Manila Standard - 2017 July 25 - Tuesday

SPIRITED SPEECH. President Rodrigo Duterte

VOL. XXXI • NO. 161 • 4 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • TUESDAY, JULY 25, 2017 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

delivers a blazing State of the Nation Address Monday, the second in his six-year presidency at the joint session of Congress, with more than 1,000 pairs of footwear (below right) symbolizing what critics called the slain victims of the government’s anti-drug drive and martial law imposition in Mindanao. Below (lower left), activists, previously friendly to the Chief Executive, burn his effigy along the IBP Road in Quezon City while his supporters (upper left) march along Commonwealth Avenue en route to the Batasang Pambansa to express unity with him.

Lino Santos/Manny Palmero

Sona 2 blasts ‘state enemies’ Reds, IS-linked terrorists deserve to be bullied—Rody

By John Paolo Bencito

P

RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte took aim at communist rebels and Islamic State extremists in his second State of the Nation Address Monday, saying the enemies of the state deserve to be “bullied” with the full might of the government.

“Times have changed because God placed me here. They call me a bully. You sons of whores, I’m really a bully, especially to the enemies of the state,” the President said in Filipino, in an expletivelaced speech that ran for more than two hours.

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‘De-link drug war from human rights issue’ Du30 dares

By John Paolo Bencito PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte vowed Monday to continue his controversial drug war that has claimed thousands of lives in the past year, but stressed the killings should not be linked with the issue of human rights.

The 71-year-old President, addressing his countrymen in the

second State of the Nation Address since he took office on June 30 last year, warned of what he called his “unrelenting” stance on the drug menace, despite the international flak he had received.

“When you talk about an incident, you talk with the police. But do not connect it with due process and human rights,” the President said, throwing yet again, in Fili-

pino words, a snide against top officials of the United Nations who would criticize him.

“If there were children raped, you never spoke in condemnation.

But when western experts are here, you give too much importance,” he said.

In what was seen as a fiery address, beamed nationwide to more than 100 million Filipinos on tele-

vision and government radio, in late afternoon, Duterte outlined his vision of an “eye-for-an-eye” justice system.

Duterte, who also urged lawmakers to reintroduce the death penalty, devoted many paragraphs of his Sona to pushing his lawand-order policies that have made him hugely popular with many Next page

P3.7-t ‘pro-poor budget’ sent to Congress PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Monday submitted to Congress the administration’s proposed 2018 national budget—the earliest submission of a spending plan since the Ramos administration.

In his speech, the President vowed that the poor will be the first to experience the benefits of increased public spending for next year.

“This is to make due course that the people understand how their taxes will be spent. It is in this regard that I am submitting the P3.767 trillion 2018 budget here today. The poor and the vulnerable are at the heart of my national budget that can be felt immediately by them,” he said.

The President asked the Sen-

ate to “pass in whole” the first package of his comprehensive tax reform package, which recently passed approval in the House.

“The fate of tax reform is now in the hands of the Senate. I leave it up to you,” he said. “I call on the Senate to support it in full and pass it without haste.”

Among the priority measures

that Duterte asked before Congress were: • The passage of a National Land Use Act or NALUA to ensure the rational and sustainable use of our land and our physical resources, given the competing needs of food security, housing, businesses and environmental conservation; Next page

protesters: Shoot me

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte faced his critics outside the Batasang Pambansa on Monday right after delivering his second State of the Nation Address.

“I do not own the government.

I am no different from you. Let’s talk again. Let us respect each other,” he said.

But Duterte, the first president to make such a move, was heckled by protesters even as they called for the resumption of the peace talks between the government and the Communist Party of the Philippines-National Democratic Front.

But that prompted the President to vent his anger on the communist rebels, including those who ambushed his security Next page

Mining tax hike mulled

SC asked: Rethink RH order

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Monday threatened to impose higher taxes on mining companies or shut them down if they fail to come up with ways to compensate the country for the damage they do to the environment.

In his second State of the Nation Address, Duterte said extreme care should be exercised to avoid needlessly harming the environment.

“I will increase their taxes. I think of something that will compensate or will make up for this

By John Paolo Bencito

environmental damage or otherwise, we will stop mining. That’s not good,” the President said.

Duterte also called on local government units to ensure mining companies complied with environmental laws and urged them to declare their exact incomes to the Finance Department—saying that he would shut them down if they did not.

Duterte also said he would stop the extraction and exportation of unprocessed mineral resources to Next page other countries.

plants that prevented the government from fully implementing the PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte Reproductive Health law. has asked the Supreme Court to The President was referring reconsider the restraining order to a body modification placed it issued against subdermal imNext page

Duterte snipes at Rappler IT’S CHEESE TIME. Five women-senators (from left) Risa Hontiveros,

Cynthia Villar, Grace Poe, Loren Legarda and Nancy Binay take a group picture for posterity Monday before the start of the 2nd regular session of the 17th Congress, minutes before President Duterte delivered his fiery State of the Nation Address on nationwide radio and television. Ey Acasio

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Monday raised the foreign ownership issue against Rappler, claiming the online news outlet was not fully owned by Filipinos as

required by the 1987 Constitution.

And he recounted the effects of irresponsible mining when he shifted the topic during his second State of the Nation Address. Next page

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TUESDAY, JULY 25, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

US told: Return Balangiga bells Rody's 'mixed signals' P draw varied reactions RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte, continuing his independent foreign policy pivot, called on the United States to return the Balangiga bells which chimed when American troops massacred an entire village in Samar in the early part of the 20th century.

In his second State of the Nation Address of his six-year presidency, Duterte, who sometimes ad libbed from his prepared text, vowed to continue following an independent foreign policy even as he pivoted to China to cool the ties with Beijing strained by a maritime dispute over the West Philip-

pine Sea. “We have cultivated warmer relations with China, bilateral dialogues and other mechanisms leading to easing of tension between the two countries and improve the negotiating environment on the West Philippine Sea,” Duterte said.

The Balangiga bells are three

church bells taken by the Unitred States Army from the town church of Balangiga in Eastern Samar as war booty after reprisal following the Balangiga massacre in 1901 during the Philippine-American War. One church bell is in the possession of the 9th Infantry Regiment at Camp Red Cloud, their base in South Korea, while the two others are on a former base of the 11th Infantry Regiment at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Official documents suggest at least one of the bells had tolled to signal the surprise attack by the Filipinos while the Ameri-

cans were eating breakfast.

The attack claimed the lives of more than 40 soldiers of the US garrison posted in the town, and in reprisal the US army killed every male over the age of 10 years, during which the bells were taken. Duterte said he, as this year’s chairman of the Asean summit, would continue to “uphold and promote our national interests… strengthen and seek partnership with those who share our values.”

He added: “We will engage the nations with full respect of the rule of law, sovereign, equality, and again, non-interference.” JP Bencito

law has been extended to the end of the year.

“I declared martial law in Mindanao because I believed that that was the fastest way to quell the rebellion at the least cost of lives and properties,” Duterte said. “At the same time, the government would be adequately equipped with the constitutional tool not only to prevent the escape of rebels who can easily mingle and pretend to be civilian evacuees only to re-group in another place to fight another day, but also to prevent them from spreading their gospel of hate and violence in the rest of Mindanao.”

“To decisively address insurgency and terrorism, we are working doubly hard towards [achieving] a stronger and more credible national defense system for the country. We continue to strengthen the defense capability of the AFP as a deterrence against terrorists, lawless elements, and other threats,” he added.

He also reiterated his support for and commitment to the military and for those who are on the ground.

“The people of Marawi need help.

Caught in the crossfire between government troops and Muslim extremists, they have been through hell and we need to help them rise and move forward,” he said.

“If we cannot provide for the poor and the needy who are many, then we will not be able to keep from harm the rich who are few,” he added.

At a press conference after his SONA, Duterte rejected the possibility of putting the entire nation under martial law, saying this would make him look stupid.

Duterte also acknowledged there was a failure of intelligence in Marawi City, which was overrun by Islamic State-inspired terrorists.

“There was a failure of intelligence. There were tunnels. Maute was stocking explosives. There was a mistake in the evaluation or assessment,” Duterte said.

‘De-link...

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Filipinos but been condemned by human rights groups and other critics.

“No matter how long it takes, the fight against illegal drugs will continue because that is the root cause of so much evil and so much suffering,” Duterte told lawmakers from both houses of Congress as well as members of his Cabinet, former Presidents Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Duterte’s predecessor Benigno Aquino III did not attend the ceremonies.

“The fight will be... unrelenting despite international and local pressures, the fight will not stop until those who deal in it understand that they have to cease, they have to stop because the alternatives are either jail or hell.”

Duterte swept to victory in last year’s presidential elections after promising an unprecedented crackdown on drugs in which tens of thousands of people would die.

Since he took office on June 30 last year, police have reported killing nearly 3,200 people in the drug war.

More than 2,000 other people have been killed in drug-related crimes, according to police data.

Rights groups say many of those victims have been killed by vigilante death squads linked to the government.

In his address, the tough talking Duterte, said in his address: “I ask Congress to act on legislation to reimpose the death penalty on heinous crimes, especially illegal drug trafficking.”

He emphasized that capital punishment was about “retribution” as much as deterrence. With AFP

Duterte recently called off peace talks with the communist rebels, after New People’s Army rebels ambushed a military convoy that included his security group.

The President went off script and peppered his speech with expletives as he took potshots at the communist movement and his former professor, Jose Maria Sison, the founding chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines, who is in self-exile in the Netherlands.

He also said the peace talks were becoming expensive for Norway, which has agreed to broker the negotiations.

“It’s expensive because those crazies keep going back and forth like tourists,” he said, referring to the communist negotiators. “They don’t say anything, then when they come here, they say they want this, and want that. Lulu mo,” he said, using a Visayan phrase that means to go masturbate.

He also slammed the communist New People’s Army for attcking members of his security detail in Arakan, North Cotabato.

“Even my policemen, you ambush them every day. And you even want to kill me, because that was my convoy you fired on with a machine gun,” he said, while acknowledging that he was far away from the scene of the ambush.

In an unprecedented move, Duterte confronted leftist protesters near the Batasang Pambansa after his Sona, and said they could talk peace only if both sides respected the other.

He also dared anyone with a gun to shoot him there and then.

“Respect? You’d ambush me. We should all suffer. Who has a gun?

Fire away. Go ahead, I’ll catch it and send it back to you crazies,” he said in Filipino.

Toward the end of his speech to the protesters, he asked for more time for his administration to continue with the reforms, noting that he had accepted leftists into his Cabinet.

Then he cursed again at the NPA ambush of his convoy. “You want to kill even me. If I die, who will you talk peace with? My spirit?” he said in Filipino.

Over the weekend, Duterte said he will no longer talk peace with the communists and ordered the military to train its guns on the New People’s Army after it has retaken Marawi City from Islamist terrorists.

Duterte also said that the NDF was no longer interested in pursuing talks amid its continued criticism of some of his policies and the NPA’s relentless attacks on state troops. He ordered the arrest of all NDF consultants who were given temporary freedom to hold talks with the government.

The Office of the Solicitor General earlier asked the Supreme Court and several regional trial courts handling the cases against the communist leaders to recall the bail given them, after backchannel talks were called off Wednesday amid the renewed attacks by communist rebels, including one against members of Duterte’s security detail.

Duterte also accused communists of abuses when a leftist group occupied housing units intended for soldiers.

“The left is too much. You build a house and they will steal it,” he said in Filipino. “And you try to intimidate me by saying you will occupy the streets? I’ll give you six months there. Don’t you leave,” he said.

Duterte was referring to an urban poor group, Kadamay, that had forcibly occupied thousands of housing units that were intended for soldiers and policemen.

In the same speech, Duterte reiterated that the government is determined to finish off jihadist forces lurking in Mindanao, where martial

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move toward federalism will be discussed “soon.”

The Constitution requires the President to submit the proposed budget to Congress within a month from the start of the regular session.

The early submission of the proposed budget will allow Congress more time to closely examine it before passing it into law.

The P3.767 trillion proposed budget was presented by Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno and approved by President Duterte during the 16th Cabinet meeting in Malacañang on July 3.

Representing 21.6 percent of the

projected gross domestic product (GDP) for 2018, the proposed budget is a 12.4 percent increase from the 2017 budget of P3.35 trillion.

In line with the Duterte administration’s thrust to reduce poverty and promote economic growth, the largest allocations will go to the education sector and the infrastructure development program, “Build, Build, Build.”

A total of P691.1 billion makes up the combined budgets of the Department of Education with P613.1 billion, the Commission on Higher Education with P13.5 billion, and state universities and colleges

(SUCs) with P64.6 billion.

Part of the education sector budget will fund the construction of 47,000 classrooms, the repair and rehabilitation of 18,000 classrooms, purchase of 84,781 school seats, and creation of 81,100 teaching positions.

The budget for government assistance and subsidies for students and teachers has been increased from P35.8 billion this year to P39.3 billion in 2018, while P4.8 billion has been allocated to support the student beneficiaries of CHED’s Tulong Dunong Program. With Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta

ma’am to the Supreme Court.

“Maybe I’m at fault. So I’m sorry.

If I misquote or I did not have the complete facts. But this Congress passed the Reproductive Health law.

It was already a law that should have been implemented because we were already going into family planning.”

But the Supreme Court on August 2016 issued a TRO on contraceptive implants such as Implanon and Implanon NXT, and remanded the authority to lift the injunction to the Food and Drugs Administration.

Implanon and Implanon NXT are thin rods inserted under the skin, which release hormones that prevent pregnancy for up to three years.

The high court said “it never meant to enjoin the processing of the entire gamut of family planning supplies that have been declared as unquestionably non-abortifacent,” adding the injunction “was only subject to the condition that the respondents afford the petitioners a genuine opportunity to their right to due process.”

The President said: “I am not for abortion, I am not for birth control, but certainly I am for giving Filipino family (the choice) of the size of the family.”

But the Court in a resolution issued last May 2017 said the government could proceed with the implementation of programs under

the RH Law because the injunction order issued was not for the entire family planning supplies.

Duterte said he had asked Health Secretary Pauline Ubial to consider selling the contraceptives to other countries instead since these were nearing expiry.

Duterte said the purchase of the contraceptives was not a “reckless purchase” because the government then did not expect a TRO to be issued by the Supreme Court.

“It was not really a reckless purchase, it was in preparation of the implementation of the law. We did not expect it to be stopped by a TRO,” Duterte said.

delivered his second Sona At the House of Representatives.

And as Duterte delivered his address, the group Anakbayan expressed indignation against the extension of martial law in Mindanao, the President’s long list of allegedly broken promises and Duterte’s wars of death and destruction.

“We are one with the Filipino people in strongly condemning Duterte’s genocidal war on drugs that has killed an estimated 12,000 people,” Anakbayan said in a statement.

“We strongly oppose his regime’s disastrous anti-terror war that has led to the destruction of Marawi.

We denounce his all-out war against the revolutionary movement.”

Anakbayan said that, after a year of unfulfilled promises, it had

become clear that no fundamental change was forthcoming from Duterte.

The group said Duterte had stepped up increasingly virulent fascist attacks against the populace.

The so-called Block Marcos Movement represented by its leader, Herbert Docena, said the arrangement of the footwear in rows within the yellow lane of Commonwealth Avenue from Amity Street to J.P. Rizal Street symbolized those who died in the bloody war of the President.

Docena said the move was a silent protest against the drug war.

“The footwear represented all those who were killed under the Duterte administration, particularly in its drug war and the martial law in Mindanao,” Docena said.

The more than 1,000 pairs of

footwear were nothing compared to the 8,000 people who died in drugrelated operations, he said.

The extension of the martial law would take toll on more lives in Mindanao, he said.

According to Docena, the pairs of new and used shoes, sandals and slippers were donations from people calling the government to end its war on drugs and supporting the victims of extrajudicial killings.

He called on the people to stay vigilant on the possible implementation of martial law in the entire country.

“We demand that he stop the extrajudicial killings, state-sanctioned violence and human rights violations and that he lift martial law [in Mindanao],Docena said. Rio N.

• Reimposition of capital punishment; • Womb to tomb services; • Pending bonuses for employees of government owned and controled corporations Duterte also asked the Supreme Court to lift the temporary restraining order on subdermal implants, which restricts the full implementation of the Reproductive Health Act. The West Philippine Sea and the

SC...

From A1 underneath the skin, therefore allowing the body to heal over the implant and creating a raised design, such implants falling under the broad category of body modification.

During his second State of the Nation Address of his six-year presidency, Duterte said “The TRO [temporary restraining order] has become the bane of [government] projects.”

Directly looking at Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno who was also in the audience, Duterte said “I will not attribute anything

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“Is that what you want? How can we have peace talks if I am killed?

Who will you talk to?” he said.

The obviously exasperated Duterte, who even dared the protesters to shoot him, ended the dialog by throwing his microphone away and leaving the stage abruptly.

The protesters laid over 1,000 pairs of shoes, sandals and slippers along a portion of Commonwealth Avenue approaching the Sandiganbayan in Quezon City to dramatize their disappointment over the government’s war on drugs.

They did it hours before Duterte

Araja and Sandy Araneta

By Macon Ramos-Araneta had said before.

He said the BBL was someand Maricel V. Cruz SENATOR Richard Gordon said President Rodrigo Duterte had sent mixed signals on the ongoing conflict in Marawi City, and for which he asked Congress to extend martial law in the city and widen its scope.

“There were mixed signals there. He says we’re not going to attack, let time just die in the vine. But overall the resolve against crime is there. I think he’s just exaggerating it because he doesn’t want to let go and let drugs come back again,” said Gordon when sought for his comment on Duterte’s second State of the Nation Address.

Lawmakers shared their differing views on the Sona.

“The fight against drugs goes on. The President has defined this as a fight for the lives of our children. Critics should heed the call to join forces and use their efforts and moral authority to save lives,” Rep. Jericho Nograles said.

“We would like to express our sincere appreciation to President Duterte for taking up the cudgels for the return of the Balangiga Bells,” Rep. Ben Evardone said.

“The bells rightfully belong to us, the people of Eastern Samar, and they symbolize the heroism and commitment to freedom of our ancestors.”

The President’s speech was “classic Duterte showtime: Rambling, shouting, warning, and bullying his enemies,” Rep. Tom Villarin said.

Gordon said he was expecting Duterte to say something about the rehabilitation works in Marawi but did not mention anything qbout it.

But the statement on the NPA, Gordon said, was something he

thing that should be discussed very well by the Senate.

“And of course the kicker here is, of course, the tax revenues, the tax reform measures. I think the Senate would have its hands full because I think the Senate cannot take it all hook, line and sinker,” Gordon said.

He said there should be some ramifications on the matter as he had a lot of support from the Senate.

“We all know the country needs to beef up its infrastructure [programs] and if we are to continue with the growth.

On the President’s call to support the death penalty, Gordon said that put him in a tight position because he was against it.

“But I think what we need to do is really come up with a reform on prison, on the penology system together with the criminal courts. And I’m glad that the SC is finally coming up with continuous sharing of cases.

Instead of the death penalty, he cited the need to speed up the criminal justice system, conduct a continuous hearing of cases and start building new prisons in the Visayas and Mindanao and especially in Metro Manila.

