Manila Standard - 2017 July 24 - Monday

GRAFT RAPS VS PRINTING OFFICE EXECS PUSHED

By Rio N. Araja THE National Bureau of Investigation is urging the Office of the Ombudsman to file graft charges against incumbent and former officials of the National Printing Office over an allegedly anomalous printing deal worth P74 million with three private companies.

In a seven-page transmittal letter, the NBI accused NPO director Sherwin Prose Castañeda, former officer-in-charge Ro-

lando Caluag, and retired employee Ruben Dancel of violation of graft.

The NBI also recommended for prosecution Western Visayas Printing Corp. vice president Edwin Malapajo, Bestforms Inc. president Benjamin Yam, Triprint Corp. president Ramil Tamayo, and Metrocolor Corp. general manager Celso Viray.

The charges arose from a multi-million contract awarded by the Social Security System to the NPO for the bulk Next page

VOL. XXXI • NO. 160 • 4 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Opposition hits ML extension: Too long

By Macon RamosAraneta ALBAY Rep. Edcel Lagman said Sunday he will file a petition questioning the extension of martial law in Mindanao before the Supreme Court this week.

Lagman, who had filed a losing petition challenging President Rodrigo Duterte’s original martial law declaration, said he would question the factual basis

for the extension, as well as its scope of coverage and the length of time involved.

“It’s not right that the entire Mindanao will be included in the extension, because the rebellion, if there is one, cannot be extrapolated to the entire region,” he said in Filipino.

He also said the five-month extension was too long, being even longer than the original 60day coverage.

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Defense: No Let-up on war vs extremists

By John Paolo Bencito THE Defense Department on Sunday told Islamic State extremists that they would feel the full might of the government after Congress approved President Rodrigo Duterte’s request to extend martial law in Mindanao until the

end of the year.

In a statement, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana vowed to be more aggressive in combating rebellion.

Lorenzana said the government would welcome rebels back into society so that everyone could Next page

PROTRACTED BATTLE. This photo taken on July 22, 2017 shows Philippine Marines taking cover from sniper fire while on patrol at the frontline in Marawi as fighting between government troops and Islamist extremists enters its second month. Congress on July 22, 2017 voted to extend President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of martial law in the south until the end of the year to defeat Islamist terrorists. AFP

Sona 2: Frank, hopeful Militants vow huge protests on Sona’s eve

Du30 tackles Marawi, P3.7-t budget for ’18

By John Paolo Bencito, Sandy Araneta and Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

By Sandy Araneta UNLIKE last year, leftist groups are set to mount huge protests as President Rodrigo Duterte goes to Congress for the annual State of the Nation Address on Monday.

“Tomorrow’s Sona will be a time of reckoning for the people,” Antonio Flores, the leader of a leftist farmers organization said Sunday. “We must be united in opposing martial law.”

Flores, secretary-general of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, referred to Saturday’s decision by Congress to approve an extension of martial law in Next page

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RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte’s vow for “A Comfortable Life for All” will be at the center of his second State of the Nation Address today, July 24, as he reports on the country’s situation, highlights his administration’s accomplishments, and present his plans for the years ahead.

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Speaker renews bid for Charter change

By Rey E. Requejo

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Monday July 24, 2017 when he goes to Congress to deliver his second State of the Nation Address. Manny Palmero

Ilocos execs seeking TRO vs probers THE camp of Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos and the six detained Ilocos Norte officials is urging the Supreme Court to stop the “unconstitutional” and “persecutory” inquiry by the House of Representatives on the alleged misuse of tobacco excise funds that is set to resume tomorrow.

In an 11-page pleading filed

provisions to be amended.

He said he welcome it if the Senate and the House of Representatives would vote separately to amend the Constitution.

Batangas Rep. Raneo Abu, a deputy speaker, maintained his support for Charter change to address the country’s various problems.

“The problems plaguing the country, such as graft and corruption, poverty,

The President, who is set to deliver a “realistic but hopeful” report before the Filipino people at 4 p.m., will outline the positive changes he wants to be felt—prosperity for all, law and order, and peace, the Palace said Sunday.

“On the whole it will be frank, challenging, realistic but hopeful,” said Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella.

“The President’s State of the Nation Address will be rendered in broad strokes reviewing past achievements, stating the present situation and announcing future prospects,” he added.

His speech, written in English, should take around 50 minutes to deliver if read straight, and may extend up to an hour-and-a-half, given the President’s usual off-the-cuff remarks, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said.

The speech, he said, would address the conflict in Marawi and the problem of illegal drugs.

A technical report titled “President’s Report to the People” will be uploaded online,

PREPPING FOR SONA. An effigy of President Duterte gets the finishing touches as militant workers prepare to hold a protest-rally on

SMOKING BAN. A driver puffs his cigarrettes along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City probably unaware that the nationwide smoking ban which prohibits the practice even inside a private car or public utility vehicle takes effect on Sunday, July 23, 2017. (Story on A6) Manny Palmero

HOUSE Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Sunday vowed to convene Congress into a constitutional assembly in 2018 to push for amendments to the 1987 Constitution and the shift to a federal form of government.

He said the convening would push through with or without President Rodrigo Duterte’s appointment of the members of the constitutional commission tasked to recommend the constitutional

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MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

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Cayetano taps wife’s ally for DFA post

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano has appointed an ally of his wife Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano as Undersecretary for Security and Consular Concerns, replacing a career official Ariel Abadilla.

The new DFA Usec Joel Montales served as Taguig City’s OIC-administrator.

Cayetano, who was appointed in May, is also tapping blogger RJ Niyeto as “consultant” for migrant workers’ affairs.

DFA spokesman Robispierre Bolivard said, however he could not confirm yet the appointment of Nieto as consultant.

“We have yet to receive official information on Thinking Pinoy’s reported appointment,” he said.

Niyeto is a blogger of a political propaganda website called Thinking Pinoy, where he openly voices his dislike of Vice President Leni Robredo.

Niyeto, together with blogger turned Assistant Secretary of the Pesidential Communication Operations Margaux Uson, attacks people who criticize President Rodrigo Duterte.

In one of his posts, Niyeto announced his tentative appointment as “Head of Strategic Communications [Content],” under the office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs lawyer Sarah Arriola, Cayetano’s long time staff.

Arriola replaced a senior career diplomat Jesus Yabes on June 28.

“I will help bridge the communication gap between OFWs and the DFA. I am not alone in this. Tulungtulungan tayo [let’s help each other],” Niyeto stated in his blog.

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move forward toward progress.

“But if you persist in your crooked ways, the Armed Forces and the police will come after you without let-up,” he added.

After nearly seven hours of deliberations, Congress on Saturday approved Duterte’s request to extend martial law in Mindanao until Dec. 31 amid the long-drawn conflict between government forces and Islamic State-linked terrorists in Marawi City.

A total of 261 legislators approved the extension while 18 rejected the proposal, the final tally coming out at 3:59 p.m.

Sixteen senators approved to extend martial law in Mindanao until the end of the year while four rejected the proposal. Two hundred forty-five representatives voted “yes” while 14 others voted against the President’s request.

Lorenzana welcomed Congress’ resolution to extend martial law, saying that they won’t let this opportunity go to waste.

“With the overwhelming vote of confidence from our legislature and the ardent support of the Filipino people, your Defense department will strive even more to deal with the rebellion decisively and expeditiously,” he said.

Lorenzana, who is administrator of martial law, earlier said that military rule need not to be imposed to other parts of the country amid continued operations of the Abu Sayyaf in Bohol and the New People’s Army in Luzon.

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on July 19, Marcos reiterated their plea for a temporary restraining order to stop the investigation of the House committee on good government and public accountability on the alleged anomaly in the purchase of P66.45 million worth of motor vehicles by the provincial government using the excise funds.

Their counsel, former solicitor general Estelito Mendoza, cited “grave and irreparable injury” on Marcos should the high court fail to issue the TRO in time for the resumption of the House probe.

Bank exec faces ‘many raps’ S URIGAO del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel on Sunday urged Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. and the National Bureau of Investigation “to file as many charges as possible” against Maria Victoria Lopez, the bank’s vice president who was caught allegedly

“They should see to it that the culprit does not get off lightly if we are to fend off other would-be embezzlers,” Pimentel said in a statement.

He made his statement even as Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr. credited the National Bureau of Investigation and Metrobank for apprehending Lopez before she could fly abroad.

“We are all somewhat relieved that the suspect is in the custody of the authorities and not in a foreign territory where we might

have had a problem getting her back,” Campos, a deputy minority leader, said.

“We’ve had a number of whitecollar offenders in the past who ripped off large sums and evaded prosecution because they were able to flee the country.”

Pimentel called on all financial institutions to find ways to constantly increase the possibility of getting caught and punished to stop fraud.

“The best way to discourage fraud is by demonstrating to all

and sundry that while you can always try to steal, you also risk losing everything and spending a long prison term,” Pimentel said.

The NBI has so far filed charges of qualified theft, falsification of documents and violations of the General Banking Law against Lopez, who was arrested on July 18.

A list of Metrobank senior executives filed with the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. showed that Lopez, 54, was one of the bank’s 402 vice presidents.

The list indicated that Metrobank had three senior executive vice presidents, nine executive vice presidents, 28 senior vice presidents, 59 first vice presidents; 109 vice presidents (Lopez’s rank) and 194 assistant vice presidents as of April 27, 2017.

Lopez dealt directly with large corporate clients as vice president

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of bank secrecy rules to curb tax evasion.

In foreign relations, Duterte turned away from the country’s traditional ally, the United States, and moved closer to China and Russia.

He also rejected grants from the European Union amounting to 250 million euros because these came with strings attached.

While Duterte promised to reduce processing time for issuing business permits and licenses “to the barest minimum,” agencies such as the Land Transportation Office remained problematic, failing to release motor vehicle license plates to car owners more than one year after these had been paid.

As it was last year, Duterte’s second Sona will do away with the pomp and pageantry of the past.

“Departing from tradition and common practice, Duterte’s Sona dramatizes a simple and populist character. It shuns the usual pomp and pageantry,” Andanar said.

The President is set to arrive by air or land at 3:30 p.m. at the House of Representatives, where he will be accorded arrival honors to be led by AFP Chief-of-Staff Gen. Eduardo Año together with the sergeants-at-arms of both the Senate and House of Representatives, who will escort him towards the rear entrance as they walk past the honor guards.

Congressional leaders will then pay a courtesy call to Duterte before proceeding to the Plenary Hall for the joint session.

Seats at the Batasang Pambansa are already filled with more than 3,000 people who were expected to watch Duterte deliver his speech at the plenary hall. Guests include Vice President Leni Robredo, members of the Cabinet, Supreme Court justices, legislators, members of the diplomatic corps, former presidents, and other special guests.

Duterte’s children—Davao City Mayor Sara, Vice Mayor Paulo, Sebastian and Veronica, along with his partner, Cielito Avancena will all be in attendance.

Davao-based design house

Chardin will provide the President’s recycled barong, along with Avancena’s gown, inspired

by Maranao patterns.

A sign language interpreter for those with auditory impairment will be provided by the Presidential Communications Operations Office, while Spanish, French, German, Russian, Chinese, and Japanese interpreters will also be provided for the diplomats present during the event. An English translator is on standby to interpret the President’s vernacular lines for attending foreign dignitaries.

Cocktail reception after the Sona is by invitation only, where Duterte will meet with members of the diplomatic corps.

Award-winning filmmaker Brillante Ma. Mendoza will direct the Sona this year, and vowed to keep the presentation simple, so as not to distract the audience from the President’s message.

In the days leading up to the Sona, the Department of Public Works and Highways rushed repairs and maintenance work on roads, particularly in Quezon City.

On the other hand, simple arrangements are being undertaken for the session hall, lobbies, and reception areas of the Batasang Pambansa building.

Wide screen television sets will be installed at the North Wing lobby lounge for latecomers and other attendees.

Outside the Batasan Pambansa, protesters will be allowed to occupy three lanes on the northbound of Commonwealth Avenue with no barbed wires and container vans to block them, police said.

Plastic barriers, however, will be installed near the Batasang Pambansa Complex. Also, a 200-meter boundary will be established between the protesters and the Batasan gate.

A no-fly zone, which includes drones, will be in effect during the Sona.

The Metro Manila Development Authority will deploy abouty 2,000 traffic enforcers to manage the flow of traffic while “number-coding” will remain in effect.

Lagman questioned claims by security officials during the joint session on Saturday that no human rights violations were committed during the initial implementation of martial law in Mindanao.

Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles, a Duterte supporter, said Lagman’s move was expected.

“I guess they are doing their job in their role as an independent

bloc,” he told dzBB in a separate interview.

But he said the Supreme Court had already resolved some of the arguments that Lagman would raise in his new petition.

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, meanwhile, said he was disappointed that his colleagues in Congress did not support his proposal to extend martial law in Mindanao by five years or until the end of Duterte’s term.

Also on Sunday, Senator Grace Poe said it was “stupidity” to consider placing the entire country

under martial law because excessive power will open the gates to abuses.

“Why don’t we like martial law? Because martial law gives additional power and reduces the right to scrutinize,” said Poe. She added that Congress would revoke martial law if it can be proven that there were human rights abuses committed under military rule.

Senator Miguel Zubiri justified the extension of martial law, saying the threat of terrorism in Mindanao has not been resolved.

“Forcing Gov. Marcos against her will to attend an unconstitutional inquiry devoid of any legality is an unquantifiable injury,” Mendoza said in his motion.

“It coerces Gov. Marcos to attend an inquiry led by her accuser, Respondent Fariñas [House majority leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas] who has maligned and prejudged her of violation of Republic Act No 7171.”

The petitioners also cited the public pronouncements of House committee chairman and Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel that Marcos was guilty of the charges against her.

“Clearly, it is the height of in-

justice if Gov. Marcos will be forced to attend a proceeding that is not only unconstitutional but also persecutory―a proceeding that condemns rather than hears,” the pleading says.

Marcos’ camp insists that she has “clear and unmistakable right” for the issuance of the TRO even before the House could order her arrest if she failed to appear in the hearing on Tuesday.

“Respondent committee on good government need not issue an arrest order for it to commit grave abuse of discretion nor to violate petitioners’ right to liberty,” Mendoza’s motion says.

“This is because the inquiry has already been purged of legitimacy

at its inception and through the actuations of the respondents in the subsequent hearings. Consequently, Gov. Marcos cannot be forced to attend an unconstitutional inquiry.

“Simply put, forcing Gov. Marcos against her will to attend an illegal and unconstitutional inquiry is a violation of her right to liberty.”

Pimentel earlier publicly threatened Marcos of arrest if she fails to attend the hearing and showed reporters the detention room being prepared for her.

The petitioners filed their comment in response to the opposition filed by Fariñs and Pimentel on July 17 to the plea for a TRO.

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while printed copies of the same report will be distributed to selected schools, embassies, government offices, and other institutions following the event, Abella said.

For the first time in recent history, the President will submit his administration’s proposed P3.767-trillion 2018 national budget on the day of the Sona itself, with the biggest chunk allotted for education, infrastructure development, and health care.

In his 2016 Sona, Duterte vowed to stamp out illegal drugs, corruption and criminality under his watch.

He also enumerated the administration’s plan to push for bigticket infrastructure projects, pass the tax reform package, and ensure government’s transparency through a freedom of information executive order.

On top of his long list of promises last year was a unilateral ceasefire with communist rebels, as part of his bid to end Asia’s longest running Maoist insurgency.

After four rounds of talks, however, Duterte called off peace negotiations with the rebels, who continued to attack government forces.

Recalling his promises during the election campaign, Duterte also vowed to continue his allout campaign against drugs and criminality, even ordering the Philippine National Police to “triple its efforts” to stop the illegal drug trade—which has led to thousands of deaths of drug suspects.

While he vowed to crush the illegal drug trade within three to six months, Duterte later asked to be given until the end of his term.

Also in the last year, Duterte failed to get Congress to approve emergency powers to deal with traffic in Metro Manila.

In other areas, the administration pushed for a comprehensive reform of the tax system and lowering of personal and corporate income tax rates; and a relaxation

Opposition...

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and head of the bank’s corporate management services division.

By forging signatures and breaching bank protocols, Lopez was able to establish two bogus corporate loan accounts worth P950 million and P850 million.

She tried to mask the fraudulent loans as drawdowns from a legitimate P25-billion credit facility available to a true corporate client, Universal Robina Corp., according to the NBI. Lopez was caught when she tried to siphon some of the money by ordering the preparation of a P2.25-million manager’s check, with the funds to be taken from a deposit account that was supposedly holding the interest payments on the loans.

Banks normally require borrowers to have deposit accounts from which loan interest as well

Militants...

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Mindanao until the end of the year in line with Duterte’s request.

“Duterte’s strongman posturing will bear no good for the country as he is not addressing the most basic social concerns like land reform, employment and enactment of pro-people policies. His Sona tomorrow will turn out just like his promises—all empty talk and with no significant value to the people,” Flores said.

Thousands of workers belonging to Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pialipino, Sanlakas and Partido Lakas ng Masa will hold protest actions on Monday.

Protests will also be held simultaneously at 11 a.m. at the Bureau of Internal Revenue on Agham Road, the National Housing Authority on Elliptical Road and the Department of Natural Resources along Visayas Avenue before demonstrators march towards the Batasan Pambansa complex where the SONA will be delivered.

The groups are expected to merge at 1 p.m. in front of the the Iglesia ni Cristo church in Litex along Commonwealth Avenue, then march towards the north gate of the Batasan Pambansa where they will hold a program.

Similar protests are set to be held in Bacolod, Tacloban, Cebu and Davao.

The mood among leftist groups is a sharp departure from last year’s Sona, when they rallied in support of Duterte, who had included leftists in his Cabinet, and used his address to announce the resumption of peace talks with communist rebels.

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purchase of 870,000 pads of contributions payment forms for fiscal year 2016.

A preliminary investigation by the NBI’s Anti-Fraud Division found that even though the NPO had already awarded the printing contraact to Western Visayas Printing Corp., work orders were still granted to three other firms: Best Forms Security Printer for P34 million, Tri-Print Work for P27 million, and Metro Color for P15 million.

The NBI said the agreements entered into by the respondents were disadvantageous to the government, saying the printing machines were not under the control of the NPO. The paper, ink and other consumables used for the printers also came from the same firms without proper public bidding.

“This is contrary to a proper contact of lease, wherein the NPO is supposed to simply rent the printing machines and use them for its printing jobs. This printing machine, owing to the security

Speaker...

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insurgency and weak judiciary are due to our failure to restudy and revisit the Constitution,” he said.

Abu was the author of Cha-Cha bill.

“The proposed federalism will give us the chance to reexamine the provisions of our Constitution for fair distribution of the benefits

as principal amortizations may be automatically debited.

It is still unclear whether Lopez herself also created the falsified deposit account.

Metrobank staff became suspicious of the signatures on the application for the manager’s check, and of the curious request for the check to be made payable to a person.

When the staff tried to verify the application with URC, the branded consumer food and beverage giant denied ordering the manager’s check.

URC also disowned the loan accounts as well as the deposit account from which the amount in the check was supposed to be debited.

Probers have yet to ascertain whether Lopez managed to draw off the fraudulent accounts before she was caught.

The talks have since collapsed, and now leftist groups insist that Duterte’s first year in office has not benefitted the poor.

They said in the last year, there were 68 victims of politically motivated killings, most of them farmers.

During the first 60-day period of martial law, they added, there were 10 victims of extrajudicial killings, 335 victims of illegal arrest and close to half a million people displaced by airstrikes in Marawi, where Islamic State-inspired terrorists overran the city.

On the eve of Duterte’s second Sona, thousands of farmers from Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog and Mindanao were expected to gather at the Department of Agrarian Reform to present the national situation of farmers, agricultural workers, indigenous peoples and rural people under the Duterte regime.

The farmers will deliver the State of Peasantry Address to deplore the absence of land reform and the continuing injustices and atrocities under Duterte.

“No real change happened except for the rising death toll under the current government.” Flores said.

“The current DAR have distributed 56,000 hectares of land in a year, but much more remain in the control of big landlords.

We are taking action to realize our demand for genuine land reform and dismantling of land monopolies and haciendas,” Flores added.

The multi-billion-peso coco levy fund, he said, has not been returned to small coconut farmers and their heirs. With Macon Ramos-Araneta nature of the printing jobs, should also be within the control of the NPO and operated by its personnel,” the NBI said.

“The NPO only occasionally sends a representative to the lessor-printers plant who inspects the machine. This is precisely why during our interview with NPO personnel, they cannot assure us that the printing by private printers are strictly controlled and there can be no possibility of over printing.”

According to the NBI, NPO had a “highly disadvantageous” 15-percent share of the profits from the deal, while 85 percent went to the private firms.

“This is clearly disadvantageous to the government and punishable under Republic Act No. 3019,” the complaint read.

“While the NPO was paid P2.5 million for the project, the NPO had to pay the rental fee to the lessor printer in the amount of P2.1 million, which is more or less equivalent to 85 percent of the printing project. This is clearly disadvantageous to the government and punishable under RA 3019 also known as Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.” of economic growth,” he said.

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Ray Villafuerte, a co-author of the Cha-Cha bill, said the shift to a federal form of government was the “missing link” in the President’s aim for inclusive growth.

He said the Duterte administration’s goal for the country to reduce the high incidence of poverty and grow into a high-middle income economy by 2040 “can and will” happen under federalism. Rio N. Araja

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Opinion

MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

EDITORIAL

The wrong mindset

T

HE recent kerfuffle between the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and transport network companies such as Grab and Uber illustrates all too well what is wrong with government agencies and the bureaucrats that head them—regardless of who is in power.

The row started when the government agency fined Grab and Uber millions of pesos for permit violations and announced it would go after thousands of unauthorized Grab and Uber units. Grab and Uber

Adelle Chua, Editor

drivers shot back that a growing number of them operated without permits simply because the LTFRB suspended the issuance of provisional authority permits in July last year.

The latest compromise

reached between the two sides—the LTFRB agreed to hold off arresting Uber and Grab drivers and continue talks while the TNCs appeal their alleged permit violations—is just a temporary solution at best and does not address the main problem of an unresponsive government bureaucracy that is more concerned with imposing restrictions than finding ways to make life easier for working men and women.

Faced with a new way of doing things—such as applications where passengers can book a ride

using their mobile phones— the bureaucrat’s first instinctive response is to find ways to regulate—and tax—the service, or threaten to have it discontinued.

In cracking the whip on Grab and Uber, LTFRB officials claimed that the safety of passengers was foremost on their minds, but their subsequent statements made it clear that they were more concerned with flexing their regulatory muscles than looking out for the ordinary commuter.

Besides, if the LTFRB were truly concerned about

the welfare of the commuter, should it not first crack down on the continued operation of aging, ramshackle taxis that reek of body odor and poor air conditioning? Should it not do something first about unscrupulous taxi drivers who pressure passengers into paying above the meter rate because traffic is so bad, or who refuse fares simply because their destination is inconvenient?

In a free-market economy, consumers vote with their wallets. There is a marketdriven reason that Grab and Uber have become popular

among commuters, who prefer a safe, convenient and comfortable ride with a pre-determined rate— without a sleazy driver angling for more money.

In short, commuters are willing to pay more to ride in unregistered Grab and Uber vehicles, than put up with the odious experience of riding in a registered taxi.

Of course, TNCs need to be regulated, but agencies tasked with this job should not, as a first course of action, threaten to penalize the very commuters whom they claim to protect.

Overwhelming

action to take place in circumstances when a decision has to be expeditiously and definitively made, on the proviso that debate will resume and decisions stand to be corrected under more propitious circumstances.

No, I think Senator Frank Drilon was not correct in advancing the proposition that martial law, when extended, cannot have a period longer than the 60-day period allotted for it when it is initially declared. That cannot be a plausible reading because there is no way of predicting that the emergency that requires martial law will be resolved within 60 days. Rebels and invaders recognize no deadlines. Lingering wars of attrition are not unknown. So it is that the Constitution allows Congress, upon initiative of the President, to extend martial law— without setting deadlines.

But the constitutional conditions must be met: the existence of rebellion (or invasion) AND the demand of public safety. And the

WITH an 82-percent approval rating that cuts across the entire citizenry and all over the land one year into Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency, there is little reason to wonder why Congress in joint session last Saturday voted overwhelmingly to grant his request for an extension of martial law in Mindanao until the end of this year.

The people trust him; they gave him their thumbs-up. How can their elected representatives in the legislature void the public sentiment?

