Manila Standard - 2017 June 01 - Thursday

DUTERTE TAUNTS CLINTON: LOOK WHO’S TALKING

By John Paolo Bencito PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday insisted he was simply being “sarcastic” when he uttered yet another rape joke before soldiers.

He also fired back against former US presidential daughter Chelsea Clinton and cited her father’s illicit affair with a young woman.

“Kagaya ni Chelsea, she slammed me for the rape joke. I was not joking,” Duterte said at the 119th Philippine Navy celebration in Sasa Warf, Davao City.

President Duterte

“I was being sarcastic. You listen to the speech… Sabihin ko sa kanya, when your father, the President of the United States then, was s―ing [Monica] Lewinsky and the girls there in the White House, how did you feel? Did you slam your father?”

Duterte accused Clinton’s youngest daughter of hypocrisy.

“Kaya kayong mga Amerikano, si Chelsea, be careful because you live in a glass house,” Duterte said.

“When President Clinton was f**king Lewinsky, what was your statement or reaction?” Para bang bi-

nubugbog ninyo ako sa kritisismo―ay p―tang ina, iinsultuhin ko rin kayo.”

Lewinsky was a White House intern who admitted to having had what she called an “inappropriate relationship” with US President Bill Clinton from 1995 to 1997. But the news of the Clinton–Lewinsky relationship broke only in January 1998.

Chelsea, who was born in 1980, was only 18 years old when her dad’s misbehavior was exposed.

In the same speech, Duterte accused American soldiers of raping the residents of the countries they were as-

signed to.

“It is a crime actually committed by soldiers, mostly Americans, in Okinawa in Japan. But we never heard of a Filipino,” Duterte said.

“I am just warning them that anything they do, I have to answer for it. But I take responsibility for your kagaguhan. Sarcastic ako magsalita.”

Duterte also brought up the case of transgender woman Jennifer Laude who was killed by US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton.

“You didn’t have to kill the transgender. Sana sinipa na lang,” he said.

Chelsea Clinton

VOL. XXXI • NO. 107 • 4 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

DEFIANT. Troopers walk past Islamic State (IS) graffiti in Marawi City on

May 31, 2017 as fighting between government forces and Muslim militants rages on the ninth day. Government soldiers have killed 89 Maute fighters during more than a week of fighting but the gunmen are still offering strong resistance and holding hostages, the military said. AFP

Maute to kill hostages if attacked, say priests

By Vito Barcelo, John Paolo Bencito and Francisco Tuyay ISLAMIST terrorists who went on a rampage in Marawi City said they would kill more than 240 hostages—including women and children—if the military did not stop its offensive against them immediately, a priest held by the gunmen said

Wednesday.

In a video posted on Facebook, Fr. Teresito Suganob appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte for help.

At the same time, Marawi Bishop Edwin de la Peña said the Maute group, which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist organization, warned him in a phone call Tuesday that they would kill all their Next page

Drugs funding terrorism—Rody Money trail traced to IS-linked lab cop

By John Paolo Bencito and Rey E. Requejo

D

RUG money and not support from the Islamic State is fueling the ongoing terrorist activities by extremist groups in Mindanao, President Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday as he insisted that the situation in the region is already at its critical level after he declared martial law.

SURVIVOR. An evacuated child is carried by a Philippine soldier in Marawi City on on May 31, 2017, as fighting between government forces and the Maute terrorists who went on a rampage killing civilians including women and children rages on the ninth day. AFP

“We allowed drugs to flourish.

So there was a time and until now that the terrorism activities in the Philippines are funded and fueled by drug money. We know there’s not much support coming from ISIS in the Middle East,” the President said.

Duterte said that they were able to intercept transactions between foreign terrorists and their local counterparts, including that of Police Supt. Maria Cristina Nobleza, who is said to be romantically linked to a member of the Abu Sayyaf.

Duterte said Nobleza, who was arrested in Bohol while attempting to rescue a member of the Abu Sayyaf who was on the run at the time, had been a recipient of “a huge amount” of drug money.

Duterte made these allegations as lawmakers said a company that

was processing health certifications of Kuwait-bound Filipino workers was also funding the Maute terrorist group.

Hussein Al-Dhafiri, a suspected Islamic State member who was arrested in Taguig in March and deported back to Kuwait in April, owns the Winston Q8 clinic reportedly supporting the ISIS threats in the country.

“Before the [Kuwait] embassy considers an applicant, the physical test should be certified by a certain clinic. The clinic is Winston Q8. Apparently, one of the owners of this company is involved with ISIS,” House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez said in a press conference.

“They collect P5,483 as [fee for the] clearing of medical certifications, plus P4,000 courier fee.

P240 million a month, operating Next page

NDF peace Peace corridor created consultants to pave way for relief face arrest By John Paolo Bencito

By F. Pearl A. Gajunera DAVAO CITY―President Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday he will order the arrest of National Democratic Front consultants if the New People’s Army intensifies its offensives against the government while martial law is in effect in Mindanao.

He warned the members of the Communist Party of the Philippines they will face the consequences if they intensify their offensives against the government while it is fighting the Maute Group in Marawi City.

Duterte said he will order the arrest of the released political prisoners if the rebels decide to press on with their attacks while the government is working to free Marawi City from the IS believer Maute group.

He said he had already tried to talk to the communist leaders and even released their detained members who were sick and those who were needed in the peace negotiation.

“If there is a breakdown of the peace and order here because of the participation of the communists Next page

A “PEACE CORRIDOR” will be established by the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front so that the rebel group can help in the rescue and humanitarian operations for civilians still trapped by fighting in Marawi City, an official said Wednesday.

Eleven towns in Lanao del Sur,

including the city of Marawi, Marantao, Balindong, Tugaya, Bacolod Kalawi, Madalum, Ganassi, Pualas, Calanogas, and Malabang will be secured jointly by government forces and the MILF following earlier calls from President Rodrigo Duterte for Moro groups to help the government fight terrorist groups, said Irene Next page

TO THE RESCUE. Rescue workers are escorted by Philippine soldiers in their respective vehicles as smoke

from burning houses rises in the background in Marawi City on May 31, 2017. Fighting between government forces and Maute militants rages on the ninth day. AFP

DND chief: Martial law Police tank ‘imperative’ to end crisis taken over

By John Paolo Bencito, Maricel V. Cruz and Macon R. Araneta

HUMANITARIAN END. President Rodrigo Duterte approved the setting up of a ‘peace corridor’ spearheaded by the implementing panels of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front spanning 11 towns in Lanao del Sur to hasten the rescue and humanitarian operations for civilians still trapped in the conflict zone in Marawi City. OPAPP

DEFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana confirmed telling senators that security forces can contain the Maute terrorist group in Marawi City even without martial law, but clarified that President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of military rule is still necessary to

address security threats in the entirety of Mindanao.

In a statement on Wednesday, Lorenzana emphasized that martial law is “imperative to once and for all address security concerns in the entire Mindanao immediately and decisively.”

“The situation currently being dealt with by state security forces goes beyond Marawi City.

Next page

by terrorists

By John Paolo Bencito and Florante S. Solmerin PHILIPPINE National Police chief Ronald Dela Rosa says the Maute group is in possession of a battle tank owned by the police.

“That’s true. It’s an object of recovery. We need to recover that,” Dela Rosa told reporters in Marawi Next page City on Tuesday.

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News

THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Aussie pedophiles warned A

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

USTRALIA has warned child sex offenders that it will cancel their passports to prevent them from traveling to vulnerable countries such as the Philippines, Australian ambassador Amanda Gorely said.

In relaying the Australian government’s new policy, Gorely said that cancelling the passports of an estimated 20,000 child sex

offenders from their country is in line with their efforts to impose tougher laws against child trafficking or sex tourism.

“Today the Coalition Government announced it will introduce tough new laws which will prevent registered child sex offenders from traveling overseas,” a release posted at the website of Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said.

There are estimated 20,000 registered child sex offenders in Australia, 800 of which were registered child sex offenders who have traveled overseas in 2016 and more than one third

have left without permission.

Gorely said these child sex offenders have already served their sentences but are subject to supervision and reporting obligations due to their ongoing risk to the Philippines and other vulnerable countries.

The Australian government admitted that the existing passport legislation was not working.

Although it didn’t discuss the details, the Australian government said that with the new legis-

lation it still impose higher standards to prevent child sex offenders from fleeing to vulnerable countries where they are out of sight and reach of Australian law.

Australia also assured the country that it will also work with States and Territory law enforcement agencies to implement the new measures to bring offenders to justice.

“We acknowledge the close and long-held interest Victorian Senator Derryn Hinch has in developing these reforms,” Bishop said.

DoJ starts probe of PPI class suit

By Rey E. Requejo THE Department of Justice has started its preliminary investigation on the criminal complaint filed by 470 aggrieved plan holders against officials of Abundance Providers and Entrepreneurs Corp., formerly Pacific Plans Inc. The DoJ panel composed of Senior Assistant Prosecutor Ma. Christina G. Juanson and Assistant Prosecutor Ann S. Parong conducted the first hearing on the complaints filed by distressed plan holders against the board and executives of APEC. The complainants accused 36 members of the board of the then-Pacific Plans, and now APEC, with 840 counts of “syndicated estafa by means of deceit” and 840 counts of “syndicated estafa by abuse of confidence.”

The respondents were not present during the first preliminary investigation hearing, but their lawyers were given copy of the complaint and annexes.

The complainants alleged that the company ran off with their investment.

“Ito po ang mga direktor ng kompanya na pasalin salin ng one year, na nahubaran ng 20 billion to 3 billion na lang ang natira ng asset ng kompanya.

Ang resulta, itong mga almost 500 complainants ay natakbuhan ng kanilang investment,”

Drugs...

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for a period of eight months.

More or less they have P1 billion in cash,” ACTS-OFW Party-List Aniceto Bertiz said.

Military intelligence said AlDhafiri’s wife Rahaf Zina is the widow of Abu Jandal Al-Kuwaiti, the second highest ISIS leader in Syria who was earlier killed in combat. She then remarried within the terror group.

Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa had earlier said the Maute group, which besieged Marawi City in Lanao del Sur since last week, was known to have “protected” drug lords as early as last year.

“Even before July 1, when I assumed my post and announced that drug lords should surrender, we received information that a majority of drug lords here in Metro Manila, Luzon and Visayas went to Marawi to hold a ‘drug summit.’ And they were protected by the Maute group and narco-politicians,” Dela Rosa said earlier this week.

Dela Rosa alleged “mutual” protection and support between the Maute group and narcopoliticians.

“They are all subject to our operations in this martial law period,” Dela Rosa said.

Defending his declaration of martial law, Duterte said that security forces informed him that Mindanao was already at a critical level.

“While they did not say, ‘You go ahead, President Duterte.’

They give me sufficient information and I asked them, ‘Are we already in the critical level?’” the President said.

“We are at a delicate stage in Mindanao,” he continued in Filipino, citing what ISIS had done in the Middle East.

In the same speech, Duterte warned that he would suspend the writ of habeas corpus “as a precautionary measure” in

complainants lawyer Joshua Santiago told reporters after the hearing.

(The revolving directors for the company in a year stripped the company of P20 billion, leaving only P3 billion in assets. This resulted in the company running away with the investments put up by the 500 complainants.)

“In June 2004, the PPI unilaterally transferred the assets and liabilities of its pension, memorial, and fixed-value educational plans to a new company, Lifetime Plans. Two months later, GPL holdings bought Lifetime Plans’ stake in PPI. In 2009, Noel Oñante of Zest Air acquired PPI,” the complainants said.

“They were only informed of the takeover through letters sent via mail,” they said, even as they claimed that no explanation was given to them.

“Sometime in [2004], the Department of Finance (DoF), which has supervision over corporate regulators, called for a probe on the series of intercompany transactions that eventually led to the sale of PPI. The company then had almost P17 billion in assets, nearly P3 billion in receivables from installment contracts, and 400,000 plan holders. Yet at the time of the sale, it claimed it had no resources to fund the claims,” the complainant stressed.

Visayas if extremist threats starts to spread in the region.

“That is just a precautionary measure. I don’t think it will happen. I hope it will not happen. But if it does, we must be ready. There is no middle ground here. We are not talking about an ordinary police operation,” he added.

Duterte also gave saluted state forces who died in fighting a “terrible ideology.”

“It does not know anything except to waste human lives.

So I give my salute, my respect to the men and women of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the National Police, my salute and my deepest respect.

And I grieve with the families of those who have lost their lives,” he said.

The minority bloc in the House of Representatives, meanwhile, asked the AntiMoney Laundering Council to use its expertise to find out how terrorist groups like Maute were being funded.

Suarez and Bertiz urged AMLC to investigate the bank transactions of dubious companies to ensure that local terrorist groups would not be at the receiving end of their funds following the Marawi siege.

Also on Wednesday, the Justice department said it will form a panel of prosecutors to handle the cases that will be filed against members of the Maute terrorist group.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said Undersecretary Renante Orceo has been sent to Iligan City to oversee the creation of the panel.

Last week, Aguirre met with prosecutors in Mindanao following the attack in Marawi by the Maute terror group.

Aguirre admitted that he is worried about the safety of the prosecutors as well as judges, especially when cases against members of the Maute group are filed. With Maricel V. Cruz

TOXICITY CHECK. Trade department experts test the toxicity level of school supplies being sold at Divisoria in Manila ahead of the June 5, 2017 school opening. Norman Cruz

Peace...

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Santiago, chairperson of the government’s implementing panel for the Bangsamoro.

“President Duterte approved the idea of creating a ‘peace corridor’ to ensure the safety of the civilians and the delivery of the needed humanitarian aid for the displaced persons in the ongoing armed conflict in Marawi City,” Santiago said.

Santiago, who was designated by Duterte to oversee the humanitarian efforts, said the establishment of a peace corridor was agreed following the meeting with President Duterte, members of the Joint Implementing Panels, and top officials of the MILF on Monday.

Members of the implementing

DND...

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President Duterte’s imposition of martial law aims to put an end to the long-running rebellion in various provinces in the south, as evidenced by the incidents that happened in Zamboanga, Davao, Bohol, Lanao, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-tawi and Maguindanao,” the Defense chief said in a statement.

Lorenzana made the clarification a day after opposition senators told reporters that there is no need to declare martial law in Mindanao as security officials assured them that the Maute group will be neutralized by next week.

He also reiterated the Presi-

Police...

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“But we need to slowly clear Marawi City first to recover it.”

Dela Rosa made his statement even as two Mindanao mayors were stripped of their deputation as peace-and-order authorities, a privilege given to elective local officials, because of their alleged involve-

NDF...

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in the war against the ISIS. If you want to help them, go ahead,” Duterte said.

“But I am warning the leaders whom I have released and who are now talking with my representatives of the government do not attempt to come home. I will arrest all of you and throw you

2 Pinoy sailors killed— coroner SYDNEY, Australia—Two Filipino seamen who mysteriously disappeared or died in separate incidents on a Japanese coal ship in Australian waters were killed, a coroner ruled Wednesday.

In 2012, Cesar Llanto, 42, chief chef on the Sage Sagittarius, vanished as it steamed to Newcastle on Australia’s east coast. Some 15 days later, chief engineer Hector Collado, 55, fell to his death from a deck.

The New South Wales state Coroner’s Court found they were victims of “foul play,” following an 18-month inquest.

“Mr. Llanto was either thrown overboard or killed on the MV Sage Sagittarius and his body disposed of at a later time, by a person or persons unknown,” said coroner Sharon Freund.

Collado’s death was from “multiple injuries which I am satisfied he sustained as a result of being struck over the head by some kind of weapon or instrument by a person or persons unknown and he was either thrown over the handrail outside the storeroom on the second deck or fell over the handrail to his death.”

“In my view it would be an extraordinary coincidence if the person[s] who caused Mr. Llanto’s death were not also responsible for Mr. Collado’s death,” she added.

Less than a month after Collado was killed, a Japanese policeman investigating Llanto’s disappearance was crushed by a conveyor belt while the ship was docked in a Japanese port.

His death was outside of the NSW coroner’s jurisdiction but was a consideration in the investigation of the other men. AFP

panels will meet within the week to formalize the details, she said.

She said the implementing panels would use existing peace mechanisms, particularly the Joint Coordinating Committees on the Cessation of Hostilities, for the establishment of the peace corridor.

“The peace corridor is a secure space where humanitarian groups may evacuate wounded and trapped civilians and retrieve dead bodies for burial,” Santiago said.

“The corridor is also a safe space for goods to reach hungry people in the rural areas whose access to Marawi’s markets have been cut off,” she added.

“Both the government and the MILF implementing panels are strongly committed to work as partners in finding creative ways to address the root causes of vio-

lent conflict in Mindanao at the soonest possible time, starting with the passage of the Bangsamoro enabling law,” Santiago said.

Duterte noted the ongoing efforts to sustain the peace process between the government and the MILF. According to Santiago, the Bangsamoro Transition Commission also briefed the President on the developments in the drafting of the Bangsamoro Basic Law. She said President Duterte emphasized the need to speed up the drafting of the bill so that it can be submitted to Congress in June.

The Education Department on Wednesday said the opening of classes in Marawi City and eight other school districts in Lanao del Sur will be postponed from June 5 to a later date to ensure the safety of teachers and students.

dent’s pronouncements that martial law would solve the country’s long-standing problems.

“As the President has repeatedly said, “if I declare martial law, I’m going to finish all of this,” referring to threats posed

by ISIS-linked local and foreign terrorist groups whose network covers the entire Mindanao,” Lorenzana said.

Duterte placed Mindanao under martial law last week after Islamist extremists went on a rampage amid a botched military operation against Isnilon Hapilon, a top terrorist leader, in Marawi City.

In his speech at Jolo, the President earlier said that he would ignore Supreme Court and Congress as he enforces martial law across Mindanao, saying that he

would only listen to the recommendations of the Armed Forces and the police regarding martial law.

In an earlier interview with reporters upon his arrival from Russia, Lorenzana said that Duterte had thought of declaring martial law as early as November 2016 to combat the Islamic State.

Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri on Wednesday said his colleagues in the Senate minority did not tell the whole story when they held a press conference about Lorenzana’s admission.

“With all due respect to my colleagues in the minority, it was taken out of context. They did not complete Secretary Lorenzana’s answer,” Zubiri told GMA-7 in Filipino.

ment in the illegal drug trade.

“The National Police Commission ordered the withdrawal of the deputation of Sirawai, Zamboanga del Norte Mayor Gamar Ahay Janihim and Clarin, Misamis Occidental Mayor David Navarro,” National Police Commission officer Rogelio Casurao said in a statement on Tuesday.

He said the two were stripped of their deputation after the

commission received information that they were involved in the illegal drug trade.

Dela Rosa said the tank owned by the Special Action Force was carrying reinforcements to the police assigned to the provincial headquarters when it was ambushed and fell into the hands of the Maute group.

“After they got ambushed, the wheels broke,” Dela Rosa said.

hostages if the military offensive against them continues.

“They want a ceasefire and for the military to give them access out of Marawi. Otherwise, they will kill the hostages,” De la Peña said.

A military spokesman said they would accept a surrender by the Maute group members, but refused to give in to any of its conditions.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, the administrator of martial law in Mindanao, ordered the arrest of 125 members of the ISIS-inspired Maute group for rebellion.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, National Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Deputy Director Ferdinand Lavin said Lorenzana issued the arrest order on Monday.

Of the 125 Maute members, Lavin said the government has identified the full names of 95 members while 30 carry aliases.

Lavin said the NBI, as well as the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police will help in the arrest.

In the video, Suganob said the militants were demanding a stop to the military offensive against them for the sake of the “prisoners of war.”

“Mr. President, please consider us,” Suganob said in a cracking voice. “They don’t ask for anything... they just ask that you leave this place peacefully.” With Rio N. Araja

to the IS.” Duterte said if IS prevailed in the Philippines, the communist would not even have a part in the country.

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said they will treat the New People’s Army as common lawless elements.

He made the statement after the CPP announced it would intensify its campaign in Mindanao.

The NDF, however, asked the CPP to withdraw its earlier announcement and said it was prepared to help the government forces put a stop on the terrorism in Mindanao.

Earlier, martial law implementor Gen. Eduardo Año said the military will not take action against the NPA as of the moment and will wait for the result of the peace talks.

On Monday, two NPA mem-

bers were killed in a 40-minute gunfight with the 73rd Infantry Battalion in Matanao, Davao Del Sur, after the rebels burned a 10-wheeler truck in the area.

On the same day, four NPA members surrendered to the military in Compostela Valley Province.

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines, for its part, expressed alarm over Duterte’s pronouncement.

Maute...

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Opinion

THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

Adelle Chua, Editor

Miscommunication

T

HERE was a time when it was difficult to know what exactly was happening.

One had to try really hard to get anything from the media, or official sources. People had to wait for days before any information from critical places could come out.

These days, the opposite is true. Because the flow of information is facile, it is easy to believe we know what is going on even in places we would normally do not have access to.

Unfortunately, it is also easy for ignorance, laziness and downright malice to get the better of those who con-

sume or pass on information to others.

Take the newly appointed assistant secretary for social media, Margaux Uson, who is an influential blogger and social media personality—if the measure of influence were solely the number of followers.

Uson, who said her mandate was to stop the spread of fake news, shared a photo of soldiers kneeling, likely in prayer, at the height of fear and uncertainty over what is happening in Marawi City. The photo was from the page of CinEmotion Digital Films. Uson’s caption: “Let’s pray for our army. Let us also pray for the families left and worried about the condition of their husbands/fathers.”

It turned out that the photo was of

Honduran soldiers. Her explanation: “I did not say that picture was taken from Marawi.... Common sense that it’s a symbolism.” She also challenged the media: “You’re journalists, aren’t you?”

A few days ago, the Philippine News Agency posted a story that claimed 95 out of 105 nations agreed there were no extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. This was another fake story, and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines slammed the government-run PNA for this.

Then again, they must have been inspired by no less than President Rodrigo Duterte, who, in justifying his declaration of martial law in Mindanao, said a town police chief had been stopped by terrorists at a checkpoint

and decapitated then and there.

But Romeo Enriquez, police chief of Malabang town, is still alive.

It is likely no coincidence that the strategic communications office of the Presidential Communications Operations Office was abolished this week because of restructuring in the Palace functions.

This shows anybody can fall prey to this bad habit, or vice.

It is frustrating that those who must show leadership in fighting fake news become, unwittingly or not, agents of it instead. This leaves the people no choice but to step up and become critical consumers of information, especially during these murky, dangerous times.

DUTY CALLS FLORENCIO FIANZA

Heroism amid terror

Saving Mindanao LOWDOWN

JOJO A. ROBLES IT’S our Mindanao, too, right?

So why should the 21 million Filipinos living on the island—and many more who trace their roots there—take offense when people from Manila or other parts of the country think they know better than they do when it comes to what’s right for Mindanao?

As a journalist, I have gone to Mindanao many times. I have been awed by the vast potential of the “Land of Promise,” as the second-largest island has long been called, and I’ve often wondered why that promise has never been fulfilled.

I’ve often asked how such a large part of the country that has been blessed with so many resources has remained so poor and neglected in some respects.

At the same time, I have always been impressed by the hardy

souls who have thrived in Mindanao, even if they have mostly been left to themselves.

But I am convinced now that at least part of the reason why Mindanao has never reached its full potential is that people in the north have always given up on the island at the first sign of trouble. And so Mindanaoans, I think, have developed the attitude that if anyone is going to help them, it will have to be themselves.

The current battle between government forces and the Maute terrorists in Marawi has revived the old controversy about who has the best solution to the long-running violence and strife that have given Mindanao a bad name. In social media, in particular, many people have testified that the people and the government in Manila do not really understand the situation in Mindanao and should allow the first Mindanaoan president, Rodrigo Duterte, to do what he thinks is right, since he is from

the island.

Even the Catholic priest who was videotaped after he was captured and held hostage by the ISinspired Maute terror gang refer-

The history of Mindanao is replete with examples of government quitting on it when the going gets rough. enced this in his statement, most likely made under duress, when he asked Duterte to call off the military offensive to retake the besieged city. Father Chito Sug-

anob said Duterte should order government security forces to withdraw from Marawi because he, of all people, should understand its “history.”

And the history of Mindanao is replete with examples of the central government quitting on it when the going gets rough, because the island seems too far away anyway and takes too much money, effort and even lives to keep under control. Perhaps this is the history of Mindanao that Duterte wants to rewrite, because he, of all presidents in recent memory, seems the most determined to resolve once and for all the problems that have beset it almost from the beginning of the Philippine nation. *** Duterte’s immediate predecessor, Noynoy Aquino, for example, was no different from the presidents who went before him. Aquino’s most memorable involvement in Mindanao was supervising the siege of Zamboanga City after a small band

of members of the Moro National Liberation Front arrived and hoisted the MNLF flag.

Aquino decided to bomb the city almost to rubble, a decision that haunts the government still by way of the people of the once-thriving city who still live in temporary shelters years after the siege. Aquino seemed to have lost interest in Zamboanga after making his point that no one should challenge Manila’s authority—but then, that president was famous for quickly losing interest in many things that did not really concern him personally or resonate with his own experience as a hacendero’s son.

Aquino’s own predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, like Duterte, also declared martial law in Mindanao, albeit in a much-smaller area, the province of Maguindanao. Arroyo made the declaration right after the socalled Maguindanao Massacre, which was really a political dispute gone thoroughly bloody and Turn to A5

AMID the brutality of the fighting in Marawi City, we read about heartwarming stories about the heroism and bravery of people in the face of danger.

The story of that gun shop owner named Farida who is a Muslim and her loyalty to her 13 Christian employees is so extraordinary that even President Duterte should acknowledge it. According to the news, when an armed team from the Maute group threatened to take the Christian employees with them, Farida told them that they have to kill her first before she allows them to take her employees prisoners.

If that is not raw courage, I do not know what is. She then spirited her employees to the safety of Iligan City.

There is also the story of Muslims teaching Christians how to answer questions being asked by the Maute group which saved several Christian lives.

It goes to show that the conflict is not about religion but the ruthless ambitions of a few maladjusted elements of society. This is not the first time that an urban center was taken over by rebel groups fighting the government. This also happened in Jolo in 1974 when the MNLF took over the town and had to be retaken by a massive assault by the Armed Forces. Jolo is much smaller than Marawi City and the fighting a lot different. But although a lot bigger, Marawi City was taken over by an armed group numbering that is much smaller in a surprise assault.

Some observers are saying that it was a failure of intelligence on the part of the police and military that the attack was not monitored and detected earlier. We have seen the AFP score many accomplishments against the Maute group and the Abu Sayyaf in the weeks before Marawi City which might have caused the military to misread the intentions of the Maute group.

