Manila Standard - 2017 March 16 - Thursday

ARROYO, 10 OTHERS LOSE HOUSE POSTS

By Maricel V. Cruz

VOL. XXXI • NO. 34 • 4 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017 • www.thestandard.com.ph • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

HOUSE leaders on Wednesday pushed through with a revamp that punished allies who failed to vote in favor of the Palacebacked death penalty bill, including former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who gave up her post as deputy speaker for Central Luzon.

House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas declared seats vacant for 10 committee chairmanships and Arroyo’s post as deputy speaker.

The shakeup involves the House committees on civil service, government reorganization, Muslim affairs, natural resources, overseas workers affairs, land use, people’s participation, poverty alleviation, women and gender equality, public information and basic education and culture.

Arroyo, in a statement, said she has no regret for voting against the death penalty.

“The issue required a vote based solely on conscience and the deepest of personal convictions,” she said.

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Mining review still a go Dominguez bucks Gina, firm against suspension

By Julito G. Rada

F

INANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said Wednesday Environment Secretary Regina Lopez’s decision to close or suspend 28 mining companies would be reviewed despite her bid to have it suspended.

DRUG WAR WIDOW. A young girl stands beside a sunshiny placard during a protest outside the Sandiganbayan office in Metro Manila Tuesday while a woman (inset) who asked that she remain anonymous in fear of potential police retribution, but using the pseudonym Sally Antonio, files a complaint against police allegedly involved in the killing of her husband and eldest son, forcing her to have three jobs to help pluck her out of flat-broke misery. AFP

Tokhang’s twist: Robredo ‘Gina’s order favored family business’

By Christine F. Herrera bares ‘palit-ulo’ scheme

By John Paolo Bencito VICE President Leni Robredo on Wednesday said that the Philippine National Police were detaining innocent people in a “palit-ulo” [exchange heads] scheme, substituting a relative for a missing drug personality as she criticized the “worsening” human rights abuses being committed under the name of President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs.

But Malacañang said Robredo was “misled, misinformed and misguided” on the administration’s war on drugs.

Calling for an international

scrutiny of the Duterte’s crackdown, Robredo, in a video message to a United Nations meeting on extrajudicial killings posted online, said if the police could not find a drug suspect, they would detain one of his or her relatives instead.

“They [communities] told us of the ‘palit-ulo’ scheme which means ‘exchange heads,’ where the wife, husband or relative in a so-called drug list will be taken if the person himself could not be found,” Robredo said in the video message that was released to reporters ahead of the scheduled screening at the UN gathering in Austria on Thursday. Next page

2 US admirals figure in corruption scandal WASHINGTON--A retired US Navy admiral and eight other high-ranking officers have been charged with corruption and other offenses in a sprawling bribery probe dubbed the “Fat Leonard” case, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Retired rear admiral Bruce Loveless, a Navy intelligence officer, is the second admiral to be charged in the case, which has now grown to include 25 named defendants.

Malaysian businessman Leonard Francis--dubbed “Fat Leonard” on account of his portly figure--is at the center of the case

and awaiting US sentencing after admitting his port-services company plied officers with cash, prostitutes and other perks to ensure US Navy ships stopped at the ports where his firm operated.

In one incident, Francis hosted a dinner in Hong Kong at which Loveless and others allegedly gorged on an eight-course meal featuring black truffle soup, rock lobster salad, caviar, pan-seared duck liver and other fancy foods.

“Each course was paired with Champagne or fine wine,” the prosecutors said, and the total Next page

ENVIRONMENT Secretary Regina Lopez has issued a memo that excludes certain quarrying activities—including those of her family-owned First Balfour— from a moratorium on mining in

watershed areas, documents show.

Lopez issued the exclusion order that would benefit her family’s company shortly after she declared before the Commission on Appointments that she had no sacred cows.

“In view of the need to address

the requirements for cement, aggregates and related materials of the construction industry, quarry resources, such as limestone, aggregates and other related materials used in the said industry, are hereby excluded from the scope Next page

“Yes, the mining review will continue,” Dominguez said at the sidelines of the general membership meeting of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Makati City where he was the keynote speaker.

Lopez earlier this week asked President Rodrigo Duterte to suspend review by the Mining Industry Coordinating Council, a Cabinet oversight body that she co-chairs with Dominguez.

In her memo, Lopez said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, not the MICC, had the power to review the operations of mining companies.

Dominguez earlier said the government, through the Budget Department, would allot P50 million for a three-month review of mining operations.

In the wake of Lopez’s decision to cancel 75 mineral production sharing agreements with mining companies, Dominguez Next page

NPA shot 4 cops at close range —SOCO

By F. Pearl A. Gajunera DAVAO CITY—Scene-of-thecrime investigators said three of the four policemen who were killed last week in Bansalan, Davao del Sur were executed and not ambushed as the New People’s Army claimed.

One of the three police was kneeling when he was shot, indicating that they pleaded for their lives before they were shot at close range with M16 and M14 rifles, the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) report said.

Other signs that they were shot at close range were the empty shells near the victims’ bodies and power burns on their wounds.

The report added that PO1 Joe Narvaza was killed in the initial salvo of fire while PO1 Saro Next page

OVER THE HUMP. In left photo, Senate President Ralph Recto congratulates his former professor, Leonor Briones, after the Commission on Appointments unanimously approves Wednesday her ad interim appointment as Education secretary. At right, Army Brig. Gen.-designate Noel Buan, captured and held by the communist New People’s Army in 1999, stands to attention while listening to his citations before his confirmation by the CA. Ey Acasio

Mighty offers P3b to settle tax liability

By Rey E. Requejo THE owner of embattled cigarette manufacturer Mighty Corp. has accepted the demand of President Rodrigo Duterte to pay at least P3 billion as settlement for its excise tax liabilities, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre

II said Wednesday.

He said the Office of the President received the letter of Mighty Corp. owner Alexander Wongchuking expressing his inclination to pay the amount, which would be used to build hospitals in Basilan and Jolo and to improve the Mary Johnston Hospital in Manila.

“They accepted the offer of the President because they want to resume their operations already. They also vowed to follow the procedures if there will be cases here in the DOJ,” Aguirre told reporters.

But Aguirre said the amount cited in the letter was the P3 Next page

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THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

News

House leader asks party-list to replace ‘fugitive’ solon

By Maricel V. Cruz

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HE 1-Pacman party-list group should decide whether it will nominate a new representative in Congress now that Rep. Michael “Mikee” Romero, who is facing arrest for qualified theft and is considered a fugitive from justice. Romero also has not attended the sessions of the House of Representative since early this year.

House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas said it is 1-Pacman party list’s call if it will elect a new representative in Congress as replacement of Romero, who went on hiding after Judge Cicero D. Jurado Jr. of the Manila City Regional Trial Court ordered his arrest on Jan. 6, 2017 and subsequently denied his motion for

the suspension of the warrant of arrest last Feb. 6.

If the party-list decides so, Fariñas said the leadership of the House of Representatives will act accordingly.

“That’s the call of the 1-Pacman party list and the HOR will act accordingly if and when it does,” Fariñas said.

Some lawmakers said that

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Mangutara was dragged from the back portion of the mobile patrol car where he was seated to the right side of the front seat where his body was found along with PO1 Rolly Benelayo and PO3 Jayden May Rabor.

Paraffin tests showed the policemen did not fire their guns.

Near the scene of the crime, police found an unexploded bomb.

The lone survivor, PO3 Allen Arnado, said when he saw their windshield shattered by a gunshot, he immediately jumped off the vehicle and hid himself 50 meters away.

“After I jumped off the car, I don’t have any idea what happened to them. I crawled to save my life, all I can hear was gunshots,” Arnado said.

Police Regional Office 11 Director Chief Supt. Manuel Gaerlan said Arnado’s statement and the SOCO report confirm that the cops were executed.

“This only shows how barbaric the actions of the rebels.

They even dragged PO1 Mangutara who was seated at the back side of the car,” Gaerlan said.

He said that they already have some of the rebels’ names and will be filing murder charges against them soon.

The Commission of Human Rights here also condemned the incident and vowed to continue working with the authorities.

The NPA said Wednesday there would be more attacks against the military and police amid its continued offensive against the communist rebels.

In a statement, Jorge “Ka Oris” Madlos, NPA spokesman, said that while the NPA has yet to receive instructions from the Communist Party of the Philippines leadership based in Utretch for a possible ceasefire, the NPA rebels will continue to engage with security forces over President Rodrigo Duterte’s March 9 order to “flatten the hills” in efforts to crush communist rebels.

“Until then, the NPA is ready to confront and counter the offensives of the Armed Forces of the Philippines [AFP] in order to defend the people, especially the peasant masses and minority groups, from the abuses being perpetrated by the AFP,” Madlos said.

The armed group condemned the aerial bombings in NPAcontrolled areas and the alleged killing of at least 15 peasants in different parts of the country.

“As such, it is the obligation of the NPA to counter the AFP’s frenzied war against the people,” Madlos said.

The killing of the four police officers in Bansalan prompted President Duterte to order the military and police to use all their assets in the war against communist rebels.

Despite an announcement that peace talks have been revived, attacks continued. This week, the rebels burned a bus in Makilala, North Cotabato, and wounded five policemen in an ambush in Abra.

With John Paolo Bencito

assured businessmen at the PCCI meeting that the government would honor the contracts it signed. “ If they [mining companies] found that due process was not followed, they will sue the government. So we will pay what the courts ask us to pay... and we will honor that if we lose,” Dominguez said. “ I don’t want to lose. I want to make sure that due process is followed in this closure or suspension of mining operations.

And it is not only damages, there are clauses in the individual contracts that may cause

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of the moratorium on the acceptance, processing and/or approval of mining applications and/or new approval of mining projects under Department Memorandum Order No. 2016-1,” said Lopez’s order dated March 10.

First Balfour, owned by the Lopezes, operates an open pit quarry within a 13-hectare watershed area in Lobo, Batangas. It mines aggregates, one of the subjects of the exclusion.

Lopez signed the exclusion order, which was also initialed by her trusted consultant Leo Jasareno a few hours before she flew to the United States for a vacation.

The exclusion order was to take effect “immediately.”

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“The issue of the death penalty is unlike any other, in that it touches the core of each person’s fundamental view of human life,” Arroyo said.

Arroyo said she voted against House Bill 4727 despite her support for Duterte and Alvarez.

“I thank the President for his expression of understanding late last year regarding my position on the issue. I also thank the speaker for the honor of having served as

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United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Dr. Agnes Callamard branded the Philippines as “one of the worst places right now outside an armed conflict situation” following the thousands of killings as a result of Duterte’s war on drugs.

“The Philippines is standing out as one of the worst places right now outside an armed conflict situation because of the killings, but also because the human rights crisis is multifold,” Callamard said in a recent Bloomberg interview.

She slammed Duterte’s assertion that drug addicts, who were deemed useless to society, deserved to be killed.

“I’ve heard your president talk about ‘we need to kill people in

Employers prefer grads from state colleges —study

Romero no longer deserves to be in the roster of House members as he is not functioning at all as legislator after he went on hiding following the warrant of arrest issued against him by the Manila City RTC. The arrest order stemmed from the case of qualified theft involving some P3.4 million that Romero and two others had been accused of stealing from the family-owned Harbour Centre Port Terminal Inc. (HCPTI) in a complaint filed by the firm through lawyer Jerome Canlas.

Qualified theft is a non-bailable offense if the stolen amount is P222,000 or more.

Romero has failed to submit himself physically to the jurisdiction of the Manila Regional Trial Court since last Feb. 6 after the court quashed his motion to suspend the execution of his warrant of arrest.

The Manila RTC subsequently

issued an order on Feb. 27 denying the urgent motion for reconsideration filed by Romero and Edwin Jeremillo, former chief operating officer of HCPTI. In a ruling penned by Judge Jurado, the court said: On a final note, a review of’ the Urgent Motion for Reconsideration showed that the grounds relied upon in the same are mere reiterations of the matters already considered and passed upon in this Court’s Omnibus Order, and that the arguments raised therein are too unsubstantial to warrant a reconsideration thereof.

“Considering that this Court has already issued a warrant of arrest after finding probable cause, there is no need to further hear the issue on the motion to withdraw information. This Court, therefore, find no cogent reason to modify or reverse the Omnibus Order. Discussing again now the ratio decidendi of this Court’s

order would belabor the issues ad infinitum.

Branch Clerk of Court Julie Aylene D. Mendoza had earlier endorsed the warrant of arrest to the Philippine National Police and its district offices, and to the National Bureau of Investigation for enforcement, both are now after Romero.

Aside from Romero and Jeremillo, also accused of the same offense is former HCPTI cashier Felicia T. Aquino, who has petitioned the Court of Appeals for certiorari and prohibition.

The court said that Romero’s physical avoidance of prosecution is synonymous to “flight”, which according to a DoJ prosecutor, is “the act of evading the course of justice by voluntarily withdrawing oneself to avoid arrest or detention or the institution or continuance of criminal proceedings; It is usually interpreted as an indication of guilt.”

us liabilities abroad. So we are very concerned about that and we are pushing ahead with the review of all actions taken by the Secretary-designate [Lopez],” Dominguez said.

Earlier, Duterte threatened to impose a total ban on mining and accused some mining companies who opposed Lopez’s appointment as DENR secretary of funding the opposition to destabilize his administration.

Before the Commission on Appointments, Dominguez had warned that it would take five years to cover the government’s revenue shortfall from Lopez’s decision to close 23 mining companies and cancel 75 mineral production sharing agreements without due process.

At a caucus of the Commission on Appointments committee on environment and natural resources, Dominguez told lawmakers they would have to look for more revenue sources to cover the shortfall.

He said the government collected P20.6 billion in taxes from mining in 2012, P24.4 billion in 2013; P32.7 billion in 2014; and P29.57 billion in 2015.

“It will be very difficult for us to immediately cover this shortfall,” said Dominguez.

He also expressed concern for the thousands of workers—as many as 200,000, he said—would be unemployed if the mines were shut down. This didn’t add all the people and industries that rely on mining, he added.

Lopez, who was again bypassed by the panel chaired by Senator Manny Pacquiao, has drawn flak for imposing her own standards-such as “social justice”--in ordering the closure of mining operations.

Dominguez told the panel Lopez failed to consult critical stakeholders when she unilaterally decided to stop mining.

“DoLE [Department of Labor and Employment] said they were not consulted. I believe the DSWD [Department of Social Welfare and Development] also said they were not consulted,” Dominguez said.

“I think there was some kind of failure in the charge of due process,” he said.

GRADUATES from University of the Philippines scored highest this year in the annual employers’ assessment of who among the fresh graduates were the top performers once they enter the field, accrding to the latest Fresh Graduates Report of JobStreet Philippines showed.

From third place last year, UP reclaimed the top spot from previous year’s leader, the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, which slid to second spot. The Santa Mesabased campus, however, meanwhile, remained as the main source of fresh graduates for employers.

Ateneo de Manila University ranked third among schools which employers think were the best fresh hires, followed by University of Santo Tomas (4th), De La Salle University (5th), Technological Institute of the Philippines (6th), Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (7th), Far Eastern University (8th), Mapua Institute of Technology (9th) and Adamson University (10th).

PUP, UP and UST are the main sources of new hires for employers at 56 percent, 46 percent and 44 percent, respectively, followed by DLSU, ADMU, Far Eastern University, Technological Insitute of the Philippines, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, University of the East, and Adamson University.

UP professor of Geosciences, Carlo Arcilla, said this was a clear “conflict of interest arising from an unbelievable ignorance of what a watershed and what open pit mining operations are, coming from the secretary designate of DENR.” On March 8, Arcilla, also chief of Earth Materials Science Laboratory of the National Institute of Geological Sciences in UP Diliman, testified before the CA to oppose the confirmation of Lopez.

Arcilla said while Lopez imposed a moratorium on other quarrying firms, she allowed First Balfour to operate within a watershed.

He said Lopez, however, canceled the mineral production and sharing agreement with another quarry firm, MRL, which was located right next to First Balfour.

“The Lopez-owned First Balfour is mining aggregates in a

watershed area in Lobo. You may check its website and it’s there boasting that the quarrying is ongoing,” Arcilla told the CA. The section on the quarrying was taken down from the First Balfour website, however.

First Balfour did not have an MPSA or any permit from the DENR, Arcilla said.

Lopez, who insisted she had no sacred cows, denied that her family was still mining the area, saying they were there “to prepare the area and keep it clean.”

She added that there had been on activity in the last five months.

“If the First Balfour, which operates in a watershed, did not get a closure order just like the rest of the 75 MPSAs or mineral production sharing agreements that were canceled, then that is a sacred cow,” CA member Senator Alan

Peter Cayetano had said.

Arcilla said First Balfour was operating a quarry under the permit of Torreverde Corp., a whollyowned company of First Balfour.

“Torreverde Corp. has a quarry applicaton no. Bp-AQP-03-16 [rock and filling materials] for five hectares at MGB 4A. The Application was submitted 19 April 2016 and is being processed. Right after my testimony in the CA, the details were taken out from the First Balfour website,” Arcilla told the Manila Standard.

Securities and Exchange Commission documents show Torreverde Corp. registered itself as a non-metallic mining and quarrying stock corporation.

The Lopez-owned First Balfour, Inc. is Torreverde’s majority stakeholder, owning 99.99 percent, SEC documents show.

Shortly after the CA hearing, Arcilla said he sent his own field officer to verify if indeed there was activity in the area.

Arcilla said some structures had been built in the area, including a crushing plant.

“There are rock crushing machineries and trucks. It is true they are not operating now but there clearly were quarrying operations. There is nothing wrong with First Balfour’s quarrying operation or its application. What is questionable is why MRL, which is in the same Lobo watershed, and which has a much smaller footprint, and which has not also started, was given a show cause for ‘being in a watershed’ whereas the quarries, which are all open pit and which are all on watershed, and specifically First Balfour, which is Lopez-owned, was not stopped,” Arcilla said.

deputy speaker of the House of Representatives. It meant much to me. As a plain congresswoman I will continue to do all I can to support both President Duterte and Speaker Alvarez,” Arroyo said in her statement.

A lawmaker who asked to remain anonymous said Arroyo resigned as deputy speaker before Fariñas’ announcement.

Fariñas made the announcement with 239 lawmakers in attendance during the last session day. Arroyo was present at the session hall.

Congress adjourns session

starting March 17 for a Lenten break and resumes on May 3.

Before the announcement, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said the revamp would spare no one.

“If I am burning bridges, then so be it. We can’t do anything about that,” Alvarez told reporters.

Alvarez said the replacement will be done when session resumes in May. Aside from Arroyo, those who will be replaced include Reps.

Vilma Santos-Recto of Batangas, civil service and professional regulation; Sitti TurabinHataman of Anak Mindanao

party-list, Muslim affairs; Henedina Abad of Batanes, government reorganization; Carlos Zarate, Bayan Muna party-list, natural resources; Mariano Velarde, Buhay party-list, overseas workers affairs; Antonio Tinio, ACT Teachers party-list, public information; Carlos Zarate, Bayan Muna party-list, natural resources; Kaka Bag-ao of Dinagat Islands, people’s participation; Jose Christopher Belmonte of Quezon City, land use special; Evelina Escudero of Sorsogon, basic education and culture; Emmi de Jesus of Gabriela

Women’s Party, poverty alleviation; Jose Christopher Belmonte of Quezon City, land use special; Kaka Bag-ao of Dinagat Islands, people’s participation; Emmi de Jesus of Gabriela Women’s Party, poverty alleviation; Emmeline Aglipay-Villar of DIWA partylist, women and gender equality; and Antonio Tinio, ACT Teachers party-list, public information.

Escudero, mother of Senator Francis Escudero, was replaced

by Cebu Rep. Ramon Durano IV. Escudero was appointed as vice chairman of the basic education and culture committee.

intelligence officer in the Navy.

He did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

“He directly and indirectly, corruptly demanded, sought, received, accepted, and agreed to receive and accept things of value... including entertainment, hotel stays, and the services of prostitutes,” the indictment stated.

According to the prosecutors, Francis had picked up the tab on widespread debauchery including a May 2008 “raging multi-

day party, with a rotating carousel of prostitutes, during which the conspirators drank all of the Dom Perignon available at the Shangri-La” hotel in Manila at a cost of more than $50,000.

In one port visit by the USS Blue Ridge in 2007, a historical memorabilia in the MacArthur Suite at the Manila Hotel related to legendary US Army General Douglas MacArthur “were used by the participants in sexual acts,” the indictment stated. AFP

order to protect the youth,’ but actually the people who are being killed right now are the youth.

They are the poor people and they are young and if you want to protect them, don’t kill them. Offer them alternatives, offer them [something that will help them move] forward with their lives and with their dreams,” she said.

Robredo’s comments to the UN meeting were among her strongest criticisms on the President who sacked her last year over policy differences.

Robredo enumerated the human rights abuses allegedly being committed by authorities, mostly in the poverty-stricken areas in Metro Manila, amid the war on illegal drugs.

“Communities are rounded up in places like basketball courts, women separated from men, those with tattoos asked to stand in the corner, their belongings searched,” she said. With AFP

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cost of the event was “approximately” $18,371.

Loveless was taken into custody at his home in Coronado on Tuesday and was expected to make his first appearance in federal court later in the day.

Loveless’ LinkedIn profile says he retired in October 2016 after serving three decades as an

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billion originally demanded by Duterte who later said he wanted at least P15 billion.

Aguirre made his statement even as Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III on Wednesday urged the supermarkets to ask the Bureau of Internal Revenue for help to check if the Mighty cigarettes they were selling bore fake tax stamps.

“They should surrender the fake stamps to us, the

By John Paolo Bencito

cartons with fake stamps,” Dominguez said at the sidelines of a meeting of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Makati.

“They can call the BIR. The BIR has a way to check, they have devices to check.”

Dominguez made his statement even as the Bureau of Customs ordered the import accreditation of cigarette manufacturer Mighty Corp. suspended for alleged violation of customs regulations.

With Julito G. Rada, Vito Barcelo and Macon Ramos-Araneta

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THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

IN BRIEF PH 8th among nations for ideal business THE Philippines ranks 8th among countries with an ideal business environment for women to prosper, the latest Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs survey for 2017 revealed.

Despite having a factor-driven, lower middle income economy, the Philippines ranked 8th among top 20 markets in the world, gaining an overall index of 68.4.

The American multinational financial services company noted that along with Vietnam (ranked 19th), both countries attained “surprise with higher than expected index scores” signifying high Women Business Ownership representation.

Women in New Zealand hold first place, followed by Canada, United States, Sweden, Singapore, Belgium, Australia. The Philippines, United Kingdom, and Thailand.

Also in the 11th to 20th spot are Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Israel, Botswana, Switzerland, Hong Kong SAR, France, Vietnam, and Costa Rica.

The same list noted that the Filipinas have the highest opportunities for women’s advancement as leaders, professionals, entrepreneurs and labor force contributors compared to other countries, having a top component score of 65.5.

John Paolo Bencito

Minority bloc welcomes delay in passage of tax THE minority bloc in the House of Representatives on Wednesday welcomed the House committee on ways and means’ postponement to approve the Palace-proposed Comprehensive Tax Reform Package which some said would resulted in billions of peso revenue losses once implemented.

House Minority Leader and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, at the same time, stressed the need for government agencies to improve their absorptive capacity before pushing for a comprehensive tax reform.

“We need not rush most especially if we are not yet capable of spending the appropriated budget efficiently.

We suggest a ‘revenue neutral’ period for two years.

During this period, the government should only spend what it earns,” Suarez told a news conference.

Suarez said that while the minority bloc supported the intent of the bill such as to reduce personal and corporate income taxes, he said the group was “hesitant with respect to its practical aspects and implementation.”

The committee, chaired by Quirino Rep. Dakila Cua, on Tuesday deferred the approval of House Bill 4774 to allow a technical working group to harmonize provisions of the bill, upon Suarez’s motion.

Maricel V. Cruz

WHERE THERE IS SMOKE. A phantasmatically black smoke billows out of the Trinoma Mall the other day, sending motorists and bystanders into panic after a mall generator caused an electrical failure. Lino Santos

Justice dept gets ‘evidence’ of corruption in Aquino admin

By Rey Requejo, John Paolo Bencito and Macon Ramos-Araneta

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HE Department of Justice has received voluminous documents as evidence of alleged corruption during the administration of former President Benigno Aquino III. Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II revealed he received the documents from Pastor “Boy” Saycon, a political strategist and head of Council on Philippine Affairs.

Aguirre admitted he had yet to sift through the voluminous

papers but revealed they included purportedly anomalies involving gambling operations and misdeclared contributions of some candidates in last year’s elections.

“These are [pieces of] evidence of corruption... I have

yet to study all the documents.

I haven’t read everything yet,” Aguirre said in an interview.

In related developments: • The receipt of documents by the Department of Justice followed President Rodrigo Duterte’s “private and lively” dinner with some senators Tuesday, according to Malacañang.

“Aside from dinner, the President and the senators exchanged views on vital legislative agenda currently pending in the Senate,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said, adding “In all, it was a productive evening.”

Abella said: “Among the pending bills they discussed were the proposed emergency powers

to solve the traffic problem in Metro Manila and the proposed comprehensive tax reform package, which seeks to realign the revenue collection of the government, boost the available income of the taxpayers, while guaranteeing the healthy operation of the government and the country’s inclusive development programs.”

“They likewise talked about the President’s war on drugs and the Senate concurrence to the Philippines’ accession to the Paris Agreement.”

At the same time, amid persistent rumors of destabilization or ouster plot against Duterte, no loyalty check was conducted

SC seeks all records of De Lima cases

By Rey Requejo THE Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered all parties to submit pertinent records of the drug trafficking cases against Senator Leila de Lima from all three branches of government.

In a resolution, the SC ordered parties to submit not only the records of the case in the Muntinlupa City regional trial court but also the resolution of the Department of Justice as well as reports of the committees of the Senate and House of Representatives on the illegal drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison.

The high court also sought the pertinent affidavits of witnesses and pleadings earlier filed by De Lima in the DOJ and the transcript of stenographic notes of the hearings in the Senate and Congress.

The SC also required parties to submit the petition filed by the senator before the Court of Appeals after the issue of forum shopping and premature filing of petition in the SC was raised during oral arguments last Tuesday.

The high tribunal also ordered the camp of De Lima to submit as annex to her petition a “comprehensive compilation of President Rodrigo Duterte’s attacks against petitioner” in support of her claim that she was being politically persecuted for being the number one critic of the President.

“The foregoing documents shall be submitted to the Court not later than the Court’s office hours on March 17, 2017, Friday,” read the three-page notice signed by Clerk of Court lawyer Felipa Anama.

The high court issued the order to be able to extensively resolve the petition of De Lima

seeking to stop her indictment for allegedly benefitting from drug money in violation of Republic Act No. 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act).

