Manila Standard - 2017 June 21 - Wednesday

AIRPORTS ON RED ALERT AMID TERROR ATTACKS INFO

By Joel E. Zurbano and Francisco Tuyay ALL airports have been put on red alert following reports that the Maute group will stage terror attacks on vital installations in key cities nationwide

on June 30, including the use of hijacked fuel trucks as vehicle bombs and suicide attacks by foreign recruits.

“Target areas will be churches, shopping malls and populated areas,” the Philippine National Police-Aviation Security

Group said in a memo dated June 18.

All airports—especially the four major international airports in Manila, Clark, Cebu and Davao—are under heightened security alert due to threats from the Islamic State-

inspired Maute and allied terrorist groups.

“Petroleum lory trucks [and] liquefied petroleum gas trucks will be hijacked and will be used as vehicle bombs,” the memo said.

“Also it was gathered that

the Maute special units who graduated last November from explosive training had already been in placed at their respective targets nationwide to simultaneously execute the said attack during the Friday prayer [Jumaah]. Mosques

will not be spared,” it added.

Avsegroup director Rudencindo Reales immediately ordered his men to intensify their monitoring and coordinate with intelligence counterparts to gather more information.

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American solons eye bigger US role in PH

By John Paolo Bencito and F. Pearl A. Gajunera AMERICAN lawmakers have expressed alarm over the growing threats by Islamic State militants in Southeast Asia, calling for a bigger US role in countering the extremist threat in the Philippines.

“I don’t know that ISIS are directing operations there but they are certainly trying to get fighters into that region,” said Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, a

member of the US Senate Armed Services Committee. “We need to address the situation. It should not get out of control.”

He also urged the US military to restart a higher-profile, “named operation” helping the Philippines in countering IS threats in the region.

Malacañang, however, rejected the need for greater collaboration with Washington, saying that Marawi City won’t be a new hub Next page

VOL. XXXI • NO. 127 • 4 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2017 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

TARGET AREA. Airports all over the country have been put on red alert following reports of planned attacks of major installations by Maute and allied terror groups.

‘Civil war may erupt in South’ Duterte: Christians furious, might take up arms

By John Paolo Bencito

HELPING HAND. Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte holds a wad of

peso bills, which he later gave to evacuees from Marawi, while speaking to them in Iligan on the southern island of Mindanao on June 20, 2017. In the same occasion, he warns of possible civil war in Mindanao should Christians take up arms. AFP

President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said the Islamic State-inspired Maute group may engage in more bombings in the coming days.

“Just because the fighting has

stopped in Marawi doesn’t mean we are safe. One of these days they will go into bombings,” Duterte said in a chance interview at Cagayan de Oro City.

“The MILF can take care of the vent them from joining the fight,” people in their strongholds and pre- he said.

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Arab court acquits Pinay of murder rap: life spared

Reds told to explain continued offensive

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan A FILIPINA who was convicted of murdering her employer and sentenced to die has been acquitted by the Court of Appeals in Al Ain, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

The department said household worker Jennifer Dalquez was found innocent after “without diyyah or payment of blood money” she argued that she was only defending herself from her employer’s attempt to molest her.

“The Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates reported to the DFA that the Court of Appeals in Al Ain acquitted Jennifer Dalquez from the alleged crime of murder,” the department said.

By John Paolo Bencito COMMUNIST rebels should explain their continued attacks on government forces despite their commitment to reach a ceasefire agreement, an adviser for the government negotiating panel said Tuesday.

“We will have to keep on telling them and asking them why, in spite of their pronouncements, clashes still happen on the ground. They have to be the one to answer that,” said Commission on Higher Education Commissioner Prospero De Vera, who concurrently advises the government peace panel.

Reiterating earlier pronouncements that the New People’s Next page

DALQUEZ

Dalquez, 30, a mother of two and employed as a domestic worker in Abu Dhabi, said her employer tried to rape her at knife point on Dec. 14, 2014.

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DoJ files rebellion charges vs 12 Maute members

24 evacuees die due to diseases

By Rey E. Requejo

By Macon Ramos-Araneta TWENTY-FOUR people from war-torn Marawi City died mostly from respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases after they fled as a result of the fighting between government troops and the Maute terrorists, the Department of Health said Tuesday.

In a statement, the department said the poor living conditions of the people displaced by the conflict exposed them to respiratory, gastrointestinal and other diseases.

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PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday warned that a civil war might erupt in Mindanao should Christians take up arms against Islamic State-inspired militants who are planning to expand their attacks outside of Marawi City.

“If civilians start to take up arms, it will be a civil war,” the President said during his visit to Camp Bautista in Cagayan de Oro. Duterte said moving the peace talks forward with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front will be crucial in ensuring that the siege in Marawi City does not spill over to neighboring provinces.

READY FOR BATTLE.

Members of the Philippine police special action force ride in an army truck on their way to the frontline in Marawi on the southern island of Mindanao on June 19, 2017, as the armed conflict between government troops and Islamist militants enters its fourth week. AFP

THE Department of Justice on Tuesday filed rebellion charges against 12 suspected members of the Maute terrorist group before the Cagayan de Oro City Regional Trial Court.

Indicted for rebellion were Racma Macatuon Talib, Lambo Ampaso Ameril, Amerodin Capga Ameril, Cosnia Talib, Sanabae Saliling Macatuon, Yusoph Taha Halil, Dima Ampaso Ali, Sapacan Sabar Talib, Halil Saliling Ali, Mansawi Imam Gumobat, Huwarda Macatuon Talib and Alanoden Macatuon Dimarugong.

The department originally intended to charge 13 members of

the Maute group before the CDO RTC but one of them–Junaid Dimarogong--died in the hospital while undergoing treatment.

The accused were arrested Friday in a hospital in Pagadian City and were subsequently subjected to inquest proceedings for rebellion in Cagayan de Oro City.

After the inquest, prosecutors evaluated the evidence against them and found probable cause to indict the Maute members for rebellion.

The 13 were apprehended by the authorities who received information that a wounded man from Marawi City had sought Next page

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2017

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

House rejects Ilocos Six appeal

By Maricel V. Cruz

A

PANEL in the House of Representatives probing the alleged misuse of P64 million allocated to Ilocos Norte on Tuesday refused the appeal of Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos to release the “Ilocos Six.”

The House committee on good government and public accountability, led by Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel, said the six detained Ilocos Norte executives will be kept under House custody until June 30, 2019.

The six are Ilocos Norte Provincial Treasurer officers Genedine Jambaro, Encarnacion Gaors and Josephine Calajate; Ilocos Norte Accountant IV Eden Battulayan, engineer

Pedro Agcaoili and Ilocos Norte Provincial Budget Officer Evangeline Tabulog.

House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas expressed dismay that the six failed to answer his questions on the cash advances by the Ilocos Norte provincial government using public funds, which represent the province’s share of the excise tax collections from Virginia type cigarettes.

“If you are not willing to an-

Airports...

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first inform us about the document,” he added.

The Manila International Airport Authority already placed all four terminals of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport under heightened alert in light of the security threat posed by Maute group.

The government has arrested the parents and a sister of the Maute brothers who led the attack on Marawi City. The arrest came weeks after soldiers found more than P50 million in cash in a house abandoned by Maute terrorists in Marawi.

Albayalde earlier ordered all police units be on the alert, while reiterating to district commanders his directive on stepping up police operations and doubling security measures to ensure the safety of the region against criminality, bombing and other terrorist activities.

“There is no clear and present danger but we can’t be complacent,” he said.

The NCRPO also established additional checkpoints in some areas in the metropolis while the Special Reaction Unit (SRU) composed of Special Weapons and Tactics Team, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD), and K-9 units intensified their monitoring of any bomb threat.

Albayalde ordered his men to continuously conduct inspection in schools, air and sea ports, bus terminals, business centers, churches, vital installations, and other places of convergence to ensure that all police and augmented security personnel are in their assigned posts. With PNA

The group was also told to “undertake appropriate security measures to preempt any terrorist attack.”

The report seemed to contradict an assessment Tuesday by National Capital Region Police Office director Oscar Albayalde that there is no security threat in Metro Manila amid the fighting in Marawi City.

On Monday, Albayalde’s office received information that a document was being circulated through social media that a series of bombings would be launched anytime in the National Capital Region.

“Today, a document allegedly from the Station Intelligence Branch of Valenzuela Police Station was circulated via Facebook, personal messages and other platforms,” Albayalde said in a memo.

The document spread rapidly, even before its validity could be confirmed, he said.

He added that he ordered Northern Police District chief Roberto Fajardo to investigate the document handling procedures at the Valenzuela police station.

That memo, dated June 16, spoke of a series of terror attacks planned by the extremist Maute group in Manila, Makati and Quezon City.

Albayalde said that although the police will process all information, the public should refrain from spreading unverified reports.

“We also express our gratitude to concerned individuals and our friends from the media who are the

Arab...

From A1 In May 2015, Dalquez was convicted of murder and was sentenced to death but her legal counsel file an appeal before the Court of Appeal.

The DFA noted that all through the process, the agency has provided Dalquez a lawyer and financed her parents’s visit in Al Ain in October 2015 and March 2017.

“The department has extended all assistance to Ms. Jennifer Dalquez, including provision of a lawyer since her case was heard by the Court of First Instance in March 2015,” the DFA said.

Dalquez cannot return to the Philippines yet, however, as the court sentenced her to five years for the theft of a mobile phone.

Since she has already spent twoand-a-half years in jail, she is expected to go home in more than two years.

Her mother, Alicia Dalquez confirmed the news of her acquittal.

24...

From A1 But Senate President Aquilino Pimentel said the Duterte administration should now start planning the rehabilitation of Marawi as the government forces were getting close to resolving the conflict in the city.

He made his statement on Tuesday after Armed Forces spokesman Restituto Padilla said government forces were now in control of 96 of Marawi’s villages and were now working to neutralize the remaining members of the Maute group.

Meanwhile, the Metro Manila Development Authority said Tuesday it had deployed 10 of its workers to Iligan City to help the families driven out by the conflict in Marawi.

The agency said the team distributed 1,200 gallons of potable water to 120 families and

“I am overjoyed. I felt relieved [by the decision]. I have no fear anynore,” Dalquez’s mother said in Filipino on a TV interview over GMA-7.

Her mother said that Dalquez has opted not to work overseas after her ordeal.

Lawmakers on Tuesday welcomed the news of Dalquez’s acquittal and commended the government agencies that helped save her from death row.

Kabayan Party-List Rep. Harry Roque, however, used news of the Filipina’s acquittal to his opposition to the reimposition of the death penalty being pushed by the Duterte administration.

“One OFW spared. Restoration of death penalty in the Philippines will result in loss of our ascendancy to ask clemency for our OFWs,” Roque said as he specifically congratulated the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the Department of Foreign Affairs for a life saved.

“One life is ever so precious,” Roque said. With Maricel V. Cruz

711 people affected by the war in Marawi.

Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial said 2,351 people had sought medical attention in different hospitals in Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte as a result of the conflict in Marawi.

She said a total of 26,690 people had so far received health services from her department.

She said health workers from local government units, her department’s central office and regional offices had been working to make sure timely health services were provided to prevent the outbreak of diseases.

“Continuous consultations are held in the evacuation centers and health facilities including the barangay health stations, rural health units and hospitals,” Ubial said.

“It may be the 29th day since the conflict started, but people are still resilient in believing that this will end soon.” With Joel E. Zurbano

swer questions, we cannot do anything but put you all back to the detention cell,” Pimentel said.

“For the last time, I am giving you all the six resource persons another chance for you to answer so you could go home to your families.”

Pimentel made his statement even as his committee on Tuesday issued a show-cause order against three Court of Appeals justices asking them to explain why they should not be cited in contempt for ordering the release of the Ilocos Six. The committee’s members unanimously voted 30-0 to approve the show-cause order to Associate Justices Stephen Cruz, Edwin Sorongon and Nina Antonino-Valenzuela, who earlier approved the petition of the Ilo-

cos Six to post bail.

Fariñas said the six would have been allowed to go had they answered the questions posed to them truthfully, but they refused to cooperate.

The Ilocos Six maintain that they have to be with their lawyers to answer questions from the panel.

Rep. Imelda Marcos had written to Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to “respectfully appeal to the compassion and sympathy of the House of Representatives through your leadership, grounded on humanitarian purposes for the temporary liberty” of the Ilocos Six. Marcos said she was worried about the health of the six officials whose age ranged from 47 to 63.

“Most if not all of them have

medical conditions that may worsen due to confinement for a long period of time,” Marcos said in her letter read by Pimentel. “...Also, they are parents and grandparents who have children and grandchildren who are depending on them for their daily needs. The sudden prolonged interruption of their daily family routine has caused much anxiety to them and to their family members.

“Thus, I respectfully and graciously petition this Honorable Committee to release temporarily on my own recognizance the six detained provincial government employees. I vouch for the six employees. They shall appear and respect the invitations or subpoena issued to them by this Honorable Committee,” she said.

ON PATROL. Philippine Marines travel along a highway in their armored personnel carriers in Marawi on the southern island of Mindanao on June 20, 2017. AFP

‘Civil...

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“If this becomes a civil war, people will really kill each other. In Mindanao, there are a lot of Christians who also own high-powered guns. They have stockpile of arms. A communal war will be dangerous for

everyone. We have to prevent that,” the President added.

Duterte said the Maute members might try to bring their ISIS-inspired attacks to Zamboanga, Jolo and Cotabato.

“Their strong driving force is no longer nationalism or loss of land. They have already shifted to the ISIS philosophy,” he said.

Reds...

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Army rebels were “opportunists”— Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said there were no instructions from the President to discontinue the peace negotiations.

“We ask the NDF to call on their armed comrades on the ground… to respond in kind and show genuine sincerity on the confidence- building measure initiated by both the government and their side,” Abella said.

“We want a firmer response,” he added.

De Vera insisted that while there is an advantage to continuing the peace talks “because we should never lose hope that a peace agreement can be signed”—it must always be within the parameters of having a conducive environment for peace talks.

“That’s why in the last round, in the fifth round, the President instructed the peace panel not to continue with the negotiations because the environment for conducive negotiations was not

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From A1 for Islamist fighters in Southeast Asia.

“It’s unlikely for Marawi to become a new hub for IS fighters,” Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a Palace news briefing Tuesday.

“The Philippine military has already preempted the Maute group from establishing a wilayat or province in Marawi,” he added.

Despite this, Abella said that Duterte has accepted that government troops needs US help to flush out terrorists in Mindanao.

“He [Duterte] has accepted the situation at this stage,” Abella said when asked if the President was wavering on his earlier stance that foreign powers should not meddle in internal affairs.

The military allowed the entry of armed US personnel near war-torn Marawi City to provide technical assistance and surveillance information gathering against the terrorists.

Abella, however, insisted that Washington should only provide technical assistance, noting that the law prohibits foreign troops from participating directly in combat operations.

In a separate speech at Iligan City, Duterte said Christians in Mindanao are already furious with what is happening in Marawi.

“Christians are already getting nervous. If their [Maute’s] style is to kill and raze properties to ashes, they won’t agree to that. They will fight back,” the President said.

present,” he said.

At least 50 members of the NPA ransacked a police station in Maasin, Iloilo province on Sunday morning, taking away several firearms from the police station including eight M16 rifles, four Glock 9mm pistols, five handheld radios, a base radio, and two laptops. The rebels also took P25,000 from the police station and a patrol car.

This, despite the calls by communist leaders in Oslo to the NPA asking them to refrain from launching new offensives against government troops as it renewed calls for a ceasefire to focus on the ongoing crackdown against Islamic Stateinspired groups.

In a related development, Regional Peace and Order Council-VI chairman and Guimaras Gov. Samuel Gumarin said that they agreed that the police on duty during the NPA raid be retrained to “evaluate their capacity in implementing security preparations against insurgents.”

They will be joining the 67 other policemen in the Western Visayas Region who will undergo training as part of efforts in countering NPA attacks in the region.

“The role of the US in relation to IS is to provide technical assistance as prescribed by the Constitution and we will abide by that,” he said.

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had earlier said that US military operations in Mindanao is helping Philippine forces contain extremist forces but only in an “advise and assist” role and providing aerial surveillance to help the Philippines retake Marawi from IS-inspired groups.

In Davao City, the city council is working on an ordinance penalizing anyone who recruits or pledges allegiance to ISIS or any local terrorist group associated with it.

Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte said on Tuesday that the ordinance is already approved for first reading and they are now fine-tuning the details.

He said that they will be the discussing the ordinance in second reading two weeks from now.

Vice Mayor Duterte said that they are going into the minute details to ensure that the ordinance does not violate the privacy of the people.

Duterte said that the council cannot prevent anyone to worship who they want or make a flag of their own, however, if they can see that it is an act of terrorism then they will immediately impose the law to prevent what happened in Marawi City.

Solon hits 'anti-poor' tax on salt proposal A LAWMAKER said Tuesday the proposed excise tax on processed products with salt was “anti-poor” as it would increase the prices of noodles, sardines and similar items.

Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said House Bill 3719, once enacted, would result in one cup of noodles with a 990-milligram sodium content being priced at P490 after the daily dietary allowance of 500 milligrams per day for adults was subtracted.

Similarly, a can of sardines with a 610 mg sodium content would be worth P110.

Based on the computation of the Philippine Chamber of Food Manufacturers Inc. during the last congressional hearing conducted by the House committee on ways and means, led by Quirino Rep. Dakila Cua, a pack of noodles priced at P6.85 would sell for around P800 if the bill was enacted.

HB 3179, filed by Masbate Rep. Scott Davies Lanete, proposes to impose a one-peso excise tax for every milligram of sodium “in excess of one-third of [the] allowable daily intake of sodium chloride as prescribed by the Department of Health.”

“Clearly, the primary goal of these measures is to increase taxes and the poor ordinary people will be burdened once again. The poor have little or no income at all and most of the time they have no choice but to buy cheap nonnutritious food,” Zarate said.

“These bills are definitely antipoor and must be opposed.

In filing his bill, Lanete, a doctor, said “sin taxes” on sodium had been imposed in some countries including Vietnam, Uganda, Tanzania, Suriname, Sri Lanka, Panama, Morocco, Kenya and Jordan to guard against the increased risk of diseases.

“The 1987 Philippine Constitution enjoins the state to protect and promote the right of health of the people and instill health consciousness among them. Thus, it is high time for the Philippines to adopt strict measures in ensuring the safety and well-being of Filipinos,” Lanete says in his bill’s explanatory note.

“Imposing a tax on the production, sale and consumption of food products that have salt as an ingredient will not only deter citizens from consuming more than the prescribed daily intake but will also generate additional funds for the government.”

But Zarate said if health was the primary concern, taxation should not be the solution.

He said there were other ways of ensuring the health of Filipinos and more taxation was not among them.

“For instance, government could ban chichiria and noodles in grade school or it can mandate cheap nutritious food in schools or even place price controls on nutritious food and viands so that they can be more affordable,” Zarate said. Maricel V. Cruz

DoJ...

From A1 treatment at the Zamboanga Medical Center.

Marawi City is the site of clashes between security forces and Maute members who attacked the city last month.

Petitioners against the President’s declaration of martial law in Mindanao told the Supreme Court they were unconvinced that there was enough basis for doing so.

In a memorandum submitted Tuesday, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said they were not convinced by the presentation made by Defense Secretary and martial law administrator Delfin Lorenzana and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff and martial law implementor Eduardo Año.

Lagman said the details mentioned by Lorenzana and Año during the closed-door session with the Supreme Court Justices were also cited by Solicitor General Jose Calida in his memorandum submitted to the Court on Monday.

He said these details were not mentioned in the martial law proclamation or the President’s report to Congress.

Calida, in his memo, revealed that there are 20 other terrorist cells in Mindanao. He said the attack in Marawi is a signal for the other terror cells to launch similar attacks in Mindanao.

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

CA reverses past ruling on ‘Ginebra’ trademark

By Rey E. Requejo

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT. Members of the Northern Police District Civil Disturbance Management of the Philippine National Police stand in formation during a practice drill for the CDM Competition of the NCRPO at Luneta Park in Manila on Tuesday. Lino Santos

Revive WOW Philippines slogan —Gordon SENATOR Richard Gordon on Tuesday questioned the Department of Tourism’s “unnecessary” decision “to keep changing tourism slogans.”

Gordon made the comment in the wake of the controversial “Sights” campaign by the DoT, which drew flak from netizens and advertising industry stakeholders and forced the agency to cut short the campaign.

Gordon instead urged the DoT to revive the “Wow Philippines” slogan that was introduced during his term as Tourism secretary.

“Bakit ba tayo palit nang palit? Amazing Thailand has been there for a long time, Malaysia Truly Asia [also].

Sinabi ko na sa kanila ‘yan, hindi naman nakikinig. Ano naman gagawin ko?” Gordon, who was DoT secretary during the Arroyo administration, told reporters. “Pwede ibalik na lang Wow Philippines. Wala namang masama doon eh. Dito kumi-click yun, dahil per region, may sariling ‘wow’,” he said.Wow, for instance, in Manila, could stand for “Walk Our Walls;” “Watch Our Whales” for Sorsogon, and “Warm Over Winter” for Boracay, he said.

Gordon said he did not spend a single centavo for the “Wow Philippines” slogan.

“Huwag naman tayo mangopya. Magaling naman tayong mga Pilipino eh. Actually, pwede na pero hindi maganda pakinggan na ginagastusan ng pera, ang laki ng pera. Ako ang ginastos ko sa advertising nung panahon ko, wala, wala akong ginastos,” Gordon said.

(Let’s not copy from others. We Filipinos are just as creative.

It’s also not good to hear that we spend a lot of money for the campaign, because in my time, I did not spend a single centavo on advertising).

Last week, the DoT announced that it had canceled its P650-million contract with McCann Worldgroup Philippines following the controversy over the Experience the Philippines tourism campaign.

The DoT admitted that they saw very glaring similarities between “Sights,” which was produced by McCann, and the advertisement released for South Africa in 2014.

Downgrading of case vs Espinosa cops slammed

By Macon Ramos

T

HE senators who conducted a hearing on the killing of the late Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa have assailed the downgrading of charges against the accused policemen.

Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, chairman of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs, which investigated the Espinosa killing, said he will stand by their committee’s recommendation as unanimously adopted by the Senate.

“I will do so, not based on politics, friendship or anything related to it but solely on truth and justice,” Lacson said in a text message.

Last March, Lacson’s committee recommended the filing

of murder charges against the policemen, led by Supt. Marvin Marcos. The committee ruled that the policemen murdered Espinosa inside a jail in Baybay, Leyte.

The National Bureau of Investigation also reached the same findings saying that the Espinosa killing was a rubout and not a shootout.

In a text message, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon branded the downgrading of the policemen involved in the killing as “disappointing.”

Marcos should pay Comelec for protest expenses —Leni’s lawyer

By Rio N. Araja THE camp of Vice President Leni Robredo said on Tuesday former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should pay the expenses that may be required of him to pay on account of his election protest.

The vice president’s lawyers, Romulo Macalintal and Maria Bernadette Sardillo, maintained their argument in a manifestation with motion for clarification filed with the Comelec.

Macalintal said the Comelec is footing the monthly lease of a warehouse in Sta. Rosa, Laguna at P5.62 million to place in custody the ballots and other election paraphernalia being contested.

“This was disclosed by Comelec pursuant to the Resolution issued by the Presidential Electoral Tribunal on April 18, 2017. Robredo was notified by the Office of the Solicitor General on June 8, 2017,” he said, quoting the PET’s order.

“If only to avoid confusion on who will be liable for these amounts, we are constrained to seek a clarification,” Macalintal said.

In November 2016, the PET ordered Comelec to itemize the costs it may be required to pay under its automated election contracts. The Comelec, through the OSG, replied that the costs could reach P2.08 billion.

Senator Francis Pangilinan, meanwhile, said the findings of the Department of Justice should be appealed because the killing was a clear case of murder.

“This is the findings of the National Bureau of Investigation and the Senate,” said Pangilinan, also Liberal Party president.

Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros, on the other hand, branded DoJ Secretary Vitalliano Aguirre as “flip-flop king.” She recalled that prior to the downgrading of charges against the accused policemen, Aguirre issued a resolution on March 2017 supporting the findings of both the Senate and NBI that the Espinosa killing was a clear case of premeditated murder.

“This is an obvious attempt at a cover up through an unabashed flip-flop. It is an act of impunity

to cover up another act of impunity,” Hontiveros said.

The Senator said that by downgrading the charges against the accused in the Espinosa killing, Aguirre also effectively further downgraded his reputation and integrity before the public’s eyes.

“From being the fake news king of Padre Faura, Secretary Aguirre is also now immortalized as the DoJ’s flip-flop king, a would be absolver of murderers,” Hontiveros said.

Hontiveros said that she will ask the Senate to invite Aguirre to explain his department’s decision to downgrade the charges of the accused.

“This may be the last straw for many of us. We cannot allow Secretary Aguirre to continue to toy around with our justice system.

Enough’s enough,” Hontiveros said

THE Court of Appeals has overturned the decision promulgated by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines directing Ginebra San Miguel Inc. to disclaim the word Ginebra in its trademark application for “Ginebra San Miguel Since 1834” for gin products.

In a 16-page decision, the CA’s Special First Division through Associate Justice Myra Garcia-Fernandez partially granted the petition for review filed by GSMI seeking to reverse and set aside the Sept. 24, 2013 decision of the Office of the Director General (ODG)IPOPHL. The said decision denied GSMI’s trademark application for Ginebra San Miguel Since 1834, saying that the word “Ginebra” is a generic term and that the terms “Ginebra and “Since 1834” are incapable of functioning as trademarks.

But in its appeal before the appellate court, GSMI argued that Ginebra has acquired primary significance, as a trademark in the minds of the consuming public and thus cannot be treated as a generic mark. The petitioner also said that granting without admitting that Ginebra was a generic mark, the same has become distinctive and has over time acquired secondary meaning by virtue of its extensive, continued, and exclusive use since 1834.

In granting the appeal of GSMI, the appellate court explained that another division of the CA had already ruled on May 11, 2015 in favor of GSMI on a similar case pertaining to its trademark application for the mark Ginebra San Miguel Flavored Gin Label Design.

The CA said the ODG-IPOPHL upheld the findings of the Bureau of Trademarks director that Ginebra is generic and must be disclaimed. But the CA’s Former Twelfth Division reversed and set aside the decision of the ODG-IPOPHL and ruled in favor of GSMI. “Settled is the rule that a final judgment or decree on the merits by a court of competent jurisdiction is conclusive of the rights of the parties of their privies in all later suits on points and matters determined in the former suit,” the CA ruled.

PH govt condemns van attack in London

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan THE Philippine government on Tuesday condemned another attack carried out near the Finsbury Park mosque in London, adding that such action is against the shared values of the Philippines and the United Kingdom.

