Manila Standard - 2017 April 22 - Saturday

PH troops defy China challenge

By Francisco Tuyay and John Paolo Bencito

Filipino boat fired upon

by Chinese, probers told A GROUP of Filipino fishermen have accused China’s coast guard of shooting at their vessel in disputed South China Sea waters, Philippine authorities said Friday.

Officials said they were investigating the reported attack on the Princess Johann boat, which the crew said occurred near a Chinese-occupied section of the Spratly archipelago on March 27.

There were no casualties during

the incident, the authorities added. “[Princess Johann] was reportedly fired upon seven times by a Chinese speedboat with seven Chinese coast guards on board,” a Philippine Coast Guard statement said.

The armed speedboat approached the Filipino vessel after it dropped anchor about 3.7 kilometers (two nautical miles) off the Chinese side of the Union Banks atoll, it said.

Next page

P

AGASA ISLAND—Members of the Chinese coast guard challenged the military transport planes carrying Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Armed Forces of the Philippines chief-of-staff Gen. Eduardo Año to Pagasa Island Friday morning.

Pilots of the Airbus Military C-295 and Lockheed C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft received the challenge from Subi Reef, a Chinese-controlled atoll some 30 to 40 nautical miles away from Pagasa Island.

“We replied that we are flying over Philippine territory,” Lorenzana said when asked for details regarding the Chinese challenge.

The Defense chief added that the challenge is automatic and part of the protocol of any country claiming jurisdiction over a particular area, especially when ships and aircraft pass through it.

Aside from the challenge, nothing untoward happened, Lorenzana said.

Other ranking officials aboard the two military aircraft were Army commander Lt. Gen. Glorioso Miranda and Western Command head Lt. Gen. Raul del Rosario.

Next page

VOL. XXXI • NO. 67 • 4 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2017 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

DEFENSE SUPPORT. Defense Secretary Delfin

Lorenzana underlines the Philippine government’s stand before Filipinos residing on Thitu Island in the Spratlys Friday, after Filipino fishermen accused China’s Coast Guard of shooting at their vessel in the disputed South China Sea waters while Marines (below right) salute as the national flag is hoisted during a flag raising ceremony during Lorenzana’s visit. AFP

Solon lectures Gina on mining trust fund

By Maricel V. Cruz A HOUSE leader on Friday expressed support for Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea’s decision to suspend the imposition of a P2-million trust fund for every hectare of land disturbed by mining operations, and order issued by Environment Secretary Gina Lopez.

Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert

Ace Barbers said the suspension was a welcome development.

“The suspension is not an opposition to Secretary Gina’s proposed additional mine fund,” said Barbers, head of the House committee on dangerous drugs.

“The DENR Secretary has to understand that this is all part of due process. Mining companies have appealed to the Office of Next page

Leila also in Time mag’s 2017 list; Palace protests

By John Paolo Bencito and Macon Ramos-Araneta MALACAÑANG on Friday questioned the inclusion of arrested Senator Leila de Lima in TIME Magazine’s list of 100 influential people, saying that the publication did not indicate that

she was imprisoned over drugrelated charges.

Joining President Rodrigo Duterte, who joined the list under the “leaders” list, De Lima’s profile was written by former US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power and Next page

Apr. 28 Asean holiday in MM; lockdown set THE Palace on Friday suspended all work in government and private offices in Metro Manila on April 28 when the Philippines hosts the 30th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit and Related Meetings.

The summit will be held at the Philippine International Convention Center and the related meetings elsewhere.

Memorandum Circular 18, signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, also ordered the suspension of classes in private and public schools in Metro Manila.

The Supreme Court suspended

work in several courts in Metro Manila because of the meetings.

The Metro Manila Development Authority said it will implement a “Stop-and-Go” traffic plan in connection with the meetings.

The areas to be affected by the plan are Senator W. Diokno Boulevard, Jalandoni Street, Vicente Sotto Street, Bukaneg and A. Dela Rama in Pasay City.

Some roads in Manila and Makati City will also be locked down, and motorists are advised to take alternate routes. The roads will be reopened after the Asean delegates have passed. Next page

US to Rody: Stick to drug-war vows

By John Paolo Bencito MALACAÑANG on Friday called on the United States not to jump to conclusions after the US State Department urged Manila to stick to its commitment to investigate the growing number of extrajudicial killings in the government’s war on drugs, the first such call since US President Donald Trump took office.

“We share the concern of US Assistant Secretary of State for Southeast Asia Patrick Murphy, who has been quoted in the media saying that there are elements of the drug war that are operating outside the rule of law,” Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a statement.

“We expect fairness and not a rush to judgment. Right now the people appreciate the changes and the way these are carried out. We ask to be understood not just from a single perspective, but from the point of view of Filipinos who desire change,

stability and fairness,” he added.

On Thursday, Patrick Murphy, the US deputy assistant secretary of state for Southeast Asia, said that the United States is alarmed by the growing number of extrajudicial killings committed under the drug war, adding that Washington shares Manila’s objective of eliminating the scourge of illicit drugs and wanted to help.

“We, however, do have a very sustained and deep concern when elements of the drug war are operating outside the rule of law,” Murphy told reporters.

“The growing number of extrajudicial killings is troubling.”

In January, Rights advocates said they were concerned when US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sidestepped questions about extrajudicial killings in the Philippines during his January confirmation hearing, raising the possibility that Trump might take a softer Next page

Top-rate actor accused of P38-m tax evasion

By Rey E. Requejo THE Bureau of Internal Revenue on Friday asked the Justice Department to prosecute actor Richard Gutierrez and his movie production company for alleged tax evasion and for failing to pay P38.57 million in taxes.

The BIR accuses Gutierrez and his company R Gutz Production Corp. of two counts of attempting to evade paying income tax and valueadded tax for the year 2012 and for failing to file IT Return and 2nd, 3rd and 4th Quarter VAT returns for the same taxable year.

“As a consequence of their acts and omissions, R Gutz and its president, Richard Gutierrez, were assessed an estimated aggregate deficiency tax liability for taxable year 2012 in the total amount of P38.57 million,” the BIR said.

Gutierrez and his company declared P311,111 in sales in 2012, but their clients said they bought P39.9 million from the entertainment firm during the same period.

The R Gutz is a domestic corporation registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission with its business address on Anapolis Street in San Juan City.

A2

SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2017

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

PH...

From A1

National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon said the Philippines is keeping track of the continued challenges posed

by Beijing.

He said while such challenges are normal for countries with overlapping claims, Manila does not take these lightly.

“We mind and we respond appropriately. We have our own challenges and answers to appropriate situations. If it’s bad enough, that could be the basis for a note verbale,” Esperon said.

“A challenge is something that does not help us, but a challenge could be just to identify yourself. But it could also mean, you’re challenging [us] because they think that’s their territory,” he said.

In the same interview, Esperon said the President will still push through with his visit to Pag-asa Island and might even stay overnight.

“Why not? But not now,” he said.

Lorenzana said Friday morning the government will allocate P1.6 billion to improve the Rancudo Airfield in Pagasa Island and construct ports and beaching ramps in the locality.

Lorenzana made the announcement to Filipino troops and local government officials shortly after arriving on the island.

Priority will be given to the construction of a beaching ramp that will allow cargo ships to unload construction materials and other supplies in Pagasa Island, thus expediting the improvement works.

The Defense chief said construction of the facility will start immediately, so that it will be completed and operational before the rainy season starts.

Runway improvements include the concreting of the entire Rancudo Airfield to make it accessible during all types of weather.

Other improvements for Pagasa Island include the construction of a desalination plant, more solar panels and generator sets for power purposes, and the establishment of a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources marine research and shelter center.

More shelters will be also constructed for military personnel tasked to secure Pagasa Island and other Philippineclaimed features in the Spratly Islands. Other facilities to be erected are a fish port and ice plant.

Lorenzana said he sees no violation in the Philippines’ decision to improve its facilities on Pagasa Island, adding that the country should have done this before as other claimants in the Spratlys have already boosted and modernized their structures.

Pagasa Island is about 280 nautical miles northwest of Puerto Princesa and 579 miles southwest of Metro Manila. The population is estimated at 300, consisting of a single municipality, Kalayaan, and a small elementary school and medical clinic.

Lorenzana said he expected Beijing to protest the developments on the island.

“The protest is just automatic because they are claiming this [Pagasa Island]. However, when they are doing something in other areas which we claim, we also lodge a protest,” he said.

Lorenzana, in his recent talk with Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua, said the Philippine presence on Pagasa Island dates back to the late 1960s.

With PNA

Apr. 28...

From A1

Meanwhile, work in government offices in Manila, Pasay and Makati will be suspended on April 27.

But the class suspensions on April 27 in the three cities will be left to the discretion of the schools there.

MC 18 also ordered the suspension of work in the government offices in Pasay City and in all offices located at the PICC from April 24 to 30. John Paolo Bencito, Rey E. Requejo and Joel E. Zurbano

News

LP won’t join ‘impeach Rody’

By Maricel V. Cruz

T

HE Liberal Party bloc in the House of Representatives supporting the Duterte administration on Friday said its members will not support any impeachment rap against President Rodrigo Duterte.

LP member and Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo said the former ruling LP decided not to support Duterte’s impeachment and even the move to unseat LP

titular head and Vice President Leni Robredo as the impeachment process was divisive.

At a forum at the University of the Philippines-Los Baños on

Thursday, Robredo said, the LP members who attended decided not to support any effort to impeach her or Duterte.

“The majority of those who were there said they were not supportive of any impeachment proceedings whether against the President or against me,” she said.

Quimbo said impeachment would only be counterproductive for Congress.

“It will only serve to distract us from the many important matters that Congress should be giving priority to,” Quimbo said.

He said the LP majority bloc met with Robredo to support Robredo.

“We likewise reiterated our strongest commitment of support to the Vice President, our party leader,” Quimbo said.

Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano earlier filed an impeachment rap against Duterte for his alleged inaction on China’s incursions, for betrayal of public trust and culpable violations of the Constitution for his alleged P2.2-billion hidden wealth, his administration’s war on drugs, the Davao Death Squad when he

was mayor, and the President’s alleged inaction over the country’s maritime sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea and Benham Rise.

On the other hand, Robredo would likely face an impeachment complaint as Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez hit Robredo for criticizing the administration’s war on drugs before a United Nations body.

Alvarez said Robredo committed betrayed public trust as she put the country in a bad light before the international community. With Rio N. Araja

RPDEV BOOK LAUNCH. Former President Fidel V. Ramos flashes his signature thumb-up sign, joined by book author Melandrew T. Velasco, to formally launch the Ramos Peace and Development Foundation’s (RPDEV) book entitled “RPDEV @ 15: Our Continuing Voyage for Enduring Peace and Sustainable Development” on April 21, 2017 at the Metropolitan Waterworks Sewage System. The book launching coincides with the 15th anniversary of RPDEF Foundation and marks the Earth Day celebration on April 22. The new book memorializes the multifaceted activities RPDEV has continued to pursue as part of its mission and advocacies, FVR says. Lino Santos

Filipino...

From A1

“The crew hid and eventually cut their anchor line and fled the area,” the statement added.

Representatives at the Chinese embassy in Manila could not be reached for comment Friday.

If confirmed the incident would be the first hostile episode in nearly a year involving the two countries, which have seen warming relations since Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was elected in mid-2016.

Both the Philippine coast guard and military are investi-

Leila...

From A1

described her imprisonment as a “disturbing testament to the current solidarity among strongmen and the global surge in impunity.”

“In the case of Senator De Lima, TIME conveniently failed to clarify that she was jailed not for her criticisms against the administration but because an independent court found probable cause in support of the criminal charges against her for alleged violation of the law on illegal drugs,” Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said.

De Lima’s profile was placed under the “icons” list.

Duterte’s profile was written by former Colombian President César Gaviria, who earlier offered some unsolicited advice to Duterte on his war on drugs.

“His ironfisted strategy alarms governments, humanrights organizations and faithbased groups while winning high approval ratings at home,” Gaviria said.

“Duterte could start by treating drugs as a health, human

gating the incident. “[The Union Banks] is located inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone,” military spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said.

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea grants coastal states exclusive rights to develop and exploit natural resources in the waters that extend up to 370 kilometers off their coasts.

But China claims most of the South China Sea and in recent years has been building up disputed reefs into artificial islands that can house military facilities.

Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also claim the Spratlys either wholly or in part.

Reversing the course set by predecessor Benigno Aquino III, Duterte has sought to improve his nation’s relations with Beijing by adopting a non-confrontational approach over their competing claims in the strategically vital waters.

Since then, Duterte said China has allowed Filipinos to fish in waters around the Scarborough Shoal, another outcrop in the South China Sea that Beijing seized in 2012 after a stand-off with the Philippine Navy. AFP

rights and development issue.

He could prosecute the most violent criminals and provide treatment for users rather than condemn them to prison, or worse,” the article said.

“There will always be drugs in the Philippines, whether the President likes it or not. The tragedy is that many more people are likely going to die as he learns this lesson.”

Abella, however, said Duterte still enjoys the trust and confidence of the Filipinos.

“The fact remains that President Duterte is supported by majority of the Filipinos in his campaign against illegal hard drugs, crime and corruption,” he said.

TIME said De Lima was included in the list for “standing up against the murderous war on illegal drugs in the Philippines.”

It added that she was detained on trumped up drug charges.

Before her ouster as chairman of the Senate justice committee, De Lima presented selfconfessed Davao Death Squad assassin Edgar Matobato, who claimed that Duterte, when he was still mayor of Davao City, formed the group to execute suspected criminals, personal

enemies and political opponents.

“Since last June, when Duterte took office, some 7,000 people have been killed in his merciless anti-drug campaign.

Most opposition politicians have kept their heads down, knowing Duterte is both terrifyingly brutal and massively popular,” the citation for De Lima read.

“But Senator De Lima has become Duterte’s most vocal critic―a role her friends call suicidal. Last August, De Lima convened a hearing on Duterte’s drug war killings, featuring devastating testimony from a former hit man,” it added, recalling Matobato’s revelations.

The TIME citation also noted how De Lima refuses to be silenced despite detention, with the Senator continuously criticizing the governance style of the President.

“And yet, even from prison, she continues to speak out against her President: ‘It’s not OK with me that we have a murderous psychopath occupying the highest post in the land’,” the citation said, quoting one of the senator’s letters to supporters.

US...

From A1

line on the issue than his predecessor, President Barack Obama.

Murphy, however, said there was a distinction between being a nominee and the secretary of state and Tillerson was now the leader of the policy of expressing concern about the way the drug war was being waged.

“We are urging the Philippines to follow up on its commitment to investigate extrajudicial killings whether they are committed by law enforcement, or of a vigilante nature,” he said.

The latest pronouncement of the US State Department is the first under Trump, whom Duterte said supports his anti-drug campaign.

In the same statement, Malacañang dismissed as “fake news” figures circulating that close to 9,000 people, mostly drug users and small-time dealers, have been killed since Duterte took office almost 10 months.

“On the number of extrajudicial deaths, the persistent news reports of 7,000 killed, which is now being said to be close to 9,000, is false news,” Abella said.

The Palace spokesman said

Solon...

From A1

the President, therefore it is only imperative that they be given immediate relief until the President decides on the petitions.”

Barbers said Medialdea’s decision was legal as the executive secretary had jurisdiction over the appeals filed with the Office of the President.

“I firmly believe that ES Medialdea deferred the mine fund not because he counters President Duterte’s policy against de-

there have been close to 6,000 homicides since Duterte took office.

“For the period 01 July 2016 to 24 March 2017, the police has accounted for 6,011 homicide cases under investigation [formerly called deaths under investigation]. Of this number, only 1,398 cases were found to be drug-related, contrary to news reports that there are now close to 9,000 killed connected with the campaign against illegal drugs,” he added.

He said that police “who breach procedures are made to answer before the law.”

“The Philippine National Police [PNP] has an Internal Affairs Service [IAS] tasked to probe police accused of such violations. This body can suspend or dismiss PNP personnel based on violations incurred and can recommend the filing of criminal charges,” he added.

Police say about a third of the victims were shot by officers in self-defense. Human rights groups, however, believe many of the remaining two-thirds were killed by paid assassins cooperating with the police or by police themselves, disguised as vigilantes—a claim being rejected by authorities. structive mining operations but because the petitions center on this controversial trust fund,” Barbers said.

On Thursday, Assistant Finance Secretary Paola Alvarez said the inter-agency Mining Industry Coordinating Council was seeking a P50-million budget so it could hire independent experts to reassess the operations of the 311 mining firms as ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte.

The 311 include the 28 mines shuttered or suspended by the Environment department.

News

A3

SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

IN BRIEF Tech-driven solutions for mining THE Department of Science and Technology and the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines signed recently a Memorandum of Agreement to develop technology-driven solutions for “responsible mining.”

The DoST inked the deal through the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research Development at the Manila Golf and Country Club in Bonifacio Global City in Makati.

PCIEERD is one of the attached agencies of the DOST, while COMP is a private organization of 80 mining and quarrying firms.

PCIEERD officials Carlos Primero David and Raul Sabularse signed the MOA with COMP executives Benjamin Philip G. Romualdez and Nelia C. Halcon.

“Hopefully, this will be another long-term successful partnership between COMP and the government,” said Romualdez as he expressed willingness to share mining technologies with the government.

‘Order to regularize not enough’ A STUDENT activist organization on Friday expressed dismay at the recent statement

by Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello announcing the Labor department’s order to telecom giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. to regularize 10,000 of its employees.

The Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan or Spark, in a statement emailed to the media, claimed they welcomed the DoLE’s announcement but insisted the order was insufficient.

“By all indications, PLDT, PAL [Philippine Airlines] and many more have violated workers’ rights; their labor unions for decades have been complaining about their company’s infractions. The DoLE report is clear on this, for that reason the next order of business for the DoLE is to charge them before the courts,” said Spark spokesperson Jade Lyndon Mata.

“These abusive companies and the manpower agencies must be held accountable for the appalling miseries inflicted upon hundreds of thousands of workers if not millions who were victimized by their schemes,” he added.

The group cited Article 109 of the Labor Code which states that both direct employer and contractor shall be held responsible for labor-only contracting violations.

In the case of PLDT, the Labor department through its Special Assessment/Visit of Establishment (Save) discovered that the telecom giant was engaging in contracting and subcontracting arrangements with manpower agencies to supply workers to perform duties that are directly related to nature of business of PLDT. Sandy Araneta

DOST-COMP DEAL. Officials of DoST-PCIEERD and the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines prior to signing their Memorandum of Agreement at the Manila Golf and Country

Club in Makati City. From left, seated, are: PCIEERD deputy executive director Raul Sabularse; executive director Dr. Carlos Primo David; COMP president Benjamin Philip Romualdez, and COMP executive vice president Nelia Halcon. Standing, from left: Ma. Lynn Talingdan, PCIEERD; Ninalisa H. Escorial, Lawyer Lysander Castillo, PBEST secretary general; Adrian Ramos, Atlas Consolidated Mining president and COMP board member; and Clarence Pimentel, CTP Construction CEO and COMP board member.

PH-Russia ties strengthened by new defense cooperation

By John Paolo Bencito

T

IES between the Philippines and Russia are expected to be strengthened after both countries agreed to sign a defense cooperation partnership agreement when President Rodrigo Duterte visits Moscow next month, a senior Cabinet official said Friday.

Following Duterte’s visit to the Russian guided missile cruiser Varyag currently anchored at the Port of Manila, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon said in a chance interview: “Defense co-

operation will be finalized when the President visits Moscow by the end of May.” He added: “The defense cooperation will come in the form of training, [and] exchange of information.”

As the President boarded the ship and stood for a photo with Russians near the ship’s deck, Duterte turned biblical as he expressed elation over their presence, saying he had nothing to be afraid of.

“The Russians are with me [so] I shall not be afraid,” the President said.

Esperon said while Duterte, who is expected to visit Moscow

by May 25, already expressed the country would not enter into any other military alliances other than with the United States, other forms of cooperation could still be pursued by the country in line with Duterte’s independent foreign policy. “[While] we don’t go into al-

liances, which is a tighter agreement, we can go into partnerships in a mutually beneficial way,” Esperon said.

Joint exercises can also be explored as a possible avenue for cooperation in the future, Esperon added.

“That’s a long way to go but we can come to that later on,” he said.

During his visit, he got a tour of the 34-year-old Varyag from Russian officials, including the upper deck where the shortrange anti-missile rocket system is, the mid-ship where the longrange anti-aircraft missile rocket system is and the ship’s bough where its main weapon or the long distance anti-ship missile

500k worth of strand pearls seized at Naia NBI nabs

By Vito Barcelo THE Bureau of Customs confiscated at least 8.42 kilos of strand pearls worth half a million pesos at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport which authorities said were illegally brought into the country by a foreign tourist.

Customs agents discovered pearls after the passenger’s baggage passed under the XRay Inspection Project (XIP) machine.

The pearls were brought in by a tourist identified as Ansari Hassan who arrived from Hongkong.

Deputy Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno said customs agents subjected the baggage to physical examination after being marked ‘X’.

Upon inspection, the customs examiner and XIP inspector found 48 strand pearls concealed in a white plastic bag.

The passenger claimed he did not have enough cash to pay for import duties which led to the seizure of the pearls.

The pearls have been placed under custody of the BoC for further examination and evaluation.

Meanwhile, two 9mm caliber revolvers

intended for shipment to China were also seized at the NAIA. At the same time, 15 tablets of ecstasy pills were found by the EG at the DHL Warehouse in Pasay.

“We will not stop our fight against the illegal entry of contrabands into the country and collect what is due to our country,” Nepomuceno said.

“The public can expect stricter implementation of X-Ray examination since intrusive inspection of hand carried bags are not allowed unless marked by the machine,” he added.

Poland-based PH official defends anti-drug drive

By Vito Barcelo A PHILIPPINE official in Poland defended the Philippines’ continuous drive against illegal drugs, saying the country’s war on drugs was not a “war against the poor” but a “war for the poor.”

Philippine Ambassador to Poland Patricia Ann Paez, who was guest speaker during the sixth edition of Action Diplomacy” in Warsaw, said the war on drugs was not targeted at any particular segment of society, but to protect the people from illegal drugs.

Majority of the victims of extrajudicial killings were poor but Paez claimed it was not the doing of the police or the military but people involved in illegal drug trade.

Human Rights Watch

and anti-aircraft carrier are.

“It was in keeping with the invitation extended to the President by visiting the ship. It’s showing goodwill. No more, no less,” Esperon said.

Duterte also went to the ship museum as well as the Admiral’s room for the guest book signing.

During the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Lima last November, Duterte already met Russian President Vladimir Putin where he accepted his invitation to visit Moscow.

Duterte had previously visited the Russian large anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs, which made its port call last January for a goodwill visit.

Deputy Asia Director Phelim Kine in a statement reacted to Duterte’s statement in a recent speech in Bukidnon that his anti-narcotics drive affected mostly poor people “because the poor are ignorant and more likely to be hit.”

Paez said Duterte had demonstrated firm action to combat the rising drug menace in the country, adding the President was in fact always given a spontaneous rousing welcome by Filipino workers overseas.

Action Diplomacy is a project aimed at “furthering the knowledge of diplomacy, business, and geo-politics among the students in Polish universities.”

This is the 4th time since 2013 that the Philippine Embassy in Warsaw hosted the participants of Action Diplomacy.

