Manila Standard - 2017 July 07 - Friday

ONE DEAD AS 6.5 -QUAKE HITS VISAYAS

VOL. XXXI • NO. 143 • 4 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • FRIDAY, JULY 7, 2017 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

A 6.5-MAGNITUDE earthquake struck the central Philippines Thursday, killing at least one person inside a collapsed building with more people feared trapped inside, a local official said.

Rescuers were rushing to the town of Kananga where a three-story commercial building collapsed as the tremor struck Jaro, Leyte, local officials said.

Mayor Rowena Codilla told reporters: “We were able to retrieve one dead and one wounded.”

The rescue is hampered by aftershocks that continued to rock the area and lack of proper equipment, she said.

The official said she did not know how many more people were inside the building.

The 10-year-old building housed a small hotel upstairs and shops on the ground floor, Codilla said, adding there

was little damage elsewhere in the town.

The quake hit at a depth of around six kilometers, the US Geological Survey said.

There was no immediate warning of a tsunami, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

Large parts of Leyte were devastated

by Super Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013.

Huge tsunami-like waves smashed the city of Tacloban and nearby areas, leaving 7,350 people dead or missing.

A receptionist at Hotel XYZ told AFP the quake was felt in Tacloban, but did not damage buildings there.

“It was far away from here, we are okay,” the receptionist said.

A receptionist at a hotel in another part Next page

IN RUINS. A three-story building in Kananga, Leyte is reduced to irreparable damage

Thursday after a 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck the central Philippine island, killing at least one person with more people feared to have been trapped inside—rescuers shuffling against double time to the town to recover and save survivors.

Must for Muslims: IDs SC finds ‘sufficient’ basis for martial law

By Rey E. Requejo THE Supreme Court said it found sufficient factual bases for President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of martial law in Mindanao, in a decision released Wednesday night.

The decision, written by Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo, dismissed the consolidated petitions seeking to nullify the declaration of martial law and the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus in Mindanao, and

instead declared Duterte’s Proclamation 216 as constitutional.

The tribunal said the ongoing rebellion by terrorists groups all over Mindanao justified the declaration of martial law, which it recognized as an executive act that gives the President the discretion on its scope.

The decision adopted by a majority of 11 justices rejected the claim of petitioners led by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman that there was no rebellion, but only

Govt: Way to unmask terrorists; watchdog protests

By Romeo Dizon

P

OLICE and military officials in Central Luzon want to issue mandatory IDs to the region’s 26,000 Muslims as a way to flush out terrorists, in a move that a human rights group condemned Thursday as discriminatory.

Police Regional Office 3 Director Chief Supt. Aaron Aquino said the ID can help local Muslim communities identify suspicious individuals so they could be reported to the authorities.

Military and police officials said the practice of issuing IDs is being successfully implemented in Paniqui, Tarlac.

THREAT UP. This handout photo taken on

July 5 and released by the Presidential Photo Division on July 6 shows President Rodrigo Duterte delivering a speech before local officials in Hagonoy, Davao del Sur where the chief executive threatened to ‘eat alive’ Islamist militants behind the abduction and beheadings of two Vietnamese sailors. AFP

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Recruits paid P100K each to reinforce Maute group

By Nash B. Maulana and John Paolo Bencito DATU PAGLAS, Maguindanao—Government forces stopped a group of gunmen that were offered P100,000 a head from going to Marawi City to reinforce Maute group terrorists holed up there.

Col. Bismarck Soliba, commander of the 1st Mechanized

Infantry Brigade, said government security forces acted on information from some locals that armed men were set to reinforce the Maute group in Lanao.

On Wednesday, Lt. Col. Harold M Cabunoc of the Army’s 33rd Infantry Battalion, led the troopers in an early morning firefight against members of the

“This must also be the practice in the region not only to protect the civilian populace but also vital government installations against terrorism,” Aquino said.

But Human Rights Watch said the ID system would discriminate against Muslims based on religion, which is prohibited by the Next page

Du30 taunts Sayyaf: I will eat you alive PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to eat alive the Islamist militants behind the abduction and beheading of two Vietnamese sailors in a furious reaction to the killings.

The remains of the two hostages, who were kidnapped along with four other crew members of a Vietnamese cargo ship in November last year, were recovered off Mindanao by troops on Wednesday.

The military blamed the killings on the notorious kidnap-forransom Abu Sayyaf group with Next page

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Ombudsman goes after Purisima’s ‘ill-gotten wealth’ Marines replace SAF

By Rio N. Araja over Prisons drug trade OMBUDSMAN Conchita CarpioMorales on Thursday ordered the filing of a forfeiture petition before the Sandiganbayan to recover the

alleged ill-gotten wealth of former Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima and his family amounting to P29.2 million.

In a July 4 consolidated resolution, Morales ordered that forfei-

ture proceedings be initiated for the recovery of the unexplained wealth accumulated by Purisima, his wife Maria Ramona Lydia and sons Rainier Van Albert, Eumir Von Andrei, Alan Jr. and Jason Arvi.

She also ordered the filing of nine counts of perjury against Purisima for willful and deliberate failure to disclose all of his properties in his Statement of Assets Next page

Local execs lose powers over police in Mindanao

flak even as “inconsistencies” were raised on two resolutions COTABATO CITY―The loss of promulgated by the National Pothe local executives’ powers of lice Commission to withdraw the supervision over police units drew deputized powers of some Mind-

By Nash B. Maulana

anao governors and mayors.

By passing Resolution 2017334 and 2017-335, the Napolcom effectively removed the local executives’ supervisory powers over

the members of the Philippine National Police assigned to Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Sultan Kudarat, Sulu, Next page

By Rey E. Requejo and John Paolo Bencito THE Bureau of Corrections has filed a criminal complaint against a member of the Special Action Force for carrying out a fake raid and stealing money from the chapel of the New Bilibid Prison, an official said Thursday.

Bureau Director Benjamin Delos Santos said the complaint for rob-

bery was filed before the Muntinlupa City Prosecutors’ Office.

He said the SAF trooper enlisted the help of two prisoners and took P200,000 in cash and a television set. ‘‘He even provided the PDL [person deprived of liberty] SAF uniforms,’’ Delos Santos said in a text message.

He made his statement even as Next page

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News

FRIDAY, JULY 7, 2017

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Mindanao mission rapped

By John Paolo Bencito

M

ALACAÑANG on Thursday insisted the move to send erring cops to Mindanao, a recurring form of punishment under the Duterte administration, remained a “strategic move” despite objections raised by local officials and even a senior Cabinet official.

In a news briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella defended Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa’s orders to transfer two rouge Mandaluyong

policemen, caught hurting men who violated a barangay curfew, to Marawi City this week, saying the country’s top cop was “just following…policy.”

“I’m sure it’s not meant to cast aspersions upon any ethnic group or any place. It’s just a strategic move,” Abella said.

Meanwhile, the Metro Manila Development Authority on Thursday affirmed its earlier decision to dismiss a traffic enforcer who extorted money from a motorist for a lane violation in Quezon City in exchange for cancellation of the traffic ticket issued against the latter.

The MMDA-Legal and Legislative Affairs Staff subsequently denied the motion for reconsideration filed by Traffic Constable Rolando Cervo, say-

ing the sworn affidavits of the complainant, Dr. Rommel Torres, was sufficient to bolster the grave misconduct case against him.

MMDA Chairman Danilo Lim said the affirmation of the decision by the agency’s legal body only proved the agency would not condone misconduct of its personnel.

“We vow to cleanse our ranks of bad eggs and we are staying true to our word. May this case and others like this one be a wake-up call to those who might have lost their paths and strayed in rendering public service,”

Lim said in a statement.

The MMDA-LLAS maintained “the sworn statement of complainant in this case may be admitted and appreciated in evidence in lieu of his direct testimony in finding substantial evidence.”

This is not the first time, according to officials, the PNP ordered the deployment of cops with pending cases.

In February 2017, Duterte himself ordered the redeployment of some rogue cops, ranging from recurring tardiness to alleged involvement in the drug trade. With PNA

By Rey E. Requejo ILOCOS Norte Gov. Imee Marcos has urged the House of Representatives to comply with the order of the Court of Appeals for the immediate release of the so-called “Ilocos Six” as she reiterated her willingness to cooperate with the House probe on the province’s use of its tobacco excise tax share.

Marcos also maintained that all the transactions surrounding the purchase of motor vehicles in question were above board as cleared by the Commission on Audit and all the units bought could be seen by anyone who would wish to visit her province, debunking allegations that these were “ghost purchases.”

Marcos said the continued detention of the provincial employees for over a month now had brought “immeasurable emotional and psychological anguish to them and their families.”

“I appeal, for humanitarian reasons, to the House leadership to set free the Ilocos Six. They

Du30...

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a stronghold in the area, and which is known to behead its hostages unless ransom payments are made.

“I will eat your liver if you want me to. Give me salt and vinegar and I will eat it in front of you,” Duterte said in a speech before local officials late Wednesday.

“I eat everything. I am not picky. I eat even what cannot be swallowed.”

Holding up a mobile phone with a photo of the slain Vietnamese sailors, Duterte angrily cursed the militants.

“Will we allow ourselves to be enslaved by these people?

Son of a whore.”

Duterte, 72, ordered a military offensive against the Abu Sayyaf and other militants in Mindanao last year.

Abu Sayyaf, originally a loose network of militants formed in the 1990s with seed money from Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaida network, has splintered into factions, with some continuing to engage in banditry and kidnappings.

SC...

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acts of terrorism and mere imminent danger, which would not suffice to meet the requirements for martial law declaration under Article VII, Section 18 of the 1987 Constitution.

It also rejected the assertion of the petitioners that the armed conflict with Maute terrorist group was government-initiated and merely an “armed resistance by the Maute group to shield terrorist Isnilon Hapilon from capture,” saying such a claim was based on unverified news articles.

Instead, the Court sided with the argument of Solicitor General Jose Calida that the elements of rebellion—the raising of arms against the government and culpable purpose of removing allegiance from the government— were present in Mindanao.

The tribunal was also convinced that there were links be-

have suffered more than enough.

Please allow them to go home.

You have families too, and you know the pain of being separated from them,” Marcos said, in a statement issued through her lawyer, former solicitor general Estelito Mendoza.

“They have already testified to the best of their knowledge.

Forcing them, through prolonged detention, to give false testimony just to satisfy the Committee is tantamount to compelling them to commit perjury. Please, set them free,” Marcos said.

The six employees—Josephine Calajate, Encarnacion Gaor, Genedine Jambaro, Evangeline Tabulog, Pedro Agcaoili Jr. and Eden Battulayan—were cited in contempt by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability during its probe into the local government’s purchase of motor vehicles amounting to P66.45 million, the funding of which was sourced from its share of tobacco excise taxes.

One faction has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, and joined militants battling security forces since late May in Marawi, the country’s most important Islamic city.

The militants continue to occupy parts of the city despite a military offensive there that has claimed more than 460 lives and displaced nearly 400,000 people.

Duterte often uses extreme language, particularly when talking about Islamist militants.

Last year, the leader said he would eat Abu Sayyaf militants alive in a bloodthirsty vow of revenge following a bombing in Davao, his southern home city that claimed 15 lives.

Duterte said Vietnam had raised concern about a series of high-seas kidnappings blamed on the Abu Sayyaf when he visited Hanoi last year.

On Wednesday, Vietnam’s foreign ministry condemned the killing of the two sailors as it called for heavy punishment.

One of the six crewmen was rescued last month and three remain in captivity according to the military. AFP, Sara Susanne Fabunan tween Maute and 20 other rebel groups like Abu Sayyaf and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, which have launched at least 43 attacks not just in Marawi but also in Basilan, Sulu, TawiTawi, Zamboanga and Davao.

“Considering the widespread atrocities in Mindanao and the links established among rebel groups, the armed uprising that was initially staged in Marawi cannot be justified as confined only to Marawi. The Court therefore will not simply disregard the events that happened during the Davao bombing, the Mamasapano massacre, the Zamboanga City siege, and the countless bombings in Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sulu and Basilan, among others,” the Court said.

The Court was also unconvinced by the argument of petitioners that the martial law declaration should be voided because President Duterte supposedly did not consult defense and military officials in issuing the proclamation. With Macon Ramos-Araneta

THE Metro Manila Development Authority, using its high-definition cameras, on Thursday caught 72 drivers violating the revived Anti-Distracted Driving law.

The MMDA public information office said personnel from the Metro Base, where the monitors of the Closed-Circuit Television cameras were installed, caught the 72 motorists from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the major thoroughfares in Metro Manila.

Victor Nuñez, MMDA legal

Must...

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International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other human rights treaties to which the Philippines is a party.

“The IDs could also violate the rights to equal protection of the law, freedom of movement, and other basic rights,” said Carlos Conde, Philippine researcher for Human Rights Watch.

Conde said the ID proposal stems from the ongoing fighting in Marawi City in Mindanao between government troops and

Recruits...

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Bangsamoro Freedom Fighters, who reportedly signed up to rescue Maute terrorists on fat offers of P 100,000 for each recruit.

After an hour, government security forces captured four armed men and seized from them six high-powered firearms, consisting of two cal. 50 Barrette sniper rifles, an M60 machine gun, one RPG, an M14

Ombudsman...

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Liabilities and Net Worth in 2006 to 2014.

Purisima had been found guilty of grave misconduct, serious dishonesty and acquisition of unexplained wealth and was ordered dismissed from the service.

“In the event of separation from the service, the penalty is convertible to a fine equivalent to respondent’s salary for one year,” the Ombudsman said in a decision.

The consolidated resolution covers 15 docketed complaints filed by the FFIB of the OMBMOLEO, Volunteers Against

Marines...

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Malacañang said Thursday the Philippine Marine Corps would soon replace the SAF troopers in guarding the New Bilibid Prison after the reported resumption of the trade of illegal drugs there.

“Philippine National Police

Local...

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Basilan, Tawi-Tawi and Cotabato City.

News reporter Sam Sali, who shared a copy of the document, noted that the Napolcom resolution incorrectly identified some local chief executives it named, including the governor of Tawi-Tawi who

By Rio N. Araja

and legislative staff officer, said the MMDA had 30 personnel, including deaf-mutes, manning the Metro Base.

The MMDA will summon the vehicles’ owners or operators to identify the drivers of the vehicles during the time of the traffic violation.

The notice will contain the date, time and location of the traffic violations, and the drivers will not be able to renew their vehicles’ registrations until the fines are settled.

There are 250 CCTV cameras

installed in strategic areas in Metro Manila, and those are being used by the MMDA in its no-contact policy in apprehending violators of traffic rules and regulations.

The agency also enforces the no-contact policy in apprehending drivers caught speeding, beating the red light, violating the number-coding scheme, swerving, blocking intersections, disregarding traffic signs, making illegal turns, overtaking illegally, entering the yellow lane, defying the closed-door policy and the bus segregation scheme.

ISIS-linked Maute-Abu Sayyaf terrorists.

In June President Rodrigo Duterte had lambasted Muslim leaders in Marawi City and elsewhere in Mindanao for allegedly allowing the Islamist fighters to enter the city “and cause trouble.”

But requiring Muslim-only IDs in response to a perceived failure of Muslims to prevent Islamist fighters from entering Marawi City is a form of collective punishment, he said.

Conde said it is irrelevant from a rights perspective that during the consultation, some

Muslim leaders did not object outright to the proposal.

“Since Duterte declared martial law throughout Mindanao on May 23, there have been reports of discrimination against Muslims. ID requirements for Muslims should be rejected outright,” said Conde.

Aquino said the ID proposal was posed during a dialogue in San Fernando, Pampanga, attended by 70 Muslims and military and police officials as a way of distinguishing long-time residents from new arrivals who could be terrorists. With PNA

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources has suspended indefinitely implementation of an administrative order issued by former Secretary Gina Lopez, which gave her the power to approve environmental compliance certificates of environmentally critical projects.

In a July 3 administrative order, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu suspended Lopez’s Feb. 15 directive “in the interest of service to expedite the issuance of the [ECC] in the regional level consistent with the directive of the President to fast-track issuance of government permits and licenses.”

He said his directive “can also be viewed as our contribution to making the country more investor-friendly.”

The order was effective immediately.

Cimatu ordered DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau “to undertake further review of the environmental impact assessment procedures and policies and to recommend to the Secretary the possible amendment or revision thereto.”

ECPs are development projects with high potential for significant negative environmental impact, such as heavy and resource-extractive industries, like mining and infrastructure projects.

Environmentally critical areas include national parks and sanctuaries, tourist spots, habitats of threatened wildlife species, tribal community areas, prime agricultural lands, and water bodies and other coastal and marine ecosystems.

In February, Lopez issued DENR Administrative Order 2017-04 giving her the sole authority to issue ECCs for ECPs and non-ECPs within ECAs.

rifle and an M16 rifle.

Many of the fatalities in Marawi bore head wounds from longrange sniper shots.

Cabunoc presented the captured BIFF men and the seized high-powered firearms, saying the combined troopers of the Army’s 33rd Infantry Battalion and of the 4th Special Action Battalion of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force chanced upon the BIFF fighters Wednesday morning.

Cabunoc said the four men,

whose identities were withheld pending filing of charges, would be turned over immediately to the local police for proper processing.

On Thursday, President Rodrigo Duterte denied negotiating with members of the Islamic State-linked Maute group.

“No, I did not. He is a pretender,” the President said, referring to an intermediary, Agakhan Sharief also known as “Bin Laden,” who claimed he was approached by a senior Duterte aid

to use his connections with the Maute group to start backchannel talks. “I will never talk to criminals and to terrorists.”

He said, however, that it is possible that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front or the Moro National Liberation Front could have initiated talks with the Maute group.

“But if it’s from me, that’s impossible. So many soldiers and policemen have been killed, so they better not make up these stories,” he added in Filipino. With PNA

Crime and Corruption, Coalition of Filipino Consumers and Jose Teddie del Rosario.

As then PNP chief, Purisima received salaries, allowances and other benefits of P9,550,621.44 for 14 years from 2000 to 2014.

His wife received a gross total compensation and other income of P6,382,530.84 as an employee of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Mutual Benefits Association Inc. for the same period.

“Thus, their combined lawful earnings amounted to P15,933,152.28 only,” the Ombudsman said.

Purisima declared business interests and financial connections with RAS Construction

from 2000 to 2006 as a partner, I@Link Computer Center from 2002 to 2006 as the proprietor, Aliakbar Hauling and Trucking Services from 2008 to 2014 and EALRAJ Corp., a family owned general merchandising company, from 2012 to 2014.

Ombudsman investigators said Purisima’s net worth for 2014 was P16,762,948.85.

Based on the investigation and analysis, Purisima and his family accumulated unexplained wealth of at least P29,292,459.92 Also, Purisima was found to have other properties and business investments under his name and/or that of his wife or sons, “which he failed to declare in his SALN.”

Chief Ronald dela Rosa has already talked to the President on the deployment of marines to replace the SAF personnel in the Bilibid, which was put on hold because of the Marawi rebellion,” Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella told reporters.

He said Dela Rosa would be the one to decide when to replace the SAF troopers.

“That is his call,” Abella said.

More than 300 SAF troopers were deployed to the NBP last year, but they were supposed to stay there for only six months before being replaced by the marines.

Delos Santos said the SAF trooper eventually confessed to the prison chaplain but insisted he did not know who took the TV set.

of the city reported the quake was felt but did not cause damage in the area. “We are safe,” he said.

In Cebu, the biggest city in the central Philippines, a receptionist at a hotel also said there had been no major damage.

But people across the region of mostly farming and fishing communities reported feeling a powerful quake.

Marlon Tano, a Leyte farmer and journalist, told AFP it knocked him off his feet at his eggplant farm in Borauen, a town near the quake’s epicenter..

“It was so strong that I fell,” Tano said.

“I saw buses and motorcycles stopping on the highway and people getting off them,” he added.

In February, a 6.5-magnitude quake killed eight people and left more than 250 injured outside the southern city of Surigao. AFP

is Rashidin Matba and not anymore Nurjay Sahali, who is in the list.

The first set of copies unofficially posted on social media did not contain the names of the governors and a city mayor mentioned in the news reports, or that a page might have been missing. But Resolution 2017335 followed on Thursday.

Cotabato City Mayor Cynthia Guiani Sayadi, a lawyer,

said she wanted to find out if the Napolcom resolution would legally encroach on the usual cooperation between LCEs and police forces locally assigned, particularly concerning the sharing of intelligence information and operational logistics.

Under the resolutions, Governor Esmael Mangudadatu of Maguindanao along with 28 Maguindanao mayors, Gover-

nor Hajiman Salliman of Basilan along with 10 Basilan mayors, and Abdusakur Tan II along with 13 mayors in Sulu were deprived of police supervisory powers over their alleged “failure to impose measures to suppress terroristic acts and prevent lawlessness in their territories, which is inimical to national security and poses serious threat to the lives and security of their constituents.

Marcos urges House MMDA catches 72 drivers to release ‘Ilocos 6’

By Joel E. Zurbano

Cimatu suspends Lopez’s order

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FRIDAY, JULY 7, 2017

Tatang

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SM Taipan Henry Sy, Sr. with this year's batch on graduating scholars

and his scholars

By Meryll Del Rosario

S

M Foundation’s outstanding scholars were given recognition last June 28 at the SMX convention center.

The scholars shared this life-changing moment with Henry Sy Sr. or as they call him, 'Tatang'. Sy is known as the father of modern Philippine retail, as he founded SM supermalls. The scholars, along with the employees and communities that SM Foundation supports, see Tatang not only as a provider but as a father figure as well, who treats them as if they're members of his own family.

SM Foundation’s outstanding scholars were given recognition last June 28 at the SMX convention center.

One of SM foundation’s way to achieve sustainable growth is to focus on four areas namely education, livelihood, environmental sustainability, and health and well-being.

Through their different foundations and CSRs that help citizens in these areas of sustainability, the SM group does not only grow its business but is also able to give back to the community as well.

According to Engr. Chito Macapagal, SM Foundation’s board of trustee, education is one of the main factors in

growing sustainably.

“We want to grow in a way that the education we have is introduced to citizens with the help of the foundation’s scholarship program for college and technical vocational programs.” he says.

For years, SM Foundation has already helped numerous scholars and their families through this program.

This year’s presentation had the most graduates since the program started.

Out of the 256 scholars, five graduated summa cum laude. At the same time, there were 19 magna cum laude and 39 cum laude graduates.

Oliver Sauler shared how SM Foundation greatly helped his journey through college.“Malaki po (‘yung tulong) kasi siyempre, ang hirap na nga mag-aral, ang hirap pa hugutin ‘yung pang araw-araw mong baon, pang project, at saka yung tuition. Pero ‘yun, dahil sa scholarship, ang dali po. Parang gumaan po yung mabibigat na bagay as I got through college. They provided for the finances and sa annual gatherings namin sobrang daming natulong ng SM,” he says.

Oliver’s dad had already passed away while his mom, a housewife, was with him during the ceremony.

SM Foundation’s scholarship program became his only means to get through college.“Proud na proud [ako], kasi siya lang ang nakagraduate ng [college] tapos laude naman. Laking pasasalamat ko po (sa SM). Kung wala sila,

From left to right: Neny Regino, PR Director of SM Foundation Linda Atayde, Executive Director for Education Baldwin Felipe, Manila Standard OIC - Sales, Deborah "Debbie" Sy - Executive Director of SM Foundation, Anita F. Grefal - Manila Standard Head of Operations, Connie Angeles - Executive Director for Health and Medical Programs

wala rin siya dito,” his mom tearfully noted.

Not only does SM Foundation take care of the scholars’ tuition fees, they also provide them opportunities, which help them earn at the same time.

Reshelle Abad, also a cum

laude graduate with a degree in BS Accountancy at the Cavite State University noted, "Para sakin, isa sa benefits yung pwede kang mag-summer job (in SM stores) kung san po malapit sa inyo, tapos yun po may nakukuha kami na kahit konti po na sahod

tapos pandagdag na rin po sa allowance."

The opportunities for SM Foundation’s scholars are endless, as some of them have already landed a job or are being offered positions in the different departments of SM and their partner companies.

Oliver Sauler with his mother, BS Accountancy, Cum Laude Cavite State University

The officers of SM Foundation and the scholars during graduation ceremonies at the SMX Convention Center.

Reshelle Pauline Abad, BS Accountancy, Cum Laude, Cavite State University

Eireene Jairee Gomez, BSED English, Magna Cum Laude, National University

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Opinion

FRIDAY, JULY 7, 2017

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

Martial law and the economy

T

HE imposition of martial law in Mindanao by far has not made a dent on economic growth. Except maybe for tourism, the Philippine economy is poised to extend its robust growth this year.

Marawi City, besieged

by Muslim extremists, and even the whole of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao contribute less than one percent to the gross domestic product. Most business establish-

ments and agricultural farms in Mindanao are normally operating, while the national government has so far stuck with its economic reform agenda.

A nationwide imposition of martial law, how-

ever, will jolt investors’ confidence, scare away foreign tourists and put many business expansion plans on hold because of uncertainty in the political front. The martial law imposed in the Philippines nearly 45 years ago paved the way for a dictatorial rule, that in turn led to a rise in human rights abuses, business cronyism, costly state subsidies and capital flight.

The economy then, beset by higher debt

because of lack of foreign investments and falling revenues, soon collapsed after the inflation rate soared over 40 percent and the peso sank to over P20 at the end of the Marcos regime from P6 to a dollar in 1970. The foreign debt level ballooned from just $360 million in 1962 to $26.2 billion in 1986 due to a mismanaged economy.

President Rodrigo Duterte’s martial law, confined to Mindanao,

will not likely lead the economy to a ruin that the Philippines experienced in the early 80s.

