Manila Standard - 2017 February 22 - Wednesday

BUS CRASH WAKE: CHED BANS SCHOOL FIELD TRIPS

By Rio N. Araja THE Commission on Higher Education on Tuesday suspended all field trips and educational tours in private and state universities and colleges after 14 students from the Bestlink College of the Philippines perished in a bus accident in Tanay, Rizal Monday.

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The commission en banc agreed to ban such activities until a thorough investigation of the incident was completed.

Commissioner Prospero de Vera III also recommended a review of guidelines and policies on field trips and educational tours.

XPERIENCE•XCELLENCE•XCITEMENT Under a 2012 CHED memo, universities and colleges are reFLAMING EPITAPH. Students of the private-run Bestlink College of the Philippines in Novaliches, Quezon City, light candles and offer prayers at the school campus lobby Tuesday for the quired to report to their respective

14 students and one driver who died Monday in a bus accident in Tanay, Rizal, 60 kms away from the school (facade inset). Manny Palmero

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VOL. XXXI • NO. 12 • 4 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017 • www.thestandard.com.ph • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

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XPERIENCE•XCELLENCE•XCITEMENT

China draws Asean flak

Regional bloc airs concern over sea ‘militarization’

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

T

HE foreign ministers of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nation want China to dismantle weapon systems stationed in the disputed South China Sea, Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. said Tuesday.

Most Asean members have expressed “grave concern” over the weapon systems and seek to prevent China’s militarization of the region through a legally binding code of conduct, Yasay added.

Over the past years, China has claimed some parts of the disputed South China Sea particularly the Philippine-owned-reefs-turned-

islands in the Kalayaan Group of Islands (Spratlys) where Beijing has installed a weapons system.

Yasay said during a meeting of the foreign ministers, most expressed strong concerns over recent developments in the South China Sea, noting that an escalation would raise tensions and erode trust and confidence in the region. Next page

Tokhang estopped: SC’s 2nd amparo out

By Rey E. Requejo THE Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a second writ of amparo with a protection order in favor of the family of an alleged drug pusher who was among the thousands who had been killed in the government’s war against illegal drugs.

The high court granted the plea sought by Christina Macandog-Gonzales, the widow of Joselito Gonzales who died

of multiple gunshot wounds in Antipolo City on July last year.

The Temporary Protection Order from the Court overs the family of the victim.

Among the respondents in the petition were Interior Secretary Ismael Sueño, Philippine National Police Chief Ronald Dela Rosa, Chief Supt.

Valfrie Tabian, Senior Supt.

Adriano Enong and Supt. Simnar Next page Semacio Gran.

ENGAGING THE WORLD. Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. fields media questions during a news conference on the outcome of the Asean Foreign Ministers Retreat Tuesday at the Shangri-La Hotel in Boracay—part of the Philippines’ chairmanship of Asean for 2017 themed ‘Partnering for Change, Engaging the World.’ PNA

Plunder raps vs Napoles upheld

By Rey E. Requejo

Napoles will not be released despite the solicitor general’s deciA SUPREME Court decision on sion to reverse her conviction in Tuesday meant alleged pork-bar- a serious illegal-detention case.

The high court on Tuesday rel scam mastermind Janet Lim-

sustained the Ombudsman’s decision indicting Napoles before the Sandiganbayan in connection with the anomalies over the Next page

Lascañas flip-flops —Palace

By John Paolo Bencito and F. Pearl A. Gajunera

‘PH growth to leapfrog in 2050’

$1-k bribery tall tale or oust plot?

By John Paolo Bencito

By John Paolo Bencito

WITH its steady growth, the Philippines could make the biggest gains by the year 2050 and become the 19th most powerful economy in the world, the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers report says.

The report, entitled “The Long View: How will the global economic order change by 2050?” says the Philippines will make the second highest leap in its GDP from 2016 to 2050 based on its Purchasing Power Parity or PPP Next page rankings.

COMMUNICATIONS Secretary Martin Andanar insisted Tuesday that a “confidential intelligence report” said reporters had been offered $1,000 to attend a press conference in which a former policeman accused President Rodrigo Duterte of heading the Davao Death Squad when he was still mayor of Davao City.

Andanar said this was part of a plot to destabilize the administration, even though Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzano

THE Palace said Tuesday the allegation by a former policeman that President Rodrigo Duterte was behind the vigilante-style killings of the Davao Death Squad when he was still the city’s mayor was part of an attempt to oust the Chief Executive.

In a press briefings, Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella also cast doubt on the credibility of retired SPO3 Arturo Lascañas, who had testified before the Senate last year that the DDS did not exist, then recanted his testimony this week.

“Based on how he performed as a witness, he seems rather discredited,” Abella said. “In 2016, he denied certain things and in 2017, he flip-flops.”

He said the Palace would no longer respond to Lascañas’ allegations.

“If these are really, truly valid,

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IT’S THE ECONOMY. President Rodrigo Duterte is flanked by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea (left) and Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez II while presiding over the first meeting Monday of the National Economic and Development Authority Board in Malacañang.

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Gina told: Look into own backyard

S

URIGAO Rep. Ace Barbers on Tuesday urged Environment Secretary Gina Lopez to go after the environment officials who approved the contracts of 75 mining firms and allowed them to operate near watersheds and to foul the environment.

He said Lopez must retreat, investigate and prosecute those officials responsible for her decision to decide to close the 75 mining firms without due process.

“She must be unforgiving not

only to the erring mining firms but also to those DENR people who committed irregularities and corrupt practices by extending and approving the contracts that allow them to operate near watersheds,” Barbers said.

Bus...

also wants to know the safety features of the buses, which can continue to operate into their 15th year, as well as the experience required of drivers.

“Having a license is not enough if a driver has been driving for only three months,” Poe said.

Senator Cynthia Villar said buses or other vehicles to be used in field trips must be properly checked before they are used for that purpose.

The chief of the Public Attorney’s Office, Persida RuedaAcosta, said a waiver, if it was signed, will not exculpate the school of liability in case of accidents during the trip.

“There could be civil liability on the part of the school. The waiver, if there’s really any, was unilateral on the part of the school. It was not a license to allow the deaths and injuries,” Acosta said.

But Acosta said the criminal and civil liability of the driver, Julian Lacorda Jr., was extinguished when he died.

A team of PAO lawyers has been sent to assist the families of the victims.

The PAO chief also said that the trip should not have been mandatory because it was not for an academic subject.

Malacañang on Tuesday ordered the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to ensure the safety of all passenger buses following the fatal accident.

“The Palace expressed its condolences to the families of the victims who died in the fatal bus mishap in Tanay, Rizal.

The LTFRB has already been directed to ensure the roadworthiness of the buses and to remind public utility drivers to guarantee the safety of all their passengers,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said.

“The CHED is likewise conducting the necessary investigation to determine if proper procedures were observed by school authorities,” the Palace official added. With Macon Ramos-Araneta, Rey E. Requejo and John Paolo Bencito

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CHED regional office the nature of the tour or field trip, including its purpose, schedule, destination and cost at least a month before the opening of classes every academic year.

The memo states that the destination of such field trips should be near the school to minimize cost.

De Vera said CHED must determine if public and private colleges and universities have been complying with safety requirements.

“The Tanay tragedy is a reminder that we must be very strict in the regulation of the use of public transportation for school-sponsored trips,” he said.

“While it is true that field trips are essential to give students the opportunity to see and explore new things, enhance their learning experience in a natural setting, and provide for interest-driven and handson training, the safety of the students on field trips must be ensured at all times by school authorities.”

At least 14 students of Bestlink College of the Philippines in Novaliches, Quezon City were killed along with the driver, after their bus crashed into a concrete electric post in Sitio Bayukan, Barangay Sampaloc, in Tanay, Rizal, on the way to a school-sanctioned camping activity.

Charlie Cariño, vice president for academics at Bestlink, denied early Tuesday morning that the school has done nothing for the victims of the deadly bus crash, noting that it paid for the medical and funeral expenses of the victims.

The crash was an accident, he said, and denied that the school forced parents to sign a waiver.

The school only asked for the parents’ consent, he said.

Senator Grace Poe, chairman of the Senate committee on public services, said her panel would investigate the incident, and would look into the granting of permits to drivers of commercial buses. She said she

$1-k...

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and National Security Adviser

Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said they saw no such threat.

During the Palace briefing, Andanar offered no apologies to Senate reporters who challenged him to prove his claims.

Visibly irked as he defended his bribery claim, Andanar told CNN Philippines that he based his information on a “confidential intelligence report.”

Andanar could not say why the alleged bribes were denominated in dollars.

“I didn’t ask. Maybe I don’t know why the offer was in dollars,” he said in Filipino.

“I was just pointing to the fact that there is this concerted effort for a massive action, massive protest in Edsa this Feb. 25,” he added, referring to the anniversary of the People Power revolt that ousted the dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

At one point, Andanar grew testy when questioned about the contrasting views of Lorenzana and Esperon.

“There are intelligence reports that are not reaching everybody’s eyes. There are classified reports,” he said.

“Don’t pit me against them,” Andanar told one of the reporters in Filipino, then questioned his fairness in reports critical of the administration.

“Are you fair in everything that you write?” he asked, to which the newspaper reporter replied yes.

“How about your posts on—on social media?” Andanar shot back.

When the reporter said the social

media posts were personal, Andanar berated him, saying that as a reporter, he was the “ambassador” of his newspaper.

Citing transcripts that he provided to Palace reporters, Andanar repeatedly denied having alluded to Senate reporters who were assigned to the press conference.

“You can see and read that I never alluded to a reporter [who] received this kind of money, either in dollars or pesos,” the Palace official said.

“I already gave my statement,” Andanar told reporters in Malacañang, after Senate journalists demanded an apology.

Andanar said he was not claiming that Senate reporters took the money, but that he was standing by an intelligence report that at least $1,000 wwas making the rounds at the Senate during a press conference led by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV. “The same way that you validate your stories, I also validate mine,” said Andanar when asked about the accuracy of the intelligence report.

“It was not intended to say that the reporters in Senate are corrupt...I hold them in high esteem and none in the intelligence report claimed that they received money,” Andanar said.

He also blamed his lack of proficiency in the Filipino language, saying that he’s more well-versed in the Visayan dialect, despite reading Tagalog news in his entire media career.

Also on Tuesday, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines called on Andanar to step down.

In a statement published in their website, the NUJP said An-

He made his statement after Lopez decided to cancel the contracts of the 75 mining firms whose operations reportedly damaged watersheds and caused the siltation of coastal waters and farmland.

Barbers made his statement even as an official said a technical working group will recommend to the Mining Industry Coordinating Council before March this year the start of a review of mining operations in the country.

Finance Undersecretary Bayani Agabin said that, if approved

by the Cabinet-level MICC, a review team would start with the 23 mining companies previously ordered closed by Lopez.

“If you look at the mandate of the MICC, it’s supposed to cover all 311 contracts thus far issued, but we are starting with just the 23,” Agabin said.

“We will recommend to the MICC [to start the review] and it’s up to the MICC what they want to do.”

Meanwhile, Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. said Tuesday its wholly-owned subsidiary Platinum Group Metals Corp. on

Monday received a Show Cause Notice from the Environment Department ordering it to explain why it should not be held liable in violation of Section 71 of the Mining Act on the creation and deposit of a mine rehabilitation fund.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, FNI said PGMC had only deposited P56.5 million out of a commitment of P1.26 billion for the Final Mine Rehabilitation and/or Decommissioning Plan.

“The letter is neither a closure nor a suspension order,” FNI

said.

“The P1,259,670,677.00 has no basis. Based on the DENR’s records, the Fund Commitment of PGMC is only P74,593,674.”

The Philippine Mining Act of 1995 says a mine rehabilitation fund shall be created based on the contractor’s approved work program, and will be deposited as a trust fund in a government depository bank and used for the physical and social rehabilitation of the areas and communities affected by mining activities.

Maricel V. Cruz, Julito Rada and Anna Leah F. Gonzales

Lascañas...

ENGAGING THE WORLD. Foreign Ministers' Spouses led by Mrs. Marie Cecile Yasay (left) with her counterparts from Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, join the mangrove planting activity as part of events under the Philippine chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Asean 2017 theme is ‘Partnering for Change, Engaging the World.’ The event is held Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017, in Sitio Ligotan, Barangay Manokmanok, Boracay. PNA

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“The Asean members have been unanimous in their expression of concern about what they see as a militarization of the region,” Yasay said.

“They have noticed... that China has installed weapon systems in this facility that they have established. And they have expressed a strong concern about this,” he added.

“The structures are there. The only way to have this removed, if China will refuse to remove it, is to remove it by force and we don’t want that,” Yasay said.

On the other hand, China could be persuaded to dismantle the system if Beijing is a signatory to a binding code of conduct in the South China Sea.

danar should prove his allegation that $1,000 (about P50,000) were given to some Senate reporters so they would cover Trillanes’ press conference, where retired policeman Arthur Lascañas tagged President Rodrigo Duterte as the brains behind the Davao Death Squad.

“Unless he can present credible proof to back up his claims, he should zip his mouth or better yet, step down for gross abuse of his office and ignorance of his responsibilities,” the statement signed by the group’s chairperson, Ryan Rosauro, read.

“His baseless accusations are mere distractions from the immediate issue on hand,” it added.

Rosauro said it’s a “disgrace” that such statements came from “someone who used to work for the media and knows the integrity required by this profession.”

The NUJP also urged Senate reporters and their media outfits “to consult their counsel and take a legal action against Andanar for “shamelessly besmirching their reputation, and in this age of tokhang, even putting their safety at risk.”

“We will support you all the way.

Mr. Andanar is proof positive that his loss is no loss for media at all,” their statement said.

Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV said Andanar should have checked the facts before releasing his damaging accusations.

Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said Andanar might have been misled with the wrong information.

“Somebody whispered [the allegations] in his ear,” Sotto said.

With Macon Ramos-Araneta

In 2002, China and the Asean signed a non-binding agreement to reduce tensions in the region and prevent claimant countries in the South China Sea from aggressively pursuing their claims.

China and the Asean have agreed to finish a more binding code of conduct framework by June.

“We are confident from the view point of the Philippines that the framework will be completed by middle of this year or soon thereafter simply on the basis of the fact that everyone including Asean members and China are pushing hard for this,” Yasay said.

During a meeting on Tuesday, Yasay said, “two or three or four” of the foreign ministers brought up the Philippines’ victorious arbitral case invalidating China’s excessive claims in the

South China Sea. “What they were simply just saying... is that we must respect that jurisprudence laid out in the arbitral tribunal’s ruling because that is part of international law,” he said.

He insisted that the Philippines will pursue bilateral negotiations with China in resolving its own claims in the disputed sea.

“The Philippines will always continue its bilateral talks in resolving the issue,” he said.

On July 12, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that China’s excessive nine-dash line claim in the South China Sea is illegal and violates the United Nation Convention on the Law of the Sea. China has repeatedly and firmly rejected the ruling.

Tokhang...

same, two of the respondents threatened to kill them.e The petitioner said because of the threat, she had gone into hiding and left her child behind out of fear she would be killed next.

The Court issued the first writ of amparo and protection order to a survivor and his relatives during an anti-illegal drug operation in Payatas, Quezon City, in February last year.

The Court also referred the case to the appellate court, which after conducting a hearing ordered the transfer of the police officers named as respondents to an area outside Quezon City and Rizal.

The appellate court also made permanent the protection order on the petitioners.

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The high court disallowed the respondents to enter the petitioner’s residence and work within a radius of one kilometer. It also remanded the case to the Court of Appeals and gave the respondents five working days to make a verified return.

The high court gave the appellate court 10 days after the hearing to issue a ruling.

In her petition, MacandogGonzales claimed that she and her husband ere induced by respondent police officers to deal in drugs.”

However, in mid-2016 they decided to surrender and reform but before they could do the

Plunder...

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lawmakers’ Priority Development Assistance Fund or porkbarrel funds.

The high court upheld the resolutions of the Ombudsman approving the filing of criminal cases against Napoles and two others in connection with the alleged misuse of over P25-million pork barrel funds of former Agusan del Sur Rep. Rodolfo Plaza.

Besides Napoles, the high court also denied the separate petitions filed by her driver John Raymund de Asis and

former National Agri-Business Corp. president Alan Javellana seeking to dismiss the charges of misuse of public funds, corruption of public officials and violation of the Anti-Graft Law against them.

Napoles is being tried by the Sandiganbayan for the plunder charges against her in relation to the pork-barrel scam.

The high court ruling came after the solicitor general sought Napoles’ acquittal before the Court of Appeals in the case involving the serious illegal detention of star witness Benhur Luy for which she was already convicted.

From A1 then they should be brought to the proper court,” Abella said.

In a press conference Monday, Lascañas said Duterte formed the DDS when he was Davao City mayor and paid up to P100,000 depending on the status of the target he ordered executed.

“The existence of Davao Death Squad or DDS is real,” he said.

Accompanied by lawyers Jose Manuel Diokno, La Salle Law Dean Alexander Padilla and Arno Sanidad of the Free Legal Assistance Group, Lascañas also said Duterte spent as much as P4 million for the killing of radio broadcaster Jun Pala in 2003.

He said he was hired by Duterte, through the latter’s trusted aide SPO4 Sonny Buenaventura, to assassinate Pala, a broadcaster of Davao-based radio dxGO who was critical of Duterte.

In Davao City, retired policeman Dionisio Abude said he was surprised when Lascañas confessed to his involvement in the DDS. Abude said that he was clueless of Lascañas’ sudden confession since they already gave a sworn statement during a Senate hearing in October denying the existence of the DDS. But Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano on Tuesday said Lascañas had “a divine encounter” after undergoing a kidney operation.

Alejano said Lascañas had a vision of a demon, then a bright light “that erased the darkness symbolized by the demon.” Then he saw a child, who turned out to be one of the people he had killed. It was then that he promised to confess his sins before God, Alejano added.

Akbayan party-list Rep. Tom Villarin called on the Senate to reopen its investigation into the spate of extrajudicial killings of drug suspects.

Villarin said Lascañas may be a “flawed” witness because of his reversal, but his revelations on Monday “confirmed independently” the allegations against President Duterte from other sources, including the groups Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

The group Human Rights Watch said the Lascañas’ allegations emphasized the urgent need for an independent United Nations investigation into the killing of more than 7,000 people in Duterte’s “war on drugs” to uncover ultimate responsibility for those crimes.

The group’s deputy director for Asia, Phelim Kine, added that the disclosures suggest why the Duterte administration launched a “politically motivated prosecution of Senator Leila de Lima,” who has been charged with taking money from drug lords incarcerated in the New Bilibid Prison when she was still Justice secretary.

Kine said the authorities should immediately drop all charges against De Lima, cease their harassment of her and cooperate fully with a UN probe. With Maricel V. Cruz and Sandy Araneta

'PH...

From A1 The country is expected to grow from the 28th most powerful economy in 2016 to 24th in 2030 and to 19th by 2050.

By 2050, China will have become the most powerful economy followed by India, the United States, Indonesia, Brazil, Russia, Mexico, Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom, the report says.

The US and Europe are expected to steadily lose ground to China and India, while global economic power will shift from the G7 economies (the US, France, Germany, Japan, Canada and Italy) to the E7 economies (China, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Russia, Mexico and Turkey).

Malacañang welcomed the report and said the Duterte administration will continue to work hard to achieve its economic targets for the country.

“We welcome the report by one of the world’s largest professional service networks,” Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said.

“The Duterte administration aims to give Filipinos a stable and comfortable lifestyle consistent with Executive Order 5, which spells out his long-term economic vision.”

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

IN BRIEF 12 fishermen held by Indonesia for 5 months freed TWELVE Filipino fishermen, arrested and detained for five months by Indonesian police authorities last year, returned to their families on Monday.

Officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Migrant Organizations accompanied the parents of the 12 young fishermen upon their arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport - Terminal 2 Monday night.

The young fishermen arrived on board Philippine Airlines PR540 flight from Jakarta around 7:35 pm Monday.

One of them, identified as Darwin Manihog, narrated that a recruiter named Nick Leones recruited them in October from General Santos City, offered them to work as fishermen in Indonesia and promised a good salary.

But when they arrived in Indonesia in November, they were arrested and jailed.

Last week, the Philippine Consulate General in Manado repatriated 65 Filipino fishermen apprehended by maritime enforcement agencies in Bitung for alleged illegal fishing activities.

The Consulate General also repatriated 689 Filipino fishermen for the same reason last year.

Joel Zurbano

4 cops slain, 3 more wounded in Kalinga shootout FOUR policemen were killed while three others, including an officer, were critically wounded after a suspect facing criminal cases, resisted and exchanged fire with lawmen serving an arrest warrant on the latter in Kalinga province.

The slain cops, all members of the Kalinga Police Provincial Office, were identified as PO3 Cruzaldo Lawagan, PO2 Juvenal Aguinaldo, PO1 Vincent Tay-od and PO1 Charles Ryan Compas.

The wounded policemen were Sr. Inspector Eduardo Liclic, PO1 Ferdinand Asuncion and PO1 Ferdie Diwag, who were all rushed to the Kalinga Provincial Hospital undergoing treatment.

Reports said the slain policemen were part of a contingent from the Kalinga PPO and Police Public Safety Company, backed by the 3rd Mobile Company along with the Regional Public Safety Battalion that were mobilized to serve an arrest warrant against Willy Sagasag at his safehouse in Sitio Lubnac, Brgy Lubuagan.

The lawmen were about to serve the warrant on Sagasag, a high value target facing murder offenses and other crimes cases.

The suspect, instead of giving himself up, went wild, sparking a firefight with the arresting police team, killing the four lawmen. Sagasag was also killed.

Records showed Sagasag was the leader of a robbery gang and behind the previous ambush incident in Kalinga in 2002 that resulted in the death of three policemen. Francisco Tuyay

FELICITOUS BOOK. President Rodrigo Duterte receives a book Monday titled ‘If Mayors Ruled the World’ from US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim in Malacañang. Sung accompanied a delegation from the US-PH Society to the Palace.

Duterte belittles De Lima’s tirade against President

By John Paolo Bencito and Macon Ramos-Araneta

M

ALACAÑANG on Tuesday played down pronouncements by embattled Senator Leila De Lima accusing President Rodrigo Duterte as a “sociopathic serial killer” and “dictator” who should be declared “unfit” to continue serving as president. “[That is a] colorful language,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella told a Palace press briefing.

Asked about De Lima’s call for the Cabinet members to declare Duterte as unfit for the presidency, Abella replied, “Seriously?”

On Tuesday, De Lima, who is facing trial for drug charges that stemmed from allegations first made by Duterte, also urged the public to speak out against questionable policies of the administration, saying people should not be blind about what she described

as his abusive regime, including purported state-sanctioned killings of drug suspects.

De Lima urged the public to stand up to Duterte, whom she described as a “dictator” and the “Philippines’ if not the world’s No. 1 killer.

De Lima also likened Duterte to “Joker” of the Batman movie, and branded him murderer, sociopathic serial killer and the country’s No. 1 criminal who ordered the killings of over 1,000 people by his death squad and more than 7,000 drug suspects in his drug war.

After retired SPO3 Arthur Lascañas surfaced and retracted his earlier statements before the Senate hearing last October, De Lima

said there was no more doubt that Duterte was a killer.

De Lima said this was also the reason for experiencing all these ‘craziness’ in the government under the administration of Duterte.

In a news conference organized

by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Monday at the Senate, Lascañas changed his testimonies given to the Senate committee on justice and human rights.

He admitted he was a “team leader” of the Davao Death Squad, the vigilante group formed by Duterte when he was still mayor of Davao City.

He said Duterte paid them from P20,000, P50,000 or

P100,00, depending on the target, to kill suspected drug suspects and personal enemies.

However, he disclosed that Duterte spent as much as P4 million to execute radio broadcaster Jun Pala for repeatedly hitting him in his radio program.

The self-confessed leader of the DDS said he opted to make a public confession because he was stricken by his conscience to finally tell the truth.

He also revealed having a hand in the killing of his own brothers —Cecilio and Fernando, who were incolved in illegal drugs, and a family of four, which included a mother seven months on the family way and their four or five-year-old boy.

Only 53 of over 200 erring cops reassigned Ejercito

By Francisco Tuyay ONLY 53 out of more than 200 erring policemen due for reassignment to Basilan showed up at Villamor Air Base even as the Philippine National Police hierarchy was contemplating filing new administrative charges against the rogue lawmen.

Senior Supt. Dionardo Carlos, PNP spokesman, said an Air Force C-130 cargo plane bound for Basilan carrying the 53 policemen left Villamor Air Base at 6:30 a.m. Monday.

The 53 were among those facing administrative offenses for allegedly indulging in illegal acts while on their tour of duty.

Carlos said the other PNP personnel who failed to report at Villamor would be

marked Absent Without Official Leave, and separate administrative charges would be meted against the defiant policemen.

“First, they will be marked AWOL, second, they will be charged again for defiance to the lawful order of the Commander-in-Chief,” Carlos said.

Earlier, over 200 policemen facing administrative offenses were confronted

by President Rodrigo Duterte in Malacanang and subsequently ordered their reassignment to Basilan as penalties for their involvement in various offenses.

Duterte previously directive the policemen to clean-up the Pasig river but changed his mind and instead had them transferred to Basilan, purportedly to fight the terrorists in the province.

Carlos said the 53 who boarded the Basilan-bound plane were following the order of the command, but those who failed to show up clearly indicated their defiance.

“Definitely, they will have to face another administrative charge,” Carlos said.

“It only shows what kind of stature they have. It’s not a leadership problem. We will investigate who these people are. The kind of character we saw only shows that they are digging their own grave or exit from the service,” Carlos pointed out.

More than 100 police officers were expected to report at Villamor Air Base but for some legitimate circumstances some of them did not show up.

Du30 spent over P227m in foreign trips since July

By John Paolo Bencito

NEDA MATTERS. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III discusses some matters affecting the country with Public Works Secretary Mark Villar on the sidelines of the National Economic Development Authority Board meeting in Malacañang on Monday.

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte spent more than P277 million in taxpayers’ money in visiting 12 countries six months into the presidency, Malacañang said Tuesday.

Despite this huge sum of money, however, the President brought home at least US$5.85 billion in foreign investments and at least 350,000 job opportunities, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said.