In a statement, Department of Foreign Affairs also said that there is so far no Filipino had been injured from the attack that killed one individual and injured 10 others.

“The DFA condemns the attack... the appalling attack stands against the shared values of the Philippines and the UK as

peace-loving and tolerant societies that respect all religions,” the foreign affairs department said.

On Monday, a van plowed into a group of pedestrians near London’s Finsbury Park Mosque which police later described as “quite clearly an attack on Muslims”.

The Philippines also extended its condolences and sympathy to the family of the victims.

The DFA also said that the Philippine Embassy in London is ready to offer assistance in case there is a Filipino affected by the attack and called on members of the Filipino community in the area to reach out and provide the Philippine govern-

ment any information about their fellow countrymen who are possibly affected by the attack.

“So far there are no Filipino victims,” the DFA noted, adding that the embassy in U.K. is still monitoring the incident.

The Philippines also reaffirmed its solidarity with the U.K. in fight against terrorism.

The attack is the fourth terror strike in the U.K. in the last four months. It is also the third major incident in London this month, after the London Bridge attack and last week’s massive fire that engulfed the Grenfell Tower block, killing 79, with scores missing who may have already died.

GRILLED. The ‘Ilocos Six,’ namely Provincial Budget Officer Ilocos Norte Evangeline Tabulog, Provincial Treasurer Ilocos Norte Josephine Calajate, Office of the Provincial treasurer Encarnacion Gaor, Treasurer Provicial Ilocos Norte Genedine Jambaro, Accountant Ilocos Norte Eden Battulayan and Provicial Planning and Development Office Ilocos Norte Pedro Agcaoili are questioned by a lawmaker during the deliberation on House resolution directing Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability to conduct an inquiry with regards to the irregular purchase of motor vehicles made through cash advances by the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte amounting to P66 million pesos. Manny Palmero

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Opinion

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2017

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EDITORIAL

Adelle Chua, Editor

Approaching irrelevance

W

HEN President Duterte reopened peace talks with communist rebels shortly after he came to power, there was a glimmer of hope that the nation might actually see an end to the decades-long insurgency that has claimed more than 40,000 lives and sapped the productive energy from the economy.

Today, four rounds of negotiation into the peace effort, it is becoming painfully apparent that the government may be talking to the wrong people, and that the gang of aging communist leaders in the National Democratic Front, pontificating from exile in Europe, could no longer speak for the New People’s Army guerrillas on the ground back home.

Nowhere was this more apparent than in the latest pronouncement by NDF chief negotiator Fidel Agcaoili, who called for an end to NPA attacks on government forces in Mindanao, where troops are battling Islamic State-inspired terrorist groups who launched an attack on Marawi City on May 23..

“For all forces to be able to concentrate against Maute, Abu Sayyaf and AKP (Ansar Al Khilafah Philippines) groups, the NDFP has recommended to the CPP to order all other NPA units in Mindanao to refrain from carrying out offensive operations against the Armed Forces of the Philippines [AFP] and Philippine National Police [PNP],” Agcaoili said, provided, however, that the government orders the military “to refrain from carrying out offensive operations against the NPA and people’s militia.”

The NDF also reiterated its declaration opposing terrorism, saying they were “de-

termined to counteract the Maute, Abu Sayyaf and AKP groups, which are wreaking havoc in Marawi City.”

Soon after the government’s top negotiator reciprocated, however, new clashes were reported, casting doubt on the ability of both sides to control their forces on the ground.

In Iloilo, about 50 NPA guerrillas attacked a police station in Maasin and took an undetermined number of firearms after handcuffing the policemen on duty.

The government quickly condemned the NPA attack that came right after both sides said they would refrain from attacking each other as a confidence-building measure.

“Although the attack was not in Mindanao, the act was opportunistic in nature and disregards the nature of the NDF declaration,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said.

Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen.

Restituto Padilla also said it was clear the NPA objective was to get more arms, because they knew that defenses elsewhere were weakened as a result of the siege in Marawi City.

This was hardly the first time communist leaders seemed unable to control their own people. After President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao to deal with the Maute terrorist rampage, the CPP ordered NPA to launch more attacks on government forces to register their opposition to military rule—even though the NDF was talking about peace.

Given this poor track record, it is hardly any wonder that the latest opinion polls show Filipinos distrust the NDF (-10 percent trust rating) and the CPP/NPA (-27 percent).

Surely, even the communist leaders ensconced in Europe must know this distrust must be dealt with before peace efforts truly and finally prosper.

Is Islamic State threat shifting to Philippines?

By Norman P. Aquino

in illegal drug syndicates.

There are just too many questions raised by the decision of the department, after its review of the murder charges filed in connection with the cold-blooded killing of Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr., to make the lawmen liable for the lesser, bailable charge of homicide instead. And Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, who had earlier agreed with a Senate recommendation that murder charges should be filed, must answer them.

Yesterday, Aguirre defended the downgrading by saying that his prosecutors had found no apparent premeditation on the part of the police raiders, led by Supt. Marvin Marcos and other members of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group. But the facts of the case do not support Aguirre’s claim that Marcos and his team did not plan to liquidate Espinosa in his

UNDER assault in Iraq and Syria by a US-led coalition as well as Russia and Iran, Islamic State is losing ground in its original strongholds.

While good news for Iraqis and Syrians, this has raised concerns that Islamic State, like Al Qaida before it, will increasingly metastasize and grow more potent in other places. The seizure by an Islamic State affiliate of a city in the mostly Roman Catholic Philippines has focused that worry on the country’s southern Mindanao region, the site of a Muslim insurgency for the past four decades. Investors have largely shrugged off the threat so far, in part because it hasn’t spread to Manila—the nation’s capital and financial center.

1. How present is Islamic State in the Philippines?

Four insurgent groups, each from a different part of Mindanao, have pledged their allegiance to the movement and appear to have formed an alliance with each other.

Philippine authorities now refer to them as a collective.

The most well-known is the Abu Sayyaf Group, which earlier had declared itself an Al Qaida affiliate. Abu Sayyaf commander Isnilon Hapilon was named Islamic State’s emir, or leader, in the Philippines. The Maute Group, led by brothers Abdullah and Omar Maute, formerly petty criminals, spearheaded the capture of Marawi, the largest Muslim-majority city in the Philippines. Then there’s the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and the least known Ansarul Khilafah Philippines.

2. How do the groups operate?

They are all notorious for bombings, killings, extortions and abductions for ransom.

Abu Sayyaf beheaded two Canadians last year after ransom demands weren’t met. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation offers a $5-million reward for information leading to the capture of Hapilon in connection with the kidnapping of three Americans. The BIFF and another group killed 44 police commandos during a botched anti-terror mission in 2015.

Maute guerrillas in September

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That leather jacket LOWDOWN

JOJO A. ROBLES WHEN I first saw the social media post of Vicky Garchitorena, a loyal Aquino supporter and vice president of the opposition Liberal Party, I wondered what she meant. “Why is he wearing a leather jacket?” Garchitorena asked, in reaction to a photo showing President Rodrigo Duterte when he made his first public appearance soon after taking several days off last week.

I wondered why Garchitorena would comment on the fashion sense of Duterte, a longtime motorcycle enthusiast who must own several leather jackets. This was a president, after all, who routinely flouts ideas of what is fashionable or even sartorially acceptable, even at the most for-

mal occasions.

Because if Garchitorena and her fellow LP members really wanted to talk haute couture, they should have commented, as well, on the pricey blue gown that their most prominent party member wore recently. And Vice President Leni Robredo was resplendent in her blue terno-inspired outfit during a fund-raising ball for the FilAmerican Symphony Orchestra in Los Angeles.

Robredo drew a lot of online flak for being in LA while Marawi City was burning and for revealing that all her talk about being one with the poorest of the poor was just cow manure. But you never heard Garchitorena—or any of her fellow fashion-conscious LP members—ask why Robredo wore that fancy gown, or even why she was at a fundraiser in La-La Land while terrorists are trying to establish an outpost of the Islamic caliphate in Marawi.

I gathered later that Garchitorena was really implying that Duterte was wearing a jacket even if he usually goes around in T-shirts because, to her mind, he may be hiding his arms or

It wasn’t Duterte’s hillbilly fashion sense that offended. It was the fact that he was still alive that did. other parts of his body that could give signs of the true state of his health. Then I realized that she was not slamming Digong for his provinciano fashion

but echoing the tales of conspirators who fervently wished that the President had died or was at least very seriously ill.

I knew then that it wasn’t Duterte’s hillbilly fashion sense that offended Garchitorena. It was the fact that he was still alive to torment them that did. *** National police chief Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa may hail it as a victory for him and his men in the fight against illegal drugs.

But that is a simplistic view that doesn’t take into consideration the long-term damage to the police force that the Espinosa killing may have wreaked on the police’s cause.

There is simply no going around it: The Department of Justice must answer for the downgrading of the murder charges against 19 policemen who raided a detention center in Leyte and who killed a controversial town mayor arrested earlier on charges of involvement

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Opinion VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ

TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

Two concerns THERE are two priorities of the Duterte administration that have been put in the backburner in the aftermath of the Marawi siege.

One is the need for rehabilitation centers nationwide.

There are reports that there are some 4 million drug addicts.

More than 100,000 of them having surrendered to authorities and enduring sub-human conditions in cramped jails.

The other one is the need to decongest city and municipal jails. The Commission on Audit reports that Philippine jails are 511 percent congested.

When President Duterte launched his brutal war against illegal drugs, I said that terminating the last drug lord would only be half of the problem.

The other half is rehabilitation.

Take it from me. In the 1970s and 80s, I was vice president of former priest Bob Garon’s DARE Foundation. I know very well that so long as the addicts are not rehabilitated properly, they will return to their old habits.

In fact, our batting average in drug rehabilitation was only 75 percent with so-called “graduates” of DARE Foundation returning to their old habits.

Either their families did not care about them, or their problems continued to haunt them.

If rehabilitation is not adequate, the problem will continue. In the process, there will be more killings and violations of human rights. It is simply a matter of supply and demand. *** The other program put in the backburner is the congestion in jails. Inmates live under sub-human conditions. I cannot imagine how they can sleep and eat. I have seen photos showing them taking turns sleeping on concrete floors or the stairs.

And with a daily ration of P50, I wonder what kind of food is given them.

I am sure that Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II is aware of this fact, but why has he not done anything about it? Aguirre seems to be more concerned with prosecuting members of the political opposition, accusing them of treason or acts of destabilization.

We have seen how the illegal drug trade proliferated during the Aquino administration in New Bilibid Prison that led to the detention of Senator Leila de Lima. But do you think that Aguirre is doing anything about it?

Take the case of the NBP which was built to accommodate only 2,500 inmates.

But, it is now holding some 22,000 to 24,000 thousand prisoners. Some affluent and influential inmates have built their own “kubol” where they continue with their illegal drug trade.

Despite the fact that there had been executive orders to relocate the NBP, the administration seems deaf and dumb about it.

Three private consortiums have already pre-qualified in building a P50-billion new national penitentiary in Laur, Nueva Ecija and the final bidding has been scheduled last April 27, 2017.

Santa Banana, what happened? The final bidding was reset—and I do not know when it will happen.

The Duterte administration doesn’t seem serious in solving the congestion of the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa.

May I remind the President that the siege of Marawi City, and possibility that the terrorists will proliferate are not only the problems at hand?

I realize that the declaration of martial law in Mindanao and the fight against terrorists are national security concerns.

But just as important are drug rehab and decongestion of jails nationwide. *** Note that the Abu Sayyaf Group, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and other private Moro fighters have already joined the Maute terrorists. If you think that these other groups are not giving them arms and ammunitions, you must be naive.

The bottom line here, and this is cultural and historical, is that a Moro will always side with another Moro when they are fighting Christians and the government.

If the military is also wondering how the Maute and the ASG are getting their firearms, the terrorists have been long planning the siege of Marawi as the hub of a new “caliphate” for the ISIS in this part of the world.

It is also a fact that many Muslims are interrelated in so many ways. That’s the reason it often gets difficult to go after the Abu Sayyaf terrorists because they can easily mix with a Muslim community and hide firearms.

If the AFP thinks that martial law would mean a campaign against loose firearms, it must be joking, since a Muslim would rather sleep with his gun than with his wife. *** The need for a national ID (Identification) card nationwide has again come up with so many terrorists already proliferating through Mindanao. And at times, they even become evacuees in other cities like Iligan, Cagayan de Oro, Cotabato, Zamboanga and even Davao, the President’s home city.

And here we go again, Santa Banana, the critics and oppositions of a National ID card say that they can be tools against privacy and to blackmail people. I think this is ridiculous, given that when one wants to get a passport, he’s mandated to state everything about himself.

I believe it’s now the best time for government to pursue the need for a National ID card which can be used also not only for government transactions but for business.

Other countries have this.

I don’t know why government has been hesitant to go through with its plan to have the National ID card.

But, I believe that President Duterte can push through with it to protect citizens against terrorists.

Business transactions will also become easier.

Go for it, Mister President.

Both of these must be addressed.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2017

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Only in the Philippines

OSCAR Wilde said “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.” If so, our Department of Tourism officials must be the most sincere people on earth. Are they mediocre? I am not prepared to say that.

Consider the evidence: Three times in the past seven years, socalled creative minds in the Philippines have copied the concept and execution of tourism advertising of three countries— Poland in 2010, Switzerland in 2012, and South Africa in 2017.

In all three instances of blatant plagiarism, the main blame should be thrown at the Manila-based agencies which packaged the promotions.

In November 2010, the Philippines ran a global advertising called “Pilipinas Kay Ganda!” (Philippines, So Beautiful!). I got the visuals from the website www.spot.ph.

Both logos used the same font. Notably, the letters P, S and A are magically identical. Notes www.spot.ph: “Both logos turned the letter L into a tree trunk, with the Philippine one using a coconut tree instead of what looks like an oak, said to be

Aquino’s second Tourism secretary, ad the Philippines’. executive Mon Jimenez, lasted for four In the South African campaign’s video, years. And his “It’s more fun in the Philip- “a man is shown experiencing South Afripines!” has lasted to this day. Talk about can culture by way of dances, surfing, and persistence. But the projected tourism ar- several interactions with locals. In the end, rivals that the second-hand slogan wanted the man is also revealed to be blind,” noted to draw didn’t materialize. The Philippines is still the sluggard in tourism arrivals in the entire Asean region.

Comes now the DoT of President Duterte. He appointed the Davaobased sister of prominent newsmen as his DoT chief. Amid allegations that some 8,000 have died in his vicious war on illegal-drugs and in the middle of an unprecedented “rebellion” by the ISIS-inspired Maute criminal gang in the Philippines’ premier Muslim city of Marawi, the DoT, like reverse serendipity, comes out with a new tourism branding campaign backstopped by a huge P650-million international TV budget. The “Experience the Philippines” video has SAME STROKES. The Pilipinas Kay Ganda visual is for its main character a Japanese too similar to Poland’s campaign.

BLIND MEN. Tourism campaigns of South Africa, Quebec (Canada) and the Philippines all feature tourists who could not see. the national tree of Poland. Both logos also used blue squiggles underneath to denote the sea.”

The agency involved, Campaigns and Grey, later claimed it had a hand in the “Pilipinas Kay Ganda” tourism branding, “but only in an advisory capacity”. The first tourism secretary then of President BS Aquino III had to resign after the fiasco.

In January 2012, the same Department of Tourism of BS Aquino ran another branding campaign, “It’s more fun in the Philippines,” exactly the same slogan in the 1951 ad of Switzerland, “It’s more fun in Switzerland!” “Soak up the sun—whether you’re drifting on palm-fringed lakes or exploring sunny Alpine trails. In four hours, Switzerland’s fast electric trains will whisk you almost anywhere in this gay and friendly country,” said the Swiss campaign.

Despite being unmasked as a copycat,

Is Islamic...

From A4

bombed a street market in Davao City, hometown of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

3. What was their plan for Marawi?

Rebels linked to Islamic State were planning to burn down Marawi City on May 26, the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, according to the nation’s top government lawyer, citing military intelligence reports. The plan was to spark additional uprisings across Mindanao with the ambition of establishing a province there under Islamic State rule.

Apparently, the rebels advanced the attack by three days when law enforcers tried and failed to capture Hapilon. On May 23, about 500 insurgents with Islamic State flags marched on Marawi, burned buildings, occupied offices and freed more

That...

From A4

jail cell.

The Senate established that Marcos and his men were guilty of the premeditated murder of Espinosa and another detainee at the Baybay, Leyte sub-provincial jail in the early morning of Nov. 5 last year. The two Senate committees that investigated the case, led by Senators Panfilo Lacson and Richard Gordon, said in their joint report that Espinosa was silenced by “individuals

old-timer in the Philippines who savors the Philippines’ main attractions using his senses. It turns out the Japanese is blind.

Compelling! Although don’t blind people have stronger senses than normal people?

Besides, you have to be blind to the ubiquitous violence and horrendous traffic going on locally to really enjoy the Philippines, Asia’s last tourism bargain and frontier.

As it turns out, two other countries had previously run a “blind man” tourism campaign—South Africa in 2014, and Quebec in Canada in 2016.

In the Philippine video, entitled “Sights,” CNN Philippines reported on June 13, “a man is shown visiting several tourist spots and experiencing local culture. As the video closes, viewers see that the man, identified as M. Uchimura, is blind as he walks down the cobbled streets of Vigan with his cane. The video says Uchimura ‘retired in

CNN Philippines.

Said ABS-CBN on June 13: “Both videos feature a blind man, who is experiencing the world through senses other than sight. In both tourism campaign videos, the man’s disability is not revealed until the end when he pulls out a walking cane.” In the Canadian version, the blind man’s disability is revealed at the start of the video.

McCann WorldGroup Philippines concocted the blind man video campaign. It insisted on the integrity that went into the ad. Uchimura is not the real name of the blind Japanese retiree.

Finally, why don’t we, for simplicity and for economy, just adopt that pithy and common expressly which vividly and humorously captures the essence of our country—“Only in the Philippines!” biznewsasia@gmail.com

than 100 inmates from jail.

While the military has found no evidence that local groups received direct orders from Islamic State leaders in the Middle East, President Rodrigo Duterte said that foreigners from Syria, Indonesia, Malaysia and some Arab nations had joined the fight in Marawi.

4. How have authorities responded?

Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao (and threatened to extend it to the whole of the Philippines), and authorities requested US military assistance to confront the rebels. According to the US, its special forces provided intelligenceand training. The Philippine constitution bars foreign combat troops from the country. After four weeks of fighting, the rebels held less than 10 percent of Marawi but the military had called in reinforcements. About half the city’s population had fled. A total of 257 rebels, 62 troops and

26 civilians have been killed.

5. How have investors responded?

They’ve barely blinked. As of June 19, the Philippine benchmark stock index has risen 1.7 percent since martial law was declared in May. The peso appreciated 0.6 percent before slipping when the US Federal Reserve increased interest rates.

The economic impact of the crisis will be minimal and shortlived, with Mindanao’s contribution to growth remaining positive unless violence escalates markedly, Moody’s Investors Service said on May 31.

6. What explains decades of insurgency in Mindanao?

While an estimated five percent of the Philippines’ 101-million people are Muslim, they make up 20 percent of the Mindanao population. Government policies dating back to the 1930s encouraged Christian migration into regions traditionally populated by Muslims.

Bloomberg

who wanted their participation concealed” and that they killed Espinosa “through abuse of their authority.”

The Senate noted that Kerwin Espinosa, son of the mayor and an alleged big-time drug trafficker in the region, claimed that some of the policemen involved in the raid on the jail had been on his payroll. The circumstances of the raid, such as the timing and the indisputable fact that Espinosa was already incarcerated when Marcos and his men tried to arrest him again, also showed that the mayor was probably the victim

of a rubout.

Dela Rosa cannot continue to delude himself by saying that the DoJ decision, which reversed the earlier findings that made Marcos and his men liable for murder, will help the fight against illegal drugs. The downgrading and the release of Marcos and his fellow cops, which took place while the entire nation’s attention was focused on the war against terrorists in Marawi City, sounds like a plan implemented from some rogue policemen’s playbook.

It was a suspicious raid made

with nefarious motives, resulting in the execution of a key player (and possible star witness) of the lawmen’s deep involvement in illegal drug syndicates, which led to their even more scandalous exoneration.

You can’t get more premeditated than that.

Espinosa, for all we know, may have really been the bigtime drug trafficker that the police said he was. But now that he is dead and his killers are out on bail, I think we will never know just how involved the police were in his illegal operations.

Christian communities received government services superior to those provided to native Muslims. And many Muslims lost their rights to property when the government declared all unregistered lands in Mindanao to be public land.

7. How might Islamic State’s rise impact the peace process?

Not at all, as far as the government is concerned. The ISlinked rebel groups are splinters from the main Muslim insurgency groups that have been negotiating peace with the government.

Former President Fidel Ramos signed a peace agreementwith the Moro National Liberation Front in 1996. Former President Benigno Aquino also signed a separate peace deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a breakaway group, in 2014.

Duterte has vowed to continue the peace process with Muslim and Maoist forces and said he won’t negotiate with terrorists.

News

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Students of Yolanda-hit SUCs to receive P5k each

By John Paolo Bencito

S

TUDENTS enrolled in state universities and colleges in areas hit by Super Typhoon “Yolanda” will each receive P5,000, three years after “Yolanda” ravaged parts of Visayas in 2013, an official of the Commission on Higher Education said Tuesday.

“An additional P5,000 financial assistance will be given to students enrolled in Yolandaaffected areas,” CHED commissioner Prospero de Vera III said in a Palace news briefing.

De Vera said the funds were

sourced from the P540-million “residual money from Yolanda funds that were not utilized in 2016.”

“It is a one-time cash assistance that is long overdue but we want to make sure we will

expedite the release,” he said.

Students should apply at their respective universities in order to avail of the educational grant, De Vera said.

“The students will apply in the school because the school has the records and the school will be able to check if they are students from Yolanda-affected areas. And then the cash assistance will be given by the school to the students.”

The money is expected to be disbursed by the universities to students starting this month, he added.

The super typhoon that was considered as one of the strongest displaced thousands

of Filipinos and left more than 7,000 dead after battering the country in November 2013.

In the same news briefing, De Vera said they will be issuing in the next couple of days “an advisory to all universities to immediately accept students coming from Marawi-affected areas if they want to transfer.”

“This is like what we did in the case of ‘Yolanda,’ we issued an advisory to the schools that they should accept transferees even with incomplete records.

Immediately accept them in light of the problem that we are encountering in Marawi, so that their records can come

later,” he said.

The commission en banc has already approved this particular advisory, he added.

De Vera likewise said that there won’t be any problems on the opening of classes for higher education institutions located in Marawi, most of which are set to open by August this year.

“There’s no big problem right now in terms of disruption in terms of the opening of classes,” he said.

“We will provide the necessary assistance as needed if there are problems that they encounter as far as their students are concerned,” he added.

Angara to probe DoTR’s new PUV program

By Macon Ramos-Araneta SENATOR Sonny Angara has filed a resolution to look into the recently launched public utility vehicle modernization program if it would effectively address the needs of the commuting public while ensuring the rights and welfare of affected operators and drivers.

“We must allay the fears of the vulnerable members of our public transport sector by ensuring that adequate social protection measures are in place,” Angara said.

The senator, who chairs of the Senate Ways and Means committee, said the affected operators and drivers should be given financial help to cope up with the modernization.

“The drivers and small operators are really worried they will lost their source of living once old jeepneys are prohibited from plying their routes,” he added.

He said jeepneys remain the most affordable and accessible mode of transport in our country—providing livelihood to thousands of micro-operators and drivers.

While the PUV modernization program is integral to the traffic management solution of the country, he said there is an urgent need to thoroughly assess the impact of the program on the sustainability of jeepney operations that serve the vast majority of Filipino public commuters.

The Department of Transportation officially launched on Monday the PUV modernization program which seeks to provide safe, comfortable and eco-friendly mode of public transport to commuters.

The program aims to gradually phase out old and dilapidated jeepneys, which had been operating for 15 years or more, and replace them with environmentfriendly vehicles equipped with more efficient engines, such as Euro 4 engines or electricallypowered engines with solar panels for roofs.

However, the program was met with protests from transport groups that called for the deferment of its implementation, saying that small jeepney operators do not have enough money to finance the conversion of jeepneys to solar-powered vehicles.

The Department of Finance had said that part of the incremental revenues that will be collected from the proposed increase in excise taxes on oil will go the PUV modernization program to subsidize the conversion of jeepneys to more efficient engines and bodies.

Meanwhile, another major component of the PUV modernization program is the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines, which requires local government units to develop a transport route plan based on passenger demand and the existing local road network, which will ser ve as basis for franchise issuance by the LTFRB.

MIGHTY DOLLAR. A teller counts $100 bills at a money changing establishment along UN Avenue in Manila. The Philippine peso reached the P50 level against the dollar in early trading after opening at P49.99 on Tuesday. This was after New York Fed president William Dudley made comments that pushed the greenbucks to a three-week high. Norman Cruz

DoLE set to hire additional inspectors

By Vito Barcelo THE Department of Labor and Employment will hire additional labor inspector officers as part of the government’s campaign to end illegal contractualization and enforce compliance with labor standards and existing laws.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the Department of Budget and Management has already approved DoLE’s request to tap new personnel on top of the existing 525 LLCOs deployed across the country.

He said the department will fill up the 36 new LLCO positions to complement the roster of compliance officers for assignment to key areas where non-compliance with labor laws and standards is high.

“These new positions will augment our manpower in the assessment and inspection of business establishments in the country, particularly on their compliance with Department Order No. 174,” Bello said.

The new positions, with a P15million budget, will be further boosted, Bello said, when the Labor department submits to Congress a request for additional 200 LLCO items to effectively perform assessment and inspection of around 937,554 small, medium and big business establishments in the country.

Bello said the LLCOs are also expected to conduct plant-level joint assessment of compliance by employer and workers’ representative; initiate awarenessraising and capacity-building of both employers and the workers and unions.

“The LLCOs are mandated to check the establishments’ voluntary compliance through the Incentivizing Compliance Program [ICP]; and help in enhancing plant-level partnership mechanism, such as the Labor Management Committee [LMC] or any workplace cooperation and partnership structure by ensuring sub-committees on OSHS,” he said.

He said the LLCOs are also expected to ensure the establishments’ implementation on Compliance Productivity, Family Welfare Program and Grievance through convergence of DoLE plant-level programs and services known as the LMC Convergence Programs.

CAAP’s state-of-the-art facility nears completion

By Joel E. Zurbano THE P9.8-billion state-of-the-art facility of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines is now in its final phase and will be fully operational on or before December this year.

The agency is hastening the construction of the Communications, Navigation and Surveillance Air Traffic Management facilities which will be turned over to CAAP by the contractor next month.

“Yes, it is already functional and will be fully operational towards the end of this year,” said Eric Apolonio, CAAP spokesperson and media communications office chief.