“I think we can segregate the bad guys and the good guys,” he said.

Senator JV Ejercito said he was open to the death penalty to make sure that the Philippines didn’t become the hub for the international drug trade in Asia.

But he was dismayed that the President’s speech was lacking in details on how he would deal on the infrastructure and economic strategy.

He also had apprehensions on the proposed comprehensive tax reform.

Mining...

From A1 “If possible, we shall put a stop to the extraction and exportation of our mineral resources to foreign nations for processing abroad and importing them back to the Philippines in the form of consumer goods at prices twice or thrice the value of the original raw materials foreign corporations pay for them,” he said.

The President said he was not anti-mining, but warned the industry that it would be held responsible for the full and quick cleanup of mined areas.

“I am warning all mining operations and contractors to refrain from the unbridled and irresponsible destruction of our watersheds, forests, and aquatic resources. You have gained much from mining, we only get about P70 billion a year, but you have considerably neglected your responsibility to protect and preserve… [the]environment for posterity,” Duterte said.

“I am holding all mining companies and their officials responsible for the full and quick cleanup, restoration [and] rehabilitation of all areas damaged by mining activities, and the extension of all necessary support to the communities that have suffered mining’s disastrous effects on their health, livelihood, and environment,” he said.

Duterte earlier vowed to resolve concerns raised by different stakeholders but said the mining industry cannot be outright phased out because there is a law regulating its operations.

Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu earlier said his department expects to release by the end of July the results of an assessment of an appeal by mining companies shut down by his predecessor, Regina Lopez.

Lopez earlier ordered a review on the operations of all operating metallic mines in the country. Following the audit, she announced that 23 mining operations would be closed and five more would be suspended. Twelve mining companies passed the audit.

Lopez then announced that the government would cancel the mining contracts of 75 mining projects which were found within or near watersheds. She also ordered a ban on prospective open-pit mines.

Mining companies questioned the decision and filed an appeal with the Environment Department. Some companies also opted to file their appeal with the Office of the President.

In the same speech, Duterte called on industrialists to convert raw materials from mines to finished products so that Filipinos could benefit. John Paolo

Duterte...

From A1 “I can look at your corporate earnings, corporate identity even in the newspapers. If you are a newspaper, you are supposed to be 100-percent Filipino but if you start to pierce its identity, it is fully owned by Americans,” Duterte said.

“It is just matter of piercing...

ABS, Rappler is that you? Have your tried to pierce your identity?... Rappler try to pierce the identity and you will end up American ownership.”

Rappler CEO Maria Ressa denied Duterte’s allegation, saying the media outlet criticized by Duterte’s supporters for alleged critical reportage of the President was 100-percent Filipino-owned.

But Duterte praised ABS-CBN for its documentary on the pros and cons of mining. “For once ABS-CBN behaved correctly.

Look at [broadcaster] Ted Failon. I salute him for coming up with it,” Duterte said, but added ABS-CBN

was also critical of his administration and its policies.

Duterte claimed that social news site Rappler was “fully owned” by Americans and that the company was violating the 1987 Constitution.

“Rappler, try to pierce the identity and you will end up [with] American ownership,” said Duterte some 30 minutes into his speech on Monday.

“If you are a newspaper you’re supposed to be 100-percent Filipino and yet when you start to pierce their identity, it is fully owned by Americans…ABS or Rappler, is that you?” said Duterte in a mix of English and Filipino.

Early this month he threatened to expose Inquirer’s majority owners, the Prieto-Rufino families. Two weeks later, on July 17, the Prietos sold their stake to business tycoon Ramon Ang, a close associate of the President.

In targeting Rappler, he cited Article 16, Section 11 of the Constitution.

But Rappler rejected this claim on foreign ownership.

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TUESDAY, JULY 25, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

De Lima ‘inmates’ back at NBP jail Chinese kidnap suspects deny charges THE foreign nationals arrested last week on Monday denied involvement in the kidnapping for ransom operations preying on high-roller foreign casino players in the country.

The fourteen of the 44 arrested Chinese nationals showed up before the preliminary investigation at the Department of Justice and denied the charges of kidnapping.

They filed counter-affidavits seeking dismissal of the complaint filed by the Bureau of Immigration and Philippine National Police’s Anti-Kidnapping Group for lack of probable cause.

The respondents, led by Chinese national Zhang Fuxing, who is be-

lieved to be the leader of the group, belied the allegation that they kidnapped Singaporean victim Wu Yan from one of the casinos in Pasay City.

They also denied bringing the victim to the nearby Bayview International Towers where she was allegedly beaten up and threatened by the kidnappers who demanded $180,000 for her release.

During the hearing, the lawyer of Yan sought time for filing of a reply. Investigating Asst. State Prosecutor Phillip dela Cruz gave their camp until next Monday, July 31, to answer the defense submitted by the respondents before the case is submitted for resolution.

It can be recalled that the other 30 arrested foreigners have underwent inquest proceedings a day after they were arrested last July 18.

They have also denied the same charges.

The Bureau of Immigration has already started deportation proceedings against the 44 arrested foreigners for being undesirable aliens and for violating the conditions of their stay as tourists.

However, under the law, the arrested foreigners would be deported only after the criminal proceedings against them are completed and after they have served the sentences if found guilty by court. Rey E. Requejo

GOODWILL VISIT.

Members of the Philippine Coastguard welcome their Japanese counterpart on board the Kojima (PL-21) Japanese Coastguard Vessel upon its arrival at the Pier 15, Manila South Harbor on Monday for a fiveday goodwill visit.

Norman Cruz

PH oil firms raise prices by P0.90/liter

By Alena Mae S. Flores THE country’s oil firms raised pump prices by as much as P0.90 per liter to reflect the movement of prices in the world market.

Oil firms Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Seaoil Philippines and Flying V hiked

the price of gasoline by P0.90 per liter, kerosene by P0.80 per liter and diesel by P0.65 per liter effective 120 a.m.

Tuesday.

Other oil companies are expected to follow suit.

“This to reflect the movements in the international petroleum market,” Seaoil Phil-

ippines said in its advisory.

World oil prices rallied last week due to reports of a fall in crude stock, according to reports from the Energy Information Administration of the US. Domestic pump prices follow the movement of world oil prices on a weekly basis

as more than 90 percent of the country’s fuel requirements are imported.

The oil price hike reversed the price rollback implemented last week wherein the oil firms cut the price of diesel

by P0.60 per liter, kerosene by P0.50 per liter and gasoline by P0.20 per liter.

By Rey E. Requejo

T

HE Department of Justice on Monday directed the Bureau of Corrections to return the high-profile inmates who earlier testified against detained Senator Leila de Lima to their original cells at the maximum-security compound in the New Bilibid Prison.

In Department Order No.496, Justice Secretary Vitalliano Aguirre II ordered BuCor officer-incharge Rey Ragaas to immediately return the convicted drug lords from the medium security compound to their original detention facility.

Among those transferred to the medium security compound—a less secured facility in NBP as compared to the maximum security compound—were inmates Vicente Sy, Jojo Baligad, and Peter Co, three of the key witnesses in the drug trafficking cases against De Lima.

Aguirre said the inmates were transferred from Buildig 14 at the maximum security compound in December last year under BuCor director Benjamin Delos Santos, who recently resigned from his post following the resurgence of illegal drugs trade inside the national penitentiary.

“All subsequent transfer of the high-profile inmates and/or inmates convicted of offenses related to illegal drugs within the NBP shall be signed and approved by the Secretary of Justice,” the DOJ chief said.

In the same order, Aguirre also directed Ragaas to look into the transfer and submit an inventory of all inmates involved and the reasons for their transfer.

Aguirre gave the BuCor official 10 days to submit a report to his office.

Prior to their testimonies against De Lima in the House of Representatives inquiry on the illegal drugs trade in NBP, eight convicted drug lords led

by Herbert Colangco and Noel Martinez were transferred to the facility controlled by the Intelligence Service of the AFP (ISAFP) in Camp Aguinaldo in September last year.

Some high-profile inmates who testified against De Lima—including drug lord Jaybee Sebastian— remained in the NBP and figured in a riot later in the same month.

Delos Santos resigned from his post last July 13 after Aguirre revealed that the illegal drug trade has resumed inside the NBP.

Balikbayan box ‘rules’ review sought

By Macon Ramos-Araneta SENATE President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto on Monday called for the immediate “activation and convening” of a joint SenateHouse oversight committee to review the implementation of the law governing balikbayan boxes.

Recto made the call following mounting complaints on the “unreasonable documentary requirements” in sending balikbayan boxes.

The Congressional Customs and Tariff Oversight Committee, which is mandated to monitor the proper implementation of Republic Act 10863, which pegs at P150,000 the total annual value of tax-free balikbayan box shipments, “is the right group to probe if the rules are indeed unreasonable.”

“We should review if because of the complicated requirements, balikbayanboxes will be wrapped in red tape,” Recto said.

The oversight committee’s convening is also made urgent “by the crisis in Marawi, which Recto said is needed in order for the committee to find out if the rules and the system allowing for the duty-free shipment of donated relief goods to evacuees, as provided for in RA 10863, are already in place.”

The Bureau of Customs recently released the rules on sending balikbayan boxes. Under the rules, senders are required to paste on one side of a box the detailed list of contents, and put inside the purchase receipts of newly-bought goods.

The senator said he shares “the apprehension of many OFWs that attaching a list of contents is tantamount to providing a keyhole that might tempt unscrupulous handlers to open it and rid it of its contents.”

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Opinion

TUESDAY, JULY 25, 2017

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

‘No different from you’

F

ILIPINOS tuned in for more than two hours to the second State of the Nation Address of President Rodrigo Duterte, eager to know what he had to say about where the country is and, more importantly, where it is headed.

After the speech where Mr. Duterte alternated between reading from a prepared statement and giving in to his own rambling, he went out and engaged the crowd that had gathered outside the halls of Congress.

By then night had fallen and it had begun to rain. One would think the 72-year-old Chief Executive would be exhausted

Adelle Chua, Editor

already from all the talking he had earlier done, and he probably was, but no—he gamely stood onstage, talked to protesters and declared: “I am no different from you.”

The protesters said they wanted the peace talks with communist rebels to continue, but the President evidently felt deeply offended when the New People’s

Army fired at his convoy in Mindanao last week.

We know this was a publicity stunt to bring the Office of the President closer to the people.

But there was one thing Mr. Duterte said that we did not quite agree with —that he was not at all different from the people who had gathered outside Congress, each pushing his or her own agenda.

He is different, because he is the leader of the country—his folksy, tough-guy language which many find endearing notwithstanding. He

has the power to decide whether or not to keep talking or stop talking to the communists whose leaders say they want lasting peace but whose foot soldiers wage war against the government and act like plain bandits, besides.

He is different because of his tremendous power to influence members of Congress, as was recently shown in his bid to extend martial law in Mindanao. Now he repeated his “wish” for Congress to restore the death penalty—we shall see how many of them

will toe the line again.

Political expediency has always been an effective motivating factor.

He assured the crowd he was not intimidated by their heckling and that he was listening to them.

It is always reassuring to know the President is listening—even though for most of the day he did most of the talking, and even as we are left with no clear idea about how intelligently and strategically we can move toward our national goals, not the least among them sustainable, equitable growth and jobs for all

who need them.

Mr. Duterte’s still-high trust and approval ratings, likely a product of how he connects to the people, are perhaps his best tools to hang on to for the next five years.

We try very hard to get past the colorful language, even the off-tangent remarks on morality and hypocrisy, just as long as we can see he would leave the country in a better place than where it was when he took his oath last year.

No one speech will assure us that this will happen, or that this won’t.

The supreme duty of the high court

I think the elites’ problem with Duterte is rooted in their basic failure to comprehend what the President is trying to say. That’s because Duterte pointedly refuses to speak to the elites, choosing instead to talk to the ordinary people who would understand him perfectly well when he talks about things like fighting illegal drugs, the refusal of the Communists to talk real peace or the oligarchies that have made so much money while not giving enough to the poor by paying the right taxes.

Duterte’s audience is not the people who assembled in front of him at the Batasang Pambansa yesterday. And those watching outside the House who tried to read deeply into what the President said were reminded, as well, that this is not a president who will speak to them through hints and allusions—what he says is so

THIS is the final column in my series on the martial law decision, on Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno’s concurring and dissenting opinion in Lagman vs. Medialdea. Her opinion is anchored on the main thesis that the President failed to lay down sufficient factual basis to declare martial law and suspend the writ in the entire Mindanao in Proclamation No. 216 and in his Report to Congress dated 25 May 2017.

At most, according to the Chief Justice, he was able to establish the existence of actual rebellion, and the danger to public safety, in Marawi City.

However, she expressed that while she agreed with the position taken by Justice Antonio Carpio that martial law is valid only in Marawi City, she took the stance that it is valid not only in the city of Marawi, but in the entire province of Lanao del Sur of which Marawi is a part, and in the provinces of Maguindanao and Sulu as well. Justice Benjamin Caguioa agreed with the Chief Justice.

Chief Justice Sereno fired off her discussion with an enumeration of the contents of Proclamation and the President’s Report. She said, however, that no amount of strained reading of the two presidential documents comes close to a claim that rebellion is taking place anywhere else outside of Marawi City. Sereno then proceeded to enumerate the arguments laid down by Carpio on why martial law is valid only in Marawi; thus, a) the Proclamation and Report contains no evidence of actual rebellion outside of Marawi City; b) they keep on referring to the Maute group’s intent to remove from the Republic only “this part of Mindanao”; and c) the plan of the group was to wage the rebellion first in Marawi as a prelude to waging war in the rest of Mindanao, which means rebellion has not actually taken place in any other part.

The Chief Justice pointed out the divergence of her view with that of the main opinion written

by Justice Mariano del Castillo, stating that the duty of the Court to inquire into the necessity of declaring martial law to protect public safety logically and inevitably requires the determination of proportionality of the powers sought to be exercised by the President. She insisted on the necessity of defining the metes and bounds of the areas to be validly covered by martial law, contrary to the view by the

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A different audience LOWDOWN

JOJO A. ROBLES IF YOU still don’t get it, maybe that’s your problem. Perhaps the President has never really spoken to you, like he does nearly all the time to most Filipinos.

President Rodrigo Duterte took more than two hours to deliver his second State of the Nation Address, his first full-year report to the Filipino people. It was a rambling, town hall-inspired speech given by someone who still considers himself a mayor, more worthy of a screed given during a weekly flag-raising ceremony at Davao City Hall than a statesmanlike address before both Houses of Congress, the diplomatic corps and various national-level high-andmighties.

It was full of the ad-libbing, the expletives, the self-deprecating asides and all the other things that make a Duterte speech, well, a Duterte speech.

(And it did contain a prepared text, which the President read like he was being forced to do so, perhaps because he did not want to hurt the feelings of the speechwriter.)

But it worked. And that’s the man’s genius.

And it worked because Duterte talks to the people instead of at them. He hits all the notes that matter to people and they respond to him like they did to no other who took the reins of power.

In a column yesterday, the Times’ Rigoberto Tiglao explained the attraction of Filipinos to Duterte in terms of bravery. Duterte’s audacity and willingness to fight—against oligarchs, the media, the Catholic Church the United States, among many others—has dem-

onstrated “in just a year in office... [bravery] that we admire in leaders” as diverse as Winston Churchill, Mao Zedong,

I think the elites’ problem with Duterte is rooted in their basic failure to comprehend what he is trying to say.

Ho Chi Minh and Ramon Magsaysay.

In another opinion piece, and from a very different political perspective, University of the

Philippines sociologist Randy David suggested in the Inquirer that what Duterte lucked into was an “angry nation” that could no longer take the status quo. “Duterte has accidentally tapped into a deep well of anger against a dysfunctional social order—a system in which ordinary Filipinos could find no hope; with an angry president at the helm, Filipinos have stumbled into the age of resentment, expecting it will lead to change.”

Tiglao correctly observed the attractiveness of Duterte’s bravery, while David’s taking note of the people’s anger was spot on. But I would rather focus on how Duterte is appealing because he is his own best communicator, because of how he unerringly speaks to the people who elected him to office a year ago—and who have only increased incredibly in number as his term runs its course.

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Opinion

MIDDLE of last week, I was received a text message saying that “It is in deep sorrow that we inform you that our chairman Mr. Eliyahu ‘Eli’ Levin passed away early morning of Sunday, July 16, 2017.”

A memorial reception to celebrate his life was held at the Peninsula Manila.

Eli Levin was our longtime friend and I knew he had been ailing for the past few years.

Why The Peninsula? For many years, Eli always had his breakfast at this hotel. Later on, when he had become ill, I would still see him having brunch with his friends, his caregiver close by.

Thus last Friday, my son Eric, his wife Sarina and I attended the reception and saw that Eli’s remains were in a jar.

His friends and associates gave eulogies. The reception was well-attended.

I first met Eli during the Marcos administration, when he was helping put up the LRT 1, the first mass transit system in Metro Manila.

I met him again in the next administration, when he conceptualized the MRT that would connect North and South Edsa. As a friend, he asked my help to let the people know more about the MRT because there were some objections; people were saying that the traffic caused by the construction would worsen.

These objections, among others, prolonged the building of the MRT despite the collaboration of local investors and religious sectors.

Strangely, MRT3 soon became a joint venture of the Ayala Group of Companies with Bob Sobrepeña’s Fil-Estate.

Eli Levin was dauntless. In 2002, he told me about his plan to put up a rail system aimed at decongesting traffic along Edsa, which was then going from bad to worse.

Eli’s vision was to have a mass transit system from San Jose del Monte, Bulacan to Quezon City. He submitted this plan to then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who then forwarded it to the National Economic and Development Authority.

Eli invited French, German, British and Japanese investors for the MRT. Somehow, Neda

sat on Eli’s plans.

When BS Aquino came to power, one of the Zamora brothers, Salvador “Buddy” Zamora, bought into Levin’s interests. Still, MRT 7 did not start building—not until the last years of the Aquino administration when a white knight, Ramon S. Ang, bought out all the investors of MRT 7.

Now, San Miguel is keeping the 2019 completion of the project that would cost $1.54 billion despite right-of-way issues.

SMC will operate MRT under a 35-year concession agreement. Apart from the railway line, SMC is also building a 22-kilometer, six-lane highway that will link San Jose del Monte, Bulacan to the Balagtas interchange of the North Luzon Expressway, operated

by Metro Pacific Investments Corp.

SM is also building an intermodal transportation when the MRT begins operating in 2019.

The terminal will be capable of handling some 200 buses at any given time. The train line will have 14 stations.

Eli Levin, in my book, can be called the father of mass transportation.

I really do not know how the government intends to honor him. I think it should.

Some people do not even know how good Eli was to his friends. My family and I once went on a pilgrimage to the Holy land, and he called our tour guide to tell him to take us Tel Aviv so we could join him.

When our guide protested, he shouted: “Just bring back Emil Jurado and family!” Thus the itinerary was put on hold for a day just so we could see him.

He died in a country he had adopted as his own. My wife and I will really miss him. *** I submitted this column before the State of the Nation Address of President Duterte.

The Palace had said the speech would be frank, realistic and hopeful. To me, honesty and hopefulness are enough.

I hope the President ended up talking about how he would address poverty and joblessness, aside from the menace of illegal drugs, criminality and corruption.