During the hearing last Tuesday, justices grilled lawyers of De Lima led by former solicitor general Florin Hilbay on procedural and substantive issues.

Several magistrates hinted that De Lima could have engaged in forum shopping with the multiple actions simultaneously taken by her camp before the Muntinlupa regional trial court, CA and the high court.

They also tackled the issue of whether the drug case falls under the jurisdiction of the RTC or the Sandiganbayan.

The SC oral arguments will continue next Tuesday, March 21, for the presentation of the government’s side by Solicitor General Jose Calida.

Binay wants inquiry into complaints vs Montano

By Macon Araneta

WELCOME, MR. PRESIDENT. President Rodrigo Duterte is greeted Tuesday by League of Municipalities of the Philippines president Socorro Mayor Maria Fe Brondial on his arrival at the Manila Hotel for the LMP General Assembly, where the President remarked he was not privy to the plans of the government and the communist rebels to resume peace talks and restore their respective bilateral ceasefire declarations.

Malacañang Photo

SENATOR Nancy Binay on Wednesday called for an investigation into the complaints filed by employees of the Tourism Promotions Board against their chief operating officer, Cesar Montano, for engaging in supposed irregular contracts, mismanagement, and nepotism.

“It is imperative that we look into the complaints against Mr. Montano. He is leading an agency tasked with domestic and international promotions of the Department of Tourism. As such, he must act with the protection of the image of the TPB and the government in mind at all times,” said Binay, chairperson of the Senate committee on tourism.

Binay also called on Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo to look into this matter.

“We cannot allow our efforts to promote the country as a top tourist destination to be ruined by controversies, especially one involving an official of our tourism agency,” she added.

Binay has filed Senate Resolution No. 326 which urged the Senate Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations (Blue Ribbon) to look into the complaint lodged

by TPB employees against Montano at the Presidential Action Center just three months after his appointment.

SRN 236 was also referred to the tourism committee Wednesday.

“This investigation will enable us to review our laws and ensure that issues of malfeasance, misfeasance and charges of graft and corruption in the government are immediately addressed,” Binay stressed.

during the 15 senators’ “simple fellowship dinner” with the Chief Executive.

Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said the dinner among the President and his Senate was far fetched from beng a loyalty check. “I don’t think so,” he said.

He stressed it was the first time for some of the senators to meet the President in an intimate gathering since he took office.

According to Aguirre, the documents indicated the involvement of “high officials” in the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority.

CA confirms Briones as DepEd secretary

By Macon Araneta THE Commission on Appointments confirmed Wednesday the appointment of 76-yearold Leonor Briones as the Department of Education secretary amid questions regarding her health and Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista as colonel of the Philippine Army (reservist).

Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, chairman of the CA education committee, moved for Briones’ confirmation, saying that based on her accomplishments alone, she was qualified for this job.

“In my personal experience over the past eight months [as Senate education committee chair], I can say she truly is a champion for education,” said Aquino, stressing Briones is an esteemed Filipina who can lead the charge to provide quality education for every Filipino.

For 40 years, he said Briones served as a professor and a faculty member at the graduate level of her alma mater – the UP National College of Public Administration and Governance, ‘which we all know as NCPAG. And in March 2013, the board of Regents of the same University conferred on her the honorary title Professor Emeritus.’

Aquino said Briones has extended her reach beyond academic excellence and has embraced her passion for public service.

A4

Opinion

THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

Adelle Chua, Editor

House of bullies

T

HE fourth most powerful person in the country has made good on his threat to strip those who opposed the death penalty measure of their posts at the House of Representatives.

It’s a chilling message that might as well have come from Death itself.

Through Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas, the House leadership declared the seat of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo—deputy speaker for Central Luzon—vacant Wednesday, the last day of session before the Holy Week break.

Many things can be said of the

former president, and we do not even commend her for voting against the bill—just that she did so out of conviction, and even at the cost of her congressional post.

Eleven committee persons from various political affiliations—Henedina Abad, Kaka Bag-ao, Jose Christopher Belmonte, Evelina Escudero, Emmi de Jesus, Vilma Santos-Recto, Sitti Turabin-Hataman, Antonio Tinio, Mariano Velarde, Emmeline Aglipay-Villar and Carlos Zarate— were also stripped of their committee chairmanships after opposing the reinstatement of the death penalty or being absent during the voting.

Others who similarly voted

may meet the same fate after the congressional break.

At first we felt Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez’s threat was an empty boast—this administration, after all, is known for hyperbole. Last week, however, the House, bowing to the wishes of the powers-that-be, voted an overwhelming 217-54-1 in favor of re-imposing the death penalty, which would be solely meted out on those found guilty of drug-related crimes. The condemned will be put to death through hanging, firing squad or lethal injection.

We have objected to the death penalty on so many counts, not the least of all being the potential for

abuse and injustice, but that is not even the point in this issue.

What is worse than hearing an empty boast however is the grim realization that these bullies masquerading as politicians can use sheer power to whip their colleagues into submission. True enough—not a single lawmaker opposed the House leadership’s move on the erstwhile deputy speaker and committee heads.

Where then is the virtue in dissent, of healthy discussions and agreeing to disagree for the good of the nation?

Then again, it appears nobody is after virtue here—only the vice of arrogance and impunity.

DUTY CALLS FLORENCIO FIANZA

Odd and even scheme

Not everybody can LOWDOWN

JOJO A. ROBLES THE idea was first broached by the lawyer of Edgar Matobato and was quickly seconded by Vice President Leni Robredo.

Somehow, you knew it was another of those “made for propaganda” initiatives, all sound and fury, signifying less than nothing.

The plan was to charge President Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court, which was created by the Rome Statute as agreed upon and adopted in a diplomatic conference in that city in 1998. The international tribunal, according to Matobato’s lawyer, was the proper venue to hear the alleged “crimes against humanity” committed by Duterte during his 22-year tenure as mayor of Davao City and supposed prime mover of the so-called Davao Death Squad.

This week, Robredo—who really should know better, being a lawyer herself—chimed in, saying that “everyone has a right to file a case” before the ICC. The court “may take cognizance or jurisdiction,” Robredo said, “if it is proven that we have not done anything” about the alleged crimes.

Yesterday, international law expert Rep. Harry Roque, the only Filipino who is qualified to practice law before the ICC, dashed the hopes of both Matobato and Robredo. Roque explained that the ICC will only have jurisdiction over any case “if local courts are unwilling or unable to do so,” meaning if cases filed in the Philippines did not succeed.

Roque said Robredo and others who want to hold Duterte accountable for extrajudicial killings should first file cases before local courts. If these do not get anywhere, only then can they go to the ICC to seek redress of their grievances.

The blogger Sass Rogando

Sasot also disputed Robredo’s claim that “everyone has the right to file a case” before the ICC. Sasot said that cases may only be filed only by 1) the selfreferral of a member-state like the Philippines, 2) a referral through a UN Security Council directive, and 3) the initiative

Perhaps Robredo should just sit tight and not reveal how little she knows. of an ICC prosecutor. In an earlier YouTube post, Sasot said Matobato’s lawyer has not even gone before the ICC to file an information or complaint, so it is way too early to assume— as some media outlets have— that a case against Duterte is

already about to be filed.

According to Sasot, an international law scholar at Leiden University in the Netherlands and a popular pro-Duterte blogger, Matobato’s lawyer will have to convince an ICC prosecutor that there is reason enough to look into Duterte’s case. Only then will the prosecutor prepare a preliminary examination of a case, which will be announced in the ICC website.

The entire process is not as easy as Matobato’s lawyer and Robredo want to make it appear, according to both Roque and Sasot. And “anybody has the right to file a case” may apply here in the Philippines— but getting the ICC into the act will take some doing.

The motivation of Matobato’s lawyer is clear: he is using media to shore up whatever credibility his client has left, after his disastrous Senate testimony on the DDS. As for Robredo, she is in not only because she reflexively sup-

ports anything that may lead to Duterte’s removal but also because she believes that she will be the beneficiary of the incumbent’s ouster through whatever means.

Of course, Robredo will, by operation of the Constitution, succeed Duterte if he is ever removed. So perhaps she should just sit tight and not reveal how little she knows about things like the ICC, only because she has to show her constant opposition to the president. *** The Commission on Appointments, which is still wondering what to do with Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Gina Lopez, confirmed the appointment of Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones as education secretary yesterday. Briones, a former national treasurer, defended herself well when asked if she may be physically unfit for the job to which she had been appointed.

Turn to A5

OVER the last couple of weeks, two issues in the traffic front emerged that could potentially add misery to the long-suffering motoring public.

These were the jeepney strike that inconvenienced the riding public, and the announcement by our traffic authorities to implement an odd and even traffic plan on major thoroughfares to complement the existing number coding traffic program of the Metro Manila Development Authority.

The jeepney strike about two weeks ago was to protest the plan of the government to phase out jeepneys that are 15 years old or older. This plan is actually quite reasonable to protect not only the health of the riding public but their safety as well. After all, the riding public is entitled to clean and safe public transport.

But the jeepney transport operators did not take this plan very kindly and went on strike, with more strikes planned in the future. Unfortunately, the government as usual was unable to plan properly on how to counter the strike and did the usual practice of cancelling classes, thereby emboldening the strikers.

This problem of the jeepney and what to do with it in the metropolitan area needs to be addressed by the government with a thorough study. Is the jeepney as a mass transport mode still relevant in Metro Manila in this day and age?

Should the government continue to rely on the private sector to provide public mass transport? We already know how the jeepney started after World War 2. Seventy-two years on, it is still around.

Although ideal as a door-todoor transport, the jeepney is dirty, unsafe and mostly uninsured to the detriment of passengers in case of accidents. The jeepney is also not efficient because it does not carry that many passengers and occupy too much road space. The behavior of the jeepney drivers is also a major cause of traffic gridlock in our city roads.

Turn to A5

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ManilaStandard

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

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Opinion

A5

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Tax attacks

TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

OVERSIGHT

Scam in the offing I HAVE always wondered how speeches.

I have no creative imaginafar people with criminal minds can go to victimize the gullible tion—I must fall short of the requirements laid down by ones.

Secretary I have been a journalist for Communications more than six decades and I Martin Andanar.

I do not know President Duhave seen more than enough terte at all. I can only rely on scandals.

Well, here’s something that what I see on television or read the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas about in newspapers.

Given this, I am puzzled over should look into. There’s this ongoing loan scheme set up for his recent statement that he the uniformed services under would rather believe the memthe Department of the Interior bers of the Criminal Investigaand Local Government. On its tion and Detection Group who very face, this scheme is highly killed Leyte Mayor Rolando questionable, if not downright Espinosa while in jail. This, fraudulent. It goes against all after a Senate committee found basic rules that financial insti- that the killing was premeditutions must live by. It entices tated and that those responsible retired members of the Philip- should be charged with murder.

Isn’t this prematurely judgpine National Police and the fire and jail services to apply ing the case on the part of the for a new loan “even if you still President? The courts still have have existing ATM loans with to determine whether the cops are guilty or not. others.” *** There are large tarpaulin I heard that the President said advertisements in and out of Camp Crame urging retirees he would not hesitate to fire his to avail themselves of what own appointees if they are reamounts to a “doable loan.” ported to be engaged in corrupThese ads have also appeared tion. He did this already with two of his fraternity brothers on social media.

But, I honestly suspect that at the Immigration Bureau who the retirees are misled, or even were caught on camera receivtricked, into acquiring new ing money. He also did it with indebtedness. How can they his former campaign spokesman. think they I cheered can sustain him for showit? Unless, of ing political course, they will. People were scalaWhy grant will then bewags in unilieve he is form while loans on top of serious about in active serexisting loans with his war on vice. corruption.

I cannot be- other institutions?

But what lieve that the is happening new loans are in the case of being offered Environment purely out of the desire to help the police and Natural Resources Secrepensioners or the widows and tary Regina Lopez, who had dependents of deceased police- been bypassed by the Commismen. Some greedy souls may sion on Appointments? Mr. Duhave cooked it up as quick and terte has supported her in her anti-mining advocacy. Lopez easy way to make money.

The BSP and the PNP leader- has shown incompetence and ship should look in this matter lack of knowledge on due proto make sure that everything is cess and the rule of law.

She is also reportedly inlegitimate.

It is a fair question to ask if volved in graft and corruption.

Why the President is soft on there are people in these savings and loans associations and Lopez puzzles me. Is it because in the PNP who are profiting Lopez is an heiress of the infrom this irregular, unusual fluential and powerful media scheme. Smells like a scam, outlet, ABS-CBN? The CA considers Lopez bydoesn’t it?

The Bangko Sentral ng passed for a third time, hence Pilipinas exercises supervisory considered rejected. It appears and oversight functions over all though that Mr. Duterte is keen SLAs. I recall from past read- on reappointing her. What ings that SLAs are required to gives?

Then, there’s another apestablish risk asset review systems as a device to ensure the pointee, movie actor Cesar viability and manage the qual- Montano, who is being charged ity of the loans they extend to with anomalies as head of the Tourism Promotions Board. their members and clients.

I also recall, my gulay, so The President supports him.

So is he or is he not serious many incidents involving the pensions and loans extended to in the fight against corruption? the Armed Forces of the Phil- Again, I would like to be provippines that even involved high en wrong.

I think it is significant that military officers and members Secretary Sonny of the Chief of the Staff of the Finance Dominguez said it would take AFP. These entities are also man- five years for the government dated to guard against the to recover its revenue shortfall grant of excessive credit and to after Lopez, ordered the cloanchor their pending approv- sure of 23 mining firms and als on the applicants capacity suspension of five more, and to pay. They should, therefore, canceled 75 mineral production observe certain rules on single- sharing agreements.

She did all these without due borrower limit. All these are part of any financial institu- process. She violated the sanction’s credit risk management tity of contracts.

Dominguez said the practices. It also governs the government collected P20.6 lending process.

I confess to being bewildered billion in taxes from mining by those announcements. With in 2012; P24.4 billion in 2013; their pensions as collaterals, P32.7 billion in 2014; and some of these retirees have pre- P29.57 billion in 2015. Many vious loans in hundred thou- communities are 90 percent sands and even millions of pe- dependent on mining for sos. Granting them a new loan revenues and 200,000 lost on would be well beyond their ca- direct hiring making a total of 1.2 million in both direct pacity to pay.

So what does the Bangko and induced jobs. Note that Sentral have to say about this, Dominguez and Lopez are if it ever went through an ap- co-chairs of the Philippine proval? Is PNP Chief Ronald Mining Coordinating Council.

This is the reason I am condela Rosa in complete accord with these deals, that is, if he fused about Duterte’s stand on has time to ever mind it consid- Lopez. And to think he considering how busy he is in the re- ers a total mining ban!

Without mining, what would newed Double Barrel campaign the President use to make against illegal drugs? phone calls, eat, tell time, *** I don’t know what President travel? What would Lopez Duterte means and intents to use as her ornaments? What do when he rambles during his gadgets could she use?

THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017

DANILO SUAREZ THE House Ways and Means Committee is deliberating the passage of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act. The TRAIN aims to improve and maintain the country’s economic growth throughout the succeeding years of the Duterte administration. Several legislators and representatives of government agencies have agreed to support this bill in theory, but are hesitant with respect to its practical aspects and implementation. Among the concerns are price inflation, adverse effects on lower income brackets, and inefficient tax collection.

One of the provisions of TRAIN lowers personal and corporate income tax rates, which will result in P173.8 billion worth of reduced revenue annually. With this proposed tax system, those who earn

P250,000 and below will be exempted from personal income tax, while corporate tax will be decreased from 30 percent to 25 percent. To offset the losses, excise taxes such as those imposed on automobiles, petroleum products, and luxury goods will be increased. This is expected to effect a P162.5-billion net revenue gain on the first year of implementation.

While the intent of the tax reform is to boost the country’s economic growth in the long run, we also need to consider the government’s current situation.

In the past six years, the government was not able to spend about P1 trillion of the appropriated budget due to poor absorptive capacity of government agencies. Eight months into the Duterte administration, we still cannot say that the absorptive capacity of these agencies have improved. Given the government’s track record on inefficient budget spending, it does not make sense that additional taxes will be imposed. Where

would these additional revenues go when the government agencies cannot even spend the money efficiently?

The Minority reiterates the need for government agencies to improve their absorptive capacity before pushing for a comprehensive tax reform. We need not rush most especially if we are not yet capable of spending the appropriated budget efficiently.

We suggest a “revenue neutral” period for two years. During this period, the government should only spend what it earns.

The TRAIN aims to bring poverty incidence down to 14 percent (from 21.6 percent in 2016) by 2022. In last week’s article, I emphasized the urgency of addressing the increasing rates of unemployment and poverty in the country. While a long-term poverty reduction program is ideal, to my mind, the alarming rise in our nation’s rural and urban poverty, and unemployment rates require immediate action.

While taxes are being im-

posed, the government is not implementing stringent measures to ensure timely and efficient collection. The Philippines has one of the highest personal income and corporate tax rates in Asia.

However, in personal income taxes, the tax efficiency rate is pegged at only 6.2 percent, far from Vietnam’s 25.1 percent, the highest in the Asean region.

Our government cannot operate effectively if corruption and inefficiency in the tax system persist. Hence, we are pushing for the full implementation of Republic Act 9335 or the “Lateral Attrition Law.” This law provides penalties and rewards for officials of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) based on their performance. Unfortunately, this law is dormant. Without the Attrition Law, the widening gap between government spending and revenue stands defenseless to the inefficient tax collection.

The goals of the TRAIN would be vulnerable if the attrition law remains inactive.

Thinking about race and ethnicity I NEVER had to think much about race and ethnicity until I came to live in America.

These issues are not as contentious in the Philippines compared to the US or other countries where there is a heavy inf lux of migrants. This does not mean that prejudices are absent from Philippine culture. But there are no race riots, no discrimination. Filipinos have mostly been welcoming, being naturally curious, hospitable, and believers in the saying, “the more, the merrier!”

In America, though, it seems as if race and ethnicity crops up in almost every interaction.

I spoke to several white people on different occasions and mentioned that I migrated here recently. They all remarked, “But you speak English so well!” I want to reply, “So do you,” but I reigned in my sarcasm. After all, I am the newbie here and who should be the one to adjust? Ako. Ako ang mag-aadjust.

This could be construed as a micro-aggression and I did feel “othered,” but I know there was no offense meant, it was just a

Odd...

From A4 The government must now be able to modernize public transport. In fact there is no jeepney that is less than 15 years old. All jeepney engines are more than 20 years old because these are surplus materials from Japan. It is about time that the jeepney or anything like it be phased out from highly urbanized cities all over the country. Having said that, the government must now start the process of planning and coming out with alternative mass transport systems. The government must also wake up to the realization that urban mass transportation is a government responsibility first and foremost. The sooner we realize this the faster we should be able come out with alternative solutions. *** The plan to implement an odd-and-even traffic scheme to complement the current num-

Not...

From A4 “The state of my knees has no correlation with the state of my brain,” said the muchadmired former professor of the University of the Philippines. “Liling” Briones, 77, admitted that she has to use a wheelchair sometimes, es-

display of ignorance.

I am also often mistaken for Latina by Latinx people, so I am addressed with a torrent of Spanish in public places until I shake my head, “No hablo, only un poco.” Such interactions make me feel “included”, until they learn I am not Latina and invisible barriers descend.

When someone asks where I’m from and I reply, “I used to live in Union City but we’re now in Hayward,” because they can tell I’m not from around here, they ask, “No, where are you FROM?” “Oh, you mean, where am I from originally?

The Philippines.” Only then does the puzzle piece fall into place.

Then they’ll cast about for an anecdote they can share to establish common ground— “My best friend is Filipino!”

“My cousin’s wife is Filipina!”

I’m glad to report that so far, all the people I’ve spoken with on the subject have only glowing words to say about Filipinos, except about that one guy.

“Err…your president now.

He’s something else,” they say diplomatically, and I answer, “Yeah…so’s yours…” We raise eyebrows knowingly and leave it at that.

My sister, who was an overseas worker in Dubai for 16 years, says that race was an open matter of discussion there

and in other areas with a large OFW population. People were “brownies,” “blackies,” or “whities,” and they called each other that to their faces. When she first arrived in the US, she was scolded for referring to her co-workers the same way. Race is not openly mentioned in polite conversation, although ethnicity is more readily discussed.

It seems the higher the numbers of different races and ethnicities in a country, the more these factors become meaningful in that society.

I am not offended when asked what my ethnicity is, because it’s a piece of information that could help another person decide how to act around you.

The uncertainty reduction theory (also known as the initial interaction theory), pertains to the initial interaction between people before the actual communication process develops. The person is uncertain because she doesn’t know much about you at first, and tries to reduces this feeling by trying to know something about you or finding something you have in common.

The “onion” theory (social penetration theory) says that as relationships develop, communication moves from shallow to deeper, more personal layers.

To the people I meet here, I am as much a stranger to them as they are to me. By learning that I am Filipina, they have peeled away the first layer of my onion. The more time we spend together, the more information about each other we will share, and perhaps then we will no longer be strangers to each other but friends.

Race and ethnicity are socially constructed features. In America and its present situation, these are significant matters. What we have to decide for ourselves is how these factors influence how we treat each other. *** The University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication is accepting nominations for the 13th UP Gawad Plaridel, for an outstanding television practitioner.

Nominations may be made by individuals and institutions.

The criteria for selecting the awardee are the person’s body of work and contributions to social upliftment.

Submit nominations by March 22, 2017. Email upgawadplaridel@gmail.com for details.

ber coding system should be studied carefully. The obvious outcome of this plan if implemented would be to further congest the secondary roads in the metro area. The aim is to remove 50 percent of vehicles off the major roads although in reality, 60 percent will be taken out because the current number coding program will still be enforced.

When I was handling traffic in the NCR, we attempted to implement a temporary oddand-even scheme due to the simultaneous constructions going on all over Metro Manila but did not go through with it because of intense opposition. There seems to be more willingness to accept such an unprecedented solution today.

Normally, the odd and even scheme is implemented on a short-term basis to solve a temporary problem like lessening smog. Our traffic planners however, seem to want the program on a more or less permanent basis.

This is going to be very hard

on car owners. It would be interesting to see how long they can cope with the program. So far, no thorough study about the plan has been made public. For instance, how would the secondary roads be cleared in order to absorb more traffic? Since there will be around 60-percent reduction of traffic volume along major thoroughfares, will the current restrictions on these roads now be lifted so that this will not add to the congestion on the secondary roads? To some, this plan may be a desperate attempt on the part of the government to try to solve a problem that seem to be simply beyond its expertise to handle.

Having been in the same predicament years ago, I sympathize with MMDA general manager Thomas Orbos. I do believe however, that are still a few things that can be done to ameliorate the horrendous traffic problem that confronts all of us on a daily basis—although I must say that these will probably not solve the problem the

way we all want it.

Since Orbos is an ex-seminarian, he can probably look more to the heavens for guidance on what to do. *** In a few days, former President Fidel V. Ramos will be reaching another milestone in his long and illustrious career. He will be 89 years old on March 18 and still going strong.

This all started in the plains of West Point as the first Filipino post-war graduate in 1950 to the battle fields of Korea. After Korea, he served in the antiHuk campaign in the Southern Tagalog Region and then went to serve with distinction with the PhilCag contingent in the jungles of South Vietnam in the early 1960s. He became the longest serving Chief of the Philippine Constabulary. He also became the AFP Chief of Staff and Secretary of National Defense before being rewarded by the Filipino people with his election as the president of the country in 1992.

A very Happy Birthday.

pecially when she boards a plane to travel, because she is not as fit physically as she used to be.

Until her confirmation yesterday, Briones was one of several Cabinet secretaries recruited by Duterte to positions in his official family whose confirmation has long been pending. Apart from Lopez,

Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael “Ka Paeng” Mariano, a firebrand farmer-leader, also remains unconfirmed, reportedly because of his anti-landlord policies that are hurting the rich landowners in Congress.

Yet another key official, Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial, has also not been confirmed

yet by the commission. Ubial, a doctor and public-health specialist who rose from the ranks of the department before she was chosen by Duterte to head up the DoH, is facing rough sailing in the CA because of her support for the reproductive health law that pro-lifers in Congress want to keep permanently on ice.

Dr. Ortuoste is a Californiabased writer. FB: Jenny Ortuoste / Twitter: @jennyortuoste / IG: @jensdecember

A6

THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Lachica murder probe pushed

By Vito Barcelo THE Bureau of Customs on Wednesday said it will aggressively pursue smugglers even as they asked law enforcers to deepen their investigation of the killing of Customs Deputy Commissioner Arturo Lachica last November.

Lachica, the bureau’s deputy commissioner for its Internal Administration Group, was killed last Nov. 17 in an ambush on España Boulevard in Manila.

“Our resolve to push for our fight against smuggling and corruption at the BoC has never been stronger than today due to the countless sacrifices of our comrades at the bureau. Some even shed blood in our war for righteousness,” said BoC Director for Legal Service lawyer Alvin Ebreo.

Ebreo, head of the newly-formed Bureau Action Team Against Smuggling, cited the Lachica’s still unsolved as proof of the bureau’s commitment to fight corruption.

“I assure you that his death, which we are investigating, will not be wasted because his blood inspired our common resolve to fight corruption at the bureau,” Ebreo said, adding the creation of BATAS is the bureau’s concrete response to the government’s war against corruption.

Meanwhile, United Filipino Consumers and Commuters president Rodolfo “RJ” Javellana Jr. revealed that Lachica was shot dead only hours after he received the UFCC complaint seeking an alert order on a shipment of steel due to serious tariff issue.

“When we personally presented our complaint letter for Commissioner Faeldon, Lachica told us that the same importer, the Mannage Resources Trading Corp., filed a case against him,” he said.

The P500-million steel cargo shipment of MRTC was held from being released pending investigation, Javellana added.

News

Court denies Uriarte bail

By Maricel V. Cruz

T

HE Sandiganbayan denied on Wednesday former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office general manager Rosario Uriarte’s plea for bail or house arrest because she has proven herself to be a flight risk when she failed to report to the court for four years after the charge was filed against her.

“Considering that accused Uriarte submitted to the jurisdiction of the Court only after four years despite knowledge of the present case against her negates her contention that she is not a flight risk,” the court’s

First Division said in the resolution penned by Associate Justice Efren dela Cruz.

The two other magistrates in the division—Associate Justices Geraldine Faith Econg and Bernelito Fernandez—concurred

with the ruling.

The plunder charge stemmed from accusations that former President Gloria Arroyo, Uriarte and several others illegally diverted P366-million in PCSO intelligence funds from 2008 to 2010 but the high court said Arroyo’s approval of the releases was only ministerial and did not constitute an “overt act” of plunder.

The court denied Uriarte plea to allow her house arrest at her residence in Barangay Paligsahan, Quezon City so that she could undergo chemotherapy or surgery for six to 10 months.