The public sees how our soldiers are fighting valiantly, sacrificing their lives on the altar of a virtual civil war in Marawi.

They also see how the Maute and their ilk have destroyed their own citadel of Islam in the Philippines, forcing civilians to evacuate to a safer though more difficult life as political refugees in Iligan and neighboring towns.

The people of Mindanao also see that other than in Marawi and in some parts of Lanao del Sur, their lives have hardly been affected by the proclamation of martial law. There have been no human rights violations, and but for family members and hard-core followers of the Maute and Abu Sayyaf, no arrests or seizure orders have been issued.

Better this state of things rather than the prospect of terrorist infection all over Mindanao. Better to contain the virus now, and with determination, extirpate it altogether.

Even those members of Congress who voted against the continued imposition of martial law could only question the length and extent, but clearly could not question the need for draconian measures. *** What started as a sincere desire for peaceful settlement of long-standing grievances by sectors of society marginalized by poverty into the embrace of another ideology, initiated by the new leader elected in 2016, has come to an angry denouement.

In the lexicon of Pilipino movies, it reminds one of a quote from the legendary FPJ: “Kapag puno na ang salop, kinakalos na.”

President Duterte’s patience has been wearing thin throughout the year of constant parlays, almost all of these held in the foreign capitals of Europe.

Seeing how the “leader” he once admired as a student of political science could neither control the “troops” under his

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Martial law until Christmas time CONGRESS, assembled in joint session as ordained by the Constitution, has overwhelmingly voted to grant the President’s request to extend martial law in Mindanao until Dec. 31, and despite the sycophantic suggestion of one of their more obsequious kin, the legislators, thankfully, paid little heed to the proposal to extend it not only in time but in breadth—over the entire archipelago.

I disagree with Senator Risa Hontiveros on a number of things, but I laud her for having asked the right questions, in the same measure that I begrudge the “resource persons” from the Executive Branch for having given her all the wrong answers. She asked, quite relevantly, why there was a need to extend martial law until December if the government claims that it is in full control of the situation, that the skirmishes are confined to Marawi City and that most of the Maute have been “neutralized.” She was regaled by the resource persons with accounts of drugs seized from couriers, coddlers and supporters of

the pesky group. And of course that is the wrong answer because you do not use martial law to crack down on crack and other pernicious substances! Or perhaps, it was the truthful answer, and the wrong reason for asking for an extension of martial law.

Then there was the equally important question that did go to the heart of the matter: What does the government hope to achieve by martial law that it cannot bring to the pass by any of the laws now in force, such as the Human Security Act (the Anti-Terrorism Law)? That was raising the fundamental question of constitutional law and political theory: Exactly what, under the 1987 Constitution, is the legal effect of martial law? And all she got in reply was rambling that just muddled the issue even more.

That really made me wonder: Why did the resource persons not prepare to argue more convincingly? Were they very confident of a felicitous outcome because of the vaunted “supermajority” that

When ‘majority’ becomes synonymous to sycophancy, then rationality is threatened.

the administration has at its beck and call in the Lower House?

That brings me to my point on a representative democracy. “Majority” is not a bad word. In fact, whether in presidential or parliamentary democracies, it is having a majority that makes a government feasible. A president upon whom is forced a hostile congress is in for a very rough ride, and a prime minister chosen from a party that does not command a controlling majority in parliament sits

atop a tottering pole! But when “majority” becomes synonymous to sycophancy, then rationality is threatened, because the “ayes” will always have it, as long as the leader of the pack introduces the proposition, no matter how preposterous it may be. When party loyalty means kinship in ideals and consensus about a program of government, that forebodes well for a democracy, for there is room even for debate within the party. But it has hardly ever been like that in this country. For now, LP means PNoy, and, of course, that means “dilawan” and everything despised about it, just as the President’s party means him—and standing by him, no matter that his rants may be outrageous at times. The prevalence of the majority was never meant to substitute for communicative action, and just because one has the numbers, it does not follow that one has the correct reasons. At best, “majority rules” is an expedient device that postpones debate and exchange and allows resolute

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

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Opinion

MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

A5

Abdication AS EXPECTED, the debate on the extension of martial law in Mindanao during the special joint session of Congress went along partisan lines. With the support of sycophants in both the Senate and the House, President Rodrigo Duterte had his way to extend martial law in Mindanao up to the end of this year. That’s an extension of 150 days.

Voting 261 to 18, Congress submitted to the “caprices and whim of one man,” to quote a senator after the count. To those who followed the proceedings carried live by national television, it was clearly an abdication of Congress’ responsibility to obey and follow the 1987 Constitution.

This constitutional provision was brought up early in the debate by Buhay Party List Rep. Lito Atienza when he asked the government panel and proponents of the martial law extension; “how will you explain and get around the specific provision of the 1987 Constitution limiting martial law to 60 days?”

Atienza did not get any answer as the government panel composed of Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. and Executive Secretary Salvador Medialea turned their heads to each other, befuddled and looking for answers.

Clearly, Atienza who is not even a lawyer but who knows his Constitution asked the most relevant and cogent question that dug deep into the heart of the issue —the legality of the proposal to extend martial law beyond the 60-day limit.

Even clearer to those who think clearly with their heads, the overwhelming vote of President Duterte’s “supermajority coalition” showed how Congress had abdicated its duty to protect and uphold the Constitution.

As it were on matters like this, including the issue of impeachment, the whole process is a

numbers game.

And so it came to pass: Damn the Constitution, let’s give the President what he wants.

As there are too many names in the House who followed the President’s bidding, let us just name the 16 senators who, like their House counterparts, abdicated their solemn oath to obey the Constitution.

Remember these: Cynthia Villar, Loren Legarda, Ralph Recto, Gregorio Honasan, Manny Pacquiao, Grace Poe, Joel Villanueva, Tito Sotto, Sherwin Gatchalian, Koko Pimentel, Juan Edgardo Angara, JV Ejercito, Francis Escudero, Richard Gordon, Panfilo Lacson and Juan Miguel Zubiri.

There were no vote abstentions among the senators except for Senator Antonio Trillanes who was reportedly absent during the joint session and Nancy Binay who was not yet back from a foreign trip at the time of the voting.

True to their calling, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, Senators Francis Pangilinan, Risa Hontiveros and Paulo “Bam” Aquino voted to oppose the extension of martial law. They warned that the extension is not only against the law but could be imposed nationwide by a president encouraged by a conscripted Congress.

Atienza’s core-of-the-matter issue on constitutional provision was pursued further by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, Akbayan Rep. Tom Villarin, Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano and Senator Bam Aquino who said they would elevate the legality of martial law extension before the Supreme Court.

Recall that the high court earlier upheld Duterte’s martial law imposition in Mindanao in the wake of the Marawi siege by the ISIS-Maute terror group.

But its 150-day extension is an altogether different issue wherein the SC might have no recourse but follow the 60day limit specified in the 1987 Constitution.

Outside of the joint session of Congress, former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said voting on such an issue must be done separately. He cited the fact that the joint session was presided over by both Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, showing the separate identity of each legislative chamber. This again will be the case with the Senate President and House Speaker banging their own gavel to proclaim the convening of Congress for the State of the Nation Address of President Duterte today.

No way to run a city “Oh, my God! Is this a joke?”

This was the gasp of a female reporter who could not believe what she saw during a staged cleanup drive of Manila Bay, I myself watched in disbelief a TV film footage in evening news that caught the mockery of it all.

With a group of media people in tow, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada boarded a motorized banca obviously for a photo op showing him leading a cleanup of debris in the bay area. But for some freak reason, there was not enough debris on that rare day. Whoever wrote the script for the Manila Bay area forgot to tell those garbage scavengers to leave some for the good mayor.

No problem. The “alalays,” no doubt from city hall’s sanitation department, came prepared. From plastic bags and pails, they dumped into the bay water trash consisting of empty plastic bottles, food scraps and what-have-you. Like a true thes-

pian, the former action movie star went to work. Wearing an expensive-looking light blue designer jacket, the mayor started collecting the trash with the use of wire mesh attached at the end of a pole. Erap didn’t know (or did he?) that his own people were the ones who dumped the garbage into the water.

Compare Erap’s out-of-place expensive designer jacket for the task at hand to Digong’s camouflage army jacket in his field trip to the war zone in Marawi to show he’s one of the boys. Mr. Duterte at least had sartorial sense not to wear his trademark checkered shirt, or his barong tagalog (never mind that the sleeves are rolled up), or his occasional leather motorcycle jacket.

But more than sartorial sense, our street-smart commander in chief knows he will easily be spotted in a crowd by sharpshooting Maute snipers if he’s in signature clothes.

Is Erap that hungry for publicity that he allowed such a cheap and illegal stunt? Getting on the boat, the hizzoner had to be helped by a couple of aides lest he fell overboard. That would have been embarrassing as the TV cameras were already rolling. At 80, the mayor showed his age. If Erap later watched a replay of this episode, he should really consider retiring and not even think of a third term in 2019.

At this point in Manila politics, I don’t see anyone challenging Erap for mayor. But then two years from now, someone is bound to step up particularly if Erap self-destructs owing to old age or some unforeseen scandal connected to a shady city hall deal. We have to remember the man had been convicted for plunder before; he was only later on pardoned by former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

This fact apparently did not sink in with Manila’s masa who still elected him mayor.

How to win the online war against IS Bloomberg editorial ON THE ground in Iraq and Syria, Islamic State is on the brink of military defeat. Online, however, the group continues to incite its followers to violence, and victory there will take the same kind of sustained effort that anti-terrorist forces brought to the battlefield.

The foremost challenge is to identify individuals susceptible to the terrorists’ messages and intervene before they’re radicalized. US and European officials should enlist the help of local leaders, the private sector and credible voices in Muslim communities.

Over the last two years, there has been quiet progress in reducing the volume of proIslamic State content on the internet. The military campaign against the organization has certainly damaged its ability to generate propaganda —some of it by as much as 75 percent, according to a West Point analysis. Technology

Overwhelming From A4 “command,” nor even show enough sincerity to attempt to do so, despite prolonged ceasefire and continued talks of peace, Duterte has had enough.

Pained by the treacherous attacks against the soldiers and police of the Republic that sues for peace, the President now has no choice but to say enough is enough.

“Stop exacting revolutionary taxes even from the poor even in the hinterlands…you get even their food,” an angry Duterte wailed.

Responding to Joma Sison’s charge that he is a bully, Duterte said that he “bullies people who try to topple government and all the enemies of the state… because there is a war going on between us and you.”

“And you are killing my soldiers and policemen, so I bully you. When the time comes, maybe I will kill you if I have the chance,” he said.

These are words from the heart

companies have also begun to police their platforms more aggressively, in part due to pressure from European regulators to combat hate speech.

The problem is that they’re often chasing ghosts. Islamic State operatives are adept at creating social-media accounts that remain dormant, and undetectable, until the moment they’re activated.

Jihadists forced off Twitter and Facebook increasingly communicate on encrypted platforms, such as Telegram and WhatsApp. And even successful efforts to remove terrorist postings are shortlived. Last year, Operation Glowing Symphony, conducted by the National Security Agency and US Cyber Command, wiped out troves of Islamic State videos and socialmedia handles—but most of the content reappeared within days.

What can governments do? They can push technology companies to continue to share with each other the “dig-

of a pained man who has been commiserating with the widows and orphans of his treacherously killed soldiers. A cri de couer.

Enough said. It is time to remove the sword from its sheath. *** A little trivia: Millennials probably wonder at the meaning of the “salop” that FPJ said needed “kalos.” They grew up with the kilogram and the weighing scale as the measure of purchased rice.

Senior citizens like this writer recall the days when our mothers would purchase rice by the ganta, which is “salop” in Tagalog.

It was a cubical measure of volume rather than weight, made of wood and open on one side. Rice was placed in it by the tinder in the wet market, and filled beyond brim, a piece of wood was used to “kalos” or remove the excess rice before it was placed onto a paper bag.

I remember that when I was in grade school, Carlos P. Garcia was defeated by Diosdado P. Macapagal for the presidency because the price of rice went up

ital fingerprints” of suspected terrorist accounts. But they should resist imposing mandates on the industry, which could discourage smaller companies from participating.

Governments should also focus not just on reducing the volume of terrorist propaganda but also on supporting compelling alternatives to it. One example is “Black Crows,” a 30-part television drama highlighting women’s resistance to Islamic State, which aired during Ramadan on MBC 1, the most-watched satellite network in the Arab world. Western governments should stay out of the business of creating or even directly underwriting this kind of content; doing so instantly reduces its credibility with the target audience. They should focus instead on facilitating partnerships, training and exchanges between the media and entertainment industries and content creators in majority-Muslim societies.

Counter-messaging also

needs to be integrated with programs that address the radicalization process, which still largely takes place offline —in gyms, schools, prisons and mosques. These are best carried out at the local level, through initiatives such as the Strong Cities Network, which helps mayors and community leaders from 200 localities around the world share data and strategies on how to detect signs of radicalism. Unfortunately, the current administration eliminated the Department of Homeland Security’s funding for such community-based efforts in its 2018 budget proposal.

Congress should restore that funding—and work to convince President Donald Trump’s national-security team of the need to seek local solutions to the threat of global terrorism. It took an army to prevail in the battle for Mosul in Iraq. It will take a lot more than military force to win the war against extremism online.

from 80 centavos per ganta to give us all “a more comfortable one peso. life,” and he will expound on his Four years later, Ferdinand E. social and economic developMarcos lashed at Macapagal for ment plans in order to achieve his inability to temper the rise in this. the price of rice. It had gone up We have seen glimpses of to 1.20 pesos per “salop.” the plan, from his Build, Build, And when he became presi- Build to his safety nets for the dent, Marcos soon brought down poor in terms of better health the price to one peso, per “kilo” and better education. this time, standardizing the sysThe devil will be in the details tem of weights and measures to of the implementation, and I am the metric. At a peso per kilo sure the President is aware of though, the cost of one ganta this. It is hoped his appointees really went up to 2.20 pesos, al- to the bureaucracy would work most double. as hard as he, and have the caBut that was in the late 60s, pability, let alone the determinawell into the declaration of mar- tion, and integrity to see to the tial law in 1972. Today, a kilo of fruition of his legacy. rice costs anywhere from P34 to Five years through the sands P50 for ordinary, flat-tasting and of time can pass so quickly. often broken if well-milled rice.

Ah, for the good old days. *** Today the people will listen to President Rodrigo Duterte’s second State of the Nation Address.

His communication honAtty. Jimeno’s column will resume chos have said that he would next week. speak about how he intends to

Government must lead the Asean Code of Conduct A YEAR after receiving a favorable ruling from the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, it is incumbent upon the Philippine government to take advantage of the decision and take the lead in resuming talks that would pave the way for an enforceable Code of Conduct in the disputed sea route.

It is critical to emphasize that, despite criticism of the ruling’s lack of teeth, it is final in character. No entity, whether individual or country, can reopen what has been adjudicated in the arbitration process. The decision, once handed down, becomes an integral part of international law. As a legal precedent for Asean claimant-states in clarifying their maritime entitlements and boundaries, it should thus be recognized in the envisioned Code of Conduct.

The legacy of such a binding mechanism would be twofold. On one hand, the most immediate impact is averting the escalating risk of military confrontation in the South China Sea. It is clear that Beijing has long been intent on flexing its military muscle in the region, evidenced by near-nonstop military build-up of military facilities in the disputed waters.

Purportedly warmer relations between Manila and Beijing did little to change this. Just recently, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative released photos that show new missile shelters and radar and communication facilities being installed in Fiery Cross and Mischief and Subi Reefs. The sort of deliThere is a cate peace in the region link between is thus undermined by what many see as Chipolitical peace na’s willful disregard and economic and flouting of conventional diplomacy and harmony in this international law. case.

This, even as we see interesting developments in the disputed waterway, including reports of US aircraft and vessels participating in so-called Freedom of Navigation operation around Mischief Reef in May, which some describe as an underhanded challenge to Chinese control of the region. Elsewhere, Indonesia, another claimant-state, recently renamed the waters north of its Exclusive Economic Zone the “North Natuna Sea,” which one Chinese foreign ministry spokesman dismissed as nonsensical.

But the consequences of such military build-up have by no means been limited to armed conflict and combatants. For so long now, small Filipino fishermen have complained of constant intimidation and harassment by Chinese vessels in what used to be their traditional fishing grounds.

Clearly, then, there is a link between political peace and economic harmony in this case. The second benefit of a binding Code of Conduct in the South China Sea is guaranteeing the continued maritime traffic—and therefore trade and commerce—in the important sea route.

After all, up to $5 trillion worth of goods and logistics pass through the shipping lanes of the South China Sea per year.

This constitutes an astounding 40 to 60 percent of the world’s traded goods, including half of oil-tanker shipments, half of the world’s merchant fleet tonnage, and a third of all maritime traffic worldwide.

The economic impact of any semblance of obstruction can be most drastic for the oil supply. Oil transported through the Malacca Strait en route to East Asia via the South China Sea accounts for up to two-thirds of South Korea’s energy supply, nearly 60 percent of Japan’s and Taiwan’s, and 80 percent of China’s. For perspective, this is cumulatively triple what passes through the Suez Canal and fifteen times the volume that traverses the Panama Canal.

The cost of rerouting oil tankers is thus similarly high. A switch via the Lombok Strait and east of the Philippines can cost Japan, for instance, up to $600 million per year. For Australia, the figure can go up to as high as $20 billion worth of cargo a year.

The Philippines must thus endeavor to show that the stability of the South China Sea will be to every party’s benefit, both in fostering political peace and economic prosperity. A Code of Conduct can be a viable vehicle to unite the region in this manner, something that the Duterte administration can use in not only enhancing the country’s standing among our peers but in ensuring its legacy for generations to come.

Martial..

From A4 Constitution is as meaningful in its silence as in what it provides. The “imminent danger thereof” of the 1935 Constitution has been stricken off. That can only mean that the rebellion or the invasion must be actual and not merely feared, much less conjectured! That these requisites are presently fulfilled so as to justify the extension of martial law—this, I could not appreciate in the rambling comments, answers and perorations of the “resource persons.” And that is why the resolve of some groups to bring the matter to the Supreme Court once more should be welcome. And the Court will not be bound to decide in the same way that it decided the Medialdea consolidated cases. Then, the issue was whether or not there were indeed factual bases for the exercise of the twin emergency powers—declaring martial law and suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus. This time around, the question will be different: Does a state of rebellion continue to exist and does public safety require that martial law remain in place, until Santa Clause comes along to take it back with him to the North Pole? rannie_aquino@csu.edu.ph rannie_aquino@sanbeda.edu.ph rannie_aquino@outlook.com

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News

MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

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Support smoking ban–Palace

MALACAÑANG on Sunday urged the public to support the nationwide ban on smoking in public places which has taken effect on Sunday on the strength of Executive Order 26 signed by President Duterte.

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella described the Executive Order as another milestone where the government gives priority to the right to protect public health.

Covered by the smoking ban are public and private transportation utilities, schools, government facilities, children activity centers, food establishments, street or walkway, waiting shed areas, markets, health care facilities, parking lots and transportation terminals, church grounds, markets and parks, among others.

“The implementation of this EO is a realization of our dream of a tobacco-free future,” he said.

“Together, let us give our full cooperation and support to the smoke-free establishments in public and enclosed places,” said Abella.

“It has already been set that 60 days after publication, EO 26 is implementable and that will be on Sunday, July 23.

There will be no extension,” Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial said.

TARA NA SA NORTE. Senator Cynthia Villar (left) and Rodrigo E. Franco, CEO and president of NLEX Corporation, exchange views at the sidelines of the NLEXSCTEX ‘Tara na sa Norte” Tourism and Travel Fair held at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati City on Sunday. The event is meant to boost agri-tourism in North and Central Luzon areas. Manny Palmero

BuCor-Tadeco deal backed, Justice told

By Rey E. Requejo

S

UPPORT for the joint venture agreement between the Bureau of Corrections and the Tagum Agricultural Development Co. Inc. has snowballed as more local government units and local executives called on the Department of Justice and the Duterte administration to affirm the deal, citing its crucial role to the economic development of Davao del Norte province.

The municipality and city councils as well as the leagues of barangay of Carmen, Braulio Dujali, Panabo, Samal, and Sto. Tomas have issued separate resolutions affirming their support to the BuCor-Tadeco deal to manage the 5,308.36-hectare banana plantation inside the Davao Penal Colony reservation. The resolutions were submitted to the DoJ and its attached agency, the BuCor. “The presence of banana companies like Tadeco boosts the economic activity not only in the Municipality of Carmen but throughout the Davao Re-

gion. It is one of the resources considered that made Carmen a first class municipality in the province,” read the resolution of Carmen’s Sangguniang Bayan.

At least 50 percent of Carmen’s labor force is working in agro-industrial establishments. Of this, 70 percent are hired by Tadeco alone. The Sangguniang Bayan of Braulio Dujali noted how Tadeco has become instrumental to the development of the towns close to the plantation.

“It helped develop, construct, and maintain road networks and drainages and

protection dikes by providing heavy equipment and correspondent operator, which helped mitigate the flood problem of the locality.”

“Some parts of this town were also once barren while other lands were uninhabited.

With Tadeco developing and eventually turning them into productive spots where exportable bananas are grown, people started to flock [to Braulio Dujali municipality]... and at present [Tadeco] employed thousands of individuals from this town,” read the resolution.

SC junks double pay in Monetary Board THE Supreme Court has turned down the plea of the Monetary Board to grant its ex-officio members with allowances that they already get from their concurrent posts in government.

In a 10-page decision penned

by Associate Justice Noel Tijam, the high court dismissed the petition of the policy-making body of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas seeking to allow the extraordinary and miscellaneous expenses for its exofficio members.

Instead the tribunal affirmed the notices of disallowance issued by the Commission on Audit issued in August 2010 and affirmed in August 2014 on EMEs received by MB member Peter Favila and former member Romulo Neri from 2007 to 2009.

The SC debunked the allegations of the MB board that the CoA com-

mitted grave abuse of discretion and violated their constitutional right under the equal protection clause and instead affirmed the assailed ruling of the commission that exofficio members of the MB “shall not be entitled to additional EMEs, other than that appropriate for him or her under the GAA as a cabinet member.”

“In the absence of grave abuse of discretion, the factual findings of the CoA, which are undoubtedly supported by the evidence on record, must be accorded great respect and finality. CoA, as a duly authorized agency to adjudicate money claims against government agencies and instrumentalities has acquired special knowledge and expertise in handling matters failing under its specialized jurisdiction,” the SC stressed. Rey Requejo

IN BRIEF Elderly Ministry of Sacred Heart turns 6

FATHER Jaime Padilla, parish priest of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of the gated Brookside Hills Subdivision in Cainta, Rizal, will be the guest of honor during the 6th anniversary on Wednesday, July 26, of the church’s Elderly Ministry.

The three-hour fellowship of breakfast and musical presentation at the 2nd floor of the MultiPurpose Hall in front of the church will be preceded by a 6 a.m. Mass to be officiated by Fr. Padilla, who took over from Fr. Gerry Evarola three months ago.

Evarola, who founded the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish Elderly Ministry in 2011, with Willie Imperial of Cabugao, Ilocos Sur as president, has since been assigned to Binangonan in the eastern sector of Rizal following his sacerdotal caravan.

FAMAS OFFICERS. President Rodrigo Duterte (middle) poses with officers of the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences after the oathtaking at Malacañang Rizal Ceremonial Hall held recently. From left: Aristeo Garcia, trustee; Angelo Eloy Padua, chairman; Tita Arcilla, treasurer; Francia C. Conrado, president; Tess Tan, secretary; Brian Lu, marshal; Jun Velasco, trustee; Benedicto Abaygar, PRO; Efren Montano, 2nd vice president; Dante La. Jimenez, adviser; (back) Pete S. Principe, legal adviser; Art Tapalla, trustee.

Religious groups vouch for NGOs linked to terror CATHOLIC and other religious leaders have rallied behind two Non-Government Organizations running schools in the Philippines after Turkish Ambassador Esra Cankorur last week accused the NGOs of being terrorist fronts.

No less than former Education Secretary and De La Salle University president Bro. Armin A. Luistro expressed support for the NGOs in a prepared statement.

Likewise, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines led a group of five religious and lay Catholic organizations during a press conference expressed support for the Integrative Center for Alternative Development Foundation Inc. and Pacific Dialogue Foundation Inc., NGOs which run the Filipino-Turkish Tolerance School in Zamboanga City and the Foun-

tain International Schools in Metro Manila.