The battle in Marawi City is also taking longer than previously estimated because the Maute group has resorted to sniping, necessitating houseto-house clearing operations.

The AFP in addition is very Turn to A5

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Opinion

I BELIEVE that promises, contrary to the popular saying, are meant to be kept rather than broken.

In a civilized society, a commitment is honored by all parties involved—within reasonable circumstances, of course.

This applies to a verbal assurance, a handshake-sealed agreement, and most especially a signed and notarized document.

Imagine how much more serious the responsibility is when one of the parties involved is the Philippine government itself!

Specifically, I refer to the manner in which the Energy Regulatory Commission seems to have forgotten its obligations to a number of renewable energy (RE) companies, which dedicated a substantial amount of time and money to help develop our RE sector. These companies made the investments in good faith, believing that the ERC would keep its end of the deal.

Here is a bit of a background: In one of my previous columns, I explained the significance of the FIT-ALL (Feed In Tariff Allowance) where a small percentage (0.54 percent of the total monthly electric bill) is added in order to help develop the country’s RE industry.

FIT-ALL has in fact hastened the development of RE in other countries. Essentially, it provides a safety net for investors so they can embark on a business they may otherwise find too risky. These investors are thus encouraged to make capital outlays.

RE has already had positive impact in reducing energy prices here in the Philippines. It is estimated that from November 2014 to October 2015, RE projects have directly resulted in around P8.29 billion in savings.

Unfortunately, FIT-ALL is entangled in red tape, and reportedly due to ERC inaction.

Is this incompetence, or worse, corruption?

Because of this, the National Transmission Corp. accumulated over P7.7 billion in outstanding payments to the qualified RE projects. My gulay, if this is not a crime, I don’t know what is!

For an amount which accounts for less than one percent of our average energy bill but which helps preserve the environment, you would have to ask: Why the long delay?

Even the current chairman on the Senate committee on energy, Sherwin Gatchalian, says that because of the ERC’s delays, it is the common man who suffers and pays the costs.

In the meantime, the RE investors must be scratching their heads wondering how they gut suckered into a onesided deal. If it were me, I am not sure I would have the patience to just sit and wait for the ERC to do the right thing.

I would probably pull out all my energy investments in the Philippines and just find other places to invest in. That would be the sensible reaction.

From being a win-win situation, the FIT-ALL fiasco may just become a lose-lose scenario. The investors were not given what was promised them.

Hence, no new funding will come in.

Worse, the Philippine government will have a reputational black eye—after all, the investment community is a small

one. The energy industry will suffer. This will have an impact on future generation. *** The Duterte Cabinet is fast becoming a dysfunctional body.

We have, for instance, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana saying that the declaration of martial law was not the idea of the Department of Defense.

This is apparently in an effort to prevent the DND from being blamed, not realizing that the proclamation was President Duterte’s idea.

How dense could Lorenzana get? President Duterte could not have declared martial law if he did not have intelligence report from the military, which is under the Office of the Secretary of National Defense!

In fact, things are now getting clearer. There are reports that the terrorists are already planning to make the southern Philippines an ISIS hub here in Southeast Asia. The disclaimer of Lorenzana in fact gives credence to claims of critics and the opposition that martial law was the decision of just one man—President Duterte.

And then, there is the disclaimer of Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella. President Duterte initially said he would ignore the Supreme Court and Congress if these meddle with his declaration of martial law. He would only listen to the military.

Abella soon made clarifications. The President would not ignore the other branches of gover nment, after all.

The effect is that Abella just confirmed we have a leader who does not mean what he says. *** There were 19 government people who went with President Duterte to Moscow last week. That state visit was cut short when the President decided to fly back at once to personally deal with the crisis in Marawi City.

I can see the need for some officials in Moscow—but why all these names? You have Senate President Koko Pimentel, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, Science and Technology Secretary Fortunato dela Pena, Senator Gatchalian and Armed Forces Chief of Staff Eduardo Año.

And then you have Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa, Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo, Cesar Montano, and assistant secretary Mocha Uson.

The Moscow trip was a junket, all right.

As a taxpayer who funds these so-called official trips, I want Malacañang to make public all expenses incurred in Moscow. It’s only fair.

Change, you say? *** Gun ban in Mindanao? Come on. That’s a joke!

The Philippine National Police estimates that there are about 200,000 loose firearms in Mindanao. Non-government groups say there are more, that there are half-a-million now in the hands of rebel and terror groups.

Loose firearms have always been a problem in Mindanao, especially among private armies. Disarming them would be tough. There is joke that a Muslim would rather sleep with his gun than his wife.

That seems to be true. From childhood, a Muslim boy is taught to dismantle and assemble a gun.

What does the ERC have to say about this?

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mst.daydesk@gmail.com

The last resort

TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

A promise gone bad

THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017

OVERSIGHT DANILO SUAREZ I SUPPORT President Duterte’s declaration of martial law in the entire area of Mindanao. The Marawi attack by the Maute group may be tantamount to rebellion, which justifies the declaration of martial law, from a legal perspective. From our perspective as district or sectoral representatives protecting the welfare of millions of Filipinos, martial law is necessary to protect the lives and safety of those under our care.

The activities of the Maute group are alarming. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana considers them as having “international backing” from ISIS, and they are now being classified by the government as an international terrorist group.

They are also believed to be ex-

panding its membership beyond relatives, to include other rebel groups in Mindanao such as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Moro National Liberation Front and the Abu Sayyaf Group.

We find it no coincidence that only two days from the Marawi incident, the Abu Sayyaf ambushed soldiers in Basilan.

The search for peace and order in Mindanao has been a continuing problem in our country’s history. It has seriously challenged our country’s leaders through the years. Despite previous attempts to resolve conflicts through peace agreements with rebel groups, violent activities of rebellion continued. Some of these included the Abu Sayyaf’s Ipil Massacre in 1995, the clash of the MILF and the military in Camp Abubakar in 2000, and the kidnapping of foreign tourists in Dos Palmas in 2001. The Dos Palmas kidnapping lasted for over a year— and across two administrations.

In the end, American forces assisted in the rescue of the survivors. The Dos Palmas incident was memorialized in a movie and a book. This painted our country as unsafe, and vulnerable to terrorists, both domestic and foreign.

There have been incidents of violence since then. Prior to the Marawi City attack, members of the Maute group were arrested for the Davao City bombing in October 2016. The attack in Marawi City last week prompted President Duterte to declare Martial law and suspend the Writ of Habeas Corpus in the whole of Mindanao. Peace talks with the CPP-NPA-NDF were also canceled.

Even after the declaration of martial law, violence in Mindanao continued. The Maute group killed eight men who failed to recite verses from the Koran. Fourteen captives managed to escape their Maute captors. Many civilians

and soldiers were killed in the military operations against the Maute group.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines reported that 61 terrorists have been killed and that they are close to defeating the Maute group. With this, we know that martial law in Mindanao is justified.

Since the declaration of martial law, the President has been making controversial and provocative statements regarding the role of Congress and the Supreme Court as a check and balance, per the Constitution.

The President is understandably emotional, seeing fallen soldiers and civilian casualties.

However, he should be mindful of his statements because it is still his duty to uphold the Constitution. He must adhere to the provisions and limitations of the proclamation, and recognize the role of Congress and the Supreme Court, as mandated by the Constitution.

Monkey see, monkey do?

PRESIDENTIAL Communication Operations Office Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson has again been caught using a misleading image for a news post.

Last May 28, she asked for prayers for Philippine soldiers on her Facebook page, but used a photo of Honduran soldiers.

In 2016, she shared the photo of a child rape victim and criticized the media, the church, and activists for keeping silent about the crime. It was found out later that the crime was committed in Brazil and not the Philippines.

Uson, while a savvy social media influencer, has shown time and again that she does not vet her sources and materials before sharing or control herself from putting an agenda-furthering spin on them.

Sadly, her penchant for spreading alternative facts seems to have contaminated the Philippine News Agency, which this month made two blunders.

For a story on troop operations in Marawi, PNA used a photo of soldiers in Vietnam.

In another article, it quoted Department of the Interior and Local Government Assistant

Heroism...

From A4 careful with bombing sorties to avoid collateral damage.

I also suspect that there are more in the Maute group than previously estimated. If the group suffered 65 casualties, and the intensity of the fighting has not diminished much, there are probably more of them although the fighting is now confined in a smaller portion of the city. The military should proceed carefully so as not to allow Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon escape the dragnet if he is in the city. Now is the chance to get him. Who knows, the Maute brothers might also be in the city, allowing the AFP to also neutralize them.

There is therefore a lot hanging on the outcome of the battle.

This is not to mention trapping a number of foreign terrorists.

Before Marawi City, the fighting with the Maute group and

Saving...

From A4 homicidal—and then she and her government went back to Manila-centric concerns once again.

Joseph Estrada gained notoriety in Mindanao for waging his “all-out war” against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Estrada, during his brief reign, made it his business to retake the MILF camps in Maguindanao

Secretary Epimaco Densing III as saying that at the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva, 95 nations were “convinced no EJKs [extrajudicial killings] in PHL”, as per PNA’s headline.

Densing later denied making such a claim.

When PNA was called out for its errors, it retracted them. But these mistakes could have been avoided if only PNA’s editors had checked their material and avoided putting a spin on Densing’s statements.

It looks like PNA has been taking a leaf out of Uson’s book.

Uson’s background and past experiences do not cover journalism. She has a degree in medical technology, grew a flourishing entertainment career as a sexy dancer, and entered politics via the back door of being a rabid supporter of Duterte’s campaign.

To repay his debt of honor (utang na loob) to her for her help during the elections, Duterte appointed Uson a board member of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board in January this year, and in May an assistant secretary of the PCOO (formerly the Office of the Press Secretary) in Malacañang.

But utang na loob is not a legitimate criterion for appointing someone to office. Merit is.

Education is. Experience is.

While Uson may claim that her blog and FB page are not

official and reflect her personal views, as a public servant she is bound by the code of conduct for public officials and employees to show no political partisanship and to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and competence.

There is no doubt that she is a highly successful influencer.

It’s just too bad that there are a lot of folks who like her lessthan-credible style. *** Uson’s rank of assistant secretary is a third-level position within the Philippine civil service. Third-level positions fall under the Career Executive Service, which they define as “a public personnel system separate from that of the first two levels of positions” in the civil service (up to division chief).

The CES ensures a pool of qualified and competent career administrators by maintaining a roster of CES eligibles. To qualify for the CES is no simple one-shot pen-and-paper test such as that administered by the CSC; it is four-part battery of rigorous testing.

First is a written exam with essay portion; second comes the Assessment Center, which is a hands-on determination of managerial skills that takes an entire day and includes roleplaying of managerial decisionmaking and other exercises I am not at liberty to disclose.

The third stage is an interview of the candidate’s superiors and subordinates; many of the questions relate to interpersonal relationships and ethics.

The fourth stage is an interview by a panel of CES Board members.

An appointee to the third level has one year within which to obtain CES eligibility, and CSC professional civil service eligibility for that matter. As far as I know, even non-career employees of government have to obtain these.

Is Uson being required to obtain CES eligibility? Or is she exempted? If she is, why? These are the rules of the Philippine civil service meant to ensure the highest standards for managers in government.

Not only Uson but all holders of third-level positions in this administration should undergo the CES gauntlet. If the appointees fail, then there is a roster of CES eligibles to choose from.

There should be no exemptions from this requirement.

There is at least one GOCC I know of that obtained an exemption for its managers, but what for? If they—or any other third-level appointee for that matter—were truly competent, they would be able to pass the CES exams.

other rebel factions have been centered in the jungles and remote villages. With Marawi City, the fighting is being widely covered by the media. The brutality of the conflict is therefore now in the living room of everyone with a TV set. Many journalists who cover the fighting often refer to the militants as bandits which is not the appropriate word.

Yes, the two groups operate outside the law but the better term to use to refer to the members of these two groups should be terrorists. The study of social banditry is a bit more complicated. Social banditry is a term more appropriate for outlaws in earlier times in history.

Robin Hood, for instance, if he really lived, was a bandit and an outlaw. But he was a noble bandit.

In contrast, there is nothing noble about the Abu Sayyaf and the Maute group. These two groups are plain and simple terrorists

and they should just be called that. The indiscriminate killing of civilians by the Maute group that were shown on TV could not be beneficial to their cause.

Thus, the Marawi City takeover may turn everyone against them including the Muslims. Marawi City, after all, is predominantly a Muslim enclave.

President Duterte has asked the MILF, MNLF and the CPP/ NPA to join in the fighting. We do not know whether this move was made upon the advice of his military and advisers or his alone but since the fighting is confined to Marawi City and does not seem to be spreading, perhaps the President should just allow the AFP to finish the job of retaking Marawi City.

The AFP, after all, is completely capable of doing it. The entry of MILF or MNLF into the fray this late, might not be good for the morale of the troops fighting there. If, however, the fighting spreads throughout Mindanao

in the other important urban centers like Davao City or Cagayan de Oro City, then perhaps this could be revisited and only after careful study. If we consider the current capabilities of the Abu Sayyaf and Maute group, however, the two groups do not have the capabilities to mount simultaneous raids in other big Urban Centers.

We must also remember the case of the MNLF when they took over part of Zamboanga City and burned the place down.

Up to now, some people whose houses were destroyed are still waiting for the promised help from the government. Counting the costs of the Marawi fighting will therefore be difficult and tough. War is always costly most especially to non-combatants who suffer the most in trauma and material terms. Waging war is also insane and anyone who says otherwise is doubly insane.

Marawi should be a lesson to us all.

and elsewhere, until he got sidetracked by the efforts to remove him from office, which eventually ended up with his impeachment and conviction.

That all three of Duterte’s immediate predecessors were from Manila and nearby provinces is not really coincidence. Since the Spanish colonial period and during the American occupation that succeeded it, even foreign invaders seemed to have decided that Mindanao was just

too much trouble to govern, after seeing that their efforts to subjugate the island were not as successful as they were in other parts of the country.

So you can’t really blame the people in Mindanao for taking a skeptical attitude towards interventions and incursions by the Manila government on their island over the years. And for actually believing that they finally have a president who not only understands what is going on

but who has the determination to change the way things are.

The skepticism of the Mindanaoans about Manila’s efforts to save them and to uplift their lives thus contrasts sharply with their near-absolute faith of that Duterte only can truly fulfill their beloved island’s promise.

I hope they are correct, because if Duterte cannot fix Mindanao, then perhaps, as some people outside of the island have long believed, it can’t be saved at all.

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

News

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THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

House OKs tax reforms

By Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta

V

OTING 246-9-1, the House of Representatives on Wednesday approved on third and final reading the Duterte administration's tax reform package that imposes additional taxes on fuel, sugar, motor vehicles and even lottery winnings.

Oppositors to the measure dismissed House Bill 5636, or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN), as a “repressive” measure even if it also seeks to lower personal income taxes.

The bill, in plenary session, approved the bill on second reading, and on third and final reading after Palace certified the measure as urgent.

The bill’s principal author, Quirino Rep. Dakila Cua, House committee on ways and means committee chairperson, said the additional

taxes were intended to offset the revenue losses to the government.

The bill imposes a P10 per liter tax on sugar-sweetened beverages subject to yearly four-percent rate increase after effectivity date of Jan. 1, 2018.

The proposed P6 a liter to increase oil excise tax shall be divided into three tranches of P3, P2 and P1 in the first three years which the Department of Finance believes will lighten the load for the public.

But Bayan Muna Party-List Rep. Carlos Zarate said that once the bill is enacted into law, the price of diesel which is at P31 per liter would reach P34 next year, P36 in 2019 and P37 in 2020 while gasoline, which is P45 per liter, would be P52 next year.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas, which is P541 per tank now, would be P574 next year, then P596 and P607, Zarate said.

The Cua bill also imposes a 20percent tax on final cash winnings from lotto and sweepstakes lottery conducted by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

Starting January 2019, brand new vehicles will be imposed the following excise taxes: Three percent for automobiles sold at P600,000 or below; P18,000 plus 30 percent in excess of P600,000 for automobiles costing above P600,000 to P1.1 million; P168,000 plus 50 percent in excess of P1.1 million for automobiles costing over P1.1 million to P2.1 million;

P668,000 plus 80 percent in excess of P2.1 million for automobiles costing over P2.1 million to P3.1 million and P1,468,000 plus 90 percent in excess of P3.1 milliion for automobiles costing over P3.1 million.

The approved final version of the bill took out the provision lifting the exemptions of small and medium cooperatives from paying valueadded tax.

HB 5636 also provides that workers earning P250,000 and below for the years 2018 and 2019 shall be exempted from paying personal income taxes (PITs).

The bill likewise provides that tax on self-employed and or professionals enjoying gross sales or gross receipts shall pay eight-percent income tax in excess of P250,000 gross income.

From the present P82,000, the bill raised the tax exemption for 13th month pay to P100,000, including other cash benefits.

It also lowers the rates of estate

and donor’s taxes by imposing unitary tax rate of six percent.

Over at the Senate, President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said the House Bill 5636 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion “might be too much.”

He said the tax reform plan submitted by the Duterte administration for congressional approval as a package “essentially is that we give P200 billion in income tax reform to your right pocket, and I will pick your left pocket with P500 billion, para may netong P300 billion.” [so we will have a net of P300 billion].

He said another contentious issue in the tax reform proposal involves the budget.

“The budget this year that was appropriated, was it already spent or not? Is there still a problem on absorptive capacity? Meaning to say, if they cannot spend the budget, why ask for more taxes?” said Recto.

Groups threaten transport holiday

By Rio N. Araja AN ORGANIZATION of public transport groups within malls in Metro Manila and nearby provinces on Wednesday threatened to stage a transport holiday on June 2, something that will affect about half-a-million passengers.

Mario Valbuena Jr., president of SM Malls Integrated Transport Terminals Federation Inc. or SMMITT, questioned the plan to impose a 100-percent increase in the monthly terminal fees for the parking lots within malls in Metro Manila, Cavite and Antipolo City.

He said they would go on a transport holiday right after their members had transported passengers from the pick-up points to the drop-off points early in the morning of June 2.

“We assure the passengers that we will resume operations to service them after office hours,” Valbuena told reporters.

Despite this, he said, many shoppers in the SM malls and other commuters would still have to bear the brunt of the transport holiday.

“We would like to let STSI feel our importance should it insist on removing us over our refusal to pay double for the terminal slots,” SMMITT spokesman Danilo Ocampo said.

“At least 500,000 commuters daily from terminal to terminal will be affected,” he said.

Robert Martin, Pasang Masda national president, said they were not against SM Prime Holdings, the company supervising all SM malls.

“We do not want to pick a fight with SM,” he said.

He appealed to SM Prime Holdings to step into the issue.

STSI is the manager of all public utility vehicles operating inside the SM malls nationwide.

Ocampo, the SMMITT representative at SM Megamall, said they had been paying STSI, represented by Wilbert Lee, Ben Lua and Anthony Hernandez, P1.4 million a month despite the absence of a contract.

Carinderia, store owners buck TRAIN SARI-SARI store and carinderia owners are alarmed over a new bill imposing P10 per liter excise tax on ordinary beverages such as 3-in-1 coffee, powdered juice drinks, energy drinks, carbonated drinks and ready-to-drink tea.

Currently included in the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program of the administration, House Bill 292 will most likely double the price of commodities currently being sold in the market, affecting sari-sari store and carinderia owners and the consumers who buy the products.

If the new Tax Bill would be enacted into law, powdered juice drinks would raise the price of a one liter sachet from P9 to P20.

Likewise, the price of 3-in-1 coffee, a major commodity of the poorer segment of the society, will increase from P5 to P8. Ready to drink juices will be sold from P20 to P26 and carbonated drinks per liter will be sold at P25 from its current price of P16.

“Hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit mga produkto na tinatangkilik ng mga mahihirap ang gustong nilangpatawan ng dagdag na buwis. Napaka-unfair naman. Sana isipin naman ng ating mga mambabatas na wala kaming extra income, at lalo kaming maghihirap dahil lahat ay tumataas na—gasolina, pamasahe, at ngayon pati soft drinks at kape. Sobra naman,” [I don’t understand the reason why they are taxing the products that the poor are consuming. This is but unfair. I hope our lawmakers would realize that we do not have extra income, and that we will only be burdened by this. This is just too much.], said Victoria “Nanay Vicky” Aguinaldo, President of Philippine Association of Store and Carinderia Owners (PASCO).

According to Nanay Vicky, a regular sari-sari store earns an average of P1000 per day and P300 to P400 or 30-40 percent of this comes from the sale of coffee, juice and carbonated drinks.

Protect PH Rise—Villar

READY FOR THE RAINY DAYS. A stall in Juan Luna St. in Divisoria, Manila displays colorful umbrellas as the weather bureau announced on Tuesday the onset of the rainy season. Norman Cruz

5-10 year license extension approved Saudi govt grants exit

By Macon Ramos-Araneta visas to 3,000 OFWs THE congressional bicameral conference committee approved on Wednesday a proposed measure extending the validity period of the driver’s license from three to five years or up to 10 years for those who have not committed traffic violations.

During the bicameral meeting, the House contingent adopted the Senate’s version of the measure that would entitle holders of professional and non-professional drivers’ licenses, who have not committed any violation during the five-year-period, another five-year extension.

The Senate version provides that a holder of a driver’s license who has not violated Republic Acf No. 4136 and other traffic laws, rules and regulations during the five-year period shall be entitled to a renewal of such license for 10 years. This, however, must be subject to the

IN BRIEF

restrictions imposed by the Land Transportation Office.

In the House proposal, the validity period of a driver’s license should be up to a period of five years subject ro restrictions that may be imposed by the LTO. The House contingent also agreed ro adopt the Senate version which provides that the local government units, Metro Manila Development Authority and other agencies lawfully issuing traffic violation receipts (TVR) shall report to the LTO the details of the traffic violation within a reasonable time .

The House version said that the report to the LTO should be made within 24 hours from the time the TVR was issued.

Senator Grace Poe, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Services, expressed hope that “this initiative that cuts bureaucracy and corruption, will immediately be felt

by ordinary citizens.”

“Although the Land Transportation Office [LTO] has already issued Administrative Order No 2016-34 in line with the President’s pronouncements to extend the validity of driver’s licenses, we should bear in mind that an EO cannot amend a law.

What Congress prescribes, only Congress can amend,” Poe explained.

For his part, Senate President Ralph Recto, one of the authors of the bill, said he expects shorter queues of drivers applying at the LTO for the renewal of their licenses with the passing of the bill into law.

LTO data shows that in 2016 alone, driver’s license applications totaled 5.8 million.

Recto said the bill was “the best antired tape measure the government could adopt for LTO.” He said the measure was not complicated and could derive results immediately at the least cost to the government and the public.

By Vito Barcelo AT LEAST 3,000 distressed overseas Filipino workers were granted exit visas under the amnesty program offered by Saudi Arabia to all illegal foreign workers in that country, the Department of Labor and Employment said.

In a statement, the department said almost half of the OFWs have left the Kingdom while the remaining will be repatriated in the coming months.

Philippine consul to KSA Rj Sumague said that at least 2,984 undocumented OFWs and their dependents have already received their exit visas, and 1,300 already left for home.

Sumague said the government has shouldered the air tickets of some 1,000 of those who left Saudi Arabia.

The Philippine government was able to send home 530 undocumented Filipinos in three flights from May 23, 24 and 29.

Sumague said he felt saddened that some Filipinos did not show up for their flights.

“It saddened me because we issued a total of 550 tickets in three flights but only 530 went home,” he said.

“We have some of our “kababayans” stopped at the immigration because some problems appeared on their records such as a police case while around 15 of them did not show up on their flight schedule,” Sumague added.

As of May 29, Sumague said the number of undocumented Filipinos who applied for amnesty were 5, 870 and 4,548 of them were already endorsed to the deportation center.

Andanar closes down SCO, transfers 20 personnel to other units

By John Paolo Bencito

A CELEBRATION OF FOOD. Officials and organizers (from left), Chef Sau del Rosario, Makansutra founder, K.F. Seetoh; Tourism Undersecretary Catherine de Castro and SM group senior assistant Chiqui Tan led the opening rites of the 2017 World Street Food Congress on Wednesday, May 31 at the Mall of Asia open concert grounds in Pasay city. WSFC, Asia’s biggest food celebration, will run until June 4, and is set to be bigger and better, attracting thousands of culinary experts, hawkers and foodies from across the globe. Ey Acasio

COMMUNICATIONS Secretary Martin Andanar ordered the abolition of the Strategic Communications Office (SCO), formerly Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO) mandated to lead the strategic communication of the government through the production of video, photo and press releases.

“In the interest of the service, the Strategic Communications Office shall be abolished effective immediately,” Andanar said.

In the Office Order No. 26 which Andanar signed on Wednesday, 20 employees were transferred to two other units under the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) as part of efforts to streamline the government’s communications strategy.

“The main reasons are to streamline

and to adjust to our new comprehensive communications strategy in promoting the policies of the different executive departments,” he said.

“The recent communications programs led by PCOO; DuterteNOMiCs, Real Numbers, Extremism & Martial Law and other upcoming events, increased the demand for the PCOO Team to assist other departments.

Thus the need to restructure our manpower assignments,” he added.

Andanar also denied reports that he may have fired some Strategic Communications personnel.

“The news that 40 people were fired is very inaccurate. I did not fire anyone,” he said.

The dissolved unit is responsible for devising the communications strategy to promote the President’s agenda throughout all media, and among the many publics with which the administration interacts.

SENATOR Cynthia Villar, chairman of the senate committee on environment and natural resources, has added her voice in the calls to protect the Philippine Rise (formerly Benham Rise), as the latest addition to Philippine territory.

“The territory of the Philippines nearly doubled in size with the addition of resource-rich waters and spawning ground of assorted fish species.”

“That there is a vast amount of natural resources there and that those resources can adequately provide the food requirements of Filipinos—are just two very important reasons why we need to defend and protect the Philippine Rise. And why I support the call of Oceana and other concerned groups for its immediate protection,” Villar said.

Villar also said that recent developments such as President Duterte’s order to rename it as Philippine Rise and the planned actions of establishing a permanent facility are clear efforts to assert our territorial rights at Philippine Rise.

“The protection of Philippine Rise stresses the need to protect the oceans, the source of wild catch, given the experts’ prediction that if oceans are not given time to recover from rampant illegal fishing and destruction of marine habitat, they could become ‘virtual deserts’ by 2050,” Villar said.

The Philippine Rise is a 24.4-million hectare undersea region located east of Luzon.

Executive Order No. 25 issued on May 16, 2017, states that the region is located within the Philippine exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, as well as the outer limits of the continental shelf in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf issued on April 12, 2012.