“The President made a total of seven foreign trips, visiting a total of 12 countries since he took office. These visits incurred about P277 million in expenses which included airfare, charter lease, and others,” Duterte’s spokesperson told a news briefing.

“These official trips are part of the President’s obligation to maintain and strengthen diplomatic ties with neighboring countries and has clinched numerous economic

investments and commitments amounting to billions of dollars— to billions of pesos and generate thousands of jobs in the following years,” he added.

Duterte visited Laos, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brunei, China, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Peru, New Zealand, Cambodia, and Singapore as part of his obligation as Head of State to maintain and strengthen the country’s diplomatic ties with other nations.

From these foreign trips, China and Japan were the most fruitful, Abella said, with investment pledges in the billions of dollars and estimated hundreds of thousands of jobs to be generated in the next few years.

“The visit to China resulted in more than 20 agreements with an estimated value, total value of US$4-billion and will generate over 100,000 jobs,” the Palace spokesperson continued.

acquittal affirmed

By Maricel V. Cruz SENATOR Joseph Victor Ejercito was acquitted by the Sandiganbayan over the allegedly anomalous use of calamity funds for the purchase of highpowered firearms when he was San Juan City mayor.

In a resolution promulgated Feb. 20, the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division affirmed the acquittal of Ejercito as “there is no clear allegation or discussion of how there may have been grave abuse of discretion on the part of the Court.”

The resolution was penned by acting chairperson Associate Justice Rafael Ragos and concurred in by Associate Justices Reynaldo Cruz and Maria Theresa Mendoza-Arcega.

The court also stressed “there is no need to revisit and discuss them anew.”

It noted the prosecution’s motion for reconsideration “failed to address the crux behind the granting of the demurrer to evidence” against Ejercito.

“Wherefore, the prosecutor’s Motion for Reconsideration is hereby denied,” the court said.

In a motion for reconsideration, the Office of the Special Prosecutor appealed to the anti-graft court to reverse its decision granting Ejercito’s demurrer to evidence, and maintained the Ombudsman proved that Ejercito extended unwarranted benefit to the firearms supplier HK Tactical Defense System Inc.

A4

Opinion

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

A

Adelle Chua, Editor

Student safety comes first

FIELD trip can be a rewarding and exciting learning experience, but for 14 students of Bestlink College of the Philippines in Quezon City this week, a schoolsanctioned outing to a resort in Tanay, Rizal, proved fatal.

The 14 students died, while 44 others were injured—some critically—after the tourist bus they were riding lost its brakes on a downhill slope and crashed into an electric post along the highway to Tanay.

Disaster officials said 10 of the students died on the spot, while four others died while being treated in nearby hospitals. The driver also died.

The bus was among nine hired by the school to go to a camping activity as part of its National Service Training Program. The eight other buses had already arrived safely at the resort when the fatal accident took place.

In the aftermath of the Tanay tragedy, Commissioner Prospero de Vera of the Commission on Higher Education called for a suspension of field trips and educational tours while the bus crash is under investigation.

The suspension will cover all field trips and educational tours in all colleges and universities until the investigation is completed.

De Vera said it must also be determined if universities and colleges comply with safety guidelines and whether policies on school trips give adequate protection to the students.

“The Tanay tragedy is a reminder that we must be very strict in regulating the use of public transport for school-sponsored trips,” the CHED commissioner said.

He added that while field trips are essential for students to learn, their safety must always be ensured.

The steps announced by De Vera make sense and suggest several avenues for reassessment.

1) What, if any, liabilities should the schools assume? Are the waivers they make parents sign sufficient and fair?

Should schools be made to take out insurance on each student who goes on a field trip?

2) Should schools be allowed to make field trips—and the additional expenses they entail for parents—compulsory?

3) The CHED covers only universities

and colleges. What is the Department of Education doing to ensure the safety of students in schools in the lower levels?

4) Are the field trips truly essential?

Should schools not be made to justify a field trip to ascertain that it is beneficial to students?

5) From the point of view of the Transportation Department, what is being done to accredit public transport companies to ensure passenger safety?

In theory, field trips can help students see how what they are learning is applied in the real world. They also give students an opportunity to learn outside the classroom to break the monotony of their daily routine. The Tanay tragedy, however, brings home the point that none of this matters if we don’t put student safety first.

VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ

Watergate moment for Trump, Duterte

Cabinet should quit because they should no longer support the alleged murderous dictator who appointed them.

Feel free to have a flashback of the Hyatt 10 resignations that the Yellow members of Cabinet pulled off in order to pressure then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to resign. Only make sure you remember that the Hyatt 10 stunt didn’t succeed in making Arroyo step down, either.

De Lima must really have lost her mind, as she attempts to come to terms with her impending arrest and imprisonment on charges of bribery and aiding and abetting drug trafficking in the New Bilibid Prison during her term as secretary of Justice. Either that, or she is still following some Yellow checklist on how to bring down a sitting President, a program that was first drafted and implemented during the 1986 revolt.

Of course, the checklist includes massive protest actions like the one that will reportedly

DONALD Trump and Rodrigo Roa Duterte have reached what is called their Watergate Moment very early in their presidencies.

Watergate is the term that describes a series of clandestine and often illegal activities that led to the resignation of Richard Nixon in 1973. The name “Watergate” and the suffix “-gate” have since become synonymous with political and non-political scandals in the United States, according to Wikipedia. In later versions of political “gates”, they didn’t necessarily result in the ouster of the ruling power but only in a severe crisis that leads to substantial loss of credibility and eventually legitimacy to rule and thus inspiring military plotters.

Trump’s job approval has been eroding since he assumed the presidency on Jan. 20, 2017, hitting a low point of 40 percent on Feb. 10-12, 2017, after a three-day average high of 46 percent on Jan. 23-25, 2017, according to Gallup. His average disapproval rating among various polls is 50.6 percent (as high as 57 percent by Pew Research). Since Trump became president, majority of Americans have not liked what he has been doing.

Duterte’s, meanwhile, keeps steadying, if not rising incredibly. The veteran Davao mayor is the most popular Philippine president today. Duterte’s approval and trust ratings are both at 83 percent during the last quarter of 2016, according to Pulse Asia.

Trump’s Watergate Moment came following revelations Lieutenant General Mike Flynn, before he became the national security adviser, made a phone call to the Russian Ambassador in Washington DC Sergey Kislyak advising him not to react after President ordered on Dec. 29, 2016 the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats from the United States as part of the sanctions against Russia for alleged US hacking activities. Under a US law, it is a felony for a private American citizen to interfere in US government sanctions against a foreign government.

When the Flynn-Kislyak call discussing the sanctions was leaked on Jan. 12, Flynn denied it. Trump’s press secretary Sean Spicer, also denied it

Turn to A5

Turn to A5

Bad, stolen scripts LOWDOWN

JOJO A. ROBLES YOU know a confession is fake when it rips off lines from some famous script, like from the Godfather Part II. Of course, as one almost-famous Yellow once said, it doesn’t have to be true— it just has to appear that way.

Of SPO3 Arthur Lascanas, formerly the bete noire of supposed Davao Death Squad whistleblower Edgar Matobato, little more should be said apart from what Senator Richard “Dick” Gordon already has. And this, in brief, is how Gordon reacted to the call for him to reopen his investigation in the Senate, now that Lascanas has done a 180-degree turn and admitted his participation in the mythical hit squad: “He has already appeared before the Senate and he said the...

Squad did not exist. Why should

I call the committee again? How would I know if he is telling the truth this time?”

I reviewed Lascanas’ videotaped testimony during the Matobato hearings last year, given before Gordon and Senator Panfilo Lacson, and came away with the impression that he had truly been hurt by the alleged whistleblower’s claims of his involvement in the vigilante group.

Then I watched his “public confession” at the Senate this week —which was not given at a real hearing, mind you—to compare the two Sergeant Lascanases.

Like Gordon, I wondered which of the two testimonies was actually true and if it will, at some future date, change again.

And I wonder if Lascanas’ new testimony isn’t as fake as Senator Leila de Lima’s sense of outrage when I heard him talk about a four-year-old boy whom he wanted to spare but couldn’t, because the killers had to follow the Godfather script.

If you’re a fan of that classic

movie series, you’ll know what I’m talking about. In one scene in Part II, the local mob boss orders the killing of young Vito Corleone after already having killed his father and brother; young

I guess we shall soon see if all the noise will remove a President and install yet another Yellow in his place.

Vito’s mother pleads for the boss to spare the boy, which the boss rejects, reasoning that Vito will seek revenge when he grows up.

This is the same story that

Lascanas, now retired from the police force and reportedly a dialysis patient, wants us to swallow. That Duterte, as Davao’s mayor, ordered the killing of the entire Sapataha family, including a four-year-old boy whom Lascanas wanted to save but couldn’t, because he was ordered to make sure that the boy doesn’t grow up and demand Sicilianstyle vengeance.

I am agog and aghast, as they say in Les Miz. No wonder Lascanas’ backers don’t want to file a case in court, as Gordon has suggested, but only seek an oldfashioned Senate hearing where he will be prodded, Matobatolike, to parrot more lines from a poorly written (or stolen) script. *** Speaking of bad scripts, how else to describe De Lima’s call yesterday for the members of the Duterte Cabinet to resign en masse but as yet another terribly unreasonable and unoriginal demand? De Lima, in another Senate press conference, said the

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Opinion

WHEN President Rodrigo Duterte speaks in public, he almost always talks about his war on illegal drugs. This is how it has been for the past eight months.

He curses his critics, calling them idiots or sons of whores.

The people listening to him break out into laughter. They applaud him—dismissing the fact that more than 7,500 have been killed since the President assumed office.

It’s tragic that Filipinos seem to just accept that this is the new normal. Do we not realize that there are greater problems that we have to face—poverty, unemployment, terrorism, climate change, and lack of basic services?

Former President Fidel Ramos calls it unilateralism—the inability of President Duterte to consult members of his Cabinet in issuing policies, and in foreign affairs. Why not maintain present allies as we romance new ones?

It was Ramos who urged Mr. Duterte to run for president. Now he is the staunchest and bluntest critic of the Duterte administration. It’s a sinking ship, he says.

Poverty and joblessness, above everything, should be the priority of President Duterte if the country must achieve change.

Millions of Filipinos still live below the poverty line. Given this, economic growth is meaningless. My gulay, why do you think some Filipinos resort to trading illegal drugs?

Just look at those boys and girls along Metro Manila’s streets. They sniff solvents just to forget their hunger. Look at those killed in the war against illegal drugs-they are clad only in shorts, t-shirts and slippers. We don’t see these photos in gated villages.

Santa Banana, it’s the poor who find themselves targeted in President Duterte’s war on illegal drugs! Tragic, isn’t it?

Mr. Duterte must listen to his critics here and abroad. We agree that the drug menace must be eliminated. All he is doing would be an exercise in futility, however, unless he also focuses on poverty.

Indeed the efforts to eliminate illegal drugs resonate with the people. The people have long suffered because of this. This is how the President maintains his popularity.

Soon enough, however, people will realize that as long as there are poverty and joblessness, crime, corruption and illegal drugs will remain. Nothing will change! *** There is another circus that threatens to distract us from our real problems.

It’s the confession of a retired police officer, who is said to be the head of the so-called Davao Death Squad when President Duterte was still mayor there.

SPO3 Arthur Lascañas, now retired, earlier told the Senate inquiry on the DDS didn’t exist

but now has reversed himself. He has tagged former Davao mayor, President Duterte, for more than 1,000 killings by the DDS. I cannot tell how far another Senate investigation can go.

With Lascañas corroborating Matobato’s revelations, can there be another probe, especially now since some senators have already filed resolutions for another inquiry?

It’s interesting to know that Lascañas knows he could be committing perjury. Now he has confessed to the DDS killings and said he was paid for them by no less than Mr. Duterte. My gulay, Lascañas even admitted that he had his two brothers killed because they were involved in illegal drugs!

The issue will be the credibility: Of Lascañas, of the investigation, and of the senators themselves.

The worst thing that can happen to the President impeachment—but this is unlikely as members of both Houses of Congress are under his thumb.

In any case, this is another circus, all right. *** I have said that with presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella, a former Protestant pastor, and Communication Secretary Martin Andanar, a former news reader of TV5, President Duterte does not need critics.

Andanar, for one, has become the worst enemy of the President.

He came out with lies that Duterte would be seated beside former US President Barack Obama at a dinner last year. It never happened.

Andanar and Abella also asked the public to use their creative imagination in interpreting the President’s words.

They also said we should believe only two out of five statements of Duterte—the remaining three are just foolishness.

Now comes Andanar claiming that $1,000 were distributed to Senate reporters who attended the press conference of Lascañas.

Journalists getting bribes whenever they attend press briefing or conferences seem to be Andanar’s masterpiece. Was he bribed when he was a news reader?

If Andanar cannot substantiate his allegation, he should apologize publicly.

My gulay, I have been a journalist for over six decades now, and I know how low the salaries of journalists are.

That’s why, to those young people who want to be journalists, while it’s a glamorous profession, let me tell you that you can never be a millionaire if you wish to stay honest here. I believe that journalism is more than a profession—it is calling! And the worst part of it all is that when you reach a retirement age, you cannot expect a pension plan.

I’m blessed that I have a wife who used to earn more than I did. I can retire since I’m already 89 years old—but I won’t until I write “30.”

Bad...

that just sounds like you don’t have a real case, which is why you have to proclaim just how good your lawyers are.)

And so we hurtle along towards Saturday, when the most prominent Yellow politician of all, Vice President Leni Robredo, promises us a “dignified” protest against Duterte. I suppose Robredo, who will be the beneficiary of any successful attempt to remove the President, is already practicing how to act dignified this early.

I guess we shall soon see if all the noise generated by Robredo, De Lima, Senator Antonio Trillanes, the Liberal Party, Loida Nicolas-Lewis, former President Fidel Ramos, the Catholic bishops, the Yellow media, Matobato and now SPO3 Anthony Lascanas will be not only dignified but will also achieve their real goal: That of removing a President and installing yet another Yellow in his place.

Oh, wait: They already used that playbook in 2001, when they removed Joseph Estrada. Right?

This is why people resort to using and trading drugs.

From A4

be hatched on Feb. 25. Like Cabinet resignations out of supposed loss of confidence, using the Catholic Church as a battering ram, enlisting the help of “friendly” media, pressuring Washington to step in and remove a duly elected President and other favored Yellow methods of achieving regime change, “people power” protests are part of the entire package.

(I’m already familiar with most of the weapons in the Yellow arsenal. But the cribbing from the Godfather II script is a new one, I must confess.

That, and the fawning treatment given by some news outlets to the new lawyers of both De Lima and Lascanas, the veteran human rights lawyers from the Free Legal Assistance Group, or FLAG. Normally, you’d just mention the lawyers, not make them the subject of article-length write-ups; to me,

A5

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Reflections on Edsa

TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

Poverty is the problem

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017

SO I SEE LITO BANAYO IT’S been 31 years since February 22, when we were all startled by news that Juan Ponce Enrile, the defense minister, had holed up with some of his trusted lieutenants in Camp Aguinaldo, and declared a break-away from the Marcos regime.

After hours of the longest day, constabulary chief Fidel V. Ramos joined Enrile in the mutiny.

Later that fateful day, a press conference was held in Malacañang, and supposed mutineers who had planned to attack the Palace and the dictator himself were presented. All hell had broken loose in the regime of Ferdinand Marcos.

That evening, a good friend and kompadre, Sostenes Campillo Jr. (may his soul rest in eternal peace) called me up and asked me to prepare to leave my residence, along with my wife and two kids. One was less than two years old and the other a sixmonth-old baby. He was taking us to a safehouse for the night and until things cleared up.

I was at the time very active in the anti-Marcos campaign, having been drafted by Ninoy Aquino in Boston to help Doy Laurel organize the aboveground opposition. When the Edsa mutiny broke out, I was deputy secretary-general of the Unido, the political party under which Cory and Doy ran in the snap elections of Feb. 8, 1986. I was Laurel’s de facto spokesman and chief factotum.

I knew something was up in the air, after several meetings between Philip Habib of the US State Department and the major players in the country’s politics at the time. Even when I saw

Laurel off the previous day, where he was on the way to a “boycott rally” launched against Marcos cronies in Cebu, he whispered, “Take care of Cecille [my wife] and the kids. May mangyayari,” cryptic words that presaged the event that was soon to unfold.

But this article is not about a personal testament on the Edsa revolt, also called the People Power Revolution.

Thirty-one years had passed since the whole nation was reinvigorated with the exhilarating pride of the peaceful toppling of an entrenched dictatorship.

The question we must reflect upon in our minds and hearts is, what happened in the last 31 years? How come life hasn’t changed much for the majority who remain shackled to poverty?

Why is the Filipino diaspora to almost every corner of the world about the only escape from such poverty? Whatever happened to the promise that the restoration of our freedoms under a reign of democratic space and form would be the key to making life better for our people?

How could life have been better if Cory Aquino, with the awesome powers under a selfproclaimed revolutionary government, had undertaken revolutionary reforms?

Would our lives become better, and our future more secured, if she had not listened to the power-hungry brokers who advised her to marginalize her duly-elected vice president, Doy Laurel, who unselfishly gave way to her to pave the way for opposition unity in the snap elections called by Marcos?

Would it have been better if she had not resurrected the traditional politicians and oligarchs whose fortunes Marcos had decimated, and who, back in power, returned the economy and the polity into “happy days are here again” for themselves and to the

exclusion of the people they always claim to serve?

Likewise, should she have ordered her PCGG to leave no stone unturned in the quest for illicit wealth, instead of tarrying with legal processes that turned up only a measly portion of the purloined wealth and left many unscathed?

How would Cory’s reign have been if she had not been threatened by several coup attempts which destabilized the country?

Would the economy, given the goodwill engendered by Edsa worldwide, have finally taken off, like Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia even?

Was it right for us to simply condemn everything that the Marcos authoritarianism had effected in its close to 14 years, and in the process, throw the baby along with the bath water?

When she gave birth to a new Constitution through 50 appointed commissioners, did the fundamental law that was forged, and later approved by the people in a plebiscite held during the giddy apex of her personal popularity, reflect the needs of a most unequal society? Was it something that could stand the test of time, or was it so rigid that it could not adapt to changes in the international economic order and the rapid advance of technology?

Did that Constitution, now 30 years old, effect meaningful change, or did it merely restore the institutional forms of a democracy without social and economic substance?

As for the people, yes, all of us, did we choose the right local and national leaders when elections were restored? Or did we simply allow the old trapos to come back with a vengeance?

And feather their nests through family dynasties that took advantage of term limits and local autonomy?

To be sure, political dynasties

are not an inherent evil; it is the abuse of such and the denigration of meritocracy, engendered by the non-existence of true political parties that has made such a mess of our system.

Was there any attempt by our new leaders to instill discipline, nationalism, a deep sense of pride in our history and culture, that should have made a united people of us all, with common purpose and determination?

How quickly time has passed.

An entire generation has been born, the millennials who neither lived through the excesses of authoritarianism, nor the benefits of discipline and political will.

The same generation, born in the 80’s, with hardly a memory of Marcos, were in children during the Cory years, connected to the rest of the world through the marvels of information technology, now ask us, their parents —why is the Philippines so left behind by other countries? Why does life in these beautiful islands seem so bereft of hope and a sustainable future?

This article posits no clear answers. The questions we have raised are meant only to provoke reflections upon the Edsa event that altered our history 31 years ago. The fault lies in each of us, collectively.

My congratulations to the newly-formed Edsa Commission headed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea for coming up with a quiet commemoration of the event. None of the shop-worn gimmicks that have characterized past commemorations, most of them rehashed to the point of irrelevance.

Indeed, what we ought to do is to reflect: What happened?

What did we do right? What did we do wrong?

And learn, hopefully under the present leadership, lessons from the past, lessons of failed policies and practices, of opportunities lain to waste.

Asia’s strongmen aren’t strong enough

By Michael Schuman ACROSS Asia, the world has supposedly been witnessing the return of the strongman. Chinese President Xi Jinping has been grasping more and more control in his own hands since claiming power in 2012. Two years later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India and President Joko Widodo (known as “Jokowi”) in Indonesia won office by selling themselves as forceful economic and political reformers. All three were heralded as the firm hands these giant developing nations needed to rejuvenate their promising but troubled economies.

Yet here we are, at the start of 2017, still waiting. Jokowi’s lackluster reform program has produced equally lackluster growth. Xi’s much-hyped pro-market manifesto, approved in 2013, has gone almost nowhere, leaving China to limp along on evergreater infusions of debt. While India is the best performing of the bunch, Modi has remained reluctant to press ahead on key changes that could lift growth even higher.

The truth is that Asia’s strongmen aren’t strong enough.

This matters to a world counting on emerging markets in Asia and elsewhere to lift global growth. In October, Capital Economics released a report darkly entitled “The End of the Golden Age,” which predicted that “widespread expectations for a sustained rebound in emerging market growth after the slowdown of

Watergate...

From A4 on Jan. 13. Vice President Mike Pence similarly denied it on Jan. 15.

On Jan. 23, three days after Trump’s inaugural, Spicer again denied it.

However, the then acting attorney general, Sally Yates, whom Trump later fired, revealed on Jan. 23 to Donald McGahn, the White House counsel, that indeed sanctions were discussed. Flynn’s lying made him open to Russian blackmail.

Trump fired Flynn on Wednesday, Feb. 15, after only 23 days in office.

Flynn’s sage is only part of the story.

What is yet to be revealed is who ordered Flynn to talk to the Russian ambassador. Is it true Trump’s campaign staff were coordinating with the Russians for a negative anti-Hilary Clinton hacking during the presidential campaign? Is it true Trump has investments and financial dealings in Russia which is why he is pro-Putin and refuses to disclose his tax returns? Is the US now under a Trump-Putin dictatorship?

Note that because of internet revelations about Hillary in the final weeks of the campaign, Trump managed to

recent years will be disappointed.”

Emerging economies’ GDP, the research outfit forecast, would grow no more than 4 percent in coming years, sharply slower than the 6 percent notched since 2000.

To be fair, as big economies like India and China advance, eye-popping growth rates naturally become harder to come by. But these countries don’t lack potential—they lack leadership.

Compare current policies to the bold decision-making witnessed during Asia’s go-go years. In India in the early 1990s, Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao and his finance chief Manmohan Singh tore down large swaths of a regulatory raj that had been considered sacrosanct.

In the early 1980s, Deng Xiaoping and a team of forward-thinkers discarded the economic irrationalities of Mao. Even Suharto in Indonesia, with his myriad faults, instituted dramatic changes that greatly alleviated poverty in the world’s fourthmost populous country.

Why haven’t today’s leaders acted as forcefully? Partly it’s a problem of success. Though millions of people in these countries remain trapped in poverty, overall they are a lot less desperate than they once were, easing some of the urgency to force through difficult and potentially unpopular changes. Since 1980, GDP per capita in Indonesia has increased more than five times, in India, six times, and in China more than 26 times. Despite the fact that globalization has been the

prime driver of these gains, there are still powerful voices who aren’t convinced further opening is necessary or desirable, especially in light of the turmoil in the global economy over the past decade.

Arguably, too, most of the lowhanging fruit has been plucked. Previously, connecting low-cost economies to global trade, services and supply chains was sufficient to spur dramatic gains in productivity and incomes. Today’s economies are far more complex and their challenges— such as spurring innovation—much tougher. The prospect of opening protected sectors and untangling regulations threatens special interests that benefited from the earlier booms. Xi’s reform roadmap, for instance, affects everyone from state enterprises and banks to Communist cadres and coddled tycoons.

True, none of these Asian leaders are free to act as they wish. Modi still must contend with a spirited political opposition, and Jokowi has had to tiptoe through a political minefield even within his own party. Even Xi faces a major Communist Party conference later this year, which may lead to a reshuffling of the country’s top leaders.

At the same time, democracy isn’t the roadblock. There seems to be an inverse relationship between Xi’s expanding grip on China and the pace of free-market reform, for instance. The democratically elected Modi has arguably introduced more meaningful reforms in India—reducing barriers

to foreign investors and ushering in a major and long overdue tax reform— than Xi has. After a slow start, Jokowi, too, has at least sliced red tape and made it easier to start new companies in Indonesia.

For another self-proclaimed economic strongman—Donald Trump —the lessons abound. Much like Xi, Modi and Jokowi, Trump’s arrival has boosted the hopes of investors and CEOs for great, business-friendly changes. But high expectations can very quickly turn into even bigger disappointment.

Trump’s Asian counterparts all allowed political distractions to sidetrack their reform agendas; with his White House in turmoil, Trump may be making the same mistake.

Unless today’s Asian leaders get back on track, their economies won’t either. Modi must resume the campaign for land reform to speed the process of building industry, and launch a sweeping privatization of lumbering state companies.

Jokowi needs to push forward with a productivity-enhancing infrastructure program. Both Modi and Jokowi must also reduce barriers to hiring and firing workers to attract the manufacturing that would increase exports and incomes. Xi needs to stop subsidizing zombie enterprises, slim excess capacity and, most of all, allow market forces to have greater sway in financial and capital markets. If they can’t act more boldly— and soon—Asia’s golden age might truly be over. Bloomberg

win over the Democratic candidate by just 79,000 popular votes in three proDemocratic states (Michigan by 10,704 or 0.2 percentage points: Pennsylvania by 46,765 or 0.7; and Wisconsin by 22,177 votes or 0.8 percentage points), enabling him to snare 304 Electoral College votes against Clinton’s 227, despite her winning the popular vote by 2.86 million votes—62.980 million (45.94 percent) vs. 65.845 million (48.03 percent). America is the only democracy I know in this world where one becomes president by losing the popular vote.

Trump has replaced Flynn with a much better man, Lieutenant General H. R. McMaster, a fire-breathing war-fighter and free thinker, according to The Economist. “He is stocky, bullishly charismatic and as a young tank commander in the first Gulf war was decorated for his battlefield prowess. After bumping into an Iraqi armored column, Mr McMaster’s troop of nine American tanks destroyed 80 Iraqi tanks and other vehicles without suffering a single loss,” gloats the magazine.

Meanwhile, President Duterte’s Watergate Moment comes with revelations of a retired Davao policeman, Arturo Baririquit Lascañas, 56.