Uriarte had argued she was

entitled to bail after the Supreme Court dismissed the plunder case against Arroyo because prosecutors failed to prove her complicity beyond ministerial functions. Uriarte also cited the grant of bail to former Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile for health reasons.

But the court said Uriarte can’t cite Arroyo’s case because that Supreme Court has yet to rule on the motion for reconsideration filed by government prosecutors.

Uriarte, the court said, also failed to persuade the court that her medical needs cannot be addressed by the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon

IN BRIEF DoLE readies jobs fair for fired OFWs

RODY’S SIMPLE GIFT. Transportation and airport officials have finally signed an agreement with 40 airlines waiving the P550 terminal fee

for overseas Filipino workers, pilgrims, Philippine Sports Commission delegates and other people authorized by law. Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade (center) said Duterte was delighted by the agreement and said it was the President’s gift to all OFWs.

‘LRT-MRT station must be completed by 2019’ THE proposal to build a common LRT-MRT terminal is so “ambitious,” the government will likely have to pay penalties because it cannot be finished on time but officials of the Department of Transportation should be the ones to pay the fines out of their own pockets.

Alvarez also demanded that Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade personally attend the hearing on the P2.8-billion contract for the proposed common

station near the Ayala Trinoma mall in Quezon City because his subalterns continue to show incompetence.

“That is not the government’s fault. Why should the government be penalized?” Alvarez said after DoTR Undersecretary for the rail sector Cesar Chavez the P2.8-billion terminal may not be completed by 2019 as agreed in the contract.

“You refuse to build the terminal that has already been funded

by government. You prefer the ambitious terminal,” Alvarez said, referring to the 2009 plan to build the common station near SM North Annex.

It was the second time, Alvarez lost his cool since March 9 when he threatened to impeach judges who would issue restraining orders stopping the bidding and construction of the common MRT-LRT terminal.

He noted that under Republic Act 8975, only the Supreme

Court can issue any TRO, preliminary injunction or preliminary mandatory injunction against government infrastructure projects.

Alvarez stressed that the common MRT-LRT terminal project should be constructed as originally envisioned during the 14th Congress, when it was determined that the best location for the common station is in the middle of the Edsa-North Avenue-West Avenue intersection,

fronting SM Department store.

But under a recent Memorandum of Agreement signed among the DOTr, other concerned government agencies and with private companies, namely, San Miguel Corp., North Triangle Depot Commercial Corp.Ayala Corp. Light Rail Manila Corp. and SM Prime Holdings Inc., the common terminal will be built between SM North Edsa and Trinoma in Quezon City.

Maricel V. Cruz

Espinosa killing findings out soon

By Rey E. Requejo THE Department of Justice will soon release its findings on the charges against members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group team involved in the killing of Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa and fellow inmate Raul Yap in November last year.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said the resolution is ready and just awaiting for signature of the Prosecutor General Victor Sepulveda.

Aguirre made the statement after the Senate called on the DoJ to now resolve the multiple murder and perjury charges filed by the National Bureau of Investigation and Espinosa’s son, alleged drug lord Kerwin Espinosa.

Sepulveda is expected to sign the resolution of the panel of prosecutors chaired by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Lilian Doris Alejo when he returns to the DoJ on Monday after a leave of absence.

Earlier, the Senate released its joint committee report finding criminal liability of the CIDG operatives led by Supt. Marvin Marcos.

The NBI filed the complaint against the CIDG men in December last year, but the DoJ has yet to release its resolution.

Among those identified for the filing of murder charges was Supt.

City, where she is currently confined.

“Her apprehensions of complications from the treatment which she claims can be best addressed in the confines and comfort of her home are general possibilities and concerns once she is discharged from the hospital,” the court said.

Lastly, the court could not give Uriarte a “procedural short-cut” by granting her simple motion for bail because the prosecution under the Rules on Criminal Procedure is still entitled to oppose the bail petition by showing strong evidence of guilt.

Marvin Marcos, the head of the Region 8 Criminal Investigation and Detection Group who led the Nov. 5 raid, and who President Rodrigo Duterte had ordered reinstated on the same day he was relieved over allegations that he accepted drug payoffs.

In its report to the Justice Department, NBI also recommended the filing of charges against Police Chief Insp. Leo Diao Laraga, Police Officer 3 Norman T. Abellanosa and Paul Olendan, for the search warrant “maliciously obtained” and for violations of the Revised Penal Code.

Citing testimonial and forensic evidence, the bureau alleged that Espinosa and Yap were killed in a rub-out and not a shootout as claimed by the policemen who conducted the raid.

During preliminary investigation hearings, the respondents denied conspiring to kill Espinosa and Yap and insisted on their claim that they only defended themselves from the two detainees at the Baybay City sub-provincial jail who first fired shots at them while they were serving search warrants.

The NBI also noted that an earlier operation conducted on October 30 had made a thorough search of the jail, precisely to rid the premises of contraband, including firearms and illegal drugs, but found only a few items such as cellphones.

GET RID OF SCALAWAGS. Militant groups and street vendors picket the Manila Police District headquarters on United Nations Avenue in Manila to demand the removal of mulcting policemen in the City of Manila. Norman Cruz

JOB opportunities await overseas Filipino workers who were displaced due to the “Saudization” policy, in a job and livelihood fair to be conducted by the Department of Labor and Employment.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the one-day job fair event is set on March 28 at the Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC) in Quezon City, saying returning OFWs from nine distressed Saudi Arabian companies have pre-registered with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration early this week.

He said Saudi companies that retrenched thousand of OFWs were engaged in construction, maintenance, and electrical and suffered financial difficulties as an aftermath of the oil crisis last year. Walk-in applicants, however, will also be accommodated.

OWWA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said 20 agencies for overseas employment, and 20 employers for local job placement were invited on the fair and they will be hiring applicants on the spot.

Cacdac said similar activities have been set for displaced OFWs from other regions such as in Cebu and Mandaue cities. Vito Barcelo

Campaign vs illegal parking starts again THE Metro Manila Development Authority has resumed its campaign against illegally parked vehicles and other obstructions on secondary roads following the directives of the Metro Manila Council in preparation for the possible enforcement of stricter measures to ease traffic in the metropolis.

Members of MMDA’s Anti-Illegal Parking and Sidewalk Clearing Operations Group continuously clear the Scout Triangle, National Irrigation Administration area and Agham Roads in Quezon City of illegally-parked vehicles and other road obstructions.

The team conducted the operations in close coordination with the Quezon City’s Department of Public Order and Safety and the Police-Highway Patrol Group.

The latest operation resulted in the towing of 86 illegally parked vehicles, including tricycles, public utility jeepneys and motorcycles.

The move came after members of the MMC, the governing board and the policy-making body of the MMDA, rejected the proposed implementation of the modified odd-even scheme and suggested that the agency should clear first all secondary roads in the National Capital Region.

Joel E. Zurbano

PRRC, LLDA united for Pasig River express FOR the first time in history, the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission and the Laguna Lake Development Authority joined forces on March 14 to realize the vision of a multimodal express that will traverse the Pasig River all the way to Laguna de Bay. The meeting held at the LLDA office would give Filipinos a glimpse of a colossal project that would transform the Pasig River into a viable means of transport, providing reliable

and efficient modes of water and light rail transportation to over 15 million commuters of Metro Manila and the province of Laguna.

Ultimately, the project would restore the water quality of the Pasig River to Class C level that supports and sustains aquatic life and resources±conducive for transport, recreation and tourism.

It would also transform the Laguna de Bay into a focal center for sustainable development.

Various perspectives of the proposal boasted a revolutionized way of living along the Pasig River that could prove to the world that the Philippines is indeed an emerging tiger of Asia.

In addition, the Laguna de Bay ferry service would allow the riding public to circumnavigate the trading centers and tourist spots near the lake.

This historic teamup of the PRRC and LLDA became possible through the strong political will and leadership

of the newly appointed PRRC Executive Director Jose Antonio E. Goitia and LLDA General Manager Jaime C. Medina under the administration of President Rodrigo R. Duterte.

“Not only will the Pasig River and the Laguna de Bay be restored to their historically pristine condition conducive for healthy living and ecotourism, the project also promises a chance for our jobless countrymen to cross the border of dire poverty,” said Goitia.

Sports

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THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

No. 1 in waiting Kerber ousted at Indian Wells INDIAN WELLS—Angelique Kerber won’t celebrate her return to world number one with an Indian Wells title after a shock fourth-round exit Tuesday at the hands of Elena Vesnina.

Russia’s 14th-seeded Vesnina toppled the second-seeded German 6-3, 6-3 to book a quarter-final clash with seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams.

Williams battled back from a break down in the final set to beat Chinese qualifier Peng Shuai 3-6, 6-1, 6-3. “(I) wasn’t really sure how it was going to turn out today,” Williams said. “There were some up-and-downs and errors. It was so frustrating. But I feel like I got my focus more in that second set and towards the end of the third, because I’m just a competitor. So if things get closer, then I think my better tennis is going to come.”

Vesnina, the 14th seed, notched her first career victory over a top-three player.

Kerber was the top-ranked player in the draw, and will return to number one in the world on Monday despite the defeat thanks to Serena Williams’ injury withdrawal from the event.

Not Kerber’s day Vesnina went up a quick break and never trailed. She broke Kerber five times, and managed to stifle a wouldbe rally that saw the German close the

PH Sports Commission backs Davao tennis meet THE Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala regional agegroup tennis circuit resumes in Davao beginning today with the Philippine Sports Commission as presentor of the Group 2 tournament at the GSIS Tennis Club.

Close to 200 entries are competing in various divisions in the five-day tournament hosted by LTFRB chairman Atty. Martin Delgra III, also the president of the GSIS Heights Tennis Club, and held as part of the PSC’s commitment to support youth sports through chairman Butch Ramirez.

The region’s leading junior players and a slew of rising stars banner this week’s field, including Sultan Kudarat’s Carlyn Guarde and Davao’s Danna Abad and Patricia Velez, who are expected to slug it out for top honors in the girls’ premier 18-and-under division along with Winona Cabardo.

Guarde, Abad and Cabardo, together with Jazzelle Madis of Mlang, are also expected to dispute the 16-U plum in the event sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop, presented by Slazenger and sanctioned by Philta and held in conjunction with the Araw ng Dabaw celebrations.

“PSC’s support is a big boost not only to junior tennis but to youth sports in general,” said Palawan Pawnshop president/ CEO Bobby Castro. “Although the regular campaigners have the edge in terms of experience, we also expect some surprises that have been the norm in the circuit with so many young, new faces emerging from each leg.”

Keen competition is also seen in the boys’ side with Vince Tugade and Ramon Bentillo, also from Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, and Klyde Lagarde from Gen. Santos City, leading the title chase in the 16- and 18-U sections with the likes of Nicole Gorospe, John Velez, Earjan Casal, Karl Palo and Bruce Hurtado out to topple the fancied bets.

John Velez, Cedric Pamplona, Andre Sing and Palo (boys) and April Bentillo, Ma. Angelica Novis of Malita, Davao del Sur, Jillian Manangking and Thea Tobias (girls) head the 14-U cast while Reyman Saldivar Jr., Joji Taketomi, Pamplona and Sing along with Tennielle Madis, Manangking, Poula Taketomi and Jasmen Kadalum are the players to watch in the 12-U category.

The battle for the 10-unisex diadem is also too close to call among Tennielle Madis, Joji Taketomi, Reicy Bentillo and Shaun Globasa but 12 others are raring to show their wares and vie for the coveted crown.

gap from 4-1 to 4-3 in the second set.

“I was a little nervous at the end of the match,” Vesnina said. “So I’m really happy that I closed that match because this win means a lot to me.”

Kerber, winner of the Australian and US Opens last year, had struggled past 62nd-ranked Pauline Parmentier in the previous round and said she never found her rhythm against Vesnina.

“It was not my day,” she said. “I was doing a lot of mistakes. I was not moving, actually, good. But it’s happened. I mean, she played from the beginning until the end good tennis, and she was aggressive. So she took the game in her hands.”

Eighth-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova sped past Caroline Garcia 6-1, 6-4 to lead the way into the quarters.

Kuznetsova is in the last eight in the California desert for the first time since reaching back-to-back finals in 2007 and 2008.

The 31-year-old Russian, owner of two Grand Slam singles titles, enjoyed a resurgence in 2016, winning two titles and upsetting world number one Serena Williams in Miami as she returned to the top 10 in the world for the first time since 2010. AFP

Elena Vesnina of Russia plays a forehand against Angelique Kerber of Germany in their fourth round match during day nine of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California. AFP

Warriors arrest losing skid O

AKLAND—Stephen Curry scored 29 points on his 29th birthday as the Golden State Warriors staged a fourth quarter rally to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers and halt their three-game losing streak on Tuesday.

The Warriors looked to be heading for a shock defeat at the Oracle Arena after the hapless Sixers led by 12 points at the end of the third quarter.

But a defiant defensive performance from Warriors stalwart Draymond Green and some merciless shooting from Curry saw the Dubs home in a nail-biting 106-104 victory that saw them improve to 53-14.

As well as his 29-point haul, Curry had six rebounds and four assists.

Green meanwhile scored 20 points and snared eight rebounds and eight assists in a crucial performance that also included six blocks.

The Sixers, who fell to 24-43 with the defeat, saw Dario Saric top score with 25 points while Jahlil Okafor added 22 points.

Curry was relieved to have drawn a line under the Warriors recent run of poor form.

“It’s been a rough week obviously.

Every NBA team goes through it

at some point, we just gotta keep fighting,” Curry said.

“Draymond said something in a timeout in the first quarter that we needed to get our flow back. And it might not be pretty but that was accurate to say the least how the game went tonight.”

Curry also praised Green’s fourth quarter performance which helped the Warriors get over the line. “Fourth quarter what Draymond did was amazing,” Curry said.

“We’ve just gotta fight through.

Tonight we battled through it,” added Curry, brushing off talk about his own recent dip in form.

“I don’t pay attention to slump talk,” he said. “I know that the shots haven’t been falling. You’ve just got to fight through it and

shoot your way back to the level I’m used to.”

Triples for LeBron, Westbrook Elsewhere Tuesday, there were easy wins for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Oklahoma City Thunder, with both LeBron James and Russell Westbrook notching triple doubles for their respective teams.

James, 32, constructed his 10th triple-double of the season in the Cavs 128-96 blowout over the Detroit Pistons.

The Cavaliers star—who has now notched four triple-doubles in March alone—finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists.

It was the latest evidence that James is switching into playoff mode as he has done consistently when the business end of the season

Rivera starts Phoenix slalom bid on winning note THE RACE Motorsports Club Phoenix National Slalom Series kicked off last Sunday at Robinsons Novaliches parking lot, with defending champion Milo Rivera of Tough Gear Racing opening his title bid on a winning note.

Rivera, a Philippine Sportswriters Association President’s Awardee in 2016, won the overall best time of the day, followed by Carlos Anton of Mark Young Cars and Dr. Peewee Mendiola of Team Big Chill Rivera also grabbed the Production Wheel Best Time, even as Carlos Anton secured the Front Wheel Participants of the RACE Motorsports Club Phoenix National Slalom Series Best Time and Ryan Ablang won getting ready for their turn. oil and major sponsors Federal Tyres Team, Team Orthodox, IRM Autothe novice best clocking.

The first leg of the series also and Outlast Battery, Robinsons No- shoppe, Autofastion Racing Team, launched the Clubman Slalom valiches and Robinsons Malls. It is Team GMW, Kajega Racing Team event, wherein novice, clubman also supported by Starbright Body and Mark Young cars.

The second leg will be held and car clubs, except profes- Kits, Auto Transporter, media partsional drivers, can participate. ners Stoplight TV, C! Magazine, on April 2 at Robinsons Starmills This class does not have to do Auto Car Magazine Magazine, Pampanga, while the third leg is Power Wheels Magazine, Ride and on May 7 at the NFA Compound the 360-degree turn.

The 2017 RACE Motorsports Drive Philippines, Driven2ride.ph Cabanatuan City.

For details, contact Bing Bang Club National Slalom Series is pre- and medical team AEROMED. The event was participated in by Dulce at tel. no. 09178119337 or sented by Phoenix Premium and Phoenix Accelerate fully synthetic Team Big Chill, Tough Gear Racing like the event’s Facebook page rac-

emotorsportsclub.

Some of the Official Results: Novice Stock Injected: 1st Rainier Tinio 50.08; 2nd Miguel Reyes 49.08; 3rd Rap Usman 56.53; 4TH Bien Madriaga 59.48; 5th Jonathan Biglang-awa 61.26 Novice Stock Carburated: 1st Joseph Ortega 48.00; 2nd Jonash Mendoza 57.60 Novice Modified A: 1st CJ Ramos 48.00; 2nd Armand Marcaida 49.08; 3rd Rainier Tinio 49.86; 4th Rod Chang 53.28 Novice Modified B: 1st Iñigo Anton 46.18; 2nd Ryan Ablang 46.54; 3rd Bryan Ngo 47.08; 4th Vegil Calayo 47.24; 5th Powee Base 48.69; 6th Armand Marcaida 48.82 Novice Modified C: 1st Iñigo Anton 47.84; 2nd Vegil Calayo 47.88; 3rd Bryan Ngo 47.92; 4th Powee Base 48.30; 5th John Urtola 56.62 Pro Stock A: 1st Milo Rivera 43.56; 2nd Dr. Peewee Mendiola 44.20; 3rd Abet Reyes 45.72; 4th Paul Santos 45.92 Pro Stock B: 1st Milo Rivera 43.16; 2nd Dr. Peewee Mendiola 44.20; 3rd Carlos Anton 44.94; 4th Paul Santos

46.66; 5th Abet Reyes 47.48 Pro Stock C: 1st Dr. Peewee Mendiola 44.24; 2nd Carlos Anton 44.30; 3rd Milo Rivera 47.30; 4th Estefano Rivera 48.04 Group 2A: 1st Vegil Calayo 46.58; 2nd CJ Ramos 49.04; 3rd Steven Valenzuela 50.26; 4th Emerson Dizon 52.20; 5th Caloy Moreno 56.10; 6th Francis Enriquez 59.38; Group 2B: 1st Bryan Ngo 46.58; 2nd Miguel Cachuela 49.86; 3rd Steven Valenzuela 49.96; 4th Mark Jerrold Lee 62.38 PRO—A: 1st Dr. Peewee Mendiola 43.88; 2nd Jevoy Moreno 44.32; 3rd Carlos Anton 44.88; 4th Paul Santos 45.50; PRO—B: 1st Dr. Peewee Mendiola 43.72; 2nd Estefano Rivera 43.96; 3rd Jevoy Moreno 44.42; 4th Carlos Anton 44.70; 5th Paul Santos 45.14 PRO—C: 1st Jevoy Moreno 44.66; 2nd Dr. Peewee Mendiola 45.72; 3rd Carlos Anton 46.70

Baulete leads Tubod leg winners of Cebuana Lhuillier tourney DIFFERENT provinces and cities in Mindanao contributed their share of winners at the recentTubod, Lanao del Norte leg of the 2017 Cebuana Lhuillier Age Group Tennis Championship Series, with Iligan City’s Rovie Baulete ruling both the girls’ 14-under and 16- under age groups.

“This shows that there are young tennis talents all over the Mindanao area and it was just a matter of bringing the games to their respective places to enable them to emerge and

hone their skills in regular organized tennis tournaments. We believe we are fulfilling this role perfectly with our Cebuana Lhuillier Age Group tennis championship series, now on its 11th year already,” declared Jean Henri Lhuillier, President /CEO of Cebuana Lhuillier.

Meanwhile, up-and-coming Baulete beat local bet Kristin Guia Bandolis, 6-2, 6-3, for the 14-under title and followed up with another straight set victory, 6-2, 6-2, over another Iligan City player Anna

Mae Mendoza in the 16-under girls’ finals in the tournament supported

by Dunlop as the official ball.

Bauelte also shared the 14-under girls’ doubles title with Bandolis for her third title in the tournament.

Local bet John Renest Sonsona salvaged local honor by emerging champion in the boys’ 18-under after defeating Al Vincent Macauyag, who hails from Baroy, Lanao del Norte, 6-2, 6-0 in the finals.

Mendoza atoned for her loss to Baulete by taking the girls’ 18-un-

der crown with a three-set win over Voenn Pamaong from Baroy, 6-3, 6- 7, 10-8.

Familiar name Andrei Cuevas, also from Baroy, went home with the boys’ 16-under crown after posting a come-from-behind 1-6, 6-3, 10- 1 victory over another perennial winner Brent Signmond Cortes of Tubod, depriving the latter of a double win after he won earlier the boys’ 14-under title with a close 6-4, 6-4 win over Maranding, Lanao del Norte player Euri Tagal.

Best Center clinics’ listup on Santo Tomas, NU booters collide THE award-winning Best Center will open its early registration and enrollment for its summer sports clinics.

Listup at the Ateneo College Covered Courts will be accepted from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on March 18, while registration at the Malate Catholic School ill be from 2 to 5 p.m. on the same day.

Registration at the Star-

comes into view.

Cavs coach Tyronn Lue however insisted James’ form had been solid for months.

“He hasn’t done anything different,” Lue said. “He’s almost averaging a triple-double. I think he’s averaging 26 (points), nine (assists), and eight (rebounds). That’s almost a triple-double every single night,” Lue said.

Westbrook meanwhile was given a standing ovation by an appreciative New York crowd at the Barclays Center as the Thunder romped past the Brooklyn Nets 122-104.

The crowd saluted Westbrook after he completed his 33rd tripledouble of the season, leaving him eight shy of Oscar Robertson’s alltime record of 41. AFP

mall Alabang will be from 12:30 to 5 p.m. on March 19.

The Best Center, according to founding president Nic Jorge, will also hold summer clinics from March 26 to 31 in San Rafael, Bulacan at the Microlink Institute of Science and Technology, San Rafael Campus, 117 National Road Sitio Puting Lupa, San Roque. Level 1 stu-

dents may contact Lineth Castillo 0926-123-0282 .

Level 1 course will also be offered at the Fortunate Village, 67 Kabesa Segundo, Parañaque.

Monday and Thursday clinics from April 3 to May 1 from 8 to 11 a.m. are open for volleyball, and Tuesday and Friday from April 4 to May 2 at 1 to 4 p.m. for basketball.

UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas seeks to tie losses in the first round, as coach Marjo Alwith idle National University in fourth spot as lado is looking forward to a better effort in this it plays University of the East crucial stage of the season. today in the UAAP Season 79 Running fifth in the table Matches today men’s football tournament at with seven points, the Tigers (Moro Lorenzo Field) 2 p.m. – UST vs UE (Men) the Moro Lorenzo Field. are three off the Bulldogs and a 4 p.m. – DLSU vs AdU (Men) Jason Rafol and AJ Pasion, victory will boost the Españawho had three and two goals based booters’ bid of making it this season, will spearhead the Growling Ti- to the Final Four. gers’ attack in the 2 p.m. match with the Red Krysler Opeña and Mar Diano, who netted Warriors. two goals apiece in the season, will lead the De La Salle and Adamson University also way for UE. try to open their second-round bids on a posiThe Warriors are level with the Green Artive note in the day’s other fixture at 4 p.m. chers with five points, but are in seventh place UST tallied two wins, one draw and four by virtue of goal difference.

In the 12-under boys’ group, Nash Agustines from Oroquieta City, had a three-set win over Heinz Asian Carbonilla, 6-2, 5-7, 10-7 to win the crown, while in the distaff side, Maria Judy Ann Padilla from Ozamis City took the title at the expense of Bandolis, winning 6-3, 4-6, 10-8.

Pulacan, Zamboanga del Sur’s Abdel Qadzri Matarul dominated Lanao del Norte’s Vinz AJ Bering, 2-4, 5-3, 5-3, for the 10-under unisex title.

LOTTO RESULTS

6/55 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0 M+ 6/45 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0 M 4 DIGITS 0-0-0-0 3 DIGITS 0-0-0 2 EZ2 0-0

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

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THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017

Sports

Injury bug bites Gilas

By Jeric Lopez

Eagle-spiked 66 nets Hwang 5-stroke lead L Korean Hwang Ye-nah flashes awesome form on the No. 1 moun

IPA City, Batangas—Hwang Ye-nah never missed a beat since scoring a wire-to-wire triumph at ICTSI Ladies Open at Southlinks two years ago, shooting an eagle-spiked sixunder 66 in the wind to open a five-stroke lead over Princess Superal at the start of the ICTSI Champion Tour at Malarayat here yesterday.

The Korean ace, 23, actually overcame an early bogey mishap on No. 12 where she teed off, birdying two of the next three holes and gunning down the day’s lone eagle from seven feet on the par-5 17th off a solid 5-wood utility second shot from 190 yards.

She sustained her hot charge at the

front with four birdies in the first seven holes but missed posting a bigger lead with a bogey on the par-3 eighth.

Still, her 33-33 card spoke well of the caliber of the player who beat Superal at Southlinks in 2015 with the duo appeared headed for another title face-off after the Filipina ace

carded a 71 to assume the challenger’s role in the $75,000 event presented by Champion and serving as part of the Taiwan LPGA Tour and the second leg of the ICTSI Ladies Philippine Golf Tour.

“I played pretty good, especially my putting. The wind was too strong and I’m lucky to turn in a sub-par round,” said Hwang.

Another Korean, amateur Hwang Min-jeong matched par 72 at the Mt. Malarayat composite course where she reigned, also after edging Superal and Cyna Rodriguez in 2015, for joint third with fellow amateur Fil-Japanese Yuka Saso, Taiwanese Chang Hsuan-ping and Thai Piyathida Ployumsri.

Janya Morrakotpan, also of

Thailand, and Ai Tanaka of Japan turned in identical 73s while Rodriguez birdied the last two holes at the front to save a 74 for joint ninth with local bet Apple Fudolin, FilAm Cristina Corpus, Japanese Mayumi Chinzei and Thai Saranporn Langkulgasettrin, winner of the inaugural Philippine Ladies Masters at Alabang last December.

Rookie pro Pauline del Rosario, joint second in last week’s ICTSI Champion Tour at Splendido won by absentee Kanphanitnan Muangkhumsakul, groped for form all day, so did the two other local aces and Symetra Tour-bound Dottie Ardina and Mia Piccio as the troika hobbled with similar 76s and fell 10 shots off the pace.

Other four-over par scorers

were Wanchana Poruangrong, Numa Gulyanamitta and Narisara Kerdrit of Thailand and amateur Hou Yu-chiang of Taiwan.

Sharing 14th place with 75s are Senno Yasufuku of Japan, Thais Nanthikarn Raksachat, Chonlada Chayanun, Chatprapa Siriprakob and Chayuda Singhsuwan and Taiwanese amateur Hou Yu-sang.