But global credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service has warned that a nationwide imposition of martial rule, although unlikely, could undermine economic expansion.

President Duterte could actually turn the Marawi siege into an opportunity to rebuild the city and energize the whole of Mindanao

through a massive infrastructure program to create job and economic opportunities in the south. Despite his critics, President Duterte still has the goodwill and the backing of many political and business leaders over his martial law imposition in Mindanao.

He should not waste his own opportunity to make a dent on the Mindanao economy, with or without martial law.

In praise of scientific theory

By Faye Flam

Sui generis?

PENSEES FR. RANHILIO CALLANGAN AQUINO IT NOW seems to be the latest learning, following the Supreme Court’s decision in the Mindanao martial law cases, that proceedings pursuant to the constitutionally conceded power to “review, in an appropriate proceeding filed by any citizen, the sufficiency of the factual basis of the proclamation of martial law” are sui generis. I prefer to go, however, by the canon of parsimony that governs science: the simpler the category scheme, the better. That is another way of saying that where existing categories suffice, there is no need of ad hoc categories, nor need to conjure new ones.

Of course, the Supreme Court is, generally, not a trier of fact —which means that from the appellate court, the questions that the Court will confine itself to are questions of law. That,

however, is not an iron-clad rule, because when it is alleged that there has been grave abuse of discretion on the part of any branch, agency, instrumentality or office of government, then perforce, the Court must inquire into facts to determine whether or not discretion has in fact been gravely abused.

It is of course true that the High Court has held that extradition proceedings are sui generis. The reason is obvious—and the distinctive categorization is justified. In such proceedings it is not guilt or innocence that is decided, nor are liabilities assessed. It is simply whether or not the person whose extradition is sought may be extradited in accordance with the provisions of the extradition treaty and with international law on extradition.

But in the case of the determination of the sufficiency of the factual basis for the proclamation of martial law, what sound reason is there to read it as a case apart from the general power of the Court to determine “whether or not there has been a grave

abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the Government?”

It is no mere procedural nicety that is involved here, for

In matters of national emergency, the Constitution has reposed the power to cope with the contingency with the President. the provision allowing for review of factual bases is susceptible of two readings. Under the first reading, the Supreme Court

becomes the equal of the Chief Executive in the matter of the declaration of martial law—and if it disagrees with the Commander-in-Chief about the sufficiency of the factual bases for the declaration, then it can undo Martial Law. Under this reading, there would actually then be two commanders-in-chief: one, the President—who declares martial law; the second, the Supreme Court, that examines the facts itself and decides whether it shall allow Martial Law to remain in place or to be set aside.

This would very like be the principle of the Roman Republic: having two consuls so that one checked on the other, and the two reigned together. And it was exactly because of this unwieldy arrangement that Julius Caesar emerged as dictator, because you cannot have two commanders with equal power commanding a single army!

The other reading is, for me, the more reasonable one: in matters of national emergency, the Constitution has reposed the power to cope with the contin-

gency with the President. The role of the Supreme Court is nothing more and nothing less than what is enunciated in Article VIII, Section 1: to determine whether or not, in declaring Martial Law, the President gravely abused his discretion.

Under this reading, the Supreme Court does not assume the position of a co-consul, or a second commander-in-chief. It will not make a determination of the need for martial law, although it will look at the facts and determine whether there was whim, arbitrariness, caprice in the declaration of martial law.

It will reasonably be asked: Then, if that is all that was meant, why explicitly provide for the Court’s power to examine the sufficiency of the factual basis, when the “broadened certiorari power” of the judiciary would have been sufficient?

Two reasons: First, because it was not always clear that a challenge to the declaration of martial law posed a justiciable question. For a long time, it was thought to Turn to A5

SCIENCE can make life difficult for manipulators and demagogues. Without science, it would be much easier to convince the public that an intelligent designer created the world, or that greenhouse gas warming and lead contamination are just the fantasies of “alarmists.” To physicist and historian Gerald Holton, attacks on science tend to go along with moves toward authoritarian rule. “History has shown repeatedly that a disaffection with science and its view of the world can turn into a rage that links up with far more sinister movements,” he wrote in his 1993 book “Science and AntiScience.”

Those who want to fight the conclusions of scientific research often strike at its points of vulnerability—like scientists’ insistence on using the word “theory” to describe even wellestablished ideas. In popular language, a “theory” implies a hunch or guess—something less than a fact. That wrongly suggests weakness. “The theory of global warming is just that: a theory,” then-congressman and climate skeptic Mike Pence told an Indiana newspaper in 2003.

He probably couldn’t get away with a similar dismissal of germ theory, atomic theory or Einstein’s theory of relativity.

“It’s unfortunate the way the word ‘theory’ is used,” said philosopher of science Peter Godfrey-Smith. “To say something is a theory is to say it’s been expressed as an idea. It’s not to say anything about whether the claim is justified or not justified —true or false.”

The 19th-century philosopher William Whewell was one of the first people to put forward a definition of scientific theory as a product of observation and reasoning. And he had in mind a particular form of reasoning -- inductive reasoning, by which people draw broad conclusions from individual examples. That lines up with Darwin’s theory of evolution, which is backed by the fossil record, DNA evidence and even changes in animal anatomy.

For a theory to be scientific, the philosopher Karl Popper asserted, it must be testable in such a way that it could be proven false. “Creation science” and other ideas involving supernatural entities can’t be falsified by test (How do you prove God doesn’t exist?), and therefore aren’t scientific Popper also argued that proper experiments can only be set up to falsify theories, not to confirm them.

(Philosophers of science are still debating the merits and flaws of Popper’s ideas.)

Different fields have developed different standards for describing Turn to A5

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Opinion Negotiations won’t stop North Korea from getting a nuke

By Eli Lake WHEN North Korea tested an intercontinental ballistic missile this week—what its boy tyrant called a “gift to the American bastards”—the response from the Trump administration was fairly conventional.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson correctly called it an escalation. He announced America’s intention to bring the matter before the UN Security Council. And he assured, “We will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea.”

If that sounds familiar, it’s because not tolerating a nuclear North Korea has been a pillar of US policy since the peninsula’s first nuclear crisis in the early 1990s. Keeping nuclear weapons out of the hands of this regime is an admirable goal; a government is hardly a model of restraint if its prisons are so vast they can be seen from space.

And a few years ago, it might have even been an achievable goal. But in 2017, it is at best quaint and at worst delusional.

The sad truth is that North Korea is dangerously close to going nuclear, and almost every expert who has studied the problem understands there is nothing the US can do about it.

The North Koreans are much closer to going nuclear than they were when the US negotiated a flawed interim deal in 1994, known as the Joint Framework Agreement, to halt their progress.

Pyongyang has already detonated nuclear devices on five occasions. The first of these tests was in 2006, and the last two were in the final year of the Obama administration. The North also has continued to make progress on ballistic missiles. The latest test went farther and higher than previous ones had. It’s only a matter of time until the regime of Kim Jongun will perfect this technology, along with the relatively easier task of shrinking a nuclear device to fit on a warhead. Then the North will have a nuke.

North Korea will arm itself with nuclear weapons, because the regime knows that its survival depends on it. In the first round of nuclear negotiations, there was a credible threat of force against North Korea. The deal offered for the last quarter century was essentially: We let you survive if you give up your nuclear ambitions.

Today, that offer is no longer credible. North Koreans delivered this message as recently as last month to a group of Western experts who met with them in Sweden in what is known as Track 2 diplomacy. Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA analyst and expert on North Korea, explained it to her counterparts at an event last month at the Asia Society.

“The North Koreans emphasize over and over, denuclearization is completely off the table,” she said. “We are smoking something if we think this is something that is achievable.

They say it’s not negotiable, it’s over, it’s done, this is not something we can talk about.”

Terry went on to say her North Korean counterparts said, “We are so close to completing the nuclear program, we are so close to perfecting this nuclear arsenal, we did not come this far to give it up.” She added that they gave the examples of Libya and Iraq as regimes that abandoned nukes only to face regime change later.

Sui...

From A4

It’s not just Terry who at this point is persuaded the goal of a denuclearized North Korea is not attainable. Bill Clinton’s former secretary of defense, William Perry, told a group of journalists last month in Washington that the best the U.S. could hope for now would be a freeze on North Korea’s program, similar to the one the Obama administration negotiated with Iran. But again, this would not roll back the considerable progress the regime has made. What’s more, he said he would not recommend today a pre-emptive strike against the regime’s arsenal. This is in part because North Korea has thousands of mortars capable of hitting Seoul, but also because a military strike wouldn’t be able to take out the country’s entire nuclear infrastructure.

Perry is less gloomy than other experts. Michael Auslin, the Williams-Griffis fellow in contemporary Asia at the Hoover Institution, was blunt. He told me: “Negotiations won’t work.”

Auslin explained that over a quarter century, Pyongyang has used the negotiations to buy time and extract concessions from the West. Among the concessions the North Koreans have gained from the negotiations are being removed from the US list of regimes that sponsor terrorism, shipments of food and fuel, the promise of light water plutonium reactors and the removal of crippling economic sanctions.

Despite all of these carrots, the regime has cheated on the commitments it has already made. The George W. Bush administration discovered this in its first term when it learned of North Korean work on a uranium enrichment facility. In 2002, an envoy for the regime acknowledged it in talks, and the Bush administration pulled out of the 1994 joint framework negotiated by Clinton.

The truth is there are no good policy options today for North Korea. It’s doubtful that regime change is even possible. The US government is culturally illequipped to foment insurrection inside such a notoriously closed society. And an invasion of North Korea would be about as popular in America today as cancer.

It’s possible that sabotage and other forms of cyber attacks could delay the North’s nuclear capability. What about working with China? President Donald Trump acknowledged Wednesday morning in a tweet that his desire for China to apply more pressure on North Korea has not worked.

“There is no good existential answer to North Korea,” Auslin told me Wednesday. “It’s not just about negotiations. It’s about the entire set of political, economic, social, security threats we face.” He said at this point the regime had accomplished a stalemate, and was close to achieving a checkmate against the West.

That’s not the kind of thing Americans like to hear. We dream big. But in foreign policy, it’s important to be realistic.

The Trump administration has an opportunity to level with the public in a way prior administrations did not. If you want to stop North Korea from getting a nuke, that requires war. If you’re not prepared to go that far, stop pretending the US can achieve its goals with more talking. It won’t work. Bloomberg tion, to my mind, maintains that delicate but necessary calibration of powers between the three branches of government, and allows the President the latitude of discretion that a commander-inchief needs. I sounded a warning before, and I echo it now: When a president is faced with what he perceives to be a genuine threat to the Republic, and a restrictive reading of the Constitution renders him impotent to deal with the menace, it becomes all the more tempting for such a president to sweep the Constitution aside and to arrogate to himself all the powers of State. This need not happen!

be a political question, and even the jurisprudence of the Marcos martial law era did not lay the matter completely to rest. The same question remains with respect to a declaration of a state of war. Would such a declaration be subject to judicial review? To leave no doubt, the 1987 Constitution explicitly provides for the justiciability of the issue. Second, the writ of certiorari is one that may issue from a Regional Trial Court, as it may from the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals. The rannie_aquino@csu.edu.ph Constitution intended such a rannie_ aquino@sanbeda. matter to be resolved by the edu.ph Supreme Court. rannie_aquino@outlook.com This reading of the Constitu-

FRIDAY, JULY 7, 2017

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Unusually quiet BACK CHANNEL ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO WHY is the usually confrontational Rodrigo Duterte unusually quiet about Chinese build, build, build of military installations in disputed parts of the South China Sea ? Could it be because his own ambitious build, build, build infrastructure project is being bankrolled and matched by China ? Duterte took home some $24 billion in grants, loans and financial aid after his last visit to Beijing.

The news about China’s frenzied military buildup up in the Spratlys appeared in the front page of the Philippine Star. It is comforting to see another major newspaper raising questions on the matter and not being intimidated by the President’s use of the bully pulpit.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue has not been able to meet its collection target. The Bureau of Customs cannot be depended on as smuggling and undervaluation of imported goods are only making certain BOC officials richer. So, where will the money come from considering the President’s promised salary increases for military and police personnel? Duterte has also vowed to restore Marawi to its former economic state after the Mautes laid siege to it. This

would require a massive infusion of funds to accomplish.

The government capital outlay for the build, build, build projects already approved by Malacanang amounts to a staggering P305 billion in the next five years remaining in Digong’s term. He has rejected financial assistance from the United State and the European Union claiming these grants have strings attached. Duterte has been outspoken on the alleged meddling of the US and EU in its domestic and internal affairs, particularly its bloody war on drugs wherein extrajudicial killings of suspects have been raised. But how can the Philippines claim other countries cannot interfere in our domestic affairs? The Philippines is a signatory to the United Nations convention on human rights. The Philippines, therefore has an obligation to observe the rules in the UN convention it signed. We belong to an international community and the last time I checked, we have not isolated the country as an island without global connection.

Supreme Court upholds martial law in Mindanao The Supreme Court this week upheld by a vote of 11 -3 and one abstention the imposition of martial law in Mindanao which was triggered by the ISIS aligned Maute group’s siege of Marawi City. But it is not as some Duterte supporters say is the final word on the matter. The issue is far from over. Petitioners , includ-

ing Akbayan Party-List Rep. Tim Villarin, said they are watching whether the President will extend martial law in Mindanao after its 60-day constitutional limit. Concerned citizens and leaders of the opposition like Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay are wary President Duterte may extend military rule owing to the intransigent resistance of the Mautes in Marawi and possibly opening new fronts in Lanao del Sur and other parts of Mindanao. The bigger fear is that Digong may declare martial law nationwide using rebellion and lawless violence as excuse.

There are many who believe the government with its vast resources in military manpower and arsenal can cope with any emergency situation without having to declare martial law.

Otherwise, the government is going to be perceived as weak and unable to cope with challenges confronting it.

Anti-distracted driving law in effect The anti-distracted driving law took effect yesterday. The Land Transportation Office and traffic enforcers will now arrest drivers who are using gadgets such as cell phones and GPS while their vehicles are in motion. The fines range from P3 thousand to P5 thousand, depending on the number of times one is apprehended.

But there are other weapons of mass distraction. These are the moving ones in skimpy shorts and low cut T-shirts and blouses.

Both drivers and passengers cannot help themselves from being distracted. The best part is there are no laws against ogling these most arresting and moving distractions as they sashay on the sidewalks or cross the streets.

Post mortem on PacquiaoHorn I was one of those who predicted Manny Pacquiao would beat Jeff Horn. But I was wrong . The Australian hornet stung Manny with stinging left jabs and sledge hammer rights in at least four of the first five rounds. It was only in the last five rounds that Manny had a wake- up call and started getting more aggressive nearly knocking down Horn with a two fisted attack to the head. But then it was too late. Horn managed to stay on his feet to eke out a points victory. But a unanimous decision? That may be too hard to take even for the most impartial observer. One judge even scored a lop-sided 117-111 . A majority decision or a majority draw either way may have been more acceptable to many.

Obviously , Manny fought six men in the Battle of Brisbane.

First was Jeff Horn and then the Australian referee who failed to warn Horn against head locking and head butting Pacquiao. The three others were the judges who were all Aussies. The sixth and most formidable foe of the Filipino world champion was Father Time who caught up with Manny and exposed him as no longer his former flashy self.

The Supreme Court’s statesmanship VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ TO ME, three things stand out in the Supreme Court’s 11-4 decision upholding the legality and constitutionality of President Duterte’s May 23, 2017 proclamation of martial law in the entire island of Mindanao.

One, the humility of the high court in acknowledging that it must stay within the confines of its power and in accepting that ultimately it is the President of the Philippines who knows best when it comes to matters of security and territorial integrity. This it did without losing sight of its role in the checks and balances of democracy. This is greatness personified.

Two, the importance of Marawi in our national life and the court’s strategic view that the rebellion’s target is Mindanao.

Three, the call for national unity amid the crisis in the nation.

On the Supreme Court’s timidity towards judicial overreach, the writer of the decision, Justice Mariano del Castillo, stated, “Clearly, the power to determine the scope of territorial application belongs to the President.” “The Court cannot indulge in judicial legislation without violating the principle of separation of powers, and, hence, undermining the foundation of our republican system,” he stressed, adding: “The Court is not equipped with the competence and logistical machinery to determine the strategical value of other places in the

In praise...

From A4 as-yet-untested ideas. The late physicist Richard Feynman called them “guesses.” In one of his famous lectures at Cornell University in 1964, he echoed Popper in declaring that guesses are legitimate parts of science if they’re falsifiable: “It doesn’t make any difference how beautiful your guess is; it doesn’t make any difference how smart you are,” he said. “If it disagrees with experiment, it’s wrong.”

This is true—assuming the experimenters didn’t make a mistake, as sometimes happens. For example, a few years ago, a group of physicists found something that seemed to directly contradict Einstein’s theory of relativity, which predicts that nothing can move faster than the speed of light.

In an experiment, it appeared that particles called neutrinos traveled faster.

Other physicists were rightly reluctant to believe these particles were violating this universal speed limit—not because Einstein was so smart or because the theory was beautiful, but because the theory itself is backed by dozens of experiments. In other words, they weren’t really weighing an observation against a theory; they were weighing a single, new observation against dozens of well-established observations.

(And, in fact, the experiment turned out to be in error due to a faulty cable.)

The theory behind climate change is also grounded in observation and reason. It all started with a puzzle: By the

military’s efforts to quell the rebellion and restore peace. It would be engaging in an act of adventurism if it dares embark on a mission of deciphering the territorial metes and bounds of martial law. To be blunt about it, hours after the proclamation of martial law, none of the members of this Court could have divined that more than ten thousand souls would be forced to evacuate to Iligan and Cagayan de Oro and that the military would have to secure those places also; none of us could have predicted that Cayamora Maute would be arrested in Davao City or that his wife Ominta ‘ Romato Maute would be apprehended in Masiu, Lanao del Sur; and, none of us had an inkling that the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters would launch an attack in Cotabato City. The Court has no military background and technical expertise to predict that. In the same manner, the Court lacks the technical capability to determine which part of Mindanao would best serve as forward operating base of the military in their present endeavor in Mindanao. Until now the Court is in a quandary and can only speculate whether the 60-day lifespan of Proclamation No. 216 could outlive the present hostilities in Mindanao. It is on this score that the Court should give the President sufficient leeway to address the peace and order problem in Mindanao.” “The declaration of martial law or the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus is essentially an executive act.”

As to the center of the rebellion, the court said, “with a predominantly Muslim population, Marawi City is the only Islamic City of the South.”

On April 15, 1980, it was conferred the official title of “Islamic City of Marawi.” The city’s first name, “Dansalan,” “was derived from the word “dansal,” meaning a destination point or rendezvous.

Literally, it also means arrival or coming. Marawi lies in the heart of Mindanao. In fact, the Kilometer Zero marker in Mindanao is found in Marawi City thereby making Marawi City the point of reference of all roads in Mindanao.

“Thus, there is reasonable basis to believe that Marawi is only the staging point of the rebellion, both for symbolic and strategic reasons. Marawi may not be the target but the whole of Mindanao.

As mentioned in the Report, ‘[l] awless armed groups have historically used provinces adjoining Marawi City as escape routes, supply lines, and backdoor passages;’ there is also the plan to establish a wilayat in Mindanao by staging the siege of Marawi. The report that prior to May 23, 2017, Abdullah Maute had already dispatched some ofhis men to various places in Mindanao, such as Marawi, Iligan, and Cagayan de Oro for bombing operations, carnapping, and the murder of military and police personnel, must also be considered. Indeed, there is some semblance of truth to the contention that Marawi is only the start, and Mindanao the end.”

The court said: “Considering the widespread atrocities in Mindanao and the linkages established among rebel groups, the armed uprising that was initially staged in Marawi cannot be justified as confined only to Marawi. The Court therefore will not simply disregard the events that happened during

the Davao City bombing, the Mamasapano massacre, the Zamboanga City siege, and the countless bombings in Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sulu, and Basilan, among others. The Court cannot simply take the battle of Marawi in isolation. As a crime without predetermined bounds, the President has reasonable basis to believe that the declaration of martial law, as well as the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in the whole of Mindanao, is most necessary, effective, and called for by the circumstances.”

The court thus ruled that “the President did not err in believing that what is going on in Marawi City is one contemplated under the crime of rebellion.” “If it is political, such as for the purpose of severing the allegiance of Mindanao to the Philippine Government to establish a wilayat therein, the crime is rebellion.” The court also pointed out that rebellion and terrorism are not mutually exclusive.

Finally, the Supreme Court’s call for unity. It said: “The Filipino people are confronted with a crisis of such magnitude and proportion that we all need to summon the spirit of unity and act as one undivided nation, if we are to overcome and prevail in the struggle at hand.”

The court noticed that “the siege in Marawi City has entered its second month and only God or Allah knows when it would end” and “to-date, 418 have died.”

It asked: “Can we not sheathe our swords and pause for a while to bury our dead, including our differences and prejudices?”

early 1800s, physicists realized that an earth-sized rock orbiting the sun at a distance of 93 million miles should be frozen according to the known laws of physics. French physicist Joseph Fourier proposed that the atmosphere keeps the planet warm. Others tested this theory in laboratory experiments, sending a simulated version of sunlight through various gases. They found that oxygen and nitrogen had no effect on the light, but carbon dioxide did. In repeated experiments, carbon dioxide absorbed and re-radiated infrared waves, which on a planetary scale would prevent some of the sun’s energy from escaping to space.

But now climate science has something even stronger on its side, said atmospheric physicist Lee Harrison of the State University of New York, Albany. The premise is all predicted by a powerful theory in physics known as quantum mechanics, which describes in detail the behavior of light and matter on the scale of molecules, atoms and subatomic particles. Like Einstein’s theory, quantum mechanics is bolstered by hundreds of experiments. Quantum mechanics predicts how infrared radiation coming up from the earth will be affected by carbon dioxide and other gases.

“What the public doesn’t understand is the extreme interconnectedness of physical reality,” Harrison said. “If someone proposes that carbon dioxide is not a greenhouse gas, this requires ripping up essentially all of modern physics … Now you aren’t just arguing with those measurements

of carbon dioxide; you are arguing with the whole body of molecular quantum mechanics and all confirming measurements.”

The most insidious misperception skewing today’s debate over climate change is confusion between uncertainty about the predictions of a theory and uncertainty about the theory itself. To illustrate the difference, Harvard University philosopher Peter Galison brings up evolution by natural selection: The theory is on solid ground, but that doesn’t mean it can predict exactly what foxes will look like 800,000 years in the future.

New York Times columnist Bret Stephens conflated these kinds of uncertainty in his high-profile debut column last April: “We live in a world in which data convey authority.

But authority has a way of descending to certitude, and certitude begets hubris,” he wrote. But science isn’t just data-collecting, which is why scientists can be close to certain of the merits of germ theory, relativity, quantum mechanics and evolution.

Scientists are the ones avoiding hubris by continuing to call their best ideas theories.

In his column, Stephens wrote that “[ordinary citizens] know—as all environmentalists should—that history is littered with the human wreckage of scientific errors married to political power.” Holton’s “Science and Anti-Science” is full of examples of this—from the Soviet antiscientific biological theory known as Lysenkoism to the Nazis’ re-

placement of powerful 20th-century physics with ad-hoc cosmology. But there’s a big difference between these made-up theories and the experimentally backed theory of greenhouse gas warming. I’ll leave the last word to Holton: “History has shown again and again that authority which refuses belief in sound science and substitutes for it non-science in its programs can have vast costs in lives and treasures; think of the mass starvation when the Soviet party adopted Lysenko’s ideas for harvests ... or what might be coming now for the lives of coastal peoples if no action is taken in accord with sound climate science.” Bloomberg

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LOWDOWN

JOJO A. ROBLES Mr. Robles’ column will resume next week.

FORMATION GARY OLIVAR Mr. Olivar’s column resume next week.

will

News

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Govt spending to speed up—DoF

By John Paolo Bencito

T

HE country’s economic managers on Thursday said that they expect government spending to pick up in the second half of the year after analysts tempered slightly their growth projection in the Philippines this year, citing the persistently slow government disbursement.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said that government spending will start to speed up as government starts disbursing funds for the muchneeded infrastructure this year.

“Well, to start with, the projects in Clark will start picking up. The Clark Airport Project start picking up. The railway projects will start moving.

And there will be a lot more construc-

tion in place,” Dominguez said in a Palace news briefing.

Sharing Dominguez’ views, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno likewise said that infrastructure and other capital spending jumped 31.4 percent in May to P46.2 billion from P35.2 billion in the same month last year, with the completion of road construction, repair and

rehabilitation projects, as well as flood control facilities.

“It will pick up. The second half will be much better than the first half.

Construction is like a curve, it will start slow and then towards the end it will accelerate,” Diokno said, adding that the Defense department’s requirements for the purchase of antisubmarine helicopters also boosted spending during the period.

The DBM said the government spent P117.5 billion for public works in the first three months of the year, or eight percent higher than its revised goal of P108.9 billion.

For the second-quarter, the DBM set an infrastructure spending target of P127.74 billion.

The DBM expects infrastructure spending to rise to P137.79 billion in the third quarter, and to P174.92

billion in the fourth quarter.

While credit ratings agency Moody’s expect the Philippine economy to grow by 6.5 percent this year—matching the low end of the government’s 6.5-7.5 percent target and slowing from 2016’s 6.9 percent —it noted that state spending, net of interest payments, grew by just two percent year on year, which is “far below expectations.”

Moody’s recently affirmed its “Baa2” rating with a “stable” outlook for the Philippines last week, even as it flagged rising political uncertainty which could weigh on investor confidence and eventually affect economic growth.