In a press conference held Feb. 20, 2017, SPO3 Lascañas disclosed that he was part of the Davao Death Squad and that he was involved in several incidents of killings during the time of Duterte as mayor for 23 years of Davao City.

The killings included the raid that resulted in the killing of alleged drug lord Allan Tancho, the bombing of a mosque, the killing of a kidnapping mastermind a Mr. Patasaja and his family; the ambush and killing of antiDuterte Davao broadcaster Jun Pala for a fee of P3 million, and the deaths of his (Lascañas’s) own brothers— Cecilio and Fernando—who were allegedly involved in illegal drugs.

Lascañas’ allegations prompted the New York-based Human Rights Watch to call for an urgent United Nations investigation into the Duterte administration’s illegal drugs killings to uncover ultimately responsibility for those crimes.

“The disclosures also suggest possible motivations for the Duterte administration’s moves to launch a politically motivated prosecution of Senator Leila de Lima, who as chair of the Commission on Human Rights in 2009 launched the only official investigation into the Davao

Death Squad killings,” HRW Deputy Asia Director Phelim Kine said.

Outrageous is the killing of alleged kidnapper, Patasaja and his family. He was intercepted in his Ford Fiera in General Santos City, with his wife who was seven months pregnant, their five-year-old son, his 70-year-old father-in-law, and two helpers, a man and a woman.

The six were brought to a Davao quarry. Someone ordered “erase all” and that the killing be “clean.” “Here, evil prevailed,” Lascañas muttered.

The entire family was killed with a .22 caliber with a silencer.

The two largest newspapers and this paper headlined Lascañas’ revelations, indicating the gravity of the allegations. Erase all, clean and silencer. Duterte’s options are clear. biznewsasia@gmail.com

BACK CHANNEL ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO Ambassador Del Rosario’s column will resume soon.

A6

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

News Puerto Princesa has new mayor

By Francisco Tuyay PUERTO Princesa City Mayor Lucilo Bayron agreed on Monday to vacate his office, paving the way for the enforcement of his dismissal by the Ombudsman for dishonesty and grave misconduct, Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno said Tuesday.

Sueno said Bayron agreed to vacate the mayor’s office after the Court of Appeals declined to issue a temporary restraining order stopping his dismissal.

“We already communicated this morning and [Vice Mayor Luis Marcaida III] will assume office and the mayor has agreed to step down,” Sueno said in a press briefing.

In its Dec. 15, 2016 ruling, the Office of the Ombudsman ordered Bayron dismissed from the service after he was found guilty of serious dishonesty and grave misconduct for facilitating the appointment of his son Karl as project manager of Bantay Puerto-VIPC Security Task Force.

Bayron was also meted the accessory penalties of perpetual disqualification from public office, cancellation of eligibility and for-

31ST ANNIVERSARY. Workers of the Department of Public Works and Highways spruce up the People Power Monument in Edsa, Quezon City ahead of the 31st anniversary of 1986 Edsa People Power revolt. Manny Palmero

IN BRIEF ‘Simple Edsa rites no biggie’ MALACAÑANG on Tuesday assured that the “simple and sober” commemoration of the 31st anniversary of the Edsa People Power Revolution does not mean the Duterte administration is giving less significance to the historic event that toppled the Marcos dictatorship.

In a press briefing with Palace reporters, senior deputy executive secretary Menardo Gueverra said that some sectors have been asking why the proposed program for the celebration of the 31st anniversary of Edsa is rather sober, simple and no fanfare.

“That’s probably in relation to what we have done or what we did last year when the Edsa People Power Revolution celebrated its 30th anniversary and more so, during the time of the last year in office of President Benigno Aquino III,” he pointed out.

“It does not indicate that the present administration or the (Edsa People Power Commission) is giving less significance to the celebration of 31st anniversary. Just like any young lady who is celebrating her 18th birthday, we celebrate it with pomp.

But when she celebrates her 19th birthday, that doesn’t mean that if there’s no celebration similar to her debut, that her birthday is given any less significance,” Guevarra said.

The Palace official was representing Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, who was tasked by President Rodrigo Duterte as head of the EPPC, the lead agency in preparing for the EDSA celebrations. PNA

SC stops rules favoring 23 electricity suppliers

By Rey E. Requejo

T

HE Supreme Court on Tuesday stopped the Department of Energy and the Energy Regulatory Commission from implementing new regulations that compel big power consumers to get their electricity from 23 designated electricity suppliers.

During its en banc session, the SC issued a temporary restraining order against the implementation of DOE Circular No. DC-2015-06-0010 and ERC Resolution No. 5, Series of 2016; Art. I, Sections 2 and 3 thereof, ERC Resolution No. 10, Series of 2016; ERC Resolution No. 11, Series of 2016, and ERC Resolution No. 28, Series of 2016.

“The Court noted that petitioners have established a clear, legal right to the TRO considering that the [Electric Power Industry Reform Act or] Law provides for voluntary migration of end-users to the contestable market and there appears to be no basis for the mandatory migration being ordered by the DOE and the ERC through the questioned issuances,” SC spokesman

Theodore Te said.

The High Court recognized the urgent need to issue the TRO considering the Feb. 26, 2017 deadline imposed by the ERC for end users to enter into a retail supply contracts with accredited retail electricity suppliers.

“If a TRO is not issued, the petition will become moot and petitioners stand to suffer grave and irreparable injury because they will be disconnected from the distribution utility or make to pay a supplier of last resort a 10 percent premium between the higher contracts and the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market,” the SC said.

The tribunal acted on the petition filed by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ateneo de Manila University, San Beda Col-

lege and mall owner Riverbanks Development Corp.

The petitioners specifically asked High Court to immediately put a stop to the implementation of the regulations that force power consumers with a monthly average peak demand of 1 megawatt to enter into new contracts with any of the 23 suppliers chosen by the ERC. Named respondents to the suit are Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, ERC chairman Jose Vicente Salazar and incumbent ERC comissioners Alfredo Non, Gloria Victoria YapTaruc, Josefina Patricia Asirit and Geronimo Sta. Ana. The new resolutions, according to the petitioners, would deprive electricity consumers of their basic constitutional right to freedom of choice.

The petitioners argued that the

new regulations would limit their choice of suppliers by prohibiting distribution utilities from participating in the contestable market even if the distribution utilities can offer the lowest price to consumers.

According to them, the DoE and ERC violated the Constitution and the EPIRA when they issued said regulations.

The petitioners said the DoE Circular and ERC Regulations in question do not promote free competition and will lead to higher prices of electricity to ordinary consumers, and will have a negative impact on economy.

The petitioners lamented that the new regulations abandoned a previous policy allowing distribution utilities and their retail supply units from competing for large consumers in the contestable market.

EMB: No more Limay ash dump

By Alena Mae S. Flores and Anna Leah E. Gonzales

Cotabato town tagged ‘hot spot’ M’LANG, North Cotabato— The Rural Health Unit here has declared a Chikungunya virus outbreak in Barangay Poblacion A here following the steady increase of patients admitted to various hospitals.

Dr. Glecerio Sotea, municipal health officer, said at least 50 residents have been inflicted with the disease carried by Aedes mosquitoes since last week.

The Manila-based Regional Institute of Tropical Medicine has also confirmed the primacy of the disease based on blood samples taken from patients.

Sotea fears an increase in the number of patients as there are locals who continue to troop to health centers manifesting symptoms of the virus.

“The symptoms include fever and joint pains,” Sotea said.

The municipal health officer, however, advised patients to remain calm, assuring them that the disease is not as dangerous as dengue fever.

“We are doing everything to contain the disease particularly in the most affected area,” he said.

The RHU has intensified fogging operation in the affected areas and urged residents to clear out their respective homes of stagnant waters.

Distribution of larvicides has also been maximized in other villages to prevent the spread of the disease. PNA

feiture of retirement benefits.

Sueno said Bayron was very defiant in vacating his post, filed contempt charges against him for serving the dismissal order of the Ombudsman and blocking the assumption of Marcaida into office despite the order of the Ombudsman.

He said Bayron’s camp questioned the Ombudsman order based on an opinion of the Court of Appeals that the Ombudsman’s order is not final and executory but when Bayron filed a petition for a TRO, the court merely noted the plea without action.

Records show the elder Bayron entered into a contract of service with Karl who was hired as a project manager from July 1 to Dec. 31, 2013, with a monthly salary of P16,000.

The contract Karl “is not related within the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity with the hiring authority.”

But Bayron explained that “the position of project manager is a non-plantilla and non-career position in the city government and that Karl’s primary function is to act as the head of the security personnel of the city mayor.”

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT. An ordnance expert of the Manila Police District participates in a detonation exercise at the back of the Sta. Ana Market. Norman Cruz

THE Petron Corp.’s refinery complex in Limay, Bataan is no longer operating the controversial bottom ash disposal facility and has implemented measures to ensure the facility will no longer pose a threat to public health, according to the Environmental Management Bureau.

The EMB Central Luzon regional office said both the temporary ash disposal facilities of PLT Cove and San Miguel Corp. are now covered with soil, compacted and sprinkled with water to prevent ash dispersion and deposition to nearby communities.

The results of the EMB inspection was revealed during a recent meeting by the Multipartite Monitoring Team formed by the provincial government, held in Balanga City.

Petron said around 3,550 metric tons of ash have been hauled out and 7,950 MT have been treated while newlygenerated ash are being washed to reduce its corrosiveness after which sampling of the washed bottom ash is undertaken.

Treated ash is transported to SMC subsidiary Northern Cement Consolidated in Pangasinan, where it will be used as material for cement manufacturing.

Petron also revealed its remediation and rehabilitation plans for the PLT Cove area, mitigation measures for odor nuisance and relocation of affected families.

The establishment of Environmental Guarantee Fund was also discussed during the meeting. The fund would be used for epidemiological study or health assessment that will be done in affected communities.

DoJ orders lookout MMDA sets July quake drills vs 3 car scam suspects By Joel E. Zurbano THE Department of Justice on Tuesday issued an immigration lookout bulletin order against three more suspects in the scam where victims are enticed to rent out their cars for a sum of money but the vehicles will never be returned to them.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said the ILBO covers Ana Borlon, Lea Rosales and Rafaela Anunciacion and covers all international airports in the country to report any attempt to leave the country.

The ILBO cannot stop the subjects from leaving the country just like a hold departure orders, it requires them to ask for permission from the DoJ for their flights to ensure that they would come back while pending criminal investigation and for possible prosecution in court.

It requires personnel of the Bureau

of Immigration to immediately coordinate with the National Bureau of Investigation should they find any of the three suspects about to leave the country at the airport.

“I enjoin all our immigration officers and everyone concerned to strictly discharge their duties. This rent-tangay scam has victimized a lot of persons, let us bring those responsible to our courts so that justice will be served,” Aguirre said.

It was the second LBO issued by the DoJ against suspects in the scam.

Last Friday, the DoJ already issued a similar order against Tychicus Nambio, one of the alleged masterminds behind the scam, upon request of the Binan, Laguna prosecutors office. Nambio was earlier arrested in Biñan, Laguna over an estafa charge. Rey E. Requejo

THE Metro Manila Development Authority is set to conduct a metrowide earthquake drill this July to inform the people about survival methods and “do’s and dont’s” before, during and after a disaster.

The MMDA came up with the decision to resume the drill following the magnitude-6.7 and 4.1 quake that hit Surigao del Norte and Davao del Sur, respectively, this month.

MMDA acting chairman Thomas Orbos said his agency is now mapping out plans for the conduct of the earthquake drill in close coordination with Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology and Metro Manila Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council.

“We will have the metro-wide shake drill July but I will call for a meeting of the Metro Manila DR-

RMC this March to check preparations,” Orbos said in a text message.

The MMDA had called on Congress to pass a law making earthquake preparedness a regular exercise, not only for the National Capital Region, but for the entire country to prepare the people in the event a “big one” hit Metro Manila.

Surigao del Norte officials earlier declared a state of calamity after a magnitude-6.7 earthquake hit the province early this month, severely damaging buildings, roads, and the normal day-to-day lives of thousands of residents.

Six persons died and at least 100 others were injured.

Days later, a magnitude-4.1 quake struck Davao del Sur. The quake was felt in Davao City, Malita in Davao Occidental, and in Kidapawan City.

When earthquake strikes, the

MMDA advised the people to duck or drop to the floor before the shaking knocks them down.

Agency officials said people must cover their heads and necks using their arms and get under desks and other shelters that are sturdy. They advised the people to either hold on to their shelter or continue covering their heads and necks until the shaking stops.

Last year’s shake drill conducted by the MMDA had exceeded the 2015’s number of participants with 6.5 million people.

The agency attributed the success to the participation of local governments in Regions 3 and 4, and the private sectors.

The MMDA noted that a number of scenarios made during shake drills were based on a simulated 7.2-magnitude tremor with Intensity 8 happened in Metro Manila.

Sports Must-win game for Mighty Sports 5 Games Today

(Al Ahli Indoor Stadium) 5 p.m. – Sagese vs Sale 7 p.m. – Egypt vs Homenetmen 9 p.m. Mighty Sports vs Al Riyade

DUBAI—In a desperate situation, Mighty Sports-Philippines needs to come up with desperate measures if it is to beat top seed Al Riyade of Lebanon today in the 28th Dubai International Basketball Championship at the Al Ahli Indoor Stadium here.

NBA veterans Hasheem Thabeet and Dominic McGuire and naturalized Marcus Douthit must come up with extraordinary games when Mighty Sports battles one of Lebanon’s premier squads at 9 p.m.

Having dropped its first three games, Mighty Sports must come up with a miracle win to keep its flickering semis hopes alive in the tournament considered as the toughest in the Middle East.

Backed by Rain or Shine and Scratch It, Mighty Sports was playing Homenetmen—also of Lebanon—at presstime.

Former Ginebra import Justine Brownlee and NBA D-League aspirant Kiefer Ravena must come up with a sequel to their brilliant showing the last time if they are to inspire their teammates to deliver the goods this time.

Brownlee is averaging 27 points a game while the 6-foot Ravena owns a 15.3 points average highlighted by a 25-point show in the team’s 95-92 defeat to Sagese also of Lebanon.

Amateur standout Jeron Teng and PBA stars Chris Tiu, Gary David, Beau Belga, Ryan Arana and JC Intal should also raise their level of game several notches to help lessen the burden for Brownlee and Ravena.

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Roque closes in on Morales A

NTIPOLO CITY—Rudy Roque topped the 140-km Calamba-Antipolo Stage 11 to close in on solo leader and NavyStandard Insurance teammate Jan Paul Morales in the LBC Ronda Pilipinas 2017 at the Hinulugang Taktak Road here yesterday.

Roque, 25, clocked three hours, 57 minutes and 39 seconds to claim his first lap victory since he reigned supreme in the Vigan-Laoag-Vigan Stage One on Feb. 4 that somehow kept him in the run to claim his very victory here.

Morales, 31, finished second in the stage in 3:59:43, the same time of Go for Gold’s Ronnel Hualda, who wound up third.

The recent feat pushed Roque, who hails from Tipo, Bataan, just a little over two minutes behind Morales with an aggregate time of 37:28:11 as against the latter’s raceleading 37:25:56.

Roque, however, admitted after the race that the goal is to put a distance between himself and Cris Joven of Kinetix LabArmy, who remained at No. 3,

but fell 11 minutes off the former from less than nine minutes the day before.

Joven has a total time of 37:37:03.

“I’m happy I still have a chance at No. 1 but I’m happy to just gain some minutes against Joven,” said Roque, who is on course to surpassing his best finish of ninth place in the inaugural event of this race six years ago, in Filipino.

Morales, for his part, looked spent in the mountains bridging Laguna and Rizal provinces and opted to just coast along for second place.

It was Morales’ seventh podium finish highlighted by four lap triumphs in Stage 2 in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Stage 3 in Subic, Stage

8 in Daet, Camarines Norte and Stage 9 in Unisan, Quezon.

“I was feeling it in the mountains so I just paced myself. I’m still happy that a fellow Navy won the stage,” said Morales, who showed confidence that the title is within his grasp.

“I think it will be hard for them to close in on Rudy (Roque) and I,” said Morales, who is eyeing to become the very first back-toback winner of this race considered the biggest in the country today.

Go for Gold’s Bryant Sepnio jumped from No. 6 to No. 4 with 37:41:33, while RC Cola-NCR’s Lionel Dimaano leapt from No. 8 to No. 5 with 37:46:05.

Ilocos Sur’s Ryan Serapio and Navy’s Daniel Ven Carino and

Pilipinas Run set March 12

REGATTA KINGS. The Philippines’ Centennial III, manned by veteran sailor Judes Echauz and his all-Filipino crew, celebrates after receiving the trophy for beating perennial rival Hong Kong’s Jelik during the 8th Standard Insurance Subic Bay to Boracay Race in Malay, Aklan, Monday. Celebrating with the sailors at the awards night at Seawind Boracay Resort is Patricia Echauz-Chilip, Standard Insurance chairman. Hong Kong’s Black Baza, regularly skippered by Anthony Root and Steve Manning, turned the table on last year’s winner Sydney GTS 43 Mandrake III, manned by Nick Burns and David Witt in the IRC II class.

FIVB to resolve PH volleyball leadership conflict THE Federation Internationale de Volleyball has started its proceedings to resolve the long-running leadership conflict between the Philippine Volleyball Federation and Larong Volleyball Sa Pilipinas, Inc., calling on both parties to prepare their respective positions in claiming the legal sports association to govern volleyball in the Philippines.

In a letter dated Feb. 16, 2017 and signed by Jaime A. Lamboy Riley, Chairperson of the Ad-

Hoc Commission for the Philippines, the special committee has informed both PVF President Edgardo ‘Tito Boy’ Cantada and LVPI chief Jose ‘Joey’ Romasanta of the action and set the deadline for the submission of the said document not later than March 13, 2017.

The FIVB noted in its letter that “On 23 January 2017, the Ad-Hoc Commission of the Philippines held its first meeting in order to organize how the

proceedings before the Ad-Hoc Commission will be conducted.

To that effect, the Ad-Hoc Commission has decided to request the following information from the parties.”

The PVF brought its case against the LVPI and the POC before the FIVB Congress last year, and the world governing body found merit to grant the PVF appeal for an investigation.

On Dec. 8, 2016, the FIVB Congress created an Ad-Hoc

Commission to investigate the governance of the sports of volleyball in the Philippines and make a recommendation to the Board of Administration.

“Change is coming in Philippine sports and the PVF fervently prays that it’s for the better.

Let truth and justice prevail in this case,” said Cantada. “Kailangan ilagay sa tama. Walang puwang ang pagmamalabis sa puwesto at pagmamanipula sa proseso at pang-aapi sa kapwa

sa Philippine sports.”

Cantada has also put the Philippine Olympic Committee to task for illegally stripping the PVF of its membership in the POC, replacing it with the LVPI. Cantada decried the glaring manipulation by the POC, citing the absence of a General Assembly to rule in favor of LVPI “ironically headed by the same person (Romasanta) the POC supposedly assigned to resolve the internal PVF problems.”

Kamao vs Responders in finals

Best Player of the Game PNP’s Alejandro Yanquiling III hustles for a loose ball with Judiciary Magis’ Frederick Salamat during their semifinal game.

PASIG CITY—Malacañang Kamao stunned the Kenneth Duremdes-led BOC Transformers, 80-76, while the PNP Responders defeated Judiciary Magis, 74-72, last Sunday to arrange a titular showdown for the UNTV Cup Season 5 crown.

Game 1 of the best-of-three finals’ series will be played on March 5 at the Pasig City Sports Center.

The Transformers dominated the first half at 44-34, lost the lead to the Kamao in the third at 53-56, before a see-saw battle ensued, with Malacañang emerging as winner.

“We must have a sense of urgency if we really wanted this game. I told them, ‘I need you to make some more effort. Lower the opponent’s lead and let’s talk

Games Sunday

(Pasig City Sports Center) 3 p.m. Judiciary Magis vs. BOC Transformers 5 p.m. PNP Responders vs Malacañang Kamao

about it more.’ And they did.” said Malacañang Kamao Coach Louie Gonzales.

Christian Luanzon and Joseph Besa of the Kamao were hailed as the Best Players of the Game..

In the other game, the Magis dominated the first three quarters only to lose control in the fourth, where PNP’s tough defense limited the Judiciary to only 8 points, while the policemen produced 22 points.

Hailed as the Best Player of the Game was P01 Alejandro Yanquiling III, whose three-point shot in the last 1:24 tied the game

at 72-72. His freebies in the last 11.69 seconds sealed the win for the Responders.

The Transformers and the Magis will meet in the battle for third place.

The Scores: GAME 1: PNP Responders (74)—J. Criste 15, O. Omiping 15, A. Yanquiling 11, H. Sta. Cruz 9, A. Tolentino 9, J. Cabahug 5, J. Misola 4, R. Abaya 2, R. Ongutan 2, C. Elopre 2, A. Bayabao 0, H. Decena 0, R. Cabrera 0 Judiciary Magis (72)—C. Tolomia 24, C. Camaso 19, W. Ybanez 16, A. Capus 7, F. Salamat 4, V. Puno 2, J. Marquez 0, H. Bergonio 0, K. Enriquez 0, J. Rabino 0, J. Serrano 0, C. Roma 0 Quarter Scores—20-32, 4049, 52-64, 74-72

Philracom moves on equine vaccinations THE HOARSE WHISPERER JENNY ORTUOSTE AS expected, the Philippine Racing Commission is pursuing several of its initiatives regarding equine health following reports of a virus infecting horses abroad.

According to Philracom Executive Director Andrew Rovie Buencamino, as a veterinarian he was aware of the concerns overseas and had already been engaging with various other stakeholders to make sure the Philippine Thoroughbred indus-

skipper Lloyd Lucien Reynante resurfaced in the Top 10 at Nos. 6, 7 and 8 with 37:47:16, 37:48:28 and 37:48:43, respectively.

Navy’s Ronald Lomotos and Kinetix Lab-Army’s Reynaldo Navarro completed the top 10 with 37:48:45 and 37:49:49.

The race will take a week-long break and will resume with Stage 12 set on March 2 in Guimaras and Stages 13 and 14 on March 3 and 4 in Iloilo City.

Ronda is staking P1 million to the champion courtesy of presentor LBC and in partnership with MVP Sports Foundation, Petron, Mitsubishi, Versa.ph, Partas, Maynilad, Standard Insurance, CCN, Bike Xtreme, NLEX, PhilCycling and 3Q Sports Event Management.

try is prepared for any eventualities, such as a pandemic, that may strike horses in the country.

The best cure is prevention, so Buencamino will be attending a convention in Baguio to meet with the Philippine College of Equine Practitioners regarding an updated vaccination plan against equine influenza.

Two weeks ago, he had a meeting with Zoetis Pharmaceuticals, the local distributor of the vaccine, “for an assurance regarding the supply of the vaccine. The Philracom Board [under the leadership of Chairman Andrew Sanchez, approved] a synchronized mass vaccination” to ensure “that all racehorses will be properly vaccinated on time annually.”

A tripartite agreement between Philracom, Zoetis, and PCEP “will guarantee that the new vaccination program will be successful,” with attention paid to the quality of the vaccines to be administered. This program will soon be finalized.

This is a good development and we are glad that Philracom is proactive in this regard. *** Charismatic, 1999 Horse of the Year, died from a broken pelvis last Feb. 19. He was 21.

As a 3YO, Charismatic was an unlikely contender in the 1999 Kentucky Derby (G1), having run lowly claiming races only months earlier. He won the Derby and the Preakness (G1), but broke down

in the Belmont Stakes (G1) while on his way to vie for the Triple Crown.

In that Belmont, Charismatic was a few strides from the wire but suffered multiple fractures in his left near fore. Jockey Chris Antley immediately dismounted and held the horse’s injured leg up, preventing further damage.

Charismatic went on to stand stud at Lane’s End in 2000 and relocated to Japan’s famous Shizunai Stallion Station where he stayed until Dec. 4 last year, when he was returned to the US to live out his remaining years at Old Friends, the Thoroughbred retirement center in Georgetown, KY. Among his other accomplishments were winning the 1999

Eclipse Award as 3YO colt. His record stood at 5 wins from 17 starts with career earnings of $2.038 million.

Charismatic (Summer SquallBali Babe, by Drone) sired around 150 offspring in the US over three breeding seasons, and many other horses in Japan. Perhaps his best offspring is Wonder Acute (Charismatic-Wonder Heritage, by Pleasant Tap), who earned GBP 5.25 million over 38 career starts. *** Dr. Ortuoste is a Californiabased writer. Facebook: Gogirl Racing and Jenny Ortuoste, Twitter: @gogirlracing and @ jennyortuoste, and Instagram: @ jensdecember

PILIPINAS Run 2017 gets back on the road next month bearing the same advocacy of promoting health and wellness.

Dubbed ‘Run with purpose,’ the March 12 event starts and ends at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Pasay City and features 5K, 10K, and the centerpiece event 16K races.

Patterned after the London Marathon, the run expects around 3,000 to 4,000 runners to join the cause.

No less than Police Chief Superintendent Glibert Cruz led the formal launching of the meet at the weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum on Tuesday at the Golden Phoenix Hotel along D. Macapagal, Sunrise Drive in Pasay City.

“The Philippine National Police is incharge of the security preparation on the actual event in coordination with the organizers of the event,” said Cruz, who added persons in drug rehabilitation program have also been invited to join the event. “Actually, ‘yung ibang na-convert natin, siguro will ask them to join.”

Together with Cruz in the public sports program presented by San Miguel Corp.

Accel, Shakey’s, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. were Mayen Santos of the Department of Tourism, representing Assistant Secretary Ricky Alegre, race organizer and director Philip Pacle, and co-organizer Jones T. Campos of Jones PR. Campos added the run will also have education and sports tourism as additional advocacies.

“Ginawa na naming nationwide to boost more tourist spots in the country, even in the Visayas and Mindanao,” said Campos. “We’ve actually prepared tour packages for foreign visitors who are participating in Pilipinas Run.” “We encourage and support sports tourism in the country like what we did in the last Ms. Universe pageant,” said Santos for her part.

Cash prizes and trophies will be given to the top three male and female finishers in each category, while medals and shirts will be handed out to finishers.

