and Lucky Stars from the celebrity edition Jinri Park, two-in-one housemates McCoy De Leon and Nikko Natividad of Hashtags, and Nonong Ballinan will embark on another exciting and must-see journey inside the famous yellow house in the coming weeks.

What challenges will the Dream Team face? What other surprises does Big Brother has in store for them?

Since its launch in 2005, Pinoy Big Brother has mirrored the hopes, plight, and aspirations of Filipinos through its diverse mix of housemates. Big Brother formulates tasks and challenges for the housemates to bring out their best, test their strengths, and foster camaraderie as they undergo a transformative journey inside the house.

Pinoy Big Brother Lucky Season 7 airs Monday to Friday after Till I Met You on ABS-CBN or on ABS-CBN HD (SkyCable Ch 167). Viewers can also catch up on the program’s previous episodes via iWanTV. com and for Sky subscribers.

Pinoy Big Brother Lucky Season 7, meanwhile, airs weekday afternoons at 5 p.m. while Pinoy Big Brother Season 7 Online Show goes live online Monday to Friday at 7 p.m. viawww. pinoybigbrother.com.

ABS-CBN tops networks from Jan to Dec. ‘16 in urban and rural homes

Samantha Capulong

AJ Muhlach

Bret Jackson

Andrew Muhlach

ABS-CBN is grateful for another year spent with Filipino families across the country that continuously tuned in to the network throughout the year for information and entertainment.

Once again, ABS-CBN has become a part of the Filipino families’ daily viewing habits as it obtained an average audience share of 45 percent in the entire Philippines or 11 points higher than GMA Network’s 34 percent, based on Kantar Media national TV ratings data covering both urban and rural homes from 1 Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2016.

Apart from the high audience share and TV ratings, ABS-CBN is thankful for the love that Filipinos have shown as reflected in the numerous awards from different award-giving bodies, the huge turnouts in its events such as FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano Thanksgiving Concert and the ABS-CBN Christmas Special at the Araneta Coliseum, and the increasing patronage of its programs online via iWant TV, TFC.tv, and Sky on Demand.

Leading the way among entertainment programs that touched and captivated Filipino audiences is primetime favorite FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, which has an average national TV rating of 40 percent. The show has been the most watched regularly airing program in the Philippines, captivating the Filipino audience by promoting love for family and country, and the values of service, humility, camaraderie, and integrity as demonstrated by the protagonist Cardo, played by Coco Martin, and his family and friends in the show.

Also gaining affinity among viewers with stories that mirror the challenges and values in the lives of Filipinos are shows like Pangako Sa’ Yo starring Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla, Dolce Amore of Enrique Gil and Liza Soberano, Magpahanggang Wakas” featuring Jericho Rosales and Arci Munoz, The Story of Us of Kim Chiu and Xian Lim, Elmo Magalona and Janella Salvador’s Born for You, Daniel Matsunaga and Erich Gonzales’ Be My Lady, and Till I Met You with James Reid and Nadine Lustre.

Viewers also followed ABSCBN’s afternoon series Doble Kara, Tubig at Langis, and The Greatest Love that emphasize the value of family, marriage, and selfless, unconditional love of a mother as well MMK that features true-to-life stories of Filipinos who affirm courage, resilience and perseverance in surpassing life challenges.