ARM OF THE LAW. NBI spokesman Ferdinand Lavin (standing) talks to former policeman PO3 Rodolfo Gamuyao, 63, who was caught recently by authorities after hiding for 25 years on charges of murder, illegal possession of firearms and drug distribution in Region 6. Norman Cruz

retired cop for murder after 25 yrs

By Sandy Araneta THE National Bureau of Investigation on Friday said operatives of the NBI-International Operations Division and NBI-Intellectual Property Rights Division arrested a former Philippine Constabulary officer for murder.

The NBI said the suspect, Rodolfo “Boy” Gamuyao, 63 years old, a former PC officer and a retired Police Officer 3, had gone into hiding and had remained at large to evade arrest and prosecution, right after the Regional Trial Court, Branch 54, Bacolod City issued on July 1, 1992 a “No Bail Warrant of Arrest” against him for the crime of murder.

Intelligence information disclosed that Gamuyao and his group were engaged in illegal activities such as gun running of high-powered firearms and drug distribution in Region VI. After a series of investigation, NBI operatives were able to confirm from informants the suspect used to hang out with former PC officers in some areas in Ilo-Ilo, Bacolod and Guimaras.

A joint operation of NBI-IOD Interpol and NBI-IPRD was then formed to apprehend the suspect.

On April 19, 2017, at 1 p.m., suspect was spotted at the food court of Terra Plaza, Bacolod City taking his lunch with some friends.

A4

Opinion

SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2017

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

Adelle Chua, Editor

Fit for dogs

T

HE urban poor group Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap, or Kadamay, has issued a statement reacting to news reports that said they found the housing units they had occupied to be too small, fit only for senators’ dogs. They were also said to complain about the lack of water and electricity in the units.

The housing units, built by the National Housing Authority in Pandi, Bulacan, had been allotted for cops and soldiers but had remained unoccupied.

In early March, more than 1,000 Kadamay members swept into the

housing units and occupied them, claiming they had been forced to do so by the sheer inability of the government to provide shelter for the poor.

After initially castigating Kadamay members for what they had done, the still-popular President Rodrigo Duterte later on relented, telling them that it was all right to stay in the units so long as they did not oust uniformed personnel already living there.

And then came the reported remarks on how small the units, how inadequate the facilities were.

We commiserate with the urban poor and share their wish that the government would do more to help them.

Help, however, should come in the form of stable job opportunities that will enable them to help themselves put food on the table, send their chil-

dren to school and give themselves shelter, water, electricity and other comforts.

The direct quote, which does not lie, did capture the Kadamay leader likening the houses to those fit for lawmakers’ pets. Even if the pets turned out to be birds, however, the size of the units is never the issue—it is the fact that they occupied something that is not theirs, and seemed to have gotten away with doing so just because they cry injustice.

That the government has been remiss in its duty to provide adequate employment is lamentable but still not an excuse for Kadamay to entertain the thought that what its members did was right, or at the very least, legal.

Seizing the houses was bad enough; complaining about the units added ig-

nominy to the act.

Imagine the message it sends to those from the middle class who toil day and night, endure horrid traffic and public transport conditions, pay taxes whose effects they most often do not feel, and still find elusive the likelihood of getting their own home even after decades of painstaking work.

It’s an affliction of politicians—to promise the masses relief from poverty, to tell them that government will take care of everything, and to be stumped when they are held accountable for their empty promises.

They breed not humble people willing to find jobs and work hard, but arrogant ones, aware of their electoral indispensability, entitled to all that was promised them, and oblivious to notions of right and wrong.

HAIL TO THE CHAIR VICTOR AVECILLA

No need to change ‘pabasa’ text

to consult a doctor because I thought it would stop. But on the third month, the bleeding was heavier and it scared me. I finally went to my Gynecologist who told me that hormonal imbalance was the culprit. After doing a pregnancy and a few other tests, I was given birth control pills to correct my condition. Indeed, the bleeding stopped. From then on, my menstrual cycle also became more regular, something that I did not experience from the onset of menarche. I did not know then but on hindsight, I most probably suffered from PCOS. PCOS is a hormonal disorder when women produce too much of male hormones called androgens. It cannot be prevented but early diagnosis & treatment help prevent longterm complications such as infertility, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. PCOS is the leading cause of infertility in women.

Some of the symptoms of PCOS are: abnormal vaginal

A ROMAN Catholic bishop based in Metropolitan Manila wants a revision of the “pabasa,” the traditional Holy Week practice of publicly chanting the passion of Jesus Christ from the Last Supper all the way to the Resurrection.

He says that the “pabasa” is based on the Gospel of Saint John, but re-written with local embellishments. Those embellishments, the bishop says, promotes anti-Semitism (hatred for Jews) because it portrays the Jews as the villains responsible for the death of Jesus. He says that a revision is necessary to erase the antiSemitism characterizing the “pabasa.”

The bishop opines that those responsible for turning over Jesus to the Roman authorities are lumped together by the “pabasa” as Jews, as if Jesus and his disciples were not Jews themselves. For the bishop, the enemies of Jesus were the priests in Judaism.

As for his interpretation of the Gospel of John, the bishop suggests that this gospel has anti-Semitic tendencies considering that the Jews in the post-pentecost period actually condemned as heretics their fellow Jews who converted to Christianity. He added that the anti-Semitic overtones of John’s gospel were encouraged by the Spanish friars, who disliked Jews in Spain, in the “pabasa” which they eventually promoted in the Philippine Islands.

The bishop likewise cites “Nostra Aetate” (In Our Times), a document that emanated from the second Vatican council convened by then Pope John XXIII in 1962, which is more popularly known as Vatican II. That document states that although the Jewish authorities and their followers demanded the crucifixion of Jesus, the death of Jesus cannot be placed solely in the hands of all Jews, including the Jews of today.

With all due respect to the bishop, his insistence that the “pabasa” is anti-Semitic and must be amended is baseless.

Since the “pabasa” is premised on what is written in the John’s gospel, an evaluation of

Turn to A5

Turn to A5

Beyond contraception POWER POINT ELIZABETH ANGSIOCO THE ongoing advocacy for the Supreme Court to lift the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and reverse its August 2016 decision is about access to modern contraceptive methods, and more. The SC’s promulgations have made zero access to contraceptives an impending reality. If this happens, our Justices should be blamed for ruining the lives of millions of Filipino women-those who will be denied their human right to practice family planning; the millions who are afflicted with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome; and women who might be afflicted with certain kinds of cancers that could otherwise be prevented by use of oral contraceptives.

Yes, the #LiftTRO campaign goes beyond the issue of contraception. I have dealt with family

planning and contraception in numerous pieces before. Now let me focus on the other benefits of contraceptives beyond family planning.

Recent studies have revealed that taking birth control pills can help women prevent certain cancers for as long as thirty years. According to a report from Huffpost, “the University of Aberdeen, Scotland looked at 46,022 women taking part in the Oral Contraception Study established by the Royal College of General Practitioners jn 1968 to investigate the longterm effect of oral contraceptives. The study looked at the risk of all types of cancer in women who have taken the pill following the participants for up to 44 years making this the world’s longest-running study on the effects of oral contraceptive.”

The reported results of the study are impressive.

First, they found NO evidence of new cancer risks appearing later in life among women who used the pill during their repro-

ductive years. It should be noted here that usually, more cancers occur during the later stages of life. This finding is quite important because this shoots down allegations by anti-RH groups that hormonal contraceptives cause cancer.

We strongly call on the High Court to stop violating women’s rights to health and life.

Second, the study concluded that women who used the pill “had a lower risk of colorectal cancer, endometrial cancer or ovarian cancer than women who had never used the pill,

with women protected from these cancers for at least thirty years after they had stopped using the pill.”

This study’s findings support a 2016 study which said that because of the widespread use of oral contraceptives, the number of deaths from ovarian cancer in Western countries for the period covering 2002 to 2012 significantly went down. This latest study also boosts the conclusion in 2015 of another study done by the University of Oxford indicating that longterm use of the pill could protect women from endometrial cancer.

These recent studies again bring to our attention of other benefits of contraception beyond its primary use which is for birth control and family planning.

The contraceptive pill is also used to treat and manage Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome or PCOS. I was in my early twenties when I suffered from continuous spotting and bleeding for more than three months. I did not want

Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher can be accessed at: thestandard.com.ph

Benjamin Philip G. Romualdez Former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno

Philippine Press Institute The National Association of Philippine Newspapers

Anita F. Grefal Baldwin R. Felipe Edgar M. Valmorida

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

ONLINE MEMBER

PPI

Chairman Board Member & Chief Legal Adviser Treasury Manager OIC-Ad Solutions Circulation Manager

Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Joyce Pangco Pañares Adelle Chua

Managing Editor Associate Editors City Editor Opinion Editor

Emil P. Jurado

Honor Blanco Cabie Night Editor Romel J. MendezArt Director Roberto CabreraChief Photographer

Chairman Emeritus, Editorial Board

Opinion BACKBENCHER ROD P. KAPUNAN

Currency manipulation can work both ways Part II THE promoters of flexible exchange rate advocated the policy of allowing the currency to float based on the value of the dollar after the US devolved it from the gold standard. They believe that universalizing the system of exchange rate would spur business that has been regularly ravaged by the cycle of economic depression characterized by recession and stagnation. They anticipated the system to open a new era in business revolving on currency trading, thereby promoting speculative trading of collateralized debt obligations including stocks which saw the rapid growth of investment houses where hedge funds managers becoming billionaires.

The promoters never reacted negatively to the residual effect of inflation after the value of the currency was deregulated. Rather, they welcomed it because inflation is the lifeblood that promotes business.

All transactions, particularly in international trade, saw it as an opportunity to hasten international finance much that surplus capital kept in banks could now be tapped and put to use.

To ensure the smooth flow of the new system, the monetarists, recommended the following: 1) Since the US dollar is now free to peg its own value, it is wise to abrogate all existing usury laws; 2) The Clinton administration further deregulated the financial system by allowing once again banks to engage in investment abrogating the landmark Glass-Steagall Law. 3) Being the biggest economy, the US dollar would automatically become the universal currency where most countries would measure the value of their own currency.

The setting up of this mechanism was made integral, and the monetarists attributed it as the single greatest factor that made globali zat ion “successf u l.”

The abrogation of all usury laws resulted in the soaring of prices traded in the market. The government had to impose value-added tax on everything that fall within the purview of transactional payment.

From then on, people began to accept the VAT as an added burden forgetting it is a pass-on tax on the end-users. In that, provisions for public service and welfare in exchange for the taxes they pay were erased.

The government was in a placed bind much that the VAT was not enough to cover up the losses caused by the drastic reduction in tariff to facilitate free trade. We practically made a suicidal dive into the abyss, for aside from the loss of customs revenue caused by the reduction of tariff, we allowed our currency to decay by the unrestrained system of currency devaluation.

Inflation became necessary to keep alive the system of usury, and that gave birth to the casino economy.

Since astronomic earnings derived from soaring interest rates were raking in much profit, money lending gradually substituted production and manufacturing. The system of trading money for money, stocks for money, and anticipated earnings on commodity trading were accepted as business practice.

Capital was unlocked, and it resulted in the rapid increase in the prices of goods and services. On the whole, it means easy money.

Manufacturing and production was gradually overtaken by the system of trading and speculation. This was seen by the increase in portfolio investment over direct investment. The casino economy was wholly advantageous much that it was not affected by force majeure,

labor unrest, calamities such as fire, etc. Inflation continually pushed upward the prices of goods. The only danger is when the debtor makes a default in his payment. But again, this gave rise to the more lucrative business of second and third mortgage, reinsurance, hedge funds, mortgage of collateralized debt obligations.

The single most devastating effect of this new system is the continued depreciation of the currencies of countries tied to the US dollar. They were mostly dependent on the export of few commodities. Their currencies were soon afflicted with some kind of financial leprosy because their value continues to erode even without them having to devalue their currency. The US, its allies in the European Union and Japan that control the various international financial institutions were all delighted.

That means the mechanism of devaluation and revaluation was a device that would always favor the casino banker/dealer.

Rich exporting countries of manufactured goods suddenly amassed so much capital surplus. They wanted everything deregulated including wage, the abolition of all forms of subsidy, and the uniform pricing of export commodities. They also set up regional free trade zones. All these were designed to put in place an international cartel on the price of certain commodities. The early symptoms were ignored because of the need to finance and promote trade.

Thus, while export from the less-developed countries relatively increased in volume, their value continues to decline resulting in massive trade deficit.

The developed countries did not mind that because they focus their attention on the profit of trading money for money. They even offered i nt e rest-f ree loans because they anticipated the fall in the value of the currencies of debtor countries, and that was enough guarantee to ensure profit.

Not contented, the US and its allies in the financial cartel strongly advocated the privatization of state-owned industries to prevent them from fixing the price of their exports. The export price was monitored by the WTO; that they must sell those goods in the international market at a fixed price or face trade and economic sanctions.

The gap in the value of the local currency became so wide that even those that advocated the idea of “import substitution” in the early 60’s were discouraged because importing them became cheaper than in producing them locally. The system of flexible exchange rate was expanded to all loan obligations.

That means, aside from the interest debtor countries will pay, they were required to pay the loan based on the current exchange rate. They were made to pay to the last centavo on the basis how the dollar was traded that day.

The financial mechanism called CERA or currency exchange rate is most distinct in all loans entered into by public utilities like water, electricity and toll fees for the expressways users. CERA is attached to all loans involving payment of foreign currency. This was made possible because laws on franchise or tax on privilege which was imposed to protect investors in monopoly corporations was repealed. Franchise tax was converted to one of pass-on tax like VAT, which reason why today’s franchise holders of public utilities are behaving like demigods in making a mockery to our democratic system.

Rich exporting countries of manufactured goods suddenly amassed so much capital surplus.

rpkapunan@gmail.com

SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2017

A5

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Easter in Rome and Collegio Filipino

THIS year, I was given the grace of celebrating Easter in Rome, joining the Saturdu Easter Vigil at the Collegio Filipino and the Sunday morning Mass celebrated by the Pope himself at Saint Peter’s Square. I was also able to listen to Pope Francis’ Urbi et Orbi message to the citizens of Rome and to all peoples of the world.

As described in its website, the Pontificio Collegio Filipino was inaugurated by Saint Pope John XXIII in 1961 as the “Home in Rome” of Filipino secular diocesan priests, sent by their respective bishops to study in the different ecclesiastical centers in Rome. They study Theology, Philosophy, Canon Law, Sacred Scriptures, Liturgy, History, Communications, Patristics, and other fields. There are currently around 30 Filipino priests staying in the Collegio, joined by a few guest priests from other countries.

A Rector, a Vice-Rector/ Procurator and a Spiritual Director form the Collegio‘s group of Administrators. Being a Pontifical institution, they report to the Holy Father, through the Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy. They also report directly to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, which has an Episcopal Commission on the Collegio. Currently, the Rector is Fr. Gregory Ramon D. Gaston, STD, the Vice-Rector and Procurator is Msgr. Wilfredo E. Andrey, SSL, and the spiritual director is Fr. Domingo M. Salonga, STL. I directly interacted with Fr. Rector Gaston and Msgr.

Andrey, and both impressed me very much with their pastoral leadership and simple holiness.

When our Bishops are in Rome, they usually stay in the Collegio. In fact, when I was there, Cardinals Chito Tagle and Orlando Quevedo were also

No need...

From A4

this Philippine Holy Week practice must be done in the light of what is provided in John’s gospel and in the historical record.

In Judaism (the religion of the Jews), the high priest is vested with the sacred responsibility of preparing the Jews for the arrival of the Messiah. Because of the sacred nature of his duties, the high priest enjoyed a privileged status in Jewish society in Roman-occupied Judea. He and his close associates in the Jewish religious hierarchy enjoyed a lifestyle ordinary Jews in the land could only dream of.

With the privilege enjoyed by the high priest and his colleagues came power, thanks to a deal the Roman authorities made with the Jewish religious leaders in Judea. That deal allowed the Jews in Judea to retain their religious beliefs and practices, their synagogues, and their monarch (King Herod, and later his son Herod Antiphas, were the Jewish royals back then), but prohibited the Jewish religious leaders from imposing the death penalty on any

Beyond...

From A4

bleeding that happens to about 30 percent of women afflicted with the condition; irregular menstrual cycle; sudden weight gain; acne; increased male-like hair growth; inability to conceive; low self-esteem; high stress levels; and, hypertension.

In the Philippines, it is estimated that about 5 percent to 10 percent of women between the ages of 18-44 have PCOS. I read somewhere that around ten million Filipinas may have this disease. Other estimates say that one in every ten to fifteen women are affected by this condition.

No wonder I found PCOS as a

in the Collegio while attending meetings in nearby Vatican (a few Metro stops away). Incidentally, many of our Bishops are alumni and some have served as rectors and administrators of Collegio.

When there is space and on a referral basis, the Collegio opens itself to pilgrims who can have meals there and even stay, for an affordable fee, in its newly renovated premises.

The food is definitely good, a combination of Filipino and Italian cuisine. The consultant for the Collegio’s kitchen is no less than the famous Chef Babes Austria. Rome-based overseas Filipino workers, some of whom I have taught years ago in the Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship Program of the Ateneo School of Government, help out in the kitchen as well as with other chores, while being also able to take a break from their regular employment as domestic workers, caregivers, etc.

Chef Babes also helps in landscaping the garden, collaborating with Mr. DG Ascalon, of Sacramento, California. The latter owned the largest flower shop in Bacolod, worked 38 years in a nursery in California, and is an expert on trees and flowers among others.

Other volunteers and support, including donations, are welcome. For the latter, the various ways of doing this is provided in http://pcfroma.org/help/.

Most of all, Collegio Filipino is a sacred place. Its chapels are wonderful reminders of both the universality and Filipinoness of the Catholic Church; with murals in the basement chapel of the martyrdom of Saints Pedro Calungsod and Lorenzo Ruiz, and statues of the Virgins of Antipolo in both its chapels. The daily Mass and morning prayer are solemn; our Easter vigil, while simple, was meaningful.

In blessing the Collegio in 1961, Saint Pope John XXIII said: “these buildings destined for the formation of your students in sacred sciences

will be like channels by which Catholic life will be promoted among you, and the bond by which the Philippines, a Nation very dear to us, will more intensely be linked with the supreme Magisterium of the Church.” 46 years later, we can for sure say that the Collegio is fulfilling this mission.

Celebrating Easter in Rome is of course not complete without joining the multitudes that gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday morning to hear Mass celebrated by the Pope and to listen at noon to his message to Rome and the world.

I was able to hear these reassuring words from Pope Francis, as he delivered an off-thecuff homily during the Mass: “The meaning of looking at the other, the meaning of saying: “Look, there isn’t a wall; there is a horizon, there is life, there is joy, there is the cross with this ambivalence. Look ahead; don’t ‘close’ yourself.

You, pebble, have a meaning in life because you are a pebble next to that stone, that rock that the evil of sin has discarded.” What does the Church say to us today in face of so many tragedies? Simply this. The discarded rock is not really discarded. The pebbles that believe and attach themselves to that rock aren’t discarded, they have meaning and with this sentiment the Church repeats from the depth of her heart: “Christ is risen.”

Let’s think a bit, let each one of us think, of the daily problems, of the sicknesses we have lived through or that one of our relatives has; let’s think of the wars, the human tragedies and, simply, with a humble voice, without flowers, alone, before God, before ourselves we say: “I don’t know how this is so, but I’m sure that Christ is risen and I bet on this.” Brothers and sisters, this is what I wanted to say to you. Return home today, repeating in your heart: “Christ is risen.”

For his Urbi at Orbi message, these words struck me most: “In every age, the Risen

Shepherd tirelessly seeks us, his brothers and sisters, wandering in the deserts of this world. With the marks of the passion—the wounds of his merciful love— he draws us to follow him on his way, the way of life. Today, too, he places upon his shoulders so many of our brothers and sisters crushed by evil in all its varied forms.

The Risen Shepherd goes in search of all those lost in the labyrinths of loneliness and marginalization. He comes to meet them through our brothers and sisters who treat them with respect and kindness, and help them to hear his voice, an unforgettable voice, a voice calling them back to friendship with God. He takes upon himself all those victimized by old and new forms of slavery, inhuman labor, illegal trafficking, exploitation and discrimination, and grave forms of addiction.

He takes upon himself children and adolescents deprived of their carefree innocence and exploited, and those deeply hurt by acts of violence that take place within the walls of their own home.

The Risen Shepherd walks beside all those forced to leave their homelands as a result of armed conflicts, terrorist attacks, famine and oppressive regimes. Everywhere he helps these forced migrants to encounter brothers and sisters, with whom they can share bread and hope on their journey.

In the complex and often dramatic situations of today’s world, may the Risen Lord guide the steps of all those who work for justice and peace.

May he grant the leaders of nations the courage they need to prevent the spread of conflicts and to put a halt to the arms trade.”

Strong words from the Vicar of Christ. One hopes that Catholics, Christians, and all persons of good listened and will now act accordingly.

of their kind without the prior consent of the Roman emperor or his procurator in Judea. The deal, however, did not exempt the Jews from paying taxes to Rome. Thus, the high priest and his associates exercised absolute religious authority and limited political authority in Judea.

In exchange for those concessions, the Jewish religious leaders guaranteed that they will suppress any rebellion within their territorial jurisdiction.

Naturally, the Jewish religious leaders enjoyed the perks of their office, with the permission of the Roman authorities, and at the expense of the Jewish population.

Whether the Jewish religious authorites abused their privileged status in Judea is not the concern of this essay. What must be emphasized is that the high priest Caiphas (and Annas before him) could not have had a better religious and political arrangement with the Romans, who were not exactly benevolent to the people they conquered in other parts of the world.

Thus, as long as the Messiah hasn’t arrived, and as long as

Rome’s accommodation isn’t abused, Caiphas and his group enjoyed a lifestyle akin to royalty. Conversely, when the Messiah does finally arrive, their lifestyle will be put to naught.

When Jesus Christ entered the equation, it was enough cause for Caiphas and his group to panic. Because Jesus had fulfilled the prophecies in the Holy Scriptures, many in Judea saw Jesus as the Messiah. Caiphas and his group realized that if Jesus is, indeed, the Messiah, they will be unemployed in no time. That is the main reason why Caiphas and his group saw Jesus as a threat and plotted against him.

The Roman procurator in Judea, Pontius Pilate, is recorded in Roman documents as an honest but stern bureaucrat, and one who disliked his having been assigned to Judea.

When an angry mob composed of the more vocal part of the Jewish population in Judea, particularly those identified with Caiphas, gathered outside Pilate’s headquarters to demand the crucifixion of Jesus, Pilate tried to argue with them with a view towards releasing Jesus.

Although Pilate declared that

Jesus committed no crime, the mob replied “let his blood be on us and on our children.”

That was enough for Pilate to acquiesce to mob rule.

In fine, Jesus died on a Roman cross, upon the instigation of Caiphas and his allies inside and outside the Jewish religious hierarchy in Roman-occupied Judea.

A close examination of the texts of both the “pabasa” and the gospel will readily indicate that their references to the Jews is not for the purpose of encouraging hatred for or the persecution of the Jews, but simply for historical orientation.

Stating what happened to Jesus through a “pabasa” based on the gospel of John is not an endorsement of anti-Semitism.