While majority of the 70-player starting field succumbed to the demanding condition and submitted over-par cards, Hwang flashed superb form despite lack of practice at the Mt. Lobo and Mt. Malipunyo nines, leaning on sheer guts and determination to beat the elite field, that includes the leading players from Thailand and Taiwan.

Responders rebound, force deciding Game 3 THREE-TIME runner-up Philippine participating teams and individual honNational Police Responders forced a do- ors were also awarded in Game 2. or-die Game 3 in the UNTV Cup SeaThe teams which did not qualify to son 5 finals after toppling Malacañang the Final 4 received P100,000 each for Kamao, 67-61, at the Smart-Araneta their chosen charities.

Coliseum on Tuesday.

Here are the teams and Two-time Most Valutheir chosen beneficiary/ Game on Tuesday (Smart Araneta Coliseum) able Player Ollan “The charity: 8 p.m. PNP Responders vs Sniper” Omiping scored 1. AFP Cavaliers - AFPMalacañang Kamao 21 points to lead the PNP EBSO (Education Benefit Team in Game 2, where he Systems Office); 2. BFP was named Best Player of the Game.

Firefighters-Philippine Science High “Nararamdaman ko mukhang ito na School Foundation Inc.; 3. MMDA talaga. Sabi ko nga, ngayon lang kami Blackwolves-Philippine General Hospinanalo ng Game 2. Ngayon lang din tal-Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Philkami nanalo sa Araneta, so ‘yung mga ippine Cerebral Palsy Inc. and Damasitwasyon parang pumapabor papunta yan MMDA Provident Fund; 4. Senate sa amin,” Omiping said.

Defenders-Kythe Foundation Inc., PanThe PNP Responders controlled the garap Foundation and Share An Opporfirst three quarters and led by 54-47 go- tunity, Philippines Inc.; 5. Ombudsman ing into the final period.

Graftbusters-Ombudsman Provident Malacañang Kamao tied the game at Fund; 6. DoJ Justice Boosters-DoJ Em54-54 in the last 7 minutes and 49 sec- ployees Association; 7. GSIS Furiesonds, but PNP responded quickly with Kapisanan ng mga Manggagawa sa timely baskets by Omiping for the win. GSIS; 8. HOR Solons-Foundation of The PNP win set a deciding win- Our Lady of Peace Missions, Inc. and ner-take-all Game 3 on Tuesday at the Congressional Spouses Foundation Inc.; Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

9. NHA Builders-NHA Provident Fund Meanwhile, the cash prizes for all Association,Inc.

Ramirez: We’re on right track

By Peter Atencio

Third placer Judiciary receives the P1,000,000 cash prize for their chosen charity, the Judiciary Employees Severely Affected by Typhoons and Calamities. It was awarded by BMPI-UNTV Chief Executive Officer Daniel Razon, VP Gerry Panghulan (right) and Commissioner Atoy Co (right) in Game 2 of the UNTV Cup Season 5 Finals.

The fourth and third placers received P500,000 and P1,000,000, respectively.

BOC Transformers (fourth) had Caritas Manila, Inc. as its beneficiary, while Judiciary Magis (third place) chose Judiciary Employees Severely Affected by Typhoons and Calamities A total of P2,700,000 were already awarded for charity in Game 2.

In Game 3, the top prizes will be awarded to

the Top 2 teams of the season.

The champion gets P4,000,000, while the second placer receives P2,000,000 for their chosen beneficiary/charity.

Malacañang Kamao has chosen a group of Cancer Patients and Millennium Sports Support System Association Inc., while PNP Responders picked Police Community Relations Group “Drug Rehabilitation Program.”

Petron shoots for 1st semis berth in Superliga UNBEATEN powerhouse Petron guns for the first semifinal berth when it faces a dangerous Foton side today in the BeloPhilippine Superliga Invitational Conference resumes at the FilOil Flying V Center in San Juan.

They collide at 3 p.m. before new teams Cocolife and Sta. Lucia try to claw their way out of the basement when they collide in the 5 p.m. second match of this prestigious women’s club tourney backed by Senoh, Mikasa, Mueller and Asics with TV5 as official broadcast partner.

In the nightcap at 7 p.m., Cignal and Generika-Ayala battle for an important victo-

A LOT of things have developed the past two days for the Smart Gilas Pilipinas National team.

While the Gilas Pilipinas just wrapped up its threeday bonding and training camp yesterday in Tagaytay, several members of the team’s training pool suffered injuries.

It was discovered early this week that Star spitfire Paul Lee has a meniscus tear and his mobility on his knee is limited at the moment.

With that, National team management decided to let Lee go for now and called up his Hotshots teammate Allein Maliksi to take his place at the moment.

Despire his injury, Lee is still expected to play for his mother team Star in the coming Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup on a limited capacity.

Smart Gilas’ next tournament will be the Southeast Asia Basketball Association tilt which the country will host on May 12 to 18.

National coach Chot Reyes confirmed this development, but said that Lee’s exclusion is just temporary as he is set to recuperate from his injury.

Also, another Gilas member in Arthur Dela Cruz suffered a ruptured tendon in the middle of the camp last Monday.

As a result, Dela Cruz was immediately sent to the Makati Medical Center for an immediate emergency surgery last Tuesday.

With this, Dela Cruz is in danger of missing the entire Commissioner’s Cup.

ry that would boost their semifinal chances powerful Foton squad.

Despite losing Jaja Santiago and EJ Laure, in the league that also has Gold’s Gym as who are still attending tied official fitness partner and with their university comUCPB Gen as official insurGames Today (FilOil Flying V Center) mitments, the Tornadoes reance provider.

3 p.m. – Petron vs Foton main a solid force as middle After undergoing mas5 p.m. – Cocolife vs Sta. Lucia sive revamp during the off- 7 p.m. – Generika-Ayala vs Cignal blocker Dindin Manabat is back in form, while the reseason, Petron posted three cruitment of NCAA Most straight victories over Sta. Lucia, Cignal and Cocolife to occupy the Valuable Player Gretchel Soltones had protop spot and inch closer to the semifinals vided spark in their attack zone.

In their four-set victory over Generikaof this short but very competitive seasonAyala, Manabat and Soltones destroyed opening conference.

But the Blaze Spikers have to be at the Lifesavers’ defense, delivering 19 their best as they will face an equally and 18 points, respectively, to capture

their second win in three starts.

“We know that Foton is a contender every conference,” said Shaq Delos Santos, referring to the same team that crushed them in the finals of the PSL Grand Prix last year.

“Kahit sinong players ang ilagay mo dyan, lalaban at lalaban talaga ang team na yan. That’s why we have to be careful.

We expect this match to be a very tough battle.”

Foton coach Moro Branislav of Serbia, on the other hand, is optimistic that they would deal Petron its first setback of the conference.

THE Philippine Sports Commission will make an effort to take the right path in its goal of contributing to the development of a national grassroots sports program.

Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez said this yesterday following a gathering of a hundred governors, mayors and representatives of local government units in Cebu City.

During the meeting, Ramirez led discussions on the establishment of a Physical Fitness and Sports Development Council.

Ramirez told his audience that the government recognizes the role of sports as an important component in nationbuilding.

“We’re on the right track in crafting community sports and grassroots programs,” remarked Ramirez.

The meeting was aimed at gathering support from the LGUs to establish functional sports development councils in their localities, in line with the staging of the Batang Pinoy and Philippine National Games later this year.

The discussions will help prepare the LGUs in developing sound sports programs that are synched with the national sports development plan and calendar.

PSC Commissioners Charles Maxey and Ramon Fernandez joined Ramirez in Cebu.

The establishment of the Council is in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s marching orders to bring sports to the countryside and strengthen grassroots sports.

China commits to buy more PH agri products B3

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@thestandard.com.ph extrastory2000@gmail.com THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017

B1

IN BRIEF CebuPac adds 2 provincial routes CEBU Pacific said Wednesday it expanded its inter-regional route network with the addition of two new routes to connect the Visayas and Northern Mindanao.

The budget airline, controlled by the Gokongwei Group, said it would fly four times weekly between Cagayan de Oro and Tagbilaran starting March 15 and three times a week between the former and Bacolod.

Both new routes to and from Cagayan de Oro will use the airline’s ATR aircraft.

“We at CEB are very thrilled to begin flying to and from these destinations. We believe that these new routes will not only boost tourism, but also increase trade and productivity between the Visayas and Mindanao,” said Cebgo president and chief executive Alexander Lao. Cebgo is a unit of Cebu Pacific.

“Movement of goods between these islands will also be facilitated as CEB cargo services are also available in these new routes. CEB is likewise optimistic that our newest routes will encourage a number of tourists and businessmen from Tagbilaran and Bacolod to visit Mindanao more often with direct flights,” Lao said.

Darwin G. Amojelar

PSE COMPOSITE INDEX Closing March 14, 2017

8000 7600 7200 6800 6400 6000

7,253.79 7.96

PESO-DOLLAR RATE

Closing MARCH 14, 2017

KIDDIE SAVINGS PROGRAM. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. (seated, center), Bankers Association of the

Philippines and BDO Unibank Inc. president Nestor Tan (standing, sixth from left) and Bank Marketing Association of the Philippines president Mary Ann Ducanes (seated, fourth from left) lead the signing of a memorandum of agreement for the special Kiddie and Teen Savings Program to broaden the campaign to develop the habit of saving regularly. Under the program, 17 participating banks are encouraging young Filipinos up to 19 years old to open and maintain savings accounts with a minimum deposit of P100. Also shown are top BSP and bank executives.

Overseas remittances up by 8.6% in January

45.00

By Julito G. Rada

46.50 48.00 49.50

P50.340 CLOSE

51.00

HIGH P50.280 LOW P50.350 AVERAGE P50.318 VOLUME 394.800M

P496.00-P756.00 LPG/11-kg tank P39.40-P48.09 Unleaded Gasoline P28.05-P33.95 Diesel

OPRICES IL TODAY

P28.50-P36.85 Kerosene P20.75-P21.75 Auto LPG

R

EMITTANCES jumped 8.6 percent in January from a year ago, indicating a sustained growth in foreign inflows that support domestic consumption and economic growth, data from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas show.

Bangko Sentral Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said money sent home by Filipinos working overseas reached $2.2 billion in January, up from $2 billion in the same month last year.

“Remittances of land-based workers amounted to $1.8 billion, 13.5 percent higher compared to the level posted in the same month a year ago,” Bangko Sentral said.

“Meanwhile, sea-based workers’ remittances declined by 8.3 percent year-on-year due to the stiffer competition in the supply of seafarers,” it said.

Bangko Sentral said on a month-on-month basis, cash remittances went down from $2.6 billion recorded in December, mainly because of seasonal factors. Filipinos working overseas usually send the biggest amount during the holidays.

Personal remittances, which include noncash items, also increased 8.5 percent in January to $2.4 billion from $2.2 billion in the same month last year.

“The continued increase in personal remittances was mainly driven by the 13.5-percent growth in transfers from land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more [which summed up to $1.9 billion], more than offsetting the 8.3-percent decline in remittances from sea-based and land-based

workers with work contracts of less than one year [at $0.4 billion],” Bangko Sentral said.

The main sources of cash remittances in January were the United States, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Qatar, Kuwait and Australia.

Remittances last year rose 5 percent to a record $26.9 billion from $25.607 billion in 2015, driven mainly by the sustained demand for skilled Filipino workers abroad and improving global economic condition.

The 5-percent expansion surpassed Bangko Sentral’s projection of a 4-percent growth last year and the 4-percent actual growth a year ago.

Remittances from Asia rose 7.4 percent, buoyed by transfers originating from Singapore, Japan, China and Taiwan. Transfers from the Americas increased by 3.8 percent, the major contributor of which was the 6.2-percent growth in remittances from the US.

JG, Filinvest ready to expand Clark airport

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Wednesday, March 15, 2017

F OREIGN E XCHANGE R ATE Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

50.3570

Japan

Yen

0.008716

0.4389

UK

Pound

1.215600

61.2140

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128745

6.4832

Switzerland

Franc

0.990197

49.8634

Canada

Dollar

0.741950

37.3624

Singapore

Dollar

0.706564

35.5804

Australia

Dollar

0.755800

38.0598

Bahrain

Dinar

2.652520

133.5729 13.4325

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266745

Brunei

Dollar

0.704077

35.4552

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000075

0.0038

Thailand

Baht

0.028325

1.4264

UAE

Dirham

0.272287

13.7116

Euro

Euro

1.060600

53.4086

Korea

Won

0.000870

0.0438

China

Yuan

0.144636

7.2834

India

Rupee

0.015209

0.7659

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.224820

11.3213

New Zealand

Dollar

0.691700

34.8319

Taiwan

Dollar

0.032312

1.6271 Source: PDS Bridge

By Darwin G. Amojelar THE consortium of JG Summit Holdings Inc. and Filinvest Development Corp. said they can complete a brand-new worldclass airport in Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga by 2020.

Filinvest said the group submitted its unsolicited proposal in July last year after the government announced that it was open to accepting unsolicited proposals for infrastructure projects.

Transportation Undersecretary for aviation Roberto Lim had said the agency was currently evaluating the P187-billion Clark airport

development project submitted by JG-Filinvest Group.

“With early completion in mind, our unsolicited proposal is based on the Aeroport de Paris Masterplan prepared for Clark International Airportlast 2015 in order to fast track its development. The new CIA will serve the residents of central and northern Luzon and at the same time help ease congestion at NAIA,” it said.

The group submitted its proposal with the objective of fully complying with the requirements of the Build Operate and Transfer law.

Under the BOT Law, only complete proposals will be given due course and entertained.

The group said the 50-year concession would start with an initial capacity for 8 million passengers compared to the existing traffic of 1 million.

The master plan allows the CIA to expand its terminals and runways to easily accommodate for the traffic growth over the next 50 years.

The consortium committed to a robust and regular capacity augmentation program to insure the CIA would continually meet the passenger service perfor-

mance standards of world-class airports.

A similar unsolicited proposal to develop the Clark airport was submitted by India’s GMR Infrastructure Ltd. and Megawide Construction Corp. on July 27, 2016.

Airlines operating in Clark include Qatar Airways, Cebu Pacific, Tigerair Air, Jin Air, Asiana Airlines, Dragon Air, Air Asia Berhad and Emirates Airlines.

These airlines mount flights to Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Macau, Pudong, Incheon, Doha, Dubai, Davao, Cebu and Kalibo.

Piñol wants to freeze rules on syrup imports

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales

ALI’S AWARDS. Ayala Land Inc. and its subsidiaries win four gold awards and three silver swards for

outstanding communications programs at the 52nd Anvil Awards of the Public Relations Society of the Philippines. Shown is Ayala Land’s corporate marketing head Cathy Bengzon (center) and other members of the company’s marketing and communications team, including (from left) Marissa Ramos, Jessica Santos, Sandy Espinosa, Sharon Vital, Tess Tatco, Suzette Naval, Kay Rivera, Anne Baylon-Jara and Patty Oh-Abacan.

AGRICULTURE Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said he is seeking an authorization from President Rodrigo Duterte to hold the implementation of Sugar Order No. 3 which regulates the entry of highfructose corn syrup.

Piñol said beverage companies such as Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola claimed they were not consulted before the release of the sugar order.

“The problem with SRA’s Sugar Order No. 3 is it regulated the importation of HFCS used

by Coke in producing their softdrinks. They appealed because any change in the type of sugar

that they will use in production will involve changing their machineries and equipment,” Piñol said.

Piñol said Coke and Pepsi’s equipments were designed for HFCS. Sugar Regulatory Administration Administrator Anna Paner earlier issued sugar order No. 3 which sets the guidelines on the issuance of clearance for the release of imported HFCS and chemically pure fructose.

Paner said there was a reported increase in the volume of sugar imported into the country particularly HFCS which resulted in the drop of mill site prices of sugar.

San Miguel to settle $300-m Japan loan CONGLOMERATE San Miguel Corp. said it plans to settle a $300-million loan with the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. using proceeds from the planned P15-billion bond offering.

San Miguel said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission it would issue P10-billion fiveyear bonds with a P5-billion oversubscription option to partially pay its $300-million debt which would mature in November this year.

This is the second issuance under the company’s three-year bond shelfregistration of up to P60 billion.

San Miguel tapped BDO Capital & Investment Corp., BPI Capital Corp., ING Bank, RCBC Capital Corp., SB Capital Investment Corp. and Standard Chartered Bank as joint lead underwriters and book runners for the offering.

The conglomerate issued and listed P20 billion in fixed-rate retail bonds on March 1 to pay its dollar-denominated debt. San Miguel has been converting its dollar-denominated debt into peso because of the continued depreciation of the peso against the dollar. Jenniffer B. Austria

Best paid jobs for graduates identified

By Othel V. Campos JOURNALISM and education are now among the top five highest paying jobs for fresh college graduates, according to a report by JobStreet.com.

JobStreet.com Philippines country manager Philip Gioca said it was the first time journalism figured among the highest paying jobs for new graduates.

The 2017 JobStreet.com Fresh Graduates Report showed law/legal services as the top job with the biggest entry level salary followed by health-related services, journalism, IT-related industries and education.

“Many of the journalists I spoke to said the report was a misnomer, especially those from the mainstream media.

Well, we at JobStreet.com believe there is a wide definition of journalism. Now that we are in the digital era, we now have the so-called digital media or bloggers, they say. wContent writers are also considered part of the field,” he said.

The report was a part of a survey conducted annually by the jobs portal.

The report said from an average of P21,232 in 2015, average earnings of fresh graduate specialists in law jumped to P27,124 in 2016. Healthcarerelated specialists also experienced a huge increase in average salaries, from P20,048 two years ago to P23,216 last year.

Journalism jumped from fifth to third with a starting salary of P21,777, while IT specialists settled in fourth place, with average earnings decreasing to P21,703 from P22,567 in 2015. Education was fifth with P21,457.

B2

Business

THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Nickel Asia’s profit drops 3% to P1.97b

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales rainy season and resulting sea NICKEL Asia Corp. said Wednesday net income dropped 3 percent last year to P1.97 billion from P2.04 billion in 2015, following a decline in the shipment and prices of nickel.

Nickel Asia said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the 2016 net income included a P413.7-million equity loss from its investment in Taganito HPAL Nickel Corp. and Coral Bay Nickel Corp.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization also went down to P5.69 billion from P6.51 billion in 2015.

Nickel Asia sold 19.3 million wet metric tons of nickel ore in 2016, lower than 19.7 million WMT in the previous year.

The start of shipments from iHinatuan and Cagdianao mines was delayed due to the prolonged

swells in northeastern Mindanao, where the two mines are located and a temporary reduction in the deliveries of limonite ore to the Taganito HPAL plant in the second quarter, while the plant was undergoing remedial work over a one-month period.

Nickel Asia said of the total volume of ore shipped, 7.4 million WMT was saprolite ore and 11.9 million WMT was limonite ore, which included 7.6 million WMT delivered to both the Coral Bay and Taganito processing plants.

The company realized an average price of $4.39 per pound of payable nickel on its shipments of ore to the two HPAL plants in 2016. This was lower than the average price of $5.36 per pound of payable nickel sold in 2015.

Market retreats; ICTSI up

S

TOCKS retreated Wednesday to end a two-day advance, as most Asian markets followed US equities lower before an expected interest-rate hike by Federal Reserve policy makers.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, fell 7 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 7,253.79, as four of the six sectoral indices ended in the red. Only financials and services moved up.

The heavier index, representing all shares, lost 9 points, or 0.2 percent, to settle at 4,373.82, on a value turnover of P8.3 billion. Losers outnumbered gainers, 133 to 59, while 52 issues were unchanged.

Seven of the 20 most active stocks advanced, led by port operator International Container

Terminal Services Inc. which climbed 2.9 percent to P81.50 and oil refiner Petron Corp. which rose 1.2 percent to P8.80.

Meanwhile, most stock markets retreated in Asian trade Wednesday following losses on Wall Street and in Europe as nervous investors await the end of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting, while oil prices bounced back from the previous day’s sharp losses.

The US central bank is all but certain to announce an interest rate hike later in the day but

traders are mostly interested in what its plans are for future increases, with Fed boss Janet Yellen’s news conference in focus.

However, with a slew of strong US data in recent months having already been baked into prices, a global market has eased up in March, dented by concerns about Donald Trump’s lack of movement on his promises to ramp up infrastructure spending and cut taxes.

Tokyo closed down 0.2 percent with the dollar unable to break above the 115 yen level breached briefly last week, while Toshiba plunged more than 12 percent with fears growing about its future as it struggles to deal with massive losses and accounting fraud allegations at its US nuclear unit.

Hong Kong gave up 0.1 percent in the afternoon and Singapore was 0.3 percent off while Seoul was

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2017

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 3.24 54,000 48.8 11,800 98.9 820,160 4 13,000 122 2,056,870 1.26 232,000 39.95 110,200 16 77,700 20.4 355,800 0.73 20,000 1.7 26,000 800 320 0.67 2,033,000 77.95 1,944,860 0.73 204,000 14.5 44,700 25.3 14,500 56.8 18,530 240.2 530 112 690 88 750 39.05 51,200 200 773,000 1,730 125 79.85 114,330

171,210 575,350 80,475,439 51,890 250,100,238 290,650 4,410,465 1,172,434 7,296,820 14,600 43,170 259,750 1,365,300 151,561,396 150,500 648,150 366,850 1,052,358.50 127,504 78,180 66,010 1,985,650 154,722,805 217,500 9,130,699.50

526,600 27,010,999.50 20,100.00 -2,577,332 3,810 1,669,335 507,965 20,100 -2,146,031 -217,500 299,296.50 -19,310.00 -64,523,822 7,369,366

43.1 5.3 0.8 1.39 19 0.265 98.05 7.77 17.18 187 22.8 14.5 60 94 95.7 2.12 6.04 12 12.54 7.86 6.34 5.8 22.1 71.2 12.12 15.78 6.55 1.58 195 71.3 4.07 3.81 27.75 29.45 26.55 14.94 290 0.255 6.8 3.7 8.76 2.26 7 1.91 72.05 4.7 264.6 4.96 2.89 14.46 4.33 0.144 1.4 163.1 1.5 1.02

INDUSTRIAL 43.5 2,252,500 5.4 1,153,500 0.81 66,000 1.39 190,000 21 232,700 0.275 30,630,000 98.05 20 7.86 41,829,800 17.26 1,962,900 187 1,070 23.3 329,800 14.54 14,200 60 1,040 95.95 380 95.7 120 2.15 120,000 6.04 43,600 12.18 16,200 12.62 7,496,400 7.9 365,100 6.4 3,802,500 5.9 4,684,200 22.3 610,100 71.5 201,820 12.5 200 15.8 65,000 6.55 628,100 1.6 401,000 196 141,740 71.3 1,040 4.5 28,924,800 3.81 68,000 28.3 3,200 30 1,676,400 27 280,200 15.18 2,267,600 291 245,090 0.26 1,730,000 6.89 1,141,000 3.74 1,241,000 8.8 21,228,100 2.28 611,000 7.15 1,000,000 1.91 1,998,000 72.7 533,450 4.7 327,000 270 119,930 4.99 881,000 2.99 116,000 14.46 5,358,700 4.4 475,000 0.144 250,000 1.42 315,000 165 1,291,680 1.55 9,932,000 1.02 48,000

97,916,695 6,251,761 53,450 264,470 4,844,835 8,704,900 1,961 337,109,590 33,878,708 211,689 7,587,960 206,290 62,855 36,188 11,484 255,670 269,979 196,492 94,478,682 2,898,937 24,243,455 27,524,476 13,574,510 14,442,361.50 2,462 1,026,584 4,124,137 640,420 27,747,934 74,164 155,784,984 262,430 89,610 50,128,220 7,545,565 34,136,402 71,252,072 443,900 8,034,682 4,649,700 189,210,060 1,394,740 7,113,266 3,897,540 38,761,565 1,571,830 32,368,338 4,395,390 340,140 78,292,908 2,157,660 36,120 445,510 211,977,533 15,426,800 49,060

-16,075,355 152,758 21,000 -48,531,604 23,533,128 601,920 38,330 3,470,354 -1,320,217 1,546,124 891,510 6,142,175 -9,632,667.50 -745,700 1,926,954 -6,464,136 2,228,870 11,430 83,950 -19,546,575 139,725 6,026,596 13,225,828 2,600 36,610 -74,700,596.00 1,047,340 -779,900 -9,700 8,564,631 -668,336 0 13,249,496 -230,000.00 10,200 117,386,856 -72,080 -

0.38 74 12.7 1.12 6.32 0.37 0.36 824 8.85 12.4 8.08 0.19 1,198 6.5 76.3 5.48 1.27 7.89 15.4 6.71 3.4 0.06 1.97 2.49 105.4 3.18 657 1.5 272 0.29 0.186 0.25

0.37 72.75 12.2 1.1 6.2 0.35 0.36 810 8.77 12.18 8.07 0.181 1,179 6.24 75.1 5.01 1.16 7.78 14.38 6.63 3.3 0.057 1.97 2.49 102.5 2.85 641.5 1.47 270 0.285 0.185 0.245

HOLDING FIRMS 0.38 4,570,000 74 3,795,760 12.34 8,960,100 1.1 238,000 6.3 5,300 0.37 850,000 0.36 50,000 820 101,860 8.77 3,345,400 12.26 5,156,500 8.07 13,300 0.181 820,000 1,180 115,625 6.39 26,300 76.3 1,049,270 5.48 3,000 1.16 53,003,000 7.89 339,300 14.76 5,340,800 6.67 57,110,100 3.34 9,000 0.057 108,740,000 1.97 439,000 2.49 21,000 104.3 217,510 2.86 1,349,000 649.5 444,180 1.5 121,000 271.2 23,850 0.285 1,400,000 0.185 180,000 0.245 170,000

1,707,350 276,950,767 110,878,122 263,410 33,058 303,200 18,000 83,326,170 29,468,563 63,256,906 107,426 149,190 137,161,895 166,818 79,521,304.50 15,077 64,168,070 2,676,167 80,360,066 382,071,431 30,070 6,254,380 864,830 52,290 22,599,998 4,066,040 287,725,490 179,060 6,466,770 400,000 33,420 41,840

-229,447,694.50 -11,133,358 19,457,275 1,233,847 -28,224,702 30,666 61,720 -22,828,230 -5,290,580 -327,810 -1,186,423 -20,437,908 -100,294,412 -35,840 2,106,575 7,148,485 -769,248 3,720 2,490

6.89 1 2.45 1.44 36.3 3.72 5.13 0.51 1.07 1.32 0.159 0.56 53.4 0.7 0.163 1.66 0.98 1.2 3.68 0.18 0.315 0.61

6.7 0.89 2.35 1.37 35.4 3.55 5.01 0.5 1.02 1.28 0.156 0.54 52.55 0.69 0.163 1.64 0.98 1.18 3.6 0.171 0.29 0.57