The Duterte administration plans to spend over P8 trillion on public infrastructure over the next six years, boosting its share to 7.4 percent of GDP from 4.7 percent in 2016.

In the same news briefing, Dominguez remains upbeat that its original proposals to the administration’s comprehensive tax reform package will be included when the debates starts in the Senate, citing the openness of senators to finance the Duterte administration’s ambitious infrastructure program.

“Of course, we want the P162 billion as much as possible and we will still fight for it,” Dominguez said.

“All the senators are reasonable and intelligent people. When they see the real facts and figures, they will, I think, be firmly convinced that it’s— it’s moving forward,” he said.

“We have to explain to them and show them in detail what the program really means. And I believe that they will be enlightened and as good Filipinos, they will vote for this tax reform.”

IN BRIEF

Group seeks P675/day wage hike

Duterte threatens to fire Ubial PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday threatened to sack Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Ubial if she fails to reform the procurement process involving much-needed medical equipment for soldiers in battle.

“And would you believe it, this government, I don’t know, things are still the same. They told me [that the medical equipment] just hurdled bidding [stage.] That’s why I told Ubial, “Do it in 60 days, or do it this month. If you cannot change the procedure, I will replace you.

Secretary Ubial herself,” Duterte said in a speech at Malaybalay, Bukidnon.

“I can’t… Don’t give me that s*** about a bidding process. Eh kung wala namang magnanakaw diyan sumasali, bakit patagalin niyo nang ganun? Sabi ko, “Change the procedure or I will change you.”

Last August 2016, Duterte himself promised soldiers that around P500 million will soon be released for “state-of-the-art” military equipment and a new building for the Armed Forces of the Philippines Medical Center, equipped with more medical equipment like MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), CT Scan, and equipment for surgical operations.

In a speech last Wednesday, Duterte vented his ire over the slow pace of government procurement, but only called for the Health secretary to finish the construction of government hospitals.

Duterte then tried to seek for answers from Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go on his vow for a “state-of-theart” military equipment and a new building for the Armed Forces of the Philippines Medical Center, only to get a response from AFP chief Eduardo Año that the procurement process just hurdled the “bidding” stage.

“I hope they can do it this month.

I directed Ubial, to finish it in the month of July because this is how the government works. I won’t be puzzled if you’re mad because you don’t have equipment,” the President said. John Paolo Bencito

‘Traffic jams worsen air quality in Metro’ TRAFFIC jams continue to exacerbate air quality in Metro Manila with 76 percent of air pollutants coming from vehicle emissions, a study by civic group Kaibigan ng Kaunlaran at Kalikasan revealed.

The study covered 16 cities and one municipality.

Not only is this costing the country and Filipinos billions in potential income everyday, traffic congestion in Metro Manila is also contributing largely to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, according to the study.

Inhalation and ingestion of pollutants from mobile sources can cause diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease and stroke.

The study was conducted over a period of two years and completed recently with support from non-profit group Clean Air Asia, scientific research institute Manila Observatory, and independent professionals.

Other “area” sources, including burning refuse, street-side cooking, and construction work, account for 20 percent of air pollution, while only four percent is attributed to “industrial” sources.

The project, “Modeling Particulate Matter Disperson in Metro Manila,” used an internationally recognized mathematical technique to predict the pathways of pollution from various sources.

Factors that impact air quality were used as inputs to the mathematical modeling: Air quality monitoring data, topography, actual traffic count, type of vehicles and fuels, and meteorology such as wind speeds and directions that vary in different months.

Dominguez however, said that the latest version of tax reform bill may not support the administration’s push for infrastructure spending, hence, the need to reconcile these with the Senate version that will be tackled soon.

“If you stay where you are now without—without improving your revenues, you might not be able to get the infrastructure program done right,” he added.

Despite these, Dominguez said that they will continue to “respect the legislature in their wisdom and we think that the package of 130 is about okay.”

He argued that the DoF will not agree to further dampen the government’s net revenues to lower than P130 billion, as estimated in the present House version of the bill.

By Vito Barcelo

GUNS AND AMMO. The Association of Firearms and Ammunition Dealers of the Philippines holds a Media Industry day where it featured live demonstration of the latest weaponry and firearms technology at Camp Crame Firing Range in Quezon City. The ceremonial firing was led by (from left) AFAD president Jethro Dionisio, PNP Press Corps president Raymund Dadpaas , PNP-PIO Chief P/CSupt. Dionardo Carlos and Firearms and Explosive Ordnance Chief P/SSupt. Val de Leon. Lino Santos

UP students walk out over ‘free tuition’

By Sandy Araneta HUNDREDS of students of the University of the Philippines Diliman walked out of their midterm classes on Thursday to protest the continuing collection of tuition and other fees despite the Duterte administration’s additional P8.3-billion funding to provide free tuition for state universities and colleges.

“Our demand is to have free education now. Most UP students are still paying tuition despite promises of free tuition for state universities.

As it is now only a few students will be given free tuition based on socioeconomic status and academic standing,” said Anakbayan National secretary general Einstein Recedes, in a statement.

Following the Commission on Higher Education and Department of Budget and Management April 20 Joint Memorandum,

the UP administration launched the Student Financial Assistance project which determines which students should benefit from free tuition.

Under the SFA, students who are recipients and beneficiaries of various student financial assistance programs and the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program will be prioritized for free tuition. Those who are not qualified will still pay school fees under UP’s Socialized Tuition System.

“UP has been given P367 as allocation to make tuition free for its undergraduate students. There is no reason why UP cannot stop collecting tuition except for the constant itch to suck profits from students and their families. This is neoliberalism at its finest,” said Recedes.

Data from the UP Office of Student Regent shows that UP has extracted massive profits from tuition and other fees, with UP under-

declaring its actual tuition collection of around P900 million for last year.

The cash balance in the university’s revolving fund has soared from P5.5 billion in 1999 to P12 billion by 2015.

“We cannot allow the intensified commercialization of UP consistent with neoliberal policies that transform educational institutions into profit-making diploma mills that mass produces cheap labor for export. We must fight for a nationalist, scientific, and massoriented education,” said Recedes.

More protests are set to drumbeat the call for free education for all students this month culminating in a July 20 National Day of Action and massive youth protests in time for President Rodrigo Duterte’s July 24 State of the Nation Address.

Meanwhile, the additional P8.3billion allocation for State Universities and Colleges is a substantive

step forward for the student movement, said Miguel Aljibe, chairperson of the University of the Philippines Manila University Student Council.

It aims to make public higher education tuition-free. However, according to a recent dialogue with UP president Danilo Concepcion, it has been made clear that UP is still set to collect tuition from students despite the additional budget and billions worth of income from years’ worth of profiteering from students.

Last month, the university released the Student Financial Assistance Online, a consolidation of all financial assistance programs such as the Free Tuition Policy guidelines, Socialized Tuition System application, and Tulong Dunong Grant. This move unveiled UP’s continued implementation of mechanisms that veer students away from their right to education.

THE labor group Associated Labor Unions is seeking a P184 wage increase from P491 a day to P675 a day, but was skeptic the government would grant their petition, saying the wage board is callous and inconsiderate to grant their appeal and would instead bargain for a measly P10 increase.

“It’s frustrating for us to file wage increase petition every time but the wage board is irrelevant and irresponsive na magbibigay lang ng 10, 15, 20 pesos. But the ALU has to do this every time because millions of minimum wage earners are voiceless and powerless. We have to represent them in the process,” ALU spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said.

Tanjusay said the daily wage for Metro Manila workers should now be P675.

ALU also warned of the dire impact to productivity and health of workers and their families in Metro Manila as the purchasing power of P491 daily minimum pay for workers in the National Capital Region has sunk to merely P357, the lowest in three years.

“A sinking purchasing power of workers’ daily wage means lowering of the quality and quantity of nutritious food that is so vital to workers’ productivity at his work and to his family. A lowered purchasing power will also affect the health of the children,” he said.

Tanjusay said they filed a P184 wage increase to restore the value of P491 because the current purchasing power of the daily minimum wage is insufficient to support a family amid the rising cost of prices of commodities and cost of services.

Records from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the National Economic Development Authority and the National Wages and Productivity Commission, said the value of the nominal P491 in the National Capital Region has eroded to P361.30 in January this year and fell to P357, 12 weeks later.

Alvarez urges Asean solons: Join Du30’s anti-drug drive

By Maricel V. Cruz

WEIGHING IN. A member of the Quezon city Market Development administration Department conducts a surprise inspection of weighing scales at the Mayon public market on Thursday. Manny Palmero

SPEAKER Pantaleon Alvarez on Thursday urged lawmakers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations member- states to join President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs as he also reiterated his firm support behind such effort.

Alvarez aired the call in his welcome remarks at the opening of the 13th meeting of the AIPA Fact Finding Committee to Combat the Drug Menace, held at Conrad Hotel in Pasay City. Alvarez is the incumbent president of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Assembly.

Alvarez said that during the 30th Asean Summit here in the Philippines, President Duterte called on leaders of Asean to unite in addressing the menace of illegal drugs in the region.

“I take this opportunity to urge you to do the same. With political will and cooperation, we will dismantle the massive illegal drug trade apparatus,” Alvarez said.

Alvarez said that drug trafficking remains as a major security concern in the Asean community and that the region has become a major transshipment

hub for illegal drugs by transnational organized crime groups to meet the demand of an increasingly growing international market for illegal drugs.

“We cannot ignore the impact of drug use on society—especially to the family and the youth. Financial difficulties are just some of the challenges a family may face. We simply cannot stand idly by as our region succumbs to the debilitating effects of illegal drugs,” Alvarez said.

He noted that the Asean community already made its initial moves to face the problem with the adoption last year of the Asean Work Plan on Securing Communities against Illicit Drugs 2016 to 2025.

“As legislators, we support this vision by introducing measures that could strengthen mechanisms to sop the production, trafficking, and abuse of illicit drugs in our countries,” Alvarez said.

He also urged AIPA member-states to enhance cooperation in the field of law enforcement and the criminal justice system, to raise awareness and educate all sectors of society especially the youth, and engage local communities, schools and the media to support the realization of a drug-free Asean.

Sports

A7

FRIDAY, JULY 7, 2017 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Blu Girls stun Aussies in World Cup T

HE Philippine women’s softball team rebounded from its opening game setback to powerhouse US as it stunned world No. 4 Australia, 7-5, in the World Cup of Softball XII at the Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame Complex Field 4 in Oklahoma City Wednesday.

The Cebuana Lhuillier-backed Blu Girls took charge right in the first inning with Arianne Vallestero’s coming through with three RBIs and Fil-Am Dani Gilmore scoring on a solo home run.

Kailey Cuico then stepped up in the second frame, doubling off to drive in three runs and anchor the Blu Girls’ surprise victory following a 0-4 loss to the Americans in the first session.

“The Blu Girls are off to an impressive start with all the training and preparations showing this early. I believe we have what it takes to come up with our best ever finish in the World Cup with an eye on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,” said Asaphil president Jean Henri Lhuillier.

But the 17th-ranked Blu Girls will have to dish out their very best

Left photo shows Filipina figure skater Ayasofya Vittoria Aguirre, 7 years old, who won three golds and one silver medal and was voted best overall in Artistic Performance in the recent 29th Annual Skate Japan. Right photo shows Ayasofya during a courtesy call on Philippine Airlines President Jaime J. Bautista.

PAL-backed PH skater bags 3 golds in Japan SEVEN-YEAR-OLD Filipina figure skater Ayasofya Vittoria Aguirre bagged three gold medals in the recent 29th Annual Skate Japan 2017 in Ageo City, Japan.

Philippine Airlines recently flew Aguirre to Haneda, where she competed in the annual competition and bagged the top titles in three different categories—artistic, technical and

footwork elements. She also got one silver medal and was voted best overall in Artistic Performance.

It was her first time to join a foreign competition.

The young lass bested older and seasoned skaters from other Southeast Asian countries including Japan, China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

Rainier Tinio of Cabanatuan Auto Club, one of the most promising young slalom drivers in the series, makes his move during a past staging of the Phoenix National Slalom.

Phoenix slalom 6th leg goes to Pampanga JOIN the sixth installment of the Phoenix National Slalom Series this Sunday at the Robinsons Starmills Pampanga.

Experience the thrill watching drivers execute 180- and 360-degree turns and savor the perks of shopping at Robinsons Starmills.

Registration is slated from 8 a.m. onwards.

Open practice runs are set from 8 to 10 a.m. In between is a free slalom clinic from 9 to 10 a.m., before the official practice runs at 11 a.m.

Each driver will only be given one official practice run despite the number of classes or cars he/she is entered. Each participating driver will receive 4 liters (one gallon) of Phoenix Accelerate Fully Synthetic Oil. Contenders must use the specified Federal Tyres for at least nine or 75% of the series and possess the Automobile Association of the Philippines Clubman license in order to accumu-

late points for the rank of Overall and Class Champions.

The national slalom events are affiliated with the AAP and the FIA and is the longest-running motorsports discipline in the country. The event is presented by Phoenix Premium 98 and Phoenix Accelerate Fully Synthetic Oil, with major sponsors Federal Tyres, Outlast Battery, Robinsons Starmills. It is also supported by Starbright Body Kits, Auto Transporter, Aeromed, Cars Unlimited Fairview and Mark Young Racing, with media partners Stoplight TV, C! Magazine, Auto Car Magazine, Power Wheels Magazine, and Ride and Drive Philippines. Winners of the fifth leg last June 25 will also be awarded.

For details, contact Bing Bang O. Dulce at tel. nos. 928-6951, 09228165344 or 0917-8119337; e-mail racemotorsportsclub@yahoo.com or like the event’s Facebook page.

Patricia Bianca Taculao

Global scores big home win GLOBAL Cebu leaned on a first half strike from Matthew Hartmann and some stellar goalkeeping from Patrick Deyto to overcome Ceres Negros, 1-0, last Wednesday night in the second round of the Visayas Clasico in the Philippines Football League.

Hartmann curled a left footed shot from just outside the box, catching Ceres substitute goalkeeper Michael Casas flat-footed with three minutes remaining in the second half, sending the record 5,000-strong Cebuano crowd into jubilation at Cebu City Sports Center.

Over at Binan Football Stadium, Kaya FC Makati ended a three-match winless run with an emphatic 3-1 win over Stallion Laguna.

P0.0 M+ A brace from Miguel Tanton after an early striker from Jordan Mintah sealed all P0.0 M+ three points for Kaya, which conceded a late consolation goal to Yannick Tuason.

DIGITS The results meant Global moved up to third with 17 points, while Kaya jumped to DIGITS fourth with 14 points. Ceres fell to fifth with 13 points, while Stallion is still in EZ2 seventh with three points.

LOTTO RESULTS

6/49 00-00-00-00-00-00 6/42 00-00-00-00-00-00 6 00-00-00-00-00-00 3 00-00-00 2 00-00

Inspired by Disney’s ‘Frozen’, Aguirre started skating for leisure at age five. Seeing her potential, Aguirre’s coaches encouraged her to pursue the sport. Since then, she started to compete and won numerous awards, including gold medals in the 2015 Skate Manila and 2016 Summer Skate. Aguirre, one of the youngest Philippine fig-

ure skaters, has been undergoing training and programs under the Philippine Sports Commission.

Philippine Airlines, through its flagship corporate social responsibility program, #RPRSNTPinoy!, supports exceptional individuals chosen to represent the country and show the best of the Philippines to the world.

as they slug it out with world’s No. 1 Japan Friday. They will next face world’s No. 3 Canada then mix it up with the seventh-ranked Puerto Rico in the annual competition sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation.

They set out Saturday and Sunday against the US Junior Women’s national team and No. 10 Mexico.

The Blu Girls are composed of Gabrielle Maurice, Dani Gilmore, Chelsea Suitos, Sierra Lange, Garie Blando, Hailey Decker, Skylynne Ellazar, Kailey Cuico Riflayca Basa, Angeli Ursabia, Mary Luisse Garde, Cristy Roa, Dione Macasu, Francesca Altomonte, Arianne Vallestero, Ma. Celestine Palma, Lorna Adorable, Shaira Damasing, Mia Macapagal, Reese Guevarra, Riezel Calumbres, Lovely Arago and Lyca Basa.

North wrests control BAGUIO—Team North took the first two matches then went on to post a 3 1/2-2 1/2 lead over South in four-ball at the start of The Duel—North vs South —at the Camp John Hay Golf Club here today.

Miguel Tabuena and Randy Garalde bucked windy, chilly condition to turn back Tony Lascuña and Orlan Sumcad, 2&1, while rookie Ira Alido complemented well with veteran Mars Pucay to clobber the Bayron brothers—Jay and Rufino— 5&4—as the Northerners took early control of the better-ball format event of country’s version of the Ryder Cup sponsored by ICTSI. Keanu Jahns and Justin Quiban rallied from three down and took three of the last six holes to force an all-square match with Clyde Mondilla and Rene Menor and keep Team North in the lead in the three-day event culminating in the deciding singles tomorrow.

Zanieboy Gialon and Cassius Casas birdied the 18th to complete a 2-up win over Michael Bibat and Benjie Magada and give South its first full point before North’s Joenard Rates and James Ryan Lam dominated Jhonnel Ababa and Jerson Balasabas from start to finish for a 4&2 win.

Sports

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

A8

FRIDAY, JULY 7, 2017

Marawi kids join Children’s Games REACHING out to the kids of conflicttorn Marawi City will be among the goals The Children’s Games.

And this will take place next week when the Philippine Sports Institute holds it in Iligan City.

Children who were evacuated with their families when conflict between the military and rebels erupted in Marawi last month are the participants.

Philippine Sports Commission chairman William “Butch” Ramirez said this before he went into a meeting with Caroline Baxter Tresise, UNESCO’s Consultant on Youth and Sport Social and Human Sciences.

“Excited on this journey. It’s one of the important elements of the grassroots sports program,” said Ramirez, who attended the PSC Coordinators’ Meeting which will map out the direction of the Children’s Games.

Now that the Games are finished in Davao City, and is set to be held in Benguet, organizers are bracing for its more challenging staging in Iligan City.

“It happened that we have a problem in Marawi City. It’s conflict area.

It’s just timely, and perhaps, this is one prescription where we can bridge the gap between Christian and Muslims,” said Ramirez.

Officials of the PSC are set to discuss the Children’s Games in next week’s Ministerial Conference for Sports to be held in Kazan, Russia.

Tressise said their initial meetings with the PSI through national training director Marc Velasco have been fruitful.

She said the Unesco is ready to work for the development of peace projects across the country with the PSC. “It is our expectation to reach a global consensus on key themes and policy areas that are shaping sports for development,” Tressise stated.

She said the UNESCO will use the Philippines as an example on how it should be done.

They are hoping to align the UNESCO program with the national sports policy of the PSC. Peter Atencio

Warriors add Young to roster LOS ANGELES—Guard Nick Young, a free agent since declining a player option with the Los Angeles Lakers, is headed to the NBA Champion Golden State Warriors.

“Congratulations to @NickswagyPYoung on your new contract with the @warriors! We are so happy for you!” a tweet from Priority Sports, the agency that represents Young, said Wednesday.

Young, 32, was the 16th overall selection in the 2007 NBA draft. He spent the past four seasons with the Lakers, and averaged 13.2 points in 60 games last season.

That included connecting on more than 40 percent of his shots from three-point range. His addition adds depth to the talent-laden Warriors, who have won two of the past three NBA titles.

ESPN reported that Young would make $5.2 million for the one-year deal, slightly less than the $5.7 million he would have received from the Lakers.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Bulls said Wednesday they have signed Finnish forward Lauri Markkanen, the seventh overall selection in last month’s NBA draft.

Markkanen was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves, but the rights to sign him were acquired by the Bulls in the trade that brought Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine to Chicago in exchange for Jimmy Butler.

The Bulls did not disclose the terms of the contract.

Markkanen played one season at the University of Arizona.

He averaged 15.2 points and 7.2 rebounds while shooting 49.2 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from 3-point range. The Bulls will be able to get a better look at him when they open the defense of their Summer League title in Las Vegas. AFP

Britain’s Andy Murray sprints after a ball to play a return against Germany’s Dustin Brown during their men’s singles second round match on the third day of the 2017 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, Southwest London, on July 5. AFP

Murray and Nadal breeze through; Kvitova stumbles L ONDON, United Kingdom—Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Venus Williams breezed into the third round at Wimbledon on Wednesday, while fellow former champion Petra Kvitova tumbled out.

Williams, Kei Nishikori and Johanna Konta had to grind their way into the last 32, while new mum Victoria Azarenka continued her comeback bid for Grand Slam glory.

Dustin Brown, the dreadlocked German with Jamaican roots, knocked out Nadal in the second round two years ago at

tle but quicker and that allowed me to get to some of the drop volleys,” the British star said.

Next up for Murray is a clash with colorful Italian 28th seed Fabio Fognini.

Fourth seed Nadal, fresh from winning a historic 10th the All England Club.

French Open, had a comfortable However, world number one ride against fellow left-hander Murray was not caught out by Donald Young of the United his extrovert drop shots, racing States, the Spaniard winning to a ruthless 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 vic- 6-4, 6-2, 7-5. tory on Centre Court.

He faces Russian 30th seed “Once I got the break in the Karen Khachanov next. first set, I felt the momentum “I’m happy now, it’s great to was with me. I started to see the be back in the third round without shots he was going to play a lit- losing a set,” Nadal said.

“I take it easy now, just trying to enjoy every moment. I’m having a great season.”

Two-time champion Petra Kvitova, the bookmakers’ title favorite, lost 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 to Madison Brengle of the United States.

Kvitova, playing in her second Grand Slam since recovering from a terrifying knife attack in her home, needed medical assistance during the third set.

“I just could not breathe, and I was feeling a bit sick,” the Czech 11th seed said.

“I felt like an animal. But a very slow animal.”

Troubled US five-time champion Williams survived a scare against Chinese rising star Wang Qiang, eventually winning 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Williams is trying to concentrate on tennis against the backdrop of impending legal action back home over a fatal car crash.

“The past is something that you can’t change, if it was good or bad. I like to live in the future.

I don’t want to think about the past, per se. It’s done,” she said.

Williams next faces Japan’s Naomi Osaka, who ousted Czech 22nd seed Barbora Strycova. AFP

Rhodes wants to return to defend PBA crown

By Peter Atencio

San Miguel Beer import Charles Rhodes (standing, 3rd from left) joins the Beermen celebration during their victory party. Rhodes said he wants to return next year to defend the PBA crown that they won. Lino Santos

CHARLES Rhodes hopes to be back next year and play for the San Miguel Beermen again.

That’s because he played one of his best games to lead the San Miguel Beermen to the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup crown.

Big man June Mar Fajardo, a dominant figure in the Beermen’s games, did not see much action in their last finals game with the TNT Katropa.

Instead, the 6’8” Rhodes came up with a memorable performance.

He scored 20 of his 30 points in the first 24 minutes, and had 11 boards aand four blocks in 38 minutes of action.

“It was a great season. From Game 1 to the last, I played with a great group of coaches and

players,” Rhodes said.

Rhodes expressed his thoughts during Wednesday’s victory party at the San Miguel Corporate Office in Mandaluyong.

For the next conference, which is the Governors’ Cup, the Beermen won’t be utilizing Rhodes.

They will shift to another import in former Rain or Shine reinforcement Wendell McKines, a 6’4” import.

This will be McKines’ third PBA team after playing for the Alaska Aces and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.

On the other hand, while Rhodes sits out for a year, the Beermen says they won’t be thinking of a third title.

“Inaantay nila iyung pangatlo.

Pag tatlo, Grand Slam iyun. But, we’re not thinking of a grand slam. We just want to take it one game at a time,” said SMB coach Leo Austria.

Batolbatol targets first One win WHEN Rocky Batolbatol directed his career path to ONE Championship nearly three years ago, he was once touted as a promising Filipino talent from the beautiful city of Bacolod in the Philippine province of Negros Occidental.

However, the luster of his billing as a top-notch prospect slowly faded when a string of setbacks came his way.

The 31-year-old Bacolod City native suffered a second-round submission loss at the hands of Aussie standout Martin Nguyen in his November 2014 promotional debut.

Batolbatol encountered the same fate in his second ONE Championship outing as he tasted a first-round submission defeat to Dutch-Indonesian journeyman Anthony “Archangel” Engelen in

February 2016.

A victory under the ONE Championship umbrella remained elusive for Batolbatol as he yielded to upand-coming Singaporean martial arts superstar Christian Lee via first-round technical knockout in May 2016.

Determined to break his threematch losing skid in Asia’s largest mixed martial arts (MMA) organization, Batolbatol makes his return to action by squaring off with Indonesian combatant “The Terminator” Sunoto on ONE Championship’s inaugural card in Surabaya, Indonesia.

“I am back! I am so excited to be back in action for ONE Championship, the Asian leader of martial arts and the premier MMA

promotion in the region. Ever since my last fight, I did not stop training. It is truly an honor to showcase my talent and skills on a global stage like ONE Championship,” Batolbatol said.

Both men are set to collide on the undercard of ONE: CONQUEST OF KINGS, which takes place at the GOR Kertajaya Arena in the Indonesian capital of East Java on July 29.

With the ambition to insert his name into the winner’s column and regain his reputation as one of the Philippines’ best bantamweight fighters, Batolbatol bared that he put more emphasis on the grappling department in training camp as his cage counterpart has a penchant for grappling.