It must be emphasized that the Philippines has no historical tradition of anti-Semitism. In fact, Philippine Commonwealth President Manuel Quezon issued visas to many Jews fleeing the Nazis in Europe, particularly when America was no longer in a position to take in refugees. Moreover, persecution on the ground of one’s religious affiliation is frowned upon in modern times.

main reason why women signed the online #LiftTRO petition. I would like to give space to some of these women’s voices: Camille Austria said, “I have been suffering from PCOS. I have been using pills to alleviate the negative effects and prevent further negative impacts on my health caused by PCOS.” According to Rosemarie Jane Garcia, “I am concerned with my life. Having hormonal pills keeps me alive and balanced.

Having PCOS is not easy.”

For her part, Roxette Valencia said, “I am signing because I am diagnosed with PCOS and it is the only medicine that I could take to save myself from infertility.”

Justine Pido lamented, “A lot of women including myself are suffering from PCOS and we need hormonal pills as a form of maintenance medication. It is highly ignorant of government to let contraceptives become obsolete... I have only been recently diagnosed and it seems like this country.... isn’t even willing to give me, and the rest of its women a fair chance at living a healthy life...”

Lastly, Ching Dee said, “Let us bleed regularly in peace!

Leave our pills alone!”

These are just some of the voices of women who are afflicted with PCOS who will be deprived of their medication-- the pill, because of the SC’s continu-

ing refusal to lift the TRO and reverse its August 2016 decision.

If you want to read more reasons why people support the #LiftTRO campaign, you may go to bit.ly/lifttro and listen to the desperate, angry voices of those affected by this unjust decision of our Justices. Better yet, sign the petition and be one with us.

Yes, we strongly call on the High Court to stop violating women’s rights to health and life. This is about, and beyond contraception.

Facebook: tonylavs Twitter: tonylavs

bethangsioco@gmail.com @bethangsioco on Twitter Elizabeth Angsioco on Facebook

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Manila

News

Standard

A6

TODAY APRIL 22, 2017 SATURDAY, mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Riding-in-tandem kills Japanese trader in Manila

Poe bats for bills against hunger SENATOR Grace Poe on Friday said that a total of P8.9 billion is included in the government’s spending program this year to implement two anti-hunger initiatives as she renewed her call to the Duterte administration to prioritize these measures.

Poe said the measures intend to establish a free feeding program in all public schools and provide children full support from conception up to two years old.

The two initiatives have been Poe’s pet bills since joining the legislature in 2013. To implement the free feeding program, P4.2 billion has been allocated for the Department of Education, the implementing agency of the school-based feeding program, while P4.4 billion has been earmarked for the Department of Social Welfare and Development to implement the supplemental feeding program.

As for the First 1,000 Days Program jointly managed by the Department of Health and the National Nutrition Council, a total of P294 million has been allocated to implement the natal care program for expectant mothers, and health care and feeding program for toddlers.

“We have supported these nutrition programs of the government, and our next step is to institutionalize them through legislative fiat to make these programs permanent,” Poe said.

Poe is a co-sponsor of Senate Bill No. 1297 or An Act Creating a National School Feeding Program to Combat Hunger and Undernutrition for all Basic Education Students.

Under the measure, the DepEd, in coordination with the NNC and the Food and Nutrition Research Institute, shall prepare a menu that satisfies at least one-third of the daily nutritional requirement of a child based on the Philippine Dietary Reference Intake. It shall be drawn up according to age range, type of school, and local cultural eating preferences.

“The school feeding program ensures that our children are properly nourished to enable them to grow up healthy, smart and alert.

At the same time, by institutionalizing this program, we are giving livelihood opportunities for local producers and suppliers, as the ingredients for the menu will be sourced from them,” she explained.

By Sandy Araneta and Jun David

A

JAPANESE national was killed by riding-in-tandem suspects along Roxas Boulevard in Manila on Thursday evening.

The Manila Police District identified the fatality as 48-year-old Japanese national Seiki Mizuno, who died on the spot.

Mizuno was aboard a van with several companions and were on their way to a hotel in Pasay City after having dinner

at Harbor View.

Reports said a passenger identified as John Desbarro sustained a gunshot wound to the head but survived after he was rushed to the hospital.

Three other Japanese nationals who were also on board the van were unharmed.

Bills on quake readiness pushed

(MS-MAR. 9/10/11, 2017)

SECURITY CHECK. Members of the Quezon City Police District conduct a check point along Agham Road in Quezon City as part of ‘Oplan Sita’

Section I. Invitation to Bid

‘Killing of volunteer doctors alarming’

By Macon Ramos-Araneta Perlas, also a volunteer doctor, nity is being deprived of medical

Rental of Three (3) Units Shuttle Bus Service - Rebidding 1.

The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) through the GSIS Approved Budget for the Procurement of Multi-Year Contracts for the Period CY 2017 to CY 2019 intends to apply the sum of Fifteen Million Four Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php15,400,000.00) being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments for the contract for the Rental of Three (3) Units Shuttle Bus Service. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

2.

The GSIS now invites bids for the Rental of Three (3) Units Shuttle Bus Service – Rebidding. Delivery of the Goods is required for twenty four (24) months from July 2017 to June 2019. Bidders should have completed, within the past seven (7) 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 non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the 2016 Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

Bidding is open to all interested bidders, whether local or foreign, subject to the conditions for eligibility provided in the IRR of RA 9184 and in ITB Clause 5.2 of the Bid Data Sheet in the Bidding Documents.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from the GSIS Bids and Awards Committee (GBAC) Secretariat and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below from 8:00AM to 5:00PM, Monday to Friday excluding holidays.

GBAC Secretariat GSIS Building Level 2 Core G Financial Center, Pasay City

AKBAYAN Senator Risa Hontiveros said the spate of killings victimizing volunteer doctors is no longer an isolated incident, describing it as “a crime against the people.”

She expressed shock and grief over the killing of another volunteer of the government’s Doctor to the Barrios [DTTB] program.

Dr. Sajid “Jaja” Sinolinding, who served in Cotabato City, was reportedly gunned down by unknown assailants while on duty in his clinic on Tuesday.

The attack happened less than two months after Dr. Dreyfuss

was killed in Sapad, Lanao del Norte.

Hontiveros said that the climate of killing under the Duterte government poses a serious threat to the people’s access to public health, and a mortal danger to the lives of the already small number of volunteer doctors.

She noted that as of 2016, only 320 of the 946 slots were filled in the DTTB program managed by the Department of Health.

“There are only a few doctors or the barrio volunteers and yet, they are being killed. It is sad because for every volunteer doctor killed, a generous person is being grabbed of his life and a commu-

services,” Hontiveros said.

The slain doctor was the younger brother of DoH-Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao Secretary Dr. Kadil Sinolinding Jr. The victim’s family said they had been receiving death threats since last year due to their exposure of alleged corruption in a school in Arakan, North Cotabato.

Hontiveros called on the authorities to conduct a full-scale investigation on the incident.

She added that she will file a resolution to urge the Senate to look into the killings of doctors in the communities.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested Bidders on 21 April 2017, from the GBAC Secretariat between 8:00AM to 3:00PM and upon payment of the nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents, pursuant to the latest Guidelines issued by the GPPB, in the amount of Php25,000.00.

It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the website of the GSIS at http://www.gsis.gov.ph/opportunities/gbac, provided that Bidders shall pay the nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.

6.

The GSIS Bids and Awards Committee will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on 09 May 2017, 10:30AM at the GBAC Conference Room, GSIS Building Level 2 Core G, Financial Center, Pasay City. The Pre-Bid Conference shall be open to all interested parties.

7.

Bids must be duly received by the GBAC Secretariat at the address below on or before 23 May 2017, 11:00AM. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

Bid opening shall be on 23 May 2017, 11:30AM at the GBAC Conference Room, GSIS Building Level 2 Core G, Financial Center, Pasay City. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the given address. Late bids shall not be accepted.

After the Bid Opening, a detailed evaluation of the financial component of the eligible bid/s shall be conducted to determine the Single or Lowest Calculated Bid (SCB or LCB). Only the bidder with the SCB or LCB shall be notified within seven (7) calendar days to submit post-qualification documents.

8.

The GSIS reserves the right to reject any and all bids, declare a failure of bidding, or not award the contract at any time prior to contract award in accordance with Section 41 of RA 9184 and its IRR, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

9.

For further information, please refer to: GBAC Secretariat GSIS Bids and Awards Committee GSIS Building Level 2 Core G, Financial Center, Pasay City Tel No.: (02) 976-4961 / 976-4945 / Fax No.: (02) 859-0373 Email Address: GBAC_Secretariat@gsis.gov.ph Website: http://www.gsis.gov.ph (Sgd.) VP JONATHAN C. PINEDA Chairperson GBAC for Goods, Services and Consultancy–Cluster 2

(MS-APR. 22, 2017)

ing lot of Puregold Malanday.

The victims were on board a parked Hyundai Accent when unidentified suspects fired at them.

Witness’ account showed that the suspects fled on board an unknown vehicle after emptying their guns of bullets.

Staff of the supermarket helped the victims to the hospital.

Police are still looking into the motive behind the killing, but said that the chairman was reportedly campaigned against the use of illegal drugs in his barangay.

IN BRIEF

PASEGURUHAN NG MGA NAGLILINGKOD SA PAMAHALAAN (GOVERNMENT SERVICE INSURANCE SYSTEM) Financial Center, Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City 1308

5.

suspects peppered them with bullets while on board a parked vehicle in a supermarket in Valenzuela City on Thursday.

The fatalities were identified as chairman Emmanuel Cruz of Barangay 79 Heroes del 96 in Caloocan City and Sunshine Garcia, of 272 P. Gomez Street, Caloocan City.

Confined in different hospitals in Valenzuela due to gunshot wounds are Hilda Padayao, 50, barangay 79 councilor and treasurer Joel delos Reyes.

Initial reports showed that the incident took place around 5:10 p.m. Thursday in the park-

in preparation for the upcoming Asean Summit which starts next week. Manny Palmero

Macon Ramos-Araneta

4.

According to the driver, Roland Singsing, the suspects both wore shirts, shorts and caps.

Mizuno reportedly just arrived in the Philippines on Thursday to visit his factory in Tanza, Cavite.

Desbarro, on the other hand, is president of Oakwave Philippines Corp. which manufactures cable harness.

Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) were still processing the crime scene.

In Caloocan City, a barangay chairman and his female companion died while two others were injured after unidentified

CABLE GUY. A cable lineman braves the heat of the sun as he checks the power cables hanging on an electric post at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex in Pasay City on Friday. Lino Santos

TWO Liberal Party senators filed a proposed measure to ensure that the government is ready in the event of an earthquake.

Senator Leila M. de Lima filed Senate Resolution No. 322 directing the appropriate Senate committees to assess the country’s earthquake preparedness following an increasing frequency of earthquakes that recently hit some parts of the country.

In Senate Resolution No. 343, Senator Bam Aquino likewise underscored the importance of proper use and dissemination of information to enhance capacity of government agencies, local government units and communities to mitigate, respond and recover from the damaging effects of earthquakes.

De Lima sought for an immediate Senate investigation into the readiness of the national and local governments to mitigate the impact of the possible occurrence of the “Big One,” a magnitude 7.2 earthquake feared to hit Metro Manila.

“There is a need for a holistic assessment and strengthening of the respective capacities of national government agencies, local government units and other stakeholders to mitigate, respond and recover from a potential massive earthquake,” she said.

Based on the 2016 World Risk Index, the Philippines, which is situated along the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire,” the most active earthquake belt in the world, is considered as the “third most vulnerable country with the highest disaster risk.”

De Lima cited a Japanese study which claims that Metro Manila is due for the “Big One” earthquake that may destroy an approximate 40 percent of all buildings in the capital, claim about 34,000 lives and injure up to 100,000 others.

Macon Ramos-Araneta

E-sports in Asiad to showcase Pinoy skills—Bam SENATOR Bam Aquino welcomed the inclusion of e-sports in the Asian Games, saying it will provide Filipinos another venue to showcase their skills and excel in the international stage as they compete for the country’s flag and honor.

“The inclusion of e-sports in the prestigious Asian Games will give Filipino e-sports athletes opportunity to showcase their talent and bring honor to the Philippines,” said Aquino, an ardent supporter of local e-sports and video game development industry in the country.

Aquino said that with the addition of e-sports in the Asian Games, Filipino e-sports talents will now be recognized as legitimate athletes and entitled to financial and other forms of support from the government, like traditional athletes who compete in international events.

“With this development, we expect the government to fully support our Filipino cyber athletes as they hone their skills through training and participation in local and international events,” said Aquino,chairman of the Committee on Science and Technology.

“Also, the inclusion will eventually correct the public’s negative perception about e-sports, especially if properly managed and given guidance by the government,” he added.

Macon Ramos-Araneta

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Sports

A7

SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2017 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

PBA caravan ready to roll T

HE PBA caravan is ready to roll five days before the 2017 PBA All-Star Week, a super special edition of the annual mid-season spectacle as it serves as a virtual extension of the 42nd PBA anniversary celebration.

The league brought cheers to the fans with a special twinbill and lots of prizes raffled off at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on April 9.

The PBA anniversary bash continues as the league stages a three-leg PBA All-Star event

in Cagayan de Oro, Lucena and Cebu.

Bringing these All-Star festivities sponsored by HMR Trading, Mueller, Peak, Crystal Clear, Anako, Davco, Smart and Petron outside of Metro Manila is the PBA’s way to let the fans

in the provinces see the best and the brightest play against each other, according to PBA commissioner Chito Narvasa.

“This will be fun. I encourage the fans to come and watch the PBA All-Star Games.

This is one way of saying thank you to all our followers for their support through the years,” Narvasa said.

For this season, it’s also part of the league’s support to Gilas Pilipinas in its buildup for the SEABA Championship slated May 12-18 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Three PBA All-Star teams have been formed to slug it out with Gilas in Cagayan de Oro on April 26, in Lucena on April 28 and in Cebu on April 30.

The league’s aerial artists, three-point shooters and skills performers show their stuffs in the All-Star Skills Competitions that usher in the Gilas vs the PBA Luzon stars match at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena.

Terrence Romeo and Rey Guevarra will be the men to watch as they try to extend their reigns as the three-point shootout king and dunking champ ver-

sus a slew of tough challengers.

Romeo will also fly to Cagayan de Oro to be with the Gilas team that plays the PBA Mindanao selection then suit up for PBA the Visayas All-Star on April 30.

Troy Rosario, Mac Belo, Jio Jalalon, Mark Barroca, Scottie Thompson, PJ Simon, Rafi Reavis, Cyrus Baguio, Moala Tautuaa, Sonny Thoss, Carlo Lastimosa, Glenn Khobuntin and Baser Amer compose the Mindanao All Stars that test the mettle of the Gilas side made up of Romeo, LA Revilla, Mike Tolomia, RR Pogoy, Matthew Wright, Kevin

Ferrer, Carl Bryan Cruz, Alfonso Gotladera, Bradwyn Guinto and June Mar Fajardo.

In Lucena, Wright, Guinto, Cruz, Ferrer, Tolomia, Arnold Van Opstal, Ed Daquiaog, Almond Vosotros, Jonathan Grey, Raymond Almazan, Norbert Torres and Allein Maliksi don the Gilas jersey going up against Luzon stars Japeth Aguilar, Calvin Abueva, Alex Cabagnot, LA Tenorio, Marcio Lassiter, Stanley Pringle, Jayson Castro, Jay Washington, Paul Lee, Mark Caguioa, Arwind Santos and Ranidel de Ocampo.

De Asis, Cuizon cop PPS Cebu MVP titles KIANA De Asis sustained her form and racked another pair of victories while Chad Cuizon reasserted his mastery over the 10-unisex field in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala Consolacion leg regional age group tennis tournament in Cebu yesterday.

De Asis came back strong from a second set setback and foiled Ashley McKenzie, 6-0, 4-6, 10-6, to nail the girls’ 16-and-under crown then the La Carlota ace whipped Bless Coderos, 6-0, 6-1, in the premier 18-U side to complete another twinkill in the Group 2 tournament sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop and presented by Slazenger.

Connor added the Consolacion leg title to his growling list of victories as the Centrex, LapuLapu bet rolled past Jovani Dimate, 4-1, 4-0, to likewise share the MVP honors with De Asis in the event which kicked off the Vis-Min summer tour backed by Asiatraders Corp. and the new Unified tennis group, led by PPSPEPP, Cebuana Lhuillier, Wilson,

Toby’s and B-Meg. Connor later teamed up with Douglas Maravillas to edge Jovani Dimate and Louchela Estember, 8-4, for the 10-U doubles title while De Asis partnered with Erika Sevilla to post an 8-3 decision over Shedel Gica and Lyra Repollo for the 18-U doubles plum.

No. 5 Vhon Tudtod of Naga outlasted sixth ranked Jude Balundo, 4-6, 7-5, 10-4, to snare the boys’ 18-U title; No. 5 Vinz Luminoque of Mandaue shocked top seed Troy Llamas, 6-1, 6-1, to clinch the 16-U plum; No. 8 EJ Pasaol of Danao upended third seed Joshua Raymundo, 6-2, 6-0, for the 14-U diadem; and Kerwin De Asis, also of La Carlota, took the 12-U crown with a 6-2, 6-0 romp over Andre Estember.

Unranked Ma. Juliana Maravillas of Pardo also pulled off a stunning 6-2, 6-3 upset of top seed Repollo, 6-2, 6-3, in the girls’ 14-U finals while La Carlota’s Jufe-Ann Cocoy took the 12-U title with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Louchella Estember.

Japeth Aguilar of Ginebra, shown here shooting against Wane Chism of NLEX, will lead the Luzon stars against the Gilas team in the Lucena leg of the PBA All-Star event. Roman Prospero

Floro-Tienzo, Jose-Limjap pace Southwoods tilt THE Rene Floro-Felix Tienzo and Roy Jose-Justin Limjap pairs turned in a pair 80 points to wrest a one-point lead over Michael Chan and Anthony Tan in Division I of the Southwoods Invitational at the Legends and Masters courses in Carmona, Cavite last Wednesday.

Floro and Tienzo put in a gross 160 while Jose and Limjap combined for a 141 with the duo ending up tied with net 136 worth 80 points under the Stableford scoring system after the first half of Manila Southwoods’ premier member-guest tournament.

Chan and Tan also shot a net 136 from a gross 155 but settled for 79 points while the Arnold Jumalon-Rene Samontan and Florene delos Santos and Inez Del Rosario tandems assembled identical 78s to stay in the mix of the event played under the Best Ball at the Masters and Aggregate at the Legends.

Ruel Cabral and Victor Cruz shot a 77 while Kim Yong MiRita Horan and Allan YapBong Brobio carded similar 76s heading to the last half of the four-day championship backed by Platinum sponsors Mitsubishi Motors Phils. Corp./

Diamond Motors Corp., Royal Caribbean/Baron Travel, Mit Air and The Turf Co. Martin Gonzalez and guest Edwin Gumila, meanwhile, seized control in Division II with an 83 from a net 134, three points clear of Dennis Chan and Ariel Ong, who had an 80 from a net 137, while Nani Almeda and Lelet Zarcal took third with a 79 followed by Jun Ramos and Alfredo Nasser, who made a 78, and the pairs of Ariel Abonal-Thomas Caja and Aurelio Gomez-Edwin Arceo, which scored 77s.

Johnny Violeta and Nicolas

Magpantay shot a 48 to wrest a one-point lead over Noe Wong and Raul Gonzalez, who combined for a 47, while three teams – Lino Barte-Anthony Cervantes, Paqui Gonzalez-Jimmy Kang, and Tony Lin-Mike Shih – churning out identical 46s in Division III of the event which also offers a brand new Mitsubishi car for hole-in-one feat on No. 16 of Legends and No. 17 of Masters.

Five pairs, meanwhile, posted identical 48s, ensuring a spirited battle for Division IV honors in the tournament backed by Silver sponsor San

Miguel Purefoods Corp. and Bronze sponsors Camp John Hay Golf Club, Castillo Laman Tan Pantaleon & San Jose Law Offices, Club Leisure Management, Inc., CP Optics, Inc., Forest Hills Golf and Country Club, G & W Clubshares, GG & A Clubshares, Greens & Turf, John Hay Coffee Services, Inc., Le Chef, Manila Southwoods Manor, Mega Manila Pest Management Specialist, MRT Dev. Co., Netforce International, Resorts World Manila, Romago, Inc., The Manor at Camp John Hay and The Forest Lodge and Warbird Security Agency.

Phoenix Slalom Invitational goes to Robinsons Calasiao

Entries for the Summer Invitational are shown with Phoenix executives.

RACE Motorsports Club is inviting all car enthusiasts to join the first of the 3-leg Phoenix Slalom Invitational, dubbed “Summer Invitational” on Sunday at Robinsons Place Calasiao parking lot in Pangasinan.

Newbies, first timers, car clubs, race drivers, ladies and slalom enthusiasts are invited to join and compete as there will be lots of adrenalinpumping slalom racing action.

Registration will start at 7 a.m. and continue the whole day.

Practice runs are set at 10 a.m. before the start of the official runs at 11:30 a.m. Entries after 11 a.m. will be given a one-time practice run.

Expected to participate are the different clubs/teams, headed by Team Kuneho, Corolla Auto Club Baguio, Team Makaluma, Team La Union Greenlight, Wholesome Concepts, Manantan Team, Speedlimits and privateers from Dagupan, Pan-

gasinan, Tarlac and Metro Manila.

The 2017 RACE Motorsports Club Phoenix Slalom Invitational is powered

by Phoenix Premium’98 and Phoenix Accelerate fully synthetic motor oil and co-sponsored by Federal Tyres, Outlast Battery and supported by Starbright Body Kits, Auto Transporter, Robinsons Malls and Robinsons Place Calasiao Pangasinan and media partners Stoplight TV, C! Magazine, Power Wheels Magazine and Auto Car Magazine.

This is the first out of the three legs of the Phoenix Slalom Invitational set for the year. The next two will held on Aug. 20 and Oct. 8.

All drivers will receive a gallon of Phoenix Accelerate Fully synthetic oil.

There will be free slalom clinic from 9 to 10 a.m.

For details, call Bing Bang O. Dulce 0917-8119337; e-mail racemotorsportsclub@yahoo.com or like the event’s Facebook page.

La Salle Lady Spikers, Tigresses clash in UAAP semifinal duel DEFENDING champion De La Salle shoots for a ninth straight championship appearance against University of Santo Tomas as the UAAP Season 79 women’s volleyball Final Four reels off today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The twice-to-beat Lady Spikers hope to capitalize on their vast experience in the 4 p.m. match with the third-ranked Tigresses, who are back in the playoffs after a four-year absence.

“Doon na magsa-start ang totoong la-

college sports on April 29. banan. Doon pa lang, Game today Despite losing sevhuwag nang magpapa(Smart Araneta Coliseum) eral key players led by talo,” said De La Salle 4 p.m. – DLSU vs UST (Women Semis) Ara Galang and Mika mentor Ramil de Jesus.

Games tomorrow: (Mall of Asia Arena) 12 noon – NU vs FEU (Men Semis) Reyes to graduation, La In the other Final 4 p.m. – ADMU vs FEU (Women Semis) Salle was able to defy Four pairing, top seed the odds as it finished the Ateneo seeks to close it out against No. 4 Far Eastern University at eliminations second with a 11 wins and three 4 p.m. tomorrow at the Mall of Asia Arena. defeats, two of which came against Ateneo.

Making strides in coach Kungfu Victories by the Lady Spikers and the Lady Eagles will force another champion- Reyes’ second set, UST was able to hurship duel between the two fiercest rivals in dle one of the most competitive seasons

in league history, finishing third with a 9-5 card, and getting past much favored teams University of the Philippines and National University.