5,489,412 14,599,890 1,030,560 19,876,380 265,348,335 17,794,860 2,028 2,663,800 51,110 163,070 892,910 2,095,900 8,430,470.50 240,960 3,260 20,428,480 682,080 133,410 148,322,310 16,596,860 360,950 6,421,720

-2,894,511 5,505,040 -155,580 26,546,180.00 -2,623,900 22,000 3,180 -465,709 3,260 -17,404,020 1,960 39,447,290 1,033,720 6,100 -12,000

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

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

3.2 48.8 97.05 3.91 122.3 1.27 39.95 16 20.75 0.73 1.66 825 0.67 79.4 0.74 14.5 25.3 55.8 240.2 112 88 38.9 200 1,750 79.7

3.24 48.8 98.9 4.02 122.3 1.27 40.15 16 20.75 0.73 1.7 825 0.69 79.4 0.74 14.5 25.3 57.9 242 118 89 39.1 201.2 1,750 79.95

3.16 48.3 97.05 3.91 121 1.22 39.9 15 20.35 0.73 1.65 800 0.66 77.25 0.73 14.5 25.3 55.8 240.2 112 88 38.5 199.7 1,730 79.7

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

43.1 5.49 0.81 1.41 19.9 0.285 98.05 8.41 17.46 190 23 14.6 60.45 94 95.7 2.15 6.1 12.24 12.7 8 6.5 5.96 22.5 71.95 12.12 15.8 6.68 1.61 197 71.4 7.66 3.87 28.3 30.1 27 15 290.4 0.26 6.9 3.73 8.76 2.31 7.08 1.98 73.8 4.91 264.6 5 2.94 14.5 4.44 0.145 1.43 164.6 1.62 1.03

43.55 5.49 0.81 1.41 21.8 0.295 98.05 8.43 17.46 199.8 23.35 14.6 60.5 95.95 95.7 2.15 6.3 12.24 12.7 8 6.5 5.96 22.5 72 12.5 15.8 6.68 1.65 197.4 71.4 7.92 3.9 28.3 30.15 27 15.18 292 0.26 7.36 3.75 9.08 2.31 7.15 2 73.8 4.92 270 5 3.01 14.8 4.6 0.146 1.43 165.4 1.63 1.03

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

0.375 72.75 12.56 1.11 6.2 0.35 0.36 821 8.84 12.36 8.08 0.186 1,191 6.24 76 5.01 1.21 7.78 14.6 6.71 3.4 0.06 1.97 2.49 105 3.15 657 1.48 272 0.29 0.186 0.25

8990 HLDG A BROWN 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

6.7 0.93 2.45 1.41 36.05 3.72 5.01 0.51 1.04 1.32 0.157 0.55 53 0.7 0.163 1.65 0.98 1.2 3.64 0.175 0.315 0.6

VOLUME

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

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

4.73 28.5 22.85 1.7 28.95 1.01 0.9 4.8

4.74 28.5 23.2 1.73 29 1.03 0.92 4.81

4.55 28.5 22.7 1.68 28.35 1 0.87 4.64

4.55 28.5 22.95 1.68 28.6 1.01 0.92 4.81

1,388,000 1,000 4,531,100 75,000 9,498,400 10,983,000 2,938,000 9,838,000

6,368,990 28,500 103,927,430 126,870 271,426,425 11,016,760 2,569,460 46,366,460

-9,753,865 -3,380 -36,936,640 -15,935,720

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

8 46.3 1.53 0.53 0.054 5.36 7.62 0.064 2.32 91 9.99 8.55 2.28 1,949 6.2 16.16 3.56 3.88 79.1 0.0092 9.05 0.192 1.36 3.59 3.74 0.98 3.82 2.33 5.7 3.71 18.16 3.15 11.38 5.4 3.36 159 8.72 1,534 1.51 0.41 45.55 82.35 6.26 2.34 1.14 3.16 0.38

8 46.6 1.56 0.54 0.056 5.76 7.62 0.065 2.34 91.5 10 8.85 2.39 1,974 6.2 16.2 3.64 3.91 81.7 0.0093 9.05 0.192 1.36 3.74 3.74 1.04 3.89 2.43 5.7 3.71 18.16 3.16 11.38 5.4 3.4 159 8.81 1,559 1.52 0.425 46.1 82.35 6.27 2.34 1.16 3.17 0.38

7.99 46 1.45 0.52 0.048 5.36 7.25 0.064 2.2 89.7 9.99 8.52 2.28 1,945 6.15 16.12 3.4 3.81 79.1 0.0091 9 0.188 1.35 3.45 3.54 0.94 3.7 2.19 5.46 3.65 18 3.04 11.3 5.35 3.29 159 8.6 1,521 1.48 0.41 45.4 80.6 6.24 2.25 1.12 3.14 0.375

SERVICES 8 46.2 1.45 0.53 0.05 5.76 7.35 0.064 2.24 91 10 8.85 2.39 1,950 6.15 16.2 3.44 3.9 81.5 0.0091 9.04 0.189 1.36 3.54 3.59 1.02 3.71 2.19 5.66 3.65 18 3.04 11.3 5.35 3.4 159 8.6 1,521 1.52 0.42 45.65 82 6.25 2.26 1.12 3.14 0.375

96,200 3,600 6,000 1,693,000 320,810,000 12,600 11,740,700 13,220,000 10,129,000 351,290 600 174,100 15,000 53,080 151,600 30,700 1,663,000 183,000 3,969,150 45,000,000 342,000 12,850,000 211,000 668,000 1,712,000 30,000 2,045,000 221,000 3,804,400 1,163,000 800 7,463,000 1,004,500 108,200 17,000 20 552,000 180,375 9,391,000 1,470,000 5,719,100 1,230,990 156,700 2,647,000 4,699,000 208,000 420,000

769,033 166,585 9,050 884,110 16,541,030 67,784 87,331,713 846,540 22,889,550 31,824,938 5,995 1,511,265 34,310 103,503,785 936,582 497,290 5,913,790 705,160 321,377,230 409,800 3,089,390 2,427,530 285,090 2,364,890 6,160,470 29,510 7,675,100 500,000 21,310,273 4,253,270 14,496 23,050,750 11,430,870 583,058 56,700 3,180 4,796,347 276,452,775 14,153,320 616,200 261,652,960 100,958,141.50 979,421 6,046,300 5,340,540 655,430 157,950

232,160 -2,357,892 3,900 1,521,480.00 2,973,514 6,372,995 -190,100 23,895,527.50 9,300 66,450 -1,661,280 973,560 -520,457 -2,904,930 -167,980 13,160 -873,440.00 -12,409,135 -440,980 -122,977,640 26,899,590 -749,020 1,151,830.00 -6,380 -

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

0.0035 1.79 5.4 1.78 1.85 0.45 0.415 9.14 2.43 0.25 0.187 0.2 0.011 0.011 1.74 6.18 2.24 0.465 0.89 0.012 0.012 4.12 0.013 8.95 3.22 147.5 2.8

0.0035 1.83 5.4 1.78 1.85 0.455 0.415 9.14 2.48 0.255 0.187 0.2 0.012 0.013 1.84 6.3 2.24 0.495 0.9 0.012 0.012 4.12 0.014 8.95 3.22 148 2.8

0.0033 1.67 5.36 1.78 1.83 0.44 0.41 8.81 2.4 0.247 0.182 0.191 0.011 0.011 1.71 6.12 2.09 0.465 0.87 0.011 0.012 4.05 0.013 8.77 3.15 144.1 2.8

MINING & OIL 0.0033 178,000,000 1.68 4,157,000 5.36 626,400 1.78 5,000 1.83 9,000 0.45 240,000 0.41 480,000 9.09 30,100 2.45 1,166,000 0.255 1,190,000 0.182 5,640,000 0.191 410,000 0.012 6,700,000 0.012 276,200,000 1.8 110,000 6.2 2,007,900 2.12 214,000 0.495 460,000 0.89 55,000 0.011 43,900,000 0.012 300,000 4.05 45,000 0.013 63,800,000 8.8 724,400 3.15 853,000 146.4 706,950 2.8 27,000

593,100 7,129,140 3,366,405 8,900 16,570 107,700 197,800 270,540 2,834,330 294,770 1,034,470 79,530 73,900 3,314,400 197,850 12,454,646 453,700 214,500 48,650 504,400 3,600 183,460 877,700 6,392,349 2,697,570 103,281,971 75,600

3,500 -1,089,160 -37,552 -5,550 47,190 2,000 -3,400 -3,127,395 3,600 4,200 -211,407 -54,659,277 -

ABS HLDG PDR AC PREF B1 AC PREF B2 ALCO PREF B FGEN PREF F FGEN PREF G GLO PREF P GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF B MWIDE PREF PCOR PREF 2A PCOR PREF 2B PNX PREF 3A PNX PREF 3B SFI PREF SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

46 529 528 107.5 109 115 525 5.86 1,040 105.2 1,089 1,123 104.4 107.5 2.2 78.3 82 78.95 80.05 79 78.1 79.25

46 529 528 107.5 109 115.5 525 5.86 1,040 105.2 1,089 1,123 104.4 112 2.2 78.3 82 78.95 81.05 79 79.45 79.95

45.95 529 528 106.1 108 115 525 5.86 1,035 105.2 1,089 1,123 104.4 107.5 2.2 78.3 82 78.5 80.05 79 78.1 79.25

PREFERRED 45.95 1,380,800 529 660 528 350 107.5 45,100 108 23,000 115 35,550 525 190 5.86 1,224,000 1,035 4,100 105.2 500 1,089 5 1,123 90 104.4 10,000 112 150 2.2 1,000 78.3 100 82 3,030 78.5 18,550 81.05 55,000 79 113,260 79.45 2,470 79.95 124,600

63,447,780 349,140 184,800 4,818,490 2,484,070 4,089,000 99,750 7,172,640 4,254,000 52,600 5,445 101,070 1,044,000 16,350 2,200 7,830 248,460 1,458,402.50 4,452,750 8,947,540 193,177 9,957,240

-63,443,180 -4,828,640 7,830 -

LR WARRANT

2.19

2.19

2.07

WARRANTS 2.07 229,000

480,190

-

3,483,050 705,661 14,874,749

78,200 -3,556,607

695,341

11,980

MS

PROPERTY 6.8 0.96 2.35 1.38 35.7 3.55 5.13 0.5 1.02 1.28 0.156 0.55 53.4 0.69 0.163 1.66 0.98 1.19 3.64 0.178 0.31 0.58

808,800 15,834,000 432,000 14,186,000 7,415,300 4,934,000 400 5,316,000 49,000 127,000 5,700,000 3,814,000 158,330 348,000 20,000 12,369,000 696,000 112,000 40,892,000 93,970,000 1,210,000 10,915,000

ITALPINAS PHILAB HLDG XURPAS

4.2 6.9 9.49

4.25 7 9.49

3.91 6.7 9.07

FIRST METRO ETF

120.3

120.3

119.5

TRADING SUMMARY

SHARES

FINANCIAL

13,895,835

INDUSTRIAL

181,194,396

HOLDING FIRMS

261,414,260

PROPERTY

272,342,771

SERVICES

480,376,603

MINING & OIL

588,217,238

GRAND TOTAL

1,800,007,743

4.04 6.9 9.07

SME

841,000 103,800 1,615,900

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 119.5 5,810

VALUE 1,820.98 (UP) 0.80 1,198,615,397.4078 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 11,036.19 (DOWN) 19.30 1,708,568,671.427 HOLDING FIRMS 7,258.57 (DOWN) 9.44 1,780,408,582.458 PROPERTY 3,230.32 (DOWN) 22.34 1,476.67 (UP) 2.59 1,473,825,469.035 SERVICES MINING & OIL 11,996.92 (DOWN) 133.07 1,937,099,665.0134 PSEI 7,253.79 (DOWN) 7.96 146,733,674.488 All Shares Index 4,373.82 (DOWN) 9.51 8,265,011,119.8272 Gainers:59; Losers:133; Unchanged: 52; Total: 244

marginally lower. Taipei, Wellington and Manila were down but Sydney ended up 0.3 percent and Shanghai put on 0.1 percent.

“It’s all about the US Fed this week and the market is convinced we will see a rate hike,” said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at AxiTrader in a note.

“And it will be the language Janet Yellen uses in the statement, the dot-plot of expected moves in the next year and Yellen’s press conference which will be the big movers. My sense is that the Fed will signal at least another two hikes this year and another three to four in 2018.”

Energy firms fell despite a rebound in oil prices from Tuesday’s sharp losses.

Both crude contracts lost more than one percent after data emerged showing key producer Saudi Arabia increased production last month, raising questions about the OPEC cartel’s reduction commitment, just as US shale output expands.

However, prices recovered on news from a private firm showing US stockpiles had seen a surprise drop last week, compared with forecasts for a big increase. Brent was up 1.6 percent in Asia Wednesday while West Texas Intermediate gained 1.4 percent.

On currency markets the pound edged up after hitting an eight-week low in New York as Britain prepares to trigger its exit from the European Union. The euro was edged up but is struggling as investors nervously await a general election in the Netherlands, with a far-right, antiEU party in second place.

With AFP, Bloomberg

APC eyes big hydro project in Myanmar

By Alena Mae S. Flores ABOITIZ Power Corp. and partner SN Power of Norway plan to invest in a large impounding hydro project with a capacity of “several hundreds” of megawatts in Myanmar, a top executive said Wednesday.

The move is part of the company’s strategy to expand its power portfolio given the current oversupply of power in the domestic market.

“That’s definitely one outlet. If you look at it, there’s no need to build any new plants here for at least five to seven years. Given what’s being built right now, so yes, you can either go outside or you buy somebody. Adding new capacity is probably not the solution,” Aboitiz Power president Antonio Moraza told reporters.

He said some Aboitiz Power representatives already visited Myanmar to conduct studies on the planned investment.

“We are partnering with our partner in Magat―SN Power,” he said, adding they may also team up with a local company in Myanmar.

Moraza said SN Aboitiz had the expertise to develop hydro projects, having over 15,000 MW of capacity in Norway.

Moraza said the company would focus on hydro power opportunities in Myanmar, instead of geothermal projects.

“Our experience with geothermal is I think we’ve come to realize that it is riskier than we thought,” he said.

Moraza said Aboitiz Power was also moving forward with a hydro project in Indonesia, despite the company’s decision to exit geothermal projects in that country. Aboitiz Power is pursuing the project with SN Power AS and PT Energi Infranusantara along the Lariang River in Central Sulawesi which has the potential capacity of 400 MW to 500 MW.

Business

B3

THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

BSP: Weekly offering volume stays at P180b

By Julito G. Rada

SHELL AWARDS. Shell companies in the Philippines are recognized for their outstanding programs on sustainability, responsible energy, innovation, youth development and safety in the recently concluded 52nd Anvil Awards by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines.

Shell’s flagship programs and projects cited in the awarding ceremonies included Shell–Gawad Kalinga: Building sustainable communities for more than a decade; Shell North Mindanao Import Facility: A game-changer for energy security in Visayas and Mindanao; The 49th Shell National Students Art Competition: Discover, Transform, Fly; Shell Be Well Program: Reinforcing wellness and productivity among its workforce; Project KALSADA: road safety for children; and the Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2016: Driving smarter mobility to address the energy challenge.

China commits to buy more PH agri products

By Othel V. Campos

C

HINA’S commitment to buy Philippine goods has convinced more businessmen in the world’s second-biggest economy to sign more purchase agreements, boosting total pledges to $1.7 billion.

The Chinese government also offered P4 billion in grants to four medium-scale infrastructure projects.

The purchasing agreements signed Wednesday was the “advanced result of President Duterte’s state visit to China” in 2016,” China Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua said.

“This is an effort to balance our trade. It was the first time China asked Chinese busi-

nessmen to directly purchase goods from another country. This is the first-of-its-kind agreement in the Asean,” he said.

The agreements will be the first of many similar arrangements as China also seeks to buy more non-food products such as chemicals and related goods.

China began increasing fruit imports from the Philippines since October 2016 that has led to trade figures of $100 million in the last five months.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said discussion for increased cooperation on trade matters and infrastructure program were moving forward with commitments translating into agreements.

Signed Wednesday were agreements between Chinese and Filipinos companies for the supply of Philippine fruits and agricultural products to China.

The companies include Sinochem Fertilizer Co. Ltd., China SDC International, China National Township Enterprises Corp., CRM International (Beijing) Ltd., China Garments

Co. Ltd., Potevio International Ltd. and China Plastic Products Import & Export Corp.

They were joined by Sinochem Plastics Co. Ltd., China National Chemical Fiber Corp., China Textile Industrial Corp. for Foreign Economic and Technical Corp., Chinatex Raw Materials International Trading Corp., China Sinopharm International Corp., China Cheng Tong Holdings Group Ltd., Chinalight Everbright Import and Export Corp., Kunlun International Co. Ltd., CITIC International Co. Ltd. and China Light General Merchandise Import & Export Corp.

Philippine goods up for trading include organic coconut products, coco fiber, aqua marine products, ethanol, dried sorghum, garments, textiles, fatty alcohol, fruits, copper cathodes and potassium sulfate.

Meanwhile, the P4-billion grant will involve the construction of two bridges over Pasig River—Estrella-Pantaleon and Binondo-Intramuros—as well as two drug rehabilitation centers in Mindanao.

Meralco seeks nod on smart metering

By Alena Mae S. Flores MANILA Electric Co., the biggest electricity retailer, asked the Energy Regulatory Commission to allow the implementation of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure project that will pave the way for postpaid subscribers to avail of its Kuryente Load program starting June 1.

Meralco, in a published petition, said it would install smart meters in Manila, Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig, portions of Rizal and followed by San Juan, Quezon City, Taguig, Marikina, P{assay, Caloocan and Pateros.

“Considering the needed preparations and requirements, Meralco requires sufficient preparation period prior to the target initial commercial offering date,” the company said.

The company said it would continue until the whole franchise is covered by AMI-meters by 2020.

The AIM-meters will allow the rollout of an additional 235,000 smart meters that will not only serve prepaid customers but also also allow postpaid electricity users to manage their consumption.

Meralco offers prepaid electricity currently to prepaid customers under its Kuryente Load brand via smart meters.

These smart meters allow customers to manage consumption similar to mobile phones where users can “top up” or load electricity using credits.

Meralco asked ERC to consider as compliance to the AIM rules its implementation of the prepaid retail electricity service, net metering program, advanced outage management, distribution automation and smart streetlights.

DONBURI MIX IN CAVITE. Donburi Mix, a restaurant which serves authentic high quality yet reasonably

priced Japanese food, opens on March 31 at The Square Mall, Lancaster New City Cavite. Photo shows Triomix Foods Corp. president and CEO Richie Cuna (seated, right) sealing the agreement with its first-ever franchisee Jocelyn Superable (seated, center), a businesswoman from Cavite. Witnessing the event are Triomix managing director Aya Murillo (left), with (standing from left) Triomix manager Reynald Ulanday and Triomix COO Romeo De Asa.

BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas is keeping the weekly volume of P180 billion in the auction of term deposits under the interest corridor system.

Data from Bangko Sentral web site on Wednesday showed the P180-billion offering would be kept at least until March 29.

The volume of the 7-day deposits would remain at P30 billion, while the 28-day deposits at P150 billion. “... We don’t foresee at this point the need for adjusting the volume of offering. As it stands, mopping up by BSP through the TDF remains appropriate and very forward looking because of the impending US Fed action,” Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said in a

text message.

Guinigundo said earlier the current weekly volume of P180 billion would be kept for the meantime despite the successive oversubscription after the holiday season.

He said the regulator was on a wait-and-see mode because it would be hard to increase the volume and then render the market in a tighter condition. He said situation would be unnecessary because it could, in any way, hamper the momentum of economic growth.

The auction on Wednesday remained highly oversubscribed as banks and trust entities swarmed the weekly offer. The 7-day P30 billion lured total bids of P41.125 billion, while the 28-day P150-billion deposits attracted total tenders of P176.89 billion.

National land use law securely needed THREE recent events have served to remind Congress that it still has not passed a law to govern the use of this country’s land, which comprises approximately 30 million hectares. A national land use bill passed third reading in the House of Representatives in the 15th Congress but was killed in the Senate by the reluctance of two Senators (Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Cynthia Villar). A bill to the same effect filed in the 16th Congress failed to make headway.

The three events to which I refer are the push by the new Secretary of Agrarian Reform for a two-year conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural uses; the Duterte Cabinet is apparently opposed to the idea. The second event is the closure or suspension of close to 100 mines by the new Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources; Gina Lopez’s unprecedented action is meeting opposition not only from the mining industry but from some Duterte Cabinet members, including the new Secretary of Finance. The third event to which I refer is the refusal of a colony of Metro Manila informal settlers to be relocated to a site in Bulacan, where they would lack the basic facilities.

Three types of land use are apparent from the three events cited above. They are agriculture, production (in this case, mining) and housing. There are other legitimate claimants on this country’s land: infrastructure (including power generation) and infrastructure.

The kind thing that can be said about present land use in this country is that it is without governance; the unkind thing is that it is close to being a mess. The fact that a national land use is at present governed by a plentitude of laws—including the two CARP laws, the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992, the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997, the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998, the Clean Air Act and the problem faced by the proponents of a rational land use policy.

The other half of the problem is the Local Government Code of 1991, more specifically Section 20 thereof. The said section gave the LGUs (local government units) authority to reclassify agricultural lands, merely on the basis of zoning ordinances included in their comprehensive land use plans (CLUPs), into residential, commercial and industrial sites. Because the CLUPs are not uniform, the configuration of land use varies from city to city and from municipality to municipality. It goes without saying that the ugly head of corruption rears itself in the conversion process.

Clearly, agriculture should be No. 1 priority in a national land use plan. The best agricultural lands in the nation—those that are flat and have access to water—should be especially protected from conversion.

This is not to say that the other legitimate claimants on the nation’s 30 million hectares of land should not receive adequate consideration in a national land use plan. They do. It is a matter of bringing together the experts from all the concerned sectors of Philippine society to discuss—again—the most rational use of this country’s land.

All the concerned government agencies—especially the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Trade and Industry and Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC)—strongly favor the National Physical Framework Plan (NPFP) that the sought-tobe created National Land Use Planning Commission would draw up.

A national land use law should be made to wait no longer. It is sorely needed by the Philippine economy. C’mon, 17th Congress, do your job. And Senator Villar, please be aboard this time.

E-mail: rudyromero777@yahoo.com

Mariwasa bares new set of designs in 22nd Worldbex trade fair MARIWASA, after celebrating its 50th anniversary last year as the Philippines’ leader in the ceramic tile industry, unveils its new set of designs that are attuned to the modern times when it takes part in the 22nd WORLDBEX on March 15 to 19 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

Mariwasa’s world-class standard of beauty and durability has remained a constant for five decades.

“By harnessing the innate ex-

pertise of the Filipino artisan, Mariwasa was able to maintain the world standards of beauty and durability that it set in 1966,” said Mariwasa Siam Ceramics Inc. president Phaskorn Buranawit, who is also the country director for SCG Philippines, Mariwasa’s mother company.

“We felt that the best avenue to launch our modern designs is through the WORLDBEX, where Mariwasa has been a proud partner for years,” added Phaskorn, referring to the Philip-

pines’ largest construction building materials’ exposition.

Mariwasa was the first to manufacture both wall and floor tiles in a vast range of colors and sizes in response to the steadily growing market.

“Mariwasa is committed to be always attuned to the demands of an upbeat, young and upwardly mobile market,” said vice president for sales and marketing Jakkrit Suwansilp.

“I have no doubt that our new, innovative designs will catch the

fancy of the millennials, a growing and important target market.

Our 20x60 wood designs, for example, are better because they are more durable, easy to clean and environmental friendly compared to vinyl flooring and the real wood planks, not to mention our competitive pricing. Our new designs can also be used in the living room, bedroom and other interior requirements,” Jakkrit said.

He added Mariwasa tiles even go beyond their usual applica-

tion.

“Now, Mariwasa tiles are being used as wall cladding—substitute for bricks and wood planks.

Designs that can replicate natural materials (stone, marble, wood) which is cost efficient and easy to maintain than the natural materials,” said Jakkrit.

“With each Mariwasa tile comes a firm commitment to product excellence that is fully supported by extensive research and development,” said Phaskorn.

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

B4

THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017

Business

China warns US vs ‘trade war’

By Patrick BAERT

B

EIJING―Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday warned the United States against starting a trade war while expressing optimism that the world’s two largest economies could keep relations steady despite Trump-era frictions.

“We don’t want to see any trade war breaking out between the two countries. That wouldn’t make our trade fairer,” Li told reporters at a press conference closing China’s annual parliamentary session.

“No matter what bumps the China-US relationship may run into, we hope this relationship will continue to move forward

in a positive direction.”

China and the United States are currently discussing arrangements for a summit between President Donald Trump and his counterpart Xi Jinping that could help ease tensions stoked by Trump’s fiery election-campaign rhetoric.

Trump threatened to upend decades of multilateralism and

raised fears of a trade war with China while on the campaign trail.

After his election victory, he angered Beijing with a protocol-busting telephone conversation with the president of self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its own.

Trump and Xi subsequently smoothed over the dispute last month in a phone call in which the US leader reiterated Washington’s adherence to the “one China” policy that nominally endorses Beijing’s claim to Taiwan.

In the wake of the Xi-Trump conversation, Li said he saw “bright prospects” for bilateral relations.

“I believe whatever differences we have, we can still sit down and talk to each other and

work together to find solutions,” he said.

Li’s parliament-ending press conference is the only time each year that foreign journalists are allowed to put questions to a member of China’s elite leadership inner circle, though they are pre-approved.

Li is second only to Xi in the Communist Party hierarchy.

Li cited a report which he said indicated that if a trade war occurred, “foreign-invested companies, in particular US firms, would bear the brunt of it.”

Li vowed that China would continue to act as a steady pillar of the global economy despite trimming its domestic economic growth forecast for this year.

Delivering his government’s

annual report to the rubber-stamp National People’s Congress 10 days earlier, Li cited a “more complicated and graver situation” facing the global and domestic economy this year.

He said the government growth target for 2017 was “around 6.5 percent, or higher if possible,” a further deceleration after fullyear growth last year came in at 6.7 percent, weakest since 1990.

He said Wednesday that achieving the 2016 target “will not be easy,” and warned that China faced a plethora of financial risks at home.

China is trying to pivot from hyper-fast growth based on investment, heavily-polluting industries, and exports towards a steadier consumer-driven model. AFP

Cathay suffers 1st loss in 8 years HONG KONG―Hong Kong’s troubled flagship airline Cathay Pacific on Wednesday posted its first annual loss since the height of the financial crisis as it was hit by “intense competition” and a drop in demand from business travelers.