The one thing that is obvious is President Duterte’s commitment to restore the people’s faith in the government.

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be sitting with in the session hall—all of them former presidents like himself—would be whispering to him. Surely Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada and Gloria Arroyo would not be as rude as to be caught whispering to anyone during the speech of the man who now holds the highest post in the land; and even if they did, I don’t think they’d have anything to tell Aquino.

No, Aquino just cannot handle being in the same room with those former presidents —especially Arroyo, whom he sent to jail for five years. And I suspect that he cannot bear the thought of the people he fattened with pork barrel funds and through his Disbursement Acceleration Program who are still in Congress no longer fawning upon him and maybe even ignoring him.

What Aquino is really scared of, I think, is that no one will even attempt to whisper to him at all. And Aquino would rather break the tradition of all former presidents attending the incumbent’s biggest annual speech because he is convinced, as I am, that he is no longer important or even relevant.

Eli Levin has passed on.

blunt, transparent and obvious that it eliminates the need for exegesis.

Duterte speaks to the people directly and effectively, in a trilingual argot that they understand. And that is why he is, empathically, the best communicator that his administration can ever have for the great majority of the Filipino people.

If you still don’t understand Duterte, don’t fret. The people who matter to Duterte—and to whom Duterte matters—have never had that problem. *** Here I must mention that the man Duterte replaced as president, Noynoy Aquino, whom nobody except the elites really understood, gave one of the most incomprehensible reasons for not being president yesterday at the Batasan. Aquino said he wanted to watch Duterte’s Sonas on television, because then he would not be distracted by people trying to whisper things in his ear.

I wonder why Aquino believed that the people whom he would

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mst.daydesk@gmail.com

SONAmagan

TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

The father of mass transit

TUESDAY, JULY 25, 2017

FORMATION GARY OLIVAR MY COLUMN title, shamelessly stolen from the columns of the late great Max Soliven, seems an apt description of yesterday’s main speechifier before Congress—a small-town mayor who roared out of the dusty south a year ago, sixshooters blazing, to try and clean up the dirty, drug-ridden Big City.

A year later, what’s happened with the President’s promises from his very first SONA? Here are some highlights, courtesy of our friends at DZME where I spoke yesterday: Ceasefire with the Reds—Duterte went so far as to appoint several NDF luminaries to his Cabinet and sub-Cabinet. But the Reds will not be appeased and seem to prefer to “talk and fight.” Well, they’re likely to get that, in spades.

AFP modernization—A temporary casualty of Duterte’s pivot away from the US, as China (and maybe Russia) gear up to become bigger military partners.

But the Marawi troubles ought to revive US interest in keeping us armed.

Agriculture—Secretary Piñol delivered on free irrigation and nationwide soil analysis, while infrastructure buildout is ongoing.

But he’s probably less enthusiastic about recent liberalization of rice imports, which to our mind is essential to assure stable supply of affordable rice while generating tariff revenues to help cushion the blow on our farmers.

Climate change—Urong su-

long, now we’re positive about the Paris accords. Let’s hope Duterte doesn’t forget his promise not to let climate change measures “stymie our industrialization.”

Disaster response—Expected completion this year of resettlement housing for all “Yolanda” victims, which languished during the PNoy years.

Erring officials—Lots of highlevel casualties, with Duterte himself cracking the whip over “even a whiff of suspicious behavior.”

Less successful in some high-profile agencies, like PNP, where formerly flamboyant General Bato has hunkered down to the task of cleaning out decades-old Augean stables.

Federalism—It’s good that both the Senate President and the Speaker are gung-ho, because it’s their joint ConAss that has to deliver the goods. But Duterte still hasn’t appointed his 25-man Commission to oversee the process of charter change.

Freedom of information—Unqualified success, with Duterte outdoing Congress by voluntarily putting himself and the executive branch under the spotlight.

Human rights—Media killings are down but drug-related killings are up, a fact which distresses the meddlesome ex-colonizers in the US Congress and EU Parliament.

Unfortunately for them, most Filipinos believe the human rights of actual and potential victims of drug addicts are at least as important as the addicts’.

Infrastructure—With “Build Build Build” being rolled out to the tune of P8.4 trillion, no one can accuse Duterte of failing to put his money where his mouth is.

International relations—As

promised, Indonesia and Malaysia now coordinate with us on joint sea and air patrols, after the ISIS threat became more real in Marawi.

Jobs—Very much a work in progress, since permanent reductions in unemployment are possible only with sustainably strong economic growth (at least 7 percent p.a. year after year). But underemployment for some reason has abated the last two quarters.

Mining and illegal logging— Former DENR Secretary Gina Lopez got everyone excited with her hyper-activist new policies.

But reality caught up with her extremism, and her replacement, a former AFP chief of staff, will get better cooperation from the industry.

Rehabilitation—The 10,000bed mega-facility inside Fort Magsaysay in Laur, Nueva Ecija may turn into a white elephant if the safety net intended to catch drug users isn’t cast wider and deeper.

Less than 300 patients have been processed to date.

Social welfare—The jury is still out on specific reforms promised, like increased spending on basic education or improving government hospitals. But DSWD head Judy Taguiwalo, an NDF stalwart, has impressed and endeared, with her outspokenness and no-nonsense ways.

Transportation—Lots of room for improvement despite the obvious sincerity and take-charge manner of DOTr head Art Tugade.

License plates and driver’s licenses are still unavailable, MRT3 is still creaking along, and we narrowly missed being hit by a truly harebrained scheme of the dimwits at LTFRB to take Uber and

Grab off the streets.

West Philippine Sea—Duterte has used the UN arbitral ruling left to him by PNoy, not to wage a Quixotic crusade, but to put some steel behind a much more practical campaign to win China over as a trading and investment partner while “agreeing to disagree.” *** DID YOU KNOW THAT… in his very first SONA, in 1936, the illustrious Manuel L. Quezon used only one Tagalog word, “Kasamas” (not even grammatically correct)? But in that same speech he also called for making Filipino the national language. Quezon famously preferred his country to be run like hell by Filipinos rather than like heaven by Americans, and unfortunately he got his wish, many times over.

Many years later, in 2010, the much less illustrious BS Aquino III was the first president to deliver his maiden SONA entirely in Filipino. That probably didn’t go over too well with his foreign affairs secretary Albert del Rosario, who had to rely on interpreter’s headphones to understand what his boss was saying, and who later led the UN charge against China, likely at the behest of his shadowy American friends.

What you hear really isn’t always what you get. Filipinos who hear the same profanities from Duterte’s mouth that scandalize Westerners also see the monumental reforms he’s attempting to bring about on their behalf.

They get it, they get him, and that’s why his ratings are as high as they are.

Readers can write me at gbolivar1952@yahoo.com.

Duterte should clean up the Tourism Department HAIL TO THE CHAIR VICTOR AVECILLA PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte must clean up the Department of Tourism. It’s getting to be too scandal-ridden.

A month ago, the DoT was accused of using a plagiarized advertisement to promote tourism in the Philippines. It was also discovered that the advertisement was the product of a multi-million peso contract the DoT signed with a famous advertising agency.

It is unclear if that contract was subject to public bidding.

Public indignation eventually forced the DoT to cancel the contract. Surprisingly, nobody in the DoT or the advertising agency owned up to the alleged plagiarism.

Eventually, the embarrassing incident was quietly forgotten in the news media when other controversies erupted after it.

That wasn’t the end of the anomalies in the DoT. Two weeks ago, the news media revealed that a group composed of four members of the House of Representatives, four legislative assistants, and four officials of the DoT were to embark on a weeklong junket to Iceland and Norway on Friday, July 14. The junket was to last until July 22.

Airline tickets for the group, which cost around P2.1 million, had already been reserved, and to be paid for by taxpayers’ money.

Expenses for hotel accommodations and other related costs were not disclosed to the news media.

It was also revealed that the congressmen who were to join the

The supreme...

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gence is the view when the Court determines the area coverage of martial law in accordance with the necessity of public safety test, the Court does not in fact substitute its wisdom for that of the President.

According to Sereno, “Validating a Mindanao-wide coverage is indeed convenient for the Court but it is not right. If, to use the words of the majority opinion, the most important objective of Article VII, Section 18 is to ‘curtail the extent of the power of the President,’ then this Court miserably failed.”

Sereno then discussed in a lengthy and detailed fashion the parameters for the implementation of martial and the suspension of the writ, explaining in the process a wide range of topics which have bearing on the exercise by the President of his extraordinary powers under the

junket were Oscar Garin Jr. of Iloilo, Paolo Javier of Antique, Ma. Carmen Zamora of Compostela Valley, and Mark Sambar of the Pwersa ng Bayaning Atleta partylist. They were to be accompanied

by Julieta Apostol, Jocelyn Lim, Liza Mijares, and Cecilia de Sahagun of the House secretariat.

Those from the DoT who were believed to join the junket were Director Milagros Say, Operations Officer Ruth Tizon, and Division Officer Jerlie Ganiga. The fourth DoT official was reportedly DoT Secretary Wanda Tulfo-Teo. After the news broke out, DoT spokesman Ricky Alegre announced that the congressmen and their assistants were to go to the two Nordic countries to observe their practices in gender equality. The spokesman added that the junket is justified under an existing law on gender awareness development.

Alegre insisted that the overseas trip was not yet confirmed, and that Secretary Teo and DoT personnel were not part of the junket. Despite the disclaimer, Alegre declared that the trip was to enlighten Filipinos about policies that will “empower women” and “promote gender equality.”

The next day, it was announced that the junket had been cancelled.

A day after that, news stories revealed that a leading shopping mall chain and a credit card company launched a promotional campaign that will give lucky shoppers a chance to go to Iceland and see the aurora borealis or “the northern lights,” a natural phenomenon visible only in areas near the Arctic Circle.

Maybe the House-DoT junket was also a chance for Philippine government officials to view the northern lights, but at the expense

of the Filipino taxpayer.

Anyway, had it not been for the disclosure made by the news media, that junket to Iceland and Norway would have probably pushed through. That would have meant millions of pesos of taxpayers’ money wasted on a sightseeing trip masquerading as an observation mission.

Why does the House and the DoT have to send a large contingent to observe women empowerment and gender equality policies in Iceland and Norway, when Filipino refugees from Marawi are starving? With the typhoon season here, shouldn’t the money for that junket be spent for disaster relief operations instead?

It would have been more practical and economical if Filipino consular officers from Iceland and Norway gave their report and recommendations to Congress about their observations on women empowerment and gender equality at their overseas postings.

Three of the four congressmen in that aborted junket are men. If that junket is supposed to promote women empowerment and gender equality, shouldn’t the contingent be composed of an equal proportion of males and females?

Why is there a need for four assistants to participate in a weeklong overseas activity? There are enough Philippine consular employees in Iceland and Norway (or in nearby postings) to assist the congressmen. Those employees can’t be too busy there near the Arctic Circle. In fact, that is what they are posted there for—to assist Filipinos who happen to be there.

This latest incident involving the DoT looks like a repeat of another shameless event involving government officials identified with ex-President Aquino III.

When the Philippines filed a case against Communist China in the international arbitration panel at The Hague, in the Netherlands, a couple of years ago, Aquino sent a contingent of useless officials to The Hague, ostensibly to observe the hearing. They were useless officials because the Philippines was aptly represented in all hearings by American experts in international law hired by Manila. In other words, those officials were not needed at the hearing, and they obviously went along for a European vacation at taxpayers’ expense.

Those useless officials include ex-Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, and ex-House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte.

Even if she was the justice secretary, De Lima had no business being there. It’s the solicitor general, not the justice secretary, who is tasked to oversee Philippine cases in international tribunals.

Besides, De Lima’s line of legal expertise is election law, not international law.

By being there, De Lima manifested more interest in matters outside her duties as justice secretary. That is probably why the national penitentiary, which is under her supervision, became a narcotics center during her watch.

Belmonte may be the Speaker of the House of Representatives back then, but international arbitration hearings are a concern of the executive department, not the legislative department.

Whether these officials even understood the proceedings at The Hague is anybody’s guess.

This second embarrassing incident involving the DoT should not be followed by a third. President Duterte must clean up the DoT now.

Constitution. These relevant topics include the ability to legislate, operation of civil and military courts, ability to affect arrests, period of detention, treatment during detention, ability to conduct searches, ability to enter private properties, military blockades, ability to conduct surveillance, ability to examine Bank Deposits, Accounts, and Records and to Freeze Properties or Funds, and treatment of civilians and noncombatants. She also touched on the implications of martial law in international law.

The Chief Justice explained that while martial law is an extraordinary measure necessitating the exercise of extraordinary powers, the President, in the exercise of his commander-in-chief powers, does not have unbridled discretion as to when, where, and how martial law is to be declared. Among others, Sereno emphasized that President Duterte must not be allowed to broaden the use of martial law “to solve other social ills.” He does

not have “unhampered discretion to wield his powers in any way and whichever direction he desires.”

Indeed, the manner as to how martial law is implemented is not subject to the plenary discretion of the President. There are clear legal standards dictating what he can and cannot do. According to the Chief Justice: “These standards ensure that Marcosian martial law does not happen again and the foundations of a just and humane society envisioned by the Constitution remain intact.”

Last Saturday, Congress extended martial law to the end of 2017. While some legislators did their due diligence, it is unfortunate that the officials representing the executive branch did not make a good case for the extension. They knew that the extension had more than enough votes so in my view, the executive department took Congress for granted. I can assume that this is their thinking too on the Supreme Court given the wide latitude the Court granted to the

President on when and how to exercise martial law.

In her Lagman opinion, Chief Justice Sereno highlighted the supreme duty of the High Court, as the guardian of the Constitution.

The Court, she said, as the vanguard of the rule of law, must see to it that the rule of law is upheld. By being vigilant and faithful in applying the Constitution to how the President exercise the martial law powers of the presidency, the Supreme Court realizes the fullness of its existence as envisioned by the fundamental charter. In my view, this did not happen in Lagman vs.

Medialdea. And, most likely in a new case questioning the extension of martial law, the result will be just as disappointing. But maybe not. Hope springs eternal and the Court might yet surprise us in the weeks and months to come.

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TUESDAY, JULY 25, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Probe mega shabu lab, PDEA asked

ABANDONED. National Bureau of Investigation Director Dante Gierran presents to the media at the NBI headquarters the 10 kilos of illegal drugs shabu worth P60 million abandoned by the suspect inside a vehicle in Ermita, Manila during an operation by NBITask Force Against Illegal Drugs. Also found inside the vehicle were mobile phones and deadly weapons which were surrendered by inmates inside the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa.

Norman Cruz

By Rio N. Araja DANGEROUS Drugs Board Chairperson Dionisio Santiago called out on Monday the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to investigate the discovery of a huge shabu laboratory in Virac, Catanduanes in 2016.

Santiago said the high-grade shabu and cocaine sold to the public last year could have originated from Catanduanes.

He said he also believes the killing of Larry Que, publisher of Catanduanes News Now, on Dec. 16, 2016 could be linked to the controversial mega shabu laboratory operations.

Santiago said Que may have been killed to silence him over his knowledge of the drug operations.

The DDB chief said he was informed that the drug operation in Barangay Palta Small, Virac, Catanduanes as a major supplier of illegal drugs in the country, but he failed to investigate since he was then removed from his post.

Undersecretary Joel Sy Egco of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security has also led the investigation into Que's killing.

The Philippine National Police in Bicol has filed cases against the National Bureau of Investigation official here and 20 others, including former government officials, in connection with the discovery of the shabu laboratory over their supposed involvement.

The shabu warehouse was leased to a certain Jason Uy, alias “Paulo Uy,” reportedly a Chinese national.

PPTF marks golden year THE Philippine Printing Technical Foundation Inc., the country’s leading technical association for printers, will kick off its 50th Golden Anniversary with a Grand Triple Affair celebration on July 27, 2017 at the Mindanao Ballroom of the prestigious Sofitel Philippine Plaza.

Under the theme “Golden Excellent Contribution to the Philippine Printing Industry,” the event will feature PPTF’s First General Membership Meeting for the year, Induction of Officers and Trustees (2017-2018) and its 50th anniversary celebration.

Since its humble beginning in 1967, PPTF has seized every change and major shift in the printing industry as an opportunity to evolve, reinvent itself, and remain an active and innovative partner for its members.

PPTF aims to develop the Philippine printing industry to the level of professionalism found in other countries where excellent schools are devoted exclusively to the science and art of printing. The Foundation continues to focus on its upgrading seminars and has teamed up with PUM Senior Experts of Netherlands to help develop the standardization of printing skills as mandated by Tesda.

“Fast forward to 2017, the changes within the industry as spearheaded by the Association has been seismic as the scope of its projects and activities developed far beyond expectations as we enter the Asean Era,” says printing and publishing icon, lawyer Dominador D. Buhain, who is currently PPTF president.

The year’s most focused event for printers in the Philippines will have lawyer Alfredo Lim, president and CEO of Pagcor, as guest speaker and inducting officer. During the program, there will be a tribute to past PPTF presidents who will each be given their plaques of appreciation for their respective sterling contributions during their terms of office. The ceremonial cutting of the cake and toast will be led by President Buhain, assisted by past presidents. The colorful event will also feature a product demonstration by major sponsor, Copylandia Office Systems Corporation. Raffles galore will cap the evening and each member and guest? will bring home a special souvenir gift, courtesy of PPTF, Hicor Manufacturing Corporation, DLC Trade Center and Copylandia (Konica Minolta, Riso, Comcolor and Develop).

To put more emphasis on the golden year’s motif and significance, there will be a contest on the bestdressed guys and gals wearing a gold outfit under the ‘Minimally, Substantially and Super Gold’ categories.

MMDA enlists LGUs’ help vs smoking ban violators

By Joel E. Zurbano

T

HE Metro Manila Development Authority will join local government units, the police and other agencies in apprehending individuals violating the National Smoking Ban. MMDA enforcers will also monitor vendors or owners of establishments who will violate the ban on the sale of cigarettes within 100 meters of schools and other youth recreational facilities, and those posting promotional materials for tobacco products.

Dr. Loida Alzona of the MMDA Health Public Safety and Environment Protection said violators will be penalized in accordance with Republic Act No. 9211 or the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003.

She said those caught smoking in public areas will be fined P500 to P1,000 for the first offense,

P1,000 to P5,000 for the second offense, and P5,000 to P10,000 for the third offense.

“Sari-sari stores are prohibited from posting signages even if they are outside the 100 meters.

100 meters is around three basketball courts. They will be fined P100,000 first offense, P200,000 second offense and third offense P400,000 and closure of the establishment,” said Alzona.

Government offices and public transport terminals— jeepney, tricycle and bus stations are covered by the ban.

MMDA officials said the

public should not hesitate to report smokers doing their thing in public places and conveyances.

They added smokers put other people at risk to the dangers of secondhand smoke.

An MMDA study showed that non-smoking adults exposed to second-hand smoke at home or at work have a 25 percent to 30 percent increased risk of developing lung cancer.

Babies of non-smoking women who are exposed to second-hand smoke during pregnancy are also at risk of experiencing a small reduction in birth weight.

In infants and children, secondhand smoke exposure causes sudden infant death syndrome, acute respiratory infections, middle ear disease, more severe asthma, respiratory symptoms, and slowed lung growth.