Macon Ramos-Araneta

Lawmakers unite on free tuition act MEMBERS of the minority and majority bloc in the Senate toe the line to support a landmark legislation that would benefit over five-million Filipino students in state universities and colleges (SUCs) and local universities and colleges (LUCs) beginning the second semester of school year 2017-18.

Senators Bam Aquino and Sherwin Gatchalian said that they are hoping that by November or the second semester, tuition fees and other regular fees in SUCs would be free.

The bicameral conference report of Senate Bill 1304 and House Bill 5633, now known as the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, was ratified by the Senate last Tuesday.

After the House similarly ratifies the report, the enrolled bill will be submitted to President Rodrigo Duterre for signature into law.

Aquino disclosed that during the bicam, they agreed that the new law should take effect by the second semester of school year 2017-2018.

"By the time that it would be publish and became a law, enrollment in the first semester was over," said Aquino, the principal sponsor and co-author of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act in the Senate. Macon Ramos-Araneta

Sports

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THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

AFAD holds 1st PDU30 shooting tournament THE Association of Firearms and Ammunition Dealers will host the 1st President Duterte Shootfest to be held at the Subic Naval Mag Firing Range, Subic Freeport in Zambales on June 1-4, 2017.

Hundreds of shooting aficionados are expected to participate in the event dubbed as ‘The Big Shoot,’ considered the grandest shooting event to be held in the country for this year.

The President Duterte Shootfest is one of the pre-event activities of the 25th Defense & Sporting Arms Show slated on July 13 to 17 at the Megatrade Hall of SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City.

World shooting champ Jethro T. Dionisio, AFAD president, said the shooting competition is a form of appreciation by their organization to President Duterte’s unwavering support to responsible gun ownership.

When Duterte stood as guest of honor during the 23rd DSAS in November 2015, he declared

Guia, Suson lead champs in Cebuana tennis meet IT WAS a mix of familiar and unknown names that emerged winners in the recent Dipolog City leg of the Cebuana Lhuillier Age Group Tennis Championship Series in Zamboanga del Norte.

Visiting tennis talents from nearby provinces shut out the locals in the individual categories with local bet Stephen Zion Guia as the sole winner as he teamed up with boys’ 16-under Marc Nicole Suson from Cebu City for the boys’ 18under doubles’ event crown after beating John Renest Sonsona and Andrei Cuevas, 8- 6, in the tournament supported by Dunlop as the official ball.

A record number of 237 entries joined the Group 2 level competition.

Earlier, perennial winner Suson beat his doubles’ partner Guia in the finals of the boys’ 16-under, 6-1, 62, while Sonsona claimed the boys’ 18-under title with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over his doubles’ partner Cuevas.

Another familiar name, Brent Signmond Cortes from Tubod, Lanao del Norte, ruled the boys’ 14-under as he defeated Eric Jay Tanguib in a three setter, 4-6, 6-3, 10-4, in the championship match.

Oroquieta City’s Nash Agustines had an easy 6-1, 6-4 win over Heniz Asian Carbonilla from Maranding, Lanao del Norte for the boys’ 12-under title, while Abdel Qadzri Matarul from the host province came up a double winner after pocketing the 10-under unisex group, beating Garlandson Ardiente, 4-1, 5-3, in the finals then added the doubles’ title in the same category as he teamed up with Cyd Villamar to sweep Ardiente and Louchelaj Estember, 4-0, 4-0.

“We are happy that despite the tension in Mindanao, we are able to hold our age-group tennis tournaments and even attract a record field of participants. Sports indeed can be a unifying factor,” said Jean Henri Lhuillier, President/ CEO of Cebuana Lhuillier.

his support to arming of civilians provided they strictly follow the existing laws on firearms ownership. The Chief Executive has yet to file his candidacy then for the country’s top post.

The DSAS, considered the most prestigious and longest-running gun show, is organized by AFAD for 25 years now.

In showing his consistency in his support to the law-abiding gun community, Duterte also led the opening ceremony of the 1st DSAS Davao City gun show that was successfully staged last May 19 at the SMX Convention in Davao City.

The Level III shooting competition on June 1 to 4 is sanctioned by the Philippine Practical Shooting Association and International Practical Shooting Confederation.

Interested parties may join official Facebook group for more details on the event and prizes. www.afad.ph/fb/du30shootfest

DIAMOND SUPERCROSS. Winners of the Diamond Motors Supercross are shown here with Dennis Sibucao (left), SAVP for Sales and Operations and Samuel Mark Tamayo (second from left), Generation Congregation Director during their guesting at the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the Golden Phoenix Hotel. They are (starting third from left) Bornok Mangosong, PTT Pro Open Production Champion; JC Rellosa, second overall; Wenson Reyes, Kids 65CC and 85CC champion; and Quiana Reyes, DC Ladies’ Class champion.

Mangosong, representing Yamaha Motor Philippines, finished the fifth and final leg with a big gap over contenders Rellosa, Jerick Mitra and Buboy Antonio. He completed the five-leg series with three wins and a total of 119 overall points to win the premier Pro Open division.

PH Turbo is water polo champ P UERTO Princesa City, Palawan— Philippine Turbo asserted its mastery over Philippine Envirotech, pulling off a 13-6 win in the final to rule the water polo competitions of the 2017 Pilipinas International Beach Sports Festival at the Baywalk here.

It was the second straight championship for Philippine Turbo, which also defeated Philippine Envirotech in the final at the Anvaya Cove.

Aljon Salonga, Juan Paolo Serrano, Maui Valdez and Mico

Anota—all members of the national team—led Philippine Turbo’s successful campaign in this three-day competition hosted by Puerto Princesa City government, led by Mayor Luis Marcaida III and backed by the

Philippine Sports Commission, headed by Chairman Butch Ramirez.

“We’re happy in successfully hosting this event. It was really a good opportunity for us to showcase our beautiful city and our people and live up to our tag as the ‘Sports-Tourism Capital’ of the country,” said Mayor Marcaida.

Mayor Marcaida, an avid sports enthusiast himself, said the city government has linedup several international sports competitions this year, includ-

ing the Asian Motocross Championships next week and an international chess tournament in October.

“The Pilipinas International Beach Sports Festival is just the first,” added Mayor Marcaida during the courtesy call of other Puerto Princesa City-based athletes, who competed in several national events the past week.

Hong Kong defeated Sureshots Spotsville, 11-8, in the battle for third place.

Philippine Turbo and Envirotech defeated their respective

semifinal opponents to arrange a rematch of their last year’s title showdown with Turbo beating Hong Kong, 4-2, and Envirotech nipping Sureshots Sportsville, 10-7.

Earlier, Philippine Turbo outduelled Shanghai, 16-13, and Envirotech eliminated Guam-B by superior quotient after a 6-6 draw.

In an exhibition match, the Dale Evangelista-led Sureshots defeated Guam, 15-11, in the 35 years old and up Masters Showdown.

Torres, Ballado win

WINNERS ALL. Winners of the Tanduay Athletics PVF National Inter-Collegiate Women’s Beach Volleyball Championship are shown here (from left) Southwestern University of Cebu’s Janelle Cabahug and Ivyie Bautista (champion); Cielo and Ciarmin Palahang of Rizal Technological University (second), UPHS of Laguna’s Arianna de Leon and Abby Nuval of UPHS-Laguna (third) and Dana Pingos and Grecel Lucagbo of Capitol University of CdO (fourth). All four teams received cash prizes in the tournament organized by Cantada Sports, co-presented by Asia Brewery and the Philippine Volleyball Federation and supported by Century Park Hotel, Mapecon and Wilson as the official ball.

Huey, new partner win opener FIL-AMERICAN Treat Huey started his campaign with new partner Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan on the right track.

The world no. 38 Huey and Istomin prevailed over Robin Haase of France and former partner Dominic Inglot, 7-6 (12-10), 3-6, 6-3, at the start of the 2017 French Open men’s doubles at the

Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France.

The unseeded pair of Huey and Istomin advanced to the second round against the duo of Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares, the fifth seeds, who repulsed Janko Tapsarevic and Viktor Troacki, 6-3, 7-6 (7-0).

Also moving into the next round are Spanish netters David Marrero

and Tommy Robredo, who upset the top seeded pair of Henri Kontinen and John Peers, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3.

Last year, Huey was with Max Mirnyi of Belarus.

They made it to the Roundof-16, but bowed to French duo Julien Benneteau and Edouard RogerVasselin, 4-6, 4-6. Peter Atencio

CHARLES Torres and Jhastine Red Ballado crushed their respective foes in two different divisions to secure two titles apiece recently in the 10th leg of 19th HEAD Junior Tennis Satellite Circuit at the Agoo Tennis Club, La Union City.

Torres outscored Marc Andrei Jarata, 6-4, 6-2, to pocket the 16-and-under boys’ singles’ trophy before winning the boys’ 18-andunder singles’ crown at the expense of Vergel Callanta, 6-3, 6-1, in the finals of the tournament organized

by HEAD Philippines distributor Dynamic Sports.

Ballado outplayed Nixie Skyler Ramos, 6-2, 6-0, to grab the 16-and-under girls’ singles’ title,

before outclassing Achaia Cabahug, 6-0, 6-1, for the 18-and-under girls’ singles diadem.

The tournament is supported by Chris Sports, the nationwide sports retail chain, Toalson strings, UBE Express, the Premium Airport Bus Service, media partners People’s Television, Aksyon Sports, Business Mirror, Philippine Locale, Cook, Health and Fitness, Pilipino Mirror and Philippines Graphics.

In other singles’ finals results, top seed Joewyn Pascua defeated Paul Yanne Manglibo, 6-1, 6-0, to win the 12-and-under boys’ singles crown, while No. 1 Marc Andrei Jarata bested Kirk Agustin, 6-2, 6-4, to get the 14-and-under boys’ singles trophy.

NBA Finals on ABS-CBN THE NBA season has finally reached its crux with the Golden State Warriors and defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers meeting for the third straight time at the Finals.

Filipino hoop fans will be able to catch all the championship action as ABS-CBN delivers all the games live on national television starting this Friday (June 2), 9 a.m. on ABS-CBN Channel 2 with same day replay on S+A ch.23 at 8 p.m.

Game 1 of the best-of-seven finals

series will be played at the Warriors’ home floor at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, thanks to the Warriors’ superior win-loss record of 67-15 compared to the Cavs’ 51-31.

Bringing the action closer to the Filipino audience will be TJ Manotoc and Boom Gonzalez, who will cover the games live in the USA, while Filipino basketball legends Ronnie Magsanoc and Benjie Paras will hold the local fort with various guest panelists to provide game recap and analysis.

Patrimonio, Iglupas open bid in Albay Open netfest CLARICE Patrimonio takes on Mae Taller while Khim Iglupas faces Joanne Lorin as the top two seeds kick off their drive in the first Albay National Open beginning today (June 1) at the Lignon and DPWH tennis courts in Bicol.

Clarice overpowered sister Christine, 6-2, 6-2, to capture the PPS-PEPP Brookside Open crown last April with the former seeking to nail the second of five Open titles staked in this year’s Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Padala tennis calendar.

But standing in her way is 18-year-old Iglupas, who is tipped to dominate the lower half of the 16-player draw in the event hosted by Gov. Al Francis Bichara through Lignon Hills Tennis Club president Nards Gonzales.

Third seed Shaira Rivera, meanwhile, clashes with Arriane Nillasca, while No. 4 Chloe Saraza collides with Cheryl Macasera in the two other featured matches in the women’s side of the week-long tournament backed by local sponsor Davies Paints and held as

part of the province’s Magayon Festival celebrations.

Johnny Arcilla, on the other, banners the men’s Open field that includes second ranked Leander Lazaro, No. 3 Fritz Verdad, fourth seed Deo Talatayod and No. 5 Eric Jed Olivarez with the veteran Davis Cupper expected to add the title to his long list of victories.

Arcilla also romped off with Brookside Open plum, foiling absentee PJ Tierro, 6-4, 6-4.

The Albay Open is actually held side-

by-side with the PPS-PEPP Legazpi agegroup with close to 200 entries vying for top honors in various divisions.

Joma Pague and Kurt Molina, along with Pete Coteron and Gerald Realizan lead the boys’ 18-and-under division with Elsie Abarquez and Melanie Dizon looming as the players to beat in the girls’ side of the Group 2 tournament presented by Slazenger and backed by Asiatraders Corp. and the new Unified tennis group, led by PPSPEPP, Cebuana Lhuillier, Wilson, Toby’s and B-Meg. Clarice Patrimonio in action

Sunrise Sprint spices up Regent 5150 triathlon in Subic A BIG HIT in its inaugural staging, Sunrise Sprint is back with a promise of a more exciting, thrilling edition with a bigger number of participants expected when it is held Sunday (June 4) in Subic.

Dubbed as S2, the race features a 750m open-water swim, 20km bike ride and a 5km run for beginners seeking to immerse themselves into the sport of triathlon and enthusiasts who want to race without having to worry about long periods of training.

It also aimed at providing a venue those triathletes out to make a comeback in the ever-growing sport.

Francis Cruz, Austine Morfe and Bernard Sarmiento, who took the top three places in last year’s S2 inaugurals, are expected to lead the cast along with the top finishers in the women’s side, including siblings Victorija and Veronica Deldio and Lourdes Ramos.

Produced and organized by Sunrise Events, Inc., S2 also serves

as a side-event to the Regent 5150 Triathlon, held for the third straight year with an elite international field slugging it out for top honors in the pro division.

Towering champ Sam Betten banners the field in the local version of the world’s largest Olympic distance triathlon series also set Sunday with the 6-foot-4 Betten going for a rare three-peat against veterans and fellow Aussies Ben Allen, the 2016 Australian ITU Cross Triathlon champion and a

former XTERRA As-Pac titlist, Mitch Robins and Dan Brown.

American Iain Alexandridis, a consistent top 10 Ironman 70.3 finisher, is also in the title hunt in the 1.5k swim, 40k bike and 10k run event put up by the country’s leading snack manufacturing company.

For details, visit regent.5150philippines.com.

Backers of the event are Dept. of Tourism Region 3 and Tourism Promotions Board as presentors, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority

as host venue and Acea Subic Bay as host hotel, along with 2GO Express, Powerade and Wilkins Pure, TYR, Hoka One, Active Network, Philippine Star, Trilife, AsiaTRI. com, Finisher Pix, HyperHD on Cignal, AlcoPlus, Cetaphil, Daylong, Devant, Omega, PLDT Subictel, Sanicare, Storck, Garmin, Alaska, David’s Salon, GU, Intercare, Pioneer Insurance and Sante Barley, the Lighthouse Marina Hotel, Court Meridian, Subic International Hotel and Active Network.

LOTTO RESULTS

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

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

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THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017

Sports

Athletes to use KL games to prepare for PH edition

By Peter Atencio

SMB’s Alex Cabagnot elects to pass to a teammate after being hounded by Blackwater’s John Pinto (left) and Mike DiGregorio in a PBA Commissioner’s Cup game won by the Beermen, 124-113.

Beermen claim 8 win th

By Jeric Lopez

S

AN Miguel Beer flexed its championship muscles in the fourth period to come from behind and wallop Blackwater, 124-113, in the penultimate playdate of the elimination round of the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup Wednesday at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.

Charles Rhodes led the way with 32 points, but got plenty of help from June Mar Fajardo and Marcio Lassiter, who scored 28 and 21 points, respectively.

‘Tabal not a member of PH team’ OLYMPIAN Mary Joy Tabal’s stint in the 27th Southeast Asian Games is in jeopardy.

Officials of the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association said this as they get ready to finalize their roster for the Games.

Athletics’ Vice President Nicanor Sering explained that Tabal has been part of the national pool, but only until after she competed in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics as she quit the team after the games.

“In the case of Tabal, she never asked for reinstatement. So for the record, she is not part of the Philippine team,” said Sering.

Sering said they act on Tabal’s status only if she seeks reinstatement.

The 27-year-old Tabal had earlier publicly expressed her desire to be part of the national team again after she topped the women’s division of the 2017 Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend half marathon in record-breaking time last Sunday.

Tabal, who is from Bgy. Guba in Cebu City, reached the finish line in one hour, 16 minutes and 27.4 seconds, to claim her first title in an international race.

Her sponsors agreed to send her back to Italy for intensive training and possibly prepare for the SEA Games, if she is reinstated.

“Now, Motorace Kawasaki is sending me back to Italy for two months, June 8 to August before the SEAGames,” said Tabal.

Her feat in Ottawa allowed her to break the nine-year national record of 1:18.45 Mercedita Manipol-Fetalvero set in 2008. Peter Atenio

The victory is vital for the Beermen as they solidified their bid for a Top 2 finish, improving to 8-2 to gain a share of first place as well.

The Beermen were playing abysmal for most part of the game, trailing big at the half, 7256, before turning on the switch in the second half.

San Miguel Beer started clawing back in the third, inching to within just six after the period, 96-90.

Back in the game, the Beermen then finished emphatically, outscoring the Elite 34-17 in the final 12 minutes to take the victory away.

San Miguel still has a game left as it plays GlobalPort in its final assignment tomorrow. It needs to win to secure a place in the Top 2, otherwise, a loss

might jeopardize its spot at either No. 1 or No. 2.

Barangay Ginebra (8-2), San Miguel, Star (8-2) and TNT KaTropa (8-3) are the four teams battling it out for the Top 2 seeds and the twice-to-beat incentive that goes along with them.

Should there be any tie, the quotient system will come into play and determine the final rankings.

As of press time, Star and Alaska (4-6) are figuring in a crucial tiff with a lot at stake.

For the Hotshots, they also need to secure a win to likewise boost their chance of fin-

ishing in the Top 2, while the Aces are in desperation mode as they are trying to stay in the Top 8 and earn a ticket to the quarterfinals.

The scores: SAN MIGUEL 124 - Rhodes 32, Fajardo 28, Lassiter 21, Ross 14, Santos 13, Espinas 10, Cabagnot 6, Tubid 0, Reyes 0, Heruela 0.

BLACKWATER 113 - Smith 21, Digregorio 16, Canaleta 16, Cruz 16, Pinto 11, Cervantes 10, Sena 8, Aguilar 7, Gamalinda 5, Buenafe 3, Pascual 0, Erram 0.

Quarterscores: 30-32, 56-72, 90-96, 124-113.

FOR many athletes, the 27th Southeast Asian Games should serve as part of their preparations for the 2019 edition of the games that the Philippines will host.

Philippine Olympic Committee President Jose “Peping” Cojuangco said the athletes were asked to have this kind of commitment for the country.

“They have to prove that it’s worthwhile to include them. And I want to know how interested they are,” said Cojuangco following yesterday’s POC General Assembly in Wack Wack.

A total of 492 athletes have been included in the national delegation to the 27th Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia slated this August.

This is according to an update submitted by chef de mission Cynthia Carrion.

Overall, a total of 742 athletes, coaches and officials will make up the Philippine delegation to the games.

The POC is working on finalizing the list of national delegates in order to meet the June 30 deadline that Malaysian organizers set.

That list will now have entries by name.

Organizers from host Malaysia have promised athletes, officials and participating countries a smooth and competitive games.

The SEA Games will open on Aug. 19, with the Malaysian Organizing Committee of Kuala Lumpur 2017 telling all participants that preparations for the biennial meet are on track.

The games will see the participation of more than 7,000 athletes from the SEA region.

Court: Tennis full of lesbians SY DN EY—Au st r a l ia n great Margaret Court Wednesday claimed “tennis is full of lesbians” and transgender children were the work of “the devil”, adding fuel to a simmering row over her views on homosexuality.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion, now a Christian pastor, has been the brunt of a fierce backlash after announcing last week she would stop flying Qantas “where possible” in protest at the airline’s support of same-sex marriage.

It sparked calls, led by Martina Navratilova and supported by Richel Hogenkamp, one of the few openly gay players in tennis, for the Australian Open to take her name off one of its flagship stadiums.

Court, 74, has vowed to keep airing her views and didn’t hold back on Vision

Christian Radio station.

“I mean, tennis is full of lesbians, because even when I was playing there was only a couple there, but those couple that led took young ones into parties and things,” she said.

“And you know, what you get at the top is often what you’ll get right through that sport.”

Court has long held strong views about homosexuality, which have previously been slammed by Navratilova and fellow great Billie Jean King, who are both gay.

She insisted she was not against gay people, but wanted to help them.

“We’re there to help them overcome. We’re not against the people,” she said.

“They’re human beings and 92 percent, they say in America, have either been abused in some form sexually or emotionally at an

early age for them to even be this way.”

Asked about transgender children, she claimed their minds had been corrupted.

“That’s all the devil... but that’s what Hitler did and that’s what communism did —got the mind of the children. And there’s a whole plot in our nation, and in the nations of the world to get the minds of the children.”

Navratilova and others have called for her name to be stripped from the arena at Melbourne Park, where the first Grand Slam event of the season takes place in January.

There have also been rumblings about players boycotting the court.

World number one Andy Murray said at the French Open on Tuesday he hoped the issue could be resolved long before next year’s Aus- Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova returns the ball to US Bethanie Mattek-Sands during their tennis match at the Roland Garros 2017 French Open on May 31, 2017 in Paris. AFP tralian Open.

Del Rosario grabs 1-shot lead

Pauline del Rosario hit her approach shot on No. 9

PAULINE del Rosario charged back with late birdies to card a 73 and grab a one-stroke lead over Thai Pannapa Polnamin and two other locals at the start of the ICTSI Orchard Ladies Invitational at Orchard’s Player course in Dasmariñas, Cavite yesterday.

Del Rosario, out to snap a pair of runner-up finishes in the first three legs of the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour, birdied Nos. 16 and 18 to emerge from the middle of the 30-player pack to the top of the heap with a 36-37 card.

But the former Philippine Ladies Open champion, who stumbled with four bogeys in an eight-hole stretch from No. 8 after birdying No. 7, is chased by a slew of pursuers, including defending

champion Chihiro Ikeda, former LPGT leg winner Sarah Ababa and Thai first-timer Polnamin, who all turned in 74s.

The lead changed hands so often in hot condition with Apple Fudolin wresting early control with a oneunder card after 10 holes before sliding to joint fifth at 75 after four bogeys, and Ababa and Polnamin taking charge with one-under after No. 12, only to falter with three bogeys in the next four.

Five shared the lead in one stretch before the organizing Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. suspended play due to threat of lightning late in the afternoon just after Del Rosario surged ahead with that birdie-par-birdie windup.

“The greens are slow and tough

to read compared to where I played last week in Thailand LPGA,” said Del Rosario in describing her early struggle on the putting surface where she muffed par-putts inside eight feet on Nos. 8, 11, 14 and 16.

But she came away with superb wedge shots in the last three holes, setting up a 12-footer on No. 16 and a 10-footer on the last to gain control.

Ababa, seeking a follow-up to her Sherwood victory in 2015, hit back-to-back birdies from No. 8 to negate a bogey on No. 2. But like majority of the field, she went on a rollercoaster ride coming home, dropping three shots on Nos. 13, 14 and 16 and ending up with a 74.

ERC inaction on power deals hit B3

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017

Meralco: June power rates likely to be lower

FPH ANNUAL MEETING. Three

members of the Lopez family lead the annual stockholders’ meeting of First Philippine Holdings Corp., one of the country’s biggest conglomerates, on May 29, 2017. They are (from left) chairman and chief executive Federico Lopez, his father and chairman emeritus Oscar and Oscar’s brother and vice chairman Manuel.

The three were reelected to the FPH board, along with 11 others. The stockholders also elected Amado Valdez, chairman of Social Security System, as a new member of the board. Reelected were Francis Giles Puno, Augusto AlmedaLopez, Ferdinand Edwin CoSeteng, Peter Garrucho Jr., Elpidio Ibañez, Eugenio Lopez III, Rizalina Mantaring, Artemio Panganiban, Ernesto Rufino Jr., Juan Santos and Washington Sycip.

By Alena Mae S. Flores CONSUMERS of power distributor Manila Electric Co. may see lower power rates in June on the combined impact of lower spot market prices, higher plant dispatch and implementation of the P6.9-billion refund.

“This June, we may see a possible decrease in the generation charge as indications point to lower WESM [Wholesale Electricity Spot Market] prices including higher plant dispatch,” Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said.

He said aside from lower generation charges, the P6.9-billion refund to consumers would also be implemented in the June billing of consumers.

Meralco received an approval from the Energy Regulatory to refund P6.9 billion, representing over-recoveries for generation and transmission charges in the period January 2014 to December 2016.

Zaldarriaga said while the approved feed-in tariff allowance would have an upward impact on prices, this would be offset by a “higher refund impact.”

ERC earlier allowed National Transmission Corp. to collect an additional P0.0590 per kilowatt-hour in the feed-in tariff allowance of power consumers, bringing the rate to P0.1830 per kWh starting June.

Meralco’s power rates went down P0.29 per kWh in May following the downward movement of the generation charge.

Overall rates for a typical residential household was placed at P9.60 per kWh in May, lower than P9.89 per kWh in April.

Overall generation charge went down P0.2126 per kWh in May to P4.8839 per kWh from P5.0965 per kWh, inclusive of the last installment of the incremental liquid fuel cost due to the Malampaya maintenance shutdown from Jan. 28 to Feb. 16, 2017.

Meralco said the cost of power sourced from IPPs went down P0.87 per kWh, while the cost of power from PSAs declined P0.14 per kWh.

Govt authorizes rice imports of 250,000 MT

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales

T

HE National Food Authority Council on Wednesday approved the importation of 250,000 metric tons of rice through private suppliers to boost the country’s buffer stock for the lean season.

“The NFAC approved the importation of 250,000 metric tons through open tender,” NFA spokesperson Marietta Ablaza told Manila Standard.

“The import committee will still meet for the approval of the terms of reference of the bidding of the said quantity,” Abalaza said.

Ablaza said the ToR would be presented to the NFA Council for approval and publication.

Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco

earlier said the council approved the rice importation by NFA via government-toprivate scheme to augment the agency’s buffer stock in the lean months of July to September.

Evasco said the NFA was shifting from government-to-government importation to government-to-private shipments because the latter would be more competitive, less corrupt and transparent.

Instead of limiting the bidders to government counterparts, private suppliers from participating countries may now be allowed to participate in the bidding, making the whole process covered by the Government Procurement Reform Act, unlike the G2G scheme.

“We have to make drastic changes in order to ensure a corrupt free and competitive bidding process at the NFA. Hence instead of doing a G2G, the

council will push for a G2P to increase accountability and transparency. While the G2G is exempt from the Government Procurement Reform Act, G2P is not,” said Evasco.

The Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council requires the NFA to maintain a rice buffer stock that is good to last for 15 days at any given time and for 30 days at the onset of the lean months. At present, the country’s daily consumption rate requirement is 32,720 metric tons or 654,600 bags.