The firm is struggling despite an expansion of international air travel in the region as lower cost carriers, particularly from mainland China, eat into its market share.

Companies like China Eastern and China Southern Airlines are offering direct services to Europe and the United States from the mainland, while budget carriers like Spring Airlines offer regional routes, undermining Cathay’s once critical Hong Kong hub.

The airline is also losing premium travelers as it comes under pressure from Middle East rivals which are expanding into Asia and offering more luxury touches.

Analysts said other established Asian operators were similarly suffering from increased competition, but believed Cathay’s major fuelhedging losses put it in an even weaker position.

Its $74-million net loss in 2016 reversed a $773-million profit in the previous year and comes as the firm prepares a wholesale review of its operations, with chairman John Slosar warning 2017 would be similarly “challenging.”

The results, the worst since 2008, were also well off expectations, with an average profit of $57.9 million forecast by analysts in a Bloomberg News survey.

The company’s shares were down almost five percent in early afternoon trade.

Cathay announced a major restructuring program in January that will see jobs axed, but it has not said how many.

“Our organization will become leaner,” Slosar said in a statement to the Hong Kong exchange on Wednesday. “Our aim is to reduce our unit costs excluding fuel over the next three years.”

Passenger revenue dropped 8.4 percent year-on-year to $8.6 billion, hit by overcapacity in the market and weak foreign currencies.

Analyst Jackson Wong of Huarong International Securities said Cathay had lost its niche and would find it hard to turn the corner.

“For a big company like this, with competition in the market now, it’s extremely difficult to turn around the business,” he told AFP. Wong said cost-cutting was the path back to profitability but believed the firm needed to be clearer about what its restructuring would entail to win back investor confidence. AFP

A Cathay Pacific employee walks past a row of self check-in counters at the international airport in Hong Kong on March 15, 2017. Hong Kong’s troubled flagship airline Cathay Pacific swung to a US$74-million loss in 2016, the firm said March 15, citing “intense competition” from rival carriers. AFP

Global growth fragile —Lagarde WASHINGTON―IMF chief Christine Lagarde on Tuesday warned the world’s largest economies to avoid damaging the incipient global recovery with policies that would derail trade and immigration.

In a message to the Group of 20 finance ministers ahead of their meeting this week, Lagarde said the world economy is on the road to recovery, “But it would be a mistake to assume that it will automatically return” to good health.

“Above all, we should collectively avoid self-inflicted injuries,” Lagarde said in a blog post.

“This requires steering clear of policies that would seriously undermine trade, migration, capital flows, and the sharing of technologies across borders.”

The message seemed targeted primarily at US President Donald Trump, who in his first days in office has imposed controversial immigration restrictions, and threatened unilateral trade sanctions against the closest US trading partners, as well as slamming multilateral trade deals and organizations.

“Such measures would hurt the productivity, incomes, and living standards of all citizens,” Lagarde said.

The IMF in January forecast a pickup in global growth to 3.4 percent this year and 3.6 percent in 2018, compared to 3.1 percent last year. This is partly due to expectations of more growthfriendly policies in the United States, as well as better outlook for the euro area, the United Kingdom and Japan.

Lagarde said “the recent strengthening of activity suggests that the world economy may finally snap out of its multi-year convalescence.”

However, she cautioned, “maintaining the positive growth momentum continues to require supportive macroeconomic policies,” since demand is still weak and inflation not reliably back to the desired target in many advanced economies.

The United States has fewer problems with demand, and Lagarde repeated that plans for increased infrastructure investment could help boost US growth, along with “efficiency-enhancing corporate tax reform, and improvements in education,” and that in turn would be good for the global economy. AFP

Konnichiwa Amsterdam: Japan banks seek new home after Brexit

By Gareth Allan and Shingo Kawamoto AS FRANKFURT, Paris and Dublin vie for financial jobs that may move from London after Brexit, two of Japan’s biggest banks have been quietly building their presence elsewhere: Amsterdam.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. are bolstering their units in the Dutch city, where they both hold a banking license that enables them to serve clients throughout the European Union. They still need to choose a location for conducting securities business in the region should the UK’s exit make London a more difficult place to perform certain services for European customers, such as underwriting and derivatives.

Like their global peers, Japanese banks and brokerages employ thousands in London and are closely watching developments over the terms of Brexit to determine whether to move employees and where to station them. While the race among Europe’s financial capitals to lure jobs remains open, Amsterdam is appealing because of a relatively cheap supply of offices, moderate taxes and fluency in English―even if an election on Wednesday could cloud the nation’s future.

“There’s enough space for the foreseeable future and the language and quality of living are probably supportive,” said Robin Van Den Broek, a bank analyst at Mediobanca SpA in London.

Even if the anti-European

Traditional Dutch residential properties sit on a street in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015. Bloomberg

party led by Geert Wilders wins seats, it won’t find coalition partners willing to form a government, he said.

MUFG, Japan’s biggest bank, sought to build its Amsterdam offices even before Brexit became a reality because it wanted the city to serve as a hub for operations on the European continent. Three of the lender’s European offices started reporting to Amsterdam last year and it plans to do the same for eight more including Germany, Spain and Portugal in the year starting April 1, Naoki Mizoguchi, Tokyo-based chief manager of the global planning division, said in an interview.

Mizuho changed the name of its Netherlands unit to Mizuho Bank Europe on Jan. 1, reflecting its role as a subsidiary over-

seeing a number of countries in the region. The Amsterdambased entity manages European operations including Belgium, Austria and Spain.

Japan’s second-largest lender by assets is considering Amsterdam and Dublin among potential locations to base its brokerage unit if it’s impacted by a “heavy Brexit,” Mizuho President Yasuhiro Sato said in an interview in January.

“We’ll have to build the structures that enable us to pursue our strategy,” whether it be in the Netherlands, Ireland, Germany or France, said Kenjiro Oishi, a senior manager in the global corporate coordination department.

“It’s natural for these countries to be on the list,” he said, adding that Mizuho will decide on a general direction as soon as this

month.

Two years of separation talks between the UK and the EU are set to begin as soon as this month after Prime Minister Theresa May this week secured parliament’s approval to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

Terms of the divorce will dictate how many banking jobs move, with forecasts ranging wildly from more than 200,000 to as few as 4,000.

MUFG, Mizuho and rival Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. employ about 6,800 people in Europe. About 4,500 of them are stationed in London, which is their base for Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Sumitomo Mitsui, which is yet to obtain a European banking license outside of the UK, is considering “all possibilities,”

including establishing a unit in Europe, Takeshi Kunibe, chief executive officer of the lending unit, said in January. The bank is committed to business in Europe, where it’s been making acquisitions to boost asset returns, including the purchase of a Dublinbased aircraft-leasing company, said Kenichiro Mori, head of strategic planning.

Nomura, Daiwa Japan’s biggest securities firms are also making plans for Brexit. Nomura Holdings Inc. has brokerage licenses in countries including France and the Netherlands, and relies on so-called passporting rights for access to clients in locations such as Germany and Spain. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. is considering Frankfurt and Dublin to host European operations it may move out of London, CEO Takashi Hibino said in January.

For now, all eyes are on the Dutch election later Wednesday, with final polls showing Wilders’ populist Freedom Party slipping against Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s Liberals.

With its scenic canals, bicycle-friendly streets and well-connected international airport, Amsterdam is an attractive place to live regardless of politics. Banks including ING Groep NV and ABN Amro Group NV are based in the city, along with the Euronext NV exchange and an increasing number of technology startups.

“Amsterdam has a lot to offer compared to others,” said Van Den Broek. Bloomberg

Herbert talks on Benham with CA

LGUs LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

By Rio N. Araja

QUEZON City Mayor Herbert Bautista faced on Wednesday the powerful Commission on Appointments, which deliberated on his promotion to a senior military position.

During the hearing, Bautista said the inclusion of Benham Rise in the 1987 Constitution’s definition of the national territory would further strengthen the country’s claim to the resource-rich waterway on its east coast.

“The Philippine Constitution was ratified 30 years ago, way before the approval by the United Nations of our undisputed claim that Benham Rise is part of the Philippine continental shelf and territory.

This gives us another reason to amend the Constitution and make it attuned to the times,” he said.

The mayor was recently promoted to full colonel in the reserve force of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, thus his promotion was subjected to congressional scrutiny.

He articulated his views on Benham Rise in informal talks that preceded the CA deliberations and confirmation hearing.

Bautista earned a Master in National Security Administration degree from the National Defense College of the Philippines.

Despite its proximity to the provinces of Aurora and Isabela, Benham Rise was not included in the Constitution’s definition of national territory.

“China probably saw this gap in our definition of our national territory, that’s why they’re now testing the waters [and] how we’d mount our legal defenses,” he said.

The United Nations has officially approved and recognized the claim of the Philippines in April of 2012, in strict compliance with the requirements of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor Roger M. Garcia, Assistant Editor jimbo.gulle@gmail.com mslocalgov@gmail.com THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017

C1

ROAD CLEARING. Officers of the Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau clear illegally parked motorcycles along Quezon Boulevard on Wednesday. Norman Cruz

Makati resumes quake drive T

By Joel E. Zurbano

HE city government of Makati has resumed its campaign raising awareness to residents about the “Big One” earthquake and the risk living near the West Valley Fault.

City officials led by Mayor Abigail Binay on Wednesday conducted a dialog with residents of Barangay Rizal to inform them about the city’s contingency plan, and to warn those living within the fivemeter easement on both sides of the fault, declared as “danger zones,” of the risks they face if they do not relocate.

Authorities said the West Val-

ley Fault can generate a large earthquake with 7.2 magnitude, which poses a threat to people’s lives, buildings and infrastructure, and livelihood.

The Makati Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office has organized a series of dialogs for Rizal and three other barangays transected by the fault line, as part of the city’s effort to build resilient and sustainable communities.

Speaking to 345 residents and officials of Rizal, Binay urged the residents to relocate for their own safety, as seismologists say the fault is already ripe for movement and could cause a massive earthquake in Metro Manila.

“We cannot predict exactly when the earthquake will happen, but it is inevitable. Earthquakes are not like typhoons, which can easily be detected through weather instruments.

Thus, we must not be complacent,” the mayor said.

Currently, there are 99 lots in Rizal tagged within the danger zone, while Comembo has eight lots, Pembo has 93, and East Rembo 113.

Binay said although there will be no forced eviction for

residents who refuse to relocate, they will be asked to sign a waiver stating they accept the risks, and that they expect no assistance from the city government. She also clarified the city government will not purchase the affected lots.

Those who will agree to relocate will receive financial assistance from the city government, the mayor said.

Binay said since most lots are usually occupied by more than one family, their financial aid will be computed on a perhousehold basis. She added the lots that will be vacated will be cleared of structures and will be converted into linear parks.

For residents not living within the

danger zone, the city government has partnered with Build Change, a non-government organization that will help them in assessing and reinforcing their houses.

The assembly was also attended

by Makati Second District Rep. Luis Campos Jr., other city officials, and representatives from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology or Phivolcs.

Jeffrey Perez, science research specialist of Phivolcs, advised residents to make their houses sturdy, as he showed photographs of fault ruptures during the Luzon earthquake on July 16, 1990, the Masbate earthquake on Feb. 15, 2003, and the 7.2-magnitude earthquake in North Bohol on Oct. 15, 2013.

Erap doles out P20m in building materials

PANAGBENGA HALL OF FAMER. Baguio City Mayor Mauricio Domogan (second from right) awards the championship trophy and prize to

Manila North Tollways Corp. assistant vice president for marketing Grace Ayento (third from right) for the company’s winning float in the Panagbenga Festival Grand Float Competition last month (inset photo). Flanking them are (from left) former Congressman Bernardo Vergara, Rep. Mark Go, Baguio City Councilor Leandro Yangot, and Panagbenga Chief of Staff Vanj Payno. With the championship, the company has been ushered into the Hall of Fame of the Panagbenga Float contest, having won consecutive championships since 2015. MNTC, as builder and concessionaire of the NLEX and SCTEX, is a staunch supporter of the Panagbenga Festival since 2010.

Security guard returns bag with P119k

By Roy Tomandao SANTA ROSA CITY, Laguna—A security guard was lauded for returning a bag containing more than P100,000 in cash that was left inside a grocery push cart at a mall here last Saturday.

Algine Mantilla, a security guard at SM Santa Rosa, spotted the bag that contained a total of P119,000 in various bills and some important documents. He turned over the bag to the mall’s security office, which in turn diligently identified and contacting the bag’s owner, Mario Madlangbayan of Cabuyao, Laguna.

Madlangbayan had just finished his grocery shopping and was on his way home when he forgot his bag, he told reporters here. He thanked Mantilla for his honesty in returning the bag, which

contained bundles of cash in P100, P500 and P1,000 denominations.

Mantilla, 22, has been a security guard for just four months, all at SM Santa Rosa.

The eldest of three children, he hails from Cabulihan, Maasin City, Southern Leyte.

He spotted the bag inside the pushcart at the mall’s pedestrian area.

When asked why he was not tempted to take the money, Mantilla said he was happy that he could help someone.

“The money was not mine. Money can be easily spent, but a clear conscience and dignity has no replacement,” he said in the vernacular.

Security guard Algine Mantilla (left) returns the bag to its owner Mario Madlangbayan.

Roy Tomandao

FULFILLING a promise, Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada has donated P20 million worth of construction materials to hundreds of families who recently lost their homes in a huge fire at Parola Compound in Tondo.

Estrada led the distribution last Monday of hundreds of pieces of roofing sheets, lumber, nails and other building supplies to the first batch of 1,050 affected families at Apex Compound.

Each family received eight pieces of iron sheets, 23 pieces of lumber, five pieces of plywood, and assorted nails, all brand new.

It was Estrada’s second visit to the fire victims. He earlier went to Del Pan Sports Complex to comfort the affected families and hand over much-needed relief goods, and promised to help them rebuild their homes.

The Feb. 7 fire at the impoverished Parola community burned down 1,162 houses, and

left 2,100 families or 8,555 individuals homeless.

Whenever a calamity or disaster strikes in Manila, Estrada’s topmost priority is to help the affected residents, he said.

Last August, he distributed P3 million worth of construction materials to families in Baseco Compound and Quiapo who were hit by tornado and fire.

He also sent 100 City Hall workers to assist the residents in the repair and reconstruction of their homes.

In March 2016, Estrada also donated P7.3 million worth of construction supplies to families who lost their homes in separate fires in barangays 775 and 770 in Sta. Ana. When a big fire razed 130 houses in barangays 155 and 160 in Dagupan Extension, Tondo on Jan. 1 last year, Estrada also helped the victims reconstruct their homes. Sandy Araneta

Tabuk City poverty alleviation plan set TABUK CITY, Kalinga— The city government recently launched a poverty alleviation program to answer the priority needs of its top 10 identified poorest barangays, namely Guilayon, Magnao, Nambucayan, Gobgob, Cudal, San Juan, San Julian, BadAo Dangwa, Bantay and Laya West.

City Planning and Development Officer Maricel Kiley said the barangays were picked based on the 2015 Community Based Monitoring System result, which revealed that 37.3 percent of the city’s total household were below the poverty threshold.

Last October, members of the City Development Council adopted “Oplan Matagoan:

Culasa, Babago Sa Guinamma” plan, derived from the names of the barangays, as an intervention to introduce the needed development and uplift their current economic status.

Aimed at improving the quality of life of communities in the 10 barangays, Oplan Matagoan specifically targets reducing the city’s poverty incidence by 3 percent annually during the program period.

An Oplan Matagoan Committee will be organized to formulate the plan and budget for the project, Kiley said. It will also serve as the overall program supervisor and coordinating body of the project’s implementation with the concerned department or agency. Dexter A. See

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

LGUs

THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017 Standard C2 TODAY Manila

Cagayan wants 2 more districts

By Jessica M. Bacud

T

UGUEGARAO CITY—Cagayan province is keen on adding two more legislative districts under its Cagayan Development Agenda (Caganda) 2025.

SEC MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. ___4___ Series of 2017 TO : REGISTERED ISSUERS, PUBLIC AND MUTUAL FUND COMPANIES SUBJECT :

“Cagayan is too large, that is why there is a necessity for additional legislative districts,” Gov. Manuel Mamba said Wednesday.

As stated in Caganda Agenda No.10, forming new districts in Cagayan will improve the flow of government service in the province, and will boost the socioeconomic condition in the locales. Additional representatives from the province in Congress may also result in higher funds for the province.

Mamba stressed it is possible to form new legislative districts for a province through an act of

Congress, with a requirement of not less than 120,000 voting population in each proposed district.

Being a former presidential legislative liaison officer, the governor said such act “will be affirmable.”

He cited the province of Cavite and Quezon City, where additional districts have been approved by Congress owing to their growing populations. Neighboring province Isabela is also pushing the same, to have six legislative districts from their present four in Congress.

Should Cagayan be divided into five districts based on Mamba’s

1.

A company’s independent director shall serve for a maximum cumulative term of nine (9) years;

2.

After which, the independent director shall be perpetually barred from reelection as such in the same company, but may continue to qualify as a nonindependent director;

3.

In the instance that a company wants to retain an independent director who has served for nine (9) years, the Board should provide meritorious justification/s and seek shareholders’ approval during the annual shareholders’ meeting; and

4.

Reckoning of the cumulative nine-year term is from 2012.

P1.6-b city center rising in San Fernando has multiple uses—for sport and social events and for disasters SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga— and other emergencies. It will A P1.6-billion multipurpose center have a track oval, biking lanes, will rise in Barangay Del Rosario gym and sport facilities, green as part of the New City of San Fer- space for nature like picnic and nando five-year sustainable urban playgrounds, gardens, a park renewal program. and a convention center.

Mayor Edwin D. Santiago The center is convertible into an said construction on the center evacuation site during emergenwill start this year with the pur- cies like flooding and earthchase of nine hectares of land quakes, the mayor added. in the barangay, and will be built The other components phase by phase owing to limited of the five-year development funds of the city government. program—a community-based The construction of the center program with participatory govCYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK is in line with the regional plan ernance of a robust Citizen Conof the National Economic and sultative Committee and other Development Authority, Region- non-government organizations— al Development Council, and the are a good public transport sysMegalopolis project of second tem with rapid bus transits with district Rep. Gloria Macapagal street connectivity, sustainable Arroyo, the former President, and well-maintained drainage and Gov. Lilia Pineda. system, sanitation and cleanliSantiago said the center ness, and organic farming.

By Romeo Dizon

This Memorandum Circular shall take effect immediately.

All past resolutions or circulars of the Commission that are inconsistent with this Circular shall be deemed repealed or modified accordingly.

Pasay City, Philippines, __10__ March 2017.

For the Commission: (SGD) TERESITA J. HERBOSA Chairperson (MS-MAR. 16, 2017)

SEC MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. ___5___ Series of 2017 TO

:

ALL INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS

SUBJECT

:

CERTIFICATE OF QUALIFICATION

DATE : 07 March 2017 _________________________________________________________________

Baguio utility lines to go underground

To promote full disclosure of the qualifications of independent directors to hold said position, the Commission in its en banc meeting on 02 March 2017 resolved to update the pro forma Certification required from all independent directors.

The Certification shall include, among others, disclosure of any pending criminal or administrative investigation or proceedings, positions held in GovernmentOwned and Controlled Corporations and the required written permission or consent from the head of Department/Agency [for those in government service].

By Dexter A. See

The Certification shall be submitted together with the companies’ Information Statements (SEC Form 20-IS) and before the election of the independent director.

BAGUIO CITY—Public utility and cable companies operating here are supporting the planned conversion of existing overhead lines to underground lines to prevent dangling wires that are an eyesore in the central business district.

Officials of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and Sky Cable appeared before the regular session of the City Council on Monday to signify their support to the proposed ordinance authored by Councilor Leandro B. Yangot Jr.

This Memorandum Circular shall take effect immediately.

Pasay City, Philippines, __10___ March 2017.

For the Commission: TERESITA J. HERBOSA Chairperson

CERTIFICATION OF INDEPENDENT DIRECTOR I, ____________________________, Filipino, of legal age and a resident of ________________________, after having been duly sworn to in accordance with law do hereby declare that: 1.

I am a nominee for independent director of ___________________ _________________ and have been its independent director since __________________ (where applicable).

2.

I am affiliated with the following companies or organizations (including Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations):

COMPANY/ ORGANIZATION

4.

POSITION/ RELATIONSHIP

COMPANY

NATURE OF RELATIONSHIP

5.To the best of my knowledge, I am not the subject of any pending criminal or administrative investigation or proceeding / I disclose that I am the subject of the following criminal/administrative investigation or proceeding (as the case may be): OFFENSE CHARGED/ INVESTIGATED

TRIBUNAL OR AGENCY INVOLVED

STATUS

(For those in government service/affiliated with a government agency or GOCC) I have the required written permission or consent from the __(head of the agency/department)__ to be an independent director in ___________________________, pursuant to Office of the President Memorandum Circular No. 17 and Section 12, Rule XVIII of the Revised Civil Service Rules.

7.

I shall faithfully and diligently comply with my duties and responsibilities as independent director under the Securities Regulation Code and its Implementing Rules and Regulations, Code of Corporate Governance and other SEC issuances.

8.

I shall inform the Corporate Secretary of ____________________________ of any changes in the abovementioned information within five days from its occurrence.

Done, this___________day _______________________.

of______________,at

______________________________ Affiant SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this _______ day of ________________ at ____________________, affiant personally appeared before me and exhibited to me his/her _____________________ _______________ issued at ___________________________________ on ______________________________.

Doc. No. __________; Page No. __________; Book No. _________; Series of __________;

NATIONAL TOBACCO ADMINISTRATION Scout Reyes Street, corner Panay Avenue, Quezon City Tel No. (02) 374-3987 Fax. No. (02) 374-2505

I am related to the following director/officer/substantial shareholder of _(covered company and its subsidiaries and affiliates)_other than the relationship provided under Rule 38.2.3 of the Securities Regulation Code. (where applicable)

(MS-MAR. 16, 2017)

The proposal would require all public utility companies utilizing wires and cables to install underground lines, and obliges the firms to convert overhead lines within the central business district to underground lines.

It was not clear during the discussions who would shoulder the expensive cost of putting the overhead lines underground, which could also mean higher rates from the utility firms. PLDT and SkyCable officials, however, agreed underground lines “will be better and greatly advantageous in ensuring lesser interruptions during the onslaught of strong typhoons.”

Republic of the Philippines DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

PERIOD OF SERVICE

I possess all the qualifications and none of the disqualifications to serve as an Independent Director of _________________________ ________, as provided for in Section 38 of the Securities Regulation Code, its Implementing Rules and Regulations and other SEC issuances.

NAME OF DIRECTOR/OFFICER/ SUBSTANTIAL SHAREHOLDER

6.

District 5 would then include Piat, Rizal, Solana, Sto Niño and Tuao for 119,060 voters. While its proposed voting population is short of the requirement by almost a thousand, Mamba said he is optimistic will reach the mark by the 2019 elections.

Mamba said the composition of the proposed districts is based on each town’s geographical location, indigenous and cultural situation.

He is hoping that other political leaders, especially the representatives from the province, and the Cagayanos will support the idea.

TERM LIMIT OF INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS

DATE : 09 March 2017 ______________________________________________________________________ To promote and reinforce board independence and to be consistent with recognized regional best practice, the Commission in its en banc meeting on 09 March 2017 resolved to amend its rules on the term limit of independent directors as follows:

3.

proposal, District 1 would include the towns of Alcala, Amulung, Baggao, Gattaran and Iguig, with 130,720 total voters.

District 2 would include Abulug, Allacapan, Ballesteros, Calayan, Claveria, Lasam, Pamplona, Sanchez Mira and Sta. Praxede at 137,086 voters.

Enrile, Peñablanca and Tuguegarao City would form District 3 with 122,034 voters.

Aparri, Buguey, Camalaniugan, Gonzaga, Lal-lo, Sta. Ana and Sta. Teresita would make up District 4 with 137, 537 voters.

Re-invitation to Bid for Security Services for the Offices of the NATIONAL TOBACCO ADMINISTRATION (NTA), at the National Capital Region (NCR), Regions I, II, CAR and IV-A l.

The NATIONAL TOBACCO ADMINISTRATION (NTA), through the Corporate Operating Budget for CY 017, intends to apply the sum of PhP 10,156,521.00 being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC), for the first year only, to payments under the contract for Security Services, broken down by lots, Lot 1 - PhP3,335,331.00; Lot 2 -PhP 1,896,300.00; Lot 3 - PbP2,167,200.00; Lot 4 - PhP 1,596,618.00; and Lot 5 -PbPl,161,072.00. for the Offices of the NATIONAL TOBACCO ADMINISTRATION (NTA), at the National Capital Region (NCR). Regions I, IT, CAR and lV-A (PB 2017-02). Bids received in excess of the ABC fur each lot shall be automatically rejected at bid opening. However, bids below the minimum wage orders shall, likewise, be automatically rejected.

2. The NTA now invites bids for the provision of Security Services, including Security Guards and ammunitions and other security paraphernalia, for the offices of the NTA, al the NCR and Regions I, II and IV-A, for a period of one {l) year. Delivery of the Goods is required for a period of one (1) year, from May 01, 2017 to April 30, 2018. Bidders should have completed, within five (5) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents. particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

3. Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a nondiscretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”. (i) Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines. and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to RA 5183 and subject to Commonwealth Act 138. (ii) Bidding is open to all interested bidders, whether local or fureign, subject to the conditions for eligibility provided in the IRRofRA 9184.

4. Interested bidders may obtain further information from the NTA and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during working days from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.

A complete set of Bidding Documents· may be purchased by interested Bidders on March 16,2017 to April 06, 2017 from the address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee fur the Bidding Documents in the amounts respectively, as follows: Lot 1 - PhP5,000.00; Lot 2 - PhP5,000.00;Lot 3 - PhP5,000.00; Lot 4 - PhP5,000.00 and Lot 5 - PhP5,000.00 It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the website of the NTA, provided that Bidders shall pay the nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.

5. The NTA will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on March 24, 2017, 10:00 am. at the 3rd Floor NTA Building, Cors. Scout Reyes Street and Panay Avenue, Quezon City, which shall be open only to all interested parties who have purchased the Bidding Documents.

6. Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before April 07, 2017, 10:00 am., at the 3rd Floor NTA Building, Cors Scout Reyes Street and Panay Avenue, Quezon City All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in the Bidding Documents.

Bid opening shall be on April 07, 2017, 10:00 am. at the 3ni Floor NTA Building, Cors.

Scout Reyes Street and Panay Avenue, Quezon City. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.