Meanwhile, various civil society and environmental groups

SPEAKER Pantaleon Alvarez on Monday renewed his push for the passage of a bill allowing the dissolution of troubled marriages.

“Admittedly, there is a sad reality about some marriages. We do not always get it right the first time around,”Alvarez said in his speech during the opening of the second regular session of the 17th Congress.

“Unfortunately, the present system practically coerces married persons to remain with each other even if the relationship is beyond repair and has caused, and continues to cause, harm to the well-being of the husband, the wife and, worse, the children involved. We have to

tion Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, is obligated to enact smoke-free laws that will protect the people from the harmful effects of tobacco smoke.

Furthermore, the groups are calling for significant increases in tobacco taxes.

“We call on President Duterte to advise the Congress to take urgent action to significantly increase tobacco taxes.

Although the World Health Organization recognizes tobacco tax as one of the most cost-effective ways to discourage the youth from smoking and encourage current users to quit or reduce consumption, tobacco tax in the Philippines is still one of the lowest in the world. It must be raised to a level at which it can effectively prevent Filipinos, especially the youth, the poor, and other marginalized groups, from smoking,” the groups said.

Caritas launches Marawi toy drive

MARAWI CASUALTY. Rescuers carry a body bag containing the remains of a victim of the Marawi siege during a mass burial at a public cemetery in Marawi on July 24, 2017, as the fighting between government troops and Muslim militants enters its second month. The government continues to engage the Islamist militants in the southern city of Marawi, a day after Congress voted to extend martial law over the southern Philippines until the end of the year. AFP

Alvarez bats for ‘dissolution of marriage’ bill

By Maricel V. Cruz

urged President Rodrigo Duterte to call for the strict enforcement of Executive Order 26, also known as the “Smoke-Free Executive Order”.

The groups include Health Justice Philippines, Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance, New Voice Association of the Philippines, Philippine Cancer Society, Ang Nars, Ecowaste Coalition, Medical Action Group, Woman Health, and Hope for the Youth Foundation.

The executive order, signed by President Duterte on May 23, imposes a nationwide smoking ban in public and sets guidelines for establishing designated smoking areas. The order took effect on July 22.

The EO is designed to protect the public from secondhand smoke, which is known to increase the risk of developing lung cancer. The Philippines, a Party to the World Health Organiza-

change this,” Alvarez added.

Alvarez, who is estranged from his wife Emelita Apostol Alvarez and admitted to having a girlfriend, said he would file a bill that seeks to allow the dissolution of irreparable marriages.

Alvarez said that compared to annulment which takes time, dissolution of troubled marriages can only take a day, especially if estranged couples mutually agree to end their marriage “subject to the approval of the court.”

In his speech, Alvarez thanked Taguig Rep. Pia Cayetano for her commitment to file the bill “without the need for an extensively adversarial system.”

“One of the conditions, which must be complied with, is an agreed upon

and executable framework to provide for the care and support of their children. Moreover, previously married persons can remain friends and better parents, despite their differences, since they no longer have to sling mud at each other in front of a judge just to convince the magistrate that their marriage should be declared void or voided,” Alvarez said.

He said the proposed dissolution of troubled marriage is a remedy for “unhappy” couples as they have to consider “the fact that marriage may not be for everyone.”

This developed as Alvarez also called the passage of a bill legalizing civil unions.

“Presently, it even excludes certain groups of people from its fold. Let us

tackle this issue head on. I will file a bill that will legally recognize and protect civil partnerships,” Alvarez said.

He also vowed to file a measure that will put an end to an unequal treatment of legitimate and illegitimate children by “equalizing their legitimacy regardless of whether or not they were born within or outside wedlock.”

At the same time, Alvarez called for the “great” reorganization of the bureaucracy, saying Congress must require that operators of casinos, public transportation, as well as mining companies, secure a legislative franchise from it prior to their operations “to make certain that the public’s interest will always be protected.”

THE Catholic Church, through the National Secretariat for Social Action/Caritas Philippines, has launched a toy campaign for the benefit of the children in Marawi .

The toy campaign called “Share the joy, give a toy” hopes to bring back the happiness and provide comfort to children, who are still recovering from the trauma brought by the ongoing crisis in Marawi.

NASSA/Caritas Philippines Executive Secretary Fr. Edwin Gariguez said the campaign targets to give new/preloved toys and educational materials to at least 3,000 children who had evacuated in Iligan City, and to other disaster-affected areas..

Apart from basic necessities like food and non-food items, the priest said there is an urgent need to address the psychosocial needs especially of children.

“The trauma brought by the armed conflict were evident in the faces of the civilians, especially to the children, who were robbed of a peaceful and memorable childhood. Through this campaign, we hope to help ease the trauma,” Gariguez explained.

The provision of toys will form

part of the psychosocial interventions of the rapid response appeal recently launched by NASSA/Caritas Philippines with the Diocese of Iligan.

“We are also encouraging children who will be donating toys to write simple cards or notes, with inspiring messages for the children of Marawi,” Gariguez added.

Donations can be dropped off at NASSA/Caritas Philippines office located in the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines building in Intramuros, Manila until Aug. 11, 2017.

New or preloved toys as well as educational materials for children will be accepted as long as they are clean and in good condition. Toys that are scarylooking, pigs or wild animal replicas, weapon-like, toxic, battery-operated and damaged/soiled are discouraged.

NASSA/Caritas Philippines, together with the Diocese of Iligan, is also implementing a P10-million humanitarian response to the Marawi crisis, covering the essential needs of 3,000 families or 15,000 individuals in Iligan City such as Halal food, and non-food items like hygiene kits, household items and sleeping kits.

DOTr office moves out to Pampanga AS PART of its efforts to decongest Metro Manila, the Department of Transportation will transfer its offices to Clark in Pampanga starting on Friday.

“The first batch of offices will transfer to Clark on 28 July 2017,” the DOTr said in a text message to reporters.

Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade earlier said the “the transfer will be rolled out by batches, so as to ensure systematized and efficient transition.”

“The decision to transfer is in line with the unwavering efforts of the government to decongest Metro

Manila, reduce travel time and improve travel of motorists, and help boost development in its peripheries,” the DOTr said.

A study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the National Economic and Development Authority reported that the gridlock plaguing Metro Manila was costing the Philippines at least P2.4 billion a day.

“As the primary department tasked to manage transportation systems and traffic decongestion plans in the country, the Department of Transportation will take the lead in transferring its main office to Clark,” it said.

Sports

A7

TUESDAY, JULY 25, 2017 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Indonesia, Thailand eye SEAG hosting the Philippines to stay on as host.

“Meron pang chance, basta may approval ni POC president (Jose Cojuangco). Ang move ng POC, i-convene the GA and appeal to the President (Rodrigo Duterte), show the image of the Philippines that there is no problem. But this is only my personal suggestion,” said Hontiveros.

Sports officials believe that they can push through with the hosting if they hold it in other cities and not in Davao City.

By Peter Atencio

I

NDONESIA and Thailand have come forward to bid for the hosting of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

But the Philippine Olympic Committee is not yet ready to tell the SEA Games Federation Council that the country has given up in its hosting rights.

Sports officials will discuss their next moves in a meeting of

the POC General Assembly on Wednesday.

POC secretary general Steve Hontiveros said this could be the first time that the SEA Games will end without a turnover ceremony.

He said there is still a chance for

The government’s decision to beg off from hosting the 2019 edition of the games stems from its plan to re-channel government resources in favor of the rehabilitation efforts for the beleaguered city of Marawi.

In a letter by Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William Ramirez last Friday to Cojuangco, the government announced that it shall no longer proceed with the country’s hosting of the SEA Games.

In 2015, the Philippines expressed its interest to host the games after its original host, Brunei declined, citing the country’s lack of sporting facilities, accommodation and preparation of their athletes.

Last year, Cojuangco made a suggestion that the games be hosted

by Davao City.

The main host city was moved from Manila to Davao City after a proposal made by Cojuangco in 2016 and later on approved by President Rodrigo Duterte.

Spieth seeks golf grand slam SOUTHPORT—Jordan Spieth will go into the US PGA Championship next month looking to join an elite club and complete the career Grand Slam after his memorable British Open triumph on Sunday.

Spieth’s dramatic victory on the links at Royal Birkdale in northwest England saw him add the Open’s famous Claret Jug to the Masters green jacket he won at Augusta in 2015 and his US Open title the same year.

The Texan has now emulated the great Jack Nicklaus in winning three different majors before the age of 24—his 24th birthday is this coming Thursday.

At the moment Nicklaus is one of just five players to have claimed all four majors, but Spieth can join that elite group by winning the PGA at Quail Hollow in North Carolina starting on August 10— and would be the youngest to get there.

“It’s incredible. It’s a life goal of mine. It’s a career goal. Growing up playing golf, I just wanted to be able to play in major championships and compete with the best in the world, and things have happened very quickly,” said Spieth on Sunday.

He survived a major wobble in the last round at Birkdale to end on 12 under par and beat compatriot Matt Kuchar by three shots.

He was already the fourthyoungest man to capture two majors with his 2015 double, having previously become the youngest winner on the PGA Tour in over 80 years at the John Deere Classic in 2013.

Adding to his achievements, Spieth warmed up for Birkdale with a victory at the Travelers Championship last month which allowed him to match Tiger Woods in reaching double digits for tour wins by such a young age.

“It’s good and bad, because a lot comes with it. And a lot more attention, versus just being able to kind of go about your own thing.

And I never realised how underrated that was.” AFP

AMPARO Teresa Acuña, who is the only shooter in the Philippines to hold three national records in international competitions, is doing her best to prepare for the coming Southeast Asian Games.

The present conditions during training may not be ideal. But, Acuna is determined to come up with a great showing.

“As far as SEA Games preparations are going, not everything is going smoothly as it should be.

The lack of ammunition and the damaged situation of the range are no doubt a hindrance to our training,” said Acuna during a break in her preparations.

Many national shooters under the Philippine National Shooting Association, just like Acuna, are currently training without air conditioning in the air rifle range at the Philippine Marine facility in Ft. Bonifacio.

Most of them are compelled to use the jury room or office as make shift shooting bays, according to Acuna.

The Philippine shooting team contingent in rifle is made up of Acuna and Jayson Valdez. The pistol shooters are Shannin Gonzales and Elvie Baldovino, while shotgun has Hagen Alexander Topacio, Paul Bryan Rosario and Eric Ang. Peter Atencio

Froome rises to biggest challenge for 4th Tour win PARIS—”The challenge is even bigger this year—I feel as if the level of rivals is even higher,” said Chris Froome before the Tour de France began in Dusseldorf.

Three weeks later and his projection proved true as he won the race by his slimmest margin yet: just 54 seconds.

Things had started well for the Briton, now a four-time champion, as he put at least 30 seconds into each of his main rivals on the opening time-trial in Dusseldorf.

But what came next was a test that neither he nor his team had faced before.

It was a dramatic Tour, for

many reasons.

World champion Peter Sagan was sensationally kicked out for elbowing Mark Cavendish in the sprint finish to the fourth stage, won

by Frenchman Arnaud Demare.

Cavendish suffered a broken collarbone, and Sagan paid the penalty, although many riders criticised the decision.

In the overall battle, everyone was waiting for the first uphill finish on the fifth stage at La Planche des Belles Filles, where Froome had taken his first stage win in 2012.

This time, though, he was beaten

into third as Fabio Aru took a brilliant solo victory with Dan Martin even distancing Froome into third.

Beaten on the day, Froome did however take the yellow jersey off his loyal lieutenant Geraint Thomas, the shock winner of the opening timetrial, albeit against the backdrop of accusations from rival team FDJ about the skinsuits used by Sky— with little Vortex air pellets one detractor claimed were “banned”.

That story would peter out with little more fuss.

There was something familiar about seeing Froome in yellow and

Sky in control of the peloton but things were far from straight-forward, not only for Froome.

Costly The ninth stage in the Jura was a costly one for the Tour favourites as rain made the descent of the Mont du Chat climb perilous.

Richie Porte came crashing down in a spectacular fall that ended his race with a broken collarbone and pelvis, and almost took Ireland’s Martin out of the race two.

A sturdy helmet, which was destroyed, saved Martin but the Tour had lost the rider Froome

Pauline guns for no 3; Bianca joins Riviera hunt SILANG, Cavite—Pauline del Rosario brims with confidence as she launches her drive for a third straight crown on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour, raring to flaunt her form in the ICTSI Riviera Ladies Championship firing off today (Tuesday, July 25) at Riviera’s Langer course here.

After a couple of failed bids for a maiden pro win, Del Rosario racked up back-to-back

victories in empathic fashions at Orchard and Baguio last month and turned in a strong fourth place effort in the recent Taiwan Ladies Open, making her the player to watch in the P750,000 event sponsored by ICTSI. “I’m feeling good right now, my confidence has been constantly high, especially coming off a solo fourth place at the Taiwan Ladies Open, my best finish

so far abroad,” said Del Rosario, also a former Philippine Ladies Open winner.

But unlike in her two title romps, Del Rosario will have her hands full this week with reigning Philippine Ladies Open champion Bianca Pagdanganan joining at the last minute to further bolster the compact international field.

Amateur Pagdanganan, the first golfer in Gonzaga Univer-

sity to compete in the US NCAA Championships, humbled an elite international field to win the 55th staging of the country’s premier ladies championship in record fashion—via winning 16-under total at Wack Wack last January.

She starts at 8:10 a.m. with Apple Fudolin and Thai Jaruporn Naayutthawa, hoping to figure prominently in her first stint on the LPGT. AFP

Jarata, Quitara score trebles in Sta. Rosa tilt ALEXIE Jarata and Laurenz Quitara came away with two victories in their respective divisions then added a doubles crown each to dominate the Palawan PawnshopPalawan Express Pera Padala Sta. Rosa leg regional age group tennis tournament yesterday.

Jarata bucked top seed Kean Enriquez’s power and pulled off a 4-2, 0-4, 5-3 upset in the 10-unisex finals then the Agoo, La Union bet downed Melody Dizon, 6-2, 6-3, for the girls’ 12-U diadem in the Group 2 tournament presented by Slazenger at the Sta. Rosa Sports Tennis Courts.

Quitara, on the other hand, wore down Tim Gumban, 5-7, 6-1, 10-4, to claim the boys’ 16-U title then the Imus, Cavite ace scored a 6-4,

‘Shooting conditions not ideal’

4-1(ret.), also over his doubles partner, to clinch the 16-U plum.

Jarata later teamed up with Enriquez to rout siblings France and Frank Dilao, 8-3, for the 10-U doubles crown while Quitara and Gumban ripped Jon Gabayan and Piolo Piaduche, 8-4, for the 18-U doubles title in the event sponsored by Palawan Express headed by president/ CEO Bobby Castro and backed by Rep. Arlene Arcillas, Mayor Dan Fernandez, Councilor Ina Cartagena, GSO head Celso Catindig and Sports Department head Roy Lazaga.

Marc Jarata and Bea Acena also pocketed two titles each with the former repulsing Samuel Nuguit, 2-6, 6-1, 10-3, for the boys’ 12-U plum then blasting Nicos Ison, 6-2, 6-3, in the 14-U finals.

KIDS-SOS Program. Philippine Sports Commission Commissioner Arnold Agustin (center) and Congressman Strike Revilla are shown with several children during the launching of the PSC’s Kabataan Iwas-Droga: Start on Sports in Bacoor City, Cavite. Over 1,000 children received free clinics and training in badminton, chess, table tennis ang pencak silat at the newly-built Strike Sports Center. The program will run until the end of August.

Pirates try to hold on to lead shots as he poured in six of his 17 LYCEUM of the Philippines Games today points in the fourth quarter as the PiUniversity seeks to stay on top (Filoil Arena, San Juan) 8 a.m.- Mapua vs EAC (jrs) rates added the Stags to their long list as it clashes with an unpredict10 a.m.- AU vs LPU (jrs) of title contenders after slaying the able Arellano University even as 12 noon- Mapua vs EAC (srs) Jose Rizal Bombers, 96-75, and the defending champion San Beda 2 p.m.- AU vs LPU (srs) aims to stay close as it tackles 4 p.m.- San Beda vs Letran (srs) Lions, 96-91, in their first two outings.

6 p.m.- San Beda vs Letran (jrs) LPU coach Topex Robinson, howLetran today in the 93rd NCAA ever, was quick to temper expectations. basketball tournament at the Filoil “You can’t win the championship in just three Arena in San Juan City.

The Pirates rolled to their third straight victory games. We have to keep working harder and stay by turning back the San Sebastian Stags, 78-73, hungry to sustain this winning,” said Robinson.

The Pirates face off with another contender, the Friday and a victory today versus the Chiefs in their 2 p.m. encounter will keep their streak go- Arellano Chiefs, last year’s losing finalists who have zoomed to a 2-1 (win-loss) start after they ing while keeping their stranglehold of the lead.

CJ Perez provided the spark as he fired a team- edged the Bombers, 73-72, on a game-winning best 20 points, while Ayaay delivered the crucial basket by Kent Salado last week.

SBC outlasts Notre Dame LIAM Rasheed Salangsang scored 11 points and got help from the rest of the San Beda College-Rizal’s young core as they outlasted Notre Dame of Greater Manila, 32-27, on Sunday in the Best Center-organized SBP-Passerelle twin basketball tournaments at the Xavier School gym.

The SBC-R victory put the squad in the early lead of Group A in the Small Basketeers Philippines.

It tied with La Salle-Greenhills A, which crushed Lourdes School of Quezon City, 62-22, in the other Group A match witnessed by special opening-day guests Lester Castillo,

incoming Milo Sports Marketing Executive, and former Philippine Basketball Association player and Best Center alumnus Benjie Paras.

Marist School blasted LSGH-B, 41-33, while Ateneo tripped College of San Benildo-Rizal, 58-31, in the Group B matches.

Nazareth School of National University smothered San Sebastian College, 82-43, to join Adamson, which clipped LSGH-B, 59-42, in the Group A lead of the Passerelle.

Group B saw SBC-Rizal dominate St. Mary’s College, 111-31, while LSGH-A scorched St. Anthony School, 95-64.

considered “the man to beat”.

And he also lost Thomas in another crash, while it was the day that confirmed Nairo Quintana’s gamble to ride the Giro d’Italia in May followed by the Tour would backfire.

Twice a runner-up to Froome in France and third last year, Quintana would gradually fall further away every time the race hit the high mountains, his usually forte, and finish a lowly 12th.

Froome consolidated his lead on that ninth stage but his main rivals established themselves as Aru, Romain Bardet and Rigoberto Uran finished alongside the Briton. AFP

Manila gears up for World Series CERRITOS—As part of its buildup for the 2017 PONY International U-18 Girls’ Softball World Series set to kick off on Monday, (Tuesday, July 25 Manila time) at the sprawling Diamond Valley Park in the 36–acre Valley–Wide Recreation District, Team Manila–Philippines held three grueling practice games and training sessions at the Saddleback College in this warm and cozy city here.