Aviation authorities said the CNS/ ATM technology which includes a

computer-based flight data processing system, will enable aircraft operators to meet their planned times of departure and arrival and adhere to their preferred flight profiles with minimum constraints and without compromising agreed levels of safety.

With this technology, which started worldwide in 2000, the billing for overflights would be done automatically by computers so that there would no longer be lapses or flights that do not get properly billed.

The system development project was first conceptualized in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organization Global Air Navigation Plan.

The utilization of this system covers the Philippine airspace.

The project, which begun during the administration of then President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo under the aegis of the ICAO, was supposed to be finished in 2005, then moved to 2007 and 2010 until it was finally abandoned for lack of funds.

Since then, neighboring countries have adopted the CNS/ATM but the Philippines remained one of the few countries that lack this high-tech, satellite-based air traffic and communications system.

In 2013, the Commission on Audit cleared the resumption of the aviation surveillance project to modernize the CAAP’s system.

“CAAP, in consonance with ICAO [International Civil Aviation Or-

ganization] standards, continues to drive our Area Centers to maintain a safe and secure air transport industry in the same manner that aircraft are guided by illumination coming from approach and landing lights to safely land at their designated runway,” said CAAP deputy general Capt. Jim Sydiongco.

Early this month, CAAP got the approval of an ICAO team which conducted an assessment to determine if the agency complies with international safety standards.

The assessment, dubbed as ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission, was conducted from May 30 to June 8.

The ICVM is an on-site activity during which ICAO team of subject matter experts collects and

assesses evidence provided by the State demonstrating that it has implemented corrective action (or mitigating measures for significant safety concerns) to address previously identified findings.

ICAO then validates the collected evidence and information.

ICVM team leader Jean Paul de Villeneuve and team member Michiel Vreedenburgh told CAAP officials during the exit briefing yesterday that they were satisfied with the corrective actions taken by CAAP that comply with international safety standards.

The ICVM team said that CAAP garnered 64.6 percent effective implementation score, which is above the 60 percent ICAO benchmark for safety oversight system.

Filipino, ‘Panitikan’ to stay—CHED FILIPINO and “Panitikan” (literature) subjects would remain as part of the revised General Education curriculum after the Commission on Higher Education ordered all higher education institutions to retain them following a temporary restraining order issued by the Supreme Court last year.

CHED Memorandum Order No. 57, series of 2017, signed by Chairperson Patricia Licuanan on June 16 (Friday), asked the HEIs to comply with the resolution issued by the high court on G.R. 217451 (Lumbera et.al., vs.

President Aquino et.al.) last April 21, 2015 which enjoins the CHED from implementing provisions of CMO No. 20, s.2013 “insofar as it excluded from the curriculum for college Filipino and Panitikan as core courses.”

As per CMO 59, s.1996, students with fields of study related to Humanities, Social Sciences

and Communication should be taking 9 units of Filipino and Panitikan subjects; while those in other fields may instead opt for 6 units of Filipino and Panitikan.

“Failure to comply may be construed as a direct or indirect violation of the TRO with possible sanctions by the Supreme Court,” Licuanan said in the CMO. With the revised GE curriculum to take full effect by A.Y. 2018-2019, Commissioner Prospero de Vera said that the state higher education regulatory body has yet to discuss whether to push for an appeal of the earlier decision of the high court and may wait until the SC discusses it formally.

“We will wait for the Supreme Court to actually hear the issue because we want to look at all the angles of it,” Commissioner Prospero de Vera III said in a Palace news briefing.

“So the Commission has not discussed or taken up the issue yet because this was before our time,” he said. “We’ll wait for the procedure of the Supreme Court to commence. Anyway, as long as the Supreme Court has not taken out the TRO, then it’s still part of the curriculum.”

Tanggol Wika—a broad alliance of educators from more than 40 colleges and universities in the country, had earlier expressed opposition to CMO 20, s.2013, saying that it is an “attack against the national language.”

Despite the move to reinstate Filipino in the GE curriculum more than a year since the SC issued a TRO, De Vera, however, said that it would be up to the decision of HEIs whether they would revive the Filipino departments that were dissolved after they were removed following the implementation of the questioned CHED order. John Paolo Bencito

BEST SELLERS. Umbrellas of various sizes and colors are making brisk sales at the Guadalupe Viejo stalls as people get ready for the rain. Diana B. Noche

Sports

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2017 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

One to go for Sepfourteen

N

AIC, Cavite—Two down, one to go.

The winning tandem of Sepfourteen and star jockey John Alvin Guce made it two in a row in the Philippine Racing Commission’s Triple Crown series at the San Lazaro Park here Sunday after winning a thrilling battle against stablemate Brilliance and longshot Hiway One.

The triumph moved Sepfourteen, owned by SC Stockfarm’s Oliver Velasquez, to within a win shy of becoming the 11th champion of the Triple Crown Series.

If Sepfourteen wins the third leg set over a longer distance of 2,000 meters, he’ll join the greats such as Fair and Square in 1981, Skywalker (1983), Time Master (1987), Magic Showtime (1988),

Sun Dancer (1989), Strong Material (1996), Real Top (1998), Silver Story (2001), Hagdang Bato (2012), and Kid Molave (2014).

Guce guided the three-yearold colt sired by Consolidator and Regal Boom to stay behind the frontrunning Brilliance until the third turn of the 1,800 meter course, before making his big move.

They got in front from Brilliance’s right side after going into the last 760 meters, never letting go of whatever slim lead they got until the finish line.

Septourteen reached the finish line in one minute and 54.6 seconds, followed in second by Brilliance. Hiway One came in third after joining a close chase for first place in the last 100-meters.

“Sumunod lang po kami kay Brilliance. Kasi de-bandera ito.

Iyung aki, de remate lang. Kaya sunod lang,” said Guce.

Last month, Sepfourteen took the first leg crown of the 2017 Philracom-Triple Crown Stakes Race by a big margin at the San Lazaro Leisure Park racetracks

in Carmona, Cavite. At that time, Guce was also on top of him as he found an opportunity to pull away in the last 400 meters.

Sepfourteen took home the second leg prize of P1.8 million, while Brilliance earned P675,000.

Earlier, jockey Jonathan Hernandez swept the first two two of the three races of the Philracom.

Hernandez and Cerveza Rosas took the top honors in the 3YO Locally Bred Stakes Race, beating Batang Poblacion and Alfie. This earned them a purse of P300,000.

Afterwards, Hernandez rode Smokin Saturday to the second leg trophy of the Hopeful Stakes Race to grab the pay-

check of P600,000. Great Wall (Apoy Asuncion, P225,000) and Mount Pulag (Raquel, P125,000) came in second and third, respectively.

“I’m sure racing fans had a blast with the exciting races offered by Philracom,” said Philracom Chairman Andrew A. Sanchez, who was joined in the awarding of winners by his commissioners Binevenido Niles Jr. and Atty. Wilfredo De Ungria, executive director Dr. Andrew Rovie Buencamino, PRCI Racing Manager Antonio Alcasid Jr. and PRCI Chief Operating Officer Santiago Cualoping III. “This sets us up nicely going into the final leg of the Triple Crown.”

Ancajas ready for Korean foe LESS than two weeks before he makes a mandatory defense of his International Boxing Federation super flyweight belt, Jerwin Ancajas declared himself ready against topachallenger Teiru Kinoshita of Korea.

As per trainer and manager Joven Jimenez, the 25-year-oldpride of Panabo, Davao del Norte is already 95 percent in top shape for the 12-round match that serves as undercard for the Manny Pacquiao-Jeff Horn World Boxing Organization welterweight title bout in Brisbane, Australia.

The remaining five percent Ancajas hopes to accomplish just before the July 2 match expected to be fought before a record crowd of 50,000 at the Suncorp Stadium.

“Nasa 95 percent na po, ‘yun ang nakikita niya [Jimenez] sa akin,” said Ancajas, who has sparred more than a 100 rounds for the second defense of the crown he won with a unanimous decision over McJoe Arroyo of Puerto Rico last year.

Jimenez, who was with the world champion in Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the Golden Phoenix Hotel, said they had seen numerous bouts of the 31-year-old challenger, who was born in Korea but raised and now based in Japan.

“Southpaw siya, typical na Koreano na matibay,” he said. “Abang lang ng abang iyan, although skills wise, mas lamang si Jerwin.”

At the moment, Ancajas is still six pounds over the 115-lbs limit, although he doesn’t see any problem making the weight.

“Kaya naman ang timbang. Mababa na nga ‘yung over ko compared sa mga previous fights ko,” he stressed in the same session presented by San Miguel Corp., Golden Phoenix Hotel, Accel, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

Miguel Tabuena hopes to make the most of his rare stint on the Phl Golf Tour

MIGUEL Tabuena firms up the ICTSI Forest Hills Championship field following the last-minute withdrawal of Angelo Que, hoping to provide stiff challenge to the men of the tour when the P3 million event is fired off Wednesday at the Forest Hills Golf and Country Club in Antipolo.

Though Tabuena is coming off a mediocre joint 47th finish in the Lyoness Open in Austria and a missed cut stint at the Queens Cup in Thailand the last two weeks, the 22-year-old former Philippine Open champion remains the marked player in the 71-roster cast owing to his talent and skills.

The 2015 Philippine Golf Tour Order of Merit winner rallied from behind to snare the Luisita Championship in Tarlac last May then resumed his overseas campaign in a

bid to gain world ranking points, including stints in the European Tour, the Japan PGA and the Asian Tour.

But a break in the circuits abroad made himself available for this week’s battle and he will be as much tested as the rest of the elite field right in the opening round where he is pitted with reigning OOM champion Tony Lascuña and Zanieboy Gialon, winner of the last PGT leg at Calatagan two weeks ago, in the 8 a.m. flight on No. 1.

“Puro bigatin ang kalaban,” said Gialon, who beat Jhonnel Ababa by six to snap a three-year title spell in the circuit sponsored by ICTSI and organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. “But I’m ready and hope to deliver again.”

Lascuña is also raring to end a string of runnerup finishers in the first half of the 14-leg tour.

PHILIPPINE Sports Commission-backed Marian Jade Capadocia easily beat her veteran rivals to clinch a spot in the main draw of the International Tennis Federation Women’s Circuit recently in Alakmaar, the Netherlands.

Capadocia, former Philippines’ No.1, defeated world-ranked No. 1225 American Caroline Dunleavy, 6-2, 6-2, in the first qualifying round before demolishing local bet Shura Poppe, 6-3, 6-0, in the final qualifying to make it to the main draw in this world ranking meet.

“Maganda po ang kondisyon ko, medyo ganado.

Malakas sa service play ang kalaban, pero okey naman po at nakontrol ko ‘yung atake nila,” said the 23-year-old veteran SEA Games campaigner through her mother Teresita via Facebook message.

“Nagpapasalamat po ako sa PSC Board, sa pamumuno ni Chairman William Ramirez sa suporta at tiwalang ibinigay sa akin para makasali sa tournament,” added Capadocia, who is trying Marian Jade Capadocia demolished local bet Shura Poppe, 6-3, 6-0, in the to gain at least 20 world ranking points.

The PSC bankrolled Capadocia’s participafinal qualifying round to make it to the main draw of the International tion in the ITF World Circuit after the Philippine Tennis Federation Women’s Circuit.

Que, runaway winner in this year’s PGT kickoff leg at Anvaya, has earlier confirmed his participation but backed out at the last minute, citing the need to rest following a series of tournaments in the Japan PGA Tour, where is based, and last week’s Asian Tour in Thailand, where he finished tied for sixth after leading the field midway of the final round.

Though his colorful presence will be missed, the depth of the field remains as talentladen as ever with two-leg winner Clyde Mondilla also resuming his hunt for another crown, veterans Jay Bayron, Elmer Salvador, Frankie Miñoza, Rufino Bayron, Mars Pucay and Ferdie Aunzo looking to flash vintage form, and young guns Jobim Carlos, Ira Alido, Keanu Jahns, John Kier Abdon and Justin Quiban going for their maiden win.

Amateur Tennis Association refused to reinstate the former Arellano University standout, despite repeated appeals and pleas.

Philta dropped Capadocia in the National Team due to personal differences with secretary general Romeo Magat. The association is currently embroiled in a leadership dispute resulting in the withdrawal of support from major stakeholders, including businessmen-sportsman Jean Henri Lhuillier.

“Gustong-gusto ko pong maglaro sa National Team, pero talagang ayaw nila akong ibalik.

Kahit tryouts okey sa akin, pero wala silang pakialam,” said Capadocia.

In the first round of the Alkmaar championship set to start on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila), Capadocia faces Nikki Redelijk of the United States.

From the Netherlands, Capadocia will head to the ITF Circuit in Haan, Belgium. After the ITF sojourn, she will join fellow students to represent her country and Arellano University in the prestigious World University Games in Taipei, Taiwan on Aug. 19 to 30.

SC Stockfarm colt keeps Triple Crown slam hope alive JENNY ORTUOSTE STA. Clara Stockfarm’s colt Sepfourteen kept their hope of Triple Crown glory alive by winning the second leg of the Philippine Racing Commission’s iconic series for elite 3YO at Santa Ana Park last June 18.

Ridden by John Alvin Guce, the colt stopped the clock at 1:54.6 (14’-25-24-23’-27’). Its stablemate, the talented filly

Games Tomorrow

(Filoil Flying V Center) 5 p.m. – Generika-Ayala vs Foton 7 p.m. – Cignal HD vs Petron

PETRON bounced back from a second-set disaster to pull off a 2521, 26-24, 25-21, 25-18 conquest of Generika-Ayala in the Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference yesterday at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.

National team stalwart Frances Molina waxed hot as the Blaze Spikers caught fire in the third and fourth sets to complete the victory in this prestigious club tourney bankrolled by Gold’s Gym, Rebisco and Belo with TV5 as official broadcast partner.

Molina had an impressive allaround performance with 15 kills, three blocks and two aces for 20 points, while veteran Aiza MaizoPontillas submitted 17 markers for the Blaze Spikers, who missed the strong offensive presence of spitfires Cherry Rondina and Bernadeth Pons.

Rondina, the high-flying University of Santo Tomas star, delivered seven points, but was fielded sparingly after sustaining an ankle sprain while Pons didn’t suit up to attend her graduation ceremonies.

With the victory, the Blaze Spikers are now tied with rival Cignal at the second spot of Pool C behind unbeaten Foton with a 3-1 win-loss card, turning their clash tomorrow a highly-anticipated affair.

But Petron coach Shaq Delos Santos was far from satisfied, especially after suffering a second-set meltdown due to their 13 errors and the Lifesavers three service aces.

“We relaxed in the second set,” said Delos Santos, who was part of the coaching staff when Petron tallied a clean sweep of this conference that also has Senoh, Mueller, Mikasa, Asics and Grand Sport as technical sponsors two years ago.

“We lost our composure and our rhythm in the second set. Nawala ang gigil. I’m glad we were able to bounce back in the third and fourth sets.”

Tabuena in, Que out as ICTSI golf unfolds Bentillo, Velez share PPS Isulan honors

Capadocia reaches main draw

THE HOARSE WHISPERER

Petron turns back Generika for 3rd win

Brilliance, bagged second place honors, followed by Hiway One and Pangalusian Island in third and fourth places respectively.

The second leg of the Hopeful Stakes, the auxiliary to the Triple Crown, saw Roberto Iñigo’s Smokin’ Saturday exert dominance over placers Great Wall, Mount Pulag, and Bossa Nova, in that order. The winner, guided by Jonathan Hernandez, hit the finish line at 1:55 (13’-25-25-24’-27).

The honors in the 3YO Locally-Bred Stakes race went to lawyer Benhur Abalos’s Cer-

veza Rosas, another Hern a nd e z -g u id e d mou nt .

C om i ng i n behind the filly were Batang Poblacion, Alfie, and Caloocan Zap, from second to fourth. Cerveza Rosas posted a leisurely 1:55.8 (14-24-24’-25’-27’) for the outing.

All three races were sponsored by Philracom and run over 1,800 meters on a good track.

Santa Ana Park will also host the third legs of these three series, as well as many Philracom stakes races in the coming months, including the highly impor-

tant Ambassador Eduardo M. Cojuangco Jr. Cup. *** Not to discount Sepfourteen’s performance, but I really think Brilliance should have won the race.

The filly, who won the first leg of the Hopeful Stakes last month, led the entire way with Sepfourteen running off the pace. Despite the challenge thrown by Golden Kingdom in the backstretch, the coupled entries remained unfazed and held on to their positions.

However, they both raced wide at the home turn, allowing opponents to sneak up on

the rail. Still, they ran neckand-neck to the wire, with Brilliance losing by a nostril, or so it looked. Neither did I see Kelvin Abobo, aboard Brilliance, take out his whip nor do any serious urging, whereas Guce had his whip out and was showing it to his mount.

I could be wrong, though.

You can watch the race on Facebook at “Prci Santa Ana Park;” just scroll down till you find the video.

Facebook: Gogirl Racing and Jenny Ortuoste, Twitter: @gogirlracing and @jennyortuoste, and Instagram: @ jensdecember and @artuoste

JOHN David Velez and April Minette Bentillo took the 14-and-under crowns in varying fashions as they shared center stage with Vince Tugade and Carlyn Guarde in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala Isulan regional age group tennis tournament in Sultan Kudarat last Monday.

Velez flashed top form to crush John Litang, 6-1, 6-0, in the finals, completing a dominating campaign that saw the rising Davao ace drop just four games on his way to the championship in the Group 2 tournament sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop and presented by Slazenger.

Bentillo also looked headed to matching Velez’s romp in the girls’ side but after yielding six games from the first round to the semis, the local ace struggled against Alexa Milliam and needed to come up with clutch hits to hack out a 3-6, 7-6(5), 10-8 decision.

The victories came after Velez and Bentillo, along with Milliam from La Carlota and seven others, earned a three-month scholarship program at the Macs Crankit Tennis Academy in Australia. The others are Iloilo City’s Marben Mosquera, Klyde Lagarde from Gen. Santos City, Janus Ringia from Koronadal City, Sydney Ezra Enriquez from Zamboanga, Kiana de Asis and Tracy Llamas, all from La Carlota, Bacolod, and Elsie Abarquez from Carcar, Cebu.

Meanwhile, local bets Tugade and Guarde nailed two titles each with the former repulsing Ringia twice, 6-3, 6-3, for the boys’ 16-U title and 6-2, 6-3, for the 18-U plum. Guarde, on the other hand, toppled Tracy Llamas, 6-4, 6-2, for the girls’ 16-U diadem then overpowered Dana Abad, 6-2, 6-2, for the 18-U title.

Third ranked Andre Padao upended No. 2 Cedric Pamplona, 0-6, 6-2, 10-8, in the semis, then the Digos City bet stunned top seed Reyman Saldivar Jr., 4-6, 6-4, 10-4, to claim the boys’ 12-U crown, while Milliam bagged the girls’ title with a 6-2, 6-3 romp over Tennielle Madis, who took the 10-unisex crown with a 4-1, 4-1 victory over Charles Jumawan.

LOTTO RESULTS 6/55 00-00-00-00-00-00 6/45 00-00-00-00-00-00 4 DIGITS 0-0-0-0 3 DIGITS 0-0-0 2 EZ2 0-0

P0 M+ P0 M

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

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2017

Diliman captures Fr Martin crown

Sports

Diliman College Blue Dragons big man Adama Diakhite (30) scores on a rim-rattling dunk. Diliman beat the Centro Escolar University Scorpions to win the 23rd Fr. Martin Cup Summer Basketball tournament.

San Miguel Beermen, TNT KaTropa start showdown

By Jeric Lopez

T

HE rivalry resumes.

San Miguel Beer and TNT KaTropa will be at each other’s throats as they seek a championship in their anticipated best-ofseven titular showdown in the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup.

Game 1 of the finals between the Beermen and the Tropang Texters is scheduled tonight at 7 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum as both teams obviously want to gain an early upper hand.

The stage is set for an all-outwar pitting teams with loaded rosters from top to bottom.

No less than PBA commissioner Chito Narvasa expressed

Lagawe to host indigenous games TWELVE games played by ethnic tribes in the Province of Ifugao will be showcased in the two-day Gender and Development Indigenous Games in municipality of Lagawe.

The batawel race, a palaycarrying contest, and the stilt walking competition of akkad will be among the team competitions that will be seen during the games from June 23 to 24.

The competitions will be held at the provincial capitol plaza starting at 1 p.m. on Friday.

Guyyudan, or tug-of-war, among elementary and secondary students will kick off the start of activities.

A wrestling match called hinukting will be next on tap, followed by the batawel race, and the bangngunan, or leg wrestling.

“Its good to see these events become part of the Philippine Sports Commission’s grassroots program,” said Manny Bitog, one of PSC’s facilitators who understands how the games are played.

There will also be competitions in akkad, followed by the ab-abba, or the mancarrying race.

Commissioner Celia Kiram will be the keynote speaker in the opening of the Games.

Mayor Pedro Mayam-O will deliver the inspirational message to the participants in the simple opening rites. Peter Atencio

his excitement over the looming finale.

“I know this is going to be a dogfight for both teams. May the best team win. I’m looking forward to this,” said the league chair.

The Beermen championship core of Alex Cabagnot, June Mar Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Ross, Arwind Santos, along with

import Charles Rhodes, will be tested and challenged by a fellow powerhouse.

The Tropang Texters will still have the leadership and dominance of superstar Jayson Castro.

He will have plenty of help from rising rookie RR Pogoy, Ryan Reyes, Kelly Williams, Ranidel De Ocampo, RR Garcia and Anthony Semerad, among others.

One huge uncertainty for the series is the import status of TNT KaTropa.

Joshua Smith is still the primary reinforcement but his injured foot might be too much to overcome and backup import Mike Myers is likely to step in if necessary.

Given all the intrigue and the firepower involved, everyone expects this championship tussle

between these Goliaths to produce a lot of fireworks.

SMB wants to stretch its perfect record in PBA Finals in the last three years. TNT KaTropa, a team on the rise under a promising young coach, hopes to be back on top after a five-conference title drought. A slam-bang battle looms.

The Beermen and the Texters begin their best-of-seven title showdown at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“Sobra na, tama na, KaTropa naman,” said TNT team manager Virgil Villavicencio during the joint press conference to express desire to end the Beermen’s reign.

“Hindi nakakasawang magchampion. Lagi namin asam ito,” countered said San Miguel Beer

forward Arwind Santos.

The Beermen are in their 38th finals and are looking for their 24th PBA crown. The Texters are in their 17th championship series, chasing an eighth title.

The Beermeen, winner of the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup, are also on track for a possible second grand slam. They achieved feat in 1989 with a team led by PBA all-time greats Mon Fernandez, Ricky Brown, Samboy Lim and Hector Calma.

The two teams earlier faced off in a best-of-seven playoff in the last Philippine Cup semifinals.

The Texters lost that series— allowing the Beermen to go to the finals and eventually win the crown against the Barangay Ginebra Kings.

DILIMAN College Blue Dragson, led by six-foot Senegalese Adama Diakhite, beat the Centro Escolar University Scorpions, 65-63 last Friday to claim the 23rd Fr. Martin Cup Summer Basketball tournament men’s basketball crown at the MVP gymnasium of the San Beda Manila campus in Mendiola.

The 19-year-old Diakhite came up with a double-double after scoring 31 points and grabbing 18 rebounds for the Blue Dragons.

Two other teammates, Rickson Gerero and Kristoffer Torrado, backed him up with 21 and seven points respectively as the Blue Dragons went on to claim their first ever crown in the tournament that’s supported

by Armor On Sportswear.

“It’s about how we stop them from scoring. Pumuputok iyung tatlo (Orlan) Wamar, (John Carlo) Casino and (Paul) Galinato),” said Blue Dragons coach Rensy Bajar.

Defense of the Scorpions’ three prolific shooters worked wonders for the Blue Dragons right from the start.

Limiting the Scorpions to just six points in the first period allowed the Blue Dragons to establish an 18-6 advantage in the first 10 minutes.

Gerero hit seven of his 21-point tally before Diakhite took over in the next period.

Diakhite made 10 points in the second canto to lead the Blue Dragons to a 34-24 halftime spread.

Paul Galinato, one of the Scorpion main gunners, had only eight points.

Orlan Wamar fired a gamehigh 14 points for the Scorpions, who reached the finals after they beat the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals, 83-77.

Casino had 11 points for the Scorpions, who fell behind by 15 in the fourth.

Diakhite’s dunk with 7:35 to go gave the Blue Dragons their biggest lead, 57-42.

The Blue Dragons, who got together only last January, were the first to the semis when they prevailed over the Letran Knights, 91-85, in the semifinals last week.

Gerero’s layup off a fastbreak play from rebound and fastbreak play by Diakhite in the last 34.1 seconds of the third canto saw the Blue Dragons taking a 13-point spread, 53-40. Peter Atencio

Sityodtong wants Angela-Joanna superfight ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong Sityodtong proposed a cross-promotional superfight between ONE Championship Strawweight World Champion Angela Lee and UFC counterpart Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Both fighters are unbeaten. The 20-year-old Lee holds an 8-0 record with all her fights, except for one lopsided decision, ending in a spectacular finish. The 29-year-old Jedrzejczyk holds a 14-0 mark.

That fight however may never happen. The UFC, in a statement made through its Senior Vice President of International and Content Joe Carr, claimed that despite Lee’s obvious talent, she is not on the level of current UFC strawweights.

The UFC response dismayed Sityodtong who hoped that a fight between the two would show why ONE Championship is favored by Asian viewers.

“I am disappointed by the western

arrogance displayed by the UFC, especially as guests in our home of Asia. The theme of foreigners coming here and bashing Asians is not a new one,” said Sityodtong. “If they (UFC) really believe they are the best then they should have no issues accepting our humble invitation of our world champion versus their world champion.”

Lee has emerged as one of Asia’s biggest MMA stars and has had a tremendous impact on the Asian market.

Lee on her own could sell out an entire arena, and she isn’t alone in ONE Championship which has a large roster of top marketable talents like welterweight Ben Askren and Filipino superstar Eduard Folayang, among others.

“The reality is our product resonates with Asia because of our values and our celebration of true martial arts. Those values of humility, courage, discipline and honor. What the UFC does doesn’t resonate in Asia.”

ONE has held at least one event every month in a major city in Asia, while the UFC has held just the one in Singapore in the past couple of years. UFC Manila was scheduled for 2016 but had to be canceled at the last minute when headliner BJ Penn was injured.

Sityodtong believes it is because ONE’s overall end product differs vastly from that which the UFC offers.

“Metrics indicate that ONE Championship is at least five to 10 times larger than UFC is in Asia, depending on the country,” said Sityodtong.

And it isn’t merely claims from top brass at ONE that shows the promotion’s dominance in the region. Social media and TV statistics also back the company’s sentiments. A recent look into the social media and TV numbers of ONE Championship last month showed an incredible spike in viewership and audience engagement over the past year alone.