The Church and lay leaders cited the ICAD and PDF for their numerous programs and projects in partnership with religious groups and the government for charitable causes and to promote peace and understanding among the Christian, Muslim and other major faiths. Likewise, the group debunked as false the terror

charges hurled by Cankorur in the media last week.

Attending the press conference in support of the two NGOs were Fr. Carlos Reyes, executive secretary of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Interreligious Dialogue; Dr. Potre Diampuan, Regional Coordinator of the United Religions Initiative South East Asia-Pacific; Dr. Tess Ramiro, president of

Catholic lay group Aksyon Para sa Kapayapaan at Katarungan (Action for Peace and Justice) Center for Active Non-Violence for Philippines Inc.; Shariah lawyer Harun Ali, secretary general of the Imam Council of the Philippines; and Marites GuingonaAfrica, founder and president of the Peacemakers’ Circle Inc., an active inter-faith dialogue organization.

Palace comes to PNP defense THE Palace on Sunday defended the Philippine National Police from criticisms for preventing the president of Liberal International from visiting detained Senator Leila de Lima.

“The Philippine National Police [PNP] has sufficiently explained its side on the issue,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement, on Liberal International president Juli Minoves not seeing De Lima.

“Our authorities are strictly following protocols in the PNP Custodial Center,” said Abella.

Sports

A7

MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Hall of Famer Roddick hails Roger, Rafa

F

ORMER world number one Andy Roddick compared facing Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to witnessing Spanish artist Picasso compose a masterpiece as he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

American star Roddick, 34, spent 13 weeks atop the world rankings, topping the year-end list in 2003.

He won his only Grand Slam singles title at the 2003 US Open, losing four other Slam finals to Federer. He retired after the 2012 US Open with 32 career ATP titles and a 612-213 record.

Regarding long-time rivals Federer and Nadal, Roddick remarked: “I can’t believe the level of tennis I got to see. I feel like I know what it must have been like to watch Picasso.”

Roddick also recalled how lucky he felt to see sisters Serena and Venus Williams as teens, saying: “I can’t wait to see Serena become a mother and I can’t wait to seem them both play in the Wimble-

don final in 2030!”

Roddick and fellow Slam winner Kim Clijsters, as well as Dutch four-time Paralympic wheelchair tennis medalist Monique Kalkmanvan den Bosch, tennis journalist and historian Steve Flink and the late Vic Braden, a groundbreaking instructor who died in 2014 at age 85, were enshrined in the Hall of Fame at Newport, Rhode Island on Saturday.

Belgium’s Clijsters, 34, won the 2005, 2009 and 2010 US Opens and the 2011 Australian Open singles crowns.

She spent 20 weeks atop the rankings and had a WTA career record of 523-127, capturing 41 WTA titles before retiring in 2012.

“This is an incredible moment for me,” Clijsters said. “I’m very honored to join all the past inductees and the Class of 2017, each of whom has left an indelible mark on our sport.”

Three of the four Grand Slam titles for Clijsters came after she had retired in 2007 and become a mother, not intending to return but shining once she did.

“Thank you tennis for making my dreams come true,” Clijsters said, calling her induction a “humbling experience.”

Kalkman-van den Bosch, 52, was diagnosed with cancer at age 14 and left paralyzed below the waist. She won 1984 Paralympic gold in table tennis, then switched to wheelchair tennis, taking three more titles to become the first woman to win Paralympic gold medals in two different individual sports.

“It’s an unbelievable, incredible honor,” she said.

“I’m so deeply proud and humbled to become part ANDY RODDICK of this tennis family.” AFP

Duke aims for big Ironman rebound DIMITY-LEE Duke is all geared up for the Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Philippines set Aug. 6 in Cebu, hoping to ride the momentum of a big victory in a recent local race and atone for a mediocre finish the last time out.

Duke struggled to place fifth in last year’s Cobra Ironman Asia-Pacific Championship but the veteran Australian campaigner is brimming with confidence heading to the country’s premier triathlon event at ShangriLa’s Mactan Resort and Spa. She has looked forward to racing again in the Queen City of the South where she hopes to finally reign supreme against an equally talented field that includes some of the world’s leading endurance runners in the event organized by Sunrise Events, Inc. “Sure, I am really looking forward to racing in Cebu again. It’s one of the most fun and energetic events on the Ironman circuit,” said Duke, who scored a breakthrough victory in the Regent 5150 Triathlon in Subic after coming tantalizingly close in the past two editions. “I also look forward to seeing my Pinoy friends and triathlon family there.”

But the likes of compatriots Jacqueline Thisleton, Alise Selsmark, Kirra Seidel, Monica Juhart and Kerry Mulholland, Hungarian Anna Eberhardt, New Zealand’s Amelia Watkinson and local bet Kim Kilgroe have also trained their sights on her, all raring to foil her

and claim the coveted women’s crown worth $5,000.

All her rivals pack impressive credentials, led by Thisleton, who topped the Age Group Athlete Overall in last year’s Ironman 70.3 World Championship and prevailed in Cairns and Port Macquaire, and Seidel, winner of last year’s Ironman 70.3 in Korea.

Meanwhile, fellow Aussie Tim Reed is also hard-pressed in the men’s side of the country’s premier triathlon with the bemedaled triathlon going for a rare three-peat in the 1.9K-swim, 90K-bike, 21K-run event backed by title sponsor Cobra Energy Drink and presentor Tourism Promotions Board Philippines and Summit Natural Drinking Water, also the official hydration partner.

The reigning world champion will be up against a crack field, led by compatriot Tim Van Berkel, Mauricio Mendez of Mexico, Brent McMahon of Canada, Kiwi Cameron Brown, another Aussie ace Sam Betten, who shared top honors with Duke in the recent Regent 5150.

Also in the fold are Braden Currie, Eddie Rawles and Callum Millward of New Zealand, David Mainwaring, Alexander Polizzi and Luke Bell of Australia, Americans Brad Williams and Iain Alexandridis, Czech Jakub Langhammer, Johan Stofberg of South Africa, Italian Jonathan Ciavatella and Eric Watson of Bahrain, all going all out to beat Reed’s 3:51:46 clocking last year.

Members of the Ford Forza Triathlon team, led by actor Matteo Guidicelli, flash the thumbs-up sign. Paul Duran

Ford Forza Team: A mixed group ready for battle

By Paul Duran THEY may not have the strongest members, the fastest delegates and neither are they the most talented in the crop of über competitive triathletes joining this year’s Ironman 70.3 in Cebu.

But for a triathlon family that is team Ford Forza, joining to stay fit is the prime goal, but a podium finish this time would be a welcome bonus.

“We’re not like other teams who are all excellent, top elite athletes. Our team is a mix

of different people,” said actor Matteo Guidicelli, who will lead the team in the “Hollywood” of triathlons in Asia on Aug. 6.

“Yes we have top athletes, but ‘yung iba are ordinary professionals from busy fields,” explained Guidicelli as members of the team were presented to the media Friday at Ascott Makati.

Led by team captain Gianluca Guidecelli, the team boasts of a diverse mix from different industries and age groups such as TV personalities Ivan Carapiet and Dyan

Froome rides closer to 4th Tour de France triumph CHRIS Froome will close on the Tour de France’s greatest champions when he rides into Paris on Sunday to clinch his fourth victory in cycling’s most prestigious race.

The 32-year-old Briton finished third in Saturday’s 22.5km time-trial in Marseille to effectively secure a 54-second overall victory ahead of Colombia’s Rigoberto Uran.

Now, only Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain—all with five wins—have won more Tours than Froome.

“I’m not much of a person for looking back. Of course to have won it once (in 2013), the novelty was to be a Tour de France winner -- that was massive,” he said.

“To come back and try to do it again the second time (in 2015) made it count even more.

“To do it consecutively last year for the first time—two in a row—was the big drive.

“For me now to have done it again, a fourth title, I never dreamed of being up there or even coming close to Eddy Merkcx, Anquetil or Indurain.

“It’s amazing to be in this position, it’s such a privilege.”

It may have been the tightest victory of Froome’s Tour successes but there was little to suggest he won’t go on to match the record next year and even beat it in the future.

His top rivals Uran and Frenchman Romain Bardet have improved enough to

match him in the mountains, but he still retains a significant edge in time-trials.

His winning margin was 54 seconds but he actually gained 1min 16sec with respect to Uran in the two time-trial stages.

Bardet finished third at 2:20 but gave up 2:36 in the two races against the clock.

“It was definitely never secure until I was over this line in Marseille,” Froome said on Saturday.

“This morning, I didn’t know what was going to happen. Of course I wanted to come out and win it today, I’m just grateful that on the road my legs felt good.

“Every Tour de France is hard, but to say one’s harder than the others is difficult.”

It won’t just be Froome celebrating on Sunday.

Frenchman Warren Barguil will be crowned king of the mountains, Australia’s Michael Matthews top sprinter and Simon Yates of Britain best young rider.

The white jersey will therefore remain in the same household for another A hostess zips up the overall leader yellow jersey on Great Britain’s Christopher 12 months as Yates’s twin brother Adam Froome celebrating on the podium at the end of a 22,5 km individual time-trial, the twentieth stage of the 104th edition of the Tour de France cycling race in and around won it last year.

“I’m really happy. A little bit relieved. Marseille, southern France. AFP I really wanted to come here and take The only remaining issue to resolve is two years but has yet to win a stage this this jersey and to pull it off is absolutely who will win the 21st and final stage of year, while Matthews has claimed two. fantastic,” Yates said. this year’s race, a 103km ride from Mont“We have another opportunity tomor“For sure, I’m looking forward to the geron to the Champs Elysees in Paris. row so I think everyone is going to be reChamps Elysees wearing the jersey.”

German Andre Greipel won it the last ally focused on it,” said Matthews. AFP

Elite runners rule PTT Run for Clean Energy at CCP Grounds ELITE runners and fun run enthusiasts ruled the first ever PTT Run for Clean Energy recently at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex in Pasay City.

Cindy Lorenzo, a certified elite runner and athlete who has several medals from other major running events took the gold in the women’s 10K category (40:10) followed by two other veteran runners Melanie Bacale and Maricar Camacho.

In men’s category, Rowell Garvero mastered the 10K challenge with 33:05. Coming in second was Emilio Aguinaldo College’s steeplechase athlete Junel Gobotia, trailed by Philippine Army bet Jujet de Asis who had previously competed in the Greatest Race on Earth in Singapore.

In the women’s 5K category, veteran Aileen Tolentino came in first with 14:22 followed by Maria Lyka Sarmiento and Far

Eastern University’s Joida Gagnao, with Jhon Ojerio and Evelou Abutas ruling the men’s side.

Nicko Cortes, meanwhile, topped the 3K for men with 9:32 followed by Norbert Cailao and veteran Carlito Fantillaga of Department of Agrarian Reform. For women, Richie Daka clocked in 12:29 for the gold, followed by Jonesa Gamay and De La Salle University’s triathlon team captain Gabriella Venturina settled for third.

PTT Run for Clean Energy is PTT Philippines’ advocacy run as part of its campaign to promote environmental protection and preservation in conjunction with the promotion of its new fuel technology, the Blue Innovation Gasoline and Diesel that has lower emission formula and cleans the car engine that in effect provides greater performance for the vehicle.

PTT Philippines, the local

subsidiary of Thailand’s oil and gas giant PTT Public Company Limited, organized the advocacy run in collaboration with Subterranean Ideas Entertainment. It was also supported by PTT Lubricants, Café Amazon, Medicard Foundation, Inc., Leslie’s, Chris Sports, Milcu, National Capital Region Athletic Association, Maynilad, Business Mirror, Sportsmanila.net and the Royal Thai Embassy Manila.

Castillejo, Giorgia Guidecelli, cancer survivor Joey Torres, long-time triathletes Elmo Clarabal, Joseph Miller, business manager Ian Solana, coach Noel Salvador and businessman Jomer Lim. “We want to showcase na kahit saang field ka, you can always go further. But of course we still wanna win also,” Matteo said.

“The team is especially driven this time as we have new members and everyone is just excited to race harder and tougher this year,” added Gianluca.

Makati Football Club shines in Singapore meet THE Makati Football Club toughened up for the Gothia World Youth Cup by competing against foreign rivals in various age-group divisions in the JSSL International Soccer 7’s tournament in Padang, Singapore recently.

The C2 Cool and Clean-sponsored soccer club fielded in 80 players in the boys’ 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 age categories, who slugged it out with their counterparts from Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Oman, Portugal, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and United Kingdom.

The MFC kids, including Kenjie Rance, Carl Vivash, Joaquin Collo, Inigo Castro, Alfonso Gonzalez, Josh Merino, Andrei Gonzalez, Dominic Tom and Agiel Rojo, impressed the opposition with their skills and guts throughout the three-day tournament.

“I’m very pleased with our success as it validates our program of improving our players’ skills and output by introducing them to more intense competition in international tournaments. But we have a lot of work to do,” said MFC chief operating officer Selu Lozano.

Since 2016, C2 has been backing the MFC kids as part of its #ShareC2Love campaign, which is about giving back and giving thanks to the brand’s loyal consumers.

Some of the team members were Kenjie Rance, Carl Vivash, Joaquin Collo, Inigo Castro, Alfonso Gonzalez, Josh Merino, Andrei Gonzalez, Dominic Tom and Agiel Rojo.

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

P0 M+ P0 M

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

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MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

Spieth closes in on British Open title SOUTHPORT—Jordan Spieth is in prime position to claim his third major title as he takes a three-shot lead into the final round of the British Open at Royal Birkdale on Sunday.

The American star sits atop the leaderboard on 11 under par after shooting a flawless 65 on Saturday -- his third consecutive round in the 60s -- while compatriot Matt Kuchar is his nearest challenge at eight-under.

Spieth, winner of the Masters and US Open in 2015, had held a twostroke lead over Kuchar at the halfway stage and kept his rival at bay all afternoon on Saturday before extending the advantage when he birdied the 18th.

Spieth has been at the top of the leaderboard after each of the first three rounds this week, but as he comes into the finale memories are still fresh of his stunning collapse in the last round of the 2016 Masters.

Then he led after each of the first three rounds and was five shots clear approaching the 10th hole on the Sunday, only to drop six shots in three holes and eventually lose out to England’s Danny Willett.

“I think I’m in a position where it can be very advantageous, just everything I’ve gone through, the good, the bad, and everything in the middle,” said the world number three when asked if he would use that experience to his advantage on Sunday.

“I understand that leads can be squandered quickly, and I also understand how you can keep on rolling on one.”

If the Texan sees out the victory he will follow in the footsteps of the great Jack Nicklaus by getting three-quarters of the way to a grand slam in the majors before his 24th birthday -- he turns 24 next week.

Kuchar, 39, has never triumphed in a major but then the last seven majors have all gone to first-time winners and five of the last six British Opens have been won by players aged 39 or older.

The duo will be the last pair out on the course as they tee off at 2:30pm local time (1330 GMT) on Sunday afternoon.

“I’ll be playing with him but not focused on him. My goal is to go out and play Royal Birkdale,” said the giant Florida-born Kuchar, whose best finish at a major to date is tied third at the Masters in 2012. AFP

US golfer Jordan Spieth reacts on the 18th green after his third round on day three of the Open Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale golf course near Southport in north west England. AFP

Star Hotshots blast Elite to pieces in 103-86 win

By Elmer Manuel

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TAR opened up its PBA Governors’ Cup campaign in fiery fashion, whipping Blackwater 103-86 to jumpstart its campaign in the season-ending conference at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Games Wednesday (Smart Araneta Coliseum) 4:15 p.m. – Rain or Shine vs. NLEX 7 p.m. – Phoenix vs. Globalport Peter Jun Simon took charge on the locals’ scoring, finishing with 20 points off an impressive 8-of-10 shooting from the field at a time when Hotshots import Cinmeon Bowers is still adjusting to their system.

He was later named Best Player of the Game.

Bowers, along with Allein Maliksi, capped the night with 15 points apiece while Ian Sangalang and Rafi Reavis were the other Star players in double figures, finishing with 14 and 11 points, respectively.

The Hotshots overshadowed the allaround performance of Blackwater import Trevis Simpson, who led the Elite with 24 points, eight rebounds, three

steals and two assists, but failed to lift his squad to victory after he was injured in the payoff period.

Blackwater suffered its second straight loss.

“We wanted to tighten our defense in the second half,” Star coach Chito Victolero said. “Good thing, ‘pag maganda nangyayari sa depensa namin, maganda rin nangyayari sa opensa.”

“Siyempre malaking bagay rin sa amin yung nawala yung import nila,” he added.

Blackwater was already knocking on Star’s door as it trailed by five, 70-75, in the early goings of the payoff period when the Elite hit a snag as Simpson was pulled out because of injury barely 24 seconds passed in the final quarter.

The window of opportunity was not lost to the Hotshots, which broke away with a crippling 26-5 run and put up their biggest lead at 21, 101-80 following a Mark Barroca

basket with two minutes and 30 seconds left.

Bowers still finished with decent numbers of 15 points, eight boards, five assists, and one block in almost 30 minutes.

The result also put to naught the solid showing of Poy Erram, who registered 11 points, 15 boards, and seven blocks in just his third game back after being out with a knee injury.

The scores: Star (103) - Simon 20, Maliksi 15, Bowers 15, Sangalang 14, Reavis 11, Lee 7, Ramos 7, Barroca 6, Dela Rosa 6, Mendoza 2, Melton 0, Javier 0, Brondial 0, Abundo 0.

Blackwater (86) - Simpson 24, Erram 11, Digregorio 11, Cruz 10, Banal 8, Cervantes 5, Sumang 4, Buenafe 3, Sena 2, Canaleta 2, Pinto 2, Gamalinda 2, Aguilar 2, Pascual 0.

Quarterscores: 28-22, 49-40, 75-68, 10386.

Thai seeks 2nd Ladies’ Golf Tour title at Riviera

Ladies’ European Tour veteran Saruttaya Ngam-usawan leads the elite cast in the ICTSI Ladies’ PH Golf Tour.

SARUTTAYA Ngam-usawan hopes to re-display to form that netted her a breakthrough victory on the ICTSI Ladies Philippine Golf Tour as she heads six other Thai shotmakers in the ICTSI Riviera Ladies Championship beginning tomorrow (Tuesday) at Riviera’s Langer course in Silang, Cavite.

Ngam-usawan rallied to beat former three-time LPGT Order of Merit winner Cyna Rodriguez by two and claim the Royal Northwoods crown late last year, ending a six-year hunt for a maiden victory for the 29-year-old Thai who had previously turned in forgettable finishes in three LPGT events.

She campaigned back home

early in the season and on the Ladies European Tour, stints that more than primed herself up for the P750,000 tournament serving as the sixth leg of the eight-stage circuit sponsored by ICTSI. Other Thais vying in the 54-hole championship at the tough, ravine-laced par-71 layout are Tiranan Yoopan, Supakchaya Pattaranakrueang, Chatprapa Siriprakob, Jaruporn Naayutthawa, Numa Gulyanamitta and Sarinee Thitiratanakorn.

Korean Euna Koh, who humbled local ace Pauline del Rosario in a playoff to snare the Luisita crown last April, also her first victory, is also in the fold, seeking another shot at the championship against

the compact international field.

That includes fellow Korean Choi Soo Min, Indonesian Jessica Lydia, Fil-Am and former leg winner Cristina Corpus and local bets Anya Tanpinco, Apple Fudolin, Jan Punzalan, Lovelyn Guioguio, former leg champions Chihiro Ikeda and Sarah Ababa and Sheryl Villasencio.

A crack group of amateurs is also in the list, all raring to upstage its more experienced rivals in the 54-hole tournament organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. and backed by Custom Clubmakers, BDO, Meralco, Sharp, KZG, PLDT, Champion, Summit Mineral Water and K&G Golf

Air Force assured of playoff for semis seat AIR Force overcame the Power Smashers’ spirited comeback and scrambled for a 25-22, 26-24, 18-25, 1725, 15-13, victory last night to assure itself of at least a playoff for a semifinal berth in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.

The Lady Jet Spikers proved steadier in a back-and-forth decider and pulled off the gru-

eling one-hour, 52-minute victory, their fourth against a loss, that sent them to the semis of the mid-season conference organized by Sports Vision alongside the unbeaten Creamline Cool Smashers.

They also slammed the door shut on the Power Smashers, who dropped to joint eighth with the UP Lady Maroons at 1-5.

But for a while, the Power Smashers looked poise to

averting an outright elimination when they battled back from two sets down with emphatic victories in the third and fourth sets. They led, 9-7, in the fifth but succumbed to pressure as the Jet Spikers leaned on their experience to survive a pressure-packed endgame, scoring back-toback points that shattered the 13-all count and finished off the Power Smashers.

Mary Ann Pantiino fired 14

hits, Joy Cases and Iari Yongco added 12 points apiece while Jocemer Tapic chipped in 10 markers for Air Force, which yielded the battle off spikes, 53-58, but had more blocks, 108, and finished one ace better than their rivals.

Jovelyn Prado hammered in 22 points while Regine Arocha, Andrea Marzan, Dimdim Pacres and Ann Esguerra combined for 43 points for the Power Smashers.

Jovelyn Prado of the Power Smashers unloads a kill against Iari Yong of Air Force.

PH in gritty stand vs Seagulls OKAYAMA CITY-- The intensive training and preparation of the Philippine women’s volleyball team is starting to bear fruit following a very impressive performance in a friendly match against the Okayama City Seagulls Saturday at the Zip Arena in this lovely Japanese city.

Powered by 6’5” winger Jaja Santiago, the Nationals gamely challenged the elite Japanese club before bowing in a four-set exhibition match, 22-25, 14-25, 22-25, 20-25.

Santiago led the charge with 20 kills and three aces for 23 points, while open spiker Alyssa Valdez chipped in 15 kills, an ace and a block for 17 markers for the visiting squad, which displayed tremendous improvement in blocking and floor defense in the fifth day of training under Seagulls coach Akiyoshi Kawamoto.

Playmaker Kim Fajardo was also impressive, finishing with 40 excellent sets laced with a kill and an ace while team captain Mika Reyes stepped up in the absence of injured middle blocker Aby Marano to finish with four markers.

MacroAsia plans to exit mining B3

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

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Regulator wants to probe UCPB

By Julito G. Rada

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HE Insurance Commission asked the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to investigate the alleged gross negligence of United Coconut Planters Bank in managing the trust fund deposits of Provident Plans International Corp.

Insurance commissioner Dennis Funa said over the weekend the regulator sought the assistance of Bangko Sentral to conduct a fact-finding investigation on UCPB over the alleged commission or omission of acts required of the bank as a trustee of Provident Plans.

“The IC wrote a letter to BSP Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr., re-

questing that a fact-finding investigation be conducted on UCPB in connection with the handling of the trust fund deposits of Provident Plans,” Funa said.

“This request was prompted by the letter from Siguion Reyna Montecillo & Ongsiako Law Offices, counsel of Provident Plans, to the IC alleging that UCPB committed gross negligence and

fraudulent mismanagement of Provident Plans’ Trust Fund Deposits which resulted in the impairment of the required capital and deficiency in required trust fund of the said pre-need company,” Funa said.

UCPB earlier denied being negligent in protecting the trust fund of Provident Plans which the Insurance Commission planned to put under conservatorship to protect the interest of plan holders.

UCPB said in a statement it was coordinating with the Finance Department to clarify the matter.

It said as Provident Plan’s trustee bank from 1989 until 2014, it “had never been negligent in protecting their trust fund.”

UCPB said in 2009, Provident Plans decided to terminate its trust agreement with EIB and transferred the EIB time deposits to UCPB. “At the time it was transferred to UCPB, the EIB time deposits were considered as an allowable investment under the SEC guidelines and IC regulations.

EIB was eventually shuttered by the BSP in 2012,” it said.

Funa said upon evaluation of Provident Plans’ request, the commission deemed it proper to refer the same to Bangko Sentral, considering that the regulatory and supervisory powers over UCPB was vested upon it.

“Nevertheless, we required UCPB to submit to us their reply on the allegations of Provident

Plans,” Funa said.

Provident Plans is among the companies that the Insurance Commission found to be financially deficient after the regulation of the pre-need industry was placed under the commission in 2010 pursuant to Republic Act 9829. Pre-need firms were previously under the supervision of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Based on the latest letter submitted by Provident Plans to Insurance Commission, Provident Plans was in the process of negotiating with new investors who would either acquire or invest in the company in addition to raising new funds as part of its capital build-up program.