The Big City softbelles, composed of the finest 18-under batters from UAAP 7-peat champions Adamson University, National University, Ateneo de Manila University, Fort Bonifacio High School in Makati and Fortunato Halili National Agricultural School in Bulacan, battled the Orange County Elite girls softball team before facing former members of the Philippine Blu Girls and Blu Boys now residing in California as it gears up for its bid in this World Series wherein the Philippines or Asia will be fielding in a girls’ team only for the second time in history.

Three standout pitchers, led by Alma Tauli of FINAS Bulacan, Shirlette Maygay of Adamson and Mery Ann Ramos of National University will power Team Manila–Philippines, together with upcoming young stars, led by short stops Mary Nichole Padasas of Adamson and Angelu Gabriel of Fort Bonifacio High School, 3rd baseman Madelene Domaug of FINAS Bulacan, and right fielder Krisha Cantor of Adamson.

Representing the Asia Pacific Region and backed by Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada and the International Container Terminal Services Inc., the Manila softbelles’ will face Central Hemet’s Screaming Eagles on Wednesday, July 26 at 5:45 p.m.

(Thursday, July 27 8:45 a.m. in Manila) and Redlands, California on Thursday, July 27 at 7:30 p.m.

(Friday, July 28 10:30 a.m. in Manila).

Manila Softball President Rafael “Che” Borromeo remains upbeat of the Team’s chances in delivering a respectable performance in the prestigious event.

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

SM Group keeps geothermal stake B3

Business

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

Budget deficit hit P91b in June

By Julito G. Rada

T

HE government’s budget deficit doubled to P90.9 billion in June from a P45.2-billion shortfall a year ago, as expenditures outpaced revenue collection during the month.

Data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed expenditures in June jumped 23 percent to P270.7 billion from P220.8 billion a year earlier, while revenues increased 2 percent to P179.8

billion from P175.6 billion.

“The deficit performance reflects the 23-percent year-onyear rise in expenditures against collection growth of 2-percent for the month,” the Treasury said.The actual deficit in June

was also significantly higher than the P16.7–billion deficit programmed for the month.

This brought the first-half deficit to P154.5 billion, up 28 percent from the P120.3-billion deficit in the first six months of 2016.

This was also significantly higher than the programmed deficit of P143.8 billion in the first half of 2017.

“With 93.5 percent coming from tax collections, revenues reached P179.8 billion in June for a 2-percent year-on-year growth. Meanwhile, year-to-date collection amounted to P1.176.4 trillion, registering a 7-percent

increase over the previous year and only P16.6 billion or 1 percent below program,” the Treasury said.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue collected P 131.2 billion in June, up 6 percent year-on-year.

BIR collections increased 8 percent in the first half to P848.0 billion, but lagged behind the program by 4 percent.

The Bureau of Customs collected P35.4 billion in June, roughly the same amount as it did in the same month last year.

Stronger collections in previous months allowed for 10-percent growth in the year-to-date total of

P210.3 billion, which was short of the program by 3 percent.

Income collected by the Bureau of the Treasury decreased 8 percent year-on-year to P4.7 billion due largely to lower remittance of the national government share in Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. income which declined P716 million.

Non tax revenue from other offices exhibited a year-on-year contraction of 28 percent for a monthly total of P7 billion. Yearto-date revenue settled at P54.6 billion reflecting a 1-percent growth over 2016’s level and 7 percent better than programmed.

NLEX proposes elevated toll road

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Tuesday, July 24, 2017

F OREIGN E XCHANGE R ATE Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

50.7600

Japan

Yen

0.009001

0.4569

UK

Pound

1.299900

65.9829

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128084

6.5015

Switzerland

Franc

1.057641

53.6859

Canada

Dollar

0.797575

40.4849

Singapore

Dollar

0.733460

37.2304

Australia

Dollar

0.790100

40.1055

Bahrain

Dinar

2.651816

134.6062

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266652

13.5353

Brunei

Dollar

0.730780

37.0944

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000075

0.0038

Thailand

Baht

0.029904

1.5179

UAE

Dirham

0.272287

13.8213

Euro

Euro

1.167000

59.2369

Korea

Won

0.000895

0.0454

China

Yuan

0.147796

7.5021

India

Rupee

0.015533

0.7885

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.233536

11.8543

New Zealand

Dollar

0.743700

37.7502

Taiwan

Dollar

0.032860

1.6680 Source: PDS Bridge

B1

IN BRIEF Lambino vows to transform Ceza

CAGAYAN Economic Zone Authority’s newly-appointed administrator Raul Lambino vowed to transform the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport into a bustling economic growth center, tourist destination and a major transshipment and logistics hub in Northern Luzon.

“As the president’s personal choice, I will lead by example and turn the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport into his vision of a vibrant economic growth center that is efficient and clean and free of corruption,” said Lambino, who is a member of administration party, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan.

Lambino said he would woo more investors to make the 54,000-hectare Cagayan Freeport a veritable vehicle for industrial, commercial and financial ventures and a favored investment and recreational center in Southeast Asia.

Lambino identified the repair of Port Irene, including the dredging of its heavily silted seabed, and the construction of additional wharves to expand its capacity, plus the modernization of the North Cagayan International Airport in Lal-lo town as “extremely important to spur development of the zone.”

Lambino replaced Jose Mari Ponce who led Ceza for nine years. Othel V. Campos

6 foreign airlines eye Visayas flights

By Darwin G. Amojelar NLEX Corp., a unit of the Metro Pacific Group, plans to submit an unsolicited proposal to build a P20-billion elevated expressway connecting Port Area in Manila to the existing Manila-Cavite Expressway.

NLEX president and chief executive Rodrigo Franco said his company was finalizing the study for the development of the new expressway that would connect Cavitex to R10 in Tondo, Manila.

“The alignment is not yet final, but the estimated cost of the project I guess it’s around P20 billion,” Franco said.

The company is currently constructing the extension of NLEX Harbor Link from C3 Road in Caloocan City to R10 in Tondo, Manila, which is expected to be completed by end of the year.

NLEX is also building a toll road linking the North Luzon Expressway and South Luzon Expressway worth P23.2 billion.

Of the total project cost, NLEX would be investing P15.74 billion on the NLExSLEx project, while the government would spend P7.46 billion for right of way acquisition.

The project is expected to be completed in two to three years, depending on the availability of right of way.

The project involves the construction of an eight-kilometer, four-lane toll road linking the North Luzon Expressway and South Luzon Expressway, passing through Metro Manila and using the existing Philippine National Railway alignment as its route.

Citra Metro Manila Tollways Corp., which is separately constructing the P26.7-billion Skyway Stage 3 Project, will build the five-kilometer common alignment from Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Sta. Mesa, Manila to Buendia in Makati City of the NLExSLEx project.

The company is also constructing the P35-billon Cavite Laguna Expressway, a fourlane, 47-kilometer closed-system toll expressway connecting Cavitex and South Luzon Expressway.

TUESDAY, JULY 25, 2017

SOLAR PROGRAM. Officers and representatives of Manila Electric Co. engage with the electrical engineers and inspectors of Makati, Taguig, Parañaque, Las Piñas and Muntinlupa local government units during the Solar Photovoltaic Capacity Building Seminar on June 28, 2017. Shown are Meralco renewables program manager Anna Maria Reodica (fifth from left), Engineer Raul Balogal of Meralco’s network asset management (sixth from left) and the officers of the Association of City/Municipal Electrical Engineers and Electricians of the Philippines Inc. led by president Ernie Valdez (4th from left).

Dominguez: Mighty’s P45-b deal needs PCC nod FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the P30billion tax compromise between the government and Mighty Corp. will depend on how swiftly the Philippine Competition Commission can approve the sale of the cigarette company’s assets to Japan Tobacco International.

Dominguez said Mighty’s offer to settle its tax liabilities for P25 billion would rise to around P30 billion once the value-added tax and other fees were included in the computation of the final settlement sum.

President Rodrigo Duterte in his State of the Nation Address asked the Bureau of Internal Revenue to accept the P25-billion offer of Mighty, which he said could be used in the rehabilitation of Marawi City.

“This will be the largest sum of taxes collected ever from a single taxpayer in Philippine history. The date of full collection will depend on how fast the Philippine Competition Commission approves thesale of Mighty’s assets to the Japan Tobacco International whose largest shareholder, incidentally, is the Japanese government,” Dominguez said in a statement.

Mighty, in a letter to the BIR, earlier disclosed its plan to sell the company and affiliates of its manufacturing and distribution business and assets, along with the intellectual property rights associated with these assets, “including those owned by the company, Wong Chu King Holdings Inc., and other affiliates to JTI or any of its affiliates for a total purchase price of P45 billion exclusive of VAT.” “Mighty will be out of the cigarette manufacturing business from now on,” said Dominguez in his speech at the Davao Investment Conference held at the Lanang SMX Convention Center in Davao City over the weekend.

PCC is an independent quasi-judicial body created by law to promote and maintain market competition and a level playing field for business by checking anti-competitive practices.

Section 3 of the implementing rules and regulations of the PCC provides that parties to any merger or acquisition are required to notify and seek prior approval from the commission if the value of the transaction exceeds P1 billion.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue already received the first tranche of Mighty’s settlement offer of P3.44 billion on July 20, Dominguez said.

Dominguez said earlier that the receipt of this initial amount did not mean that the government already formally accepted Mighty’s P25-billion offer.

Dominguez also said even if the government finally accepted the settlement, it would not preclude any criminal charges that the BIR might file against Mighty, “as criminal cases cannot be compromised.”

Dominguez said Mighty’s offer to finally settle its tax liabilities after the BIR and the Bureau of Customs worked together to expose its tax dodging practices showed that besides tax reform, the Duterte administration was also bent on implementing significant improvements in tax administration to raise more revenues.

He said in his Davao speech that tax policy reforms would be instituted via the proposed Comprehensive Tax Reform Program, of which the first package―the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act was recently approved by the House of Representatives.

Besides “revenue-positive” measures from tax reform, the government will also resort to a sustainable borrowing strategy by tapping official development assistance to get infrastructure projects implemented faster and at lower financing costs, he said. Julito G. Rada

SIX foreign airlines plan to launch flights to Luzon and the Visayas, the Tourism Department said Monday.

The department said the application of the six international carriers would open new services to Cebu, Caticlan, Kalibo, Clark and Manila to meet the anticipated increase in international arrivals.

Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo, in a report, identified the six airlines as West Air which seeks approval for the Chongking-Cebu route; Thai Smiles for Bangkok-Cebu; 9 Air for Guangzhou-Cebu; Hainan, for Haiku to Cebu and Manila; Jetstar for Singapore to Caticlan and Clark; and June Yao for Shanghai-Kalibo.

The department said prior visits to these countries helped the the agency land air negotiation agreements and action programs that would bring in more tourists from major source markets.

Teo’s first year in the office spurred the availability of 811, 044 new seats with the opening of new air routes.

The agency said in the first five months of 2017, foreign airlines like China Eastern, Sichuan Airlines, Xiamen Air, Lucky Air and Air Asia opened 192,660 seats while local carriers Philippine Airlines and Philippines Air Asia added 230,880.

Othel V. Campos

B2

Business

TUESDAY, JULY 25, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Stocks fall ahead of Duterte’s Sona

S

TOCKS fell Monday, ahead of President Rodrigo Duterte’s Stateof-the-Nation Address later in the afternoon and as investors await a US Federal Reserve policy meeting.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, shed 27 points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 7,962.64, as five of the six major sectors declined.

The heavier index, representing all shares, also went down 12 points, or 0.3 percent, to settle at 4,758.67, on a value turnover of P5.8 billion. Losers outnumbered gainers, 109 to 100, while 50 issues were unchanged.

Thirteen of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by aviation company MacroAsia Corp. which jumped 15 percent to P1.42, after it announced a plan to exit mining and water to focus on its core

business.

Philippine Estates Corp. advanced 5.9 percent to P0.54, while DMCI Holdings Inc. climbed 1.9 percent to P15.90. JG Summit Holdings Inc. rose 1.3 percent to P78.50.

Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. rebounded 1.3 percent to P88, after it plummeted last week on reports that it was hit by an internal fraud perpetuated by a senior executive.

Meanwhile, Asian markets mostly rose Monday, but uncertainty surrounding Donald Trump’s presidency continues to drag on sentiment, with Wall Street’s three main indexes ending last week on a negative note.

The single currency extended last week’s rally against the greenback after European Central Bank boss Mario Draghi said policymakers would address its vast stimulus program by the autumn, fueling speculation they would start winding it in.

In afternoon trade Monday, the euro bought $1.1668, around two-year highs, with analysts predicting it could break above the $1.1714 mark set in mid-2015.

The dollar was also well down against the yen and pound. The unit has struggled as Trump’s travails – from a probe into his election campaign’s links to Russia to failure to push through health care reforms –dampen expectations he will be able to pass his muchvaunted economic agenda.

“Factoring in the expanding US political sinkhole, which is weighing on broader (dollar) sentiment, it’s unlikely the market has run out of steam,” Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trading at OANDA, said in a note.

Traders will be watching the Fed’s latest policy meeting, which ends on Wednesday, hoping for some guidance on its plans for raising interest rates. Expectations for further increases have been tempered in recent weeks as inflation remains tepid and Trump’s woes grow.

On equities markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei index ended down 0.6 percent as exporters were hit by the strong yen, while Sydney also shed 0.6 percent and Singapore was 0.1 percent off.

With AFP, Bloomberg

PSE starts delisting of agri firm Calata

By Jenniffer B. Austria THE Philippine Stock Exchange said Monday it initiated the delisting procedures against agriculture company Calata Corp. for committing multiple violations of the disclosure rules.

PSE said in a notice posted on its website it had initiated involuntary delisting procedures against Calata after it committed 55 disclosure violations which under the exchange rules constituted grounds for delisting.

Calata corporate secretary Jose Marie Fabella said in a text message

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 59.5 67,880 107 1,039,590 3.95 27,000 123.5 596,430 1.4 51,000 36.6 328,300 16.1 14,300 32.45 793,700 8.2 1,800 0.66 1,000 1.72 4,000 901 160 0.69 720,000 88 7,673,900 0.82 2,947,000 16.24 54,500 24.9 2,100 67.55 17,800 242.8 1,110 117 600 88.6 120 58.4 20,150 223 162,430 1,690 235 86.35 82,500 1.35 220,000

4,021,809 111,030,181 106,650 73,528,545 68,830 11,993,305 229,324 25,734,630 14,760 660 6,880 144,090 502,390 674,728,375.50 2,396,820 885,270 52,400 1,201,830 271,378 70,180 10,622 1,178,309.50 36,330,748 397,600 7,123,058.50 295,590

2,845,159.50 92,226,943 24,287,225 11,689,735 600,445 -213,890,024.50 -687,290 8,140 591,478 652,772.50 4,212,920 133,811 -

39.35 8.83 0.87 1.41 30.95 0.265 161.1 7.24 18.5 166.1 29.2 15.08 69.2 79 85 2 5.3 11.7 12.32 15.54 12.38 7.78 5.91 1.68 18.32 67.1 14.52 13.4 15.22 1.95 218 60 4.02 3.35 31.6 19.74 18.22 276 0.241 9.2 3.14 7.62 9.62 6.56 10.2 1.93 11.9 66.35 6.47 305 4.54 4.98 2.93 13 4.57 0.144 1.35 160.4 3.92 2.11 29 1.03

INDUSTRIAL 39.35 958,100 8.83 1,445,600 0.9 15,871,000 1.41 402,000 30.95 65,700 0.27 5,160,000 161.1 1,210 7.27 2,074,600 18.7 166,000 166.1 50 30 685,200 15.38 4,800 70 310,440 79 200 85 200 2 711,000 5.3 138,000 11.7 1,200 12.42 719,500 15.6 1,611,200 12.88 1,780,200 7.82 1,532,800 5.97 4,724,800 1.68 1,000 18.34 1,082,600 67.9 19,260 14.9 11,100 13.52 459,300 15.5 3,420,400 1.98 1,489,000 219.2 137,570 60 5,450 4.02 86,000 3.49 22,000 31.8 282,500 19.98 204,200 18.36 1,845,100 279.8 599,630 0.241 3,540,000 9.48 26,500 3.14 2,000 7.67 135,600 9.62 588,000 6.85 382,800 10.2 18,700 1.93 912,000 12 4,629,300 66.5 450,930 6.6 12,700 305 51,390 4.54 1,000 5 747,400 3.02 2,778,000 13.36 1,682,800 4.62 956,000 0.144 2,910,000 1.35 341,000 161 1,406,540 3.92 10,000 2.14 5,056,000 29 700 1.03 92,000

38,093,470 12,948,068 14,586,570 572,540 2,046,960 1,380,900 222,996 15,083,564 3,096,594 8,305 20,217,225 72,784 21,786,495 15,800 17,000 1,423,450 731,800 14,050 8,922,860 25,120,160 22,644,802 12,027,454 28,170,863 1,680 19,979,314 1,305,445.50 163,644 6,202,728 52,932,636 2,957,480 30,160,060 327,010 350,490 75,880 9,058,745 4,078,434 33,755,480 167,259,818 857,160 250,249 6,320 1,039,187 5,679,344 2,660,552 191,692 1,761,190 55,917,388 30,031,566 83,202 15,781,430 4,540 3,778,094 8,316,910 22,286,636 4,417,240 420,400 463,590 226,205,550 39,250 10,825,450 20,355 94,760

13,788,815 -3,088,924.00 -171,550 1,022,779 1,522,334 1,528,030 20,490,595 60,440 3,132,934 5,172,540 -2,326,930 10,146,201 13,444,652 -3,517,390.00 335,141.50 -254,634 -1,378,072 4,696,546 -413,505 2,662,720.00 -19,494,444.00 86,766,002 36,300 -9,222 1,085,401 181,400 -13,612,532 -8,410,028 20,460 1,244,990 1,224,680 3,248,890 15,963,212 1,179,880 -29,566,721 428,820 2,955 -

0.365 74.3 14 1.12 7 0.33 0.33 874 7.83 15.58 7.58 6 6.1 0.225 1,194 7.9 76.55 4.8 5.41 5.79 1 6.9 17.16 0.445 6.66 0.05 1.01 2.1 102.7 2.75 785.5 0.88 1.59 190 303 0.285 0.22 0.246

HOLDING FIRMS 0.37 1,630,000 74.3 597,170 14.02 9,409,900 1.14 117,000 7 59,600 0.33 3,170,000 0.335 70,000 880 148,660 7.85 1,888,000 15.9 9,358,400 7.58 107,300 6.01 16,600 6.1 2,500 0.23 7,540,000 1,200 258,975 8.27 266,900 78.5 1,109,160 4.8 41,600 5.72 15,900 6 4,000 1.01 2,834,000 6.97 286,600 17.36 965,400 0.445 80,000 6.7 5,191,300 0.051 22,540,000 1.04 64,000 2.13 971,000 103 26,190 2.84 158,000 788 244,010 0.88 7,000 1.67 6,270,000 190.4 60 304 7,260 0.29 1,300,000 0.245 19,470,000 0.255 370,000

603,200 44,660,667 131,924,472 132,320 417,200 1,046,100 23,400 130,756,455 14,857,114 148,135,870 816,361 99,616 15,264 1,764,790 310,790,945 2,186,517 87,243,362.50 205,438 89,382 23,281 2,837,090 1,997,127 16,716,410 35,600 34,832,392 1,149,540 70,130 2,052,270 2,696,159 449,120 192,558,700 6,160 10,404,950 11,404 2,200,608 371,100 4,830,430 91,610