Angele Lee (left) engages challenger Istela Nunes during their ONE Championship fight in Singapore. Lee successfully defended her title with a decisive submission victory over Nunes.

ONE Championship

NCAA introduces new tournament format

By Peter Atencio

NCAA Management Committee chairman Fr. Glynn Ortega, OAR, of host San Sebastian College (left), explains on-tour format of the league during yesterday’s weekly PSA Forum at the Golden Phoenix Hotel in Pasay City. Beside him is Vice Chairman Col. Jeff Tamayo. Lino Santos

SEVEN schools will initially hold home games inside their campuses when the 93rd National Collegiate Athletic Association starts with the basketball games.

School officials, led by Management Committee chairman Fr. Glynn Ortega, OAR, of host San Sebastian College, said as league officials prepared for the season’s opening on July 8 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

“This will be part of our ontour format,” said Ortega.

Ortega was with board member Jeff Tamayo during yesterday’s

weekly PSA Forum at the Golden Phoenix Hotel in Pasay City.

Being the host school this season, San Sebastian College will have Friday games in any of the campuses of Arellano University in Legarda, Manila; Letran College in Intramuros, Manila; and at Emilio Aguinaldo College in San Marcelino, Manila.

There will be games at the University of Perpetual Help campus in Las Pinas, and in San Sebastian College’s Cavite campus.

This new innovation is part of the league’s plans to bring the games to its students.

For the eliminations, Ortega explained that they will hold three

games on each of the three play dates of Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Games on Tuesday and Thursdays are still going to be at the Arena in San Juan.

The opening day game will have host San Sebast ian faci ng defendi ng champion San Beda at 2 p.m.

It will be followed by the duel between last year’s runner-up Arellano University and Mapua at 4 p.m.

The opening ceremony is set at 12 noon.

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

PAL buying seven more planes from Bombardier

B3

Business

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

Closing June 20, 2017

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7,917.86 25.89

PESO-DOLLAR RATE Closing June 20, 2017

45.00 46.50 48.00

P50.100 CLOSE

51.00

HIGH P49.970 LOW P50.100 AVERAGE P50.064 VOLUME 1,155.500M

P435.00-P680.00 LPG/11-kg tank P38.95-P51.01 Unleaded Gasoline P27.35-P31.46 Diesel

OPRICES IL TODAY

P32.85-P41.15 Kerosene P20.75-P21.75

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Tuesday, June 20, 2017

F OREIGN E XCHANGE R ATE Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

49.8590

Japan

Yen

0.008968

0.4471

UK

Pound

1.274000

63.5204

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128208

6.3923

Switzerland

Franc

1.025220

51.1164

Canada

Dollar

0.756659

37.7263

Singapore

Dollar

0.721189

35.9578

Australia

Dollar

0.759400

37.8629

Bahrain

Dinar

2.653928

132.3222

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266674

13.2961

Brunei

Dollar

0.718597

35.8285

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000075

0.0037

Thailand

Baht

0.029481

1.4699

UAE

Dirham

0.272264

13.5748

Euro

Euro

1.114900

55.5878

Korea

Won

0.000880

0.0439

China

Yuan

0.146595

7.3091

India

Rupee

0.015511

0.7734

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.233863

11.6602

New Zealand

Dollar

0.723000

36.0481

Taiwan

Dollar

0.032957

1.6432 Source: PDS Bridge

IN BRIEF Asia Brewery eyes expansion in Asean LT GROUP Inc., the listed holding company of tycoon Lucio Tan, plans to build a manufacturing facility for nonalcoholic beverage outside the Philippines as a part of its Asean expansion.

LT Group president Michael Tan said in an interview following the annual stockholders meeting that unit Asia Brewery Inc. planned to expand in Southeast Asia, particularly for nonalcoholic beverage like water, juice and energy drinks.

“That is the strategy. If we go out, it will be for non-alcoholic beverages,” Tan said. “We hope to make a announcement soon.”

Non-alcoholic brands under Asia Brewery include Absolute, Cobra, Coco Fresh, Summit, Vitamilk, Barista Iced Coffee, Nestea and Sunkist. Asia Brewery also has an existing joint venture with Calidad Pascual of Spain for distribution of dairy products in Southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, LT Group plans to allocate P10 billion for capital expenditures this year, up from P7 billion it spent last year. Jenniffer B. Austria

ING outsourcing unit set to hire 200

ING Business Shared Services, a unit of ING Bank N.V. Manila, plans to recruit 200 more Filipinos this year as the country becomes known for knowledge process outsourcing.

“As a mature organization, we want to go to more higher value services.

We’re slowly incorporating financial analysis, interpretation of results, risk management, among others,” ING Business Shared Services chief executive Cees Ovelgonne said during the launching of the company’s new facility at World Plaza Building in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

The move to a bigger location was in preparation for the migration to higher value services and after the company’s manpower grew from 250 people in 2013 to 500 in 2015. The company is expected to have 700 people by end-2017.

ING Shared Services expansion is a part of the 900-million-euro digitalization program spread over a period of five years that started in 2016.

ING Bank Manila president Consuelo Garcia said the shared services unit, despite being a cost center, was providing much needed support to ING banking and finance operations in 40 countries. “Eventually, our investment [of 900 million euros] will pay for itself,” she said. Othel V. Campos

B1

Peso sinks to 50.10 vs US dollar

PSE COMPOSITE INDEX

49.50

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2017

CALAX GROUNDBREAKING. Public Works Secretary Mark Villar (left) along with (from second left) Metro Pacific Investment Corp. chairman Manuel Pangilinan, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade and Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno lead the groundbreaking of CaviteLaguna Expressway Project in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. CALAx is a four-lane 44.20 km. closed-system tolled expressway connecting Manila-Cavite Expressway and South Luzon Expressway with a budget of P35.682 billion.

S&P expects economic growth to remain solid

By Julito G. Rada

S

&P Global Ratings expects the Philippine economy to grow at an average of 6.5 percent annually over the next two years, despite the tension in Mindanao and adverse developments overseas.

The debt watcher said in a report Tuesday that strong domestic demand would remain a main driver of expansion this year and next.

“The economic growth story continues to appear solid for now, while inflation is trending comfortably within the target band for now,” S&P said.

“Strong domestic demand will continue to drive a solid GDP expansion at around 6.5 percent annually over the next two years,” it said. In particular, S&P expects the Philippine economy to grow 6.6 percent this year

and 6.4 percent in 2018.

It said despite some geopolitical headwinds and the escalation of tension in the south (Marawi conflict) and the embargo imposed on Qatar which were putting pressure on remittances and overseas jobs, these issues appeared largely self-contained and were unlikely to cause a major hit to the Philippines’ overall economic growth.

S&P, however, warned that risks to global trade and investment flows could provide some headwinds to growth―either from rising protectionism or geopolitical tensions (both external and domestic).

S&P said uncertainties around these issues as well as Fed rate normalization could also bring capital outflow risks, especially now that commodity prices had eaten into the current account surplus.

Meanwhile, British bank Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. said it was expecting the Philippine economy to grow 6.5 percent both for 2017 and 2018 driven mainly by strong private consumption and sustained remittances.

Cheuk Wan Fan, managing director and

head of HSBC’s Investment Strategy and Advisory, said in a briefing in Makati City that the deceleration from the 6.9-percent growth last year was due to an expected deficit in the current account this year.

Latest Bangko Sentral data showed that current account in the first quarter reversed to a deficit of $318 million from $730-million surplus a year ago, as the trade in goods deficit widened on the back of the faster growth in imports.

The gross domestic product grew 6.4 percent in the first quarter, slower than 6.9 percent a year ago and 6.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, in the absence of robust spending that happened in the run-up to the presidential elections last year.

The first-quarter expansion, however, remained one of the fastest in the region behind China’s 6.9 percent. The government earlier predicted a 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent GDP growth in 2017.

GDP grew 6.9 percent last year, near the upper bound of the government’s target range of 6 percent to 7 percent.

THE peso fell to 50-a-dollar Tuesday, the weakest in more than two months, as investors sought the safety of the greenback after New York Fed president William Dudley hinted the US central bank might continue to increase interest rates.

The peso dropped from 49.91 a dollar Monday to close at 50.10 Tuesday, its lowest finish since it settled at 50.08 on April 7, 2017. Total volume traded reached $1.155 billion, higher than $572 million previously.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said the peso’s weakness was a reaction to external developments particularly the hawkish statements of Fed officials overnight. “So all regional currencies have responded the same way. We are just moving with other regional currencies,” Tetangco said.

Tetangco said Bangko Sentral’s policy was not to go against the fundamental trend and minimize the sharp fluctuation and volatility.

Reports quoted Dudley, a close ally of Fed Chair Janet Yellen, as saying that US inflation was a bit low but should rise alongside wages as the labor market continued to improve, allowing the Federal Reserve to continue gradually tightening US monetary policy.

Security Bank Corp. said in its daily market report that the US dollar resumed its ascent as Dudley echoed the hawkishness of Fed Chair Yellen’s statement last week.

“Dudley is generally satisfied with the direction of the US economy, being optimistic on wage growth following suit on tightening labor market,” it said.

The peso closed at 49.72 to a dollar on the last trading day of 2016. It posted its weakest level in 10 years at 50.40 against the greenback on March 3, 2017, driven by domestic factors such as the possible repercussions from other countries to Congress’ passage of death penalty law and the market expectation that larger fiscal deficit spending would widen the trade deficit and bring the current account to a deficit.

Julito G. Rada

Philam Life set to open P2-b Cebu headquarters next week PHILIPPINE American Life and General Insurance Company is opening a twin-tower center in Cebu City next week to mark the company’s 70th anniversary in the country.

Philam Life chief executive Ariel Cantos said the 16-story center would serve as the company’s headquarters in the Visayas. It would also be rented out to other tenants. The company earlier budgeted over P2 billion to build the facility, with Megawide Construction Corp. as the main contractor.

Cantos said Philam Life was ex-

panding its reach in the country, by strengthening its distribution network and introducing new products such as Vitality, a sciencebased wellness program.

“As we look forward to the next 70 years, we will leverage on our financial strength, constantly creating and innovating new relevant propositions to meet our customers’ needs,” said Cantos.

He said the company aimed to help fill the large insurance gap in the country, where insurance premium accounted for a measly 1.75 percent of the gross domestic

product. “We are trying to fill the gap that is very real in the Philippine context,” Cantos said in a news briefing in Makati City.

Cantos said Philam Life was also looking at investing in infrastructure projects. “We are interested in infrastructure projects. We are just waiting for government guidelines,” he said.

Cantos said Philam Life had invested in infrastructure projects in the past such as Coastal Road in Parañaque City and helped finance the power projects of AC Energy Holdings Inc. of the Ayala Group.

He said Philam Life regained its position as the country’s largest life insurance company, with total assets of P256 billion, capital base of P1.39 billion, P38.5 billion in premium and P52 billion in assets under management in 2016. It had 8,000 agents, 700,000 individual policyholders and over 2.5 million insured group members.

Philam Life is a member of AIA Group Limited, the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group. AIA Group Limited president and chief executive Ng Keng Hooi and regional chief exec-

utive Jacky Chan, who are based in Hong Kong, visited Manila to attend Philam Life’s 70th anniversary celebration Tuesday.

“We have done very well since the IPO [initial public offering].

Our new business profit grew on a compounded basis at 28 percent since IPO in 2010. That’s an unprecedented performance in the whole industry when you look at Asia,” Hooi said.

AIA is now an independent Asian company, with market leading positions in 18 markets.

Roderick T. dela Cruz

PNOC rejects Araneta’s lease offer for energy city

By Alena Mae S. Flores STATE-OWNED Philippine National Oil Co. rejected the lease offer of Energy Oil and Gas Holdings Inc. of businessman Gregorio Araneta III for a planned energy city in Limay, Bataan.

PNOC president Reuben Lista said in a letter to Araneta on June 13 that after a thorough deliberation, EOGHI’s offer “remains unacceptable” to the board.

EOGHI wants to lease the entire 220 hectares owned by PNOC’s former subsidiary Alternative Fuels Corp.

PNOC, however, found the company’s lease offer below the fair rental value.

Lista said PNOC AFC Industrial Park “will now be open for applications to locate/lease” subject to applicable laws or regulations…as we as applicable terms of offer.

“EOGHI may now submit new

proposal and the same will be evaluated in the same footing with other applications,” the official said.

EOGHI previously signed a memorandum of agreement with PNOC Alternative Fuels to a lease agreement for 90 hectares inside the industrial complex but failed to get an approval from the previous PNOC board.

The agreement expired in June 2015 and Lista wrote EOGHI for a new proposal shortly after he was appointed as PNOC president in November 2016.

Lista said that since the previous agreement lapsed, the new PNOC board was no longer bound by it.

The entire PNOC property in Limay covers about 220 hectares but Araneta’s group initially wanted only about 90 hectares, which raised questions to the government on what will happen to the remaining 130 hectares.

GO LOKAL AT RUSTAN’S. Go Lokal opens at Rustan’s Department Store in Makati City, following the

store’s successful launches in other shopping malls. Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez (second from right) and Rustan Commercial Group president Donnie Tantoco (left) lead the ceremonial launching of Go Lokal, an all Filipino concept store that offers the best products from Philippine micro, small and medium enterprises. Also shown are Trade Undersecretary Nora Terrado and Rustan Commercial Corp. vice president for home merchandising Ma. Elena Tantoco.

B2

Business

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Market declines; Metro, Wilcon up

S

TOCKS fell Tuesday, on fresh indications the US Federal Reserve will lift interest rates again this year.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, shed 25 points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 7,917.86, as five of the six major sectors declined.

The heavier index, representing all shares, also lost 3 points, or 0.1 percent, to settle at 4,719.24, on a value turnover of P7.1 billion. Advancers outnumbered gainers, 95 to 91, while 52 issues were unchanged.

Ten of the 20 most actives stocks ended in the green, led

by Metro Retail Stores Group Inc. which surged 8.6 percent to P4.55 and Wilcon Depot Inc. which went up 8.3 percent to P7.58. Eagle Cement Corp.

climbed 4.4 percent to P16.24.

Meanwhile, Tokyo’s Nikkei rallied Tuesday as the dollar extended gains against the yen.

However, most other regional markets struggled after Monday’s healthy gains, despite being given a positive lead from Wall Street where the Dow and SP 500 closed at fresh record highs.

One of the key drivers of Monday’s US rally were comments from influential New York Federal Reserve Bank president William Dudley, who reaffirmed the bank’s plan to press on with its rate hikes and forecast of higher inflation.

He said that despite tepid price

rises, he was confident that “if the labour market continues to tighten, wages will gradually pick up”.

“Hitting the right chords and sounding dismissive about the recent slowdown in inflation, an unrepentantly hawkish Dudley provided the USD bulls with enough fodder,” Stephen Innes, senior trader at Oanda, said in a note.

The remarks came after Fed boss Janet Yellen sounded a more hawkish tone than usual, while the central bank set out plans to wind down its asset holdings to suck cash out of the financial system.

The greenback jumped in US trade and kicked on in Asia, heading towards 112 yen for the first time since the end of May. Tokyo stocks ended 0.8 percent higher, with exporters key winners thanks to the weaker yen, while tech firms bounced after two

weeks of sharp losses.

However, airbag maker Takata plummeted 20 percent, meaning it has lost a third of its value in just two days following reports it will file for bankruptcy protection and sell its assets to a US company.

Japan’s Nikkei business daily said last week the company, with liabilities exceeding $9 billion, would make a formal decision about the filing at a board meeting this month.

Other major markets struggled, though. Hong Kong lost 0.2 percent, Sydney fell 0.8 percent and Seoul gave up 0.1 percent. Singapore was marginally lower while Wellington and Manila were also down.

Shanghai slipped 0.8 percent as investors await a decision by MSCI on whether to include it in its list of emerging market benchmark indexes. With Bloomberg, AFP

Metro Pacific open to P6-b settlement

By Darwin G. Amojelar THE tollway unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. is open to an out-of-court settlement with the government to expedite the resolution of the P6-billion compensation claim, stemming from the regulator’s failure to approve toll increases since 2013, an executive said Tuesday.

Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. senior vice president for legal and regulatory affairs Romulo Quimbo Jr. said that both parties were in favor of a shorter resolution of the

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2017

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 4.14 75,000 50.5 64,480 105.2 871,390 121 1,701,140 1.29 69,000 36.9 496,900 16.08 68,800 28.2 1,435,500 1.72 15,000 830 200 0.71 4,810,000 85.8 826,940 0.96 1,458,000 15.46 15,600 67.5 9,390 243.6 16,530 110 20 88.1 2,040 59 256,830 220.6 693,530 1,630 150 85.2 30,680

306,490 3,245,185 91,779,055 205,935,045 89,150 18,198,745 1,106,322(1, 40,215,375 25,800 164,290 3,436,650 70,951,589 1,393,410 241,216 629,981.50 3,975,172 2,200 179,524 15,153,575.50 152,910,704 244,500 2,614,795.50

1,057,550.50 26,462,539 -53,059,510 -1,260,270 075,755.9997) 1,950,820 213,000 848,896.50 107,480 390,858.50 -2,200 14,584,800 -9,917,832 -163,000 161,965

39.3 7.95 0.83 1.52 28.3 0.26 7.18 18.26 23.65 14.08 77.9 2.03 5.5 11.5 11.94 15.56 9.8 6.99 6.09 1.71 18.96 70.4 14.4 13.54 12.3 1.75 213.6 4 3.56 30.95 19.32 19.1 264 0.246 6.85 3.08 9.66 5.73 1.91 9.32 68 6.49 312 4.59 2.04 4.6 2.6 13.2 5.1 0.147 1.35 167.1 2.22 1.07

INDUSTRIAL 39.6 1,465,100 7.95 939,900 0.86 2,843,000 1.58 856,000 28.85 114,500 0.265 7,360,000 7.3 2,200,400 18.28 701,900 23.75 2,989,600 14.08 18,800 78 570 2.11 2,889,000 5.5 4,800 11.6 7,300 12 2,488,700 16.24 13,613,500 9.96 295,600 7.02 4,478,800 6.1 23,173,500 1.71 2,000 19 1,512,700 70.5 35,360 14.6 25,800 13.6 238,500 13.2 4,287,300 1.82 3,477,000 215 425,560 4.05 125,000 3.7 45,000 31.15 3,040,500 19.5 327,900 19.12 255,200 265 1,631,970 0.25 3,660,000 6.87 2,900 3.08 491,000 9.68 3,080,300 6.19 690,900 1.98 54,270,000 9.34 527,700 68.95 116,120 6.54 1,550,100 312 59,140 4.59 22,000 2.05 84,000 4.89 386,700 2.74 5,674,000 13.2 2,697,300 5.15 168,100 0.147 430,000 1.37 160,000 168 1,349,970 2.32 23,659,000 1.1 2,452,000

57,976,725 7,575,513 2,415,520 1,325,390 3,305,640 1,949,900 15,924,475 12,844,348 70,993,955 264,836 44,451 6,028,150 26,400 84,848 29,838,580 217,799,662 2,908,257 31,432,051 141,388,634 3,420 28,740,232 2,492,290 377,788 3,247,760 55,126,290 6,292,700 91,368,072 507,030 163,800 94,774,665 6,394,672 4,886,234 432,848,486 906,730 19,905 1,523,350 29,850,666 4,204,631 104,758,100 4,991,817 8,016,521 10,347,967 18,540,002 100,980 171,600 1,881,955 15,377,950 35,665,080 862,891 63,250 216,730 226,886,079 54,423,000(1, 2,643,260

-27,793,195 282,212 -64,000 193,450 779,268 -6,674,318 -21,460,750 1,180 1,717,188 -18,826,610 680,377 19,363,344 40,624,328 6,428,740 1,969,510 -2,857,340 8,374,148 -29,380 -11,170,330 225,100 -36,000 -19,535,085 1,615,122 -192,474 -230,265,958 -586,410 -1,223,768 -977,600 599,191 4,878,386 -1,522,613 -662,396 -242,934 4,400,040 -5,923,440 208,896 -14,700 64,367,622 552,770.0003) -

0.365 73.55 14 1.21 6.35 0.34 857 7.91 14.5 7.59 6.17 0.2 1,191 7.51 78 5.38 1 7.41 14.82 6.15 0.054 2.05 2.59 106 2.64 791.5 1.39 302 0.285 0.217 0.25

HOLDING FIRMS 0.37 400,000 75 964,320 14.06 4,634,800 1.25 2,042,000 6.35 29,400 0.34 850,000 858 236,870 7.91 384,200 14.52 6,558,700 7.7 30,500 6.2 13,900 0.202 470,000 1,200 193,700 7.75 2,600 78 1,119,890 5.38 2,000 1.01 1,965,000 7.59 913,200 14.94 6,535,500 6.15 10,896,200 0.054 19,720,000 2.1 4,079,000 2.68 74,000 106 42,110 2.64 143,000 792.5 342,380 1.43 106,000 305.8 6,810 0.29 100,000 0.217 400,000 0.25 100,000

147,800 72,342,556.50 65,264,146 2,589,810 189,178 289,300 203,229,050 3,059,882 95,515,448 231,818 85,943 94,600 231,894,165 19,880 87,609,197.5 ( 10,760 1,981,020 6,913,155 98,162,058 67,451,555 1,066,490 8,565,630 195,680 4,466,575 379,050 271,421,755 149,090 2,077,540 28,550 86,800 25,000

16,093,912 4,636,524 -44,457,270 124,180 51,097,588 -68,350 -63,193,920 58,174,426.5) -2,907,160 -24,922,542 -17,756,634 -21,000 -909,142 20,312,830 2,860 -914,108 -

51,240,668 40,308,530 898,980 5,011,620 454,078,075 5,152,760 91,860,927 5,819 19,694,400 2,280 528,990 6,560,530 1,899,250 15,413,100 4,990,810 62,420 16,553,320 14,375,880 131,320 8,300 49,417,500 68,382,550 315,150 13,211,940 4,110,770

-47,722,343 -840,390 297,790.00 22,806,200 159,740 2,295,605 -9,012,610 2,914,260 -644,090 -3,199,880 -4,772,760 674,050 1,182,760 -5,790,750 -3,217,500 21,380

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

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

4.1 50.5 105 121.5 1.3 37 16.1 27.65 1.72 821 0.74 86.1 0.98 15.46 67.7 238 110 88 59.5 221.6 1,630 85.3

4.14 50.5 106 121.8 1.3 37 16.1 28.2 1.72 830 0.74 86.15 0.98 15.5 67.7 243.8 110 88.1 59.5 221.6 1,630 85.3

4.05 50.1 104.6 120.5 1.29 36 16.08 27.4 1.72 821 0.71 85.5 0.92 15.46 66.8 238 110 88 59 218 1,630 85.2

ABOITIZ POWER AGRINURTURE ALLIANCE SELECT ALSONS CONS ASIABEST GROUP BASIC ENERGY CEMEX HLDG CENTURY FOOD CIRTEK HLDG CNTRL AZUCARERA CONCEPCION CROWN ASIA DAVINCI CAPITAL DEL MONTE DNL INDUS EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP EMPERADOR ENERGY DEVT EUROMED FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG GINEBRA HOLCIM INTEGRATED MICR IONICS JOLLIBEE LMG CHEMICALS MABUHAY VINYL MANILA WATER MAXS GROUP MEGAWIDE MERALCO MG HLDG PANASONIC PEPSI COLA PETRON PHIL H2O PHINMA ENERGY PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL PRYCE CORP PUREFOODS RFM CORP ROXAS AND CO ROXAS HLDG SFA SEMICON SHAKEYS PIZZA SPC POWER SWIFT FOODS TKC METALS UNIV ROBINA VITARICH VULCAN INDL

39.3 8.14 0.83 1.56 29.05 0.265 7.21 18.3 23.85 14.12 77.9 2.04 5.5 11.82 12.02 15.58 9.84 7 6.17 1.71 18.98 70.55 14.8 13.7 12.32 1.75 216 4.1 3.6 31.15 19.32 19.2 264.6 0.247 6.87 3.19 9.66 5.92 1.92 9.51 70.05 6.5 313.2 4.59 2.04 5 2.6 13.5 5.1 0.147 1.35 168.8 2.3 1.14

39.7 8.14 0.86 1.58 29.9 0.265 7.33 18.32 23.9 14.12 78 2.11 5.5 11.82 12.04 16.24 9.98 7.14 6.17 1.71 19.06 70.55 14.8 13.7 13.2 1.84 216 4.11 3.7 31.3 19.58 19.3 266 0.255 6.87 3.19 9.77 6.37 2.01 9.57 70.25 6.69 320 4.59 2.05 5.39 2.75 13.5 5.15 0.149 1.37 169 2.35 1.14

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

0.37 75 14.3 1.21 6.49 0.345 859.5 8 14.64 7.7 6.17 0.202 1,209 7.75 79 5.38 1.01 7.57 15.22 6.2 0.055 2.05 2.59 107 2.66 793 1.4 305.6 0.285 0.217 0.25

0.375 75.75 14.32 1.31 6.64 0.345 859.5 8.03 14.82 7.7 6.2 0.202 1,209 7.75 79.5 5.38 1.02 7.59 15.22 6.26 0.055 2.13 2.68 107 2.66 800 1.43 306 0.29 0.217 0.25

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

6 1.53 2.6 1.16 41.5 3.95 5.41 5.29 0.52 1.14 1.44 0.18 0.51 48 0.7 0.159 1.66 1.27 0.96 4.15 4.52 0.39 0.36 0.64 4.39

6.3 1.62 2.6 1.19 41.5 3.95 5.62 5.29 0.54 1.14 1.45 0.183 0.53 48 0.72 0.161 1.69 1.27 0.98 4.15 4.6 0.39 0.36 0.67 4.4

5.99 1.51 2.5 1.16 41.05 3.87 5.39 5.29 0.52 1.14 1.4 0.179 0.51 46.95 0.7 0.159 1.66 1.2 0.96 4.15 4.5 0.375 0.355 0.64 4.12

VOLUME

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

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

30 25 1.78 34.45 1.02 7.29 0.91 5.93

30 25.2 1.8 34.65 1.04 7.29 0.91 5.95

30 24.5 1.77 34.05 1.01 7.29 0.88 5.88

30 24.5 1.78 34.6 1.03 7.29 0.89 5.95

1,000 418,400 495,000 9,060,200 2,123,000 100 481,000 2,261,300

30,000 10,301,420 882,870 312,563,020 2,180,530 729 426,300 13,405,193

-4,098,245 126,218,380 -62,830 5,280 9,024,521

2GO GROUP ABS CBN ACESITE HOTEL APC GROUP APOLLO GLOBAL BERJAYA BLOOMBERRY BOULEVARD HLDG CALATA CORP CEBU AIR DFNN INC DISCOVERY WORLD EASYCALL FAR EASTERN U GLOBE TELECOM GMA NETWORK GOLDEN HAVEN HARBOR STAR IMPERIAL INTL CONTAINER IPEOPLE IPM HLDG ISLAND INFO ISM COMM JACKSTONES LBC EXPRESS LEISURE AND RES LORENZO SHIPPNG MACROASIA MANILA BULLETIN MANILA JOCKEY MELCO RESORTS METRO RETAIL NOW CORP PACIFIC ONLINE PAL HLDG PHIL SEVEN CORP PHILWEB PLDT PREMIUM LEISURE PRMIERE HORIZON PUREGOLD ROBINSONS RTL SBS PHIL CORP SSI GROUP STI HLDG TRAVELLERS WATERFRONT WILCON DEPOT