“Next step-up na kami. Hindi lang kami magse-settle sa Final Four. Mangangarap na kami ng sobra-sobra. Iooverachieve na namin kung ano ‘yung narating namin ngayon,” said Reyes. “We came from sixth place last year, na-double namin yung paghihirap namin and this is our result for now.”

Saso, Kim post huge golf repeats YUKA Saso rode on a scorching frontside run to complete a record 13-shot romp while Kim Joo Hyung cruised to a seven-stroke victory as they dominated the Philippine Junior Amateur Open Golf Championships (Strokeplay) for the second straight time at the Sherwood Hills Golf Club in Trece Martirez, Cavite yesterday.

Twelve-up over Harmie Constantino after 54 holes, the in-form Saso never let up and sizzled with a 31 spiked by a second eagle in four days at the par-5 No. 8, posting leads of as many as 16 before slowing down with a double bogey-marred 38 for that 69.

The reigning national champion, also the World Junior Girls gold medalist in Canada last year, pooled a 12-under 276 to retain the crown while securing her spot in the national team competing in the Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia in August.

The event, part of the PLDT Group National Amateur Golf Tour and sponsored by the MVP Sports Foundation and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines, served as third and final leg of the NGAP SEAG national team qualifier. The two others were the National Stroke Play, which Saso also ruled last January, and the W Express RVF Cup, which Constantino topped last February.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Amateur Open Match Play Golf Championship will be held April 24-28 at the Orchard Golf and Country Club in Dasmariñas, Cavite. For details, call NGAP at (02) 706-5926 or Orchard at (02) 9822000 local. 2241 or email ngap2009handicap@ yahoo.com, or visit www.ngaponline.net.

Constantino failed to match Saso’s bristling start although she put in a pair of 35s for a 70 and 289 while Junia Gabasa placed third with a 296 after a 76 followed by Kristine Torralba (75-304), Nicole Abelar (76-306), Korean Yang Ju Young (75-308), Kayla Nocum (76-309), China’s Ji Keyi (76-317), Jona Magcalayo (79319) and Sunshine Zhang (80-324).

LOTTO RESULTS 6/45 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ 4 DIGITS 00-00-00-00 3 DIGITS 00-00-00 2 EZ2 00-00

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

A8

SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2017

Sports

Palaro opener to blend culture, new tech

By Peter Atencio

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - APRIL 20: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers reacts to a play during Game Three of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals of the 2017 NBA Playoffs on April 20, 2017 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. AFP

Cavs erase 26-point deficit to crush Pacers L

OS ANGELES—LeBron James led a second half assault as the Cleveland Cavaliers set a playoff record by storming back from a 25-point halftime deficit to defeat the Indiana Pacers 119-114 on Thursday.

James tallied 41 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists for the Cavaliers, who seized a 3-0 lead in the best of seven Eastern Conference first-round series.

The Cavaliers were down by 25 points at halftime and as much as 26 at one point in the contest.

They are the first playoff team in history to erase a 25-point half-

time deficit and win.

James passed Kobe Bryant for number three on the league’s career playoff scoring list and tied another NBA record by winning his 20th consecutive first-round game.

James delivered 28 secondhalf points as he took over the contest in the fourth quarter in

front of a crowd of 18,100 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse arena.

“They came out and jumped on us in the first half, but when we came into the locker room at halftime, I told the guys, ‘Let’s just get a couple of stops and see what happens,’” James said.

“Then we took the ball right at them and got back in the game.

We got some great play from our guys off the bench.”

The 26-point comeback ties for the third largest in league playoff history and is the largest since 2012, when the Los Angeles Clippers came back from a 27-point deficit to beat the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Cavaliers scored 70 points to just 40 for the Pacers in the second half. Kevin Love, J.R. Smith, Kyrie Irving and Channing Frye each scored 13 points for Cleveland while Kyle Korver added 12.

Pacers forward Paul George scored 36 points, including 21 alone in the second quarter. But George couldn’t keep pace with James and Cavaliers over the last two quarters.

Jeff Teague added 15 for Indiana, and Lance Stephenson scored 13 for the Pacers. George also finished with 15 rebounds and nine assists.

Indiana led by 10 after one

Mckay lifts Phoenix Past Aces

Singapore to challenge PH

By Jeric Lopez PHOENIX finally had its breakthrough.

Jameel McKay exploded offensively at last, pouring in game-highs of 42 points and 22 rebounds in a monster game to pace Phoenix to a 94-86 victory over Alaska as the Fuel Masters improved their stand in the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

Phoenix improved to 3-4 as its unpredictability continued while Alaska, after starting 4-0, suffered its second straight setback and fell to 4-2, still in the upper half of the standings.

The Fuel Masters slightly controlled the first three quarters but it was in the first part of the fourth that they really created a critical separation over the Aces.

Just ahead by four entering the final 12 minutes, Phoenix uncorked a decisive 12-4 spurt to open the fourth for a double-digit lead, 7866, after an emphatic slam from McKay with 5:51 remaining.

That proved to be the deciding run as the Fuel Masters never looked back.

Cyrus Baguio scored 12 points while RJ Jazul, who played his former team for the first time since getting traded, added 10 markers for Phoenix.

Cory Jefferson led Alaska with a team-high 31 points, but the Aces missed the services of star Calvin Abueva, who sat out with a busted lip.

In the second game, streaking TNT KaTropa (4-1) and GlobalPort (1-4) are currently gutting it out against each other as of this writing.

Today, the action continues with an explosive double-header.

quarter. They built a 50-36 lead with just under six minutes left in the second quarter and went on to lead 74-49 at the half.

The 74 first-half points are the Pacers’s most this season, surpassing the 68 they scored in the first half on April 8 at Orlando.

Indiana shot 56.8 percent in the first half and the Pacers’s nonstarters outscored the Cavaliers’s reserves 28-8.

This is only the second time in Pacers’ franchise history that Indiana has trailed a playoff series 3-0 and George said it is in part because of poor communication. AFP

SAN JOSE BUENAVISTA, Antique—Elma Muros, the country’s most decorated long jumper, will carry the torch while local pride and manytime national tennis champion Marian Capadocia will light the cauldron in the opening ceremonies of the Palarong Pambansa’s 60th edition on Sunday.

As part of the opening rites, newly acquired fighter jets of the Philippine Air Force will make a flyby to salute the guest of honor, President Duterte.

Army skydivers will descend from the skies in an aerial display of synchronized acrobatic formations.

Antique Gov. Rhodora “Dodod” Cadiao has come up with a spectacle that is a blend of old culture and the magic of new technology, and of bold imagination with the best of the Palaro tradition.

The 18 regional delegations will march off from several directions at the newly-renovated Binirayan Sports Comple.

They will converge into an opening extravaganza, which will be made memorable by cultural dances to be performed by the famed “Tutusan Tribe” from the island-municipality of Caluya.

Davoena Mea Gey Ninura, who came up with one of the most memorable performances last year, will definitely be back to defending the secondary girls’ 3000-meter run honors.

She is expected to meet old rival Jie Anna Calis and fight it out for the gold medal again.

Calis, who is from Misamis Oriental, has taken up a scholarship with the University of Santo Tomas in Manila and Ninura will now compete for the first gold medal at the start of the 2017 Palarong Pambansa on Monday here.

If Calis challenges Ninura and wins, she will give the National Capital Region its first gold medal for the weeklong meet, organized by the Department of Education and the Province of Antique.

A victory by Ninura will not only allow her to retain the crown, she will give its first medal for the day.

Justin Villazor Coveney will be out to replicate his strong performance in last year’s Transcom Rugby Championship.

THE Singapore national rugby team has flown into the Volcanoes’ home territory to challenge the Philippines in the 2017 Transcom Rugby Championship.

The Philippine Residents XV is a team comprised of Philippine Volcanoes, expatriates and local Philippine National Development players.

The Residents XV is a new program formed under the support of Transcom, Seapac Philippines and the Philippine Rugby Football Union, the national governing body of the Philippine Volcanoes.

“We are excited to take part for the second year in a row in the Transcom Rugby Championship. In last year’s championship we played a well-drilled

NCAA to bring games straight to students THE NCAA is bringing the games straight to its students when it holds a basketball game at venues of member schools once a week starting this 93rd NCAA tournament unfolding on July 8 at the MOA Arena in Pasay City.

The league Policy Board made the announcement Friday during its turnover ceremony of hosting from San Beda last season to San Sebastian this year at the latter’s Mendiola campus.

“We just want to bring the league back to the schools and our students,” said league president Fr. Nemesio

Tolentin, OAR. With the new scheduling and venue format, the league will hold three games each during Tuesdays and Fridays, while reserving the Thursday playdate at the basketball courts of seven schools.

All seniors’ games will be aired live at ABS-CBN Sports and Action Channel.

Management Committee chairman Fr. Glynn Ortega, OAR, for his part, also named Arturo “Bai” Cristobal as its commissioner.

Cristobal will take over from last season’s commissioner Andy Jao the job he assumed

the year before.

Ortega said the opening day game pits host San Sebastian against defending champion San Beda at 2 p.m. followed by the duel between last year’s runner-up Arellano University and Mapua at 4 p.m.

The opening ceremony is set at 12 noon.

Ortega said this season is the start of its celebration leading up to its centennial anniversary.

“The board has decided to start this year in setting the mood for the celebration of the NCAA’s 100 years,” said Ortega.

and physical Sabah Rugby outfit, a game we held on to win, 25 to 19.

It gives an opportunity to showcase the highest level of rugby here in the Philippines,” said Jake Robrigado Letts, National Teams Head.

The Residents XV has a bigger mountain to climb this year as the Singapore national team is ranked 60th in the world.

The year 2015 was the last visit the Singaporeans had in the Philippines, with the Volcanoes winning the match, 20 to 17, at INC’s Philippine Sports Stadium.

Matt Cullen, Managing Director of the PRFU stated how how it all came together.

“Singapore contacted Philippine Rugby earlier

in the year for an international friendly, we took the offer straight away, no hesitation at all. Our Residents XV Team, being a collection of all the best rugby players residing here in the Philippines, I knew it would be a great fixture. I was very impressed with the team last year. This match is going to be a good hit out for both teams. I’m predicting a good, old-fashioned match on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.”

The Singaporeans and Philippines will be testing out their top flight of players in preparation for the Asia Rugby Championships next month.

The Philippines will be coached by David Johnston and injured Volcano Jake Letts.

Alaska Powercamp lures 300 kids CLOSE to 300 kids showed up on the first day of the Alaska Basketball Powercamp 2017 at the Ateneo de Manila College Covered Courts in Quezon City.

This was among the big reasons why camp director Jeffrey Cariaso was excited that Wednesday morning.

“It’s something to be happy about. Last year, umabot lang kami ng 200,” said Cariaso.

The 10-day camp is the start of seven leg series this summer.

Other legs will also be held in Subic Bay, Olongapo, Lucena and Quezon.

The fourth leg is in Tanauan, Batangas and then to Baguio City, Bacolod and Cebu.

“This is about having a continued development in their skills training,” added Cariaso after seeing last year’s campers to this year’s event.

Campers from 6 to 18 years old are taught dribbling, shooting, side stepping, passing and tossing. Peter Atencio

Globe signs P8-b loan deal with BDO B2

Business

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

B1

SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2017

P48.5-b CALAx receives incentives

By Othel V. Campos

T

HE Board of Investments approved the P48.5-billion Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAx) project of MPCALA Holdings Inc. as a qualified Public-Private Partnership infrastructure under the preferred activities of the current Investment Priorities Plan.

Trade Undersecretary and BoI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo cited the project’s impact in addressing the infrastructure requirement of both the business locators and the general commuting public in the Cavite and Laguna areas. The project will receive fiscal and non-fiscal incentives from the government.

“CALAx will greatly ease the

movement of goods and services in the area, further boosting the economic activities in the Southern Tagalog region and create jobs,” said Rodolfo, adding the infrastructure project complemented the agency’s strategy to further disperse economic activities across the regions.

The BoI under the 2017 IPP encourages local and foreign investors

to locate their projects in the urban and least development areas.

Apart from the economic benefits, the CALAx project will provide faster, safer, and comfortable route for the commuting public traveling between the Bacoor and Kawit, Cavite areas and Laguna and South Luzon Expressway.

The provinces of Cavite and Laguna are rapidly growing industrial and commercial hubs in the Southern Tagalog Region.

Traffic congestion is prevalent in the region’s major road networks, such as Governor’s Drive, Aguinaldo Highway and Sta. RosaTagaytay Road.

Commercial operations of CALAx are scheduled to be operational by July 2020 with a total

of 280 personnel manning the project.

The CALAx project is one of the priority projects under the PPP being implemented by the Public Works Department.

The Public Works Department obtained approval of the National Economic and Development Authority in 2015 to develop and implement the project under the Build-Transfer-Operate contractual arrangement in compliance with Republic Act No. 6957, known as the BOT Law. MHI, a unit of Metro Pacific Group, won in the public bidding to put up the CALAx project and the right to collect fees over a 35year concession period as a new PPP tollway infrastructure project under a concession agreement

with Public Works.

The project is 44.6-kilometer, four-lane divided expressway that will link Cavitex to SLEx. It will traverse the provinces of Cavite and Laguna and connect SLEx via the Mamplasan Interchange.

CALAx will have eight interchanges access along its entire length. It is divided into two segments, the 26.48-km Cavite segment and the 18.15-km Laguna road.

The Cavite segment will start in Tirona Highway, Kawit Cavite and end in Aguinaldo Highway, Silang, Cavite. The Laguna segment, meanwhile, will start in Aguinaldo Highway, Silang, Cavite Interchange and up to the Greenfield property in Binan, Laguna.

Monetary Board closes Ragay bank

THE Monetary Board, the policymaking body of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, closed another financially-ailing rural bank based in Camarines Sur, the fourth bank shut down since the start of the year .

State-run PDIC said in a statement Friday the Monetary Board prohibited Rural Bank of Ragay (Camarines Sur) from doing business in the Philippines. The board directed PDIC to proceed with the takeover and liquidation of the bank. PDIC took over the bank on April 21, 2017.

Rural Bank of Ragay is a twounit rural bank with head office located at Tomas Delgado St. corner provincial road, Poblacion Ilaod, Ragay, Camarines Sur. Its lone branch is located in Del Gallego, Camarines Sur. Julito G. Rada

FLI to boost leasing business, allots P50b

Chinese investors eye Ayala as partner

FILINVEST Land Inc., the property unit of the Gotianun family, plans to spend as much as P50 billion over the next five years to build leasing projects that will boost recurring income.

Filinvest Land president Josephine Gotianun-Yap said in an interview following the annual stockholders’ meeting the company had been focusing on expanding its leasing business by building more office and retail developments.

Filinvest Land plans to build 1 million square meters of total leasable space by 2019 to achieve its target of increasing to 50 percent the share of leasing business to total revenues from the current 40 percent.

The company plans to add 150,000 square meters of leasable shopping mall space in 2017 to end the year with 285,000 sq m.

Jenniffer B. Austria

By Jenniffer B. Austria CONGLOMERATE Ayala Corp. said it has been approached by some Chinese investors for possible partnerships in real estate and infrastructure after relationship between the Philippines and China improved.

“We are always assessing and looking. We do have a fairly extensive relationship and a lot of trust at very senior level with Chinese companies that would lead relationship in the future,” Ayala Corp chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala said.

Ayala Infrastructure Holdings president and chief executive Rene Almendras said a few Chinese investors expressed interest in teaming up with the conglomerate for rail projects.

Almendras, meanwhile, said the P25-billion unsolicited elevated expressway project of AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ayala, and SM Investments Corp. was being reviewed by the Public Works Department.

“We have received acknowledgement from the Transportation department that they received our unsolicited proposal. They are now evaluating our proposal,” he said. said.

Almendras also said several companies have expressed interest in joining Ayala Corp. and SM Investments in the project.

“They liked the project and they are willing to partner with us,” he said.

The project aims to operate and maintain the toll road called C3 Elevated Expressway (C3 Ex) for a period of 35 years.

IN BRIEF

BSP says inflation manageable in Q1

1ST CONTAINER BARGE TERMINAL. International Container Terminal Services Inc. in partnership with the Department of Transportation launch the development of the country’s first container roll-on roll-off barge terminal in Tanza, Cavite. To be built on a six-hectare property, the soon-to-be Cavite Gateway Terminal will facilitate off-the-road seaborne transport of containers between ICTSI’s Manila International Container Terminal and Cavite. At the inaugural rites are (from left) Christian Gonzalez, ICTSI vice president and head of Asia Pacific and MICT; Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, Enrique Razon Jr., ICTSI chairman and president; former Cavite Governor Juanito Remulla Jr. and Tanza City Mayor Yuri Pacumio.

Govt threatens to cancel Busan’s MRT3 contract

By Darwin G. Amojelar THE Transportation Department on Friday warned Busan Universal Rail Inc. of terminating its maintenance contract due to a series of service disruptions at Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3.

“With series of serious incidents that have transpired in the past and most recently, you are hereby directed to explain within in seven days... why subject contract not be terminated in accordance with the provisions of law and contract on termination for convenience and failure to satisfactorily perform work obligations,” Transport Un-

dersecretary for Railways Cesar Chavez Jr. said in a letter to Busan dated April 19.

Chavez cited 116 unloading incidents at MRT3 due to technical problems from January to April 19 this year. The department noted 586 unloading incidents in 2016.

“We also commence the partial termination process for contracts signaling and general overhaul [of Busan],” Chavez said.

Busan’s general overhauling of 43 trains contract amounted to P907.4 million, while the replacement of the signaling system amounted to P888 million.

Earlier, BURI said it put 65 train cars in good running condition, or an average of two to three trains restored since its contract started in January last year.

It added the average passengers had increased to almost half a million after the restoration of 26 cars since early 2016.

BURI said the company had three years to overhaul the 43 coaches under its contract with the government.

The Transportation Department in January 2016 signed a P3.8-billion three-year contract with Joint Venture of Busan Transportation Corp., Edison

Development & Construction, Tramat Mercantile Inc., TMICorp, and Castan Corp. to do maintenance works of the rolling stock and signaling system, the most critical maintenance component of MRT3.

Metro Rail Transit Line 3 has reached the maximum number of operational trains for the first time in four years, allowing the system to serve more passengers, reduce the queues and lift its revenues.

“By giving the public more trains, I think we are serving more passengers,” MRT 3 officer-in-charge Deo Leo Manalo earlier said.

INFLATION remained manageable despite the acceleration of consumer prices in the first quarter of 2017 compared to a quarter ago, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Friday.

The regulator’s inflation report covering the period January to March 2017 showed the average headline inflation rose to 3.2 percent in the first quarter from the quarter-ago level of 2.5 percent.

“Nevertheless, inflation remained within the national government’s target range of 2 to 4 percent for the year,” Bangko Sentral said.

“The rise in average headline inflation during the quarter could be attributed to some tightness in domestic food supply and upward adjustment in petroleum prices and electricity rates,” it said.

Julito G. Rada

PSE COMPOSITE INDEX Closing April 21, 2017

8000 7600 7200 6800 6400 6000

7,578.16 14.71

PESO-DOLLAR RATE

Closing APRIL 21, 2017

4 commissioners defy Salazar in ERC squabble

By Alena Mae S. Flores

BEST ADVISORY HOUSE. First Metro Investment Corp., the investment banking arm of the

Metrobank Group, has been named the ‘Best Advisory House of 2017’ at the second IHAP Awards of the Investment House Association of the Philippines. Shown during the awarding ceremony are (from left) IHAP vice president for special projects Manuel Tordesillas, First Metro first vice president Francisco Javier Bonoan, First Metro executive vice president Justino Juan Ocampo, KPMG R.G.M. & Co. vice chairman and head of audit Sharon Dayoan and IHAP president Conrado Gloria Jr.

FOUR commissioners of the Energy Regulatory Commission have defied the order of ERC chairman Jose Vicente Salazar on certain appointments in the office while he was on leave.

The commissioners have elevated their concerns to President Rodrigo Duterte through a memorandum, Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella said.

Commissioners Geronimo Sta. Ana, Alfredo Non, Josefina Asirit and Gloria Taruc signed a resolution on April 19 objecting to Salazar’s directives.

The resolution cited a series of issuances concerning the reorganization, designation and reassignment of office personnel in the ERC. Salazar assigned Ronaldo Gomez, chief of the Mindanao Field Office, as officer-in-

charge-executive director of the ERC on March 20.

The four commissioners objected to the designation of Gomez in an executive session, citing among others, Salazar’s lack of authority to make the appointment.

Salazar, however, invoked his power to appoint and assign people, saying it was his sole prerogative being the chief executive officer of the ERC. He issued another directive reconstituting the composition of the power supply agreement technical working group.

An office order was also issued reassigning and designating key personnel to managerial positions involving critical operational services of the ERC. The commissioners, in their memorandum to Salazar, said the reassignments were “contrary to the provisions of applicable laws and established precedents.”

45.00 46.50 48.00 49.50

P49.760 CLOSE

51.00

HIGH P49.730 LOW P49.855 AVERAGE P49.788 VOLUME 384.600M Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Friday, April 21, 2017

F OREIGN E XCHANGE R ATE Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

49.8120

Japan

Yen

0.009148

0.4557

UK

Pound

1.281800

63.8490

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128622

6.4069

Switzerland

Franc

1.001502

49.8868

Canada

Dollar

0.742501

36.9855

Singapore

Dollar

0.715564

35.6437

Australia

Dollar

0.752600

37.4885

Bahrain

Dinar

2.655196

132.2606

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266681

13.2839

Brunei

Dollar

0.713012

35.5166

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000075

0.0037

Thailand

Baht

0.029189

1.4540

UAE

Dirham

0.272287

13.5632

Euro

Euro

1.072000

53.3985

Korea

Won

0.000879

0.0438

China

Yuan

0.145264

7.2359

India

Rupee

0.015477

0.7709

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.227480

11.3312

New Zealand

Dollar

0.701000

34.9182

Taiwan

Dollar

0.032907

1.6392 Source: PDS Bridge

B2

Business

SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Stocks gain; DMCI advances T HE stock market rose Friday following gains in Wall Street overnight and respectable corporate earnings in the first quarter of 2017.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index added 14.71 points, or 0.2 percent, to 7,578.16 on a value turnover of P32.09 billion, after a cross sale involving Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. and parent GT Capital Holdings Inc. Gainers beat losers, 107 to 89, with 44 issues unchanged.

DMCI Holdings Inc. of the Consunji family advanced 4.2 percent to P12.78, while GT Capital of tycoon George Ty climbed 2.8 percent to P1,208.

JG Summit Holdings Inc. of industrialist John Gokongwei rose 1.3 percent to P83.05, while Globe Telecom Inc., the secondbiggest telecommunications firm, gained 1.2 percent to P2,020.

GT Capital earlier raised its stake in unit Metrobank to 36.092 percent from 26.47 percent by acquiring 306 million shares held by several Ty-owned companies. The shares are valued P24.72 billion.

GT Capital and Metrobank

are both owned by George Ty. The rest of Asian markets, meanwhile, built on a Wall Street rally Friday as geopolitical fears gave way to fresh hopes for Donald Trump’s stimulus after his top finance man said a US tax reform plan would be released “very soon.”

Global markets have taken a hit this month owing to concerns about US-Russia relations, tensions on the Korean peninsula and the president’s failure to push through a key healthcare bill.