Filipino MMA fighter Rocky Batolbatol (left) keeps opponent Christian Lee at bay with his right hand lead. ONE Championship

Business

Bourse hikes stake in PDEx to 52.7% B2 Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Thursday, July 6, 2017

F OREIGN E XCHANGE R ATE Currency

Unit

US Dollar Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

50.5210

Japan

Yen

0.008830

0.4461

UK

Pound

1.293700

65.3590

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128079

6.4707

Switzerland

Franc

1.037560

52.4186

Canada

Dollar

0.771903

38.9973

Singapore

Dollar

0.724375

36.5961

Australia

Dollar

0.760000

38.3960

Bahrain

Dinar

2.654632

134.1147

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266674

13.4726

Brunei

Dollar

0.721761

36.4641

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000075

0.0038

Thailand

Baht

0.029381

1.4844

UAE

Dirham

0.272287

13.7562

Euro

Euro

1.135400

57.3615

Korea

Won

0.000868

0.0439

China

Yuan

0.146990

7.4261

India

Rupee

0.015433

0.7797

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.232829

11.7628

New Zealand

Dollar

0.728600

36.8096

Taiwan

Dollar

0.032805

1.6573 Source: PDS Bridge

IN BRIEF

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

By Julito G. Rada

T

HE peso fell for a third day, moving toward 51 per US dollar, a level not seen in more than 10 years, amid investors’ jitters over another round of interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve before the end of the year.

The peso shed seven centavos to close at 50.67 a dollar Thursday, from 50.60 a dollar Wednesday. It was the local currency’s weakest level in more than 10 years, or since it settled at 50.755 per greenback on Sept. 4, 2006. The peso fell

to all time low of 56.34 a dollar in October 2004.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said the latest peso movement broadly reflected prevailing market conditions and underlying economic

fundamentals, in line with the bank’s exchange rate policy.

He said Bangko Sentral was actively managing excessive volatility, adding this was business as usual.

“A major driver is sentiment for a stronger US dollar as the Fed moves forward with steps to normalize from ultra-easy monetary policy as US economic conditions steadily improve.

There is also growing policy convergence with Europe and even Japan,” Espenilla, who succeeded former Governor Amando Tetangco Jr., said in a statement.

University of Asia & the Pacific

economist Victor Abola said the weakness of the peso could be traced to stronger imports which were putting pressure on the local currency.

Business Monitor International, a unit of Fitch Group, said the peso might close the year at 50.50 a greenback. It said the fragile political outlook in the Philippines and the expected additional rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve would put more pressure on the local currency.

BMI considered the Philippine peso one of the worst-performing currencies in Asia this year, having broken support at around 50 a dollar in mid-June.

SMC readies $2-b flood control project

PHILEX Mining Corp. said Thursday it spent over P400 million for various projects under its Social Development Management Program over the last five years.

“We incurred P117 million for SDMP-related Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives and an aggregate sum of P454 million over the last five years to further our goal of inclusive economic growth and progressive social structures within our areas of operation,” Philex Mining president and chief executive Eulalio Austin Jr. said.

Austin said projects included community engagement and development programs, health services and medical missions, equipment turnover, construction and rehabilitation of several school buildings, educational assistance programs and scholarship grants.

Philex also provides financial and technical assistance to livelihood ventures of residents in farming, livestock and food processing, free electricity and water and construction and maintenance of infrastructures.

Anna Leah E. Gonzales

Espenilla to induct new CMAP officers BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Nestor Espenilla will be the keynote speaker during the general membership meeting and induction ceremony of the Credit Management Association of the Philippines at Fairmont Hotel in Makati City Friday.

Espenilla will induct the new board directors and officers of CMAP, an association of professionals that instills, develops and nurtures credit consciousness, responsibility and discipline in the country.

New CMAP officers to be inducted are Luis Arriola, president; Arnaldo Bacabac Jr., vice president; Ma. Theresa Clara De Leon, secretary; Ma. Cristina Maulion, assistant secretary; Rolinda Maneja, treasurer; Gilbert Benedicto, assistant treasurer; Efren Collado, director; Jennifer Tan, director; Jezreel Pimentel, director; Melinda Alvarez, director; Sheila De Leon, director; and Neil Binalla, ex-officio.

It said while there was scope for further spot weakness over the coming months given rising real rates in developed markets, the peso was not expected to weaken excessively.

The Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee kept the peso-dollar exchange rate target at 48 to 50 a dollar this year and 48 to 51 a dollar in 2018 to 2022.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the recent depreciation of the peso against the dollar would be positive for families of Filipinos working overseas and business process outsourcing companies.

Japanese firm keeps PH rating of ‘BBB+’

PHOENIX Petroleum Philippines Inc. signed an agreement to acquire Petronas Dagangan Berhad’s liquefied petroleum gas business in the Philippines for $126.1 million, or P6.268 billion.

Phoenix Petroleum will acquire 100 percent of Petronas Energy Philippines Inc. and 40 percent of its affiliate Duta Inc. to pave the way for the oil firm’s entry into the LPG business.

“In terms of business and operations, the company is able to expand its product portfolio to include LPG,” Phoenix Petroleum said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

The total purchase price of $126.1 million will be satisfied entirely via cash for both companies.

Phoenix Petroleum will deposit $24 million (P1.193 billion) within three days after the signing of the share purchase agreements while the balance of $96.1 million (P4.773 billion will be paid in full after approval of the Philippine Competition Commission.

Alena Mae S. Flores

Philex spends P454m for social programs

B1

Peso approaches 51 a dollar

Phoenix buys unit of Petronas for P6b

SAN Miguel Corp. said it will submit to the government this month an unsolicited proposal to build a $2-billion flood control and waste-to-energy project.

“I think the technical side has been done. I think, maybe sometime this month, we will submit it,” San Miguel president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said.

Ang said the proposed project would help address flooding in Metro Manila during the rainy season.

The project involves the construction of a spillway that will facilitate the release of water from Laguna de Bay to Manila de Bay. In exchange of the project, San Miguel will ask the government the right to use the waste materials from Laguna de Bay for its planned power generation facility.

Darwin G. Amojelar

FRIDAY, JULY 7, 2017

FRANCHISE SHOW. The Philippine Franchise Association holds a news conference to announce the incoming Franchise Asia Philippines 2017 at SMX Convention Center in Pasay City on July 19 to 23. Shown during the briefing at Peking Garden, Greenbelt 5 in Makati City are (from left) PFA chairman emeritus Samie Lim, Franchise Asia Philippines 2017 expo chair Jose Magsaysay Jr., overall chair Sherill Quintana, president and director for external relations Alan Escalona, conference chair Sam Christopher Lim and marketing and promotions chair Elizabeth Pardo Orbeta. Lino Santos

Manila casino aims to win back trust after fire

By Ian Sayson and Cecilia Yap RESORTS World Manila, the Philippine casino where 38 people died after an arson attack last month, aims to complete a new gaming zone this year as it seeks to win back customers and rebuild its brand.

“We’re spending a lot of time enhancing the overall security of the place and learning about what had happened,” Kingson Sian, 55, chief executive at Travellers International Hotel Group Inc., which owns and operates the integrated casino resort, said in an interview on July 3. “We obviously have to gain back the trust of our guests and the public.”

Travellers, a venture of billionaires Andrew Tan from the Philippines and Lim Kok Thay of Malaysia, is facing its toughest challenge since opening the integrated gaming facility eight years ago. On June 2, a former patron burned gaming tables with fumes asphyxiating dozens before he killed himself.

The company is under probe for the security breach that led to the attack and its gaming license was suspended for almost a month.

Closure of Resorts World Manila’s casino facility cost the company about P60 million ($1.2 million) a day in lost gaming revenue, Sian said, with customers to the complex, which has a shopping mall, cinemas and restaurants,

dropping by as many as 10,000 a day to 20,000.

Hotel occupancy plunged to 40 percent from 90 percent and is now at about 60 percent. When the casino reopened on June 29, traffic was half of that before the attack.

“While many of its mass-based patrons are loyal and will probably come back, the stigma from this tragedy is a setback for further growth,” said Manny Cruz, an analyst at Asiasec Securities. “Travellers must take this opportunity to improve its image, recalibrate its business and think of its future.”

Sian, who met with the families of those killed and attended victims’ wakes, said Travellers will hold off cutting jobs as it speeds up completion of a new gaming area. The company is compensating families and will pay for the education of victims’ children.

Maybank ATR Kim Eng sees impact of tragedy to linger for the next two to three years, cuts gaming revenue estimates for Travellers.

Travellers is trying to woo customers with cheaper movie tickets, food discounts and free parking. Its security team has been replaced, an overseas group hired as a consultant and, within a month, it plans to unveil an enhanced “containment style” defense system, Sian said.

Getting back to business is crucial as the venture of Tan’s Alliance Global Group Inc.

and Lim’s Genting Hong Kong Ltd. aims to open by year end a casino floor larger than the one destroyed on June 2, six months earlier than scheduled, while the damaged area will be converted into a retail zone, Sian said.

Travellers’ earnings have fallen in seven of the previous nine quarters, while those of its rivals including Bloomberry Resorts Corp. and Melco Resorts & Entertainment Philippines Corp. have been steadily growing as they attracted more foreign players and high rollers. Competition among Manila casinos is intensifying as Universal Entertainment Corp., the casino venture of Japanese tycoon Kazuo Okada, ramps up operations.

Travellers holds one of four integrated casino licenses issued by the Philippines government in 2008 to develop Manila’s Entertainment City and grab a bigger share of Asia’s rising gambling revenue. The company has spent $1.2 billion since opening Resorts World Manila in 2009 and is scheduled to operate a $1 billion complex in Manila’s gaming hub by early 2021.

“It’s one of the sad events in our history but, nevertheless, we believe in the long term potential of the industry,” Sian said. “We believe in the future of both tourism and gaming. We have a long view and we are committed to this.” Bloomberg

JAPAN Credit Rating Agency on Thursday kept its investment grade rating of ‘BBB+’ for the Philippines, citing the country’s robust economic growth and its ability to withstand external headwinds.

The rating is a notch below the A scale and is assigned a “stable” outlook, which means there are no pressing factors seen at the moment that may cause the rating to change at least over the short term.

The Investor Relations Office of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said that JCR’s rating opinions were valuable for the Philippines as these would help guide Japanese companies in their investment decisions.

Japan is one of the Philippines’ biggest sources of foreign direct investments, accounting for 48.8 percent of net equity FDI of $2.035 billion in 2016.

JCR said its decision to continue assigning the Philippines the favorable rating of BBB+ showed “the country’s high level of economic growth underpinned by expanding domestic demand, resilience to external shocks supported by declining external debt and accumulation of foreign exchange reserves, and continued reduction of government debt burden.”

The Philippines’ gross domestic product grew 6.1 percent in 2015 and 6.9 percent in 2016, JCR noted.

It said growth was expected to remain robust this year, on the back of strong household consumption, rising privatesector investments and increasing government spending, especially on infrastructure.

JCR also cited the Philippines’ ample foreign exchange reserves, estimated at 5.6 times the country’s short-term external debt and 1.1 times its total external debt.

Julito G. Rada

Infra spending surged 31% to P46.2b in May PUBLIC infrastructure spending surged 31 percent in May to P46.2 billion from P35.2 billion a year ago, with the construction of several infrastructure projects, data from the Budget Department show.

The May figure was also 38 percent higher than P33.5 billion registered in April 2017 and brought total disbursements for infrastructure and other capital outlays in the first five months to P197.2 billion, up 8 percent from P182.4 billion in the same period last year.

“Infrastructure and other capital expenditures rose strongly by P11 billion to end at P46.2 billion in May this year due to the com-

pleted road construction, repair and rehabilitation, and flood control infrastructures implemented by the DPWH [Public Works], as well as the requirements for the purchase of anti-submarine helicopters under the AFP Modernization Program of the Department of National Defense,” the Budget Department said.

Infrastructure spending and other capital outlays declined 21.2 percent in April to P33.5 billion from P42.5 billion a year ago.

The Bureau of the Treasury said the government incurred a budget deficit of P33.4 billion in May, after recording a surplus a month ago as spending outpaced revenue collections. Julito G. Rada

ROBINSONS-ZALORA DEAL. Robinsons Specialty Stores Inc. teams up with Zalora Philippines, Asia’s online fashion platform, to integrate e-commerce into UK’s high street fashion brands under its portfolio— Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins and Burton Menswear London. Shown during the signing of the agreement are (from left) Zalora Philippines online marketing director Cris Tan, head of public relations Vince Flores, head of buying Gigi Mabanta and co-founder and chief executive Paulo Campos III, Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. president and chief operations officer Robina Gokongwei-Pe, RSSI general manager Carmina Quizon and vice president for corporate planning and investor relations officer Gina Dipaling.

B2

Business

FRIDAY, JULY 7, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Market rises; SSI leads advancers DoubleDragon pegs S price of P9.7-b bonds TOCKS rose for a second day, as investors weighed indications that US Federal Reserve officials’ opinions on policy strategy are diverging.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, climbed 39 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 7,888.31, as five of the six major sectors advanced. The bellwether was also up 15.3 percent since the start of the year.

The heavier index, representing all shares, rose 24 points, or 0.5 percent, to settle at 4,736.85, on a value turnover of P7.5 billion.

Gainers outnumbered losers, 107 to 95, while 54 issues were unchanged.

Fifteen of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by retailer SSI Group Inc. which jumped 8.3 percent to P4.43 and East West Banking Corp. which climbed 4.7 percent to P33.45. Conglomerate Metro

Pacific Investments Corp. went up 4 percent to P6.69.

Meanwhile, equities in Japan and Taiwan fell and stocks in Indonesia and India advanced. The dollar gathered strength as the yen gave up gains and the South Korean won slid to a four-month low. Oil recovered some losses after slumping toward $45 a barrel, as data showed U.S. crude and gasoline stockpiles declined.

Equity traders remained on edge after North Korea’s latest missile test and warnings from the US it would use force to deal with the nuclear-armed state.

Crude fell around four percent Wednesday on renewed concerns about a global supply glut that overshadowed data pointing to a drop in US stockpiles.

Investors are worried that an output cut agreed by OPEC and Russia will not be enough to offset rising production from the US and other nations including Libya and Nigeria.

“Gasoline demand has increased because

of the US driving season and that’s a good sign for the market,” Barnabas Gan, an economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. in Singapore, told Bloomberg News.

But he added: “The rally is still extremely fragile and any signs which point to a higher supply environment into the second half could be a factor for oil prices to fall further.”

Oil had surged around 10 percent since mid-June on bargain-buying—having dived about a fifth over the previous four weeks on supply worries.

While the commodity rose more than one percent Thursday in Asia, Hong Konglisted PetroChina and CNOOC were each down sharply down. Santos and Rio Tinto gave up more than one percent in Sydney and Inpex was down a similar amount in Tokyo.

Broader equity markets swung back into negative territory on lingering worries about the North Korea crisis after it tested its first missile able to reach the United States.

With Bloomberg, AFP

By Jenniffer B. Austria DOUBLEDRAGON Properties Corp. set the coupon rate for its P9.7-billion seven-year fixedrate retail bonds at 6.0952 percent annum.

DoubleDragon said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the coupon rate was set at the bottom end of the pricing range amid strong demand from investors. The bond issuance will have a base size of P6.5 billion, with an option to issue an additional P3.2 billion upon oversubscription.

The offer period for the retail bonds will run from July 7 to July

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW THURSDAY, JULY 6, 2017

NAME

OPEN

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 4 1,000 57.3 62,380 103 3,099,910 4.08 5,000 123.6 1,154,780 1.24 41,000 36.7 754,300 16.2 41,800 33.45 9,242,000 8.28 4,500 0.69 67,000 1.81 51,000 840 1,470 0.7 3,638,000 89.5 3,876,890 0.9 279,000 15.66 5,500 25.9 700 67.7 100,760 252 6,550 134 1,040 90 160 58.1 139,510 220.8 399,520 1,630 100 85.2 17,680 1.5 2,147,000

4,000 3,551,648.50 319,276,504 20,400 142,661,153 51,100 27,736,315 677,124 308,170,955 37,078 45,140 92,460 1,228,050 2,537,790 345,272,280 251,590 86,100 17,990 6,753,367 1,643,420 133,015 14,400 8,092,435.50 88,174,188 163,000 1,506,378.50 3,268,730

204,632.50 -27,952,862 -29,154,754 10,633,360 44,452,335 139,006,637 27,000 4,227,352 334,124.50 14,874,992 252,299.50 0

39.6 8.43 0.82 1.45 31.3 0.27 115.8 7.12 18.3 27.65 14.12 65 73.3 95.25 1.94 5.3 11.7 12.12 15.78 9.95 7.89 6.07 1.7 18.68 69.95 15.1 13.7 14.64 1.65 206.6 60 3.88 3.41 31.55 19.16 18.08 266.4 0.248 7.25 3.15 9.8 6.75 10.34 1.99 10.3 68.9 6.4 308.2 4.28 2.04 5.01 2.28 14 4.5 0.145 1.35 163.7 4 2.06 30.95 1.03

INDUSTRIAL 40 2,457,900 8.55 2,369,100 0.83 3,827,000 1.48 9,078,000 32.5 339,200 0.275 9,620,000 115.8 10 7.15 1,579,700 18.6 3,863,600 28.3 837,000 14.14 2,100 65.45 78,260 74.5 1,350 95.25 20 1.97 233,000 5.3 18,500 11.7 25,500 12.34 2,690,000 15.84 1,839,600 10.02 1,496,800 8.03 3,699,100 6.1 21,675,400 1.72 22,000 18.82 892,100 70 13,130 15.3 64,500 13.74 141,000 14.9 5,165,100 1.72 360,000 207.2 980,840 60 4,410 3.98 987,000 3.41 71,000 31.85 2,284,000 19.4 447,900 18.68 3,543,300 267 876,660 0.248 250,000 7.25 12,500 3.19 1,358,000 9.8 11,517,500 6.9 495,000 10.36 16,400 1.99 13,127,000 10.32 3,820,600 69.35 4,450,750 6.42 344,500 309.6 30,750 4.38 287,000 2.05 4,000 5.02 256,600 2.31 2,950,000 14 2,001,700 4.5 597,000 0.146 790,000 1.35 260,000 165 231,960 4 22,000 2.09 5,360,000 30.95 5,000 1.09 34,000

98,244,300 20,258,022 3,161,890 13,413,800 10,926,070 2,620,900 1,158 11,311,204 71,986,030 23,506,725 29,688 5,117,407.50 100,129 1,905 457,600 98,050 300,804 33,099,696 29,198,744 14,965,125 29,599,968 132,650,923 37,820 16,757,374 919,293.50 994,884 1,941,578 76,690,132 610,360 203,294,808 264,989.50 3,990,080 246,200 73,339,455 8,674,548 66,002,486 234,040,736 62,250 91,340 4,338,200 115,185,582 3,429,435 170,738 26,544,820 39,949,388 307,340,984 2,241,782 9,522,512 1,240,080 8,190 1,288,344 6,805,550 28,376,978 2,708,060 115,120 353,290 38,246,074 88,050 11,255,560 154,790 35,510

-5,465,030 325,509 64,780 -2,656,610 -6,039,027 18,699,624 -283,000 2,828 -4,213,722.50 -121,550 18,340,108 158,700 -1,170,812 1,489,851 41,008,815 2,541,760 798 -340,914 -13,487,518 6,481,734 24,100 -41,700 12,836,680 -1,113,080 -39,061,172 -22,906,480 117,210 13,592,130 193,200 110,860 -1,347,622 7,177,436.50 -620,264 398,030 1,283,780 -10,937,786 1,231,500 21,279,147 48,000 1,372,680 30,955 -

0.375 75.9 14.3 1.36 6.5 0.345 0.35 873 8.29 14.82 7.78 0.195 1,211 7.8 80.85 7 0.99 7.29 15.7 6.69 3.2 0.055 1.19 2.38 2.7 103.6 2.7 794 0.96 1.47 304 0.29

0.365 75.8 14.1 1.24 6.33 0.335 0.35 860 8.1 14.52 7.59 0.193 1,201 7.7 80.2 6.16 0.97 7.1 15.24 6.42 2.99 0.053 1.04 2.25 2.7 102.6 2.61 792.5 0.91 1.46 303 0.285

HOLDING FIRMS 0.37 1,700,000 75.85 465,910 14.14 3,001,400 1.31 2,361,000 6.5 13,700 0.335 6,170,000 0.35 20,000 872 189,850 8.14 824,300 14.74 6,123,000 7.76 87,200 0.193 330,000 1,205 73,795 7.7 35,900 80.6 608,530 6.3 507,100 0.98 1,760,000 7.29 629,200 15.64 4,190,800 6.69 46,767,000 3.2 163,000 0.055 34,590,000 1.15 173,000 2.38 4,266,000 2.7 3,000 103.3 60,090 2.7 8,000 793 226,960 0.91 130,000 1.47 441,000 303.8 4,090 0.29 400,000

626,450 35,339,376 42,466,062 3,098,010 87,851 2,074,850 7,000 165,413,650 6,742,675 90,281,836 669,459 63,820 88,926,615 276,520 49,064,256.50 3,232,894 1,722,010 4,546,579 64,919,584 309,871,516 502,780 1,874,560 193,040 9,994,560 8,100 6,201,272 21,420 179,931,360 121,610 647,270 1,242,414 115,000

4,830,881.50 -8,632,390 114,493,760 -1,921,960 36,390,782 -7,770 37,532,765 31,721,597 244,866 -6,860 -12,148,590 66,740,269 -51,550 -58,580 1,524,697 -37,454,470 -197,506 -

6.19 1.38 2.57 1.16 40.15 3.96 5.4

6.07 1.27 2.48 1.13 39.7 3.9 5.58

PROPERTY 6.08 329,300 1.38 13,461,000 2.5 375,000 1.15 5,630,000 39.95 7,228,300 3.93 725,000 5.4 5.41

2,004,458 17,853,090 942,720 6,441,750 288,956,700 2,847,800 3,577,300

-1,514,180 -19,480 1,206,120 -12,206,080 -152,690 19,576,160

5.3 0.62 1.15 1.53 0.187 0.52 47.4 0.78 0.16 1.7 1.37 1.13 4.11 4.68

5.3 0.59 1.13 1.48 0.184 0.51 46.85 0.75 0.156 1.67 1.33 1.06 4.11 4.52

5.3 0.6 1.13 1.48 0.186 0.51 46.85 0.76 0.16 1.7 1.37 1.11 4.11 4.66

387,430 62,674,860 263,280 1,266,400 1,354,940 256,320 8,389,165 7,799,580 294,190 26,212,550 10,521,400 4,069,210 4,110 203,838,710

-530 -21,137,470 -1,967,540 26,950 -5,353,880 -10,430 -111,000 54,053,100

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

AG FINANCE 4 ASIA UNITED 56.55 BANK PH ISLANDS 103.8 BDO LEASING 4.08 BDO UNIBANK 123.1 BRIGHT KINDLE 1.29 CHINABANK 36.7 COL FINANCIAL 16.1 EAST WEST BANK 32.5 FILIPINO FUND 8 FIRST ABACUS 0.65 IREMIT 1.84 MANULIFE 835 MEDCO HLDG 0.69 METROBANK 87.85 NTL REINSURANCE 0.92 PB BANK 15.6 PBCOM 25.2 PHIL NATL BANK 66.75 PHIL STOCK EXCH 253 PHILTRUST 121 PSBANK 90 RCBC 57.5 SECURITY BANK 219.4 SUN LIFE 1,630 UNION BANK 85.15 VANTAGE 1.42

4 57.3 103.9 4.08 123.9 1.29 36.9 16.24 34.15 8.28 0.69 1.84 840 0.71 89.6 0.92 15.66 25.9 67.7 255 134 90 58.35 223 1,630 85.3 1.63

4 56.55 102.8 4.08 122.7 1.24 36.7 16.1 32.3 8 0.65 1.81 835 0.69 87.7 0.9 15.6 25.2 66.7 247 121 90 57.5 219.4 1,630 85.15 1.42

ABOITIZ POWER 39.6 AGRINURTURE 8.8 ALLIANCE SELECT 0.82 ALSONS CONS 1.49 ASIABEST GROUP 31.3 BASIC ENERGY 0.28 BOGO MEDELLIN 115.8 CEMEX HLDG 7.13 CENTURY FOOD 18.44 CIRTEK HLDG 28 CNTRL AZUCARERA14.14 CONCEPCION 70 CONCRETE A 74.5 CONCRETE B 95.25 CROWN ASIA 1.96 DAVINCI CAPITAL 5.3 DEL MONTE 11.82 DNL INDUS 12.32 EAGLE CEMENT 15.8 EEI CORP 10.02 EMPERADOR 7.9 ENERGY DEVT 6.07 EUROMED 1.7 FIRST GEN 18.74 FIRST PHIL HLDG 70.2 GINEBRA 15.1 HOLCIM 13.7 INTEGRATED MICR 14.7 IONICS 1.72 JOLLIBEE 207.8 LIBERTY FLOUR 63.95 LMG CHEMICALS 4 MABUHAY VINYL 3.6 MANILA WATER 31.9 MAXS GROUP 19.2 MEGAWIDE 18.08 MERALCO 267.4 MG HLDG 0.25 PANASONIC 7.3 PEPSI COLA 3.27 PETRON 9.94 PHIL H2O 6.8 PHINMA 10.5 PHINMA ENERGY 2 PHX PETROLEUM 10.36 PILIPINAS SHELL 69 PRYCE CORP 6.66 PUREFOODS 308.2 RFM CORP 4.44 ROXAS AND CO 2.05 ROXAS HLDG 5.1 SFA SEMICON 2.38 SHAKEYS PIZZA 14.08 SPC POWER 4.58 SWIFT FOODS 0.145 TKC METALS 1.37 UNIV ROBINA 163.7 VICTORIAS 4.01 VITARICH 2.12 VIVANT 31 VULCAN INDL 1.03

