Manila Standard - 2017 June 12 - Monday

VOL. XXXI • NO. 118 • 4 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

INDEPENDENCE DAY EVE. Tourists

spend the weekend taking souvenir shots in front of the monument of the national hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal at Manila’s Rizal Park on the eve of the 119th commemoration of the Philippine Independence declaration.

In the background is the controversial condominium project of a local developer. Ey Acasio

Pimentel belies talk on destab

By Rey E. Requejo SENATE President Aquilino Pimentel III on Sunday said there are no intelligence reports linking opposition politicians to the fighting in Marawi City, despite the allegations made earlier by Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II. “During our briefing, the ML administrator already stated that opposition senators are not in any [way] connected with the Marawi rebellion because they have no intel report to that effect,” Pimentel said in a text message to reporters, referring to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

Aguirre earlier claimed that opposition politicans led by Senators Antonio Trillanes IV and Paolo Benigno Aquino IV had met in Marawi City with influential Mindanao clans just Next page

561 war veterans to witness Freedom Day rites

By Ben Cal A TOTAL of 561 World War II pensioners who have reached the age of 100 or over will witness the celebration of the 119th anniversary of Philippine independence today.

Official records at the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office show that the oldest pensioner is 110-year-old Paraula M. Saguilla who was born on April 22, 1907 and is 110 years old.

The second oldest is Julita E. Layug who is 109 followed

by Rizalina A. Claravall who is 108.

There are four 107-year-old veterans: Rambi S. Paino, Calixta B. Dumlao, Juliana Y. Jaen and Ubaldo R. Abano.

Records also show that there are 10 veterans who are 106 years old, 10 who are 105, fifteen who are 104, 46 who are 103, 78 who are 102, 156 who are 101, and 349 who are 100 years old.

With their advanced age, they may not be able to join the parade or attend official functions, but they will know that today is independence day.

Of the 561 centenarian

Assault on Maute holdouts pushed

Next page

Defense chief vows to use ‘extreme power’ vs terrorists

By Francisco Tuyay and Florante S. Solmerin

T

HE government will launch fewer airstrikes in the coming days and push the ground assault on rebel holdouts in Marawi City, a military spokesman said Sunday.

“We will still call down air- up close,” Armed Forces of the strikes where needed, but we will Philippines spokesman Brig. Gen. avoid them as the fighting gets Restituto Padilla said in Filipino.

Padilla said the Philippine flag would be flown over the city’s capitol to mark Independence Day, though it seemed likely that the military would miss its target to clear the entire city of Maute group terrorists by Monday as fighting continued.

As fighting continued onto the third week, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana vowed that the government would use “extreme power” to decimate the Maute

group terrorists.

“There is an extreme necessity to employ armor, artillery and air capabilities in support of our infantry units to breach the fortified walls, decks and underground [tunnels] of buildings constructed to be virtual fortresses,” Lorenzana said.

Also on Sunday, President Rodrigo Duterte said he was not aware that US troops were providing technical assistance to Filipino soldiers combatting the Maute ter-

rorists in Marawi City.

Duterte, who has distanced the country from Washington, said he did approach the Americans for help.

“I was not aware of that until they arrived,” Duterte said during a press briefing.

The Palace said Saturday that the US forces were providing only technical assistance, and were not involved in the actual fighting.

Next page

4 more civilians rescued in Marawi VOLUNTEERS from the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front retrieved four more civilians trapped in war-torn Marawi city, bringing the total to 221.

The civilians include three Maranaos, and a Christian. They were retrieved in the Bangolo area in coordination with the Armed Forces of the Philippines units under Gen. Carlito Galvez, com-

mander of the Western Mindanao Command.

The civilians had been trapped in Bgy. Moncado Colony in Marawi City since the start of the conflict.

In late May, MILF chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim met with President Rodrigo Duterte to discuss a “peace corridor” in which MILF members could help the government rescue civilians

trapped in the Marawi City fighting.

The President approved the proposal, and the peace corridor was established in the three-kilometer Banggulo Bridge to Quezon Avenue in Marawi City to allow for rescue and relief operations.

Despite the difficulties of bringing the trapped civilians to a safer place, the Joint Coordination, Next page

Martial law justified, says SolGen ON THE PROWL. Police officers mill around a patrol car outside a hospital in Iligan City after they brought in the body of a gunman, who was killed in an ambush by four gunmen on a police convoy at the boundary of Pantar and Balo-i, in Mindanao. Thirteen Philippine marines have been killed in gunbattles with Islamist militants who have taken over parts of Marawi City in a dramatic surge in the toll from two weeks of fierce fighting between government troops and Maute-Abu Sayyaf Group. AFP

Lawsuits, criminal raps await RW RESORTS World Manila faces criminal negligence charges, civil lawsuits and possible suspension of its temporary authority to run a casino on account of the June 2 attack that killed 37 guests and employees, Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimente said Sunday.

“We all have to set an example

out of the Resorts World tragedy so that in the future, the public will hopefully enjoy superior protection in the gaming zones, hotels and shopping malls,” Pimentel said.

He made his statement even as an official said the police were investigating the possible links of

By Rey E. Requejo THE administration is ready to justify the proclamation of martial law in Mindanao, Solicitor General Jose Calida said on Sunday.

“I am confident that we will be able to prove that there was sub-

stantial factual basis for declaring martial law and that the petitions will be dismissed,” Calida said in an interview.

He said he would submit his office’s comment Monday to three consolidated petitions seeking to strike down President Rodrigo

Duterte’s declaration of martial law in Mindanao after Maute group terrorists stormed Marawi City on May 23.

The chief state lawyer will represent the respondents in the case—Executive Secretary Next page

Jessie Javier Carlos, the gunman behind the attack at Resorts World Manila, to the two men killed in Paco, Manila, on June 1.

Metro Manila Police Chief Oscar Albayalde said they had received reports that Carlos and the slain men, Elmer Mitra Jr. and Next page

Tourism weighs in on Coral Park

By Sandy Araneta THE Tourism department said Sunday it will not promote Nickelodeon’s proposed Coral World Park in Coron, Palawan, if it will destroy the environment.

“We will not allow that because one of our advocacies is to promote places as long as the environ-

ment will not be destroyed, Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo said in a radio interview on Sunday.

She said she raised concerns about the corals in Coron, and the developers assured her that the reef would be safe as the structure would be “floating.”

“They told me Ma’am, no because the restaurant and the ho-

tels are floating. The corals are underneath,” she said.

Teo affirmed previous statements that the Environment department and the local government units of Palawan would ultimately decide whether to accept or reject the project.

“We are only here to promote Next page

FREEDOM WALK. Persons with disability together with members of non-government organizations in

Metro Manila conduct a ‘Freedom Walk’ on Sunday around Quezon City Hall on the eve of the 119th Philippine Independence Day. Manny Palmero

A2

News

MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Day of silence for Marawi heroes T

HE Armed Forces of the Philippines on Sunday observed a day of silence in tribute to the soldiers who died fighting the terrorists in Marawi City, Malacañang said Sunday.

13 HEROES. Philippine marines honor guards unload one of the eight coffins at a military base in Manila on June 11, 2017, bearing one of their colleagues killed in Marawi City. The June 9 ferocious, street-to-street gun battles with the militants saw 13 troops killed, in a dramatic surge in the toll from the conflict, a military spokesman said. AFP

Martial law...

From A1

Salvador Medialdea, Defense Secretary and Martial Law Administrator Delfin Lorenzana and Armed Forces Chief of Staff and Martial Law Implementor Eduardo Año.

The first petition filed by the group of opposition lawmakers led by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman was consolidated with two similar petitions filed by local Mindanao leaders led by lumad leader Eufemia Campos Cullamat and a group of women from Marawi led

by Norkaya Mohamad.

The Court has set oral arguments on these peitions from Tuesday to Thursday and will also hold a preliminary conference Monday afternoon to lay down the

Lawsuits...

From A1

Alvin Cruzin, knew one another.

He said they were still verifying information that Carlos, Mitra and Cruzin were seen together the night before the attack at Resorts World that resulted in the death of the 37.

“There’s a big chance that before the incident in Resorts World Manila, the three had been together,” Albayalde told dzMM radio.

Pimentel said everybody was counting on the Justice department to prepare criminal action once the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection and

Tourism...

From A1

once it’s ready,” Teo said.

“Once the destination is ready, then we will promote it.”

Teo said she was impressed when her department was shown a “concept” of the theme park last year.

“It was beautiful,” she said.

Environmental groups on Wednesday reminded the Tourism department of its mandate to “promote a tourism industry that is ecologically sustainable, responsible, participative, culturally sensitive, economically viable and ethically and socially equitable for local communities.”

Save Philippine Seas, Greenpeace and other groups continue to express apprehension about the project as the developers have yet to disclose the location of the theme park or any other information about it.

issues to be resolved.

Two other petitions were filed by separate groups led by former senators Rene Saguisag and Wigberto Tañada both asking the Supreme Court to compel Congress into convening a joint session to review the martial law declaration.

The Court has yet to act on these petitions.

The two groups questioned the actions of the Senate and the House of Represenatives to issue separate resolutions expressing support for the martial law declaration.

But Calida said he believed the questions raised in all the petitions against martial law were baseless.

“Their denial that there is an ongoing rebellion by the combined forces of the Maute group and the Abu Sayyaf, heightened by the participation of foreign jihadists to

make Mindanao a caliphate of ISIS [Islamic State in Iraq and Syria], is like saying that the sun does not rise from the east. This is a symptom of psychosis since they are detached from reality,” Calida said.

Calida disagreed with the petitioners’ argument that the proclamation should be annulled because the President acted alone in declaring martial law without consulting his Cabinet.

“Nowhere in the Constitution does it state that the President’s declaration of martial law needs the recommendation or concurrence of the Defense secretary, or any Cabinet official,” Calida said.

Under Article VII Section 18 of the 1987 Constitution, the President may declare martial law and suspend the writ of habeas corpus only “in cases of invasion, rebellion or when public safety requires

it.”

The section also states: “The Congress, voting jointly, by a vote of at least a majority of all its members in regular or special session, may revoke such proclamation or suspension, which revocation shall not be set aside by the President. Upon the initiative of the President, the Congress may, in the same manner, extend such proclamation or suspension for a period to be determined by the Congress, if the invasion or rebellion shall persist and public safety requires it.”

Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro said Sunday the Supreme Court must respect the decision of Congress not to hold a joint session on the declaration of martial law in Mindanao.

“The worst that could happen is if Congress does not support the

Supreme Court, the final arbiter of the matters of constitutionality here in our country,” he said.

He maintained it is within the powers of Congress not to convene a joint session under the Constitution unless it sees the need to nullify the martial law, or the need to extend it beyond 60 days.

“We are not suppressing [the power of] the Supreme Court.

For me, the Supreme Court must respect whatever the stance of Congress is. We do not step into the affairs of the Supreme Court,” he said.

He echoed Alvarez’s legal position that Congress is a co-equal branch of the government.

“What is there to convene and to discuss in Congress if both Houses have already approved the resolutions?” he asked. With Rio N. Araja

the National Bureau of Investigation had submitted their findings on the incident.

“We are also hoping that the families who lost their loved ones will eventually file a civil lawsuit for damages,” he said.

The state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. could possibly also suspend or cancel Travelers International Hotel Group Inc.’s provisional authority to operate the casino at Resorts World, Pimentel said.

Travellers is putting up another casino-hotel complex, dubbed Resorts World Bayshore, which is set to open next year in Entertainment City in Parañaque City.

Pimentel said Resorts World failed miserably on three occasions: To overwhelm and prevent the entry of the gunman at a security checkpoint, to evacuate everybody out to safety and to suppress the fires that Carlos set off that suffocated the 37.

“We are convinced that the 37 guests and staff who died of smoke inhalation could have been saved had everybody been diligently removed from the gaming area and had the fires there been put down without delay,” Pimentel said.

He said people died because Resorts World either mistakenly presumed that everybody had been safely taken out or simply abandoned them.

Pimentel...

Coral reef scientist Wilfredo Licuanan said Wednesday Philippine reefs were already stressed and additional human activity would only add to that stress.

“We have to remember that aside from the large number of people living near the reefs, the Philippines is number three globally in reef area. Almost anything you do near a coast will have an impact on reefs,” Licuanan said.

He said the Coral World Park would likely involve the construction of a causeway, and poor land management could lead to soil slipping into the water, and that could destroy the corals.

Meanwhile, the fishermen’s group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas criticized the statement of Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu on the proposed Nickelodeon underwater-theme Park in Palawan.

Cimatu said Friday he would first conduct a ‘‘thorough inquiry regarding the proposed project as

they awaited the formal request for the project.

In a statement, Pamalakaya said they expected Cimatu to oppose the project without reservation because it would imperil the country’s last ecological frontier.

“Although we welcome Secretary Cimatu’s immediate response on the project, we are not that satisfied,” Fernando Hicap, Pamalakaya chairman, said in a statement.

the National Bureau of Investigation to investigate the supposed link between some senators and opposition leaders to a plot to destabilize the government.

“The NBI through Director Dante Gierran is hereby directed and granted authority to conduct investigation and case build-up over the alleged destabilization plot against the government of the Republic of the Philippines by some senators and other opposition leaders, and if evidence warrants, to file the appropriate cases against those who may be found liable,” Aguirre’s order read.

The LP slammed the order and demanded that Aguirre recall it.

Aguirre had cleared Aquino and apologized to him, but issued no similar apology to Trillanes.

Aguirre said the probe would push through and said it was necessary to determine the veracity of the information.

4 more...

From A1

Monitoring and Assistance Center has been able to rescue 179 trapped women, men, children and elderly during its first attempt on June 4.

On its second attempt on Thursday, it was able to bring 38 more civilians to safety— making it a total of 217 saved people. Sandy Araneta

From A1

weeks before the fighting broke out on May 23.

He was later forced to retract his statement on the same day after the politicians he identified said they could prove they were not in Marawi City on May 2, the day of the alleged meeting.

Aguirre denied he was spreading fake news and blamed the media for misquoting him.

On Sunday, he said he would not revoke an order to the National Bureau of Investigation to build up a case against members of the political opposition over a supposed destabilization plot against the Duterte administration.

The opposition Liberal Party on Saturday had called on Aguirre to drop his investigation, given his use of dubious information.

On June 7, Aguirre ordered

561...

From A1

pensioners, 173 are soldiers or guerrillas who saw action during World War II. President Rodrigo Duterte will lead the Independence Day celebrations today.

In his message, Gen. Ernesto Carolina, former vice chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and commanding general of the Southern Command that is now the Western Mindanao Command, cited the veterans for their

vital role “in strengthening our democracy towards genuine and meaningful change.”

He said love of country was what the veterans taught the Filipino people to emulate. He also praised the veterans for their courage.

Meanwhile, retired Maj. Gen. Jose Maria G. Solquillo said the Filipino people should count the blessings that God had given us over the years.

Solquillo, a veteran of the Mindanao war, called on the Filipinos to unite to push the country forward. PNA with Sandy Araneta

“Today there is no airing of the Mindanao Hour. We will just post statements,” the Palace said in a statement.

“The Armed Forces of the Philippines will observe a Day of Silence and Prayer in tribute to the fallen heroes of Marawi and also in remembrance of the innocent lives lost to rebel atrocities.

“These brave men served the flag and country with honor and we ask you to join us in prayer that the Almighty bless and guide their souls and comfort their bereaved families in this moment of grief.”

In a separate statement, Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said the Palace expressed its sadness over the death of 13 soldiers during a firefight in Marawi.

“The Palace is deeply saddened by the news on the 13 Marines killed in action during a firefight in Marawi City, Abella said.

“They fought gallantly for the liberation of our Maranao brothers and sisters.

“This incident gives us greater impetus to clear Marawi of lawless elements, save the trapped civilians and restore order, security and normalcy to the city and its residents.

“Let us continue showing our strong support to our courageous and heroic men and women in uniform fighting for Marawi and defending the Republic.” Sandy Araneta

Assault...

From A1

In Marawi City, Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon and foreign terrorists were likely holed up in a heavily fortified village where 13 Marines were killed in a 16-hour clash Friday night and Saturday morning, Padilla said.

Padilla added that they believe the terrorists were holding civilian hostages in the same village.

Foreign fighters could have already been in Mindanao before fighting broke out in Marawi on May 23, and were ready to reinforce the Maute group terrorists when they rampaged through the city, Padilla said.

On Sunday, the death toll on the government side was 58, while an estimated 138 militants were killed. Maute group gunmen also killed 21 civilians during their attack.

Some 1,613 residents in the war-torn city have been rescued, military officials said.

In Pantar, Lanao del Norte, four Maute group members were killed after a police patrol car was ambushed by unidentified gunmen.

The four killed had been arrested along with the mother of the Maute brothers who head the terrorist group fighting in Marawi.

Police said the four were being transported to Cagayan de Oro City for inquest proceedings when the patrol car was attached.

The four suspects were pronounced dead after they were taken to hospital. Three police officers were also wounded during the ambush.

As government troops closed in on Marawi City holdouts, state security officers were monitoring the movement of rebel groups and Islamist extremists in anticipation of terror attacks in urban areas.

A security official who requested anonymity said Islamic State-inspired extremists were planning terror attacks in Davao, some areas of Maguindanao and Cotabato City, as well as the cities of Zamboanga, Lamitan and General Santos.

Abu Sayyaf attacks in Palawan were also a possibility, the security official said. With Sandy Araneta

News PUV plan gets new boost

MARK Victor Bautista was a fresh graduate from the University of Santo Tomas College of Fine Arts, Industrial Design Department when he submitted a muchcelebrated entry in the 1986 Industrial Design Exhibition of the Design Center of the Philippines. What Bautista presented was a new way of how public utility companies can increase their passenger capacity without buying additional vehicles.

The proposed solution was to change the interior arrangement and seating configuration to increase the capacity of standard elevated buses from an average capacity of 80 passengers (60 seated and 20 standing) to a total of 130 passengers.

This can be done by allocating a few rows of benches for the aged, the disabled and the pregnant women while the rest of the bus will have rows of padded back supports and handrails to allow passengers to stand and lean on the pads. It is ideal for short distance routes.

The design was submitted to then Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Oscar Orbos but may have been way ahead of its time.

More than 30 years later, another Orbos is at the helm of the MMDA. Oscar’s younger brother, Tim Orbos is now the MMDA general manager.

Bautista’s design might just see the light of day.

Bautista has a number of automotive design conquests under his belt. He trained under German bus designing expert Armin Wydower when they did the Double Deck Mobile Home of an industrialist. Since then, he has designed many passenger van bodies for the carmakers, one of which is the Mitsubishi L300 XV which he co-designed with leading truck body builder Centro Manufacturing Corp.

MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017

A3

Group backs tax hike on cars, fuel

By Macon Ramos Araneta

A

MULTI -sectoral organization on Sunday declared its full support for the Duterte administration’s plan to increase the excise tax rate on fuels and cars in the country.

“We at the Clean Air Philippines Movement Inc. strongly supports the initiative of the Duterte administration to impose higher excise tax on dirty fuels and motor vehicles and to give more incentives to producers of cleaner fuels and transportation technologies to help curb the deadly effects of air pollution on the health and lives of Filipinos,” said Clean Air Philippines

Movement Inc. president Leo Olarte.

Olarte noted that more than 80 percent of air pollution in Metro Manila comes from unabated emissions of motor vehicles that result in respiratory and cardiovascular (heart attack, stroke and sudden death) diseases.”

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources said emission inventory for the

National Capital Region, mobile sources (motor vehicles) in 2012 account for 90 percent of the aggregated discharged amounts of air pollutants in the region.

“We call upon our countrymen to rally behind our move to impose carbon or environmental tax on dirty fuels and smoke belching motor vehicles in the country.” said Olarte, former president of the Philippine Medical Association and currently the vice president of the Philippine Hospital Association, “The clear and present danger of air pollution from motor vehicles excuses no one. As long as you live in a city with polluted air to breathe you become automatically a victim of deadly air

pollution,” Olarte said.

Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua declared that the excise tax measure on fuels and cars is part of President Rodrigo Duterte’s Comprehensive Tax Reform Program that aims to address poverty and inequality in the Philippines.

The Senate Ways and Means committee meanwhile said it would l try to come up with an excise tax for vehicles that will not be too burdensome while helpingease traffic congestion in Metro Manila. The Senate will start debates on the measure when Congress resumes session on July 24.

Senator Sonny Angara, chairman of the committee, said he is thinking of imposing higher

taxes on additional vehicles purchased by the same owner that will be collected through the motor vehicle user’s charge.

The House of Representatives last month passed the administration’s tax reform package, which among others, seeks to lower personal income tax while increasing the excise tax on vehicles and fuel.

To make up for the excise tax hike on oil, the administration plans to institute a program which will provide cash cards to public utility vehicle drivers , and a public transport modernization program which will provide subsidies to PUVs that will make the operators shift to a more efficient engine.

SAVE MARAWI. A worker at Khayra Ummah Islamic Call and Guidance Inc. arranges packed clothes at the Golden Mosque and Cultural Center in Manila intended as donation to victims of war-torn Marawi City. Save Marawi City t-shirts are for sale at P165 apiece. Norman Cruz

Bamboo bill aims at $20-b global market–Zubiri GSIS loan for quake victims

THE creation of a state coordinating agency for bamboo development is being pushed by the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau to fortify Philippines’ ability to capture a sizable share of the $20-billion global bamboo market.

Senate Bill No. 1478 or the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Act aims to create the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Council, according to Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri.

The bamboo industry can generate numerous jobs and be a top exporter and dollar generator, he said.

“With only a handful of countries competing in the bamboo industry worldwide, there is a great potential for the Philippine bamboo industry to get the bigger pie in the world market and be on the top export products of the country,” Zubiri said.

The absence of a government agency focused on bamboo hinders development of the industry.

“Currently, there is no institution that is dedicated to oversee the development of the bamboo industry. Among the impediments to realize bamboo industry in the Philippines are the dispersed programs, unsupportive policies, and lack of incentives to attract investments,” he said.

SB 1478 will also create under PBIDC the Bamboo Industry Research and Development Center (BIRDC) which will have these functions:

• Promote establishment and management of bamboo nurseries, plantations and processing facilities that would accelerate the production and commercialization of bamboo and various bamboo products; • Promote market access of its technologies and products; • Evaluate the performance of industry programs and projects; • Partner with the private sector and other government and non-government agencies in the implementation of the Philippine

Bamboo Roadmap (PBR); • Accept grants, donations and contributions from local and international donors; and • Conduct capability-building initiatives for farmers, processors, designers, and other 10 stakeholders.

Many enterprises are still utilizing wood working machines which are not suitable tool for processing bamboo. There is also a growing shortage of supply of bamboo raw materials.

Think tank pushes biotechnology law A THINK TANK backs a stronger policy to authorize planting and release of biotechnology crops like the Bt eggplant and “gene-silenced” non-browning potato which will be the Philippines’ key to long term food security amid climate threats and burgeoning population.

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) said it supports passage of a biotechnology law more forcible than a memorandum circular or administrative order (AO) as long term solutions to hunger will anchor on it.

“Searca has BIC (Biotechnology Information Center) which is its one stop shop for biotechnology advocacy. We are in a position to support it (biotechnology law). We will capitalize on Searca’s strength in policy research to address the problem,” said Searca Director Dr.

Gil C. Saguiguit Jr. in a biotechnology forum.

Saguiguit cited Searca’s crucial role in policies that affect food production and the environment. Among such support is for a program of Senator Cynthia A. Villar of Senate’s Committee on Agriculture and Food. Villar advocates the Small Farmers Irrigation Act and agriculture insurance program as a strategy to aid farmers against climate change’s adverse effects.

Searca, together with the International Service for the Acquisition of Agribiotech Applications (ISAAA), hosts BIC at its headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna.

It supports BIC as part of the SEAMEO’s (South East Asian Ministers of Education Organization) focus to strengthen graduate agriculture education and related agricultural research carried out by academic experts.

APC in the park. Teenage boys play on top of a military V-150 armored personnel carrier displayed at the green area of Manila’s Quirino Grandstand on the eve of the 119th commemoration of the Philippine Independence declaration. Ey Acasio

THE Government Service Insurance System has earmarked P31.86 million in emergency loan for its 986 active members and 290 old-age pensioners in quake-hit Wao, Lanao del Sur. Active members are qualified to apply for the loan until June 29 if they are residing or working in the calamity-declared area, are not on leave of absence without pay, have no arrears in paying premium contributions, and have no unpaid loans for more than six months.

Those applying for the first time may avail of a P20,000 loan, while those with existing emergency loan may borrow up to P40,000, from which their outstanding balance will be deducted.

Active members may apply through the GSIS Wireless Automated Processing System (GWAPS) kiosk located in all GSIS branch and extension offices; provincial capitols; city halls; selected municipal offices; large government agencies such as the Department of Education; Robinsons malls; and selected SM City branches in North Edsa, Manila, Pampanga, Cebu, and SM Aura in Taguig.

Old-age pensioners must apply in person at any GSIS office to avail of the P20,000 emergency loan. Those who have become active members anew after reentering government service may apply for the loan only once.

A4

Opinion

MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017

EDITORIAL

Time for unity

A

T LEAST five parties have filed petitions before the Supreme Court against President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of martial law in Mindanao, which was triggered by the May 23 attack on Marawi City by Islamic State-inspired Maute group terrorists, who flew black ISIS flags over the city.

A military campaign to recapture the city has been hampered by the terrorists’ use of mosques.

At least 200 people, including soldiers, terrorists and civilians have been killed and more than 200,000 people have been

Adelle Chua, Editor

displaced in the fighting that is entering its third week. Portions of the city that have been damaged by the fighting—including punishing air strikes— evoke images of war-torn cities in the Middle East.

Yet two of the petitions

before the Supreme Court argue that there is no factual basis for the declaration of martial law because there is no rebellion or invasion, the only two valid reasons for imposing military rule under the 1987 Constitution.

It would seem self-evident that armed men seeking to wrest control of a city from the government were engaged in a rebellion—except to the self-proclaimed human rights advocates who have questioned the factual basis for martial law in Mindanao.

Three other petitions ask the Supreme Court to compel Congress to convene a

joint session to debate President Duterte’s martial law declaration, arguing that this is what the Constitution mandates in Section 18 of Article VII. A careful reading of the pertinent passage, however, reveals that this is not the case.