But the risk-off mood was smothered after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the tax code overhaul promised

by Trump was close. The reforms, along with promises for big infrastructure spending,

were a key driver of a global equity rally since the tycoon’s November election win.

The news was met with relief

by Wall Street, with the Nasdaq leading a surge in all three main indexes and hitting a new record high. The dollar, which has struggled in recent weeks against the safe-haven yen, also broke out of its malaise, buying 109.34 yen from 109.31 yen in New York and well up from 108.80 yen in Asia Thursday.

Adding to the dollar bounce were comments from a top Federal Reserve official saying he expected the central bank to hike interest rates three times this year.

Tokyo’s Nikkei closed up one percent as exporters were boosted

by the weaker yen and comments from Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda that he would maintain a loose monetary policy, despite an improvement in the economy.

Hong Kong added 0.2 percent in the afternoon, while Sydney put on 0.6 percent, Seoul jumped 0.7 percent and Taipei 0.9 percent. Singapore also rose.

Jakarta was higher after US Vice President Mike Pence announced $10 billion in US-Indonesian deals.

Shanghai was flat, with investors fretting over news that Trump had ordered a probe into US steel imports, which raised anew the threat of a trade war between the US and China.

With Bloomberg, AFP

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2017

NAME

OPEN

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 3.1 1,000 48.65 18,300 104.7 876,500 4 49,000 118.5 3,959,540 35.85 1,318,300 16.76 1,217,000 20.8 149,000 1.7 8,000 775 90 0.68 2,708,000 83.5 1,367,500 0.72 326,000 15.5 25,200 25.3 100 60.15 825,880 240 8,690 110 1,190 48 639,800 215.4 955,740 1,680 340 79.7 45,150

3,100 888,420 91,826,216 196,020 469,634,146 47,377,800 20,865,966 3,086,025 13,240 69,750 1,818,350 114,034,121.50 231,780 385,664 2,530 49,717,816 2,082,102 130,996 30,688,605 206,308,086 571,200 3,593,750

670,630 -51,382,700 -159,870,897 12,153,815 -4,435,710 558,340 26,706,191.50 -28,880 -23,868,228 48,000 276,910 -67,220,724 -336,000 -266,799

41.3 5.3 0.81 1.49 18.44 0.242 101 7.91 16.7 23.1 14.22 70 83.5 80.6 1.95 5.72 11.88 12.72 9.1 6.39 6.05 21.7 73.1 12.5 15.68 7.77 1.6 205.4 4.99 3.72 28.45 32 24.3 18.86 280.4 0.241 6.3 3.78 8.94 3.5 11.4 2.15 8.57 2.08 71.2 5 300.4 4.75 2.75 13.9 4.5 0.143 1.38 170 4.41 1.73 1

INDUSTRIAL 41.35 1,062,700 5.66 5,146,000 0.83 432,000 1.56 2,975,000 18.58 4,900 0.249 5,670,000 114.8 180 7.91 5,177,200 16.9 764,300 23.5 172,700 14.22 8,200 70 1,068,610 86 300 94.95 110 1.95 227,000 5.72 12,200 12 45,600 12.76 4,667,100 9.2 978,200 6.46 1,914,600 6.08 10,131,200 22 2,007,100 73.2 114,490 12.5 3,500 15.68 4,800 7.9 602,000 1.61 262,000 208 823,280 5.11 4,323,500 3.72 20,000 28.45 300 32.1 810,500 24.3 27,400 19 1,725,100 281 247,460 0.244 3,020,000 6.3 206,000 3.78 22,000 8.95 9,759,500 3.5 13,000 11.4 7,100 2.18 5,484,000 8.65 4,385,300 2.1 1,204,000 72.9 599,490 5.08 67,900 300.6 3,690 4.75 3,215,000 2.75 15,000 13.94 393,800 4.5 241,000 0.144 1,800,000 1.4 260,000 170 741,570 4.41 1,000 1.74 8,786,000 1.03 204,000

44,034,220 28,624,115 353,490 4,564,610 91,564 1,387,430 18,388 41,605,155 12,951,890 4,025,635 117,134 75,894,662.50 25,316 10,157.50 447,870 69,834 544,002 59,664,950 9,004,028 12,393,884 61,644,563 44,107,860 8,400,723.50 44,000 75,546 4,723,327 421,940 171,155,896 21,946,326 74,400 8,585 26,083,325 667,570 32,888,202 69,583,794 730,270 1,297,896 83,690 87,503,260 45,580 80,942 11,836,840 38,104,635 2,562,530 43,465,552.50 344,318 1,109,900 15,271,440 41,250 5,487,594 1,085,500 259,280 363,790 127,252,215 4,410 15,571,260 204,030

-15,568,375 -701,419 209,790 -18,000 29,040 -6,285,483 -6,106,560 -437,100 -12,498,840 23,900 22,303,160 -317,631 -269,145 12,444,152 -26,355,025 -407,142.50 15,750 2,066,105 -67,200 31,402,430 595,324 -2,890 -7,020,370.00 -340,800 -2,324,812 22,229,392 -34,080 -15,210 -6,032,264.00 1,075,000 1,139,386 -60,260 -3,511,400.50 10,000 932,390.00 -522,560 3,576,706 -13,813,650 27,600 -

0.38 76.5 14.8 1.15 6.25 0.445 0.46 865 8.38 12.78 7.9 0.195 1,217 83.8 4.7 1.01 7.8 15.98 0.415 6.55 3.79 0.06 1.88 111.2 2.76 729 0.85 1.41 285 0.29 0.197

0.365 75.25 14.58 1.15 6.2 0.41 0.425 859 8.2 12.22 7.75 0.192 1,184 81 4.7 0.98 7.59 15.78 0.415 6.5 3.55 0.057 1.86 109 2.68 710 0.85 1.4 281.8 0.29 0.187

HOLDING FIRMS 0.37 5,550,000 75.35 1,094,640 14.7 6,593,500 1.15 1,000 6.2 16,000 0.415 26,040,000 0.435 9,630,000 861 141,040 8.3 2,089,800 12.78 13,882,600 7.85 42,400 0.192 80,000 1,208 120,390 83.05 3,556,150 4.7 3,000 0.99 3,591,000 7.59 2,044,500 15.9 506,200 0.415 20,000 6.51 19,066,900 3.55 4,000 0.057 49,730,000 1.86 40,000 110.4 185,680 2.76 36,000 711 252,390 0.85 22,000 1.41 60,000 285 11,890 0.29 560,000 0.197 50,000

2,043,550 82,503,650 96,892,690 1,150 99,700 11,038,100 4,244,450 121,412,135 17,229,161 174,613,496 330,806 15,410 145,432,275 295,499,196.50 14,100 3,563,640 15,692,398 8,042,620 8,300 124,214,581 14,440 2,876,880 74,600 20,561,511 97,280 181,474,000 18,700 84,410 3,381,836 162,400 9,450

5,828,890.50 9,567,976 265,900 1,163,520 6,165,612 5,995,058 300,246 -10,162,370 28,690,915.50 1,980 -5,865,229 4,009,350 10,577,993 -151,340 4,772,802 22,343,260 17,000 -1,965,616 101,500.00 -

6.83 0.97 2.34 1.48 35.65 3.89 5.27 5.96 6.09 0.5 1.03 1.33 0.156 0.56 53.65 0.7 0.179 1.68 0.99 1.08 5.59 4.14 0.395

6.8 0.94 2.26 1.41 35.3 3.84 5.26 5.6 6 0.49 1.01 1.3 0.154 0.53 52.25 0.7 0.173 1.63 0.97 1.06 4.68 4.08 0.345

1,778,399 432,850 293,810 21,018,410 238,337,175 8,024,430 412,385 119,152 96,654 4,616,400 27,470 361,470 872,520 2,132,240 18,821,280.50 11,900 840,400 15,181,450 1,715,070 416,360 19,640 149,805,040 215,529,600

-1,347,696 1,475,920 13,241,280 -1,740 -351,450 -10,300 -135,240 108,000 175,960 1,344,620 8,800 -4,285,200 12,394,380 694,400.00

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

AG FINANCE 3.1 ASIA UNITED 48.6 BANK PH ISLANDS 105.8 BDO LEASING 4.02 BDO UNIBANK 119 CHINABANK 36.7 COL FINANCIAL 17.1 EAST WEST BANK 20.7 IREMIT 1.7 MANULIFE 775 MEDCO HLDG 0.67 METROBANK 83.5 NTL REINSURANCE 0.72 PB BANK 15.2 PBCOM 25.3 PHIL NATL BANK 59.55 PHIL STOCK EXCH 240 PHILTRUST 110.2 RCBC 48 SECURITY BANK 216 SUN LIFE 1,680 UNION BANK 79.7

3.1 48.65 106 4.02 119.1 36.7 18.6 20.8 1.7 775 0.68 85 0.72 15.6 25.3 60.7 242.8 112 48.25 216.8 1,680 79.7

3.1 48.1 104.1 4 117.8 35.65 16.28 20.6 1.64 775 0.66 82.4 0.71 15.2 25.3 59.55 237 110 47.65 215.4 1,680 79

ABOITIZ POWER 41.75 AGRINURTURE 5.38 ALLIANCE SELECT 0.83 ALSONS CONS 1.53 ASIABEST GROUP 18.44 BASIC ENERGY 0.244 BOGO MEDELLIN 101 CEMEX HLDG 8.08 CENTURY FOOD 16.9 CIRTEK HLDG 23.5 CNTRL AZUCARERA14.3 CONCEPCION 70.5 CONCRETE A 84.1 CONCRETE B 80.6 CROWN ASIA 1.95 DAVINCI CAPITAL 5.72 DEL MONTE 11.9 DNL INDUS 12.72 EEI CORP 9.38 EMPERADOR 6.4 ENERGY DEVT 6.05 FIRST GEN 21.7 FIRST PHIL HLDG 73.4 GINEBRA 12.6 HOLCIM 15.7 INTEGRATED MICR 7.9 IONICS 1.64 JOLLIBEE 205.4 LMG CHEMICALS 5.25 MABUHAY VINYL 3.72 MACAY HLDG 28.9 MANILA WATER 32.15 MAXS GROUP 24.5 MEGAWIDE 18.9 MERALCO 281 MG HLDG 0.244 PANASONIC 6.37 PEPSI COLA 3.82 PETRON 8.96 PHIL H2O 3.54 PHINMA 11.42 PHINMA ENERGY 2.15 PHX PETROLEUM 8.71 PHX SEMICNDCTR 2.1 PILIPINAS SHELL 71.2 PRYCE CORP 5 PUREFOODS 300.4 RFM CORP 4.76 ROXAS HLDG 2.75 SHAKEYS PIZZA 13.98 SPC POWER 4.5 SWIFT FOODS 0.144 TKC METALS 1.38 UNIV ROBINA 171 VICTORIAS 4.41 VITARICH 1.8 VULCAN INDL 1

41.75 5.7 0.84 1.58 18.98 0.249 114.8 8.15 17.2 23.5 14.68 71.25 86 94.95 2 5.73 12.1 12.86 9.38 6.5 6.1 22 73.75 12.6 15.78 7.94 1.64 209 5.25 3.72 28.9 32.45 24.5 19.3 284 0.244 6.37 3.82 9.05 3.54 11.42 2.2 8.8 2.15 73 5.1 301 4.88 2.75 14 4.6 0.145 1.43 173.3 4.41 1.83 1.03

ABACORE CAPITAL 0.375 ABOITIZ EQUITY 76.5 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 14.78 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 1.15 ANSCOR 6.25 ATN HLDG A 0.435 ATN HLDG B 0.455 AYALA CORP 865 COSCO CAPITAL 8.38 DMCI HLDG 12.24 FILINVEST DEV 7.75 FORUM PACIFIC 0.192 GT CAPITAL 1,204 JG SUMMIT 81 JOLLIVILLE HLDG 4.7 LODESTAR 1.01 LOPEZ HLDG 7.7 LT GROUP 15.78 MABUHAY HLDG 0.415 METRO PAC INV 6.5 MJC INVESTMENTS 3.55 PACIFICA 0.058 PRIME ORION 1.88 SAN MIGUEL CORP 110.5 SEAFRONT RES 2.68 SM INVESTMENTS 729 SOC RESOURCES 0.85 SOLID GROUP 1.41 TOP FRONTIER 284.8 UNIOIL HLDG 0.29 WELLEX INDUS 0.187 8990 HLDG A BROWN ARANETA PROP ARTHALAND CORP AYALA LAND BELLE CORP CEBU HLDG CEBU PROP A CEBU PROP B CENTURY PROP CITY AND LAND CITYLAND DEVT CROWN EQUITIES CYBER BAY DOUBLEDRAGON EMPIRE EAST EVER GOTESCO FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE IRC PROP KEPPEL PROP MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED

6.83 0.95 2.26 1.44 35.3 3.88 5.26 5.6 6.08 0.49 1.01 1.3 0.156 0.56 53.55 0.7 0.179 1.64 0.98 1.08 4.68 4.11 0.345

VOLUME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

0.32 0.6 4.29 26 1.72 3.34 29.6 1 0.9 5.25

0.32 0.62 4.48 26.4 1.76 3.34 29.95 1 0.9 5.3

0.3 0.59 4.27 26 1.72 3.34 29.4 0.99 0.9 5.22

0.3 0.61 4.28 26 1.72 3.34 29.65 1 0.9 5.3

930,000 14,486,000 4,610,000 3,383,500 63,000 11,000 6,876,600 1,546,000 6,000 2,119,400

280,800 8,739,760 19,687,910 88,253,510 109,650 36,740 203,621,100 1,542,890 5,400 11,192,869

-16,688,430 29,261,245 198,805

2GO GROUP 12.1 ABS CBN 45.95 ACESITE HOTEL 1.53 APC GROUP 0.54 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.045 ASIAN TERMINALS 11.6 BERJAYA 5.31 BLOOMBERRY 8.6 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.072 CALATA CORP 2.05 CEBU AIR 102.8 CENTRO ESCOLAR 10.34 DFNN INC 8.85 DISCOVERY WORLD 2.64 GLOBE TELECOM 1,996 GMA NETWORK 6.22 GOLDEN HAVEN 16.12 GRAND PLAZA 14.98 HARBOR STAR 3.18 IMPERIAL 3.68 INTL CONTAINER 88 IP EGAME 0.0091 IPM HLDG 9.02 ISLAND INFO 0.186 ISM COMM 1.47 JACKSTONES 3.69 LBC EXPRESS 15.5 LEISURE AND RES 4.5 MACROASIA 4.65 MANILA JOCKEY 2.38 MELCO CROWN 6.55 METRO RETAIL 3.75 MLA BRDCASTING 17 NOW CORP 3.07 PACIFIC ONLINE 11.5 PAL HLDG 5.59 PAXYS 3.01 PHILWEB 8.02 PLDT 1,680 PREMIUM LEISURE 1.56 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.42 PUREGOLD 42 ROBINSONS RTL 79 SBS PHIL CORP 6.04 SSI GROUP 2.27 STI HLDG 1.04 TRANSPACIFIC BR 1.86 TRAVELLERS 3.21 WATERFRONT 0.46 WILCON DEPOT 5.24

12.1 46 1.53 0.55 0.045 11.6 5.32 8.79 0.075 2.06 106.6 10.34 8.93 2.64 2,032 6.27 16.3 14.98 3.26 3.75 88.1 0.0093 9.02 0.188 1.47 3.69 15.6 4.55 4.76 2.38 6.81 3.8 17 3.1 11.5 5.59 3.05 8.02 1,718 1.58 0.42 42.1 80 6.19 2.33 1.05 1.92 3.21 0.48 5.26

11.94 45.85 1.53 0.52 0.044 11.02 5.31 8.59 0.071 1.96 102.8 10.34 8.8 2.64 1,995 6.2 16.12 14.52 3.18 3.55 87.7 0.0091 8.99 0.183 1.42 3.57 15 4.42 4.64 2.37 6.55 3.73 16.9 2.98 11.5 5.31 3 7.9 1,676 1.54 0.415 41.5 78.5 6.01 2.25 1.03 1.85 3.19 0.445 5.22

SERVICES 12 342,700 46 19,000 1.53 14,000 0.54 2,273,000 0.044 52,900,000 11.02 8,600 5.31 10,900 8.71 14,246,300 0.072 27,790,000 2 12,205,000 106.6 933,130 10.34 300 8.83 121,400 2.64 4,000 2,020 83,100 6.2 212,400 16.3 92,500 14.98 600 3.23 2,186,000 3.69 89,000 88 2,659,440 0.0091 13,000,000 9 343,200 0.183 9,460,000 1.45 432,000 3.67 46,000 15 17,800 4.52 678,000 4.76 493,000 2.37 2,000 6.75 12,344,200 3.76 787,000 16.9 4,200 3 2,976,000 11.5 2,600 5.5 14,800 3.05 65,000 7.93 320,800 1,698 94,970 1.54 10,481,000 0.415 1,600,000 41.75 1,467,000 79.85 435,340 6.18 50,700 2.29 3,438,000 1.03 14,486,000 1.92 7,000 3.2 542,000 0.465 6,240,000 5.23 7,809,700

4,113,498 873,000 21,420 1,208,470 2,347,500 97,010 57,904 123,930,225 2,014,080 24,455,920 98,705,719 3,102 1,072,922 10,560 168,085,320 1,320,015 1,501,602 8,942 7,041,910 320,300 234,025,330.50 118,500 3,086,366 1,748,450 623,270 166,700 270,430 3,048,740 2,326,280 4,750 83,109,805 2,957,430 71,050 9,000,810 29,900 79,295 197,830 2,541,366 160,856,905 16,303,230 664,700 61,290,180 34,783,180.50 308,244 7,845,970 15,042,030 13,070 1,734,200 2,896,500 40,899,850

387,266 4,500 45,433,477 43,940 -137,570.00 -30,189,312 493,540 52,905,270 -182,189,470 9,300 -463,680 -71,050 -1,070,290 42,390 51,252,276 -470,860 539 167,750 -47,460,565 -1,187,980 -17,081,385 -4,646,287.50 7,826.00 1,562,300 4,606,130 783,930 6,868,104

MINING & OIL 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 MARCVENTURES NICKEL ASIA NIHAO ORNTL PENINSULA ORNTL PETROL A ORNTL PETROL B PHILODRILL PX MINING PXP ENERGY SEMIRARA MINING TA PETROLEUM UNITED PARAGON

0.0032 1.52 5.4 1.75 1.77 0.84 0.39 9.05 2.54 0.249 0.18 0.194 0.012 1.73 6.11 2.11 0.9 0.011 0.011 0.012 8.52 3.19 149.4 2.7 0.0084

0.0033 1.52 5.4 1.75 1.77 0.93 0.445 9.05 2.57 0.25 0.18 0.194 0.012 1.84 6.13 2.12 0.9 0.012 0.012 0.013 8.59 3.24 149.4 2.89 0.0084

0.0032 1.44 5.2 1.74 1.71 0.82 0.39 8.67 2.5 0.249 0.179 0.192 0.011 1.73 6.1 2.08 0.87 0.011 0.011 0.012 8.5 3.14 148.4 2.7 0.0084

0.0033 1.45 5.2 1.75 1.71 0.9 0.42 9 2.57 0.25 0.18 0.192 0.012 1.84 6.12 2.11 0.88 0.011 0.012 0.012 8.59 3.16 148.6 2.87 0.0084

19,600 21,755,370 7,920 113,700 371,560 12,802,260 3,096,850 59,976 3,865,610 77,490 1,398,180 15,450 38,300 168,690 14,937,990 12,590 196,630 66,300 3,500 565,700 5,121,251 3,061,560 55,791,578 22,150 16,800

-5,973,600 -368,020 -753,000 1,941,840 -9,914,694 3,543,244 -278,940 16,579,207 -

ABS HLDG PDR AC PREF B1 ALCO PREF B DD PREF FGEN PREF G GLO PREF P GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF A LR PREF MWIDE PREF PCOR PREF 2A PF PREF 2 PNX PREF 3B SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

46.1 535 107.5 104.6 116 525 5.79 1,016 1.06 107.7 1,034 1,020 112 81.6 79 78.1 78.25

46.1 535 107.5 105.5 116 525 5.8 1,017 1.06 107.7 1,034 1,020 121 81.6 79 78.1 78.5

45.9 535 107.5 104.5 115.5 525 5.71 1,016 1.06 107.7 1,030 1,020 112 78 78 78.1 78.25

PREFERRED 45.9 17,400 535 10 107.5 800 104.5 13,670 115.5 39,260 525 20 5.72 46,100 1,017 60 1.06 300,000 107.7 860 1,030 50 1,020 150 121 6,040 81.6 1,770 78 13,500 78.1 1,260 78.5 97,390

800,410 5,350 86,000 1,437,392 4,534,580 10,500 263,819 60,970 318,000 92,622 51,580 153,000 722,480 143,460 1,065,542 98,406 7,637,615

-800,410 -790,020 58,916 -

LR WARRANT

2.46

2.5

2.42

WARRANTS 2.48 185,000

454,270

-

ITALPINAS PHILAB HLDG XURPAS

3.84 7 9.65

3.9 7.52 9.94

3.7 6.93 9.65

SME 3.88 7.08 9.72

527,000 502,900 5,294,100

1,998,330 3,644,455 51,271,172

33,397,887

126

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 125.4 126 80,880

10,150,090

31,483

SHARES

VALUE

NAME PHIL ESTATES PHIL REALTY PRIMEX CORP ROBINSONS LAND ROCKWELL SHANG PROP SM PRIME HLDG STA LUCIA LAND SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND

MS

PROPERTY 6.8 261,400 0.96 454,000 2.34 128,000 1.45 14,532,000 35.6 6,704,800 3.87 2,075,000 5.27 78,400 5.96 21,200 6 15,900 0.495 9,330,000 1.03 27,000 1.3 277,000 0.154 5,640,000 0.54 3,962,000 52.25 356,960 0.7 17,000 0.173 4,810,000 1.66 9,147,000 0.97 1,756,000 1.06 390,000 5.59 4,000 4.1 36,422,000 0.38 582,170,000

FIRST METRO ETF 125.4

TRADING SUMMARY FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL HOLDING FIRMS

391,424,931 91,908,594 145,209,882

PROPERTY

729,608,472

SERVICES

205,292,460

MINING & OIL

117,102,810

GRAND TOTAL

1,686,952,050

6,000,000 14,873,000 1,500 65,000 216,000 14,467,000 7,400,000 6,900 1,527,000 310,000 7,770,000 80,000 3,400,000 93,000 2,442,900 6,000 224,000 6,000,000 300,000 47,100,000 600,600 964,000 375,470 8,000 2,000,000

1,871.07 (down) 9.04 27,085,936,476.76 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 11,268.79 (down) 9.57 1,095,960,303.57 HOLDING FIRMS 7,688.96 (up) 21.09 1,388,225,287.18 PROPERTY 3,326.17 (up) 16.51 SERVICES 1,578.12 (up) 10.35 1,112,759,596.81 MINING & OIL 11,979.38 (down) 7.70 1,212,652,485.638 PSEI 7,578.16 (up) 14.71 123,621,463.349 All Shares Index 4,532.10 (up) 10.89 32,086,219,927.01 Gainers:107; Losers: 89; Unchanged: 44; Total: 240

Globe signs P8-b loan deal with BDO

By Darwin G. Amojelar GLOBE Telecom Inc. said on Friday it borrowed money anew from a local bank to finance part of its capital expenditures this year.