24.8 43.5 1.78 0.5 0.042 5.51 9.44 0.089 2.16 99.6 8.57 2.23 3.3 970 2,134 6.15 15.68 3.05 3.4 103 12.6 8.88 0.186 1.4 3.47 16.48 4.4 0.94 5.7 0.65 2.21 9.7 4.2 2.62 11.5 5.25 165 10.72 1,893 1.58 0.4 45.45 87.9 6.29 3.62 1.39 3.07 0.92 7.05

26.15 43.5 1.79 0.5 0.043 5.65 9.49 0.09 2.26 99.9 8.57 2.27 3.3 970 2,146 6.17 15.7 3.19 3.48 104.4 12.68 8.88 0.19 1.4 3.53 16.48 4.5 0.94 5.9 0.82 2.3 9.8 4.56 2.64 11.5 5.25 170 11.12 1,910 1.59 0.4 45.5 87.95 6.63 3.76 1.44 3.17 0.94 7.58

24.05 43.3 1.63 0.495 0.042 5.51 9.32 0.088 2.16 99.05 8.45 2.23 3 970 2,134 6.14 15.62 3.03 3.39 102.8 12.6 8.8 0.185 1.39 3.45 16.2 4.35 0.9 5.55 0.65 2.21 9.51 4.2 2.6 11.5 5.17 165 10.6 1,860 1.55 0.39 45.1 87.75 6.25 3.54 1.39 3.07 0.87 7.04

SERVICES 25.1 43.45 1.7 0.495 0.043 5.53 9.39 0.089 2.26 99.9 8.45 2.26 3.3 970 2,140 6.14 15.7 3.19 3.48 103 12.68 8.87 0.19 1.4 3.45 16.4 4.44 0.91 5.7 0.69 2.23 9.8 4.55 2.61 11.5 5.17 168 10.98 1,870 1.56 0.39 45.4 87.95 6.49 3.69 1.41 3.16 0.88 7.58

624,400 60,100 1,043,000 1,321,000 25,900,000 8,700 12,185,600 40,810,000 12,488,000 199,620 428,800 7,000 13,000 300 14,785 134,900 60,100 7,346,000 40,000 1,785,010 1,000 419,000 5,910,000 46,000 151,000 22,600 995,000 8,000 5,070,300 13,163,000 5,000 2,428,800 54,882,000 1,629,000 9,500 9,200 800 887,500 43,210 13,316,000 770,000 842,700 671,030 7,265,400 34,515,000 62,944,000 2,765,000 26,249,000 45,567,900

15,633,750 2,606,955 1,748,750 655,780 1,099,900 ( 48,561 114,695,255 3,618,590 27,769,290 19,892,478.50 3,645,350 15,800 42,600 291,000 31,635,410 829,808 942,296 23,005,890 136,520 183,831,630 12,664 3,716,020 1,113,830 64,050 523,690 370,182 4,403,770 7,300 29,342,058 9,788,510 11,270 23,533,379 241,897,910 4,247,910 109,250 48,039 135,600 9,740,008 81,118,680 20,811,380 303,300 38,228,350 58,983,882 ( 46,943,952 127,358,740 89,061,800 8,672,260 23,374,600 338,748,789

899,780 202,099.9999) -2,015,768 -174,510 -3,377,967 -1,190,850 -7,495,910 -76,538 246,810 13,055,285 521,460 499,104 1,154,753 -70,016,370 18,270 524 -112,000 542,724.00 -3,700,280 18,890,370 22,720,051.5) -3,525,565 2,044,210 966,790 131,620 42,870 46,337,467

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

0.0029 1.62 2.05 0.89 0.385 9.33 2.41 0.295 0.18 0.191 0.01 1.87 6.2 2.05 0.47 0.98 0.01 6.15 0.013 8.9 2.99 160.5 2.75 0.0081

0.0031 1.64 2.05 0.93 0.385 9.37 2.45 0.3 0.181 0.191 0.011 1.99 6.21 2.13 0.5 0.98 0.011 6.15 0.013 9.06 3.04 160.8 2.75 0.0081

0.0029 1.6 2.03 0.89 0.385 9.05 2.4 0.285 0.18 0.191 0.01 1.87 6.15 2.03 0.47 0.96 0.01 5.88 0.012 8.88 2.95 159.8 2.69 0.0081

MINING & OIL 0.003 194,000,000 1.63 5,810,000 2.03 15,000 0.92 777,000 0.385 40,000 9.07 10,400 2.45 1,264,000 0.295 290,000 0.18 7,390,000 0.191 70,000 0.011 33,000,000 1.91 199,000 6.21 1,014,800 2.07 60,000 0.5 140,000 0.96 147,000 0.01 17,400,000 6 270,900 0.013 4,200,000 9.06 267,400 2.98 2,797,000 160.4 941,770 2.71 63,000 0.0081 1,000,000

578,200 9,415,470 30,510 709,960 15,400 96,332 3,068,280 84,900 1,330,300 13,370 362,800 385,000 6,275,716 125,290 66,650 141,180 182,300 1,620,132 52,400 2,412,521 8,331,370(5, 150,919,942 170,630 8,100

3,000 1,274,680 9,640 13,370 -76,530 -2,914,963 38,400 -52,920 -8,898 378,869.9998) 41,944,055 -

ABS HLDG PDR AC PREF B1 ALCO PREF B DD PREF FGEN PREF F FPH PREF C GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B LR PREF MWIDE PREF PCOR PREF 2A PF PREF 2 PNX PREF 3A SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

43.25 513.5 105.5 104.9 112.5 500 5.82 1,009 1,021 1.04 108.8 1,030 1,014 105 77 80.5 76.1 78.5 78.1 79.3

43.25 513.5 105.5 104.9 112.5 500 5.82 1,010 1,021 1.04 108.8 1,030 1,014 105 77 80.6 76.15 78.95 78.1 79.3

43.25 513.5 105 104.9 112.5 500 5.81 1,009 1,021 1.04 108.8 1,025 1,014 105 76.95 80.25 76.1 78.5 78.1 79.3

PREFERRED 43.25 10,000 513.5 10 105 6,300 104.9 39,290 112.5 40 500 4,000 5.81 110,000 1,010 2,995 1,021 125 1.04 199,000 108.8 50 1,025 1,360 1,014 980 105 2,000 76.95 12,030 80.25 22,740 76.15 11,200 78.95 8,100 78.1 103,890 79.3 500

432,500 5,135 663,325 4,121,521 4,500 2,000,000 639,700 3,024,900 127,625 206,960 5,440 1,394,650 993,720 210,000 926,247.50 1,830,570 852,420 637,825 8,113,809 39,650

-432,500 -206,960 1,004,520 -

LR WARRANT

2.39

2.5

2.33

WARRANTS 2.42 687,000

1,698,040

-

1,002,800 1,736,313 6,707,112

31,360 1,127,215 -166,739

140,978

-

MS

PROPERTY 6.2 1.62 2.56 1.17 41.1 3.89 5.59 5.29 0.52 1.14 1.41 0.179 0.52 47 0.71 0.16 1.69 1.23 0.97 4.15 4.6 0.375 0.36 0.65 4.12

8,499,800 25,559,000 357,000 4,276,000 11,038,000 1,320,000 16,616,700 1,100 37,526,000 2,000 373,000 36,520,000 3,658,000 326,200 7,051,000 390,000 9,894,000 11,658,000 135,000 2,000 10,863,000 179,840,000 880,000 20,249,000 976,000

ITALPINAS PHILAB HLDG XURPAS

3.9 5.6 7.75

4 5.63 7.88

3.88 5.51 7.72

FIRST METRO ETF

119.6

119.6

119.2

TRADING SUMMARY

SHARES

FINANCIAL

12,918,250

INDUSTRIAL

183,424,168

HOLDING FIRMS

63,699,860

PROPERTY

404,296,722

SERVICES

400,092,231

MINING & OIL

271,850,416

GRAND TOTAL

1,337,708,933

3.95 5.55 7.87

SME

255,000 310,900 860,200

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 119.6 1,180

VALUE 1,926.00 (down) 4.25 612,824,542.43 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 11,154.46 (down) 4.02 1,857,445,376.66 HOLDING FIRMS 7,800.26 (down) 34.23 1,394,422,592.43 PROPERTY 3,737.87 (down) 7.07 SERVICES 1,745.83 (down) 2.61 1,266,093,037.53 MINING & OIL 12,493.20 (up) 27.55 1,749,880,870.354 PSEI 7,917.86 (down) 25.89 186,421,076.495 All Shares Index 4,719.24 (down) 3.97 7,076,674,848.60 Gainers: 95; Losers: 91; Unchanged: 52; Total: 238

arbitration case.

Quimbo said the preliminary trial for the arbitration case was set on June 27 in Singapore.

NLEx Corp. and Cavitex Infrastructure Corp. each issued a notice of arbitration and statement of claim to the government last year to obtain compensation amounting to about P3 billion for NLEx and P877 million for Cavitex.

The total claims for overdue toll rate adjustment hit P6 billion as of April.

NLEx also filed last month a toll adjustment at North Luzon Expressway to recover its P2.9-billion investment on road widening.

NLEx, based on a petition filed with the Toll Regulatory Board, wanted to add P0.26 per kilometer on the current P2.37 per km closed system toll rates for class 1 vehicles (cars, jeepneys, pickup trucks and vans).

For class 2 vehicles (twoaxle trucks, buses and vans), NLEx requested for additional P0.66 per km on the current P5.94 per km and class 3 vehicles (trucks and trailers with three or more axles).

NLEx president and chief executive Rodrigo Franco said the toll adjustment petition was of “extreme urgency” as the company would continue to suffer “great damage or irreparable injury “before a decision on the matter could be rendered by TRB. “Failure to immediately impose and collect the adjusted toll rates would result to an outright delay or stoppage of urgently needed improvements and expansion of the NLEx,” he said.

Aboitiz pegs rates for P3-b bond sale

By Jenniffer B. Austria ABOITIZ Power Corp. set the interest rate for the P3billion 10-year bond offering at 5.3367 percent per annum.

The final prospectus filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed the offer period would be from June 20 to June 23, while issue and listing would be on July 3.

The P3-billion bonds due 2027 represent the first tranche of the P30-billion bond shelf registration of Aboitiz Power which was approved by the SEC. The series A bond offering will be issued in scripless form in minimum denominations of P50,000 each, and in multiples of P10,000 thereafter.

Aboitiz Power has the option, but not the obligation, to redeem in whole and not in part, the outstanding bonds on any interest payment date on the 7th, 8th and 9th year from the issue date.

Net proceeds from the offer will be used by the company to finance equity infusions into GN Power Dinginin.

Aboitiz Power said it would infuse equity to GNPD, through Therma Dinginin B.V. In return, GNPD will issue partnership certificates to Therma Dinginin B.V., reflecting such additional equity.

The partnership interest of Therma Dinginin B.V. in GNPD will remain at 50 percent, as the other partners in GNPD shall infuse additional equity, proportionate to maintain each partner’s equity interest.

The company tapped BPI Capital Corp and the sole issue manager and underwriter for the fund raising activity.

Business

B3

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

ERC warned against petitions to hike rates

By Alena Mae S. Flores

ABOITIZLAND ADVOCACY. AboitizLand Inc. ties up with Beach Volleyball Republic in support of BVR’s sports competitions within the

country and to further strengthen the company’s commitment to promoting sports, health and wellness within its developments. Signing the partnership agreement are AboitizLand vice president and head of innovation John Amo (center) BVR founding members (from left) Fille Cainglet-Cayetano, Bea Tan Charo Soriano and Dzi Gervacio.

Baon SO MAY was the month my husband and I reached that significant milestone of watching the youngest of our children receive her college degree. It is a moment we had planned for and anticipated even before we had her. An education, after all, was always the most precious gift we believed we could ever give our child.

But this statement, you see, is something I have slowly began to question. Of course, an education is important but there are so many more things involved in being a parent. These last few weeks, amidst the discussions about Sam’s future career choices and the preparations for Tinka’s wedding, I think about the journey they are about to embark on. I ponder the forks and twists and turns ahead of them and wonder what it is we have given each of them that has helped prepare them for the rest of their lives. The English term does not carry the same clarity that the Tagalog word does. I think of it as “baon” - literally, the stuff in your lunch box or brown bag. What is it that I hope my children take away and keep with them as they embark on their own adult journeys?

Paths Career choices have become more and more difficult in an era where entire categories of jobs are both created and eliminated by technology.

In today’s world, managing a career is not so much about choosing a career or profession as it is about choosing a direction and general set of competencies to acquire and develop.

There are some easy tips, of course. Resist the lure of money or position, especially early on. The name of the game for nurturing a career is the development of skills and contacts. Too often, early offers of large amounts of money or position hide nasty things such as bad hours, repetitive work or a dead-end career.

Make three circles. Fill one with the things that you enjoy. Fill the other with the things that you believe are meaningful. Look at the intersection of those two. Now figure out which of these things you can see yourself becoming deeply involved in consistently and over the longterm. This means there is one last circle to be filled. What are you good at? The trick to finding happiness in a job is to engage in something both pleasurable and meaningful. Finding and holding that job requires that you be good at it.

Choices The other question - that of finding a life partner - is even more difficult.

Yet, it is a critically important decision. Marriage means committing to running a household together, raising children together, pooling assets and liabilities. It means expanding your circle of family and friends.

Research shows that happily married people are healthier and live longer. Research also shows that, for health and life expectancy, it is better to be single than unhappily married.

There are tips, of course. Relationship expert Jon Gottman explains that the happiest couples are those who show their appreciation for each other. In 2016, Gottman released the result of a study of 130 couples when he explained that emotional intelligence, the ability to deal with conflict in a positive manner and to avoid escalating negativity is a critical skill in maintaining a healthy relationship. Another relationship expert, Jane Greer espouses working out or taking walks together.

Now, all of this seems easy until you realize there are things that cannot be addressed simply by better communication skills or exercising together. A deep misalignment in values, for example, is often a deal-breaker.

When conversations turn to marriage, I always ask whether the engaged couple has had “the talk.” The talk is when you discuss your goals and your values; it is when you set agreements and procedures.

The reality is that expecting your partner to change simply because you have gotten married is an expectation that is doomed to failure.

You will end up frustrated and your partner beleaguered.

What should the talk include? Talk about money. Talk about in-laws, and especially in-laws and money. Talk about your expectations and definition of fidelity. You do not want the nasty surprise of finding out your husband expects you to give up going out with your male friends simply because you have become a wife. Now that I am older and a teeny bit wiser, I also add the conversation about children. How many you want to have, how you plan to raise them. How you feel about discipline.

Baon All of this, of course, is the cerebral stuff. The really important things? The things I hope I have managed to instill in my children?

The lessons I want them to take with them? They are both easier and more difficult.

Whatever the path, whatever the choice, choose happiness. Avoid despair. If you do not look forward to waking up most mornings, there is something wrong, fix it. For the most part, neither a martyr nor a hero be. Never stop yourself from doing something because you fear what others may think. It is far better to regret doing than not doing. Run toward, not from. Choose your battles but hold fast to the essentials.

Embrace your wonder. Never lose your curiosity. Laugh often. Choose kindness. Dance. Move. Embrace life.

As to marriage? Love is important but it is not sufficient. Think of your roles and responsibilities. Find someone who can be both your refuge and your inspiration. Choose someone who will challenge you and who will lend you strength. Find someone who makes you want to be a better person. Consider practicalities. Beauty fades. Conversation lasts. Money is not everything but too much of it or too little of it is often at the root of arguments.

You need to find a way to communicate often and well. Do things together. It is especially important to learn how to fight constructively.

Look not just outward or inward but through your partner’s eyes. Accept love. Express love. Recognize fear. Recognize rage. Do not feed anger. Engage. Connect. Find common ground.

Most of all, find your own center. Marriage is not about losing yourself in the couple. It is about becoming a stronger, better you with the other. It is about a journey forward together. Love yourself. Be kind to yourself. Love comes from love. Respect comes from respect.

Move forward with courage and hope. Engage. Commit. Connect.

Live!

Congratulations, Sam! Best wishes, Tinka and Ade! We love you!

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

CONSUMER group Citizen Watch cautioned the Energy Regulatory Commission against approving some pending applications that will increase power rates.

“We praise the Commission for issuing this order and upholding the rights of ordinary consumers.

We only hope that the ERC continues to uphold the rights of consumers in light of reports of pending applications seeking to increase the fees charged on our monthly bill.” CitizenWatch secretary-general Paco Pangalangan said.

Pending petitions with the ERC includes that of National Transmission Corp., which sought to increase feed-in-tariff allowance rates by P0.10 per kWh. Citizen Watch said National Grid Corporation of the Philippines also has pending petitions for rate increases to recover expenses arising from force majeure, especially in the

fixing of towers and lines damaged by typhoons, earthquakes and other natural calamities.

National Power Corp., meanwhile, has filed for a P0.07 per kWh increase in the universal charge for missionary electrification in 2017.

Citizen Watch also lauded the ERC for approving Meralco’s application to refund around P6.9 billion representing overrecovery for the generation and transmission charges covering January 2014 to December 2016.

“While the refund and lowering of generation costs are good news for the consumers, we fear the additional price increases, especially that of FIT, since it has shown a pattern of continuous increase over the years. If FIT and other fees continue to go up, it will negate the benefits immediately owed to consumers through the refund and price decrease and only further prejudice consumers in the long run,” Pangalangan said.

PAL buying seven more planes from Bombardier

By Darwin G. Amojelar

P

HILIPPINE Airlines signed an agreement with Bombardier Commercial Aircraft Inc. to acquire an additional seven Q400 new generation aircraft for $235 million.

“As we position ourselves for growth, we are pleased to be adding more Q400 to our fleet,” PAL president and chief operating officer Jaime Bautista said Tuesday.

PAL in December placed an original order for five Q400s and acquired purchase rights for an additional seven.

PAL is expected to take delivery of the world’s first dualclass, 86-seat Q400 aircraft in July to be utilized on specific domestic routes.

The remaining four Q400 aircraft will be delivered until No-

vember this year.

“We are thrilled about the opportunities that lie ahead, and we look forward to offering more capacity and improving connectivity in the region with comfortable, fast and efficient regional aircraft like Bombardier’s 86-seat turboprops,” Bautista said.

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft president Fred Cromer said the Q400 aircraft had helped airlines around the world expand their networks and capture new opportunities.

Bombardier has recorded a

total of 585 firm orders of Q400 aircraft.

“We are delighted that Philippine Airlines is growing its fleet with more Q400 aircraft, and are confident that the airline will benefit from the aircraft’s outstanding economics and performance,” Cromer said PAL currently owns four Bombardier DHC 8-300 aircraft and five Bombardier DHC 8-400 aircraft which PAL dry leased to sister company PAL Express.

A dry lease is a leasing arrangement where an airline provides an aircraft, without crew, to another airline.

PAL Express uses these aircraft to fly to provincial destinations.

PAL’s domestic network, including those operated by PAL Express, covers 31 cities and towns in the Philippines.

It serves the following domes-

tic destinations: Bacolod, Basco, Butuan, Busuanga, Cagayan, Calbayog, Catarman, Caticlan, Cebu, Cotabato, Davao, Dipolog, Dumaguete, General Santos, Iloilo, Jolo, Kalibo, Laoag, Legazpi, Manila, Masbate, Naga, Ozamiz, Puerto Princesa, Roxas, Surigao, Tablas, Tacloban, Tagbilaran, Tuguegarao and Zamboanga.

The airline led by tycoon Lucio Tan expects delivery of two Boeing 777-300 ER in December and ordered six A350s, with an option for six more.

The aircraft is capable of flying non-stop from Manila to New York. The additional B777-300 ERs will be deployed to the London and North American routes.

PAL’s parent firm PAL Holdings Inc. earlier posted a net loss of P904.7 million in the first quarter, a reversal from a P2.71billion income last year.

PH cites benefits of China initiative

By Julito G. Rada

DISASTER READINESS. A total of 76 educators from different divisions of the Department of Education Region 7 became #WeatherWiser as they immersed themselves in a two-day Weather 101 and Tropical Cyclone 101 workshop sponsored by City Savings Bank in partnership with Weather Philippines Foundation Inc. in DepEd Region 7 office on June 8 and 9. WeatherPhilippines’ sustainability specialist Margarette Lim explains the importance of having basic weather knowledge. Weather 101 and TC 101 is the answer to DepEd’s vision as well as WeatherPhilippines and CitySavings’ advocacy on learning about disaster preparedness.

BSP putting up 5 credit surety funds BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas will put up five more credit surety funds within the year in the provinces to further widen their coverage nationwide and assist more micro-enterprises that cannot secure bank loans due to lack of acceptable collaterals, credit knowledge and credit history.

Bangko Sentral Governor Amando Tetangco Jr., Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and Cooperative Development Authority chairman Orlando Ravanera on Tuesday signed the implementing rules and regulations of Credit Surety Fund Cooperative Act of 2015.

At the sidelines of the signing, Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said the additional credit facilities would be located in Tacloban City, Mandaue in Cebu, Sta. Rosa in Laguna, Dinagat Island in Surigao and Batangas.

“We now have the Act that provides a legal personality. So there will be no problem with regards to the contributions of the local governments which, before, were subjected to auditing. With the signing of the IRR, the law institutionalized the credit surety funds,” Guinigundo said.

Bangko Sentral on June 14, 2017 put up the La Union Credit Surety Fund, making it the 46th facility in the country and the 25th in Luzon.

The CSF is Bangko Sentral’s financial inclusion initiative to improve the credit worthiness of small businesses that cannot secure bank loans due to lack of acceptable collaterals, credit knowledge and credit history.

Latest data showed that as of March 31, 2017, the cumulative loan releases by banks covered by the CSF amounted to P3.2 billion,

benefitting 16,356 MSMEs. Aside from credit management, the other major component of CSF is the capability enhancement program which aims to strengthen the skills of cooperatives and their member-MSMEs in the areas of credit, management and finance to ensure the success and sustainability of the program.

At the height of the election campaign early last year, Bangko Sentral decided to suspend the establishment of CSF to spare them from politics.

CSF is a fund generated by the pooling of contributions of wellcapitalized and well-managed cooperatives and non-government organizations, local government units and partner institutions such as the Industrial Guarantee and Loan Fund, Development Bank of the Philippines and Land Bank of the Philippines. Julito G. Rada

FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the Philippines will benefit from the One Belt, One Road initiative of the People’s Republic of China because it will fit with the infrastructure buildup of the Duterte administration and help sharpen the country’s competitiveness.

Dominguez said with airports and seaports as part of the Duterte presidency’s envisioned “Golden Age of Infrastructure,” the maritime silk road component of One Belt, One Road would open new markets for Philippine products in Beijing’s planned corridor between China and the Middle East and Europe.

Describing the initiative as a “powerful idea,” Dominguez said the China-led project would promote free trade and integrate economies across Asia and Europe.

“We think that Philippines will definitely benefit in participating in this One Belt, One Road project particularly in the Maritime Silk Road section of that project,” Dominguez said in a recent interview in Hong Kong.

“The Philippines is building a lot of infrastructure, of course with the help of China, and among the infrastructure that we are building are ports and airports. That will help lower the cost of shipping our goods to say Hong Kong or to Shanghai and that will open markets to us along the corridor between China and the Middle East and Europe,” he said.

He said the Philippines’ manufacturing industry, especially companies producing electronics, and food exports sector, including those selling tropical fruits, would have more and quicker access to new and profitable markets under the OBOR project.

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

B4

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2017

Business

Britain bows to EU Brexit timetable

T

HE UK lost its first battle with the European Union over the timetable for Brexit talks as the bloc’s chief negotiator warned that the consequences of leaving will be “substantial.”

On day one of the negotiations, Prime Minister Theresa May’s government gave in to EU demands to discuss the terms of its divorce—including the exit fee—before any consideration can begin on the future trade deal Britain wants with Europe’s common market.

The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, bluntly warned that such an accord would not be fleshed out until after the UK leaves in less than two years. It was a clear rebuff to May’s stated ambition of wrapping up a new free trade agreement quickly.

“I’m not in a frame of mind to make concessions,” Barnier told reporters at the end of the first day of talks in Brussels. “The UK has decided to leave the EU. It’s not the other way around.”

This uncompromising stance is “not about punishment” or “revenge,” but simply a consequence of the UK’s decision to exit, he said. “The consequences are substantial.”

The discussions between UK Brexit Secretary David Davis and Barnier marked the end of the beginning of what both sides expect to be a complicated and confrontational process to unwind more than four decades of membership. The clock is ticking down to midnight on March 29, 2019, when the UK will leave the EU, with or without a deal.

Almost a year after British voters took the decision to leave the bloc, Davis took a team of officials to open the negotiations with Barnier in the European Commission’s Berlaymont building on Monday.

Just a month ago, Davis had predicted “the row of the summer” would erupt over how to structure the talks on Brexit.

He wanted parallel discussion,

covering both the future trade deal and the terms of Britain’s departure—including a demand for an exit payment of as much as 100 billion euros ($112 billion).

Britain is “very conscious of how they will use that time sequence to pressure us, and we’ll avoid that at every turn,” Davis told ITV on May 14. By Monday, he’d given up the fight.

Davis said Britain hadn’t backed down. When the EU “decides we have made enough progress—their words—both sets of dialogs will continue, including free trade,” he said.

The UK and EU hope the first phase of talks focusing on the exit terms will conclude

by October, allowing trade negotiations to begin.

Both sides were keen to emphasize their desire to work positively and to reach a fair deal that will foster friendly relations once Britain leaves. Their early priority will be to reassure the estimated 4.5 million European and British nationals living in each others’ countries that they won’t be forced to leave their homes or find new jobs after Brexit.

May, bruised by an election this month that cost her Conservatives their parliamentary majority, will make her case for a quick agreement on residency for EU nationals and employment rights at a summit of European leaders in the Belgian capital later this week. She will then publish a detailed outline of her offer on Monday, Davis said.