The lean months is a period of low or zero harvest, thus buffer stock requirement is doubled to ensure that the government has enough to supply the needs of calamity victims anywhere across the country.

NFA rice stocks are prepositioned from surplus to deficit at calamity prone areas within two months prior on the onset of the lean months.

Teo: Foreign tourists skip Mindanao tours

By Othel V. Campos

NEW BSP BOOKS. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas launches two books: Philippine Central Banking:

A Strategic Journey to Stability held by BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. (right) and Likha: Enduring Legacies of Filipino Artistry held by Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. The first book was written by BSP’s top officials with broad and deep experience in the science and the art of central banking. Likha celebrates Filipino heritage by showcasing the BSP’s decorative arts collection which include intriguing pre-Hispanic pottery, finely-crafted Hispanic gold, expressive religious art, exquisite embroidery and cleverly designed furniture.

THE Tourism Department expressed confidence on the resiliency of the country’s tourism industry and its strength to weather the adverse effect of martial rule in Mindanao.

“This is just a temporary setback. We express full confidence in in our Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police,” Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon Tulfo-Teo said during a recent dialog with private sector representatives.

The department and stakeholders met to assess the situation and draw up immediate steps to address notices of cancellation of trips and hotel bookings from the Korean, Japanese and Chinese markets.

A delegation led by Tourism Undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr. is on its way to Seoul, South Korea to dispel fears and the negative perception on traveling to the Philippines.

“Although cancellations have

been reported, we want to inform our visitors of the wide selection of alternative destinations in Mindanao and elsewhere in the country,” Teo said.

Teo said Mindanao can recover and regain its visitors, citing Davao City’s tourist arrivals of 459,104 in the first quarter of this year, which are up 13 percent year-on-year.

“For most Davaoeños, martial law means peace and order will prevail and that this is a temporary situation, as Secretary Teo pointed out,” said Davao City tourism operations officer Generose Tecson.

The Tourism regional offices will provide crisis management trainings, offer alternative destinations, as well as promote tourism activities and destinations across the Philippines.

Teo also assured the public that department would continue monitoring on the ground to execute further appropriate remedial measures in ensuring local and foreign tourists were kept out of harm’s way.

PH climbs one spot to rank 41st most competitive in the world THE Philippines rose one place in the 2017 World Competitiveness Yearbook rankings, after sliding last year, on improved economic performance.

Switzerland-based International Institute of Management Development said the Philippines climbed to 41st among 63 economies this year from 42nd in 2016 and matching its ranking in the 2015 edition of the yearbook.

Among Asia-Pacific economies, the Philippines also moved up from 12th in 2016 to 11th this year.

B1

The economies were evaluated across 346 criteria in four broad categories: economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure. WCY uses both macroeconomic data and perceptions-based indicators in ranking the competitiveness of countries.

The Philippines’ economic performance ranking soared 12 places to 26th in 2017 from 38th in 2016.

The improvement was largely driven by a jump from 31st to 12th in the domestic economy sub-

factor, led by robust GDP growth, as well as improvement in the employment sub-factor from 19th to 4th.

The Philippines ranked third in both real GDP growth and resilience of economy, but placed near the bottom of the rankings in GDP per capita.

However, the Philippines dropped one place in terms of government efficiency, from 36th in 2016 to 37th in 2017.

While the country rose nine places in the public finance sub-

factor, from 34th to 25th, this could not make up for the drop in the sub-factors for tax policy (15th to 18th) and societal framework (43rd to 51st).

The Philippines also performed well in the criteria for central bank policy at second, but continued to lag behind in terms of start-up procedures and other criteria covering ease of doing business.

The rankings for business efficiency saw the Philippines slip, from 24th in 2016 to 28th this year. Drops were registered in

the sub-factors for productivity and efficiency, from 36th to to 52nd; labor market, from 4th to 5th; management practices, from 24th to 28th; and attitudes and values, from 12th to 18th. The country rose from 35th to 33rd in finance.

The Philippines placed highly in skilled labor, flexibility and adaptability, and national culture. On the other hand, the country placed 62nd in both overall productivity and labor productivity.

Othel V. Campos

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Wednesday, May 31, 2017

F OREIGN E XCHANGE R ATE Currency

Unit

US Dollar Peso

United States Dollar

1.000000

49.8670

Japan

0.009024

0.4500

Yen

UK

Pound

1.286000

64.1290

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128324

6.3991

Switzerland

Franc

1.026062

51.1666

Canada

Dollar

0.743052

37.0538

Singapore

Dollar

0.722648

36.0363

Australia

Dollar

0.746400

37.2207

Bahrain

Dinar

2.654491

132.3715

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266681

13.2986

Brunei

Dollar

0.720046

35.9065

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000075

0.0037

Thailand

Baht

0.029317

1.4620

UAE

Dirham

0.272287

13.5781

Euro

Euro

1.118800

55.7912

Korea

Won

0.000890

0.0444

China

Yuan

0.145932

7.2772

India

Rupee

0.015475

0.7717

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.233590

11.6484

New Zealand

Dollar

0.709400

35.3756

Taiwan

Dollar

0.033152

1.6532 Source: PDS Bridge

IN BRIEF LRT 1 to increase trips, reduce queues LIGHT Rail Manila Corp. said it will increase the number of trips at Light Rail Transit Line 1 to reduce headways and shorten waiting time for commuters.

LRMC president and chief executive Rogelio Singson said the new timetable would increase the number of trips on weekdays by 8 percent from the current 512 to 554 trips daily.

“For LRT-1 passengers, more trips mean shorter waiting time and lesser crowding on the platforms,” he said.

Current schedule for holidays and weekends will remain the same, he said.

For the new timetable, LRMC will also increase the speed limit of 40 kilometers per hour to allow 60 kph, along the LRT-1 north extension, or the four-kilometer line from Monumento to Roosevelt stations only. Extended hours in the morning and evening, which had been on dry run, will also be made official in the new timetable.

From 5 a.m., first trip from both Baclaran and Roosevelt Stations will be 4:30 a.m. The last trip will leave Baclaran at 10 p.m. and Roosevelt at 10:15 p.m.

“The extended hours is one innovation that has generated positive feedback from passengers,” Singson said.

Singson said LRMC achieved an average daily ridership of 443,000 in the first quarter of 2017, or a six percent year-on-year increase.

Darwin G. Amojelar

Megaworld bullish on high-end project MEGAWORLD Corp., the real estate arm of billionaire Andrew Tan, said it expects to raise P3 billion in sales from a newly launched high-end residential project in McKinley West, Taguig City.

Megaworld said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the project called The Albany would be a low-density, low-rise residential tower, composed of only 64 spacious units.

“This is Megaworld’s first residential development that exudes the superlative features of everything exclusive, private and sophisticated,” Megaworld vice president for sales and marketing Rachelle Penaflorida said.

The tower, which was designed by UK-based architectural firm Broadway Malyan, will feature three-level penthouse suites with their own private keycard-operated elevators that open directly to the resident’s private foyer.

Each penthouse suite has four spacious bedrooms in the first two levels, expansive dining area with a 7.4-meter ceiling height and a roof terrace that features a private pool, relaxation deck and a grilling garden. Every living room in penthouse suites will have a skylight ceiling for natural lighting.

Jenniffer B. Austria

B2

Business

THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Rockwell allocates P14b for 2017 capex

By Jenniffer B. Austria ROCKWELL Land Inc., the property unit of the Lopez Group, said capital expenditures this year will increase 16.6 percent to P14 billion from P12 billion in 2016 primarily to construct residential and leasing projects.

Rockwell Land vice president for finance Ellen Almodiel said the company planned to launch two residential and three commercial projects this year.

One residential development lined up this year is a twohectare project in Katipunan, Quezon City called the Arton by Rockwell.

Almondiel said the project would contain three high-end residential buildings that would generate P4 billion in sales each.

She said while several residential buildings were built along Katipunan catering to students within the area, there was no residential development for the high-end market yet.

The project will offer 1,700 units priced at P140,000 per sqm.

Meanwhile, Rockwell Land is also set to complete two commercial developments this year that will add 70,000 square meters of leasable space to its portfolio.

Among these are Santolan Town Plaza in San Juan City and a two-tower office project in Mandaluyong City.

The company is also set to open by end-December 2017 the 6,000-sqm expansion phase of the Power Plant mall. The expansion phase will add 50 new stores and two additional cinemas.

Market slides; 2Go, Eagle lead advancers S TOCKS fell for a second day, tracking other Asian markets as investors turned cautious over interest rate policies in the US and European elections.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, lost 23 points, or 0.3 percent to close at 7,837.12, as five of the six major sectors declined.

The heavier index, representing all shares, also dropped 5 points, or 0.1 percent, to settle at 4,685.50, on a value turnover of P17.1 billion. Losers outnum-

bered gainers, 107 to 99, while 39 issues were unchanged.

Nine of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by logistics company 2Go Group Inc. which jumped 15.2 percent to P27.60. Newly listed Eagle Cement Corp. gained 1 percent to P15.72, while Security Bank Corp. gained 0.8 percent to P217.40, while

Alliance Global Group Inc., the holding company of tycoon Andrew Tan, rose 0.9 percent to P15.32.

Meanwhile, most Asian stocks fell as better-than-expected Chinese factory data wasn’t enough to sway investors concerned over interest rate policies and European elections. The British pound dropped while the yuan climbed.

Chinese shares pared earlier gains, while a slump in banks weighed down Japan’s Topix. The British pound dropped for the first time this week as a poll showed Theresa May’s Conservative Party may miss a majority. The onshore yuan headed for the highest closing level since November amid

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2017

NAME

OPEN

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 4.07 38,000 49.8 31,300 105.4 5,646,840 122.5 4,238,010 1.47 35,000 37 303,900 10 1,500 16.12 141,000 25.7 912,900 7.75 15,300 1.7 65,000 810 550 0.73 19,398,000 87.45 4,397,530 0.79 1,500,000 15.42 4,500 25.4 1,500 68 566,160 241 220 113.7 90 88.05 90 64.1 476,690 217.8 2,471,210 1,650 135 84.55 121,280 1.2 51,000

151,040 1,560,230 595,134,436 518,743,643 51,170 11,266,960 14,987 2,277,576 23,354,370 118,575 105,940 445,500 14,673,970 383,849,615.50 1,190,350 69,390 38,100 38,494,502 52,814 10,233 7,924.50 30,530,057 537,601,886 222,750 10,261,720.50 61,730

1,445,675 6,157,333 111,960,528 4,388,120 -1,305,760 11,231,060 -8,100 -22,300 70,426,621 9,121,807 1,541,969.50 98,323,120 140,250 6,295,768 -

39 7.58 0.83 1.7 27.9 0.255 7.45 17.4 22.9 14.6 75 79.8 85.1 1.95 5.45 11.56 12.44 15.46 9.81 6.8 5.94 18.54 69.95 13.32 14.68 10.14 1.72 202.4 4.15 3.62 25 32 18.5 19 272.8 0.242 6.2 3.34 10.8 3.7 11.5 2.03 9.72 2.04 65.9 6.04 297 4.58 4.3 12.98 4.97 0.148 1.35 161.5 4.09 2.21 31 1.1

INDUSTRIAL 39.25 5,208,100 7.61 2,525,700 0.83 319,000 1.74 2,146,000 30.5 1,372,100 0.255 15,740,000 7.61 6,052,400 17.8 2,274,600 23.2 275,600 14.6 1,700 75 250 79.8 130 85.1 10 1.98 326,000 5.45 79,700 11.88 15,200 12.5 7,785,100 15.62 12,034,200 9.85 2,064,300 6.83 703,600 6.1 27,555,800 18.98 3,548,300 69.95 559,740 13.5 39,200 14.72 267,700 10.26 1,540,100 1.77 2,083,000 204.6 1,940,890 4.18 463,000 3.62 1,000 25 1,700 32.2 422,100 18.72 4,738,400 19 2,495,700 274 124,300 0.246 970,000 6.2 30,400 3.35 771,000 10.98 30,161,200 3.87 41,000 11.58 22,200 2.04 1,187,000 9.72 1,248,600 2.07 2,648,000 66.05 607,050 6.1 107,800 297.2 3,140 4.7 47,000 4.45 1,537,000 13.1 2,822,700 5.1 549,000 0.148 250,000 1.37 221,000 162 2,467,730 4.26 2,000 2.21 16,079,000 31 3,100 1.15 6,292,000

204,468,550 19,333,838 267,500 3,677,410 41,763,315 4,089,900 45,715,812 40,308,866 23 6,349,210 24,922 18,750 10,380 851 640,970 436,815 175,922 97,163,476 188,089,004 20,376,523(4, 4,835,421 166,692,905 66,810,012 39,353,788 529,128 3,937,900 15,705,718 1 3,687,880 396,969,920 1,960,480 3,620 42,920 13,592,805 88,562,016 47,899,022 34,087,208 235,410 188,580 2,591,230 332,803,916 156,120 256,872 2,423,410 12,213,918 5,479,300 40,141,682 655,528 933,842 220,060 6,844,260 36,763,606 2,776,660 37,060 300,000 400,383,347 8,350 36,035,310 96,100 7,381,860

-3,169,710 2,450,895 -86,300 -328,360 156,050 22,028,940 ,715,311.9996 -1,953,140 18,750 1,188 -864,660 1,178,858 431,743.9996) 2,265,803 42,679,566 6,899,352 -2,639,230.50 -3,255,766 ,298,646.0003 -91,790 4,434,032 10,000 -1,395,940 -54,637,750 -31,164,084 5,191,490 -56,850 145,243,680 -75,870 -108,852 1,105,484 490,030.00 12,916,507 10,847 13,740 21,719,478 14,940 1,942,305 1,276,320 -

0.37 75.6 15.14 1.13 6.08 0.345 0.35 868 8.18 13.32 7.56 0.211 1,185 7.3 78.9 1.12 7.1 16 6.21 3.6 0.057 1 2 107.4 2.67 767 1.39 305 0.285 0.224 0.245

HOLDING FIRMS 0.375 410,000 76.05 5,038,460 15.48 156,836,800 1.13 418,000 6.08 11,500 0.345 8,670,000 0.35 920,000 868 579,280 8.24 4,225,800 13.44 22,405,100 7.7 75,000 0.211 350,000 1,195 681,255 7.49 150,900 79.65 4,215,560 1.14 31,516,000 7.2 2,944,400 16 1,012,800 6.27 60,338,100 3.6 1,000 0.058 89,820,000 1.09 109,000 2.06 1,248,000 108 64,900 2.7 325,000 770 902,900 1.39 235,000 307.4 7,820 0.285 270,000 0.224 1,030,000 0.245 100,000

153,350 382,815,498.50 2,423,522,060 473,910 70,049 3,034,300 322,400 503,071,035 34,750,351(9, 300,281,586 571,131 73,930 813,844,140 1,126,645 334,815,671 ( 36,598,390 ( 21,190,024 16,232,928 378,001,181 3,600 5,126,080 113,110 2,530,080 6,999,028 880,880 695,497,055 328,400 2,400,520 77,950 231,580 24,500

32,481,596.50 471,455,156 -145,665,200 176,128.0001) 65,429,424 7,700 -6,330 -1,193,085 82,841,770.5) 107,569.9999) -183,708 966,772.00 -90,689,936 11,400 -1,471,471 33,050 -157,524,140 41,900 -959,100 -56,000 -

6.27 1.19 6.8 2.37 1.24 39.2 4.09 5.29 5.62 0.52 1.1 1.44 0.157 0.51 46.45 0.68 0.155 1.67 1.08 1.04 4.11

PROPERTY 6.28 316,100 1.19 26,098,000 6.8 1,200 2.38 184,000 1.27 7,356,000 39.4 19,201,500 4.14 2,657,000 5.32 37,500 6 700 0.53 54,010,000 1.15 606,000 1.45 1,173,000 0.161 9,350,000 0.51 1,988,000 48.5 549,200 0.68 20,244,000 0.16 630,000 1.7 8,393,000 1.1 17,940,000 1.04 536,000 4.12 23,000

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

AG FINANCE 4.1 ASIA UNITED 49.95 BANK PH ISLANDS 105.5 BDO UNIBANK 122 BRIGHT KINDLE 1.42 CHINABANK 37.1 CITYSTATE BANK 9.99 COL FINANCIAL 16.14 EAST WEST BANK 25.7 FILIPINO FUND 7.75 IREMIT 1.62 MANULIFE 810 MEDCO HLDG 0.74 METROBANK 87.5 NTL REINSURANCE 0.8 PB BANK 15.42 PBCOM 25.4 PHIL NATL BANK 68 PHIL STOCK EXCH 238.6 PHILTRUST 113.7 PSBANK 88.05 RCBC 63.5 SECURITY BANK 216 SUN LIFE 1,650 UNION BANK 84.3 VANTAGE 1.2

4.1 49.95 105.5 122.6 1.47 37.25 10 16.2 25.7 7.75 1.7 810 0.77 87.9 0.81 15.42 25.4 68 242 113.7 88.05 64.5 218 1,650 84.85 1.25

3.92 49.75 105.2 122 1.42 36.95 9.99 16.12 25.45 7.75 1.61 810 0.72 86.3 0.78 15.42 25.4 67.9 238.6 113.7 88.05 63.15 216 1,650 84.3 1.2

ABOITIZ POWER 39.15 AGRINURTURE 7.7 ALLIANCE SELECT 0.84 ALSONS CONS 1.74 ASIABEST GROUP 29 BASIC ENERGY 0.265 CEMEX HLDG 7.45 CENTURY FOOD 17.42 CIRTEK HLDG 22.95 CNTRL AZUCARERA14.7 CONCEPCION 75 CONCRETE A 80.1 CONCRETE B 85.1 CROWN ASIA 1.97 DAVINCI CAPITAL 5.5 DEL MONTE 11.58 DNL INDUS 12.48 EAGLE CEMENT 15.62 EEI CORP 9.86 EMPERADOR 6.84 ENERGY DEVT 5.95 FIRST GEN 18.98 FIRST PHIL HLDG 71.35 GINEBRA 13.44 HOLCIM 14.7 INTEGRATED MICR 10.26 IONICS 1.79 JOLLIBEE 203.8 LMG CHEMICALS 4.36 MABUHAY VINYL 3.62 MACAY HLDG 26.6 MANILA WATER 32.2 MAXS GROUP 18.9 MEGAWIDE 19.1 MERALCO 275 MG HLDG 0.243 PANASONIC 6.2 PEPSI COLA 3.35 PETRON 11.3 PHIL H2O 3.7 PHINMA 11.58 PHINMA ENERGY 2.06 PHX PETROLEUM 9.88 PHX SEMICNDCTR 2.13 PILIPINAS SHELL 65.9 PRYCE CORP 6.06 PUREFOODS 298 RFM CORP 4.58 ROXAS HLDG 4.34 SHAKEYS PIZZA 13 SPC POWER 5.1 SWIFT FOODS 0.15 TKC METALS 1.36 UNIV ROBINA 163.5 VICTORIAS 4.09 VITARICH 2.24 VIVANT 31 VULCAN INDL 1.12

39.5 7.77 0.86 1.76 33 0.27 7.65 17.8 23.2 14.7 75 80.1 85.1 1.98 5.5 11.88 12.5 15.74 10.04 6.91 6.1 18.98 71.35 13.54 14.74 10.26 1.82 205 4.36 3.62 26.6 32.4 18.9 19.5 275 0.246 6.3 3.42 11.42 3.89 11.58 2.06 9.9 2.14 66.4 6.2 298 4.7 4.63 13.14 5.2 0.15 1.37 163.7 4.26 2.28 31 1.21

ABACORE CAPITAL 0.375 ABOITIZ EQUITY 75.6 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 15.36 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 1.15 ANSCOR 6.1 ATN HLDG A 0.36 ATN HLDG B 0.35 AYALA CORP 870 COSCO CAPITAL 8.19 DMCI HLDG 13.34 FILINVEST DEV 7.7 FORUM PACIFIC 0.211 GT CAPITAL 1,199 HOUSE OF INV 7.8 JG SUMMIT 79.9 LODESTAR 1.13 LOPEZ HLDG 7.21 LT GROUP 16 METRO PAC INV 6.35 MJC INVESTMENTS 3.6 PACIFICA 0.059 PRIME MEDIA 1 PRIME ORION 2.01 SAN MIGUEL CORP 108.4 SEAFRONT RES 2.71 SM INVESTMENTS 773.5 SOLID GROUP 1.4 TOP FRONTIER 307.6 UNIOIL HLDG 0.29 WELLEX INDUS 0.225 ZEUS HLDG 0.245

0.375 76.1 15.48 1.15 6.1 0.36 0.36 871 8.26 13.46 7.7 0.214 1,209 8 80.5 1.19 7.28 16.26 6.36 3.6 0.059 1.09 2.06 108.5 2.8 774 1.4 307.6 0.29 0.228 0.245

VOLUME

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

4.62 0.355 0.395 0.82 3.84 25.65 1.75 3.25 33.7 1.01 7 0.9 5.46

4.7 0.365 0.41 0.82 3.99 25.65 1.75 3.28 33.85 1.03 7 0.9 5.53

4.51 0.335 0.38 0.72 3.84 24.5 1.72 3.25 33.5 1 7 0.88 5.44

4.7 0.34 0.38 0.73 3.88 24.8 1.75 3.28 33.7 1.03 7 0.88 5.53

66,967,000 128,420,000 17,590,000 114,668,000 456,000 8,982,900 943,000 12,000 26,970,600 10,771,000 100 628,000 11,221,800

311,545,980 44,612,500 7,012,900 86,710,670 1,771,330 222,918,105 1,630,010 39,090 908,581,250 10,962,790 700 557,170 61,562,104

74,276,520 60,500.00 -8,200 172,550 -17,240,780 154,203,820 24,732,147

2GO GROUP 24.1 ABS CBN 43.4 ACESITE HOTEL 2.11 APC GROUP 0.51 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.046 ASIAN TERMINALS 11.1 BERJAYA 5.6 BLOOMBERRY 9.69 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.087 CALATA CORP 2.25 CEBU AIR 99.55 DFNN INC 8.7 DISCOVERY WORLD 2.3 EASYCALL 3.36 GLOBE TELECOM 2,106 GMA NETWORK 6.08 GOLDEN HAVEN 16 HARBOR STAR 2.98 IMPERIAL 3.57 INTL CONTAINER 102 IPEOPLE 12.66 IPM HLDG 8.92 ISLAND INFO 0.181 ISM COMM 1.33 JACKSTONES 3.59 LBC EXPRESS 16.6 LEISURE AND RES 4.01 MACROASIA 4.48 MANILA JOCKEY 2.29 MELCO RESORTS 9.8 METRO RETAIL 3.65 NOW CORP 2.63 PACIFIC ONLINE 11.5 PAL HLDG 5.31 PHIL SEVEN CORP 170 PHILWEB 9.99 PLDT 1,727 PREMIUM LEISURE 1.6 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.395 PUREGOLD 42.8 ROBINSONS RTL 84.5 SBS PHIL CORP 6 SSI GROUP 2.67 STI HLDG 1.13 TRAVELLERS 3.46 WATERFRONT 0.95 WILCON DEPOT 5.7

28.8 43.55 2.25 0.52 0.046 11.1 5.8 10 0.088 2.3 101.5 8.74 2.5 3.36 2,118 6.08 16.14 2.98 3.57 102 12.66 8.94 0.182 1.34 3.68 16.9 4.02 4.48 2.29 9.9 3.69 2.66 11.66 5.31 170 10.56 1,750 1.61 0.395 43.5 86.1 6.3 2.69 1.14 3.46 0.96 5.79

24.1 43 1.95 0.51 0.044 11.04 5.6 9.4 0.085 2.16 99.55 8.64 2.3 3.35 2,096 6.06 15.98 2.88 3.47 100 12.66 8.92 0.181 1.31 3.54 16.5 3.92 4.42 2.24 9.77 3.64 2.58 11.5 5.31 153 9.95 1,699 1.59 0.39 42.8 84.5 5.88 2.61 1.11 3.36 0.87 5.66

SERVICES 28 4,211,100 43 49,700 2.05 4,219,000 0.51 3,623,000 0.044 23,000,000 11.04 12,700 5.8 35,500 9.4 32,390,600 0.086 48,840,000 2.17 11,350,000 101.5 267,820 8.74 40,600 2.5 23,000 3.35 5,000 2,110 121,570 6.06 309,000 16.14 93,500 2.9 1,480,000 3.52 115,000 100 4,058,070 12.66 200 8.94 310,000 0.181 1,660,000 1.33 207,000 3.68 174,000 16.86 22,700 3.94 1,341,000 4.46 431,000 2.26 98,000 9.82 4,170,500 3.69 1,340,000 2.6 2,875,000 11.58 11,400 5.31 6,500 153 102,460 10.48 4,365,500 1,728 948,895 1.61 9,529,000 0.39 2,180,000 43.25 1,105,800 85.7 439,110 5.88 267,100 2.64 4,271,000 1.14 7,864,000 3.4 1,753,000 0.87 56,381,000 5.75 14,374,200

115,633,040 2,141,955 8,897,150 1,847,850 1,030,000 140,546 202,532 312,477,367 4,204,540 25,205,060 26,913,685 353,618 55,500 16,790 256,595,040 1,875,471 1,499,106 4,328,470 403,590 410,343,634 2,532 2,766,400 300,930 272,450 621,420 378,150 5,321,440 1,907,650 221,940 40,980,919 4,929,330 7,518,240 132,284 34,515 17,393,720 45,357,741 1,638,615,815 15,290,020 852,350 47,739,110 37,626,790 1,608,284 11,269,370 8,855,670 4 5,952,830 51,572,790 82,279,464

-8,921,435 8,800 4,400 -750 -99,681,639 225,840 3,811,325.50 -65,655,240 -35,040 52,641,807 188,694 149,380 -4,470 3,069,918 790,480 -1,256,150 -223,720 199,900 -143,218,325 3,588,830 6,054,685 34,355,369 29,500 4,000,780 ,819,359.9999 1,267,460 -242,880 25,802,626

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

0.0032 1.76 5.01 12.98 2.2 2.14 0.83 0.4 9.01 2.44 0.295 0.188 0.192 0.011 0.011 1.68 6.15 2.17 0.48 0.98 0.01 5.98 0.012 9.06 3.24 158 2.6 0.0085

0.0032 1.76 5.05 13.38 2.2 2.25 0.86 0.4 10.76 2.48 0.305 0.19 0.192 0.012 0.011 1.75 6.3 2.21 0.48 0.99 0.011 5.98 0.013 9.06 3.24 158.9 2.61 0.0085