40.1 8.8 0.83 1.55 32.75 0.28 115.8 7.22 19.18 28.35 14.14 70 74.5 95.25 1.97 5.3 11.82 12.38 15.92 10.18 8.08 6.16 1.73 18.82 70.2 15.48 13.84 14.96 1.72 209.4 63.95 4.16 3.6 33 19.48 18.72 267.6 0.25 7.4 3.27 10.24 7 10.5 2.08 10.7 69.35 6.66 310 4.44 2.05 5.1 2.38 14.34 4.58 0.146 1.38 165 4.01 2.13 31 1.09

ABACORE CAPITAL 0.365 ABOITIZ EQUITY 75.85 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 14.2 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 1.27 ANSCOR 6.5 ATN HLDG A 0.34 ATN HLDG B 0.35 AYALA CORP 864 COSCO CAPITAL 8.27 DMCI HLDG 14.56 FILINVEST DEV 7.77 FORUM PACIFIC 0.195 GT CAPITAL 1,210 HOUSE OF INV 7.8 JG SUMMIT 80.2 JOLLIVILLE HLDG 7 LODESTAR 0.98 LOPEZ HLDG 7.17 LT GROUP 15.3 METRO PAC INV 6.43 MJC INVESTMENTS 3.18 PACIFICA 0.054 PRIME MEDIA 1.06 PRIME ORION 2.25 REPUBLIC GLASS 2.7 SAN MIGUEL CORP 103.1 SEAFRONT RES 2.61 SM INVESTMENTS 793 SOC RESOURCES 0.92 SOLID GROUP 1.47 TOP FRONTIER 303 UNIOIL HLDG 0.285 8990 HLDG 6.19 A BROWN 1.29 ARANETA PROP 2.48 ARTHALAND CORP 1.14 AYALA LAND 39.7 BELLE CORP 3.96 CEB LANDMASTERS -2,853,074 CEBU HLDG 5.3 CENTURY PROP 0.61 CITY AND LAND 1.15 CITYLAND DEVT 1.48 CROWN EQUITIES 0.185 CYBER BAY 0.52 DOUBLEDRAGON 47.3 EMPIRE EAST 0.76 EVER GOTESCO 0.156 FILINVEST LAND 1.69 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.36 IRC PROP 1.07 KEPPEL PROP 4.11 MEGAWORLD 4.52

VOLUME

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

MRC ALLIED 0.39 PHIL ESTATES 0.35 PHIL REALTY 0.64 PRIMEX CORP 4.14 PTFC REDEV CORP 33.8 ROBINSONS LAND 24.85 ROCKWELL 1.75 SHANG PROP 3.24 SM PRIME HLDG 33.05 STA LUCIA LAND 1.05 STARMALLS 6.63 SUNTRUST HOME 0.93 VISTA LAND 6

0.39 0.355 0.64 4.16 33.85 24.95 1.78 3.24 33.35 1.05 7.29 0.93 6

0.375 0.35 0.62 4.11 33.8 24.25 1.74 3.2 33 1.04 6.63 0.91 5.93

0.38 0.355 0.62 4.11 33.85 24.55 1.78 3.21 33.25 1.04 7.29 0.93 5.99

53,310,000 290,000 3,812,000 865,000 1,700 1,194,600 54,000 392,000 6,314,200 1,780,000 1,400 287,000 4,333,600

20,357,050 101,550 2,380,170 3,573,660 57,500 29,252,790 95,330 1,254,950 209,745,205 1,858,870 9,868 263,460 25,946,112

2,280,000 -24,960 4,492,210 96,100 40,950,950 -2,771,767

2GO GROUP 25.05 ABS CBN 42.3 ACESITE HOTEL 1.58 APC GROUP 0.5 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.044 BERJAYA 5.49 BLOOMBERRY 9.85 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.087 CEBU AIR 96.5 CENTRO ESCOLAR 9.78 DFNN INC 8.65 DISCOVERY WORLD 2.32 GLOBE TELECOM 2,070 GMA NETWORK 6.2 GOLDEN HAVEN 15.58 GRAND PLAZA 13.2 HARBOR STAR 2.92 IMPERIAL 3.38 INTL CONTAINER 96.85 IPM HLDG 8.51 ISLAND INFO 0.185 ISM COMM 1.49 JACKSTONES 3.51 LBC EXPRESS 16 LEISURE AND RES 4.7 LORENZO SHIPPNG 1.84 MACROASIA 7.59 MANILA BULLETIN 0.61 MANILA JOCKEY 2.25 MELCO RESORTS 9.02 METRO RETAIL 5.05 MLA BRDCASTING 14.8 NOW CORP 2.62 PACIFIC ONLINE 11.52 PAL HLDG 5.19 PAXYS 2.87 PHIL SEVEN CORP 185 PHILWEB 11 PLDT 1,770 PREMIUM LEISURE 1.55 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.395 PUREGOLD 44.5 ROBINSONS RTL 87.5 SBS PHIL CORP 6.02 SSI GROUP 4.1 STI HLDG 1.6 TRAVELLERS 3.72 WATERFRONT 0.87 WILCON DEPOT 8.5

25.35 42.3 1.58 0.5 0.044 5.49 10.1 0.09 97.15 9.88 8.74 2.46 2,070 6.25 15.62 13.2 3.02 3.48 99.8 8.75 0.185 1.49 3.55 16 4.93 1.85 7.9 0.63 2.25 9.11 5.25 16.48 2.63 11.52 5.2 2.87 185 11.12 1,770 1.56 0.405 45.4 88 6.14 4.43 1.62 3.76 0.89 8.88

24.1 42 1.54 0.49 0.043 5.35 9.75 0.085 95.85 9.6 8.65 2.32 2,052 6.2 15.56 13.2 2.92 3.38 96.5 8.5 0.183 1.43 3.49 16 4.65 1.77 7.5 0.59 2.25 8.93 4.95 14.8 2.61 11.5 5.19 2.87 176.1 10.82 1,759 1.54 0.39 44.5 87.25 6.02 4.03 1.56 3.67 0.86 8.43

SERVICES 24.1 1,050,000 42 56,200 1.54 1,145,000 0.495 596,000 0.043 9,300,000 5.36 14,300 9.75 13,844,500 0.09 119,640,000 97 252,760 9.6 2,300 8.72 338,400 2.46 14,000 2,058 11,810 6.25 549,700 15.62 35,600 13.2 100 2.96 556,000 3.45 139,000 99 2,537,260 8.75 400,800 0.183 5,200,000 1.46 1,363,000 3.54 109,000 16 2,600 4.8 9,947,000 1.79 824,000 7.76 2,192,400 0.62 453,000 2.25 20,000 8.98 6,906,000 5.15 17,525,500 16.48 4,400 2.61 529,000 11.5 6,500 5.2 5,000 2.87 1,000 180 1,080 10.82 1,635,700 1,761 203,000 1.56 3,711,000 0.405 510,000 45.4 852,300 88 925,090 6.05 2,361,400 4.43 45,363,000 1.57 20,040,000 3.7 5,434,000 0.87 10,483,000 8.65 27,332,600

25,828,715 2,366,060 1,777,200 297,135 403,800 76,858 137,052,703 10,462,290 24,487,489 22,380 2,944,813 33,230 24,331,310 3,427,096 554,504 1,320 1,646,830 476,520 250,690,533.50 3,477,462 953,020 1,982,640 383,950 41,600 47,593,790 1,476,170 17,057,637 272,750 45,000 62,265,535 90,458,982 69,252 1,386,290 74,830 25,988 2,870 194,387 17,861,866 357,846,140 5,767,050 200,850 38,527,195 80,862,422 14,382,653 195,571,850 31,669,910 20,168,360 9,194,180 236,833,126

26,270 47,100 8,124,628 6,101,622 477,605 -3,145,970 20,630 -3,429,759.50 -7,320 140,470 -733,640 304,426 -1,908,309 -10,440 -59,600 -3,644,950 -67,936,020 -566,940 10,179,385 -27,834,673 36,840 -12,513,620 -564,790 -1,035,360 22,250 7,246,428

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

0.0029 1.73 5.18 13.62 2.09 2.08 0.96 0.385 8.52 2.59 0.28 0.182 0.188 0.011 1.95 6.6 2.02 0.64 0.98 0.011 0.01 7.16 0.012 2.62 8.89 3.03 161

0.0029 1.77 5.3 14.96 2.09 2.08 1.05 0.385 8.75 2.59 0.285 0.182 0.189 0.011 1.96 6.7 2.04 0.67 1 0.011 0.01 7.16 0.012 2.7 9.01 3.04 161.2

0.0028 1.71 5.15 13.48 2.08 2.05 0.93 0.385 8.52 2.53 0.28 0.179 0.188 0.011 1.9 6.57 1.99 0.62 0.97 0.01 0.01 7.05 0.012 2.62 8.89 3 160.1

MNING & OIL 0.0029 215,000,000 1.75 5,553,000 5.2 223,700 14.82 3,600 2.08 5,000 2.05 56,000 1.04 11,740,000 0.385 2,060,000 8.7 700 2.57 1,986,000 0.285 830,000 0.18 2,900,000 0.189 470,000 0.011 21,600,000 1.91 203,000 6.57 2,959,400 2 187,000 0.63 2,011,000 0.99 159,000 0.01 67,500,000 0.01 1,900,000 7.1 242,200 0.012 4,400,000 2.7 80,000 9 1,971,400 3.03 804,000 160.5 1,584,180

616,600 9,646,190 1,158,937 51,282 10,420 115,060 11,940,360 793,100 6,097 5,082,000 235,950 522,050 88,660 237,600 391,210 19,542,655 374,330 1,291,440 154,660 696,000 19,000 1,719,779 52,800 214,370 17,628,951 2,426,970 254,090,398

5,600 -1,575,140 -10,340 -30,920 -32,810 -1,054,260 -65,050 -2,372,784 650 4,581,818 140,371,490

ABS HLDG PDR AC PREF B2 ALCO PREF B DD PREF FGEN PREF G GLO PREF P GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B LR PREF MWIDE PREF PF PREF 2 SFI PREF SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

41.9 523 107 105.5 116 525 6.04 1,002 1,016 1.06 108.5 1,015 2.35 77 81.1 76.2 80.5 78.5 79 77.2

41.9 523 107 105.7 116 525 6.05 1,002 1,018 1.06 108.5 1,015 2.35 77 81.1 76.2 80.5 78.5 79 78.75

41.9 523 107 105.1 116 525 6.04 1,000 1,016 1.06 108.5 1,015 2.35 76.3 81.1 76.2 80.5 78.5 78.9 77

PREFERRED 41.9 100 523 10 107 500 105.1 24,820 116 2,000 525 30 6.05 4,120,600 1,000 200 1,018 1,025 1.06 6,000 108.5 4,890 1,015 700 2.35 1,000 76.3 4,010 81.1 200 76.2 30 80.5 86,700 78.5 1,500 79 141,600 78 106,530

4,190 5,230 53,500 2,618,496 232,000 15,750 24,929,314 200,010 1,043,410 6,360 530,565 710,500 2,350 306,033 16,220 2,286 6,979,350 117,750 11,183,890 8,231,637.50

11,943,235 30,000 -

LR WARRANT

2.5

2.67

2.48

WARRANTS 2.58 5,113,000

13,256,450

-

642,340 29,440 234,802 42,977,552

-117,704 -10,400,328

1,240,614

-

NAME

OPEN

MS 73,100 103,910,000 231,000 845,000 7,320,000 497,000 178,600 10,207,000 1,840,000 15,635,000 7,758,000 3,704,000 1,000 43,939,000

SME ITALPINAS MAKATI FINANCE PHILAB HLDG XURPAS

3.92 2.95 5.88 8.6

FIRST METRO ETF 118.3

TRADING SUMMARY

3.96 2.95 5.9 8.6

3.9 2.94 5.82 8.38

119.2

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 118.2 119.2 10,470

SHARES

FINANCIAL

25,140,451

INDUSTRIAL

129,839,574

HOLDING FIRMS

116,690,409

PROPERTY

304,641,382

SERVICES

327,062,820

MINING & OIL

346,903,650

GRAND TOTAL

1,255,586,304

3.9 2.94 5.9 8.38

164,000 10,000 39,900 5,083,500

VALUE 1,947.95 (up) 9.20 1,261,524,320.50 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 11,147.21 (up) 42.76 1,789,950,839.685 HOLDING FIRMS 7,924.13 (up) 51.16 1,098,394,095.01 PROPERTY 3,647.15 (up) 14.24 1,697.06 (up) 3.92 1,136,062,167.06 SERVICES MINING & OIL 12,628.40 (down) 20.44 1,816,604,795.64 PSEI 7,888.31 (up) 39.47 329,131,463.076 All Shares Index 4,736.85 (up) 24.15 7,476,794,144.57 Gainers: 86; Losers: 68; Unchanged: 102; Total: 256

13, subject to the receipt of the permit to sell from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The retail bonds are set to be issued and listed with the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. on July 21.

The bond issue marks the second tranche to be offered from DoubleDragon’s P15billion bond shelf registration approved by the SEC last year.

DoubleDragon president Edgar Sia II said proceeds from the fund raising would be used to roll out community malls under CityMalls brand.

Sia said this will be last fund raising activity of the company under its 2020 program.

DoubleDragon aims to have 100 community malls under CityMalls and one million square meters of leasable space from community malls, office and hotels development by 2020.

These projects are expected to provide the company with strong recurring revenues.

The company targets to have 30 CityMalls in operations by end-2017.

Bourse ups stake in PDEx to 52.7%

By Jenniffer B. Austria THE Philippine Stock Exchange said it purchased an additional 500,000 shares in PDS Holdings Corp. held

by Whistler Technologies for P160 million The acquisition will bring PSE’s ownership in PDS Holdings, which operates the country’s fixed income exchange, to 52.78 percent.

The PSE last month also signed a share purchase agreement to acquire a 23.8-percent stake in PDS Holdings held by the Bankers Association of the Philippines for P476.4 million.

These acquisitions, are in line with the local bourse’s strategy to unify the equities and fixed income exchanges.

Prior to these transactions, PSE owned existing 20.98-percent interest in PDS Holdings.

“The purchase is subject to certain closing conditions including the approval of government agencies, particularly the Securities and Exchange Commission, and compliance with the provisions in the articles of incorporation of PDSHC, among others,” PSE said.

PSE would need to get an exemptive relief from the SEC to allow it to own more than 20 percent of an exchange. Under the Securities Regulation Code, no single industry or business group should own more than 20 percent of an exchange.

The PDS acquisition also needs an approval from the Philippine Competition Commission which is tasked to review all mergers over P1 billion to ensure fair competition in the market.

“This transaction is envisioned to facilitate further growth in the local capital markets by introducing efficiencies in the trading and back office systems of both the equities and fixed income markets, among others,” PSE said.

“It is aimed at creating a better environment for the introduction of more products and services for the various market stakeholders, as well as the implementation of improvements in risk management processes,” it said.

Motoring FASTLANE Rainy season protection from Sonax NOW that the rainy season is upon us, be sure to protect and preserve your car’s paint with Sonax. As the World’s most trusted brand in automotive preservation and paint maintenance, Sonax has been weather tested to repel dirt and chemically engineered to protect the car’s paint against aggressive environmental and weather damage. With its technology backed up by decades of experience, Sonax guarantees protection up to 12 months.

Sonax differentiates itself from the competition as it protects the paintwork by coating it with a modified fluorocarbon nano particles which are as hard as glass. It freshens up the colors intensively, has a dirt repellent effect and a noticeable water-beading effect. Patrons are assured of protection in

high humidity and water damage.

After the product has cured, the paint finish is noticeably richer and the surface becomes extremely hydrophobic. The NanoPro is a professional grade product that offers genuine protection. The SONAX product range is a product resulting from the experience gained from more than 50 years of research and development work in car care. Trusted by millions of motorists since the 1950’s, Sonax of Germany has been the car care product of choice by car lovers and automotive detailers in more than 90 countries Worldwide.

Sonax is available in Blade branches in SM, Robinsons and Ayala Malls, dealers and car wash detailers such as LG2 Stations nationwide.

FRIDAY, JULY 7, 2017

B3

CAMPI showcases ‘greener’ vehicles M OTORING enthusiasts and automotive industry leaders from around the region gathered at the World Trade Center Metro Manila as the country hosted the 1st ASEAN and Hybrid Vehicles Summit last week. Co-organized by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI), the Summit reaffirmed that the time was now for embracing new technology for greener transport.

On display were the latest electric and hybrid vehicles to hit Philippine roads, which included the Toyota Prius PHV, Lexus NX 300h, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and i-MiEV, and the Nissan Note e-Power and Nissan Leaf.

CAMPI also highlighted its commitment to make personal mobility more sustainable with a gallery that showcases these environment-friendly innovations.

The photo exhibit featured models from some of the Chamber’s

CAMPI officers join hands during the 1st Asean and Hybrid Vehicles Summit.

member-brands, such as BAIC EU260, BMW i8, Daewoo EV/ HEV BS 120CN, FOTON Tornado Cummins, Honda Legend 3.5 Sport Hybrid SH-AWD, Isuzu ERGA, KIA Soul EV, Mazda iELOOP Regenerative Braking System, Mercedes-Benz C 350 e, Peugeot 308 Station Wagon with BlueHDI Technology, SsangYong XAV, Suzuki IGNIS 1.2 Dualjet SVHS, and Volkswagen I.D. Buzz.

“We showcased to both our colleagues and the public what

our member-brands have to offer in terms of greener transport. This is an exciting period for the automotive industry as we follow the shift to electric vehicles and hybrid technology,” said CAMPI President Rommel Gutierrez. “We are committed to steer our partners in the Philippines and the ASEAN to a greener future where every vehicle contributes to improving the way we drive but also quality of life for all. These cars match our fast-paced, ever-

changing lifestyles while giving us better fuel economy and lower emissions.”

Attendees were immersed in green car technology with educational videos played on an LED Wall throughout the two-day event from June 29-30, 2017.

The 1st ASEAN Electric and Hybrid Vehicles Summit was copresented by the Department of Trade and Industry, Board of Investments, Electric Vehicles Association of the Philippines, and MERALCO.

Kia’s fiesta vibe in Pasay PREPARE for an enjoyable weekend filled with food, games and other fun activities as well as exclusive gifts when Kia’s Family Service rolls into town.

Columbian Autocar Corporation (CAC), the exclusive distributor of Kia vehicles in the Philippines, welcomes the new team and management behind Kia Pasay on July 8, Saturday.

Kia’s special Family Service caravan is set to bring the fun party atmosphere to the Pasay dealership with a Fiestathemed affair for the whole household to enjoy.

Take advantage of free diagnosis for Kia vehicles, avail of the special PMS packages and pick up one of the exclusive Kia die-cast scale models that will be available at the event.

The whole family can come and enjoy all the free snacks and fun activities the brand with The Power to Surprise has set up for the day.

So come out this weekend with the whole family to Kia Pasay and come enjoy the party at the Family Service fiesta.

Kia Pasay is situated at #2316 Aurora Boulevard, Pasay City.

Hippo-proof your interiors

UNLIKE basic universal floor mats which are expensive and hassle to install, Hippo techmats are designed to precisely fit specific vehicles, providing edge-to-edge coverage of the foot wells. Aside from being the most affordable 3D digital mapped floormats in the market today, Hippo also have raised edges around their perimeters to trap and contain liquid. All of this better protects your car’s carpets from water, dirt, mud and other messy things that can get trapped into the vehicle’s carpets or spilled onto the floor.

“Our products also have patterns around the techmats that channel away fluids from your feet to a reservoir at the rear edges. Our 3D digital mapped techmats are easy to install, remove and fits most cars, pick-ups and SUV’s,” explains Lance Chua of Autospecs, distributor and a popular

car accessories and parts shop in Banawe Quezon City. “Our floor mats are also designed to not move around or slip on the floor and the best thing about it is they are easy to clean,” adds Chua.

With countless hours spent on research and development, Hippo Industries 3D digital mapped techmats are the most affordable and best designed in comparison to its nearest competitor which is double the price. It is also the techmatsof choice of automotive dealers due to its competitive pricing and innovative material Thermo Plasti Vulcanisil B which is weather and scratch proof.

Hippo Floormats have precise fitments for the Mitsubishi Montero, Toyota Fortuner, Ford Everest, Honda Mobilio and BRV, Chevrolet variants, and pick-ups such as the Toyota Hi-Lux, Mitsubishi Strada and the Ford Ranger.

Lexus

Mitsubishi i-Miev

Hyundai, Asean center team up Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI), through its corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm HARI Foundation, Inc. (HFI), takes up the cudgels for the environment in a grand new way as the Philippine automotive industry’s champion for biodiversity in the ASEAN region.

HFI takes its advocacy for education in climate change on a regional scale by partnering with the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB).

ACB, established in 2005, is the ASEAN’s response to the challenge of biodiversity loss in the region. It is an intergovernmental organization that facilitates cooperation and coordination in the areas of conservation, sustainable, and equitable use of biological diversity among the 10 ASEAN Member States and with like-minded international organizations. The ACB headquarters is based in Los Baños, Laguna.

HFI will present the Hyundai Icon for Biodiversity to each of the

winners of the ASEAN Biodiversity Heroes during the awards ceremony that will be held on August 7, 2017, at New World Manila Bay Hotel.

The ASEAN Biodiversity Heroes is integral to the observance of the ASEAN’s Golden Anniversary and is one of the region’s major contributions to the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity 2011-2020. This program was designed to recognize outstanding individuals who have contributed significantly to biodiversity conservation and advocacy efforts in their respective countries.

Ten winners, representing the 10 ASEAN Member States—Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam—will be proclaimed.

These Heroes will serve as ambassadors of biodiversity conservation in the region and will be engaged in a series of public engagements aimed to inspire people to support and promote ACB’s

advocacy.

Said HFI President Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo, “The ASEAN Biodiversity Heroes is our pioneering platform for spreading the word about the importance of preserving and sustaining the wealth of biodiversity in our region. By recognizing and supporting the work of these eco-warriors, we are looking to inspire more people to be biodiversity heroes in their respective sectors and so spark a regional movement that will intensify the clamor and facilitate shifts in governance and business strategies to support the global movement to save our planet.”

Guided by a shared vision to build a nation adaptive and resilient to climate change, HFI and ACB signed a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) on March 30, 2017 to strengthen global efforts to support biodiversity and to support the ASEAN Member States in achieving their biodiversity conservation objectives. This milestone undertaking forms part

of a three-year partnership between HFI and ACB to cooperate in enhancing public awareness of the value of biodiversity and the need to conserve it, and strengthen the role of business in biodiversity conservation.

According to ACB Executive Director Atty. Roberto Oliva, “We commend Hyundai for taking up the cudgels for the environment. CSR is not about giving gifts but taking on a social issue so that a society can be more sustainable. Hyundai, through HFI, establishes itself as a catalyst of a global movement for environmental preservation, being the first and only partner of ACB from the automotive sector to champion the cause of biodiversity conservation in the ASEAN region.”

The ASEAN Biodiversity Heroes is also supported by the ASEAN Secretariat, the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and the European Union (EU). ACB serves as the awards secretariat.

One for Biodiversity. HARI Foundation, Inc. led by Hari president Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo, and ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, led by Director Atty. Roberto Oliva, commit to intensify efforts at preserving the ASEAN region’s rich but threatened biodiversity.

Motoring

RAMON L. TOMELDAN Edi tor DIN O DIREC TO III A ss t . Edi tor

B4

FRIDAY, JULY 7, 2017

BMW launches a more athletic 5 SERIES Asian Carmakers president Maricar Parco (right) and ACC marketing head Karl Magsuci take the wraps off the new BMW 5 Series. SONNY ESPIRITU

Text by Dino Ray V. Directo III

A

sian Carmakers Corporation pulled another rabbit from its hat with the recent launch of the all-new 5 Series at the BGC Arts Center in Taguig. With business titan Ramon Ang and Palawan Governor Jose Alvarez leading the charge, Manila’s elite and select members of the motoring media witnessed the unveiling of the 5 Series.

This year’s variant boasts of a dynamic redesign, reduced weight and a set of more powerful, yet fuel efficient turbo diesel engines. “As the world’s most successful business car, the seventh generation BMW 5 Series mirrors the goals of our NUMBER ONE > NEXT strategy. With the expansion of our model portfolio in the premium business segment, we are confident that the all-new BMW 5 Series will further extend its emotional appeal by embodying all the values of the business athlete – strong character, relentless determination and a dynamic outlook on life,” explains Maricar Parco, ACC president.

Since 1972, the 5 Series has distinguished itself as a driver’s car and has since evolved into a sophisticated, comfortable sedan that attempts to be all things to most people. In the process, the 5 Series traded some of its driver’s car chops for a more isolated feel.

The 2017 model doesn’t stray far

from this contemporary vision of the 5 Series. And despite being a tad larger and bringing an arsenal of technology to bear, the new car manages to be fit and well trimmed to take on its competitors such as the Mercedes Benz E-Class, Audi A6 and the Lexus GS 350. Glancing at the car a few steps away from the stage, the new 5 Series grows in length by 1.2 inches and stands 0.6 inch taller than the outgoing model, while the wheelbase and width are nearly unchanged. The updated cabin primarily benefits backseat passengers, who gain 1.2 inches of legroom. These modest changes to its footprint, combined with the evolutionary styling, mean the new car is readily familiar.

According to CAC Marketing Chief Karl Magsuci, the new 5 Series keeps its weight in check by employing lightweight and strong metals such as aluminum, magnesium and high-strength steel.