1,005,821 39,836,356 90,309,380 4,334,218 83,553,886 -30,300 -83,587,040 -34,057,921.50 -468,580 -5,198,476 16,012,036 56,100 -8,680 -126,459 14,200 -134,253,325 763,600 -424,360 145,400 -

3,658,412 4,105,950 19,672 318,830 17,009,420 719,412,360 5,572,020 12,613,915 4,272 19,526,190 772,150 1,100,570 1,193,460 825,350 3,205,145 2,363,970 4,529,640 29,679,830

-1,759,769 5,800 -1,183,280 91,433,695.00 -682,020 201,207 -2,643,480 3,720 -167,710 -965,250 779,560

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

ASIA UNITED BANK PH ISLANDS BDO LEASING BDO UNIBANK BRIGHT KINDLE CHINABANK COL FINANCIAL EAST WEST BANK FILIPINO FUND FIRST ABACUS IREMIT MANULIFE MEDCO HLDG METROBANK NTL REINSURANCE PB BANK PBCOM PHIL NATL BANK PHIL STOCK EXCH PHILTRUST PSBANK RCBC SECURITY BANK SUN LIFE UNION BANK VANTAGE

59.5 107 3.95 123 1.35 36.5 16.14 32 8.2 0.66 1.72 901.5 0.69 87.05 0.82 16.26 25 67.5 244.8 117 88.4 58 225 1,695 85.7 1.35

59.5 107 3.95 123.8 1.4 36.6 16.14 33 8.2 0.66 1.72 901.5 0.71 88.3 0.85 16.3 25 67.7 244.8 117 88.6 58.7 226 1,695 86.4 1.36

58.9 106 3.95 122 1.34 36.5 16.02 32 8.2 0.66 1.72 900 0.69 86.95 0.77 15.76 24.9 67.45 242.8 116 88.4 58 223 1,690 85.7 1.34

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

40 9.01 0.88 1.44 31.75 0.265 189.9 7.28 18.8 166.1 29.3 15.5 70 79 85 2.03 5.31 11.8 12.4 15.66 12.6 7.78 5.98 1.68 18.5 67.1 14.52 13.66 15.36 2 221.8 60.05 4.15 3.35 31.6 19.74 18.6 277 0.245 9.5 3.18 7.66 9.77 7.37 10.32 1.95 12 66.9 6.5 305 4.54 5.1 3 13.08 4.58 0.144 1.38 161 3.92 2.13 29 1.03

40.1 9.05 0.96 1.44 31.8 0.275 191 7.3 18.8 166.1 30 15.5 70.5 79 85 2.04 5.31 11.8 12.42 15.66 12.9 7.9 5.98 1.68 18.68 68.5 14.9 13.66 15.6 2.05 221.8 60.05 4.15 3.49 32.5 20 18.6 280 0.245 9.8 3.18 7.88 9.77 7.48 10.32 1.95 12.24 66.9 6.6 308 4.54 5.12 3.05 13.36 4.65 0.145 1.38 162.4 3.93 2.17 29.55 1.03

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

0.365 75.7 14.04 1.15 7 0.33 0.33 880 7.88 15.68 7.62 6 6.11 0.227 1,197 8.23 77.5 5 5.41 5.79 1.03 6.98 17.3 0.445 6.66 0.051 1.02 2.17 103 2.75 799.5 0.88 1.59 190 303 0.29 0.23 0.25

0.375 75.7 14.04 1.15 7 0.33 0.335 882 7.9 15.98 7.8 6.01 6.11 0.242 1,215 8.3 79.4 5 5.72 6 1.03 6.98 17.5 0.445 6.75 0.052 1.13 2.17 103 2.89 799.5 0.88 1.69 190.4 304 0.29 0.26 0.255

8990 HLDG A BROWN ANCHOR LAND ARANETA PROP ARTHALAND CORP AYALA LAND BELLE CORP CEB LANDMASTERS CEBU HLDG CENTURY PROP CITY AND LAND CITYLAND DEVT CROWN EQUITIES CYBER BAY DOUBLEDRAGON EMPIRE EAST EVER GOTESCO FILINVEST LAND

5.96 1.44 6.78 2.36 1.1 42.3 3.72 5.25 5.34 0.6 1.19 1.58 0.192 0.52 47.2 0.78 0.18 1.82

5.96 1.49 6.79 2.39 1.1 43 3.75 5.25 5.34 0.61 1.25 1.59 0.197 0.53 47.2 0.78 0.195 1.85

5.9 1.41 6.78 2.31 1.02 41.95 3.71 5.19 5.34 0.59 1.19 1.53 0.191 0.52 46.8 0.75 0.18 1.81

VOLUME

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

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

1.55 1.08 4.7 0.365 0.52 0.64 4.69 33.85 24.8 1.79 3.2 34.7 1.03 7.3 0.9 5.65

1.61 1.13 4.72 0.37 0.63 0.64 4.89 33.85 24.8 1.8 3.24 34.7 1.03 7.34 0.93 5.7

1.51 1.08 4.64 0.35 0.52 0.62 4.69 33.05 24.55 1.77 3.2 33.9 1.01 7.3 0.9 5.56

1.6 1.08 4.72 0.35 0.54 0.62 4.74 33.05 24.65 1.77 3.24 34 1.02 7.34 0.91 5.6

17,807,000 1,020,000 16,448,000 40,370,000 152,507,000 8,906,000 1,257,000 3,500 2,247,700 313,000 26,000 8,980,200 2,375,000 16,000 247,000 8,281,200

28,131,330 1,115,840 77,530,540 14,519,950 88,245,950 5,555,680 6,019,130 117,260 55,443,835 556,850 84,120 306,035,880 2,420,440 117,424 225,700 46,468,831

-237,500 -1,110 -13,082,770 142,500 1,029,280 124,000 765,340.00 12,350,300 -139,842,100 -39,178,595

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

23.4 42.5 1.85 0.495 0.042 5.31 9.34 0.082 97 9.6 10.42 2.22 999.5 2,030 6.26 15.22 3.05 3.38 106 8.6 0.185 1.39 3.35 16 4.83 2.25 9.48 0.59 2.25 8.9 4.05 16.3 2.55 11.44 5.1 179.5 10.2 1,700 1.57 0.445 46.5 87 6.08 4.5 1.49 3.67 1.28 8.85

24 43 1.85 0.495 0.044 5.31 9.5 0.082 97.8 9.62 11.2 2.22 999.5 2,070 6.28 15.5 3.08 3.4 107 8.6 0.186 1.39 3.35 16 5 2.5 10.96 0.61 2.31 8.98 4.09 17.92 2.57 11.46 5.2 180 10.3 1,710 1.6 0.48 46.5 87 6.09 4.72 1.52 3.68 1.28 8.85

22.85 42.3 1.75 0.495 0.042 5.31 9.21 0.08 96.9 9.56 10.42 2.22 999.5 2,030 6.25 15.22 2.99 3.36 105.8 8.3 0.184 1.35 3.35 16 4.82 2.17 9.3 0.58 2.25 8.7 4 16.3 2.54 11.4 5.1 170 10.18 1,680 1.57 0.445 45.7 86 6.05 4.5 1.47 3.6 1.17 8.7

SERVICES 23 43 1.8 0.495 0.043 5.31 9.5 0.082 97.7 9.62 10.96 2.22 999.5 2,050 6.25 15.5 3.03 3.36 106.6 8.55 0.186 1.36 3.35 16 4.85 2.5 10.92 0.58 2.3 8.95 4.04 16.5 2.54 11.46 5.11 170 10.2 1,690 1.59 0.445 45.7 87 6.06 4.7 1.52 3.65 1.2 8.81

106,300 34,100 701,000 30,000 48,100,000 3,200 7,742,000 34,970,000 175,020 27,100 1,153,900 25,000 3,120 23,105 87,400 20,900 924,000 48,000 813,870 296,900 3,080,000 746,000 2,000 400 784,000 17,492,000 13,235,100 261,000 33,000 1,374,400 4,236,000 2,400 759,000 10,900 10,900 3,410 1,046,600 68,355 1,700,000 55,440,000 402,500 1,074,540 254,000 6,252,000 12,246,000 439,000 54,543,000 3,516,000

2,455,805 1,458,765 1,257,550 14,850 2,094,000 16,992 72,192,019 2,829,610 17,092,915 260,396 12,625,386 55,500 3,118,440 47,407,410 547,337 321,178 2,805,970 161,770 86,751,279 2,534,845 569,150 1,014,010 6,700 6,400 3,832,390 41,963,000 137,373,884 151,860 75,860 12,198,019 17,110,170 39,948 1,933,890 124,554 55,610 582,186 10,680,156 116,007,065 2,699,960 25,775,350 18,465,195 93,481,909 1,539,312 28,794,730 18,357,390 1,590,530 66,209,510 30,921,778

4,600 92,400 14,850 -88,000 -25,935,304 8,400,536 291,784 27,538,190 12,160 3,370 44,559,619 92,500 556,200 305,850 719,729 3,690,820 -719,630 7,650.00 -203,159 -5,571,406 -15,086,420 -59,450 -12,408,445 6,027,339 -619,080 -3,182,160 730,830 403,300 -6,349,148

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

0.003 1.67 5.12 13.52 1.99 1.97 1.24 0.39 8.84 2.64 0.305 0.185 0.19 0.011 0.011 2.06 6.5 2 0.6 1.18 0.011 0.01 0.012 2.6 9.13 3.05 168.2

0.0031 1.68 5.25 14.74 1.99 1.97 1.34 0.39 8.85 2.64 0.35 0.186 0.19 0.012 0.012 2.06 6.5 2.03 0.64 1.24 0.011 0.01 0.012 2.65 9.17 3.05 168.4

0.0029 1.64 5.12 13 1.97 1.96 1.23 0.38 8.48 2.55 0.305 0.18 0.189 0.011 0.011 1.99 6.36 1.97 0.59 1.15 0.01 0.01 0.012 2.6 9.01 2.99 167.1

MINING & OIL 0.0031 1,555,000,000 1.64 4,122,000 5.25 151,300 14.74 10,500 1.97 67,000 1.96 20,000 1.31 25,064,000 0.38 690,000 8.81 27,600 2.58 2,013,000 0.315 67,220,000 0.181 15,490,000 0.19 230,000 0.012 65,100,000 0.012 1,700,000 1.99 1,476,000 6.41 1,176,400 1.97 366,000 0.64 2,801,000 1.22 2,556,000 0.01 86,900,000 0.01 3,500,000 0.012 16,500,000 2.65 18,000 9.07 448,700 3.03 2,218,000 168.1 1,016,220

4,673,000 6,818,260 775,398 140,728 132,330 39,210 32,231,160 264,300 237,129 5,211,580 21,715,050 2,807,050 43,680 716,200 19,000 2,981,330 7,545,560 730,870 1,742,590 3,049,120 901,100 35,000 198,000 47,050 4,068,848 6,686,920 170,607,550

40 -9,218 -27,750 -558,850 -800 9,500 -20,400 412,654 -63,000 1,011,020 -1,121,150.00 101,858,417

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

43 518 104.7 112.5 112.5 520 6.07 1,012 1,020 1.06 108 1,120 1,020 2 76.75 81.5 76.25 78.5 78.8

43 520 104.9 112.5 112.5 520 6.07 1,012 1,020 1.06 108 1,120 1,020 2 76.75 81.5 76.5 78.5 79

42 518 104.6 112 112 520 6 1,012 1,018 1.04 108 1,120 1,020 2 76.5 81.3 76.25 78.5 78.8

PREFERRED 43 51,800 520 4,400 104.9 20,380 112 430 112 10,450 520 200 6 2,500 1,012 15 1,018 155 1.04 1,002,000 108 100 1,120 13,050 1,020 10 2 2,000 76.5 830 81.3 31,720 76.5 25,470 78.5 242,710 79 181,810

2,226,600 2,280,000 2,135,502 48,310 1,175,400 104,000 15,105 15,180 157,800 1,045,560 10,800 14,616,000 10,200 4,000 63,630 2,583,728 1,948,367.50 19,052,735 14,357,890

2,008,900 39,400

LR WARRANT

2.99

3

2.91

WARRANTS 2.97 335,000

989,140

-

2,902,090 163,920 7,138,963

115,500 1,666,274

469,858

-56,165

MS

PROPERTY 5.9 1.45 6.78 2.35 1.05 42.65 3.71 5.21 5.34 0.6 1.25 1.59 0.192 0.53 46.9 0.76 0.19 1.83

616,300 2,832,000 2,900 137,000 16,081,000 16,882,100 1,495,000 2,423,800 800 32,571,000 632,000 702,000 6,180,000 1,587,000 68,300 3,122,000 23,600,000 16,223,000

ITALPINAS PHILAB HLDG XURPAS

3.86 5.9 7.86

3.95 5.9 7.96

3.81 5.82 7.83

FIRST METRO ETF

119.5

120

119.5

TRADING SUMMARY

SHARES

FINANCIAL

15,438,375

INDUSTRIAL

76,422,211

HOLDING FIRMS

97,100,657

PROPERTY SERVICES

385,996,242 275,848,508

MINING & OIL

1,856,076,440

GRAND TOTAL

2,708,572,277

3.93 5.82 7.83

SME

750,000 28,100 906,900

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 120 3,920

VALUE 1,963.12 (down) 1.89 1,033,693,836.90 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 11,193.09 (down) 43.24 985,250,308.156 HOLDING FIRMS 7,899.32 (down) 28.61 1,189,614,304.76 PROPERTY 3,772.54 (down) 18.43 1,693.21 (up) 0.17 1,460,699,542.83 SERVICES MINING & OIL 12,928.09 (down) 62.97 892,070,436.76 PSEI 7,962.64 (down) 27.09 274,433,419.499 All Shares Index 4,758.67 (down) 12.97 5,846,440,709.21 Gainers: 100; Losers: 109; Unchanged: 50; Total: 259

the company would follow the due process. Fabella said the delisting procedures had nothing to do with the company’s business operations which the management was continuously expanding.

PSE said Calata committed 29 violations of section 13.1 of its disclosure rules from Nov. 29, 2016 to June 20, 2017.

Section 13.1 of PSE disclosure rules provide that a listed firm should file with exchange within a period of five years any direct and indirect ownership change of its directors and principal officers.

Calata also committed 26 violations of section 13.2 of the disclosure rules which prohibits directors or principal shareholders of a listed firm from trading the company’s stock when a material non- public information is obtained and up to two two full trading days after the price sensitive information is disclosed.

Trading of Calata stock is currently suspended for a period of one month starting June 30 due to multiple violations of PSE’s disclosure rules. Share price of Calata last closed at P2.04.

PSE said Calata would be given opportunity to explain its side by submitting a memorandum or position paper and by participating in a hearing. “The exchange shall consider the explanation of the company during the hearing and in the memorandum or position paper before promulgating a decision on the matter,” PSE said.

ING taps Sicat as country manager FORMER Philippine Stock Exchange president Hans Sicat was appointed as the new country head of the local unit of Dutch financial institution ING Bank N.V., replacing Consuelo Garcia who will retire after 26 years with the bank.

ING Bank said in a statement Sicat would join the bank mid-August to ensure a smooth transition upon Garcia’s retirement on Nov. 16.

Sicat, who headed PSE for six years until May 2017, brings with him more than two decades of experience as an investment banker, having worked for Citigroup and its predecessor firms Citicorp and Salomon Brothers in the Philippines, Hong Kong and New York City.

A trained mathematician and economist, Sicat has been involved in the global capital market for about three decades.

He has held various external positions, such as independent director of Serica Balanced Fund and Master Fund (a hedge fund), member of Euromoney Institutional Investor Asia advisory board; independent director of the Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp.; member of the board of trustee of Securities Investors Protection Fund; chairman of the emerging market working group of the World Federation of Exchanges; and executive in residence of the Asian Institute of Management.

Garcia has been ING Bank’s country manager and head of clients for almost nine years.

She joined the Dutch financial institution in 1991 as head of financial markets, where she steered the bank to a dominant position in market making of Philippine global high yield and credit derivatives and as a top arranger for local debt capital markets.

Jenniffer B. Austria

Business

B3

TUESDAY, JULY 25, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

PSALM obtains nod to recover over P37b

NEW PLANE. Philippine Airlines president Jaime Bautista (third from right) and Fil-Canadian Senator Tobias Enverga, Jr. of Ontario (fifth from left) join Filipino workers at Bombardier’s Q400 delivery facility in Toronto, Canada. PAL took delivery of the brand new Q400 turboprop that will serve select provincial and inter-island routes in the Philippines. The next generation Q400—the first of 12 new turboprops PAL ordered from Montreal-based Bombardier—can accommodate 86 passengers and has premium and economy class seats.

THE Energy Regulatory Commission has allowed state-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. to recover P37.068 billion from consumers under the universal charge item of the electric bill.

Consumers, however, will feel only a slight increase in the universal charge, as only the approved P0.0265 per kilowatthour increase will be reflected in the universal charge for the stranded debt of National Power Corp. starting July.

The regulator approved PSALM’s stranded debt recovery of P24.198 billion equivalent to P0.0265 per kWh covering the period 2011 to 2012.

“All distribution utilities and the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines are hereby directed to collect the amount of P0.265 per kWh from the consumers starting the next billing period and remit the same to PSALM,”

ERC said in a decision dated June 27.

Stranded debts refer to any unpaid financial obligation of Napocor which have not been liquidated by proceeds from the sale and privatization of Napocor’s assets.

PSALM said the approved P0.0265 per kWh recovery was lower than the proposed recovery rate application of P0.0382 per kWh and the nine-year recovery period until June 2026 would mitigate the impact to consumers while allowing the agency to recover its costs.

PSALM is mandated to manage the assets and liabilities of Napocor.

ERC, in a separate decision dated July 6, allowed PSALM to recover P12.878 billon from consumers equivalent to P0.1938 per kWh for Napocor’s stranded contract costs.

Alena Mae S. Flores

SM Group keeps geothermal stake

By Alena Mae S. Flores

A

C ENERGY Holdings Inc., a whollyowned unit of conglomerate Ayala Corp., and Star Energy Geothermal Holdings Pte. Ltd. have decided to transfer their interest in the consortium acquiring Chevron’s geothermal assets in the Philippines to the SM Group.

Ayala disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday that AC Energy signed definitive agreements to transfer 99 percent of its consortium interests in ACEHI-STAR Holdings Inc. to AllFirst Equity Holdings Inc. of the SM Group.

AllFirst is Chevron’s current partner, and directly holds a 60 percent ownership interest in Philippine Geothermal Production Co., or PGPC. ACEHI-STAR is the special purpose company that signed a share sale

and purchase agreement with Chevron in December 2016, to acquire Chevron’s Philippine geothermal assets subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including the approval of the Philippine Competition Commission.

Credit Suisse acted as the sole financial advisor to the consortium of AC Energy and Star Energy Holdings.

AC Energy said the consortium sold its interest to the SM Group for two reasons.

“Our primary goal was to win the Indonesian geothermal assets. The Philippines asset is not as strategic since it is limited to steam field, and a minority

position,” the company said.