The event also seeks to support deserving children, with special focus on orphans and abused children, with the Calvary Christian Life School, the education arm of the Bethesda Children’s Home in Itogon, Benguet as one of the beneficiaries.

SSC eyes beach volley 4-peat SAN Sebastian’s Grethcel Soltones and Alyssa Eroa seeks a four-peat feat in the women’s division of the 92nd NCAA beach volleyball tournament unfolding today at the Lighthouse Marina sands in Subic Bay. Soltones and Eroa, who beat San Beda’s Viray twins Maria Jeziela and Maria Nieza, 14-21, 21-9, 15-6, in last year’s finals, will play Mapua’s Shaira Mhae Hermano, Kimberly Joy Luzon and Danielle Marie Ramiro in the morning matches to start of their campaign.

The pair will then face off with Arellano U’s Jovielyn Prado, Regine Arocha and Jenicalynne Tan, who are fresh from helping the Lady Chiefs beat the Lady Stags to win the indoor volleyball title recently, in the afternoon.

San Sebastian, which has Daurene Claire Santos as reserve, will then tackle Jose Rizal’s Shola Alvarez, Rosalie Pepito and Mercy Grace Rivera in their final assignment of the day.

LOTTO RESULTS

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

P0.0 M+ P0.0 M+

Sports

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

A8

LeBron resumes pursuit of title

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017

Park Sanghong from Korea of LX Cycling Team raises both hands after winning the fourth stage of Le Tour de Filipinas 8th edition.

Crawford of Kinan Cycling rules Le Tour de Filipinas

By Peter Atencio

L

UCENA City – Heavy traffic and a scorching hot afternoon weather welcomed Korean rider Park Sanghong, Australian campaigner Jai Crawford and Daniel Whitehouse in the last stretches of Stage 4.

Park was first to reach the finish in the 4th and final stage of the Le Tour de Filipinas 2017 but Crawford won the overall title as the race drew to a close with a twist at the City Hall along Maharlika Highway in Bgy. Isabang here.

The 29-year-old Park crossed the finish line at the end of the LTDF’s longest route, a 207.35 km route from Daet City to Lucena City, in five hours and 13 seconds.

Chief organizer Donna May Lina, realizing that more volunteers were needed to keep order, personally helped direct traffic with uniformed policemen, and was in front of the finish line when Park and a four-man pack breezed past, some three seconds ahead of Crawford.

The 29-year-old Crawford, who is from Kinan Cycling Team, was only fifth during Stage 1. He wrested the individual general

classification honors from Whitehouse, who held the yellow jersey for the last three days.

The firetruck that’s supposed to hose down and cool down riders arrived 15 minutes late, missing Park and the first wave of four riders which included Matt Boys of Kuwait Cartucho ES, Mario Vogt of Attaque TeamGusto and Damien Monier of Bridgestone Anchor.

“It was mission to finish in 1 and 2,” said Park in broken English. He won his second crown in two years. He took home the 2015 National Championship.

Crawford, who was shaking slightly after he did not get hosed down immediately after the race, found little challenge when he went up the steep climb routes of the “tatlong eme” route

with 500 meters left.

The win Crawford his third major crown. He claimed the Tour of Siam in 2007 and the overall championship in the Tour of Ijen last year.

Whitehouse, who was tightly watched all throughout, finished at 14th, and was behind by 2:28 in the stage. Overall, he settled for second, and trailed Crawford by 28 seconds.

The 22-year-old Whitehouse nevertheless was thankful for teammates Romli Cheku and Umardi Rosdi for their big effort, even if they turned up sick and dehydrated from the punishing weather condition.

Team 7-Eleven rider Mark Galedo was the best finishing Filipino rider after landing 16th in the stage, and placing 14th overall.

Lee faces undefeated Huang

DLSU, Ateneo chase Lady Maroons DEFENDING champion De La Salle and Ateneo try to keep within reach of undefeated University of the Philippines Lady Marrons as the two fierce rivals play winless foes today in the UAAP Season 79 women’s volleyball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Centre.

The Lady Spikers go for a backto-back win in their 4 p.m. clash with Adamson University, while the Lady Eagles shoot for a third straight win against University of the East at 2 p.m.

De La Salle and Ateneo hold identical 3-1 records along with idle National University in second to fourth places.

The energetic Lady Maroons are now the remaining undefeated team in the season, winning four straight games.

The Lady Spikers swept the erstwhile unbeaten Lady Bulldogs, 29-27, 25-16, 25-21, last Sunday. It was one big bounce back victory for De La Salle, which last week lost to UP in straight sets.

The Lady Spikers proved that they are not reliant on Kim Dy and Majoy Baron, as Tin Tiamzon and Aduke Ogunsanya responded well the last time out, which will be the main concern for the Lady Falcons.

The Lady Eagles hope to pull this one off against the vastly-improved Lady Warriors before finishing the first round with highlyanticipated match-ups against the Lady Maroons on Sunday and the Lady Spikers in a Finals rematch on March 4.

Skipper Jia Morado, responsible for making the Lady Eagles as the league-leader in spikes and setting, will lead the way once again.

inside the Atimonan National Park.

But the last 25 kilometers of the race proved to be more challenging for him as other riders from a seven-man lead pack, that he joined from the start, began making pushes.

This seven-man bunch also had Spanish rider Edgar Nieto of 7-Eleven Roadbike Philippines with them. But he slowly faded away as fatigue got to him.

The group broke apart in the last two kilometers when he slowed from the pressure coming from Vogt, Boys, Park and Monier.

“I thought my chances were small because it was just me riding up front and the guys were following me,” said Crawford, who said that a good headwind pushed him to the back from the front

WASHINGTON—LeBron James resumes his bid for a seventh consecutive NBA Finals appearance and defense of the title Thursday while the Golden State Warriors plan their third consecutive finals trip and Russell Westbrook takes aim at history.

And with the NBA trade deadline Thursday along with the resumption of play following the mid-season NBA All-Star Game break, the championship chase swings into high gear.

Only six players have reached the finals more consecutive years than James, who led the Cleveland Cavaliers over the Warriors last year in the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history after the Cavs lost to Golden State in 2015.

James, who also guided Miami to two NBA crowns in four finals appearances, says being the player others measure themselves against feeds the hunger for more success.

“It’s motivating. It’s great.

To know that everyone is trying to build their team or wanting to get their team to try to get to where you are and try to knock you off, it’s a motivating factor,” James said.

“It’s also a humbling factor that to know that I’ve been in this position for so long. I want to continue to work my habits, train my body, train my mind, and work on my game every day to put me in a position to be successful.”

The Cavaliers are 39-16, three games ahead of Boston atop the Eastern Conference with Washington five back.

James is playing nearly 38 minutes a night and starters J.R. Smith and Kevin Love are sidelined by injuries, but James has faith the team can keep improving even without trade deadline moves.

“As the leader of the team, I’m fine with what we have, and we’ll continue to push forward,” James said.

“I’m comfortable with whatever coach wants me to do out on the floor. Whatever he gives me to do, I can figure it out.

“We haven’t been healthy pretty much all season, but I feel like if I’m in the lineup and I’m healthy, I’m feeling good, then we’re going to have a chance.” AFP

ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee (right) traps Mei Yamaguchi in a guillotine choke during their bout won

by Lee. ONE Championship

ANGELA Lee hopes to cement her claim as the face of women’s MMA in Asia when she defends her crown against unbeaten Jenny Huang at ONE: Warrior Kingdom March 11 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

Lee spent the past two years building her reputation in the mixed martial arts world becoming the inaugural ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion.

Ten months removed from that win, it is time for her to defend the belt as the unbeaten Lee makes her first title defense against the dangerous Huang. It will serve as the headlining bout of ONE: WARRIOR KINGDOM, and Lee wants to have a dominant performance.

After defeating Mei Yamaguchi at ONE: Ascent to Power last May, Lee took a break from competition. She remained active by training at Evolve MMA in Singapore to better her game.

“I have been improving everywhere. It has really been a good

period of upgrading my skills and gaining that confidence in the areas of striking, grappling, and the transitions in-between. So I am extremely excited to get back in that cage. I cannot wait,” said Lee. She confessed that she faces a different kind of challenge now that she is no longer chasing a crown. But she cannot afford to relax either with the belt now around her waist.

“I have a target on my back now that I have the belt, and everyone is gunning specifically for me. I think knowing that is going to keep me even more focused, and motivated to train that much harder,” said Lee. Being the champion Lee’s fights are virtually under the microscope.

She will have no secrets when she faces her challengers. But she still hopes to come up with a few surprises come fight night.

“I think the most important thing for a fighter and a champion is to keep growing and evolv-

ing, and you have to be honest with yourself. You have to continue growing as a martial artist because the moment you stop, that is going to be your downfall. I am still young, and I am so eager to learn and improve in all areas. I plan on being the champ for a while,” said Lee. Martial arts has been central to Lee’s life. After all, she comes from a family of martial artists.

She says martial arts has enriched her life.

“It has definitely made me the person I am today, no doubt about that. Being raised in a martial arts family—both my parents are martial art instructors—has definitely taught me fundamental values like discipline and respect, but also things like being honest with myself,” said Lee. “As a person and as a martial artist, whenever you are honest with yourself and critique yourself on what you did right or wrong, it helps you to grow that much quicker.”

San Miguel Beermen eye hat trick

By Jeric Lopez EYES on the hat-trick.

Defending champion San Miguel Beer overcame every challenge in the semifinals to move forward and seal its return to the finals of the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup. The Beermen took on the difficult challenge put up by TNT KaTropa in their best-of-seven semifinal duel and eventually came out on top with a hardearned victory in Game 7, 96-83, Wednesday night.

San Miguel Beer now looks ahead to its 37th finals appearance and is looking to win the All-Filipino jewel for the third straight season.

Before going to yet another war ahead in the biggest stage, Beermen coach Leo Austria is first giving his team a much needed time to recuperate.

“We’re very happy that we’re back in the finals after a really hard semis against Talk ‘N Text.

We’re giving the entire team a day off on Tuesday and then we’ll be back on Wednesday and Thursday to prepare for the finals. We’ll enjoy and rest first before preparing again because everyone is fatigued. We need to be fresh again,” said Austria right after San Miguel wrapped up its bruising war against TNT in the semis.

The start of the best-of-seven championship series will be this Fri-

day but as of this report, San Miguel is still awaiting its opponent and that can either be Barangay Ginebra or Star, who themselves are currently figuring in their own Game 7 as they dispute the last finals berth and the right to face the Beermen.

As far as Austria and his team are concerned, they’ll be ready for whoever they are set to face.

“It doesn’t matter which team prevails. Both Ginebra and Star are strong teams. We need to be prepared against either team,” said Austria.

The last team that was able to win the Philippine Cup three-in-arow was no less than the Tropang Texters when they won the tournament from 2011-13.

The Beermen have the golden

San Miguel Beer guard Marcio Lassiter (left) tries to dribble past TNT Ka Tropa defender Moala Tautuaa. The Beermen will try to match the record three consecutive Philippine Cup titles held by TNT.

Meralco to achieve 2016 income target B3

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@thestandard.com.ph extrastory2000@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017

SM Prime registers P23.8-b net profit

PPP LISTING RULES. The

Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. signs a memorandum of agreement with the PublicPrivate Partnership Center to formalize its partnership for information sharing to facilitate the processing of listing applications. Shown during a bell ringing program to mark the occasion are (from left) PPP Center project monitoring division chief Jeffrey Manalo, PPP Center deputy executive director Eleazar Ricote, PPP Center executive director Ferdinand Pecson.

PSE chairman Jose Pardo, PSE president and chief executive Hans Sicat and PSE chief operating officer Roel Refran.

By Jenniffer B. Austria SM Prime Holdings Inc., the country’s leading integrated property company, said Tuesday it booked a net income of P23.8 billion in 2016, up 14 percent from P20.9 billion in 2015, on continued mall expansion and strong sales of residential business.

SM Prime said in a disclosure to the stock exchange consolidated revenues grew 12 percent to P79.8 billion last year from P71.5 billion in 2015.

Overall operating income improved 12 percent to P35.3 billion in 2016 from P31.4 billion the prior year.

“SM Prime sustained its overall performance in 2016 on the account of focusing more on recurring income stream complemented by the solid performance of the housing group.

SM Prime is well-positioned to capture the positive impact of the higher infrastructure spending intended by the government that will also spur overall economic growth of the country,” SM Prime president Jeffrey Lim said.

Mall revenues grew 9 percent in 2016 to P48.6 billion from the previous year’s P44.5 billion. The growth was driven by a 10-percent hike to P41 billion, as 1.5 millions square meters of mall leasable space were added to the group’s portfolio over the past two years.

Same-mall-sales growth was consistent at 7 percent while cinema and event ticket sales slightly went down 3 percent to P4.7 billion in 2016.

IN BRIEF

Peso sustains fall beyond 50 a dollar

THE peso weakened to a new 10-year low against the US dollar Tuesday, triggered by the strong demand for the greenback and uncertainties in the global financial markets.

The peso lost two centavos to close at 50.25 a dollar Tuesday from 50.23 a greenback on Monday. It was its weakest level in more than 10 years since it closed at 50.32 a dollar on Sept. 26, 2006. Volume traded reached $578.5 million Tuesday, lower than $723 million on Monday.

The peso opened Tuesday’s trading seven centavos weaker at 50.30. It touched 50.355 at one point before settling at 50.25 at the close.

“Our surveillance shows there is market demand to service legitimate dollar requirements and that’s moving the market. There is also market positioning as some participants have a view on the US dollar,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said in a text message.

“These are normally part of a healthy vibrant market. But this is not to say that we will stand back when we see that the movements are disruptive or excessive,” Tetangco said.

Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said the peso continued to adjust to the uncertainty mostly in the global financial markets. “While global economic recovery is a work in progress, the fallout from the US Fed interest rate hike and the populist sentiment in Europe could dent market sentiment and with it bring down regional currencies including the peso. We have also some domestic concerns like the external payments deficit in January but again for me this is episodic,” Guinigundo said. Julito G. Rada

Now Corp. secures Supreme Court deal

NOW Corp., a listed company controlled by the Velarde family, said Tuesday it secured a contract from the Supreme Court to install an email system for the judiciary.

Now said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it received from the Supreme Court’s bids and awards committee for goods and services the notice of award of the contract for the installation of the Judiciary email system.

The project, which includes the email and collaboration of 7,000 users, is being undertaken by the company together with joint venture partner Accent Micro Technologies, Inc., utilizing the Integrated Business Machine collaboration solution portfolio.

Now also delivers broadband services via point-to-point and pointto-multipoint system and guarantees speeds of up to 700Mbps. Its network is concentrated in Mega Manila focusing on the enterprise segment such as BPOs, schools, hospitals, hotels and commercial buildings.

Now also engages in software collaborations, IT manpower and resource augmentation and broadband and wireless cable TV. Darwin G. Amojelar

B1

PSE COMPOSITE INDEX Closing February 21, 2017

8000 7600 7200 6800 6400

Duterte approves economic blueprint

By Julito G. Rada

T

HE National Economic and Development Authority board headed by President Rodrigo Duterte approved Tuesday a six-year economic blueprint which aims to make the Philippines an upper-middle income country by 2022.

Neda said in a statement its board officially approved the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 at Malacañang Palace. PDP is the first mediumterm plan to be anchored on a national long-term vision, or AmBisyon Natin 2040, which represents the collective vision and aspirations of Filipinos for themselves and for the country.

“We want the Philippines to be an upper-middle income country by 2022. With the right policies and with mutual trust between government and the citizenry, this is very possible,” Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said.

“By the end of 2022, Filipinos will be closer to achieving their long-term aspirations. Through

this PDP, the current administration will lay a solid foundation for inclusive growth, a high-trust society, and a globally-competitive knowledge economy by grounding its development thrusts on Malasakit, Pagbabago, and Patuloy na Pag-unlad,” Pernia said during his presentation at the Neda board meeting.

The plan contains seven main parts, which include an overview of the economy, development challenges that lie ahead, and development strategies thoroughly articulated through chapters on Enhancing the Social Fabric, Inequality-Reducing Transformation, Increasing Growth Potential, Enabling and Supportive Economic Environment and Foundations for Inclusive and

Sustainable Development.

Under the plan, the government aims to boost gross domestic product growth to a range of 7 percent to 8 percent in the medium term. Growth is also expected to be more inclusive, where overall poverty rate is targeted to decline from 21.6 percent to 14 percent, and poverty incidence in rural areas to decrease from 30 percent in 2015 to 20 percent in 2022.

The government also wants to reduce unemployment rate from the current 5.5 percent to 3 percent to 5 percent by 2022.

Included among the targets are higher trust in government and society, more resilient individuals and communities and a greater drive for innovation.

Mobile data price war crushes telecoms’ profits

By Ian Sayson POTPOT Pinili, a Philippine travel blogger, is paying less to access the Internet on the go -- almost half as much as three years ago, thanks to a price war.

“Data has become definitely cheaper,” said Pinili, 41. “You can do more online quicker and at less cost.”

Pinili and other Philippine customers are benefiting as the nation’s two largest phone companies fight for smartphone subscribers in a market, that according to IDC, had 30 percent penetration as of 2015. PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. are luring prospective

consumers with data packages that are among Asia’s cheapest, saying they need to spend money now to counter a decline in revenue from calls and text messages.

The outlays are eating into profits and hurting share performance.

PLDT, whose 2016 profit is forecast to be the lowest since 2003, was the worst performer on the Philippines Stock Exchange Index last year.

Globe was the fourth-worst and recorded a drop in income for the first time in three years.

“The Philippines is a two-player market, yet they are killing each other,” said Karen Hizon, a Manila-based analyst at UBS Group AG. One megabyte of data brings

in just 0.1 US cent of revenue in the Philippines compared with 1.13 US cents in China, according to UBS. Last month, Globe matched a PLDT offer and started offering a three-day, 1-gigabyte plan that includes a bonus 300 megabytes to use on apps from Facebook Inc. and Spotify Ltd. for P50 ($1).

“This is the cheapest price for mobile data so far,” said Yolanda Crisanto, a spokeswoman for Taguig City-based Globe. A year ago, P50 only paid for 350 megabytes.

Similar promotions helped Globe, a venture of Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., boost mobile subscribers 12 percent

to 62.8 million in 2016. PLDT, backed by Japan’s Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., probably fell behind Globe in mobilecustomer count, PLDT chairman Manuel Pangilinan said.

PLDT, which had 61.8 million mobile phone users as of Sept. 30, is scheduled to report full-year results on Feb. 28.

Globe’s revenue rose 6 percent in 2016 to a record P120 billion, with mobile-data bringing in P34.6 billion pesos. Profit fell 4 percent to P15.9 billion because of spending on subsidies and network enhancements. The company expects a “highly competitive” market this year. Bloomberg

6000

7,282.68 1.49

PESO-DOLLAR RATE

Closing FEBRUARY 21, 2017 45.00 46.50 48.00 49.50

P50.250 CLOSE

51.00

HIGH P50.250 LOW P50.355 AVERAGE P50.305 VOLUME 578.500M

P471.00-P690.00 LPG/11-kg tank P39.80-P48.90 Unleaded Gasoline P27.90-P33.80 Diesel

OPRICES IL TODAY

P28.50-P36.85 Kerosene P20.75-P21.75 Auto LPG Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Tuesday, February 21, 2017

F OREIGN E XCHANGE R ATE Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

50.1820

Japan

Yen

0.008842

0.4437

UK

Pound

1.246900

62.5719

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128854

6.4662

Switzerland

Franc

0.997307

50.0469

Canada

Dollar

0.763301

38.3040

Singapore

Dollar

0.705069

35.3818

Australia

Dollar

0.768100

38.5448

Bahrain

Dinar

2.653083

133.1370

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266660

13.3815

Brunei

Dollar

0.702593

35.2575

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000075

0.0038

Thailand

Baht

0.028550

1.4327

UAE

Dirham

0.272301

13.6646

Euro

Euro

1.061700

53.2782

Korea

Won

0.000874

0.0439

China

Yuan

0.145455

7.2992

India

Rupee

0.014949

0.7502

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.224417

11.2617

New Zealand

Dollar

0.718200

36.0407

Taiwan

Dollar

0.032504

1.6311 Source: PDS Bridge

San Miguel raises P20b from bond sale on strong demand

By Jenniffer B. Austria CONGLOMERATE San Miguel Corp. raised P20 billion from the issuance of fixed-rate bonds on strong demand from retail investors, an underwriter handling the transaction said Tuesday.

BPI Capital Corp. co managing head Eric Luchangco said in an interview the bond offering was over 1.5 times oversubscribed at the end of the offering period. Retail investors accounted for a little over 75 percent of the total issuance while institutional investors subscribed to a little less than 25 percent.

“Demand for the bonds was very good. We saw strong demand across the tenors,” Luchangco said.

“The strong demand was driven primarily by retail investors but we did have participation from institutional investors,” he said.

San Miguel raised P6.9 billion for the series 5-year Series A Bonds due 2022 with an interest rate of 4.8243 percent per annum, P7.3 billion for the 7-year Series B Bonds due 2024 with interest

rate of 5.2840 percent and P6 billion for the 10-year Series C Bonds due 2027 with fixed interest rate of 5.7613 percent.

The bonds will be listed with the Philippine Dealing and & Exchange Corp. on March 1.

The P20-billion bond is a part of the company’s three-year shelf registration of up to P60 billion.

The remaining unissued amount will be placed under shelf-registration which the company may issue over the next three years.

Proceeds from the bond offering will be used to partially refinance loans used to redeem US dollar-denominated loans.

San Miguel is one of the largest conglomerates in the Philippines with diversified businesses ranging from beverages, food and packaging to fuel and oil, energy and infrastructure.

The conglomerate plans to spend P281 billion in capital expenditures from 2017 to 2019 primarily to expand new and traditional businesses including infrastructure, power and food.

GETGO-HONDA PARTNERSHIP. GetGo by Cebu Pacific teams up with Honda Cars Philippines Inc. for the “Points to Fly, Points to Drive” campaign. The alliance between the country’s fast-rising loyalty rewards program and the world-renowned car manufacturer aims to strengthen their commitment to provide rewarding and innovative products and services to customers. Shown signing the partnership agreement are GetGo loyalty division general manager Nik Laming (left) and HCPI president and general manager Toshio Kuwahara.

B2

Business

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Market closes flat; Cemex rises Ayala Land raising S P30b for 2017 capex TOCKS closed flat amid thin trading Tuesday, as investors await the release of more financial reports by companies and after a top US Federal Reserve official said the bank could lift interest rates as soon as next month.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, picked up 1 point to close at 7,282.68, as four of the six sectoral indices rose.

The heavier index, representing all shares, lost 3 points, or 0.1 percent, to settle at 4,404.59, on a value turnover of P5.7 billion. Losers outnumbered gainers, 111 to 85, while 48 issues were unchanged.

Eleven of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led

by developer Arthaland Corp. which climbed 20.6 percent to P1.23, continuing its wild swings this year.

Cemex Holdings Philippines Inc., a cement manufacturer, rose 2.7 percent to P9.43, while appliance maker Concepcion Industrial Corp. gained 2.6 percent to P60.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks traded higher Tuesday. Global equities are trading near a record after Trump’s election spurred

optimism in economic growth amid signs of an inflation pickup.

With Wall Street’s trading floors closed for the Presidents Day holiday, there was little to drive business but the optimism that was prevalent last week continued to flow in early exchanges.

Europe provided a tepid lead with hopes of a bailout deal for Greece tempered by signs of growing anti-EU sentiment in France ahead of the presidential election in April and May. In Tokyo, the Nikkei index ended the morning session 0.5 percent higher as exporters were lifted by the weaker yen.

The dollar climbed to 113.46 yen from 113.09 yen Monday following comments from the head of the Fed’s Philadelphia branch, Patrick Harker, that a March rate

rise was not “off the table at this point”.

Expectations of a hike have increased since Donald Trump was elected president in November as dealers bet his big-spending, taxcutting plans will fan inflation.

And the latest reading on prices increases, as well as healthy jobs growth and factory activity, have reinforced that view.

Hong Kong added 0.2 percent in the morning and Shanghai was up 0.3 percent while Seoul put on one percent. Sydney was flat while Singapore dipped 0.1 percent.

On currency markets Stephen Innes, senior trader at OANDA, said the euro “traded a little heavy, but with much ink spilled over the French elections, (it) has held remarkably well.”

With Bloomberg, AFP

By Jenniffer B. Austria PROPERTY developer Ayala Land Inc. said Tuesday it plans to raise up to P30 billion from the debt market to partially finance the company’s spending program this year.

Ayala Land said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it planned to raise up to P20 billion in retail bonds, corporate notes and/or bilateral term loans with a term of up to 10 years.