Weight is said to be reduced by

up to 137 pounds. Expect the realworld weight savings compared with last year’s 5 Series to be negligible. That’s because the new 5 Series is packed with technology that offsets the weight saved in the structure. It even borrows some of its cabin features from its bigger brother, the 7 Series.

Upfront, visible changes can be seen through its elongated hood which accentuates the brand’s patented kidney grille which seamlessly merges with the Adaptive LED headlamps. This gives the vehicle a broader stance. The character lines on the side turn up as they head rearwards further highlighting the Hofmeister Kink, which is a signature design element of every BMW vehicle.

At the rear, the tail pipes are now symmetrically arranged

on either side giving the all-new BMW 5 Series a bold, stylish, athletic demeanor at all times. The forms and precision of its design combine presence, aesthetics, and functionality in equal measure.

The quality of the interior is further improved from its predecessor with the finest materials used throughout the cabin. Leather Dakota upholstery comes as standard, and the range-topping 530d Luxury includes Leather Nappa.

The trims of the door panels are either in wood or aluminum while the surface of the dashboard in selected variants are covered in Sensatec material. These trim parts are laser cut at the factory, to ensure the perfect fit-and-finish for every single 5 Series.

The rear passenger space has also been greatly improved. The

knee room is 18mm longer than its predecessor and the seat cushion length is one of the best in its class. The transmission tunnel is narrow and the middle seat has been made wider to ensure that three adults can sit comfortably in the back.

CAC says that the all-new 5 Series will available in three trim levels for the local market. The entry level (P4.5M) BMW 520d will be offered in Luxury trim and an aesthetically upgraded M Sport Package (P4.9M). Both are powered by a 2-liter BMW TwinPower Turbo diesel engine producing a 190 hp and 400 Nm. The difference lies in the exterior and interior trims. For those who can afford to shell out the P6.3 million price tag of the high end 530d in Luxury trim, you get a 3-liter

BMW TwinPower Turbo diesel engine that produces 265 hp and 620 Nm. This variant comes with the top-grade Leather Nappa upholstery for the interior, 20-inch BMW Individual wheels, softclose function for the doors, and the BMW Remote Control Parking with which the driver can park the car while he is outside the vehicle by just using the display key.

“Today, the seventh-generation BMW 5 Series has made yet another breakthrough in our quest for modern mobility, highest quality, and absolute precision. The all-new BMW 5 Series strikes a perfect balance of sport and style, with a sleek exterior and a host of innovative technologies within and we are proud to present it to the Philippine market,” says Parco.

Riders warned not to alter bike parts MOTORISTS customize motorcycle features such as headlamps, taillights, handlebars and exhaust mufflers to personalize their driving experience. Altering motorcycles, however, comes at a price, according to the Motorcycle Development Program Participants Association, Inc, the Philippines’ premier motorcycle manufacturers association whose members include Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha and Kymco.

“The desire to appear cool and sporty has prompted a lot of motorcycle riders to enhance motorcycles with cosmetic and engine modifications. Unfortunately, most motorcycle riders are ignorant about the dangers of motorcycle customization and how their ‘artistic’ pursuits can affect motorcycle safety, performance and durability in the long run,” according to the

MDPPA. Changing spare parts can likewise adversely affect other motorcycle parts, Common improper alterations include headlight and tail light bulb color, tires, handlebars, rear view mirrors and muffler modification. Riders mistakenly assume that sporty looks work well with safety, performance, durability and fuel economy. Replacing ignition system with those without rev-limiters can prove fatal to engine damage as well as safety to the rider and other motorist and pedestrians.

Modifying fuel system such as carburetors, which blend air and fuel for combustion, may result to negative effect on fuel consumption, exhaust emission level and reduction of engine power.

The association also added that riders should

never consider alteration even when the motorcycle warranty has expired. Motorcycle riders have to regularly visit authorized and trained service centers or mechanics for proper preventive maintenance service as specified in their owner’s manual.

MDPPA, likewise, reminds the public on the prohibition to modify vehicles pursuant to LTO-LTFRB Joint Admininstrative Order No. 2014-01.

“Motorcycles undergo quality control tests to ensure compliance with the highest safety and environmental standards. By modifying motorcycles, motorists simply regress from experiencing the ‘perfect ride’,” according to the MDPPA. Moreso, LTO-LTFRB Joint Admininstrative Order No. 2014-01 prohibits the modification of motor vehicle parts.

LGUs

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor Roger M. Garcia, Assistant Editor jimbo.gulle@gmail.com mslocalgov@gmail.com FRIDAY, JULY 7, 2017

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

C1

HEALTH PROGRAM. Leyte 1st District Rep. Yedda Marie K. Romualdez (third from left) leads the signing of an agreement for the Service Delivery Network at the Tacloban City Hospital. Also signing the MOA are (from left)

Alang Alang Mayor Reynaldo Capon Jr., Tacloban City Hospital chief Dr. Joedina Gumagay, Babatngon Mayor Marife Galapon-Rondina, PhilHEALTH Division Chief for Field Operations Acisdo Militante, and Dr. Rex Oregon of the Department of Health. Rep. Romualdez aims to lighten the burden of hospital bills and medical services of her constituents through the network. Ver Noveno

Cruise firm eyes Subic for regular Asian route S

By Butch Gunio

UBIC BAY FREEPORT—A global cruise vacation company that operates in more than 500 destinations worldwide is now eyeing the Freeport Zone as a regular cruise itinerary for its growing Asian market.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Administrator Wilma Eisma said the Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., which owns three global cruise brands, had sent its vice president for New Business Development, John Tercek, to assess Subic’s readiness as a cruise ship destination.

“The Subic Freeport is now ready to meet the demands of the cruise tourism market, as we have been successful in this regard past when cruise ships like ‘Clipper Odyssey,’ ‘Spirit of Adventure,’ and the ‘Hanseatic’

came to Subic,” Eisma said.

“But now we could be looking at a regular schedule by Royal Caribbean, so we’re really excited with this prospect,” she added.

As a global cruise vacation company, RCCL owns and operates three global brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises.

It also has interests in the German brand TUI Cruises, the Spanish brand Pullmantur, and the SkySea cruises.

Tercek, who was accompanied

by officials of the Department of Tourism on his July 1 and 2 visit to Subic, said RCCL is catering to two million Chinese cruise passengers each year and is now developing new market destinations.

“If ready, we are considering the Subic Freeport as one of the nearest stops from Southern China to help address the cruise market demand,” he added.

Tercek made an inspection of Alava Wharf here and received a briefing from Eisma on the heritage and history of Subic as a former American naval base and one of the most successful cases of military base conversion in the world.

He was also updated on tourism business potential in Subic, as well as neighboring communities in Central Luzon.

Tercek told Eisma that Subic has all the elements necessary for a cruise ship destination.

“I can see the potential of Subic Freeport as a conventional cruise ship destination,” he said. “But as we build bigger ships, you have to step up to address the demand.”

Tercek said if the port facilities are ready, the RCCL usually starts with five ship calls per year for a destination with 3,000 to 5,000 passengers each.

In the case of Subic, where there is good weather from November to April, however, it will be possible to have from five up to 30 ship calls, he added.

Tercek, who has created shoreside infrastructure projects and ventures to support RCCL’s strategic growth objectives, likewise reminded SBMA and DOT officials that as the cruise industry starts to build bigger ships, “you have to prepare your port facilities to meet the market demand.”

Turn to C2

Excel in biz, solon urges QC students

By Rio N. Araja

A QUEZON City councilor on Thursday urged young entrepreneurs from the Quezon City Polytechnic University to have a passion for excellence in business instead of applying for jobs not related to their skills.

During yesterday’s QCPU business entrepreneurship grand launch, District 1 Councilor Peter Anthony “Onyx” Crisologo spoke to over 700 Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship students to encourage them to make a name for themselves.

He said there are ups and downs in running one’s business, but called on the students not to give up.

“These graduating students could not only make a name as cream-of-the-crop entrepreneurs, but could also make some serious cash and even become rich or millionaires,” Crisologo told the Manila Standard.

He said the students must keep an open mind to reach

Policewoman named first Sangyaw Queen of Tacloban

By Robbie Pangilinan POLICE Senior Insp. Marjorie Manuta was named the first Sangyaw Queen in the annual Sangyaw Festival recently in Tacloban City.

With 260,000 votes, Manuta was crowned on June 26 by Tacloban City Mayor Cristina Gonzales-Romualdez, Sangyaw Foundation President Ma. Lourdes Anido, and crown sponsor Richard James White at Patio Victoria.

Manuta will act as the city’s Ambassadress of Goodwill.

A mother of four with one child afflicted with lupus, Manuta wants to create a lupus advocacy team in Tacloban and use 60 percent of her prize money to refurbish a Tacloban City Police Office room.

“The team will be a support group that would assist the physical and emotional challenges of having a lupus patient in the family,” said Manuta, who has mastered how to manage the illness of her child through research and actual practice.

Marjorie is a hands-on mom to her four children. She offered her award to daughter Nicole, the one who has Lupus. Also, she previously headed the TCPO’s Police Community Relations group. “[Nicole] has monthly checkups, laboratory tests, maintenance. I shoulder all the expenses. I prepare her food every day. No sugar, I only use honey. I also rarely give her milk to keep her digestive system healthy,” said Manuta in Filipino.

Gonzales-Romualdez noted it was the Philippine National Police’s year to shine in the Sangyaw Festical, as PO1 Ayra Pacencia was also named PNP Ganda Police winner.

“I am so proud of our police officers, especially the women who are not only brave but smart and beautiful,” the mayor said.

Lilian Estorninos, vice president of Eastern Visayas State University, was first runner-up for Sangyaw Queen, followed by City Department of Education representative Necitas Galora, women’s club contestant Rose Orejola, and TACLOBAN City’s new Sangyaw Queen, Sr. Insp. Marjorie Manuta (left), and her Lourdes Enerlan. daughter Nicole, who suffers from lupus. Robbie Pangilinan

Mayor: More flights to boost Dumaguete economy DUMAGUETE—Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo is optimistic that additional flights to and from this capital city of Negros Oriental will further boost the local economy.

On Wednesday, Remollo said executives of Cebu Pacific informed him there will be night

flights to and from Dumaguete starting Friday.

The additional flight will leave Dumaguete at 8 p.m. to cater to businessmen and investors who have to return to Manila on the same day.

The mayor said the additional flight will entice tourists, inves-

tors, and businessmen alike to come to Dumaguete for conventions or a one-day visit, and then fly back to Manila in the evening.

Remollo has observed that a lot of tourists have to travel via Cebu and Bacolod before reaching Negros Oriental and Dumaguete City, dubbed as one of the best re-

tirement places in the world.

The mayor also announced that starting July 26, four additional flights a week between Dumaguete and Davao will be availed of by passengers, and soon the Clark to Dumaguete route for passengers and visitors from Central and Northern Luzon.

Earlier this year, Remollo introduced a sports tourism program. The additional flights to and from Dumaguete will support the city’s quest to become the next regional hub by hosting the next Batang Pinoy and Philippine National Games eliminations, he added. PNA

their potentials.

Entrepreneurial ventures are important to the country’s economy because they generate jobs and taxes, the councilor added.

“Entrepreneurs are the drivers behind the business growth of many giant corporations,” he said.

District 2 Rep. Alfred Vargas, president of the Junior Chamber International-QC Capitol district, tasked Crisologo to represent him during the QCPU event.

“As JCI members, we are happy to partner with QCPU. We believe in providing development opportunities that empower young people to create a positive change,” Crisologo said.

The city councilor was joined

by JCI Capitol vice president Glenn Jude Rufino and fellow Jaycees Keeno Medalla Estacio, Rodney Mangalindan and Jemuel Remolona.

“I told the students if they are not ready to start their own business, there are some other ways to use their entrepreneurship degree,” Crisologo said.

2 lanes on C-6 Dike Rd. opened

By Vito Barcelo THE Department of Public Works and Highways has opened to motorists the newly completed two lanes on the Laguna Lake Highway phase 2 project, formerly known as C-6 Dike Road.

Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said the P36.7billion Laguna Lake Highway project was aimed to provide a high-standard highway that will speed up traffic between the southern part of Metro Manila and Laguna, as well as a dike that would mitigate flooding in the western coastal communities along Laguna Lake.

The new lanes, stretching from Napindan to Cabuyao in Laguna, marked the first phase of improvements on the highway under the Duterte administration.

The road, which runs along the northwestern shoreline of the freshwater lake, was a project started under the Arroyo administration and became accessible to light vehicles in 2009.

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6 villages OK Globe cell site proposals Negros S farmers IX villages across the country have approved Globe Telecom’s cell site proposals as part of its efforts to improve the mobile experience of its customers, the telecommunications operator said in a statement.

Republic of the Philippines PROVINCE OF QUIRINO Cabarroguis -oOoBIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE INVITATION TO BID FOR July 7, 2017 1.

The Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) of the Provincial Government of Quirino, through the Department of the Interior and Local Government-CMGP Program invites all interested contractors to apply for eligibility and to tender bids for the following projects. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

Duration/ Completion of Works

Bid Documents Fee

Pre-bid Conference

Bid Sub.& Opening

ABC

PB-CW-2017-013 Rehabilitation of NRJ-San BernabeSan Salvador Road

170CD

P 25,000.00

July 17, 2017 10:00AM

July 27, 2017 2:00PM

45,835,000.00

PB-CW-2017-014 Rehabilitation of Dibibi - San Benigno Road

175CD

25,000.00

July 17, 2017 10:00AM

July 27, 2017 2:00PM

36,909,691.00

Name of Project/Project 1.

2.

Venue of Procurement Activities 2.

Following positive responses from homeowner associations to Globe’s cell site proposals, the permitting process for the new sites is proceeding for Maria Luisa Subdivision in Cebu; Palmera Hills II in Taytay, Rizal; Meralco Village in Binangonan, Rizal; Pamana Village in Novaliches, Quezon City; Victoria Valley in Antipolo City; and Grand Valley Subdivision in Angono, Rizal.

“We are grateful for the support that we’re generating from homeowners in these villages so we can effectively make good of our commitment to improve mobile service experience of our customers in these areas,” Vincent Tempongko, Globe Director for Site Acquisition

and Management, said.

“We are hopeful that other HOAs, such as those in exclusive villages, will provide the same cooperation afforded to us by residents in the subdivisions mentioned,” he added.

Tempongko also cited BF Federation of Homeowner Associations Inc. for expressing its willingness to cooperate and support the telecom firm’s bid to build more cell sites and expand its fiber optic network within the BF community in Parañaque City. BF Federation supervises over 68 HOAs covering up to 18,000 households.

Globe is currently in talks with three exclusive subdivisions to establish additional

cell sites within their villages.

Some homeowners in San Lorenzo Village, Ayala Alabang and Corinthian Gardens earlier expressed their willingness to cooperate with the company.

The need for additional cell sites in exclusive villages follows growing customer requirement for internet connectivity amid increasing propensity for smartphone use, the company said.

For many years now, Globe has had to deal with permitting difficulties in establishing right-ofway and cell sites in subdivisions related to the company’s initiative of improving the state of internet in the country. Many of these HOAs oppose cell site proposals due to alleged health hazards.

Special Projects Unit Conference Hall 2nd Floor Capitol Commercial Building Capitol Compound, Cabarroguis, Quirino

The Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) of the Provincial Government of Quirino now invites bids for following projects listed above. Bidders should have completed, within five (5) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using non-discretionary 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”.

3.

Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least seventy-five percent (75%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) of the Provincial Government of Quirino and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below from 9:00 AM to 4:00PM.

4.

5.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders from July 7, 2017 to July 27, 2017 from the address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount stated opposite each project.

The BAC will issue hard copies of Bidding Documents at the BAC Secretariat, Capitol Hills, Cabarroguis, Quirino, upon payment of the applicable non-refundable fee. The Pre-Bid Conference shall open only to interested parties who have purchased the BD’s. Bids must be accompanied by a bid security, in the amount and acceptable form, as stated in Section 27.2 of the Revised IRR. The Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) of the Provincial Government of Quirino will hold a PreBid Conference on July 14, 2017, 10:00AM at Special Projects Unit Conference Hall, 2nd Floor, Commercial Bldg., Capitol Compound, Capitol Hills, Cabarroguis, Quirino, which shall be open to all interested parties.

Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before July 27, 2017, 2:00PM at Special Projects Unit Conference Hall, 2nd Floor, Commercial Bldg., Capitol Compound, Capitol Hills, Cabarroguis, Quirino. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.

6.

7.

Prospective bidders shall submit their duly accomplished forms as specified in the BD’s in two (2) separate sealed bid envelopes to the BAC Chairman. The first envelope shall contain the technical component of the bid. The second envelope shall contain the financial component of the bid. Contract will be awarded to the Lowest Calculated Responsive Bid as determined in the bid evaluation and the post-qualification.

8.

The Provincial Government of Quirino 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. Dencio A. Pagbilao Chairman, Bids and Awards Committee Province of Quirino +639175007275 +639177756155

_______________________________ Signature of the BAC Chairman or Authorized Representative of the BAC Chairman

(MS-JULY 7, 2017)

Invitation to Bid for Procurement of Two (2) Years’ Service Contract for WAN Redundant Connectivity under ITB No. PB17-007COR-01a-07 The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is inviting all interested bidders in its forthcoming rebidding for the Procurement of Two (2) Years Service Contract for WAN Redundant Connectivity under ITB No. PB17-007COR-01a-07.

Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC)

Seventeen Million Twenty-Seven Thousand Six Hundred Thirty-Two Pesos and 56/100 (PhP 17,027,632.56), VAT Exclusive, Zero Rated Transaction.

Location

The complete list of site is provided in Section VII (Technical Specifications) of the Bidding Documents.

Delivery Schedule and Contract Duration

Within thirty (30) calendar days commencing from the date of receipt by the winning supplier/contractor of the Notice to Proceed.

Contract duration shall be for a period of two (2) years that will start on the thirtieth (30th) day which include the seven (7) calendar days acceptance testing.

Source of Funds

Corporate Budget for CY 2017

Bidders should have completed, within the last three (3) years before 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.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to RA 5183.

PAGCOR will hold a Pre-Bid Conference, which shall be open to prospective bidders.

All particulars relative to Pre-Bid Conference, Detailed Evaluation of Bids, Post-Qualification and Award of Contract shall be governed by the pertinent provisions of R.A. 9184 and its IRR. The schedule of bidding activities is listed, as follows: Activities

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES REGIONAL TRIAL COURT NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGION OFFICE OF THE EX-OFFICIO SHERIFF QUEZON CITY HOME DEVELOPMENT MUTUAL FUND (otherwise known as Pag-Ibig Fund) Mortgagee, -versus-

FRE NO. 11673

MARVIN N. SALUM Mortgagor. x--------------------------------------x

NOTICE OF EXTRA-JUDICIAL SALE OF REAL PROPERTY UNDER ACT 3135 (AS AMENDED) UPON extra-judicial petition under ACT 3135, as amended by ACT 4118 and pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Deed of Real Estate Mortgage executed on April 24, 2015, by MARVIN N. SALUM, -No. 258 Ilang Ilang Rairbow V5 Bagumbong, Caloocan City/Lot 244-Y-2, Psd-007404-033382-D Sta. Genoveva St., Gulod, Quezon City/Rainvow V-5, Bagumbong, Caloocan City, Mortgagor in favor of HOME DEVELOMENT MUTUAL FUND(otherwise known as Pag-Ibig Fund) Mortgagee, to satisfy the mortgage debt in the amount of Php3,535,691.14 as of January 31, 2017 inclusive of interest and penalty charges, together with all the lawful fees and expenses of foreclosure sale, the Ex-Officio Sheriff of the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City and/or his duly authorized Deputy Sheriff, hereby announces that on July 27, 2017 between the hours of 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. at the Office of the Clerk of Court & Ex-Officio Sheriff, Regional Trial Court, Hall of Justice Bldg., Elliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City, will sell thru public auction to the highest bidder for cash, in Philippine Currency, the following described real property/ ies with all the improvements existing thereon, to wit: TRANSFER CERTIFICATE OF TITLE NO. 004-2015005189 Registry of Deeds-Quezon City A PARCEL OF LAND (LOT 244-Y2, OF THE SUBDN. PLAN, PSD-007404-033382-D, BEING A PORTION OF LOT 244-Y, FLS-2877-D, LRC REC. NO. 5975), SITUATED IN THE BRGY. OF GULOD, QUEZON CITY, M-MANILA, IS. OF LUZON. BOUNDED ON THE NW., ALONG LINE 1-2 BY SANTA GENOVEVA ST. 6.00 M. WIDE; ON THE NE., ALONG LINE 2-3 BY LOT 244, FLS-2877-D; ON THE SE., ALONG LINE 3-4 BY LOT 110, FLS-2592-D; AND ON THE SW., ALONG LINE 4-1 BY LOT 244-Y-1 OF THE SUBDN. PLAN XXX CONTAINING AN AREA OF ONE HUNDRED SQUARE METERS (100) MORE OR LESS. XXX XXX All sealed bids must be submitted to the undersigned at the aforesaid office on the above stated date and time.

Interested parties are hereby enjoined to investigate for themselves the title to the said property/ies and the encumbrances thereon, if any there be.

In the event that public auction should not take place on said date due to fortuitous event or if the same be declared a non-working holiday, it shall be held on August 3, 2017 at the same time and place without further notice.

Quezon City, Metro Manila, June 23, 2017.

(Sgd.) PEDRO L. BORJA Sheriff IV (Sgd.) GREGORIO C. TALLUD Clerk of Court VII and Ex-Officio Sheriff Copy Furnished:

WARNING:

ERRORS & OMISSIONS In Classified Ads section must be brought to our attention the very day the advertisement is published.

We will not be responsible for any incorrect ads not reported to

ELENITA A. ATIENZA It is absolutely prohibited to remove, deface or destroy Vice President this Notice of Sheriff’s Sale on or Before the date of the Loan Remediation Group 14TH FLR. JELP Business auction sale under penalty of the law.

Solution Center No. 409 Shaw Blvd. Mandaluyong City 1552 MARVIN N. SALUM, No. 258 Ilang Ilang Rairbow V5 Bagumbong, Caloocan City Lot 244-Y-2 Psd-007404-033382-D Sta. Genoveva St., Gulod, Quezon City Rainvow V-5 Bagumbong, Caloocan City (MS-June 30, July 7 & 14, 2017)

us immediately.

Date, Time and Venue

1.

Issuance of the Bidding Documents

July 7, 2017 (Friday) to July 31, 2017 (Monday)

2.

Pre-Bid Conference

July 17, 2017 (Monday), 3:00 P.M. at Corporate Lounge, Sixth (6th) Floor PAGCOR Corporate, 1588 M.H. Del Pilar corner Pedro Gil Streets, Malate, Manila

3.

Deadline for the Submission and Receipt of Bids

July 31, 2017 (Monday), 10:00 A.M. at Corporate Lounge, Sixth (6th) Floor PAGCOR Corporate, 1588 M.H. Del Pilar corner Pedro Gil Streets, Malate, Manila

4.

Opening and Preliminary Examination of Bids

July 31, 2017 (Monday), 10:00 A.M. onwards at Corporate Lounge, Sixth (6th) Floor PAGCOR Corporate, 1588 M.H. Del Pilar corner Pedro Gil Streets, Malate, Manila

Interested bidders may obtain further information from the Procurement Department (PD), acting as the BAC Secretariat, of PAGCOR and/or inspect the Bidding Documents at Room 203, Second (2nd) Floor, PAGCOR House, 1330 Roxas Boulevard, Ermita, Manila during office hours of PAGCOR from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested Bidders upon payment of the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents, pursuant to the latest Guidelines issued by the GPPB, in the amount of Twenty-Five Thousand Pesos (PhP 25, 000.00).

Prospective bidders may also download the Bidding Documents free of charge from the following websites: www.pagcor.ph and www.philgeps.gov.ph and may be allowed to submit bids provided that bidders shall pay the applicable fee of the Bidding Documents not later than the deadline for the submission and receipt of bids.

Prospective bidders should present to PAGCOR’s Cashier located at the Sixth (6th) Floor, PAGCOR Corporate Office, New World Manila Bay Hotel, 1588 M.H. del Pilar Street corner Pedro Gil Street, Malate, Manila either the Fee Slip which may be secured from PD or a copy of this ITB in effecting payment for the Bidding Documents.

Bidders shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of his bid, and PAGCOR will in no case be responsible or liable for those costs, regardless of the conduct or outcome of the bidding process.

Bidders should note that PAGCOR will accept bids only from those that have paid the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents.

All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the venue of the bid opening. Late bids shall not be accepted.

PAGCOR assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of their bids.

In accordance with Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) Circular 06-2005 - Tie-Breaking Method, the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) shall use a non-discretionary and non-discriminatory measure based on sheer luck or chance, which is “DRAW LOTS,” in the event that two (2) or more bidders have been post-qualified and determined as the bidder having the Lowest Calculated Responsive Bid (LCRB) to determine the final bidder having the LCRB, based on the following procedures: a) b)

In alphabetical order, the bidders shall pick one rolled paper.

The lucky bidder who would pick the paper with a “CONGRATULATIONS” remark shall be declared as the final bidder having the LCRB and recommended for award of the contract.

PAGCOR 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 in accordance with Section 41 of RA 9184 and its IRR, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

Please address all communications to the BAC thru PD, Room 203, Second (2nd) Floor, PAGCOR House, 1330 Roxas Boulevard, Ermita, Manila, Tel No.: 524-3911, 336-6906 and/or 521-1542 local 223 or 671.