Solving the vexed question of keeping the peace and an open border between the UK province of Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic will also be an urgent priority in the talks, Barnier and Davis agreed. Bloomberg

COMMON LANDMARK. This photo taken on June 19, 2017 shows a ten-story, three dimensional car park structure located between

residential buildings in Shenyang, in China’s Liaoning province. The structures can take nearly 40 vehicles and are becoming more common as more Chinese abandon public transport and drive. AFP

Li Ka-shing retiring by 2018 BILLIONAIRE Li Ka-shing told associates that he plans to retire by next year as chairman of his flagship CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd., the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.

Li hasn’t specified a date but is likely to step down by his 90th birthday in July next year, the newspaper reported. The tycoon plans to remain as senior adviser and keep his office atop CK Hutchison’s headquarters building in downtown Hong Kong, according to the report.

“There is no concrete timetable at this stage and Mr. Li will make his official announcement when he decides to retire,” CK Hutchison said in a statement. Li, who’s in “very good” health, has discussed retirement periodically and continues to be confident in his son, Victor, to take over, it said.

Though the 88-year-old tycoon has flagged he will pass on control of his group to his elder son, the retirement of Hong Kong’s richest man would mark the end of an era. Li, who’s known locally as “Superman” for his business acumen, is the city’s richest resident and his $32.6 billion fortune ranks second in Asia after that of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Jack Ma, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Billionaire Li Ka-shing

“On the whole it would be a bit of a shock,” said Richard Harris, Hong Kong-based chief executive officer of Port Shelter Investment Management. “Not only is he a local entrepreneur who built things up in terms of Hong Kong but he really got it in terms of turning his empire into a global empire rather than just a big company based in Hong Kong.”

Shares of CK Hutchison traded at HK$98.70, unchanged from Monday, at 1:12 p.m. in Hong Kong.

A refugee to Hong Kong who swept factory floors as a teenager, Li rose to head a global business

empire that built skyscrapers, provided mobile-phone services and controlled ports across the globe. He first made his first fortune through a plastic-flower manufacturer that later became Asia’s biggest maker of the ornaments. After some well-timed property investments cemented his wealth, he began expanding his empire into retail, energy, telecommunications, media and biotechnology. By 2016, he employed 270,000 people in more than 50 countries.

Despite his success, Li also symbolized the wealth inequality in a city known for having the most unaffordable private housing in the world and where business is dominated by a handful of families. In an interview last year, he called for higher corporate taxes to help tackle wealth inequality.

“I could retire today if I wanted to, in the next five minutes or whenever,” Li said in the interview with Bloomberg Television last year. “We’ll carry on what we do now.”

Li was born July 29, 1928, in Chiu Chow, a city in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, which adjoins Hong Kong. In 1940, his family fled to Hong Kong to escape Japanese invaders, though the Japanese occupied Hong Kong by the following year.

Bloomberg

Dutch company aims to deliver first flying car in 2018 the blades are powered by an engine. It is a gyroplane, in which the blades rotate thanks to airflow.

Even if both engines cut out, the blades will still turn, so “even if you go at zero speed it still keeps rotating and you are not going to drop out of the sky,” said Hess.

By Jo Biddle RAAMSDONKSVEER, Netherlands―From “The Jetsons” to “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” flying cars have long captured the imagination.

While several futuristic projects are under way in different countries, a Dutch design may be the first one sold and soaring into the skies.

After years of testing, the PAL-V company aims to pip its competitors to the post. It is poised to start production on what they bill as a world first: a three-wheeled gyrocopter-type vehicle which can carry two people and will be certified for use on the roads and in the skies.

“This kind of dream has been around for 100 years now. When the first airplane was invented people already thought ‘How can I make that driveable on the road?’,” chief marketing officer Markus Hess told AFP. The PAL-V (Personal Air and Land Vehicle) firm, based in Raamsdonksveer in the Netherlands, is aiming to deliver its first flying car to its first customer by the end of 2018.

The lucky owner will need both a driving license and a pilot’s license. But with the keys in hand, the owner will be able to drive to an airfield for the short take-off, and after landing elsewhere drive to the destination in a “door-todoor” experience.

Chief marketing officer Markus Hess of the Dutch flying car developer PAL-V poses next to one of the company’s prototypes, at PAL-V’s headquarter in Raamsdonksveer on May 30, 2017. AFP

Different versions of a flying car are being developed in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Japan, China and the United States.

But final assembly on the PAL-V will start in October, with the company seeking to be the first to go into commercial production.

‘No falling from sky’ The PAL-V uses normal unleaded petrol for its two 100-horsepower engines, and can fly 400 to 500 kilometers (248 to 310 miles) at an altitude of up to 3,500 meters (11,500 feet).

On the road it has a top speed of around 170 kilometers an

hour.

In 2019, the company expects to produce between 50 and 100 vehicles, before ramping up to “quite a few hundred” in 2020.

It won’t be cheap. The first edition, the PAL-V Liberty, costs 499,000 euros ($599,000), while the slightly cheaper PALV Liberty Sport, to be made next, has a price tag of 299,000 euros.

PAL-V was founded in 2007

by Robert Dingemanse and pilot John Bakker.

“In the beginning it was, let’s make a gyrocopter drivable,” said Hess.

But the company, which has

some 40 to 50 employees, realized the weight and length of a gyrocopter’s blades gave the vehicle a high center of gravity when driving, especially taking corners.

They have designed the car so at the flick of a button the blades fold down and gather like a bat’s wings on the top.

And they have incorporated into the car a 2005 breakthrough―when the Dutch company Carver invented a tilting system for three-wheelers―to counter the high center of gravity and make it roadworthy.

The company insists the PALV is not a helicopter, in which

‘Selling a dream’ While he refused to divulge how many orders they have, he said the company “was more than satisfied.”

Clients put down a non-refundable deposit of 10,000 to 25,000 euros depending on the model. A third option is to put 2,500 euros into an escrow account, which secures them a place in the line.

“In some senses we are selling a dream,” Hess said, standing next to the sleek, black first model developed in 2012 which has already put in “substantial hours” of flying and driving time.

Parts are on order, with the first already in stock. Once built, the vehicle will have to complete at least 150 flying hours, and undergo extensive tests to receive its certification from the Cologne-based European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

Hess defended the hefty price tag. “It’s not a lot more than “a super-duper sports car with a few extras,” he said. AFP

Tokyo to close Tsukiji market THE doors of Tokyo’s iconic Tsukiji fish market―the world’s biggest―are set to close after more than 80 years.

But maybe not for good.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said Tuesday that the world-famous site of earlymorning tuna auctions will be relocated to an area that used to house a gasworks in the Toyosu district near Tokyo Bay. The metropolitan government plans to then give Tsukiji near the upmarket shopping area of Ginza a face-lift and reopen it to tap into its name recognition, Koike said.

Koike gave no time frame for the move, saying it would take place after discussions with those involved, but said the current market would be redeveloped over the next five years.

The capital’s government will also explore whether the fish market can continue to operate in Toyosu, which is equipped with state-of-theart refrigerating and freezing capabilities. The market’s future had been in murky waters since 2001, when the city decided to move it to the Tokyo Bay site. The relocation plan was delayed because contaminated soil had to be removed from the new site―a process that was completed in October 2014.

In August 2016, less than a month after Koike took office, she announced a further delay to look into the move, citing concerns over the safety of the new site and the cost of relocation. At the time, she said she was “astonished” at the 588.4 billion yen ($5.3 billion) price tag, and has since kept citizens on tenterhooks as to her final decision.

The current market is one of the top tourist destinations in Tokyo, attracting as many as 42,000 visitors a day. The move would greatly impact not only the market as a place to visit but also as a world-class hub for fish supply, according to Ted Bestor, professor of social anthropology at Harvard University and author of “Tsukiji: The Fish Market at the Center of the World.”

“You can’t duplicate something of that magnitude,” Bestor said in an interview in Tokyo. “The Tokyo government may have destroyed a brand name of enormous value.”

Bloomberg

Over 500 hearing aids for QC poor MORE than 500 hearingimpaired residents of Quezon City will receive free hearing aids under a program organized under the auspices of the Quezon City Persons with Disabilities Affairs Office.

The community-based hearing impairment program aims to help hard-of-hearing indigent residents by providing them with free hearing aids.

The endeavor is in partnership with the Starkey Hearing Foundation, an international group that conducts hearing impairment missions in partnership with different organizations and local government units, and the National Youth Commission.

“The hearing aids are free and customized, and when they receive their aids they get after-care as well, for instance when their aid’s battery is low they can get extra batteries,” PDAO head Arnold de Guzman said.

The program beneficiaries undergo four phases: patient identification, hearing mission, aftercare and speech test supervised by the Starkey Hearing Foundation.

“They will get customized ear molds for the hearing aid they use. Even its repair is free of charge,” Joseph Barte, Starkey Hearing Foundation assistant country coordinator for the Philippines, said.

Hearing aids will be distributed after three months of consultation and hearing loss confirmation.

“The partnership between Quezon City and Starkey Hearing Foundation is good and beneficial, especially to those who are poor and hard of hearing,” Barte added.

Meanwhile, Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista has created a committee to organize the 78th Foundation Day of Quezon City in October.

Executive Order 8-2017 also created a selection board for the 2017 Manuel L. Quezon Gawad Parangal Award.

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor Roger M. Garcia, Assistant Editor jimbo.gulle@gmail.com mslocalgov@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2017

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LGUs LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

OVERTIME. A farmer rushes to beat the sunset as he tries to finish applying fertilizer on rice seedlings in Barangay Santo Domingo, Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya. The onset of the rainy season marks the beginning of rice cropping period in the town. Ben Moses Ebreo

Localized peace talks urged B

By Ben Moses Ebreo

AYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya—The Philippine Army is pushing for localized peace talks with the New People’s Army rebels in the countryside as an alternative solution to address lasting ceasefire and peace in the countryside.

Col. Bob Bacarro, commanding officer of the Army’s 502nd Brigade based in Echague, Isabela, said they are currently collaborating with local government units and other national government agencies to encourage members of the NPA to lay down their arms and embrace the government’s

amnesty program.

“We will be reaching out to them through our local government leaders and their relatives so that once they surrender, they will be assisted according to their socioeconomic needs,” Bacarro said during the recent joint meeting of the Provincial

Peace and Order and Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Councils at the Pasalubong Center in Barangay Magsaysay here.

Bacarro said the local peace initiative was proposed following the failure of the NPA in adhering to the ceasefire conditions of the government peace panel, and instead intensified their attacks on government forces and vital installations in the country.

He said their peace advocacy program will provide local counterparts on the guidelines for the proposed peace talks with the communist insurgents.

“This involves visitation to various barangays, especially those who are severely affected areas to educate them on the

NPA’s plans and operations.

This will be undertaken with the assistance of other government agencies,” Bacarro said.

The local Army commander’s proposal comes as the national government on Monday slammed NPA for its attack of a police station in Iloilo over the weekend, which it called both “opportunistic and intentional.”

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the “ill-timed” and “unfortunate” attack in Iloilo happened just as the government decided to cease offensive operations against the NPA in response to a similar action from the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

On Sunday, Presidential Advis-

er on the Peace Process Silvestre Bello III said government forces will cease its offensive operations against the NPA to reciprocate the NDFP’s declaration to refrain from undertaking offensive operations in Mindanao.

However, on the same day, around 50 armed men believed to be members of the NPA raided the Maasin municipal police station, reportedly taking 11 M-16 rifles, four pistols, ammunition, and VHF radios.

Still, Bacarro expressed optimism that with their local peace initiative activities, “positive indicators” have been achieved with the recent surrender of several communist rebels and their firearms in various parts of Cagayan Valley.

‘Pia’ lookalike joins LGU project of BDO Foundation cited Miss Manila 2017 A MODEL and student who bears a striking resemblance to Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach is emerging as one of the early favorites in the Miss Manila 2017 pageant organized by Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada to celebrate the 446th Araw ng Maynila.

Candidate No. 1, Glenn Aeela Krishnan has since been gaining a lot of online supporters, mostly Pia’s fans who mistook her as the Miss Universe 2015’s little sister.

In Estrada’s official Facebook p a g e “Man i l a Mayor Jose ph Estrada,” netizens par ticularly took notice of a photo of Krishnan in swimwear next to Pia’s, which showed the duo’s physical resemblance.

That photo of Krishnan could also be seen in the Facebook page’s “Miss Manila 2017 (swimsuit)” album, which as of Tuesday morning has reached 209,436 people.

Krishnan is one of the 30 young Manileñas vying for the Miss Manila 2017 title. The winner will be crowned during the Grand Coronation Night on June 24, Araw ng Maynila, at the Philippine International Convention Center.

Netizens agreed Krishnan is a look-alike of Pia. “She does look like

her,” Lilian Rosales commented.

Another netizen, Jayvee Harry De Leon Quintos, even joked that the two look alike because they have the same biological father.

“I thought Pia was the other one,” added Queen Mae Recapente Ambetic. Yet another netizen, Canon Montecillo, described Krishnan as a “potential title holder.”

A model and student of Trinity University of AsiaCollege of Business Ad ministration, Krishnan is the you nger sister of former basketball courtside reporter Ganiel Krishnan, who finished third in the Miss Asia Pacific International 2016 beauty pageant.

Their mother is a Filipino, while their father is Indian-Singaporean.

Pia and Krishnan actually met in an event early this January. Their photo, which was uploaded by a fan account on Instagram, garnered over 2,300 “likes” just a few days after its posting.

The beauty tilt was revived by Estrada when he assumed office in 2013 as the highlight of the yearly Araw ng Maynila celebrations. Sandy Araneta Glenn Aeela Krishnan

BDO Foundation was recently recognized in the Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Awards (AREA) 2017 for its “outstanding and exemplary achievements in social and responsible entrepreneurship.”

One of the foundation’s corporate citizenship programs, titled “Improving the Delivery of Healthcare Services in the Philippines,” also received an award under the health promotion category.

The corporate social responsibility arm of BDO Unibank is the only Philippine recipient in the category. Other awardees in the group are firms based in Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan and Thailand.

“Our goal is to help improve the healthcare delivery system in the country,” said BDO Foundation president Mario Deriquito, who accepted the AREA trophy and certificate of achievement during awarding ceremonies held in Bangkok, Thailand.

“This program is our modest contribution to one of the goals under the government’s Philippine Health Agenda. It is also aligned with the health component of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs,” he added.

Through the initiative, BDO Foundation improves health centers in various parts of the country, particularly in municipalities and cities devas-

BDO Foundation president Mario Deriquito (center) accepts a certificate of achievement recognizing the foundation’s rehabilitation program at the Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Awards 2017 held in Bangkok, Thailand.

tated by natural or man-made disasters.

The goal is to enhance the capacities of the local governments to provide better primary health care services through better facilities. The program is supported by BDO branches,

which help identify and recommend potential beneficiary communities to the foundation.

The AREA 2017 awarding ceremonies were attended by more than 200 guests that included business and government officials, diplomatic

representatives, social and community leaders, and representatives from local and international media.

Organized by Enterprise Asia, AREA honors Asian businesses for championing sustainable and responsible entrepreneurship.

Navotas firemen, schools get new gear MAYOR John Rey Tiangco has turned over 70 fire hoses to Navoteño fire and rescue groups and to the Navotas Bureau of Fire and Protection.

Tiangco handed four brand new fire hoses to each of the members of Navoteño Inc., an umbrella organization composed of 14 volunteer fire and rescue groups. He

also gave 14 hoses to the BFP. The fire hoses were donated to the city by Alliance Industrial Sales Corp.

On Friday, Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco led the inauguration of school buildings and a bridge in the city.

Navotas Elementary School (Central) and Daanghari El-

ementary School now have additional four- and three-story school buildings with 12 and nineclassrooms, respectively.

During the inauguration at Daanghari ES, Mayor Tiangco also turned over 14 50-inch smart TVs to the school as part of the city government’s efforts to support the use of information and

communications technology to improve the quality of education provided to young Navoteños.

The Tiangco brothers also reopened the Bangkulasi Bridge, which underwent repair in 2015, to the public. They rode avintage US Army jeep to cross the bridge for the ceremonial ribbon cutting. Jun David

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Manila

LGUs

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TODAY WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2017

Tacloban unites for Sangyaw fest T

ACLOBAN City once again celebrates the Sangyaw Festival of Lights in honor of Señor Sto. Niño, kicking off with a motorcade through the city’s main streets to signal the opening of the monthlong festivities.

The highlight of the 128th Tacloban Fiesta is the Sangyaw Parade of Lights on June 29, which features decorated floats bright with LED (light-emitting diodes) lights and street dancers partying

to the upbeat “Sangyaw Theme.”

Tacloban Mayor Cristina Gonzales-Romualdez led the motorcade on June 9 joined by the festival sponsors, city government employees and the

2017 Miss Tacloban candidates.

The Sangyawan Park at the Balyuan Grounds was also inaugurated and opened to the public after the motorcade.

“In Waray-Waray, Sangyaw means ‘to announce’ or ‘herald.’ This Sangyaw Festival is Tacloban’s way of announcing or heralding to the whole country that we are here, strong and proud, and united towards progress. This year’s theme is ‘Unity for Progress,’” said the mayor.

The 2017 Sangyaw Festival

also held a Job and Business Fair on June 12 at the Astrodome, coinciding with the City Charter Day Anniversary.

Events to look forward to include the Battle of the Bands at the Sangyawan Park on June 15; the Balyuan Rites on June 20 at the Balyuan Amphitheater, a reenactment of the historical exchange of the Sto. Niño image between Tacloban and Basey Town; the Golf Tournament and the National Jet Ski Competition, as well as the Miss

Tacloban Coronation Night on June 24; Mr. Sangyaw Tacloban on June 28 at the Robinsons Activity Area; and the Sangyaw Foundation Ball.

The Waray Talents Concert will be held at the Tacloban City Convention Center on June 27 and 28, and the Fiesta Trade Fair at Plaza Rizal will be on June 28. The traditional Fluvial and Land Processions, and Pontifical Mass will be held on Fiesta Day, June 30.

City Administrator lawyer Irene Chiu said this year’s Parade

of Lights will have an “Open Category” for the first time.

“Because our theme is ‘Unity for Progress,’ we invited other local government units to showcase their own floats and festivals,” she said.

Former First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos started the Sangyaw Festival in the 1970s every June 29. Imelda’s nephew, former Tacloban Mayor Alfred S. Romualdez, revived the festival in 2008 when Tacloban was converted into a highly urbanized city.

P3.2b earmarked for Benguet works

million for the improvement of farm to market roads.

Another P50 million has been earmarked for the construction of school buildings, while other funds were sourced from various government agencies for soft and hard infrastructure projects provincewide.

We continue to get more than the province’s share of the available resources of the national government,” Cosalan stressed.

“We believe almost all of our national roads will be fully paved within the next several years because of the substantial funds being infused by concerned government agencies primarily to improve the condition of roads leading to the countryside,” he added.

By Dexter A. See LA TRINIDAD, Benguet—Some P3.2 billion worth of infrastructure projects are currently being implemented in the province to improve its links with its neighbors and spur socio-economic growth, Benguet Rep. Ronald M. Cosalan said Monday.

Some projects are being readied for implementation this year to help improve inter-municipal, inter-provincial and inter-regional linkages, and spur growth in Benguet’s remote villages, Cosalan added.

The lawmaker said P2.95 billion have been programmed for the rehabilitation, upgrading, and development of various national roads, and more than P100

‘BASIL’ PROGRAM. Senator Cynthia Villar, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, celebrates with Agriculture Secretary Manny NOTICE OF CLOSURE

NOTICE OF LOSS

Notice is hereby given that on 15January 2016, Conergy Asia & ME Pte. Ltd. (the “Corporation”) authorized the closure of its Philippine Representative Office, effective immediately.

I am Joseph Pagadora Balbada, Filipino citizen a bonafide of Philippine Passport bearing no.

EB6477154 have been reported lost as of 5 June 2017.

If any persons found regarding these lost passport as of said date and thereafter will not be honored any transaction by the Department of Foreign Affairs.

All persons having claims against the Corporation are requested to contact its Resident Agent, Mr. Judah Z. Hirsch at Level 12, Robinsons Summit Center, 6783 Ayala Avenue, Makati City, Metro Manila.

This announcement will serve as a notice to all parties concerned regarding the closure of the Philippine Representative Office of the Corporation.

(MS-JUNE 21, 2017)

(MS-JUNE 21,28 & JULY 5, 2017

Republic of the Philippines Province of Bataan City of Balanga BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE OFFICE INVITATION TO BID NO. INFRA -051-2017

Piñol and fishermen from across the Calabarzon region who received certificates for livelihood assistance during the launching ceremony of the ‘Balik Sigla sa Ilog at Lawa’ (BASIL) program at Barangay Baybayin, Los Baños, Laguna. Joining Villar and Piñol were Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources chief Eduardo Gongona, Laguna Lake Development Authority general manager Jaime Medina, and Los Baños Mayor Caesar Perez. Roy Tomandao

Cagayan fishermen get P147-m BFAR aid

By Brenda Jocson TUGUEGARAO CITY—To boost local fishermen’s income, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources has turned over more than P147 million worth of fisheries equipment and livelihood projects in Claveria town.

Agriculture Undersecretary

and BFAR national director Eduardo Gongona led the distribution of 1,000 fiber reinforced plastic fishing boats, 3,990 fishing gear and paraphernalia, 48 chest freezers, 128 fish stalls, an air blast freezer, and 16 community fish landing centers.

Milagros Morales, BFAR Region 2 director, said the projects intend to generate

income, employment, and economic activities to lower the poverty incidence in the fisheries sector, reduce postharvest losses, and attain fish sufficiency in the country.

“The national government is working on reviving dying lakes and rivers with different species of fish as a priority thrust of the BFAR through ‘Balik-Sigla sa

Ilog at Lawa,’ also called the BASIL project,” Gongona said.

BFAR also urged Cagayan province’s coastal towns to join the Malinis at Masaganang Karagatan Search for Outstanding Coastal Municipalities.

The coastal towns are Claveria, Sanchez Mira, Pamplona, Abulug, Aparri, Buguey, Gonzaga and Santa Ana.

51

The Provincial Government of Bataan, through the General Fund intends to apply the below listed project w/ corresponding Approved Budget of the Contract (ABC). Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected a bid opening.

Name of Project 1.

2.

3.

4.

GSIS

Approved Budget of the Contract (ABC)

Labors & Materials for the Dredging/ Improvement of Bataan Rivers (Morong River) Provincewide Labors & Materials for the Dredging/ Improvement of Bataan Rivers (Caulaman River) Provincewide Labors & Materials for the Dredging/ Improvement of Bataan Rivers (Talisay River) Provincewide Labors & Materials for the Dredging/ Improvement of Bataan Rivers (Pangulisanin River) Provincewide

=P=19,999,990.70 1.

=P=19,999,995.94 =P=29,999,956.56

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using nondiscretionary pass/fail criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 9184 (RA 9184), otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

Bidding is open to all interested bidders, whether local or foreign, subject to the conditions for eligibility provided in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from Office of Bataan Bids & Awards Committeeand inspect the Bidding Documents from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the same office.

500,000 and below More than 500,000 up to 1 Million More than 1 Million up to 5 Million More than 5 Million up to 10 Million More than 10 Million up to 50 Million More than 50 Million up to 500 Million More than 500 Million

InvItatIon to BId REINSURANCE OF THE INDUSTRIAL ALL RISK INSURANCE OF THE NATIONAL POWER CORPORATION

The Provincial Government of Bataan reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

For further information, please refer to: Engr. Josephine R. Valenzuela Provincial BAC / PEO Bataan Provincial BAC / PEO Office, Capitol Compound, BalangaCity, Bataan 047-237-9316 bac@bataan.gov.ph

Coverage

ABC (inclusive of 20% GSIS Commission)

Retention (%)

Facultative Reinsurance (%)

Industrial All Risk, Marine Hull for Power Barges and Sabotage & Terrorism

PHP35,088,000.00

10%

90%

Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

2.

Bidders should have completed, within two (2) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

3.

Bidding will beconducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/ fail” criterion as specified in the revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

3.

Bidding willbeconducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

Bidding is open to all interested bidders, whether local or foreign, subject to the conditions for eligibility provided in the IRR of RA 9184.

4.

Interested bidders may obtain further information and inspect the Bidding Documents at the GSIS Bids and Awards Committee (GBAC) Secretariat Project Coordinators, Level 3 Core C, GSIS Building, Financial Center, Macapagal Ave., Pasay City, during office hours.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders from the date of publication of this ITB at the above address and upon payment of a non-refundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of Php5,000.00 It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the website of the Procuring Entity. However, the UnderwritingInformation shall only be available to Bidders who have paid the non-refundable fee of Php5,000.00 not later than the submission of their bids.

5.

The GSIS will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on 28June 2017 (09:30 am) at the GIBAC Conference Room, Core C, Level 3, GSIS Building, Financial Center, Macapagal Avenue, Pasay City which shall be open to all prospective bidders.

6.

The short list of preferred lead market accordingly ranked must be delivered by the potential bidders on or before 10 July 2017 (8:30 am) at the GBAC Secretariat (for GIBAC), Level 3, Core C, GSIS Building, Financial Center, Macapagal Avenue, Pasay City. Late submission shall not be accepted. The lead markets will be allocated on 10 July 2017 (9:30 am) at the GIBAC Conference Room, Core C, Level 3, GSIS Building, Financial Center, Macapagal Avenue, Pasay City, in the presence of the Bidders or their representatives who choose to attend. The GSIS shall thereafter issue the corresponding certificates of exclusive Lead Market allocation (Annex A) which shall be posted in the GSIS and Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (Philgeps) websites. Potential bidders are prohibited from approaching retrocessionaires who have been allocated to other potential bidders for the purpose of securing quotations for the submission of bids. Previous market allocations are deemed superseded.

Potential bidders who did not participate in the market allocation activity are not disqualified from submitting their bids. However, they are likewise prohibited from approaching retrocessionaires who have been allocated to other potential bidders for the purpose of securing quotations for the submission of bids.

7.

Bids must be delivered on or before 24July 2017(8:30 am) at the GBAC Secretariat (for GIBAC), Level 3, Core C, GSIS Building, Financial Center, Macapagal Avenue, Pasay City. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

8.

Bid opening shall be on 24July 2017(9:00 am) at the GIBAC Conference Room, Core C, Level 3, GSIS Building, Financial Center, Macapagal Avenue, Pasay City. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders representatives who chose to attend. Late bids shall not be accepted.After the Bid Opening, a detailed evaluation of the financial component of the eligible bid/s shall be conducted to determine the Single or Lowest Calculated Bid (SCB or LCB). Only the bidder with the SCB or LCB shall be notified within seven (7) calendar days to submit post-qualification documents.

9.

A sixty (60) day cover note effecting the insurance coverage on its inception date, 31 July 2017, will be required by the GSIS from the bidder with the LCB to be submitted within five (5) calendar days from receipt of the notice to submit the post-qualification documents.

10.

The GSIS encourages that the eligibility requirements be submitted before the deadline of submission of bids.

11.