AC Energy, Star Energy Group Holdings Pte. Ltd., Star Energy Geothermal Pte. Ltd., and Electricity Generating Public Co. Ltd. acquired Chevron’s Indonesia assets and operations, which include the Darajat and Salak geothermal fields in West Java, Indonesia, with a combined capacity of 637 MW of steam and power in April.

“Our stance has always been to respect Allfirst’s preemptive right. While Allfirst and Chevron were not able to consummate their preemption process, this transaction enables the desired outcome,” AC Energy said.

Chevron assets in the

Philippines includes a 40 percent equity interest in PGPC, which operates the Tiwi and Mak-Ban geothermal fields in Southern Luzon and supplies steam to power plants with a combined name plate capacity of around 700 MW. AC Energy International Holdings Pte Ltd., an affiliate of AC Energy, meanwhile, signed a funding arrangement with UPC Renewables Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd. and UPC Renewables Asia Ltd. to develop small island power projects in Indonesia.

AC Energy International agreed to provide funding for the development of power

19 Asian companies offers to supply rice

PH eye doctor wins 2 awards

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales Trading Co. Ltd. and Tan Long THE National Food Authority said 19 companies from Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and Myanmar have signified interest to supply 250,000 metric tons of rice to the Philippines.

The government is bidding out the volume through an open tender today at the Salvador H. Escudero Hall of the National Meat Inspection Service in Quezon City.

The Philippines is requiring 25 percent broken, well-milled, long grain white rice.

The NFA said 10 companies from Vietnam expressed interest to supply the volume, six from Thailand, two from Singapore and one from Myanmar.

Vietnamese bidders include the Vietnam Southern Food Corp.

II, Gentraco, Gia International Corp., Vietnam Northern Food Corp. (Vinafood I), Phan Min Investment Production Trading Services Co. Ltd., Hiep Loi Food Jsc, Thuan Minh Import Export Corporation, Wilman Trading, Thao Minh Chau Production

Group Joint Stock Company.

NFA said interest bidders from Thailand were Ponglarp Co. Limited, Thai Hua Co. Limited, Capital Cereals Co. Ltd., Asia Golden Rice Co. Ltd., Thai Granlux International Inc. and Thai Capital Crops Company Limited.

The Singaporean companies included Olam International Limited and Louis Dreyfus Company, while the lone supplier from Myanmar was Swhe Wah Yaung Agriculture Production Co. Ltd. The NFA earlier said the total volume of 250,000 MT was divided into eight lots: six lots of 25,000 MT each and two lots of 50,000 MT each. A bidder can bid for a maximum of 50,000 MT only.

“The volume was divided into lots to allow more private sector participation and to give a chance to small bidders to participate,” said NFA Deputy Administrator Tomas Escarez, chairman of the special bids and awards committee.

Dr. Robert Ang

MORE SM MARKETS. SM Markets, the country’s biggest food retail chain, expands its coverage of the

Philippines from its Aparri store up north to its General Santos branch down south, bringing to 265 the number of branches nationwide. SM Markets says it has an expansion rate of 30 stores a year to its worldclass food shopping in every city and municipality in the Philippines. Above is Savemore Market Boracay.

President should make 3 mini-SONAs YESTERDAY was the day that the President of the Philippines delivered the report to the Filipino nation that the Constitution requires him to render at the start of every Congressional session.

The Constitutional provision speaks of an address—a single report. I think that this is an inadequate approach to the function of annually informing the Filipino people of the performance of their elected leaders.

The State of the Nation (SONA) approach allows the Chief Executive to gloss over his administration’s performance in each of the three areas of principal concern to Juan de la Cruz, namely, the economy, the nation’s security and relations with other countries and political-social conditions. In effect, there should be a mini-SONA devoted to a full discussion of the Philippine economy, a mini-SONA dealing with the Philippines’ foreign relations and a mini-SONA that would discuss politi-

generation projects with sub-50 MW capacities under the terms of the agreement.

AC Energy said it would also have accompanying rights to participate in further construction funding of other Indonesian renewable energy projects.

“This agreement will broaden AC Energy’s participation in the Indonesian market, as well as deepen our strategic partnership with UPC Renewables” said AC Energy president John Eric Francia in a separate statement.

“Indonesia has huge unserved demand especially in smaller islands, which this initiative aims to address,” he said.

cal and social developments within the nation during the year under review. If this was not done, the delivery of the annual SONA would continue to be an occasion for grandstanding, the making of partisan statements and—in the case of Rodrigo Duterte—the use of intemperate language.

If the President of the Philippines were to deliver three mini-SONAs instead of one comprehensive address, what would Mr. Duterte tell the Filipino people on the separate issues of the economy, external relations and the state of national politics?

First, the economy. After twelve months in office, the Duterte administration has yet to begin to make its mark on the economy. It is not in a position to point to any significant achievement with a bearing on the working of the Philippine economy. Truth to tell, the administration of the former mayor of Davao City has, during the past year, been coasting along on the good eco-

nomic fundamentals bequeathed to it by the Aquino administration. Even with its vaunted Congressional supermajority, it has yet to get its tax reform package— TRAIN, or Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion—through the legislature.

Elsewhere in the economy, name the particular sector, the Duterte administration has yet to score SONA-reportable points.

In the field of diplomacy and external relations Mr. Duterte and his team have been a disaster. Antagonizing traditional allies right and left, avidly courting controversial new friends like Russia and China, virtually surrendering this country’s hard-won and strategically important rights to traditionally Philippine areas of the South China Sea, refusing generosity from longtime friendly countries and wasting the leadership opportunity provided by the Philippines’ chairmanship of the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)—this is the one-year record of the Duterte admin-

istration in the field of diplomacy. In a regular SONA, it is bound to be glossed over.

Finally, there is the Duterte administration’s record of performance in the political-social arena. Declaration of martial law in Mindanao, a protracted campaign against the Maute group (apparently largely chargeable to failure of intelligence) in Marawi City, inability to reach a workable peace with the NPA/ NDF/CCP, rising tension with the MILF and the MNLF, widespread disapproval here and abroad of Mr. Duterte’s war on illegal drugs and, most important in view of Mr. Duterte’s foremost campaign promise, a resurgence of corruption: this is the political-social situation that Mr. Duterte should be reporting to the nation today.

In Mr. Duterte’s second SONA, these developments are bound to be glossed over. In a mini-SONA they wouldn’t be.

E-mail: romero.business.class@gmail.com

ASIAN Eye Institute Glaucoma, Cornea and Refractive Surgery, and Cataract specialist Dr. Robert Ang received the TOPGUN Best Overall Instructor award at the TOPGUN 2017: Cataract Pearls from the Best American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and Asia Pacific Cataract and Refractive Surgery Symposium in Los Angeles, California in May. For the first time, the ASCRS and APACRS held a joint symposium where top cataract instructors from both organizations faced off and presented their trade secrets in making cataract surgical cases smooth and more efficient.

Through the audience electric poll, Ang was voted over 13 other surgeons from Asia and the United States of America. He was named as the Best Overall Instructor after he spoke about a capsule marking technique that makes cataract surgeries easier by using a readily available and relatively inexpensive tool.

Cataract is the clouding of the natural lens of the eye. This lens is enclosed in a clear lining called lens capsule. During cataract surgery, the surgeon opens the front portion of the lens capsule to gain access to the cataract, break it into pieces, remove it and replace it with an artificial lens called intraocular lens.

Ang said the opening the front portion of the lens capsule was one of the three critical steps in performing a cataract surgery.

“It should be consistent, appropriately-sized and centered to make sure that there is a more stable position to place the IOL and provide patients with better vision.”

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

B4

TUESDAY, JULY 25, 2017

Business

Mideast economic growth seen to slow DUBAI, United Arab Emirates―Economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa is forecast to slow considerably over oil prices as the Saudi economy slides, the International Monetary Fund said on Monday.

After a better than expected performance with five percent growth in 2016, the economies of countries in the Middle East and North Africa as well as Pakistan and Afghanistan will subside to just 2.6 percent growth this year, it said.

Last year’s healthy regional economic performance was mainly attributed to Iran’s strong growth estimated at above 6.5 percent because of higher crude production, the IMF said.

In its World Economic Outlook update, the IMF lowered economic growth of Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, to just 0.1 percent in 2017, down 0.3 percent on its April projections.

This will be Saudi Arabia’s worst growth since 2009 when its economy contracted by 2.0 percent on the slump of oil revenues following the global financial crisis.

“The recent decline in oil prices, if sustained, could weigh further on the outlook for the region’s oil exporters,” the IMF said.

After recovering to over $55 a barrel following a production reduction agreement by producers, oil prices receded on strong inventory levels and a pickup in supply.

The IMF projected that regional growth will rebound to 3.3 percent in 2018, however.

Saudi economic growth is also forecast to rebound to 1.1 percent next year, down 0.2 percentage points on April projections, it said.

Saudi Arabia’s economy, the largest in the region, grew by 4.1 percent and 1.7 percent in 2015 and last year respectively.

MENA oil exporters have lost hundreds of billions of dollars since the mid-2014 crash in crude prices, transforming huge surpluses into shortfalls. AFP

OLYMPICS COUNTDOWN. People get off and on a Japan Rail (JR) train at a railway station in Tokyo on July 24, 2017. Japan on July 24 held a national exercise to encourage commuters to work from home in a bid to ease traffic congestion as the nation counts down three years to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. AFP

IMF: Global recovery on firmer footing

By Heather Scott

W

ASHINGTON―The global economic recovery is on firmer footing as improving growth in China, Europe and Japan offset downward revisions for the United States and Britain, the International Monetary Fund said Sunday.

However, wage growth remains sluggish which risks increasing tensions that have pushed some countries toward more anti-global policies, while efforts to erode financial regulations put in place since the 2008 crisis could erode stability, the

IMF warned.

“The recovery in global growth that we projected in April is on a firmer footing; there is now no question mark over the world economy’s gain in momentum,” IMF chief economist Maurice Obstfeld said.

Presenting the latest update of the World Economic Outlook (WEO), he said “recent data point to the broadest synchronized upswing the world economy has experienced in the last decade.”

The fund still expects the global economy will grow by 3.5 percent in 2017 and 3.6 percent in 2018, the same as in the April WEO. However, the unchanged forecast masks some significant revisions, including in the United States where the IMF downgraded its growth estimate last month after judging that spending plans promised by President Donald Trump that had been expected to provide a boost to the economy

were stuck in limbo.

The US estimate was cut to 2.1 percent for this year and next, down 0.2 points and 0.4 points, respectively, from the more optimistic forecast in the last report.

The outlook for the British economy also was revised down by 0.3 points to 1.7 percent this year on weaker-than-expected activity in the first quarter, while the impact of Brexit “remains unclear.”

But those downward revisions were offset by the improving outlook in key economies, including the euro area where growth prospects have improved in France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

The euro area now is projected

to see economic growth of 1.9 percent this year and 1.7 percent in 2018.

Japan also is seeing improved growth prospects, with an expansion of 1.3 percent this year expected, although that is seen slowing sharply to 0.6 percent in 2018.

Meanwhile, China continues to be a major engine of global growth, expanding by 6.7 percent this year, and 6.4 percent next, driven by economic policies in Beijing.

The forecast for 2017 was revised up by 0.1 percentage point, “reflecting the stronger than expected outturn in the first quarter”

Pedal power sways Muscovites despite perils on busy roads

By Anaïs Llobet MOSCOW, Russia―Two years ago, Luiza Nesterova would never have dreamt 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 round snarled streets seems to make perfect sense, but Moscow “isn’t an easy city for cyclists,” admits 30-yearold 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 (3 miles) 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 (minus 16 F).

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

This file photo taken on January 8, 2017 shows participants of Winter bicycle parade riding past the Kremlin in Moscow. Last year, some 196,000 people pedaled around the city on the 320,000 bicycles it provides. 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 bikefriendly capitals in Western Europe. AFP

with cyclists.”

“Moscow is a city made for cars.”

Going backwards?

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 bikefriendly capitals in Western Eu-

rope.

“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.

‘Freedom’ For Nadezhda Zherebina, who has launched a cycling lobby group called Let’s Bike It with a group of friends, the city hall still needs to focus on providing cycle lanes―otherwise riders are forced to use pavements.

“That causes conflicts and situations that are dangerous and pointless,” Zherebina said.

She also called on the authorities to “prioritize clearing snow off cycle lanes over roadways, in order to encourage Muscovites to cycle.”

“Cities like Oslo and Montreal have winters just as cold as ours

but they have a strong cycling culture, so why can’t we?” she asks.

According to town planning consulting firm Urbica, snow and bad weather have little impact on Russian cyclists.

“Before, we used our bikes to ride in the park, we didn’t use them to get from A to B. It’s very new for us to think of bikes as a form of transport,” said Zherebina.

For Mityayev, Muscovites’ recent enthusiasm for cycling is a sign of their “desire to reclaim their city.”

“This is also a generational shift: our parents’ generation put the car first,” symbolizing individualism after decades of Communism, he said.

“Our generation prefers to be free.” AFP

which the IMF said was underpinned by Beijing’s “supply-side reforms.”

The 0.2-point upward revision for 2018, however, was the result of the expected delay in the “needed fiscal adjustment,” which could cause risks down the road.

China’s “higher growth is coming at the cost of continuing rapid credit expansion and the resulting financial stability risks,” Obstfeld warned in his prepared statement.

But within the mostly upbeat forecasts, the IMF once again sounded the warning on the growing anti-global sentiment, which could leave all economies worse off. AFP

Grab raising $2.5b to expand SINGAPORE―Southeast Asian ride-hailing firm Grab said Monday it expects to raise $2.5 billion in financing, mostly from China’s Didi Chuxing and Japan’s Softbank, as it strengthens its lead over rival Uber.

Didi, China’s ride-hailing leader, and mobile giant SoftBank will invest up to $2.0 billion while $500 million is expected to come from other new and existing investors.

Grab said it amounts to the largest single financing in Southeast Asia. Both Didi and SoftBank are already investors in Grab.

The Singapore-based firm said it would use the fresh funds to bolster its leading position in the ride-hailing industry and invest in a mobile payment platform called GrabPay. “We are delighted to deepen our strategic partnership with Didi and SoftBank,” said Anthony Tan, Grab’s group chief executive and co-founder.

“With their support, Grab will achieve an unassailable market lead in ride sharing, and build on this to make GrabPay the payment solution of choice for Southeast Asia.”

Grab said it has a market share of 95 percent in thirdparty taxi-hailing and 71 percent in private-vehicle hailing in Southeast Asia, far ahead of main rival Uber.

Grab offers private car, taxi, motorbike and carpooling services in seven countries and 65 cities across Southeast Asia, a region of 650 million people. AFP

LGUs

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

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

TUESDAY, JULY 25, 2017

C1

INAUGURAL. Officials of Tanauan City in Batangas, led by Mayor Anthony C. Halili (inset, third from left), unveil a marker of the new Tanauan City Hall building in its inauguration on Sunday, July 23. The construction of the P400-million building was started on April 6, 2015 and completed on Feb. 28, 2017. The lot for the building was donated by Feliciano Torres, Maria Aquino, and the Rafer family. Also in photo are guest speaker Cabinet Assistant Secretary Jonas Jorge Soriano (inset left) with the support from City Vice Mayor lawyer Jhoanna C. Corona (second from left) and the Sangguniang Bayan members. Roy Tomandao

AFP unit to help guard Manila from ‘threats’ W

By Sandy Araneta

ITH the US State Department labeling the Philippines as one of the five countries with the most number of terror attacks in 2016, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada has teamed up with the Armed Forces of the Philippines in empowering lower barangays to deal with all kinds of security threats.

Estrada has formally welcomed to the City of Manila a 25-man security contingent from the AFP’s Joint Task Force-National Capital Region that will be deployed in Quiapo to conduct a two-month Community Support Program.

“Your efforts to insulate our communities from violent ex-

tremist ideologies, and from the influence of groups seeking to recruit individuals for their radical activities, will have longterm benefits as we seek to create a peaceful and progressive city,” Estrada told the CSP personnel during the sendoff ceremonies at the City Hall.

Formerly called the Peace and

Development Outreach Program, CSP is an AFP initiative that seeks to build conflict-resilient communities that will be able to independently address all kinds of threats, particularly terror threats and natural calamities and disasters.

In welcoming the CSP soldiers, Estrada said he is hoping that the JTF-NCR’s work in Manila “will spend the end of radicalization and polarization, and improve the prospects for peace and unity in our time.”

Barangays 383 and 384, both in Quiapo, were chosen as pilot sites of the program in Manila in the next two months, according to JTF-NCR deputy commander Col. Victor Tomas.

Quiapo, which hosts one of the largest Muslim communities in Metro Manila, has recently been

rocked by security threats, such as the two bomb explosions that killed two persons and injured 20 more.

The CSP contingent, composed of 23 soldiers and two policemen, will hold community immersion in the two barangays to propagate the competencies of the barangays in humanitarian assistance and disaster response both for “human- and nature-induced” threats.

Aside from securing Barangays 383 and 384 from violent extremism and terrorism, the CSP personnel, in coordination with the barangay personnel, will also conduct various activities such as tree-planting; construction, repair and cleanup of schools and other facilities, education-information drive, disaster response trainings, and interfaith activities, Tomas added.

Full scholarships for UMak Law 1st batch

By Joel E. Zurbano THE Makati City government is offering full scholarships to the first batch of students enrolled at the University of Makati’s School of Law, which will be launched next month.

Members of the City Council approved Ordinance 2017044 establishing the UMak School of Law, “committed to fully support the legal education program of the university through the approval of its full scholarship program for the pioneer batch of the law school. ” The program offers full financial support for tuition and miscellaneous fees, the provision of a P20,000 book stipend annually, and a P10,000 monthly allowance for the entire academic year.

The few remaining slots for full scholarship are open to all students who have ob-

CV 100 millionth baby gets gift pack

‘Valuable research’ saved from Maute

By Nash B. Maulana COTABATO CITY―Valuable research materials left by an American scholar in Dansalan College in Marawi City were saved after the Maute group of terrorists burned the school as they occupied the city, a Moro policy-based organization here said.

Dr. Abhoud Syed Lingga, director of the Institute of Bangsamoro Studies based here, said Dansalan College president Fedelina Tawagon had told him in their recent talk at the Mindanao State University that important research materials on the narratives of Mindanao history, culture and peace were saved and securely kept.

In 1974, Dr. Peter Gowing, an American missionary scholar, headed the Dansalan Research Center, which was organized for continuing research on the studies of Islam, cultures and Muslim-Christian relations in Southeast Asia.

On May 23, the Maute group forcibly occupied Dansalan College, held hostage some of its employees, and even burned one of its buildings.

In his July 17 speech in Malacañang, Hadji Ibrahim Murad, chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, said the Middle East Daesh-inspired Maute group not only wanted to “hijack” the peace process, but also to change the narrative of the Bangsamoro struggle for self-determination.

By Ben Moses Ebreo

APPRECIATION. The Philippine Army Dental Service has honored SM Foundation with a Plaque of Appreciation (inset) for the support it extended for the renovation and refurbishing of the First Scout Ranger Regiment Dental Unit Building at Camp Tecson in San Miguel, Bulacan.