(SGD.)RODERICK R. CONSOLACION Chairperson Bids and awards Committee (BaC) 2 (MS-JULY 7, 2017)

N OTICE Notice is hereby given that SOUTH PACIFIC INC. with office address at 16th Floor Strata 100 F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City, is applying for registration with the Board of Investments (BOI) for Bulk Marketing of Petroleum Products (New Investments through the Construction of Calaca, Batangas LPG Terminal Phase 2 with 10,000 MT LPG Storage Tanks) under the 2017 IPP under Special Laws-Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act (RA 8479).

Any person with valid objection/s on the above-mentioned project may file his/her objection in writing, under oath, with the BOI within three (3) days from the date of this publication.

(SGD.) JOY JOSETTE L. LACHICA Officer-In-Charge Infrastructure & Services Industries Department (MS-JULY 7, 2017)

RT-23492 (302329) REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES TITLE NO. 384 SQ. METERS METROPOLITAN TRIAL COURT AREA: REG. OWNER: SPS. HERMINIO BRANCH XL (40) – QUEZON CITY DOMINGO AND

SPS. FIDEL M. PASION JR. and CESARIA A. PASION, Plaintiff/s.

-versus-

LOCATION:

CARMELITA MAGNO 49 CENTRAL BOULEVARD, Q.C. (P. Tuazon, Quezon City)

NOW THEREFORE, by virtue of

CIVIL CASE NO.: 05-34708 the said WRIT and in accordance with Rule 39, Sec. 19 of the Rules of Court, FOR: SUM OF MONEY the undersigned Sheriff hereby gives HERMINIO DOMINGO Defendant/s x--------------------------------x

notice to all interested parties and to the public in general.

That on July 19, 2017 at 10:00 o clock in the morning at the 3rd floor Hall of Justice Quezon City will sold at PUBLIC AUCTION to the GREETINGS: highest bidder for cash the described WHEREAS, by virtue of the WRIT properties to satisfy the said execution OF EXECUTION dated MAY 26, and sale.

2009 issued by Judge JOSEPHUS JOANNES H. ASIS of Metropolitan Please be guided accordingly.

Trial Court branch XL (40) Quezon Quezon City, Metro Manila, May 19, City, for recovery of the principal 2017. amount of P 119,217.00 plus cost, interest, attorneys fees and expenses (Sgd.) ANDRES R. LACORTE in the above-entitled case, levy was SHERIFF III made by the Sheriff of this Court on WARNING: September 10, 2009 thru the Register It is absolutely prohibited to remove of Deeds of Quezon City the rights, Deface, or destroy this Notice of Sale interest, and participation of said on or before the date of the sale, defendant HERMINIO DOMINGO, in Under penalty of the law. the REAL PROPERTY including its (MS-June 23, 30, Jul. 7, 2017) improvements described as follows:

NOTICE OF SHERIFF’S SALE

BIRTHDAY BASH. Tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan (right)

and PLDT executive Ricky Vargas (second from right) attend the birthday celebration of the daughter of Cavite 2nd District Rep. Strike Revilla (second from left) and his wife, PLDT vice president for finance Chaye Cabal-Revilla (left), at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel. Sofia Chayeli Revilla’s first birthday party featured a Disney Princesses theme (inset). Lino Santos

get DA rice seeds BACOLOD CITY—The Department of Agriculture in Negros Island Region (DA-NIR) is distributing 500 bags of certified rice seeds worth almost P700,000 to farmers in Negros Occidental as measure to improve rice productivity.

DA-NIR Regional Director Joyce Wendam, who will lead the distribution at Bacolod Pavillon Hotel on July 10, said the agency has already identified recipient-farmers from various municipalities and cities in Negros Occidental.

Wendam said with the ratio of one bag per hectare, the total certified seeds for distribution will cover 500 hectares of rice farms.

“The seed distribution is timely since rainy season has already started and many farmers in the province are now ready to plant,” the DA official said, adding the allocation is under the agency’s organic agriculture program.

Aside from assisting farmers in their farm input requirements, the DA-NIR is also utilizing rice seed distribution as a strategy to encourage them to engage in organic agriculture.

Wendam said farmer-recipients of certified rice seeds are urged to use organic practices and system of farming.

Local farmers should realize that in organic farming production cost is lower, she added.

“We continue to work on increasing organic farm areas in the region,” Wendam said, stressing that this system of farming also promotes environmental protection. PNA

NV eyes 1k blood bags for hospitals, Red Cross

By Ben Moses Ebreo BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya—The province is expected to generate at least 1,000 bags of blood donated from various sectors this month.

Dr. Edwin Galapon, provincial health officer, said the blood is expected to be donated by Novo Vizcayanos on July 21 in a bloodletting activity at the Nueva Vizcaya Convention Center in observance of Blood Donation Month. ”Sixty percent of the generated blood will be distributed to the public hospitals in our province, while the remaining 40

percent will be stocked by the Philippine Red Cross for use of needed patients during accidents and confinement,” he said.

The activity is also a part of the implementation of the Nueva Vizcaya Blood Donation drive, Galapon said.

He added that organizations and agencies would receive financial incentives with the highest donation of blood during the activity.

“This proposal was already approved by Gov. Carlos Padilla and we are expecting many donors during the blood letting activity,” Galapon said.

Pilmico plants in Iligan gain ISO, HACCP marks PILMICO Foods Corp. was recently awarded with international certifications in quality and food safety management systems for its feed and flour mill plants in Iligan City.

The ISO 9001:2015 and the HACCP (Codex Alimentarus HACCP/CAC/RCP-1-1969/Rev 4-2003) awards were presented by TÜV SÜD PSB Philippines Inc. to Pilmico president and CEO Sabin Aboitiz at the Pilmico head office in Taguig City, witnessed by the entire executive committee of Pilmico.

“Pilmico Foods, for both the Flour and Feedmill Divisions, has implemented and maintained a quality and food safety management system in conformance to ISO 9001:2015 and HACCP standards and continually demonstrates that its products and services comply with legal, statutory, and contractual requirements, and ensures that it meets or even exceeds the expectation of its customers and various stakeholders,” said Eunice Diamante, Audit Section manager for TÜV SÜD PSB Philippines Inc.

Diamante adds: “Because of the company’s commitment to provide quality and excellent services, its customers are assured and can have confidence that these services are performed and carried out safely, are of good quality, reliable, and consistently delivered as promised.”

The certifications are a valuable addition to Pilmico’s accomplishments, and reflects the hard work that the team is employing to take the company to new heights.

The Pilmico Integrated Management System ensures this, by providing a guide for all employees in their decisions and activities pertaining to quality, information security, halal assurance as well as HACCP and good manufacturing practices.

Florencio “Dodong” Sebandal, Pilmico Vice President for Operations, said: “We are extremely honored to have met the rigorous standards set by ISO and HACCP. These certifications validate the hardwork and commitment of our Pilmico Partners to continually improve our processes.”

Tercek, who was a partner in a Wall Street real estate investment firm, now leads in the development and management of RCCL’s interests in ports and commerRCCL looks forward to supporting in- cial facilities around the world. frastructure development that will comHe is also in charge of determining the pliment cruise tourism development in viability of the firm’s deployment in the Subic, just like what they did in Vietnam, region, as well as investment opportunities he said. for cruise-related facilities and services.

Cruise...

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Trump kicks off visit to Europe

PROTEST. Anti-capitalism activists wearing masks featuring (from left) China’s President Xi Jinping, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May, US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, Italy’s Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, and South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma protest on July 6, 2017, in Hamburg, northern Germany, where the leaders of the world’s top economies will gather for a G20 summit. More than 100,000 anti-capitalist demonstrators, including several thousand leftwing extremists, are expected to descend on the Hanseatic city ahead of the two-day summit that opens on Friday, July 7, 2017. AFP

No-fly zones planned in Syria WASHINGTON―The United States is willing to work with Russia on establishing “nofly zones” in Syria as part of a joint effort to stabilize the warravaged country, the top US diplomat said Wednesday, ahead of President Donald Trump’s first face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin.

In a wide-ranging statement, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Russia had a “special responsibility” to help create stability on the ground―or risk hobbling the fight against the Islamic State group.

Citing past cooperation in creating deconfliction zones in Syria, Tillerson made a strong case for both countries―in spite of their “unresolved differences on a number of issues”―to work together in Syria.

“The United States is prepared to explore the possibility of establishing with Russia joint mechanisms for ensuring stability, including no-fly zones, on the ground ceasefire observers, and coordinated delivery of humanitarian assistance,” he said.

Tillerson issued his statement before joining Trump in Europe, where the US leader will meet Putin for the first time on Friday on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany. Syria will loom large in their discussions.

It also came as US-backed fighters inched forwards in Raqa’s Old City, in what Washington sees as a milestone in the campaign to defeat the Islamic State group in its de facto Syrian capital.

“ISIS has been badly wounded, and is could be [sic] on the brink of complete defeat in Syria if all parties focus on this objective,” Tillerson said, according to the written statement issued by the State Department.

“In order to complete the mission, the international community, and especially Russia, must remove obstacles to the defeat of ISIS.” “We call upon all parties, including the Syrian government and its allies, Syrian opposition forces, and Coalition forces carrying out the battle to defeat ISIS, to avoid conflict with one another and adhere to agreed geographical boundaries for military de-confliction and protocols for de-escalation.”

Russia, Turkey and Iran― without the United States― agreed in May to establish four “de-escalation” zones in Syria. AFP

Belgium wants more suspects in terror case B RUSSELS―Belgian prosecutors said Thursday they were looking for further suspects in an emerging terror investigation and feared a possible fresh attack as the country remained on high security alert.

“We are still looking for several terrorism suspects,” Eric van der Sypt, the spokesman for the federal prosecutors’ office, told VTM television.

“We fear they may feel cornered. We therefore fear there could be the same reaction as on March 22 [2016],” he said.

Van der Sypt was referring to the suicide bomb attacks in Brussels on March 2016 that killed 32 people as police closed in on an Islamic State jihadi cell linked to the November 2015 Paris killings.

One of the Brussels bombers was later found to have left a will on a laptop computer in which he said the gang felt increasingly

cornered and desperate.

Separately, RTL news network cited Van der Sypt as saying: “One can never know how these people might react.”

The authorities however had no “new element” suggesting that an attack was imminent, he added.

On Wednesday, police charged two brothers of a convicted jihadist with belonging to a “terrorist group” they suspected of planning an attack after finding a large stash of weapons including Kalashnikov rifles in raids overnight.

The pair, named as Akim and Khalid Saouti, were among four people detained in the Brussels suburb of Anderlecht, two of

whom were later released.

A fifth man was arrested across the border in northern France, near the city of Lille, in connection with the Kamikaze Bikers club based around Brussels.

A source with knowledge of the French operation said this man was suspected of planning a “violent attack.”

Another source close to the Brussels probe said the two men in custody were brothers of Said Saouti, a member of the Kamikaze Bikers club who was jailed for six years in 2016 for recruiting people to jihadist organizations and supporting the Islamic State group on social media.

The Belgian federal prosecutor’s office said police found automatic rifles, handguns, ammunition and bulletproof vests as well as police and security guards’ uniforms and “four detonators” in a lock-up garage in Anderlecht.

Authorities were drawn to the Saouti brothers on suspicion that

they had been radicalized and were planning an attack, according to reports.

There was no information on a possible target but the police decided not to wait any longer.

The raids come with Belgium and France still on high alert after several deadly attacks claimed by IS, with troops on patrol in Brussels and Paris to guard key buildings and infrastructure.

Last month a soldier shot dead a man who had attempted to set off a bomb in Brussels’ Central Station, sparking fears that further attacks could happen.

Investigators said at the time they had evidence that the suspect, a 36-year-old Moroccan national, had IS sympathies.

They also found explosive materials in a raid on his home in Molenbeek, a Brussels district where many of the jihadists who carried out the Paris and Brussels attacks grew up and found shelter AFP

WARSAW―Donald Trump’s high-stakes trip to Europe, where he faces a prickly G20 meeting and animosity from traditional US allies, kicks off on a comforting note Thursday―in front of a friendly crowd bused in by his sympathetic Polish hosts.

Air Force One touched down in Warsaw late Wednesday, for what is the US president’s second foreign outing after a European tour in May that exposed fierce mistrust.

The US president’s four-day swing starts in Warsaw, where he will deliver a major speech, before moving on to the northern German city of Hamburg for his first G20 summit, where tricky geopolitical currents―from rumbling transatlantic discord to increasingly difficult ties with China―will converge.

Looming large over the entire visit is Pyongyang’s test of an intercontinental ballistic missile that could deliver a nuclear payload to Alaska.

Tough-talking Trump had previously vowed North Korea would not be allowed to possess an ICBM, and leaders from rival and allied powers alike will be watching closely to see whether his threats were bluster or will crystallize into action.

After repeatedly urging Beijing to ratchet up the pressure on North Korea, Trump will hold what promises to be a testy meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Hamburg to trace the next steps.

“Trade between China and North Korea grew almost 40% in the first quarter. So much for China working with us - but we had to give it a try!” Trump tweeted indignantly on Wednesday.

On Friday, Trump will hold a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin that will― among other things―be pored over for its significance to US domestic politics.

Several of Trump’s closest aides are under investigation for possible ties with Moscow, which US intelligence agencies say tried to tilt the election in the Republican candidate’s favor.

The scandal continues to eat away at his administration, with key White House staff being forced to hire their own lawyers and spend time rebuffing new allegations.

So far, Trump has been reluctant to acknowledge Russian interference in the election or criticize the veteran Russian leader and has branded allegations against his aides as “fake news”.

Even simple photographs of Putin and Trump shaking hands or meeting face-to-face pose a political risk for the US president and will likely be weaponized by his foes in the United States. AFP

Thailand leads pack in abusing elephants

BIRTHDAY. A Tibetan Buddhist monk performs rituals in front of a portrait of spiritual leader the Dalai Lama during events to mark his birthday at Boudhanath Stupa in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu on July 6, 2017. AFP

BANGKOK―Twice as many elephants work in Thailand’s tourism industry as the rest of Asia combined, with the vast majority kept in “severely inadequate conditions”, a new report revealed Thursday.

The world’s largest land mammal is a huge draw for tourists across two continents. But while Africa’s elephants are more likely to be spotted roaming vast nature reserves, their Asian cousins are less fortunate.

A multi-million dollar industry has flourished in recent decades with tourists taking rides on the giant beasts or watching them perform in circus shows.

Researchers from World Animal Protection spent two years visiting 220 venues using elephants across Asia, in what they describe as the most comprehensive survey to date of a rapidly growing, lucrative, but poorly regulated industry.

Their data showed pachyderm welfare routinely came in second place to turning a fast profit, with three-quarters of Asia’s captive elephants kept in conditions that were rated poor or unacceptable.

Thailand stood out as the global epicenter. Of the 2,923 elephants

WAP documented working within Asia’s tourism trade, 2,198 were found in Thailand alone.

The next largest industry was India, with an estimated 617 elephants, followed by Sri Lanka on 166, Nepal on 147, Laos on 59 and Cambodia with just 36.

All the venues visited, which researchers said represented 90 percent of the industry, were rated on a scale of 1-10 in terms of conditions with 77 percent scoring between just one to five―what researchers classified as “poor or unacceptable”.

“When not giving rides or performing, the elephants were typically chained day and night, most of the time to chains less than three meters long. They were also fed poor diets, given limited appropriate veterinary care and were frequently kept on concrete floors in stressful locations,” the report said.

India fared the worst on living conditions with an average score of 4.4, followed by Thailand on 4.6, Nepal on 4.8, Sri Lanka on 4.9 and on Laos 5.0.

Cambodia averaged 6.5 but researchers noted there were just 36 elephant in four venues, two of which got good marks. AFP

World

Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

C4

FRIDAY, JULY 7, 2017

Floods sweep south Japan ASAKURA, Japan―At least two people have been killed and 18 others are missing in floods that are surging through southern Japan, with the authorities warning hundreds of thousands of people to flee.

Unprecedented torrential rain has caused rivers to burst their banks, sweeping away roads and houses, and destroying schools.

Thousands of soldiers and other rescuer workers were scrambling Thursday to reach people cut off by torrents of swirling water or threatened by landslides, as forecasters warned of worse to come.

“We are in an extremely serious situation,” Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso said, warning of the danger of collapsing hillsides and adding “many people are still missing”.

More than 20 inches of rain deluged parts of Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan’s four main islands, over 12 hours on FLOOD DAMAGE. A man looks at a damaged river embankment following heavy flooding in Asakura, Fukuoka prefecture, on July 6, 2017. At least two people have been killed and 18 Wednesday, the meteorological others are missing in the floods that are surging through southern Japan, with the authorities warning hundreds of thousands of people to flee. AFP agency said.

Downpours will likely continue through Friday, the agency said as the region grapples with the aftermath of a typhoon that raked the country this week.

Authorities lifted “special” heavy rain warnings for the hardest hit prefectures of Fukuoka and Oita, although lesser warnings remained in place.

Japan is deploying 7,500 police, rescue personnel and troops in affected areas of Kyushu, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimilitary forces”, Haley said. “We past that have brought us to this was already a problem, “but the NITED NATIONS-The United hide Suga said. bigger problem is that the speed dark day.” will use them if we must.”

“There is a lot of informaStates pushed for tougher sanctions The US drive won backing from of progress is far faster than exBut the US focus, she told the tion about people who are unacon North Korea at the UN Security council, was to push through tight- France, but raised immediate pro- pected.” counted for,” he told a press conSanctions and pressure, he er sanctions, and it would submit tests from fellow permanent SeCouncil on Wednesday, warning the isolated ference, declining to confirm the a new draft resolution within days. curity Council member Russia, added, should be a means to push number of people missing. AFP regime’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic In all, six sets of sanctions have whose Deputy Ambassador Vladi- the North to the negotiating table,

US leads push on sanctions after N. Korea’s ICBM test U

Accused of spying in Taiwan TAIPEI―A Chinese graduate from one of Taiwan’s top universities was charged with espionage on Thursday as prosecutors accused him of attempting to recruit spies for Beijing.

The indictment comes as officials warn of growing intelligence threats from China at a time of increasingly frosty ties between Taipei and Beijing.

China still sees the island as part of its territory to be brought back into its fold, even though Taiwan has been self-governing since the two sides split after a civil war in 1949.

Relations have worsened since Beijing-skeptic President Tsai Ing-wen came to power last May. The Taipei District Prosecutors office said Thursday a man surnamed Zhou-who came to Taiwan to study in 2012―violated the National Security Act. Local media identified the man as Zhou Hongxu from Liaoning province in northeastern China, who graduated from the National Chengchi University in Taipei last year.

Prosecutors said Zhou was recruited by a mainland official he met at an event promoting crossstrait exchanges in Shanghai in July 2014, who asked him to build a spy network in return for remuneration.

Zhou was told to “introduce politicians, officials in the military, police, intelligence and diplomacy units and other influential people in society to Chinese local officials in destinations abroad,” they said.

The Chinese government would pick up the tab for any meetings arranged with local mainland officials, to be held in locations abroad, Zhou was allegedly told. AFP

missile had drastically narrowed the path for diplomacy.

In a hard-hitting address, US Ambassador Nikki Haley said Tuesday’s ICBM test had made “the world a more dangerous place,” and re-iterated that Washington was ready to use force if needed to deal with the threat of a nuclear-armed Pyongyang.

Tuesday’s launch―styled by leader Kim Jong-Un as a gift to “American bastards”―marked a milestone in Pyongyang’s decades-long drive for the capability to threaten the US mainland with a nuclear strike, and poses a stark foreign policy challenge for

Donald Trump.

The US president had dismissed the idea of the North possessing a working ICBM, vowing it “won’t happen”, but experts said the missile could reach Alaska or even further towards the continental US. At the UN, Haley called the launch “a clear and sharp military escalation”, and US and South Korean forces fired off missiles Wednesday into the Sea of Japan simulating a precision strike against North Korea’s leadership.

Washington had “considerable

been imposed on North Korea since it first tested an atomic device in 2006, but have failed to prevent its military advances.

The new measures could target the countries that continue to trade with North Korea, curb oil exports to the isolated country, tighten air and maritime restrictions and impose travel bans on its officials.

Haley singled out China―increasingly in the US administration’s cross-hairs as the North’s sole major ally and economic lifeline―as key to any diplomatic solution, only days after Trump said Beijing’s efforts had failed.

“We will work with China,” Haley said, “but we will not repeat the inadequate approaches of the

mir Safronkov warned that “sanctions will not resolve the issue.”

China’s Ambassador Liu Jieyi once more pushed Beijing’s alternative proposal for talks based on a freeze of North Korea’s missile and nuclear tests, in exchange for a halt to US-South Korean military drills―which has repeated been rejected by Washington and Seoul.

Washington and Seoul are in a security alliance, with 28,500 US troops stationed in the South to protect it.

In a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of the G20 summit she is hosting, South Korean President Moon Jae-In said the level of the North’s nuclear and missile capabilities

“and should not break the peace itself”.

The Hwasong-14 missile only traveled little more than 900 kilometers to come down in the Sea of Japan, but the altitude it reached― more than 2,800 kilometers according to Pyongyang―demonstrated it can travel far further.

South Korea’s Defense Minister Han Min-koo put its range at 7,000 to 8,000 kilometers―far enough to put US Pacific Command in Hawaii within reach.

The North, which says it needs atomic weapons to defend itself against the threat of invasion, said the test proved the missile’s re-entry capabilities and it could carry a heavy nuclear warhead. AFP

‘N. Korea seeks driver’s seat with missile test’ SEOUL―Newly equipped with an intercontinental ballistic missile, North Korea is looking to put itself in the “driver’s seat” for any future negotiations with Washington, analysts say -- but may at the same time be pushing such talks further away.

The weapon, tested on the United States’ Independence Day, can reach Alaska, and could go even further.

It brings within reach Pyongyang’s long-held dream of a missile that can deliver an atomic warhead to the continental United States, and presents US President Donald Trump with a stark challenge.

The prospect of the North’s missile range increasing to encompass more of the US population would “unnerve more and more American voters”, adding to pressure on Trump, said Kim Yong-Hyun, professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in Seoul.

“Everything points to the fact that the North is seeking to raise the diplomatic stakes as much as possible and secure a leading position in its relations with the rest of the world, including the US and the South,” he added.

The Korean peninsula has been

divided since the Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, and Pyongyang says it needs nuclear weapons to defend itself against the threat of invasion.

Its nuclear and missile programs, it insists, will never be up for negotiation unless Washington abandons what it calls its “hostile policy” towards it.

The timing of the North’s missile test―after the first summit between Trump and new South Korean President Moon Jae-In and ahead of this week’s G20 summit―appeared to have been deliberate, said Kim. Moon advocates engagement with the North to bring it to the negotiating table, and the summit joint statement said Trump “expressed support” for his counterpart’s “aspiration to restart interKorean dialogue”.

But the ICBM test was a clear “slamming of the door on Moon,” said Kim. “Moon often said he wanted to sit in the ‘driver’s seat instead of the back seat’ to play a leading role in nuclear negotiations,” he told AFP. “Apparently, Kim JongUn is saying he should be sitting in the driver’s seat.” AFP

MEETING. US First Lady Melania Trump is pictured during a meeting with Polish President’s wife Agata

Kornhauser-Duda (unseen) at the Belvedere Palace in Warsaw on July 6, 2017. US President Donald Trump is on his first visit behind the former Iron Curtain. He is expected to focus largely on defense in his talks with Baltic, Balkan and central European leaders. AFP

Life

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com

SHOPPING

Printed floral fans

FRIDAY, JULY 7, 2017

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Wire-wrapped necklace with freshwater pearls and floralembroidered raffia clutch

B

EING a tropical country, beautiful flowers bloom in the Philippines all year-round. Over 900 species of delicate and graceful orchids are grown in the country; then there are exotic birds of paradise, anthuriums, colorful showers of bougainvilleas, gardens of hibiscus, garlands of sampaguitas, and fields of gladioli, aster, chrysanthemum, and heliconias.

Kultura draws inspiration from these beautiful blooms in its collection.

There are hand-painted floral designs in modern barongs, as well as light-as-air dresses with bouquets of prints or embroidery that are spun from fresh fabrics such as jusi, cocoon, linen, and organza.

Vibrant tropical inspired totes, fans, and hats in bloom as well as straw, raffia, and pandan. Accessories with floral and botanical embroidery will make you stand out this summer—anywhere

from the beach, the mountains, to the city streets.

Uniquely Filipino fashion collections are available at Kultura, with stores at SM Makati, Megamall, Mall of Asia, SM Aura Premier, SM City Cebu, SM Seaside, SM Lanang Premier and most SM Stores. Its boutiques are located at Taal Vista Hotel, Pico de Loro and the Molo Mansion Iloilo.

Visit www.kulturafilipino.com to discover more about Kultura.

Kultura in bloom

FLOWER POWER. Kultura draws inspiration from beautiful blooms that grow in the Philippines, as seen in this classic jusi barong refreshed with handpainted florals.

Out-of-the-ordinary lifestyle options

Treat your Dad with his favorite tools from ACE Hardware

THE ordinary just won’t f ly in Japan—the Land of the Rising Sun sets the standard for imaginative lifestyle, inf luencing all aspects of life with a hint of fun and a healthy dose of curiosity.

From home living to school supplies, recreation, and hobbies, the Japanese find a way to spruce up and Daiso-fy life. Such is the defiant charm of Daiso Japan, the truly Japanese store in the Philippines. The store houses multi-functional items and cool finds, hatched from creative and, sometimes, startling ideas.

Only Daiso Japan can transform run-of-the-mill desk supplies with added charm and features. While its shelves may be abound with sticky notes, styled paper clips, crepe flowers, calligraphy instruments, and other ubiquitous items, Daiso Japan is still best known for kawaii supplies and surprisingly smart products.