7. The NTA reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

8. For further information, please refer to: CRISTINA C. LOPEZ, DBA National Tobacco Administration Cors Scout Reyes Street and Panay Avenue, Quezon City Tel No. 372 3188; cclnta@yahoo.com Fax No. 373 2095 Website Address:nta.da.gov.ph (SGD) CRISTINA C. LOPEZ, DBA Chairman, NTA-BAC (MS-MAR. 16, 2017)

RE: Application for the issuance of Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) to operate the vessel MV “SWM STELLA DEL MAR”, a liner Passenger vessel in the operation of its ship/s in its/their applied route for the carriage of passengers and cargoes and to charge deregulated rates and to operate under a deregulated schedule of trips pursuant to Republic Act No. 9295 and its Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations.

SOUTHWEST PREMIERE FERRIES, INC., Applicant. x - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - x

CASE NO.SUR 17-018

NOTICE OF HEARING Application for the issuance of Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC), pursuant to the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (R-IRR) of the Republic Act (R.A.) 9295, to wit: NAME OF VESSEL MV “SWM STELLA DEL MAR”

SERVICE TO BE OFFERED Carriage of Passengers, Cargoes and Rolling Cargoes

ROUTES TO BE SERVED:

Tuesday Thursday Saturday

Wednesday Friday Sunday

Monday

SURIGAO BASE PORT Departure 0000H 0900H 1800H SURIGAO BASE PORT Departure

LlLOAN Arrival 0300H 1200H 2100H LlLOAN Arrival

0430H 1330H SURIGAO BASE PORT Departure 0100H 1100H

0730H 1630H LlLOAN Arrival 0400H 1400H

LlLOAN Departure 0430H 1330H

SURIGAO BASE PORT Arrival 0730H 1630H

LlLOAN Departure 0000H 0900H 1800H LlLOAN Departure 0600H 1600H

SURIGAO BASE PORT Arrival 0300H 1200H 2100H SURIGAO BASE PORT Arrival 0900H 1900H

Ports Surigao Base Port - Liloan Liloan - Surigao Base Port Surigao Base Port - Benit Benit - Surigao Base Port Surigao Base Port - Liloan Liloan - Surigao Base Port

DAILY Departure 5:00 9:30 14:00 16:30 19:00 23:30

Arrival 8:00 12:30 15:00 17:30 22:00 2:30

Ports Surigao Base Port - Benit Benit - Surigao Base Port Surigao Base Port - Benit Benit - Surigao Base Port Surigao Base Port - Benit Benit - Surigao Base Port Surigao Base Port - Liloan Liloan - Surigao Base Port

DAILY Departure 5:00 7:30 10:00 12:30 15:00 17:30 20:00 0:30

Arrival 6:00 8:30 11 :00 13:30 16:00 18:30 23:00 3:30

MONDAY TO SUNDAY

Ports Surigao Base Port - Liloan Liloan - Surigao Base Port Surigao Base Port - Benit Benit - Surigao Base Port Surigao Base Port - Liloan Uloan - Surigao Base Port

DAILY Departure 0600H 1030H 1500H 1730H 2000H 0030H

Arrival 0900H 1330H 1600H 1830H 2300H 0330H

The applicant shall cause the publication of this Order in a newspaper of general circulation at least 5 days before the hearing.

Applicant shall present the jurisdictional, qualification and documentary requirements in a hearing to be conducted on 21 March 2017, Tuesday at 10:00 o’clock in the morning at the MARINA, Regional Office, PPL/Lt Mario B. Portus, Jr. PPA Compound, Surigao City.

The Applicant shall be required to make a written Formal Offer of Exhibits (FOE) within five (5) days after the initial hearing.

WITNESS, the Honorable MARINA Administrator, Marcial Quirico C. Amaro III, PhD, this 13th day of March 2017, Surigao City, Philippines.

FOR THE ADMINISTRATOR: (Pursuant to AO No.11-24-2014)

(MS=MAR. 16, 2017)

EMMANUEL B. CARPIO Regional Director

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

World IN BRIEF Artillery exchanges rock Tripoli TRIPOLI―Artillery exchanges rocked the Libyan capital for a third day on Wednesday after forces loyal to the UN-backed government stormed the headquarters of a rival militia overnight, witnesses said.

Libya has experienced years of violence and lawlessness since the NATO-backed ouster of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, with rival parliaments and governments trading barbs and militias fighting over territory and the country’s vast oil wealth.

Militia loyal to former prime minister Khalifa Ghweil, whose administration was replaced by the UN-backed government last year, have stepped up a campaign of defiance against its authority.

The militia, mainly drawn from Ghweil’s hometown, third city Misrata, were putting up fierce resistance in their base in the Guest Palace, a complex of luxury villas in the city centre.

A rocket hit the Al-Khadhra Hospital without causing any casualties, a medic said.

Overnight, gunmen stormed the headquarters of Al-Nabaa television, a privately owned channel known for its Islamist leanings, witnesses said.

The channel remained off the air on Wednesday.

The fighting brought life in the capital to a standstill with schools and shops closed. AFP

Kidnapped Australian woman freed SYDNEY―An Australian woman kidnapped in Afghanistan last year has been released, officials said Thursday.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation said the woman was an aid worker abducted in November last year in the Afghan capital Kabul, reportedly at gunpoint.

“An Australian woman kidnapped in Afghanistan has been released,” the department of foreign affairs said in a statement, thanking authorities in Afghanistan for their support and assistance.

“Her family welcomes her safe return and asks that the media respect their privacy at this time.”

Australia warns its nationals not to travel to Afghanistan, saying in its latest advisory last month that “aid workers, journalists, and employees of foreign companies could be kidnap targets”.

“Do not travel to Afghanistan because of the extremely dangerous security situation and the very high threat of terrorist attack,” it added.

Last August, an Australian aid worker, Katherine Jane Wilson, was rescued by Afghan special forces.

She had been abducted by unidentified masked gunmen from Jalalabad near the border with Pakistan four months earlier. AFP

Bild slams Turkish president BERLIN―Germany’s biggestselling daily Bild on Wednesday lashed out at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, branding him persona non grata and accusing him of “endangering Europe’s stability through his lust for power”.

“Bild tells the truth to Erdogan’s face -- you are not a democrat! You are hurting your country! You are not welcome here!,” the tabloid-style newspaper said on its front page.

The outburst accompanied with an article headlined “the little man from the Bosphorus” came as Ankara is locked with several European nations, including Germany, in a bitter row over Turkish ministers’ plans to hold rallies abroad.

Ankara had reacted with fury after several German towns blocked Turkish politicians from holding rallies in Germany ahead of a crucial referendum that could vastly expand Erdogan’s powers.

With eligible voters numbering some 1.4 million in Germany alone, Erdogan’s government is eager to tap the diaspora vote in the April 16 poll.

Erdogan has accused Germany of “Nazi practices” for blocking his ministers from speaking.

Turkey has also suspended top-level ties with The Netherlands, and has shut out the Dutch ambassador to Ankara until The Hague meets its conditions over the rallies. AFP

THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017

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US warned against trade war B EIJING―Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday warned the United States against starting a trade war while expressing optimism that the world’s two largest economies could keep relations steady despite Trumpera frictions.

“We don’t want to see any trade war breaking out between the two countries. That wouldn’t make our trade fairer,” Li told reporters at a press conference closing China’s annual parliamentary session.

“No matter what bumps the China-US relationship may run into, we hope this relationship will continue to move forward in a positive direction.”

China and the United States are currently discussing arrangements for a summit between President Donald Trump and his counterpart Xi Jinping that could help ease tensions stoked by Trump’s fiery electioncampaign rhetoric.

Trump threatened to upend decades of multilateralism and raised fears of a trade war with China while on the campaign trail.

After his election victory, he angered Beijing with a protocol-busting telephone conversation with the president of self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its own.

Trump and Xi subsequently smoothed over the dispute last month in a phone call in which the US leader reiterated Washington’s adherence to the “one China” policy that nominally endorses Beijing’s claim to Taiwan.

In the wake of the Xi-Trump conversation, Li said he saw “bright prospects” for bilateral relations.

“I believe whatever differences we have, we can still sit down and talk to each other and work together to find solutions,” he said.

Li’s parliament-ending press conference is the only time each year that foreign journalists are allowed to put questions to a member of China’s elite leadership inner circle, though they are pre-approved.

Li is second only to Xi in the Communist Party hierarchy.

Li cited a report which he said indicated that if a trade war occurred, “foreign-invested companies, in particular US firms, would bear the brunt of it”.

Li vowed that China would continue to act as a steady pillar of the global economy despite trimming its domestic economic growth forecast for this year.

Delivering his government’s annual report to the rubber-stamp National People’s Congress 10 days earlier, Li cited a “more complicated and graver situation” facing the global and domestic economy this year.

He said the government growth target for 2017 was “around 6.5 percent, or higher if possible,” a further deceleration after fullyear growth last year came in at 6.7 percent, weakest since 1990.

He said Wednesday that achieving the 2016 target “will not be easy”, and warned that China faced a plethora of financial risks at home.

China is trying to pivot from hyper-fast growth based on investment, heavily-polluting industries, and exports towards a steadier consumer-driven model.

But the transition is complicated by the slowing growth, a slumping currency, bloated industrial firms, capital flight abroad, and fears of a looming housing bubble and badloan crisis.

Li said China would “continue to be a strong driving force in the face of a sluggish global economy recovery.” AFP

GENERAL ELECTIONS. Netherlands’ politician Geert Wilders of the Freedom Party casts his ballot for the Dutch general elections at

a polling station in The Hague on March 15, 2017. Millions of Dutch voters were going to the polls on March 15 in key elections overshadowed by a blazing diplomatic row with Turkey, with all eyes on the fate of far-right MP Geert Wilders. Following last year’s shock Brexit vote, and Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential polls, the Dutch general elections are seen as a litmus test of the strength of the far-right and populist parties ahead of other ballots in Europe this year. AFP

Indonesia vows action on cruise ship SORONG, Indonesia―Indonesia on Wednesday vowed to take action after a British-owned cruise ship smashed into pristine coral reefs and caused extensive damage, as the residents of the popular tourist site lamented that “paradise” had been ruined.

The foreign ministry in Jakarta said the damage caused by Caledonian Sky could amount to a criminal act, and that authorities may try to seek the extradition of the ship’s captain to Indonesia.

Raja Ampat in eastern Indonesia is one of the most biodiverse marine habitats on Earth, and attracts intrepid travelers and divers to its palm-fringed islands surrounded by coral and fish.

The accident happened this month when the 4,200-ton ship smashed into the reefs

at low tide around Kri, one of hundreds of small islands in Raja Ampat, after taking tourists on a bird-watching expedition.

The boat, which was carrying 102 passengers and 79 crew, became grounded on the reefs and only refloated later on a high tide. Numerous attempts to free it using a tug boat failed, and only caused further damage to the corals.

Residents of Raja Ampat, located in the remote eastern region of Papua, have expressed anger at the impact on tourism and livelihoods of fishermen, while the government has reacted with fury.

“This will not be tolerated,” Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said.

“The government is very concerned and very worried about this incident and cer-

tainly all steps will be taken to ensure accountability.”

He added one step the government could take was to seek the extradition of the ship’s captain back to Indonesia.

Authorities say destruction of coral reef is against the law, and someone found guilty of deliberately carrying out such an act could be jailed for up to 10 years.

After Indonesia, the vessel sailed on to the Philippines and officials have expressed anger the captain did not stay in the country while the damage was still being assessed.

Martin Makusi, a local tourist guide and owner of a homestay in Raja Ampat, said he was “devastated” by the destruction of the reefs. AFP

Kim’s identity finally established by DNA

WHITEOUT. A tourist poses for a photo with the bull on Broadway on March 14, 2017, in New York.

Winter Storm Stella unleashed its fury on much of the northeastern United States on March 14, dropping snow and sleet across the region that led to school closures and thousands of flight cancellations. Stella, the most powerful winter storm of the season, was forecast to dump up to two feet of snow in New York and whip the area combined with winds of up to 95 kilometers per hour, causing treacherous whiteout conditions. But after daybreak the National Weather Service revised down its predicted snow accumulation for the city of New York, saying the storm had moved across the coast. AFP

KUALA LUMPUR―Malaysia has used a DNA sample from one of Kim Jong-Nam’s children to confirm the identity of the assassinated half-brother of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Un, the deputy prime minister said Wednesday.

Investigators “confirmed the identity of the body as Kim JongNam based on the sample obtained from his child”, said Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, without elaborating further.

The 45-year-old was poisoned with the deadly nerve agent VX in a brazen Cold War-style assassination on February 13 in Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Seoul has blamed Pyongyang for his death, but the North has rejected those claims and has never confirmed the identity of the victim, who was carrying a passport bearing the name of Kim Chol when he was attacked.

Malaysia officially confirmed his identity on Friday, but refused to say whether authorities had obtained a DNA sample from next-of-kin.

Police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said at the time that concerns “for the

security of the witnesses” prevented him from revealing further details.

The killing triggered a bitter row between Malaysia and North Korea, which have expelled each other’s ambassadors and refused to let their citizens leave.

Pyongyang has denounced the Malaysian investigation as an attempt to smear the secretive regime, insisting that he most likely died of a heart attack.

Kim’s wife and children, who were living in exile in the Chinese territory of Macau, staged a vanishing act after the murder. There are fears his 21-year-old son, Kim Han-Sol, could be targeted next.

Three Malaysian embassy staff and six family members are stranded in Pyongyang after North Korea barred Malaysians from leaving the country last week, prompting a titfor-tat move by Kuala Lumpur.

Two women -- one Vietnamese and one Indonesian -- have been arrested and charged with the murder.

Airport CCTV footage shows them approaching the victim and apparently smearing his face with a piece of cloth. AFP

Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

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THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017

World

Tillerson begins tour amid N. Korea crisis T OKYO―Washington’s top diplomat was to fly into Tokyo on Wednesday to begin a first tour of Asian capitals under the shadow of North Korea’s nuclear posturing.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has promised to take a tough line on Kim Jong-un’s isolated regime as he talks to allies Japan and South Korea and to rival great power China.

The former oilman will also talk commerce, after President Donald Trump’s belligerent campaign rhetoric raised the specter of a trade war between the United State and China.

But US officials confirmed North Korea’s provocative behavior would be “front and center” as Tillerson meets Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday.

After Tokyo, it will be on to Seoul, a city already within range

of North Korea’s artillery and rocket batteries, for talks with the acting leader after a corruption scandal saw President Park GeunHye ousted last week.

And then at the weekend, there will be his much anticipated trip to Beijing, amid reports that Tillerson will seek to finalize plans for Chinese leader Xi Jinping to visit Trump in April.

Here, he might get a positive response. In a news conference after the annual National People’s Congress parliament meeting on Wednesday, Premier Li Keqiang said “there are bright prospects for China-US cooperation.”

He warned that US investments in China would bear the

brunt of any trade war, and argued: “I believe whatever differences we have, we can still sit down and talk to each other and work together to find solutions.”

But Tillerson will also have to broach the topic of North Korea’s progress towards building an intercontinental ballistic missile that would be able to threaten US mainland cities or bases in the Pacific.

“He’s going to have an opportunity at every stop to talk about next steps or what we do now, with respect to North Korea,” acting State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters.

“I mean, it’s obviously the looming challenge over our relations and, frankly, the security of the Korean Peninsula,” he added in a news briefing before Tillerson left Washington.

China is perhaps the last country with significant leverage over North Korea, which has ignored several rounds of UN-backed

sanctions targeting its banned nuclear weapons program.

Beijing shares US concerns over Pyongyang’s attempts to build an arsenal of nuclear devices, but has been much more measured in its reaction to the ballistic missile program.

Xi’s government has been reluctant to back any moves that might destabilize Kim’s regime, and is publicly more concerned about Washington’s decision to deploy the THAAD missile defense program in South Korea.

Washington insists THAAD is a defensive system deployed to protect the South and US bases from North Korean missiles, but China fears its advanced radar system undermines China’s nuclear deterrent.

In recent comments, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi implied the United States and North Korea were equally at fault for the latest crisis and moving towards a “head-on collision”. AFP

Carrier joins exercises in latest show of force SEOUL―A nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier arrived in South Korea on Wednesday for joint military exercises, the US Navy said, in the latest show of force against the North.

The USS Carl Vinson berthed in the southern port of Busan as US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson began a tour of the region, where tensions have spiked in recent weeks with missile launches from the nuclear-armed North and the brazen assassination of Kim Jong-Un’s half-brother in Malaysia.

Pyongyang has long condemned the annual joint drills, which involve tens of thousands of troops, as provocative rehearsals for invasion, while Seoul and Washington insist they are purely defensive in nature.

The aircraft carrier and a US destroyer will conduct naval drills including an anti-submarine maneuver with South Koreans in waters off the Korean peninsula as part of the annual Foal Eagle exercise. Yonhap news agency said the navy drills will kick off next week.

“The importance of the exercise is to continue to build our alliance and our relationship and strengthen that working relationship and interoperability between our ships,” Rear Admiral James Kilby, commander of USS Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group 1, told journalists.

He said training opportunities in the region were “world-class” and allow the US to “build upon our strong alliance” with the South.

The North’s official KCNA news agency said Tuesday that “all US military strategic assets including its aircrafts are within

the cross hair of our powerful, precision striking means”.

In an apparent response to the exercises, Pyongyang launched four ballistic missiles last week -- with three landing in waters that are part of Tokyo’s exclusive economic zone -- and described them as a drill for an attack on US bases in Japan.

Visiting the headquarters of an army unit early this month, the North’s leader Kim Jong-Un praised his troops for their “vigilance against the US and South Korean enemy forces that are making frantic efforts for invasion”, according to the North’s official KCNA news agency.

Kim also ordered the troops to “set up thorough countermeasures of a merciless strike against the enemy’s sudden air assault”, it said.

Pyongyang is widely seen as behind the murder of Kim’s halfbrother Kim Jong-Nam in Kuala Lumpur last month, by two women using a banned nerve agent.

Washington and Seoul have agreed to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defence system to counter growing nuclear and missile threats by the North, and the first parts have recently arrived in the South.

The plan has angered Beijing, which fears it will undermine its own ballistic capabilities, with China’s foreign ministry saying THAAD “jeopardizes the strategic security interests” in the region and warning of “consequences” for Seoul and Washington.

Last year the impoverished but nuclear-armed North staged two atomic tests and a number of missile launches. AFP

Officials warn on batteries that explode SYDNEY―A woman whose headphones caught fire on a plane suffered burns to her face and hands, Australian officials said Wednesday as they warned about the dangers of battery-operated devices in-flight.

The passenger was listening to music on her own battery-operated headphones as she dozed about two hours into the trip from Beijing to Melbourne on February 19 when there was a loud explosion.

“As I went to turn around I felt burning on my face,” she told the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) which investigated the incident.

“I just grabbed my face which caused the headphones to go around my neck. I continued to feel burning so I grabbed them off and threw them on the floor.

“They were sparking and had small amounts of fire.”

Flight attendants rushed to help and poured a bucket of water on the headphones, but the battery and its cover had both melted and stuck to the floor.

Pictures show the woman, who was not named, with a blackened face and neck and blisters on her hands.

Fellow passengers had to endure the smell of melted plastic, burnt electronics and singed hair for the remainder of the flight.

“People were coughing and choking the entire way home,” the woman added.

The transport safety bureau, which did not identify the airline or brand of headphones involved ni the incident, said the lithium-ion batteries in the device likely caught fire.

“As the range of products using batteries grows, the potential for in-flight issues increases,” it said, adding that such devices needed to be stored safely if they were not being used.

Spare batteries should be kept in carry-on luggage, and not checked in, the bureau said.

The ATSB’s Stuart Godley said it was the first report of headphones catching fire in Australia, but there have been a number of other phone and device battery incidents.

Last year, a flight due to leave Sydney had to be evacuated when smoke was seen coming from a passenger’s hand luggage. It was later found that lithium batteries had caught fire.

Also last year, an electronic device began belching smoke then caught fire on a Qantas flight from Los Angeles to New York, with a crew member needing to use a fire extinguisher to put it out, the ATSB reported.

In another Qantas incident in 2016, attendants were alerted to smoke on a flight from Sydney to Dallas. They found a crushed and burnt out device wedged tightly in the seat.

“We’ve also had a case of a person using personal air purifier and the batteries in that have caught on fire on a flight,” Godley told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Many airlines last year barred all Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones over fire risk concerns, following reports of exploding lithium-ion batteries.

The South Korean electronics giant, which prides itself on innovation and quality, was forced to recall all its Note 7s, costing it billions of dollars. AFP

VOTING SESSION. Member of the European Parliament Swedish Jytte Guteland holds her baby as she takes part in a voting session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on March 14, 2017. AFP

Muslim Indonesia joins global craft beer revolution JAKARTA―Defying an escalating anti-alcohol movement and conservative bureaucrats in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, Indonesia’s only craft brewer is tapping into demand for better quality booze among the country’s small number of drinkers.

Despite the fact about 90 percent of Indonesia’s population is Muslim, and in theory banned from drinking, most practice a moderate form of Islam and alcohol is available in cities and holiday destinations, with local brewers producing mostly Pilsner lagers.

Unimpressed by the generic, mass-produced drinks on offer, local businessman Bona Budhisurya and his brother-in-

law Jacob Suryanata decided to come up with an alternative, and in 2011 introduced Stark craft beer with a wheat and dark wheat variety.

“We had been abroad and drunk a lot of good quality beer,” said Budhisurya, a member of Indonesia’s Christian and ethnic Chinese minorities, adding that on his return to Indonesia he found that “there was no quality beer here”.

By producing such brews -generally defined as beverages created in small, independent breweries -- they have made Indonesia an unlikely new addition to the global craft beer revolution.

The trend has seen microbreweries spring up worldwide

as consumers sick of flat, flavorless ales and gassy lagers seek out something with more character. Major beer-consuming countries -- such as Britain and the United States -- have seen explosive growth in the sector.

Since its launch, Stark has expanded to include six varieties, including lychee- and mango-flavored beers and an Indonesian Pale Ale, a less bitter alternative to Indian Pale Ale. But setting up a brewery is a risky move nowadays in Indonesia.

Although most Indonesians are moderate Muslims and alcohol has long been available, growing opposition from politicians pushing a more conservative brand of Islam has created

an uncertain climate.

The government banned beer sales in the country’s ubiquitous minimarts in 2015, leading to sharp profit falls for major brewers, and Muslim political parties have proposed legislation to prohibit booze consumption entirely, although it seems unlikely this will pass.

It is hard to get permission to brew alcohol and only a handful of companies -- such as Multi Bintang which produces popular local lager Bintang, and is majority-controlled by Dutch brewer Heineken -- possess licenses that they have had for decades.

Budhisurya -- who studied in the US for several years -- eventually managed to obtain a license in Hindu-majority

Bali, a popular holiday island where drinking is more common, and Stark set up its brewery near the town of Singaraja.

The site has a staff of about 50, including a head brewer hired from Australian beer maker Little Creatures.

The company says brewing in Bali gives them an edge as they have easy access to clean water, unlike some other brewers whose operations are near Jakarta where water is often polluted and must undergo a long filtering process.

“We have a principle -- if the water is not good, we can’t make the beer,” Albert Kurniawan, operations manager at Stark’s brewery, told AFP from the red-brick building. AFP

Life

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017

HEALTH & WELLNESS

D1

Turtle hatching season

The coves of Hamilo Coast are a frequent nesting ground of marine turtles particularly the Olive Ridley sea turtles. (Inset) 147 Olive Ridley sea turtle eggs hatched in Hamilo Coast and were released back to the sea by residents and Pico de Loro Cove members.

I

T’S turtle hatching season and Hamilo Coast, SM Prime’s sprawling coastal community in Nasugbu, Batangas, is home to diverse marine resources.

WWF Philippines president Joel Palma gives a short talk about marine and pawikan conservation

Marine turtles, particularly the Olive Ridley sea turtles, thrive along Hamilo Coast. Though they are the most abundant among marine turtle species, they are listed as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) because of the recent decline in the nesting of female Olive Ridleys.

In February, 147 Olive Ridley sea turtle eggs hatched on the pristine white sand beach of Santelmo Cove, Hamilo Coast’s main marine sanctuary. The eggs were laid early this year and were closely monitored by the Hamilo Coast Sustainability Team, until they hatched and were strong enough to swim back to the sea. With its coves as frequent nesting grounds of marine turtles, Hamilo Coast is dedicated to the regular monitoring of these species’ activities as part of its sustainable efforts in marine conservation.

Simultaneous with continuous improvements in its residential and leisure developments, Hamilo Coast puts sustainable practices at the forefront

of its vision. Ridge to reef management is given utmost importance to help protect the corals and to continuously monitor and address possible ecological threats. Initiatives include the declaration of select coves as marine protected areas, assistance in the organization of Bantay Dagat units to protect the locale waters from illegal fishermen, pawikan conservation, marine mammal rescue training, and the cultivation of true giant clams.

Together with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in the Philippines, Hamilo Coast has been championing environmental conservation, evident

in its operations and the numerous initiatives it partakes within the development and its neighboring communities. Hamilo Coast’s sustainability programs are acknowledged by EarthCheck, the world’s leading scientific benchmarking, certification, and advisory group for travel and tourism, and was awarded the Bronze Benchmarked status, thus making Hamilo Coast the first residential resort development in the Philippines to be awarded such.

To learn more about Hamilo Coast, visit www.hamilocoast.com or call (02) 945-8000.

How to become a happy loser LOSING usually means defeat and all things negative. But there are exceptions. It’s a welcome thing when applied to weight.

Ask James Yap, Michelle Cazzola, Ara Mina, Edu Manzano, Rita Avila, Roxanne Barcelo, Kitkat, Aubrey Miles, Troy Montero, Maria Isabel Lopez, Evangeline Pascual and Nonie Buencamino.

They know the value of losing weight for health and fitness. They also attest

to the benefits of Capsinesis, a natural food supplement whose main ingredient, cayenne pepper, helps in losing weight and gaining health.

Rita says it promotes faster metabolism and weight loss. In his Instagram post, Edu describes Capsinesis as “your weight loss partner.” Roxanne takes two capsules during gym workouts with boyfriend Will Devaughn.

That’s because the six to 10 chili peppers (equivalent to 500 mg) in each

Fitness enthusiasts (from left) Will Devaughn, Troy Montero, Aubrey Miles and Roxanne Barcelo are the brand ambassadors of Capsinesis

capsule, along with green tea and wild berries combine to burn fat faster.

Well-known fitness experts Jim and Toni Saret say Capsinesis works in four ways. It boosts metabolism (fat burner), crashes food cravings (appetite suppressant), cleanses the body (antioxidant) and raises energy levels. ”You can take it before working out,” Saret says. “This way, you induce sweating faster. When you sweat, your metabolism moves up.”

This is a big bonus, especially for slow burners, or those having a hard time starting their workout routine because they feel sluggish or tired at the outset.

“You can even mix it with your favorite protein shake,” Saret adds.