0.0032 1.65 5 12.98 2.16 2.12 0.82 0.4 9 2.43 0.285 0.188 0.191 0.011 0.011 1.68 6.13 2.13 0.48 0.98 0.01 5.8 0.012 8.99 3.2 157.9 2.6 0.0085

MINING & OIL 0.0032 91,000,000 1.67 33,823,000 5.05 301,900 13.38 2,100 2.16 10,000 2.25 14,000 0.84 799,000 0.4 3,410,000 9.97 247,500 2.48 1,077,000 0.3 2,550,000 0.189 4,100,000 0.191 540,000 0.012 2,100,000 0.011 30,000,000 1.71 533,000 6.3 1,875,000 2.17 515,000 0.48 30,000 0.98 118,000 0.011 178,500,000 5.85 597,100 0.013 51,900,000 9 783,400 3.21 1,025,000 158 962,820 2.6 12,000 0.0085 8,000,000

291,200 57,588,440 1,509,684 27,308 21,720 29,880 666,230 1,364,000 2,443,634 2,635,590 754,850 773,950 103,490 24,200 330,000 907,820 11,767,454 1,115,770 14,400 115,660 1,873,800 3,529,107 624,400 7,050,753 3,288,080 152,294,191 31,210 68,000

2,090,690 32,480 1,000,020 10,080 8,424,987 1,702,827 63,680 75,509,146 -

ABS HLDG PDR ALCO PREF B DD PREF FGEN PREF F FGEN PREF G GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF A LR PREF PCOR PREF 2A PF PREF 2 PNX PREF 3A PNX PREF 3B SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2I

42.3 106 105 110.9 114 5.82 1,008 1.1 1,025 1,017 104.3 110.1 77.2 80 77.5 79

43 106 105 112.5 114 5.84 1,008 1.1 1,025 1,017 104.3 110.1 77.3 80 77.5 79.25

41 106 105 110.9 113.8 5.82 1,005 1.1 1,025 1,008 104.3 108 77.2 80 77.45 79

PREFERRED 41 157,600 106 46,900 105 25,410 112.5 4,900 113.8 340 5.84 125,400 1,005 180 1.1 2,000 1,025 500 1,008 1,225 104.3 930 108 5,000 77.3 5,520 80 74,200 77.45 1,150 79.25 31,600

6,516,230 4,971,400 2,668,050 549,346 38,728 731,813 181,340 2,200 512,500 1,243,150 96,999 541,658 426,465 5,936,000 89,075 2,500,992.50

-2,428,680 -133,643 -

LR WARRANT

2.23

2.24

2.16

WARRANTS 2.24 187,000

408,500

-

4.25 6.24 8.13

4.06 6.15 8.01

SME 4.15 6.18 8.06

306,800 387,688 23,309,896

-202,484 10,262,957

130.5

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 129.5 129.9 9,870

1,286,130

-

NAME

OPEN

MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED PHIL ESTATES PHIL REALTY PRIMEX CORP ROBINSONS LAND ROCKWELL SHANG PROP SM PRIME HLDG STA LUCIA LAND STARMALLS SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND

MS ITALPINAS PHILAB HLDG XURPAS

4.11 6.16 8.13

FIRST METRO ETF 130.5 8990 HLDG A BROWN ANCHOR LAND ARANETA PROP ARTHALAND CORP AYALA LAND BELLE CORP CEBU HLDG 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

6.3 1.26 7 2.37 1.29 40 4.09 5.31 5.62 0.53 1.12 1.44 0.157 0.52 46.5 0.68 0.155 1.67 1.11 1.06 4.12

6.3 1.29 7 2.44 1.29 40 4.18 5.32 6 0.55 1.15 1.53 0.163 0.53 49 0.7 0.16 1.7 1.12 1.07 4.12

1,986,013 32,194,980 8,180 440,590 9,282,520 759,301,330 11,010,400 199,055 4,010 28,800,870 688,630 1,735,470 1,503,200 1,034,180 26,273,390 13,789,260 99,050 14,177,900 19,632,430 567,840 94,730

-1,628,628 101,600 124,100 -192,404,655 4,176,750 77,594 -5,450,700 160,510 -432,105 -10,484,470 1,260,800 -616,000 -

TRADING SUMMARY

SHARES

FINANCIAL

50,218,348

INDUSTRIAL

175,277,373

HOLDING FIRMS

395,042,034

PROPERTY

560,459,248

SERVICES

251,230,783

MINING & OIL

415,849,622

GRAND TOTAL

1,851,119,874

74,000 62,800 2,895,600

VALUE 1,939.77 (up) 2.45 2,532,918,188.35 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 11,061.28 (down) 11.02 2,477,305,557.83 HOLDING FIRMS 7,825.61 (down) 14.00 5,974,341,484.06 PROPERTY 3,647.77 (down) 12.38 SERVICES 1,674.89 (down) 11.25 2,646,420,586.66 MINING & OIL 12,474.02 (down) 8.70 3,211,675,834.339 PSEI 7,837.12 (down) 23.65 251,266,938.7915 All Shares Index 4,685.50 (down) 5.28 17,119,221,576.45 Gainers: 99; Losers: 107; Unchanged: 39; Total: 245

speculation policy makers are supporting the currency.

Oil extended losses and iron ore futures slid to the lowest since early November.

Asian shares briefly turned higher as China’s official factory gauge held up, adding to signs the world’s second-largest economy has maintained some of its firstquarter momentum. Data from Japan showed industrial output rebounded in April as overseas demand continued to support the nation’s economic recovery.

While equity benchmarks across the world have posted repeated records this year, potential headwinds to global growth remain. Treasury yields slid Tuesday after Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard said soft inflation could cause her to reassess the path forward for monetary policy should it linger.

Fed policy makers lifted rates in March and have penciled in two more 2017 rate increases, and investors expect the first of those to come in June.

Elections in the UK, Germany and Italy are looming as Brexit negotiations begin.

The Times of London published a YouGov poll showing that the ruling Conservative may lose 20 seats and their majority in parliament.

With Bloomberg, AFP

Eton bares five-year expansion program ETON Properties Philippines Inc., the real estate arm of tycoon Lucio Tan, plans to add 170,000 square meters of leasable space over the next five years, a top executive said Wednesday.

Eton Properties chief operating officer Josefino Lucas said in an interview following the annual stockholders’ meeting the company was focusing on building leasable assets, including office and retail projects.

“We plan to introduce several thousands of leasable space every year,” Lucas said.

Among the projects in the pipeline are a mixed-use development in Pasay City that will have office and hotel components and a 11.5-hectare retail strip in Sta. Rosa, Laguna called The Courtyard.

Eton Properties is also set to launch Eton Nexus tower 1, a 33-story office project in Ortigas Center, and Arcadia, a one-story commercial development in San Juan City.

The company said with renewed focus on recurring business, the share of leasing business was expected to account for 60 percent of total sales, from the current 45 percent.

Eton Properties in 2016 broke ground on Eton West End Square, a one-hectare, mixed-use project in West Makati which will house an office tower, a boutique mall and high-rise residential components.

It also began construction of three additional clusters at Centris Walk 2 in Eton Centris and the 25-story Cyberpod Centris Five, the fifth BPO facility in Eton Centris.

Lucas said the company was interested in re-listing its shares in the Philippine Stock Exchange. “We are waiting for leasing assets to be of sizeable amount so when we go to the back the market we have recurring income to speak of,” Lucas said.

Jenniffer B. Austria

Business

B3

THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Riverbend tops auction of 850-MW Sucat plant

SSS-IBP AGREEMENT. The Social Security System formally covers about 6,000 self-employed lawyers in the country after signing a

memorandum of agreement with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines on May 19, 2017 during the National Legal Aid Summit held at Henann Regency in Boracay Aklan. SSS chairman Dean Amado Valdez (middle) and IBP National President Rosario Setias-Reyes (fifth from right) lead the signing of the agreement. With them are SSS president and chief executive Emmanuel Dooc (fourth from right), senior vice president for account management group Judy Frances See (fourth from left) and IBP executive VP and Governor for Western Visayas Region Abdiel Dan Elijah Fajardo (third from left).

POWER Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. on Wednesday announced that Riverbend Consolidated Mining Corp. submitted the highest offer for the sale of the structures, plant equipment, auxiliaries and accessories of the decommissioned 850-megawatt Sucat power plant in Muntinlupa City.

“Riverbend was declared the bidder with the highest offer after it bested two other companies with its P305.2-million proposal,” said PSALM officer-in-charge Lourdes Alzona in a statement.

Riberbend is a mining company with headquarters in Marikina City.

Riverbend, once declared as the winning bidder, will have to dismantle, clean up and remediate the Sucat power plant site which means that the buyer shall return the present site to ground zero (road level) free and clear of wastes, toxic substances, debris and structures.

PSALM’s privatization, bids and awards committee will report the results of the sale to the board, which will then subsequently issue a notice of award upon completion of the post qualification process.

The two other companies who joined the bidding were VPD Trading and G.G. Uy Bonapor Metal Contractor Co. with financial offers of P201.6 million and P168 million, respectively.

“The successful sale of this asset advances the interest of the government as the proceeds will be part of the additional funding source for the liquidation of the National Power Corp.’s debts assumed by PSALM,” Alzona said earlier.

The Sucat plant was operational for 33 years before Units 1 and 4 were decommissioned in January 2000, and Units 2 and 3 were shut down in January 2002.

The three bidders passed the pre-qualification process of PSALM, while three others failed to advance to the next stage of the process.

Alena Mae S. Flores

ERC inaction on power deals hit

By Alena Mae S. Flores

M

ANILA Electric Co., the biggest retailer of electricity, urged the Energy Regulatory Commission to decide on its pending power supply applications, warning that further delays could raise project costs and affect the welfare of consumers.

“These power plants are really needed, especially if the Philippines continues to grow at its current trajectory and... these planned investments, infrastructures promote growth in demand,” Meralco president Oscar Reyes said.

Meralco has over 3,000 megawatts of pending power

supply agreements with the ERC, which it filed in April last year before the implementation of the competitive selection process, or CSP. The CSP required distribution utilities to undergo bidding before entering into supply agreement with generation companies.

“And time is money, every month of delay means higher EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) costs, higher financing costs, higher exchange rates so it is very very detrimental to consumers,” Reyes said.

Meralco last year signed 3,551 MW of supply agreements with seven generators, accounting for 81 percent of the 4,384 MW combined capacity of their power projects.

“I would say that it is possible that demand growth may exceed expectations, in which case power supply tightness, (and) will be a very major issue and the question is who will an-

swer for that,” Reyes said.

The company sought approval on an agreement with Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. to supply 225 MW for its baseload requirements. The deal has a rate impact reduction of P0.1327 per kilowatthour.

RP Energy, which is majority controlled by Meralco PowerGen Corp., is building an initial 300 MW coal-fired power plant in the municipality of Subic in the province of Zambales, or within the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

Meralco PowerGen is the power generation arm of Meralco. Other RP Energy sharehold-

ers are Aboitiz Power Corp. and Taiwan Cogeneration International Corp.

Meralco also signed an agreement with St. Raphael Power Generation Corp. to purchase of up to 400 MW of electrical output with a net impact rate reduction of P0.2589 per kWh. St. Rafael, a venture among Semirara Mining and Power Corp., Meralco PowerGen and Marubeni Corp., plans to construct a 700-MW coal-fired power generating facility in Calaca, Batangas.

Meralco also agreed to purchase the entire 1,200-MW output of Atimonan One Energy Inc. with a rate reduction of

P0.7799 per kWh. Atimonan One, also controlled by Meralco PowerGen, is putting up a 1,200-MW coalfired power generating facility in Atimonan, Quezon.

The company, meanwhile, signed supply agreements with two power firms owned by San Miguel Corp., namely Central Luzon Premiere Power Corp. and Mariveles Power Generation Corp.

Meralco will purchase up to 528 MW of the output of Central Luzon Premiere, which is building a 600-MW coal-fired power plant in Pagbilao, Quezon set to be operational in 2021.

IN BRIEF BSP auction again undersubscribed

billion from its latest issuance of three-year retail treasury bonds, including those generated from roadshows conducted nationwide. Julito G. Rada

THE P180-billion worth of term deposits auctioned by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Wednesday were undersubscribed by P9.2 billion as investors’ sluggish demand for the month-long instruments offset the strong appetite for weeklong deposits.

Data posted on the BSP website showed total tenders reached P170.799 billion, lower than the weekly volume of P180 billion.

The seven-day term deposits worth P40 billion lured total bids of P65.46 billion and fetched a weighted average accepted yield of 3.13 percent.

The month-long deposits worth P140 billion attracted total tenders of just P105.339 billion and had a weighted average accepted yield of 3.46 percent.

Bangko Sentral officials earlier noted a continued strong demand for the week-long instruments as banks found their relatively high rate more attractive.

They also blamed the successful issuance of retail treasury bonds by the Bureau of the Treasury for investors’ less appetite for the month-long term deposits.

The Bureau of the Treasury in April raised P175

DA to cancel permit of garlic importers THE Department of Agriculture said Wednesday it may cancel the permits of garlic importers who will not ship the crop into the country until next week.

The DA made the statement after the retail prices of garlic increased P50 per kilo due to the tight supply of the crop in the market. The average retail price of imported garlic is pegged at P200 a kilo while the local crop is sold at P250 a kilo.

“Our secretary gave the message that if importers will not import until next week, we will cancel their permits and then we will allow others to import,” said Agriculture Undersecretary Ariel Cayanan.

Cayanan said the government as of last week issue 1,000 phytosanitary-import clearances to importers. Only over 270 clearances were used.

“That is the data as of last week but progressively they are importing. I think by next week, there will be 20 containers arriving. Actually some of those (SPS) will expire within 20 days but we don’t want it to be an instrument to be capitalized,” said Cayanan. Anna Leah E. Gonzales

DISKWENTO CARAVAN. The Department of Trade and Industry-National Capital Region Office

and the Local Government of Quezon City led by city administrator Aldrin Cuna conduct the Diskwento Caravan Balik-Eskwela Edition at the Quezon City Hall. The Diskwento Caravan aims to provide opportunity for consumers to access basic goods, school supplies and prime commodities at discounted or reduced prices by bringing in manufacturers and retailers.

Virata would have protested aid rejection COMPARISONS generally are odious and should be avoided where possible.

But I find myself unable to resist the urge to make a comparison with regard to last week’s rejection by the Duterte administration of a $278 million (250 million euros) grant from the European Union (EU) to the Philippines. The comparison that I’m going to make is between President Rodrigo Duterte’s Secretary of Finance, Carlos Dominguez III and former President Ferdinand Marcos’s Minister of Finance Cesar Virata.

Mr. Dominguez, whose department is the channel for official financial flows to the Philippines, has come out in support of the rejection of the EU grant, which was triggered by the EU’s rebuke by Mr. Duterte’s war against illegal drugs. Turning

down the EU’s $278 million was perfectly OK, in the Department of Finance chief’s view. “The proposed EU grant would (have involved) a review of our adherence to the rule of law,” Mr. Domiguez has declared.

Rejecting an offer of grant funds from an institution deprives the Philippines of the amount of money that has been rejected.

Considering that the Duterte administration has announced a super-ambitious program of capital spending – “Build, build, build” is its mantra – I expected a large protest with President Duterte.

Upon being informed of the rejection plan, the DOF chief should have told his boss something like this … “Mr. President, our administration has embarked on an ambitious capital spending program and therefore we will need all the financial resources that we can get access to. I urge you, Mr. President, to reconsider your decision to reject the EU grant.”

Mr. Dominguez’s action invites a

comparison between him and one of his predecessors, Cesar Virata, this country’s longest-serving (1970-1986) chief fiscal policymaker.

Given his professional philosophy and record, Cesar Virata would have reacted differently to a Presidential desire to reject a financial grant from EU or any foreign donor. Unlike the present Secretary of Finance, Cesar Virata would not have given his approval to such a Presidential move.

On the contrary, he would have protected it.

In discussing the matter with President Marcos, Cesar Virata would have made two points. He would have told President Marcos that the Philippines had not yet reached such a fiscal position that it could now afford to turn away foreign donors of financial assistance. And he would have told President Marcos that a rejection of foreign assistance has implications that go beyond the economic domain and therefore should be avoided.

It must seem highly ironic to Mr. Virata, now the vice-chairman of Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, that no foreign offer of financial assistance was ever rejected by the 14-year-old Marcos martial-law regime, which received increasing criticism from the Western countries and the international institutions. If ever there was anyone who had ample reason to experience pique, it was Ferdinand E. Marcos.

Truth to tell, I am disappointed with the Secretary of Finance over the rejection of the EU grant. Carlod Dominguez III is basically a decent person, and I dare say that if he were still a private businessman he would not have favored the rejection.

What we have here is a case of a good man who is in bad company.

At the outset I spoke of comparisons’ being odious. Cesar Virata versus Carlos Dominuez III is an excellent example.

E-mail: rudyromero777@yahoo.com

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

B4

THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017

Business

China factory activity expands

B

EIJING―Activity in China’s key factory sector expanded in May, official data showed Wednesday, in a sign of stabilization in the world’s second-largest economy.

Recent indicators have pointed to slowing growth in the Asian economic giant as it grapples with weaker global demand, excess industrial capacity and a burgeoning debt problem.

But the latest purchasing managers’ index, a gauge of factory conditions, came in at 51.2, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, unchanged from the previous month.

Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected a read-

ing of 51.

A figure above 50 indicates growth in the sector, which has long been a major driver of the Chinese economy, while anything below points to contraction.

An expansion in market supply and demand as well as an acceleration in consumer goods manufacturing contributed to the result, NBS analyst Zhao Qinghe said.

“While Chinese growth may

have slowed from earlier this year, it looks to have stabilized at a level that is still solid and consistent with the official 6.5 percent (gross domestic product) target,” said Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital Investors in Sydney.

“China’s economy is stabilizing ahead of a modest slowdown in the second half,” said Callum Henderson, a managing director for Asia-Pacific at Eurasia Group in Singapore. “The service PMI was still very strong at 54.5, evidence that the Chinese consumer remains active.”

Small enterprises strengthened to 51, the highest in data stretching back five years, while large companies weakened to 51.2

from 52 Input prices weakened to 49.5 from 51.8 New orders were unchanged at 52.3 while new export orders rose to 50.7 from 50.6 Steel industry PMI climbed to 54.8 from 49.1 “Whether or not growth has steadied in May, the path for the months ahead is down,” Tom Orlik, chief Asia economist at Bloomberg Intelligence in Beijing, wrote in a report. “The official PMI is indicating stability, but most other early gauges point to a further moderation in growth in May. China’s markets have also only recently recovered their footing, following the deleveraging scare.”

Tommy Xie, an economist at OCBC Bank in Singapore, said

PMI would probably stay above 50 for the rest of the year as the global economy recovers.

But he warned tighter credit conditions and higher borrowing costs for factories would “inevitably slow growth.”

China is transitioning from an investment-driven economic model to one more reliant on consumer spending, which has put the brakes on growth in recent years.

But Beijing hopes that its Belt and Road initiative, an ambitious infrastructure project aimed at reviving ancient trading routes from Asia to Europe and Africa, could provide fresh impetus for economic activity.

AFP, Bloomberg

Election jitters hit British pound THE British pound was the stand-out amid muted moves in many markets, weakening on the prospect of a hung parliament in next week’s UK election and handing a boost to stocks. Crude fell a second day before the release of supply data.

Sterling dropped for the first time this week as a poll showed Theresa May’s Conservative Party may fall short of a majority. The currency’s weakness lent a hand to British equities, and the FTSE 100 Index rose as miners and energy companies weighed on the broader European gauge. Oil extended losses even as industry data later is expected to show a supply drop in the US. The American drill count is at the highest since April 2015.

Uncertainty about the reliability of polling seems to have helped contain the pound’s retreat, but the moves are a reminder of the potential risks surrounding a series of national elections in Europe this year. Meanwhile, with key central bank meetings next month on both sides of the Atlantic, investors remain focused on this week’s slew of economic data to gauge both the strength of the global economy and the path for interest rates.

“The importance of politics as a market driver currently can’t be overstated,” Societe Generale SA strategist Kit Juckes wrote in a client note.

China’s offshore yuan, meanwhile, jumped the most in four months as funding costs surged amid speculation policy makers were supporting the currency in the wake of a surprise sovereign rating downgrade. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.1 percent, paring its advance for May to 2.6 percent.

The Shanghai Composite rose 0.2 percent, after an earlier gain of 1.1 percent on betterthan-expected Chinese factory data.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.1 percent at 10:11 a.m. in London, trimming a monthly gain to 0.8 percent.

Futures on the S&P 500 were little changed. The benchmark index slipped 0.1 percent Tuesday, retreating for the first time in eight days.

The pound dropped 0.6 percent to $1.2788. The euro edged less than 0.1 percent lower, heading for a monthly gain of 2.6 percent, its best performance since January.

The yen was little changed at 110.85 per dollar after rising 0.4 percent Tuesday.

Bloomberg

TAXI STRIKE. A representative of taxi drivers is hit by an egg that splashes leader of left wing party Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias (center) during a strike action held between Atocha Train station and Neptuno Square in Madrid on May 30, 2017 against competition from rival transport companies Uber and Cabify. AFP

China, EU seek to deepen relations BRUSSELS―The EU and China will attempt to deepen ties at a summit Thursday amid rising worry about the direction taken by US President Donald Trump on trade and climate change.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will meet EU president Donald Tusk and European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker with hopes of forging an answer to Trump’s “America First” challenge.

But years of skirmishes over trade and human rights will make a deeper alliance difficult.

The incentive to strengthen links with Beijing is strong after German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the EU’s most powerful leader, on Sunday warned that the EU can no longer depend on longtime ally US as a reliable partner.

Li, China’s second most powerful leader after President Xi Jinping, will also visit Germany where he will meet Merkel and sign a cooperation deal on electric cars.

“There’s a lot we can offer each other,” said vice foreign minister Wang Chao in the run-up to the European tour by Li. The Brussels talks follow a tense international tour by Trump in which the unpredictable tycoon refused pleas by his European counterparts to adhere to the 2015 Paris climate accord.

The EU, US and China each roughly represent the same weight in the world economy and an exit by Washington from the climate deal would leave its only chance of survival in the hands of Brussels and Beijing.

Given the context, China’s premier and the heads of the European Union’s main institutions are expected to deliver a strong statement in support of the Paris agreement.

But besides climate, big obstacles to a deeper diplomatic breakthrough remain.

Also on the agenda is an EU-China investment accord that has been under negotiation since 2013 and that is largely seen as a dry run for a full trade deal. AFP

Layoffs rile India’s flagship information technology sector

By Vishal Manve MUMBAI―Experienced Indian techie Raghu Narayanaswamy lost his job recently and fears he may not get another, as analysts warn of massive layoffs across the country’s multi-billion-dollar information technology sector.

IT outsourcing has long been one of India’s flagship industries but experts say automation, a failure to keep up with new technologies and US President Donald Trump’s clampdown on visas is creating industry-wide upheaval.

India’s business dailies have reported that major IT firms are gradually laying off thousands of staff while research has claimed that hundreds of thousands of jobs could disappear in the next four years, although the companies themselves have refused to comment on numbers.

Narayanaswamy was caught up in the turmoil in March when he was let go from one of India’s top IT companies after 11 years of service. He says his future prospects appear bleak.

“I have been finding it extremely difficult to find a job these past few months,” the 40-year-old, who is based in India’s commercial capital Mumbai, told AFP. India’s IT sector boomed for more than two decades as Western companies subcontracted work to firms like Infosys, Wipro and Tech Mahindra, taking advantage of their skilled Englishspeaking workforce.

The industry employs nearly four million Indians and rakes in revenues of move than $150 billion, according to the trade body National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom).

Although layoffs are not uncommon in the industry, particu-

India’s IT sector boomed for more than two decades as Western firms subcontracted work to firms like Infosys, taking advantage of their skilled English-speaking workforce. AFP

larly in the final quarter of the financial year, union chiefs say staff are being made redundant in unprecedented numbers this year as firms deal with narrowing profits.

“Companies are unwilling to talk about the layoffs or how many techies have been served notice to leave as part of their annual appraisal,” J.S.R. Prasad, chairman of the National Confederation of Unions of IT Employees, told AFP. New skills needed India’s top IT companies have been complaining for a while about the difficulty of picking up new clients as businesses explore automation, robotics and innovative technologies such as cloud computing.

So analysts say it should come as little surprise if some are now streamlining operations.

“These changes pertaining to mass layoffs and downsizing have been due for some time and the current chain of events globally have accelerated them,” D.D. Mishra at technology research company Gartner told AFP. Nasscom this month dismissed widespread reports, including in respected Indian newspapers like The Economic Times, Mint and Business Standard, of thousands of layoffs but conceded that the rate of hiring was slowing.

It predicted that up to three million new IT positions would be added by 2025 but warned

that the industry must reinvent itself to help companies keep up with demand for more innovative technologies.

Kris Lakshmikanth, chairman of Bangalore-based recruitment firm The Headhunters, told AFP the task is huge with around 60 percent of India’s four million techies needing to be retrained.

Wipro and Tech Mahindra told AFP that they have retraining programs but refused to comment on the number of layoffs, saying it was standard practice for employees to lose their jobs if they failed to meet expectations.

Infosys failed to respond.

While Nasscom is bullish about the future for India’s tech titans, HfS Research, a US-

based business advisory firm, estimates automation could mean a 14 percent decline in India’s IT workforce with 480,000 jobs at risk by 2021.

That’s a worrying prospect for the hundreds of thousands of aspiring engineers at India’s IT colleges.

Analysts are already pessimistic about the potential effect of Trump’s curbs on H-1B visas, which India’s IT sector uses to send thousands of highly skilled engineers to America every year.

“There is a big tsunami that will affect between 150,000 and 200,000 Indian IT professionals and will continue for a long time until the industry stabilizes,” Lakshmikanth said of the challenges facing the sector. AFP

LGUs

Makati rewards loyal city workers

THE Makati City government will give loyalty awards to more than 4,000 city hall employees who have been in the service for more than 10 years in line with the city’s 347th anniversary.

Mayor Abigail Binay will lead the Loyalty Awardees Recognition Ceremony to be held this morning at the City Hall Quadrangle.

Binay initiated the loyalty award and cash incentive program for employees who have rendered continuous service with the city government for at least a decade “in recognition of their indispensable role in the delivery of quality public service.”

“This is our humble way of showing our gratitude and appreciation for our longserving city government employees. Revenues may be the lifeblood of the city government in sustaining its various programs and social services, but it is the employees who serve as its backbone,” the mayor said.

“Dedicated and loyal civil servants in the city workforce ensure that our plans are successfully carried out and translate into outstanding services and benefits for Makatizens,” she added.