Black and Decker 1400W High Pressure Washer Universal Seat Covers from Sparco for a fun and comfortable ride

Universal Fit Car Cover from Dub Project

Cute and colorful stationery items available at Daiso Japan

This water-resistant notepad can withstand water exposure and keep the ink from running

Great gift ideas DAD’S always been there for you, and at any time of the year you want to show him how much you love him.

If your Dad is a car lover, ACE Hardware has items to protect and enhance it inside and out. For the outside, there are durable universal fit car covers that will withstand UV rays, rain, and dirt; and looking in, there are seat covers for a more fun and comfortable road trip. Powerful high-

pressure washers can also be great gifts for your Dad. If your Dad’s the DIY type, there are also high performance drill driver kits in compact and lightweight designs, planers for professional planning, and durable toolboxes to organize Dads's favorite tools.

While shopping for your Dad at ACE Hardware stores, also check out its great deals on tools and automotive

items. You can also earn rewards points with your ACE Rewards, SM Advantage, Prestige, and BDO Rewards Cards when you shop.

Make your dad feel special with these great gifts available at selected branches of ACE Hardware, ACE Express and ACE Builders stores nationwide.

Visit www.acehardware.ph or like www. facebook/acehardwarephilippines.

One ingenious item is the water-resistant notepad. Unlike regular notebooks, these are designed to withstand water exposure, with leaves that protect the ink from running, to keep precious notes fully intact, even under heavy showers.

Another steal from Daiso Japan’s unconventional stock is the no-dust, rolling eraser. Handy for keeping workspaces looking crisp and spotless, this item is definitely among the store’s most practical finds.

Other items in Daiso Japan’s unique list are colorful compact staplers, mini LED lamps, and animal-shaped erasers. These desk knickknacks and other nifty products are guaranteed to stall shoppers for hours, as they make their way along Daiso Japan’s aisles.

Follow the store on Facebook @DaisoJapanPH and try your hand at making life your own kawaii canvass.

D2

Life

T

Meet the new

FRIDAY, JULY 7, 2017 isahred@gmail.com

HE digital age has changed the way we shop, work, and play, and digital transactions have become a way of life, not only for adults, but also for young people, including college students. Managing their own money is a big part of their first step toward independence, especially if they’re studying away from home; and whether it’s paying their own bills, shopping, or booking trips, online transactions are always the easiest, most convenient way to go.

Metrobank Card offers young people a way to embrace independence with YAZZ Prepaid Visa. It is a reloadable general purpose prepaid card that offers the following: (1) Shop at your favorite stores, as long as it’s Visa accredited; (2) Make online purchases – book your flights, buy your OOTDs, use it in PayPal, etc.; (3) Have an instant savings account without worrying on the opening and maintaining balance; (4) Do a cheaper 24/7 money transfer or receive allowance from family members; and (5) Withdraw money at any BancNet ATM. YAZZ had its series of campus tour and spotted the new YAZZkada, a group of students from different universities, who embodies the lifestyle of YAZZ. On top of being good in their academics and among the “it” students in their respective schools, they are on-the-go, love shopping and traveling, gaming, receiving allowance from their parents, and saving up for something big.

They are Charlene Dimalanta (University of Santo Tomas), Cedric Rosal (Adamson University), Jovy Bequillo (Jose Rizal University), Katrina Danganan (University of the East, Manila), Vivienne Mendoza (Centro Escolar University), Zachary James Nicholls (Arellano University), Kim Rico Cinco (Lyceum of the Philippines University), Kenn Maeda (San Beda College), Sarah Pineda (Lyceum of the Philippines University), and Trina Castillo (Far Eastern University).

Rosal, whose family is in Davao, finds it awesome how his mom can easily send his allowance through it. “I no longer have to line up at money remittance stations just to get my allowance.

My mom just sends money directly to my YAZZ card, and I can withdraw it anytime,” he shares.

Mensoza is thrilled at how hassle-free it is to get a card. “It’s perfect for stu-

YAZZkada

Students from various colleges and universities in Metro Manila rely on Metrobank YAZZ card in managing their finances—from budgeting their allowance to purchasing new items.

dents like me because I don’t need to bother with so many requirements and go through a long process before I can get a card of my own,” she begins. “All you need is one valid ID so you can purchase it from any participating outlet.

Load it, and you’re good to go!”

“It helps me budget my allowance because I can view my balance online, anytime,” says Cinco. Maeda, on the other hand, is having lots of fun using it to make purchases online. “YAZZ made it

easier for me to subscribe to Netflix!”

But for Bequillo, he uses it for school, “I use it in paying school miscellaneous,” he shares.

Danganan is excited to save more money with YAZZ. “It excites me thinking that I could load my extra money in this card to save and use it in so many ways! I really feel more responsible handling my money especially now that I am a young adult.”

“Less cash, less kaba. When you have

a lot of cash in your wallet, you’re more prone to theft. For me, YAZZ card’s cashless transactions are “check na check!”

This is what Pineda loves about her YAZZ card. For Nicholls, he said, “It matches my lifestyle because I’m always on the go and cashless transactions save a lot of time and space in my wallet!”

As for Castillo, being chosen as one of the YAZZkada, she felt nervous and happy at the same time. “Typically, campus ambassadors are carefully se-

lected based on personality, popularity and enthusiasm, that’s why I’m really proud and blessed to have been selected for this kind of opportunity.”

And what does Dimalanta have to say to her friends? “If they opt for easy and fun shopping experience, they should get YAZZ too! YAZZ is always with me, wherever I go. It’s the best partner!”

To get your own YAZZ Prepaid Visa, go to any partner stores and present one valid ID.

PAINT THE WORLD RED

with HSBC Red Mastercard LOVE, passion, energy, power, luck, and strength all reflect in the fiery color of red. It’s these things that you would want in life—from your relationships to your career. So, when it comes to aspirational things or goals in life, don’t settle for anything less than “red.”

HSBC brings all of the color red’s excitement and desirability into one convenient card that makes doing everything and going everywhere more rewarding, from splurging on exhilarating vacations to purchasing simple everyday essentials.

The new and enhanced HSBC Red Mastercard caters to everyone’s passions and lifestyles with its strengthened rewards program that’s full of high-value benefits both here and abroad, including air miles redemption, making it “the one card for home and away.”

For many, the HSBC Red Mastercard is the card of choice, owing to its exclusive perks and privileges that meet cardholders’ wants and needs.

Now, with an exciting reinvention, the card’s robust rewards proposition is made even better to empower everyone’s lifestyles with every use. Cardholders can expect more bonus points, and more perks for less spend.

“We understand that, in general, people want the same things. We all have a shared passion for exploring the world, for wanting things that are central to our daily lives, and for trying new tastes and flavors,” says head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management Kris Werner.

He continues, “We created the new and enhanced Red Mastercard because we want to provide our customers with a card that not only matches their lifestyle, but also drives it to another level with better benefits and more satisfying rewards. This is the card you’d need to

pursue all your interests, here and everywhere else.”

HSBC’s partner, Mastercard shares in the excitement for the reinvention of the Red card. “The new HSBC Red Mastercard is the key to accessing offers and benefits that our cardholders are looking for,” says Mastercard Vice President Judith Dayrit.

True enough, everyone will want a card that makes every purchase more gratifying. With exclusive rewards from your traveling, shopping, dining and all the other things that matter to you, every swipe of your HSBC Red Mastercard lets you paint the world red.

With travel becoming a top priority for Filipinos, especially for millennials, Red Mastercard made sure to boost this particular point for cardholders with four times the bonus points which you can use to redeem air miles from partners Cathay Pacific

Asia Miles, PAL Mabuhay Miles, and Singapore Krisflyer.

Now, even just applying for a Red Mastercard gives you the opportunity to fly for free. Upon reaching a minimum spend of P5,000 using your new HSBC Red Mastercard, a special promo which runs until Sept. 22 gives you a free flight to a local destination via Philippine Airlines.

Shopping for your favorite brands, top labels, and everyday essentials, as well as educating your palate by exploring a wide variety of cuisines, is made more fulfilling because of great discounts and offers from partner establishments, both here and abroad.

Whether booking vacations and shopping for the latest trends overseas or simply buying groceries and gassing up the car, the HSBC Red Mastercard makes your life more rewarding.

Visit www.hsbc.com.ph/red for more details.

From left: Grace Gloria, Mastercard Philippines administrative manager; JoAnn Camacho, Mastercard Philippines vice president; Jasmine Alansalon, HSBC VP head of CVM; Poch Villa-Real, Mastercard Philippines country manager; Kris Werner, HSBC Philippines head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management; Anya Cajucom, HSBC SVP head of Marketing; Jessica Blas, vice president for Media Relations; Lynden Catapang, vice president for Marketing; and Mike Miranda, Mastercard Philippines vice president.

Great Lakes' new flavors: Pure Pressed Apple and Just Right Red Grape

Great day

with Great Lakes

MOST of the time, it only takes one little thing to make a day great. And even when it comes to switching your normal routine, it only takes a small step to welcome change for the better.

When you’re caught right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city grind, stressful days can be right ahead of you. Yet starting a healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to be grueling—take that stride with Great Lakes.

Great Lakes is a line of natural fruit juices with pure and wholesome goodness, made from the finest fruits and vegetables. Everything about Great Lakes is all natural—that means no artificial coloring or flavors, and no sweetener. Starting with its original flavors, Fruit and Vegetable Mix and Tropical Fruit Mix comes the two newest refreshing flavors from Great Lakes: Pure Pressed Apple and Just Right Red Grape.

Aside from their naturally beneficial properties, the Great Lakes juices have a clean, refreshing taste that is not too sweet, nor too bitter as is expected in natural fruit juice. Great Lakes Pure Pressed Apple is made from 100 percent apple juice. Cloudy in color is caused by the fiber in apples, thus imparting a different taste than the regular apple juice. Just Right Red Grape, on the other hand, has just the right amount of natural grape juice, giving it a taste that is “just right.”

Great Lakes is a must staple at home as it offers wholesome refreshment that can be enjoyed by all ages. With it’s two yummy new f lavors, it’s an easy and refreshing way to bring more fruits and vegetables into your family’s diet.

Great Lakes is available nationwide in major supermarkets and convenience stores, for P20.00 for handy 250ml packs, and P70.00 for the re-sealable 1L variants.

FRIDAY, JULY 7, 2017

D

Strengthening fight versus child violence

ZMM recently launched two new afternoon programs—Good Vibes with Niña Corpuz and On The Spot newscast anchored

by Vic Lima and Toni Aquino simulcast on radio, digital TV, and cable TV. Good Vibes is a health and wellness show, Monday to Friday, 1 to 2 p.m., while On The Spot gives a rundown of news highlights and issues of the day from 4 to 4:30 p.m.. Both are simulcast on DZMM Radyo Patrol 630 on AM radio and DZMM TeleRadyo on cable TV and ABS-CBN TVplus.

Meanwhile, DZMM also led in the latest AM radio survey released by Kantar Media for the period of March 14 to 20 in Metro Manila. ABS-CBN’s flagship AM radio station posted an audience share of 46 percent on the AM band with almost half of AM radio listeners choosing to tune in to the station. A far second is DZBB with an audience share of 20 percent, followed by DZRH with 11 percent.

With Good Vibes and On The Spot, DZMM hopes to sustain its AM leadership as it continues to strive to provide Filipinos with timely and relevant information as they go about their daily work and home routines.

Set in DZMM TeleRadyo’s brand new studio, Good Vibes celebrates positivity by providing informative health news, practical home keeping tips, interesting features for the moms, young and old, and medical information straight from different health experts. Dr. Luisa Puyat also joins every Thursday to share her own medical expertise and give updates on DZMM’s Teaching Learning and Caring accomplishments.

Formerly of the show Magandang Gabi Dok, anchor Niña Corpus relishes another opportunity to serve more people and help bring happiness to the homes of Filipinos.

“Good Vibes is all about public service. We want to help people make their lives easier and care for their families better, especially senior citizens. People tend to forget our

"Good Vives" anchor Niña Corpuz

DZMM launches ‘Good Vibes’ and ‘On The Spot’ elders so this program will address their needs so that they can enjoy their lives more,” she shared.

On The Spot, on the other hand, aims to make people aware of what’s happening all over the country as Vic Lima and Toni Aquino present reports from the ABS-CBN news gathering team, Radyo Patrol and regional reporters assigned to different beats and locations in the Philippines. Delivered in a conversational manner, news reports are

much easier to digest and understand for the people in the program.

Stay tuned for other news and public service efforts of DZMM, which is celebrating the 10th anniversary of DZMM TeleRadyo this year.

For updates, tune in to DZMM 630KHz on AM radio or DZMM TeleRadyo on cable TV and ABS-CBN TVplus. For updates, follow @DZMMTeleRadyo on Twitter and Facebook.

...are not talking about

PEOPLE ...are talking about Liza Soberano She made all heads turn during the recently concluded ToyCon Manila where she greeted everyone wearing a Darna shirt. In fact, even Hollywood stars that graced the event were mesmerized by her extraordinary charm.

It’s not the first time though that some big names took a special liking to Liza so it’s not surprising that even Vogue website took notice of her beauty.

Manny Pacquiao As expected, everyone turned into a sport analyst when he stepped ino the boxing ring on Sunday. While it’s clear how the Pambansang Kamao dominated the bout, the official result said otherwise - a decision legitimate boxing analysts had already expected. People know why Manny had to return to the ring, he’s a hypocrite if he would say it wasn’t for the money. We would admire him if he would just focus on his political career because he was voted to perform his duties with an undivided attention. We hope losing to Jeff Horn would finally make him hang those boxing gloves.

Sanya Lopez In a recent interview, she was very candid on her struggles as a newbie in showbiz. She recalled her being an “extra” who was even banned to enter the tent designated for talents. Fast forward, Sanya is now one of the rising stars on GMA Network. Her hard work and perseverance start to pay off now as a lead star in a new soap.

MMFF 2017 The annual film festival is never out of controversy. And, for the longest time, people have been criticizing it for its commercial interest rather than upholding artistry, originality and creativity.

Though people understand that it’s really hard to find the balance between quality and box office revenue, it’s a shame that almost every year, the MMFF ExeCom can only come up with films that disrespect moviegoers’ intelligence.

Kim Chiu Behold, she has just finished recording an album and it will be out soon to make our ears bleed profusely. How is it possible for an audio terrorist like Kim is given the chance to hold a microphone to sing? Obviously, her home network is fond of people who only look good holding the microphone. While it hosts a number of good singers, it is also home to singer wannabes who struggle with even the most elementary nursery rhymes.

Xian Gaza Who is? The billboard guy! That’s the name of the young businessman who spent some big bucks for a huge tarp erected on Morayta just to invite Erich Gonzales for a coffee date. If they knew each other, like really close, that’s nothing but a sweet gesture. But if it’s coming from a stranger, who has a strange history of celebrity stalking, that’s downright creepy. No wonder, every day, stranger things are unearthed about this guy who obviously wanted to have his 15 minutes of fame.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Friday, July 7, 2017

ACROSS 1 Biceps exercise 5 Very small 10 Think on 14 Chocolate cookie 15 Hawthorne’s town 16 Cyclotron target 17 Suggestive look 18 Garden — 19 Mumbai garment 20 Small fries 22 In a group 24 “Mona —” 27 Low tract 28 Gumshoe 32 Rugged cliffs 36 Kyrgyzstan mountains 37 Emma in “The Avengers” 38 Bleak 39 Am — — time?

40 Guaranteed 42 Flamenco shout 43 Double agent’s job 45 Reed or Ferrigno 46 Bubble — 47 Pine for 48 Gummiest 50 Autobahn vehicle 52 Guide 53 Titles

57 Pound sounds 61 Add staff 62 Fashion item 65 Fiddling despot 66 Rock star, say 67 Uncanny 68 Harm 69 Dark blue 70 Have a nightmare 71 Pocket change DOWN 1 Indianapolis gridder 2 Heavy hydrogen discoverer 3 Give off fumes 4 Rhine nymph 5 Chow mein additive 6 Oddjob’s creator 7 Thicken 8 Take away 9 Sweater letter 10 Dog owners 11 Provo’s state 12 Piqued 13 Arab chief 21 Thus, in citations 23 Legendary Spanish hero (2 wds.)

25 Hurt a little 26 Directs 28 “Blondie” pooch

29 Run away to wed 30 Tuneful — Tucker 31 Jump over 33 Romance, in Rome 34 Celebrations 35 Lay dormant 38 Playing card 40 Lack of interest 41 Stir up 44 Bad-humoredly 46 Expanded 48 Donut 49 Singer — Starr

51 Gave medication 53 Goatee spot 54 Verdi masterpiece 55 Ont. or Que. 56 Royal honorific 58 Strauss of denim fame 59 Stiffly decorous 60 Shoe part 63 Estuary 64 Speaker pro —

GMA Network, through its regional arm GMA Regional TV, recently partnered with the City Government of Davao for “Kean Gabriel Hotline Information Drive” to help strengthen the local government’s fight against child violence.

Present during the partnership signing on June 30 were GMA Regional TV Department Officer-in-Charge Oliver Amoroso, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, GMA TV Davao Station Manager Mariles Puentevella, Davao City Information Officer Jefry Tupas, and Davao City Social Services and Development Office Head Marilou Bermudo.

The Kean Gabriel Hotline is a brainchild of Mayor Duterte in memory of Kean Gabriel Agustin, a four-year-old child who died of abuse in the hands of his guardian in August 2016.

The said tragedy exposed the violence, neglect, and possible death children in Davao City face under those who are supposed to keep them safe.

By calling or texting the number 0908-818-4444, the Kean Gabriel

Hotline encourages the public to report cases of child abuse and neglect to the authorities. Since its launch in 2016, the 24/7 hotline has already received 84 reports and was able to rescue 61 children.

Amoroso has lauded the initiative of the Davao City government for creating a hotline that caters to child abuse reports.

“We congratulate Mayor Inday Sara for creating the Kean Gabriel Hotline and for paving the way for the public to be more vigilant against child neglect and abuse,” says Amoroso. “We are also honored that Mayor chose GMA Davao as the first local station to have this partnership. GMA fully supports any initiative that protects and upholds the rights of a child,” he adds.

“Through this partnership, we aim to help the City Government of Davao communicate to the public the importance of the community’s involvement in protecting our children,” shares Puentevella. “All of us are responsible in ensuring that our children grow up in an environment that is conducive to their well-being.” she says.

GMA Regional TV Department Officer-in-Charge Oliver Amoroso (third from left) and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio (second from right) lead the partnership signing between GMA Network and Davao City

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com FRIDAY, JULY 7, 2017

Sweet memories, hard lessons learned in

‘D’ ORIGINALS’ T

KATHRYN

ODAY marks the finale of the sexy dramedy series D’ Originals. As Josie, Marge, and Sofia try to save their relationship with their respective spouses, the actors behind the hit GMA Afternoon Prime program share some of the unforgettable moments and lessons learned while doing the show.

Cannes Best Actress (2016) Jaclyn Jose thinks the show was instrumental for her and her co-actors to create a strong bond. “Kasi kami, family na ‘yung treatment with everyone. Sa actors, mayroong nabuong relationship,” she shares, adding that this is what makes this project “memorable”. Jaclyn plays the character of Josie, the domestic diva who seems to have a perfect family with loyal husband Lando (Jestoni Alarcon).

For LJ Reyes, being part of a project that involved director Adolf Alix, Jr. and Jose is a great honor. “Plus, I got to work with a new set of hardworking people that never failed to inspire me,” says Reyes, who plays Marge in the series— the madiskarte housewife who becomes the family’s breadwinner when Caloy (Mark Herras) chooses to sit it out at home while waiting for his dream job.

Kim Domingo says she will treasure every taping day with the cast and crew of D’Originals.

“Marami akong mga memorable experience.

Una na rito ang makatrabaho ko

Kim Domingo as Sofia Abella, the sexy Zumba instructor

‘yung mga batikang artista tulad nina Sir Jestoni (Alarcon) and Ms. Jaclyn. Bilang baguhang artista, napakalaking bagay nito. Bawat taping, marami akong natutunan sa kanila,” she says. Kim is the sexy Zumba instructor Sofia, who thought she is already immune to husband Art’s (Archie Alemania) extra-marital affairs.

In the beginning of the series, viewers saw the three wives who seemed content with their family life: Josie, Marge, and Sofia.

Yet, the three found themselves facing the same nightmare every wife dreads of having: being at the receiving end of their husbands’ extra marital affairs.

The ‘original wives’ admit that doing the series for three months has further opened their eyes to the realities of life—relationships are never perfect and one way or another, a person is bound to make mistakes. But at the end of the day, he is given the chance to make the right choices.

Take for example Josie’s case. In the series, Josie’s husband, Lando (Jestoni) used to be the most loyal partner but eventually he had an affair at mid-life. Jaclyn relates, “As Josie, you have to be more giving sa iyong husband. Magpasensya pa para ‘yung family maging intact. [Gawin] kung ano ang pwedeng gawing paraan to get the family closer.”

Doing this, she says, is never easy. “Minsan naiintindihan ko rin naman ‘yung mga housewife na ginagawa na rin nila lahat pero circumstances yung pumapasok pero siguro kung mahal natin ‘yung pamilya [gagawin natin lahat para] mabuo [ito],” she says. She further advises, “Tapusin agad yung problema as soon as possible. Talk to the husband. Confront the husband. Kung ayaw niya, mamili siya.

Basta matapos agad yung problema.”

For Reyes’ character Marge, it was not her intention to drive her husband Caloy away from her when she took it upon herself to be the provider of the family. She wanted to help Caloy make both ends meet but somehow her absence made Caloy wanting attention and love and finding it in her sister, Cristina, (Lovely Abella), instead.

“We all have flaws.

We are not perfect,” admits LJ. “But I still think it is not enough reason to break a relationship.

Two people involved [with each other] should be committed enough to keep it and make it work in spite of those shortcomings,” she says.

Loving and putting yourself first is important, too, says Domingo. “Okay lang na magkamali pero dapat alam din natin na hanggang kelan lang pwedeng magpatawad. Matuto tayong mahalin ang sarili natin [at] huwag tayong magpaloko,” she adds.

But did they find a soft

STAR FACTOR. Kathryn Bernardo with perennial onscreen partner Daniel Padilla

BERNARDO embarks on a challenging adventure

LJ Reyes as Marjorie "Marge" PinedaTolentino, the legal wife

spot for mistresses because of D’ Originals?

Domingo says “Hindi naman ako against sa mistress kasi kanya-kanya tayo ng buhay. Siguro nagkataon lang na ganun ang kinahantungan nila.” But she says being aware of our actions and its consequences can help us avoid having bigger problems in the future. “Lahat naman tayo nagkakamali. Sana lang marealize natin sa huli yung pagkakamali natin para wala na rin tayong masaktang ibang tao,” she adds.

As the show comes to an end, viewers are sure to be on the edge of their seats as they witness explosive scenes and exciting confrontations between the original wives and the mistresses.

“Panuorin ninyo ‘yung finale,” says Jose. “Ito ‘yung ‘di natapos ni Manny Pacquiao. Tatapusin ni Josie,” she adds.

The finale of D’ Originals airs 4:15 p.m. today after Legally Blind on GMA Afternoon Prime.

THE recently hailed Box Office Queen returned to Kapamilya Primetime as Malia in the third installment of the Imortal series titled La Luna Sangre. Together with her perennial leading man Daniel Padilla, who plays Tristan, Malia wowed the viewers. The love team showcased their fiercer and bolder side in the fantasy-action serye.

Lauded for not having a double, Kathryn Bernardo immediately revealed during her debut on the show on June 26 her potential in action.

But she was most lauded during her performance on the June 28 episode with her enviable stunts and notable acting skills. The latter episode showed her character Malia being beaten up real hard in order to unleash her powers as the “Bagong Itinakda.”

Netizens even raved about how she approached the said scene with some even calling her “The Best Actress of her generation” for “establishing herself with her astounding acting prowess.” The bankable actress revealed her versatility in the succeeding episodes even further as she nailed the combination of the action, drama and comedy scenes.

Angel Locsin, who portrayed the role of Lia in the last I- installment, even praised Kathryn for being “on fire” as Malia.

Touted by as “The Newest Primetime Action Queen,” Kathryn mentally and physically prepared for Malia by undergoing combat trainings like pekiti tirsia kali and wushu for the action scenes.

Kathryn had drop her soft side since pekiti is a style of fighting that combines the use of arnis and daggers with close-combat maneuvers. She also had to learn to move with certain firmness while training in wushu as it helped in the choreography for big action movements.

The pilot episode of the soap on June 20, with the pioneers of Imortal—John Lloyd Cruz and Ange Locsinl as Mateo and Lia, was received well with a nationwide rating of 33.9 percent.

The show was able to sustain its lead against its competition with steady 30s in ratings. Its second day garnered a 35 percent rating, it had 33.6 percent on Wednesday, and 33.9 percent on Thursday. The action-packed pilot week ended with the show’s record high of 35.2 percent on Friday.

The show’s June 26 episode, which happened to be the first day of Kathryn and Daniel’s appearance complete with action scenes garnered a total of 34.5 ratings. Since that episode, Kathryn and Daniel proved their bankability in primetime as the ratings stayed steadily in the 30s. For Tuesday the show had 34 percent ratings. By Wednesday the show had 32.8 percent, but it soared again on the following day to 35.1 percent and ended on a good note with 32.8 percent on Friday. This week started with 34.8 percent ratings based on Kantar National TV Ratings.

Since its debut, La Luna Sangre has been a nightly topic in social media as it dominated the Twitter trending topics.

The show not only raked in viewership on TV but even on the ABS-CBN content platform iWant TV. Two weeks in and La Luna Sangre has topped the Most Popular Shows chart in iWant TV with a roughly 2.5 million views.