The GSIS reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract awardin accordance with Section 41 of RA 9184 and its IRR, without thereby incurring any liability tothe affected bidder or bidders.

12.

For further information, please refer to:

Bidding is open to all interested bidders, whether local or foreign, subject to the conditions for eligibility provided in the IRR of RA 9184.

4.

Interested bidders may obtain further information and inspect the Bidding Documents at the GSIS Bids and Awards Committee (GBAC) Secretariat Project Coordinators, Level 3 Core C, GSIS Building, Financial Center, Macapagal Ave., Pasay City, during office hours.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders from the date of publication of this ITB at the above address and upon payment of a non-refundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of Php25,000.00.

It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the website of the Procuring Entity. However, the Underwriting Information shall only be available to Bidders who have paid the non-refundable fee of Php25,000.00 not later than the submission of their bids.

5.

The GSIS will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on 28June 2017 (09:00 am) at the GIBAC Conference Room, Core C, Level 3, GSIS Building, Financial Center, Macapagal Avenue, Pasay City which shall be open to all prospective bidders.

6.

The short list of preferred lead market accordingly ranked must be delivered by the potential bidders on or before 10 July 2017 (8:30 am) at the GBAC Secretariat (for GIBAC), Level 3, Core C, GSIS Building, Financial Center, Macapagal Avenue, Pasay City. Late submission shall not be accepted. The lead markets will be allocated on 10 July 2017 (9:00 am) at the GIBAC Conference Room, Core C, Level 3, GSIS Building, Financial Center, Macapagal Avenue, Pasay City, in the presence of the Bidders or their representatives who choose to attend. The GSIS shall thereafter issue the corresponding certificates of exclusive Lead Market allocation which shall be posted in the GSIS and Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (Philgeps) websites. Potential bidders are prohibited from approaching retrocessionaires who have been allocated to other potential bidders for the purpose of securing quotations for the submission of bids. Previous market allocations are deemed superseded.

Potential bidders who did not participate in the market allocation activity are not disqualified from submitting their bids. However, they are likewise prohibited from approaching retrocessionaires who have been allocated to other potential bidders for the purpose of securing quotations for the submission of bids.

7.

Bids must be delivered on or before 24July 2017(8:30 am) at the GBAC Secretariat (for GIBAC), Level 3, Core C, GSIS Building, Financial Center, Macapagal Avenue, Pasay City. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

8.

Bid opening shall be on 24July 2017(9:00 am) at the GIBAC Conference Room, Core C, Level 3, GSIS Building, Financial Center, Macapagal Avenue, Pasay City. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders representatives who chose to attend. Late bids shall not be accepted.

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

9.

A sixty (60) day cover note effecting the insurance coverage on its inception date, 31 July 2017, will be required by the GSIS from the bidder with the LCB to be submitted within five (5) calendar days from receipt of the notice to submit the post-qualification documents.

10. The GSIS encourages that the eligibility requirements be submitted before the deadline of submission of bids.

11. The GSIS reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract awardin accordance with Section 41 of RA 9184 and its IRR, without thereby incurring any liability tothe affected bidder or bidders.

12. For further information, please refer to: GBAC Secretariat Project Coordinators GSIS Insurance Bids and Awards Committee (GIBAC) Level 3 Core C, GSIS Building,Financial Center, Macapagal Avenue, Pasay City Contact no. 479-3600 loc. 3306 / 976-4655 Email: gbac_secretariat@gsis.gov.ph

GBAC Secretariat Project Coordinators GSIS Insurance Bids and Awards Committee (GIBAC) Level 3Core C, GSIS Building,Financial Center, Macapagal Avenue, Pasay City Contact no. 479-3600 loc. 3306 / 976-4655 Email: gbac_secretariat@gsis.gov.ph

(Sgd.) Valerie K. Marquez Chairperson GSIS Insurance Bids and Awards Committee

(Sgd.) Valerie K. Marquez Chairperson GSIS Insurance Bids and Awards Committee

(SGD) ENRICO T. YUZON BAC Chairman (MS-JUNE 21, 2017)

Facultative Reinsurance (%) 90%

The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), through the GSIS Corporate Budget for CY 2017 wishes to receive bids for the Reinsurance of the Industrial All Risk, Insurance of the NATIONAL POWER CORPORATION for the period 31July 2017 to 31July 2018, withaTotalSumInsuredof Fourteen Billion Four Hundred Thirty Eight Million Four Hundred Sixty Six Thousand and One Hundred Eighty Two Pesos (PHP14,438,466,182.00) with an Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) of Thirty Five Million Eighty Eight Thousand Pesos(PHP35,088,000.00), with the following particulars:

Bidders should have completed, within two (2) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

Schedule June 20 - 26, 2017 Refer to date of Opening of Bids June 20 – July 10, 2017 June 30, 2017 July 10, 2017

Retention (%) 10%

1.

2.

In case of the above dates is declared a special Non-Working Holidays, it will automatically reset on the next working days.

Activities 1. Advertisement/Posting of Invitation to Bid 2. Eligibility Check 3. Issuance and availability of Bidding Documents 4. Request for Clarification 5. Opening of Bids

ABC (inclusive of 20% GSIS Commission) PHP2,598,884.71

Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening

Bids must be delivered on or before July 10, 2017 at 1:30 P.M. at Provincial BAC Office, PEO Capitol Compound, Balanga City, Bataan. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated on IRR of RA 9184 or Bid Securing Declaration in standard form.

Other necessary information deemed relevant by the Provincial Government of Bataan

The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), through the GSIS Corporate Budget for CY 2017 wishes to receive bids for the Reinsurance of theProtection and Indemnity Insurance of the NATIONAL POWER CORPORATION for the period 31July 2017 to 31July 2018, withaTotal Sum Insured of Two Billion One Hundred Fifty Three Million One Hundred Seventy Seven Thousand Fifty Seven Pesos and 31/100(PHP2,153,177,057.31) with an Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) of Two Million Five Hundred Ninety Eight Thousand Eight Hundred Eighty Four Pesos and 71/100 (PHP2,598,884.71), with the following particulars: Coverage

The Provincial Government of Bataan will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on June 27, 2017 at 10:00 A.M at Provincial BAC Office, PEO Capitol Compound, Balanga City, Bataan.

Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend opening of Bids at Bataan BAC Office. Late bids shall not be accepted.

(GOVERNMENT SERVICE INSURANCE SYSTEM) Financial Center, Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City 1308

InvItatIon to BId

Protection and Indemnity

Bid documents will be available only to eligible bidders upon payment of a nonrefundable amount of using standard rates approved by GPPB as stated on their Resolution No. 04-2012 listed below.

Maximum Cost of Bidding Documents (in Philippine Peso) 500.00 1,000.00 5,000.00 10,000.00 25,000.00 50,000.00 75,000.00

GSIS

REINSURANCE OF THE PROTECTION AND INDEMNITY INSURANCE OF THE NATIONAL POWER CORPORATION

=P=19,999,929.76

The Provincial Government of Bataan now invites bids for the above listed Projects.

Completion of works is required on or before the maturity date stipulated on contract.

Bidders should have completed, at least one (1) contract that is similar to the contract to be bid. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

Approved Budget for the Contract

(GOVERNMENT SERVICE INSURANCE SYSTEM) Financial Center, Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City 1308

(MS-JUNE 21, 2017)

(MS-JUNE 21, 2017)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

World IN BRIEF Lightning kills 22 people in Bangladesh DHAKA—Lightning strikes have killed at least 22 people in Bangladesh in the last 48 hours, authorities said Tuesday, a week after monsoon rains triggered a series of deadly landslides in the country.

The deaths came as storms swept the country on Sunday and Monday, the head of the disaster management department Reaz Ahmed told AFP. Among the dead were a couple and their young daughter who were were working on a peanut farm when they were struck by lightning.

Hundreds of people die every year from lightning strikes in Bangladesh and experts say climate change has exacerbated the problem.

They also blame deforestation and the loss of taller trees like palms that used to act as lightning conductors.

Last year authorities declared a natural disaster when the official toll topped 200 deaths, with 82 people dying on a single day in May. Experts say the true figure is likely much higher as many deaths go unreported. One independent monitor said 349 people were killed by lightning strikes in 2016.

Disaster officials spent several months last year looking at ways to reduce the toll and later came up with a program to plant a million palm trees.

The meteorological department has also trained 20,000 school students on measures to avoid being struck by lightning.

Last week, more than 160 people were killed and hundreds of homes were destroyed in landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains in the country’s southeast. AFP

Australia halts air operations in Syria SYDNEY―Australia’s military on Tuesday said it was temporarily halting air missions over Syria, following the shooting down of a Syrian jet by US forces.

The decision came amid increasing tension between the US and Russia, which warned it would track coalition aircraft in Syria as potential “targets”, and halted a military hot line with Washington over the incident.

“As a precautionary measure, Australian Defense Force strike operations into Syria have temporarily ceased,” a defense spokeswoman said in a statement.

No reason for the suspension was given, but The Australian newspaper said it was implemented as a precaution after the jet’s downing.

“ADF personnel are closely monitoring the air situation in Syria and a decision on the resumption of ADF air operations in Syria will be made in due course,” the spokeswoman added.

“ADF operations in Iraq will continue as part of the coalition.”

The United States has moved quickly to contain an escalation of the situation after the jet was downed on Sunday evening when regime forces targeted the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters battling IS. A top US general said the country would work to relaunch the “deconfliction” hot line established in 2015, after Russia said Washington had failed to use the line― a vital incident-prevention tool―before targeting the plane near Raqa.

Australia is part of the coalition fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq and in late 2015 extended air operations into Syria, with a total of 780 defense personnel based in the Middle East. AFP

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2017

C3

US student dies after release C

HICAGO-Otto Warmbier, the US student released in a coma last week after nearly 18 months in detention in North Korea, died on Monday, prompting President Donald Trump to slam the “brutal regime” in Pyongyang.

CARNIVAL. Fireworks explode at the 21st annual Electric Daisy Carnival at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas. AFP

Mexican journalists acuse govt of spying MEXICO CITY―A group of prominent journalists and activists in Mexico accused the government Monday of spying on them, saying their phones had been hacked with Israeli spyware sold exclusively to the state.

The group said at a press conference that it has pressed charges with the attorney general’s office, accusing the government of illegally accessing private communitcations and other offenses.

The nine plaintiffs at the news event included journalists who have published embarrassing exposes on government corruption and activists who have investigated human rights violations by the state.

“This is an operation by the Mexican state, in which state agents―far from doing what they should legally do― have used our resources, our taxes, our money to commit serious abuses,” said journalist Carmen Aristegui.

Aristegui, a veteran reporter, is known in Mexico for a 2014 expose revealing that President Enrique Pena Nieto’s wife

had bought a $7 million Mexico City mansion from a government contractor.

She said members of her staff and her 16-year-old son were also targeted.

She is among the 76 cases the plaintiffs say they have documented of hightech spyware being installed on their phones and those of their families and associates.

The accusation were first published in a New York Times report detailing how Pegasus was used against top human rights lawyers, journalists and anticorruption activists in Mexico.

“What does the Mexican president have to say today about this treacherous, illegal spying?” Aristegui said.

Pena Nieto’s office responded with a letter to the editor of the New York Times.

“There is no proof whatsoever that Mexican government agencies are responsible for the alleged spying,” wrote spokesman Daniel Millan Valencia.

Victims said they received text messages with eye-catching news headlines,

social media posts or even communications from the United States embassy― all of which were fake.

The messages would prompt users to click on a link that would secretly install the spyware on their phones.

The software in question, known as Pegasus, effectively turns a target’s cell phone into a pocket spy, accessing the user’s communications, camera and microphone to enable a highly detailed level of surveillance.

The spyware is made by a secretive Israeli firm called NSO Group, owned

by US private equity firm Francisco Partners Management.

According to the New York Times report, at least three Mexican federal agencies have purchased some $80 million of spyware from NSO Group since 2011.

The company, which claims it only sells Pegasus to governments, says it has an agreement with clients that the software be used only to target terrorists and criminals. AFP

The 22-year-old was medically evacuated to the United States last Tuesday, suffering from severe brain damage. He died six days later surrounded by relatives in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio.

“The awful torturous mistreatment our son received at the hands of the North Koreans ensured that no other outcome was possible,” the family said in a statement announcing Warmbier’s death.

Warmbier was on a tourist trip when he was arrested and sentenced in March last year to 15 years hard labor for stealing a political poster from a North Korean hotel, a punishment US officials decried as far out of proportion to his alleged crime.

Trump slammed Pyongyang following news of his death.

“It’s a brutal regime,” he said during a White House event. “Bad things happened but at least we got him home to his parents.”

In a separate written statement, Trump said, “Otto’s fate deepens my Administration’s determination to prevent such tragedies from befalling innocent people at the hands of regimes that do not respect the rule of law or basic human decency.

“The United States once again condemns the brutality of the North Korean regime as we mourn its latest victim.”

Added Secretary of State Rex Tillerson: “We hold North Korea accountable for Otto Warmbier’s unjust imprisonment, and demand the release of three other Americans who have been illegally detained.”

Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American missionary who spent almost two years in a North Korean prison before he was released in November 2014, issued a statement asking people to pray for Warmbier’s family.

“For Otto to be returned to the US in the state he was in―and then for him to die because of it-is not only an outrage, but it is a tragedy for his entire family,” Bae wrote.

“This did not have to happen and should never happen again.”

Doctors last week revealed that Warmbier had suffered severe neurological injuries, and described him as being in a state of “unresponsive wakefulness,” opening his eyes and blinking, but showing no signs of understanding language or of being aware of his surroundings.

His family said Monday that he first appeared anguished when he first arrived home, but died “at peace.”

Kim Jong-Un’s regime claimed Warmbier fell into a coma soon after he was sentenced last year, saying the college student had contracted botulism and been given a sleeping pill.

Medical tests carried out last week in the United States offered no conclusive evidence as to the cause of his neurological injuries, and no evidence of a prior botulism infection. Warmbier’s doctors said he had suffered extensive tissue loss in all regions of his brain, but showed no signs of physical trauma.

They said that given his age, Warmbier’s severe brain injury was most likely caused by cardiopulmonary arrest cutting the blood supply to the brain.

Warmbier’s release came amid mounting tensions with Washington following a series of missile tests by Pyongyang, focusing attention on an arms buildup that Pentagon chief Jim Mattis has dubbed “a clear and present danger to all.” AFP

US Democrats furious over secret health plan WASHINGTON―US Democrats furious with Republican secrecy brought Senate business to a standstill Monday, launching an hourslong protest against President Donald Trump’s party crafting a back-room Obamacare repeal plan and refusing to hold public hearings about it.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he wants the legislation passed by June 30.

Democrats fear he is purposely keeping the bill under wraps until the last minute so he can jam the controversial plan through with just a few hours of floor debate.

The strategy is a 180-degree shift from the Republican position during the 2009-2010 debate on Barack Obama’s health care reforms, when conservatives demanded transparency and dozens of public hearings in a monthslong process.

In the six weeks since the House of Representatives passed its Obamacare repeal legislation, Senate Republicans have insisted they will craft their own bill, but few details have emerged.

With just 10 legislative days before McConnell’s deadline, all that most lawmakers and the public have to work on is the House bill, which a non-partisan congressional review predicted would leave 23 million fewer people insured over the next decade.

“Republicans are drafting this

bill in secret because they’re ashamed of it, plain and simple,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, shortly before Democrats took to the Senate floor in anger.

Republicans argue that Obamacare has failed to prevent premiums and other health costs from skyrocketing.

Democrats warn that Trump’s delay of government subsidy payments is leading to instability and causing costs to rise.

Senator Cory Booker called the Republican strategy “tragic” and broken.

“People [are] working in secret on a bill that they’re going to try to force through Congress with no public input, no hearings, no meetings, no markups, no debate, no public accountability,” he said in the talk-a-thon, which dragged into a fifth hour.

Even as McConnell downplays the secrecy, few Republicans appear to know what will be in the legislation. Some have begun speaking out.

“If it is an effort to rush it from a small group of people, straight to the floor in an up or down vote, that would be a problem,” Senator Marco Rubio told CNN Sunday.

Republicans have signaled one of the main internal debates focuses on reforms to Medicaid, the health care program for lowincome people. AFP

PRESS CONFERENCE. Yoshiki from the Japanese band X Japan wears a neck brace while attending a press conference for his world tour concert in Tokyo. AFP

Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

C4

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2017

Portugal’s fire survivors tell of the horror

World

Group fails to agree how to end crisis in Venezuela CANCUN, Mexico―Ministers from the Organization of American States failed Monday to agree on a resolution to address the crisis in Venezuela, as the death toll from weeks of clashes at anti-government protests rose to 74.

New violence erupted in the South American nation as protesters marked the 80th day in their current campaign to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

Meanwhile, as the OAS opened its annual general assembly in Mexico, foreign ministers from the 34-nation regional group scrambled to adopt a joint response to the crisis―and came up short.

Since April 1, after Venezuela’s Supreme Court tried to strip the powers of the oppositionmajority legislature, the country has descended into running street battles between anti-government protesters and Maduro’s security forces and supporters.

Maduro’s opponents accuse the president of clinging to power by repressing opponents, eradicating checks and balances, and seeking to write a new constitution.

Violent scenes played out again Monday, as riot police and soldiers used tear gas and water cannons to block demonstrators from marching on central Caracas.

A 17-year-old boy was shot in the chest and killed in Altamira on the capital’s east side, while six others were wounded by bullets, officials said.

The crisis has the rest of Latin America increasingly worried.

In the Mexican resort city of Cancun, OAS foreign ministers tried bridge their mistrust and ideological divisions to address the standoff.

The ministers had two competing proposals on the table.

On one side stood Venezuela’s leftist allies and Caribbean countries that for years received discounted crude exports from the oil giant. They back a domestic resolution to the crisis.

On the opposite side were the United States, Canada, Mexico, Peru and Panama, which want to create a “contact group” on Venezuela -- comprising countries that would seek to make Maduro’s government respect OAS democratic norms.

Using the Caribbean states’ proposal as a base, the two sides sought to forge a compromise in which the OAS would call on Maduro to halt the constitutiondrafting assembly he has convened, guarantee human rights, and hold talks with the opposition mediated by a group of regional countries.

But the proposal fell three votes shy of the 23 it needed. AFP

OUT OF CONTROL. This picture shows a wildfire in Carvalho, next to Pampilhosa da Serra, on June 19, 2017. More than 1,000 firefighters are still trying to control the huge forest fire that erupted on June 17, 2017 in central Portugal, killing at least 62 people and injuring 62 more, many trapped in their cars by the flames and causing a great deal of emotion in the country. AFP

POBRAIS, Portugal―When the fire roared into the village of Pobrais, in central Portugal, Miguel Manuel’s mother called him in a panic.

He rushed to help her, braving the danger of driving through flames, but it was too late by the time he arrived.

Manuel was the first person to reach the road where 47 people died Saturday, burned alive in their cars. The blaze has killed a total of 63.

The 23-year-old found his mother’s body just 500 meters from the family home.

Two days later, in heat that hit 36 degrees Celsius (97 degrees Fahrenheit), he, his father and a neighbor set about burying animals that had succumbed to the flames, including a cat and goats.

The village has around 50 houses, stretching along a narrow, steep road that spills into a valley now covered in ashes and blackened trees.

Manuel told AFP that he was in the coastal city of Figueira da Foz, around a hundred kilometers away, when she called.

He hastily made his way to Pobrais, using an alternate route and even driving through flames in a desperate attempt to save his mother.

“Everything burned, even my work,” said the young man, who works in the wood industry.

Next to him, his father Jose Manuel is unable to talk about the tragedy. The farmer, 57, could only say that that his wife, who earned a living as a cleaner, had left the village in a car with her cousin who also died on the fateful national route 236 that links Figueiro dos Vinhos to Castanheira de Pera.

His neighbor, Vitor Neves, was married to the 38-year-old cousin. At the time of her death, Neves was fighting the same fire, 35 kilometers away.

He, too, tried to reach the village but also arrived too late.

Pobrais lost 12 villagers in the fire. Eleven people died on the main road, trapped by flames coming from all directions as they tried to flee.

Neves said he believes the disaster could have been avoided.

“The village exit should have been blocked.

If people had stayed in their houses, they would have survived,” he said.

Neighbors across the street did survive, taking refuge in a water tank set up in front of their door.

Maria do Ceu Ferreira, her retired husband and two daughters in their 30s saw the fire sweep over their heads.

“Without the water tank, we would be dead,” said the 56-year-old woman, who had no voice after screaming during those tense moments.

She has no idea how long it lasted.

“It felt like an hour, but I don’t really know, we completely lost all notion of time.”

She said she somehow felt that those who left the village were putting their lives in danger.

“When we saw people heading for the road, we begged them to stay with us in the water tank but they were blinded by panic,” she said.

Among the people who stayed in the village, a man in his 50s burned to death in his home.

The house at the lower end of the village and closest to the forest, was reduced to ashes, along with the rest of the surrounding valley and hills.

“I have been a fireman for 26 years and I have never seen anything like it,” said Antonio Coutinho, who works with Vitor Neves with the forest fire fighting crews.

“No one could have imagined the fire would move so fast. It engulfed the entire valley in a matter of minutes.” AFP

Russia warns US after Syrian warplane is shot down MOSCOW―Russia on Monday warned it would track US-led coalition aircraft in Syria as potential “targets” and halted a military hot line with Washington after US forces downed a Syrian jet.

The United States moved quickly to contain an escalation, with a top general saying it would work to relaunch the “deconfliction” hot line established in 2015.

The downing of the jet and Russia’s response came as the US-led coalition and allied fighters battled to oust the Islamic State jihadist group from its Syrian bastion Raqa.

Analysts say neither Washington nor President Bashar al-Assad’s regime appear to be seeking further confrontation, although the risks

remain high in Syria’s increasingly crowded battlefields and airspace.

“Any flying objects, including planes and drones of the international coalition, discovered west of the Euphrates River will be tracked as aerial targets by Russia’s air defences on and above ground,” said Russia’s defense ministry.

It said Washington had failed to use the hot line―a vital incidentprevention tool―before downing the plane near Raqa.

“We will work diplomatically and militarily in the coming hours to re-establish deconfliction,” said US General Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, referring to the hot line.

Pentagon spokesman, Major

Adrian Rankine Galloway, said the US had taken “prudent measures to re-position aircraft over Syria” to ensure the safety of pilots.

The jet was downed on Sunday evening after regime forces targeted the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters battling IS. An American F/A-18E Super Hornet shot down the Syrian SU22 as it “dropped bombs near SDF fighters” south of the town of Tabqa, said the US-led coalition.

Russia’s defense minister said the pilot ejected “above IS-controlled territories” and that his fate was unknown.

The coalition said Syrian troops attacked SDF fighters near Tabqa,

south of Raqa, wounding several and chasing them out of the town.

It said the warplane was targeted in line with the “rules of engagement”.

Damascus and its ally Moscow condemned the “aggression”.

The Syrian army said the plane was hit while on a mission against IS jihadists and warned of “the grave consequences of this flagrant aggression”.

Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said it was a “continuation of America’s line to disregard the norms of international law”.

“What is this if not an act of aggression?”

It was the latest skirmish between the coalition and regime forces in the increasingly tense and crowded

space in Syria’s north and east.

Backed by the coalition, SDF forces entered Raqa for the first time two weeks ago, after months of fierce fighting, and have seized four neighborhoods.

The Syrian army is not involved in the offensive, and has instead turned its focus further east to the largely IS-held, oil-rich province of Deir Ezzor.

Pro-regime forces are moving on three fronts, south of Raqa, through the Badia desert region in central Syria, and along the eastern border.

The advance have created tensions, particularly along Syria’s border, where the US and its allies are training an anti-IS force at the Al-Tanaf garrison. AFP

‘Stay away from meat, eggs, lust’ NEW DELHI―Pregnant women in India are being advised to stay away from meat, eggs and lust―drawing derision from health experts who slammed the tips Tuesday as completely unscientific.

The recommendations are contained in a booklet compiled by the government-funded Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy.

Pregnant women must avoid “eggs, non-veg etc” and detach themselves from “desire” and “lust”, said the booklet, extracts of which were published in Indian media.

“During pregnancy, women... should have spiritual thoughts, should read the life history of great personalities and should keep themselves in peace,” it went on.

Doctors said the advice bordered on ridiculous, especially in a country that recorded a staggering 45,000 maternal deaths in 2015, according to the World Health Organization.

About 174 women die of pregnancy-related causes in India for every 100,000 live births, compared with just 14 in the United States.

“The dietary advice is not scientific at all. Ad-

vising to stay away from non-vegetarian food is ridiculous since malnutrition and anemia are the biggest problems in our country,” said Sharmila Lal, a gynecologist.

“In fact if women are used to non-veg food, we encourage them to have it during pregnancy as it is a good source of protein and iron,” she told AFP. The ministry of Ayush, which promotes traditional healing practices, has defended the booklet, saying it only contained general guidelines based on the concepts of yoga and naturopathy.

The diet plans are “based on clinical experience, simple naturopathy treatments and tips for remaining stress-free during pregnancy,” it said in a statement.

Critics of India’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party say unscientific theories in health care are increasingly being floated in the name of tradition.

Last month, a Hindu nationalist organization said it was helping Indian couples conceive “superior” babies with high IQs and fair skin through a purification process rooted in ancient texts and mythology. AFP

SEEING THE SIGHTS. Tourists enjoy a boat ride in Saint Petersburg on June 19, 2017. AFP

Life FASHION & BEAUTY

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2017

D1

ICONIC.

Levi’s 501 jeans remain the most popular and most valuable piece of clothing for men and women, 144 years since the pair’s inception.

Levi’s brand style director Kaede Matsumoto (left) and head of design Jonathan Cheung (right) give their own take on the classic pair.

Most iconic denim marks 144th year

I

T HAS been more than a century since the iconic Levi’s brand came up with the original blue jeans that changed fashion forever. To this day, however, Levi’s classic 501 remains not only the most popular but also the most valuable piece of clothing for men and women.

In fact, no less than Time magazine in 2000 named Levi’s 501 as the “fashion item of the 20th century,” edging out the miniskirt and the little black dress.

Levi’s 501 jeans were born 144 years ago, when Levi Strauss and Nevada tailor Jacob Davis partnered in 1873 for the first riveted pockets on men’s pants. The number 501 was assigned to the world-renowned “copper riveted waist overalls” as lot numbers were then used to classify products made by Levi’s.

The classic Arcuate design on the back pockets of the 501 jeans was registered a trademark in 1943 and is the oldest one still in use today. In 1964, a 501 pair entered the Permanent Collections of Smithsonian Institution.

From artists to athletes, and from activists to heads of state, men and women who wrote his-

tory embraced the iconic blue jean, including 1950’s Hollywood icons James Dean, Marlon Brando, and Marilyn Monroe.