The company, controlled by conglomerate Ayala Corp., said it signed a 10-year, P8 billion term loan facility with BDO Unibank Inc. “The loan shall be used to finance the company’s capital expenditures and general corporate requirements,” Globe said.

Globe’s capex guidance for 2017 is $750 million, of which majority will be invested in data-related projects, including the deployment of LTE mobile and LTE @ Home and increased network capacities and coverage of its fixed line data.

The company spent about $772 million in capex last year, in which 65 percent financed data-related requirements.

Globe earlier signed an 8-year, P7-billion term loan facility with BDO Unibank and another six-year, P7-billion term loan with Development Bank of the Philippines.

Globe earlier reported a core profit of P16.01 billion in 2016, up 6 percent from P15.13 billion in 2015.

Globe’s net income, on the other hand, fell 4 percent to P15.9 billion last year from P16.5 billion in 2015.

Consolidated revenues increased 6 percent to P120 billion in 2016 from P113.7 billion in 2015.

Globe’s mobile revenues slightly grew to P91.9 billion in 2016 from P91.2 billion in 2015, driven by the continued shift from core voice and texts in favor of data.

Globe’s mobile subscriber base reached 62.8 million as of end-December, up 12 percent from 56.2 million subscribers in 2015.

Shell to sell excess power

By Alena Mae S. Flores PILIPINAS Shell Petroleum Corp. plans to sell excess power generated from its 110,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Batangas to the spot market.

The company disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange that its board approved an amendment to its articles of incorporation to include the sale and purchase of electricity.

“The registrant intends to sell the excess power it produces to the WESM (Wholesale Electricity Spot Market) as an additional source of revenue,” Pilipinas Shell said.

The board at a special meeting on April 20 approved the amendment to the articles of incorporation to expand secondary purpose to include the sale of excess electricity through the WESM. The amendment will be submitted to shareholders for approval during the annual stockholders’ meeting on May 16.

The company operates a refinery in Tabangao, Batangas that produces its own electric power through turbines fueled mainly by natural gas.

The self-generation of electricity is covered by a certificate of compliance issued by the Energy Regulatory Commission.

Pilipinas Shell’s refinery has three turbine generators, including one that serves as back up. The turbine generators generate power and produce steam utilized for the manufacturing of fuel products.

World IN BRIEF Spaniard sentenced to death BANGKOK―A Thai court sentenced a Spanish man to death on Friday for the grisly murder of a fellow Spaniard whose dismembered body parts were discovered in Bangkok’s main river last year.

Artur Segarra, 38, was convicted of kidnapping and killing 40-year-old David Bernat in an effort to steal tens of millions of baht from the businessman, according to a verdict read out at Thailand’s Criminal Court.

“Forensic evidence such as blood stains and fingerprints on [Segarra’s] electric grinder had DNA that matched the victim,” the judge said, adding that CCTV footage and testimony from Segarra’s maid and girlfriend also implicated him in the killing.

“Therefore, the judge sentences the defendant to death on the grounds that he committed premeditated murder in order to steal the victim’s money.” AFP

B3

Tensions spiraling in Korea S

EOUL―Geopolitical tensions flare every spring on the Korean peninsula, but analysts say the anxiety of recent weeks has been magnified by the unpredictable new player in the annual drama: Donald Trump.

North Korea always intensifies its rhetoric when Seoul and Washington stage annual large-scale joint military drills that it condemns as rehearsals for a potential invasion.

But this time threat and counter-threat from both sides sent tensions spiraling, generating lurid headlines and focussing global attention on the region.

The North says it needs nuclear weapons to protect itself and observers agree it is making progress towards a long-dreamed-of rocket capable of delivering a warhead to the US mainland.

With multiple sets of UN sanctions failing to quell its ambitions, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last month said US military action was an “option on the table”.

Pyongyang promised “the toughest counteraction” to any attack while Washington pledged an “overwhelming response”, with Trump himself tweeting that the North “will be taken care of”.

Even so the North has carried out two rocket tests this month alone and paraded its arsenal, including a suspected new intercontinental ballistic missile, through the streets of Pyongyang.

Speculation has also mounted that it could carry out a sixth nuclear test, following two last year, although that has yet to happen.

Pyongyang’s threats and actions are not unusual―it

ONSTAGE. French singer Vianney Bureau, aka Vianney, performs onstage during the 41st edition of ‘Le Printemps de Bourges’ rock and pop music festival in Bourges on April 20, 2017. AFP

Suspect surrenders in Belgium PARIS―A suspect sought

by France in the wake of the Champs Elysees attack has turned himself in to Belgian police, France’s interior ministry said Friday.

“The man in the wanted notice issued by Belgian authorities presented himself to a police station in Antwerp,” ministry spokesman PierreHenry Brandet told AFP. Brandet told Europe 1 radio it was “too early to say” if the man was linked to Thursday night’s shooting on the famous Paris boulevard, where a 39-year-old known radical shot dead a policeman and wounded two others before being killed in a shootout.

A foreign tourist was also injured in the attack.

The Islamic State group claimed the shooting, which came three days before the first round of France’s presidential election on Sunday in which security is a major concern after a string of bloody jihadist assaults since 2015.

A source close to the French investigation said the 35-year-old man being questioned in Antwerp, described as “very dangerous”, had been sought by Belgian police as part of a separate probe.

During a search of his home, Belgian police found weapons, balaclavas and a train ticket for France departing Thursday morning, hours before the Paris assault. AFP

SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2017

has gone further in the past, sinking the South Korean corvette Cheonan with the loss of 46 lives in 2010, and three years later urging foreigners to leave the South to escape what it said was a looming nuclear war.

But cooler heads always prevailed in Washington and the two sides never came to blows. Analysts now point to the new US administration as a key factor behind the intense fears of conflict this time.

“The big change was from Washington,” said Koo Kab-Woo, professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

After years of “strategic patience” under Barack Obama, he said the US was “reacting more sensitively” to the claims by leader Kim Jong-Un Kim that his country was in the final stages of developing an ICBM. A missile strike in Syria and the dropping of the “Mother of All Bombs” in Afghanistan sent ominous signals that the new administration is prepared to unleash US firepower.

And after a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump doubled down on a vow to act unilaterally against Pyongyang if Beijing fails to rein in its unpredictable ally.

“The ascendancy of Donald Trump introduces a greater element of uncertainty about America’s moves,” said Mark Fitzpatrick, executive director at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in Washington. AFP

Reindeer, herders at risk from hot spell in Arctic KAUTOKEINO, Norway― Winter temperatures in Norway’s Lapland could rise dramatically this century, with potentially devastating consequences for the region’s reindeer and the indigenous Sami people who make their living herding them.

A vast frozen tundra, the mountainous Finnmark plateau in Norway’s far north is experiencing a hot spell―relatively speaking―wreaking havoc on the centuries-old Sami way of life.

“We already feel the effects of global warming here,” says Per Gaup, a colorful reindeer herder in his 60s out on the job. “I can

see that we’re losing more reindeer because of climate change.”

Here, the continental climate with cold and dry winters is gradually becoming more like that of coastal areas, with milder temperatures and more rain.

The change affects grazing conditions for the 146,000 or so semi-domesticated reindeer in the region who feed on lichen and moss under the snow.

“When there’s more snow and it turns hard, the animals die because there’s less to eat, especially the young ones who are at the bottom of the hierarchy,” says Gaup, astride his snowmobile with an orange lasso slung across

his chest.

One of the Sami dialects counts no fewer than 318 words to describe different types of snow. “Seanas”, for example, means a kind of grainy snow ideal for reindeer, making it easy for them to dig out the lichen and moss with their hooves.

But it has to be very cold to have that kind of snow. While temperatures in Kautokeino, Norway’s main reindeer-herding hub, used to regularly drop to minus 40 degrees Celsius (minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit) for several weeks at a time, nowadays this happens only rarely and briefly.

And today’s conditions are just a

taste of what is to come. The mercury is expected to rise by seven to eight degrees Celsius in winter in Finnmark by the end of this century, according to Rasmus Benestad, a researcher at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute.

A recurring problem for the reindeer now is alternating periods of thaw and freezing, which create thick layers of ice that the starving reindeer are unable to penetrate with their hooves.

When reindeer can’t access the lichen and moss on their herder’s grazing grounds, the flocks seek out other pastures. This can cause conflicts between herders over grazing grounds, which are

not officially demarcated, and may require the herders to resort to the onerous and heavy task of putting out fodder.

The changing climate also complicates the twice-yearly transhumance, when the herders move the reindeer from their summer grazing grounds along the coast to their winter pastures in the Finnmark mountains, and vice versa.

Because of longer autumns, the ice, now often thinner and unpredictable, can give way under the weight of the reindeer as they cross waterways, sometimes taking the animals, and even their herders, into the deep. AFP

Eastwood to direct train attack movie LOS ANGELES—Clint Eastwood is to direct the heroic true story of three Americans who stopped a terrorist plot on a train bound for Paris, US media said on Thursday.

The as yet untitled project will be based on “The 15:17 to Paris: The True Story Of A Terrorist, A Train, And Three American Heroes” by friends Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone, with journalist Jeffrey E. Stern, entertainment website Deadline Hollywood reported.

In August 2015 the trio―one of whom was in the Oregon National Guard and another in the US Air Force―foiled a gunman who had boarded a train from Amsterdam to Paris with enough ammo to kill 500 people.

They charged and overpowered 25-year-old Moroccan national Ayoub El Khazzani after he came out of a toilet armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle, an automatic pistol and a box-cutter, shooting and seriously wounding a passenger.

The three have since been hailed as heroes both in the United States and in France, where they were awarded the Legion of Honor, the country’s highest decoration.

El Khazzani is in custody in France, awaiting trial on various terror-related charges, including attempted murder.

The movie follows a pattern in Eastwood’s recent output of recounting real life stories of heroism, following “American Sniper” (2014), about Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, and “Sully” (2016), about “Miracle on the Hudson” airline pilot Chesley Sullenberger.

Industry daily Variety said Eastwood was hoping to get filming underway later this year. AFP

APEC VENUE. A cyclist rides past a sign for the coming Asia-Pacifics Economic Cooperation meeting in Hanoi. Donald Trump will attend a series of key summits in Asia in November, his vice president said on April 20, adding it was a sign of America’s “unwavering commitment” to the region. AFP

LGUs

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

B4

SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2017

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

LTFRB offers aid to crash victims B

By Ben Moses Ebreo

AYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya—Officials of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board on Friday visited the survivors and kin of those who perished during the bus crash in Carranglan, Nueva Ecija, which claimed 32 lives.

The LTFRB team, led by Edgar Soriano, visited various hospitals in the province where most of the 46 surviving crash victims are being treated.

Soriano said they are in the process of determining the assistance to be given to the victims based on the guidelines of the agency’s passenger insurance program.

“We are calling on the relatives of the victims to visit our office in front of the provincial capitol in Bayombong town on Saturday and Tuesday to facilitate the processing and release of your passenger insurance benefit,” Soriano said.

He also advised the patients to prepare legal documents to facilitate the immediate release of their insurance benefits, such as death certificates, residence certificates or “cedula,” and medical certificates for those being treated, among others.

Most of the crash survivors are confined at the Veterans Regional Hospital in Bayombong, the Nueva Vizcaya Provincial Hospital in Bambang town, the Dupax District Hospital in Dupax del Sur town, and the Indigenous People’s Hospital in Aritao town.

The LTFRB will also be offering a Catholic Mass at the VRH for all victims of the crash on Tuesday, when the 45-seater Leomaric bus plunged 80 feet into a ravine at the Dalton Pass section of the Maharlika High-

way here.

Soriano said the bureau would also hand out financial assistance in the afternoon. LTFRB regional officials are expected to attend that event.

“We will also put up an assistance center in this province to facilitate the release of financial benefits for the bus tragedy victims,” he added.

The fatalities were identified as Dysabel Lianas, 20, of Aurora Province; Gladys Pacada, 39 of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija; Ruperto P. Maddawin, 66 of St. Thomas, Isabela; Luisa Sanches Palunag, 56 of Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya; Rosalie M. Bondoc, 40 of Santiago City, Isabela; Catherine Manglapus, 30 of Solano, Nueva Vizcaya; Gilbert Mariano Sr. of Cordon, Isabela; Jovita O. Retovan, 56 of Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya; Cherry Mae S. Suarez, 21 of Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya; Angelica Militao Gamboa, 19 of Solano, Nueva Vizcaya; Irene Anne Mandapat of Solano, Nueva Vizcaya; Alfredo Rivera Lucero, 59; Heidee Gabugen, 24 of Cuayan Alfonso Castañeda; Maximo Esperon, 56 of Solano, Nueva Vizcaya; Julie Galvez of San Jose City, Nueva Ecija; Jayvee Militar Andrade, 1 of Solano, Nueva Vizcaya; Judy Marquez Bacudo, 50 of Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya; Pedro Realigue of Cordon, Isabela; and Cesar Perang and Rocando Mangaong, both with unidentified addresses.

SODA SPRING. A foreigner couple enjoys the Bura natural soda spring water pool in Catarman, Camiguin during the Holy Week. Camiguin is the ‘getaway capital’ of Northern Mindanao and the Philippines’ fifth-most visited province, with a combined 1.2 million tourists coming to the island-province over the last two years. Lance Baconguis Officials of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office identified the injured victims confined at the Nueva Vizcaya Provincial Hospital in Bambang as Jennifer Umangal, 27 of Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya; Angel Martin Bontoc, 8 of Santiago, Isabela; Jenrey Gabugen, 11 of Alfonso Castaneda, Nueva Vizcaya; Mark Anthony Santos, 27 of San Jose City, Nueva Ecija; Edgardo R. Dua. Jr., 20 of Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya; Jonathan Ramos, 26 of Alfonso Castaneda, Nueva Vizcaya; Ruby Anne Valdez Simues, 29 of Almager, Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya; Loui

Jay llamas, 2 of Cabanatuan, Castaneda; Ralph Reymond Gradio, 16 of Alicia, Isabela; Mark Jay Galves, 8 of San Jose City, Nueva Ecija; Juanito Daniwan, 42 of Cabuan, La Union; Jannette Valdez, 25; Jay Anne Ligudon; and Edwin Alawang Jr., 24 of San Jose City, Nueva Ecija.

Those recuperating at the VRH in Bayombong are Hannan Cloe Gabugen, 1 of Alfonso Castañeda; Lorna Obana, 44 of Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya; Jaimee Tuguinay, 54 of Kiangan, Ifugao; Pauline Baldovino, 16 of Solano, Nueva Vizcaya; Maureen Baldovino, 16 of Solano,

Nueva Vizcaya; Marivic Flogores, 32 of Poblacion, Tarlac; Marie Rocafor, 21 of Sison, Pangasinan; Fernandez James, 8; Sherwin Non, 29 of Balagtas, Bulacan; Rofelia Silvano, 46 of Marilao, Bulacan; Jovelyn Esposo, 9of Mauan, Bambang; Walter Obra, 24 of Sta. Fe, Nueva Vizcaya; Jaybro Barbero, 10 of Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya; Ballalal Estalila, 19 of Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya; Vladimir Pacada, 16 of Talaveria, Nueva Ecija; Remedios Fernandez, 30 of Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya; Kevin Jardin, 16 of Cordon, Isabela; John Melvin Llamas,

Group sees more EJeepneys coming

48 LGUs get P20m in aid from Makati

By Joel E. Zurbano MAKATI City Mayor Abigail Binay has officially turned over checks for financial assistance to mayors and representatives of nine local government units from Luzon previously hit by strong typhoons.

Some 48 localities were identified as recipients of almost P20 million approved for release earlier by the Makati City Council for relief assistance in the wake of typhoons “Nina” and “Lawin.”

In a simple turnover ceremony at Makati City Hall, Binay expressed her administration’s willingness to extend financial assistance and technical support to other localities to help build their resilience against disasters.

“We see nothing wrong with sharing the city’s abundant re-

sources to other local government units in the country that have limited resources. After all, we are all Filipinos,” Binay said.

The mayor said she understood the plight of her fellow mayors who are doing their best to serve their constituents with very limited resources, particularly in thirdto fifth-class municipalities.

“I know how difficult it is to be a mayor. Especially when funds are scarce yet the needs of your constituents are many, the needs of our citizens must come first. If we’re unlucky, storms and calamities may even hit,” Binay said.

The mayor, however, expressed admiration for her fellow Filipinos who always managed to get back on their feet after every calamity, no matter how tragic.

“Resiliency is a Filipino trait that I deeply admire,” she said.

RADIO DISTRIBUTION. Pagsanjan Mayor Maita Ejercito (center), Councilor Jet Ejercito, and former Laguna governor Jeorge ER Ejercito Estregan (10th from right) lead the distribution of 148 hand-held radios for the town’s security, peace and order and public safety, and disaster preparedness and risk reduction programs.

Sanggunian Bayan members and the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, headed by municipal planning and development coordinator Jay Keenson Acebuche and Municipal Administrator Florante Salvador, helped hand out 96 radio units for 16 barangays, 7 units to the police, six to firefighters, nine to the PATEG group, and 30 units for the office of Municipality of Pagsanjan. Roy Tomandao

BoC Cebu holds 144k sacks—not 1m—‘smuggled’ rice

By Junex Doronio CEBU CITY—Some 144,500 sacks of imported rice with an estimated value of P289 million were held by the Port of Cebu of the Bureau of Customs in consonance with the policy laid down by National Food Authority Administrator Jason Laureano Aquino.

Verne Enciso, officer-in-charge

of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Services of the BoC Port of Cebu, said the shipments had arrived separately on March 1, 2, 19, 23 and 30, in violation of the Minimum Access Volume Program of the NFA. That program stipulates the arrival period of rice importations for the year 2016 will be only until Feb. 28, 2017, except for rice

importations from Pakistan and India, the deadline of which had been extended to March 31, 2017.

Enciso said the 144,500 bags of rice from Vietnam, Pakistan and Thailand were contained in 289 container vans, and consigned to Pilmico Foods Corp. and Matibay Multi-Purpose Cooperative.

“The absence of the NFA import permit makes the rice ship-

ment as contraband shipment or smuggled,” Enciso said.

The CIIS-Cebu chief also denied earlier reports of at least one million bags of imported rice, mostly from Vietnam, supposedly sitting idle at the Cebu International Port since last March.

He said that with 500 sacks per container van at most, the CIP cannot possibly accom-

modate 2,000 container vans to reach that one million sack total.

The non-extension of the MAV program has created controversy within the NFA, resulting in the termination of Undersecretary Halmen Valdez of the Office of Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco, who chairs the NFA Council but opposes the non-extension of the MAV program.

QC councilors seek to lift ban on PUV franchises

By Rio N. Araja COUNCILORS from Quezon City have passed a resolution urging the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to lift its moratorium and accept new applications for certificates of public convenience, or public utility vehicle franchises.

The move is designed to curb the pro-

5mos of Dinalungan, Aurora; Shirlyn Padilla Bautista, 30 of Sta. Fe, Nueva Vizcaya; Reynaldy Framil, 35 of Sta. Fe, Nueva Vizcaya; Ian Fernandez, 31 of Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya; Emerlito Pacada, 42 of Munoz, Nueva Ecija; Glydel Pacada, 20 of Munoz, Nueva Ecija; Ross Van Sinues, 6 of Bambang Nueva Vizcaya; Frederico Framil, 19 of Sta. Fe, Nueva Vizcaya; Rhecille Daniwan, 17 of Luna La Union; Reynold Bondoc, Jr., 9 of Silver Land Santiago City; Maxion Benito, 18 of Sta. Fe, Nueva Vizcaya; Gialyn Almandre, 1, of Solano, Nueva Vizcaya.

liferation of unregistered vehicles and address the reported violations of overloading and public transport shortage, the council resolution said.

The 38-member city council unanimously approved Resolution No. SP6978, S-2017 that seeks to rescind LTFRB Memorandum Circular 2003-028.

The disputed LTFRB circular ordered a

nationwide moratorium on the acceptance of new applications or petitions for the issuance of a certificate of public convenience, except truck-for-hire services, to give way for the updating of records at the bureau and to ensure the integrity and consistency of data recording of its route rationalization program.

But through the resolution, the city council said it is confident the long wait for the result

of the program should be put to an end.

“Moreover, the move shall also give legitimate transport operators an opportunity to earn more in return,” it added.

Mayor Herbert Bautista is optimistic the lifting of the LTFRB moratorium would somehow tone down the operations of nonfranchised jeepneys, buses and taxis, not just in Quezon City but throughout the country.

AMID the increasingly intense discussions surrounding the inevitable replacement of some 350,000 15-year-old diesel-fed jeepneys around the country, the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines has expressed optimism about replacing even just a small chunk of those vehicles with electric jeepneys.

EVAP president Rommel Juan says the association believes its members are now ready to help the government’s Jeepney Modernization Program by replacing the traditional jeepneys, which often belch smoke, with “cleaner” EJeepneys.

“The requirement is huge, so that is why we are confident there is room for everybody.

As one, EVAP members are ready to supply the demand not as competitors but as partners,” Juan said.

The EJeepney movement in the country started eight years ago through an NGO called Green Renewable Independent Power Producer and the Philippine Parts Makers Association, with its affiliate Philippine Utility Vehicle Inc. as the pioneer manufacturer and assembler.

Initial units were deployed in Makati under its Makati Green Route. Now, there are EJeepneys plying routes at Filinvest City Alabang, Muntinlupa City, Ateneo de Manila, De La Salle University, Meralco, and other resorts and establishments.

Juan explains that EJeepneys are the natural progression of the traditional public utility vehicles.

Home / Design

C1

SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

SPECIAL EDITION

Want to build your business in Boracay?

With Boracay Newcoast, it’s still possible to own a titled lot in the island paradise

A

S A TOP beach destination, Boracay has always been a haven to the hotel industry.

But in recent years, international magazine Southeast Asia Globe noted that the island has seen a boost in the boutique hotel, mid private residence segments as well. This positive rise has allowed locals to sell their plots for substantial sums, thereby raising the level of economic prosperity on the island. In turn, this led to real estate prices in Boracay to enjoy a steady growth in the past years.

Photo by Cynthia Dayco

With private residences and luxury villas under development, Boracay is now competing in real estate terms with Bali and Phuket, doing much to attract foreign investment and raise the overall profile of the market. Maybe while relaxing on Boracay’s pristine shores, it could occur savvy investors that when investing in Boracay, the clear blue sky’s the limit. Boracay Newcoast, a prestigious develoment from Megaworld’s Global Estate-Resorts, Inc., is one such example of the limitless possibilities that the island

Experience Boracay like never before in Boracay Newcoast’s up-and-coming festive location.

Rising within Boracay Newcoast is the award-winning Oceanway Residences, which now offers ready-for-occupancy units with views encompassing the beauty of the Fairways ad Bluewater Gold Club and the Sibuyan Sea.

The Newcoast Village offers titled lots in an exclusive vacation-inspired subdivision.

can offer. Boracay Newcoast which boasts of districts that offer titled lots ideal for the investing community.

First is the Town Center North, consisting of the Shophouse District and the Boutique Hotel District.

The Shophouse District, inspired by the communities like Key West Florida and Did Town in Ibiza, mixes residential and commercial components, where owners can put up shops at the lower floor and have their home at the top floors. Meanwhile, the Boutique Htel District allows buyers to build their own hotel brands or tie up with foreign institutional hotels. This district is particularly enticing because their guests will have access to three private beach coves with one kilometer of pristine white sand.