The retail bonds will be issued under the corporation’s P50-bil-

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2017

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 3.23 44,000 48.25 15,400 95 561,320 4.21 2,000 115.3 2,709,230 1.36 122,000 40 118,700 16.18 1,400 20.1 348,400 8.48 2,700 0.69 3,798,000 79.1 1,000,550 0.74 64,000 14.28 40,200 59.95 177,910 243 530 115.2 1,010 90 610 40 534,500 208.6 1,040,150 1,890 55 78.95 1,361,550 1.31 17,000

138,480 741,925 53,333,959.50 8,500 311,627,806 166,510 4,756,530 22,640 6,978,738 21,908 2,652,500 78,895,539 47,440 574,102 10,663,029 128,790 116,707 54,900 21,404,250 217,239,218 99,295 107,439,255.50 22,210

9,750 410,125 23,978,420 -81,741,180 14,560 1,624,423 -15,047,764.50 496,642.50 -17,241,995 -134,265,020 45,470 5,764,920 -

42.95 5.09 0.86 1.39 19.54 0.26 96.55 9.25 16.3 197 22.9 14.8 58.75 96.5 100 2.1 6.05 11.84 13.12 7.85 7.08 5.82 1.78 21.95 73.55 12.58 17.1 6.6 1.7 204.2 71 6.36 3.74 30.1 26.8 16.3 285.4 0.27 6.22 3.42 9.1 11.5 2.36 7.03 1.91 78.7 4.93 269 4.96 2.03 2.9 12.58 4.22 0.149 1.48 162.6 1.67 1.08

INDUSTRIAL 43.1 1,302,500 5.1 818,800 0.88 263,000 1.4 249,000 19.6 41,100 0.27 31,730,000 96.55 20 9.43 9,666,400 16.3 3,010,800 197 20 23.5 133,600 14.8 8,000 60 1,276,110 96.5 530 100 100 2.2 4,767,000 6.1 27,700 11.84 13,900 13.12 2,191,300 7.86 1,309,500 7.1 495,600 5.87 13,566,400 1.78 7,000 22 1,473,200 73.7 73,390 12.78 401,800 17.18 17,200 6.65 1,226,400 1.72 475,000 206 498,940 73 9,760 7.05 3,290,700 3.74 8,000 30.45 159,400 26.95 16,000 16.32 5,331,500 287.2 222,610 0.275 97,920,000 6.7 74,800 3.47 65,000 9.1 1,962,300 11.5 5,300 2.37 915,000 7.1 520,400 1.98 6,425,000 79.35 177,040 5.05 79,000 269 540 4.96 72,100 2.03 8,000 2.95 145,000 12.64 342,400 4.22 48,000 0.149 610,000 1.52 184,000 163.1 1,551,910 1.7 1,600,000 1.08 26,000

56,157,755 4,220,273 230,320 349,070 833,384 8,610,700 1,931 91,004,648 49,093,666 3,950 3,096,605 120,968 76,564,461 51,145 10,000 10,484,610 168,735 164,792 29,091,088 10,405,295 3,511,829 79,706,909 12,460 32,499,750 5,450,984 5,142,684 295,440 8,152,854 810,190 102,727,758 703,024.50 23,294,788 29,920 4,817,485 430,870 87,611,202 63,920,298 28,918,650 482,155 222,460 17,873,686 60,950 2,169,350 3,694,882 12,789,830 14,032,753.50 395,550 145,740 358,218 16,280 423,380 4,319,914 202,950 91,110 273,160 253,035,493 2,717,940 28,140

-24,517,640 514,280 78,000 -24,747,147 -38,822,538.00 2,310 91,068 20,837,061 -10,000 8,650 8,424,768 -335,830 -2,374,883 60,874,628 14,470,580 -688,710.50 -305,917 75,180 7,405,032 2,476 -4,543,790 -167,035 16,635,466 -19,915,086 -4,236,100.00 -3,450 -8,204,249 1,897,000 -73,190 3,159,061 140,000 -292,206 605,550 126,600 80,855,360 -

0.41 73.8 12.92 1.16 6.2 0.38 793 9.16 13.22 8.1 6.55 0.205 1,238 77 1.01 7.9 14.58 0.45 6.84 0.063 1.2 107.5 2.7 683 0.87 1.53 185.5 269 0.295 0.19 0.255

0.385 72.75 12.8 1.16 6.04 0.35 780 8.9 13.08 7.95 6.1 0.198 1,232 75.8 0.93 7.71 14.42 0.445 6.77 0.058 1.2 106.3 2.6 677 0.87 1.46 185 267.6 0.29 0.189 0.25

HOLDING FIRMS 0.395 9,390,000 73.8 480,640 12.88 7,895,800 1.16 4,000 6.2 4,400 0.36 2,780,000 792 105,650 9.15 1,058,400 13.16 5,298,800 8.1 22,900 6.3 119,400 0.198 120,000 1,235 53,045 77 1,144,910 0.96 12,310,000 7.73 1,584,800 14.54 962,100 0.45 140,000 6.8 9,917,700 0.063 432,880,000 1.2 3,000 106.6 287,630 2.6 2,000 680 340,760 0.87 7,000 1.49 728,000 185 250 268 6,740 0.29 2,110,000 0.19 280,000 0.25 330,000

3,697,450 35,200,240 101,621,864 4,640 26,624 981,200 83,176,340 9,530,819 69,710,176 185,130 752,347 24,090 65,507,585 87,590,195.50 11,732,370 12,257,857 13,963,982 62,350 67,441,900 26,354,250 3,600 30,660,580 5,300 231,345,215 6,090 1,086,130 46,355 1,808,590 616,350 53,110 84,050

11,550 10,754,998.50 12,772,188 -1,667,605 4,406,268.00 17,625,428 -25,370,190 63,034,064.50 -178,871 1,898,168 -6,366,272 61,740 -12,553,162 28,800,765 -245,970 -42,655 -858,584 290,000 -

6.65 1.04 6.1 2.68 1.25 36.45 3.66 5.05 0.53 1.09 1.41 0.173 0.57 55.1 0.71 0.188 1.77 1.01 1.4 3.75 0.177 0.325 0.65

6.6 1 6.1 2.62 0.99 35.9 3.49 5.05 0.51 1.05 1.28 0.17 0.55 54.15 0.7 0.168 1.73 1 1.31 3.71 0.167 0.31 0.6

1,249,890 1,653,750 133,590 396,080 132,685,360 496,398,585 31,260,590 101,000 3,607,380 22,850 1,952,930 931,700 3,476,130 22,232,475.50 110,300 6,240,440 6,872,040 3,037,050 303,850 74,672,070 3,523,070 301,400 21,070,110

-502,500 -17,296,080 4,083,780 -494,510 -73,980 686,120.00 1,699,025 -74,650 -5,889,330 -2,800 -14,753,080 16,600

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 MEDCO HLDG METROBANK NTL REINSURANCE PB BANK PHIL NATL BANK PHIL STOCK EXCH PHILTRUST PSBANK RCBC SECURITY BANK SUN LIFE UNION BANK VANTAGE

3.16 48 95.2 4.29 116.4 1.36 40.5 16.04 19.96 8.04 0.72 79.5 0.74 14.42 59.95 243 123 90 40.6 210.4 1,775 79.1 1.29

3.29 48.25 95.25 4.29 116.4 1.37 40.5 16.2 20.2 8.48 0.72 79.5 0.75 14.44 60.1 243 123 90 40.6 210.4 1,915 79.1 1.31

3.12 48 94 4.21 114 1.36 40 16.04 19.96 8 0.69 78.4 0.74 14.28 59.35 243 115 90 39.95 208 1,775 78.8 1.29

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 EUROMED FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG GINEBRA HOLCIM INTEGRATED MICR IONICS JOLLIBEE LIBERTY FLOUR LMG CHEMICALS MABUHAY VINYL MANILA WATER MAXS GROUP MEGAWIDE MERALCO MG HLDG PANASONIC PEPSI COLA PETRON PHINMA PHINMA ENERGY PHX PETROLEUM PHX SEMICNDCTR PILIPINAS SHELL PRYCE CORP PUREFOODS RFM CORP ROXAS AND CO ROXAS HLDG SHAKEYS PIZZA SPC POWER SWIFT FOODS TKC METALS UNIV ROBINA VITARICH VULCAN INDL

43.05 5.2 0.89 1.39 20.2 0.27 96.55 9.25 16.52 198 23.45 15.12 58.75 96.5 100 2.1 6.05 12 13.54 8.1 7.12 5.83 1.78 21.95 73.9 12.58 17.12 6.8 1.74 205 71 6.36 3.74 30.75 26.9 16.48 286.6 0.305 6.5 3.42 9.2 11.5 2.37 7.15 2.17 80 4.93 271 5 2.04 2.91 12.72 4.25 0.149 1.49 163.5 1.73 1.09

43.4 5.22 0.89 1.41 20.95 0.29 96.55 9.55 16.52 198 23.5 15.2 60 96.5 100 2.27 6.2 12 13.54 8.2 7.12 5.92 1.78 22.25 74.6 12.8 17.2 6.8 1.74 207 73 7.4 3.74 30.75 26.95 16.62 289.4 0.325 6.7 3.48 9.2 11.5 2.39 7.17 2.17 80 5.1 271 5 2.04 2.95 12.72 4.25 0.15 1.52 164.4 1.74 1.09

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

0.41 72.95 12.84 1.16 6.04 0.365 787 9.03 13.2 7.95 6.52 0.2 1,238 76.3 1.01 7.84 14.42 0.445 6.83 0.058 1.2 107.5 2.7 680 0.87 1.52 185.5 269 0.295 0.189 0.255

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

6.62 1.01 6.1 2.65 1.01 36.3 3.54 5.05 0.52 1.09 1.39 0.17 0.56 55 0.71 0.168 1.76 1 1.32 3.72 0.173 0.32 0.61

VOLUME

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

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

4.87 25.05 1.69 3.34 29.95 1.04 6.69 0.92 4.9

4.89 25.15 1.7 3.35 30.15 1.04 6.96 0.94 4.9

4.81 25 1.69 3.28 29.6 1 6.69 0.92 4.8

4.83 25.05 1.7 3.3 30 1.02 6.96 0.93 4.86

993,000 1,788,900 155,000 63,000 6,750,500 9,695,000 3,100 8,000 6,728,000

4,802,060 44,827,235 263,180 209,440 202,135,645 9,832,320 20,766 7,390 32,621,960

-485,800 -1,456,555 20,158,970 -2,684,820.00

2GO GROUP ABS CBN ACESITE HOTEL APC GROUP ASIAN TERMINALS BLOOMBERRY BOULEVARD HLDG CALATA CORP CEBU AIR CENTRO ESCOLAR DFNN INC DISCOVERY WORLD FAR EASTERN U GLOBE TELECOM GMA NETWORK GOLDEN HAVEN GRAND PLAZA HARBOR STAR IMPERIAL A IMPERIAL B INTL CONTAINER IP EGAME IPEOPLE IPM HLDG ISLAND INFO ISM COMM JACKSTONES LBC EXPRESS LEISURE AND RES LORENZO SHIPPNG MACROASIA 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

8 47.4 1.46 0.53 10.9 7.25 0.068 2.32 94 9.75 8.5 2.27 960 1,793 6.2 16.8 15.66 3.84 21 118 76.2 0.01 12.06 9.08 0.193 1.38 3.22 14.1 3.98 0.94 2.98 5.27 3.88 17.1 3 11.16 5.35 3.19 138 9 1,463 1.3 0.425 45 80.95 6.16 2.5 1.16 3.31 0.405

8.05 47.4 1.47 0.56 10.9 7.51 0.068 2.37 94.4 9.75 8.6 2.29 960 1,794 6.2 16.8 15.66 3.84 21.45 120 76.4 0.011 12.06 9.08 0.193 1.42 3.34 14.1 4 0.94 3.33 5.37 3.88 17.5 3.2 11.18 5.55 3.29 138 9.47 1,463 1.33 0.435 45 80.95 6.2 2.5 1.16 3.44 0.41

7.96 47 1.44 0.53 10.9 7.25 0.066 2.32 93 9.7 8.5 2.27 960 1,781 6.12 16.56 15.52 3.59 18.6 108 75.85 0.0099 12.06 9.03 0.19 1.38 3.15 14.1 3.96 0.94 2.95 5.2 3.81 17 2.95 11.16 5.35 3.16 138 8.9 1,430 1.3 0.42 44.3 78 6.16 2.45 1.13 3.31 0.405

SERVICES 8 47.2 1.46 0.54 10.9 7.51 0.066 2.36 93.5 9.75 8.6 2.27 960 1,790 6.12 16.72 15.52 3.69 19.52 116 76 0.011 12.06 9.07 0.192 1.38 3.2 14.1 3.96 0.94 3.05 5.2 3.82 17.5 2.98 11.18 5.5 3.29 138 9 1,430 1.33 0.43 44.4 79.35 6.16 2.46 1.14 3.32 0.41

219,600 19,300 252,000 516,000 100 4,486,900 17,290,000 1,079,000 768,720 6,600 186,900 174,000 2,200 32,415 424,400 35,200 1,400 6,259,000 243,500 850 2,494,680 26,200,000 3,700 515,000 1,990,000 341,000 221,000 2,600 977,000 2,000 3,406,000 5,600,900 885,000 1,300 18,268,000 10,200 79,900 18,000 550 1,357,000 126,610 3,191,000 4,390,000 1,298,300 533,980 101,000 958,000 19,174,000 1,545,000 1,060,000

1,756,551 910,335 368,010 283,940 1,090 33,586,183 1,144,420 2,531,890 71,844,533.50 64,205 1,597,660 398,210 2,112,000 58,021,240 2,603,986 588,236 21,882 23,101,600 4,836,108 95,320 189,561,200.50 262,790 44,622 4,668,800 379,460 472,700 705,800 36,660 3,876,410 1,880 10,618,710 29,383,384 3,396,130 22,420 56,075,550 113,996 436,872 57,250 75,900 12,393,749 182,723,605 4,217,870 1,874,300 57,632,055 42,366,534.50 622,878 2,360,990 21,902,530 5,181,360 431,800

-7,800,725 -3,416,106 -1,195,600 -263,350 -20,035,440 -28,800 -19,628,684 9,550 138,000 29,610 -1,472,630 -2,976,000 -6,673,120 -349,810 -47,740 19,800 27,600 -569,984 -75,025,775 52,400 -36,705,680 7,670,989.00 -811,310 4,458,520.00 -392,710 -

582,900 7,160,860 3,535,535 42,130 359,600 45,800 8,868 15,823,670 61,250 2,442,160 330,700 1,138,000 300,000 1,308,170 12,759,471 310,190 43,040 15,600 4,150 879,200 3,296,867 1,544,160 225,985,952 31,460 90,000

400,000 -11,600 -85,040 -20,500 6,000 -9,250 -2,206,485 650,938 -8,036,355 -

MS

PROPERTY 6.65 1.04 6.1 2.62 1.23 36.35 3.58 5.05 0.52 1.05 1.36 0.171 0.57 54.5 0.71 0.185 1.75 1 1.4 3.72 0.173 0.32 0.64

188,600 1,623,000 21,900 150,000 115,109,000 13,675,300 8,737,000 20,000 6,937,000 21,000 1,472,000 5,450,000 6,179,000 407,730 156,000 34,100,000 3,934,000 3,037,000 231,000 20,098,000 20,570,000 950,000 33,537,000

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

0.0032 1.93 5.8 1.84 0.49 0.47 11.26 2.5 0.255 0.183 0.191 0.011 0.012 1.85 6.91 2.43 0.96 0.012 4.15 0.014 9.4 3.26 142 2.86 0.009

0.0033 1.93 5.8 1.84 0.49 0.47 11.28 2.5 0.26 0.19 0.22 0.012 0.012 1.85 6.99 2.43 1 0.012 4.15 0.014 9.4 3.32 144 2.86 0.009

0.0032 1.85 5.75 1.82 0.47 0.45 10.12 2.42 0.255 0.183 0.191 0.011 0.012 1.77 6.9 2.34 0.94 0.012 4.15 0.014 9.3 3.25 141.1 2.86 0.009

MINING & OIL 0.0032 182,000,000 1.85 3,821,000 5.75 614,300 1.84 23,000 0.47 760,000 0.45 100,000 11.26 800 2.42 6,518,000 0.255 240,000 0.185 13,100,000 0.22 1,660,000 0.012 103,200,000 0.012 25,000,000 1.85 714,000 6.93 1,833,800 2.4 129,000 0.94 45,000 0.012 1,300,000 4.15 1,000 0.014 62,800,000 9.36 352,200 3.25 472,000 141.1 1,595,110 2.86 11,000 0.009 10,000,000

ABS HLDG PDR AC PREF B1 ALCO PREF B DD PREF GLO PREF P GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B MWIDE PREF PCOR PREF 2A PCOR PREF 2B PF PREF 2 SFI PREF SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

47.55 539 105 104 530 5.85 1,020 1,045 107 1,046 1,100 1,014 2.29 77 82 77.5 79.75 77.5 77.6 79

47.55 539 107 105 530 5.85 1,020 1,045 107 1,046 1,100 1,014 2.29 77 82.5 77.5 79.75 77.55 77.6 79

47.45 535 105 104 530 5.85 1,020 1,030 107 1,046 1,096 1,014 2.29 77 82 77.3 79.75 77.5 77.55 78.5

PREFERRED 47.5 26,200 535 1,170 107 69,820 105 42,700 530 2,300 5.85 932,500 1,020 500 1,030 60 107 10 1,046 770 1,096 100 1,014 500 2.29 1,000 77 108,720 82.5 151,650 77.3 2,600 79.75 26,000 77.55 10,300 77.55 4,000 78.5 669,240

1,244,755 626,050 7,412,190 4,471,500 1,219,000 5,455,125 510,000 61,950 1,070 805,420 109,680 507,000 2,290 8,371,440 12,436,210 201,100 2,073,500 798,500 310,340 52,860,440

-118,720 -5,295,420 1,490,715

LR WARRANT

2.15

2.2

2.11

WARRANTS 2.2 219,000

469,750

-66,650

2,588,218 102,200 30,365,000

1,454 -2,497,437

184,184

2,392

PHILAB HLDG ITALPINAS XURPAS

7.38 3.65 8.1

7.38 3.65 8.35

7.14 3.65 8

FIRST METRO ETF

119.6

119.6

119.6

TRADING SUMMARY FINANCIAL

SHARES

12,814,718

INDUSTRIAL

200,876,324

HOLDING FIRMS

491,361,198

PROPERTY

305,139,919

SERVICES

397,731,083

MINING & OIL

416,517,726

GRAND TOTAL

1,828,523,443

7.16 3.65 8.12

SME

358,100 28,000 3,694,200

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 119.6 1,540

VALUE 1,786.94 (down) 11.31 916,683,514.20 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 11,139.23 (up) 8.39 1,151,711,367.8224 HOLDING FIRMS 7,390.86 (up) 26.49 933,825,692.49 PROPERTY 3,339.90 (up) 3.72 SERVICES 1,411.25 (down) 10.25 1,185,623,539.64 MINING & OIL 12,224.95 (up) 53.68 1,227,299,847.78 PSEI 7,282.68 (up) 1.49 278,130,815.273 All Shares Index 4,404.59 (down) 3.41 5,726,517,004.7524 Gainers:85; Losers:111; Unchanged: 48; Total: 244

lion debt securities program earlier approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The property firm still has remaining P25 billion under its debt securities program after it issued P25 billion worth of fixed-rate bonds last year including P7 billion due 2023, P3 billion worth of Homestarter bonds due 2019, P7 billion bonds due 2025 and P8 billion bonds due 2026.

Ayala Land said it also planned to raise up to P10 billion through the issuance of short-dated notes with a tenor of up to 21 months to refinance short-term loans.

The property developer programmed a record P88 billion in capital expenditures this year, a slight increase from P85.40 billion it disbursed in 2016.

It said of the P88-billion spending program, P40.7 billion would be spent on residences, P11.8 billion on malls, P10.6 billion on land acquisition, P9.2 billion on offices, P5.5 billion on estates and P4.9 billion on other costs.

It is also ready to roll out P100 billion worth of projects this year as it plans to ramp up launches of residential and commercial developments to capitalize on the sustained growth of the domestic economy.

Ayala Land president and chief executive Bernard Vincent Dy earlier said residential developments would comprise the bulk of projects that it would unveil this year.

LandBank says profit up by 2% to P13.6b

By Julito G. Rada STATE-RUN Land Bank of the Philippines, the thirdlargest lender in terms of assets, said Tuesday net income in 2016 rose 2 percent to P13.6 billion from P13.3 billion in 2015.

The bank said in a statement the 2016 performance translated into a return on equity of 16.4 percent, above the industry average of 9.97 percent.

“We are grateful to close the year with a strong and solid performance which enables us to further expand our services, reach and support to our mandated and priority sectors, particularly the farmers and fishers,” LandBank president and chief executive Alex Buenaventura said in a statement.

Assets increased 17 percent to P1.4 trillion as of end-2016 from P1.2 trillion a year ago. This was primarily driven by an 18-percent growth in deposits which rose to P1.24 trillion from P1.05 trillion, on the back of significant increase in private deposits.

Capital increased 7 percent to P85.4 billion from P80 billion in 2015.

Land Bank said it remained the biggest credit provider to small farmers and fishers, local government units, microenterprises and SMEs. LandBank was named Best Agribusiness Bank in the Philippines by Londonbased Global Banking & Finance Review Magazine in 2016 for its financing programs that contributed to improving agricultural productivity and for initiatives to promote financial inclusion.

Business TOP TAX PAYER.

Mandaluyong City Mayor Menchie Abalos (right) presents SM Megamall with the city’s Top Taxpayers Award during its 72nd Liberation Day and 23rd Cityhood Anniversary celebrations at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club. The award is in recognition of SM Megamall as a key parter in the city’s continuous development and its generous commitment of time, support, and inspiration to the city government.

Receiving the award are SM Supermalls president Annie Garcia (second from right), SM Premier Malls senior vice president Steven Tan (second from left) and SM Megamall assistant VP Christian Mathay.

Meralco to achieve 2016 income target M

By Alena Mae S. Flores

anila Electric Co., the biggest electricity retailer, will meet its profit guidance for 2016 amid strong demand, its chairman said Tuesday.

“We will meet the guidance for 2016.

Overall demand bill volume was slightly above 8 percent for the entire year,” Meralco chairman Manuel Pangilinan said.

Pangilinan said the company’s profit guidance for 2016 was over P19 billion, declining to cite exact figures. The company is set to release its financial results next week.

Meralco in October last year expressed confidence in achieving a consolidated core net income of P19 billion, up slightly from P18.9 billion in 2015.

Meralco reported an unaudited consolidat-

ed core net income of P15 billion in the first nine months of 2016, down 5 percent from P15.8 billion year-on-year.

Meralco officials also said earlier volume sales growth reached 8.1 percent 2016.

“8.1 percent growth for the end of the year in sales for Meralco DU (distribution utility). It’s going to be roughly about 39,600 gigawatt-hours,” Meralco senior vice president and head of customer retail services, corporate marketing and communications Al Panlilio said.

Panlilio said adding unit Clark Electric Distribution Corp. would add roughly about 500 gigawattt-hours “so it will exceed the 40,000 gWh, consolidated.”

“I think that is the first time we are breaching 40,000. That’s the estimate. Last year growth was less than 6 percent,” he said.

He said power demand was fueled by the growth of the commercial sector.

“We have Tiger Okada who is coming up

(with) soft launch this year but that should ramp up by next year,” Panlilio said.

Meralco to date has 6.1 million customers.

“Business remains challenging, yet exciting as we see electricity helping transform dreams into reality. Even as we expect the challenges from disruptive new energy sources, energy efficiency technology and innovation, more severe weather patterns, in addition to continuing policy and regulatory shifts to continue, we remain confident of our ability to deliver on our commitments to superior customer experience and a consolidated core net income for 2016 of P19 billion,” Pangilinan said earlier.

The Energy Regulatory Commission, meanwhile, will decide on the petition of Meralco to stagger the power retailer’s P0.92 per kilowatt-hour rate increase as a result of the Malampaya maintenance shutdown.

“We will decide before March 3,” ERC Chairman Jose Vicente Salazar said.

Philab obtains P400-m funding PHILAB Holdings Corp., a local healthcare and life science enabling holding company, secured a P400-million financing from Altus Capital Corp., an affiliate of World Bank Group’s International Finance Corp.

Altus Capital, a specialist investment firm managed by Altus Capital Partners, has provided financing to the Philippine healthcare company because of promising track record.

The transaction is considered a vote of confidence from Altus and IFC, reflecting the company’s record of profitability and growth.

“We are proud to support the outstanding development and long-term growth of Philab.

They are a prime example of what we look to invest in: pioneering companies with products and services that have profound impact in the communities they serve,” said Altus managing director Pavan Gidwani.

Financing from Altus will provide working capital for Philab to carry out contracts mandated by various government agencies to roll out medical and education kits nationwide.

A pioneer in the Philippine health science sector, Philab has been producing and supplying the majority of the country’s medical and education materials for laboratories and schools. The Department of Education has also teamed up with the company to supply math and science teaching kits to over 34,000 schools in the country.

Among its many innovations, Philab initiated an affordable self-diagnostic screening kit under the brand LabIt. The self-test kit allows early determination of dengue, the debilitating mosquito-borne disease.

CONSUNJIS HONORED. Isidro (right) and Victor Consunji are recognized as Distinguished Bedan

Awardees for Business by the San Beda College Alumni Association for their exemplary and responsible leadership, multi-faceted lifeworks and steadfastness to the cause of Philippine business. Isidro is the chairman and president of DMCI Holdings Inc., while Victor is the president and chief operating officer of Semirara Mining and Power Corp.

No suspension cases filed—Customs BUREAU of Customs spokesperson Col. Neil Anthony Estrella dismissed reports last week that the bureau already filed cases against a local cigarette manufacturer and 101 other importers, calling them “a hoax.”

Earlier news reports indicated Customs would file a temporary suspension of the accreditation of 101 importers and brokers due to questionable shipments and that Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon ordered Mighty Corp. and other companies to provide proof their shipments were unintentionally misdeclared.

Estrella said the bureau was still on the review process, adding the agency did not release any statement that cases were of-

ficially filed against the importers.

Estrella said the agency would not take away the possibility of filing a case and suspension of accreditation of any company if proven guilty during the investigation.

Customs earlier said it was probing several importers of oil, luxury vehicles and cigarettes but Estrella clarified its extensive investigation was still ongoing to establish airtight legal actions against errant importers.

Estrella disclosed that the bureau officially suspended only six out of the 101 importers transacting at the agency two major ports—Port of Manila and Manila International Container

Port.

Customs, based on a report from Account Management Office head Mary Grace Malabed, so far identified six consignees as part of the first batch of suspended importers.

The consignees were Holdhigh Trading, Coco Corporation Technologies, Manhattan Chemical Corp., Trikis Enterprises, Harbinger International Trading and Richco Marketing.

“The importers mentioned were suspended for violating customs importation laws, rules, and regulations such as misdeclaration, failure to declare shipment, and failure to submit necessary import permits from regulating government agencies,” Estrella said.

B3

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Foundations and forever LAST week, in this column we began discussing foundations and other nonprofit organizations and their finance challenges. This week, we continue with the mathematics of forever, its applications in finance and other things non-profit finance managers should pay attention to.

Forever There are two areas in finance that involve the concept of forever.

One is in endowments or trust funds where the essential question is how much money is needed in order to generate an annual funding stream over an indefinite horizon. The other we will tackle some other day.

In finance, an infinite stream of annual payouts is called a perpetuity – essentially a perpetual annuity. Last week, we showed that, in fact, a perpetual stream of funds can be paid out of a fund through the mechanism of a guaranteed annual interest rate.