Section 18 reads: “Within forty-eight hours from the proclamation of martial law or the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, the President shall submit a report in person or in writing to the Congress. The Congress, voting jointly, by a vote of at least a majority of all its Members in regular or

special session, may revoke such proclamation or suspension, which revocation shall not be set aside by the President.”

Nowhere in the passage is there any admonition that a joint session is mandatory.

Establishing the conditions for a repeal—Congress voting jointly and obtaining a vote of at least a majority of all its members—is not the same as saying that a joint session is mandatory. It merely states the conditions required for a repeal, suggested by the use of the word “may.”

Since both the House of Representatives and the

Senate have already issued resolutions supporting the declaration of martial law, convening a joint session would be pointless, since Congress has shown it has no intention of revoking military rule.

Of course, it is the right of these petitioners to bring their case to the Supreme Court. But given the gravity of an ISIS incursion in Mindanao on one hand, and the questionable legal grounds for their challenges, we would have hoped for a stronger show of unity against the common enemy, even from the administration’s political opponents.

Happy birthday, Philippines!

A phenomenology of extremism SOME will disagree with my characterization of the Maute band as an Islamic extremist group. And one particularly testy issue is whether or not Islam is determinative of their extremist posture, or whether it is merely a fortuity that they are Muslims. The Regional Darulif-Ta of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao took an official stand and ruled that the mayhem that Maute visited on Marawi had nothing to do with Islam. But the militants apparently slash and burn in the name of Islam, as do other extremists in other parts of the world. Just as many who swear that the Bible is God’s word have invoked its passages to perpetrate the most horrendous acts. For a person of faith, having what he believes to be God’s word—the ultimate rule of life—can be very assuring. It gives one the existential compass one always needs. But it is dynamite in the hands of the reckless, because

it can be wielded as a sword against one’s enemies, those who differ in belief and in persuasion. And the way, I think, to address this impasse is not to take up the battle-cry for a religionless society—a thoroughly secular community that clamps down on all overt expressions of sectarian affiliation. That would be extremism of the opposite kind and would only fan the flames of religious militancy more. Religion, after all, is a stubborn phenomenon!

What is needed is for leaders and teachers of religion to foster the critical moment, the inquiring spirit, the rational examination of one’s beliefs. Irrational religion, after all, is not worthy of the human person! Our seminaries will have to do philosophy more seriously and theology should truly be the rational and critical reflection on faith. And even if logical analysis is not the favorite tool of theologians, they might learn valuable lessons

Irrational religion is not worthy of the human person. from the basic precept that one must be thoroughly responsible about the use of terms and account for them in a manner that it can be determined whether any given proposition is true or false. For all that has been said against it, Descartes’ methodic doubt is still a strong purgative! Similarly, Islamic scholars might want to pass the recondite reflections that they do and that they publish in treatises to the level of madrasahs so that it is

not mere rote memorization of passages of the Sacred Qur’an that becomes the determinant of accomplishment.

Extremism, for one thing, is an intellectually comfortable position. An extremist sees only polar opposites. His square of opposition is limited only to contradictories: Either P or not P. The modal is unknown to him: Need not be P, can be P, and still less, the nuances that is the language of prudent, humble but earnest inquiry: Perhaps, it seems likely that. The immortal Aristotle believed in the golden mean—virtus in medio—and while that may not necessarily be the best ethical norm to live by (because it leaves one ceaselessly calculating), it takes intellectual subtlety to be able to admit qualifiers, entertain rebuttals and concede modifications.

Extremism partners with militancy particularly when a religion, a world-view fights for its survival and is threatened radi-

cally. Obviously if this point has been validly made, then it will go a long way towards fending off extremism not to make any following believe that its religion, its beliefs and its worldviews are radically threatened or compromised. Sometimes, the issue is demographic—in that a minority group lives in the midst of an overwhelming majority of a different religion. But even in such situations that generosity of spirit that manifests itself in a culture of mutual respect and tolerance should not be empty desiderata. And enforcing public secularism or a religionless public space—as some our jurists believe is the way to go—is certainly not it! Suicide bombers are the best proof of what people are willing to give up for the cause of their God and their faith!

Gadamer’s “fusion of horizons” is a powerful suggestion. The radical hermeneutic continuity Turn to A5

ON THIS day 119 years ago, our forefathers proclaimed our independence from colonial rule in Kawit, Cavite.

Despite the fact that such independence was interrupted by the entry of another colonial power, thence by the chaos, suffering and violence attendant to the Second World War, that republic has stood the test of time.

Today, as we commemorate our National Day, it is noteworthy that some very fundamental changes are being wrought by our leadership upon the character of that sovereignty, principally, the emergence of a truly independent foreign policy where we look at our bilateral and international relations on the basis of national interest, and where we seek no enemies as we enhance our friendship with all other nations on earth.

Happy birthday, Philippines! *** Here in Taiwan, we began our commemoration with simultaneous OFW-centered celebrations in the capital, Taipei and in two other large cities, Taichung and Kaohsiung, where the Manila Economic and Cultural Office maintains offices.

Aside from fun runs and raffles for the benefit of our migrant workers sponsored by several companies both Taiwanese and Philippine, the Filipino community in the respective cities prepared their own cultural and artistic presentations.

In the workers’ day celebration at the Riverside Park in New Taipei City, singer K. C. Tandingan and comedian Eric Nicolas performed to the delight of the Filipino community.

Tonight, we will host a diplomatic reception at the Far Eastern Shangri-La in Taipei, where through the cooperation of the Asian Development Bank, Philippine Airlines and the Department of Tourism, audio-visual screens will show the story of a growing Philippine economy beside statistics, as well as the beauty of our islands and highlands and the warmth and hospitality of our people.

Added features of the diplomatic reception are the launching of Tanduay Rhum, a multi-awarded Filipino product dating back to the late 19th century and the introduction of Carmen’s Best Ice Cream to

Turn to A5

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

can be accessed at: thestandard.com.ph

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

Philippine Press Institute The National Association of Philippine Newspapers

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

MEMBER

PPI

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

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

Managing Editor Associate Editors City Editor Opinion Editor

Emil P. Jurado

Honor Blanco Cabie Night Editor Romel J. Mendez Art Director Roberto Cabrera Chief Photographer

Chairman Emeritus, Editorial Board

Opinion

MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017

A5

Arrogance of power WHAT is it it with House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez?

Does he think he is above the President? President Rodrigo Duterte himself said he would abide by the decision of the Supreme Court if it rules that a joint session of Congress is needed to review the legality of martial law in Mindanao.

Not so Speaker Alvarez. He pompously declared in an interview with House reporters that he would rip any high court order telling Congress to hold a joint session on the issue. Alvarez said the Legislative is independent of the Judiciary and it cannot tell Congress what to do.

He should have stopped at invoking the independence of the three branches of government.

But he didn’t. Instead he went as far as to say he would rip up the Supreme Court order. This is open defiance that could precipitate a constitutional crisis.

Power, indeed, can be intoxicating—especially if one moves in the inner circle of Duterte.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio have yet to respond to the upstart’s naked display of power Alvarez may not realize it but he’s doing damage and disservice to Digong who just might have him replaced as Speaker.

Yeah, right. Congress is in-

dependent, so claims Alvarez.

Yet Congress is at the beck and call of Malacañang when the President wants a priority measure passed. Or when it needs to kill an impeachment complaint against the President as shown in how they threw out Magdalo Party-List Rep. Gary Alejano’s case.

Congressmen cannot afford to be independent. They know who holds the key to the funds for their district projects. It’s not called pork barrel anymore but it’s the same mechanism.

Former Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, whom everyone knows is more steeped in the law than Alvarez is, cites a provision in the 1987 Constitution that specifically requires a joint session of Congress to discuss and review the basis for the declaration of martial law. What are Alvarez and the supermajority in the House afraid of? The administration allies in the House, after all, have the numbers. The airing of views by the minority opposition will be for naught, after all, once the votes are cast and counted.

There is a pending petition in the Supreme Court on the issue of martial law and the convening of joint Congress to ventilate the

various views, both for and against it.We hope the issue does not lead to a constitutional crisis.

The Republic is reeling from challenges on several fronts. There is the Marawi City siege by the Maute-IS terrorist group that seeks to establish a separate caliphate carved out of Mindanao. Then, there are sporadic ambuscades of government troops by the communist New People’s Army. There is the brutal war on illegal drugs.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines declared it would liberate Marawi today, Independence Day. But with more than 57 government troops killed in the fight against the Mautes, we doubt whether the Philippine flag can be hoisted in every place in Marawi to replace the black banner of ISIS with whom the Mautes have aligned themselves.

The 57 casualties are more than the 44 Philippine National Police Special Action Force commandos killed by a combined Moro Islamic Liberation Force-Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

There are, however, unconfirmed reports that the Maute brothers have been killed and

their followers are on the run, looking for an exit. Earlier, the Maute patriarch was arrested; he is now under detention in Manila. If the Mautes can take hostages and use them as human shields, so can the military hold the Maute patriarch as a pawn.

All is fair in war, after all.

Resorts World Manila shutdown The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. suspended the license of Resorts World Manila to operate casinos. This occurred after a House hearing revealed RWM’s lapses in security when a lone gunman fired shots and torched casino tables earlier this month.

Pagcor chief Andrea Domingo cited several breaches of security protocol that Resorts World committed, including not having a quick response team to deal with emergencies such as an armed intruder.

The gunman, Jessie Carlos, was a sore loser who had a string of bad luck in gambling. Despondent because he owed several millions in debt, he barged into Resorts World and vented his ire on the gambling house a little past midnight when it was still packed with patrons.

Carlos’ act took 38 lives, including his own. Most of the victims died from smoke inhalation.

Another deadly wake-up call WHEN gunshots were heard and smoke was seen billowing around the Resorts World casino complex just after midnight of June 2, many feared the worst.

People were still reeling from the surprise siege of Marawi City by the extremist Maute group, and martial law had been freshly declared in the region.

The reputation of Resorts World as a tourist haven added more fuel to the speculation of a terror attack. The SITE Intelligence Group reported that ISIS has claimed responsibility, and even US President Donald Trump called it an act of terrorism.

When the smoke cleared, the perpetrator turned out to be a former employee of the Department of Finance who was buried in debt from a chronic gambling addiction. While officials tried to allay fears related to national security and terrorism, the attack nevertheless left dozens dead and raised other serious issues.

For one, it bared just how vulnerable to acts of violence a place like Resorts World could be—even though it is a private upscale establishment in the middle of a high-traffic commercial district that is a stone’s throw away from the country’s primary airport. Regardless of the perpetrator—organized terrorist or a mentally deranged lone wolf—the attack underscored a dire lapse in security in what is supposed to be a safe

enclave. If a a drastic need open place like Reto retrain and sorts World can retool security thoughts be exposed like person nel— orlando this, what can to the level of oxales we expect from Special Action the other lessForces, some equipped estabsay. Personnel lishments? need to have adequate training Some were reminded of the and tools to effectively respond 1996 Ozone Disco tragedy, to this level of violence. Protowhich killed more than a hun- cols regarding coordination with dred people, many of them fresh authorities like the police have graduates. Serious fire safety to be revisited. lapses were discovered in the afAlso, while many breathed termath: insufficient sprinklers, a sigh of relief that it wasn’t a malfunctioning fire extinguish- terrorist act, an often unseen ers, and an exit that became a scourge was also revealed: trapdoor. The case of criminal Gambling addiction. While the negligence was eventually prov- Duterte administration’s camen in court, and the president paign against illegal drugs had and owner of the disco operator achieved a certain level of nowere sentenced to four years in toriety, other forms of addiction prison and a P25-million fine. had fallen by the wayside, reWe seem to be back to square ceiving little attention. one with Resorts World. In this The Philippine Amusement case, it puts to serious question and Gaming Corp., which is on the capability of security agen- one hand tasked to promote legal cies to handle similar threats. gambling as a source of governCCTV footage revealed that ment revenues, must likewise what stood between the gunman take itself to task in attending and the casino was an unarmed to the social repercussions of female security guard who tried the activity, from harmless adin vain to stop him from enter- diction to the mental troubles it ing the premises without passing can instigate. The issue of casino through the metal detector. And loan sharks operating in all cawhen that failed, it was every sinos, preying on gamblers and man for himself. capitalizing on addiction, must Consider, too, that this assail- be stopped. This nefarious partant made no effort to conceal his nership with casino employees intentions. He was in combat is akin to the drug pushing busiattire and carried two military- ness exploiting its victims with style duffle bags. There is thus the intoxication of gambling as

A phenomenology...

From A4

that assures us, human persons, that for all our differences, we remain human, and can communicate with each other, also indicates that our horizons can fuse, that our worldviews need not be impermeable and that,

Happy...

From A4

both Taiwanese officialdom, the diplomatic and business community, as well as other sectors of Taiwanese society. *** Back home, we note with dismay the publication of stories that highlight the apparent disarray in several government agencies.

There is the turf and pelf competition between the chairman of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and its administrator, who per my understanding of their charter, is the chief executive officer.

Such chaos does not bode well for this premier port and export processing enclave where many

in the very least, we can be respectful and considerate of each other. And that is of course both an ethical and a cultural issue. It has to do with the way we rear our children, with the attitudes we foster in them, and with a culture that puts a premium on respect for differences.

Extremism will not be solved in the long-term by extreme measures—be-

Taiwanese business interests have located. *** We have been trying to revive the export of fresh coconuts (buko) which is a well-liked Philippine product among Taiwanese.

But efforts have been stymied for the past several months because of leadership uncertainty in the Philippine Coconut Authority where the Administrator has been suspended on allegations of corruption, then reclaimed his post, and thereafter, declared persona non grata by his own board.

These are only two agencies which impact on the Taiwanese trade and investments picture.

Sure, there are other examples in the bureaucracy where turf battles, policy inconsistencies

hallucinogen.

In these issues, Pagcor as both regulator and operator bears the onus of assessing the adequacy of its policies and, if they are in place, if such regulations are being capably implemented and enforced.

While many of the deaths in the Resorts World attack were due to suffocation, yet another big question is how the assailant came to be in possession of an M4 rifle, a high-power assault weapon. This merits a thorough investigation that may expose an even scarier weapon syndicate operating beyond the reach of our police authorities.

Thinkers warn of the economic fallout we may suffer from the disturbing images of Resorts World and Marawi. These might lead to a double black-eye to our national reputation that will cause investors and tourists to bypass the Philippines.

Unfortunately, in the backdrop of all these issues is a new world order of extremism and violence that we must live in.

Because news and social media are perpetually saturated with reports and images of terrorist acts, entities like ISIS has successfully embedded themselves in our consciousness.

The ongoing battle of Marawi is a painful confirmation that terrorists have arrived. We need to heighten our awareness, be vigilant and know how to act when the time comes.

cause that is exactly that it feeds on. It will be effectively checked by a studied, deliberate, government-led, law-backed direction of national culture towards mutual respect. rannie_aquino@csu.edu.ph rannie_aquino@sanbeda.edu.ph rannie_aquino@outlook.com

and administrative lethargy are becoming a heavy yoke upon efforts of the Duterte administration to propel our economy to greater heights while increasing the efficiency of government services to the people. *** The tourist traffic to the Philippines from Taiwan, which has grown by a healthy 24 percent year-on-year (2016 versus 2015), and which has shown promise of getting substantially bigger based on the first four-month visitor arrivals, already up by 29 percent, is taking a beating with dismal news on the peace-andorder front.

The Marawi terrorist incident which prompted President Duterte to declare martial law in Mindanao, followed by the Resorts World madness that

snuffed four Taiwanese lives, have caused several pre-booked travel cancellations.

We can only hope things will improve in the days to come, and government’s demonstrated resolve in quelling disorder bears immediate fruit. *** I instantly sensed that fake news was the culprit in Senator Bam Aquino’s being implicated in an alleged conspiracy against government. It simply is not in his character.

When former PNoy political adviser Ronald Llamas’ name was mentioned, I was beyond myself in amused laughter— what would my friend Ronald be doing in Marawi, buying “genuinely” fake DVDs? Here in Taiwan, we have our own problems owing to

Montero’s recall from the market LAST week was a time for celebration for the hundreds of complainants against the Mitsubishi Montero SUV. The Department of Trade and Industry finally, after at least five years of receiving complaints and doing nothing concrete, ordered Mitsubishi to cease and desist from selling the 2010 to 2015 models of Montero automatic transmission SUVs. More significantly, the Trade and Industry Department also ordered the recall of these models and to pay the owners their money value taking into consideration depreciation.

The DTI also imposed a fine on Mitsubishi for violations of the Consumer Act. It will be recalled that complaints about the Montero sports vehicle going wild on a sudden unintended acceleration hit the news on large scale in 2015 prompting even Congress to do a probe. BeLet this be fore then, I was the proverbial lone voice in the the day we, wilderness writing tire- consumers, claim lessly about incidents of the Montero suddenly ac- independence from celerating uncontrollably, hitting other vehicles and the shackles of structures. Deaths and oppressive business physical injuries arising from such accidents practices. have been reported but Mitsubishi’s consistent defense was “driver error.” Back in 2011 to 2014, what Mitsubishi would do was to offer to buy back the damaged vehicles at a low price then make the owner-victims sign a confidentiality agreement that they were not supposed to talk to anyone about the settlement. Back then, too, because the victims mostly felt powerless and alone, they would individually accept a settlement no matter how unacceptable it was. A blog by victims of the Montero’s unintended acceleration had to be taken down too as part of the terms of settlement with Mitsubishi. For the complainants, the Trade and Industry department did not do enough to help consumers, fomenting frustration and a sense of helplessness. This led victims to resort to the social media, creating a face book account, where victims shared their respective experiences with the Montero.

Things came to a head when more and more complainants came forward, some of whom were members of prominent and political families, forcing the Trade and Industry department to take a more proactive action. It then created a Consumer Protection Investigating Panel which conducted public hearings. Twenty-four individuals who were victims of the Montero’s sudden unintended acceleration submitted sworn affidavit. This prompted the DTI-Fair Trade and Enforcement Bureau—Enforcement Division to officially file a complaint with the DTI against Mitsubishi to enforce consumer rights.

The DTI’s Fair Trade Adjudication Division promulgated a carefully crafted decision dated May 10, 2017, released only last week. The decision, to my mind, is an excellent material for study by law students for being a perfect example of how an agency of government that is tasked to promote trade yet also mandated to protect consumer rights can do a balancing act. Thus, the decision stated that while there was insufficient evidence to hold Mitsubishi liable for SUA-related defects, the unrefuted existence of numerous unfortunate incidents all involving one type of vehicle—the Montero automatic transmission sports—raises a high reasonable probability that there must be a defect in the vehicle’s design or mechanical aspect. While Mitsubishi asserted that the report done by an expert it hired, HORIBA MIRA, to study the vehicle said that the vehicle did not have defects that could cause sudden unintended acceleration, the DTI said the findings of Mitsubishi’s expert group were hearsay and self-serving as HORIBA was not an independent body chosen by both the parties. Just the same, DTI used this very same study which stated that there was a defect in the positioning of the acceleration and brake pedals of the vehicle which might have caused the Montero accidents. With this, the DTI anchored its decision on Articles 10 and 164 of the Consumer Act which prohibit the sale of injurious, dangerous and unsafe products as well as Article 97 which makes a trader liable for selling products with defects.

The DTI defined its balancing duties when it said in the decision, “In the event a body tasked by law with the role of both enhancing trade and empowering consumers has chosen to uphold consumerism, it does not intend to impress upon the masses that consumerism finds superiority over the promotion of trade, but merely breathes life into its written obligation under the law to protect its citizens because they are the people of the sovereign state which the Department of Trade and Industry is tasked to serve.”

The greatest lesson drawn from the Montero saga is that it is up to us, the sovereign people, to exercise vigilance over our rights as consumers. Had the victims remained quiet and continued to individually accept the unacceptable settlements being then offered by Mitsubishi, with undertakings of confidentiality to boot, the Trade department would not have had the political will to sanction a giant trade entity, in an ultimate manner, to protect consumers. And oh, today is Independence Day. Let this be the day we, consumers, claim independence from the shackles of oppressive business practices.

Email: ritalindaj@gmail.com Visit: www.jimenolaw.com.ph

too much reliance on Facebook posts by both OFWs and laborassistance staff. Sometimes I pine for the days when there was no internet, no cellphones, no Facebook, no Twitter, and all these new technological innovations. Life was a lot simpler, and privacy was more protected. *** Meanwhile, from the United Kingdom, the unexpected loss of

Theresa May and the Conservatives discombobulates British politics at a crucial time when Brexit is being negotiated with the European Union whose hand has been strengthened by the spectacular win of Emmanuel Macron, its staunch supporter, in France.

Macron wins big in May; May loses in June.

It is indeed a most interesting year of the Rooster.

News

A6

MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Angara: Approve financial assistance for cops, soldiers

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

S

ENATOR Juan Edgardo Angara has pressed for the immediate passage of bills granting special financial assistance and benefits to uniformed and law enforcement personnel following the killing of 58 government troops in intense firefights with the Maute group in Marawi City.

“As the siege by extremist groups continues to drag on in Marawi City, our brave soldiers need all the support they can get,” Angara said.

“It’s unfortunate that this conflict has cost the lives of many of our troops. We condole with their families,” Angara said.

The number of fallen government troops since the President

placed the entire Mindanao until martial law on May 23 has been increasing after a 16-hour gunfight over the weekend left 13 Marines killed.

Angara is one of the authors of Senate Bill 1462 or the Uniformed and Law Enforcement Personnel Special Financial Assistance Act, and SB 1463 or the Uniformed and Law Enforce-

ment Personnel Educational Assistance Act. Under SB 1462, a special financial assistance equivalent to the average six months salary, including allowances and bonuses, will be provided to the families and beneficiaries of any personnel of the PNP and the AFP killed or permanently incapacitated while in the line of duty.

Surviving spouses or designated beneficiaries will also be given priority in employment in government agencies and offices where their qualifications are fitted.

SB 1463, on the other hand, provides that all surviving children will automatically and without qualification be extended full scholarship from kindergarten to tertiary level. The

privilege includes payment of tuition and miscellaneous fees, allowance for books and school supplies, and allowance for food and transportation.

The proposed measure further seeks to create a Dependents Welfare Office to expedite the grant of special financial assistance and benefits, which should be within three days from receipt of a written certification of the fact of death or permanent disability or incapacity.

If any personnel is injured or wounded in the performance of official duties, hospitalization expenses, including necessary medicine and medical equipment, will be shouldered by the government.

The proposed measure expanded the coverage of the

special assistance to uniformed personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Philippine Coast Guard, and the Bureau of Corrections.

“Such special assistance befits the selfless service of our fallen heroes who have offered their lives to preserve peace, defend the dignity of the country, and ensure the safety of all Filipinos,” the lawmaker said.

In addition, Angara has filed a bill that seeks to increase a soldier’s hazard pay to 25 percent of his base pay.

“If our bill passed into law, we will see an eightfold increase in the hazard pay,” he said.

WET UNDER A CONCRETE RAINBOW. Pedestrians take shelter from a sudden heavy downpour outside a casino hotel in Pasay City. Ey Acasio

SolGen hires six top Bar passers

By Rey E. Requejo SIX topnotchers in the 2016 Bar examinations will join the Office of the Solicitor General, the principal legal defender of the state, its departments and various government agencies.

“Six topnotchers from the most recent Bar examinations will be joining the OSG in its pursuit of social justice as the Republic Defender and The Tribune of the People,” Solicitor General Jose Calida said.

The six OSG recruits are second placer Alanna Gayle Ashley Khio of Silliman University in Dumaguete City, third placer Athalia Liong of Andres Bonifacio College in Dipolog, fifth placer Justin Ryan Morilla of Ateneo De Davao University, sixth placer Mark Dace Camarao of Northwestern University in Laoag City, ninth placer Nia Rachelle Gonzales of the University of Batangas and 10th placer Andrew Stephen Liu also of Silliman University.

“In order to become the best lawyer I can be, I need to be trained in the best law firm in the country,” Khio said, explaining why she joined the OSG. The number one Bar passer, Karen Mae Calam of the University of San Carlos law school in Cebu City, has decided to pursue private law practice.

‘Pass bill allowing work from home now’

By Rio N. Araja A HOUSE leader has urged his fellow lawmakers to swiftly pass his proposal institutionalizing the workfrom-home scheme or telecommuting policy to help solve the worsening traffic congestion in Metro Manila and other urban centers.

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Ray Villafuerte, House committee on appropriations vice chairman, made the appeal following the Senate’s approval of its own version of the bill on final reading before the 17th Congress’ sine die adjournment.

The telecommuting work scheme could enhance productivity of the workers and even improve public health in the government’s effort to reduce air pollution, Villafuerte said.

“A result-oriented management technique proved to be effective in managing employees. On the part of the employees, increase in the effectiveness of workers is expected. It allows them to manage the boundaries between work and family better as well as maximize the use of freed-up time from commuting,” Villafuerte’s House Bill No. 5630 read.

“On the side of the employer, businesses can cut costs from electricity to office supplies,” Villafuerte said.

While Villafuerte’s proposal was reported for first reading before the House plenary and referred to the House committee on labor and employment, Senators Cynthia Villar and Joel Villanueva have filed a similar measure, which was passed on third and final reading on May 22.

“We hope that our colleagues in the House would be able act swiftly in approving this bill when the 17th Congress resumes its second regular session in July,” Villafuerte added.

Solon hits P18-m budget for six MRT 3 janitors

By Rio N. Araja A LAWMAKER on Sunday demanded an explanation from the management of the Metro Rail Transit 3 on the supposed threeyear budget of maintenance ser-

vice provider Busan Universal Rail Inc. amounting to P18.05 million for its six janitorial personnel tasked to clean the 43 light rail vehicles.

Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta Party-List Rep. Jericho Nograles

said the amount translates to an annual budget of P6,016,800.

Each personnel would then get an average of P83,566 per month, Nograles said.

“We spend P18 million for six cleaners for three years?” he added.

Nograles compared the hefty compensation to a government official with salary grade 26 or a director II who only receives less than P83,000 per month, or a bank manager getting a monthly wage of P40,000 to P60,000.

Such budget for the janitorial services was preposterous and scandalous, he said, noting that the scope of cleaning job only covers the light rail vehicles and and not the entire MRT 3 facility.