Second is Borcay Newcoast Village, which offers lots ranging from 250 square meters to 375 square meters in an exclusive amenities such as parks, pocket gardens and grill areas.

“Owning a titled lot in Boracay Newcoast is the best investment in the island, as the promise of its location will give you the highest return of investment (ROI) for your future business,” said Saki Mirabueno, vice president for sales and marketing, Boracay Newcoast.

better. Boracay Newcoast, located at the Northeastern part of Boracay, is an exhilirating new community offering amenities inspired by the world’s best beach neighborhoods.

With Boracay’s natural beauty coupled with state-of-the-art structures, your future visits into the island will truly be unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before.

The life and center of the community brimmed with rows of numerous shops, cafes, bars, restaurants, an entertainment center and mid-rise residences. Also, internationl brand hotels, an exclusive 18-hole golf course, and other leisure centers will soon thrive on both sides of the estate. With 60 percent of the development intended for open spaces and lush greenery, the property will be the benchmark of environmentallyconscious urban planning in the island with its tree-lined, pedestrianfriendly layout as well as its seamless arrangement of road networks, sewerage and underground electrical lines. With that, beach lovers at Boracay Newcoast will continue to enjoy the sand, sea, sun and nature altogether with others who want to have a good time in every manner that the world’s best beach getaways could offer. For more inquiries, call (0917) 8878696, (02) 815888. E-mail A township within Boracay customerrelations@megaworldcorp.

Just when you think Boracay is com, or visit www.boracaynewcoast. already at its best it still gets even com.ph.

Joel D. Lacsamana, Editor jdlacsamana@gmail.com

C2

SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2017

SPECIAL EDITION

A spa at your beck and call…..

Eight ways to a bathroom to die for

and incense. A dimmer switch can be installed to create a soothing atmosphere. Small, plug-in water features can also be added to imitate tranquil, river-like sounds.

Update the hardware

You know those rusty knobs on your cabinets and those dirty handles on the drawers? Those can be replaced separately, adding some instant visual impact. Clear, glossy hardware can give you a clean, streamlined look — while heavier, intricate pieces in brass or nickel can give your cabinets an antique feel.

Paint cabinet doors for easy enhancement

Not for the faint at heart: communal ablutions, anyone?

B APPLE OF OFWS’ EYES. Philippine property topped the list of preferred investments, with 80 per cent of survey respondents

choosing real estate, while 20 per cent opted for the stock market, business start-ups, mutual funds, bonds and other investments.

Duterte’s ME visit

buoys confidence in local property market

D

URING his recent visit to the Middle East, President Rodrigo Duterte ostensibly inspired Filipino communities in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Quatar to help him build a more economically vibrant Philippines.

Over US$ 500 billion worth of combined investment capital from industrialists and businessmen from Riyadh, Manama and Doha were reportedly tapped for investment and jobs for Filipinos back home.

But the most understated achievement of the President’s week-long swing through the oil-rich states of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was his enthusiastic cheerleading to whip up the existing optimism held by expatriate Filipinos for the property sector in their home country .

A poll conducted by New Perspective Media (NPM) showed that 98 per cent of Filipinos in the UAE believe positive change is coming to the Philippines with 93 per cent agreeing that the investment environment is already improving.

According to official govern-

ment figures, the Philippines was the second-fastest growing economy globally in the second quarter of this year, expanding at 7 per cent compared with the same period last year, followed

by China (6.7 per cent), Vietnam (5.6 per cent), Indonesia (5.2 per cent), Malaysia (4 per cent) and Thailand (3.5 per cent). India registered the highest growth at 7.1 per cent in the second quarter.

Now is the time to invest The survey of 1,000 UAEbased Filipinos showed that 90 per cent believe "now" is the best time to invest in Philippine property, with expatriates "very optimistic" the value of their property investment will see significant gains over the next few years.

Asked to describe the investment and business environment in the Philippines following the

election of Robert Duterte as the president in June, 93 per cent said the situation is improving, 2 per cent said it is deteriorating; and 5 per cent said they do not see any change.

"A vast majority of the Filipinos in the UAE are confident in the improving investment scenario in the Philippines," said Karen Remo, the managing director of NPM. "This is an affirmative boost to the new administration of the Philippines as the economy’s growth registers stellar performance in recent months."

"Our survey supports the increasing appetite of the Filipinos and the international community to invest in real estate. This is in response to the positive forecasts of good investment returns in the Philippines, which is now being considered the Asia’s rising tiger," Remo said.

The strong economic growth in the Philippines is driving demand in the property market. According to Oxford Business Group, the construction and real estate sectors make up around 20 per cent of the

Philippine economy, slightly ahead of manufacturing.

Positive outlook "The economic agenda for the country prioritises countryside development, infrastructure and agriculture growth, and increased government spending," said Michael McCullough, the co-founder and managing director of KMC Savills. "Pair this with the administration’s goal of positioning the Philippines as one of the top three destinations in South East Asia for FDI inflows by 2022, and we see a very positive outlook for the real estate industry."

The Philippine property market is driven by rapid urbanisation, increasing employment by the BPO (business process outsourcing) sector, disposable income, surging OFW (overseas Filipino workers) remittances and growing real estate investment. And the increase in personal disposable income of consumers as well as growth in commercial and residential projects have created rising demand for property.

ATHROOM renovations can get quite expensive. A seemingly minor change-up in tiles, or a brand new vanity cabinet can sometimes run you a small fortune. But there are ways to spruce up your bathroom on a budget. Some minor adjustments can instantly transform your toilet pit-stop to a spa-like sanctuary.

A fresh coat, and then some

Sometimes, a simple coat of paint in a brand new color is all it takes to revitalize a bathroom.

Check out online to see what hues are in fashion. Bold purples, crisp whites and hazy blues are trendy right now. Choose a paint that also includes primer, so you’re not forced to do double-duty.

Accessories add impact

A brand new shower curtain, or decorative towel rod can spruce up a bathroom instantly. If you’re working on a budget, try investing in a quality shower curtain and opt for a cheap (but chic!) towel rod instead. You can make up for a discrepancy in quality by drawing one’s gaze to a luxurious new curtain, and away from the cheaper items.

Consider painting your vanity and cabinets for a quick update in style. Make sure the colors match whatever hues you’ve got on the walls. If your walls are crisp white, consider painting the cabinets in a soft turquoise. Meanwhile, shades of pale blue work well with foggy greys, instantly transforming your space into one of peace and serenity.

Give walls some texture

Add architectural flair to an otherwise dull bathroom by adding some texture and rigidity to your walls. Beaded panels are relatively cheap. Check out Wilcon Builders or True Value for panels in various designs. These can be installed much more easily than individualized boards.

Mirror, mirror on the wall …

If your walls allow for it, consider updating your bathroom with an over-sized mirror and quality frame. Sometimes, bigger is better. A fabulous mirror can give you the feeling of stepping into a high-end hotel bathroom. It can also work as a focal point with which you can accessorize around it.

Hit the flea market for vintage finds

Mirrors, vanities and even tubs can be found for cheap at flea markets. You can re-vamp unique finds with a bit of paint and resurfacing. Your discoveries will inject the personal charm that you wouldn’t otherwise get from Home Depot.

My spa or yours

Although many adults share a bathroom with the kids, there are small ways to turn this room into a sanctuary. One way is to splurge on a posh, high-quality towel. Store it away in a separate cabinet so only you have access to it. And furnish a corner of your counter-space with some candles

Fixtures that speak (and gush) volumes

Home / Design

C3

SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

SPECIAL EDITION

Things are looking up, with a creative ceiling

CYAN

Manila

Standard

TODAY

How often do you find yourself looking up at the ceilings of your home or anyone else’s?

It’s likely that it’s not too often. T Many interior design efforts are focused on specific rooms of the house, rather than the ceilings. Most ceilings are typical, flat, and plain, but there are numerous ways to dress

lights on your ceiling. If crystal chandeliers don’t fit into your budget at the moment, there are others that can impress almost as much. Examples include pendant, lantern, glass, candle, and shaded chandeliers. The list goes on, but these are some popular examples.

If you have low ceilings, recessed lighting is

Eye-catching tiles that tell a story.

them up and impress your guests. Not only will an option. This modern look creates an atmoyour ceilings be impressive, there’s a chance sphere that is more open. In this case, hanging fixtures will only make your space feel tighter. they can increase the value of your home.

If you’re in need of a change and some new Ceiling drapes interior design ideas, check out these five ways to spruce up your ceiling.

Ceiling drapes are eye-catching, especially in a bedroom or living space. They’re known to Tin ceiling tiles Tin ceiling tiles come in all different colors provide a cozy feel and are appropriate for any (most being metallic), patterns, and textures age. With all of the available color and fabric that help to add flair to the whole room. If you combinations, you can purchase ceiling drapes can’t find the right color for you, they can be that are great for children’s rooms or mature painted to match your existing home decor. It’s adult rooms. Children’s ceiling drapes are usualso good to know that a stylish appearance ally bright and colorful, while adult ceiling isn’t all tin ceiling tiles have going for them. drapes are usually more on the neutral side, but They’re also moisture resistant, fire resistant, this could depend on the room’s existing color and require minimal dusting, and because and decor. they’re so easy to install, they’re one of the best Paint ways to cover existing imperfections on your ceiling.

Last but not least, and not always the most obvious, paint. While it’s true the majority of Decorative ceilings Decorative ceilings have the ability to households have painted ceilings, it’s likely change the whole look and feel of a room. Spe- that most of them are plain. Instead of a simple cific ones will even make the room feel larger white one, there are numerous ways to paint than before, as well as allow more light to shine your ceilings that will make them pop. One through. The different types of decorative ceil- way to do this is by making the ceiling your acings include dome ceilings (perfect for hanging cent wall. Paint your walls a neutral color and chandeliers), cove ceilings, groin vault ceilings, then paint your ceiling a bold color, one that matches an item or a piece of furniture in that and more.

Decorative ceilings are highly compatible room.

Another way is by extending the paint with entryways, master bathrooms above the bath, kitchens, bedrooms, and basically any from the walls to the ceiling. For example, you can paint the bottom half of your walls other room. solid and the top half of your walls striped, then take those stripes and follow through Lighting across the ceiling.

Finally, you can choose to paint a design.

Almost anything can be decorated, even lights. From crystal chandeliers to ceiling me- Depending on the room, examples include dallions, there’s plenty to do to dress up those chevron, sponge paint, and clouds.

NORTHERN EXPOSURE. International service residence operator Ascott Limited recently set

up house in the northern part of Manila. Citadines Millennium Ortigas, aptly named since it is just a few steps away from Ortigas’ corporate row, offers 293 contemporary apartments that cater to young business executives and couples on holiday exploring the city. It also lays out various choices of units ranging from studio to one-, two- and three-bedroom serviced units. Citadines Millennium Ortigas Manila is managed by The Ascott Limited. At the project’s launch were (second from right) Arthur Gindap, regional general manager for Philippines and Thailand; (middle) Elsie Chua, CEO and President of CDC Holdings; (from left) Glenn Magalang, residence manager of Citadines Millennium Ortigas; Richie Sayson-Cua, senior manager; and Charlene Chua, COO and SVP for sales and marketing of CDC Holdings.

Even doing one room’s ceiling can make a difference.

Midea Gas Ranges:

Surprisingly withstanding the test of Filipino-style cooking

WHENEVER Filipinos are preparing for a big celebration, whether it is for birthdays, fiestas or family reunions, the kitchen sure gets so busy with all the cooking that needs to be done. All hands are on deck as all available chopping boards are brought out and batches of ingredients go through knives before getting them in the pots. While some ingredients are boiled or steamed before they are combined with the other ingredients to complete the dish, there are some that gets the heat treatment by frying, grilling, or roasting. This is how Filipinos do their feasts as one big community or one big family, helping each other, and then finally bonding over the dishes that they labored for.

A lot of kitchen appliances get battered every time there is a big feast coming up, especially the gas stoves and ranges, because they catch all the mess from pots dripping with sauces that usually get caked on the surfaces. This could rust the body or some other parts of the stove and eventually affect its performance and eventually cause it to become unusable.

The world’s leading manufacturer of consumer appliances, Midea understands the nature of how serious Filipinos are when it comes to cooking meals for their feasts. The varied culinary influences the country got from the Chinese, Malay, Spanish and other contemporary cuisines has kept the Filipinos’ passion for cooking burning bright, as some age-old traditions are being passed down, rediscovered, and reinvented by the younger generation.

Younger families who trace their roots from far-flung provinces are bringing in their family’s tradition to their very own homes, where there might be not enough open space for a fire pit for roasting and

grilling, or those big and heavy gas ranges that could fire up a big wok and take in enough volume of food enough for a good portion of the family clan or barangay.

Luckily, these young generations of families could still continue to enjoy and pass on further their family’s great recipes with Midea’s newest lineup of gas ranges that are specially designed to surprisingly withstand the test of Filipino cooking.

They have three models, two of which has an oven volume of 58L, while the other has a bigger one with 65L, each of which could accommodate 4 pans and pots cooking simultaneously. These sizes are more than enough to take in big batches of liempo or fish to grill, or a big slab of pork belly, rolled into a porchetta stuffed with tanglad and other ingredients that makes a lechon flavorful.

The 65L model has its own thermostat, which makes it easier for any home chef to control the temperature in the oven and serve only the best home-cooked Pinoy favorites.

It could even function as a rotisserie, so that it could cook any kind of meat evenly and perfectly. And with its tempered glass lid, monitoring your culinary specialty with the

gas range door closed is a breeze. While all of the models are using SBT burners to make every cooking experience safe, the 65L model even has a flame failure device to keep gas from building up within the appliance. These features do not only assure the safety of everyone and getting every family member involved and to bond in the kitchen, they also enable Midea’s gas ranges to be handed down to the next generation.

Cooking in large volumes and very frequently could lead to a burnout, with gas tanks running out of fumes to keep you going. One of the 58L models has a hot plate where it uses electricity to heat up the pans and allows you to cook. This could be helpful in keeping the whole kitchen running, even if it is just one stove cooking and everyone is taking a quick break to wait for an LPG refill or replenishment.

After everything is done and everyone in the family, friends, or guests are satisfied with the feast, cleaning up the Midea’s gas ranges is absolutely friendly because its body is made out of tough stainless steel.

Midea is also confident in giving their customers a 2-year warranty on parts and labor along with a 5-year warranty on burners. This could only mean that Midea’s lineup of gas ranges are there to stay in the kitchen for a very long time, dealing with more hard core cooking, Filipino-style for the years to come. With that much time, another younger generation of family members will be ready to take on the family tradition and hopefully pass on the cooking torch as well.

For more information on Midea’s products check out their website at http:// midea.com.ph and Facebook page https:// www.facebook.com/MideaPhilippines.

Joel D. Lacsamana, Editor jdlacsamana@gmail.com

C4

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2017

ALL IN THE BRAND. This two-storey house at Ville De Soleil in Dasmarinas, Cavite uses genuine HardieFlex fiber cement boards.

Protecting your dream house

F

OR many people, building a house happens once in a lifetime. The term “dream house” has a deep meaning for them. It is a long-term investment, which is why first-time builders make sure the structure will last a long time. Sound planning, proper construction procedures, and using the best building materials are a must.

SPECIAL EDITION GIORGIO ARMANI SHARES THE SECRETS

TO HIS SUCCESSFUL INTERIOR DESIGN PROJECTS

G

ETTING Giorgio Armani to design a residential project’s interiors is no easy task. So when his group in Armani/ Casa announced that they were coming to Manila, Philippines by way of the luxury residential development Century Spire, many were curious to know how this was achieved.

“I’m interested in the dialogue between two companies that have different “languages”: that of a rigorous Armani style and the unpredictable style of architecture called “deconstructive”, with shapes that seem to break the rules.

I also find it very interesting that this dialogue takes place in an emerging and promising context like the Philippines,” Armani said.

StAr ArchitectS Only a few architects all over the world are considered stars or starchitects in the design parlance. They enhance cityscapes, create destinations, and help shape them into centers of global importance.

Historically, Giorgio Armani has worked with the world’s starchitects: Pei Cobb Freed in

Rising in Century City, Makati, Century Spire is developed by Century Properties Group, interior designed by Armani Casa, and with no less than Studio Daniel Libeskind at the helm of architectural design.

India, Cesar Pelli in Miami and Skidmore, Owings & Merill in Dubai.

This international heritage of getting only the best continues with Daniel Libeskind with Century Spire. Beyond his prizewinning masterplan of the Ground Zero in New York City, Libeskind has amassed a body of work that includes the Reflections at Keppel Bay in Singapore, the Jewish Museum in Berlin and the Run Run Shaw Creative Media Center in Hong Kong among many other masterpices. He has been asked to work on buildings built with a vision to become landmark projects.

A reputAble developer Giorgio Armani, through the Armani/Casa Interior Design Studio, has partnered with the best developers in various locations. For its Miami, Florida project, it tied up with Dezer Development, a firm that specializes in codeveloping luxury high rise residential and condo-hotel developments with marquee lifestyle brands. Armani/Casa also partnered with the Lodha Group, Mumbai’s largest and developer of premium towers for The World One project.

In the Philippines, Armani/Casa partnered with the publicly listed firm Century Properties Group, developer of some of the country’s most prominent luxury and branded towers.

The company continues to contribute to the transformation of Metro Manila into a cosmopolitan city center with such illustrious projects as Century Spire, which the first Armani/ Casa interior designed residential tower in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia.

“I am very happy with this collaboration with Century Properties and Daniel Libeskind, and I think that the combination of my vision with that of Daniel Libeskind will lead to the creation of a truly special place, characterised by elegance and a unique charm,” Armani said. prime locAtion One need only inspect of Armani/Casa’s string of projects to see how carefully location is factored into the selection process.

Dubai, Milan, Mumbai, and Istanbul—these are some of the locations where Armani/Casa’s Interior Design projects are found. Each city bears an importance in today’s era of globalization and recognized as a cosmopolitan center.

No other point in recent history has Manila been more ripe to be among the world’s best places to live in. The Philippines is after all, in great economic health.

If Dubai has its symbol of strength in the Burj Khalifa, Manila can make a bid for its own share of stellar infrastructure.

••• The Century Spire show flats can be viewed by appointment at the Pacific Star Building in Makati, Philippines. Visit www.centuryspire. com for inquiries.

But some people make the mistake of sacrificing quality for cost. They end up getting cheap alternatives, or get tricked into buying fake building materials. For instance, a few would rather use cheap, substandard plywood, while others actually want to go for the more durable fiber cement boards, but end up getting only imitation boards.

In both cases, there are more disadvantages than benefits.

sidings, fascia, eaves, and flooring there can be recurring costs in terms of repair and replacements, as those products are less durable, and can easily get damaged.

But when the customer buys products that will last longer and perform better, he saves more in the long run.

Products like genuine HardieFlex® fiber cement boards by James Hardie do not need constant repairs or replacement (when installed and maintained correctly) since they are resistant to moisture damage, termites, Cheap vs. cost efficient When plywood, or fake fiber cement impact, and rotting. That’s being cost-efboards are used for interior walls, ceilings, ficient.

COMMUNITY LIVING IN SAN JUAN. Space, quality of life, and price. San Miguel Properties Inc., the real estate arm of San Miguel Corporation, believes these issues are squarely addressed by its newest residential development in San Juan City, Dover Hill. A townhouse community built and managed like a condo development, it affords homeowners generous floor areas and highend amenities located in a prime suburb. Dover Hill has 93 multi-level, three-to-five bedroom units. Each home offers a generous floor area—ranging from 202.6 square meters to 355 square meters.To date, only a handful of units at Dover Hill remain available. It’s show suite is at Unit 72, Dover Hill, Mabini Street, Brgy. Addition Hills, San Juan City.

M

ASBATE is acknowledged as the country’s cowboyland and “Rodeo Capital” by virtue of its vast cattle ranches and the telltale cowboys who tame the herd. This week, it’s sizzling once again with Texan-themed adventure with the annual Rodeo Masbateño Festival as cowboys and cowgirls from all over the country converge in the provincial capital to show off their skills such as lassoing, bull riding, whipping and carambola, among others.

The much-awaited event was the Cattle Drive on April 19 with scores of cows let loose in the streets of the city, and herded back by the cowboys. Cattle Horse Riding Team Penning Competition where ranch and school-based teams outdo one another with the skills, which have made them the stuff of legend followed.

A trade fair, livestock display and auction, street barn dance, and photo competition of Masbate’s sights and sounds spice up the festival.

Meanwhile, establishments have been jazzed up as Western salons blaring cowboy music with horsemen galloping around.

Organized by the Rodeo Masbateño Inc., the event is supported by the Masbate Provincial Government, Masbate City Government, Department of Tourism Region 5 and Filminera Resources Corporation.

Spectators feel the fever by dressing up in plaid long sleeves, leather vests, jeans, boots and Western-style wide brimmed hats.

Visitors can tour the sprawling cattle ranches where they can be cowboys even for a few fleeting moments by learning to ride a horse, lasso a cow, and other skills of the trade.

According to Masbate Vice Governor Jo Kristine Revil, tourism’s prime mover in the province is the Masbateños’ unique way of luring visitors to the province’s country ranch lifestyle as well as their best-kept natural wonders.

Turn to D2

COWBOYLAND.

Cowboys and cowgirls from all over the country converge in Masbate to show off their bull riding skills, among others, during the annual Rodeo Masbateno Festival.

Mark Arvin Santiago

Life TRAVEL AND LEISURE

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2017

D1

RIDE LIKE A COWBOY in Masbate Barn Dance (By Fr. Paolo Cervantes) and Cattle Drive (By Ivan Paolo Baldovino)

Establishments designed as Western-style saloons

Life

D2

SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2017 isahred@gmail.com

Slum tourism, anyone?

MERCURY RISING

BY BOB ZOZOBRADO

A

T LUNCH during a recent Tourism Forum, I was seated right next to a comely lady who gave me her business card that had “Smokey Tours” on it. Curious, I asked her what kind of tours she was promoting. “Slum Tourism” was her reply. I almost fell off my seat, with the thunderous question “What?” pounding in my head! I mean, why? Why would anybody want to go to the slums?

Well, Juliette Kwee, a Dutch national, founder of Smokey Tours and board member of World Experience Philippines, a Filipino NGO established in 2014, was kind enough to educate me on something I knew nothing about. She got the idea of putting up Slum Tours to make people socially aware of issues that our country faces and the individual issues that our slum residents face.

She also wanted to give livelihood opportunities to the slum dwellers through these tours as some are trained to speak English to become the Tour Leaders for the tour in their respective communities.

More importantly, the income from such tours is used to create projects for the people living in those slums.

Most of the tourists who join Smokey Tours come from Europe, with the bulk from Netherlands, where Juliette is from. The tour also attracts Asians, mostly from Japan. They also have participants from Australia, the USA, and from different parts of our country.

The nagging question I still had in my mind was—what would these people look for in these Slum Tours?