Lufthansa eyes new MRO hub in Cebu

By Darwin G. Amojelar LUFTHANSA Technik Philippines plans to expand its operations in the Philippines by building a new aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul facility in Cebu or Davao.

“Our growth was limited in Naia [Ninoy Aquino International Airport]. We are in a very confined space and we have reached high utilization.

Actually, sales are very strong next year and we have highest booking rate for next year, so we have to look at expansion possibilities and we will also look at locations either Clark or Cebu to build a hangar,” LTP president and chief executive Elmar Luther said.

“We are still evaluating it and it’s not yet final but the market is very positive,” he added.

LTP, a joint venture between MacroAsia Corp. and Lufthansa Technik AG of Germany, specializes in base maintenance of Airbus A320 family, A330, A340 and A380.

“Our biggest investment, Lufthansa Technik Philippines was very busy in 2016. LTP’s strategy to evolve from dependent on line maintenance services bore fruit, as its heavy maintenance business grew significantly,” MacroAsia president and chief operating officer Joseph Chua said.

Chua said LTP was able to sign up long-term contracts for Airbus 380 repairs for Qantas, British Airways and Lufthansa.

LTP secured base maintenance contracts with Asiana Airlines, AirAsia X, Jetstra Japan and Thai Air Asia X in 2016 as well as a five-year contract with British Airways.

IN BRIEF Asean in talks to lift more duties THE ongoing meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on the proposed partial conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in India seeks to include more goods and services that will be subject to zero-percent tariff.

Trade Secretary and Asean 2017 chairman Ramon Lopez said several member economies of Asean, including the Philippines now reached a product inclusion ratio of 90 percent to 92 percent.

“The ongoing RCEP meeting in Hyderabad will offer to get the 90 to 99 product inclusion,” said Lopez.

The meeting in Hyderabad is the 19th round of negotiations for RCEP agreement. The last meeting was held in the Philippines in May. Members of Asean will try to create the so-called level trading field under RCEP on July 24 to 28.

“It has now become important for all of us to show political willingness to move RCEP forward, especially in light of trends in some of parts of the world where a return to protectionism are being considered. RCEP should be an important demonstration that we continue to underscore the developmental function of international trade that benefits ultimately the broader base of the economy that will create more jobs, more business opportunities for our peoples,” said Lopez. Othel V. Campos

Landbank begins $40-m agri project

AYALA LAND RAISES P4.3B. Ayala Land Inc. issued and listed on the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. its 2.75-percent P4.3-billion short-dated notes due 2019. The notes adopt a novel structure aimed at tapping the unit investment trust funds following the decision of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to discontinue trust and UITF access to its overnight and term deposit facilities effective June 30, 2017. Shown are (from left) China Bank Capital Corp. managing director Ryan Romeo Tapia, Philippine Depository & Trust Corp. president Maria Theresa Ravalo, PDEx president Antonino Nakpil, Asian Development Bank economist Kosintr Puongsophol, Securities & Exchange Commission commissioner Ephyro Amatong, China Bank Capital president Romeo Uyan Jr., ALI president and chief executive Bernard Vincent Dy, PDEx chairman Cesar Crisol, ALI treasurer Augusto Bengzon, China Bank senior vice president Patrick Cheng and China Bank Capital head or origination and client coverage Virgilio Chua.

Meralco unit borrowing P100b from 8 banks

By Alena Mae S. Flores ATIMONAN One Energy Inc., a unit of Manila Electric Co., tapped Bank of Philippine Islands, Philippine National Bank and six other banks to raise P100 billion for the completion of a 1,200-megawatt ultra supercritical coal plant in Atimonan, Quezon.

“There are seven to eight banks. BPI and PNB, let’s say they’re two of the major lenders,” Manila Electric Co. president Oscar Reyes told reporters.

Atimonan One is majority

controlled by Meralco PowerGen Corp., the power generation arm of Meralco.

Meralco signed a 20-year power supply agreement with Atimonan One to purchase its entire electrical output. The application is still pending with the Energy Regulatory Commission.

“We continue to engage with ERC…We filed our application for PSA approval in April 2016 so it’s been close to 16 months.

The important thing is, every month [of delay] results in higher project cost because the EPC cost are increasing and exchange

rates are moving,” Reyes said.

Atimonan One power plant’s project financing hinges on the approval of the PSA. The P100 billion financing for the plant is touted to be the biggest for the energy sector.

“So in order to ensure the viability of the project, and the lower price for consumers, it’s best if early approval can be given,” the Meralco official, adding that he has faith in the ERC to make a decision within the announced three-month deadline.

Atimonan One is also currently in the final stage of its selec-

tion and contract documentation process for an engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the plant, the country’s first ever ultra supercritical power plant.

Meralco chairman Manuel Pangilinan said earlier Atimonan One received proposals from possible partners in the project.

“There’s a final list of four. Combination of foreign and local,” he said.

Pangilinan said Meralco PowerGen would keep a 51-percent stake in the project and “we will not sell control.”

Criminal cases vs Mighty to stay FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the criminal cases against local cigarette manufacturer Mighty Corp. will remain even if the government accepts its offer to settle its tax liabilities. “[The] criminal cases cannot be compromised,” Dominguez said over the weekend, adding “we have not formally approved [their offer].”

“But of course if somebody will come up and give us P3.44 billion, of course we will not say no,” Dominguez said.

The Finance Department is set to receive an initial payment of P3.5 billion from Mighty, representing a portion of its tax liabilities to the government.

The amount would actually come from Japan Tobacco International, which agreed to buy Mighty Corp. and its assets for P45 billion.

“We are studying it. But basically it seems like a good deal...,” Dominguez said. “So we will take our time to study the matter,” he said.

Dominguez said technically speaking, the approval power was with the

commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. Dominguez also said accepting the offer of Mighty would mean raising more than P30 billion inclusive of VAT. “That’s the calculation... If we accept the total tax it will take around P30 billion, slightly in excess of P30 billion,” he said.

Mighty in a letter to BIR commissioner Caesar Dulay on July 10 offered to settle its tax liabilities for P25 billion

by July 20. The amount represents the deficiency excise taxes (P3.5 billion) and the internal revenue taxes of the company and its shareholders (P21.5 billion).

Dominguez said the acceptance would not yet mean the department was agreeing to the company’s settlement offer. He also said even if the government accepted Mighty’s settlement offer, it would not preclude any criminal charges that the Bureau of Internal Revenue might file against the company in connection with its tax-related cases, as these could not be compromised. Julito G. Rada

MACROASIA’S STOCKHOLDERS MEETING. MacroAsia Corp. chairman Dr. Lucio

Tan (center), along with co-chairman Washington Sycip (right) and Carmen Tan leads the annual stockholders meeting of the company at Century Park Hotel in Manila. Lino Santos

FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines started implementing a Japan-funded $40 million project that aims to jumpstart agribusiness investments and raise farmers’ incomes in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The loan agreement for the program―the Harnessing Agribusiness Through Robust and Vibrant Entrepreneurship Support of Peaceful Transformation or Harvest―was signed bu LandBank and Japan International Cooperation Agency on Jan. 12, 2017. It became effective on June 9, 2017.

“The Harvest program which we signed with Jica a few months ago is now ongoing,” Dominguez said at a recent briefing in Malacañang. “The terms [of the loan agreement] are very, very liberal. The interest rates are extremely low so you can almost say they are ‘semi-grants’,” he said.

The Harvest program is included in the list of projects with an indicative total cost P315 billion that the Philippines proposed for financing by Japan during the second meeting of the Philippine-Japan high level joint committee on infrastructure development and economic cooperation held recently in Manila. Julito G. Rada

BSP sees recovery in dollar inflows BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo expects remittances, business process outsourcing revenues and tourism receipts to recover in the second half, allowing the balance of payments to cut its full-year deficit to $500 million.

“We believe that the second half will show a stronger external payments position on account of the usual current account flows including OFW remittances, tourism receipts and BPO revenues,” Guinigundo said.

Latest data showed that BOP, representing the country’s transactions with the rest of the world, incurred a deficit of $706 million in the first half.

“So the $500-million expected shortfall is still doable. FDIs [foreign direct investments] are also expected to come in stronger in the second half,” Guinigundo said.

The BOP deficit dragged the peso to a 10-year low this year.

The local currency closed at 50.71 against the US dollar on July 21.

Remittances are projected to grow by a conservative 4 percent in 2017. Money sent home by overseas Filipinos reached $11.346 billion in the first five months alone, up 4.5 percent from $10.859 billion a year ago. Julito G. Rada

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Business

MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Duterte’s Sona seen lifting stocks

By Jenniffer B. Austria

S

TOCKS are expected to move sideways this week, with an upward momentum as investors await President Rodrigo Duterte’s State-of-the-Nation Address where he will unveil his strategy to sustain economic growth.

“All eyes are on President Duterte’s State-of-the-Nation Address as the president is expected to address critical issues in the Philippines and offer plans of action. We also expect the start of first half of 2017 earnings release in the coming weeks to dictate the movement of the

market,” RCBC Securities analyst Jeffrey Lucero said.

BDO Nomura, the joint venture company between BDO Unibank and Nomura Holdings of Japan that offers an online stock trading service, sees the index hitting the 8,500-point level over the next 12 months as it expects the economy to sustain abovetrend growth.

BDO Nomura Securities Inc. head of research Dante Tinga Jr. said the prospects for the Philippine stock market would even get better with the passage of the tax reform program and the infrastructure rollout.

“Implementation of government plans for tax reform and infrastructure rollout are potential ‘game changers’. The market is closely tracking progress on both,” Tinga said.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index jumped 1.3 percent last week to close at 7,989.73, while the broader all-

share index rose 0.8 percent to 4,771.64.

Except for the services index which dipped 0.9 percent, all major counters ended in the green, led by property which advanced 2.8 percent, mining and oil which rose 2.1 percent and industrial which climbed 1.1 percent.

Foreign investors turned into net buyers last week by P568 million, as total overseas buying hit P18.16 billion while overseas selling amounted to P17.59 billion.

Top gainers last week were Wilcon Depot Inc. which surged 7.3 percent to P8.85, SM Prime Holdings Inc. which rose 4.9 percent to P34.80 and Semirara Mining and Power Corp. which advanced 4.8 percent to P168.

Heavy losers included Global Estate Resorts Inc. which declined 8.9 percent to P1.54, Filinvest Land Inc. which dropped 6.7 percent to P1.80 and Metro Retail Stores Group Inc. which shed 5.8 percent to P4.04.

Chelsea to construct shipyard worth P5b LOGISTICS and shipping company Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp. unveiled a plan to invest P5 billion in a medium-sized shipyard in Luzon as a part of its expansion strategy.

CLC president Chryss Alfonsus Damuy said in a recent investors briefing the group was in talks to acquire a shipping and logistics company and was interested in operating ports and shipyard facilities.

Damuy said CLC was looking at a shipyard in Subic or Batanagas.

He said the company would likely

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS WEEKLY STOCKS REVIEW STOCKS

JULY 17-21, 2017 Close Volume

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

MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl. Reinsurance Corp.

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

3.99 59.5 123.90 107.00 36.5 3.93 1.45 16.14 32 8.30 0.66 1.7 900.00 0.690 86.9 0.83 16.26 24.95 67.55 89.95 116.9 244.8 58 227.8 1690.00 86.35 1.36

460,000 347,970 16,678,610 6,244,840 1,419,300 15,000 1,824,000 32,200 9,332,700 4,900 484,000 309,000 3,250 13,935,000 35,058,070 1,772,000 525,900 21,200 160,440 2,080 2,160 7,940 3,263,810 1,920,820 1,675 315,780 356,000

Aboitiz Power Corp.

Agrinurture Inc. Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cons.

Asiabest Group Basic Energy Corp.

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

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

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

Pepsi-Cola Products Phil.

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

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

Swift Foods, Inc. TKC Steel Corp.

Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp.

Vivant Corp.

Vulcan Ind’l.

40.2 8.99 0.88 1.43 31.6 0.265 191 15.66 7.28 18.76 165.3 75.1 85 29.45 70 2.04 5.31 11.5 12.500 15.64 7.78 5.99 12.62 1.69 18.5 67.1 14.70 13.40 15.52 1.980 221.80 62.05 4.05 3.45 23.45 32 19.72 18.62 277.00 0.245 9.49 3.18 9.73 7.2 66.9 10.30 1.95 11.98 6.72 4.54 2.3 5.1 305 2.97 12.94 4.57 0.148 1.38 161 4.09 2.1 29.95 1.03

4,311,600 9,845,500 43,480,000 8,757,000 493,600 19,050,000 22,470 440,700 17,039,800 3,934,000 20 31,440 660 4,024,200 874,950 1,815,000 455,400 188,000 15,396,200 13,704,800 8,427,000 51,465,800 23,162,600 10,000 7,298,500 1,126,640 140,900 577,700 12,916,900 25,071,000 3,960,930 12,320 4,037,000 123,000 12,000 4,302,500 2,247,600 12,470,500 2,877,430 9,680,000 1,332,800 10,898,000 13,173,200 1,350,400 5,171,590 223,600 5,226,000 24,210,800 268,600 5,187,000 18,000 1,262,900 329,460 52,424,000 4,173,200 2,562,000 4,350,000 405,000 3,723,040 723,000 52,712,000 25,900 793,000

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

Forum Pacific GT Capital House of Inv. JG Summit Holdings Jolliville Holdings Keppel Holdings `A’ Keppel Holdings `B’ Lopez Holdings Corp.

Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp.

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

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

0.370 75.70 14.00 1.15 7.00 0.330 0.330 880 1006.00 7.9 15.60 6 7.70 0.229 1195 8.24 77.50 5 5.41 5.35 6.99 1.01 17.48 0.440 6.65 0.0510 1.020 2.170 2.60 103.10 2.75 800.00 1.58 0.87 190.00 303.800 0.2900 0.2300 0.250

10,270,000 4,977,220 42,242,500 854,000 543,500 6,430,000 2,420,000 685,070 10 3,530,000 50,596,700 30,300 82,900 7,720,000 1,065,125 932,100 9,255,990 175,400 9,000 21,000 7,662,200 31,556,000 25,681,600 330,000 168,960,500 218,440,000 247,000 6,237,000 17,000 404,810 5,032,000 1,508,060 14,936,000 741,000 5,280 39,900 1,030,000 23,210,000 2,930,000

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

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

Double Dragon Empire East Land Ever Gotesco Global-Estate Filinvest Land,Inc. Interport `A’ Keppel Properties Megaworld

5.950 6.02 1.45 2.360 1.100 42.150 3.72 5.34 5.25 5.97 5.99 0.600 1.26 1.560 0.191 0.530 47.2 0.780 0.183 1.54 1.80 1.08 4.12 4.7

1,713,400 400 52,919,000 1,336,000 18,674,000 41,423,100 8,001,000 281,300 30,278,900 232,000 3,000 488,339,000 4,611,000 3,208,000 58,120,000 22,211,000 458,800 35,338,000 36,510,000 215,469,000 154,217,000 2,748,000 3,000 165,199,000

Value FINANCIAL 1,842,140.00 20,530,720.50 2,038,339,792 653,091,478.00 51,837,800.00 59,480.00 2,655,270.00 518,916.00 306,538,380.00 40,037 319,940 527,590.00 2,897,520.00 9,899,550.00 3,145,023,403.50 1,492,650.00 8,293,142.00 529,435.00 10,863,181.00 184,080.50 240,429.00 1,944,592.00 190,894,432 426,441,080.00 2,757,090 27,265,970.00 490,620.00 INDUSTRIAL 172,303,515.00 89,188,113.00 39,173,370.00 12,484,550.00 15,530,125.00 5,086,100.00 4,658,943.00 6,860,550.00 124,154,367.00 73,712,140 3,443.00 2,611,482.00 61,315.00 119,034,800.00 60,150,266 3,669,430.00 2,410,209.00 2,161,890.00 192,041,970.00 212,370,868.00 66,229,193.00 304,873,330.00 284,035,100.00 16,860.00 137,656,426.00 76,387,661.50 2,109,560.00 7,862,254.00 203,143,040.00 53,133,470.00 867,249,576.00 791,010.50 17,177,890.00 423,510.00 270,425.00 138,347,965.00 45,023,064.00 233,238,966.00 788,075,086.00 2,362,170.00 12,821,943.00 34,819,080.00 127,139,787.00 10,251,895.00 352,138,961.50 2,304,662.00 10,273,000.00 277,745,756.00 1,757,022.00 23,530,160.00 39,700.00 6,450,611.00 100,368,796.00 160,753,710.00 54,384,982.00 11,582,200.00 628,430.00 556,320.00 601,310,327 2,978,330.00 111,876,690.00 756,440.00 825,220.00 HOLDING FIRMS 3,785,700.00 369,704,012.00 590,200,118.00 993,340.00 3,813,733.00 2,132,450.00 810,800.00 592,111,805 10,060.00 27,934,017.00 783,383,272.00 183,570.00 638,650.00 1,689,610.00 1,295,460,350.00 7,654,053.00 730,573,091.50 927,510.00 48,754.00 111,934.00 52,592,984.00 32,602,890.00 451,973,828.00 144,900.00 1,150,845,568.00 11,223,920.00 257,420.00 13,524,330.00 44,200.00 41,672,350.00 14,091,780.00 1,199,039,620.00 23,591,390.00 651,150.00 1,098,541.00 12,119,466.00 296,750.00 5,472,490.00 752,550.00 PROPERTY 10,153,473.00 2,408.00 78,141,860.00 3,143,250.00 20,828,520.00 1,731,972,330.00 29,772,470.00 1,497,736.00 161,038,730.00 1,253,636.00 17,556.00 307,271,190.00 5,652,500.00 4,954,060.00 11,132,020.00 11,702,710.00 21,610,920.00 27,802,610.00 6,519,610.00 344,871,930.00 293,497,730.00 2,916,530.00 12,360.00 781,042,260.00

Close

JULY 10-14, 2017 Volume Value

STOCKS

JULY 17-21, 2017 Close Volume

MRC Allied Ind. Phil. Estates Corp.

Phil. Realty `A’ Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry Primex Corp.

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

0.360 0.5100 0.640 34.20 4.74 36.8 24.80 1.8 3.24 34.80 1.03 7.38 0.900 5.750

2GO Group’ ABS-CBN Acesite Hotel APC Group, Inc. Apollo Global Asian Terminals Inc. Berjaya Phils. Inc. Bloomberry Boulevard Holdings Cebu Air Inc. (5J) Centro Esc. Univ.

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

Manila Broadcasting Manila Bulletin Manila Jockey Melco Crown Metro Retail NOW Corp.

Pacific Online Sys. Corp.

PAL Holdings Inc. Paxys Inc. Phil. Racing Club Phil. Seven Corp.

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

SSI Group STI Holdings Transpacific Broadcast Travellers Waterfront Phils.

Wilcon Depot

23.4 42.85 1.88 0.495 0.043 10.82 5.32 9.46 0.0810 97.75 9.57 2.22 10.24 3.23 990 2028 6.25 15.58 13.20 3.03 106 3.38 12.58 8.54 0.186 1.3900 3.3 15.52 4.90 2.23 9.50 16.22 0.600 2.37 8.9 4.04 2.550 11.46 5.10 3.2 8.25 167.00 10.20 1700.00 0.440 1.600 46.50 86.50 6.07 4.65 1.490 1.96 3.67 1.250 8.850

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

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

United Paragon

0.0031 1.68 5.13 14.70 1.9900 1.9600 1.21 0.385 8.53 2.640 0.300 0.186 0.192 0.012 0.0120 2.06 6.49 2 0.6000 1.1800 0.0110 0.0100 7.66 9.13 3.05 0.0120 2.6000 168.00 0.0083

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

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

43 516 515 106.5 104.6 112.5 114 512 517 6 1011 1020 1.05 108 1036 1100 1015 105.9 113.5 76.5 80.9 76.2 78 80.55 79 78.05 78.6 2

3.75 58.5 123.50 102.70 36.6 3.98 1.31 16.2 33.4 7.93 0.67 1.72 880.00 0.700 92 0.83 15.5 24.60 67.80 88.15 117 245.6 59.2 220 1660.00 86.20 1.43

63,000 288,820 13,596,640 6,268,140 1,767,700 22,000 362,000 171,000 17,146,500 10,600 211,000 267,000 1,920 10,566,000 27,853,540 5,100,900 126,000 9,800 1,119,550 2,010 14,380 8,030 828,500 3,478,620 1,730 84,770 1,694,000

241,440.00 16,693,180.50 1,686,441,801 646,515,833.00 64,884,515.00 87,240.00 487,390.00 2,745,958.00 544,731,505.00 84,207 139,530 470,490.00 1,675,650.00 7,293,780.00 2,629,531,876.50 5,481,610.00 1,954,000.00 243,340.00 75,956,364.50 177,585.00 1,693,240.00 1,982,622.00 49,060,160 766,190,008.00 2,858,850 7,252,395.00 2,357,930.00

40.05 9.15 0.84 1.46 30.5 0.270 190 14.14 7.35 18.5

4,681,600 15,273,800 14,153,000 9,831,000 864,600 43,910,000 8,500 17,100 14,939,200 5,862,100

188,136,275.00 135,081,303.00 11,960,160.00 14,337,330.00 26,942,540.00 11,896,900.00 1,320,735.00 240,758.00 106,232,204.00 110,750,130

71 92.25 29.6 68.5 2.04 5.35 11.44 12.460 15.54 7.80 5.77 11.20 1.78 18.8 67.9 14.80 13.68 16.02 2.000 215.00 64.00 4.01 3.4 24.95 32.5 20.15 18.3 269.80 0.247 8.36 3.2 9.58 7.88 67 10.40 1.95 10.58 6.37 4.55 2.1 5.12 302 2.95 13.36 4.49 0.146 1.40 161.5 4.28 2.09 30.10 1.03

4,700 20 2,953,200 1,370,460 2,492,000 319,500 255,600 9,323,000 13,946,800 14,290,000 133,793,900 22,711,400 177,130 6,535,000 756,620 161,500 730,100 24,211,600 45,903,000 1,962,780 25,580 2,654,000 239,000 1,900 3,922,400 10,390,900 18,053,000 3,339,580 19,600,000 854,300 5,466,000 13,159,200 4,341,000 2,081,190 119,800 10,275,000 18,881,600 589,400 1,053,000 2,000 2,758,500 129,910 37,530,000 15,788,300 2,478,000 7,070,000 693,000 6,260,150 315,000 50,213,000 2,200 321,000

333,509.50 1,905.00 88,883,940.00 95,135,746 4,973,080.00 1,698,155.00 2,963,478.00 115,276,648.00 217,770,048.00 115,524,539.00 775,564,492.00 249,849,986.00 96,930.00 122,168,572.00 52,534,537.00 2,429,336.00 9,846,658.00 383,965,094.00 91,229,450.00 417,823,270.00 1,629,202.00 10,893,320.00 822,420.00 90,175.00 127,004,420.00 218,151,482.00 329,494,698.00 893,755,144.00 4,967,590.00 6,802,438.00 17,418,750.00 126,976,564.00 31,022,112.00 141,709,458.00 1,235,436.00 19,968,920.00 191,547,609.00 3,742,053.00 4,729,030.00 4,200.00 14,938,797.00 39,617,630.00 103,738,300.00 215,619,988.00 11,207,070.00 1,024,190.00 954,510.00 1,015,864,669 1,314,940.00 106,894,310.00 67,450.00 335,820.00

0.370 75.00 14.00 1.19 6.85 0.340 0.340 853

4,680,000 5,489,810 31,315,600 831,000 475,700 12,170,000 3,017,860 649,920

1,726,450.00 411,995,008.50 438,606,926.00 1,013,170.00 3,155,979.00 4,078,800.00 313,097,360.00 559,229,820

8.04 15.10 5.91 7.80 0.220 1200 7.79 79.00 5.8 5.55 5.79 6.97 0.98 17.88 0.440 6.7 0.0520 1.100 2.220 2.56 102.50 2.69 789.50 1.49 0.93

4,389,800 68,561,600 12,700 347,800 5,770,000 560,060 343,800 6,445,540 202,800 4,000 14,400 8,744,700 8,525,000 31,004,800 130,000 154,469,100 149,450,000 1,297,000 11,076,000 3,000 611,290 129,000 2,223,300 3,237,000 647,000

35,306,595.00 1,021,131,548.00 75,507.00 2,612,090.00 1,201,490.00 672,459,235.00 2,621,747.00 515,106,311.00 1,217,194.00 21,750.00 79,132.00 62,320,744.00 8,442,980.00 525,411,910.00 54,200.00 675,701,993.00 7,927,450.00 1,405,220.00 25,491,930.00 7,680.00 62,857,400.00 344,910.00 1,758,046,960.00 4,730,350.00 592,140.00

304.000 0.2900 0.2120 0.280

39,420 750,000 2,040,000 19,520,000

11,925,992.00 214,700.00 458,410.00 5,451,610.00

LR Warrant

2.980

5.910 6.40 1.43 2.400 1.130 41.200 3.78 5.28 5.31

4,106,100 1,100 57,127,000 3,462,000 22,932,000 45,776,200 15,087,000 18,600 29,306,600

24,558,308.00 7,040.00 81,713,470.00 8,414,960.00 26,005,480.00 1,876,528,750.00 57,277,120.00 98,203.00 155,056,570.00

Makati Fin. Corp.