50 women trained to make plush toys

By Macon Ramos-Araneta FIFTY women from the National Housing Authority relocation site in Naic, Cavite were trained to make plush toys and pillows during a seminar conducted by Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance (Villar Sipag).

“We want our women to benefit from these training programs so that they can earn without the need to leave their children behind or sacrifice their responsibilities as homemaker,” said Senator Cynthia Villar, who is director of the institute.

Villar Sipag partnered with Higos Project, a small enterprise in Naga City that aims to share skills to housewives, unemployed individuals, out-ofschool youth and to organizations who want to invest in new livelihood that does not require big investments.

FEELING PATRIOTIC. A cyclist take photo of the Aguinaldo Shrine facade. Senator Panfilo Lacson will be the keynote speaker here today for Kawit's Independence Day activities. PNA

Sports 10 PPS bets to train in Australia JOHN David Velez heads nine other fellow Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala regional age-group tennis campaigners to a threemonth scholarship program at the Macs Crankit Tennis Academy in Australia.

The PPS-PEPP bets stood out in the Visayas and Mindanao legs of the ongoing circuit with Velez, one of the rising stars from Davao, topping the 14-and-under side in the Butuan and Cagayan de Oro stops of the nationwide circuit put up by the country’s leading pawnshop and remittance center. He also dominated the Davao leg to clinch the first MCTA grant in Sydney in October.

Joining Velez in the camp are Iloilo City’s Marben Mosquera, Klyde Lagarde from Gen. Santos City, Janus Ringia from Koronadal City, April Minette Bentillo from Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, Sydney Ezra Enriquez from Zamboanga, Alexa Milliam, Kiana de Asis and Tracy Llamas, all from La Carlota, Bacolod, and Elsie Abarquez from Carcar, Cebu.

Meanwhile, the 10 rising stars gear up for the PPS-PEPP Gov. Pax Mangudadatu Masters leg on June 15-19 with more than 200 entries tipped to play at the Isulan Capitol Tennis Club, according to PPS-PEPP sports program development director Bobby Mangunay. For details, call 0915-4046464.

The event, presented by Slazenger, is also held as part of the annual birthday celebration of Gov. Mangudadatu in his continuing effort to help develop the sport and discover talents in the province.

A7

MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Water Defenders seek 1-1 equalizer vs Lady Warriors D OWN in a short title series, BaliPure remains hopeful of pulling it off although it would need to neutralize Pocari Sweat’s formidable pair of reinforcements to earn a shot at the Premier Volleyball League crown.

Drawing added firepower from debuting import-replacement Krystal Rivers, the Lady Warriors battled back from one-set down to sweep the next three, including the last on deuce points, 22-25, 25-22, 25-22, 26-24, in the opener of their best-of-three series for the PVL Reinforced Conference title at the Philsports Arena late Saturday.

Game Two is set at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow, also to be shown live on S+A Channel 23.

The top seeded Water Defenders had looked forward to a big night after taking the opening frame but failed to sustain their charge in the face of the Lady Warriors’ mighty comeback, anchored on the power-hitting Rivers.

Games tomorrow (Philsports Arena) 10 a.m. – Army vs Sta. Lucia men’s – for third) 12 noon – Air Force vs Cignal (men’s – for title) 4 p.m. – Creamline vs Power Smashers (women’s – for third) 6:30 p.m. – BaliPure vs Pocari Sweat (women’s – for title)

The former US NCAA Division 1 player from University of Alabama who replaced injured Bosnian middle blocker Edina Selimovic struggled in the early going

but settled down in time and came away with a top-scoring 20-hit output, including three kill blocks.

The Water Defenders actually appeared headed to forcing a decider when they tied the count at 24 in the fourth but yielded the next two points, enabling the Lady Warriors to secure the win and move a win from keeping the crown they won last year.

But BaliPure coach Roger Gorayeb is expected to come up with adjustments to contain Strizak and Rivers in a bid to equalize and force a sudden death for the coveted crown in the season-opening

conference of the league organized by Sports Vision.

BaliPure’s American import Jennifer Keddy is also out to atone for her eight-hit output the first time out, failing to match Thai reinforcement Jang Bualee’s solid game of 16 hits, including 13 attack points.

Playmaker Jasmine Nabor also hopes to rebound from a 26-excellent set performance, 12 less than counterpart Gyzelle Sy with the Water Defenders also seek to come up with answers to their rivals’ solid net defense that produced 15 kill blocks.

Unified Tennis Group protests Philta elections

Gaming stakeholders are shown here during a thanksgiving lunch. They are (seated, from left) Philracom’s Atty. Wilfredo J.A. De Ungria; GAB’s Estela O. Nimedez; Philracom Chairman Andrew A. Sanchez; GAB Chairman Abraham Kahlil B. Mitra; Philracom’s Bienvenido C. Niles Jr.; (standing, from left) MAHRO’s Antonio V. Tan Jr.; Philtobo’s Emmanuel A. Santos; KDJM Ferdinand D. Dimaisip; Philracom’s Lyndon Noel B. Guce; GAB’s Atty. Ermar U. Benitez; Eduard B. Trinidad; Matthew P. Gaston and Philracom’s Executive Director Dr. Andrew Rovie M. Buencamino.

Philracom lauds GAB in fight vs illegal bookies THE Philippine Racing Commission (Philracom) and the various horse-racing clubs expressed their appreciation to the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) in its efforts to rid horse-racing of illegal bookies.

In a thanksgiving lunch tendered by the Philracom for the GAB, led by its Chairman Abraham Kahlil B. Mitra and his Commissioners, Philracom Commissioner Andrew A. Sanchez said that the fight against illegal bookies/gambling is a goal by all stakeholders of the sport.

Upon the request made by GAB Chairman Mitra, the National Bureau of Investigation has already apprehended 17 individuals involved

in illegal bookies in three separate entrapment operations conducted in different parts of Manila in May alone. Three were arrested in a Quiapo raid last May 12, while 12 were nabbed in Valenzuela last May 18.

Two more were arrested in a Sampaloc raid last May 24.

“Illegal bookies eat up revenues that could have gone to the national coffers, so the arrest of these illegal operators will send a message that the stakeholders mean business in this fight,” said Mitra.

Aside from Sanchez, present for the Philracom during the lunch were Philracom commissioners Lyndon Noel B. Guce, Atty. Wilfredo J.A. De Ungria

and Bienvenido C. Niles, Jr., together with Executive Director Dr. Andrew Rovie M. Buencamino.

Representing the horseowners were Antonio V. Tan Jr., Metropolitan Association of Race Horse Owners Director; Emmanuel A. Santos, Philippine Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Organization President; and Ferdinand D. Dimaisip, former Klub Don Juan de Manila President.

Joining Chairman Mitra were his peers Atty. Ermar U. Benitez (Chief, Legal Division), Eduard B. Trinidad (Commissioner), Matthew P. Gaston (Commissioner) and Estela O. Nimedez (Chief Sports and Games Regulation Officer).

The GAB is mandated to combat and prevent the existence and proliferation of illegal bookie joints and other forms of organized illegal gambling connected with all play-for-pay sports and amusement games.

In order to stay true to its mandate, the GAB ensures that all OTBs and OCBs follow the rules of the government on permits and licenses.

On the other hand, the Philracom is the governing and regulating body of horse racing in the Philippines, tasked to to promote and maintain efficient and unbiased operation of racing exclusive of the supervision of betting therein; and raise public confidence in the sport.

Shell Active Chess slated THE Shell National Youth Active Chess Championships, the country’s longestrunning talent-search, gears up for its 25th edition with a new breed of talents expected to emerge from a vast pool that has marked every SNYACC staging.

Veering away from its annual opening calendar, this year’s SNYACC will kick off in Batangas on June 17 to 18 for the Southern Luzon elims with a full field of 400 participants expected to clash for top honors in three age-group divisions at SM City Batangas.

The NCR stage, which used to be the first leg of past SNYACCs, will now be the second stop and will be held from July 8 to 9 at SM Mall of Asia’s Music Hall. Cagayan de Oro will be hosting the third leg from August 12 to13 for the Northern Mindanao qualifying leg at SM City.

Davao will host the fourth elims from September 2 to 3 for the Southern Min-

danao stage, also at SM City, before the regional elims winds up in Cebu from September 16 to 17 for the Visayas qualifying leg at SM City.

Except for the NCR elims, the top two players in each division in the four other regional qualifying legs –kiddies, juniors and seniors – along with the top female player will advance to the grand finals slated from October 7 to 8, also at SM MOA. Organizers said the top three in the NCR leg, along with the top female player, will gain berths in the national finals for a total of 48 entries.

The circuit, put up by Pilipinas Shell to discover fresh talents, especially in the countryside, and develop them to become members of future national teams, has produced top grandmasters, including GMs Wesley So, Mark Paragua and Nelson Mariano II. List up for the Batangas elims is ongoing with slots limited to 400 on a first-come, first-served basis. For more

BOOST FOR LARIBA. A number of La Salle athletes join officials of the Philippine Superliga, led by PSL Chairman Philip Ella Juico and league finance officer Don Caringal, present a check to Imelda Lariba, mother of Filipina Olympian Ian lariba, who is presently battling acute myeloid Leukemia. The league’s donation was part of the ticket sales in its first two days, together with other donations from volleyball and Lariba’s fans. Roman Prospero

Southwoods pulls away in Champion Luzvimin golf tilt MANILA Southwoods-Masters poured it all out with a second round 186 and moved 22 points clear of defending champion Del Monte in the Champion Infinity Luzvimin golf tournament at the Mimosa Golf and Country Club in Clark, Pampanga last Friday.

The Carmona-based squad assembled a 176 under the Molave scoring system in the opener of the 54-hole tournament and posted a seven-point lead. But the Southwoods ladies stepped up their drive to regain the crown in the Dia-

mond division with that 186 for a 362 total in the 25th staging of the event presented by Champion Infinity.

Del Monte, which upended Southwoods at Rancho Palos Verdes last year, carded a 171 for a 340 while Forest Hills Nicklaus shot a 166 for a 331 and Negros Occidental Golf-I and Camp John Hay had 316 and 262 after a 155 and 136, respectively, in the event backed by Lexus, Metro Pacific, CranUTI, Great Depot, Inc. Srixon and Vermogen and organized and conduct-

ed by Women’s Golf Association of the Philippines.

Villamor-I, on the other hand, held on to a two-point lead in the Emerald division as it slowed down with a 156 after a 158 for a 314, enabling Valley Golf to close in at 312 after a 160. Orchard-I stood too far behind at third with a 297 while Camp Aguinaldo, Manila Southwoods-Legends and Alabang-I had 294, 275 and 274, respectively.

Pueblo de Oro also pulled away in

Ruby division with a 252 after a 125, posting an eight-point lead over erstwhile co-leader Manila Golf, which struggled with a 117 for a 244 while Forest Hills-Palmer pooled a 241 after a 116 followed by Bacolod (122-234), Tagaytay (113-220) and Apo Golf (105-209).

Villamor-2, meanwhile, matched Alabang-2 and Baguio’s 104 outputs and kept its nine-point lead intact with a 214 in the Pearl division of the tournament held in Luzon for the first time.

THE country’s tennis stakeholders comprising the Unified Tennis Group have expressed their disgruntlement over the latest Philippine Tennis Association elections, claiming it committed numerous violations.

“We did not participate in the recent election because it violated several rules. Even the Philippine Olympic Committee did not participate and is not recognizing the results,” said long-time tennis patron Jean Henri Lhuillier.

Among the violations committed was allowing Atty. Tony Cablitas to become a board member as replacement to Bobby Ortiz, who resigned sometime in April. Cablitas was eventually voted as president during the said election.

“We have strongly questioned the timing and the manner of appointment of Atty. Cablitas as Mr. Ortiz’s replacement. It happened too quickly and just a few weeks prior to the elections. How can Atty. Cablitas run and what is his program for Philippine tennis?” said Philta vice-president Randy Villanueva.

POC has nullified the resignation of Philta president Mayor Olivarez last July 2016 and the UTG pointed out that it was not the incumbent president who called the recent elections but secretary general Romeo Magat. Mayor Olivarez did not also participate in the polls.

“The fact that even the incumbent president did not participate in the recent elections just showed what a mockery it was,” said Philta board member Gerard Maronilla.

According to the UTG, led by tennis supporters Cebuana Lhuillier, Palawan Pawnshop, Wilson, Toby’s and B-Meg, Olivarez has earlier agreed to postpone the elections until all issues are ironed out. But Magat proceeded with it even without Olivarez’s and POC’s nod.

In July 2016 and Feb 2017, Philta held controversial elections which Lhuillier’s group had protested. The first was a snap poll electing Buddy Andrada after the resignation of Olivarez, and the other was when Andrada reneged from his word that he was resigning and declared himself still the Philta president. Both elections were nullified by the POC. In fact, the Philta board met late last year and agreed before International Tennis Federation (ITF) president David Haggerty and the POC to hold a proper election.

“It was agreed that the presidential aspirants must present sound programs and plans for the development of tennis in the Philippines. Lhuillier has been ready to present his programs and plans since last year. We want to see what the plans of Atty. Cablitas are. Tennis in the Philippines has been suffering for far too long and the Philippine tennis community deserves someone better to handle it,” said Villanueva.

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

A8

MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017

Sports

LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Kevin Durantof the Golden State Warriors speak after a foul in the third quarter in Game 4 of the 2017 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena on June 9, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. AFP

Tristan to Dubs: You aren’t gonna punk us O

AKLAND—Emotions are running high in the NBA Finals, with superstars LeBron James and Kevin Durant exchanging heated words while Golden State and Cleveland are locked in a familiar tension-packed position.

The Warriors lead defending champion Cleveland 3-1 in the best-of-seven series and can capture their second crown in three years by winning Monday before a home crowd.

But the Cavaliers staved off elimination by ripping Golden State 137-116 in game four, sinking a record 24 3-pointers and scoring the most points in any half (86) or quarter (49) in finals history.

“That’s part of who we are,” James said. “We set a lot of records since we assembled this team the last couple years.”

4th straight draw for So in Norway chess meet

By Peter Atencio FILIPINO grandmaster Wesley So played to his fourth draw in the ongoing Altibox Norway Chess 2017 in Stavanger, Norway.

He now shares third place with two points in what is considered as one of the strongest tournaments in recent memory.

The 23-year-old So drew with Sergei Karjakin in 71 moves of a Guioco Piano last Saturday.

In previous games, So played world no. 1 Magnus Carlsen to a draw in 63 moves of another Guioco Piano games in round 1.

In the second round, So halved his point with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in 43 moves of a King’s Indian Defense.

Then, Vladimir Kramnik split his point with So in 71 moves of another Guioco Piano encounter.

So far, GM Hikaru Nakamaru has taken the solo lead with three points.

He moved half a point ahead at the top spot after he edged Vachier-Lagrave in 33 moves of a Sicilian Najdorf.

He is ahead of Levon Aronian and Kramnik, who have 2.5 points in the second spot.

Aronian hung on to second position following his upset of Carlsen in 35 moves of the semislav variation of the Queen’s Gambit Declined.

Both sides know the history, the Warriors squandering a 3-1 series lead last year as the Cavaliers made the greatest comeback in finals history to win Cleveland’s first major sports title in 52 years.

It’s a bitter memory for the Warriors, who seek redemption. It’s an encouraging one for the Cavaliers, trying to be the first team to rally from 3-0 down to win a playoff series.

No finals team down 3-0 has even forced a seventh game since 1951.

And it’s all getting to be a bit

much for James.

“I don’t like it. It causes too much stress,” James said.

“I’m stressed out. Keep doing this every year. We’ve just got some resilient guys.”

James and Durant received technical fouls in the third quarter after yelling at each other, two of seven technicals issued in the game, five in a raucous third quarter.

“The game is supposed to be played physically,” James said. “Both teams were wanting to put themselves in the record books and in basketball history. So try to do whatever it takes to win.”

Durant was concerned abundant foul calls were draining the passion from the moment.

“We weren’t coming to blows. We were just talking.

That’s a part of basketball,”

Durant said. “It’s like the aura of the game created trash talk.

“I’m sure it’s going to continue. There’s nothing malicious. Emotions are what keeps this game alive.”

Altercations are nearing the point of getting out of hand, said Warriors forward Draymond Green, who missed last year’s fifth finals game after a suspension for striking James in the groin.

“I think it did a little bit (get out of hand),” Green said of game four. “The longer the series goes on, the more stuff like that happens.”

Don’t expect Cleveland forward Tristan Thompson to back down either.

“It’s The Finals. Guys are going to talk,” he said.

“We’re going to respond but they aren’t going to punk us.

Not me. Talk all you want but

I’m definitely going to bark back. That’s just how I’m built.”

While it brings out fouls and anger, the energy also produces some of the trademark thrills the NBA Finals is known for.

“It’s The Finals and everyone is heated. Everyone wants to win,” Cavs guard J.R. Smith said. “All the energy is going to something positive, I would hope.”

With the chance go 16-0 in the playoffs and become the first NBA club with a perfect post-season run, Warriors guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson struggled.

But Curry shakes off similarities to last year, in part after adding Durant, who came from Oklahoma City last July in hopes of winning his first career title. AFP

Mellower Green has learned his lessons OAKLAND—Golden State Warriors starting forward Draymond Green won’t be stuck watching game five of the NBA Finals from the stadium next door this year.

The outspoken 27-yearold will try to help the Warriors, who lead this year’s best-of-seven series 3-1, defeat the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday in Oakland to capture the crown.

Last year, the Warriors also led 3-1 but Green was banned from the pivotal matchup after striking Cleveland star LeBron James in the groin in game four.

The visiting Cavaliers won game five with Green watching on TV from a luxury box in the baseball stadium beside the arena, awaiting a celebration that would never come.

Cleveland won games six and seven to cap the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history and dethrone the Warriors.

A mellower Green has learned the lessons from that frustration and while not above chatting to a referee, was whistled for fewer flagrant fouls this season.

“I don’t really carry it with me. I’m a firm believer in (stuff) happens,” Green said.

“I carried the lessons that I learned with me. It has put me in the position I am today. I feel better than I’ve ever felt emotionally. Just having my emotions in place than I’ve ever felt.

“So it’s all things that happen bad aren’t that bad, when you take a step back and look at them. It’s something that I learned from and will stick with me for the rest of my life.”

And having a game five at home opens a chance at redemption and securing a crown with his work on the court.

“We have a golden oppor-

tunity going home on Monday to close this thing out,” Green said. “I’ve won one on the road. I want to see how it feels to win at home. We have to come out with some fire and try it get done.

“Thank God I get to play in game five.”

Green did get whistled for a technical foul in game four Friday for a flailing arm, what was momentarily thought to be an ejecting offense as a second technical. But the scorer recorded a technical foul on Warriors coach Steve Kerr as on Green so when it was discovered, Green was allowed to stay. AFP

Star seeks 2-0 ead; SMB eyes equalizer

By Jeric Lopez COMMAND and control.

Red hot Star is seeking to grasp both as it shoots for a huge 2-0 lead against mighty San Miguel Beer in their best-of-five semifinals series in the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup. Game 2 is slated today at 7 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena as the Hotshots and the Beermen clash with different goals, but with the same end result in mind.

Star, ahead 1-0, is looking to push San Miguel Beer on the brink and move a step closer to gaining a finals berth as it aims for another win.

The Beermen, on the other hand, know they face a must-win situation not only to equalize, but to also avoid a deep 0-2 hole.

Star coach Chito Victolero cites the factors that his team needs to continue having to be able to inch closer to the next stage.

“It’s all about heart, desire and the will to win in this series,” said Victolero. “We need to sustain our level of play to go all the way against a strong team like San Miguel.

Playing with a lot of confidence, the Hotshots controlled most of the opener before holding on to a tough 109-105 victory over the Beermen in Game 1 Sunday night.

Star built a 15-point lead in the fourth, but San Miguel Beer made its rally towards the end, threatening in the final minute only to fall short.

The Hotshots are unbeaten in the playoffs so far, winning all of their three games up to this point.

Meanwhile, top seed Barangay Ginebra and TNT KaTropa are currently opening their own semis showdown with Game 1 as of this report.

Both teams are seeking to draw first blood.

Calimag leaves Cubs, transfers to Junior Archers BATANG Gilas Pilipinas hotshot Recaredo Christian Calimag has left the den of the San Beda Red Cubs.

The 16-year-old Calimag, who has been playing for Team B for sometime now, is now practicing with the La Salle-Zobel Junior Archers.

Coach Boris Aldeguer has accepted him into the team’s practice sessions last week, according to Calimag.

“Lumipat na po ako sa La Salle-Zobel. Kinuha po ako ni coach Boris. Last week pa po ako nagpapractice sa kanila,” said Calimag.

The 6’1” Calimag, who is the son of former San Beda Red Lions cager and retired PBA player Ricky, made waves last month when he and his teammates led Batang Gilas to the 2017 Seaba Under-16 Championship.

In their final game, Calimag got 15 markers and five boards to contribute to Batang Gilas’ 83-62 victory over Malaysia.

In the coming UAAP junior basketball wars, Calimag will play against national teammates Kai Sotto and Terrence Fortea, who are with the Ateneo Blue Eaglets and the National University Bullpups, respectively.

At present, Calimag seems to have little or no chance of making it to the Red Cubs roster for the NCAA junior basketball season.

The roster of the present Red Cubs squad have stayed intact after they have made the finals over the last eight seasons, having won seven titles.

Calimag and his teammates will next see action in the 2017 FIBA Under-16 Asian Championship with Seaba runner-up Malaysia.

During the tournament held at the Araneta Coliseum, Calimag averaged 15.3 points, had a 35.3 percent three-point shooting clip to become the secondhighest scoring cager.

With Calimag around, the Philippines went on to claim its fourth straight Seaba title.

The towering Sotto had 10 of his 15 points in the third quarter, to go with 12 rebounds, and four blocks, while Calimag got 15 markers and five boards, and Terrence Fortea had 15 points and three rebounds in the conquest. Peter Atencio

Rivera rules Phoenix slalom at Tarlac Circuit Hill MILO Rivera of Tough Gear Racing Team was again peerless as he bagged the overall and production best time in four consecutive races with a time of 90.44 in in the fourth leg of the RACE Motorsports Club’s Phoenix National Slalom Series at the long Tarlac Circuit Hill.

Rivera came out unscathed in his tight battle with Carlos Anton (90.72) of Mark Young Racing Team & Cars Unlimited, even as his brother Estefano Rivera placed third with 90.74.

Fourth was Inigo Anton with 92.26, while Jevoy Moreno of JAF rounded out the Top 5 with 92.64.

Meanwhile, Carlos Anton brought home the Front Wheel best time followed by Moreno, even as Pekto Pakutokot of Speedjav Racing Team finished third

with 93.48.

Inigo Anton secured the novice best time, with Vegil Calayo of JAF Racing Team placing second at 97.10. Powee Base of PMMS Racing Team ranked third with 98.28 and Rainier Tinio of Cabanatuan Auto Club placed fourth with 99.42.

The 2017 RACE Motorsports Club National Slalom Series is presented by Phoenix Premium 98 and Phoenix Accelerate fully synthetic oil, with major sponsors Federal Tyres and Outlast Battery. It is also supported

by Starbright Body Kits, Auto Transporter, Cars Unlimited Auto Sales Fairview & Mark Young Cars, media partners Stoplight TV, C! Magazine, Auto Car Magazine, Power Wheels Magazine, Ride and

Carlos Anton of Mark Young Racing Team captures the Front Wheel best time of the day,

Drive Philippines, Driven2ride.ph, Pepon Morave, and Gov. Susan Yap, who provided the ambulance and rescue team on standby, plus police assistance.

The event was participated in

by Team Big Chill, Tough Gear

Racing Team, Autofastion Racing Team, JAF Racing Team, Cabanatuan Auto Club, Team Kuneho from Baguio, Speedjav Racing Team, Team Comet Tarlac, Kajega Racing Team and Mark Young Cars.

EAC Generals rout PNP five LAST year’s runner-up Emilio Aguinaldo College played just hard enough to bring down upset-conscious Philippine National Police, 94-76, and barge into the win column in the 2017 MBL Open basketball tournament at the PNP Sports Center in Camp Crame.

The Generals used a torrid scoring run in the third quarter behind the efforts of Allan Richard Martin, Rustan Bugarin and Jeanu Gano and never looked back on the way to their first win in six matches.

Martin scattered 15 points, Bugarin added 14 points and Gano and General contributed 13 points apiece for EAC, which is honing up for the coming NCAA season.

The Generals, who were handled by coach Bong Melocoton in the absence of head coach Ariel Sison, will close out their campaign against Philippine Christian University tomorrow.

Russian oil giant exploring PH B3

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017

B1

Megawide eyes P208-b airport deal

By Darwin G. Amojelar

M

EGAWIDE Construction Corp. and partner GMA Infrastructure Ltd. of India submitted an unsolicited proposal to the government to further expand Mactan-Cebu International Airport over the next 50 years at a cost of P208 billion.

GMR Megawide, the operator of MCIA, prepared a 50-year masterplan where it offered to take over the airside facilities from Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority and secure the unconstrained growth of the airport by providing a capacity of at least 50 million passengers per annum.

The consortium won the public-private partnership concession to operate MCIA in December 2013, but

the contract did not include the improvement, operations and maintenance of the runway and other related facilities which remained with MCIAA. The proposal to expand MCIA over the next 50 years will be done in three phases, with the first phase involving the rehabilitation of MCIA’s existing runway and taxiways, the construction of an additional full length parallel taxiway that can act as an emergency runway and the development of additional rapid exit taxiways and runway holding positions to improve the efficiency of aircraft movements.

GMR Megawide plans to construct a second parallel and independent runway which will significantly increase airside capacity under the second phase.

The consortium also offered to build a third terminal to accommodate all the additional passengers under the third phase.

GMR Megawide director Louie Ferrer said the government’s response to the proposal was “very positive,” and MCIAA recently passed a resolution pushing for the implementation of a second runway.

“Our proposal therefore dovetails perfectly with

the directives of this administration,” Ferrer said.

“We submitted a highly detailed proposal tailored specifically to the needs of MCIA and we are looking forward to their response,” he said.

Ferrer said the rehabilitation of existing airside facilities together with the construction of a new runway would help alleviate congestion that could be experienced with a single runway facility.