The key requirement to developing the perpetual stream of payments is the annual interest rate that can be earned. The next few paragraphs are based on the reading I made for our managing the arts program.

Endowments!

Yes, Virginia, you too can have an unending stream of cash The current value of an infinite stream of cash flow equal to CF is calculated by dividing CF by i, where i is the interest rate.

Technically, this unending stream is called a perpetuity (from the words perpetual and annuity) and the present value of the stream, called P would then be the formula below: P = CF/i For example, if you wanted to generate an infinite stream of 5 million at the end of each year and you believe you can earn at least 5% net on your money each year, you will need to ask someone to give you an endowment of: 5 million divided by = 100 million Remember, an endowment is one of those donations whose corpus (the original amount) you cannot touch, but whose income you can use.

Let’s test that: We start with year 1. At the end of the year, our 100 million has earned 5% or 5 million. That’s our first cash stream and our 100 million is still intact. It will generate another 5 million by the end of the second year. And so on ad infinitum! This is even better than Santa……

This is one of the most basic rules of endowment management: Never spend your principal.

You need your principal intact so that it will continue to generate income each year ad infinitum.

Don’t Forget Inflation!

However, in real life, we actually do want that income stream to increase to account for inflation.

The formula for that, called an increasing perpetuity, is IP = CF divided by ( i - g ) Where g is the rate of growth we wish for in the cash stream. We would normally set the growth rate at inflation.

This means that if we want, for example, 2% growth, a beginning cash flow of 3 million and we believe we can earn 5% indefinitely, we would need: 3 million divided by (5%-2%) = 3 million divided by 3% = 100 million How should we manage this?

In the first year, our money would earn 5%, that is, 5 million.

We use the 3 million we originally wanted and use the remaining 2 million (2% inflation!!) to increase our endowment.

This means that our restricted cash, the original endowment of 100 million plus 2 million of appropriation for inflation, is now 102 million. This will earn another 5% or 5.1 million. At a 2% inflation, you would now need 3.06 million. The remaining 2.04 is used to increase our investments.

You will notice that what we are doing is simply taking 2% (inflation rate) of the investment and putting it back into the endowment. This allows us to grow investment income each year at the expected rate of inflation. This is a VERY good thing.

And, this is the second basic commandment of endowment management.

Grow your endowment.

At bare minimum, grow your endowment with inflation. This means that the amount of what you would think of as restricted funds, the funds you must consider part of the corpus and not available for spending is grown each year with inflation.

At this point, we must point out a very important thing. This formula only works if i is greater than g, that is, if the investment rate of return is higher than inflation rate.

Now, what happens if you earn more than the 5% you expect?

Do you set aside the 2% for endowment growth and then spend whatever is left? NO! Here is another of the commandment s of endowment management.

NEVER spend all of your investment income.

What I would normally recommend is that you create a fluctuation fund. This is a fund that you add to every time your investment earnings are over 5%. This gives you a pocket to tap when investment earnings are below expectations.

Now, what about non-endowment donations such as grants? There is a golden rule concerning soliciting grants.

Longer is better than shorter Grants tend to be one time. Some of them are really one shot while others generate a stream of cash for 5 years or more. Clearly, longer term grants are preferable to shorter-term ones. In fact, if you can get a large, stable organization to guarantee a perpetual grant – such as funding for ten scholars a year, that is almost as good as an endowment.

Of course, endowments, properly managed, guarantee a forever that your organization is actually in charge of. When Foundation treasurers go to heaven, they will have unlimited endowments with no need to search for grants.

Prince Charming belongs to Snow White, Philip belongs to Aurora (that’s Sleeping Beauty to you!) – Now, who did Cinderella marry???

In non-fairy tale terminology, Match your fund sources to uses!

For capital expenditures which will require a continuing stream of expenses for upkeep (a new gallery, a new dance company, etc), go for the endowment. This is also a time when donors are willing to give more – especially if there are naming rights available.

Donors normally do not like to spend on operating expenses, so capital fund-raising for such things as a new school building or museum hall or hospital wing require a matching generous endowment whose income will support operating expenses and inflation.

This also means that you must always try to keep continuing operating expenses within investment income of the endowment.

Investment income should be enough to fund continuing operating expenses. Grant income should be used for grant activity.

Simply put, permanent sources of income should fund permanent expenses and temporary sources of income should be used to fund temporary expenses.

NEVER create a permanent stream of expense simply because you currently have a fairly long temporary source of funds. This means, for example, that grant money should never be used to hire permanent employees.

Finally, a quick word about investment management.

Don’t gamble away food money Most of your endowments are required to fund operating expenses.

They should be placed long and safe.

If you are particularly lucky, you might have a little extra to take some risk with in order to see if you can get higher returns. That is ok but remember to first secure what you need to support operations.

So there it is, foundation finance 101. Nothing exciting. Better safe than sorry.

Readers can email Maya at integrations_manila@yahoo.com.

Or visit her site at http://integrations.tumblr.com. For academic publications, Maya uses her full name, Maria Elena Baltazar Herrera.

Ray S. Eñano, Editor business@thestandard.com.ph extrastory2000@gmail.com

B4

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017

Business

Saudis kicks off renewable energy bid SAUDI Arabia is kicking off its $50-billion renewable-energy push as the world’s top crude exporter turns to solar and wind power to temper domestic oil use in meeting growing energy demand.

Bidders seeking to qualify to build 700 megawatts of wind and solar power plants should submit documents by March 20, and those selected will be announced by April 10, Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said Monday in an e-mailed statement. Qualified bidders will be able to present their offers for the projects starting on April 17 through July.

“This marks the starting point of a long and sustained program of renewable energy deployment in Saudi Arabia that will not only diversify our power mix but also catalyze economic development,” Khalid Al-Falih, the energy minister, said in the statement.

The ministry’s Renewable Energy Project Development Office intends to set up “the most attractive, competitive and well executed government renewable energy investment programs in the world,” he said.

Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Morocco are developing renewable energy to either curb their fuel imports or conserve more valuable oil that could otherwise be exported. Saudi Arabia plans to develop almost 10 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2023, requiring investment of $30 billion to $50 billion, Al-Falih said last month in Abu Dhabi.

Building more solar, wind and nuclear power plants is part of a broader plan that the kingdom announced in April to diversify away from crude sales as the main source of government income.

The two projects in this round are a 300-megawatt solar facility at Sakaka in the country’s northern Al Jouf province and a 400-megawatt wind plant at Midyan in northwestern Tabuk province, according to the statement.

Bloomberg

The HSBC building is seen past a lion statue in the Central district of Hong Kong on February 21, 2017. Global banking giant HSBC said February 21 that net profit for 2016 fell 82 percent from the previous year, calling it a period remembered for its “largely unexpected economic and political events.” AFP

Greece agrees to talk on new bailout terms B RUSSELS, Belgium― Greece on Monday agreed to discuss new bailout reforms in a bid to break a deadlock with its EUIMF creditors that has sparked new fears that the country will crash out of the eurozone.

Officials will return to Athens shortly for talks aimed at reaching a deal to free up fresh funds, Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijssebloem said after talks in Brussels.

“I’m very happy with that outcome today,” Dijsselbloem, the Dutchman who heads the Eurogroup of 19 eurozone finance ministers, told a press conference.

But the IMF, which is staying out of Greece’s huge 86-billion-euro ($91 billion) bailout agreed in 2015 until it gets more guarantees, said more work was needed.

Austerity-hit Greece’s eurozone and International Monetary Fund lenders have been locked for months in a standoff over debt relief and budget targets.

The deadlock has spooked markets with

fears of a return to the crisis two years ago when Greece nearly crashed out of the euro, the European single currency.

Athens needs the latest tranche of bailout cash to meet seven billion euros of new debt payments in July or risk defaulting on its loans.

Concerns are that a long series of elections, starting with the Netherlands in March and France in April, could delay matters dangerously.

But the talks have been on hold since December when creditor officials left Athens after failing to sign off on the second review of Greece’s bailout.

Dijssebloem said the officials would now go back to Greece “in the very short term”.

“They will work with the Greek authorities on an additional package of structural reforms of the tax system, pension system and labor market regulation,” he told reporters.

At the talks in Brussels, Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos approved reforms that will be automatically triggered if Athens fails to meet budget targets, European sources told AFP. But Greek government spokesman

Dimitris Tzanakopoulos insisted that it was “deal reached without any extra austerity,” after three bailouts that have brought Greece to its knees.

“The Greek side agrees to legislate the reforms which will take effect from January 1, 2019,” a Greek government source said on condition of anonymity.

But the deal will include an “inviolable” clause that there will not be “one single euro more of austerity”, the Greek source said.

The measures must still be approved by the Greek parliament, most likely in midMarch, a step that has caused problems in previous deals.

Germany’s powerful finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said earlier he was confident the International Monetary fund would continue to participate in the bailout.

“I am working on the principle that the (creditor) institutions now have a common position,” Schaeuble said as he arrived.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel meets IMF chief Christine Lagarde and European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker in Berlin on Wednesday, in hopes of making further progress. AFP

HSBC’s income plunges by 82% HONG KONG―Protectionist fears under Donald Trump and uncertainties caused by Brexit sparked a huge plunge in 2016 profits, global banking giant HSBC said Tuesday.

Unveiling an 82-percent fall in its net profit, the bank said ongoing volatility and surging populism around the world would continue to hit its bottom line.

“We highlight the threat of populism impacting policy choices in upcoming European elections, possible protectionist measures from the new US administration impacting global trade, uncertainties facing the UK and the EU as they enter Brexit negotiations,” group chairman Douglas Flint said in a statement filed to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Flint said the bank was looking for worldwide agreement on financial rules to avoid possible “fragmentation in the global regulatory architecture as the new US administration reconsiders its participation in international regulatory forums.”

Trump wants to dismantle some of the restrictions on banks put in place after the 2008 financial crisis, rules his Republican Party says have hampered Wall Street’s ability to make money.

Observers worry that any such move to loosen controls could leave European and Asian-based banks at a disadvantage compared to their US counterparts.

HSBC said net profits for 2016 fell to $2.48 billion, down from $13.52 billion in 2015.

That included a $3.45 billion pre-tax loss in the final quarter of the year, with reported profit before tax falling 62 percent to $7.1 billion for 2016.

Dickie Wong, director of research at Kingston Securities, said the results reflected the changing geopolitical environment in the wake of Trump’s insurgent campaign to capture the White House and Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.

In regards to “the interest rate environment and Donald Trump’s policies―no one knows what will happen”, Wong said.

Shares in the bank fell 3.6 percent during afternoon trade at the Hong Kong stock exchange following the results announcement.

In the regulatory statement, Flint said the political seachanges that had rocked the world in 2016 had contributed to “volatile financial market conditions.” AFP

Singapore bares plan to implement carbon tax starting in 2019 SINGAPORE plans to implement Southeast Asia’s first carbon tax starting in 2019, a move that would raise energy costs in the island nation and require more than 30 big polluters such as power plants to pay the levy.

The proposal would charge between S$10 ($7) and S$20 a ton on emissions of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said in a speech outlining the government’s 2017 budget. The tax is equivalent to a $3.50-to-$7a-barrel increase in the cost of oil.

It would raise electricity costs by 2 percent to 4 percent, according to a government report released after Heng’s speech.

“The most economically efficient and fair way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is to set a carbon tax, so that emitters will take the necessary actions,” Heng said. “Singapore is vulnerable to rises in sea level due to climate change. Together with the international community, we have to play our part to protect our living environment.”

The Supertree Grove vertical gardens (foreground) and the Flower Dome (rear left) and Cloud Forest conservatories stand at the Gardens by the Bay The revenue from the tax would botanical park in this aerial photograph taken above Singapore on July 2, 2015. Bloomberg help fund industry measures to Singapore would be the first launch the world’s largest national president for energy research, said fossil fuel, for the vast majority of reduce emissions, Heng said. The by phone from Singapore. “These its power generation. The tax may government has been consulting Southeast Asian nation to put carbon market this year. signal concrete plans to put a price spur some investment in renewable ‘More Aggressive’ with industry leaders and plans to a price on carbon. Japan has a energy, although Singapore “Singapore looks to be taking a on cleaner air.” begin public meetings on the tax in national carbon tax along with The biggest impacts would doesn’t have much land for such March before deciding on a final some regional emissions trading more aggressive course of action tax and implementation schedule. markets, and South Korea and New on reducing its greenhouse gas be felt on power generators and developments, and increased The government also hopes the Zealand have national emissions footprint than it agreed at the Paris heavy industrial users, such as oil energy efficiency by end-users, move spurs job creation in clean trading. China has several regional climate talks,” Chris Graham, refineries, he said. Singapore uses Graham said.

The government will have to trading markets and is planning to Wood Mackenzie Ltd.’s vice natural gas, the cleanest burning energy.

work with industrial users to make sure the tax doesn’t raise the cost of business to a level that makes them unable to compete with similar firms in the region that don’t have to pay for emissions, Graham said.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc, which operates one of three oil refineries in Singapore, said it supported in general government-led efforts to price carbon emissions, and would evaluate this particular proposal’s impact on its operations as more details emerge.

“We would emphasize the critical importance of a policy design which addresses strong economic growth and the competitiveness of Singapore companies in the international market place,” a Shell Singapore spokeswoman said in an e-mailed statement.

“It must ensure companies can compete effectively with others in the region who are not subject to the same levels of CO2 costs.”

Exxon Mobil Corp., which operates another oil refinery in Singapore, said it’s committed to working with the Singapore government to balance the risks of greenhouse gas emissions with the need to maintain a strong economy. “A uniform price of carbon applied consistently across the economy is a sensible approach to emissions reduction,” company spokesman Aaron Stryk said in an e-mailed statement. Bloomberg

Makati waives fees for civil docs FROM Feb. 22 to 24, Makati residents will be able to get civil documents for free.

The City Civil Registration Office has waived fees for the processing and release of certified true copies of Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates and Certificate of No Record to residents and qualified clients in observance of Civil Registry Month this February.

Makati Mayor Abby Binay said the initiative, authorized under City Ordinance No. 2017-023, aims to underscore the importance of civil registration among Makati residents, and provide free access to civil registry documents to those who cannot afford to pay the corresponding fees.

“I encourage our constituents to take advantage of this opportunity to obtain a copy of any of these important documents for free from the CCRO at city hall in the next three days,” Binay said.

The ordinance has suspended temporarily the collection of local fees imposed by the Makati Revenue Code on the processing and issuance of certified true copies of civil registry documents, as follows: certificates of Live Birth, Foundling, Death and Fetal Death, P100; Certificate of Marriage, P100; and Certification of No Record on File, P100.

Under the ordinance, Makati residents can avail themselves of one free certified true copy of one of the above-mentioned documents. Those who will secure more than a single copy must pay the regular fees as prescribed by the Makati Revenue Code.

CCRO head Josephine Copada said all residents and clients of Makati who were born and married in Makati, and all Makati residents and clients with relatives who died in Makati, are qualified for the benefit.

The CCRO, located at the 3rd floor of Makati City Hall Main Building, will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to accept applications from Wednesday to Friday this week.

LGUs LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor Roger M. Garcia, Assistant Editor jimbo.gulle@gmail.com mslocalgov@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017

C1

China grants P30m to Davao D

By F. Pearl A. Gajunera

AVAO CITY—The Communist Party of China has donated $600,000 (P30 million) worth of funding for infrastructure and equipment to the city government during the visit of the diplomat Song Tao, minister of China’s International Department, here on Tuesday.

The Chinese are granting $400,000 (about P20 million) to Bolton Elementary School for the construction of a school building, and $200,000 (P10 million) to Davao for water pumping stations in three dif-

ferent barangays in the city, Song said.

Song’s visit to Davao is his first under the administration of Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio. He was China’s former ambassador to the Philippines.

Song said through the years, Davao City has become one of the most important places for the economy in the country.

He said that President Rodrigo Duterte’s successful visit to China last year “paved the way for a better relationship between the Philippines and China.”

Duterte and Chinese resident Xi JinPing “have reached important discussions” about the cooperation of the two countries in different aspects including the economic state of the Philippinesm he added.

“Our coming visit to the Republic of the Philippines, including Davao City, is to implement the consensus reached

between the two heads of state, to strengthen our outstanding political mutual trust and cooperation, to deliver tangible benefits for the two countries,” Song said.

“We come here for friendship and cooperation in various fields through inter-political party exchanges,” he added.

On Monday, Song and PDPLaban President Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III signed a Memorandum of Understanding for exchanges and cooperation of the two political parties.

Meanwhile, City Administrator Zuleika T. Lopez thanked the Chinese delegation for visiting the city and their

“overwhelming assistance” to the people of Davao.

“Davao City thanks you in advance for the planned grant to the city in the form of $600,000 worth of planned projects,” she said.

Lopez said the generosity of the Chinese government “is a step towards the realization of the current administration’s thrust,” which is education and the provision of basic needs for every Davaoeṅo.

Last October, a delegation from the city led by Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte visited Shanghai to discuss possible investments and bilateral cooperation of the two cities.

MINERS IN ACTION. Members of the Emergency Response Team of Marcventures Mining and Development Corp. help pack goods for donation during relief efforts in the aftermath of the earthquake in Surigao last week at the Surigao City gymnasium. They assisted earthquake victims who experienced exhaustion during the distribution of the goods and managed to strike a pose later in the day with Social Welfare Secretary Jody Taguiwalo (inset), who supervised the activity.

3 hospitals join Quezon City breastfeeding push Cagayan

By Rio N. Araja THREE more hospitals in Quezon City have partnered with the city government to establish an effective support system for the promotion of breastfeeding.

On Monday, Mayor Herbert Bautista sealed a partnership with the hospital directors of the National Children’s Hospital, Fairview General Hospital, and Bernardino General Hospi-

tal to showcase the city’s advocacy to promote breastfeeding through a breastfeeding support group.

Other hospitals that have partnered with the city government for the program are the Quezon City General Hospital, East Avenue Medical Center, Veterans Memorial Medical Center, St. Luke’s Medical Center, Capitol Medical Center, AFP Medical Center,

FEU-Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation, World Citi Medical Center, Dr. Jesus Delgado Memorial Hospital, Quirino Memorial Medical Center, and Novaliches District Hospital.

Under the agreement, the city government, through the maternal, neonatal, child health and nutrition program of the city health department, shall receive pre-natal and post-natal referrals from the partner

hospitals and provide the facilities to sustain breastfeeding through Quezon City’s trained community support group.

The agreement specified the need for the city to list all accredited barangay health workers who can provide counseling and regular monitoring to patients who want to participate in a breastfeeding group organized by the city.

The city government also

operates a human milk bank at the QCGH and a breastfeeding station within the city hall compound to promote breastfeeding among mothers in workplaces.

The World Health Organization recommends that babies should be breastfed exclusively from birth up to six months to confer the maximum benefit of breastfeeding on both mother and child.

Cosalan eyes probe on Korean capitalist

By Dexter A. See KIBUNGAN, Benguet—Benguet Rep. Ronald M. Cosalan will initiate a congressional inquiry into the alleged illegal activities of a Korean businessman who is reportedly earning millions of pesos at the expense of the province’s indigenous peoples for a renewable energy project.

Cosalan said a certain Larry Kim, who was the former majority shareholder of the Kapanganbased Cordillera Hydroelectric Development Corp., allegedly sold his shares to Filipino investors after his company was able to secure the free and prior informed consent of the affected indigenous peoples and the pertinent permits from the concerned government agencies that resulted in a juicy deal.

The three-term lawmaker said after selling his Coheco shares, Kim allegedly established another renewable energy company, now known as the Coheco Badeo

Corp. The firm is proposing to operate a 500-megawatt pump storage hydro power plant in Barangay Badeo here, which affected land owners and indigenous peoples in the town’s ancestral domain are opposing.

“We should not allow this kind of practice of foreign businessmen who just want to enrich themselves at the expense of indigenous peoples in our province,” Cosalan said. “We should join forces to put a stop to these illegal activities because it is the right of the indigenous peoples over their domain that is being compromised while the foreign investors and their Filipino cohorts are the ones enriching themselves.”

Cosalan is wondering why Kim wants to have another hydro project approved when the 60-megawatt project in nearby Kapangan has not yet started.

He expressing doubt on “the integrity, credibility, and capacity” of the Korean businessman to pursue the project.

MASS WEDDING. A couple puckers up for their first kiss as husband and wife, joining hundreds of fellow residents in Noveleta, Cavite in a mass wedding organized by the local government held at the El Palacio Resort in Barangay San Rafael last Valentine’s Day.

pushes bridge projects

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan—The provincial government has proposed to the Regional Development Council a P5-million feasibility fund for a study on the Tupang-Afusing bridge project in Alcala town here.

The RDC has forwarded the proposal to Department of Public Works and Highways Regional Director Melanio Briosos for the immediate release of the fund.

Earlier, Gov. Manuel Mamba declared the approval of the budget for the construction of the Nassipping-Dungao bridge, which is projected to benefit residents from both the northeastern and western municipalities of the province, as it will greatly reduce travel time through Cagayan, and for farmers to easily transport their products to markets.

Mary-Anne ER. Darauay, regional director of the National Economic and Development Authority and acting chair of RDC-2, said the Tupang-Afusing bridge will benefit Cagayanos in the adjacent towns it will traverse.

The provincial government endorsed five more proposed bridges to the RDC—the Anguiray-Pacac bridge in Amulung, Nassiping-Dungao bridge in Gattaran, Camalaniugan-Allacapan bridge, Toran-Paruddun bridge in Aparri, and the Solana-Bagay bridge in this city, Mamba added.

Jessica Bacud

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

LGUs

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017 Standard C2 TODAY Manila

Inmates earn, learn in Vizcaya jail B

By Ben Moses Ebreo

AYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya—While prisoners in other parts of the country spend their time idly in overcrowded jails, inmates at the provincial governmentmanaged provincial jail here use their precious time to pursue their elementary and secondary education while engaging in other livelihood projects.

“In fact, they are providing much for their family needs and learn while serving their penalty inside the provincial jail,” provincial jail warden Fernando Pasion, a retired army colonel, told Manila Standard.

In 2014, transformation programs for the inmates started with the introduction of vegeta-

ble gardening as an alternative source of income among them. It also served to augment the food supply for more than 200 prisoners at the provincial jail.

During harvests, inmates— accompanied by their guards— peddle their vegetable products to provincial government employees and officials.

To maximize their idle time, the provincial jail entered a partnership with the Department of Education to conduct the Alternative Learning System program among the prisoners willing to pursue their primary and secondary education.

At least 18 inmates have completed their schooling through the ALS program.

“We are proud to see them in their togas and accepting their certificates of graduation. We are surprised that they themselves showed interest and commitment to learn and change for the better,” Pasion said.

The inmates received certificates and diplomas bearing the DepEd seal signed by the secretary of Education, certifying their competencies as comparable to graduates of the formal school system.

The ALS beneficiaries were also recognized by the DepEd and the provincial government after passing the Accreditation and Equivalency Test for elementary and high school levels.

School officials of barangays Magsaysay, Vista Hills, Magapuy, Paitan, Ammococan and Bansing in Bayombong town, along with ALS coordinators and mobile teachers of DepEd District 1 and 2 of Bayombong, witnessed the program.

Criselda B. Ildefonso, Education program specialist of ALS, said the inmates can pursue their college education once they are released from the provincial jail.

vironment and Natural Resources Office to collect recyclable materials generated from the offices of the Provincial Capitol. They then transform the materials into house decors, kitchen, trash cans, and table materials, among others.

Forester Delia Agunoy, Nueva Vizcaya’s solid waste management coordinator, said these recycled products are sold to visitors of the provincial jail and during the Ammungan Festival at the provincial capitol.

Other inmates trained on haircutting and massage therapy under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and provide these services within the confines of the proSolid waste vincial jail. The prisoners also produce handicrafts such as picmanagement partner The inmates, along with their ture frames in different sizes and guards, also visit the provincial En- souvenir items.

In the last quarter of 2016, the inmates also produced recyclable and indigenous Christmas lanterns and decors, which were sold from P2,000 to P5,000 apiece. Buyers came from the national government offices as well as local government officials and employees.

Most Christmas lanterns were bought and entered by the government offices to the yearly Christmas Lantern Competition at the capitol, or displayed along the main thoroughfares of the province, which serve as an added attraction.

“The inmates are also engaged into regular spiritual growth with the assistance of various religious sectors. In this way, their full transformation as peace-loving and productive citizens will be achieved inside the jail, while they also help their families through their productive time,” Pasion said.

IN BRIEF Korean firm invests $170m more in Clark

COURTESY CALL. Antipolo City Mayor Jun Ynares (back row, center) is surrounded by Dean’s Listers, their parents and faculty of the Antipolo Institute of Technology or AITECH as they paid a courtesy call on the mayor last Feb. 6. The school celebrated its Chairman’s Day and the visit was meant to recognize AITECH’s achievers.

RESERVE YOUR AD SPACE NOW! email us at advertise@the standard.com.ph or call us at 832-5547

Notice of Extrajudicial Settlement of Estate Notice is hereby given that the estate of the late Lamberto Armenio Flores Jr., consisting of real property was extra-judicially settled and distributed among his heirs – Eduardina Montilla Flores, Christopher Lambert M. Flores, Justin Edward M. Flores, and Michael Anthony M. Flores, by means of a public document executed on 27th January 2017, before a Notary Public in Quezon City, Philippines, under Notary Public Atty. Jonna O. Guiang, with Document No. 506, Page No. 103, Book No. III, Series of 2017.

(MS-FEB. 22, MAR. 1 & 8, 2017)

PUBLIC INFORMATION SHEET FOR DIRECT USE AS FOOD AND FEED, OR FOR PROCESSING PROPOSAL FOR DIRECT USE AS FOOD AND FEED, OR FOR PROCESSING 3272 x Bt11 x MIR604 x TC1507 x 5307 x GA21 1. Applicant’s Name Syngenta Philippines, Inc. 2. Applicant’s Address 12th Floor, Two World Square, # 22 Upper McKinley Road, McKinley Town Center, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, 1630 Philippines 3. Telephone Number/ Facsimile Number, E-Mail Address of the Applicant Tel. +63 2 370 2100; Fax: +63 2 856 9260; E-mail: c/o ba_cau.duong@syngenta.com 4. Name of Responsible Officer/Authorized Representative Duong Ba Cau, President and Commercial Unit Head, Philippines Felipe S. dela Cruz, Jr., Regulatory Affairs Territory Lead, ASEAN 5. Description of the Regulated Article for Direct Use 3272 x Bt11 x MIR604 x TC1507 x 5307 x GA21 is a corn stack hybrid developed by conventionally crossing 3272 x B11, MIR604, TC1507, 5307 and GA21 corn. 3272, Bt11, MIR604, TC1507, 5307 and GA21 are transgenic corn events developed through modern biotechnology.