Italpinas Philab Holdings Xurpas

3.25 3.86 5.82 7.86

First Metro ETF

120

USD DMPL A1

10.5

5.65 0.630 1.18 1.550 0.197 0.530 47.1 0.780 0.161 1.69 1.93 1.07

2,000 663,554,000 1,872,000 16,494,000 241,040,000 23,347,000 5,121,200 48,692,000 4,230,000 396,683,000 340,489,000 196,971,000

11,315.00 439,479,550.00 2,230,930.00 26,177,410.00 48,368,570.00 12,366,940.00 244,925,195.00 38,220,120.00 693,910.00 691,840,380.00 641,218,330.00 217,510,290.00

4.62

152,157,000

712,725,400.00

Value

Close

813,300,000 162,850,000 45,337,000 6,800 10,026,000 300 13,560,200 3,058,000 2,345,000 30,740,000 9,446,000 6,700 3,977,000 28,716,000

307,256,350.00 78,535,600.00 28,908,220.00 239,300.00 47,812,590.00 11,040.00 336,068,480.00 5,603,430.00 7,515,900.00 1,044,281,350.00 9,644,860.00 46,265.00 3,669,040.00 166,343,411.00 SERVICES 2,219,700 51,768,035.00 277,000 11,700,350.00 6,381,000 11,646,430.00 3,080,000 1,543,075.00 130,400,000 5,532,600.00 2,000 21,702.00 13,200 70,215 43,049,800 404,137,702.00 373,220,000 31,404,400.00 1,084,270 105,710,555.50 23,500 225,601.00 73,000 166,210 15,214,200 141,159,862.00 6,000 19,380.00 2,680 2,635,600.00 165,940 336,602,570 1,369,000 8,563,522.00 122,100 1,890,464.00 22,200 293,042 5,948,000 17,986,600.00 7,762,790 815,682,491.00 190,000 651,060 36,700 451,740.00 1,489,100 12,869,971.00 39,740,000 7,427,620.00 7,968,000 11,354,650.00 399,000 1,317,470.00 31,900 500,576.00 14,735,800 75,299,844 38,099,000 81,959,710.00 16,040,300 153,123,408.00 99,500 2,053,282 2,138,000 1,252,110.00 2,441,000 5,645,730.00 19,727,200 167,811,537.00 80,205,000 332,029,050.00 6,284,000 16,175,450.00 67,800 775,990.00 240,000 1,232,031 36,000 114,670.00 2,249,600 18,559,200.00 298,140 52,461,754.00 7,086,700 74,180,468.00 732,080 1,234,524,340.00 14,520,000 6,347,200.00 12,715,000 20,181,400.00 5,983,600 281,126,605.00 5,320,200 464,229,122.50 2,598,200 15,760,271.00 102,029,000 482,321,120.00 108,289,000 163,328,110.00 16,000 30,990.00 13,358,000 48,818,970.00 348,981,000 481,860,220.00 65,852,300 564,781,227.00 MINING & OIL 6,503,000,000 20,094,800.00 29,394,000 50,062,990.00 1,416,300 7,339,432.00 700 9,582.00 147,000 300,010.00 112,000 227,840.00 55,348,000 64,865,090.00 925,000 759,400.00 86,500 745,680.00 22,600,000 61,817,250.00 10,410,000 3,074,000.00 85,550,000 16,435,700.00 17,010,000 3,354,630.00 430,000,000 4,737,100.00 16,500,000 196,900.00 72,856,000 141,356,300.00 40,480,500 264,772,448.00 1,237,000 2,442,310.00 5,510,000 3,396,780.00 14,570,000 18,030,590.00 154,800,000 1,565,300.00 28,200,000 282,000.00 7,507,800 59,237,052.00 18,488,900 168,134,918.00 3,759,000 11,465,410.00 520,600,000 6,251,000.00 211,000 553,960.00 7,670,030 1,253,077,286.00 32,100,000 279,500.00 PREFERRED 144,300 6,193,725.00 56,940 29,381,030.00 4,790 2,469,635 58,230 6,181,995 195,620 20,508,759.00 110 12,375.00 1,340 153,250.00 530 271,300.00 3,220 1,680,860.00 3,882,600 23,372,690.00 4,060 4,104,360.00 20,090 20,482,730.00 431,000 452,550 11,610 1,232,580.00 10,550 10,929,800.00 600 660,000.00 6,400 6,515,500.00 11,290 1,187,302.00 730 82,855.00 54,860 4,167,113.00 279,680 22,571,899.50 59,550 4,554,188.00 142,550 11,151,858.00 31,780 2,560,822.00 24,830 1,943,170.00 127,270 9,984,972.50 401,830 31,680,424.50 21,000 42,150.00 WARRANTS & BONDS 10,276,000 32,434,630.00 SME 53,000 170,620.00 809,000 3,141,940.00 4,597,500 27,583,905.00 12,760,800 101,384,852.00 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 267,370 31,727,342.00 DDOLLAR DENONIMATED SEC. 20,970 220,189.00

JULY 10-14, 2017 Volume Value

0.350 0.3750 0.650 36.80 4.62

509,080,000 31,060,000 157,611,000 27,900 14,945,000

179,669,550.00 12,238,050.00 104,394,760.00 1,032,950.00 61,747,530.00

24.45 1.78 3.28 33.00 1.03 7.38 0.940 5.940

13,062,600 8,089,000 2,962,000 35,320,400 23,268,000 2,300 4,625,000 17,990,900

315,987,715.00 14,778,270.00 9,639,070.00 1,174,456,015.00 24,288,850.00 15,821.00 4,383,600.00 106,926,752.00

23.5 42 1.83 0.500 0.043 11.16 5.57 9.95 0.0880 98 9.57 2.39 8.65 3.20 970 2070 6.23 15.44 13.20 3.11 101.4 3.48 12.12 8.50 0.185 1.5200 3.44 15.8 4.96 1.83 9.70 16.70 0.620 2.32 9.01 4.29 2.600 11.5 5.29 2.86 8.23 180.00 10.84 1720.00 0.440 1.600 46.30 87.00 6.05 4.86 1.550 1.9 3.53 1.320 8.250

8,717,600 98,000 14,150,000 2,471,000 88,300,000 22,200 74,000 55,971,200 110,430,000 688,430 42,600 41,000 1,338,600 5,000 1,190 201,050 1,278,400 153,200 1,000 12,623,000 8,218,730 392,000 10,000 1,750,500 20,760,000 16,103,000 820,000 166,500 19,330,100 13,714,000 21,430,000 6,200 863,000 661,900 18,702,100 86,848,600 18,588,000 55,100 63,800 1,768,000 409,500 94,220 18,872,800 612,195 53,600,000 20,057,000 10,033,400 2,973,900 5,750,000 129,499,600 156,445,000 42,000 15,721,000 524,357,000 69,302,000

189,797,751.00 4,113,710.00 26,576,410.00 1,220,900.00 3,820,200.00 241,480.00 393,122 542,578,787.00 9,641,390.00 66,925,972.50 411,125.00 96,500 11,568,280.00 16,150.00 1,155,350.00 414,627,820 7,964,957.00 2,378,950.00 13,200 38,324,180.00 842,580,943.00 1,363,410 121,200.00 15,140,249.00 3,824,690.00 25,078,500.00 2,804,330.00 2,663,424.00 97,017,260 25,561,410.00 197,494,835.00 100,740 561,030.00 1,572,340.00 168,532,833.00 396,179,549.00 48,343,360.00 634,392.00 335,690 5,627,790.00 3,370,185.00 16,049,720.00 214,550,948.00 1,051,107,150.00 23,252,900.00 31,814,290.00 463,246,595.00 260,465,350.00 35,131,875.00 637,791,624.00 245,054,940.00 78,300.00 55,765,820.00 630,270,690.00 589,256,603.00

0.0030 1.72 5.23 14.90 2.0500 2.0100 1.05 0.385 8.50 2.710 0.290 0.200 0.206 0.012 0.0120 1.85 6.33 2 0.6300 1.0800 0.0100 0.0100 7.11 8.99 3.05 0.0130 2.7000 160.30 0.0085

2,532,000,000 38,664,000 874,100 6,100 90,000 39,000 26,626,000 6,560,000 95,500 26,405,000 500,000 117,370,000 27,802,000 78,000,000 36,500,000 2,817,000 14,894,900 871,000 9,033,000 5,623,000 81,400,000 1,800,000 917,600 7,609,200 13,306,000 229,800,000 241,000 4,985,640 12,000,000

7,455,300.00 67,403,570.00 4,579,478.00 87,660.00 182,620.00 79,480.00 27,953,750.00 2,545,200.00 817,871.00 71,389,370.00 144,300.00 23,412,150.00 5,754,600.00 861,500.00 455,300.00 5,354,310.00 94,467,415.00 1,717,970.00 5,793,120.00 6,130,800.00 872,900.00 18,700.00 6,587,032.00 68,007,164.00 41,383,810.00 2,762,500.00 639,680.00 799,934,493.00 101,900.00

42 516 515 107 104.9 112 114

2,078,300 6,060 2,650 97,300 127,870 5,720 2,500

87,295,765.00 3,124,270.00 1,364,750 10,411,100 13,464,819.00 642,040.00 287,000.00

516.5 6.05 1003 1018 1.05 108 1036 1100 1015 106 113.5 76.6 81 77 78 80.5 78 77.6 79 2.32

3,160 3,846,600 19,420 5,590 1,915,000 26,640 2,500 4,530 7,810 38,300 100 6,620 156,690 309,270 161,510 26,320 20,110 124,410 642,370 8,000

1,636,705.00 23,152,119.00 19,559,980.00 5,693,900.00 2,010,930 2,871,651.00 2,587,000.00 4,988,085.00 7,945,805.00 4,059,800.00 11,341.00 507,120.50 12,781,387.00 23,775,850.00 12,676,240.00 2,115,680.00 1,575,181.00 22,044,632.50 50,548,260.50 18,140.00

3.020

22,086,000

66,673,910.00

2.97 3.92 5.83 8.06

30,000 1,118,000 2,731,400 11,258,400

95,100.00 4,353,840.00 16,043,659.00 92,988,457.00

119.1

250,050

29,738,362.00

10.66

15,100

158,566.00

WEEKLY MOST TRADED STOCKS Abra Mining MRC Allied Ind. Philodrill Corp. `A’ Century Property Manila Mining `A’ Boulevard Holdings Waterfront Phils.

Pacifica `A’ Global-Estate Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

VOLUME 6,503,000,000 813,300,000 520,600,000 488,339,000 430,000,000 373,220,000 348,981,000 218,440,000 215,469,000 168,960,500

STOCKS Metrobank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Ayala Land `B’ GT Capital Semirara Corp.

PLDT Common SM Investments Inc. Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

SM Prime Holdings Jollibee Foods Corp.

VALUE 3,145,023,403.50 2,038,339,792.00 1,731,972,330.00 1,295,460,350.00 1,253,077,286.00 1,234,524,340.00 1,199,039,620.00 1,150,845,568.00 1,044,281,350.00 867,249,576.00

team up with existing shipyard operators either from Japan or Korea with expertise in operating and managing such facilities.

Damuy said managing a shipyard would be a very good business because only a few companies were engaged in the sector. These companies post 20-percent to 30-percent margin as they provide not only services but also the materials for replacement.

He said operating its own shipyard would be a costsaving measure for Chelsea which would spend P1.5 billion in annual dry-dock costs.

“We really need a shipyard given our fleet expansion,” Damuy said.

CLC said it would allot P1.78 billion of the P5.8-billion expected proceeds from the planned initial public offering to fund fleet expansion, including the acquisition of a medium-range tanker with a estimated cost of $35 million to $50 million.

The company plans to acquire the tanker, with up to 55,000 DWT capacity carrying 55 million liters of bunker fuel in September.

CLC’s unit Trans-Asia Shipping also plans to acquire two carl vessels that will provide additional capacity of 1,000 TEUs (twenty equivalent units). CLC is also in the process of conducting due diligence on two shipping companies. Jenniffer B. Austria

DD to buy 40 lots for CityMall expansion DOUBLEDRAGON Properties Inc. expects to secure within the next 12 months 40 more sites to build 100 community malls across the country.

DoubleDragon president Edgar Injap Sia II said in a recent interview the company had already secured 60 sites for the CityMalls and would secure the remaining 40 over the next 12 months.

This will enable the company to meet its 2020 commitment to have 100 CityMalls by 2020.

Sia said the company would soon start by opening next month the first few cinemas within CityMalls in partnership with media company ABS-CBN Corp.

“Eleven cinemas are now done. But ABS-CBN is just phasing the opening schedule. But we also hope to have 100 cinemas located in all our CityMalls by 2020 also,” Sia said.

“This partnership with ABS-CBN will further enhance our CityMalls because in most areas the cinemas that we will opening will be the first in the community,” Sia said.

Sia said the group also began acquiring sites for hotels under the JinJiang Inn brand.

The group is set to announce within the next two months its plan to build two additional JinJiang Inns in Boracay and Cagayan de Oro. DoubleDragon, through hospitality unit Hotel of Asia Inc., has two operating JinJiang Inns at San Miguel Ave. in Ortigas and Pasay Road in Makati City.

HOA last year announced that it would spend P6.6 billion to accelerate the expansion of JinJiang Inns across the country by 2020. From an initial target of 1,000 rooms by 2020, the company doubled its goal to 2,000 JinJiang Inn rooms. Jenniffer B. Austria

Business

B3

MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

CebuPac adding flights to Sydney BUDGET carrier Cebu Pacific said it will increase its flights between Manila and Sydney to daily services by December.

“Cebu Pacific continues to remain bullish over prospects in the Australia market. The additional frequency between Manila and Australia reflects our commitment to reinforce the Cebu Pacific effect across one of our strongest international markets,” Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog said.

“We want to continue to offer our year-round low-fares that are affordable, accessible and available to a greater number of travelers,” she said.

Cebu Pacific is offering a seat sale for the Sydney-Manila route for as low as P9,167.31 from July 21 to 28, 2017 or until seats last, with travel period from Nov. 16, 2017 to March 15, 2017.

Cebu Pacific currently has the most number of seats between Manila and Sydney, operating up to five weekly nonstop services between Sydney and Manila.

The Gokongwei-led airline also keeps its lead in the Manila-Sydney route, capturing the largest market share for both passenger and cargo services as of April 2017.

Data from Australia’s Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics showed that Cebu Pacific flew 16,441 passengers in April alone, representing 41.8 percent of the total market share for the Manila-Sydney route, the highest among the three carriers flying this route.

This brings the total number of passengers flown by Cebu Pacific to 59,953―representing 41.7 percent market share. Its closest competitor Philippine Airlines captured 33.5-percent market share.

Load factor for Cebu Pacific at the Manila-Sydney route averaged 80 percent in the first four months of 2017. Darwin

YOUNG DESIGNERS. Nippon Paint Malaysia Group general manager Gladys Goh (center), along with (from left) Council of Deans and Heads of Architectural Schools of the

Philippines president Michael Espina, head judge of the interior design category Wilfred Magcase, head judge of the architecture category Consuelo Buencamino and Philippine Institute of Interior Designers national president Lilia De Jesus, leads the launching of the 2017 Asia Young Designer Award at Manila Peninsula Hotel in Makati City. Lino Santos

MacroAsia plans to exit mining

By Darwin G. Amojelar

M

G. Amojelar

ACROASIA Corp., a company led by tycoon Lucio Tan, plans to spin off its mining and water businesses this year, as it focuses on the aviation sector.

MacroAsia president and chief operating officer Joseph Chua said the company was currently in talks with mining companies for possible joint venture or sale of the mining operation.

The Infanta Nickel Project of MacroAsia is located in the barangays of Ipilan, Mason and

ALVIN NEIL A. GUTIERREZ

GREEN LIGHT I OVERHEARD a conversation while I was at a gym. There were two friends who haven’t seen each other for a long time. One of them quipped: “Pare, parang nagdagdag ka ng timbang…” The other, to his defense, quickly said: “Galing kase ako ng out of town, tapos pyesta pa.

Sarap kumain eh!”

I began to ponder, why is it so fast for us to always “defend” the outcomes of our action, when we have the choice before embarking into that feast set before us to begin with?

In my past 20 years of working, every time employees, be it my colleagues or subordinates, fell short of their performance―broke a company policy or simply producing lackluster work―their auto-pilot response was to blame the computer, blame the previous department, blame the system, or worse, blame the company culture.

Defining corporate culture According to Haworth Research (2015), if you google the word “company culture”, it will show 290 million hits in just a fraction of a second, coming from articles such as Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and other business publications. They argued that company culture is very important, however often misunderstood.

Organizational culture or company culture, which is a recent addition to our vocabulary in the 1980s, is defined as having three components: (1) values – the mission, how it represents itself and what it does; (2) assumptions are the attitudes formed through the various processes and actions that includes the mindset of the employees; and (3) artifacts where the company represents itself through its products, technologies, processes, dress code, location and even publication and architecture.

Understanding the Competing Values Framework Robert Quinn and John Rohrbaugh (1983) showcased two major dimensions in the Competing Values

Mambalot in Brooke’s Point town, Palawan.

“We can’t gave you a name because we just started. Mining is not our core business, so I think we better off either selling or joint venture,” Chua said.

“We are looking at any modes available now. That’s possible

because the policy [on mining] is clear a little bit. We will spin it off because I think we can’t mix mining with aviation and water.

It doesn’t mix well,” he said.

Chua said that MacroAsia’s water business would also be spun off. MacroAsia has water concessions in Nueva Viscaya, Boracay and Cavite.

“We will be purely aviation.

We are very, very bullish on aviation because the tourism is growing,” he said.

Chua said he expected MacroAsia to sustain a double-digit growth this year, boosted by

food and aviation businesses.

“With the growth of the business portfolios in food services, ground handling and MRO [maintenance, repair and overhaul], we look at 2017 with optimism,” Chua said.

“Barring any severe circumstances, we view such doubledigit growth as continuing and sustainable, because the groundwork for our operational performance is already in place. Especially with a weaker peso that is projected in 2017, we as service exporters earning mostly in US dollars stand

to benefit, as our revenues get to be translated into more Philippine peso to fund our mostly local costs,” he said.

MacroAsia posted a consolidated net income after tax of P440 million last year, or 29 percent higher than P341 million in 2015.

Revenues also rose to P2.33 billon last year from P1.92 billon in 2015.

MacroAsia programmed about P2.5 billon in capital expenditures from 2016 to 2017 to expand its aviation services and other businesses.

Blame Framework. They noted that there is a link between cultural types and organizational effectiveness which are anchored on flexibility versus stability and that of internal or external.

The former speaks of the organization’s dynamism and its adaptation to change versus it’s conservativeness and consistency. The latter speaks of the movement of employees within thorough integration, teamwork and oneness against the outside forces of competition, differentiation and rivalry.

From this X and Y axis, they were able to produce a quadrant called Collaborate, Create, Control and Compete – each having a distinct characteristic where flexibility meets internal or external and focused the other end of flexibility meeting the inside dynamics of the firm or that of the outside.

It is imperative to know the differences of each, since there will always be a dominant culture underneath are subcultures that interplay. How leaders and its members harness such interactions will be their key in achieving corporate success.

Leveraging on competitiveness It is inevitable that different departments will have different subcultures, but is it important for the organization to identify where they are in the quadrant. By doing so, rather than having the pinpointing to other departments of the blame, if such culture exists, why not leverage on the “competitiveness” of each department and give them an incentive on coming up with a seamless process of accountability and sense of ownership?

If the blaming is mostly inside out, why not equip the team members of understanding external competition and let them learn from the best practices others are doing and improve on it. Ultimately, understanding the collective mentalities and behaviors of individuals and transforming these idiosyncrasies to the advantage of the organization will then create improved processes, have a greater

sense of accountability and benchmark on other companies customized to that of the firm’s culture.

Playing the blame game Todd McKinnon, CEO of Okta, highlighted the importance of the role of the leader and communication to make sure that every single employee is aware of the company culture. They must let the members and stakeholders to know the brutal fact that there’s a “blaming culture” within and understand where the blame is mostly pointed out.

If it’s an inside blame game, what should the people do about it? If the blaming is always pointed at the external, how can they make these external forces be to their advantage?

A bad organization with various subcultures that clash with each other is not a hopeless organization.

Leaders and open communication play a key role to ensure goals are met, relationships are improved and roles are portrayed to the best of their capabilities.

Otherwise, if the blaming is just a recurring thing that happens year-inyear-out, then people, from top all the way to the bottom, should just blame themselves. Why? Because they had all the time and effort to improve it but never acted on it.

Alvin Neil Gutierrez is a DBA student from the Ramon V. Del Rosario College of Business of De La Salle University. He took up his Masters in Human Resource Management as an AUSAID scholar from The University of Sydney Business School.

He is also an Assistant Professor in the Marketing Department teaching Personal Selling and Sales Force Management, Marketing Management and Strategic Human Resource for Masters and Undergrads. He can be reached at alvin.gutierrez@dlsu. edu.ph.

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

AboitizPower Corp. president and chief operating officer Antonio Moraza discusses Mindanao’s current power situation to the delegates of the 2017 Davao Investment Conference on July 21 at SMX Convention Center in Davao City.

Agus plants need rehabilitation

By Alena Mae S. Flores ABOITIZ Power Corp. asked the government to rehabilitate the old Agus hydroelectric power plants in Mindanao amid the huge surplus in the region to ensure the plants’ long-term efficiency and reliability.

“With all the supply coming into Mindanao today, it may be time for the government to finally decide on the fate of the Agus complex. Perhaps it is time for these old power plants to be rehabilitated,” Aboitiz Power president and chief operating officer Antonio Moraza said in a statement.

The Agus hydroelectric power plants have an installed capacity of 727 megawatts, but currently have a dependable capacity of only 400 MW, according to the Mindanao Development Authority.

Some of the Agus units were constructed as early as the 1950s and many sectors were calling for an extensive rehabilitation of the facilities so that they could operate at an optimum efficiency.

Moraza said with more power plants

getting built, the perennial problem of the Mindanao power shortage was resolved.

He said the region should now take advantage of its energy surplus to spur the economy.

Meanwhile, Moraza said Aboitiz Power’s successful rehabilitation of the Ambuklao hydroelectric power plant in Ifugao enabled it to increase its capacity.

The Ambuklao plant was built in 1956 but was abandoned by the government after the 1990 earthquake that struck Baguio.

“We took over Ambuklao in 2008. We invested resources, brought in experts and worked with government to make the plant run again. In 2011, we not only brought back the plant, but also increased its installed capacity from 70 MW to 105 MW. With the same amount of water, energy produced has increased by 50 percent,” Moraza said.

Moraza said studies would have to be made in order to determine how the proposed Agus rehabilitation should be done and by whom.

Business

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

B4

MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

IMF sees 2017 Saudi growth `close to zero’ S AUDI Arabia’s economy will stall this year with growth “close to zero” due to lower oil revenue, the International Monetary Fund said.

The fund lowered its 2017 growth forecast to 0.1 percent from 0.4 percent, citing OPEC production cuts, uncertainty over oil prices and the structural reforms the country is undertaking to reduce its reliance on crude, it said in a statement on Friday concluding its Article IV consultation.

The IMF also lowered its non-oil growth

projection to 1.7 percent from 2.1 percent—compared with actual growth of 0.2 percent in 2016.