“Our studies show that passenger traffic in Cebu will reach about 28 mppa in 2039. This is traffic similar to major Asian airports such as Singapore, New Delhi and Kuala Lumpur among others. Part of our plan is to ensure MCIA will be able to avoid airfield congestion like the kind experienced by NAIA, and continue efficient operations despite this increasing traffic,” Ferrer said.

He said passenger traffic showed incredible growth in the last two or three years.

Construction of MCIA’s Terminal 2 is currently in full swing and is expected to be operational by the end of June 2018, adding a capacity of 8 million passengers per annum to the current 4.5 MPPA capacity of Terminal 1.

IN BRIEF Solon wants legal opinion on Epira SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian has sought the legal opinion of the Joint Congressional Power Commission on retail competition and open access, which suffered a setback due to a temporary restraining order from the Supreme Court.

“One of the things I am pushing for in JCPC, being the oversight of Epira [Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001], is to come out with a legal opinion on RCOA. We are now in a very bad position, from a consumer standpoint. We are now in a negative position because we promised to privatize the entire power sector where some huge companies won, thinking that we will give power to choose to the consumer,” Gatchalian told reporters.

Gatchalian, who heads the Senate committee on energy, said the Epira law was supposed to give consumers the power to choose their power supplier, but this did not happen because of the high tribunal’s decision.

“We need to pursue RCOA in order to fulfill the real mandate of further lowering down electricity costs and giving the power to choose, democratization to our consumers,” he said.

He said JCPC’s legal opinion could be used to establish the legality of RCOA. Alena Mae S. Flores

Microenterprises obtain P3.2-b loans MORE than 16,000 microenterprises received P3.2 billion in loans from credit surety funds established by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as of end-March 2017.

Bangko Sentral said the amount went to 16,356 small businesses that were members of 45 credit surety funds established since 2008.

The government institutionalized CSF on Feb. 6, 2016 with the enactment of Republic Act No. 10744, or the Credit Surety Fund Cooperative Act of 2015.

Bangko Sentral will put up the La Union Credit Surety Fund on June 14, making it the 46th facility in the country and the 25th in Luzon.

Bangko Sentral said it would put up more of these credit facilities this year to further increase the credit worthiness of micro, small and medium enterprises that were experiencing difficulty in obtaining loans from banks due to lack of acceptable collateral, credit knowledge and credit track record. Julito G. Rada

SIQUIJOR WATER. Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol surveys Bolo-Bolo Spring in Barangay Tagmanukan, Lazi, Siquijor during an inspection of water sources in the province that may be used for water systems development project under the Department of Agriculture. Piñol said the area could be a source of agricultural and drinking water and that he was keen on building irrigation systems for the province to improve production of rice and other agricultural crops.

Maynilad secures P10.8-b loans Mitsubishi to build modern jeepney from Japan to fund major projects By Othel V. Campos

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales WEST Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. said it signed P10.8-billion loan agreements with Japan International Cooperation Agency and Japan’s three largest private commercial banks to fund major projects.

Maynilad said it signed a loan agreement with Jica for a P7.2-billion loan and with The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho Bank Ltd. and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. for a P3.6-billion facility to fund its non-revenue water and capital expenditure projects for the next four years.

The company said aside from improving operational and network efficiency, the capex programs would allow Maynilad to meet service obligations and achieve sustainable growth.

Maynilad said the credit agreement with Jica would be denominated both in Japanese yen and Philippine peso, the local currency portion which will reduce Maynilad’s foreign exchange risk.

Maynilad said proceeds would be used for water expansion and other support projects from 2017 to 2019.

Jica president Shinichi Kitaoka, Maynilad president and chief executive Ramoncito Fernandez and Maynilad chief operating officer Randolph Estrellado signed the Jica loan in Tokyo recently.

Also present during the signing were Teiji Teramoto, managing executive officer of Global Corporate Unit of Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ and Yasushi Itagaki, managing executive officer of Global Business Unit of Mizuho Bank.

THE government is in talks with Mitsubishi Motor Philippines Corp. to create an important component of the proposed modern jeepney.

The Trade Department said it recently called for a meeting with MMPC last week to finalize the design and specifications of the vehicle.

“Our technology people are discussing the dimensions. How big and how many can the vehicle accommodate, as well the estimated price per unit,” said MMPC senior marketing manager Arlan Reyes.

Under the People Carrier Automotive Investment Scheme, the government’s mass transportation system would undergo a facelift to make the jeepney as a more efficient transportation mode.

Mitsubishi said it could manufacture the chassis and the drivetrain that could be patterned after the company’s L-300 units.

“But the body will have to designed by another entity and built by a different company,” said Reyes.

The design should be able to carry at least 10 and a maximum of 35 people including the driver.

The Board of Investments ini-

tially set the selling price at not more than P1 million per unit, or approximately the price of a regular jeepney unit.

Reyes said the new jeepney units would have better carbon emissions and more safety features.

“However, for our part, we still cannot commit on the price.

But the discussions that we’ll be having will determine the viability and the soundness of the pricing,” he said.

The People Carrier Automotive Investment Scheme is a component of the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Programn.

Globe, Smart deploy Edsa Wi-Fi THE country’s two largest telecom companies rolled out high-speed internet connectivity along Edsa, Metro Manila’s main thoroughfare, to comply with the government’s directive to provide fast and reliable internet access nationwide.

“With the Smart Wi-Fi rollout on Edsa, we are providing highest class data architecture connectivity for the thousands of commuters who pass through the MRT stations and ply the stretch of Edsa traffic every day, so they can boost their daily productivity,” said PLDT executive vice president and chief revenue officer Eric Alberto.

“This rollout goes hand-in-hand with our efforts to improve LTE service nationwide. This simultaneous expansion of Smart Wi-Fi and Smart LTE is a testament to Smart’s commitment to provide our subscribers with the best wireless data experience like never be-

fore,” Alberto said.

Smart Wi-Fi said in addition to connectivity on 13 MRT platforms, it would also power connections on the street level along Edsa even between MRT stations, providing commuters with a seamless mobile experience, regardless of their network.

Smart, with a backhaul capacity of up to one gigabit per second, can support up to 3,000 connected users with robust Wi-Fi connectivity.

Globe Telecom’s GoWiFi, is also available along Edsa in partnership with the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

GoWiFi was first deployed in Metro Rail Transit stations last year as a part of the initial 126 hotspots and 2,500 access points opened by Globe for public use.

“We’re paving the way for our customers to avail of a swift and dependable option when connecting to the internet, especially when

they are on-the-go,” Globe chief commercial officer Albert de Larrazabal said.

Aside from MRT-3, it is also available in other major transportation hubs such as select stations of the Light Rail Transit system and key airports around the country such as those in Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao and top tourist destinations like Boracay and Lio, El Nido, Palawan.

The service is also available in hospitals such as St. Luke’s Medical Center, The Medical City, Davao Doctors Hospital, Cardinal Santos Hospital and Philippine General Hospital; local government units in Makati, Quezon City, Valenzuela, Las Piñas, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Caloocan, and Batangas; and some of the schools and universities like Far Eastern University and Bulacan State University. Darwin G. Amojelar

FOREMAN TRAINING. The Department of Trade and Industry-Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines through its human resource development arm, the Construction Manpower Development Foundation, is developing the construction industry’s manpower to be globally competitive. Shown are the first participants in the Foremanship Training and Certification Program which began in April and finished in May 2017. FTCP is a five-day program where the first four days are dedicated to lectures on foremanship and the last day includes a written and oral examination.

B2

Business

MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Market seen stabilizing at 8,000 level

By Jenniffer B. Austria

S

TOCKS are expected to move sideways in this shortened trading week, as investors search for catalysts that can push the market above the 8,000-point level.

Analysts said the market showed resilience as the country’s strong fundamentals offset the unpredictable developments overseas. However, investors are looking for more positive developments that would justify further investment in the equities market.

“Having touched an intra-week high of 8,046, however, we may see gauges sta-

bilizing for now, as investors heed for sequel catalysts that can propel the market to higher ground. This ‘sideways pause’ would be a good launching pad for higher longterm returns, reflecting the administration’s thrust towards inclusive economic growth,” F. Yap Securities said.

BDO Unibank Inc. chief investment strategist Jonathan Ravelas said the market was expected to continue to trade between 7,700 and 8,000 levels.

“Look for a break above the 8,000 levels to trigger tests towards the 8,150 to 8,200 levels,” Ravelas said.

Immediate support and resistance is seen at 7,650 and 8,000 levels, respectively.

The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index last week rose 1 percent to close at 7,990.24 on June 9, while the allshare index gained 0.7 percent to 4,749.13,

supported by strong foreign buying.

All sub-indices ended in the greed led by property which rose 2.2 percent, followed by services and mining and oil which went up 2.15 percent and 1.06 percent, respectively.

Foreign investors were net buyers by P3.65 billion last week when average daily turnover reached P8.8 billion.

Top gainers last week were SSI Group which jumped 18 percent to P3.16, Wilcon Depot Inc. which advanced 8.5 percent to P6.59 and Bloomberry Resorts Corp. which climbed 7.2 percent to P9.97.

Heavy losers included Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. which declined 6 percent to P61.15, Petron Corp. which went down 5.4 percent to P10.10 and developer 8990 Holdings Inc. which dropped 5.1 percent to P5.93.

PLDT remains keen on buying into GMA

By Darwin G. Amojelar THE chairman of PLDT Group remains keen on acquiring a stake in GMA Network Inc., despite the failed negotiations in the past.

“Well, we are always open,” Manuel Pangilinan, who is also the chairman of TV5 Network Inc., said when asked if he was still interested in buying into GMA-7.

Pangilinan, however, said there was “no discussion yet”

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS WEEKLY STOCKS REVIEW STOCKS

JUNE 05-09, 2017 Close Volume

Value

AG Finance Asia United Bank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Bank of PI BDO Leasing & Fin. INc. Bright Kindle Resources China Bank COL Financial Eastwest Bank Filipino Fund Inc. I-Remit Inc. Manulife Fin. Corp.

MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl. Reinsurance Corp.

PB Bank Phil Bank of Comm Phil. National Bank Phil. Savings Bank Philippine trust Co. PSE Inc. RCBC `A’ Security Bank Sun Life Financial Union Bank Vantage Equities

4.7 50.05 123.80 105.90 3.92 1.48 37.4 16.3 27.3 7.81 1.7 795.00 0.700 86.8 0.96 15.5 25.00 68.50 90.5 109 238.4 61.15 221.6 1605.00 85.15 1.25

1,680,000 504,510 7,863,840 8,313,450 161,000 1,819,000 1,602,900 315,100 9,474,100 8,000 64,000 40 47,759,000 8,649,090 50,761,000 89,200 18,700 1,451,950 15,680 630 3,840 2,739,240 2,193,260 850 404,730 399,000

FINANCIAL 7,773,910.00 25,139,422.00 977,003,552 877,654,163.00 626,050.00 2,799,330.00 59,932,470.00 5,128,138.00 260,797,340.00 62,239 107,570.00 31,800.00 33,541,670.00 760,461,564.00 53,214,190.00 1,376,600.00 477,140.00 100,741,120.50 1,412,253.00 68,720.00 917,228.00 170,441,040 489,453,706.00 1,374,340 34,252,410.00 505,090.00

Aboitiz Power Corp.

Agrinurture Inc. Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cons.

Asiabest Group Basic Energy Corp.

Bogo Medelin C. Azuc De Tarlac Cemex Holdings Century Food Chemphil Cirtek Holdings (Chips) Conc. Aggr. ‘A’ Concepcion Crown Asia Da Vinci Capital Del Monte DNL Industries Inc. Eagle Cement EEI Emperador Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) Euro-Med Lab First Gen Corp.

First Holdings ‘A’ Ginebra San Miguel Inc. Holcim Philippines Inc. Integ. Micro-Electronics Ionics Inc Jollibee Foods Corp.

Liberty Flour LMG Chemicals Mabuhay Vinyl Macay Holdings Manila Water Co. Inc. Maxs Group Megawide Mla. Elect. Co `A’ Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp.

Pepsi-Cola Products Phil.

Petron Corporation Phil H2O Phinma Corporation Phinma Energy Phoenix Petroleum Phils.

Phoenix Semiconductor Pilipinas Shell Pryce Corp. `A’ RFM Corporation Roxas and Co. Roxas Holdings San Miguel ‘Pure Foods `A’ SFA Semicon Shakeys Pizza SPC Power Corp.

Swift Foods, Inc. TKC Steel Corp.

Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp.

Vivant Corp.

Vulcan Ind’l.

38.75 7.97 0.83 1.6 30.8 0.285 114.2 14.48 7.34 18.46 165.3 24.3 78.5 76 2.06 5.38 11.6 12.300 15.8 9.98 6.96 6.03 1.74 19 72.4 14.52 14.02 13 1.710 215.80 69.85 3.99 3.65 25.95 32.8 21.25 19.3 266.00 6.98 3.28 10.10 5.08 10.10 2.00 9.40 2.12 69.55 6.65 4.66 2.35 5.08 299 2.55 13.62 4.85 0.152 1.38 163.2 4.07 2.16 30.00 1.14

11,412,000 15,473,400 5,224,000 62,472,000 1,660,600 136,990,000 170 15,100 24,791,900 8,189,100 80 29,666,700 4,310 67,470 6,797,000 378,500 118,300 46,041,300 33,200,700 17,556,800 4,287,800 39,822,800 51,000 12,364,400 639,310 740,700 4,829,900 45,819,900 11,281,000 3,309,100 2,680 1,712,000 62,000 12,100 5,272,500 11,678,500 12,791,300 2,712,100 511,700 1,333,000 31,584,200 498,100 118,500 8,772,000 8,225,600 1,459,000 9,128,890 6,319,800 115,000 38,000 2,671,000 25,290 28,058,000 8,235,900 944,000 13,780,000 794,000 9,277,520 24,000 58,271,000 100 1,577,000

INDUSTRIAL 443,499,735.00 123,261,751.00 4,313,690.00 103,435,740.00 51,408,015.00 38,904,100.00 18,491.00 216,598.00 181,268,683.00 150,132,334 13,224.00 690,765,665.00 343,455.00 4,967,528 14,101,300.00 1,989,214.00 1,373,954.00 564,503,346.00 529,907,232.00 173,904,852.00 29,413,724.00 239,458,152.00 91,640.00 237,089,916.00 45,838,578.00 10,371,062.00 70,357,008.00 581,974,982.00 18,875,830.00 714,752,700.00 174,982.50 6,807,150.00 219,870.00 313,340.00 173,074,045.00 244,416,433.00 246,427,342.00 729,242,196.00 3,442,322.00 4,458,080.00 333,256,026.00 2,605,654.00 1,223,104.00 17,130,840.00 76,787,147.00 3,045,520.00 634,647,321.00 39,913,789.00 532,800.00 88,100.00 12,554,280.00 7,511,378.00 66,650,230.00 111,835,860.00 5,004,601.00 2,053,980.00 1,080,770.00 1,494,582,620 97,730.00 123,039,380.00 3,000.00 1,747,010.00

Abacus Cons. `A’ Aboitiz Equity Alliance Global Inc. Anglo Holdings A Anscor `A’ ATN Holdings A ATN Holdings B Ayala Corp `A’ Cosco Capital DMCI Holdings F&J Prince ‘A’ Filinvest Dev. Corp.

Forum Pacific GT Capital House of Inv. JG Summit Holdings Jolliville Holdings Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp.

Lopez Holdings Corp.

LT Group Mabuhay Holdings `A’ Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

MJCI Investments Inc. Pacifica `A’ Prime Media Hldg Prime Orion San Miguel Corp `A’ Seafront `A’ SM Investments Inc. Solid Group Inc. South China Res. Inc. Top Frontier Transgrid Unioil Res. & Hldgs Wellex Industries Zeus Holdings

0.375 75.30 14.44 1.20 6.12 0.340 0.350 869 8.1 14.50 5.9 7.60 0.200 1198 7.40 80.00 4.95 1.03 7.59 16 0.395 6.19 3.25 0.0550 0.960 2.030 103.00 2.77 798.00 1.41 0.90 307.000 174.00 0.2800 0.2150 0.245

16,000,000 12,909,160 52,840,900 884,000 514,500 25,570,000 2,580,000 2,096,790 10,212,800 79,373,500 3,700 290,400 3,460,000 1,053,240 142,200 6,550,380 10,900 25,650,000 8,478,800 10,341,000 130,000 192,897,600 20,000 393,290,000 133,000 2,702,000 998,970 254,000 2,269,110 2,157,000 241,000 49,590 610 1,650,000 1,980,000 370,000

HOLDING FIRMS 6,026,750.00 964,101,248.50 772,699,462.00 1,054,620.00 3,210,456.00 8,822,550.00 925,950.00 1,842,453,435 83,450,561.00 1,138,840,284.00 21,830.00 2,208,362.00 705,360.00 1,274,584,435.00 1,024,777.00 530,517,945.00 54,588.00 26,236,400.00 63,464,910.00 164,823,050.00 51,350.00 1,197,951,278.00 65,900.00 21,914,270.00 128,390.00 5,526,790.00 103,476,689.00 687,900.00 1,797,841,255.00 3,013,850.00 211,280.00 15,180,632.00 107,561.00 469,850.00 438,030.00 90,430.00

5,123,000 172,162,000 500 3,821,000 37,272,000 75,963,200 11,972,000 119,372,300 521,700 43,066,000 614,000 2,995,000 138,030,000 20,254,000 1,777,540 23,187,000 8,398,000 19,258,000 69,688,000 9,802,000 7,000 141,924,000 890,420,000 14,280,000 262,840,000

PROPERTY 31,317,738.00 245,147,590.00 3,400.00 9,742,470.00 46,085,250.00 3,152,563,765.00 48,429,290.00 652,373,660.00 2,761,725.00 22,477,290.00 682,260.00 4,382,710.00 23,577,500.00 10,384,910.00 88,008,584.50 15,866,430.00 1,536,150.00 31,986,560.00 79,696,530.00 9,484,340.00 28,920.00 664,845,570.00 347,880,400.00 5,262,600.00 175,305,430.00

8990 HLDG A. Brown Co., Inc. Anchor Land Holdings Inc. Araneta Prop `A’ Arthaland Corp.

Ayala Land `B’ Belle Corp. `A’ CEB Landmasters Cebu Holdings Century Property City & Land Dev. Cityland Dev. `A’ Crown Equities Inc. Cyber Bay Corp.

Double Dragon Empire East Land Ever Gotesco Filinvest Land,Inc. Global-Estate Interport `A’ Keppel Properties Megaworld MRC Allied Ind. Phil. Estates Corp.

Phil. Realty `A’

5.930 1.44 6.80 2.550 1.240 41.900 3.99 5.42 5.3 0.510 1.12 1.460 0.172 0.520 49.4 0.690 0.158 1.68 1.15 1.01 4.20 4.68 0.420 0.3750 0.660

MAY 29-JUNE 2, 2017 Close Volume Value 4.35 49.85 123.90 104.90 4.10 1.50 37.4 16.16 26.7 7.76 1.64 810.00 0.750 85 0.8 15.6 25.50 69.30 89.5 108.3 239.8 65.05 224.2 1650.00 84.55 1.2

905,000 269,770 11,801,500 9,099,190 146,000 769,000 2,789,600 298,300 6,521,000 50,200 284,000 700 138,369,000 9,172,790 6,053,000 224,300 18,300 3,479,480 720 460 4,020 2,220,450 5,698,900 205 393,940 509,000

3,825,610.00 13,445,875.00 1,447,635,565 959,806,424.00 590,090.00 1,132,900.00 104,085,195.00 4,813,544.00 171,148,480.00 389,361 466,050.00 568,500.00 107,122,500.00 687,331,418.50 4,752,100.00 3,460,772.00 465,550.00 239,761,043.00 64,069.50 51,480.00 961,170.00 142,860,508 1,248,452,412.00 338,250 33,298,664.50 609,790.00

39.4 7.98 0.82 1.79 28.85 0.270 100 14.34 7.3 17.7 170 23.3 80 74.8 2.05 5.28 11.84 12.460 15.78 9.85 6.95 6.06 1.78 18.96 71.6 13.50 14.80 10.52 1.780 214.00 61.05 4.2 3.69 25.50 32.75 19.4 19.4 271.00 6.20 3.33 10.68 5.21 10.24 1.97 9.60 2.07 69.5 6.12 4.70 1.84 4.72 296.2

17,599,700 19,661,100 3,823,000 37,663,000 5,816,300 83,570,000 1,220 26,400 24,106,600 10,174,900 50 1,861,000 240 7,700 11,420,000 2,903,200 44,000 49,731,000 118,544,800 14,920,200 9,824,900 87,565,700 30,000 14,890,600 1,109,770 433,700 2,766,000 12,174,600 12,738,000 5,164,400 20 1,502,000 54,000 17,200 4,804,200 11,079,900 8,024,900 672,750 196,200 36,581,000 94,530,100 1,362,000 449,700 17,376,000 8,676,500 7,812,000 9,135,390 2,237,300 985,000 1,000 6,501,000 17,370

314,253,107,929.00 150,877,541.00 3,192,250.00 67,337,730.00 173,855,870.00 21,994,150.00 122,942.00 380,624.00 180,898,732.00 180,391,464 8,500.00 42,919,755.00 7,987,208.00 572,052 23,195,210.00 15,892,645.00 510,104.00 622,762,286.00 1,863,292,134.00 148,547,602.00 68,304,097.00 529,473,392.00 52,790.00 283,620,022.00 78,540,208.50 5,802,376.00 40,901,492.00 124,418,521.00 23,411,360.00 1,079,469,514.00 1,320.00 6,413,600.00 193,380.00 419,580.00 156,185,665.00 210,620,842.00 154,879,930.00 184,191,508.00 1,228,324.00 123,264,680.00 1,042,695,522.00 6,389,370.00 5,130,718.00 35,021,910.00 85,529,917.00 16,021,730.00 607,641,831.00 13,693,706.00 4,622,380.00 1,840.00 27,251,480.00 5,176,146.00

13.3 5.21 0.150 1.39 159.6 4.24 2.11 30.05 1.11

9,661,700 1,565,400 8,760,000 867,000 14,578,310 12,000 81,740,400 3,300 8,957,000

126,623,430.00 7,792,459.00 1,326,300.00 1,186,000.00 2,353,820,644 50,200.00 212,742,100.00 102,110.00 10,396,340.00

0.380 75.80 14.74 1.22 6.13 0.350 0.350 892 8.16 13.66 5.9 7.74 0.210 1202 7.50 80.00 5.1 1.06 7.4 16.06 0.400 6.37 3.24 0.0600 1.050 2.040 106.00 2.74 767.50 1.41 0.87 304.000

34,990,000 13,192,180 206,196,600 2,274,000 44,200 75,500,000 10,190,000 2,084,710 10,628,900 57,134,600 200 198,600 7,530,000 2,109,630 1,248,600 11,723,490 59,000 89,663,000 7,052,300 5,511,700 260,000 166,099,400 11,000 252,700,000 302,000 2,238,000 545,270 812,000 2,279,210 2,537,000 10,000 24,170

13,556,050.00 285,669,297,316.00 3,166,930,996.00 2,734,710.00 270,183.00 27,445,550.00 3,766,550.00 1,820,932,925 87,240,817.00 769,736,048.00 1,165.00 1,514,304.00 1,590,710.00 2,512,763,270.00 9,768,767.00 945,066,776.50 293,360.00 100,773,990.00 51,103,023.00 88,368,706.00 104,450.00 1,053,793,013.00 36,000.00 14,616,460.00 292,810.00 4,541,490.00 58,116,772.00 2,238,620.00 1,766,549,735.00 3,531,660.00 8,700.00 7,411,930.00

0.2900 0.2300 0.250

1,890,000 11,640,000 2,840,000

541,650.00 2,615,990.00 696,020.00

6.250 1.20 6.80 2.290 1.210 41.300 4.05 5.16 5.3 0.530 1.14 1.450 0.160 0.520 48.95 0.680 0.160 1.65 1.11 0.99 4.12 4.54 0.340 0.4000 0.730

2,014,600 46,521,000 11,600 3,961,000 39,877,000 85,926,400 10,616,000 82,639,500 270,100 158,868,000 1,492,000 3,273,000 40,860,000 9,291,000 2,372,800 63,978,000 2,740,000 30,914,000 80,161,000 7,618,000 27,000 275,708,000 395,690,000 55,800,000 278,319,000

12,668,176.00 56,660,870.00 79,645.00 9,683,560.00 50,250,170.00 3,468,825,730.00 43,920,680.00 431,702,617.00 1,428,905.00 84,108,890.00 1,661,940.00 4,814,400.00 6,631,430.00 4,836,600.00 113,001,510.00 43,631,920.00 436,020.00 51,893,150.00 87,402,600.00 7,637,880.00 111,210.00 1,292,534,060.00 135,672,400.00 21,897,850.00 134,233,890.00

STOCKS

JUNE 05-09, 2017 Close Volume

MAY 29-JUNE 2, 2017 Close Volume Value

Value

Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry Primex Corp.

Robinson’s Land `B’ Rockwell Shang Properties Inc. SM Prime Holdings Sta. Lucia Land Inc. Starmalls Suntrust Home Dev. Inc. Vista Land & Lifescapes

28.00 3.88 24.60 1.76 3.25 35.00 1.1 7.29 0.910 5.720

9,100 1,157,000 13,143,400 3,235,000 129,000 45,499,200 79,542,000 300 853,000 18,967,500

254,070.00 4,575,280.00 333,062,685.00 5,540,950.00 422,260.00 1,574,032,820.00 84,596,820.00 2,169.00 756,730.00 107,387,036.00

2GO Group’ ABS-CBN Acesite Hotel APC Group, Inc. Apollo Global Asian Terminals Inc. Berjaya Phils. Inc. Bloomberry Boulevard Holdings Calata Corp.

Cebu Air Inc. (5J) Centro Esc. Univ.

DFNN Inc. Discovery World Easy Call “Common” FEUI Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Golden Haven Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. Imperial Res. `A’ IPeople Inc. `A’ IPM Holdings Island Info ISM Communications Jackstones LBC Express Leisure & Resorts Macroasia Corp.

Manila Broadcasting Manila Jockey Melco Crown Metro Retail NOW Corp.