3272 contains the amy797E gene which expresses the alpha-amylase enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of starch into constituent sugars. It also contains the pmi gene which encodes the phosphomannose isomerase protein that enables the plant cells to convert mannose to a readily metabolized compound, fructose-6-phosphate, thereby improving the energy status of the cells and avoiding the accumulation of derivatized mannose. pmi also allows the positive selection for the recovery of the transformed plants.

Bt11 contains cry1Ab gene which encodes the Cry1Ab protein that provides protection against Asiatic corn borer.

It also contains pat gene which codes for the production of the enzyme phosphinothricin-N-acetyltransferase (pat) which confers tolerance to glufosinate.

MIR604 contains the mCry3A gene which encodes the mCry3A protein that provides protection against rootworm and the pmi gene which allows the positive selection for the recovery of the transformed plants.

5307 contains eCry3.1Ab gene which provides protection against rootworm and the pmi gene as a selectable marker.

TC1507 corn contains the Cry1F gene which produces the Cry1F protein that when ingested by the insect, causes gut paralysis and eventual death. Event TC1507 also produces the PAT protein which provides tolerance to glufosinate herbicide.

GA21 contains the mepsps (modified 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase) gene which confers tolerance to glyphosate.

6. If to be imported, Country (ies) of Origin of the Regulated Article United States, Canada or from other countries which will have cultivation approvals in the future 7. Brief Summary of Potential Effects on Human and Animal Health and the Environment 3272 x Bt11 x MIR604 x TC1507 x 5307 x GA21 corn has been adequately assessed to demonstrate its safety as food, feed, and its safety to the environment. Studies conducted show that the proteins produced in the 3272 x Bt11 x MIR604 x TC1507 x 5307 x GA21 corn hybrids (AMY797E, PMI, Cry1Ab, PAT, mCry3A, Cry1F, eCry3.1Ab and mepsps) do not have homology to any known or putative mammalian toxin and allergen. There is no evidence that these proteins will interact to form new toxin or allergen. In addition, the modes of action of these proteins are distinct and no interaction has been detected. Moreover, the overall concentrations and patterns of expression of the AMY797E, PMI, Cry1Ab, PAT, mCry3A, Cry1F, eCry3.1Ab and mepsps proteins are generally similar between 3272 x Bt11 x MIR604 x TC1507 x 5307 x GA21 and single events 3272, Bt11, MIR604, TC1507, 5307, and GA21.

Furthermore, Southern analyses demonstrated that the corn stack hybrid has stably inherited the introduced genes from the parental 3272, Bt11, MIR604, TC1507, 5307, and GA21 corn, respectively, in a predictable manner.

8. Brief Summary of Potential Benefits Since 3272 x Bt11 x MIR604 x TC1507 x 5307 x GA21 corn will be a traded commodity, the society will be the main beneficiary in case importation will be required to supply the industry with grains of corn and corn products to feed millers, for use in poultry, livestock, aquaculture, and other industries.

9. Countries Where Approvals Have Been Granted (for FFP; for Commercial Propagation) 3272 x Bt11 x MIR604 x TC1507 x 5307 x GA21 corn has already approved in Canada (cultivation and feed), Korea (environment, feed, and food), Japan (environment), Mexico (food, feed, and processing), and Taiwan (food).

The USA does not require submission of regulatory dossiers or additional data on combined trait products developed by conventional breeding if the single trait products have completed the regulatory process and/or the traits are unrelated.

The public is hereby invited to submit their comments to the BPI Director (within 60 days from date of publication) on the Proposal for the Importation of 3272 x Bt11 x MIR604 x TC1507 x 5307 x GA21 corn for direct use as food and feed, or for processing Director Bureau of Plant Industry San Andres, Malate, Manila Telephone Number 525-7857 Fax Number 521-7650 E-Mail bpibiotechsecretariat@yahoo.com

Approved for Publication: ___________________________

VIVENCIO R. MAMARIL, PhD OIC-Director Bureau of Plant Industry Date:

‘EKB’ PH’s newest barangay

By Nazario Rodriguez Jr. SAN ISIDRO, Luna, Apayao— The Philippines’ newest barangay of EKB has been established in one of the most remote villages in this mountainous province.

The creation of EKB as an administrative barangay in the municipality of Kabugao is a tribute to the late Elias K. Bulut Sr., known as the father of Apayao after he initiated the move in Congress to separate the province from Kalinga through Republic Act 7878, which came into effect on Feb. 14, 1995.

Bulut died just over a year ago on Dec. 5, 2015, after a long bout with cancer during his incumbency as mayor of the town of Calanasan.

Barangay EKB was created through Provincial Ordinance No. 03 (series 2017) during a special session of the Eighth Sangguniang Panlalawigan at Sitio Kalliat, Barangay Lenneng, Kabugao town in Upper

Apayao.

This ordinance separated several sitios, including Kalliat, from Barangay Lenneng to create Barangay EKB, a move that the provincial government envisions will bring development to the Paco Valley area.

Indigenous tribes, including the Isnag and Kalinga, made homes in this forested area as soon as the newly-concreted Luna-Pudtol-Kabugao via Paco Valley became passable.

This highway cut the usual six-hour trip via Tuguegarao and Conner from the Capitol to just two hours going to Kabugao, Apayao’s old capital town.

Lone District Rep. Eleanor Bulut-Begtang, Gov. Elias C. Bulut Jr., Vice Gov. Remy Albano and Kabugao Mayor Joseph Amid led simple rites on Feb. 12 in the area where a barangay hall and other public infrastructures will be created.

That same day, provincial government officials and employees

from the five of the seven Apayao towns—Calanasan, Flora, Luna, Pudtol and Sta. Marcela—joined a motorcade from the Provincial Capitol located in Barangay San Isidro in the town of Luna.

The motorcade and the launching ceremonies kicked off the activities for the 22nd Founding Anniversary of Apayao last Feb. 12 to 13.

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan said creating Barangay EKB is an “offshoot of the popular clamor, desire and aspirations of the inhabitants, mostly indigenous peoples.”

“It will undoubtedly bring developments to the said locality, benefit the constituents, and enhance the delivery of basic services,” it added.

The barangay officials will be temporarily appointed as provided by law to perform duties and hold office until their successors shall have been qualified after the next barangay elections, the ordinance stated.

Pangasinan honors NSPC 2017 winners LINGAYEN, Pangasinan— This province has honored young Pangasinenses who won in various events in the National Schools Press Conference last Jan. 22 to 25 in Pagadian City, Zamboanga Peninsula.

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan, in its regular session held on Feb. 13, approved Provincial Resolution No. 5392017 to congratulate winners in the NSPC who represented their respective school divisions in the province.

Resolution author and fourth district Board Member Jeremy Agerico Rosario said the success of the young students “is a way to motivate and encourage them and other individuals or groups to understand the importance of journalism in a friendly and healthy competition.”

Leading the winners were Esron Rey Natividad of Alaminos City National High School, who was declared champion in copyreading and headline writing (Filipino).

Dexter A. See

Fisherman hacks neighbor to death

MISSION ORDERS. Undersecretary Isidro S. Lapeña, director general of the Philippine Drug

(MS-FEB. 22, 2017)

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga—Korean-owned Phoenix Semiconductors Philippines Corp. has cemented its presence in the freeport by announcing its $170-million expansion here on Monday.

The second phase of PSPC’s expansion started with a groundbreaking ceremony attended by Clark Development Corp. president Noel Manakil, Kim Youngmin, president of SFA Engineering and SFA Semiconductor Ltd., and Lee Byeongchun, president of PSCP. Since 2010, the total exposure of the Korean firm inside the Freeport is now $752 million, as it employs 1,600 Filipinos, the CDC said in a statement. Last year, PSPC export value reached $1.6 billion.

The second phase of the project will produce Dynamic Random Access Memory and memory chips for desktop computers, work station servers, laptops and ultrabooks as well as Samsung-branded memory secure digital cards.

Romeo Dizon

Enforcement Agency or PDEA, delivers his message during a visit to the PDEA Calabarzon Region 4 office at Camp Vicente Lim in Canlubang, Laguna with PDEA 4A Regional Director III Archie A. Grande (seated, left). Lapeña announced President Duterte’s latest directives against illegal drugs and open positions at the PDEA Academy in Silang, Cavite. Roy Tomandao

NAIC, Cavite—A 58-yearold construction worker was hacked to death by his neighbor, a fisherman, at Liha, Barangay Bucana Sasahan here on Tuesday.

PO3 Joel Casipe Angue, officer on case, identified the victim as Mario Catalan. The suspect, Romuel Malones alias “Ron-Ron,” 30, a native of Bongabong, Mindoro Oriental, was arrested after a manhunt.

The Naic Municipal Police Station received a call from a concerned citizen about the incident, and operatives found Angue’s lifeless body at the scene. The cause of Malones’ attack is still being verified.

Benjamin Chavez

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

World IN BRIEF 1.4-m children face famine in 4 countries UNITED NATIONS―Almost 1.4 million children suffering from severe malnutrition could die this year from famine in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, the UN children’s agency said Monday.

In Yemen, where war has been raging for nearly two years, 462,000 children are suffering from acute malnutrition while 450,000 children are severely malnourished in northeast Nigeria.

Fews Net, the famine early warning system, said some remote areas of Nigeria’s Borno state are already affected by famine since late last year and the disaster is likely to continue as aid agencies are unable to reach those in need.

Drought in Somalia has left 185,000 children on the brink of famine but that figure is expected to reach 270,000 in the next few months, said UNICEF. In South Sudan, over 270,000 children are malnourished and a famine has just been declared in parts of Unity State in the north of the country, where 20,000 children live.

UNICEF director Anthony Lake appealed for quick action. “We can still save many lives,” he said. AFP

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017

‘China’s move puts onus on US in North Korea impasse’ B

EIJING―China’s snap decision to halt North Korean coal imports—a key economic lifeline for Pyongyang —has a broader motive aimed at shaping Donald Trump’s as yet undefined policy towards the North’s rogue nuclear arms program, experts say.

11 Jewish centers get bomb threats WASHINGTON―Nearly a dozen Jewish community centers across the United States received bomb threats that led to evacuations Monday, in the latest wave of such attacks since Donald Trump became president a month ago.

The latest phoned-in threats, at 11 separate sites, bring to 69 the total number of such incidents -- at 54 Jewish community centers in 27 US states and one Canadian province -according to the JCC Association of North America.

It cautioned, however, that all bomb threats made Monday, as well as on three others dates -January 9, 18 and 31 -- turned out to be hoaxes, and all targeted community centers have resumed normal operations.

The FBI and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are said to be investigating the incidents.

Meanwhile, local media reported that more than 100 headstones were damaged at a Jewish cemetery in St Louis, Missouri.

“Over the past weekend, unknown persons knocked over multiple monument headstones within the cemetery,” University City police said in a statement. AFP

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WELCOME. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov welcomes Sweden’s Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom prior to talks. AFP

Armed guards rush into Kim’s morgue KUALA LUMPUR―Malaysian armed guards on Tuesday stood watch at the hospital holding the body of Kim JongNam, the assassinated half-brother of North Korea’s leader, amid reports his son had come to Kuala Lumpur to claim the remains.

A convoy of four unmarked vehicles entered the hospital compound in the early hours of the morning, with around 30 Malaysian special forces securing the area before all of them left by mid-morning.

A white police van was seen leaving at 4:00 am (2000 GMT Monday), an AFP journalist said.

The body of Kim Jong-Nam -- assassinated last Monday at Kuala Lumpur airport -- has been at the center of a diplomatic row between Pyongyang and Malaysia, after North Korea insisted it

be returned and objected to an autopsy being performed.

But Malaysia rejected the request, saying the remains must stay in the morgue until a family member comes forward to identify them with a DNA sample.

On Monday night Jong-Nam’s son Kim Han-Sol was due to arrive in Kuala Lumpur from Macau, local media and intelligence sources said, but AFP was not immediately able to verify his presence.

Pyongyang’s envoy to Kuala Lumpur on Monday dismissed the request for a DNA sample as “preposterous” and said the embassy had the right to reclaim the body of a diplomatic passport holder.

Ambassador Kang Chol also savaged the police investigation into the killing,

saying it was politically motivated and that Malaysia had conspired with South Korea from the beginning to frame the North.

Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said the “deeply insulting” accusations were based on “delusions, lies and half-truths”.

Malaysia had earlier recalled its ambassador to Pyongyang and summoned Kang for a dressing down at the foreign ministry over the ongoing spat.

The drama erupted last Monday as Kim Jong-Nam waited at the budget terminal of Kuala Lumpur’s main airport for a flight to Macau.

He was approached by two women, one of whom grabbed him from behind and sprayed his face with an apparently poisonous liquid, according to police and leaked CCTV footage. AFP

North Korea defied the world a week ago with a missile test and is suspected of orchestrating the stunning assassination a day later of supreme leader Kim Jong-Un’s half-brother in Malaysia, provocative acts that followed a nuclear test in September.

China is often the target of US criticism for not doing enough to rein in its irascible neighbor.

But analysts said China’s ban on North Korean coal imports for the rest of this year could be an attempt by Beijing to defuse such criticisms while nudging North Korea and the United States toward negotiations.

“If China is squeezing North Korea, it is for one purpose and one purpose only: to offer a cooperative gesture to the incoming Trump administration in return for an initiative on negotiations,” Stephan Haggard, of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, wrote in a blog post.

Under the Obama administration, Washington pursued a policy of “strategic patience” toward North Korea in hopes that sanctions would bring Pyongyang to heel and force it to abandon its nukes.

The incoming Trump administration has stepped up the rhetoric, with the US leader saying after the February 12 missile launch that Pyongyang was a “big, big problem” and would be dealt with “very strongly”.

China shares US concerns about Pyongyang obtaining a nuclear weapon, but prefers negotiations to sanctions, which it fears could destabilize North Korea and send a flood of refugees across their shared border.

“China’s main goal in making this move is to put the onus back on Washington, fair and square to solve this problem,” said Peter Hayes, director of the Nautilus Institute.

“In effect they are saying to the US: OK, we did what you wanted, we lit a fire under their feet. What are you going to do to solve the DPRK problem now?” he added, using the acronym for North Korea’s official name.

The UN Security Council has imposed six sets of sanctions since Pyongyang first tested an atomic device in 2006.

But North Korea has continued to thumb its nose at the world with a series of missile launches over the years and two nuclear tests in 2016 alone.

Beijing traditionally ensures that UN sanctions against Pyongyang include humanitarian exemptions, and had continued to purchase huge amounts of North Korean coal -- over $168 million worth in December alone.

It has long resisted calls by Washington to use its economic leverage to punish North Korea for its nuclear program, arguing it has much less influence on its unpredictable neighbor than the US thinks.

“Very few Chinese think that pain is the way to influence North Korea,” said John Delury, an expert on Sino-North Korean relations at Seoul’s Yonsei University.

From Beijing’s perspective, solving the problem will require Washington to negotiate with North Korea, whether directly or as part of a larger group. AFP

Five killed as plane crashes into shops MELBOURNE―A light aircraft smashed into shops and exploded into a “massive fireball,” killing all five on board including four American passengers reportedly golfers on the trip of a lifetime, officials in Australia said Tuesday.

The twin-engined Beechcraft plane veered just after take-off into a shopping center that was still closed, and next to Essendon Fields airport near Melbourne.

“Five on the aircraft and looks like no one has survived the crash,” said Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Stephen Leane.

Premier Daniel Andrews described it as “the worst civil aviation accident that our state has seen for 30 years”.

The private charter from Essendon, north of Melbourne, to King Island, 55 minutes to the south, came down just short of a major motorway packed with the heavy traffic of early morning commuters.

Live television footage

showed burned out wreckage, flames and major damage at the shopping centre and adjacent buildings.

A column of thick black smoke rose into the air as witnesses spoke of an explosion.

“The pilot unfortunately attempted to return to Essendon but has crashed into the DFO (Direct Factory Outlet) at Essendon Fields,” Leane told reporters.

The centre was not due to open for another hour and the authorities confirmed no one inside was hurt.

A taxi driver called ABC radio and told of the “massive fireball” and a landing wheel bouncing onto the motorway.

“I saw this plane... when it hit the building there was a massive fireball,” said the man called Jason.

“I could feel the heat through the window of the taxi, and then a wheel -- it looked like a plane wheel -- bounced on the road and hit the front of the taxi as we were driving along.” AFP

RARE STRADIVARIUS. A representative from Sotheby’s Hong Kong introduces a rare 1684 violin by Antonio Stradivari to the press during a media preview in Hong Kong, ahead of the violin’s auction on March 28 in London, where it is estimated to fetch US$1.55 to US$2.45 million. AFP

Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017

World

Brazil’s drought worst in a century QUIXERAMOBIM, Brazil― A cow’s skull lies baking in the sun and nearby another dead cow rots, symbols of the desolation gripping northeastern Brazil during its worst drought in a century.

Farmer Kerginaldo Pereira, 30, walks through the dust and cactuses in dismay. There are in all about 30 skeletons of cattle, donkeys and other farm animals in a sort of open-air cemetery set aside in his settlement of Nova Canaa, in Ceara state, to avoid spread of disease.

“Most are animals that died of thirst or hunger. Sadly, that’s the reality. So many animals have died in these five years of drought,” Pereira told AFP. The semiarid northeast of Brazil, known as the Sertao, is used to rain shortages but no one can remember a drought like this. There has been almost no rain since 2012 and the leafless, desiccated landscape has the appearance of having been in a vast fire.

Rivers and reservoirs that used to serve rural populations are not coping. The authorities estimate that reserves are at six percent capacity, with some completely emptied.

Experts say that a cocktail of factors has produced the disaster: a strong El Nino in the Pacific, heating of the north Atlantic and climate change that has seen temperatures in Ceara rise by 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in 50 years.

Pereira said he had to sell his other three cows and 10 sheep, fetching poor prices because they were “skeletal.” AFP

Romanian heroes fighting corruption BUCHAREST―Romanian architect Serban Marinescu never thought he’d come up against such brazen corruption. And when a city mayor demanded a backhander, he plucked up his courage and reported him.

Traffic cop Marian Godina came under pressure from superiors over a traffic incident involving a local official. But Godina turned to social media and heads rolled.

Their bravery is typical of what observers say is a changing attitude to corruption in Romania.

It also helps explain the biggest protests since the fall of communism in 1989 in recent weeks.

These demonstrations, peaking on February 5 with an estimated half a million people nationwide, came after the leftwing government tried, as critics saw it, to ease up on graft.

“Romanian society has reached saturation point with regard to corruption,” said Godina, 30, the policeman from Brasov in the central Transylvania region.

His fame began a year ago when he pulled over a car that had nearly run someone over.

A local official in the passenger seat got out and told him to let it drop. She “knew his superiors”.

But he stood firm -- and posted his experiences on social media. His superiors were livid, with Brasov’s chief of police and other superiors ordering him to close his Facebook page.

But in the end he won, with the official resigning and the chief of police taking “early retirement”. AFP

PRESS PREVIEW. Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama waves at a photo session during a press preview of her exhibition titled ‘My Eternal Soul’ at the National Art Center in Tokyo. AFP

Japanese men sell dreams to lonely women TOKYO―Cigarette smoke hangs thick in the air of a Tokyo nightspot as Aki Nitta sips champagne with a trio of sweet-talking Lotharios peddling fake love at premium rates.

In a country that has lost its mojo, many wealthy Japanese women spend eye-watering sums on male hosts in return for an evening of sweet talk, flirting -- and often sex.

“I want my heart to flutter,” Nitta told AFP at a popular club in the Kabukicho red-light district lined with chrome and mirrors.

“Japanese men aren’t very attentive and don’t show their feelings, but hosts treat you like a princess. I want to be pampered and I don’t care how much it costs,” she adds.

The 27-year-old businesswoman from Nagoya spends around $10,000 a month on the object of her desire -- a faintly androgynous beau with bleached hair and a boyish grin.

But some big-spenders splurge over $100,000 in a single night to have their egos stroked by smooth-talking rental Romeos who themselves can earn five times that amount in a good month.

There are a growing number of wealthy and successful Japanese women that have become frustrated with traditional dating and instead prefer to focus their romantic energies somewhere they are guaranteed to be treated well.

“I’m paying for time, rather than men,” explained Nitta. “Time is more important to me so I want to live for now, without any regrets.”

Many women -- ranging from 20-somethings to those in their sixties -- lavish expensive gifts on their favorite hosts, buying them diamond watches, luxury cars, even apartments.

“When I was 20 a customer bought me a Porsche,” said former host Sho Takami, who owns a chain of clubs and likens a host’s role to that of a psychiatrist, with benefits.

“It’s a 24-hour job,” insisted the 43-year-old after arriving for work in a chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce.

“Our real work starts after hours -- going for drinks with customers, crawling into bed at 9am, meeting another one for lunch,” added Takami, who is set to open a host club in Las Vegas next year. AFP

‘Trump is not my president’ N EW YORK― About 10,000 anti-Trump protesters marched in New York to shouts of “not my president!”

Monday, joined by others in cities across the United States on its Presidents Day holiday.

After a raucous first month in office, President Donald Trump returned to Washington after spending a weekend at his Mara-Lago estate in Miami Beach, Florida, which he calls the “Winter White House.”

The “Not My Presidents Day” protests aim to show that grassroots opposition to the Republican president remains fervent one month after his January 20 inauguration.

The controversies over the property tycoon’s unprecedented approach to running the world’s remaining superpower are at fullpitch amid investigations into ties between Trump and his associates with Russia.

The 70-year-old political novice has raised eyebrows in Twitter postings, his preferred method of public communication that bypasses the nation’s media, which he calls “the enemy of the American people.”

He tweeted an all-caps message to celebrate the holiday, writing: “HAPPY PRESIDENTS DAY - MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” With his job approval rating at a historically low 40 percent, according to a Gallup poll published Friday, the 45th US president is expected this week to work on filling out his administration’s top spots and rejigging his controversial immigra-

tion restrictions order that was blocked by the courts.

On Monday, he named counterinsurgency strategist US Army Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster as his new national security advisor.

McMaster takes over the post left vacant after Michael Flynn was ousted on February 13 after giving misleading statements about his contacts with Russia to Vice President Mike Pence.

Earlier in the day, the president played 18 holes of golf with Irish golf superstar Rory McIlroy at Trump International Golf Club, according to media reports.

Anti-Trump activists took advantage of the federal public holiday, dedicated to US presidents, to organize rallies in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington and other cities.

On the streets of New York, Trump’s home base, demonstrators of various ages and backgrounds gathered in Columbus Circle, in front of Trump International Hotel and near Central Park, to voice their dismay.

The mood was festive, and the crowd grew to 10,000, according to an unofficial police estimate.

One of the protesters, retired psychotherapist Rima Strauss, wore a denim jacket with a button that read “Not my president” and another one showing a picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin holding a baby Trump in diapers.

“He’s hurting our country.

We’re losing our country if we don’t do something,” Strauss said.

“Trump won’t listen to us, but if ordinary people march in the streets, maybe we’ll have some kind of revolution against Trump, I hope.”

Qamar Khan, a 26-year-old medical school student from Pakistan, said that as a Muslim he wanted to voice disagreement with Trump. AFP

PROTEST. Indonesian Muslim demonstrators participate in a protest against Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, also known as Ahok, outside the parliament in Jakarta. Indonesian Islamist groups on February 21 held the rally outside parliament against Jakarta’s Christian governor, who is standing trial for blasphemy, as he heads for a tough run-off against a Muslim opponent in city elections seen as a test of religious tolerance in Muslim-majority Indonesia after a tight first round. AFP

Thai junta urged to drop case against activists BANGKOK―Rights groups on Tuesday urged the Thai army to drop defamation charges against three activists over a report on torture in the conflict-hit south, decrying the prosecution as an effort to silence critics.

A state prosecutor was handed the case file on Tuesday and will now decide whether to press on with the controversial charges against Pornpen Khongkachonkiet -- the chair of Amnesty International Thailand -- Anchana Heemmina and Som-

chai Homlaor.

The trio could face up to seven years in jail for defamation and a separate charge filed for publishing the report online.

The case is being closely watched in junta-run Thailand where authorities routinely use defamation laws to shut down reporting of allegations of abuse or corruption.

The 2016 report, based on interviews with 54 former detainees, catalogued a host of torture tactics allegedly used by

soldiers and police across the kingdom’s Muslim-majority southernmost provinces.

More than 6,700 people -- mostly civilians -- have been killed in a near-13 year insurgency by Malay Muslim locals against the Thai state, which rules the region with emergency laws.

Beatings, threats at gunpoint, sensory deprivation and partial suffocation were all routine during detention of suspects, the report alleged.

The Thai army denied the allegations

and launched proceedings against the report’s writers.

“This is a glaring example of the Thai military misusing the criminal justice system to intimidate and retaliate against activists for reporting grave abuses,” said Sunai Phasuk, a Human Rights Watch representative for Thailand.

No member of the Thai security forces has ever been jailed for extrajudicial killings or torture in the restive “Deep South”.AFP

Liza Soberano

Life FASHION & BEAUTY

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017

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is Avon’s new fragrance lady

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VON, the number one direct-selling company and fragrance brand in the country, introduced its newest fragrance celebrity spokesperson, Liza Soberano, one of the most gorgeous actresses in local showbiz.

Soberano is now officially the brand ambassador for Sweet Honesty, which counts among Avon’s bestselling fragrances. Sweet Honesty is a delicate floral scent that brings one back to the innocence of young love. During a recent press conference, Liza spilled her thoughts about being in love for the first time. “We all want to be in love every day. It makes us feel young and happy,” the young star shared, with the trademark sweetness and charm that she is known and adored for by men and women, young and old, local and foreign.