Lower oil prices and austerity measures are weighing on Saudi Arabia’s economy, which contracted in the first quarter for the first time since 2009--illustrating the scale of the challenge facing the country’s new heir, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as he implements his blueprint for a transition away from oil dependency.

Even so, the fund said it welcomed the government’s direction, which it said would help the fiscal deficit “narrow substantially in the coming years.

“Non-oil growth is expected to pick up this year and overall growth is expected to strengthen over the medium term as struc-

tural reforms are implemented,” the IMF board said in the statement released on Friday. It cautioned the government to monitor the impact of the fiscal measures and to “make corrections if needed.”

Saudi Arabia’s fiscal deficit is expected to narrow to 9.3 percent of gross domestic product in 2017 and to just under 1 percent by 2022, from 17.2 percent last year, the fund said.

The IMF said it commended Saudi Arabia’s plan to remove energy subsidies, encouraging a “more gradual phasing of the price increases to allow households and businesses more time to adjust.” It also said the kingdom’s exchange-rate peg to the dollar “remains appropriate given the structure” of the economy. Bloomberg

An employee looks out from the 32nd floor viewing platform of the Al Faisaliah Tower, as skyscrapers and commercial buildings stand beyond, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016. Saudi Arabia is working to reduce the Middle East’s biggest economy’s reliance on oil, which provides three-quarters of government revenue, as part of a plan for the biggest economic shakeup since the country’s founding. Bloomberg

French grape harvest heading to historic low PARIS, France—Knocked off course by a cold spring snap, French wine production from Bordeaux to Alsace has dropped dramatically this year and could hit “a historic low”, according to the agriculture ministry.

“At 37.6 million hectolitres (993.3 million gallons) the 2017 harvest is set to come in 17 percent lower than in 2016, and 16 percent below the average of the past five years,” the ministry’s statistics bureau Agreste said Saturday.

As such, the traditional August to October harvest of the world’s second largest wine producer “could be historically low and inferior to that of 1991, which was also hit by severe frost.”

The cold wrought havoc notably in southwest France, with Bordeaux suffering along with neighbouring Charente, as well as Alsace and Jura in the northeast. Some losses are also anticipated in the Burgundy region, Languedoc and the southeast.

The Mediterranean region was hit by a problem of a different variety as wind and rain caused the phenomenon of “coulure” where grapes, most notably the grenache variety in the Rhone valley, fail to develop properly after vines have flowered.

But wine sommeliers urged a bit of patience, dispelling the gloom with the old wine adage: “August makes the grapes, September makes the

wine”.

“It is still too early to draw a conclusion about the quality of the wine this year which will depend on the weather up to the grape harvest, and the conditions of the crop,” said Philippe Faure-Brac, who held the title of world’s best sommelier in 1992.

“At the moment, the weather conditions are not at all bad,” he said, but admitted the quantity of wine production “will be economically very tight, that’s for sure.”

Some vineyards have a system of reserves, like those producing Chablis or Champagne, holding back from selling a part of the production year to year as insurance to help ride out those times of poor grape harvests.

“For instance 2016 was a huge vintage -- that will allow some regions to manage their volumes and quality,” said Faure-Brac.

But not all wine regions practise the same system, and only about 25 percent of

French winegrowers have insured against severe weather.

Vineyards “with little stock” and “not much cash flow”, after being hit by hail and frost last year, are going to be in a “difficult” situation this year, said Bernard Farges, president of the national AOP/ AOC committee.

“We are working with the ministry to put in place measures to improve insurance and savings regimes,” he said, although that won’t relieve problems this year. AFP

From left are: EVP of National Real Estate Association Zeny Fruto, PCCI Chairman of Youth Development Committee Anton Sayo, Founder and Chairman of VACC Dante Jimenez, Buhay OFW Foundation President Marissa del Mar and President of Filipino-Indian Commerce and Welfare Society Manjinder Kumar.

The ATOM Press Launch BABY Boomers would remember ATOM in Philippine history as the August Twenty-One Movement, but this piece is not about that, though it is also about something equally compelling.

I was asked to represent the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) by the indefatigable OFW advocate Marissa Del Mar in the Anti-Trafficking of OFWs Movement or ATOM which she serves as President. Marissa and I are also co-chairs of the MAP Women Empowerment Committee.

Yes, I am a dyed-in-the-wool supporter of women empowerment.

The MAP, headed by the passionate and no-nonsense Marife Zamora, has thrown its full support to this endeavor as a partner organization, “recognizing the danger and injuries that the crime of Trafficking in Persons brings to the people”.

Recently, ATOM had its Press Launch at the Golden Bay Seafood Restaurant in Pasay City where Memoranda of Agreement (MOAs) were signed with partner government agencies and Letters of Commitment entered with private and NGO partner organizations.

ATOM is spearheaded by Buhay OFW Foundation, which Del Mar also heads, in partnership with the National Real Estate Association (NREA), Sterling Group, MAP, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the Philippine Chinese Charitable Association, Inc. (PCCAI), the Philippine Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (PCCCII), ZONTA Club - Makati Business District, Filipino Indian Commerce and Welfare Society, SEAGULL Philippines, Inc., San Miguel Corporation and the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption.

Present at the Press Launch and MOA Signing were: Seagull Philippines, Inc., Chairman and Publisher Bing Carrion; Zonta Club of Makati Central Business District Charter President Angelita Lee; National Real Estate Association EVP Zeny Fruto; PCCI Youth Development Committee Chairman Anton Sayo; VACC Founder and Chairman Dante Jimenez; Filipino-Indian Commerce and Welfare Society President Manjinder Kumar; and DTI Asec. Ernesto V. Perez.

In her presentation, Marissa mentioned that human trafficking is not only one of the most grotesque violations of human rights, but is also a lucrative crime for perpetrators.

Next only to trafficking of drugs and guns, trafficking in persons is now on the world’s third most profitable organized crime with annual profits as high as $150 billion in a global scale.

The conditions that our OFWs are in, before and after they leave the Philippines for work abroad, are very conducive to this global crime such that a lot of our kababayans fall prey to this nefarious act.

This is an advocacy that is close to my heart. I’m glad the private sector has taken on this daunting task to work with government to ad-

dress this pernicious problem.

Of course, vigilance over human trafficking won’t be effective without the involvement of media. I cannot overstress the importance of the role media plays, from education to monitoring of cases to advocacy work. It is good that in this fight we can count on our partnership with our Kapatid TV5 and Aksyon TV, represented at the launch by Cristina Tan, Head of Business Development, News and Information.

Other media partners include the Aliw Media Group, The Philippine Star, CNN Philippines, Chinoy TV, Ms. Ethel Ramos, Light Network Channel, ANC, Manila Times, Aldenver, Malaya Business Insight, Business Mirror, Pilipino Mirror, PTV4, Manila Bulletin, Philippine Graphic, Pinoy Extreme, V81 Radio, 8 Trimedia, Sonshine Radio, Women’s Journal, AFP Radio, Philippine Daily Inquirer, World News, Travel Plus and Zen Health, Mindanao Daily News, Today Online, Pilipinas Online, wheninmanila. com, Bloggers Philippines, The Ugly Writers, and, of course, The Manila Standard.

Through the years there is this dedicated band of volunteers who have kept vigilant over human trafficking and other kinds of heinous crimes. Hats off to Dante Jimenez and the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) for soldiering on to ensure that the perpetrators of this dastardly act do not go scot-free.

The current administration under President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has made fighting this crime a priority along with that other form of trafficking: drugs. It is a promise he has made to our OFWs who are also close to his heart. He continues to make this promise to our kababayans in his trips abroad, always making it a point to meet and reach out to Filipino communities in their respective countries.

Also, with our dedicated Foreign Affairs Secretary, Alan Peter Cayetano, at the helm of the DFA, the menace that is human trafficking would be given the serious treatment it deserves.

Human trafficking is modern-day slavery. It is a huge dose of assurance to see Marissa take the cudgels for this advocacy. I’ve worked with her as my producer in the multiawarded public affairs program “ IYO ANG KATRUNGAN “. Together with then-Justice Undersecretary Juvy Salazar, we provided legal service pro bono to indigents.

I’m certain the same amount of determination will drive her in this noble quest.

Let’s all do our share in fighting this battle for the sake of our countrywomen and countrymen, our unsung heroes working and living abroad.

VACC Chairman Dante Jimenes, DTI Assistant Secretary, Consumer Protection Group Ernesto V. Perez, Buhay Buhay OFW OFW Foundation President Marissa del Mar and Foundation President former president of Rotary Club Rizal West Lea Alzola Marissa del Mar

Widespread spring frost has wrought havoc with French wine production which is set to fall to a record low this year, 16 percent off the average of the past five years, the French ministry of agriculture says.

From left are: Seagull Philippines, Inc., CEO Bing Carrion, Charter President of Zonta Club of Makati Central Business District Angelita Lee, EVP of National Real Estate Association Zeny Fruto, PCCI Chairman of Youth Development Committee Anton Sayo, Founder and Chairman of VACC Dante Jimenez, Buhay OFW Foundation President Marissa del Mar, and President of Filipino-Indian Commerce and Welfare Society Manjinder Kumar.

LGUs

‘Gender friendly’ rooms at PLM eyed

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

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

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By Sandy Araneta AS PART of the city government of Manila’s initiative to promote gender sensitivity in the academe, Mayor Joseph Estrada has unveiled plans to construct what he calls a “gender-friendly” school building at the city-run Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.

Estrada’s move came in the heels of the recent installation of gender-neutral restrooms at the public-funded university for the use of students, teachers, school personnel, and visitors belonging to the LGBT community.

“It is my firm principle that everyone should be given equal rights and opportunities regardless of gender. With this gender-friendly facility, we will help promote gender equality not only in the school campus but also in Manila and the rest of the country,” Estrada said during the blessing and turnover of the newly built P250-million Gusaling Emilio Ejercito, Sr. building at the PLM grounds recently.

After the formal turnover ceremonies, Estrada also led the groundbreaking ceremonies for the planned Center for Gender Equality-Early Childhood Care and Development opposite the new building named after his father.

An advocate of granting equal rights to members of the third sex, Estrada said it is his wish that PLM, as well as the City of Manila, will become one of the pioneering forces in the campaign to end the discrimination and harassment of LGBT students in the school campuses.

“Regardless of sexual orientation, everyone, every student, has the right to quality education, and here at PLM, we will give them that,” Estrada said.

PLM president Leonora De Jesus said the Center for Gender Equality-ECCD will offer or serve as venue for special courses and trainings on gender sensitivity and childcare.

The building, she described, will “mirror” the newly built Gusaling Emilio Ejercito, Sr. that has 12 classrooms, four general laboratories, a state-ofthe-art audio-visual room, and unisex toilets, among others.

MORE FOR MARAWI. The DU30 Cabinet Spouses Association gathered more goods and other basic needs for the displaced victims in Marawi City from its generous and supportive donors. The goods were transported to Marawi from Cebu City for distribution.

CSA members headed by president Marissa Aguirre turned over the goods to Cebu City officials. Photo shows (from left, front row) CSA executive director Ricky Reyes, CSA president Marissa Aguirre, Honeylet Avencena, Kristine Dino, Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano, Aloy Lim, Emeline Villar, Ruby Mamondiong, Sol Tugade, Bai Norhata Alonto, Betty Medialdea, Alelee Andanar, Edith Lorenzana, Edwin Ubial and Flor Santos.

Manny Palmero

QC dads seek casino input C

By Rio N. Araja

OUNCILORS in Quezon City are seeking the views of their constituents on the proposed measure of responsible gambling and whether the guidelines they have set are fit for the purpose.

In a July 17 letter, District 4 Councilor Ivy Xenia Lagman requested City Planning and Development officer in charge Pedro Rodriguez through Jonathan Africa, project development officer 5 of the Subdivision Administration Unit, to invite the leaders of the city’s homeowners’ associations from Districts

1, 3 and 4, and those from Districts 2, 5 and 6.

They would take part in separate public consultations on July 20 and July 21, respectively, to discuss the provisions of “An Ordinance Regulating the Operation of Games of Chance within the Territorial Jurisdiction of Quezon City for Responsible

Gambling and Providing Penalties for Violations Thereof,” or the proposed responsible gambling ordinance.

“Matters pertaining to the proposed ordinance will be discussed. Thus, the homeowners’ associations’ inputs regarding the same will be very valuable for the committee [on games and amusement] to further strengthen the provisions and enforcement of the ordinance,” Lagman’s letter read.

On July 18, Rodriguez sent various homeowners associations a communication letter, telling them “your attendance to the public hearing will be much appreciated.”

“Despite the city-wide invita-

tion, I think only two of the homeowners’ associations managed to participate,” Rodriguez told the Manila Standard. “Over 100 invitation letters were issued and sent.”

The council’s games and amusement committee is also trying to reach out to the operators of electronic games, bingo, carnivals, casino, off-track betting stations, cockfighting and other gambling establishments for another public hearing.

A prelate, retired archbishop Oscar Cruz of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said church leaders would reject any invitation to participate public hearings on Quezon City’s proposed responsible

IN BRIEF

Morato district revamp planned

‘LGBTQ sensitive’ QC disaster work QUEZON City is ready to answer the call of the Commission on Human Rights to push for a gender sensitive approach in disaster response.

According to District 1 Councilor Peter Anthony “Onyx” Crisologo, the city has passed the Gender Fair City Ordinance in 2014, and that it is very much prepared to respond to the call of Kriss Shadfina Twayala Rubin.

As officer in charge of the Commission on Human Rights’ Gender Equality and Women Human Rights Centre, Rubin called to create a disaster or emergency response plan that would consider the needs of the members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community.

“Our disaster risk reduction and management office has already been trained on gender sensitivity. All of the other departments have also been trained,” Crisologo told the Manila Standard.

In a recent forum on disaster preparedness and response organized by Mayor Herbert Bautista, Rubin said discrimination and some form of disregard still exist of the gender of a person during post-disaster response, especially in evacuation centers.

“Rescuers treats gays and lesbians as men during rescue operations,” she said.

Each barangay is proposed to establish an organized group that shall represent LGBTQs in disaster preparedness, and response planning and execution, according to the participants.

Bautista, also Metro Manila Council and Regional Peace and Order Council chairperson, said disaster risk management must inclusive.

“The Office of the Mayor of Quezon City will now go down to the barangay level, then there will be training. We already have the lists of persons with disabilities and LGBTQ groups.

So, we will go down to the barangay. Our office will spearhead this,” he said. Rio N. Araja

Navotas hands out laptops to teachers NAVOTAS Mayor John Rey Tiangco has distributed 70 laptops to public elementary and high school teachers in Navotas to help promote the use of information and communications technology in class.

The public-school teachers previously attended a seminar on how to integrate ICT in teaching and create seven to 10-minute capsulized lesson videos.

Tiangco also distributed last month 320 smart TVs to all public elementary and high schools in the city.

“We hope that through the laptops and smart TVs, our teachers will be able to make lessons more fun, interesting, and engaging. We also hope these will inspire our students to love and enjoy learning,” he said. Jun David

gambling ordinance.

“The bishops will not come despite the invitation. Why is this so?

They will only be used. Their attendance will be made to appear that they have been consulted, and that everything went well,” he told a dzMM radio interview.

Lagman, and Councilors Franz Pumaren (District 3), Raquel Malangen and Marvin Rillo (District 4), and Godofredo Liban II (District 2) co-authored the responsible gambling ordinance.

Lagman earlier told the Manila Standard that information reached them that there was a plan to build a casino facility, but no formal document had been submitted to the city government.

FINGERLINGS. Senator Cynthia A. Villar (in green), chairman of the Senate committee on agriculture and food, leads the ceremonial stocking of 16,000 bangus fingerlings that would benefit fisherfolk in the Baseco area in Manila. This activity coincided with the 78th anniversary celebration of dzRH, the country’s longestrunning radio station. The senator was joined by lawyer Regie Jularbal, dzRH station manager (left), and MBC legal counsel and BFAR Region IV-A Regional Director Lilian Garcia.

Keep using library, mayor urges youth CALOOCAN City Mayor Oscar Malapitan has encouraged the youth, especially those in the secondary and tertiary levels, to continue patronizing the city library.

“Students nowadays rely more on the Internet and no longer spend time looking up or researching from books and materials in the library since the computers began to be their easiest access,” the mayor observed.

“Researching teaches the students to be resourceful,” city librarian Cora Noble said.

The city library has different sections including periodicals,

Filipiniana, science, Mayor’s section, tourism information, games and “bulilit” (children’s) corner, and PWD. The Caloocan City Library is located within the Caloocan City High School Compound along 10th Avenue.

The public library also boasts of being included in “Juan, Konek,” a project of the Department of Information and Communication Technology that transforms many public spaces into Wi-Fi hotspots. An online Public Access Catalog is also available for use.

The library aims to help students fully understand and

appreciate the use of our city library and its resources; particularly, they hope to teach students the various sections of the library and the resources available in each section, as well as the utilization of the Dewey Decimal system, Library of Congress Classification System, and the card catalogue to improve the usage of the library.

According to the Internet the Dewey Decimal Classification System is a general knowledge organization method used for classifying books in the library named after Melvil Dewey, an American Librarian who developed it in 1876. Jun David

QUEZON City Mayor Herbert Bautista unveiled on Sunday a plan for the redevelopment of Tomas Morato Avenue, a popular food strip.

He said the plan forms part of the effort to transform the South Triangle area into a major city tourism district, provide for sidewalk improvement, open bike lanes and install an organized parking zone.

He underscored the importance of providing adequate streetlights in the area to deter crimes, especially during nighttime.

The city government is also planning to set up a tourist information center in the area to provide local and foreign guests and visitors with information on some of the mustvisit and must-see places along Tomas Morato Avenue, the mayor said.

Personnel of the city’s tourism department have been tasked to oversee the operation of the information center, he added.

As far as sidewalk improvement is concerned, the 2.3-kilometer pedestrian walk along Tomas Morato Avenue running from E. Rodriguez Avenue to Eugenio Lopez Drive will be paved with stamped concrete to provide a more walkable environment for tourists. Rio N. Araja

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LGUs

MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

Ceza gains flights from China, Macau

By Brenda Jocson

T

HE Cagayan Economic Zone Authority has announced the start of regular flights to and from Macau and China at the Cagayan North International Airport in Lallo town in Cagayan starting next month.

Ceza outgoing administrator and chief executive officer, secretary Jose Mari Ponce, said CNIA will cater to regular flights to and from Macau and China starting August 23.

He said the airport will cater two international chartered flights a day to and from Macau and China to initially service a

locator, Pai Hao Investment Co. “The flights are in addition to the domestic chartered flights that it has been catering since 2014. It will be hosted by the International Pacific Airways, which will be operating Airbus 320 and/or Boeing 737 and will be carrying tourists and casino players,” Ponce said.

The Cagayan Premium Ventures Development Corp., a company developed through a Joint Venture Agreement between Ceza and a private company, is presently managing the CNIA which was completed in 2014.

The airport has been granted limited aerodrome certificate, renewable every six months, subject to the conditions set by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

CAAP has also included restrictions on its aerodrome operations, the latest of which was set to Global Express aircraft below Code 3C as among the conditions.

“The Airport is now in the

process of fulfilling the requirements set by CAAP, including purchasing and setting equipment for the airport control tower, navigational aids and terminal building, among others,” Ponce said He said that upon fulfillment of these requirements, the airport will be able to accommodate bigger aircrafts like Airbus 320, Boeing 737, ATR-72.

“The long-term plan is to establish it as a gateway of Northern Cagayan, Apayao and Ilocos Norte that will provide direct domestic and international flights on a regular basis,” Ponce said.

In addition, the outgoing administrator said the CNIA can be

established as an aerotropolis with aviation services like a park and hangar hub, aircraft maintenance repair and overhaul, flying schools and other support system for aviation needs, airport crew and tourism can be offered in the area.

Under Ponce’s administration, the CNIA is considered as one of the significant infrastructure facilities that have been established. The Ceza head will be replaced by lawyer Raul Lambino, who is expected to formally take over on July 24.

For a period of 12 years, Ponce has stimulated the growth of Ceza and introduced new improvements with new locators coming in.

“When we took over Ceza back in 2005, the company was in moribund state, with negative income, heavy government subsidy and dilapidated infrastructures, if any,” Ponce said.

“This once losing entity ready to close has been transformed to a performing, well-regarded government entity in Region II and a highly attractive investment area,” he added.

Now, Ponce said, Ceza generates hundreds of millions of revenues and managed to remit to the national coffers more than a billion pesos of revenue through tax remittance, dividends share, and other direct and indirect government transactions.

200 join Vizcaya ‘Blood Olympics’

By Ben Moses Ebreo

THANKFUL. A student at the Novaliches Elementary School in Liliw, Laguna shows her appreciation to Liliw Chief of Police Sr. Insp. Raymund Alfred S. Osea after she received a free umbrella and hot macaroni soup from the local police’s feeding program activity in Barangay Novaliches. Roy Tomandao

Abra, Mountain Province tribes agree on ‘sipat’ pact

By Dexter A. See INFLUENTIAL leaders of several tribes in Abra and Mountain Province agreed to initially enter into a ‘sipat’ or an agreement of the concerned tribal leaders for their tribes to undergo the process of entering into the sacred ‘bodong,’ popularly known as peace pact between the tribes they represent.

The ‘sipat’ was reached between Abra Vice Governor Ronald Balaoas of the Balatoc, Masadi-it and Belwang tribes of Boliney town in Abra and Presidential Communications Operations Officer assistant secretary Ana Marie Paz RafaelBanaag of the Balangao tribe in Natonin and the Gad’dang tribe of Paracelis, both in Mountain Province, which served as one of the side attractions while Cordillera leaders

were awaiting for their appointment with President Rodrigo R. Duterte at the Palace Tuesday afternoon.

The ‘sipat’ between Balaoas and Banaag was witnessed by officials and members of the Cordillera Bodong Administration led by its president engineer Andres Ngao-i, CPLA officers such as vice chairperson Juanita Chulsi, chief of staff Andrew Cos-agon, and Regional De-

velopment Council in the Cordillera chaired by Mauricio G. Domogan of Baguio City and other local officials and regional line agency directors as well as private sector representatives.

Ngao-i explained the ‘sipat’ is an event wherein influential leaders of tribes agree to undergo the process of formalizing a ‘bodong’ between their tribes for a sustained peaceful relationship among the

GSIS oks educational loan restructuring

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES As the respondent, Anabelle REGIONAL TRIAL COURT Valones Salvador, could not be NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGION served with Summons through BRANCH 192, MARIKINA CITY

personal service, petitioner filed an Motion to Serve Summons REYNALDO CRUZ MULI,

by Publication.

Pursuant to Petitioner, Rule 14 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, in relation to -versusSection 6, AM No. 02-11-10SC, the motion was granted, JDRC Case No. 2016-2594-MK allowing service of summons upon the respondent through ANABELLE VALONES publication in a newspaper of SALVADOR, general circulation, once a week Respondent. for two (2) consecutive weeks. x----------------------------------x

SUMMONS To: ANABELLE VALONES SALVADOR No. 12 June Street Project 8, 1106, Quezon City

NOW THEREFORE, respondent Annabelle Valones Salvador is hereby summoned and required to file her Answer or any responsive pleading, within thirty (30) days from the date of the last publication of this Summons, with the Regional Trial Court, Branch 192, Marikina City, in accordance with Section 8 of A.M. No. 0211-10-SC.

On November 14, 2016, the petitioner, Reynaldo Cruz Muli, filed a petition for nullity of marriage against the respondent, Anabelle Valones Let this Summons be Salvador, pursuant to Article published once a week for 36 of the Family Code of the two consecutive weeks, in a Philippines. newspaper of general circulation The Petition substantially in the Philippines. In addition, alleges that the petitioner and let a copy of the Summons be the respondent were married served on the respondent at on May 4, 1991, at Quezon her last known address, by City; the parties’ union was registered mail. blessed with three (3) children.

Allegedly, per clinical diagnosis, petitioner is suffering from personality disorder known as “Narcissistic and Antisocial Personality Disorder.” Petitioner prays that his marriage to the respondent be declared null and void ab initio on the basis of the psychological incapacity under Article 36 of the respondent and/or the petitioner.

WITNESS THE HONORABLE WILFREDO L. MAYNIGO, Acting Presiding Judge of this Court, this 25th day of May 2017, in Marikina City, Philippines.

(Sgd.) RONA JEAN S. DAMASO Officer-In-Charge/Court Interpreter (MS-July 24 & 31, 2017)

members of the involved tribes and to prevent conflicts that may arise that can compromise their relationship in their future.