Capsinesis also speeds up urine rate and bowel movement.

The Sarets and the Capsinesis’ brand ambassadors not only look good, because their skin glows and have enviable figures. Thanks to diet, exercise and regular intake of Capsinesis, they also feel good.

This food supplement raises their levels of serotonin, which keeps their spirits up and promotes sleep. It improves blood circulation, prevents heart attack, wards off headache, and pain from migraine and arthritis, controls blood sugar levels, fights convulsions, epilepsy, aging, hemorrhoids, heartburn and peptic ulcer.

Check out FB Capsinesis Healthy Transformation for more health tips, diet plans and workouts, and join its growing number of healthy members.

You may also visit Capsinesis’ Facebook page: Be Hot Stay Hot and the FB support group Capsinesis Healthy Transformation.

Capsinesis is available at Mercury and Watsons, SM department stores, South Star Drug, Rose Pharmacy and Three Sixty.

The winners of SENIA Awards 2017 whose advocacies benefit individuals with special learning needs

SENIA Awards 2017

recognizes advocates of PWDs THE Special Education Network in Asia (SENIA), launched by a group of international schoolteachers based in China in 2001 and a network of educators, professionals and parents across Asia, has recognized the efforts of persons and institutions based on nominations by educators, organizations and the general public in SENIA Awards 2017.

SENIA is given to those who have advocacies that benefit individuals with special learning needs.

The SENIA Advocacy Awardee for 2017 is Rhodora Palomar Fresnedi, executive director of Unilab Foundation Philippines. She pioneered the Project Inclusion, which enables wider employment for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs).

Ana Kristina Arce, a graduate of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, a teacher and researcher, and a scholar of Gallaudet University—an institute Continued on D2

Life

D2

THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017 isahred@gmail.com

Continuing Pharmacy Professional Development M

AKATI Medical Center has achieved another milestone in continuing professional education with the accreditation of its Department of Pharmacy as a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Provider in Pharmacy Training by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).

PRC awarded the accreditation to Makati Medical Center on Dec. 12, 2016, which is valid until 2019.

MakatiMed achieved the recognition through the efforts of the department’s Professional Development and Training Section, headed by Rachel Merci B. Mundo, RPh, and Department Manager Hazel Faye R. Docuyanan, RPh, MS. “This accreditation will formalize and give CPD credits to the inhouse technical and skills training we give our pharmacists and students,” Docuyanan said. “Hence, our pharmacists will not have difficulty meeting the CPD credit requirements for their PRC renewal.”

As stated in the “Revised Guidelines on the Continuing Professional

Makati Medical Center’s Department of Pharmacy has been accredited as a Continuing Professional Development Provider in Pharmacy Training by the Professional Regulation Commission

Development (CPD) Program for all Registered and Licensed Professionals”, registered and licensed professionals should complete the required credit units every three years in renewing their license. A licensed pharmacist is required to complete 45 CPD credit units every renewal.

This is in line with Republic Act No.

10918 or the Philippine Pharmacy Act recently passed by the Philippine Congress, which “recognizes the vital role of pharmacists in the delivery of quality healthcare services.”

One of the objectives of the Act is the “development and enhancement of professional competence in pharmacists through continuing professional

development, research, and other related activities.”

“It is the mission of MakatiMed to provide its patients the best medical care they deserve, delivered by the most competent healthcare providers, which include the pharmacists and other professionals involved in handling medicines,” Docuyanan added.

“The CPD programs we will be offering are structured to meet the mission and vision of the hospital, as well as address the evolving role of the pharmacists in the country.”

For more information, please contact MakatiMed on-call at +632.8888 999, email mmc@makatimed.net.ph, or visit www.makatimed.net.ph.

Surviving night shift with quality sleep

Have a good night’s sleep on Uratex’s Senso Memory Ultima Plus mattress which responds to specific needs of different sleep problems Filipinos usually encounter

SENIA...

From D1 of higher learning dedicated to the deaf —was cited for the prestigious award. Her graduate research on “Deaf Gain in the Philippines” promoted employability of the deaf in a dominant hearing world.

She later founded the Development and Accessibility Fund for the Deaf, an NGO focused on developing self-reliant and independent Deaf Filipinos through sourcing and managing funds.

The SENIA Student Award, which searches for exceptional students with disabilities who champion inclusive causes in the region, is Casey Stevenson of Brent International School.

Casey struggled with depression and anxiety, and was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. She has raised awareness through public speeches, volunteerism in workshops and seminars, lectures and presentations.

Sohankumar Motwani, a BS Information Systems student from the De La SalleCollege of Saint Benilde received an honorary citation for the SENIA Student Award.

Despite the difficulties of transitioning from being a sighted person to blindness having lost his eyesight in high school, Motwani adjusted well to the situation with the support of his family and friends.

He continued his studies and performs excellently.

The ceremonies for this year’s awards was held on Feb. 10 at Yokohama International School, in Japan.

FOR most people working the night shift, #thestruggleisreal holds true. Even before the influx of call centers, working while the rest of the world is sleeping is the daily reality of the medical community, security personnel, law enforcement professionals and media entities, among countless others whose jobs are at rotating or irregular shifts.

Having erratic schedules, people who work non-traditional hours could suffer from “shift work sleep disorders,” which could lead to absenteeism and potential health problems. The sleep-deprived can become more irritable or less focused, depressed or grumpy.

Uratex, the Sleep Specialist, recommends that shift workers should avoid bright light as they head home from work.

Wearing dark glasses can also reduce exposure to the sun or too much light. Once home, the shift workers should darken the bedroom with heavy curtains to block out light so they could have fresh start for the day after a restful sleep.

As the “Provider of Good Sleep,” Uratex promotes better sleep in the Philippines under the “Ganda ng Gising” campaign, which embodies the benefits of good sleep to inspire Filipinos and lets us imbibe the value of good sleep so we could wake up happier and ready for the day—or night—and the world.

“Wake up to better, brighter tomorrows with Uratex because you can do more and be more with good sleep,” urges Cherry Wong-Tan, Uratex marketing director. “Uratex brings new innovation and research-based technology through better sleep solutions and products to its consumers.”

The Uratex Orthocare Biorytmic mattress, for example, has an Orthofirm foam for exceptional back support, fitting for those who do backbreaking work. It has an advanced Orthofirm foam topper for better air ventilation. It is also Sanitized.

It has advanced sleep technology using rejuvenating minerals responsible for restoring energy and regulating the body’s biorhythm. This mattress reduces stress while giving you better balance and concentration.

The effects of Biorytmic Sleep mattress ticking on stress during and after sleep have been traced with the EDA (Electrodermal Activity) method. The EDA method has confirmed the efficacy of this fabric in reducing stress and starting the day—or night—stress-free resulting in 27 percent stress reduction.

The Sensory Memory Ultima Plus mattress, meanwhile, has cooling technology that helps you fall asleep faster, a luxury that daytime sleepers will surely

appreciate. It has Hydragel® memory foam that absorbs heat. It has Cooler® knit cover for enhanced cooling effect.

It is also proven to lower body temperature up to 2° C. Its Cooler mattress ticking provides a sense of cool that helps the body stay cool.

The Senso Memory Ultima Plus and Orthocare Biorytmic mattresses are part of The Sleep Revolution collection, which is the future of sleep. This line also includes Premium Touch Romance and Perfect Serenity Aura Fresh mattresses. It not only gives better sleep, but also responds to specific needs of different sleep problems Filipinos usually encounter.

Uratex Premium also offers innovative pillows equipped with the same sleep technologies to complement these mattresses. The core is made of supersoft molded foam built for plush comfort. The pillow comes in Perfect Serenity Aura Fresh, Orthocare Biorytmic and Premium Touch Romance. The Senso Memory Ultima Plus pillow’s core is made of Senso Memory with Hydrogel beads.

Both mattresses and pillows are treated with Sanitized® that effectively protects against growth of bacteria, odor, mildew and dust mites.

Sleep long and prosper, and wake up to better, brighter tomorrows with Uratex!

Houses turned over to employees CEMEX Philippines made the dreams of its employees come true when it recently turned over housing units at the Las Casas de Naga subdivision in the City of Naga, Cebu to workers of its subsidiary Apo Cement Corporation.

CEMEX Philippines President Pedro Palomino led the turnover ceremony at the site in Barangay Inoburan, which is just a kilometer away from the Apo Cement Plant.

“I think this is our example of how when one truly wishes for something, that something will eventually happen in the end,” Palomino said in a speech during the ceremony attended by Naga City Mayor Kristine Chiong, homeowners, and guests. “This housing project for our employees is part of our welfare program for our people.”

Mayor Chiong expressed her recognition of the project which granted the wishes of Apo Cement employees to have their own houses they can now call home. She sees the company’s housing initiative as an important contribution of local businesses to sustaining the steady progress of the City of Naga.

“The City of Naga will not be able to sustain its development and progress if its people, including the businesses and establishments, do not share a unified purpose and mission,” said Chiong. “I hope that with this kind of project, we highlighted the importance of everyone in the City of Naga.

Whether as residents or investors, we are all stakeholders in the development of the city.”

The ceremony, also attended by PAG-IBIG Housing officers and representatives from housing developer Kenrich Development Corporation, started with a mass and blessing of the turned over

houses followed by Palomino and Mayor Chiong cutting the ceremonial ribbon at the main entrance gate of the Las Casas de Naga subdivision.

The CEMEX executive team also visited the houses and talked with the families of Apo employees.

Meanwhile, Arturo Rodriguez, CEMEX technical director, said the houses and the subdivision is a happy ending the company wanted to happen for everyone especially the employees.

“As an innovative and socially responsible company, we like to see our employees happily working.

And being in the construction business, one of the benefits that we can get is having the best house that we will turn into a home,” said Rodriguez.

CEMEX has a long tradition of excellence in

building a better future for its employees, customers, shareholders, and communities. The global building solutions company, which turned 110 years old this year, has some 50,000 employees working at 56 cement plants and more than 1,600 ready-mix plants in over 50 countries.

CEMEX Philippines’ subsidiaries Apo Cement Corporation and Solid Cement Corporation produce and market cement and other building materials in the country. These cement manufacturing subsidiaries carry the well established cement brands APO and Rizal.

Visit www.CEMEXholdingsphilippines.com for news and updates or like and follow CEMEX Philippines on Facebook and Instagram. For partnerships, contact the Public Affairs Unit at (02) 849-3600.

CEMEX Philippines president Pedro Palomino led the turnover ceremony of housing units at Las Casas de Naga subdivision, the event was attended by Naga City Mayor Kristine Chiong

THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017

S

Sharon, other stars in Cinemalaya 2017

HARON Cuneta joins the indie bandwagon for the first time as she stars in Ang Pamilyang Hindi Lumuluha by Mes de Guzman, one of the 10 independent films selected as finalist for the full-length feature category in the Cinemalaya 2017 Competition. Cuneta plays a desperate woman seeking reconciliation with her husband and two children.

The other finalists in Cinemalaya’s full-length feature category include Ang Guro kong di Marunong Magbasa (My Teacher Who Doesn’t Know How To Read) by Perry Escaño starring Alfred Vargas, James Blanco, Mon Confiado and child actors Miggs Cuaderno, Marc Justin Alvarez, and Micko Laurente; Baconaua by Joseph Israel Laban featuring Elora Españo, Teri Malvar, JM Salvado, and Bembol Roco; Bagahe (The Baggage) by Zig Dulay with Angeli Bayani; Nabubulok by Sonny Calvento with Gina Alajar, Billy Ray Gallion, and JC Santos; Pacboy by Thop Nazareno; Requited by Nerissa Picadizo with Jake Cuenca and Anna Luna; Respeto by Treb Monteras II with rappers Abra and Loonie; Sa Gabing Nanahimik ang mga Kuliglig by Iar Lionel Benjamin Arondaing features Ruby Moreno, Alex Medina, Karl Medina and Ronwaldo Martin; and Unang Patak ng Ulan sa Buwan ng Mayo (The First Drop of Rain in the Month of May)

by Cenon Obispo Palomares stars Rosanna Roces, Micko Laurente and Laila Ulao.

Cinemalaya 2017 will be on Aug. 3 to 14 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Ayala Malls Cinemas.

For more information about Cinemalaya, visit www.cinemalaya.org, www.culturalcenter.gov.ph and the Cinemalaya facebook page or CCP Media Arts at telephone number 832-1125 local 1704-1705 and the CCP Box Office at 832-3704.

FORMER child star Jillian Ward grew up as a fine young actress, but she proved talent and beauty aren’t all what she is.

Her undeniable charm on screen comes along with her warm and generous personality.

As she celebrated her 12th birthday on Feb. 17, she organized a mini birthday party with the children of Convoy of Hope where they bonded over fun games and karaoke at the Family KTV at City of Dreams.

Jillian and the kids have found the common love for music and they serenaded each other with heart-warming performances.

“I enjoyed this day because the kids are so fun to talk to. I love how they are so up for anything and natuwa akong kahit short time lang parang super close na kami. I’m happy that I got to spend time with them for my birthday,” she shared.

Meanwhile, the freebies and memories are not the only things the children took home.

Jillian shared a piece of her heart with the kids and gave them an inspirational talk where

Action-packed "Luck and Logic" is among Animax's primetime offering

Megastar Sharon Cuneta adds excitement in this year's roster of big stars joining Cinemalaya Film Festival

JILLIAN WARD and KIM DOMINGO’s birthday gig

Child star Jillian ward celebrates her 12th birthday

Sexy star King Domingo turns 22

they learned about living their dreams and not giving up.

For Kim Domingo, she welcomed 2017 with a heart full of gratitude as more people support her career while receiving more blessings. Being in show business for more than two years, she has made a name in the industry and proved her abilities. As she celebrated her 22nd birthday on Feb. 3, she spent it at Blessed Family Home Care Facility, which she personally chose, with the elderly the whole day. She instantly connected and created a deeper bond with them as she listened to their stories over a hearty meal. She capped of the celebration by giving them gifts and daily household needs.

Kim has a special place for the elderly in her heart and shares, “I’m very close po with my lola since sa kanya ako lumaki, that’s why I am personally involved with this cause. I’m happy na kahit sa maiksing oras, I got to show them that they are always loved, just like how I want to show my love for my lola.”

Renz Verano, Go Girls at 2017 Seasports Awards Night

OPM singer Renz Verano

RENZ Verano and the Sassy Girls treat Baywalk habitués to a free concert on March 19 at 7:00 p.m., capping the awarding ceremonies for the 2017 Manila Bay Seasports Festival, to be hosted by Kristine Dera of 90.7 Love Radio and Tanya Chinits of 101.1 Yes The Best.

Presented by Manila Broadcasting Company and the City of Manila in cooperation with the Philippine Coast Guard, the seasports festival will feature Dragon Boat Racing as well as Stock and Formula Races for motorized bancas.

Teams taking part in the much-awaited annual watersports derby include Triton, Onslaught Racing Dragons, RCP

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Thursday, March 16, 2017

ACROSS 1 Home 6 Vacuum attachment 10 Pivot 14 Naive ones 15 Roman love god 16 Court ritual 17 Formal command 18 DVD contents 19 Hawaiian guitars 20 Tractor pioneer 21 Fetters 23 Before, to poets 25 Chimney’s place 26 “Green Gables” girl 29 Fluctuate 32 Sand formations 36 Big extinct bird 37 Mineral deposit 38 Mum 39 Computer key 40 Art of flowerarrangement 42 NASA counterpart 43 Act properly 45 Kramer or Estrada 46 Copy a cassette 47 Taos dwelling 48 Dropped on the

charts 49 Certain votes 50 Rooney or Gibb 52 Long, long time 54 Used up 58 Old Greek marketplace 62 Hairless 63 Auction site 64 Treasure hunter’s aid 65 Alice’s chronicler 66 Finish last 67 Break out 68 Be sincere 69 Husky’s vehicle 70 Full of back talk DOWN 1 Not up yet 2 Commanded 3 Drama award 4 Royal order 5 Chemical compound 6 Gamblers’ rolls 7 Asian nanny 8 Public official 9 Big Dipper neighbor 10 Expressive 11 Result of damming 12 Navajo foes 13 Codgers’ queries 22 Ferocious bear

24 Call to mind 26 It divides to multiply (var.)

27 Sniffed at 28 Salsa go-with 30 Summer drink 31 Rise up 33 Poor 34 Come next 35 Iffy attempts 37 Peps up 38 Catty 41 Meyers of “Kate & Allie” 44 Desert

48 Icon 49 Long, silky wool 51 Sword fights 53 Camel halts 54 Diligence 55 Earthenware pot 56 Unaffected manner 57 Changed hair color 59 Burden 60 Knocks firmly 61 Affected 62 Ka-pow!

Sea Dragons, Philippine Blue Phoenix, Rogue Pilipinas, Dragons Republic, One Piece Drakon Sangres, Pilipinas Wave Warriors, Philippine Navy, Philippine Coast Guard, NTMA Dragons, Amateur Paddlers Philippines, Bruins, Speed Devilz, and Maharlika Drakon.

Motorboat racers from Antique, Aurora, Batangas, Bulacan, Cavite, Dumaguete, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Mindoro, Navotas, and Rizal will compete in stock and formula races.

The 2017 Manila Bay Seasports Festival is supported

by EyeBerry, EO Optical, and MyJuiz.

Marvelous Anime on Animax THE marvelous month of March ushers in the best of Anime, turning primetime viewing into a truly enjoyable experience for anime fans of all ages.

Girlish Number College student Chitose Karasuma begins a new phase in her life when she lands a job in a voiceacting agency. Believing she is destined for greatness, Chitose is excited at the prospect of her becoming a famous voice actress.

But when she’s cast in mediocre roles, Chitose feels disappointed because her ambition fell short of her expectations.

As she continues to find her way to fulfill her dreams, Chitose faces tough competition from other aspiring girls when she realizes that there’s more to succeeding in the industry than she could ever imagine.

Girlish Number airs every Wednesday and Thursday at 8 p.m. with 2 episodes back-to-back.

Danganropa 3: The End of Hope’s Peak High School – Future Arc The optimistic Makoto Naegi and his friends join the Future Foundation, an organization founded to save the world from chaos. However, Makoto becomes suspected of treason for harboring their enemy.

As Makoto’s friends gather to decide his fate, the evil bear Monokuma imprisons them. To find the true traitor, Makoto and his friends are pushed to their limits as they are forced to participate in a final game of death.

Danganropa 3: The End of Hope’s Peak High School – Future Arc airs every Thursday and Friday at 10 p.m. with two back-to-back episodes.

Danganropa 3: The End of Hope’s Peak High School – Despair Arc Promising student Hajime Hinata dreams of becoming a part of elite students at Hope’s Peak Academy, a special school that nurtures those with exceptional talent and abilities.

However, little does he know that something foreboding is about to happen…..

What follows is a series of unfortunate events that will lead Hinata to a fateful encounter which will bring about tragedy and despair for the elite school’s students who are thrust into a world of murder and mayhem in order to survive.

Danganropa 3: The End of Hope’s Peak High School – Despair Arc airs every Thursday and Friday at 10:30 p.m. with two episodes back-to-back.

Mankind faces great danger following the end of the hundred-year war in the land of Tetraheaven. With purely evil intentions, the losing gods search for a new place to live and invade the human world.

The government employs the Logicalists, a special police force to protect its citizens from these otherworldly beings.

Now back to his fighting form, 17-year-old Yoshichika Tsurugi makes a covenant with the Goddess Athena in combining their powers. They work together to stop the threat and fight side by side to defend their world.

Luck & Logic premieres on March 24 and airs every Friday at 8 p.m. with two episodes back-to-back.

Animax is available on Sky Cable Channel 46, Cignal Channel 73, Dream Satellite TV Channel 07, and G Sat Channel 24

ETHEREAL BEAUTIES. (From

left) Kathryn Bernardo, Sofia Andres, Mead King, and Toni Gonzaga at the media launch of Pond's new and improved beauty formula

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017

By Bernadette Lunas

D

ID you know that staying under the sun for 10 minutes causes extreme damage to your skin?

Add the worsening pollution, inevitable stress, and unhealthy lifestyle and you’ve got all the ingredients that can make your skin look dull and old.

Even celebrities who have access to top-notch beauty products and services suffer from bad skin, too.

Young actress Sofia Andres says blemishes caused by stress, hormones and pollution make her feel selfconscious—something she doesn’t want to feel especially as she’s currently on the early stage of her journey in show business.

She has found the solution to her skin concern in Pond’s Acne Clear, whose new and improved formulation helps reduce acne in as early as three days—courtesy of its Lock and Clear technology. “Having clear skin helps me feel confident, so I always use Pond’s Acne Facial Wash and Acne Clear Leave-on Gel combo to keep pimples and oil away,” shares Sofia.

“I love how it helps my breakouts clear up a lot faster, too,” Ponds girl Sofia enthuses.

Kathryn Bernardo embraces change as she evolves from “Teen Queen” into a superstar in the making. And as she takes on more mature roles and transition into a full-fledged woman, she makes sure she has the right tool to keep her skin’s youthful glow.

“I noticed that I started getting dark spots from old acne marks and from being under the sun,” reveals the 20-year-old actress and new Ponds girl.

To protect her skin, she shares, she has started using Pond’s White Beauty since its has SPF that protects it on the outside and Vitamin B3+ that whitens from the inside. “Using it twice daily really helped me get a rosy, white glow.”

Meanwhile, TV host and first-time mom Toni Gonzaga has been noticing lately that staying up late as taking care of her baby Seve is causing damage to

How celebrities stay fresh in a

POLLUTED ENVIRONMENT Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza starrer "Destine to be Yours" had an outstanding pilot week beating its rival from the other network.

Reader’s Digest Platinum Trusted Brand Award for Kapamilya network FOR the second year in a row, consumers have chosen ABS-CBN as its most trusted network in the Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands Awards by conferring the Kapamilya network with a Platinum Trusted Brand Award, the highest recognition from Reader’s Digest Asia-Pacific’s annual consumer survey.

ABS-CBN’s second consecutive Platinum win follows a five-year winning streak for the network from 2010 to 2015, when it won the Gold Trusted Brand Award.

The Reader’s Digest’s Platinum Trusted Brand Awards are “given to brand that performed exceptionally, winning their category with a score that vastly outpolled their nearest competitor.” This is the second Platinum award for the TV network after receiving the same award last year.

Trust is defined by Reader’s Digest as “an emotion that fuels our decision whether we are conscious of it or not. It is that intangible quality that signals reliability and integrity.

Whether it is a product or service, trust is what reassures us that we are making the right choice.”

Reader’s Digest has been asking its readers and other consumers which brands they place their trust in for over 18 years.

This year, it commissioned Catalyst, a recognized independent, international market research firm to conduct a survey on 7,500 people from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan. Winners are determined through a final ranking in 44 product categories.

The ranking is obtained by multiplying the total number of votes from the survey respondents with its average score for six qualitative characteristics, namely: trustworthiness and credibility, quality, value, understanding of customer needs, innovation, and social responsibility.

her skin.

“I noticed that the late nights were starting to take a toll on my skin,” reveals Toni.

Pond’s new Age Miracle has been a great help as she fights against skin aging, with its Retinol-C Complex that works 24 hours non-stop thus helping reduce wrinkles.

“I tried the new formula and after just seven days, I noticed that I look fresher and I even got my glow back!” raves Toni.

Also introduced as the new ambassador of Ponds and the face of Ponds Age Miracle is model Joey Mead King. “They say that the most beautiful faces in the Philippines use Pond’s—and I’m proud to be one of them,” she shares.

Having gone through a great change herself, Joey emphasizes that “women need to have the strength and grace to transform the toughest changes into something beautiful.”

‘Destined To Be Yours’ begins on a high note GMA Network’s Destined To Be Yours with Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza won in the ratings game on its pilot week (Feb. 27 - March 3).

Based on Nielsen TV Audience Measurement, AdDub’s first-ever teleserye was off to a great start consistently preferred by viewers.

According to the overnight people ratings data recorded in National Urban Television Audience Measurement (NUTAM), Destined To Be Yours’ pilot episode on Febr. 27 scored a rating of 11.8 percent versus My Dear Heart (10.3 percent).

Meanwhile, the new series finished off

its Tuesday (Feb. 28) episode with 11.2 percent considerably winning over its rival show, which posed only 10.2 percent.

On Wednesday (March 1), Destined To Be Yours rated 10.1 percent against My Dear Hear,t which got a mere rating of 8.6 percent.

Destined To Be Yours’ Thursday (March 2) episode got 11.6 percent, beating the counterpart show’s 10.5 percent.

Destined To Be Yours capped off the week with its Friday (March 3) episode, scoring 9.9 percent which still won against My Dear Heart’s 8.4 percent.

Can it sustain its lead over its competitor?

We will see and we are watching.

The music continues at Arya Plaza THE weather continues to warm up as we welcome summer. So does the music in Arya Plaza as some of the biggest names in the country’s jazz-mundo line up for their sizzling performances every Friday of March for the Arya Rhythms series.

The Arya Plaza is a destinationdining haven along McKinley Parkway in the more relaxed location in BGC, hosting carefully curated restaurants such as Foundry by Smith Butcher, Fukudaya, Arroz Ecija, and Basil.

Joining them every Friday is Lemuria’s pop-up stall.

Richard Merk, the Philippines’ prince of Jazz pays tribute to the music of Grammy Awardwinning, Al Jarreau tomorrow.

Known for his wide vocal range, Richard is someone worthy of praises. He has performed countless concerts and shows

here in the country and abroad.

Singer and songwriter Noel Cabangon is more known to Filipinos for his folk music and acoustic style. But he is more versatile than most people think.

And that will be brought to the fore on March 24 as he takes his turn as the featured artist of the Arya Rhythm series. Cabangon will showcase his rhythm and blues, jazz and soul side with the help of veteran keyboardist Nikki Cabardo and talented bassist Bergan Nuñez. It’s a session of The Noel Cabangon Project that is not to be missed.

On March 31, Area One will pay tribute to John, Paul, George, and Ringo with their note-fornote rendition of The Beatles’ greatest hits. The group composed of seasoned musicians and performers led by John Lesaca (accomplished violinist/musician

and president of Asosasyon ng Musikong Pilipino or AMP), Cash Manalang (Manila Band, The Music Making Company) and Bert de Leon (accomplished TV/ movie director) is considered the best and premier Beatle Tribute Band in the Philippines today.

To reserve a table for dinner during these live jazz nights, please call 0917 585 8708. Performance nights run from 7 p.m.-9:30 p.m. only. To get to The Arya Plaza from Makati, take McKinley Road straight to McKinley Parkway (just go straight after the first traffic light) where you will have a view of Arya Residences. Turn right at the first corner (Rizal Drive) where you will see the parking entrance to your left. Arya Residences is just near the rotunda of American Battle Memorial and is also close to the Singaporean Embassy.

Jazz artist Richard Merk