Pacific Online Sys. Corp.

PAL Holdings Inc. Phil. Seven Corp.

Philweb.Com Inc. PLDT Common PremiereHorizon Premium Leisure Puregold Robinsons RTL SBS Phil. Corp.

SSI Group STI Holdings Transpacific Broadcast Travellers Waterfront Phils.

Wilcon Depot

25.7 42.7 1.72 0.510 0.044 11.28 5.6 9.97 0.0920 2.11 99.15 10 8.74 2.3 3.30 970 2152 6.07 15.98 2.88 105.8 3.50 12.66 8.88 0.187 1.4500 3.6 16 4.56 4.70 15.70 2.45 9.35 3.70 2.790 11.52 5.30 168.00 10.26 1881.00 0.395 1.590 44.50 87.65 6.01 3.16 1.300 1.99 3.05 0.830 6.590

4,509,300 198,200 8,269,000 29,379,000 168,300,000 13,900 123,900 83,815,700 441,780,000 13,370,000 1,300,040 3,600 122,500 26,000 1,000 800 450,585 1,243,800 285,900 12,756,000 19,447,040 238,000 10,000 1,735,300 80,030,000 4,186,000 2,180,000 26,700 13,898,000 2,586,000 10,100 195,000 35,936,100 6,151,000 19,625,000 80,000 249,400 213,320 17,885,500 876,110 2,850,000 22,232,800 11,424,000 9,848,450 4,383,700 105,718,000 202,768,000 127,000 43,858,000 204,467,000 79,582,800

Abra Mining Apex `A’ Atlas Cons. `A’ Atok-Big Wedge `A’ Benguet Corp `A’ Benguet Corp `B’ Century Peak Metals Hldgs Coal Asia Dizon Ferronickel Geograce Res. Phil. Inc. Lepanto `A’ Lepanto `B’ Manila Mining `A’ Manila Mining `B’ Marcventures Hldgs., Inc. Nickelasia Nihao Mineral Resources Omico Oriental Peninsula Res. Oriental Pet. `A’ Oriental Pet. `B’ Petroenergy Res. Corp.

Philex `A’ PhilexPetroleum Philodrill Corp. `A’ Semirara Corp.

TA Petroleum United Paragon

0.0032 1.70 5.00 15.98 2.2500 2.2700 0.92 0.390 9.43 2.340 0.300 0.184 0.198 0.011 0.0110 2.1 6.2 2 0.4250 0.9900 0.0100 0.0100 6.20 9.10 3.07 0.0130 160.50 2.86 0.0083

MINING & OIL 3,425,000,000 10,736,600.00 63,348,000 110,266,010.00 856,900 4,284,879.00 3,100 48,246.00 128,000 286,080.00 105,000 231,600.00 9,302,000 8,336,570.00 6,130,000 2,395,150.00 119,200 1,141,156.00 8,080,000 19,145,570.00 12,500,000 3,713,350.00 45,260,000 8,235,480.00 4,320,000 841,120.00 38,000,000 423,100.00 7,315,800 272,900.00 17,612,000 35,706,190.00 8,199,800 50,438,188.00 2,031,000 4,105,770.00 450,000 194,200.00 799,000 773,350.00 244,800,000 2,531,300.00 21,000,000 210,100.00 1,486,600 9,181,609.00 2,907,000 26,263,840.00 11,814,000 36,737,980.00 63,900,000 784,200.00 6,346,490 1,024,359,034.00 1,059,000 3,028,710.00 62,000,000 518,000.00

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

Alco Preferred B Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ DD PREF First Gen F First Gen G FPH Pref C GLOBE PREF P GMA Holdings Inc. GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B Leisure and Resort MWIDE PREF PCOR-Preferred A PCOR-Preferred B PF Pref 2 PNX PREF 3A SMC Preferred B SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred D SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred F SMC Preferred G SMC Preferred H SMC Preferred I Swift Pref

42.6 106 510 515 104.5 108.1 114 508 515 5.76 1007 1017 1.08 107.4 1035 1110 1012 104.5 77.6 82 77.4 80.5 81.15 79.4 78.15 79 1.93

163,000 32,270 4,700 34,720 72,690 10,310 11,080 4,000 500 1,088,800 6,805 6,660 2,339,000 130 5,475 2,080 8,645 3,520 4,490 421,070 194,590 43,810 48,460 16,650 292,780 136,960 48,000

LR Warrant

2.390

WARRANTS & BONDS 3,639,000 8,484,370.00

SERVICES 125,639,375.00 8,427,350.00 15,955,480.00 14,995,930.00 7,434,100.00 156,086.00 700,085 825,963,018.00 39,741,620.00 27,773,750.00 129,105,750.00 35,400.00 1,056,091.00 59,800 3,300.00 776,000.00 984,831,980 7,541,430.00 4,581,686.00 36,059,280.00 2,007,369,415.00 818,590 126,600.00 15,426,273.00 15,283,270.00 6,031,340.00 7,955,860.00 435,762.00 60,363,410 11,850,950.00 167,152 449,960.00 354,906,440.00 22,643,230.00 55,084,310.00 921,678.00 1,262,831 35,834,665.00 187,738,896.00 1,645,631,190.00 1,122,900.00 38,518,220.00 508,073,710.00 869,690,762.00 26,724,527.00 313,379,120.00 248,924,300.00 252,080.00 132,868,120.00 181,194,090.00 509,367,361.00

PREFERRED 6,899,705.00 3,414,740 2,407,320.00 17,879,620 7,630,025.00 1,115,870.00 1,267,472.00 2,038,000.00 257,500.00 6,300,710.00 6,847,365.00 6,786,735.00 2,563,810 14,052.00 5,688,000.00 2,307,720.00 8,763,410.00 368,340.00 347,259.00 34,577,646.00 15,003,063.00 3,522,886.50 3,925,641.00 1,291,568.50 22,905,735.00 10,742,796.50 97,420.00

SME 17,053,600.00 3,959,041.00 81,440,254.00

28.50 3.9 25.00 1.75 3.28 33.75 1.02 7.2 0.890 5.530

300 3,147,000 17,905,700 3,088,000 158,000 76,433,100 19,042,000 1,100 4,083,000 46,759,300

8,550.00 12,313,520.00 446,356,285.00 5,332,280.00 517,150.00 2,571,535,755.00 19,337,160.00 7,860.00 3,677,380.00 257,187,008.00

28.35 42.75 2.17 0.520 0.050 11.08 5.8 9.30 0.0900 2.15 98.5 9.61 8.50 2.32 3.30 1000 2160 6.08 16.30 2.87 100.9 3.47 12.66 8.90 0.190 1.3600 3.74 16.44 3.95 4.46 16.00 2.37 9.67 3.67 2.710 11.58 5.30 170.00 11.58 1830.00 0.400 1.610 44.70 87.95 5.98 2.68 1.140

13,987,800 141,200 16,700,000 9,078,000 162,600,000 40,200 74,700 97,732,100 204,220,000 33,659,000 1,143,950 2,000 991,900 54,000 12,000 690 443,190 1,707,800 406,700 10,004,000 13,707,810 502,000 300 1,587,000 50,350,000 4,637,000 1,640,000 137,300 3,788,000 1,916,000 3,400 287,000 37,749,300 8,383,000 11,294,000 29,100 64,200 106,440 22,344,500 1,937,285 6,410,000 55,758,000 14,260,100 5,700,170 604,200 35,670,000 57,022,000

371,461,798.00 6,076,625.00 34,801,290.00 4,614,880.00 7,262,500.00 448,590.00 419,394 943,706,753.00 17,680,490.00 73,664,830.00 114,162,478.00 19,220.00 8,493,306.00 127,470 39,980.00 669,900.00 943,886,730 10,382,687.00 6,559,556.00 29,414,700.00 1,392,493,070.00 1,783,380 3,798.00 14,154,740.00 9,474,100.00 6,434,710.00 5,964,750.00 2,274,174.00 15,074,820 8,515,610.00 13,017,040 659,460.00 370,818,891.00 30,683,920.00 29,905,110.00 337,130.00 341,393 18,070,599.00 244,546,962.00 3,420,745,245.00 2,527,450.00 89,173,000.00 628,897,830.00 494,239,527.50 3,621,420.00 95,774,750.00 64,937,250.00

3.13 1.010 6.070

38,007,000 446,050,000 202,057,400

121,624,230.00 399,175,060.00 1,173,197,145.00

0.0032 1.69 5.00 15.50 2.2000 2.2500 0.88 0.390 9.90 2.450 0.300 0.180 0.200 0.010 0.0100 1.79 6.2 2.18 0.4500 0.9700 0.0100 0.0110 6.07 9.00 3.19 0.0100 157.50 2.61 0.0100

441,000,000 69,507,000 427,600 38,600 57,000 27,000 3,099,000 14,120,000 633,600 6,331,000 18,390,000 24,690,000 2,410,000 65,400,000 34,000,000 2,153,000 11,170,400 1,670,000 1,380,000 852,000 343,400,000 5,000,000 2,888,800 2,877,600 5,249,000 131,200,000 4,441,440 233,000 35,000,000

1,413,400.00 120,668,930.00 2,141,005.00 550,590.00 121,720.00 58,760.00 2,621,900.00 5,611,700.00 6,094,437.00 15,366,600.00 5,406,150.00 4,614,560.00 472,190.00 721,500.00 374,000.00 3,690,620.00 69,012,978.00 3,619,030.00 636,400.00 834,040.00 3,616,600.00 53,800.00 13,937,649.00 25,970,104.00 16,974,150.00 1,603,300.00 701,226,127.00 608,510.00 298,100.00

42 106 514 520 105 112.5 114.1

413,200 147,760 5,890 4,510 58,900 23,990 12,680

17,351,075.00 15,682,592 3,036,925.00 2,331,620 6,176,475.00 2,520,860.00 1,447,816.00

520 5.83 1006 1020 1.09 109.5 1049 1110 1012 104.3 77.2 81.95 76.2 78.15 80.7 77.45 78.1 79.2

3,130 662,800 5,175 2,070 218,000 8,820 975 25 3,165 27,420 19,270 37,370 71,940 47,700 365,410 21,450 35,240 104,450

1,603,360.00 3,870,063.00 5,211,400.00 2,113,325.00 237,640 952,590.00 999,865.00 27,675.00 3,207,540.00 2,865,381.00 1,488,758.00 3,045,196.50 5,515,148.00 3,725,499.00 29,229,637.00 1,660,075.00 2,766,269.00 8,260,205.00

2.150

1,533,000

3,331,650.00

4 6.02 8.16

2,442,000 663,000 12,740,000

9,902,870.00 4,037,849.00 102,592,776.00

Italpinas Philab Holdings Xurpas

4.03 5.97 7.88

4,305,000 658,900 10,164,100

First Metro ETF

120.7

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 82,320 10,015,098.00

131.5

40,980

5,372,946.00

10.24

DDOLLAR DENONIMATED SEC. 3,590 37,431.00

10

2,000

20,031.00

USD DMPL A1

WEEKLY MOST TRADED STOCKS Abra Mining MRC Allied Ind. Boulevard Holdings Pacifica `A’ Phil. Realty `A’ Oriental Pet. `A’ Waterfront Phils.

STI Holdings Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

A. Brown Co., Inc.

VOLUME 3,425,000,000 890,420,000 441,780,000 393,290,000 262,840,000 244,800,000 204,467,000 202,768,000 192,897,600 172,162,000

STOCKS Ayala Land `B’ I.C.T.S.I. Ayala Corp `A’ SM Investments Inc. PLDT Common SM Prime Holdings Universal Robina GT Capital Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

DMCI Holdings

VALUE 3,152,563,765.00 2,007,369,415.00 1,842,453,435.00 1,797,841,255.00 1,645,631,190.00 1,574,032,820.00 1,494,582,620.00 1,274,584,435.00 1,197,951,278.00 1,138,840,284.00

with the owners of the network.

Talks between PLDT and GMA Network did not push through due to price and regulatory issues.

Pangilinan’s statement came after GMA chairman Felipe Gozon said he was open to revive talks to sell a substantial stake in the broadcast network.

“I am not the one reviving. The buyers are the one trying to revive. As of now we are not talking, but we are going to talk,” Gozon said on May 15.

“We are open anytime, but the offer must be acceptable to us,” he said.

Gozon said they were in talks with the same interested potential investor.

The Gozon, Jimenez and Duavit families own a combined 79 percent of the network, which airs on Channel 7 on free TV. Majority shareholders of the broadcaster earlier agreed to sell about 30 percent of the company to Ramon Ang, but the negotiation bogged down after more than a year of talks.

PLDT, partly owned by Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd. and Japan’s NTT group earlier posted a net income of P4.95 billion in the first three months, down 20 percent from P6.21 billon in the same period last year.

Core profit, which excludes foreign exchange gains or losses and other non-recurring income, dropped 26 percent to P5.3 billon as consolidated service revenues fell 7 percent to P35.6 billion from last year’s P40.59 billion.

Eton taps Aboitiz to supply electricity

By Alena Mae S. Flores ETON Properties Philippines Inc. of the Lucio Tan Group tapped Aboitiz Power Corp. to supply 5.2 megawatts of electricity to the former’s office buildings in Quezon City under the retail competition and open access regime.

Eton said it signed a power supply agreement with Aboitiz Power to provide power from MakBan Geothermal Power Plant in Batangas, which is operated and managed by AboitizPower subsidiary AP Renewables Inc. to Cyberpod office buildings at Eton Centris in Quezon City.

Eton Properties has two BPO hubs – Centris Cyberpod at Eton Centris, where a fifth BPO-ready building is being built, and Corinthian Cyberpod along Ortigas Avenue.

“BPO operations need uninterruptible, round-theclock power supply, especially here in the Philippines where majority of BPO companies cater to international customers with different time zones,” said Eton Properties deputy chief operating officer Josefino Lucas.

“With Aboitiz Power as our power partner, we are confident that we will continue to deliver on our promise of quality and efficiency in our office developments,” Lucas said.

Walter Mart also signed up with Aboitiz Power for a supply agreement early this year.

Walter Mart secured a 4.7MW power supply contract with Aboitiz Power under the retail competition and open access regime.

Business Filipinos increased savings in 2nd quarter

By Julito G. Rada MORE Filipino households were able to save money in the second quarter of 2017 compared to the first quarter, results of a latest Consumer Expectation Survey conducted

by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas during the period show.

The percentage of households with savings increased to 35.8 percent from 34.9 percent in the previous quarter. The percentage of households with savings increased in both the National Capital Region and areas outside NCR. “According to respondents, they save money for emergencies, education, retirement, health and hospitalization, business capital and investment, and purchase of real estate,” the regulator said.

Almost two-thirds [64.9 percent] of household savers had bank deposit accounts while 44.9 percent kept their savings at home and 28.6 percent put their money in cooperatives, “paluwagan,” other credit/loan associations, and as investment.

Also, the percentage of respondents who reported that they could set aside money for savings during the current quarter declined slightly to 44.9 percent from 45.1 percent for the first quarter 2017.

Moreover, the proportion of those that could set aside 10 percent or more of their monthly gross family income was lower at 38.6 percent from 41.4 percent for the first quarter 2017.

The same survey found out that of the 434 households included in the survey that received remittances from their relatives working abroad for the second quarter, 97 percent used the remittances that they received to purchase food and other household needs.

B3

MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Russian oil giant exploring PH

By Alena Mae S. Flores

R

USSIAN petroleum company Rosneft plans to deliver crude oil and establish a refining facility in the Philippines.

Rosneft said in a statement on its website it signed an agreement with PNOC Exploration Corp. and Pionaire Finance Ltd. on developing a cooperation deal early this month.

Rosneft said the signing of the agreement would lay the basis for the development of multilateral cooperation in oil and products trading and joint participation in oil refining projects.

“In particular, Rosneft and PNOC announced their intention to sign a strategic long-term contract in the near future for delivery of crude oil to the Philippine company,” the two companies said in a joint statement.

Rosneft said it would get an opportunity to enter one of the most attractive energy markets in the Asia-Pacific region through cooperation

with the largest national company of the Philippines.

Rosneft’s main activities include prospecting and exploration of hydrocarbon deposits, oil, gas and gascondensate production, upstream offshore projects, processing, as well as oil, gas and product marketing in Russia and abroad.

PNOC Exploration also signed an agreement last month for technical assistance from the National Iranian Oil Company to “conduct the preliminary review, evaluation, assessment of its proposed projects.”

The company is looking at investing in the develop-

ment of Pazanan (oil and gas) fields and third phase of Darquain Field to supply gas to the proposed LNG liquefaction plant.

The Darquian oilfield, which is estimated to contain around 3.6 billion barrels of oil in-place, is located 30 kilometers north of Khorramshahr and 100 km south of Ahvaz in southern Iran.

The Pazanan oil field is considered as one of the huge gas condensate reservoir in Iran, estimated to have a total proven reserves of around 50 trillion cubic feet.

PNOC Exploration is also

in coordination with NIOC as it plans to invest in the construction of an LNG liquefaction plant in Iran.

PNOC Exploration is also exploring the possibility of Iran supplying oil as feedstock of the proposed refinery in Mindanao.

“The refinery in Mindanao is projected to be built and put into operation within the next three years,” the company said.

PNOC Exploration president Pedro Aquino Jr. signed the agreement early this month with NIOC deputy head for development and engineering affairs Gholamreza Manouchehri.

TOURISM AWARDEES. Trade assistant secretary Rosvi Gaetos (seated, fifth from left) is one of the recipients of the 13th Rotary Tourism Awards in the tourism and trade events category for her extraordinary contribution in export and tourism promotion and advancement of the tourism industry in the Philippines. Also shown during the awarding ceremony on June 8, 2017 at New World Hotel in Makati City are Tourism Secretary Wanda Tulfo-Teo (third from left), former tourism secretary Mina Gabor (fourth from left), former tourism secretary Roberto Pagdanganan (second row, second from left) and other awardees.

Career and Life Planning KIMBERLYN PEREZ

GREEN LIGHT BUSINESSES need to plan, because plans enable them to at least prepare for whatever ups and down a business organization may encounter. However, for our personal lives, planning may seem to be absurd sometimes as we have already been through different experiences. We may think that these experiences make us more mature and stronger when dealing with life’s circumstances, but planning is still necessary to ensure we attain our life’s goals.

The importance of planning I am currently working under a third party company of one of the major telecommunication operators. We are involved on the rollout of In–Building Solutions within the new buildings in Metro Manila and the rest of the nation.

The list of sites rolled out in the current year was planned from the last year’s nominations. My company’s experience serves to elaborate on the importance of having a plan, how to start with it, and the process that involves the whole planning cycle, and how to ensure everything will be in accordance to your plans.

We all have our dreams, which technically serve as our goals.

Hashtag-ing “goals” all over the social media give us ideas of our friend’s goals and signifies that they utterly wanted this to happen sooner rather than later.

The achievement of goals Achieving our goals is the desired outcome of planning. We set our goals so that we may envision, plan, and work for what is to be achieved: a personal, longed for upshot in some sort of foreseen advancement. Most of us exert our full effort to reach our goals

within a definite time frame by setting timelines and deadlines.

Here is a poem by David Harris inclining that reaching our goals is not trouble-free.

“When you’ve pursued a dream And finally made it come true, Do you find another dream?

And start pursuing it too?

The answer is simple Yes. That is what you have to do.

Just keep pursuing all your dreams No matter how wild they may seem You have to have a goal in life And our dreams are that goal.

We have to pursue them, Each and everyone To the bitter end, For if we don’t We will end up with a wasted life.

I thought once I’d given up mine, But that was just a rest bite.

I came back Refreshed, Renewed And pursued my dream Even harder than before Until finally I made it happen And made one of my dreams Come true” The implementation of the planning cycle The planning cycle starts with the analysis of your current position. Measure your ability and capability to meet the current, even the non–current obligations.

This is the basis of our succeeding plans. This maybe technically elaborated through the SWOT analysis. The next step is to identify your aim/goal, which should not only be effective, but also efficient and realistic. We may sometimes set it low due to the past experience of rejection and failures. But if we will try to reconsider seeing ourselves achiev-

ing what we really want may give us enough courage to do so.

We can also explore other options if in case the goal as planned will not be enough. It is not part of being negative but is part reassuring ourselves to achieve the main objective of the planning. Detailing the plan is a long process.

You should make an outline first which will serve as your pattern.

Then we can do the evaluation, the implementation, closure of plans achieved. Don’t forget the feedback and reflection stage too.

Below will be the considerations of the feedback mechanism on the cycle called life: If the goal was easily achieved, make your next goals harder.

If the goal took a dispiriting length of time to achieve make the next goals a little easier.

If you learned something that would lead you to change goals still outstanding, do so.

If while achieving the goal you noticed a deficit in your skills, set goals to fix this.

Goals may change as we gain experiences, as we are mentored by our chosen leaders, adjust our plans regularly reflecting the updated pace we want to track as this will entails growth of our personality, as it should.

SMC hosts returning Miss U candidates in charity events San Miguel Corp., in partnership with the Miss Universe organization, will host a group of Miss Universe national titleholders who competed in the recent 65th Miss Universe pageant, to work alongside the San Miguel Foundation and make a positive impact here and at the world at large.

“The Miss Universe Organization is well-known for its annual pageant but it also has a strong foundation for giving back. The contestants and titleholders are provided a platform and they work closely with various organizations to address critical issues affecting people not only in their home countries but all over the world,” said San Miguel president Ramon Ang. Miss Universe 2016 Pia Wurtzbach and Miss Philippines 2017 Maxine Medina will lead returning Miss Universe candidates Noelia Freire (Spain), Jamie-Lee Faulkner (Great Britain), Kezia Warouw (Indonesia), Kiran Jassal (Malaysia), Camila Barraza (Kosovo) and Dang Thi Le Hang (Vietnam) at a charity event for chil-

dren last weekend in Binondo, Manila and in all other events and functions.

San Miguel Foundation, which is celebrating its 45th anniversary, will donate scholarships to Grade One to Senior High School beneficiaries of Hope for Change from Smokey Mountain.

The San Miguel Foundation has long been a strong advocate of education and has spent nearly P200 million in recent years alone for education-related projects, including the construction of classrooms in underdeveloped communities and providing scholarships.

“We are proud to work together and we’re honored to welcome back the contestants,” he added.

Meanwhile, SMC subsidiaries Petron Corp., San Miguel Brewery Inc. and Ginebra San Miguel Inc. will celebrate the return of the Miss Universe candidates through a series of product engagements that will align with values of diversity and empowerment.

The author is an MBA student at the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business. This essay is part of a journal she kept in fulfillment of the requirements of the course, Lasallian Business Leadership with Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics. Visit her blog at https://kimposhible.wordpress. com/.

The views expressed here are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.

IRRIGATION CONTRACTS. Ricardo Visaya, administrator of the National Irrigation Administration, leads the signing ceremony of modified orrigation management transfer contracts with 62 irrigator associations in Bicol region. Visaya said NIA would continue to construct more irrigation projects in the coming years to improve the farmers’ quality of life.

Ray S. Eñano, Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com

B4

MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017

Business

US Fed to raise rates despite weak figures W

By Douglas Gillison

ASHINGTON―For the second time this year, the US central bank appears poised to raise interest rates despite fresh signs the world’s largest economy is not in peak condition.

The recent soft numbers on the economy may have weakened the case for an increase in the benchmark lending rate by the Federal Reserve, which begins a twoday meeting on Tuesday to review monetary policy.

But the Fed is widely expected to stick to its guns, having built up expectations that it will tighten monetary policy at this meeting, although further rate hikes this year are now in doubt.

At the policy meeting last month, the central bank left rates unchanged at between 0.75 and one percent, and policymakers said they would wait to see whether evidence supported another rate hike.

But they also said first-quarter sluggishness was “likely to be transitory” and that a rate hike would likely be appropriate “soon.”

This has prompted criticism that the policymakers’ forecasts are flawed and they are not basing decisions on the data, as they pledged to do.

“They seem to be more committed to just getting back to some version of normal than following the numbers,” Jared Bernstein, economic advisor to former Vice President Joe Biden, told AFP. “It’s a little puzzling since Chair (Janet) Yellen and others have said they’re going to be data-dependent.”

Since the May Fed meeting, the picture has not grown much brighter, especially in the key areas the central bank watches: employment and inflation.

Government data have shown clear signs of flagging job growth and a shrinking work force, with average job creation in the March-May period down 40 percent from the prior three months.

Inflation moved even further from the Fed’s two percent target in April, with the Fed’s preferred inflation measure at 1.7 percent for the latest 12 months.

And, while first-quarter GDP growth was revised upwards by a sharp 0.5 points to 1.2 percent, this is still no better than sluggish.

Given the weak data, the Fed’s persistent belief the sun will come out tomorrow, and inflation will stabilize at two percent in the

medium term, has drawn sharp criticism from some quarters.

Economists J Bradford DeLong and Narayana Kocherlakota, a former president of the Minneapolis Fed known for advocating a cautious approach to raising rates, each accused the Fed in recent days of persistently overstating the strength of the US economy and inflation.

“Elementary mathematics dictates that credible forecasts should at least overestimate half the time and undershoot half the time,” DeLong wrote, saying the Fed has overestimated the economy for 11 years in a row, making them less reliable than a coin toss.

Even with the growing doubts, as of Friday, futures markets still were forecasting a better-than-99-percent chance of an increase at this week’s Fed meeting.

But they are now evenly split on the prospects for another rate increase by the end of the year. Previously, analysts were betting on another hike in September.

Some economists, however, say the economy can tolerate higher rates, as they remain low by historical standards.

Mickey Levy of Berenberg Capital Markets points to falling long-term interest rates and rising equities prices, with the S&P 500 up eight percent since the start of the year. AFP

With Acciona’s Ruben Camba, Metro Pacific Investments Corp.’s Atty.

Marilyn Aquino and Joey Lim, Economic and Commercial Counsellor of the Embassy of Spain Pedro Pascual, Ambassador of Spain to the Philippines Luis Calvo, Acciona’s Fernando Fajardo, Metro Pacific Investments Corp.’s Manny Pangilinan,First Philippine Holdings Corp.’s Federico Lopez and Francis Giles Puno, First Balfour’s Anthony Fernandez, Metro Pacific Investments Corp.’s Joseph Lacson

AMIGOS PARA SIEMPRE Every Filipino knows that Philippine Independence Day is celebrated every twelfth of June to commemorate the Declaration of Independence from Spain on June 12, 1898, and this commemoration has been so since 1962.