He added ‘bodong’ or peace pact is not only intended to solve conflicts among the members of the involved tribes but also to promote closer ties among the members for the benefit of lasting peace in their respective places, among others.

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya—More than 200 villagers here have joined the mainstream of blood donors as the province recently conducted the First Blood Donation Olympics.

Dr. Edwin Galapon, provincial health officer said that out of the total number of registrants, 175 passed the screening process.

“Each one of these donors were extracted with 500 cc of blood. This supply will ensure the availability of blood for the needy,” he said.

He said the activity was a success considering the overwhelming support of various agencies and civil society organizations in the province.

Randy Blanco, Philippine Red Cross administrator said they are planning to do the same activity before the end of the year to sustain the blood donation program.

“We are grateful for the participation and contribution of our fellow Novo Vizcayanos who have realized the importance of blood donation. We have 85-percent turnout of qualified donors,” he said.

Blanco said they are also set to conduct bloodletting in the 15 towns of the province to institutionalize regular blood donation in the province.

He added that based on their monitoring of patients supplied with blood, almost 100 percent of patients survived their ordeal in various hospitals.

He said blood donation is needed to sustain the average consumption per day of five to 10 blood bags among patients in hospitals who are in dire need of replenishment and augmentation.

AID FOR YOUTH. Nueva Vizcaya Employment Service Officer Helen Dumlao (center) hands out checks for the beneficiaries of the government’s Special Program for Employment of Students.

Dumlao said processing of SPES benefits in the province has been faster this year compared to previous years. Ben Moses Ebreo

TO PROVIDE loan payment relief for its members, the Government Service Insurance System is offering a restructuring program for around 500,000 members who have outstanding balance under the Educational Assistance Loan.

Under the second phase of the program, members may renew their educational loan and obtain a P10,000 gross amount from which the outstanding balance of the first loan will be deducted.

GSIS has earmarked a total of P6.33 billion for the restructuring facility, dubbed Educational Assistance Loan II, which is open until Dec. 31 this year.

Active members may apply if they have existing educational loan, have no pending administrative case or criminal charge, are not on leave of absence without pay, have remitted at least three monthly premium contributions within the last

six months prior to loan application, and have minimum net take-home pay of P4,000 after all required monthly obligations have been deducted.

Qualified members must personally apply for the loan in any GSIS office. Their agency authorized officers must certify the application through the Secured On-Line Loan Certification Module within seven calendar days from receipt of the loan application.

The loan proceeds will be credited to the borrower’s GSIS eCard or unified multipurpose identification card.

This year’s educational loan is payable in 60 equal monthly installments of P216.67 at six-percent interest rate per annum computed in advance. It is covered by a loan redemption insurance, which deems the loan fully paid in case of the borrower’s demise, if loan repayment is up to date.

World IN BRIEF Police search for kidnapped villagers KANDAHAR―Afghan police on Sunday launched a search and rescue operation two days after at least 70 villagers were kidnapped by suspected Taliban militants in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar.

At least 7 of the kidnapped villagers were found dead on Saturday, along the highway that runs from Kandahar, the largest city in southern Afghanistan, to Tarinkot, capital of Uruzgan province, a poppy-growing area where the Taliban has a heavy presence.

The police blamed the Taliban for the deaths.

Around 30 people were released, while 30 others were still missing, Kandahar police spokesman Zia Durrani told AFP. No groups has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, and it was also not clear why the villagers were seized, though some government officials have suggested the villagers might have been kidnapped on suspicion of cooperation with the Afghan government.

Civilians are increasingly caught in the cross-hairs of Afghanistan’s worsening conflict as the Taliban step up their annual spring offensive, which was launched in April against the Western-backed Kabul government.

Highways around Afghanistan passing through insurgency-prone areas have become exceedingly dangerous, with the Taliban and other armed groups frequently kidnapping or killing travelers.

In July, Taliban fighters closed a highway connecting Farah to Herat city, stopping a bus and forcing 16 passengers to leave it. They shot at least seven of them, while the remaining nine were taken hostage. AFP

‘Shoot drug traffickers who resist arrest’ JAKARTA―Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo has ordered the police to shoot drug traffickers who resist arrest in the latest effort to eradicate drug use in the country.

In a speech to one of Indonesia’s political parties late Friday, Widodo urged law enforcers to crack down on drug dealers in Indonesia.

“Be firm. Especially to foreign drug dealers who enter the country. If they resist even the slightest, just shoot them,” Widodo said.

The Indonesian Narcotics Agency recorded there are 6 million drug users in the archipelago out of its 255 million people, a situation the president called a “drug emergency”.

But Widodo’s remarks prompted criticism from human rights activists.

Andreas Harsono, Indonesia’s researcher from Human Rights Watch, condemned the order.

“A president statement like that can seem like a green light to shoot without the correct procedure,” Harsono told AFP Sunday, adding that law enforcers should be cautious and follow the law.

Indonesia imposes a tough punishment for drug trafficking, with smugglers who carry five or more grams given the death penalty.

In the last two years, it has executed about 18 drug traffickers, including foreigners such as Australian Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, which sparked diplomatic outrage and a call to abolish the death penalty.

Widodo’s comments came just a week after Indonesian police shot dead a suspected Taiwanese drug dealer who was caught with one ton of crystal methamphetamine, but tried to escape. AFP

MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

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Rise and fall of top trafficker B ANGKOK―An army ‘Big Shot’ whose influence seeped across the south, Lieutenant-General Manas Kongpan sat at the apex of Thailand’s grisly trade in humans, raking in an untold fortune to keep prying eyes off the trafficking route.

CELEBRATION. Grace Park attends Entertainment Weekly’s annual Comic-Con party in celebration of ComicCon 2017 at Float at Hard Rock Hotel San Diego on July 22, 2017, in San Diego, California. AFP

As the number of desperate Rohingya and Bangladeshis shuttled through the trafficking operation shot up, so did Manas’ rank in the Thai military.

But the silver-haired general was condemned to 27 years in prison on Wednesday for profiting from the trade, an extraordinarily rare conviction of a senior member of an army that dominates the kingdom.

The 61-year-old’s downfall was hastened in 2015 after investigators uncovered secret jungle prisons in the south where traffickers starved and tortured migrants while holding them for ransom.

The discovery exposed Thailand’s horrifying role in a criminal operation that shifted victims from Myanmar to Malaysia, and forced the ruling junta to launch a belated crackdown.

Police followed a money trail that lead straight to Manas, an army hardliner with a passion for bullfighting.

“He was involved in such an obvious way...at a time when the junta was really trying to show themselves to be clean,” said Paul Chambers, an expert on Thailand’s military.

“He is going down because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Manas was first highlighted as a suspect in early 2015 after 98 famished Rohingya were found in trucks in Nakhon Si Thammarat, stopped by a random police checkpoint.

Provincial police―aided by anti-trafficking NGO Freeland― used the drivers’ cell phones to trace their regular route.

The trail carved through Thailand’s southern neck from coastal Ranong, where boatloads of mi-

grants arrived from Myanmar, to malaria-infested camps near the Malaysian border, where they were held in appalling conditions.

Phone and e-banking records from the drivers led to key trafficker Sunan Saengthong, a Ranong politician and businessman who had deposited nearly $600,000 in accounts belonging to Manas.

In May 2015 police found more bank slips revealing that Sunan’s nephew had also transferred huge sums to Manas, including some $400,000 in just over a month.

Sunan was jailed for 35 years in a separate trial but his nephew Nattaphat Saengthong and others remain at large.

Around the time of the money transfers, Manas served as a top commander of Thailand’s southern security arm.

His job was to enforce its controversial “push-back” policy― which meant turning around boats of stateless Rohingya who were trying to flee persecution in Myanmar.

But he used this position to do just the opposite, according to last week’s verdict, which exposed a matrix of collusion between state officials and businessmen who profited from trafficking.

Witnesses said Manas instructed officers to force back a boat of 265 Rohingya in 2012―only to covertly re-route the ship to shore and truck the human cargo south to the jungle prisons.

Manas “had direct responsibility in the push-back mission and must have been part of this human trafficking network, otherwise the Rohingya would not have been able to return to Thailand so quickly,” the verdict read.

AFP

Bosnia’s wartime ‘mistresses of life and death’ SARAJEVO―She may once have been known as “the mistress of life and death”, but in the court trying her for war crimes Azra Basic hardly stands out.

Basic is among around a dozen women charged or convicted of crimes committed during Bosnia’s inter-ethnic war in the 1990s that claimed nearly 100,000 lives.

Compared to the several hundred men convicted by local and international courts for crimes committed during the 1992-1995 war, the number of women is not many.

But several ex-prisoners have

already testified in court to Basic’s brutal torture of detainees since the trial opened in February.

One witness at Basic’s trial recalled in testimony Friday the glimmer of hope he felt on April 26, 1992.

Dusan Nedic said he saw a woman called Azra enter a detention facility in the northern town of Derventa, where he was being held by ethnic Croats.

She spoke with other detainees, he recalled.

“For me it was a glimmer of hope,” said Nedic. “I told myself that a ‘woman should not be aggressive as men.’”

But he was wrong.

“She started to beat the detainees, she was jumping on them while they were on the floor,” the 55-year-old shoe factory worker said.

Looking at her in court, it is difficult to link Basic with the brutal violence, including one murder, of which she is accused.

A short, silent, bespectacled woman, she avoids eye contact when in court.

When in 2011 the authorities finally caught up with her after the war, she was working in a food factory in the United States.

Basic has pleaded not guilty to

war crimes against civilians and prisoners of war at the start of her trial, including a charge that she killed a prisoner.

“This person was not me,” she told the court on Friday, her voice trembling.

“I swear before God and that’s all,” she added, as Slavisa Djuras, the son of Blagoje Djuras, the man she allegedly killed, looked on.

Biljana Plavsic, now aged 86, remains the most famous woman war criminal from the former Yugoslavia. The former Bosnian Serb vice-president Biljana Plavsic is also the only one tried before the UN war crimes court in

The Hague.

She was sentenced to 11 years in jail in 2003 after pleading guilty to crimes against humanity for her leading role in a campaign of persecution against Croats and Muslims during Bosnia’s war.

“Women are just as capable of committing crimes,” prominent Croatian writer Slavenka Drakulic, told AFP. That much is clear from her essay on war criminals in the former Yugoslavia titled “They Would Never hurt a Fly”.

“A woman in such a position has to be ‘better’ than men,” Drakulic wrote in an essay on Plavsic. AFP

Prolonging crisis in Gulf ‘not in anyone’s interest’ ISTANBUL―Prolonging the crisis in the Gulf sparked by the isolation of Qatar is not in the interest of anyone, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday as he embarked on a key visit to the region.

“No-one has any interest in prolonging this crisis any more,” said Erdogan before leaving Istanbul airport on the two-day trip that will take him to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and then Qatar.

He accused “enemies” of seeking to “fire up tensions between brothers” in the region.

On June 5, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut ties with Qatar accusing it of backing extremism and fostering ties with their Shiite rival Iran.

Doha denies the claim and has been strongly backed by Ankara throughout the standoff.

The crisis with Qatar has put Turkey in a delicate position and Erdogan has repeatedly said he wants to see the end of the dispute as soon as possible.

Over the last years, Qatar has emerged as Turkey’s number one ally in the Middle East, with Ankara and Doha closely coordinating their positions on a number of issues

including the Syria conflict where both are staunch foes of President Bashar al-Assad.

Crucially, Turkey is in the throes of setting up a military base in Qatar, its only such outpost in the region.

It has sped up the process since the crisis began and reportedly now has 150 troops at the base.

“From the first moments of the Qatar crisis, we have been on the side of peace, stability, solidarity and dialogue,” said Erdogan.

But Turkey, which is also going through a turbulent time with the European Union and the United States, also does not want to wreck its own relations with regional kingpin Saudi Arabia.

“As the elder statesman in the Gulf region, Saudi Arabia has a big role to play in solving the crisis,” said Erdogan, with explicitly criticising the kingdom.

Erdogan said he supported the mediation efforts of Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, a possible indication Ankara sees Kuwait as the key to solving the crisis.

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said Friday he was ready for talks to resolve the crisis so long as the emirate’s sovereignty is respected. AFP

PRESENT. A guest attends the FIJI Water at #REVOLVEintheHamptons on July 22 in New York. AFP

World

Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

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MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

FASHION SHOW. Francesca Aiello, center, poses backstage at the SWIMMIAMI Frankie’s Bikinis 2018 Collection fashion show at the SWIMMIAMI tent on July 22, 2017, in Miami Beach, Florida. AFP

Two more die in new clashes in Jerusalem JERUSALEM―Two Palestinians died in clashes with Israeli forces Saturday as the army moved in to seal off an attacker’s home after violence over security measures at an ultra-sensitive holy site.

The UN Security Council will hold closed-door talks Monday about the spiraling violence after Egypt, France and Sweden sought a meeting to “urgently discuss how calls for de-escalation in Jerusalem can be supported”.

The deaths followed bloodshed on Friday, when a 19-yearold Palestinian killed three Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank and three Palestinians died in clashes with Israeli forces.

On Saturday, Palestinian youths hurled stones and petrol bombs as the army used a bulldozer to close off the 19-yearold attacker’s West Bank village and prepare his house for probable demolition.

Israel frequently punishes the families of attackers by razing or sealing their homes as a deterrent, although rights groups say this amounts to collective punishment.

Clashes also flared in east Jerusalem and other Palestinian villages in the West Bank near Jerusalem, police said, adding that anti-riot measures were used against them.

At the Qalandiya crossing between the West Bank and Jerusalem, at least eight Palestinians were wounded, the Palestinian health ministry said.

A Palestinian died of wounds suffered in clashes east of Jerusalem, the ministry said.

It said 17-year-old Oday Nawajaa was hit by Israeli live fire at Al-Azariya.

Another Palestinian, 18, died nearby when a petrol bomb exploded prematurely.

Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency meanwhile said Sunday it had arrested 25 men active in the militant Hamas group that rules the Gaza Strip.

The arrests included “senior members,” a Shin Bet statement read, and was part of the security forces’ preventive measures in the wake of “the tensions around the Temple Mount”.

Also Sunday, a rocket fired at Israel from Gaza exploded midair, the Israeli army said, causing no injuries. AFP

More Muscovites going for the bike MOSCOW―Two years ago, Luiza Nesterova would never have dreamed of cycling to work in Russia’s capital. But now she bikes everywhere, undeterred by busy roads that are still a battleground for cyclists.

In the city of 12 million, biking around snarled streets seems to make perfect sense, but Moscow “isn’t an easy city for cyclists,” admits 30-year-old Nesterova, a consultant in a finance company.

Uncrossable highways filled with speeding cars cut through the center, drivers are oblivious to cyclists and, for over half the year, the city is smothered in snow and ice.

Every day―winter or summer―Nesterova gets on her pale green bike, undaunted, and rides for more than five kilometers along very busy roads with no cycle lanes and no cycle helmet.

“When it snows, I just wear warmer gloves,” she says, adding that she gets in the saddle even when it is minus 27 degrees C. To encourage other Muscovites to do the same, she has created an Instagram page―@luizinbike2.0―that gets viewed more than 5,400 times per day. She often gets interviewed by Russian media and has become a kind of “ambassador” for cycling.

“My dream is for cycling to become the norm and for people not to see me as ‘brave’ any more,” she said.

“There are more and more people who would like to ride bikes but they are very scared of cars here, and so drivers don’t learn to share the road with cyclists.

“Moscow is a city made for cars.”

In a bid to change that negative image, Moscow city hall has invested in developing cycling over the last couple of years.

In 2013 the city launched its own bike sharing system, Velobike, copying the “Boris Bikes” and “Velib” networks in London and Paris.

Last year, some 196,000 people got bikes from the now 380 stations around the city. The authorities spend some 150 million rubles ($2.5 million, 2.2 million euros) annually on the scheme.

At the same time, Moscow’s modest number of cycle lanes has also expanded. But, still, it remains just a fraction of the amount in established bike-friendly capitals in Western Europe.

“Moscow will never become a cycling city like Amsterdam but we hope that it will become more and more pleasant to cycle here,” Alexei Mityayev, the city official in charge of cycling, told AFP. Despite the advances, however, the authorities’ focus appears to have slipped off cycling―to the chagrin of many, who had begun taking to pedal power.

For the second summer running, the center of Moscow is a mass of roadworks as part of a mammoth reconstruction project ahead of the World Cup in 2018.

While pavements are being widened and thoroughfares repaved, cyclists have been quick to notice that the renovated streets lack one crucial element—bike lanes.

Data on the number of cyclists on Moscow’s roads are unavailable but the figure remains relatively low. In June, a local Moscow deputy Vladimir Baushev was killed by a car while riding his bike on a road. AFP

Progress in defeating AIDS eroded by falling financing P

ARIS―The progress in beating back the AIDS epidemic risks being eroded by a funding shortfall set to grow under Donald Trump’s proposed cuts to global health projects, experts and campaigners warned ahead of a major HIV conference.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY. Actresses Sonya Balmores, left, and Isabelle Cornish attend the Entertainment Weekly and Marvel After Dark event at the EW Studio during Comic-Con at Hard Rock Hotel San Diego on July 21, 2017, in San Diego, California. AFP

He deletes tweets that Trump would not love WA S H I N G T O N ― D o n a l d Trump’s new communications chief has deleted tweets in which he shared views contrary to the US president’s own, saying they were a distraction.

The day after he started his new job Friday, Anthony Scaramucci, a New York financier, cleared up his Twitter trail of remarks in which he differs from Trump on illegal immigration, climate change, Is-

lam and even gun control.

“Full transparency: I’m deleting old tweets. Past views evolved & shouldn’t be a distraction. I serve @POTUS agenda & that’s all that matters,” the new man on the White House job announced on Twitter.

A bit later, Scaramucci followed up with “The politics of ‘gotcha’ are over. I have thick skin and we’re moving on to @POTUS agenda

serving the American people.”

In a 2012 comment he tweeted, he appeared to back many causes long championed by Democrats, describing himself as “for Gay Marriage, against the death penalty, and Pro Choice.”

White House press secretary Sean Spicer abruptly resigned Friday in protest at Scaramucci’s hiring.

In a written statement, Trump

said he was “grateful” for Spicer’s work and praised his “great television ratings”―a reference to Spicer’s keenly watched, combative and often-satirized news briefings.

Spicer’s departure marked the rising tensions in an administration that has seen its legislative agenda falter at the same time it has been buffeted by an investigation into alleged collusion with Russia. AFP

If adopted by Congress, the 2018 Trump budget could deprive some 830,000 people, mostly in Africa, from life-saving anti-AIDS drugs, according to calculations by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), a Californiabased health policy NGO. “We will see lives needlessly being lost,” said Linda-Gail Bekker, president of the International AIDS Society (IAS) hosting some 6,000 experts in Paris from Sunday to take stock of advances in HIV science.

“We’re not talking about maybe a slowing down... if these [US] cuts come about we could very well see a real turnaround in terms of the progress that has been made,” she told AFP. A Trump budget could lead to nearly 200,000 new HIV infections, according to the KFF. It could also leave as many as 25 million couples without access to sponsored contraceptives, which not only prevent pregnancy but also virus spread.

“I cannot tell you how anxious I feel... To have the funding carpet taken from under our feet just seems such an incredible travesty,” said Bekker.

The United States has for years been the biggest contributor to the global fight against HIV infection, accounting for about two-thirds of funding by governments.

Last year, it contributed $4.9 billion (4.2 billion euros) to global HIV projects -- 7.5 times the amount provided by secondplaced donor Britain.

Trump’s proposed budget, submitted in May, would reduce this amount by about $1 billion, according to Health Global Access Project, an activist group which crunched the numbers. AFP

Life FOOD

Manila Bay Sunrise

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

Kick back and unwind at a new bar lounge

By Khris Marc Ronquillo

T

HERE’S something about a classy bar that makes kicking back and unwinding an effortless soothing experience. If that’s your thing, you need to check out BAR27 of Diamond Hotel.

Upon entering, you become hyper aware of the atmosphere and the elegance it exudes with its décor and the interior design. There is an overall space age feel in the clever placement of the lights that compliment well with the angled glass windows overlooking the spectacular Manila Bay sunset.

The bar is open any day of the week and their 27 new exciting cocktails and mocktails might just entice you to try them all from sundown to moon up. The crowd is pleasant and friendly, with the understanding that we’re there to enjoy the food, have a good buzz and listen to chill music.

This is what Friday nights are made of.

To help you with your choices, the drinks are grouped according to mood.

Is it Chill, Upbeat, or Party? I tried one of each, first with the flaming AK B27, a mix of sweet and strong liqueurs from the Upbeat column. It playfully taunts you with its gradation of colors and gentle blue flame. It’s sweet but hits hard and fast. But I wonder how much harder something called Hangover Delight or the Absolute Knee-bender would hit.

As night falls, the buildings all around lit up, signaling the start of Manila’s night life.

I tried Cool as a Cucumber from the Chill section next. It comes highly recommended and not without good reason. The lime juice and the mint work

D1

Croqueta

Chef’s Tasting - Jamon Experience

well with rum and with a tropical Caribbean twist.

The drinks go well with the perfect trio of Iberico Bellota, San Daniele Parma ham and Serrano, known collectively as the Jamon Experience together with the creamy smooth Croquetas, all indulgent and sophisticated.

Of course Bar27 understands that sometimes you just got to have your all-time favorites, and good old Filipino classics, like Crispy Pata and Sisig. Perfect for those occasions when you are treating out a balikbayan friend longing for a taste of home.

The live musical entertainment that goes along with the moonrise enhances the friendly ambiance as the musicians serenade you and even play your requested pieces.

From the Party selection of drinks I went for the friendly sounding Tres Marias that provided me with enough courage to grab the mic and sing.

For inquiries and reservations, call (632) 528 3000.

Cool as a Cucumber

Sexy in the City

Fiesta of Filipino favorites at

Andrew Café

A FUSION of Filipino classic comfort food with modern techniques and presentations is served at the Andrew Café.

Culinary and hospitality students from the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management (SHRIM) of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) presents a menu of local dishes that have been re-imagined with a twist.

Andrew Café is one of the outlets operated by DLS-CSB interns, headed by industry professionals. The menu changes every term, now under the helm of Batch XI. Within the first week of classes, they conceptualize and kitchen-test the dishes they plan to cook and serve during the months they are on their apprenticeship.

Twelve new items are added to the restaurant’s menu of favorites. The selection includes savory appetizers and mains, and desserts and beverages inspired by local treats.

Appetizers include Sisig Bites, deep-fried rice balls stuffed with pork sisig, and Ensala-

Ensalada Salad

da Salad, a melange of crisp salad greens, slow roasted pumpkin, winged beans (sigarilyas), turnips, tomatoes, candied anchovies and green mango vinaigrette.

Turn to D2

3 reasons to indulge in the decadence of milk chocolate roll FOR many, milk chocolate is a delightful treat that never fails to br i ng about a feeling of luxurious indulgence. Its rich, creamy taste is considered as a guilty pleasure by many; and if combined with soft, chocolate chiffon cake, the experience is more than doubled.

Red Ribbon’s Triple Chocolate Roll has long been known for its milk chocolate goodness.

Each roll is made with chocolate chiffon, filled with sinfully rich chocolate from filling to the icing. It is also Triple beautifully topped with Chocolate Roll

handcrafted chocolate bars and curls. That is why for those who are chocoholics, here are three reasons to love its decadence even more.

Hand-rolled to perfection. As bakers always say, baking is love made visible. That is why Red Ribbon Triple Chocolate Roll is delicately hand-rolled with the love and care that only Red Ribbon has long been known for. From the preparation of the ingredients to the baking process, and even to assembling Turn to D2

Tres Marias

Life

D2

MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017 isahred@gmail.com

Strange Bedfellows:

THE JOYCE OF EATING JOYCE BABE PAÑARES

B

URGER King’s 4-Cheese Whopper has always been a comfort food to me, with its quarter pound flame-grilled beef patty topped with a medley of American cheese slice, cheddar, Monterey Jack and mozzarella. But something’s different: there’s another cheesy ingredient in my burger – a crunchy contrast to the melted and gooey fourcheese goodness that I am familiar with. Sandwiched inside the regular 4-Cheese Whopper are sticks of cheddar jalapeñoflavored Cheetos.

“We were looking for extensions for our flagship 4-Cheese Whopper.