Apple founder Steve Jobs first sported his signature look of black turtleneck and Levi’s 501 jeans in the 1980s, while former US President Barack Obama wore the iconic denim to throw out the first pitch at the All Star Baseball Game in 2009.

But like any timeless classic that endures the changing times, Levi’s 501 jeans have kept up with the evolving styles of young pioneers. It is a mix of both vintage and current, as it continues to reinvent itself to be more relevant in the modern age.

“Whether you wear the 501, 501 Skinny, 501CT, 501 Stretch or even 501 cut-offs, your jeans are a marriage between a tried-and-true classic and a modern twist. The 501 is the sweet spot that honors the legacy and heritage of the past while re-

sponding to the energy of today—and that is where the magic is,” Karyn Hillman, Levi’s chief product officer, stated.

“I could give you a hundred reasons why I think the 501 is the best piece of clothing design in human history, from a pure formmeets-function standpoint to its unparalleled cultural history, but you know what?

It’s the bum. The backside. The rear end.

The 501 bum is the all-time best,” added Jonathan Cheung, Levis head of Global Design.

Just last year, Levi’s introduced the 501 Stretch—the first time that the iconic jean is offered in stretch. And this year, Levi’s welcomed the newest addition to its family—the 501 Skinny jean customized for today’s slim-fit trend.

The brand also released its fifth and latest episode of the 501 Documentary Series, The 501® Jean: Stories of an Original, Music, which explores Levi’s relationship with music history.

Step up your denim fashion game like Taku with the Levi’s classic 501 Day collection, which includes the iconic 501 jean and denim vest

SPRUCE UP YOUR WARDROBE PUTTING together a stylish look, and shopping for outfits, especially online, can sometimes be a daunting task.

Apart from having an impeccable taste, it also requires imagination and a fair amount of patience.

Shopping is fun, but sometimes you can’t help but wish you had someone (preferably tasteful, creative, and patient) to dress you up. This is where WEAVE steps in.

An online fashion retailer founded by fashion designers who have always been conscious of what style-savvy women want, WEAVE curates your closet for you and helps you build a wardrobe made up of the most stylish but comfortable pieces. WEAVE is your very own online fashion stylist.

“WEAVE is targeted for women who

are image driven, independent, and style conscious,” begins Brit Romero, the brand’s creative director. “It offers readyto-wear clothing that women can comfortably use every day and make her look and feel effortlessly beautiful.” With its signature modern minimalist aesthetic, the brand creates looks that never go out of style, from dresses to tops, trousers, skirts, and even shoes and accessories.

With exclusivity in mind, it produces these designer pieces at a limited volume.

This also allows them to come out with fresh new items every week, offering their customers something new to fall in love with at every visit.

Now, this season’s collection is definitely something to look forward to.

The brand’s designs have always been inspired by architectural shapes and

WEAVE’s showroom is at 2nd floor, Uptown Mall, Bonifacio Global City

patterns, and for its SS2017 collection, WEAVE introduces non-typical cuts and patterns inspired by some of the most exceptional architectural buildings around the world. “Our vision for this collection was to introduce the contemporary woman, and we highlight this with classic silhouettes complemented by a distinctive yet wearable twist,” explains Romero. She adds, “We want our clients to see WEAVE as a brand that keeps on offering innovative style. A brand that always offers something new that adds a defined sense of style to every woman.”

WEAVE’s first ever showroom is located on the 2nd floor of Uptown Mall, Bonifacio Global City.

Learn more and shop WEAVE online at weave.com.ph.

WEAVE’s SS ‘17 collection features non-typical cuts and patterns inspired by some of the most exceptional architectural buildings around the world

Life

D2

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2017 isahred@gmail.com

Joseph salutes

‘NOMADIC FREEDOM’

T

HE British brand Joseph’s spring-summer season has a strong and striking collection that salutes nomadic freedom.

This nomadic freedom features a personal uniform for the Joseph tribe as it travels across the urban scene. Each individual is strong, powerful; their clothes providing comfort and protection. Their style, at first pure and vulnerable, gathers

momentum and intrigue as the journey progresses.

The Joseph trench, the hand knit, the man shirt, the track pants become reformed with the luxury of time, resulting in a handcrafted uniform where comfort and freedom prevail.

Joseph’s Spring/Summer 2017 collection features striking and stylish clothes that provide comfort and protection

Joseph packs in a limited-edition collection of handmade accessories for this long journey—backpacks, messengers, bum bags, neck strap bag. These are

constructed using a combination of salView the Spring Summer 2017 Colvaged military uniform fabrics, sports- lection at Joseph located on L1 of SM wear fabrics and materials from the Aura Premier, and L1 of S Maison at the Joseph Spring/Summer 2017 collection. Conrad Hotel.

FASHION ADVOCACY

Diesel urges everyone to make love not walls

Elle launches a fragrance line that caters to women of all ages

SCENTS OF A WOMAN

Elle’s

fashionable fragrance for babies, kids and teens ELLE, the ultimate reference in terms of fashion and trends is a lifestyle above all.

After the magazine, ready-to-wear clothing, accessories, makeup, and home sectors, Elle now inspires a collection of trendy, radiant, and creative perfumes for babies, kids, and teens.

Adult favorite is the baby fragrance, So Cute!—a natural, alcohol-free, hypoallergenic, and unisex fragrance inspired by dreams of young moms and the nature of babies—soft, loving, and full of laughter. The perfect gift for a newborn or a birthday, it will mark the start of a long story.

For little girls full of joy and mischief, the tangy and contemporary scent of So Pretty! is the must-have fragrance. This long-lasting Eau de Toilette mix of raspberry, mandarin, and rose will surely bring the little girly-girl and her mom one less thing to worry about. So Sweety! on the other hand, is a delicate and sensitive Eau de Toilette. This fragrance of apple, green almond, citron, and freesia is all about carefree happiness for dreamy little girls who like to look stylish. This is the joyful ‘it’ fragrance for charming little girls.

Elle Mademoiselle, inspired by Paris’ style with an international appeal, is a collection of contemporary and feminine fragrances for trendy teenagers. It launches with two fun yet timeless Eau de Toilette fragrances: So Lovely! and So Chic!. So Lovely! is a fruity and modern scent filled with joy, a touch of cheerfulness, and a hint of cheekiness—an irresistible mixture of apples and berries, grace and energy. So Chic! is a daring yet natural scent that channels elegance, tenderness, love, and dreams, and an unmatched blend of pear, flowers, and vanilla, a must-have collection for a connected tribe of young ‘besty’ groups looking for their first trendy perfume.

From the expertise of the French perfumery Berdoues, Elle is Parisians’ lifestyle perfume and should prove to be the much-coveted quality perfume for fashionable young girls—and babies in the country. When shopping for the little ones, think of Elle—trendy yet timeless, fun yet elegant, international yet so French-y.

Elle Fragrances will be available in 50 mL (P1,250) and 100 mL (P1,950) bottles at leading department stores nationwide.

Exclusively distributed by Rustan Marketing Corporation.

THROUGH photographic imagery and a series of global actions #makelovenotwalls is about tearing down the mental and physical walls that separate us, and let all sides come together in the name of unity and love. This happens in a crucial historical moment, where hate, walls, and fear seem to prevail.

Diesel wants to tear down these walls showing that a brighter and exciting tomorrow is possible.

“At Diesel, we have a strong position against hate and more than ever we want the world to know that,” explains Artistic Director Nicola Formichetti.

“Love and togetherness is crucial in creating a society we all want to live in, and the future we all deserve.”

Committed to diversity and the rights of individuals around the world, the iconic American artist and photographer David LaChapelle collaborates with Formichetti to break down barriers—literally—with a communication platform developed by Anomaly Amsterdam.

Diesel takes on the Wall, a symbol of separation by definition, breaking it down to create strong storytelling throughout the imagery developed around it: walls are built and the Diesel love tank breaks into it with a heart shape, turning a symbol of separation into a happy place filled with flowers for a celebration of freedom and love. Only by doing this, can you be free to be true to yourself and free to love whom you want.

“From our David LaChapelle campaign featuring two sailors kissing in 1995 until now, Diesel has always and will continue to push boundaries. We need to have the balls to break down barriers in a moment where fear is making the world divided with more walls,” says Renzo Rosso, Diesel’s founder.

The campaign’s rainbow-colored inflatable tank appeared in London on February 14, conveying a message of love, before traveling to Milan, Shanghai, New York, Berlin and Tokyo. A military tool stripped of its original purpose—the tank—is reimagined as an emblem of hope. A machine that used to divide now unites.

In the Philippines, Diesel is located at Bonifacio High Street Central, Greenbelt 3 and Power Plant Mall. Visit www.ssilife.com.ph for more information.

American artist and photographer David LaChapelle collaborates with artistic director Nicola Formichetti for Diesel’s #makelovenotwalls campaign

SKIN CARE TIPS

Make underarms beautiful, too Dove Deodorants have an improved formula to deliver superior care to underarm skin

LADIES, let’s face it. We are beauty junkies, eagerly awaiting to try the latest skin and hair trends we see on our social media feeds, and on lifestyle websites. What we don’t realize is that there is another part of our body that’s often taken for granted but needs extra care and protection: our underarms. Even when we shave, pluck or wax them, we don’t always make sure they are cared for.

Dove is championing the need for enhanced care for this delicate and sensitive area of the body, and believes underarm care should be an extension of one’s beauty regime.

This year, Dove, the number one brand recommended by dermatologists, takes underarm care a step higher by launching their most skincaring formula ever. The improved formulation promises to deliver superior care and mildness to underarm skin, all while maintaining the same level of sweat and odor protection as the previous one. The new Dove deodorants also have an improved fragrance: softer and less harsh, but maintaining the signature clean and calming Dove scent. With this new extra-care formula found in all their variants, Dove deodorant stays true to its commitment of delivering only the best care for every woman.

For care and protection, Dove Original deodorant is front and center. It contains Dove’s sig-

nature ¼ moisturizing cream to deliver gentle care, and to repair your underarm skin. Enriched with Vitamins E and F, it is especially formulated to take care of skin that’s constantly exposed to shaving and waxing, giving you lighter, smoother underarms.

Stubborn dark spots? Dove Ultimate White is the ultimate solution. Made with face care serum ingredients like Omega 6 and hydrating glycerol, Dove Ultimate White lightens underarm skin from within, for ultimately beautiful underarms.

Armpit skin sensitivity is a common issue among women. To combat skin irritation, Dove introduces its new variant, Dove Sensitive. Created specially for sensitive skin, this hypoallergenic and fragrance-free product is also made with Dove’s signature ¼ moisturizing cream, and has no alcohol or colorants. It’s paraben-free, fragrance-free, and is made to nourish and calm the skin.

Trust only Dove to give the best care for your underarm skin. Experience Dove’s most skincaring formula yet and achieve the beautiful underarms you’ve always wanted. That’s #TheBeautifulTruth.

Dove Deodorants are available in all leading supermarkets, department stores, and drugstores nationwide.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2017

TV host Drew Arellano cuddles up to Baby Primo for a sweet photo

Drew Arellano on being a father “YOU love my job,” this is how firsttime father Drew Arellano often teases the viewers of his popular travel show.

And who wouldn’t love his job, right?

He goes all over the Philippines, and sometimes even abroad, to see the natural wonders, experience the culture, taste the food and of course try out the new adrenaline-pumping adventures the place offers.

But, however awesome all of those sound, there’s one job that he’d love to do more – and that’s being the best dad to baby Primo. Just like other working parents, Drew shared that he struggles to find more time for his family.

Most first-time parents want to be with their children all the time, to witness all the milestones and to enjoy every moment with their firstborn. But in reality, not everyone has the luxury to do so. Most parents just make do with the time they have with their children and make it worthwhile.

Taking care of a newborn is definitely exhausting, all the crying, having no sleep and a sudden change in lifestyle may take a toll on first-time moms and dads, especially if they have to juggle all of that with their demanding work.

But little victories like seeing your baby smile, and feeling that they recognize you may take all those stress away.

“Just making him smile, his milestones which we caught on cam, his front teeth, and all of his other firsts, [we consider] those achievements,” shared Drew. He also shared that at first, it seemed like Primo didn’t know him. But as time went by, Primo began to recognize him and respond to his quips.

“In the morning, a slap on the face is ‘I love you, Papa’, for me,” shared Drew.

He also bonds with Primo in every way he can. He makes routine activities like eating, playing and taking a bath fun for the baby. In fact, when he takes Primo to bath, he sings the ‘Babyflo Bath Time’ song to calm Primo down.

In time for Father’s Day, Babyflo® launched the second webisode of its newest campaign, Let Love Flow with Babyflo®.

Watch the adorable father and son bath time bonding of Daddy Drew and Baby Primo on the Babyflo® Facebook page, www.facebook.com/BabyfloPH.

Twitter’s most influential personalities “F IREWORK” singer Katy Perry debuted on Billboard 200 at no. 1 with her new album Witness two days after she made social media history, by becoming the first person in the world to reach 100 million Twitter followers.

Twitter recognized the global pop star’s accomplishment by posting a video montage containing some of her tweets since she joined the microblogging in 2009. Perry has posted more than 8,500 tweets since then.

The 32-year-old singer, who is also considered one of the best-selling music artists of all time, according to Soundscan, is followed closely by Canadian pop star Justin Bieber with 96.8 million Twitter army. In third place is former U.S. President Barack Obama with 90.9 million Twitter fans. Behind them are pop stars Taylor Swift and Rihanna with 85.1 million and 74.1 million followers, respectively.

With Perry’s historical social media record, this establishes that Twitter is still very relevant and the personalities who are dominating the social media platform are the ones who have the most influence on people. And most of them use Twitter for a good cause.

In that respect, let’s have a rundown of the most influential, i.e. most followed local personalities in the ubiquitous microblogging site.

Vice Ganda He is one of the most influential members of LGBT community online and IRL (in real life). Sexual preference aside, this also puts him the most influential male personality on Twitter with more than 8.9 million fans. He uses the microblogging site as an extension of the shows It’s Showtime and Gandang Gabi Vice and can make a topic trend even

Advocacy film tackles values formation, among others HEARD of New Generation Heroes? It is a film, a local one, that tackles values formation, rights to proper education, giving importance to teachers and people who dedicate themselves in teaching.

According to the film’s director, Anthony Hernandez, the story is based on true events.

The film stars Aiko Melendez and Anita Linda. Also in the cast are Jao Mapa, Joyce Peñas, Dexter Doria, Debraliz Valasote, Alvin Nakasi, Gloria Sevilla, Rob Sy, Aleera Montalia, Jm Del Rosario and Andrea Kate Abellar.

Hernandez says that we don’t get education only in the confines of the four walls we call school. He said that we learn a lot of things outside the classroom.

The film tells the story of Salvacion Fajardo, a retired teacher, whose dedication as an educator didn’t give her enough time to build her own family.

Apart from her, the film focuses as well on Gener, a street smart who only finished Grade 5. Gener and her sister Ana were orphaned early in life so they fended for each other’s needs. Gener, as a street child, was educated by his environment and decided to act on an advocacy he though might help others like him.

He is asking for book donations that he will use to help fellow street children learn how to read

and write.

Gener will meet Salvacion and together will pursue his dream to help others.

Meanwhile, Lolita, an efficient teacher, tries to do everything to make both ends meet to support her children one of whom has cerebral palsy.

This is the portrait of Hernandez’s New Generation of Heroes.

Joyce Peñas (left) and Aiko Melendez in a scene from the Anthony Hernandez film

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Wednesday, June 21, 2017

ACROSS 1 Arroyo 5 Shogun’s warrior 10 Titled lady 14 Vaccine type 15 Theater awards 16 Iniquitous 17 Eight, to Livy 18 Neighbor of India 19 Sparks and Beatty 20 Tykes 22 Grassland 24 Job-ad letters 25 Above, to a bard 26 Laughs loudly 29 Notch shape 32 Warty critters 36 Space preceder 37 “Wizard of Oz” role 39 Mexican Mrs. 40 Disobedience 43 Zodiac lion 44 “Murder, She Wrote” actress — Lansbury 45 Foray 46 Transmits 48 Kind of poem 49 Gusting 50 Startled cry 52 Cul-de- — 53 Brandished 57 Branching off

with just a single, most often witty tweet.

Angel Locsin Still this generation’s most favorite Darna lands on the list in second place with 8.88 million virtual army. She used to be the most followed local personality until Vice Ganda edged her out just recently. Nonetheless, Locsin has a steady growing Twitter fan base now that she’s back on the boob tube and has become more visible with her efforts in Marawi.

Anne Curtis The former Dyosa star, who introduces herself to her 8.72 million followers as a Fil-Aussie actress/host, pursuer of dreams, and UNICEF celebrity advocate for children, also used to dominate local Twitterverse, a position she held for five years since she joined the social media site. Many consider Curtis as Philippine showbiz’s ultimate It Girl and her followers await her tweets on her latest outfits, imitating her style and OOTDs. Kathryn Bernardo There are a little over 6.9 million people watching her every post. She caught the heart of netizens with her occasional “good morning” and “good night” greetings to her fans.

Almost all of her tweets are generated via Instagram. So,

61 Somewhat (2 wds.)

62 Wandering one 64 Hunch 65 Ms. Miles 66 Agave 67 Par for the course 68 “Sign here” marks 69 Ram constellation 70 Mashed potato serving DOWN 1 Courts 2 Curved entrance 3 Computer input 4 Valentine message (3 wds.)

5 Our, in Tours 6 Stork cousin 7 Ballpoint point 8 Army wheels 9 Houston pro 10 “Raging Bull” star 11 Declare 12 Calf-length 13 Failing that 21 Sister of Helios 23 Hartford competitor 26 — out (rescues) 27 Ms. Zellweger

28 Pyromaniac’s work 29 Zodiac sign 30 Drew to a close 31 Work by Rousseau 33 From Rangoon 34 R2-D2 or C-3P0 35 Like the beach 37 2,000 pounds 38 Compilation 41 Established 42 Deceiving 47 Silt deposits 49 Clash of arms

51 Safari country 52 Canada Dry products 53 Curl 54 Mountain goat 55 Blarney Stone site 56 Sullen 57 Keep a straight — 58 Temple image 59 Fiddling despot 60 Big umbrella 63 1101, to Caesar

Pop star Katy Perry breaks Twitter record

if you missed any of her tweets, or if you don’t have a Twitter account at all, you can still get fresh feed from the so-called “Teen Queen” using a different platform.

Yeng Constantino She has amassed a Twitter following of more than 6.6 million. The singersongwriter is the most followed recording star in the country (unless you consider the three in the list who also came out with their respective albums as legitimate singers). She even got more followers than music channel MYX Philippines that missed a spot in the top 5 with 600,000 less followers compared to the Pinoy Dream Academy winner.

Rounding up the top 10 of the most followed local celebrities on Twitter are: Bianca Gonzales (6.2 million followers); Daniel Padilla (5.8 million followers); Luis Manzano (5.4 million followers); and KC Concepcion (5 million followers).

The list is based on the latest data from SocialBakers, a global social media analytics company offering a marketing software-as-a-service that delivers data analytics and social media management for thousands of companies of all sizes for marketing on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google+, VK and Pinterest.

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2017

BEVY OF BEAUTIES. Miss Manila candidates pose during the press presentation held at the Manila Hotel. Photo by Norman Cruz

30 beauties vie for MISS MANILA 2017 T

HE City of Manila and MARE Foundation, together with VIVA Live, once again team up to crown the next Miss Manila.

On its fourth consecutive year, the search is not only looking for a woman of beauty, but also of empowerment, personifies social awareness, and embodies a true Manileña with grace, passion, and optimism.

In celebration of Araw Ng Maynila, under the decree of Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada, proceeds of this year’s pageant will benefit

MARE Foundation, a non-profit institution headed by Chairperson and Pageant Director Jackie Ejercito.

The official candidates for Miss Manila 2017 are Glenn Aeela Krishnan, Alexandra Que, Jane Usison, Shiela Mae Morales, Joanna Rose Tolledo, Roxanne Natividad, Sofia Sibug, Hazel Ann Reyes, Athena Marie Jamaica Catriz, Bea Generosa Aquino, Maria Gail D. Tobes, Rycca Timog, Meryljan Angangan, Katrina Mae Sese, Maria Isabel Alves, Kristine Joyce Montes, Allhia Charmaine Estores, Diana Mackey, Alyssa Joreen Reyes, ]Shaine Nicole Chavez, Naelah Alshorbaji Almazik, Princess Bautista, Geri Franchesca Camargo, Pamela Villacorte, Jennifer Daguro. Kristine Eiriel Nolasco, Jhan

Nicole Ambata, Regine Sarah Turjman, Paola Bianca Bagaforo, and Kristel Herrera.

The grand coronation night will be held on Araw ng Maynila, June 24, 7 p.m. at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), with telecast on ABS-CBN’s Sunday’s Best, after Gandang Gabi Vice, on June 25.

Miss Manila 2017 will receive PP 1,000,000.00 worth of prizes, consisting of a management contract and P500,000.00 cash and a contract with VIVA. Meanwhile, the runners up will also win cash prizes: 1st Runner-up (P350,000.00 cash); 2nd Runner-up (P250,00.00 cash); 3rd Runner-up (P150,000.00 cash); 4th Runner-up (P100,000.00 cash).

The winner will also represent the City of Manila in different functions and events.

Miss Manila 2017 candidate Naelah Almazik vies for this year's Miss Manila crown and the chance to win a management contract from Viva

Kim, Gerald

chasing a dream together

Former flames Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson revive their onscreen pair in "Ikaw Lang Ang Iibigin"

GABRIEL (Gerald Anderson) and Bianca (Kim Chiu) are facing a new chapter in their lives together as rising star triathletes and the newest endorsers of energy drink Tigershark, a brand owned by Carlos (Jake Cuenca) in Kapamilya noontime series Ikaw Lang ang Iibigin.

The childhood friends’ roles as Tigershark endorsers—a decision made by Carlos’ father Roman (Michael De Mesa) —only angered Carlos and sparked the tension between the two boys.

As their world is getting smaller, Rigor (Daniel Fernando) continues to pursue Victoria (Ayen MunjiLaurel), putting himself in danger with the wrath of her husband Roman. However, as they try to hide the relationship they once had, Carlos will overhear their

conversation that will reveal their long-kept secret— Carlos is Rigor’s son with Victoria.

How will this revelation affect their lives? What will happen once Roman learns about Victoria’s lies? Where will the conflict between Carlos and Gabriel for Camille end up?

Meanwhile, the story of strength and perseverance in Ikaw Lang ang Iibigin continues to captivate more viewers as the series recorded a national TV rating of 17.8 percent, compared to Trops (8.6 percent), according to data from Kantar Media on June 13.

Netizens also share praises for the program as it consistently tops the trending topics online.

Ikaw Lang ang Iibigin airs weekdays on ABS-CBN and ABS-CBN HD (Sky Cable ch 167).

UP Los Baños’ Gandingan 2017 honors Kapamilya with 35 trophies

Karen Davila

Kim Atienza

ABS-CBN dominated the Gandingan Awards, the 11th UP Los Banos Isko’t Iska’s Multimedia Awards, by bagging 35 awards for its multi-platform programs including Best Development-Oriented AM Station for DZMM Radyo Patrol 630.

Aside from winning the top award for radio, DZMM Radyo Patrol 630 took home other awards namely, Most Development-Oriented AM Program (Failon Ngayon sa DZMM) and a Special Citation for Most DevelopmentOriented Radio Drama (Maalaala Mo Kaya sa DZMM “Bandana” episode).

Kapamilya news personalities who also earned Gawad Gandingan’s approval include Ted Failon (Best AM Program Host), Atom Araullo (Best Public Service Program Host), Karen Davila (Gandingan ng Kabuhayan), and Boy Abunda (Best Talk Show Host for The Bottomline).

Other Kapamilya shows that won awards are Umagang Kay Ganda (Best Development-Oriented Morning Show), Matanglawin (Most Development-Oriented Environment Program and Most Development-Oriented Educational Program), My Puhunan (Most DevelopmentOriented Livelihood Program), and The Bottomline (Most Development-Oriented Talk Show). Adding to this are ABS-CBN entertainment shows and personalities including “MMK,” which bagged two awards (Most Development-Oriented Drama Program and a Special Citation for Most Development-Oriented Gender Sensitive Program).

You can find out what other awards the Kapuso network at the the Gandingan awards through its website: abs-cbnnews.com Organized by the University of the Philippines-Los Banos, The Gandingan Awards aims “to encourage the production and airing of developmental radio and TV programs for the benefit of every Filipino.”

5 ways FILIPINOS can relate with ‘From Prada To Nada’ ROMANTIC-COMEDY film From Prada to Nada may sound like a cheesy chick flick, but since it’s immersed in Mexican culture, it actually is relatable to us Filipinos.

The film stars Alexa PenaVega and Camilla Belle, who play spoiled sisters Mary and Nora. They are left penniless after their father’s sudden death and are forced to move in with their estranged aunt in East Los Angeles.

Here are five ways us Filipinos relate to the hilarious family.

The sibling dynamic Siblings always squabble. This is also the case of Mary and Nora who aren’t exactly similar in terms of personality. One is a shopaholic while the other is a law student, they ought to clash from time to time. At the beginning of the movie, Mary even crashes into Nora’s car—and then blames her sister for it. Haven’t we all had one of those moments with our siblings?

That “maarte” one in the family Just like Nora, we all have a “maarte” sister. Well she may not exactly be your sister—maybe a cousin or a young aunt—but during family gatherings, you always spot her reapplying lipstick or taking photos of herself. She also either seems to be happily in love or wrecked with boy trouble—there is no in between. But whether she’s happy or not, you know you could always count on her to help you get ready for your family pictorial.

The family making a fuss when a friend of the opposite sex comes over It usually starts like this: “Ma, dadaan po si *insert name*, susunduin ako.”

“Sino ‘yun?”

“Boyfriend mo ba ‘yun?” Next thing you know, your friend is sweating like a pig while your relatives and neighbors drill him with questions.

Relying on alcohol after a love life crisis One word: Tagay.

Even already drunk Nora wanted more booze and shared a bottle with her bad-boy neighbor Bruno.

Expect drunk bawling after.

Always coming back to family No family is perfect, but no matter what happens, you know you will always have a home. No matter how many spats you have, you will always have arms to run into.

Catch the funny From Prada to Nada on Tag TV’s Movie Blowout” on June June 27 at 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on June 30.

Tag TV brings Filipino-dubbed foreign films showcasing a collection of rom-coms, dramas, action-packed movies, thrillers, comedies, and the freshest Hollywood and Asian titles.

It features “Movie Blowout” every Saturday night, offering exciting flicks for the whole family.

Tag TV is available on Skycable Channel 77. For more information, like Tag TV on Facebook and follow its official Twitter and Instagram accounts (@TagTVph).

Ted Failon

Actress Alexa Vega as Mary Dominguez strutting down the streets in Beverly Hill Boy Abunda