“That’s what I love most about Sweet Honesty—it brings me back to the unforgettable innocence of first love. It’s like feeling the butterflies in my stomach all over again,” she continues. “Sweet Honesty is the perfect scent for me because it’s light and sweet. Also, the scent is timeless so it’s really perfect for anyone.”

It is this trip back to the fascinating moments of first love that made Liza say “yes” to Avon. Avon Philippines Head of Beauty, Patricia De LeonRodriguez says Liza Soberano and Sweet Honesty match effortlessly.

“Liza Soberano is the perfect endorser for Sweet Honesty. It is the fragrance that’s as unforgettable as your first love, and is among Avon’s best-selling fragrances,” Rodriguez says.

Liza puts a stamp on her new role as Avon’s Sweet Honesty ambassador with her own signature in a limited edition eau de cologne bottle for P399.

The fragrance brand also comes in a limited edition roll-on purse concentre for P155. The special edition bottles will be sold nationwide through Avon dealers and representatives for a limited time only.

Another thing that attaches Liza to her new role is the fact that Avon advocates women empowerment. Avon Communications Director for Philippines and Asia Pacific, Faith Fernandez-Mondejar shares how Avon is not just a company of beauty, but a company that embraces Beauty for a Purpose.

“For 130 years now, Avon has been providing earning opportunities that help improve women’s lives. We are also committed to supporting causes that matter most to women, such as the fight against breast cancer and domestic violence. We are very glad that Liza is now part of the Avon family. She is a great addition to our roster of brand ambassadors who are one with us in this journey of empowering women,” Fernandez-Mondejar adds.

It looks like Liza Soberano not only gets to relive her cherished first love memories with Sweet Honesty, but also finds something to anchor her heart on as one of Avon’s many ambassadors of Beauty with a Purpose.

Liza with (from left) Patricia De Leon-Rodriguez, Avon Philippines Head of Beauty; Jean Reyes, Avon Philippines Marketing Manager; and Faith Fernandez-Mondejar, Avon Philippines and APAC Communications Director

HONESTLY SWEET. Young actress Liza Soberano’s beauty and charm make her the perfect face for Avon’s Sweet Honesty fragrance label.

Forever 21’s Activewear Evolution WITH athleisure clothes emerging as the new casual, as well as a widespread shift to a focus on health and fitness, Activewear has evolved into pieces you can wear in and out of the gym.

American retail brand Forever 21 tapped Australian-Indian model from Sweden Kelly Gale to showcase its latest global Activewear collection that features Fit and Run, Dance and Yoga, and Booty Sculpt themes.

Forever 21’s 2017 Activewear Collection features low, medium and high-impact pieces in soft and neon hues. The Fit and Run assort-

Mesh inserts and neon hues in Forever 21’s Activewear collection

Medium-impact sports bra and jogger pants

ment is designed for high-impact activity and features loud prints, wicked seams for sweat resistance, matching sets and lightweight jackets that are easy to wear on the run. The Booty Sculpt selection is designed for medium-impact activity and aims to highlight and define curves in flattering black and charcoal hues; bottoms are presented in high-waisted shorts, capris and leggings with power mesh inserts to shape and lift. The Dance and Yoga range is designed for low-impact activity and features soft tone colors and delicate styles such as loose fitting joggers and wrap around

tops that are perfect for layering.

Since it opened its first store in the country at SM Megamall in 2010, Forever 21 continues to offer the latest trends at reasonable prices through its partnership with the SM Retail Group.

Forever 21’s 2017 Activewear Collection is available at Forever 21 branches in SM Megamall, SM Makati, The North Wing of SM City Cebu, The Block at SM City North Edsa, SM Mall of Asia, SM Aura Premier, SM City Clark and SM Southmall.

F21’s Activewear collection is composed of Fit and Run, Dance and Yoga, and Booty Sculpt themes

Life

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017 isahred@gmail.com

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ENMAN, the popular brand of hairbrushes for years, has used its influence and expertise to help underprivileged communities around the world. This year, Denman reaches out to the Philippines and partnered up with the Hair Aid Organization to offer free haircut training programs to low-income individuals and poverty-stricken families in Quezon City, Manila.

Caterina di Biase, the multi-awarded stylist, will lead the efforts this year and take her team of volunteer stylists to the heart of Quezon City. “I’ve traveled to all parts of the world, but with every new place, I discover a new challenge and a sense of fulfillment,” says the three-time Australian Hairdresser of the Year awardee.

Di Biase has dedicated much of her time to educating and training interested students and volunteers. “Working with Hair Aid has given me such a sense of purpose. It’s a privilege to work with such a generous organization that aims to uplift lives through the artistry of hair.”

Hair Aid is an Australian non-profit organization that sends teams of hair stylists to communities to teach street families hair cutting skills. They work with the less fortunate so that the latter can learn livelihood skills and earn money to feed, clothe and house themselves and their children. Held twice a year, these free hair-cutting workshops take in around 30 to 50 individuals who are then trained for five whole days.

Hair Aid teachers are seasoned stylists from all over the world. “For many us, we cherish the opportunity to serve others, because it’s invigorating and inspiring, knowing that you can change a life just by sharing your gifts. We often tell our students, you can do anything if you put your mind to it.

All you need to do is practice, practice, practice!” she adds.

“Cutting hair is a basic skill that you can definitely learn and earn from. Not only does it provide a good, honest living, it’s a way to better yourself. You can do it anywhere and bring your skills everywhere you go,” Caterina shares, adding how she herself is a proud example of how hair and the art of cutting it has brought her to new heights “I encourage teachers and volunteers to share your time and skills. As a hair stylist, you must venture out of your comfort zone and continue to grow your knowledge. Fashion never stops, and hair is fashion,” Caterina ends.

Until March 31, Rustan’s Department Store offers a special promo on all Denman Hair Brushes. For every Denman Hair Brush sold, a donation of P10 will go directly to the Hair Aid Organization.

For more information about Denman, visit www.denmanbrush.com. For Hair Aid Organization, visit www.hairaid.org.au and the official Facebook page: HairAidAustralia.

A cut above the rest

THE HAIR AID TEAM IN ACTION. Volunteer hair stylists, led by Caterina di Biase (foreground), doing free hair cut and hair cut training programs to help underprivileged families.

From left: RPG brand assistant Clarice Austria, Caterina di Biase, RPG senior brand manager Emily Besavilla, and a Hair Aid Team volunteer

The Hair Aid Team with families in Quezon City, Manila

VA N I T Y C O R N ER

Make it Gap this Spring GAP, the classic American clothing brand, kicks off spring with a collection encouraging individual style and ethos spanning the generations. This season, the campaign celebrates possibility and equality with I am Gap.

Women’s

Gap’s 1969 denim takes shape with skinny styles at various lengths from full to ankle. The Easy Legging is super fitted and comfortable, skinny through the high and thigh in stretch fabrications. The True Skinny is a must-have with a slim fit through the hip and thigh, available in a variety of fabrications. Complement with a timeless blue shirt for stylish structure or shop Gap’s softspun knits in tees, dresses and tanks for easy styling to embody individuality and effortless style.

available in stretch and high-stretch fabrications. Pair your favorite denim with an iconic blue shirt for effortless style or a New Essential Tee for a laid back look. Mix and match an array of sweaters, khakis and casual shirts to create your own unique style and fashion-identity.

Kids and Baby

GapKids and babyGap embrace the spring season with the launch of occasion dressing with adorable dresses and tulle for girls, and polos, woven shirts and chino short for boys. Gap’s Super Denim shop offers comfort and movement in a variety of fits, paired with the fun tops and knits for all occasions.

In the Philippines, Gap is at Central Square in Bonifacio High Street Central, Alabang Town Center, Ayala Center Cebu, Eastwood Mall, Estancia in Men’s Capitol Commons, Glorietta 3, GreenThe men’s spring denim collection belt 5, SM Mall of Asia, SM Megamall, focuses on slim and skinny fits. Gap’s Robinsons Magnolia, Shangri-La Plaza versatile Slim leg and lean Skinny are Mall, and Trinoma.

The classic denim rules the Spring season in Gap’s apparel for men, women, kids and babies

THE COOLEST SUN PROTECTION BECAUSE of traditional sunscreen’s thick and sticky formulation, many find applying it more as a chore than a necessity. But since sun protection is a must, regardless of the climate, a sunscreen brand created a product that feels comfortable on the skin.

Biore UV Watery Gel is a refreshing way to protect the skin from the adverse effects of the sun. The secret lies in the gel’s aqua microcapsule that makes the formulation lighter than regular sunscreen; it gives the gel a non-sticky and easily-absorbed qualities that leave skin cool after applying.

This allergy-tested sunscreen offers SPF 50+ and PA++++ protection.

Biore UV Watery Gel is available at beautyMNL.com.

NOTHING BUT TRUE COLORS LEADING direct selling company Avon introduces its Avon True Color line of makeup.

The rebranded line is composed of Avon True Color Skin Goodness CC Powder, which provides instant color correction to eliminate skin discoloration; Ideal Oil Control Plus Dual Powder Foundation, which provides oil control while covering blemishes and pores for a smooth and bright complexion; Skin Goodness Moisturizing BB Cream, whose vitamins A, C and E help nurture the skin while its moisturizing essence boosts its hydration properties; and Skin Goodness CC Cream, which is formulated with Avon’s Skin Correcting technology that contains vitamin C, green and white tea, and licorice to create a moisturizer, primer and foundation in one.

Also included in the line are Avon True Color Lipstick, which offers a sheer finish that stays vibrant for hours courtesy of its nourishing formula and self-renewing pigments; 24K Gold Lipstick, whose rich, creamy and moisturizing formula is further enriched with real gold; Perfectly Matte Lipstick, that strikes the balance between intense matte color and wearable comfort; and Glazewear Lip Gloss, whose shea butter and artic berry formulation, paired with flexi-glide technology provides a creamy texture and super shine effect.

Completing the colorful makeup range are Avon True Color Luminous Blush, which gives cheeks a rosy glow and a pop of color with a few swipes; and Eyeshadow Quad, which provides effortlessly dramatic eye color that’s easy to apply.

Go to www.avon.com.ph or contact an Avon lady to get these items.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017

ANIMAHENASYON FESTIVAL at SM Aura Premier

T

HE Animation Council of the Philippines, Inc. (ACPI) together with the Game Development Association of the Philippines (GDAP) recently held Animahenasyon 2016: 10th Philippine Animation Festival at the Samsung Hall in SM Aura Premier.

A joint project of the Animation Council of the Philippines, Inc., and SM, the Animahenasyon festival aims to promote the country’s animation industry and to showcase the exceptional talents of professional, as well as young and aspiring Filipino animators both locally and internationally.

Several professionals and upcoming Filipino animators from different universities and colleges around the country that offer animal and digital art courses participated in the competition.

These included Ateneo de Naga University, and De La Salle – College of St. Benilde, Asia Pacific College, and De La Salle University. And the best of the best were cited during the festival’s awards night.

Strings by Rafael Daniel Evangelista won the Grand Prize and several other awards including Best Production Design and Best in Narrative. Other winners in the ACPI Awards include Avid Liongoren’s Muning for Best Animation for Children and Josephine for Best in Technical. The John Martin Award was given to Christine Silva for her two-dimentional traditional hand-drawn animation, Building Too. The Best Animation in professional division was awarded to John Arthur Mercader from Puppeteer Animation

"My Ex and Whys," starring Kapamilya star Liza Soberano, is a certified blockbuster

LIZA SOBERANO ecstatic over film’s box office success

"Anito" by John Arthur Mercader (right) won the Best Animation award in the Professional category

Studios in Davao.

Renz Vincemark Cruz and Hannah Gayapa of College of St. Benilde were awarded the Public Choice Award and Best Regional Entry for their short film, Passage of Life; while Hinagunoy sa Goryon by Karl Derrick Sia from Cebu won the Best Animation in student category as well as the Hero TV Award.

The Game Developers Association of the Philippines (GDAP), on the other hand, also awarded game animators in both students and professional tracks. In the student division, the College of St. Benilde won big that evening: Best Educational Game and Best Narrative to Face the Phase, Best Gameplay to Ragnarok Protocol, Best Game Art to Seizmore Fin and the Game of the Year to Tesselate. Not to be outdone, Students from De

La Salle University won the Best in Innovation for The Tempest Core.

In the professional division, The Game of the Year was awarded to Senshi.Labs in Book1: Pisces War, Guardian Chronicles. Likewise, another Senshi.

Labs game Adarna 2: Alamat ni Maria Blanca swept the awards with Best Music & Sound Design, Best Educational Game, and Best Narrative. Sky’s the Limit by IAcademy won the Public Choice Award, and Roarz VR by KLab Cyscorpsions won the Best in Innovation. Tamagogo: The Great Egg Escape

by Ingenuity Games from Davao City won the Best Mobile/Handheld Game, Best Gameplay, and Best Game Art. The Animahenasyon 2016 Festival and Awards Night is one of the many enriching creative events at the Samsung Hall in SM Aura Premier.

Pia Wurtzbach captures instax memories to keep forever

COLLAGE. Pia Wurtzbach's "happy wall" where she keeps all her happy memories immortalized by instax camera

THESE days, one of the best ways to savor and keep precious memories is through an instax. It could be a snap of an important occasion or a photograph taken during a momentous date.

Celebrities have long caught up with the trend.

Way before she was crowned Miss Universe 2015, Pia Wurtzbach was already a fan of the instax camera.

She posted a photo of what she called “My happy wall” on Instagram. The wall showcased, among other stuff, a collection of Pia’s favorite instax photos. “I keep everything. Every instax, every letter, every note, every sketch, every rosary, everything from everyone,” went Pia’s caption.

Another celebrity couple Aljur Abrenica and Kylie Padilla had posted an instax photo of them together on their social media accounts. What better way to announce their engagement than to

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Wednesday, February 22, 2017

ACROSS 1 Post ender 6 Viscous substance 10 Madame Bovary 14 Forest quaker 15 Freedom org.

16 Kind of roast 17 Wiped out 18 Cato’s highway 19 Rock-music genre 20 Shogun’s yes 21 As it should be (3 wds.)

24 Soft sweaters 26 Sudden silences 27 TV knob 28 Madrid art gallery 30 Lays asphalt 33 — Jaw, Sask.

34 Consumer org.

37 Sheik colleague 38 — Carlo 39 Feast with poi 40 Beat the field 41 Voting districts 42 Rumpled 43 Crowd features 44 Underwater shocker 45 Dismay 48 Purple martin 52 Hard-to-chew sweets (2 wds.)

55 RN’s group 56 Indigo dye 57 Plains state 58 Genuine 60 Agreeable 61 Proofer’s word 62 Choose 63 Scored well 64 Jekyll’s other half 65 Names on pedigrees DOWN 1 Yoga type 2 Like pagodas 3 Leaf of grass 4 PGA peg 5 Motorcycle races 6 Trot and canter 7 VIII, to Virgil 8 Cheers for toreros 9 Acquisition 10 Marty Robbins hit (2 wds.)

11 River terminus 12 Chop fine 13 Pharaohs’ amulets 22 Boon companion 23 Gruff 25 In charge of 28 Between puddles and

lakes 29 Turns to compost 30 Amen corner 31 —, amas, amat 32 Coq au — 33 Supplemental 34 Route follower 35 Univ. degrees 36 Terrific bargain 38 Archibald of verse 39 Break in the action 41 House part

42 Mumps companion 43 Storied 44 Wool supplier 45 Fridge maker 46 Take fright 47 Haggling point 48 Kind of board 49 Light beer 50 In the bag (2 wds.)

51 Power units 53 Lauder rival 54 Impressed 59 Yale athlete

immortalize it with an instax?

In recent years, instax cameras have evolved from something cool, hip, and fun into a must-have. We can all post photos on our various social media accounts but there is still something about being able to keep a hard copy that makes our experiences more memorable. Instax memories can be used to adorn your desk at work, the corkboard in your bedroom, or even your wallet.

In the case of instax-obsessed celebrities, instax prints make for a beautiful entry in one’s feed. Beyond that, it is a waterproof keepsake, a tangible symbol of love.

With instax’s stylish and compact body design and various functions that enhance image quality, it is no wonder that FUJIFILM’s instax cameras have positioned itself at the center of all things dear and all occasions that are considered momentous.

STAR Cinema’s My Ex and Whys, the date movie about failed relationships and giving second chances, is making a killing at the local box office.

The production outfit has the figures and it reported that the romantic comedy earned over P100 million in just three days. The film also made a splash on it’s opening a day after Valentine’s Day raking in P31.5 million.

Liza Soberano, the romantic flick’s lead star, along with Enrique Gil, couldn’t contain her happiness when Manila Standard asked her about the movie’s box office performance. At the Maybelline event over the weekend, the 19-year-old star said she felt overwhelmed when she initially learned about it.

“At first, we were informed that it earned 27 million on its first day, then at around 2 a.m. we received another news that it actually earned 31.5 million. I never expected that we would get that much support for the movie,” the Kapamilya star shared.

It’s only a matter of time before it beats the overall gross of the two other movies that starred LizQuen.

Liza and Enrique first worked together in a 2013 film top billed by Dingdong Dantes and Bea Alonzo playing support roles. It was in 2015 when they headlined Just The Way You Are. The film earned P12 million on its first day of showing and breached the P100 million pesos mark four weeks later.

In 2016, LizQuen starred in another romcom entitled Everyday I Love You, which earned P16 million on its first day and ended its commercial run with P103 million gross at the domestic box office.

As soon as she heard the “good news” from Star Cinema, she immediately took to Instagram and shared it with her almost five million followers, which she considers instrumental to the film’s success.

“I read up online to see feedback and write ups. I’ve been going to block screenings and I’ve been touched by what my supporters are telling me about my performance in the movie. The fact that it is a Cathy Garcia directed film, I think that’s enough reason for the people to watch it. At the same time, the LizQuen fans are also very supportive, that’s one of the factors why this film is a big success,” she enthused.

Talking about the film, Liza said that her role here is the most mature role and “more realistic” compared to other projects she’s in the done past but she’s quick to clear that she’s not really headed in doing adult roles. She’s also very careful in choosing her material.

“The management told me that in my next teleserye, my character would be more mature compared to the previous roles that I played. But I asked them if I could do something not too much mature because I still want to maintain my youth, and I think that’s what people still want to see from me. I don’t want to rush into becoming older than what I really am,” the actress shared.

But in terms of emotions of the characters that she’s going to play, she furthered that there will be some growth and maturity. In fact, she’s already preparing for two teleseryes for this year. She couldn’t divulge specific details about the project but she said that for the first one, she’s going to be part of it for the pilot week only but for the second project, it’s going to be a follow-up to her top-rating primetime drama, Dolce Amore.

Jinkee and Manny Pacquiao are proud franchise owners of the Davao-grown coffee shop Blugre, which specializes on durian-flavored coffee.

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017

ISAH V. RED

W

E GOT acquainted with durian-flavored coffee in Davao many years ago. Found the taste interesting and a colleague even became passionate over it, talking to friends about at anytime he had the chance to.

Manny Pacquiao, the world famous boxer and now Senator, and his wife Jinkee brought the durian-flavored coffee and the other varieties in the Blugre Coffee to his native General Santos City.

The couple is happy the people from GenSan have taken to drinking durianflavored coffee like ducks to water.

Now, here’s the good news.

Davaoenos living in Manila who are missing the durian-flavored coffee need not take a flight back to Davao more often than they used to. And why?

The “King of Fruits” of the South has just landed in Manila!

The exotic durian with its big size, powerful odor and unique thorn-covered husk has been dubbed “King of Fruits.”

At Blugre (pronounced “blue-grey”) Coffee in Metro Davao, the signature drink is the extremely flavorful Durian Coffeeccino.

Founded in 1998, it is Davao’s first and leading specialty coffee shop. Aside from the Durian Coffeeccino, Blugre Coffee also serves espresso, latte and mocha. Its array of scrumptious desserts includes Choco Torte with Cream Sauce, Durian de Leche Cheesecake and Red Velvet Cake.

Hands-down, it is the Durian Coffeeccino that has made a strong impression on customers. Romina Villaflor-Wilson, a Filipino living abroad, wrote on Blugre Coffee’s Facebook page, “The last time I had Durian Coffee was about 10 years ago, at the Matina Town Square shop, and I can still vividly remember how it tastes!

Must fly back to Davao the next time

PACQUIAOS bring Davao’s famed Durian coffee to GenSan I’m in the country to savor it again!”

Astrid Anne Acedo, a Davaobased yuppie, agrees that the Durian Coffeeccino is simply divine. “I just love it! It’s so yummy,” she said on Facebook. Astrid is also pleased with the coffee shop’s relaxing interiors. “It’s perfect for a chitchat with friends,” she said.

For its exceptional products, fine

LA-based Trap and Electro House Dj Party Favor CHAOS nightclub at City of Dreams Manila heralds yet another eventful year with its second anniversary celebration. The trendsetting venue will feature Los Angeles-based Trap and Electro House artist Party Favor who will spin his trademark bass-laced tunes to get all partygoers in a frenzy of excitement on Feb. 25. To jump start the second anniversary party scene, Chaos resident DJs MVRXX, Jet Boado, and MC Ronthug will perform during the early part of the event.

Since its opening, Chaos consistently showcases an impressive roster of both international and local artists from all genres of the EDM and Hip-hop spectrum on weekends, and also highlights live performances by stellar local bands on Wednesdays.

As one of the top rising artists in EDM, Manhattan-born Dylan Ragland aka Party Favor’s career in music took off in 2013 when he worked on a remix for Miley Cyrus’ “Someone Else”. He signed on to record label Mad Decent and released the chart-topping electro track “Bap U”, notably his most recognized original song, which became a staple in numerous club playlists across the US and Europe.

Party Favor’s newest EP release Party and Destroy hit no.2 on the iTunes album charts and the lead single “Give It To Me Twice” garnered over a million plays on Spotify in its first two weeks. The 2016-released EP boasts of collaborations with Dillon Francis, Gucci Mane, Sean Kingston, Rich The Kid, Gent & Jawns and Georgia Ku. His success abroad and at home is undoubtedly due to the love and support that his music receives from superstar talents such as Skrillex, Diplo, Borgore, DJ Carnage, GTA, Dillon Francis, RL Grime, Bro Safari, DJ Snake, and Flosstradamus.

Paving his way into 2017 with a headlining tour for Party and Destroy, Party Favor’s live performances will feature multiple upand-coming acts as well as a number of big names in the industry.

He is currently creating groundbreaking remixes for household artists such as Dillon Francis, Diplo, Flosstradamus, and Major Lazer, to name a few. With official work on Spinnin Records, Ultra Records, OWSLA and Mad Decent as well as international tours through Asia, Australia, Brazil, Japan, it is no surprise why Party Favor’s fan base is as diverse and well-rounded as his music.

For Chaos VIP table reservations, guests can contact 0917-8863678. Door charge is priced at P1,000 inclusive of one drink.

ambience and first-rate service, Blugre Coffee has won several recognitions, namely from the National Shopper’s Choice Awards (where it is a Hall of Famer), Best Coffee Shop in Davao by the Asia-Pacific Shopper’s Institute, Shopper’s Choice Magazine, Essence Privilege Card and the Asian Philippine Association of Marketing Professionals.

Tourists have been clamoring for

Blugre Coffee to expand so that they can enjoy its delicious coffee and desserts closer to their respective homes.

In Metro Manila, Blugre Coffee is now in Manila with but three branches—at the Malacanang Complex, 1558 J.P. Laurel St., San Miguel, Manila; in Taguig, C-24 11th Avenue corner 26th Street, Bonifacio Global City; and Manila East, Unit 101 Manila East Arcade 2 Bldg.

Dylan Ragland aka Party Favor is one of the fastest rising names on Dance and House music scene

Don Hilario Cruz Avenue, Brgy. San Juan, Taytay Rizal.

The company’s owners Benjamin Cuaresma, Jr., and Gloria Cuaresma are happy to bring Davao’s Blugre Coffee experience to Metro Manila and soon, to more places around the country.

My friend who tasted the durianflavored coffee the first time we were in Davao will now be smiling more often.

ABS-CBN sues kissasian.com ABS-CBN Corp has sued in US Federal District Court kissasian.com for damages of over $8 million pertaining to Kissasian’s infringement of trademarks and registered copyrights of 27 of ABS-CBN’s television shows and movies including Be My Lady, Born for You, Dolce Amore, You’re Still the One, Etiquette for Mistresses, Ex With Benefits, and many more.

In addition, ABS-CBN was awarded this week an amended default judgment of nearly $11 million against 11 online streaming websites that the company says regularly showcase pirated versions of its programming.

According to ABS-CBN’s Assistant Vice President of Global Anti-Piracy Elisha Lawrence, “We are stepping up our anti-piracy enforcement in 2017. These pirate sites often victimize our fans when they access these sites and are later attacked by malware, which steals their financial and personal data. We are going after every pirate wherever they live and operate. We arrested and sued numerous pirates last year and we plan to quadruple that effort this year.”

U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas, in his amended default judgment, ordered the defendants to pay at least $1 million each in statutory damages. The judge also ordered the defendants to stop advertising, promoting, performing, copying, broadcasting or distributing ABSCBN’s copyrighted work, which includes a variety of television programming.

Among the pirate websites, Freepinoychannel.com and Pnoytambayantv.com were each ordered to pay $1.18 million in statutory damages, while Lambingan.to, Pinoynetwork.to and Tambaytayo.com are on the hook for $1.09 million each. Pinoymovie.to was ordered to pay $1.24 million in statutory damages.

The sites provide on-demand streaming performances of full-length versions of television shows and movies through their sites, according to the suit.

“Defendants’ websites are classic examples of pirate operations, often with poor quality. We invest a great deal in our television shows and movies so the customers have a superior viewing experience. These pirates are willfully infringing ABS-CBN’s copyrighted works and damaging the ABS-CBN brand,” according to Lawrence.

The company had requested at least $2 million in statutory damages per counterfeit trademark used, as well as triple the defendants’ profits from the alleged infringement.

ABS-CBN is represented by Stephen M. Gaffigan. The cases areABS-CBN Corp. et al. v. Kissasian.com., Case No. 0:17-cv-60352 and Case ABS-CBN Corp, et al. v.

FreePinoyChannel.com et al., case number 0:15-cv-61002, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.