Last year, we added bacon. This year, we played around with other Cheetos flavors before ending up with the cheddar jalapeño,” Burger King Philippines Brand Manager Christopher Punsalan told Manila Standard Standard.

“Cheese lovers would love our latest offering with its additional crunch and texture, plus the jalapeño flavor gives our burgers that extra kick,” he added.

It took Burger King Philippines three months to get approval for the cobranded product, which will be sold for the next three months (may be extended depending on market response) with an additional P10 premium to the original price of the 4-Cheese Whopper.

Co-branding creates a unique opportunity for menu innovation, which helps both brand partners stay fresh in consumers’ minds by leveraging two products that people are already familiar with separately. Picking the right brand to partner with is the first, if not most critical, step to co-branding, as the relation-

Fiesta...

From D1 Those looking for a snack should sample the selection of Pinoy pizzas: Kaldereta, topped with ground beef, pickled bell pepper, onions, shoestring potatoes and tomato-liver sauce; and Pininyahang Manok, with grilled poultry, Mornay sauce, pineapples and onions.

There are two unique entrees that will surely whet appetites: Chicken Roulade Inasal, grilled chicken roulade stuffed with spinach, and served with pickled vegetables and garlic rice; and Sinigang Risotto, cooked in tamarind broth, and topped with cured grilled pork belly, radish, string beans and water spinach.

The dessert choices are just as scrumptious. The Pandan Lava Cake puts a Pinoy twist to the chocolate lava cake, while Ube Langka Tiramisu adapts the classic Italian confection for locals using jackfruit soaked ladyfingers, purple yam cream, and ube polvoron. The Leche Flan Pudding is a sweet egg custard in pudding form.

3Fromreasons...

D1 all of its delicious parts, Red Ribbon bakers ensure that each is handcrafted to perfection so that it may bring out what chocoholics deserve.

It complements all your sweet moments. Sweet moments with your friends and family are also made even better with this roll. It is perfect for celebrations as well as for simple get-togethers and bonding moments. May it be for the young or the young-at-hearts, it is also sure to put a smile to their faces, making the moment much sweeter and more memorable.

Perfect to brighten up your sour day. Every chocolate lover knows that rolls never fail to bring out the joy and excitement, which can turn bad days into good ones. However, unlike any other chocolate treats, Red Ribbon Triple Chocolate Roll has the premi-

There’s Cheetos In My Burger

ever, will not be available for delivery as the Cheetos sticks will already be soggy by the time the burger reaches the client.

“We will allow this for takeout, but with a gentle reminder to our customers to eat the burger immediately,” Punsalan said.

Aside from its “cheesiest” burger to date, Burger King is also rolling out three milkshake flavors—creamy vanilla, rich chocolate, and strawberry dreams.

“At the onset, we felt we should start with the basic milkshake flavors. We can add other flavors, eventually,” Punsalan said.

“Burger King is keen on implementing efforts to reinvent our products. One of the many ways is to add new variations to satisfy the cravings of our consumers.

And as Burger King continues with these efforts, we hope to bring milkshake in the Philippines this year, to complete that ‘in ‘indulgent American burger experience,’” added Jo Anne Tan, marketing head of Burger King Philippines.

For the milkshake, which will be a mainstay on Burger King’s menu, the company had to acquire machines at more than P70,000 each for most of its 78 stores across the country. The investment reflects the quick-serve chain’s bullish outlook in the country.

“We aim to open our 100th store next year. There remains a huge growth area in the market for Burger King,” Punsalan said.

For feedback, send comments to joyce.panares@gmail.com

ship must positively affect both brands.

Last year, Burger King also released in the United States its Mac n’ Cheetos – sticks of macaroni and cheese deep fried in Cheetos dust, mimicking Cheetos Puffs. One may think the bizarre food mashup is just a novelty, but the fast food giant brought back the viral menu item this year due to “popular demand.”

And, Burger King is not alone in embracing this trend – Kentucky Fried

The drink selection is likewise a feast, with two milkshakes, Chocnut Banana and Ube Halaya.

The café is named in honor of the late Brother Andrew Gonzalez FSC, who was known for being a gourmand.

The Andrew Café has al fresco and air-conditioned dining areas. A private room is available for those seeking a more personal dining experience. It also accepts bookings for events and functions.

The restaurant is one of the four hatcheries available for SHRIM students. The others are the all-day dining Café Romançon and French fine dining Vatel Restaurant at Hotel Benilde Maison de La Salle, and the Chefs’ Station food stall at the college cafeteria at the School of Design and Arts (SDA) Campus.

For inquiries and reservations, call 230-5100 local 1888.

Andrew Café is located at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Taft Campus, corner of Estrada and Leon Guinto Streets, Malate, Manila. It is open on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m..

um taste, rolled in a more affordable delight that is sure to take away all of your stresses.

You can bring home this handcrafted milk chocolate goodness for only P300 for the whole roll and P200 for the half roll.

“As one of our signature products, Red Ribbon Triple Chocolate Roll is lovingly made with our customers in mind. We want to give them something that brings the joy of indulging in their favorite milk chocolate by using it for their equally favorite triple chocolate roll,” said Ned Bandojo, head of marketing of Red Ribbon.

As one of the fastest growing bakeshop chains in the country, Red Ribbon is dedicated to making every moment with family and friends much sweeter and memorable with its lineup of best-tasting cakes, rolls, breads, and pastries.

To know more about Red Ribbon’s many delights, visit www.redribbonbakeshop.com.

Chicken introduced for a limited period its crispy cheese chicken topped with bits of Leslie’s Clover Chips while Taco Bell used the snack-aisle favorite Dori-tos as taco shell.

“People want to try new things, to experiment with new flavors. Cobranding is becoming a trend – com-bining products that traditionally would not go together,” Punsalan said.

The Cheetos 4-Cheese Whopper, how--

Burger King’s cobranded Cheetos 4-Cheese Whopper is best paired with a thick chocolate milkshake.

B ITES

Finest Cantonese flavors EXPERIENCE Cantonese culinary experience, straight from the heart of the Red Dragon, as Lung Hin brings in new dishes from the Hong Kong native and cuisine master, Chef Lai Cheuk Kou. Unlike other chefs, Chef Lai Cheuk Kou, or also known as Chef Terry, has worked in China and Hong Kong alone, making it his first time in the country. He was able to master the art of cooking the most special dishes in Chinese cuisine, with over 36 years of experience from different well-known restaurants and hotels around China and Hong Kong. Chef Terry specializes in hot and healthy dishes, like herbal soups, and special exotic dishes. His flavorful and aromatic signature dishes includes Cheese Baked Tiger Prawns, Pan Fried Dice Beef Cubes, Steamed Diced Pumpkin, Marinated Cucumber with Wasabi and Vinegar, Jellyfish, and Salt-baked Chicken, and Dragon Fruit with Bird Nest.

Coming to the Philippines, he has seen many mangoes and abalones, which he thought of transforming as he heads the Lung Hin Cheese Baked Tiger Prawns kitchen practicing his authentic Chinese culinary technique.

Best dining deals THERE are more reasons to indulge in the country’s beloved buffet brand. DADS World Buffet offers exciting promos that make them an easy go-to for special occasions or everyday get-togethers.

A special treat awaits those celebrating something special this year. Turning a year older isn’t so bad when you get Free Birthday Buffet on your actual birthday, three days before and three days after. Just make sure to present a valid document with your date of birth and come with a full paying adult guest.

Graduates get a treat from DADS with free buffet on the day of graduation and up to seven days after, when he/she is accompanied by two full paying adult guests. Just present either your diploma, program or invitation, or photos together

DADS World Buffet offers different promos for celebrants

with school ID. The Graduation Buffet promo is available until July 31, so make sure to commemorate your wonderful achievement with the delicious meal you deserve.

For family celebrations, class parties, company functions or just any reason to come together, DADS has their Big Savings for Big Groups promo. For as low as P413 per person, you can have the Dads World Buffet feast when you dine in big groups. Groups with 20 guests and more can avail of the promo. Whether it be a family gathering, seminar, workshop, wedding, baptism or birthday – it will be the best for your big groups celebrations. This can be availed in all DADS World Buffet branches. The bigger the group, the bigger savings for you, promo is until Nov. 30.

Groups of 10 on the other hand are granted one free buffet.

DADS rewards everyone, from big groups to loyal diners.

Get a free Happy Diner Card when you dine at DADS and earn one free buffet meal when you complete ten stamps.

You can even bring this tasty feast home with you or wherever you go through Goodness to Go (G2GO), which allows customers to order food for takeout. These are all prepared fresh, so you might need to order some menu items a day in advance.

Gather the family and your friends and head over to DADS for any and every occasion.

For more details log on www.kamayansaisakidads.com or facebook.com\dadsworldbuffet page and at Instagram @dadsworldbuffet.

For inquiries, contact DADS World Buffet branches: SM Megamall at 636- 3785, 633-1758, or 0917 896 1757 \ Glorietta lll 892- 8897, 892- 8898, 0917 897 8896, \ EDSA 722-8125, 705-1807, 0917 898 8124\ West Avenue 372-8845, 374-3767, 0917 898 8844 \ Manila 528-1723 to 24, 0917 897 1722.

MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

Knowledge Channel airs student’s documentaries Merico Garcia and Jorge Medina of the rising EDM duo Boombox Cartel

Chaos Manila features

BOOMBOX CARTEL

C

is best known for their dynamic 2015 hit track “B2U” with Ian Everson. Armed with their sick beats, they continued their unique and innovative sound through succeeding releases such as “Spaceless”, “Aftershock” with NGTHMRE, and “Jamba” with Jackal, as well as remixes of Skrillex’s “Killa”, Diplo’s “Be Right There”, and Cash Cash’s “How To Love”. Since “B2U”, Americo and Jorge have received near universal support from heavy-hitters in the industry such as DJ Snake and Martin Garrix.

In 2016, Boombox Cartel’s single “Colors” garnered more than 250,000 plays on its first week in music streaming site SoundCloud.

The quickly rising duo’s latest EP album called Cartel was released this year with five fresh tracks, including infectious songs “Widdit” and “Jefe”.

Americo and Jorge met in Monterrey, Boombox Cartel, the LA-based team-up Mexico and went to the same school in of Americo Garcia and Jorge Medina, Minneapolis, Minnesota. They both stem

ITY of Dreams Manila’s trendsetting nightclub, Chaos Manila, brings in international DJ duo Boombox Cartel to headline the showstopping EDM event on July 28. The two are set to liven up Chaos Manila’s dance floor with energy-filled electro, dubstep, and trap beats that have made waves in the Los Angeles dance scene and the rest of the United States.

from highly diverse musical backgrounds and the result of their collaboration showed their undeniable musical chemistry that catapulted them to rise to the top of the city’s DJ scene. Eyeing even greater opportunities to share their forward-thinking sound, they moved to Los Angeles where their rise as an international powerhouse duo began to take hold. With a slew of their popular tracks permeating the American EDM experience, Boombox Cartel is currently touring the U.S. and is slated to perform at festivals in Europe and parts of Asia.

Chaos Manila resident DJs MVRXX, Merms Dabu and MC Ronthug will also perform during this spectacular EDM event.

Tickets for Boombox Cartel’s EDM event are available at Chaos Manila and are priced at PhP 1,000 each inclusive of one drink. For Chaos VIP table reservations, guests can call 0917-8863678 or email guestservices@codmanila.com.

Police Inspector

competes in Man of the World 2017 of the World Philippines 2017 Christopher Comicho Dulagan, who is in the Philippine National Police (PNP) Aviation Security Group, at NAIA Terminal 1, will vie in the first edition of the Man of the World pageant, with some 40 candidates from all over the world at the finals to be held at One Esplanade, Mall of Asia Complex, in Pasay City on July 28.

Dulagan, a 23-year-old native of Mountain Province, is the third policeman to compete in an international male pageant after Police Officers Mariano Flormata, Jr., winner of Mr. International 2014 and Don Mcgyver Cochico, a Top 16 semifinalist in the Manhunt International 2016 pageant.

“I am so excited and proud to represent the country in the first ever Man of the World contest,” said the policeman who was discovered while bringing a snatcher to a precinct in Plaza Miranda, Quiapo.

Man of the World 2017 is the newest male pageant in the world presented by Prime Event Productions Philippines Foundation, Inc. (PEPPS).

“We are very thankful of the support from various stakeholders. We promise

MAN

to make this pageant something we can be proud of with our main thrust to uplift the male pageantry in the Philippines,” PEPPS President Carlo Morris Galang said during the sendoff party for the country’s bet. The pageant with its theme “Celebrating Masculinity with Responsibility,” also aims to focus on its advocacy empowering the youth through education.

Man of the World 2017 has received strong support from the PNP, Department of Tourism (DOT) and the provincial government of Negros Oriental, where the candidates are staying until tomorrow for the swimwear and national costume competitions to be shot in the fine beaches of the province.

The preliminary competition will be held at the House Manila, Resorts World, Pasay City, which includes a Charity Event to further support the pageant’s advocacy and the Talent competition to showcase the candidates’ skills.

Dulagan will be wearing national costume and formal wear by designers Edwin Uy and Olan Roque.

Eton B. Concepcion / Photo: Joy Arguil

HANDSOME COP. Christopher Dulagan, 23, represents the Philippines in the first Man of the World pageant

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Monday, July 24, 2017

ACROSS 1 Mutt’s crony 5 Toledo locale 9 Sentry’s bark 13 Dosage units 14 Sweetheart 15 Water, in Baja 16 Carefree 18 Siren 19 Biz biggie 20 Above, to poets 21 Punks 23 Joke around 25 Get in shape 27 Dressed 31 Kind of lineup (hyph.)

35 Bagpipe sound 36 Same 38 Singer — Sumac 39 Breathing organ 40 Orchestra section 41 Hot rum mixture 42 Pierre’s here 43 Spear 44 Sculptor Henry — 45 Due to 47 Sank to the bottom 49 Tenet 51 Std. 52 Admire 55 Dog sound 57 Klutz’s cry

61 Undiluted 62 Ambiguous 65 Former science magazine 66 Carol 67 Eager to go 68 Minn. neighbor 69 Ran fast 70 Id companions DOWN 1 Bringer of bad luck 2 Otherwise 3 Crowding together 4 Tallahassee sch.

5 NYC theater award 6 Playing card 7 Fleming of 007 novels 8 Speak faster or louder 9 Refuges 10 Culture medium 11 Clod 12 Collects maple sap 13 Slapstick missile 17 Secret writing 22 Ploy 24 Vexation 26 Salary increases 27 Bob Hope specialty (2 wds.)

28 Cease-fire 29 Quinine water 30 Fixed socks 32 Alpine region 33 Luigi’s romance 34 Stormed 37 Fond du —, Wis. 40 Cellar 41 Started out (2 wds.)

43 Bait 44 Video pioneer 46 Mild acid 48 Wyatt the lawman 50 Leering sort

52 Plenty, to a poet 53 Big rig 54 Catches some rays 56 Vex 58 Eight, to Caesar 59 Free ticket 60 Furtive 63 London lav 64 — kwon do

VIEWERS can take inspiration from real-life stories that tackle social issues while sharing hope found in different settings on Knowledge Channel’s Class Project.

Class Project features documentaries produced and created by college students, starting with projects by the students at Colegio de San Juan de Letran.

Among the documentaries to be aired are Tahan Na, about orphans of SOS Children’s Village. The SOS Children’s Villages is a private, nonpolitical, non-denominational organization that provides long-term family-based care to children in need, and Tahan Na tells the story of some of its residents.

The documentary depicts how the orphaned children have found their permanent home in the village, with their fellow orphans becoming family and the housemothers becoming their own surrogate mothers.

Other documentaries include Triple Kayod, which follows a father juggling three different jobs to support his family, and

Haligi, which features a father and son as they ride through the streets of Manila in their pedicab.

According to Danie SedillaCruz, head of Knowledge Channel, the project aims to spotlight relevant social issues while giving a platform to student producers and content creators who come up with high-quality content for broadcast. The partnership with Colegio de San Juan de Letran will be the first in a series of tie-ups with different schools.

“As the title already implies, there are so many class projects like documentaries, especially by communication students, that are well-produced and should be shared,” says Sedilla-Cruz.

The project aims to give students at the collegiate level opportunities to showcase their work while making use of Knowledge Channel’s platform of educational television. The series will be airing studentmade documentaries throughout the coming school year.

Watch Class Project documentaries every Friday at 7:30 pm on Knowledge Channel.

“Tahan Na” is a documentary about the heartwarming stories of orphans at the SOS Orphans Village

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

CHANGING

the entertainment landscape

Globe LIVE and Globe Studios bring world-class shows on the Philippine shores with an exciting lineup of performances to thrill local viewers and concertgoers

I

N ITS commitment to elevate its customers’ entertainment experience, leading mobile brand Globe Telecom officially announced its move to change the entertainment landscape through the launch of its extensive lineup of productions that customers can participate in, enjoy, immerse, and express themselves in.

“We wanted to give our customers more ways to enjoy life, so we ventured into staging entertainment productions that goes beyond the smartphone screen with the establishment of Globe LIVE and Globe Studios” shares Globe Chief Commercial Officer Albert de Larrazabal. “Globe is all about creating experiences, and we are simply taking the experience further by going beyond the virtual and giving our customers the opportunity to experience entertainment wherever they are, whether in film, digital or in real life. We intend to elevate the quality of entertainment in the country.

There’s a boundless supply of great talent in the Philippines, and with it potentially comes great movies, theater, and other exciting content to enjoy,” adds de Larrazabal.

With original content, the company underscores the importance of hard work that goes behind the scenes and how content piracy affects the livelihood of men and women in the entertainment industry.

Hence, the company introduced its advocacy #PlayItRight. With all this content and entertainment productions Globe has in line comes the responsibility of educating its customers of the hard work that goes behind the scenes. Their hard work deserves all the respect, and the campaign aims to shed light on real life stories of people behind the entertainment we consume, in the hopes of encouraging customers to enjoy content from legitimate sources.

Talents wanted for ‘THE LION KING'

From left: Globe Ambassadors Kenzo Gutierrez, Ed Bugia, Mars Miranda, Kaila Estrada, and Tommy Esguerra

This year, Globe is pulling out all the stops with four musical productions under its belt. Its musical run already began with the adaptation of Disney’s Newsies, which started on July 7, 2016 at the Globe ICONIC Store and will run on all weekends of July. In August and September, Globe is co-producing the international tours of the award-winning shows West Side Story from Aug. 10 to 27 and the West End production of The Sound of Music from Sept. 27 to Oct. 15 both at The Theater at Solaire. Capping off 2017 will be the restaging of Menken & Ahren’s A Christmas Carol in December.

Apart from live productions, Globe has also ventured into producing original video series and films through Globe Studios. In recognition of the local independent film scene, Globe Studios launched the first-ever online film fest the Globe Independent Film Festival to fuel creativity among aspiring local filmmakers. Globe has also collaborated with HOOQ to bring the most-awaited, star-studded series, On The Job (OTJ), a spin-off from the original On The Job blockbuster hit by Erik Matti. #PlayItRight will soon play a major role in Philippine cinema with the company supporting the upcoming Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino, a nationwide week-long celebration organized by the Office of the President’s Film Development Council, where all movie theaters will exclusively screen Filipino films in line with the Buwan ng Wika.

Audiophiles and concertgoers are also in for a treat as Globe brings top global music acts The Chainsmokers in September, and the first solo act of Harry Styles in May 2018. This comes on the heels of big names that Globe brought to the country namely Madonna in 2016, and the sold-out performance of Coldplay in 2017.

Gamers are likewise treated to hours of enjoyment with highly competitive mobile games Mobile Legends, Clash of Clans, and Clash Royale, and the addictive yet physically engaging Pokemon GO. In line with #PlayItRight, customers can access all the entertainment they crave with the new GoWATCH, which allots a separate data allocation exclusively for videos, which can be used for popular and legitimate streaming platforms YouTube, Netflix, Tribe, HOOQ, NBA, Cartoon Network, and Disney Channel Apps.

Customers may avail of GoWATCH29 for 2GB of video streaming data for as low as P29, valid for one day as an addon to any GoSURF promo starting with GoSURF50.

For more information about the company’s entertainment lineup, visit the website at http://www.globe.com. ph/. Tickets are available now at https:// www.ticketworld.com.ph. For more information on GoWATCH, visit the website at http://www.globe.com.ph/ help/gowatch, call the Globe hotline at 730-1010, or visit any Globe Store.

MICHAEL Cassel Group in association with Disney Theatrical Productions announces a further open call audition for the male child’s role in the world’s no.1 musical, Disney’s The Lion King on Aug. 4.

The first international tour of The Lion King, which premieres in Manila in March 2018 at The Theatre at Solaire, is searching for boys, ages 9 to 12, for the role of Young Simba.

The Manila premiere is presented by Concertus.

The search is on for confident children with personality, natural actors/singers who can move well. Previous performing experience is not necessary.

All Performers must pre-register for the open call by contacting the Children’s Casting Director - Atlantis Theatrical Entertainment Group. Deadline for registration is July 30.

“The Philippines is rich with wonderfully talented performers and we are excited to not only bring this wonderful production to Manila for the very first time,

but to welcome to the cast young Filipino actors who will join performers from South Africa and around the world in bringing this show to audiences in Manila.” commented roducer of the international tour, Michael Cassel.

Beyond Manila, the international tour will enjoy additional engagements in Singapore, Korea, Taiwan and South Africa, with other engagements to be announced.

Children will be asked to prepare the last verse of “Just Can’t Wait to be King” and bring with them a 3R headshot, birth certificate, a parent/guardian’s written consent, and be prepared to fill out a registration form upon arrival. Each child must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

For further information about The Lion King or to sign up to be the first in line for tickets, visit: LionKingInternational.com

The well-loved musical "The Lion King" opens its doors to local talents in its Manila run happening in March 2018

Power Mac Center goes all-out for ‘Cinemansanas’ 2017 A JAM-PACKED second edition of Power Mac Center Pixelworx: Cinemansanas awaits film artists all over the country as the premier Apple reseller goes all-out this year. Among the highlights are Masterclass sessions with award-winning director Brillante Mendoza, a digital short film competition, post production workshops, film scholarship grants, and in-store games, which all culminate in a grand movie premiere at the SM Mall of Asia.

Power Mac Center tapped Cannes Film Festival Best Director Mendoza to hold the Masterclass sessions and share techniques on how to make movie concepts come to life. The sessions will be exclusive to 23 aspiring filmmakers selected for the extensive three-day acting, directing, and cinematography workshop. Application is coursed through Power Mac Center and runs

until July 30.

In a bid to continue challenging artists to break convention, there will be another digital short film competition for videos shot and edited using Apple devices. Film submissions must be made specifically for the Pixelworx: Cinemansanas “Do you have a Minute Film Competition.”

Entries may be about any subject but must run for no longer than 60 seconds. Deadline of submission is on Aug. 25.

To assist in completing the film entries, Power Mac Center Apple Certified trainers will be holding Post Production workshops on Final Cut Pro X and Logic Pro X. Online registration is required as limited slots are available.

Awaiting the winners are a MacBook Pro with Retina Display, iPad Pro, and gift certificates worth P100,000. To join the workshops and

competition, visit https://goo.gl/9SC9ai.

Apart from the workshops, Power Mac Center has granted 15 aspiring filmmakers scholarship to Rebelde Film Camp. It is a fiveday jamboree of film artists in a secluded place to learn the craft of filmmaking from icons of Philippine cinema such as Kidlat Tahimik, Ricky Lee, and Lee Briones-Meily. Power Mac Center carefully selected the scholars who came from all over Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

“For Pixelworx: Cinemansanas, our goal is to discover emerging filmmakers who can showcase originality, imagination, and the ability to engage audiences with masterpieces shared via social media ─ a space where stories never stand still and always move forward. We are challenging them to be brave, bold, and

brilliant in sharing their voice,” said Power Mac Center Marketing Director Joey Alvarez.

Non-filmmakers can still join the Cinemansanas fun by participating in the instore activities. If you have what it takes to act on-the-spot and make a famous movie line your own, visit Power Mac Center and put your skills to the test. Best Actor for the day gets two movie tickets for free!

Pixelworx is Power Mac Center’s advocacy of celebrating ideas, technology, and art. It features artists who strive to start something new and recognizes those who break the standards of the art scene.

More information on promos, products, and services may be obtained at Power Mac Center branches nationwide or on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (@powermaccenter).