According to the city Human Resource Development Office, each awardee will receive a certificate of appreciation and a corresponding cash incentive depending on their number of years in service as of Dec. 31, 2016.

The amount of cash incentive will be given “by milestone” as follows: At least 40 years in service and above, P20,000; at least 35 years up to 39 years in service, P17,500; at least 30 years up to 34 years, P15,000; at least 25 years up to 29 years in service, P12,500; at least 20 years up to 24 years, P10,000; at least 15 years up to 19 years, P7,500; and at least 10 years up to 14 years, P5,000.

The city government has organized a series of events to celebrate the city’s foundation day, starting with the launching last Tuesday of the all-new “Makatizen Card” to residents and city hall employees. Joel E. Zurbano

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor Roger M. Garcia, Assistant Editor jimbo.gulle@gmail.com mslocalgov@gmail.com THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

BLUE ALERT. Dormant aircraft once used in the field by the various branches of the military adorn a garden at the Philippine Military Academy campus in Baguio City. Owing to the ongoing crisis in Marawi City, the PMA, the country’s premier military school, is on blue alert status along with all military camps in Luzon, as authorities restrict the entry of tourists and other non-organic civilians to the campus, which draws as many as 12,000 visitors a day. Dave Leprozo Jr.

‘One-strike policy for MMDA’

By Joel E. Zurbano

N

EW Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Danilo Lim will impose a one-strike policy and vowed to dismiss from the service traffic enforcers and other agency employees found to be corrupt, abusive and remiss in their work.

“I would like to know what I am working with, and I would decide if these individuals should stay here [at MMDA] or not,” Lim said Wednesday.

The Commission on Audit reported in 2015 that only a handful of MMDA traffic enforcers are qualified to man and implement traffic rules and regulations on the streets of Metro Manila.

The CoA report further said more than 2,000 traffic enforcers currently deployed on the roads in the metropolis have not undergone and passed the required training and examinations to perform traffic duties.

“The concerns previously raised by CoA two years ago have been addressed and being corrected until now to ensure

that all of our traffic enforcers are well-trained before they are deployed,” Lim said.

The former Army brigadier general said he welcomes anyone to come forward and file a complaint against erring MMDA personnel.

Lim, whose marching orders from President Duterte are to stamp out corruption in the agency, added he has already ordered a thorough review of contracts MMDA has entered with private companies.

“I will definitely not sign or approve these [contracts] if we will find them not in order,” Lim said.

Last week, Lim appointed his trusted men to various positions in the agency.

Among them were Jose Arturo Garcia, officer-in-charge

for the Office of the Assistant General Manager for Planning and concurrent Chief of Staff of the Office of the Chairman; Michael Salalima, Deputy Chief of Staff and Spokesperson (Office of the Chairman); Gen. Joe Campo, Deputy for Planning; Gen. Roberto Almadin, OIC for Operations (Traffic, Flood Control, and Solid Waste); lawyer Romando Artes, who was appointed as OIC for the Office of the Assistant General Manager for Finance and Administration; and Vic Pablo Trinidad, OIC for Legal Services.

“These gentlemen will provide assistance to the current MMDA directors and heads of offices to make improvements on various programs and projects,” said Lim.

congressional inquiry into PGIN’s purchase of motor vehicles amounting to P66.55 million sourced from the province’s share of the Tobacco Excise Tax, or Republic Act 7171.

These vehicles had been distributed to barangay captains for use of tobacco farmers and other agricultural processes as a post-harvest facility, such as in transporting produce from farms to markets.

House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas cited the PGIN employees in contempt and motioned for their detainment for “refusing to answer questions” he asked regarding the purchases based on photocopied documents.

The committee had asked to see the original documents, which had been submitted from corresponding Provincial Capitol offices to the Commission on Audit.

PRODUCT LAUNCH. Miss Global Philippines 2017 beauty pageant contestants help launch the Bio Luce organic shampoo from Japan led by Rizza Lao, founder and chairperson of Miss Global Philippines, with Kazuyoshi Irizuki president and brand manager of Bio Luce, during a press conference in Quezon City. Lino Santos

Manila cops boost manhunt for Quiapo bombers

By Sandy Araneta MANILA Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada on Wednesday directed the Manila Police District to intensify the manhunt for the suspects of the May 6 twin Quiapo blasts that killed two people.

“I trust MPD to solve this case in due time. I have ordered General Coronel to utilize all legal means to capture the perpetrators,” said Estrada.

On the other hand, MPD Director Chief Supt. Joel Coronel clarified the police have no solid evidence to pin down the three “persons of interests” they invited for questioning last Tuesday.

Coronel said the MPD had invited Halid Macatanong, Aamir Shahzad Khan and Joanne Palmiano.

“They were invited and brought for questioning because we have information that they

Based on data from the agency’s Legal and Legislative Affairs Staff, a total of 681 MMDA personnel have administrative cases. Of that figure, 129 were dismissed from the service after undergoing investigation and due process, while 134 were formally charged.

Also, 91 personnel were preventively suspended for various cases, while 257 were reprimanded.

The MMDA urged the people to report abusive personnel via the agency’s social networking sites. Motorists or any complainant can report the so-called “bad eggs” within the agency via the agency’s Facebook page and the website mmda.gov.ph, where the complaint portal “I Will Act” is hosted.

Taguig bolsters smoking ban in city

Habeas corpus writ filed for 6 PGIN staff A PETITION for the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus has been filed at the Court of Appeals by legal counsels of the six employees of the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte or PGIN ordered detained by the House Committee on Good Governance.

Atty. Da Vinci Crisostomo, also a member of Ilocos Norte’s Sangguniang Panlalawigan, explained their petition as a request to the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Representatives to bring the employees to the Court and explain the basis of the Committees decision.

“Citing them in contempt and issuing a detainment order was not right,” said Crisostomo. “One ground for contempt [at the House] is ‘refusal to answer any question,’ but we saw in the [hearing] transcript and we heard that all they asked of them were answered.”

The employees acted as resource persons for the

C1

were present during the bombings,” Coronel said. “But based on the investigation conducted, there’s no evidence to establish that they are connected with the bombings.”

Coronel said the trio “are due for release anytime.”

Police investigators believe the May 6 twin explosions in Quiapo targeted Nasser Abinal, a Shiite Muslim cleric who also works as tax officer of the Bureau of Inter-

nal Revenue. Abinal was not in the office during the explosions.

The MPD said the suspects executed the plan to kill Abinal by using two remote-controlled bombs set to explode hours apart. The first blast happened at around 6 p.m. on May 6 at the office of Abinal.

A GrabExpress delivery partner handed over a package to Mohamad Bainga, an aide of Abinal. The package exploded,

killing both men and wounding four others.

Less than three hours later that same day, the second blast occurred at the intersection of Norzagaray and Elizondo street and hurt two police officers.

Estrada reassured the city’s 4,600-strong police force of continued logistical and financial support to improve their capability of protecting the capital city and solving crimes.

IN SUPPORT of the World No Tobacco Day, the city government of Taguig will be strictly observing the revitalized anti-smoking drive in the entire city.

Under the City Ordinance 65, smoking is strictly prohibited, including vaping or the use of Electronic or E-cigarette, electronic sisha (water pipes) and other similar devices.

President Rodrigo Duterte has also signed Executive Order No. 26 (Providing for the Establishment of Smoke-Free Environments in Public and Enclosed Spaces), which bans smoking in public places nationwide.

Under Republic Act 9211 or the Tobacco Regulation Act, fines and penalties await violators.

“We all know that smoking, as well as inhaling second-hand smoke, is detrimental to one’s health particularly to our children,” said Mayor Laarni Cayetano.

The city government advised the public to refrain from smoking especially in public places specifically in: • Youth activity center like playgrounds and other recreational places • Schools including universities and colleges (Inside and outside campuses, premises) • Elevators and stairwells • Gas stations and other hazardous places • Hospitals, dental clinics, laboratories, pharmacies, nursing homes and related places • Public and private transportation • Restaurants, airports, terminals, except in separate smoking areas • Food preparation areas • Government institutions Joel E. Zurbano

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Standard Manila TODAY Republic of the Philippines Standard

TODAY GOVERNMENT SERVICE INSURANCE SYSTEM GSIS Building, Financial Center, Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City 1308 GSIS ACQUIRED ASSETS FOR DISPOSITION

C2

PROVINCE District

/Subdivision

City Property Location /Municipality

TCT/CCT No. Lot Area Minimum Property Occupancy Bidding Date Place of Bidding

(sqm) Acceptable Classification Status

Offer / CMV

( ₱ )

1

Laguna

ADELINA COMPLEX III, Calaboso

Binan

B004 L019 Ph 3 Santan St.

T-306001

88.00

415,200.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

Level 8, Narra Room, GSIS Building,

2

Laguna

ADELINA COMPLEX III, Calaboso

Binan

B005 L012 Ph 3

T-306009

80.00

362,000.00

House & Lot Unoccupied

18-Jul-17

Financial Center, Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City

3

Laguna

ADELINA COMPLEX III, Calaboso

Binan

B013 L020 Ph 3

T-306010

106.00

539,600.00

House & Lot Unoccupied

18-Jul-17

4

Laguna

ADELINA COMPLEX III, Calaboso

Binan

B016 L002 Ph 3

T-306013

98.00

569,800.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

5

Laguna

ADELINA COMPLEX III, Calaboso

Binan

B017 L010 Ph 3

T-306014

80.00

378,666.67

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

6

Laguna

ADELINA COMPLEX III, Calaboso

Binan

B018 L011 Ph 3

T-306006

80.00

378,666.67

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

7

Laguna

ADELINA COMPLEX III, Calaboso

Binan

B019 L008 Ph 3

T-306020

88.00

486,000.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

8

Laguna

ADELINA COMPLEX III, Calaboso

Binan

B019 L014 Ph 3

T-306012

88.00

411,200.00

House & Lot Unoccupied

18-Jul-17

9

Laguna

ADELINA COMPLEX III, Calaboso

Binan

B021 L025 Ph 3

T-306007

75.00

450,000.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

10 Laguna

JUANA COMPLEX, Halang

Binan

B005 L018 Ph 1

T-125857

180.00

1,696,000.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

11 Laguna

JUANA COMPLEX, Halang

Binan

B006 L014 Ph 1 Agate St.

T-126005

294.00

2,254,000.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

12 Laguna

JUANA COMPLEX, Halang

Binan

B010 L026 Ph 1

T-125297

180.00

1,307,500.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

13 Laguna

JUANA COMPLEX, San Francisco

Binan

B003 L010 Ph 6 Samuel St.

T-206384

268.00

1,745,200.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

14 Laguna

JUANA COMPLEX, San Francisco

Binan

B003 L012 Ph 6 Samuel St.

T-206387

302.00

1,939,000.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

15 Laguna

JUANA COMPLEX, San Francisco

Binan

B006 L001 Ph 3A

T-189056

329.00

2,243,266.67

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

16 Laguna

JUANA COMPLEX, San Francisco

Binan

B006 L007 Ph 6

T-192909

306.00

2,080,200.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

17 Laguna

JUANA COMPLEX, San Francisco

Binan

B010 L008 Ph 6 Abraham St.

T-213597

150.00

1,029,080.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

18 Laguna

JUANA COMPLEX, San Francisco

Binan

B010 L009 Ph 6 Abraham St.

T-202104

150.00

1,029,080.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017

Cagayan town transfers seat of government

By Nazario A. Rodriguez Jr.

L

IBERTAD, Abulug, Cagayan—A new and modernized town hall will rise soon in this thriving northwestern part of the province when the seat of power of Abulug will be transferred from the interior-seaside portion of the municipality to the highway.

19 Laguna

JUANA COMPLEX, San Francisco

Binan

B011 L027 Ph 6 Moses St.

T-213619

306.00

1,918,280.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

20 Laguna

JUANA COMPLEX, San Francisco

Binan

B011 L034 Ph 3B

T-202101

160.00

876,000.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

21 Laguna

JUANA COMPLEX, San Francisco

Binan

B011 L036 Ph 3B

T-198040

150.00

825,000.00

House & Lot Unoccupied

18-Jul-17

22 Laguna

JUANA COMPLEX, San Francisco

Binan

B011 L038 Ph 3B

T-198060

150.00

825,000.00

House & Lot Unoccupied

18-Jul-17

23 Laguna

JUANA COMPLEX, San Francisco

Binan

B011 L039 Ph 3B

T-198032

150.00

825,000.00

House & Lot Unoccupied

18-Jul-17

24 Laguna

JUANA COMPLEX, San Francisco

Binan

B013 L019 Ph 3A

T-201490

180.00

1,098,000.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

25 Laguna

JUANA COMPLEX, San Francisco

Binan

B014 L029 Ph 3A

T-195411

180.00

1,098,000.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

26 Laguna

ADELINA COMPLEX II

San Pedro

B003 L009 Ph 2SHT1 Camella St.

T-134065

159.00

1,660,400.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

27 Laguna

ADELINA COMPLEX II

San Pedro

B003 L016 Ph 2SHT2 Carnation St.

T-131509

153.00

1,000,800.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

28 Laguna

ADELINA COMPLEX II

San Pedro

B003 L021 Ph 2SHT1 Goldfield St.

T-134031

150.00

1,428,000.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

29 Laguna

ADELINA COMPLEX II

San Pedro

B004 L002 Ph 2SHT1 Adelina cor. Goldfield St.

T-135550

188.00

1,746,200.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

30 Laguna

ADELINA COMPLEX II

San Pedro

B004 L020 Ph 2SHT1 Goldfield St.

T-135472

150.00

1,587,500.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

31 Laguna

ADELINA COMPLEX II

San Pedro

B005 L010 Ph 2A Jasmine cor. Cattleya St.

T-142625

243.00

1,588,300.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

32 Laguna

ADELINA COMPLEX II

San Pedro

B010 L014 Ph 2SHT1 Dahlia St.

137341

151.00

1,045,600.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

33 Laguna

ROSARIO COMPLEX, San Vicente

San Pedro

B001 L017 Ph 1A Our Lady of Piat St.

T-115153

180.00

1,611,000.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

34 Laguna

ROSARIO COMPLEX, San Vicente

San Pedro

B004 L004 Ph 1 Our Lady of Immaculate Concepcion St. T-105393

240.00

1,938,000.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

Level 8, Narra Room, GSIS Building, Financial

35 Laguna

ROSARIO COMPLEX, San Vicente

San Pedro

B012 L018 Ph 1 Our Lady of Carmel St.

T-107511

230.00

2,155,000.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

Center, Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City

36 Laguna

ROSARIO COMPLEX, San Vicente

San Pedro

B020/4 L004A Ph 1A (48) Our Lady of Candelaria St.

T-115219

224.00

2,174,666.67

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

37 Laguna

ROSARIO COMPLEX, San Vicente

San Pedro

B022 L007 Ph 1 Our Lady of Candelaria St.

T-112069

192.00

1,571,400.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

38 Laguna

ROSARIO COMPLEX, San Vicente

San Pedro

B024 L008 Ph 1 Our Lady of Grace St.

T-115106

192.00

1,864,000.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

39 Laguna

ROSARIO COMPLEX, San Vicente

San Pedro

B026 L048 Ph 1 Our Lady of Marian St.

T-112099

292.00

2,437,000.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

40 Laguna

SAMPAGUITA VILLAGE, Sampaguita

San Pedro

B014 L008 Dahlia St.

T-41122

180.00

1,416,000.00

House & Lot Occupied

18-Jul-17

Rep. Baby Aline P. VargasAlfonso of the 2nd District of Cagayan said the complete transfer of the municipal hall from Centro Abulug to Barangay Libertad is envisioned to bring progress and development to the town, after she led the groundbreaking ceremony of the multimillion-peso flagship project on May 27, which was the last day of the town’s fiesta.

The site is adjacent to the public market, post office and police station. All three buildings were established in Barangay Libertad a few years back in anticipation of the transfer of the seat of power.

It is also located at the back of the Libertad National High School, where Vargas-Alfonso spoke to about 500 town officials, including the mayor, members of the Sangguniang Bayan, heads of depart-

ments, barangay officials, health workers, teachers and visitors from neighboring municipalities.

Vargas-Alfonso thanked the full support of the mayor, the local legislature and the Department of Public Works and Highways for this project, which she says costs between P95 million to P100 million.

The lady solon is from this town. Her younger brother, Jose Emmanuel P. Vargas, is the mayor of Abulug, and her elder sister, Precy Vargas, is the vice mayor.

The vice governor, Melvin Vargas Jr., and board member Jeff Vargas are her nephews.

“This is a historic day. This is to bring us closer to the constituents and bring progress and development to the municipality,” the mayor said in his welcome message.

Vizcaya honors model grandparents, elderly

By Ben Moses Ebreo

GENERAL GUIDELINES: 1.

Disposal of GSIS Investment Properties – Retail Units (IP-RUs) is through a competitive public bidding process. Acceptance of Purchase Offer shall start on the scheduled bidding date and time.

2.

Dropping of bid envelopes inside the designated bid box will be on the date of auction from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Opening of Bids will immediately follow.

3.

Disposal of GSIS IP-RUs is on “As-Is Where-Is” basis. Interested bidders are enjoined to personally inspect the GSIS IP-RUs for sale. “As-Is Where-Is” is defined as the present physical condition of the retail unit that GSIS is selling and the buyer is buying, “with all attendant faults, if any,” whether or not immediately apparent and without any express or implied warranty. The buyer takes this condition at his or her own risk, without recourse against the GSIS as to their condition. This includes knowledge by the buyer of the presence of occupants in the retail-unit being purchased.

4.

Strictly, “One bidder, One specific property” only, which means that a bidder cannot submit two (2) or more bids for one property. A bidder may submit one bid each to as many properties as he wants to buy, as long as, he posts a bidder’s deposit for each property in an amount provided below. The bidder must present valid government IDs upon registration on the date of public bidding.

5.

Purchase offer may either be in Cash or through External Financing Institution.

6.

A downloadable bid form shall be properly accomplished with the following data: a. Name and complete address of the bidder b. Exact address of property you are interested to bid c. Transfer Certificate of Title No. d. Amount of bid (in numbers and in words) e. 10 % Bidder’s Deposit equivalent to 10% of the total amount of bid offer f.

Signature of the bidder/representative

7.

Bid proposal shall be written in words and in figures and shall not be lower than the Minimum Bid Price of the property published in the newspaper or posted in the GSIS website. Should there be a difference in the amount in words and in figures, the amount in words shall prevail.

8.

Bidders’ deposit equivalent to at least 10% of the Bid Offer shall be in the form of MANAGER’S CHECK payable to the Government Service Insurance System

9.

The following shall be inserted on the sealed bid envelope: a. the properly accomplished downloadable bid form b. Manager’s Check payable to Government Service Insurance System representing deposit equivalent to at least 10% of the Bid Offer c. the Special Power of Attorney (SPA), if the bidder is an authorized representative d. pre-conditional approval from PBCOM, if applicable e. proofs of occupancy (see No. 12.c.1 and c.2)

10. The following information shall be clearly written outside the sealed bid envelope (mailing envelope) Address of Property you want to bid) Block No. ______ Lot. No. ______ Phase No.____ Name of Subdivision Address of Subdivision TCT NO. _______ Mode: __________ Cash __________ thru External Financing Institution

(

Name of Bidder: Mailing Address: 11. Interested bidders planning to purchase the GSIS property through External Financing Institution (EFI) shall first secure certification from accredited banks stating that he/she is qualified to avail of a loan from External Financing Institution and insert inside the bid envelope.

12. The existing tenant or occupant or his duly authorized representative through a valid Special Power of Attorney (SPA) has the right to match the offer of the declared highest bidder, provided: a. he/she is present during the bidding b. participated in actual bidding c. presently occupying the property subject of bidding supported by the following proofs of occupancy: c.1 Barangay certificate that he/she is occupying or residing in the subject property c.2. Any valid government identification document with his/her address similar to the address of the property he/.she is bidding.

13. If the occupant will exercise his/her right to match the offer of the declared highest bidder, he/she need not secure another bank pre-qualification corresponding to the matched offer. Instead, he/she shall pay the equity in cash as stated in Notice of Approval of Sale (NOAS). The equity shall be computed as the difference between the Letter of Guarantee from the bank and the offered bid amount.

14. The declared highest/winning bidder shall submit within the day of the actual bidding, the following documents: (a) duly accomplished Personal Profile/Company Profile/Corporate Profile, whichever is applicable (downloadable); (b) photocopies of two valid IDs (one should be a government-issued ID); (c) Articles of Incorporation/Partnership, By-Laws and current General Information Sheet, for corporation/partnership, if applicable; (d) Registration Certificate from SEC for corporation/partnership, DTI for sole proprietorship and CDA for cooperatives, or any proof of such registration, if applicable; (e) current Mayor’s permit issued by the city or municipality where the principal place of business of the winning bidder is located, if applicable.

15. A Notice of Approval of Sale (NOAS) shall be issued to the highest/winning bidder on the day of bidding.

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya— The provincial government here recently recognized and awarded a model grandfather and grandmother as part of its 9th Grand Ammungan Festival celebration.

Cited as model grandmother and grandfather were Patricinia Bullecer, 92, of Bagabag town and Fernando Dulnuan, 70, of Sta. Fe town, respectively.

Bullecer is a retired public school teacher, and acted as president of the Senior Citizens Association of Barangay Sta. Cruz in her hometown.

She also initiated the Women’s Society of Medical/Dental Practitioners of the town and involved

herself in church activities and other community affairs.

Bullecer was also known as the composer of the Bagabag hymn, and served as the oldest Royal Matron of the Order of the Amaranth. Her four children and grandchildren are now professionals, and some great grandchildren are abroad.

Dulnuan, also a retired teacher, is a member of the Ifugao subtribe of Tuwali. He served as president of the Association of Senior Citizens of Sta. Fe town from 2013-2016.

He also offered a one-hectare farm for planting to students for them to earn income for their educational expenses, which is still operating to the present.

IN BRIEF Dismissed mayor won’t vacate post LEGAZPI CTY—Despite affirmation from the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court involving an Ombudsman’s order dismissing him from service in 2013, Mayor Billy Ceriola of Malinao in Albay refuses to vacate his office.

Ceriola was ordered dismissed by the Ombudsman in the wake of a graft complaint filed by Councilor Irene Fajut concerning the operation of the Malinao Cockpit Arena in 2012— owned no less by the mayor but operating without any permit.

The Ombudsman’s resolution clearly ordered Ceriola’s perpetual disqualification to hold office as mayor, barred him from holding position in any government office or agency, and forfeited all benefits due him as public official. Manilyn B. Ugalde

Tesda opens TESTP tech-voc to public THE Technical Education and Skills Development Authority started its Tesda Emergency Skills Training Program or TESTP aimed at people from all walks of life, including overseas Filipino workers who have settled in the country.

Tesda Director-General Guiling Mamondiong said the agency started to accept the application forms of those who wished to be part of TESTP since May 1.

“With this program, we will give the most suitable tech-voc training to our countrymen who have found themselves in difficult times and give them a better shot at finding profitable jobs or the skills to start their own businesses,” Mamondiong said. Jun David

16. In case the bid is in CASH, the 90% balance of the bid amount shall be paid either in cash or manager’s check within thirty (30) calendar days from receipt of NOAS, without privilege of extension.

NOTICE

RA Form No. 10.1 (LCRO)

17. In case the bid is thru EFI, the equity shall be paid in cash within thirty (30) calendar days from receipt of Letter of Guarantee (LOG) by the GSIS. The equity is the amount corresponding to the difference between the LOG and the Offered Bid Amount.

Republic of the Philippines Local Civil Registry Office Province of Palawan Municipality NOTICE FOR PUBLICATION

18. Upon issuance of the NOAS to the highest/winning bidder, the Bidder’s Deposit of the other non-winning bidder/s shall be returned immediately.

20. In case the highest/winning bidder fails to comply with the requirements within the specified time, the GSIS shall write the second highest bidder to confirm if he/she is still interested to acquire the property. If still interested, GSIS will require him/her to pay the non-refundable deposit equivalent to ten percent (10%) of his/her previously submitted bid amount and will be issued NOAS.

In compliance with Section 5 of R.A. No. 9048, a notice is hereby served to the public that LAVELYN S. TALAN has filed with this Office a petition for change of first name from LAVELYN AGUSTINA to LAVELYN in Certificate of Live Birth she was born on August 15, 1965 at Bo. No. 13, Piddig, Ilocos Norte and whose parents are JUANITO G. SALVADOR and BENILDA A. TAGUDAN.

21. GSIS reserves the right to waive any formality or to reject any or all bids received. The list of properties available for sale may be updated without prior notice.

Any person adversely affected by said petition may file his written opposition with this Office not later than 16th day June 2017.

19. Non-compliance with the terms and conditions stated in the NOAS shall result in the forfeiture of the bidder’s deposit.

(SGD) MYRNA M. DOCTO-MAGALLANES Municipal Civil Registrar

22. For inquiries, you may call Real Property Accounts Management Department at telephone nos. 479-3536 or 976-4619.

(MS-MAY 30,31 & JUNE 1, 2017)

(MAY 25 & JUNE 1, 2017)

Notice is hereby given that the estate of the late ROSALINDA ARRE SAN MATEO has been extrajudicially settled among her heirs as per Doc. No. 120, Page No. 25, Book No. 566, Series of 2017 of Notary Public Atty.

Ruben T.M. Ramirez with CY-2017. APPT No. M-23(Until Dec 31, 2017) of Makati City.

(MS-MAY 25, JUNE 1 & 8, 2017)

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World IN BRIEF Sri Lanka flood death toll exceeds 200 COLOMBO―International aid arrived into Sri Lanka on Wednesday as the death toll from the island’s worst floods and landslides in well over a decade climbed to 202.

Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake said 16 countries had rushed relief supplies and medicine to assist more than 600,000 people driven from their homes following Friday’s monsoon deluge.

“We also have a lot of inquiries from other countries and organizations wanting to know our immediate needs. We are moved by the spontaneous response,” Karunanayake told reporters in Colombo.

India and Pakistan also deployed medical teams on the ground in some of the worstaffected areas, he said.

The Disaster Management Center confirmed the death toll rose to 202 after the discovery of more landslide victims beneath tonnes of mud in Sri Lanka’s hard-hit southwest.

Another 96 people were listed as still missing.

As the floods receded in most areas, hundreds of volunteers have fanned out to begin cleaning drinking wells to bring fresh water to survivors, officials said.

Government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said additional medical teams were also being deployed to prevent the spread of waterborne diseases.

In May 2003, 250 people were killed and 10,000 homes destroyed after a similarly powerful monsoon. AFP

THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017

Kabul bomb kills 80 people K

ABUL―At least 80 people were killed and hundreds wounded Wednesday when a massive truck bomb ripped through Kabul’s diplomatic quarter, bringing carnage to the streets of the Afghan capital and shattering windows hundreds of meters away.