Juliette says the tour participants are feel of their living conditions. Particicurious about the realities of life outside pants are also given the chance to ride the developed urban areas. They enjoy a jeepney and a tricycle, both of which engaging in conversation the residents are part of the tour itinerary, bringing in these communities and consider their tourists to specific areas, some of which slum experience most valuable during are not served by asphalted roads. Of their visit to our country, as they feel course, a lot of walking is expected in these tours. very accomPar ticipants plished having are reminded of shared their the very strict time, energy NO CAMERA and money Policy as they with these poor A woman turns to her “try to be as people. husband on their silver less intrusive The Tour’s marketing flyer wedding anniversary and says, as possible… to minimize is quite engag“Darling, will you still love me any discoming: “Visit the when my hair turns grey?” Her fort the tours slums…and dishusband replies, “Why not? can cause the cover the resillocals.” They iency of the resiI stuck with you through the are also warned dents making other six shades.” that some areas use of their limcould be muddy ited resources to and that closed survive. Experience and understand…their livelihood, shoes should be worn even if the agency battling produce from pollution…stroll will provide them with rain boots. The on alleys and see residents in their hum- three-hour tour costs only P950, withble dwellings, overcoming the challenge out meals, but includes the fare for jeepof protracted access to water and electric- ney and tricycle.

Juliette’s Slum Tours go daily and take ity…managing to keep their enthusiasm, in spite of tomorrow’s uncertainties.” participants to Smokey Mountain, HapThe highlights of Juliette’s Smokey pyLand and Estero de Vitas in Tondo, Tours allow participants an insight into and the biggest concentration of slum the lives of slum fishermen and the dwellers at the BASECO compound, battles they face because of pollution. also in Tondo. During the high season, Guests are also shown how charcoal is the Tours average 10 participants, but made from driftwood, and they walk this goes down to three during the low through the locals’ houses and get the season. Much to my surprise, I learned

YOUR SATURDAY CHUCKLE

A foreign tourist interacts with children in the slum area

that similar tours are also available in India (particularly Mumbai), Indonesia and Brazil.

This laudable project of World Experience Philippines certainly deserves a commendation because it showcases a workable and profitable facet of Sustainable Tourism, and gives interested participants another perspective of the lower stratum of life in a Third World country.

More information on Smokey Tours may be obtained from the office of World Experience Philippines, located at the Art

Gallery Sining Kamalig, Upper Ground Floor, Ali Mall or through (02) 622-1325, 0917-578-5398 or info@smokeytours. com www.smokeytours.com With Smokey Tours allowing visitors to do the rounds of our slums, I can now proudly say that, indeed, the Philippines has a wealth of 7,107 reasons to win tourists over. Our Tourism drumbeaters should continue to proclaim, “It’s More Fun…” in the slums?

For feedback, I’m at bobzozobrado@gmail.com Slum dwellers, shown here with the Tour Guide and a tourist (standing, center), benefit from these tours which augment their economic status, as they are taught livelihood skills

Very often, children are given money and food by tour participants

Ride...

From D1

She said beyond Masbate’s “Wild Wild West” image, the province is an exciting travel frontier, especially for beach bums and nature lovers.

Visitors can explore Masbate’s glistening shores and crystal-clear waters.

Just a few minutes from the city is Buntod Sandbar, a 251hectare marine reef sanctuary, which boasts a 200-meter stretch of white sand and mangrove forest. It is an awardee of the Para El Mar Best Marine Sanctuary by the Marine Science Network.

In Balud town, Palani Beach, a wide cove in a sleepy shore, reminds visitors of Boracay before it became too commercialized. With only a handful of resorts, visitors can play ball games, go rafting, row a dug-out canoe, or idly laze on the cabanas to gaze at the sunset.

Along the way is Fazenda de Esperanza in Milagros town, an agricultural retreat and sanctuary for victims of substance abuse preparing reintegration into society. The place means “farm of hope”. This is a visually refreshing pitstop with the undulating mountain ranges in the background like pastoral Alpine images.

Cool off with flavored cow’s milk or take home organic farm produce and native souvenirs to help fund the institution.

In a secluded point of Dimasalang town is Porta Vega, which offers an unparalleled stunning view of the dusk and moonrise in a mile-long stretch of uninhabited fine sand beach.

If you can’t get enough of the sea and sand, hie off to nearby Ticao Island whose iconic spot is the postcard pretty Catandayagan Falls, which emanates from a cliff and drops directly to the sea.

Burubangcaso Islet has talcum fine sand, crystalline water, and a huge monolithic rock, and is among the chain of islands you can almost call your own.

Tucked in Ticao’s northern portion is Halea Nature Park, a hidden placid cove teeming with marine life. Named after a mythical character of Bicol folklore, the marine sanctuary is framed beautifully by limestone rocks and patches of sleepy shores.

On the other side of the island is the Manta Bowl of Ticao Pass, habitat of the manta rays and where the butandings (whale sharks), the world’s biggest fishes, occasionally stray from their feeding grounds in Donsol, Sorsogon. Go scuba diving at the Ticao Island Resort and foray into the world of these amazing underwater creatures.

The sub province of Burias Island is Masbate’s top tourist drawer with its treasure trove of surprises—the awesome rock island of Animasola which is punctuated by a powdery beach and a crystalline natural pool.

This is Masbate—a mesmerizing blend of cowboys and beaches.

New Disney Explorers opens on April 30 AT DISNEY Explorers Lodge, guests are inspired to explore and dream as they are immersed in the adventures of intrepid explorers, with the motto “ad explorare et somniare” (to explore and dream). The seven-story Disney Explorers Lodge has 750 hotel rooms, each featuring an open sea view or a landscape view of one of the four lush themed gardens that exemplify the cultures of Asia, South America, Africa and Oceania.

Enfolding the four wings of the hotel, these gardens are all named after characters from beloved Disney and Disney•Pixar animated films. Kevin Garden, which has a South American theme, is named after the giant bird in Up. The Little Squirt Garden

of Oceania celebrates the playful sea turtle from Finding Nemo. Named after the baby elephant from The Jungle Book, the Hathi Jr. Garden puts guests in the heart of Asia. The Rafiki Garden, which has an African Savannah theme, is named after the wise mandrill from The Lion King.

Guests can also revel in the spirit of adventure by gazing into the Dreamer’s Spring or take a dip in the outdoor Rain Drop Pool.

“Hong Kong Disneyland is committed to investing in new offerings for our guests.

Disney Explorers Lodge is not only a fantastic getaway for Disney guests, it’s also a one-of-a-kind hotel experience for those visiting the cosmopolitan city of Hong Kong,”

said Samuel Lau, executive vice president and managing director of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. “We can’t wait to share all the fun found in the four gardens, all-new restaurants and themed rooms. The best part is, these exotic adventures are just a stone’s throw from downtown, making it convenient for anyone seeking high-quality accommodation with a dash of Disney magic.”

With the addition of the new 750-room hotel, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort now has a grand total of 1,750 hotel rooms. The new hotel and all the amazing entertainment in the park make Hong Kong Disneyland Resort an even more enriched and complete getaway destination.

The seven-story Disney Explorers Lodge has 750 rooms, each featuring an open sea view or landscape view of the four lush themed gardens

SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2017

Film commission accepts entries to short film competition

Tom Hanks (left) as head of an Internet corporation and Emma Watson (right) as a tech worker in the sci-fi thriller "The Circle"

Emma Watson, Tom Hanks

T

IN MODERN THRILLER

OM Hanks and Emma Watson star in The Circle set in the not-too-distant future where privacy becomes criminal and we are forced to confront ourselves on the price we have to pay for knowledge.

In the future, would you be a better version of yourself if you knew you were being watched 24 hours a day? What would the implications be of a transparent society? There

are people that we want to be transparent— our celebrities, our criminals—for our own voyeuristic pleasure, or our safety – and others of whom we feel entitled to demand their transparency—our elected officials, our law enforcement. Where is the line? The concept of totalitarianism is historically thought of as a construct that would be forced upon us—but what if we are complicit, even unwittingly, in our own oppression?

When Mae (Emma Watson) is hired to work for The Circle, the world’s largest and most powerful tech and social media company, she sees it as the opportunity of a lifetime. As she rises through

the ranks, she is encouraged by the company’s charismatic founder, Eamon Bailey (Tom Hanks), to engage in a groundbreaking experiment that pushes the boundaries of privacy, ethics, and ultimately her personal freedom. Her participation in the experiment, and her every decision begin to affect the lives and future of her friends, family and that of humanity.

The film also stars John Boyega and Patton Oswalt as the company’s other founders. Bill Paxton and Glenne Headly play Mae’s parents.

Karen Gillan plays Annie, Mae’s best The Circle opens on May 3 in cinemas from Pioneer Films.

THE search is on for the Quezon City Film Development Commission’s (QCFDC) new batch of entries for its short film screenplay contest.

Quezon City Experience (QCX) is the official short film category of the Quezon City International Film Festival (QCinema), which is now on its fifth year.

In the competition, eight short film directors will receive a production grant worth P100,000 with ownership of film rights.

To join, filmmakers should submit a completed QCX entry form, synopsis, director’s statement and screenplay, director’s profile, and a portfolio of sample works in DVD format.

Proposed entries must be in the form of narrative fiction. The total running time of completed film output with opening and closing credits must not exceed 20 minutes.

Original literary sources, music materials, and film footages must have proper clearance from respective copyright owners before they can be used in any part of the movie.

The film must have its Philippine premiere at QCinema 2017. The rights for the final product belong to the filmmaker. Nonetheless, QCFDC, as the executive producer, reserves the right to screen it for the whole duration of QCinema 2017 and in other selected events after the festival screenings.

Entries must be submitted to the QCinema Secretariat at the following address: Unit 207, PM Apartments, #24 Matalino St., Barangay Central, Quezon City 1100.

For more information, call (02) 9214501 local 20 or 09164353681 or send an email tofestival@ qcinema.ph.

British director in PH to produce children’s TV series BAFTA-AWARD winning British filmmaker Craig Lines, who has been in film production for more than two decades, has embarked on directing TV shows in the Philippines to be shown on Channel HUE. A veteran in all aspects of filmmaking, mainly directing awardwinning prime-time British television drama series and writing, producing and directing many medium length and short films, which have had theatrical releases, the two-time BAFTA-winning director has also worked on dozens of commercials, corporate programmes and documentaries.

The 57-year-old, vegetarian filmmaker, born and raised in Wallsend, United Kingdom, has been residing in the country and has recently completed a two-month assignment as Fellow in Film Making at the De La Salle College of Saint Benilde lecturing on film writing, storyboard and film making. Presently working with Boris McGooligan Films, Lines received an Honorary Degree in Fine Arts from the University of Sunderland.

Lines is a full member of the Directors Guild of Great Britain and the Association of Motion Picture Sound and Institute of Professional Sound since 1989. His experience with sound began with music production and recording and live sound operation led becoming a freelance film and video sound recordist/production mixer with involvement in sound design and post-production. He has since achieved many credits as a film maker and director which gave him a unique knowledge of the requirements of sound from the perspective of the director and of the needs of production. In addition, Lines owns and operates an extensive range of up to date, Winner of the BAFTA Children’s Award and Best Drama Tracy Beaker Returns in 2010, Lines has also won from the Royal Television Society Awards and most recently a Best Feature Film Award for Train Station at the 2016 Los Angeles Diversity Film Festival, Kosova and Kansas International Film Festivals. Other awards include Festival Awards, Dance Magazine Award, Poetry in Film Bronze Award, Best SOAP Award and SMF Best Short Film Award.

Lines’ body of work on television include Emmerdale, Byker Grove, Doctors, Bad Girls, Coronation Street, Footballers’ Wives, No Going Back, Grange Hill, Casualty, Tracy Beaker Returns, The Dumping Ground, Young Dracula and Hollyoaks that lasted 55 episodes from 1997 to 2006.

In his social media posts, Lines said “My speciality is directing drama and films of all genres and budgets. I have had a significant amount of experience in developing and directing TV series, both in the UK and abroad. I worked in Spain for one year directing a highly

successful series Is Harry on the Boat?, and for one year, I was brought in to develop and direct a major European TV series based in Romania. I don’t agree that there are limitations of creativity due to unforgiving schedules and moderate budgets and I always keep my work stylish, creative and high quality despite any constraints,” Lines said.

Lines, who worked with PHAB children and adults in drama groups and film making, finished developing a series of children’s programs in the Philippines since moving to the country in December. Apart from his passion for children projects, he also helps promote animal welfare causes.

Find out more about Craig Lines’ work and upcoming projects and interested parties may contact Craig Lines Films for collaborations.

Eton B. Concepcion

British filmmaker and BAFTA awardee Craig Lines during a recent interview with local press

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Saturday, April 22, 2017

ACROSS 1 1040 or W-2 5 Marshy tract 10 Hearty enjoyment 14 Essay byline 15 Fragrant perennial 16 Kauai neighbor 17 27th U.S. President 18 Soft purple 19 Beat soundly 20 Rapport 22 The eyes have them 24 “Mona Lisa” crooner 25 Ancient colonnade 26 Shows disdain 29 Gift for Dad (2 wds.)

33 Yielded to pressure 34 Skinny 36 “I” trouble 37 Tooth-puller’s org.

38 Due for payment 39 Dart-thrower’s quaff 40 Casserole cover 41 Balance 42 Pool shot 44 Come before

47 Horned animals 48 Like the Gobi 49 Always, to Keats 50 Grasp 53 Some poker players 58 Unwanted guest 59 — -ski wear 61 Circle size 62 Proof word 63 Ms. Witherspoon 64 Chimed 65 Pullovers 66 Went off-course 67 Singer James DOWN 1 Goat cheese 2 Viking name 3 Jazzy refrain 4 Afternoon show 5 Divides 6 Iota 7 Treaty signer 8 Mauna — 9 Stirring up the emotions 10 Horoscope basis 11 What the walls have?

12 Elisabeth of “Soapdish” 13 Popcorn buys 21 Ointment of old 23 Unhatched fish

25 Be sparing 26 Sell hot tickets 27 Low point 28 Hem and haw 30 Discover 31 Domed residence 32 Nursery rhymes 34 Jacket choice 35 What’s- — -name 38 Nothing special 42 White-hat wearer 43 Ticket price

45 Antique brooches 46 Prior to 47 Got more out of 50 Foster a felon 51 Apple remnant 52 Whim 53 Develop, as a storm 54 — -majeste 55 Livy’s “it was” 56 Budget item 57 L-o-n-g story 60 Potpie veggie

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2017

DAVE BORNEA, 3 OTHERS give ‘Meant To Be’ guys reason to be anxious

I

T SEEMS Addie Raj, Ken Chan, Jak Roberto and Ivan Dorschner need some shaking up, producers of the top-rating prime time drama series Meant To Be decided to throw in four new “yummies” starting next week.

And they are the young handsome former Alyas Robin Hood star Dave Bornea who played Cheri Gil’s son in that series and three others—Vince Vandorpe, Matthias Rhoads, and Carl Cervantes.

The producers are not disclosing what will the new guys in the show will mean to Billie (Barbie Forteza) whose budding romance with one of the four guys she met (Jai, Ando, Yuan,, and Ethan) has yet to bloom.

“They are like the earlier guys, friends who put up a bar that will compete with the bar where Billie found employment,” our source said.

But, whatever, the presence of the new faces can make the series even more thrilling with more “kilig” moments, as the millenials would say.

Of course, this can put the original four boys off and re-think their purpose in life and their relationship with Billie.

But, more than that, the entry of Dave, Vince, Matthias, and Carl means a lot to fans of these four young underutilized talents.

Let it be more fun in Meant To Be! *** On May 21, 2016, Wagayway Concert, a kick off celebration of Imus City’s weeklong annual Wagayway Festival, truly raised the Filipino Flag with so much pride as talented Filipino artists like Rence Lee Rapanot, KZ Tandingan, ABRA and Jovit Baldivino with Imuseño artists hit the stage and attracted some a huge crowd to the Imus Sports Complex.

With this success, and as the crowd roared for more, Infinidad Events Management is up to another wave of Wagayway Concert on May 20 at 70 p.m. with some of the most sought after OPM Bands today, like Ebe Dancel, Silent Sanctuary and SUD. Arnold Lorenzo, Jhun Vinas Bine, and Emil Padem together with Fitness Fusion will perform a special number.

Infinidad Events Management team staged a Battle of the Bands competition, where the Grand Champion would join Wagayway Concert 2 as special performer.

The battle started on March 18 at CityMall Anabu and the grand finals will be on May 13, 7 p.m. at Imus City Plaza.

Part of the proceeds will go to Bahay Pag-ibig at Pag-asa and the Children’s Joy Foundation, Inc. Wagayway Concert 2017 is sponsored by Globe, D&D Custom Guitars, BellPeppers Co.Inc and Dolfenal, with the support of the Rotary Club of Imus, CityMall Anabu and the City of

GLOBE and musical.ly partnered to bring The Caleon Twins to Manila for a one-of-a-kind experience as they meet their fans. With a packed yet exciting schedule, they went from meet- and-greets to school tours, sharing their tips to enjoy the musical.ly app.

Madeleine and Samantha Caleon have been on the musical. ly scene for more than a year, with 1.83 million followers. They also have their own YouTube channel for song covers and challenges, while also maintaining a blog. What sparked their love for musical.ly is the freedom it gives them to express their creativity. On the app, they can sing, dance, act, or do comedy!

“Globe encourages its users to do things differently through our many content partners, and one of the social media channels where they can fully bloom is through the musical.ly app,” shares Issa Cabreira, SVP for Consumer Mobile Businesses.

“It’s definitely an avenue to explore your creative side, and it’s super easy to create short videos.

That is why we love musical.ly,” says Madeleine on musical.ly.

Matthias Rhodes

Carl Cervantes

Vince Vandorpe

ISAH V. RED

Maria Rosa Isabella E. Cuartero and Roel Arcibal flank Batikan Club president Dr. Ferdinand Hebreo de Veyra

Rising actor and GMA Artist Center talent Dave Bornea

Imus, Cavite, with the special participation of Belleza Salon & Spa. Casa Verde Hotel & Events Center is the official residence of the artists and organizers.

For more details and updates, please visit facebook.com/ WagawayConcert, twitter.com/ WagaywayConcert and instragram.com/ WagaywayConcert. *** Kids of Childhaus Manila never cease to give joy to their “mother” especially on his birthday. Last week they surprised him with songs and dance numbers during a small get-together at the shelter to celebrate his natal day.

The World of Gandang Ricky Reyes (TWGRR) host Ricky Reyes makes the most of the wonders of magnesium and would like to help people in addressing their health problems through his Magnesium Wellness & Healing Center in San Juan City. The center also has Ozone Therapy, which makes use of oxygen for cell regeneration and prevention of illnesses. The center also has a blood type diet determination and Naturopathy Healing as well.

Meanwhile, FilHair’s Regional Hair & Make-up Competition goes to Pampanga and the first ever haircutting competition on national TV called “The Hair Cut” will have another finalist this week.

Twins Marivic and Marilu will were given the best solution to their thinning

premier socio-civic club in Rosario, Batangas, is celebrating its 76th anniversary with a Grand Ball and Coronation today at the Don Antonino Luansing Memorial Plaza.

To be crowned as Miss Batikan 2017 is Maria Rosa Isabella E. Cuartero, elder of two of two children of Nestor de Guzman Cuartero of Rosario, Batangas and Maria Cecile Florencio Emboltura of Sampaloc, Manila.

The 22-year-old young lady is a graduate of BA English Language Studies at the University of Santo Tomas. A writer and avid reader, Issa currently works at ABS-CBN Corporation under its film production department’s New Media Group.

Mr. Batikan 2017 Roel Arcibal is all

Samantha also adds that, “People in the musical.ly community are very accepting and everyone supports one another. That said, it’s easy to make new friends. Even though we don’t get to meet in person, it feels like we’ve known each other for a long time already!”

Sparking their musical.ly fame is their cover for a song from the movie Suicide Squad, Sucker for Pain. It got over a million likes, by far their highest liked video.

Along with that, they have favorites such as their cover of Closer by Chainsmokers, and Reflection by Christina Aguilera.

For musers and soon to be musers, here are 5 tips and tricks to create one of a kind musical. ly videos!

Good lighting is key.

For Madeleine, “It helps to have really good lighting, if you don’t have studio lights, you can just stand in front of a window or stand outside to get ample lighting for your musical.ly video.”

Practice your musical.ly before filming it.

Samantha adds, “if you’re recording this for the first time

hair: GRR’s natural wigs.

Try Cryo Hair Therapy to reconstruct and revitalize your hair, SoftWave for dull hair, The Twist for curly ends, and natural wigs for hair loss available in all Gandang Ricky Reyes Salons.

Graduates of the Ricky Reyes Learning Institute (RRLI) will be revisited to find out how they are doing today.

Tune in to The World of Gandang Ricky Reyes (TWGRR) 9-10 a.m. on GMA News TV today. *** “Writing That Works” and “Photography That Gets Published” workshops will conducted by Chelo Banal-Formoso and Mandy Navasero, respectively.

Day 1, consisting of lectures and actual exercises, will be held on April 27 at Two Gardens in Silang, Cavite.

Day 2, consisting of sharing and critiques, will be held on May 4 at the LRI Bldg., Rm. 329, LRI Design Plaza, 210 Nicanor Garcia St., Bel Air 2, Makati City.

To sign up, please call 8963208 or +63 995 791 8191 or email luzamandolina@ gmail.com or better yet, drop by LRI Design Plaza.

On May 15, one-day travel photography to Lukban’s PAHIYAS Fiesta. Lunch at Potter Ugu Bigyan. *** The Batikan Club, the oldest existing

TV host and beauty expert Ricky Reyes with the kids of ChildHaus Foundation

Tips from The Caleon Twins

Social media stars Madeleine and Samantha Caleon

of 17 years old, a fresh balikbayan from Nashville, Tennessee, who has settled back to the Philippines with his family.

Roel is the only child of couple Roel Arcibal, Sr. and Brandy Anne Kemp.

He finished Grade 11 at Antioch High School in his previous home state. He dreams of becoming a movie actor.

Dr. Ferdinand Hebreo de Veyra, councilor in Rosario town and member of the board of the Philippine Councilors’ League (Batangas) is this year’s Batikan Club president.

The Batikan Club is an active partner of local government in extending assistance to poor but deserving sectors in town. One of its goals is to continue the scholarship program initiated by previous administrations of the Club.

and you’re not sure of your hand gestures, it might be hard to improvise on the spot. So you have to practice first before filming, both your hand gestures and facial impressions.”

Use trending hashtags!

The Caleon twins also put in a useful tip on the use of hashtags: “musical.ly tends to feature videos under trending hashtags or under different campaigns, people look for trending topics and when they click the hashtag, your video will pop up there. It’s good to ride onto trending hashtags so more people can see your creation.”

Get involved in the musical. ly community.

On building your musical. ly network, Samantha says, “make new friends by commenting and liking posts of other people. It’s a great way of meeting new people and building your network.”

“You can also do duets with fellow musers and do a collaboration of some sort. Not only do you get your profile out there, but you’re also building your musical.ly network,” adds Madeleine.

Be consistent!

“It’s very important to keep posting your musical.ly videos since your followers want to see more everyday. They actually wait for updates so if you don’t update it regularly, they might start to lose interest,” shares Madeleine.

Since the trending topics change weekly, musers will never run out of something to post.

Madeleine and Samantha continue to improve on their craft, and they are learning to dance better to create more fun and inspiring musical.ly videos for their followers to watch.

“Don’t be afraid to do something out of your comfort zone. We were very camera shy, so it was a big step for us. Don’t give up because eventually you will gain more confidence. musical.ly really helped us step out of our shell and gain more confidence in what we do,” shares Samantha.

Get started and do things differently with Globe Prepaid’s musical.ly offers. Text MU5 to get 20MB valid for 2 days, or MU15 to get 100 MB valid for a day to 8080, or get musical.ly for free with GoSurf50!