Ambassador of Spain to the Philippines Luis Calvo

TOURISM FLAK. A protesters carries a banner that reads “Tourist flats displace families”during a demonstration in Barcelona on June 10, 2017 against what they claim is a lack of control by the city’s tourism management. AFP

EU phone users cheer end to roaming fees

By BENJAMIN MASSOT MOUSCRON, Belgium―The end of roaming fees in the EU is drawing loud cheers from mobile phone users, and nowhere more so than in borderlands where residents are always just a step away from involuntarily incurring hefty surcharges.

“The end of roaming is really great,” said Kevin, who lives in the Belgian town of Mouscron, just 20 metres (yards) from the French border.

“My in-laws live nearby in France and when I go to see them I always switch my mobile phone off to avoid surcharges,” the 21year old told AFP. Such radical measures will soon no longer be necessary, after the EU decided that, starting on June 15, telecom operators can no longer charge traveling phone users in the bloc more than they would in their home markets.

Ludovic, who sells mobile phones in a nearby outlet run by the Orange operator, says worried clients often come to him with questions on the topic, “especially teenagers who are glued to their smartphones and use up a lot of data.”

Amine, an electrician who lives in Mouscron, regularly gets jobs across the border in the region of Lille, France’s northern metropolis

hugging the Belgian border.

Dron hospital, a few hundred

A woman uses her mobile phone in Boeschepe at the Franco-Belgian border on June 6, 2017. On June 15, 2017, mobile roaming charges will be abolished in the countries of the European Union. AFP

Commuting between both countries inflated his phone bill to 280 euros ($312) in April. “If the end of roaming charges means I get to pay less, then that’s really super,” he said.

When roaming is mentioned, tempers fray in Tourcoing, on the French side, as the failure of operators to exactly match up their networks’ scope with the political border demands constant vigilance from users, driving them to distraction.

“When you’re at the (local)

meters from the border, you’re already in the Belgian network,” fumed Malika, a city employee.

“Here you often get caught up in the Belgian network, they have strong antennae. And what’s more, you can’t get out again,” said Nicole, who works for online travel agency Booking.com.

“So you always check that you’re on the French network before making a call or sending a text,” she says.

Many others try to lock into their operator’s network manually,

but juggling between two country’s networks is always a struggle.

“In border regions like ours you won’t find anyone who thinks that this development is a bad thing,” said Herve Ghyselen, owner of a small local transport company.

The EU Commission has pushed operators to reduce roaming charges for the past decade and won approval from the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament two years ago to abolish them altogether.

Starting on June 15, EU-based mobile phone subscribers will be able to use their phones in other bloc countries as if they were at home.

“This means the end of roaming charges as travelers have experienced them so far,” the Commission said in the run-up to the change.

Roaming charges within and outside Europe account for an average of around five percent of sales for telephone operators in Europe, estimates Sylvain Chevallier of BearingPoint.

But the impact of the new measure will differ for corporate and individual clients, he adds.

On the Spanish market, subject to wide seasonal variations in business due to a reliance on tourism, Telefonica estimates the end of roaming charges in the EU will lead to a 1.2 percent drop in its sales this year. AFP

Times have changed. Where before, countries, kingdoms or empires sought to conquer, rule, or assimilate, nowadays it is all about amity, openness, and free trade. Globalization, with all its blessings as well as unintended ill-effects, is the mantra embraced by all. While this concept was recently challenged by protectionist and populist polices, the reality is globalization, enhanced by innovation and technological advancement, is here to stay.

On this day of our commemoration of the declaration of independence from Spain, it is apropos that we discuss our continued friendship, our political and economic relations with Spain.

Last week, I was part of a small group invited by His Excellency Luis Antonio Calvo Castaño, the dynamic Ambassador of Spain to the Philippines, Palau, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands, to a working lunch at his residence to discuss, among other things, trade relations between Spain and the Philippines.

Almost a year ago, I wrote about how every June 30 was celebrated as Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day by Republic Act No. 9187, which was authored by distinguished statesman and Senator Edgardo J. Angara, and about how I celebrated that day in Baler upon Senator Angara’s invitation. Incidentally, Senator Angara was recently conferred, together with Senator Frank Drilon, with the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun by Emperor Hirohito of Japan, but that is best reserved for another time in history, err, another column piece.

Present at the working lunch were: The Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC) headed by Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan, Director Atty. Marilyn V. Aquino, who is also the newly-minted president of MetroPac Movers Inc. (the logistics company of Metro Pacific), President and CEO Jose Ma. Lim, Chief Investment Officer Joseph Lacson, and myself; the Lopez Group’s First Philippine Holdings composed of Chair-

man and CEO Federico Lopez, President and COO Francis Giles Puno, and First Balfour President and CEO Anthony Fernandez; and representatives of ACCIONA Infraestructuras, S.A. led by Fernando Fajardo, Managing Director for Australia, New Zealand and AsiaPacific, and Ruben Camba Garcia, Director for Singapore and Southeast Asia.

Spanish Embassy officials who joined the luncheon with Ambassador Calvo were Pedro Pascual, Economic and Commercial Counsellor; Maria Angeles Romo, Commercial Division Officer; and Jose Primo Santos, Economic and Commercial Analyst.

The MVP Group, through MPIC, is into energy generation and distribution, water, tollways, hospitals, airports, railways (light and heavy), agriculture, logistics, other infrastructure projects. The First Philippine Holdings is into energy, property, and construction.

ACCION Infraestructuras, S.A., on the other hand, is a Spanish conglomerate with world-wide projects in construction, concessions, water, industrial, and other services.

From the discussion, we can sense that the Spanish group was bullish about doing business in the Philippines. However, they shared their apprehension, as was usually the case, on consistency of policies, transparency, and respect for contacts. ACCIONA officers revealed to us about their sad experience in other countries where their respective governments changed the rules of the game midway. I trust that this concern would be something that the current administration under President Rodrigo Roa Duterte would be able to take care of.

While having dessert (the chocolate cake was muy delicioso), robust discussions traversed into the realm of which is better: Official Development Assistance (ODA), Public Private Partnership (PPP) or the Hybrid PPP. The consensus was that while a form may have its impact, what really matters is the prompt delivery of a much-needed project that would bring great benefit to the people at reasonable cost.

Projects undertaken by Spanish conglomerates here, also in joint venture with local conglomerates like Metro Pacific and First Philippine Holdings, are prime examples of PPPs that government can consider.

This goes beyond mere ODA which usually takes the form of dole-out with strings attached.

Government and the business sector can be akin to a matador that lures in that bull called development, or takes it by the horns and controls it in the direction that it wants to, that it deems fit.

To that, I say “Olé!”

Acciona Infrastructure Asia Pacific Managing Director Fernando Fajardo, Ambassador Luis Calvo, Economic and Commercial Counsellor of the Embassy of Spain Pedro Pascual, Acciona’s Ruben Camba, Commercial Division Officer of the Embassy of Spain Maria Angeles Romo

Economic and Commercial Analyst of the Embassy of Spain Jose Primo Santos and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. Chief Investment Officer Joseph Lacson

Dengue vaccines for 12K pupils set AS THE country observes the Dengue Awareness Month this June, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada has ordered recently the immunization of more than 12,000 elementary students against the deadly dengue virus within the month.

Estrada tasked the Manila Health Department (MHD) to start the school-based immunization on Tuesday, June 13, in line with the dengue prevention program of the Department of Health.

“Dengue is not something to be taken for granted because it’s a constant major threat to the health of our schoolchildren. We want them protected from this deadly virus,” Estrada said.

Citing data from DoH, the Manila mayor reminded that dengue infections are usually on the rise at the onset of rainy season, thus the need for intensified anti-dengue campaign.

June was declared Dengue Awareness Month by Proclamation No. 1204 signed in April 1998 by then President Fidel Ramos.

The MHD said the dengue immunization of 12,905 Grade 6 students from the city’s 73 elementary schools will be conducted from June 13 to 28.

This is the same batch of students who took their first dose of dengue vaccine back in April 2015 and again in October 2016.

The vaccine is given in three doses, MHD Maternal and Childcare Unit chief Concepcion Yusop said.

“Since being given the vaccine shots two years ago, these children have not contracted dengue or exhibited negative reactions, so I would say the vaccine is effective,” Yusop pointed out.

Based on clinical studies conducted in countries across Southeast Asia and Latin America, DoH said the vaccine has shown to be effective in preventing severe dengue by 93.2 percent.

Yusop said the anti-dengue vaccine is effective up to 10 years after which the students will be given booster shots.

From January to May 2017, only 378 dengue cases in Manila have been reported so far. In 2016, there were a total of 1,811 infections, compared to 2,445 in 2015; 1,652 in 2014; and 1,757 in 2013, according to records from MHD. Sandy Araneta

LGUs

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

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017

C1

‘Rescue mission’ in Manila

By Sandy Araneta

M

ANILA Mayor Joseph Estrada on Sunday stepped up foot and mobile patrols along Roxas Boulevard and other major roads to drive away street dwellers that continue to litter the city and “rescue them from danger.”

Estrada clarified the operation is not an anti-vagrant “crackdown” but a “rescue mission” to save those homeless individuals that he said are in constant danger in the streets.

“No, we don’t treat them as criminals to be arrested. We are taking them out of the streets so

we could give them safer shelter, food, and medicine that they need,” Estrada said.

“This is a rescue mission,” said Estrada.

In his order to Manila Department of Social Welfare (MDSW) chief Nanet Tanyag, Estrada tasked the city social welfare

unit to deploy enough personnel to patrol Roxas Boulevard, Kalaw Street. P. Burgos Street near the city hall, Taft Avenue, Lawton area, and other roads in the socalled tourist belt area of Manila.

Estrada said the vagrants tend to return to the streets when no authorities are around. Add to these are the Badjaos, Mangyan and other indigenous people that roam around the city begging for alms.

Tanyag said she has organized teams to patrol the areas in shifts; the foot patrols will be augmented by the MDSW’s three patrol vehicles.

“Whenever they see our people and marked vehicles, they run away. So, we will activate

this strategy as ordered by Mayor Estrada,” Tanya said.

Last month, MDSW has rounded up 643 street dwellers in its continuing rescue operations in the city.

Since January, the department has rounded up a total of 2,075 homeless individuals, who also included non-Manilans.

Last February, Estrada issued Executive Order No. 10 directing all concerned city departments to conduct continuous operations to achieve the city government’s goal of “zero street dweller in the City of Manila.”

Tanyag said the city government is close to achieving this goal.

The rescued street people are

being turned over to the city-run Manila Boys Town Complex in Marikina City for temporary safekeeping, where the children are enrolled in the Fugoso Integrated School that offers Alternative Learning System (ALS) for free, according to Tanyag.

At the facility, she said the street people have decent shelters, clothes, foods, medicines, and proper healthcare; as for the adults, they undergo development activities such as skills and livelihood trainings and basic business management courses.

Upon their release, the adults may also be referred to the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) for job referrals, Tanyag added.

‘MARIKIT-NA.’

Workers install the Marikit-Na statue—donned with Filipiniana inspired by the color of the Philippine flag and made of rubber from the soles of shoes and slippers made in the city—at the atrium of SM City Marikina in celebration of the 119th anniversary of Philippine Independence today. As legend has it, MarikitNa is the lady where the city of Marikina gets its name from. Folk stories depict her as a beautiful lady with long hair who was always seen near the chapel of Jesus de La Peña near the Marikina River.

Norman Cruz

QC vows shelter for troubled, abandoned children Navotas

By Rio N. Araja QUEZON City Mayor Herbert Bautista vowed on Sunday to build good shelter for children in conflict with the law and kids who have been abandoned by their families owing to poverty.

On orders of Bautista, the city government has approved a P129million budgetary requirement for the construction of a four-story New Molave Youth Home, or the Bahay Pag-asa Building, for ju-

venile delinquents apprehended in Quezon City and with pending cases before the city courts.

Those who are in the custody of the city-run Molave Youth Home located inside the city hall premises shall be transferred.

Bautista said the rehabilitation complex will be built at Diamond Hills Subdivision in Barangay Payatas.

The new Molave Youth Home formed part of the P2-billion modernization program of the

city for public safety.

Marisol Casabuena, Social Services and Development Department’s Residential and Rehabilitation Division acting chief, described the soon-tobe-built Molave Youth Home in Payatas as a welcome development in the effort of improving the living condition of childrenin-conflict with the law.

The new facility will be spacious, and that its design will address the needs of the children as

compared to the old facility, which was established in the 1970s.

It will stand on a 2,000-square meter space to accommodate 350 children.

The first floor of the building shall serve as an office and multidisciplinary venue, while the dormitories shall be located on the second and third floors.

The fourth floor shall be utilized as a recreational area and for the socialization activities.

The new structure will also

have its own chapel, special education rooms and isolation rooms to treat children with health issues.

Bautista also poured in some P22 million for the construction and initial operationalization of a two-story halfway house at the Bernardo Park compound in Kamuning.

Of the P22-million budget requirement, P14 million will be spent for the construction and the remaining P8 million for the initial one-year operationalization.

Saving lives during Ramadan via MILF MARAWI City—“Kapag nakapagligtas ka ng buhay, malaking advantage ‘yan [When you save a life, it’s a big advantage],” said Oshama Ali, a volunteer from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front working for the success of the Peace Corridor.

The MILF leaders had chosen Oshama to act as team leader for the Joint Coordination, Monitoring, and Assistance Center (JCMAC)—the body that executes the Peace Corridor in this battered city.

The JCMAC is composed of volunteers from the government, MILF, and Non-Violent Peace Force tasked to provide a safe route for the trapped civilians in the city.

Oshama has also been serving as member of the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG), a body that addresses criminality and terrorism in areas with MILF presence.

On the last week of May, MILF Chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim

with the help of Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus G. Dureza met personally with President Roridgo Duterte to discuss the concept of Peace Corridor.

The President immediately gave his approval for the government and MILF panels to implement the corridor.

The Peace Corridor was established in the three-kilometer Banggulo Bridge to Quezon Avenue here to allow rescue and relief operations.

Oshama is also observing Ramadan, a time for prayer and religious devotion for all Muslims. When asked if he can manage to do heavy work while fasting, Oshama answered right away, “It’s OK, no problem. It’s our obligation to save lives of our fellow citizens.”

Despite the difficulties in bringing the trapped civilians to a safer place, the JCMAC was able to rescue 179 women, men, children and elderly during its first attempt on June 4.

COURTESY CALL. Antipolo City Mayor Jun Ynares (center) welcomes Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro

(right) and Marikina 1st District Rep. Bayani ‘BF’ Fernando (left) as the latter made a courtesy call last June 5 at the Antipolo City Hall. Marikina officials have made it a yearly tradition to call on their Antipolo counterparts during the feast of the city’s patron saint, the Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage.

gives out bags, TVs to schools

By Jun David THE Navotas city government has distributed 934 bags and 87 smart television sets to three public schools during the first week of classes.

Mayor John Rey Tiangco, together with Councilors Alvin Nazal, Richard San Juan, and Ethel Joy Arriola, handed the bags containing school supplies to Grade 1 pupils of Bagumbayan Elementary School, Dagat-Dagatan Elementary School, and San Rafael Village Elementary School.

Tiangco also turned over 50-inch smart TVs to these schools as well as to the Navotas National High School and San Rafael Technological and Vocational High School.

The city government is expected to distribute school bags and smart TVs to other public elementary and high schools in Navotas in the next few weeks.

“We intend to improve the quality of education in our city by using information and communications technology,” Tiangco said.

“ICT brings a lot of opportunities, especially now that we are living in the socalled digital age. We aim to provide such opportunities to our constituents, especially our youth,” he added.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

LGUs

Standard MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017 C2 TODAY Manila

Q1 tourist arrivals up 11.4 percent

By Romeo Dizon

C

LARK FREEPORT, Pampanga—Tourist arrivals in the first quarter grew by 11.4 percent year on year to about 1,784,887 people who visited the country so far in 2017.

Tourism Undersecretary Frederick Alegre said the growth comes from East Asian and North American countries, namely China, Japan, South Korea, United states, Canada, and other foreigners who visited the country during the first three months of the year, compared to only 1.6 million in the same period last year.

Under the National Tourism Development Plan of 2017 to 2022, Alegre said the country aims to attract 12-million foreign tourists and 89.2-million local tourists. The income generation of P3.9 trillion from these tourists is expected to contribute about 10.1 percent of the Gross National Product.

“We are confident that this

solid growth of 11.4 percent of the first quarter, backed up by serious marketing with better infrastructure projects and further development, will continue,” Alegre said.

During a media forum here, Alegre attributed the tourists’ arrival increase from East Asian countries including US and Canada to the additional airline seats totaling about 160,000, with direct flights from China and South Korea to the secondary airports in the country.

These secondary airports with direct flights to China and South Korea include Kalibo to Shanghai, Hangzhou and Chengdu;

Cebu to Wuhan, Chongqing, Chengdu, and Clark to Incheon, South Korea, Alegre said.

Another factor contributing to the increase of tourist arrivals in the country in the current fiscal year are tourism deals signed with the different countries like China, Cambodia, Thailand, Turkey, and Russia.

India, with a total population of 1.2 billion with about 350 million in the middle class, is starting to catch up with the rest of the foreigners in visiting country, as tourism records show.

Alegre said for the first quarter of the year, Indians visiting the country increased to 26.63 per-

cent or by about 26,905 persons.

Topping the list of foreign tourists’ arrival in the country from January to March 2017 are South Koreans totaling about 445,865 persons followed by US with 258,097 persons or about 11.6 percent growth rate.

The Chinese visiting the country also grew by 30.3 percent or about 240,354 persons followed

by Japan with 106,251 persons while Canada and Germany with 60,838 and 29,301 tourists’ arrival respectively.

Alegre said that foreign tourists visiting the country improved their spending capacity to $107 from only $23.5 with

their five to eight days stay.

A big factor in the development of the tourism industry is the domestic market which grew by 67 million as shown by the 2015 data of the Domestic Household Survey of the Philippines Statistical Authority.

Foreign tourists spend 31% of their budget on accommodation followed by food and beverages which is 16 percent with 14 percent for entertainment and 5 percent percent for transportation.

Alegre added that majority of foreign tourists are visit beaches and coastal destinations while others for business and visiting friends and families.

ERRORS & OMISSIONS

NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION The public is hereby notified that CORTEXPH INC., a corporation organized and existing under Philippine laws, with registered address at 15/F Enterprise Center Tower I 6766 Ayala Ave. Cor. Paseo de Roxas Brgy. San Lorenzo, Makati City, Philippines, will be DISSOLVED through shortening of corporate term in accordance with Section 120 of the Corporation Code.

The corporation’s dissolution will take effect upon approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission of the amendment made on the corporation’s Articles of Incorporation to shorten its corporate term.

In Classified Ads section must be brought to our attention the very day the advertisement is published. We will not be responsible for any incorrect ads not reported to us immediately.

(MS-MAY 29, JUNE 5 & 12, 2017)

CARITAS LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION 5/F Caritas Health Bldg., 97 E. Rodriguez Sr. Ave., Quezon City Telefax No. 781 -5539/846-8982

NOTICE OF SPECIAL STOCKHOLDERS’ MEETING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a special meeting of the stockholders of Caritas Life Insurance Corp. (CUC) will be held at the 4th Floor Caritas Corporate Centre, No. 97 E. Rodriguez Sr. Blvd., Quezon City on Friday, June 30, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. for the transaction of the following agenda: 1. Call to order 2. Report on Attendance and Quorum.

3. Consideration of Board Resolution authorizing investment in Caritas Health Shield, Inc. Stockholders of record as of May 26, 2017 will be entitled to notice and vote at this meeting.

Quezon City, June 6, 2017.

HEALTH STATION. Rep. Sol Aragones of the third district of Laguna (third from right) leads

FOR THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

the inauguration of the Barangay Health Station (inset) in Barangay Sta. Lucia Elementary School in Nagcarlan, Laguna. This BHS is a project of the Department of Health in support of the Department of Education and the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

Joining Aragones are School Principal Fe Caringal (second from right), parent-teacher association members, and barangay officials. Roy Tomandao

CHARLES B. ESCOLIN Corporate Secretary If you cannot personally attend the meeting and you wish to be represented thereat, you may designate your authorized representative by submitting a proxy instrument to Ms. ISIDRA C. PERIO or Ms. MICHEL D. ESPANIOLA at the 4th Floor, Caritas Corporate Centre, No. 97 E. Rodriguez Sr. Blvd., Quezon City not later than June 29, 2017.

(MS-JUNE 12, 2017)

Republic of the Philippines Department of Health CENTRAL OFFICE BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE INVITATION TO BID PROCUREMENT OF FLUORIDE VARNISH 1.

The Department of Health (DOH), through the General Appropriations Act CY 2017 intends to apply the sum of Three Hundred Forty Two Million One Hundred Sixty Thousand Philippine Pesos (PhP342,160,000.00) for the projects listed below. Bids received in excess of each ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening:

IB No.

Name of Contract

ABC (PHP)

Cost of Bidding Documents (Php)

IB No. 2017264

Procurement of Fluoride Varnish

342,160,000.00

50,000.00

TOTAL

Single Largest Completed Contract At least Twenty Five Percent (25%) of the ABC within the specified period in the Section III. Bid Data Sheet

342,160,000.00

2.

The DOH now invites Bids from eligible Bidders for the procurement of the above-caption projects. Delivery of the Goods as specified in Section VI. Schedule of Requirements. Bidders should have completed, within the specified years from the date of submission and receipt of bids a contracts similar to each of the above-cited procurement projects stated in the Bidding Documents. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

3.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to RA 5183 and subject to Commonwealth Act 138.

4.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from the COBAC Secretariat, G/F, Bldg. 6, Department of Health, San Lazaro Compound, Sta. Cruz, Manila and inspect the Bidding Documents at 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday to Friday.

5.

A complete set of Bidding Documents for each procurement package listed above may be acquired by interested bidders on 13 June 2017 to 04 July 2017 from the address above and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents, pursuant to the latest Guidelines issued by the GPPB Resolution No. 04-2012, dated 24 February 2012, in the amount specified above.

It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the website of the Procuring Entity, provided that Bidders who are interested to participate shall pay the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.

Bidding Documents Fee may be refunded in accordance with the aforementioned Guidelines based on the grounds provided for under Section 41 of 2016 Revised IRR of RA 9184.

6.

The DOH will hold a Pre-Bid Conference and the Submission and Opening of Bids at the COBAC Conference Room, G/F, Building 6, Department of Health, San Lazaro Compound, Rizal Avenue, Sta. Cruz, Manila, which shall be opened to all interested parties on the schedule given below:

Bar27: Manila’s hot new lounge Vizcaya hospital workers go biking

By Khris Marc Ronquillo

THERE’S something about a classy bar that makes kicking back and unwinding an effortless, soothing experience. If that’s your thing, you need to check out Bar27 of the Diamond Hotel along Roxas Boulevard in the City of Manila.

Upon entering, you become hyper aware of the elegant atmosphere exuding from the décor and the interior design.

There is an overall space-age feel, especially with the clever placement of the lights working well with the angled glass windows that overlook the spectacular Manila Bay sunset when you arrive early enough.

The bar is open any day of the week, and their 27 new exciting cocktails and mocktails might just entice you to try them all from sundown to moon-up. The crowd was pleasant and friendly, all of us with the mutual understanding that the night was for enjoying good food, having a good buzz, and listening to chill music. This is what Friday nights are made of.

Activity (Date & Time)

7.

IB No.

Name of Contract

IB No. 2017-264

Procurement of Fluoride Varnish

Pre-bidding Conference 20 June 2017; 10:00 A.M.

Submission and Opening of Bids 04 July 2017; 09:00 A.M.

Bids must Bids must be delivered to the address stated below. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated below:

Form of Bid Security

Amount of Bid Security (Not less than the required percentage of the ABC)

Cash, Cashier’s/manager’s check issued by a Universal or Commercial Bank.

Bank draft/guarantee or irrevocable letter of credit issued by a Universal or Commercial Bank: Provided, however, that it shall be confirmed or authenticated by a Universal or Commercial Bank, if issued by a foreign bank.

Surety bond callable upon demand issued by a surety or insurance company duly certified by the Insurance Commission as authorized to issue such security.

Two percent (2%) Five percent (5%) No percentage required

Bid Securing Declaration

Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.

8.

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

9.

For further information, please refer to: COBAC-C Secretariat Department of Health San Lazaro Compound Sta. Cruz, Manila Tel. Nos. 651-7800 local 1625 to 1627; 1650 to 52 Facsimile No.: 741-9775; 740-6830

(MS-JUNE 12, 2017)

(SGD.) NESTOR F. SANTIAGO, JR, MD, MPHC, MHSA, CESO III Assistant Secretary of Health COBAC - C Chairperson

The Croquettas at Bar27 will help line the stomach of patrons who choose to quench their thirsts with any of the 27 cocktails or ‘mocktails’ available at the 27thfloor lounge of Diamond Hotel Philippines in Manila.

To help you with your choices, the drinks have been grouped according to your mood. Is it Chill, Upbeat, or Party? I tried one of each, first with the flaming AK B27, a mix of sweet and strong liqueurs from the Upbeat column.

It playfully taunts you to consume it in one go, with its colorful clean gradations and gentle blue flame.

It’s sweet, but hits hard and fast.

But I wonder how much harder something called Hangover Delight or the Absolute Knee-bender would be.

As the night went on, the buildings from all around Diamond Hotel signal the beginning of the City of Manila’s night life, in which as of that moment I was at the very top.

My server urged me to try Cool as a Cucumber from the Chill section next. It comes highly recommended and not without good reason. The lime juice and the mint works well with the rum and goes down smooth and refreshing, with a Tropical Caribbean twist.

The drinks go well with the perfect trio of Iberico Bellota, San Daniele Parma ham and

Serrano—known collectively as the Jamon Experience. Together with the creamy smooth Croquetas, it was all indulgent and sophisticated.

Of course, Bar27 understands that sometimes you just got to have your all-time favorites, and for that good old Filipino classics like Crispy Pata and Sisig are available—perfect for those occasions when you are treating out your balikbayan friend who longs for a taste of home.