North Korea preparing for new test SEOUL―North Korea warned Wednesday it was prepared to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles at any time, as the US successfully tested a system designed to intercept them.

The fresh saber-rattling from Pyongyang appeared to raise the stakes as the Pentagon announced Tuesday it had intercepted a mock-up of an ICBM in a first-of-its-kind test.

The success of the test is a watershed moment for the US military’s effort to establish an effective―though limited― ground-based defense against ICBMs as the North ramps up its threats.

“We’re prepared to test-fire ICBMs anywhere and anytime on orders from the supreme commander [Kim Jong-Un]”, the Rodong Sinmun paper said in the article entitled: “No one can stop the nuclear power state, rocketry master in the East”.

The paper added: “The United States must know our declaration that we can turn the devils’ den into ashes with nuclear weapons is not an empty threat.”

Concern among the international community over the North’s weapons program was further raised after North Korea test-fired yet another ballistic missile, the latest in a series of launches that have ratcheted up tensions over Pyongyang’s quest to develop weapons capable of hitting the United States.

It was the third missile test by the nuclear-armed regime in less than three weeks, defying UN sanctions warnings and US threats of possible military action.

Early this month, it testfired what appeared to be its longest-range ballistic missile yet tested in a bid to bring the US mainland within reach.

The North has carried out two atomic tests and dozens of missile launches since the beginning of last year in its quest to develop a missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the continental United States -- something President Donald Trump has vowed “won’t happen”. AFP

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BREAKFAST. Muslims break their fast, with a meal known as the ‘Iftar’ during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan on May 30, 2017, in Riyadh. The world’s nearly 1.5-billion Muslims on May 27 began Ramadan, the holy month of dawn-to-dusk fasting and prayers. It is sacred to Muslims because, tradition says, the Koran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed during that month. AFP

‘Space junk’ could collide with satellites SYDNEY―The growing amount of fastmoving space debris orbiting the Earth could lead to catastrophic collisions with satellites, hurting economies, researchers warned Wednesday ahead of a summit to coordinate efforts to remove the junk.

There are an estimated 170 million pieces of so-called “space junk”―left behind after missions that can be as big as spent rocket stages or as small as paint flakes―in orbit alongside some US$700 billion of space infrastructure.

But only 22,000 are tracked, and with the fragments able to travel at speeds above 27,000kmh (16,777 mph), even tiny pieces could seriously damage or destroy satellites.

“The space junk problem has been getting worse every year,” Ben Greene, head of Australia’s Space Environment Research Center which is hosting the two-day conference of international space environment scientists in Canberra, told AFP.

“We’re losing three or four satellites a year now to space debris collision. We’re very close, NASA estimates, of within five to 10 years of losing everything.”

Greene added in a statement that “a catastrophic avalanche of collisions which could quickly destroy all orbiting satellites is now possible”, noting that more collisions were creating extra debris.

With society heavily dependent on satellites for communication and navigation, and powering key industries such as transport, finance and energy, the growing cosmic junkyard could threaten economies.

“The Australian economy is entirely dependent on space,” Greene said. “We’re a big country with few people and the only way we can service it, whether it’s with surveillance, safety or search-and-rescue, is from space.”

The barriers to entry for building spacecraft were also falling, making it easier for firms to launch their own

objects, said space debris expert Moriba Jah from the University of Texas, who is at the conference.

“I believe that we are certainly on a path to what I call a tragedy of the commons,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, adding that a major collision was “inevitable” without action to tackle the problem.

“You’ve driven on the roads here when you have a lot of mist or fog, and you have to go really slow, and you just don’t know what’s really around you. That’s the perfect analogy to space right now,” Jah said.

Greene said scientists were developing technologies set to be operational in 18 months to track all debris so spacecraft could move around them.

Another idea in the works was Earthbased high-powered lasers that could be fired into space to “push the debris around a little bit”, with the program 75 percent ready, he added. AFP

Bodies littered the scene and a towering plume of smoke rose from the area, which houses foreign embassies, after the blast in the morning rush hour blew out the windows in several missions and residences.

Witnesses described dozens of cars choking the roads as wounded survivors and panicked schoolgirls sought safety. Men and women struggled to get through security checkpoints to search for loved ones.

It was not immediately clear what the target was. But the attack underscores spiraling insecurity in Afghanistan, where a military beset by soaring casualties and desertions is struggling to beat back the insurgents. Over a third of the country is outside government control.

More than an hour after the explosion, ambulances were still taking the wounded to hospital and officials were pulling bodies from the rubble as firefighters struggled to control blazes in several buildings.

“Unfortunately the toll has reached 80 martyred (killed) and over 300 wounded, including many women and children,” said ministry spokesman Waheed Majroh, adding the figures would continue to climb as more bodies are pulled from the debris.

The interior ministry, which put the number of wounded at 320, said a suicide bomber had detonated an explosives-packed vehicle in Zanbaq Square around 8:30 am.

“More than 50 vehicles were either destroyed or damaged,” it said in a statement.

The ministry called on Kabul residents to donate blood, saying hospitals were in “dire need”.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the attack came as the resurgent Taliban step up their annual “spring offensive”.

The Islamic State group has also claimed responsibility for several recent bombings in the Afghan capital, including a powerful blast targeting an armored NATO convoy that killed at least eight people and wounded 28 on May 3.

Manpreet Vohra, India’s envoy to Afghanistan, told the Times Now television channel the bomb went off around 100 meters from India’s embassy, one of several in the area.

“We are all safe, all our staff, all our personnel are safe. However, the blast was very large and nearby buildings including our own building have considerable damage in terms of broken glass and shattered windows and blown doors etc,” he said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: “We strongly condemn the terrorist blast in Kabul. Our thoughts are with the families of the deceased & prayers with the injured.”

The explosion also shattered windows at the Japanese embassy. “Two Japanese embassy staffers were mildly injured, suffering cuts,” a foreign ministry official in Tokyo told AFP. France also reported damage to its own embassy and the German one, but there was no information on possible casualties. Bulgaria said its mission had been damaged and its staff evacuated.

Pentagon chief Jim Mattis has warned of “another tough year” for both foreign troops and local forces in Afghanistan.

Afghan troops are backed by US and NATO forces, and the Pentagon has reportedly asked the White House to send thousands more troops to the country to break the deadlock in the fight against the Taliban. AFP

Refugees facing crisis after cyclone damage

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh― Aid workers warned Wednesday of an “acute crisis” in Bangladesh after a cyclone damaged or destroyed thousands of homes and devastated camps housing Rohingya refugees, leaving many without food or shelter.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya live in the overcrowded camps on the southeast coast after fleeing violence in neighboring Myanmar.

Cyclone Mora battered the coastal area of Cox’s Bazar on Tuesday, killing six people, damaging or destroying at least 17,000 homes and forcing the evacuation of 600,000 residents.

Some of the worst damage was at the camps housing the 300,000 Rohingya, whose numbers swelled last year following a military crackdown on the stateless Muslim minority in Myanmar.

“There is an acute crisis of food,

shelter, health services, water and sanitation facilities in the makeshift settlements following the storm,” said Sanjukta Sahany, local head of the International Organization for Migration which coordinates relief in some of the camps.

“The drainage and toilet system have been fully broken,” she told AFP. Sahany said the storm had also seriously damaged clinics run by aid agencies for the mainly Muslim Rohingya and the local community.

Aid workers scrambled to get food to the camps, which house around 300,000 Rohingya. Many were observing the Ramadan fast when the cyclone struck.

The refugees have said they were given no official warning of the storm and were unable to salvage stockpiles of food for the breaking of the fast when it hit.

AFP

PRINCESS MACO COMING. Bhutanse monks walk past shopkeepers in Thimpu on May 31, 2017. Japa-

nese Princess Mako is scheduled to arrive on a nine-day official visit to Bhutan, during which she is expected to meet with Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Queen Jetsun Pema. AFP

World

Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

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Faceless fish among weird deep-sea finds

THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017

Trump attack widens US rift with Germany W ASHINGTON―The transatlantic diplomatic rift widened on Tuesday as US President Donald Trump responded to criticism from Chancellor Angela Merkel with a new attack on German trade tactics and defense spending.

Trump’s spokesman Sean Spicer insisted that the leaders “get on very well” but―as is often the case―his warm words from the White House podium were overshadowed by the president’s intemperate tweets.

When Trump returned over the weekend from the first foreign trip of his presidency, his aides hailed the tour as a success and a sign of renewed and bolder US leadership on the world stage.

But, while Trump received a warm welcome in Saudi Arabia and Israel, he left behind a bitter taste in Europe after the NATO summit in Brussels and the G7 get-together of the world’s richest powers in Sicily.

European leaders were

especially dismayed by Trump’s refusal to reaffirm US support for last year’s Paris climate change accord and his failure to publicly endorse NATO’s mutual defense pledge.

Germany was particularly discomfited, and Merkel wasted no time in warning German voters that the United States can no longer be relied upon as before.

Trump’s response came in the early hours of Tuesday when he took to Twitter to once again demand that Germany renegotiate the terms of transatlantic trade and boost its defense spending.

“We have a MASSIVE trade deficit with Germany, plus they pay FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military,”

Trump wrote, in his flamboyantly undiplomatic style. “Very bad for US. This will change.”

German officials have insisted that, as a member of the European Union, they cannot conduct bilateral trade talks with the United States and that they are not ready to dramatically increase military spending.

In January, the White House accused Germany of exploiting an undervalued euro to boost its trade advantage, despite Berlin’s long opposition to the European Central Bank’s loose monetary policy.

And, even after he held a frosty meeting with Merkel in Washington in March and heard her explain Germany has no independent, non-EU trade policy, Trump continues to complain about Germany’s surplus.

According to the German weekly Der Spiegel, Trump told European officials in Brussels last week that “the Germans are bad, very bad.”

Spicer gamely tried to deny the report, insisting that European

Commission chairman JeanClaude Juncker had confirmed that “Trump was not aggressive on German trade surplus.”

But after Merkel and other senior German officials, who are campaigning ahead of September national elections in their own country, spent the weekend attacking Trump, the US leader returned to the theme.

Not only does the spat continue but Merkel has seized upon it as an opportunity―in the wake of the election of Emmanuel Macron as a pro-Europe French president―to rally Europe around her leadership.

She warned German voters that her experience in dealing with Trump at NATO and the G7 had convinced her that the times when Europe could rely on Washington and London “are coming to an end.”

“Transatlantic ties are of paramount importance to us... but the current situation gives more reasons for... us to take our destiny in our own hands,” she said Tuesday. AFP

SYDNEY―Faceless fish and other weird and wonderful creatures, many of them new species, have been hauled up from the deep waters off Australia during a scientific voyage studying parts of the ocean never explored before.

The month-long journey off the country’s eastern seaboard has been surveying life lurking in a dark and cold abyss that plunges four kilometers below the surface, using nets, sonar and deep-sea cameras.

Chief scientist on board “The Investigator” Tim O’Hara from Museums Victoria told AFP Wednesday the search area was “the most unexplored environment on earth”.

Bright red spiky rock crabs, puffed-up coffinfish, blind sea spiders and deep sea eels have been collected since the scientists began their voyage― from Launceston in Tasmania north towards the Coral Sea― on May 15.

They also came across an unusual faceless fish, which has only been recorded once before by the pioneering scientific crew of HMS Challenger off Papua New Guinea in 1873.

“It hasn’t got any eyes or a visible nose and it’s mouth is underneath,” O’Hara said from the ship.

At such huge depths, it is so dark that creatures often have no eyes or produce their own light through bioluminescence, he added.

Another find was carnivorous sponges that wield lethal spicules made of silicon, effectively glass. They get small crustaceans hooked on

their Velcro-like spines, to be slowly digested in-situ.

This technique differs from most deep-sea sponges, which feed on bacteria and other single-celled organisms filtered from passing currents.

“We’ve got 27 scientists on board who are leaders in their fields and they tell me that around one-third of what we’ve found are new species,” said O’Hara, with several thousand specimens so far retrieved and two weeks of the trip still to go.

Life at such depths is one of crushing pressures, no light, little food and freezing temperatures, with animals that call it home evolving unique ways to survive.

As food is scarce, they are usually small and move slowly.

Many are jelly-like and spend their lives floating about, while others have ferocious spines and fangs and lie in wait until food comes to them.

Working in such an environment was challenging, O’Hara admitted, with each fishing expedition taking up to seven hours to deploy and retrieve the equipment and its eight kilometers of cable from the sea floor, given it is so far down.

But the data gathered was helping to improve the understanding of Australia’s deep-sea habitats, their biodiversity and the ecological processes that sustain them, O’Hara said.

“This will assist in its conservation and management and help to protect it from the impacts of climate change, pollution and other human activity,” he said. AFP

‘Mother Road’ back to life in America LOS ANGELES―For decades, Route 66 captured the imagination of travelers the world over, offering a glimpse of a bygone era of American history, when people hit the road in search of adventure and a better life.

The two-lane highway established in 1926 and coined the “Mother Road” by John Steinbeck seemed to encompass the essence of America, threading through eight states from Chicago to Santa Monica.

But after it was decommissioned in the 1980s in favor of larger and faster thoroughfares, Route 66 appeared headed for the dustbin of history as the mom and pop stores, kitschy motels, diners and petrol stations that lined the road gradually shut down.

“Entire towns folded up and what had been a 2,400-mile (4,000- kilometer) carnival became to a large extent a 2,400-mile ghost town,” explained David Knudson, founder and executive director of the non-profit National Historic Route 66 Federation.

In recent years, however, the iconic road that has been immortalized in countless books, movies, music (“Get your kicks on Route 66”), and a TV series has been experiencing a nostalgia-driven revival that is attracting tourists from around the globe.

“Foreigners come to travel the road because it gives them a chance to experience America before we became generic,” said Michael Wallis, a historian and author of “Route 66: The Mother Road.”

“It’s still the road of adventure because nothing on Route 66 is predictable,” he added. “I often say, ‘You know what you are going to get at McDonald’s ... but if you are on an old two-lane such as Route 66, you could go into a cafe, a greasy spoon, a pie place, a diner and you don’t know what you’re going to get.’”

Wallis said the fastest growing groups of tourists on Route 66 are Chinese and Brazilians, as well as Europeans drawn by the idea of the open space and the “road trip of a lifetime.”

“I have clients in their 20s and 70s who are fascinated by this road and everyone is looking for convertible Mustangs and Harley Davidsons to experience it,” said Zsolt Nagy, who twice a year organizes Route 66 road trips that cost up to $8,000 per person.

“Business is booming, the roads are better, the signs are better, it’s coming back to life,” said Zsolt, who is from Hungary and who fell in love with the open road about 10 years ago when he traveled it. “I think the legend is growing like crazy.”

Bob Russell, the mayor of Pontiac, about two hours southwest of Chicago, said his small community of about 12,000 people is a prime example of the resurgent interest in the road.

“It has been an amazing transformation,” he said of the town which boasts four museums, 27 large murals and is considered one of the jewels of Route 66. AFP

FASHION WEEK AUSTRALIA. Models display creations from the Australian label Romance Was Born during Fashion Week Australia in Sydney on May 18, 2017. AFP

Daughter of ‘Rasputin’ returns to face questioning SEOUL―The equestrian daughter of South Korea’s “Rasputin”, whose lavish lifestyle in Europe was allegedly funded by millions of dollars in bribes, returned home Wednesday to face questioning by prosecutors.

Chung Yoo-Ra, 20, is the daughter of Choi Soon-Sil, the close confidante of impeached ex-president Park GeunHye. Choi―dubbed “Rasputin” for her strong influence over Park―is on trial along with the ex-president over an influence-peddling scandal that has rocked the country.

Prosecutors say cash for Chung’s equestrian training came from electronics giant Samsung, which had handed over the money as part of an attempt to curry favor with her powerful and influential mother.

Chung, who was arrested by Danish

police in January for overstaying her visa, dropped her appeal against extradition from Denmark last week.

She was arrested on a Korean Air flight from Amsterdam early Wednesday and was escorted off the plane at Incheon by a team of prosecutors to face a handful of journalists and television cameras.

“I returned because my baby has been alone for so long,” Chung said. “I thought it was best to tell my side of the story and resolve the misunderstanding.”

The 20-year-old said she had no knowledge about the “special treatment” she allegedly received, and added: “I know nothing about what went on between my mother and the former president, but I feel I was wronged.”

Park was kicked out of office in March amid public disgust at the influence of money on South Korean politics.

Park and Choi are on trial for allegedly

accepting or seeking millions of dollars in bribes from the country’s huge conglomerates, including Samsung.

Samsung heir Lee Jae-Yong is being tried separately while Shin Dong-Bin― the chairman of retail giant Lotte, the South’s fifth-biggest conglomerate― also stands accused.

The spiraling investigation has now caught up with Chung, who was also allegedly granted a place at the prestigious Ewha Women’s University and given top grades thanks to her mother’s intervention.

In highly competitive South Korea, admission to one of a handful of elite universities is seen as vital to a student’s future.

Following months of protest by Ewha students, the school canceled Chung’s admission.

“I never attended classes so I accept

the cancellation of my admission,” Chung said.

“I don’t even know what my major is and I never wanted to go to university so I have nothing to say about it but I’m sorry,” she added, before being taken to Seoul Prosecutors’ Office for questioning.

Prosecutors said Wednesday they intend to seek a seven-year jail term for Choi for her involvement in Chung’s illicit admission, while they said the former dean of Ewha―who has been arrested―could serve five years in prison.

Cozy and corrupt ties between South Korea’s business and political elites have endured for decades. But the trial of Park and Choi could shed new light on the links between Park and the bosses of the family-run conglomerates that dominate Asia’s fourth-biggest economy. AFP

Life

RiteMED for Kids is composed of four products: RiteMED Ascorbic Acid, RiteMED Zinc-CTM, RiteMED Multivitamins + CGF, and RiteMED Paracetamol syrup

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017

HEALTH & WELLNESS

D1

RiteMED for Kids

has Camille Prats-Yambao and son Nathan as brand ambassadors

T

V HOST/ACTRESS joins the family of the Philippines’ most trusted brand for generic medicine

The good news on actress Camille PratsYambao just keeps pouring these days. It started early this year when she got married to childhood friend John ‘VJ’ Yambao after four years of being in a long distance relationship. It didn’t take long after that when she announced via her social media account that she’s pregnant with her second child. Her firstborn, Nathan, was by her late husband, Anthony Linsangan.

Throughout these beautiful blessings, her showbiz career, albeit on a break from acting to give way for her pregnancy, continues to flourish as she co-hosts GMA News TV’s lifestyle program, Mars. She also helps in the family businesses (they own Nayomi Sanctuary Resort in Batangas and Divine Angels Montessori in Cainta).

Today, Prats-Yambao has another good fortune that landed on her lap. Recently, she signed to become the brand ambassador of RiteMED for Kids. “I am very happy to be part of the country’s most trusted brand for generic medicine. In fact, my family prayed for this opportunity. It is my first time to endorse a healthcare product, and I am very proud to be associated with a brand that is known for quality. What makes me happier is that I get to work on something that is for kids as I have Nathan, and very soon, will be having a baby girl as well,” she shared.

RiteMED General Manager Vincent Patrick L. Guerrero is most pleased with the newest member of the brand. “We chose Camille because we believe she represents the core values of RiteMED: she’s highly credible, caring, family-oriented, and consistent with all other brand ambassadors of RiteMED and also with the RiteMED brand.”

RiteMED for Kids is a product category of RiteMED Philippines, Inc. Under its portfolio are four hero products: RiteMED Multivitamins + CGF syrup that helps in child’s growth, RiteMED Ascorbic Acid syrup for child’s daily Vitamin C, RiteMED Zinc-CTM syrup (combination of Vitamin C and Zinc) for child’s additional protection, and RiteMED Paracetamol syrup for child’s fever and pain. RiteMED for Kids also has prescribed medicines and covers zero to 12 years old, for both ethical and over-the-counter medicines.

According to Guerrero, “Launching a product line for kids is in line with RiteMED’s advocacy of providing the Filipino people access to quality and affordable healthcare.”

He said, “We’re providing a wider choice of

MOTHERS KNOW BEST. Camille Prats-Yambao and her son Nathan are named brand ambassadors of RiteMED for Kids

RiteMED Zinc-CTM syrup is a combination of Vitamin C and Zinc for child’s additional protection

healthcare products for their children.”

Guerrero is also proud to announce that RiteMED for Kids is better tasting compared to its competitors. “We conducted a stringent taste test on all our products. Taste is very critical for parents and it is also the main challenge for the pediatric category because the taste of medicine should be acceptable to the children.”

“That is so true!” Prats-Yambao agreed.

She added, “Most parents are having a hard time giving vitamins and medicines to their kids because of the taste. It becomes a struggle, not just for the parents but also for the kids. It’s really difficult, at least it used to be because now there’s RiteMED for Kids.”

With her on board RiteMED for Kids, Guerrero is confident that people will see the analogy between the brand and the endorser. “People believe in RiteMED because it is credible in delivering quality and affordable healthcare. Camille has been recognized as a strong yet graceful young woman who has been a devoted mom to Nathan. Like other moms, she always wants to provide what’s right for her son,” said Guerrero.

Pratas-Yambao, who is also joined by her son in the ad campaign, can’t be more grateful for the opportunity, “It gives me peace of mind to know that there is a brand like RiteMED that can help me and other mothers out there to make right decisions in choosing the best vitamins and medicine for our kids. I can never compromise the quality of the products that I choose for my family.”

Answered prayer of Gawad Kalinga beneficiaries ALL she wanted was to provide a better life for her family when she moved to Manila from Davao City. More than two decades and tons of patience, perseverance and faith later, 49-year-old Rosa Baldelobar finally received what she has been praying for—a better job and a decent home.

This after Baldelobar recently accepted the key to her new home after major real estate developer DMCI Homes and non-government organization Gawad Kalinga turned over newly built shelters to a total of 43 beneficiaries at the Manggahan Kawayanan in Green Marcelo, Sucat, Paranaque City.

“Lahat naman ng tao nangangarap na ma-improve ang buhay. Kaya masayang-masaya ako na natupad na ang dalangin ko at napabilang ako sa mga nabiyayaan ng bahay ng Gawad Kalinga at DMCI Homes,” enthused the Davaoena in an interview in her new home.

A widow and a mother to a teenaged son, Baldelobar narrated that she arrived in Manila in 1989 to work as a maid to help her family in Davao City. When she got married a few years later, her late husband encouraged her to study dressmaking that led an opportunity to work in a factory. Knowing the importance of learning, Baldelobar tried to learn the ropes in a company through self-study. She now works as an office staff in the barangay’s homeowner association.

According to Baldelobar, living in a shanty entails a lot of sacrifice, endurance and courage saying, “Napakahirap tumira sa iskwater. Ang polusyon matindi. Dikit-dikit ang mga bahay tapos yung lugar ko pa katabi ng kanal kaya mabaho. Pero dahil sa hirap ng buhay, kailangan mong magtiyaga.”

“Dingding lang ang pagitan ng mga bahay namin kaya maingay. Saka nakakatakot na baka masunog kasi light material lang ang gamit ng mga bahay tapos tagpi-tagpi pa yung iba. NaBLESSED. Rosa Baldelobar, one of the beneficiaries of the socialized housing project of DMCI Homes and Gawad Kalinga, kakatakot lalo na noon gasera lang ang ilaw namin,” shared Baldelobar. poses in front of her new home in Manggahan Kawayanan in An active member of the homeowners assoSucat, Paranaque City.

Gawad Kalinga project director Francisco Balagtas, DMCI Homes Corporate Communications manager Jhops Carpio Cruz and Paranaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez with housing program beneficiary Necitas Roldan (third from left)

property under the government’s Community Mortgage Program (CMP). The National Housing Authority (NHA) was chosen as Originator for the said program. (National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC), the agency that manages the CMP, requires accredited Originators to represent homeowner associations applying for the loan facility). Last Feb 27, 2007, The NHMFC issued a Purchase Commitment Line, signifying that the government is already committed take on the project as a CMP.” Today, with the help of Gawad Kalinga and other sponsors such as DMCI Homes, the 1,000 residents of Manggahan Kawayanan like Baldelobar are gradually reaping their hardearned sacrifices and perseverance.

In a special awarding ceremony held recently, the housing beneficiaries under DMCI Homes were given a 20-25 square meter concrete shelter with a provision for a second floor.

“Ang importante rito ay naitayo na yung istruktura. Unti-unti mapapaganda rin namin ang aming tahanan,” revealed Baldelobar adding, “Hindi naman lahat ay nabibigyan ng ganitong bahay kaya dalawang palad kong tinatanggap ang biyayang ito mula kay Lord at nagpapasalamat ako sa Diyos sa pagpapadala ng mga indibiduwal at kumpanya na patuloy na tumutulong sa mga tulad namin. Malaking tulong sila aming mahihirap.”

Under the company’s corporate social responsibility program Kaakbay ng Pamayanan, DMCI Homes continues to partner with non-government organizations such as Gawad Kalinga in their aim to provide decent homes for the less privileged. Aside from the residents of Manggahan Kawayanan in Sucat, Paranaque, hundreds of residents in various areas in Mega Manila are expected to benefit in the ongoing partnership of DMCI Homes and Gawad Kalinga.

ciation in barangay Manggahan-Kawayanan, Baldelobar revealed that the solidarity among residents became the real driving force behind the community’s triumph to acquire the then disputed land which has an area of more than 20,000 square meters.

“Since 1990s pa po ito. Napag-isipan ng mga opisyales ng asosasyon na kumilos at gumawa ng paraan para maging amin ang lupa. Humingi kami ng tulong sa gobyerno at sa National Housing Authority (NHA) hanggang nakipagnegotiate kami sa may-ari ng lupa na kung puwede ay hulugan na lang ng association yung lupa,” recalled Baldelobar.

Based on the website of Gawad Kalinga “In 2002, the two homeowners association of Manggahan–-Kawayanan reached an agreement For more information on DMCI Homes, call (02) with the land owner for the purchase of the said 324-8888 or visit www.dmcihomes.com.

Life

D2

THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017 isahred@gmail.com

Female sexual dysfunction

A SILENT BURDEN

VSENSE intimate gel by AJ Research & Pharma has been officially launched in the Philippines. Present during the launch are (from left) AJRP business unit director Paul Reyes, Dr. Ditas Decena, AJRP president Eric Domagas, Dr. Margie Holmes, AJRP CEO Javed Mohammad and AJRP senior product manager Pinky Ferrer

W

OMEN all over the world are suffering from a health condition that they themselves may not even be aware of.

This silent burden is called female sexual dysfunction (FSD), which pertains to a persistent, recurrent problem with sexual response, desire or orgasm.

FSD is often overlooked or ignored, largely because society still frowns upon the idea of women being in tune and in touch with their own bodies, especially regarding reproductive and sexual health.

“The reality is that FSD not only affects the individual physically, but emotionally and socially. It strains her relationship with her partner, and a dissatisfied disposition negatively impacts interactions at home and at work in general,” explains Pinky Ferrer, senior product manager at AJ Research & Pharma.

AJ Research & Pharma is an innovative Malaysia-based pharmaceutical, cosmeceutical and nutraceutical company. It seeks to address unmet needs in the healthcare market, and FSD is one of those concerns that the company has identified as a top priority especially

within the emerging ASEAN market.

According to data, 43 percent of adult women have experienced at least one manifestation of FSD at one point in their lives. Symptoms of FSD include the inability to achieve orgasm, low desire to engage in sex, difficulty with sexual response or arousal, and physical conditions such as poor vaginal lubrication and pain.

While it may be true that such conditions as vaginal dryness and lack of sexual interest are often associated with menopause among more mature women, FSD can occur at any age or stage in life, according to Ferrer.

Women who encounter these symptoms often simply ignore them, leading to more serious physical symptoms, and deeper emotional and social dissatisfaction.

The good news is that FSD is easy to address, given the proper support system and guidance from a health professional. To help spread awareness and education about FSD, AJ Research

& Pharma recently organized a media briefing featuring one of the most renowned and trusted Filipino medical resources in the field of sexual education, Dr. Margarita Holmes.

Medical treatment involving hormone therapy can be prescribed especially for patients with underlying medical conditions. However, these may come with some risks and undesirable side effects, and must be undertaken only under the guidance of a doctor.

There are also numerous nonmedical treatments and lifestyle strategies to overcome FSD. These include: Open communication. Dialogue with one’s sexual partner or significant other is key to understanding one’s own body and sexual needs as well. Learn or develop a system of communication to enhance intimacy not just physically but emotionally as well.

Counseling. The professional guidance of a psychologist or medical professional may provide more effective and efficient communication and self-awareness exercises, techniques and tools.

Healthy living. An overall lifestyle of health and wellness greatly enhances one’s sexual wellbeing. Experts advise,

for instance, to limit alcohol intake as it can dampen sexual responsiveness.

Regular physical activity and exercise can also increase stamina, elevate mood and eliminate stress.

Devices and topical gel. Women should learn to utilize devices to increase sexual stimulation and arousal.

Lubricants and other types of topical products are also helpful especially during intercourse to treat dryness or pain, but this offers temporary solution especially in dealing with vaginal dryness.

An innovative feminine intimacy product that AJ Research & Pharma has introduced, the first in the Philippine market, an intimate gel that restores natural moisture in the female intimate area. It intensifies vaginal sensitivity and help women reach pleasurable orgasm, thus addressing symptoms of FSD. It is a special patented formulation developed in Italy and uses only natural ingredients derived from plants such as visnadine.

“With VSENSE, we aim to encourage women to make it a habit to take care of their intimate health and well-being,” says Javed Ghulam Mohammad, CEO of AJ Research & Pharma, who flew in to Manila exclusively for the event.

AJ Research & Pharma has launched VSENSE intimate gel in the Philippine market eyeing an untapped segment of feminine intimate products that are therapeutic in nature.

“It is high time that women get over the stigma of being sexually aware or in touch with their intimate needs,” adds Ferrer. “VSENSE helps empower women to address FSD and improve their overall well-being by improving their sexual health.”

For more information, visit www.vsense.ph and www.ajrph.com

AJ Research & Pharma Inc. executives: (from left) APEC director of business development and marketing Christos Trikkas, president Eric Domagas, chief executive officer Javed Mohammad and business unit director Paul Reyes

Bayanihan at the center of BPI Foundation’s Build-Back-Better school building

Hope for Lupus Foundation, Inc. founder Emmeline Aglipay-Villar

World Lupus Day marked with

Emmeline Aglipay-Villar’s

35th birthday

ON MAY 10, Lupus patients celebrated World Lupus Day, also the birthday of the founder of the Hope for Lupus Foundation Inc. (HFL), and DIWA Party-list representative Emmeline Aglipay-Villar.

Aglipay-Vullar envisions the foundation as an instrument for information dissemination on what Lupus is all about.

A surprise birthday celebration for her, a gift from her husband, Sec. Mark Villar, was held with the press and some patients of lupus. She chose to celebrate World Lupus day with her fellow lupus warriors. Secretary Villar gave inspirational gifts to the lupus warriors so they could continue to fight on and inspire others in HFL. Aglipay-Villar was diagnosed with lupus in 2007. She underscored how early diagnosis can prevent the disease from worsening or even prevent deaths.

“Many people with lupus die because they were diagnosed when it was too late to do something about it, and more people die undiagnosed. If they had known about the symptoms of lupus and received the proper treatment early on, their lives could have been saved.”

Aglipay-Villar added, “By having this exhibit more people will know about lupus and its symptoms and this will aid in the early identification of the illness in people who have viewed the exhibit or those they know.”

BPI Foundation Inc., in partnership with Philam Foundation’s Paaralan program, recently turned over 12 fully furnished school classrooms in disaster-stricken and under-served areas in the Philippines. The program aims to empower and build the capacity of the youth through education.

In February 2017, four classrooms were turned over to Sta. Monica Elementary School in Coron, Palawan, and Tulariquen Elementary School in Roxas, Palawan. In relocation areas in northern Tacloban, Leyte, eight more classrooms were turned over to B. Bulante Elementary School, Lucio Vivero Memorial School and Camansihay Elementary School. This brings the BPI Build-Back-Better to a total of 30 classrooms for Yolanda-affected Philam Foundation president Max Ventura (second from left), BPI Foundation executive director Faye areas, of which 12 are in partnership with Corcuera (third from left) and Tacloban City information officer Bernardita Valenzuela (fourth from Philam Foundation and 18 are built solely left) with principals and teachers of three partner schools at the turn over ceremony in Tacloban, Leyte

by BPI Foundation.

Tacloban City Information Officer, Ber- Without their contributions, which were Concrete expressions of love and heart nardita “Tita Bering” Valenzuela, was also so wholeheartedly and selflessly given, During the turnover ceremony at B. Bu- at the turnover Ceremony as a representative these classrooms would have not been lante Elementary School in Tacloban, Ger- of Tacloban City Mayor Cristina Romual- built. “This generosity is a strong demonaldine Barsana, Principal, mentioned that dez. Tita Bering expressed her gratitude to stration of the Filipinos’ bayanihan spirit the school started with a 200 pupil popu- both corporate foundations for “Even three and value of malasakit, which have carlation. This number is expected to double years after Typhoon Yolanda, you are still ried us through challenges and inspired or triple in the coming school year in June here helping us. When the typhoon happened, our nation’s resilience,” Corcuera said, since relocated families have moved from we fell to our knees. But we did not fall com- “Kung hindi tayo nagtulong-tulong, wala the city to their community after the disas- pletely flat because of your help.” tayo dito ngayon.” ter of Typhoon Yolanda. It is crucial, therePhilam Foundation President Max fore, to reinforce the capability of schools in Bayanihan for resilience and progress Ventura echoed the same message at both providing basic education to more students.

At both turnover ceremonies in Palawan turnover ceremonies. “‘Pag tulong-tulong, Barsana mentioned that the classrooms and Leyte, Faye Corcuera, Executive Di- tuloy sa pagsulong,” he said. Through the were concrete expressions of BPI Founda- rector of BPI Foundation expressed the im- help of Philam agents, whose contributions tion and Philam Foundation’s love and heart. portance of building these classrooms, “We and donations were a substantial part of the “Kayo ang susi para matulungan ang mga want you to have a place where you can work, project, these classrooms were completed bata na mabigyan ng pag-asa para umun- aspire, and dream—dream of a better Philip- and now ready to inspire more learning lad,” she said. She cited how the students were pines, dream of a better life,” she said. The among the students. Throughout the Philam immensely excited about using the new class- capacity of schools to educate students should Paaralan program’s implementation, they rooms, which are furnished with brand new be prioritized because there is a need to nur- have also partnered with the Department electric fans and adequate lighting—a luxury, ture and develop the youth’s bayanihan spirit, of Education (DepEd) and various LGUs. apparently, to students in their schools. Most and the value of helping others.

“This collaboration with employees, and of the old classrooms don’t have proper venCorcuera has always emphasized the different private and public organizations tilation and lighting, impeding their learning significant role of BPI employees and has a big role in making this opportunity and interest in the lessons. friends in building these classrooms. happen,” Ventura said.

THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017

N

OBODY does it like PLDT HOME.

Former boy band member Orlando Sol goes solo

Hugot’ king launches carrier single ‘Kailan’ HE STARTED out as a member M-Cage and moved to be part of the All-Hunk Sing-and-Dance group The Masculados. Today Orlando Sol is launching his own album titled Emosyon via Star Music.

On April 21, the music video of his carrier single “Kailan Darating ang Ayoko Na?” was launched on YouTube Star Music Channel and MYX Channel. It also served as the teaser video of the five-part videoserye that aired on April 28 and all succeeding Fridays of May. This is the first-ever videoserye in the history of OPM music videos.

Sol is a protege of international and multi-awarded master director for television and film Maryo J. Delos Reyes. He is all-set to conquer greater heights and embrace his new life as a singer.

“Sadyang nakakatuwa na dumating ang break na ito sa akin. Dream come true ang album ko na ‘to,” shared Sol. Sol’s debut album consists of five tracks including “Ingatan Mo ang Salitang Mahal Kita,” “Kaibigan,” “Kailan Darating ang Ayoko Na?,” “I’ll Always Be There,” and “Lilipad Ako ‘Nay.” In the music video of his carrier single, he portrays Joey, a guy who fell in love with Emma, who eventually married another guy as arranged by the latter’s dad. And because of him being crushed with sorrow – he got involved with his gay friend Charles.

The situation between him and Emma became even more complicated when she came back and tried to reconnect the bond between them.

When he is not with the group performing – he explores his other side of his being an artist. He also had acting stints on TVCs, teleseries, films and onstage productions.

His notable works include his appearances onstage via DUP’s Shock Value, CCP Virgin Lab Fest’s HulingHuli and PETA’s rerun of Care Divas.

His TV stints were via Kapuso’s TV series like Munting Heredera, Biritera, My Little Star, Diva, Nino, and Parikoy are just some of those he did. In films, he was part of Regal Films’ Happily Ever After, Halik sa Tubig, Dimalupig, and became a lead star in Bamboo Flowers, and I’ll be There.

In TVCs, he appeared for brands like Fita Biscuit, Smart Apps and Colt 45 Beer. For years now, he has been one of the stable of artists of Productions56 Incorporated. To watch the music video, visit Star Music’s YouTube channel via ABS-CBN Starmusic.

The recent celebration of Mothers’ Day has got most of us swooning over delightful tributes on Facebook and Instagram given by doting children from all walks of life to their beloved mothers.

At least for a moment there, the children (and when we say children, we mean today’s young people who invade our households with their millennial principles of politically-correct, gender-equal, free-speech dictum) revealed a side of them that puts premium on what’s real and sincere in connecting to their beloved mothers – contrary to what cyber relationships of the modern world is perceived by many.

A lot of the youth may find it very hard to enunciate their feelings by hiding all sorts of contraptions. But the occasion at best showcased what connecting for real was about. Mothers’ Day, thanks to the geniuses behind PLDT came to be a sincere expression of real love by real people, real emotions that lead to real connections.

It was a lovely day, indeed.

PLDT shows that their commitment towards promoting the home and family connection is more than just skin-deep. Because asking people to disconnect is something only a big and established telecommunications network such as PLDT can do. And it’s admirable that PLDT is taking the lead on this advocacy.

The line got blurred and feelings were celebrated.

PLDT HOME is for the real persons living in it. Hats off once again to the geniuses behind PLDT HOME for this wonderful Mothers’ Day gift. Truly it is about how to connect and make lives better.

The PLDT HOME campaign #connectforreal was an astounding success. The video ads spoke in volumes about what the children wanted and needed to say to their mothers and served as a rightful jump-off point for the campaign that netted a lot of beautiful, endearing and fun memories for the parent from their children.

Mothers all over the world were celebrated on that special day, paid tribute to, shown much love and affection by their families. Truly, the unsung heroes in the household owned that special day and gloried in the love, attention and affection showered to them by their family members. The evidence is all over the Internet.

Even celebrities took to the bandwagon and shared their bit of this private world they live in. TV and movie actress Isabel Oli, herself now a new mother; minced no words in appreciating and upholding her mother Veronica for the love she experienced in her life.

While up and coming theater actress Mariella Laurel, daughter of TV-movie-theater actress Ayen Laurel, celebrated the person her mother is on her Facebook posts.

Isabel Oli writes,“ This is me and my Super Mom Veronica. Why do I call her that? Well, many of you don’t know that I’m the youngest of 7. Do you know how hard it is to raise all of us? I mean raising 1 child is pretty challenging. How much more with 7? We grew up with no helper and yaya. She basically did everything - from household chores, sending us to school and tutoring us after, cooking our meals, washing and ironing our clothes, sending us to bed, the list can go on. She taught me everything like how to distinguish right from wrong, how to love and not hate, how to forgive people when they hurt you, who is God, etc. She constantly reminded us to pray everyday. She still does up to now, though most of us are married already. She would send a reminder in our group chat to praise God not just during good times but most especially when times are tough. Even if I’m married now, I still long for her care and love. Not a day goes by that I dont miss or think of her. That’s why I always video chat her or call her just to show her how much I miss and love her. I am

MOTHERS’ DAY CELEBRATION

Theater actress Ayen Laurel (right) reminisces happy moments with her late mother (left)

what I am now because of her. Biggest thanks and hug to my beautiful Momma.”

Mariella, for her part, posts an old travel photo of her and Ayen and she has this to say: “Hi! So, this was 12 years ago. Take the photo in and see the changes, yes, I promise they’re there. There is one thing that hasn’t changed though. (No, it’s not our “baby faces” or stance.) It’s the beautiful woman next to me. She’s still my number one inspiration. I’ve always wanted to be like you and this is one of the many photos we have that show that. To name a few... * Looks: Do you see how our eyebrows were almost non existent? My Kilay goals inspiration wasn’t the online videos I saw. There were no kilays as fleek as my Mom’s back then. * Favorites: This was in Notting Hill, London. One of my Moms favorite places. Also on my list of places to visit.

Plus, we bond over the movie too much we can probably act out scenes by now. * Work and play balance expert. Mom always worked hard, but we bond over travels like THIS too. I will always

AXN extends ‘Asia’s Got Talent’ online auditions deadline DUE to an overwhelming response from across Asia, AXN has extended the Asia’s Got Talent online auditions to midnight on June 8.

After captivating rounds of open auditions in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and the Philippines, AXN is giving aspiring performers one last chance to take the spotlight in its record-breaking series.

“We’ve witnessed some incredible acts over the last few weeks that really show the cultural diversity and range of awe-inspiring talent on offer here in Asia. But we know there’s even more to be discovered so we’ve extended the deadline to June 8 to give performers some more time to get their acts together,” said Virginia Lim, senior vice president and head

of Content, Production and Marketing, Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia.

Potential stars can visit www.AXN-Asia. com/AsiasGotTalent to submit an application and audition video, which should include a short introduction of the act, and the actual performance. The videos should be under two minutes’ in duration.

More details including Asia’s Got Talent frequently asked questions (FAQs) and the terms and conditions of participation are available at www.AXN-Asia.com/ AsiasGotTalent.

Asia’s Got Talent is slated to premiere in the second half of 2017, first and exclusively on AXN.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Thursday, June 1, 2017

ACROSS 1 Shows boredom 6 Pony Express load 10 Dinner checks 14 Hunter constellation 15 Livy’s year 16 Soccer chants 17 Silt deposit 18 Jazzy refrain 19 Bid adieu 20 Buzzing about 21 Congealing 23 Co. honcho 25 Deli loaf 26 Hoarfrost 29 Hoss’ big brother 32 Prickly pear 37 Some 38 1917 abdicator 39 Cattle food 40 Outdoes (3 wds.)

43 Cleans the slate 44 Full-grown acorns 45 Chair support 46 Fix, as a skirt 47 — meridiem 48 Ming thing 49 Night hooter 51 Between pi and sigma 53 Fetch 58 Overjoy

Celebrities show real connection with moms on

62 Longish skirt 63 Prefix for while 64 Diminutive 65 Hockey’s — Mikita 66 Greek colonnade 67 Not watertight 68 Plucky 69 Kitchen meas.

70 Iraq neighbor DOWN 1 Jedi master 2 Warmonger of myth 3 Droop 4 Pay attention 5 Pitfall, maybe 6 Antony the Roman 7 Indigo plant 8 Tell 9 High up 10 Pith helmet 11 Watts or Shepard 12 Broken-off glacier 13 Former JFK arrival 22 Opera heros, often 24 Desert spring 26 Steakhouse demand 27 Get tough

28 Mimic in a cage 30 Mr. Aykroyd 31 Inert gas 33 Gold, in Spain 34 Abdul or Zahn 35 Keats’ saint 36 Rock climber’s foothold 38 Aftershock 39 Quack 41 NNW opposite 42 Gathered dust 47 Sirens, often 48 Barrage 50 Farrow film

“sister” 52 Spikes and wedgies 53 Ms. Moreno 54 Red-waxed cheese 55 Antler prong 56 Cognac rating 57 JFK guesses 59 Miles away 60 Polynesian carving 61 Gaelic singer 62 Dim sum additive

look up to how you balance everything and make sure you have quality time with us.

We connect in ways I always treasure.

She is the Lorelai to my Rory, the dancing Edna to my Tracy Turnbald and someone I connect for real since day one

"D' Originals" lead cast Jestoni Alarcon and Jaclyn Jose

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017

I

F HER fans could wish something big for their idol, Superstar Nora Aunor, on her recent 64th birthday, it would have been for her to be able to sing again. It’s welcome news for all her fans and other music aficionados that the internationally acclaimed actress is now seriously pursuing treatment for her throat problem.

Aunor, who was feted with a birthday party at Century Hall, Quezon City Circle, is undergoing a series of therapy sessions with Kitchie Molina after undergoing throat check-ups both here and abroad.

Doctors told her that her vocal cords were undamaged from the bungled cosmetic surgery she went through in Japan in 2010.

Aunor is thankful to senior broadcast journalist “Kuya” Daniel Razon and televangelist “Brother Eli” Soriano of Ang Dating Daan for helping her.

Aunor was named Best Film Actress of the Year at the 8th Cinemalente Media and Film Festival of ICCT Colleges, a tertiary education provider with campuses in Rizal province. Paulo Ballesteros was Best Film Actor of the Year.

Also, Aunor was invited to grace the 2017 ASEAN International Film Festival and Awards (AIFFA) in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia to present the AIFFA Lifetime Achievement award to Malaysian pioneer filmmaker Tan Sri Lakshmanan Krishnan.

She was the recipient of the same honor in 2015.

Aunor’s two indie films, Arturo San Agustin’s Kabisera and Roderick Cabrido’s Tuos made it to Pasado’s (Pampelikulang Samahan ng mga Dalubguro) list of 12 Best Films of 2016. A film about mother’s love entitled Immaculada, by Arlyn de la Cruz of the controversial film Bubog, is in the planning stage Baron Geisler’s “pissing in the face” scene in Bubog, caused the Professional Artist Managers, Inc. (PAMI) to impose sanctions on De la Cruz, inhibiting all artists from accepting projects involving her. De la Cruz, who isn’t managed by any member of PAMI, was accused of failing to exercise control on the set that could have prevented the incident.

Aunor, who has Adolf Alix Jr.’s Laro in the can, got indirectly i n v o l v e d in another controversy involving a “dogkilling” scene in Alvin Yapan’ss MMFF 2016 entry Oro, a film Aunor was tapped originally to star in. Words: Eton B. Concepcion/ Images: Erickson Superstar Nora Aunor adds another year to her age and de la Cruz III celebrates the occasion with her fans and friends (inset)

Explosive

‘D’ Original’ IT SEEMS there is no stopping GMA Afternoon Prime’s D’ Originals from dishing out intense episodes.

Last week, what started out as a solemn and sweet renewal of vows between Josie (Jaclyn Jose) and Lando (Jestoni Alarcon) became a heated confrontation between the original wife and Lando’s mistress, Yvette (Katrina Halili).

Making a grand entrance to the church, Yvette revealed that Lando just told her the night before that he loves her, much to the surprise of Josie who thought Lando has already turned his back on his mistress to give their marriage of 25 years another try.

This week, Josie decides to cut ties with Lando amid her husband’s plea.

Yet her problems are far from over.

Her food park business gets blown up, leaving Marge (LJ Reyes) temporarily blind. Marge, while having a hard time seeing, has no idea that something fishy is already going on between her husband Caloy (Mark Herras) and her sister Christina (Lovely Abella).

Meanwhile, Sofia’s (Kim Domingo) ire against Alice (Meg Imperial) has gone a notch higher after catching her together with her husband Art (Archie Alemania). Sofia is so mad she will sabotage Alice’s image by revealing the latter’s much-kept secret.

Don’t miss the revelations and the clashes between the original wives and the mistresses in D’ Originals, Monday to Friday after Legally Blind on GMA Afternoon Prime.

Star Cinema on SKY Pay-Per-View

Sons remember their father

By Rogelio Constantino Medina THE local movie industry lost on May 24 Gil Merluza Portes of Pagbilao, Quezon. He was an acclaimed Filipino independent filmmaker. He would have turned 72 on Sept. 13.

His wife, Telly, and two sons, Carlo and Justin (both economics graduates and investment (hedge fund) professionals), flew in immediately all the way from Manhattan, New York City to oversee the director’s wake.

Last Saturday at the wake at Holy Trinity Memorial Chapels and Crematorium in Parañaque, the late director’s colleagues in the industry gave him a mini-tribute.

Seen during the wake were Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, Doy del Mundo, Ricky Lee, Senedy Que, Mel Chionglo, Joel Lamangan, Laurice Guillen, Gina Alajar, Ricky Davao, Alessandra de Rossi, Raquel Villavicenio, Liz Alindogan, and some journalists, among others.

“I always knew how much Philippine showbiz meant to my dad, but I never fully grasped or understood how much he meant to the industry until last (Saturday) night. I was absolutely touched and floored by the tribute given to him,” said Justin, 27, who studied at Boston College.

He added, “My dad is a very good storyteller and has a fantastic sense of humor. He is creative, passionate, and persevering. I vividly remember my dad took me to the Toronto Film Festival. I saw his passion for the films. He loved to talk to the crowd. I learned from dad his tenacity and perseverance. Tenacity because of

his passion for the Filipino films and he carried them out through his entire life... Perseverance because if something did not work out, he would try and try again.”

Every time he came back home to New York from the Philippines, like during Christmas, he and his dad Gil, a pioneer in the indie film scene, would talk a lot about Filipino films.

Carlo, 40, the eldest, who studied at the University of Pennsylvania, learned from his dad how to dream big, how to persevere or persist to pursue that dream and how not to give up and to always look at the bright side.

“He loves this country, the Philippines, very much. He never forgot his country and he always believed in the Filipino... He was so civic-minded and optimistic,” said Carlo, who also finished his MBA degree at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in Illinois, USA and who used to be based in Hongkong (not in Indonesia as erroneously reported) some years ago.

As Father’s Day is fast approaching, it pains him to lose his dad. “It is a privilege to be his son... Now after I met so many people here in the Philippines who worked for him and who he gave opportunity to advance in life, I have realized he had affected or changed their lives very much. He was so generous.”

He understood his father now that he is also a father to a four-year-old kid.

His dad’s remains were to Pagbilao on May 28 for his town mates to pay their last respects. Gil Portes, 71, was buried in Pagbilao’s catholic cemetery Monday after a Catholic priest celebrated a funeral mass in the town’s century-old church.

Myx Channel's new set of VJs: (from left) Turs, Kim, Debbie, and JC

MYX newest VJs TURS Daza, Kim Cruz, Debbie Then, and JC Tevez officially joined the MYX family after winning in the MYX VJ Search 2017 at the finals night held in 12 Monkeys Music Hall & Pub last Saturday.

The youngest in the competition, 19-year-old student and blogger Cruz, said she was in shock. She didn’t expect to win.

“I’m so thankful. Most of them are five or four years older, and I was scared they’d treat me like a baby. Age should not be a problem. You guys, just go for what you want to do. I’m working at this age also, and I’m studying at the same time.

Just go for your dreams.”

A sports enthusiast who plays basketball, rugby and soccer, Daza said people were shocked to find out that he was a MYX VJ Search finalist, as they know him to be shy and reserved.

“Honestly, you can do anything you said you might do.

You shouldn’t let other’s opinions limit you, because at the end of the day, whatever you do is your responsibility and whatever others do, that’s only their opinion of you.”

Radio DJ, events host, digital influencer and model Then divulged she first auditioned in the MYX VJ Search when she was only 16 years old back in 2011.

“Persevere and keep trying. If you really believe that this is for you, keep trying until you get it. Don’t stop if you know in your heart it’s for you.”

Meanwhile, jock and foodie Tevez quoted his idol, Chris Pratt, “Don’t die regretting. I never stopped believing. Don’t ever give up. Go get it. Never have a plan B. And if you love what you do, you got to keep going… and we’re here!”

The four new VJs were chosen out of the 12 finalists who made it in this year’s competition. They stood out in the weeks of guest hosting stints in the music channel’s various shows.

THE new Star Cinema on SKY PPV puts the spotlight on teen romance with My Ex and Why’s back-to-back with Vince & Kath & James.

This channel, offered exclusively on SKY, will show fresh movie releases

by Star Cinema, the country’s largest movie company, bundled with other hits.

These new movies star some of the most engaging and popular love teams of this generation. The chemistry between Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil is undeniable and especially evident in their latest silver screen project, My Ex and Why’s, which raked in a total of P341 million worldwide.

In this movie, Gil is Gio, a former playboy determined to prove to his former flame, Cali (Soberano) that he has changed. A love story for this new generation unfolds online, sparking debates between followers and forcing them to take sides.

It will be shown back-toback with three teens on the brink of learning how to love in Vince & Kath & James. Julia Barretto, Joshua Garcia, and Ronnie Alonte star in the adaptation of the highly successful ‘text-serye’ by Jenny Ruth Almocera.

Star Cinema on SKY PPV is available on One SKY, SKYcable, SKYdirect, Destiny digital, and SKY on Demand via SKYbroadband.

"My Ex and Whys" back-to-back with "James, Vince & Kath" on SKY PPV