The live musical entertainment that goes along with the moonrise enhances the friendly ambiance with talented professionals to serenade you and even take your requests.

From the Party selection of drinks, I went for the friendlysounding Tres Marias, providing enough liquid courage to grab the mic on center stage. The Marias, however, convinced me that the night was all about the company around the table, and we drank to that. So, get your cocktails upgraded and experience the night life in the Manila Bay area at Bar 27 of Diamond Hotel Philippines.

By Ben Moses Ebreo BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya—It started with 38 bike enthusiasts from the Veterans Regional Hospital in this town to promote the “Bike for Life,” a program designed to promote healthy lifestyle and longevity.

Dr. Cirilo Galindez, VRH chief, said they launched the project last year with the three-day, 200-kilometer bike ride challenge from San Jose City en route to Central Pangasinan, San Fernando in La Union, and Baguio City back to Nueva Vizcaya via Ambuklao, Benguet and Kayapa, Nueva Vizcaya.

The bikers had a convoy of seven support staff composed of drivers, cooks, and a documentor. They were also supported by a semi-large truck, two pick-up trucks, two sport utility vehicles, and a passenger vehicle.

Before embarking on their route, blessings of the Lord were regularly invoked, followed by a briefing among the participants, Galindez said.

The bikers showed their stamina and perseverance by reaching their neighboring medical centers such as Region 1 Training and Medical Center in Dagupan City, Pangasinan, Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center in San Fernando, La Union, and Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center in Baguio City.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

World IN BRIEF Plane diverted over suspicious conversation BERLIN―A London-bound easyJet flight was diverted to Cologne Saturday evening due to a “suspicious conversation” heard on board, with passengers evacuated on emergency slides and three men arrested, German police said.

The pilot of the flight from the Slovenian capital Ljubljana decided to land after passengers told flight attendants “that several men were talking about terrorist activities,” a police spokesman told AFP, without elaborating on the content of their discussion.

After the plane landed in a secure area of Cologne-Bonn airport at about 6:00 pm (1600 GMT), federal police evacuated the 151 passengers down emergency slides.

They isolated a backpack belonging to the three suspects, which was blown up by bomb squad officers.

The three men were handed over to police in Cologne, but no details were provided on the contents of their baggage or the reality of the threat.

Air traffic at the airport was interrupted between 7:00 pm and 10:00 pm with 10 flights diverted and 20 departures delayed.

Cologne police searched the plane using sniffer dogs.

In a statement, the airline said the captain had diverted flight EZY3246 “as a precaution to enable the aircraft to go through additional security checks in Cologne”.

“In compliance with the local authorities’ guidance, passengers disembarked to allow additional security checks to be performed.”

Easyjet said the flight would take off Sunday after passengers had been provided with overnight hotel accommodation.

“The safety of easyJet’s passengers and crew is our highest priority,” it said.

Germany remains on high alert following several jihadist attacks there and in other European countries. AFP

Qatar says Gulf residents free to stay DOHA-Qatar has said citizens of states that have cut ties with the emirate will be allowed to stay in the country despite the measures against its own nationals.

A statement carried on state media said Doha would “not take any measures against residents of Qatar who hold the nationalities of countries that severed diplomatic ties or lowered diplomatic representations with the state of Qatar, on the back of hostile and tendentious campaigns against the country”.

It said Qatar was acting in “accordance with its firm beliefs and principles”.

The decision will affect more than 11,000 people from the Gulf states of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain alone, according to official figures.

Saudi Arabia and allies including the UAE and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting extremism.

As well as cutting air, sea and land links with Qatar, the countries ordered its citizens to leave within 14 days.

Amnesty International has said that the Gulf states opposed to Qatar were “toying” with people.

‘For potentially thousands of people across the Gulf, the effect of the steps imposed in the wake of this political dispute is suffering, heartbreak and fear,” the human rights group claimed.

Figures from Doha’s National Human Rights Committee show that 8,254 Saudi residents live in Qatar.

There are 2,349 Bahrainis and 784 Emiratis in the country. AFP

MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017

C3

Back on trial for Balkan wars T HE HAGUE―Two former Serbian intelligence chiefs go back on trial before UN judges on Tuesday, accused of running death squads that terrorized Bosnia and Croatia in the 1990s Balkans wars.

FESTIVAL. Tricia Helfer attends the closing night reunion panel of Battlestar Galactica presented by Entertainment Weekly and SYFY during the ATX Television Festival on June 10, 2017 in Austin, Texas. AFP

Jovica Stanisic, 66, and Franko Simatovic, 67, were initially acquitted in 2013 of four charges of crimes against humanity and one charge of war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

But their acquittal, which triggered a storm of protest, was overturned two years later after the prosecution appealed.

The two men were ordered to return to the tribunal in The Hague to face a retrial on the same charges.

Stanisic, the former head of Serbia’s old state security service and a key figure in the regime of Slobodan Milosevic, and his deputy Simatovic now stand accused once again of organizing, financing and supplying paramilitary groups.

These groups cut a swathe of terror and destruction across Croatia and Bosnia during the conflicts that erupted amid the collapse of Yugoslavia.

They included an elite unit dubbed the “Red Berets” and the feared paramilitary outfit run

by Zeljko “Arkan” Raznatovic, called “Arkan’s Tigers”.

The death squads attacked towns and murdered Croats, Muslims and other non-Serbs to force them out of large areas, seeking to establish a Serb-run state, prosecutors alleged, as they called for life sentences for both men in the original trial which opened in 2008.

UN prosecutors maintain that Stanisic and Simatovic were part of a joint criminal enterprise that included the late Serbian president Milosevic and Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic.

An estimated 100,000 people died in the Bosnian conflict,

which saw some of the worst atrocities in Europe since World War II, and during which 2.2 million people were forced from their homes.

The indictment alleges the joint criminal enterprise began “no later than April 1991 and continued until at least 31 December 1995” with the aim of “the forcible and permanent removal of the majority of non-Serbs from large areas in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina”.

But the ICTY’s trial judges said in May 2013 that although the Serbian units carried out the killings, Stanisic and Simatovic could not be held criminally responsible as they did not give the units specific orders to commit the crimes.

The trial judges also said there was not enough evidence linking the men to a joint criminal enterprise.

In a rare turnabout however, that judgment was quashed on appeal by the prosecution in December 2015, when the appeals court found that the trial judges had “erred” on several points of law.

Court officials said it was only the second time in the court’s 23year history that an acquittal had been overturned on appeal.

With the ICTY due to shut its doors at the end of 2017, the retrial is now being heard by a different UN tribunal wrapping up outstanding cases.

Stanisic and Simatovic, who were both granted temporary release pending the new trial, are now back behind bars having returned to the UN detention centre in The Hague on May 30.

They are among the last top Balkans officials still being held in The Hague. AFP

Tired Mosul mothers unable to breastfeed 5KHAZIR, Iraq―Wazira rocks her tiny baby pleadingly but he is inconsolable, crying for the milk his mother can neither produce herself nor buy in a camp near the Iraqi battleground city of Mosul.

“He’s been crying since the moment he was born. He only stops when he’s so exhausted that he falls asleep,” the 24-year-old Iraqi mother said, sheltering her baby Rakan from the scorching sun with a piece of white cloth.

“I cannot breastfeed him and I feel he’s never satisfied. There’s no good food to eat and no money to buy baby formula,” she said, sitting outside one of the clinics in Khazir camp.

The camp southeast of Mosul, where Iraqi forces are deep into the eighth month of a massive operation against the Islamic State jihadist group, is crammed with around 32,000 people displaced from the war-torn city.

Conditions in Khazir, one of the largest―but not the worst―displacement camps around Mosul are difficult. Temperatures soaring past the 110-Fahrenheit (43-Celsius) mark add to Rakan’s discomfort.

“Sometimes I pound the biscuits they give us at the camp into powder and mix them with water to try to feed him by force,” said the young mother, her face partly covered by a black veil.

A few yards down the queue, Marwa is also waiting for her turn to take her eight-month-old daughter to a doctor.

The 25-year-old mother, who fled west Mosul with her family two weeks earlier, already had no maternal milk to give Maryam five months ago.

“These past few months made me very tired, we kept moving from house to house until we finally managed to get out,” she said. “I was sick and couldn’t feed her anymore.”

As elite forces retake the city one neighborhood at a time, civilians often used as human shields by the jihadists stay cooped up in

their homes―at risk from shelling and dwindling food supplies-until their area is retaken.

The line of haggard-looking mothers holding their wailing babies curled around the clinic run by the International Medical Corps, a US-based charity.

Neshmeel Diller, one of the doctors at the clinic, said she examined up to 80 women in a single day.

“Seventy percent of them complain of their inability to breastfeed and of their children always being hungry and crying all the time,” she said.

“The psychological condition of these mothers and the hormonal changes caused by anxiety and de-

pression, the lack of privacy and physical comfort as well as of balanced nutrition... all these factors converge to affect their ability to breastfeed,” Diller said.

She added that the pressure of life in the camp often meant that mothers would lose the patience to repeat their attempts.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF), another medical charity, said it was also monitoring the impact of high lactation failure rates on nutrition among the displaced child population.

More than 800,000 people have been forced from their homes since the start of the Mosul operation last October. AFP

Citizenship of French dual national dissident revoked HANOI―Vietnam has stripped a French-Vietnamese former political prisoner and mathematics lecturer of his citizenship, according to an official letter seen by AFP. Pham Minh Hoang, 62, who has dual nationality, was sentenced to three years in jail for attempted subversion in 2011, but was released after 17 months and ordered to serve three years’ house arrest.

He was convicted for writing a series of articles under the pen name Phan Kien Quoc that prosecutors said tarnished the country’s image and were aimed at overthrowing the government.

Hoang told AFP he had continued to publish “peaceful” articles on social media that were critical of the government since his release from prison.

He received a copy of the stamped letter from President Tran Dai Quang confirming the “removal of Vietnamese citizenship”, according to the document dated May 17.

Revoking his citizenship effectively renders his status illegal in Vietnam.

According to the letter, the decision was based on article 88 of the criminal code, which criminalizes propaganda against the state, and article 91, which outlaws moving

abroad with a view to oppose the government.

“I am very upset and I’m waiting, I’m waiting to be expelled,” an emotional Hoang told AFP over the phone Sunday.

He said he received a copy of the letter on Saturday, and was surprised not to find a clear explanation for the decision.

“I am living in a country that is very unlawful, they can do anything,” he said.

Vietnamese officials did not respond to a request for comment on the issue.

Hoang vowed to appeal the decision, and has sent a letter to the French embassy in Vietnam expressing his wish to revoke his French nationality, which he hopes could force the Vietnamese government to reverse its decision.

The French embassy in Hanoi declined to comment.

Hoang said he must stay in Vietnam to care for his disabled older brother and his wife’s elderly mother.

He went to France in 1973 but returned after 27 years to settle in Vietnam, where he worked as a mathematics lecturer at the Polytechnic University of Ho Chi Minh City. AFP

GALA. TV personality Kat Von D arrives for Sea Shepherd’s 40th Anniversary Gala for the Oceans at Montage Beverly Hills on June 10, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California. AFP

Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

C4

MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017

World

FESTIVAL. Gigi Gorgeous is onstage at the LA Pride Music Festival and Parade 2017 on June 10, 2017 in West Hollywood, California. AFP

Farmers call to return home MAIDUGURI, Nigeria―Farmers and fishermen displaced by Boko Haram violence in northeast Nigeria want to return home, saying it will help ease chronic food shortages for the remote region’s starving millions.

Subsistence agriculture is a lifeline in the northeast but the eight-year Islamist insurgency has devastated activities, causing a desperate lack of food and sky-high prices.

Many farmers and fishermen have either been killed or fled to camps for the displaced, where they are dependent on food aid, or to live with friends and distant relatives.

Aid agencies say a severe funding shortfall is affecting feeding programs, despite high levels of severe acute malnutrition and repeated warnings that famine is a possibility.

The head of the Lake Chad fishermen’s union, Labbo Tahir, said: “No amount of food aid can adequately feed us.

“The only way out of this unending starvation is for us to return home, grow our own food and rebuild our lives,” he told AFP. Ibrahim Mammadu used to grow rice and other crops but now works as a labourer on a tomato field near the Borno state capital Maiduguri for $13 (11.6 euros) a month.

The money is hardly enough to feed his family of five for a week.

“If only I can return to my farm my hardship would be over and within a year I can grow enough food for my family,” said the 35-year-old.

“This is the only way I can end my dependency and poverty because farming is all I know.”

The freshwaters of Lake Chad and its fertile shores have made northern Borno the state’s food basket.

Government statistics say three districts on the Nigerian side of the lake -- Marte, Kukawa and Ngala -- provided a quarter of the country’s annual wheat production of 90,000 tonnes in 2014.

The Fisheries Society of Nigeria says some 300,000 tonnes of fish caught in the region represents about 12 percent of fish consumed nationwide.

But Lake Chad is currently a Boko Haram hotspot and economic activity has ground to a halt. A sales ban has exacerbated losses, as the military fears profits are funding insurgent activities. AFP

‘Comey boosted obstruction case’ WASHINGTON―Former FBI director James Comey’s scathing testimony has boosted the case for obstruction of justice charges against President Donald Trump, legal experts say.

But more evidence is needed to prove that the president attempted to stymie the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, which has several Trump campaign aides in its cross-hairs.

With stronger evidence, Trump could face the same sort of criminal allegations that forced president Richard Nixon to resign in 1973, and saw Bill Clinton impeached by the House of Representatives but survive a Senate trial in 1998-99.

Legal analysts assume that former FBI director Robert Mueller, the independent special counsel in charge of the Russia probe, has now branched out to see whether Trump has interfered in any illegal way.

Comey’s testimony Thursday to the Senate Intelligence Committee was “a pretty powerful statement” in support of an obstruction investigation, said Harvard University law professor Mark Tushnet, a legal history expert.

What Comey said about his private February meeting with Trump, and Trump’s firing of him on May 9, “gives good reason for the special prosecutor to be pretty aggressive.”

On Friday an angry Trump said Comey “lied” and that he was “100 percent” prepared to be interviewed by Mueller in any probe.

The first challenge is the word “hope.” Comey said that in their February 14 meeting Trump expressed “hope” that the FBI

would drop its probe into former national security adviser Michael Flynn over Flynn’s contacts with Russian officials.

Comey said he took that as a presidential command. “I mean, this is the president of the United States, with me alone,” Comey said, noting Trump had sent all his staff out of the room before the discussion.

“When it comes from the president, I took it as a direction.”

Asked if he saw it as an “order,” Comey replied “yes.”

Comey said he believed he was fired because of the Russia probe, which has moved steadily closer to the White House, with investigators examining Trump’s sonin-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner.

“I take the president at his word, that I was fired because of the Russia investigation,” he said, referring to a statement by Trump in an NBC interview. “Something about the way I was conducting it, the president felt, created pressure on him that he wanted to relieve.”

Given Comey’s reputation as a methodical, ultra-cautious investigator, the testimony was damning, said a Washington lawyer who served in a top position in a prior administration.

“It’s going to get investigated.

If I’m Trump’s lawyer, I now know that the obstruction file is open in the special counsel’s office,” he said, asking not to be identified.

“The question is going to be whether they find evidence of intent.”

That could come from any of several corners. Mueller will likely seek to determine whether anyone on the White House staff discussed what Trump was going to say to, or do with, Comey. AFP

Attorney General Sessions next in scandal’s spotlight W

ASHINGTON― Jeff Sessions, a longtime senator until President Donald Trump picked him as US attorney general, heads to Congress this coming week when he will face a grilling about his Russian interactions.

ONSTAGE. Freddy Pomee, Sierra Brogmus, Julianna Revilla and Isaiah Morgan of KIDZ BOP perform at The KIDZ BOP Kids “Best Time Ever” Tour At The Greek Theater LA on June 10, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. AFP

Puerto Ricans to vote on US relationship SAN JUAN―To become a true US state, to choose independence or to maintain the status quo: Puerto Ricans will on Sunday mull their political future in a non-binding referendum many have vowed to boycott.

The Spanish-speaking US territory’s referendum proposes “the immediate decolonization of Puerto Rico”―just as the bankrupt island is drowning in $70 billion of debt.

Its young governor, Ricardo Rossello, said that regardless of the crisis the referendum could not wait, repeating over the past several days in interviews and on Twitter that “the moment to vote for the decolonization has arrived!”

Rossello, 38, came to power in January on the promise that he would work to end a long “colonial” relationship with the United States and make the island the 51st state.

The question of status is “fundamental” to breaking free from economic turmoil, said Christian Sobrino, chief economic adviser to the government.

“It is because Puerto Rico is in an unequal

relationship” with the US government that the bankrupt island’s finances are now under a largely US-appointed control board, he told AFP. A former Spanish colony taken over by the US at the end of the 19th century, Puerto Rico has enjoyed broad political autonomy since 1952 as a commonwealth or “free associated state”.

As American citizens, often proudly so, Puerto Ricans can freely enter the US―but don’t have the right to vote for US presidents or elect representatives to Congress, even though US lawmakers have the ultimate say over the territory’s affairs.

Many Puerto Ricans attribute the malaise plaguing the island to Washington’s power over them.

For decades the territory enjoyed a US federal tax exemption that attracted many American companies to set up shop―but those breaks were ended in 2006, prompting firms to leave the island en masse.

Beaten down by that loss in revenues and

the global financial crisis, the island plunged into recession.

But the so-called “Caribbean Greece” found easy relief in US municipal bond markets, where investors could get attractive tax-exempt bonds that provided ready cash but sank the island deeper into debt.

The bubble ultimately popped and, unable to repay creditors, Puerto Rico declared bankruptcy in early May―the largest ever by a local US government.

Rossello has launched a drastic austerity regime to restore finances, but Washington still has the last word, via its oversight board.

Many islanders see the US authority as an intolerable stranglehold, especially considering that President Donald Trump has several times argued against bailing out the distant territory.

And putting on a largely ceremonial yet costly referendum―the fifth since the 1960s―when the government’s coffers sit empty has those opposed to statehood up in arms. AFP

Sessions, among the earliest highprofile backers of Trump’s election campaign, appears before his former colleagues Tuesday, days after explosive testimony by ousted FBI director James Comey, whose removal he recommended.

Concerns have been raised about whether Sessions helped otherwise subvert the ongoing Russia-related investigations.

“This is going to prompt a lot of questions for him,” the panel’s top Democrat, Senator Patrick Leahy, told AFP of an appearance in which lawmakers will be eager to learn what role Sessions played in Comey’s firing last month.

The Senate Appropriations Committee had called in the attorney general to testify about budget issues. But on Saturday, after senators made clear they would zero in on Sessions’s connections to Russia, Sessions shifted his plan, opting to address the Senate Intelligence Committee.

“In light of reports regarding Mr Comey’s recent testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, it is important that I have an opportunity to address these matters,” Sessions said in a letter announcing the change.

The intelligence panel “is the most appropriate forum for such matters, as it has been conducting an investigation and has access to relevant, classified information,” he added.

With reports circulating that Trump had been clashing with his attorney general, and that Sessions had offered to resign, the White House on Tuesday declined to say whether the president maintained confidence in Sessions.

And in a stunning moment of insidethe-Beltway intrigue, Comey dropped a bombshell about why he and other top FBI officials concluded that the attorney general was going to recuse himself from the probe.

“We also were aware of facts that I can’t discuss in an open setting that would make his continued engagement in a Russia-related investigation problematic,” Comey said. AFP

Life

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com

FOOD

MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017

D1

Mother’s Garden:

A WARM HUG in CHILLY BAGUIO CITY Text and photos by Bernadette Lunas

W

ITH fork and knife in both hands, freshly picked garden salad—so colorful Instagram filter’s unnecessary—on the table, and the sound of chirping birds in the background, it’s so easy to lose track of time at Mother’s Garden.

That’s the point of this quaint restaurant sitting on top of Quezon Hill in Baguio City, really, to offer guests a quiet, relaxing spot where they can enjoy the cool breeze of the City of Pines while partaking of fresh, organic food, not worrying about time or problems or responsibilities.

Mother’s Garden is garden-cum-restaurant founded by executive chef Therese Jison in 2009 on the 2,000-square meter land she inherited from her parents. But before she started offering food in the property, it first served as a place for her hobby: planting.

“The climate in Baguio is very good for planting. Temporarily it just became sort of a garden for me,” Jison, who comes from a family of planters, shares.

She put up a little day cottage, grew different kinds of vegetables, and raised farm animals such as pigs, chickens,

and ducks. “It was my little piece of paradise on earth,” muses Jison.

A few months and several curious visitors later, Jison finally decided to put up a restaurant where she could show off skills she learned from taking special courses at the Culinary Institute of America and Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and using, of course, the produce and meats sourced from her garden, and some from the farm of her gardener Roy in upper Benguet.

Mother’s Garden serves dishes made of organic produce (vegetables, fruits, and herbs) and meats (except for the beef) grown and raised using biodynamic techniques such as permaculture.

Dr. Jose Balaoing is the main man who helped Jison with organic farming.

The garden uses natural ways to clean and control pests. And it also practices zero-waste policy: kitchen water and

rainwater are used to water plants and clean animal pens, any vegetables and fruits not consumed are either composted or fed to the animals. Hence, diners are assured that the Garden Salad or Lentil Soup they order is truly fresh, the sausages are made from organically grown pig, and no amount of pesticide and preservatives come on their plate. “[By] growing it slowly, I’m sure I’m not killing my customers. I’m helping my customers be healthy,” enthuses Jison.

Mother’s Garden specializes in Asian, Italian, and French cuisines, based from the executive chef/proprietress’s 39 years of experience, which includes cooking on boats she owned. Dishes are served in the casual dining area and in the reservation-only formal dining area on the second floor.

Diners can order set menus of imported seafood, homegrown poultry,

Mother’s Garden founder Executive Chef Therese Jison shows some of the produce organically grown in her 2,000-square meter garden-cum-restaurant in Baguio City

Animals in the garden co-exist as pigs, chickens, and even rabbits are kept in one place

lamb, and Angus beef. Main courses are served with appetizers, organic salad, soup, and a dessert of homemade

Mother’s Garden and Restaurant serves dishes made of organic produce and meats grown using biodynamic techniques

ice cream, cake or fresh fruits. Wines, which are organic too, may be served upon request.

The thing about organic and slowcooked food, Jison points out, is that they are bursting with flavor. The vegetables have a distinct crunch in them; the fruits are sweet; and the meats, which are aged, are tender and juicy.

The restaurant changes its menu three times a year according to what’s locally available during the cold and wet season (July to October), cold and dry season (November to February) and summer season (March to June).

As part of her advocacy to help the hospitality industry in Baguio City, Jison Turn to D2

Everything you need for barbecue party GATHER your family and friends for some much-needed respite. Rustan’s Supermarket makes it effortless for you with all the essentials you’ll need from food to spices, supplies, and some great tips to put together that awesome barbecue party.

Give your guests options for snacks and appetizers. Prepare some tortilla or nacho chips, vegetables and chicken for kebobs, shrimp for skewers or corn for grilled corn on a cob.

Add something extra by choosing condiments like Caramba Habanero Extra Hot Sauce, Caramba Chili Rojo Hot Sauce, a Caramba Chili Verde hot sauce, Germanos Chili Sauce Olive Oil, or Cholimex Natural Chili Sauce. Cheese will always be a rich addition to your spread, so why not try making a dip out of Rustan’s Supermarket’s Roquefort, one of the world’s finest blue cheeses. When there are kids around, bring out the French fries alongside Del Monte Ketchup and Heinz Ketchup.

Have some hearty main courses. You can opt for succulent and tender Baby Back Ribs, Classic Burgers, or Steaks. Take your pick of premium cuts of beef and a wide selection of marinades you can cook them in. Go classic with a Mama Sita BBQ Mix, which you can even combine with Lea & Perrin’s Worcestershire Sauce to cut through the sweetness of barbecue sauce. Worcestershire sauce is also great for classic grilled steaks.

Be more adventurous by spicing up your array of meat with Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce, Tabasco Pepper Sauce or Tabasco Garlic Sauce. Do a Filipino twist on pork barbecue skewers by using UFC Ketchup in your marinade. You can also serve juicy grilled chicken made with Nandos Med Periperi Sauce.

Drink up. For beverages, you can make your own juices or smoothies with fresh fruits like mangoes or watermelons. Check out this month’s featured fresh fruits. You can also choose from a number of chilled juices and even your choice of flavored or craft beers, which are great barbecue matches. But why not make it a bit fancy and grab a bottle or two of white or red wine from Rustan’s Supermarket’s wide collection like this month’s pick the fruity

Citra Moscardello Moscato.

Don’t forget dessert. Try out refreshing desserts like the Navel Orange and Tarragon Paletas, tangy popsicles. Check out www.rustansfresh.com/easy-as-pie for more great ideas on recipes like these that are easy as pie. All year round in the Philippines is the best time for ice cream. Check out your favorite ice cream selections, like Ben & Jerry’s, Tillamook, Haagen-Dazs, Klondike, and more.

Rustan’s Supermarkets are located in Makati Area: Glorietta, Greenbelt 1, Paseo de Magallanes, Alphaland Makati Place, Paseo Center, Century City Mall. North Area: Shangri-La Plaza, Gateway Mall, Katipunan, Tomas Morato, P. Guevarra, Corinthian Hills, Village Center Antipolo, The Grove by Rockwell, Ayala Malls The 30th. South Area: Ayala Alabang Village, Evia Lifestyle Center, Uptown Mall BGC. Cebu: Oakridge Business Park, Ayala Center, Arcenas Estate CDO: Ayala Centrio Mall. Also, visit Marketplace by Rustan’s at San Antonio Plaza, Rockwell Power Plant Mall and Central Square Bonifacio High Street.

Rustan’s Supermarket offers products that let you prepare the best barbecue party

King Sue Bacon is an ideal meat base for a variety of dishes

Easy, breezy

staycation tips FROM family bonding activities to cookfests with friends, King Sue has some suggestions for a cool summer staycation that’s breezy and stress-free.

Prepare an afternoon potluck party.

Dress up your garden and schedule a mouthwatering kind of meet up with friends. King Sue suggests snacks that are easy to prepare.

A refreshing Mango Sausage Salsa Wrap is a great start. Since it’s summer, get fresh mangoes from the market and dice them, along with ripe tomatoes and grilled King Sue German Franks or King Sue Hungarian Style Sausage. Arrange everything in toasted tortillas for a sweet and savory Southwestern wrap.

Go out and be green. Visit a plant shop and purchase some herbs for your pocket garden or if you want a low maintenance hobby this summer, seek out some succulents and learn to grow them. Who

knows, you might even use these herbs for a Mayo-free Potato Salad.

Check out the supermarket for baby potatoes, plain yoghurt, sour cream, chopped celery, olives, chopped celery, scallions, quail eggs (sliced in half) and lemon juice. Boil, and quarter the potatoes and toss in everything. The star of the salad bowl is cooked King Sue Chorizo Bilbao. Chill and sprinkle some grated cheese and chopped parsley.

Camp out. Check out your friends’ backyards and decide which one is perfect for a campfire night. Purchase some chips and refreshing drinks and forget the King Sue Old English Pork Sausage that will be perfect to skewer with marshmallows over bonfire.

Check out www.kingsue.com for more staycation ideas and recipes perfect for summer and other seasons.

Life

D2

MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017 isahred@gmail.com

Making Marco Polo proud THE JOYCE OF EATING JOYCE BABE PAÑARES

T

HE Venetian merchant Marco Polo, who explored the Silk Road for two decades starting in 1271, would probably be thrilled to know that a hotel named after him is offering some of the finest Italian and Chinese dishes.

The intrepid traveller would have appreciated such an “east meets west” set-up that puts a premium on authenticity.

Take the dragon fruit with sweetened bird’s nest, a creation of Chef Lai Cheuk Kou of Lung Hin, Marco Polo Ortigas’ contemporary Chinese restaurant. A subtle dessert with contrasting textures, the bird’s nest – a Chinese delicacy prized for its health benefits (boosts the immune system and acts as an aphrodisiac) – blends well with the slightly tangy flavor of the dragon fruit.

It is one of several dishes prepared by Chef Lai which reflect his Cantonese culinary experience – having served in several well-known restaurants in the mainland and in Hong Kong for the past 36 years.

The dishes, he said, are perfect for the summer season in China, and in a way, perfect for what feels like a perpetually hot weather in the country.

Start with an appetizer combination of steamed diced pumpkin, marinated cucumber with wasabi and vinegar, blanched jellyfish, and salt-baked chicken. His main dishes include cheese-baked tiger prawns served on a pizza bed; pan-fried diced beef cubes; double-boiled duck soup with goji berry seeds; steamed garoupa with cordyceps; wok-fried vegetables; and

There is no shortage of food choices at Marco Polo Ortigas, from authentic Cantonese cuisine to Italian dishes with innovative twists: (clockwise) burrata cheese with tomatoes and Parma ham, Wagyu beef cheek with barolo sauce; steamed garoupa with cordyceps; cheese-baked tiger prawns, and dragon fruit with sweetened bird’s nest.

Macau-style seafood fried rice.

Goji berry seeds and cordyceps, in particular, are known for their health benefits. Goji berry is considered as a kind of super food packed with antioxidants while cordycep mushroom increases blood flow to the liver and other organs and improves overall oxygen use. Chef Lai then achieves a balanced menu by making use of healthy and top seasonal ingredients without sacrificing taste (and presentation, for that matter).

Over at Marco Polo’s buffet restaurant

Cucina, Italian Chef Andrea Delzanno, who flew in from Hong Kong, completed the east-meets-west gastronomic experience.

The chef treated guests to Mediterranean feasts from June 7 to 11, with a decadent selection of antipasti such as Parma ham and melon as well as tomato and mozzarella caprese; roasted lamb rack with garlic and herbs; stewed chicken cooked cacciatore-style (hunter-style with onions, herbs, tomatoes and wine); risotto with mushrooms; and

Horizon Café

Horizon Cafe offers new ala carte choices such as beef roll

gang and lechon kawali, to name a few.

With an unobstructed 180-degree view of the horizon opening to Iloilo City and Guimaras and a spectacular sunset, guests can enjoy happy hour with Horizon Café’s selection of cocktails, wines and drinks.

Horizon Café’s new daily offerings, remarkable views, and brand of hospitality bring all-day dining to a new level in Iloilo City.

IS YOUR birthday coming up, and no money to spend? Well, don’t worry because your compadres at Jose Cuervo are here to make sure that even on a tight budget, you can still make the most out of your name day.

One of the best qualities of Mexican culture and cuisine is the ability to make the most of everything. And no other dish defines the can-do spirit of Mexican culture than Puerco Pibil, a simple, slow roasted pork dish. Start off your birthday right with this incredible recipe featuring Jose Cuervo Especial Silver.

B ITES

Wine flights and Spanish ‘tapas’ at Pacific Lounge PAN PACIFIC MANILA brings back the artistic flair in “Wine Flights and Tapas” at their panoramic rooftop restaudining with a special wine and food pairing experience rant, Pacific Lounge on June 14 at 6 p.m. onwards. Explore the world of aromas and how certain flavors can complement each other to highlight the wines for only P2,000 net per person.

Wine Flights and Tapas at Pacific Lounge showcases a flight of five premium red, rose, white wines from Titania Wines Cellar Inc. each paired with a small, delectable bite. Savory Spanish tapas selection menu includes Spanish Oyster Cocktail, Callos a la Madrileña, Pizza Band section, Crema Catalan and more paired with Viña Albali Verdejo, Viña Albali Tempranillo, Musso Chardonnay, Musso Tempranillo, and Duet Rose. This tasting experience is an ideal way to entice experienced foodies to explore new and exciting pairings. Food and wine pairing novices receive the opportunity to learn how to create their own matches.

Pacific Lounge is located at 21st floor, Pan Pacific Manila, M. Adriatico cor. Gen Malvar Sts. Malate , Manila.

For inquiries and reservations, email fb.ppmnl@panpacific.com or speak with us at 318-0788.

Mother’s Garden...

From D1 trains underprivileged youth to become fine cooks and service-oriented waiters and butlers, as well as organic farmers.

Retired hotelier, Heinrich Maulbecker, helps in training the restaurant staff.

Jison is a mother in every sense of

color contrasting well with beef.

And if, after partaking of either the Chinese a la carte or the Italian station at the buffet, you suddenly feel like walking down Mediterranean cobblestones or climbing the Great Wall, tip your hat to the pioneering traveller who was Marco Polo. You may not reach yet the places he had been to, but you can always be an explorer of food.

For feedback, send comments to joyce.panares@gmail.com

Low-budget Mexicanthemed birthday gigs

offers an all-day dining experience THERE is something new at the Horizon.

Located on the topmost floor of Injap Tower Hotel, the tallest building in the whole of Western Visayas, Horizon Café on the 21st floor has a new all-day dining concept for both hotel guests and visitors who simply want to indulge in good food.

For starters, Horizon Café hypes on its new breakfast buffet options, with emphasis on its fluffy pancakes and barako coffee, among other morning staples to start the day with a hearty meal.

Moreover, a la carte lunch and dinner choices range from different comfort food, which are all familiar to the Filipino palette.

The selection includes different kinds of sandwich boards; the famous Horizon Burger which uses sirloin ground beef in its home-made patty; all-time classics such as buffalo wings, onion rings, and pastas; and Filipino favorites such as sini-

penne black truffle cream sauce.

Delzanno, who trained with chefs of Michelin-starred restaurants at the young age of 20, from Italy to New York, all the way to Asia, was playful enough to introduce innovative twists in his dishes while paying homage to centuries-old traditions of Italian cuisine. His slow-cooked Wagyu beef cheek, for example, was paired with barolo (reduced red wine) sauce and pumpkin puree. It was served with violet cauliflower – a pleasant surprise with its bold, vibrant

the word: to her customers, 78 percent of which are repeats who come back “again and again looking for an excuse to get the relaxed atmosphere,” and to her trainees who bloom into confident hospitality professionals.

And the place itself is like a mother waiting for her weary children, ready with a big hug of sumptuous food and

relaxing surroundings filled with roses and birds and friendly dogs.

Mother’s Garden is located on Upper Fairview Road, Quezon Hill Proper, Baguio City. For inquiries and reservations, call (074) 424-3702, 0917-8693623 or 0921-9776027. For more information, go to Mother’s Garden and Restaurant on Facebook.

Puerco Pibil with Jose Cuervo Especial Reposado: Ingredients: 3 tablespoons achiote powder 1 teaspoon cumin powder 2 tablespoons black pepper ground Pinch of white clover powder 4 tablespoons allspice 2 habanero peppers, minced ½ cup orange juice ½ cup white vinegar 8 cloves of garlic, minced 2 tablespoons salt 5 lemons 2 shots Jose Cuervo ® Especial Silver 5 lbs kasim (pork butt) Banana leaves (optional) Preparation: Combine achiote powder, cumin, cloves, allspice and peppercorn into a powder.

Mince habanero peppers. Keep seeds in accordance to personal spice level.

The more seeds, the spicier!

Add spice mix, vinegar, orange juice, salt, and garlic in a blender on high for

45 seconds.

Add Jose Cuervo ® Especial Reposado and Tequila into the mix and blend for an additional 30-60 seconds. Set mix aside.

Cut pork into 2 inch cubes and place into a large ziplock bag and pour mix over the pork. Be sure to mix the bag in order to evenly spread the mix. Set aside and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Cooking: Cover a banking pan with banana leaves or aluminium foil.

Pour pork and mix into the pan.

Cover with more banana leaves and then cover with foil. Wrap the foil around the pan to ensure that steam does not escape.

Over bake at 325° F for 4 hours.

And just like that, you’ve got your birthday dinner. Serve over a hot bed of rice and this incredible margarita mix featuring Jose Cuervo® Especial Sliver.

Classic Jose Cuervo Margarita: Ingredients: 1 oz. Jose Cuervo Especial Silver 3 oz. Jose Cuervo Lime Margarita Mix 1 teaspoon salt 1 wedge of lime Preparation: Chill a glass for an hour and rub the rim of the glass with half a lime.

Dip rim into salt for coating.

Combine Jose Cuervo Especial Silver and Jose Cuervo Lime Margarita Mix into a shaker with ice. Shake well.

Strain into a glass. Garnish with lime wedge and serve.

MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017

Kris Bernal finds intimate scenes challenging THE numerous love scenes in the remake of Impostora, one of the top-rating drama series in 2007 that starred Sunshine Dizon and Iza Calzado posed a big challenge to Kris Bernal.

“As far as I can remember, I have six,” she says.

“But after reading the entire script, I knew right away that there will be many intimate scenes and that they are vital to the story.”

Known for sporting a sweet image for the longest time, was it easy for her to breathe life to the character?

“Initially, I felt awkward. I guess it’s understandable since it’s something new for me. But I consider it as a challenge and as I mentioned earlier, it’s integral to the story so I will just do it.”

How daring is she in this reboot?

“Well, for one, my role here is an excellent smoker.

I was nervous thinking how I can do that onscreen convincingly. Then, I should be very courageous or brave. It’s truly challenging,” Kris avers.

Many are curious if the reboot is completely faithful to the original show.

“Actually, there’s a huge twist in this new version.

Of course, the dual characters of Nimfa and Rosette are there, with the former wearing prosthetics. But the plot revolves on the family more, particularly on the married couple. The remake is more dramatic and definitely offers various fresh elements that will surely delight the viewers.”

Speaking of her two characters, Kris reveals it’s not easy portraying them. In fact, she had meticulous preparations for the part. “I really sat down to list all the nuances that each should possess. I watched the original to take some pointers and I must say that Sunshine and Iza were splendid. They gave electrifying performances. Personally, I like the role of Rosette better because she is the villain. I’ve never played a bad character yet so it’s something challenging and a test to my acting skills.

“The hard part is that as Rosette, I hurt Nimfa in many scenes and I’m playing both characters. So you can just imagine how I painstakingly do each scene when the two characters interact. I shoot separately and it’s difficult since I don’t get any emotions back.

But that’s the challenge there, right?”

Wearing prosthetics is also not easy.

“Imagine, the preparation takes about two hours. I should be on the set very much ahead of the official call time. It is being put and removed from my face in different sequences every taping day so there is inconvenience on my part. But as I’ve said, it is part of the task so just do it.”

The petite lass is supported by a talented cast in her latest offering.

“I’m proud and glad because GMA gave me wonderful and highly-competent co-stars who motivate and bring out the best in me in delineating such difficult roles. Ryan Eigenmann and Rafael Rosell are my two leading men in the program. Also rendering strong support are Assunta de Rossi, Aicelle Santos, Vanes del Moral, Simon Loresca, and Elizabeth Oropesa,” ends Kris. ******** Janine Gutierrez nixes reports that she and Rayver Cruz are presently making beautiful music together.

“For the record, we’re not into a romantic relationship! But I won’t deny that occasionally, Rayver and I go out with our common friends. Like one time, we visited the mother of one of my friends who got hospitalized. But that’s just it,” she states.

Interestingly, almost everyone likes for her and Rayver to eventually become sweethearts.

“That’s nice, but at this point, my career remains to be on top of my priorities. Because of my busy work schedule, I rarely have time for socials. But let’s see…”

Is she ready to fall in love again?

“That’s one thing that you can’t plan. Perhaps, I’ll cross the bridge when I get there? Ha-ha-ha!”

Many ask what positive characteristics Rayver possesses that she likes.

“Well, he’s okay, a very kind guy. He’s also funny.

There’s no dull moment with him,” reveals Janine.

T

WENTY-TWO beauties from different provinces were selected as official candidates of the Miss Global Philippines 2017 search. Miss Global Philippines, now on its third year, is unique with single women and single mothers compete at the same pageant and one title.

Reigning Miss Global Philippines Camille Hirro, who was 1st runner up in Miss Global 2016, will relinquish her crown to her successor. Vying for the title to be known during the grand coronation night on July 9 at Resorts World Manila are Sharmaine Rose Magdasoc (Pasig), Aisha Sahid (Batangas), Rowena Sasuluya (Bulacan), Dheza Rose Asis (Isabela), Sheena Mae Adricula (Antique), Joana Marie Verdeflor (Iriga), Maria Frencheska Nueva (Pasay) Fina Jallene Gulapa (Sto. Tomas, Pampanga), Andrea Delgado (Naga), Crisha Buen (Cainta, Rizal), Sharmaine Aller (Quezon City), Nestly Resplandor (Valenzuela City), Chantal Roi Serafica (Caloocan City), Marie Donnabelle Gaoat (Ilocos Sur), Mary Ann Mungcal (Arayat, Pampanga), Thessa Marie Saavedra (Camiling, Tarlac), Janine Ortiz (Pili, Cam. Sur), Jacqueline Mayoralgo (Makati City), Diane Abigail Santiago (Valenzuela City), Christine Balaguer (Aklan), Maria Josephine Araullo (Navotas) and Mhaelen Mae Patano (Cabanatuan City).

“This year we have gathered another batch of beauties who will surely give a tough but entertaining competition as they

SURFING, cooking, and eating mix well together as Chef JP Anglo proved it with the successful run of the first season of Hungry with Chef JP, conceptualized and produced by local film company Seabiscuit Films.

This time around, Chef JP surfs up (pun intended) his show onto a higher wave of culinary discoveries.

The second season hopes to explore more food adventures in the different surfing spots of the Philippines.

For starters, Hungry with Chef JP is a documentary series about rich Filipino cuisine and the active surfing community in the country. Each episode features the surfing hotspots in the Philippines as Chef JP explores the area’s unique cuisine. With Filipinos’ penchant for surfing, the show pays tribute to it and captures the essence of the surfing lifestyle. Surfing isn’t limited to chasing waves and the adrenaline rush that comes with it. It is about belongingness and sharing experiences with the community. “You’re out in the middle of the water—waiting for sets, catching waves with your friends.

You surf together and when you ride that wave and they see it, it’s a bond you share and something to talk about forever,” shared by Chef JP Anglo in one of the episodes.

The second season delves into the stories of different artisans and individuals living uniquely. It’s important for the viewers to see how these people are living and to be inspired by their stories. “What makes this show different from the other shows is that it gives a glimpse

Monday, June 12, 2017

product 49 Collar site 50 Fee source 53 French friend 54 Prizefighter’s stat 57 Knocks sharply 58 Grotesque parodies 61 Can’t be 62 Garage jobs 63 Inspired verse 64 Army chow 65 B-vitamin source 66 Chatty starling DOWN 1 Reduced 2 Ph.D. exam 3 USN rank 4 Possessed 5 Large amounts 6 Downright mean 7 Pedro’s uncle 8 Djellaba wearer 9 Teeming 10 Spliced, in botany 11 Carryall 12 Broad ave.

13 Home, in the phone book 18 “Gigi” composer 23 Just a handful 24 Family man 26 CEO degrees

for Miss Global Philippines 2017 begin their journey for the coveted title,” said Pauline Sofia Laping, Miss Global Philippines CEO and national pageant director. “We are very glad that the relatively new beauty pageant is steadily finding its hold in the pageant arena.

As we prepare to crown the next Miss Global Philiipines winner, we give our grandest salute to the new batch of candidates and bid them the best of luck for showing the country and the world the true heart and soul of a global Filipina,” Laping added.

The Miss Global Philippines pageant has made a tremendous impact with the community by

actively partnering with different local charity institutions (feeding program, medical missions, etc.) and environmental projects with the DENR. Miss Global Philippines will serve as a tourism ambassador to promote the Philippine heritage and its world-class destinations here and abroad.

She will represent the country in the 2017 Miss Global pageant, which aims to provide a powerful platform to unify women from all parts of the globe by allowing a more diverse selection of qualified women who can be a true global icon to females from all over the world. Words by Eton B. Concepcion/Photos by Edmund Chua

Chef JP explores Philippine surfing hotspots’ culinary treasures

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Highland lake 5 Pub sign (2 wds.)

10 Most of the U.K. 14 “Cope Book” aunt 15 Egyptian capital 16 Cattle-call reward 17 Leather cleaner (2 wds.)

19 Off-road getabouts 20 35mm camera 21 Feedbag tidbit 22 Polished 24 Say it’s not so 25 Endorse 26 Colorful squawkers 29 Nosegays 33 Sled runner 34 Feast with poi 35 Letter starter 37 Yodeler’s perch 38 Concentrate 39 Puppy bark 40 Tender 42 Windowrattling 43 16th-century Council of — 45 Finales 47 Skoal and cheers 48 Wood ash

22 beauties vie

27 Tolerate 28 — pants 29 Brown seaweed 30 Commend 31 Point — National Seashore 32 Revered one 34 Belt holder 36 Employee outputs (abbr.)

38 With ease 41 Joins up 43 Pith helmets 44 — Dawn Chong

46 Become a redhead 47 Least exciting 49 Wheel hubs 50 Four six-packs 51 Med. staffers 52 Correct 54 Straighten up 55 Razor-sharp 56 Bones, in anatomy 57 Teacup part 59 Goat’s-hair garment 60 Mix of oaters

of the lives of the local community within various surf spots. We wanted to feature locals making a difference either in food or in helping the community thrive. At the same time, we want to show how Chef JP shares his skills and knowledge with the people he connects with and show how he learns from their techniques and unique practices,” shared by Nicky Daez, Seabiscuit Films Content Creator and Director.

Hungry with Chef JP airs on CNN Philippines every Saturday, 7:30 p.m. with replays on Tuesday; 12:30 p.m., Friday; 4:30 p.m., Sunday; 1p.m..

To know more, visit www. seabiscuitfilms.com and follow @ seabiscuitfilms on Instagram and Twitter.

Chef JP Anglo prepares a dish in an outdoor kitchen

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017

GMA NETWORK

"My Love from the Star" lead cast Jennylyn Mercado and Gil Cuerva

claims leadership in MAY

A

CCORDING to GMA Network, it was the most watched TV network in the country in May. That is based on data from ratings service provider Nielsen TV Audience Measurement.

The Sang'gres of "Encatadia" played

by Kylie Padilla, Gabbi Garcia, Glaiza de Castro, and Sanya Lopez

"Mulawin vs Ravena" lead actor Dennis Trillo

From May 1 to 31 (with May 21 to 31 based on overnight data), the Kapuso Network posted a solid ratings performance in National Urban Television Audience Measurement (NUTAM) leading across all time blocks and reaching an average total day people audience share of 42.5 percent; beating ABS-CBN’s 36.7percent.

GMA also sustained its dominance in Urban Luzon, which accounts for 77 percent of the total urban TV household population in the country, posting 49.8 percent versus ABS-CBN’s 30.5 percent.

Kapuso programs, likewise ruled the list of top-rating programs in NUTAM with seven out of the top 10 shows coming from GMA. The recently concluded hit telefantasya Encantadia once more clinched the top spot. Joining the list are new primetime launches Mulawin vs. Ravena and My Love from the Star, as well as consistent top-raters Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho, Destined to be Yours, Magpakailanman, and 24 Oras.

"Destined to be Yours" stars Maine Mendoza and Alden Richards

"24 Oras" anchors (from left) Iya Villana, Vicky Morales, Mike Enriquez, and Mel Tiangco

Broadcast journalist Jessica Soho

Stage actress Eva Nobleza

Lifestyle TV airs 2017 Tony Awards FILIPINOS can cheer for best actress nominee Filipino-American Eva Noblezada in the 71st Annual Antoinette Perry “Tony” Awards telecast on Lifestyle TV (SkyCable ch. 52) today.

Eva has earned a Tony nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her role as Kim in Miss Saigon. This is her first Tony nomination, recognizing her captivating Broadway debut in the hit musical revival. She is competing against Denée Benton (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812), Christine Ebersole (War Paint), Patti LuPone (War Paint) and Bette Midler (Hello, Dolly!)

Tony and Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey hosts this year’s Tonys.

Presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, it is broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Broadway’s biggest night will feature Orlando Bloom, Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey, Josh Gad, Taraji P. Henson, Scarlett Johansson, Anna Kendrick, Keegan Michael Key, Olivia Wilde, and 2017 Tony nominees Josh Groban, Bette Midler, and Ben Platt.

In addition, Lea Salonga, Scott Bakula, Sara Bareilles, Rachel Bloom, Glenn Close, Brian d’Arcy James, Cynthia Erivo, Sally Field, Sutton Foster, Whoopi Goldberg, Jonathan Groff, Mark Hamill, Christopher Jackson, Allison Janney, Nick Kroll, John Legend, John Lithgow, Patina Miller, Lin-Manuel Miranda, John Mulaney, David Oyelowo, Chazz Palminteri, Sarah Paulson, Tom Sturridge, and Tommy Tune join this prestigious annual affair.

The highest theater honors are given annually to professionals for their distinguished achievement on and off stage.

This year, it will recognize the winners for 24 competitive categories, chosen by 839 designated Tony voters within the Broadway scene.

Aside from the 24 categories, the highly anticipated event will be conferring several special awards. The 2017 Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre will be presented to American actor James Earl Jones. Broadway general managers Nina Lannan and Alan Wasser will be awarded the Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre.

The 2017 Tony Awards live on Lifestyle TV at 8 a.m. today with primetime telecast at 9:30 p.m. Other airing schedules are June 14 (Wednesday), 6 p.m.; June 16(Friday), 12 midnight; and June 17 (Saturday), 9 a.m..

Lifestyle is available on SkyCable channel 52, Destiny Cable ch52 and Sky Direct Ch31. For updates, follow Lifestyle on Facebook (facebook.com/lifestyletvph), Instagram and Twitter (@lifestyletvph).

A deeper purpose being a supportive dad and family man ALBERT Martinez is undeniably a formidable actor with immense talent. Even with the many awards and critical acclaim under his belt, Albert’s greatest trophies –his most precious rewards –are truly his kids: Alyanna, stylist and fashionista; Alissa, online entrepreneur and foodie; and Alfonso, certified car nut and restaurateur.

In fact, Albert is first to admit how fatherhood completely changed his life and his outlook. “From a happy-go-lucky lifestyle,” he reveals, “I became more responsible. Being a father really gives you a more purposeful way of looking at life, and makes you more success-driven in order to provide a better future for your family.”

The untimely passing of his loving wife Liezl two years ago dealt a painful blow to his family. While the void will forever be felt, Albert is grateful that Liezl did an excellent job in laying a strong foundation for their kids as they were growing up. “They’re all very focused and grounded,” he beams with pride.

And indeed, the Martinez brood is a picture of a contented, tightly knit family that is supportive of each other’s diverse interests and respective of each other’s personalities, where they make time to bond – to live deeper — just like friends.

And what better symbol of this filial bond than a gift of a TechnoMarine watch on father’s day.

“My dad and I have a lot in common,” shares eldest child Alyanna. “We love traveling, we love the outdoors, and we’re both moody at times,” she confesses. And while Alyanna was steadily making a name for herself in the world of fashion, Albert was always around to lend his

Seasoned actor Albert Martinez with daughter Alyanna and son Alfonso

support, attending shows and launches even with his hectic schedule.

He even took a break from the hit series FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano just to be with Alyanna on her winter wedding in the US last year.

For Alissa, on the other hand, her being a foodie and love for animals are the ties that bind her close to her dad. Apart from helping set-up her online business PoppyLuca, an online pet accessories store, they can often be found in the kitchen together trying out new recipes. “My dad and I love to cook and we both love to eat!” she shares with a laugh.

And then, of course, there’s Alfonso, the unico hijo and bunso, whose love for cars and karting is something he picked-up from his dad. “My dad loves tinkering with cars during his free time,” he relates. Alfonso recalls fondly how he and his dad would join car clubs and go to car shows. “It’s really his passion aside from acting, and a hobby that I enjoy myself!”

Another thing that runs common among the Martinezes is their love for animals. They currently have seven dogs and translated this passion into a thriving family business: Ask a Vet. With all these blessings and more, Albert Martinez is no doubt the perfect embodiment of TechnoMarine’s Live Deeper spirit.

“For me, living deeper is all about knowing yourself more, being yourself, and enjoying life to the fullest!”

Albert wears the new TM-616002 from the UF6 line, the premium watch collection from TechnoMarine. TechnoMarine is available in Trinoma, Greenbelt 3, SM North EDSA, SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia, SM City Cebu, Robinson’s Galleria, Robinson’s Magnolia, Shangri-La Plaza and all My Diamond boutiques nationwide.

Like TechnoMarine on Facebook: https://www.facebook. com/TechnoMarinePH/ and follow them on Instagram @ technomarineph.