The ceremony was held at the Ricarte Hall of the PA Officers Club House at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City during the 60th anniversary celebration of the Army Dental Service. Receiving the award was Albert Uy (center), SM Foundation’s project manager for Health and Medical Programs.

Nueva Vizcaya launches aid program for Marawi BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya―The provincial government has launched an initiative to help displaced villagers of Marawi City and cope with the ongoing armed conflict there.

Maybelle Blossom DumlaoSevillena, provincial administrator, said the “1 Nueva Vizcaya Para sa Marawi” calls for donations from various sectors

of the province.

“The displaced villagers are still in need of food and nonfood assistance to help them withstand the armed clashes between the government and the Maute terror group,” she said.

“Operation Marawi” seeks to provide assistance to the city government of Marawi

tained Latin honors in their undergraduate studies, and those who pass the UMak Law School Admission Test and the Legal Education Board-mandated Philippine Law School Admission Test (Philsat).

The new program, according to UMak president prof.

Tomas B. Lopez Jr., continues the vision-mission of the university of providing higher education programs that will develop competitive young Filipino professionals who are empowered to thrive in their selected fields or industry of interest.

“The UMak School of Law is part of the city government’s effort to continuously provide opportunities for our residents and fellow Filipinos to partake in the economic progress of the city towards self-development that will contribute to further progress of our city and the country,” said Lopez.

through a massive information campaign using traditional and social media to encourage various sectors in donating cash, food and non-food items, Dumlao-Sevillena added.

The initiative also involves the opening of a bank account for the donations to be kept by the provincial treasurer, creation of a team for Marawi, and

mobilizing its Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office.

The donation program for the Marawi villagers have been approved and endorsed by Gov. Carlos Padilla.

Dumlao-Sevillena said the needed items are clothing, footwear, hygiene kits, beddings, non-pork food items and

medicines.

Donations, she said, can be delivered to the Provincial Administrator’s Office at the provincial capitol in Bayombong town, or call (078) 392-0773.

“In this dark hour, let us be the light for our fellow countrymen.Together, let us help our kababayans in Marawi,” she said. Ben Moses Ebreo

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya—The Population Commission is set to award a gift pack to the province’s 100 millionth symbolic baby this week.

Angelito Obcena, Popcom regional director, said baby Jharley M. Ang has been one of the six symbolic 100 millionth babies born in Cagayan Valley on July 27, 2014 at around 12:06 a.m.

The demographic event highlighted the importance of maternal and neonatal health as well as in promoting Responsible Parenthood and Family Planning, Obcena added.

The gift pack worth P5,000, he added will be awarded on Friday, July 28, during the opening program of the Provincial and Municipal Population Officers Meeting at the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office in this town.

“We take the lead in ensuring the total well-being of these babies and monitors their status in the context of RPFP as part of our commitment to the attainment of the zero unmet need for modern Family Planning,” he said.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

LGUs

Manila

Standard TUESDAY, C2 TODAY JULY 25, 2017

GSIS staff wants GCG abolished

By Ronald O. Reyes

T

ACLOBAN CITY―Employees of the Government Service Insurance System in Maasin City, Southern Leyte have called for the abolition of Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GCG), a policy-making body created during the administration of then President Benigno Aquino III.

Citing GCG’s “redundant, duplicative” purpose, Ma. Crisel Q. Inocando, union chapter president of GSIS-Maasin City, said the Aquino-initiated regulatory body “imperils the life of all GOCC employees.”

“For the past seven years, GOCCs have been complaining about the additional impositions and requirements laid down by the GCG, which hamper their day-to-day operations, thereby placing the GOCCs under their mercy. Consequently, the employees, especially the rank and file, had to suffer and bear with their inconsistencies,” Inocando said.

The union president said they have had enough of GCG’s control.

“The GCG has been using their power to put control over the rank-and-file employees’ rights for good life and bright future, instead of directing its power to the presidential appointees who have been enjoying lavishly in terms of compensation and benefits and has been untouchable since the enactment of RA 10149, as majority of the employees viewed during Aquino’s ad-

ministration,” she added.

Inocando enumerated some of the drawbacks brought about by the creation of GCG. “We don’t have a salary increase during the last eight years. We are being left out by the salaries of national offices.

For example, our division chief salary minimum is only P42,000 plus, while national offices under Executive Order 201 after

ng mga Manggagawa sa GOCCs at GFIs, a federation of 31 GOCCs and Government Financial Institutions under the regulation and supervision of GCG, saying GCG has become “inutile and anti-labor.”

“It has failed in its foremost mandate of implementing the Compensation and Position Classification System [CPCS],” the group’s statement said.

“It left us broke and helpless.

GCG’s high control means low trust, high cost and low speed for employees,” she added.

Inocando believed that in the process of protecting the government’s ownership rights and institutionalizing transparency in corporate performance, the GCG became “another administrative layer in the already perplexed structure of checks and balances, which takes up valuable time and resources of the GOCCs.” “The impact of GCG to people and this country can be considered as revenue cost of this government for seven years now,” Inocando said.

CENTENARIAN HONORED.

The local government of General Trias City, led by Mayor Antonio ‘Ony’ Ferrer, honors centenarian Jacinta Aspuria of Barangay Buenavista 3, who turned 100 last July 2. Lola Jacinta received P50,000 from the local government during a simple ceremony Monday right after General Trias’ regular flag ceremony.

ANNEX F PUBLIC INFORMATION SHEET FOR DIRECT USE AS FOOD AND FEED, OR FOR PROCESSING PROPOSAL FOR DIRECT USE AS FOOD AND FEED, OR FOR PROCESSING Provitamin A Biofortied GR2E Rice 1. Applicant’s Name Philippines Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) —and— International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) 2. Applicant’s Address PhilRice Central Experimental Station Maligaya, Science City of Munoz, 3119 Nueva Ecija Philippines —and— International Rice Research Institute, Pili Drive, UPLB, Los Baños, 4031, Laguna Philippines 3. Telephone Number/ Facsimile Number, E-Mail Address of the Applicant Dr. Roel Suralta: Telephone: +63 444560112 Facsimile: +63 444560112 E-Mail: rrsmfs@yahoo.com Dr. D.J. MacKenzie: Telephone: +1 (202) 695-0436 Facsimile: +1 (202) 478-0755 E-Mail: d.mackenzie@irri.org 4. Name of Responsible Ofcer/Authorized Representative Responsible Ofcers: Dr. Sailila E. Abdula Executive Director, PhilRice —and— Dr. Matthew Morell Director General, IRRI Authorized Representatives: Dr. Roel Suralta Golden Rice Project Leader, PhilRice —and— Dr. Donald J. MacKenzie Regulatory Affairs & Stewardship Leader, Golden Rice, IRRI 5. Description of the Regulated Article for Direct Use (mention the crop, transformation event, new trait conferred, name of the gene transferred, method of transformation, and advantages of the trait conferred) Rice event GR2E (IR-ØØGR2E-5) was developed using recombinant-DNA techniques to express elevated levels of provitamin A (mainly β-carotene) in the rice endosperm, which is converted in the body to vitamin A. GR2E rice was produced by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of embryogenic rice calli with plasmid pSYN12424 resulting in the introduction of the phytoene synthase (psy1) gene from Zea mays (Zmpsy1), the carotene desaturase I (crtI) gene from Pantoea ananatis, and the phosphomannose isomerase (pmi) gene from Escherichia coli as a selectable marker.

GR2E rice is intended to complement existing efforts to mitigate vitamin A deciency by supplying consumers in societies whose diet is primarily rice-based with a portion of the estimated average requirement for vitamin A. 6. If to be imported, Country (ies) of Origin of the Regulated Article The Philippines is the intended country of cultivation of GR2E rice and is the country of origin. Therefore, the use of GR2E rice in food, feed, or for processing will only occur following propagation approval in the Philippines.

7. Brief Summary of Potential Effects on Human and Animal Health and the Environment (summarize human and animal health and environmental assessments done and studies implemented indicating potential effects on human and animal health and the environment) The safety assessment of GR2E rice considered information on the history of safe use of rice as a cop, the source of donor genes introduced into GR2E rice, the genetics of the modied plant, safety of new proteins produced in the modied plant and their expression levels, and nutrient composition of GR2E rice compared to conventional rice.

Genetic analysis of GR2E rice conrmed that the trait was stable and passed to offspring in the same manner as other varietal characteristics.

The newly expressed proteins in GR2E rice are non-toxic and non-allergenic, based on a tiered “weight-of-evidence” approach followed in food and feed safety assessment.

The development of GR2E rice was only intended to increase levels of provitamin A (primarily β-carotene) in the milled rice. Compositional analyses were performed on samples of rice grain and straw obtained from GR2E rice and its conventional rice counterpart. Except for β-carotene and related carotenoids, there were no meaningful differences in the compositional parameters measured between samples from GR2E rice and the conventional rice counterpart. Concentrations of key nutrients were within or similar range of natural variability of those components in conventional rice varieties with a history of safe consumption. Other than the intended production of provitamin A, GR2E rice was found to be compositionally equivalent to conventional rice.

Beta-carotene is the major carotenoid present in the human diet and is an effective source of vitamin A in both conventional foods and vitamin supplements. It is generally considered virtually nontoxic and there are no reports of adverse effects arising from the consumption of naturally-occurring β-carotene in food.

Taken together, the studies performed for GR2E rice did not identify any potential health and safety concerns and demonstrated that food and/r livestock animal feed derived from conventional rice varieties, and will be a good source of vitamin A. 8. Brief Summary of Potential Benets (Describe how the new trait will benet farming, the farmer, the environment, and society as a whole) Vitamin A is an essential nutrient required for normal functioning of the visual system and protection from disease and infection. In south and Southeast Asian countries, where two-thirds or more of daily calories are obtained from rice, many people are battling against vitamin A deciency due to an imbalanced diet with limited access to fresh fruit, vegetables, and animal products. Persistent vitamin A deciency is the leading cause of childhood blindness and increases the risk of death from common childhood infections.

Despite signicant progress since 2003, vitamin A deciency remains a serious public health nutrition problem in the Philippines, particularly among preschool age children where the prevalence ranges from 19.6 percent for 1–5-year olds up to 27.9 percent for children under one year of age.

GR2E rice is intended to complement existing vitamin A deciency control efforts, such as food fortication, vitamin A supplements, and dietary diversication, by supplying up to 30–50 percent of the estimated average requirement for vitamin A for preschool age children and pregnant or lactating mothers.

9. Countries Where Approvals Have Been Granted (for FFP; for Commercial Propagation) As of the date of this submission, GR2E rice is not approved for use in food or livestock animal feed or for propagation in any country.

The public is hereby invited to submit their comments to the BPI Director (within 60 days from date of publication) on the proposal for the direct use as food and feed, or for processing of GR2E rice.

Section I. Request for Expression of Interest REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST FOR THE REBIDDING OF THE PROCUREMENT OF CONSULTING SERVICES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT, OPERATION, AND MANAGEMENT OF INTERMEDIATION PLATFORM/AUDIT PROGRAM FOR THE PHILIPPINE OFFSHORE GAMING OPERATIONS (POGO) UNDER ITB NO. PB17-035COR-06a-07 (RE-BIDDING) 1.

2.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), through the Corporate Budget for the contract approved by the PAGCOR’s Board of Directors, intends to apply the sum of Six Hundred Million Pesos (PhP 600,000,000.00) per year or a total of Six Billion Pesos (Php 6,000,000,000.00), VATExclusive, Zero Rated Transaction, for ten (10) years being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) or to payments under the contract for Consulting Services for the Rebidding of the Procurement of Consulting Services for the Development, Operation, and Management of Intermediation Platform/ Audit Program for the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) under ITB No. PB17035COR-06. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at the opening of the financial proposals.

PAGCOR intends to pursue and implement the development, operation and management of the intermediation platform/audit program for the POGO. In carrying out the Project, PAGCOR requires the engagement of the services of an experienced and qualified consultant that possesses the requisite knowledge, expertise and background, specifically in the field of the development, operation and management of any audit program/intermediary platform to guarantee the successful execution of the project.

The project is to be funded by PAGCOR to commence and implemented by 2017.

Payment to the consultant shall only start from the time that the systems are fully operational.

PAGCOR will be paying the consultant on a monthly billing period commencing from the date of actual project implementation, ten percent (10%) of the net revenue earned by PAGCOR from POGO within the monthly billing period.

Reimbursements shall also be allowed commencing only from the period when the systems are fully operational. All expenses incurred by the consultant during the conduct of systems development and test run shall be solely borne by him.

The consultant is required to submit a monthly comprehensive report of the project implementation.

Billing for the succeeding months/periods shall not be processed until the required report is submitted.

Initially, the consultant is required to develop the intermediation platform or audit program suitable to the needs of PAGCOR and in accordance with the specifications hereunder provided for the POGO. Before the conduct of test run, the systems shall be presented to the Board for its approval. Any suggested modification made by the Board to the system developed by the consultant shall be implemented.

During the period given to the consultant to develop the systems, the same shall be able to deliver all the hardware necessary to conduct the test run and eventually to fully operate the entire system, providing service to all existing POGO operators. The completeness of delivery of the said hardware shall be certified by the end user unit.

The test run shall cover at least fifty (50%) percent of existing POGO operators. Glitches arising during the test run shall immediately be rectified by the consultant at his own expense. Rectification of such glitches shall be complete prior to the start of the period provided below for full systems operation.

Flood warning posts installed in Cagayan

By Brenda Jocson TUGUEGARAO CITY—In preparation for the rainy season, the Department of Science and Technology here is installing 30 siren warning posts all over the Cagayan Valley region, which is expected to be completed before the year ends.

According to the Regional Disaster Office, at least six flood warning posts have been installed, strategically stationed at the flood-vulnerable towns of Cagayan province.

John Michael Taguiam, regional disaster action officer, said initial training and public education campaigns have been conducted in low-lying areas where the flood siren posts are located.

“We have to capacitate these

Payment to the consultant shall only start from the time that the systems are fully operational.

Reimbursements shall also be allowed commencing only from the period when the systems are fully operational. All expenses incurred by the consultant during the conduct of systems development and test run shall be solely borne by him.

The consultant shall operate and maintain the intermediation platform or audit program for a period of ten (10) years, including the period allocated for systems development and test run. During said period, the consultant shall undertake to operate and maintain the systems at its optimum. Glitches and breakdowns on the systems and the accompanying hardware shall be addressed by the consultant immediately.

Necessary upgrades, to the systems or hardware, as may be applicable, shall be regularly introduced by the consultant in order to make or maintain the intermediation platform or audit program at par with recent technologies.

The consultant shall also ensure that the systems are fully secure from any known computer virus or from hacking by unscrupulous individuals. Further, the consultant shall guarantee that the online audits of the gaming operations of POGO operators are fully accurate, providing for the necessary redundancies in the event of systems failure or collapse or of any breakdown in the existing hardware.

3.

PAGCOR now calls for the submission of eligibility documents for the Procurement of Consulting Services for the Development, Operation, and Management of Intermediation Platform/Audit Program for the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) which will perform the following phases of works: a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h.

Software Development (0-2 months) Delivery and Installation of hardware component (0-3 months) Systems test run (hardware and software) (2-3 months) Full operation (3 months to 10 years) Systems audit (internal) (every 6 months) Status reporting (every month) Consultant’s billing (every month) Systems upgrade (as may be necessary)

Interested consultants must submit their eligibility documents on or before August 1, 2017 (Tuesday), 10:00 a.m. at the Corporate Lounge, 6TH Floor, New World Manila Bay Hotel, M.H. Del Pilar corner Pedro Gil Streets, Malate, Manila. Applications for eligibility will be evaluated based on a nondiscretionary “pass/fail” criterion.

4.

The BAC shall draw up the short list of consultants from those who have submitted Eligibility Documents/ Expression of Interest and have been determined as eligible in accordance with the provisions of Republic Act 9184 (RA 9184), otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”, and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). The short list shall consist of a maximum number of three (3) prospective bidders who will be entitled to submit bids. The criteria and rating system for short listing are as follows with a passing mark for qualification of Seventy-Five Percent (75%):

CRITERIA Applicable experience and qualification of the firm Current Workload relative Financial and Logistical capacity Qualification and experience of personnel to be assigned for the project vis-àvis extent and complexity of the undertaking

5.

WEIGHTS Thirty Percent (30%) Thirty Percent (30%) Forty Percent (40%).

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the IRR of RA 9184.

Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines.

In case the bidders intend to enter into a joint venture agreement (JVA) for the purpose of implementing this project, an undertaking that they will enter into one submitted for the conduct of bid opening and evaluation will suffice provided that the same states the percentages of the relative capital contributions of the bidders and, provided further, that the JVA is registered with the Philippine SEC prior to contract execution with PAGCOR.

6.

Bidders must submit the accomplished Eligibility Documents Submission Form together with all the eligibility requirements/documents. A copy of the template of said document is attached hereto as Annex A.

7.

PAGCOR shall evaluate bids using the Quality Based Evaluation (QBE) procedure.

The major criteria and rating system for the detailed evaluation of bids, with a passing score of seventyfive percent (75%), are as follows: a.) b.) c.)

Applicable Experience, Qualifications and the Financial and Logistical Capacity of the Firm – 20%; Qualification of the Key Personnel to be Assigned for the Project – 30%; and Plan of approach and Methodology in Implementing the Project and the Quality and Efficiency of the Proposed Audit Platform (50%)

8.

Complete details for the short-listing are indicated in the Part 1 of the Bidding Documents.

9.

Prospective bidders may also view and download the Bidding Documents free of charge from the following websites: PhilGEPS website (www.philgeps.gov.ph) and PAGCOR website (www.pagcor.ph), and shall be allowed to submit the eligibility documents not later than the date for the Submission and Receipt of Eligibility documents on August 1, 2017 (Tuesday), 10:00 a.m.

10.

Short-listed bidders should present to PAGCOR’s Cashier located at the Sixth (6 ) Floor, PAGCOR Corporate Office, New World Manila Bay Hotel, 1588 M.H. del Pilar Street corner Pedro Gil Street, Malate, Manila, either the Fee Slip for the Sale of Bidding Documents, which may be secured from PD, or a copy of this REI in effecting payment for the sale of the Bidding Documents in the amount of SeventyFive Thousand Pesos (PhP 75,000.00).

11.

Complete details of the project and of the salient procedures for Second (2nd) Stage of the Bidding are indicated in Part II of the Bidding Documents which will be provided only to the short-listed bidders.

12.

The contract shall be completed within a period of ten (10) years commencing from the date of receipt by the winning consultant of the Notice to Proceed.

13.

PAGCOR reserves the right to reject any and all bids, annul the bidding process, or not award the contract at any time prior to contract award in accordance with Section 41 of RA 9184 and its IRR, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

14.

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

15.

In accordance with Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) Circular 06-2005 - Tie-Breaking Method, BAC 1 shall use a non-discretionary and non-discriminatory measure based on sheer luck or chance, which is “DRAW LOTS,” in the event that two (2) or more bidders have been post-qualified and determined as the bidder having the Highest Rated Responsive Bid (HRRB) to determine the final bidder having the HRRB, based on the following procedures:

th

16.

communities on what to do when the siren is heard. There are different levels of the siren and these are taught to residents so that they know what to do in times of floods,” Taguiam said.

In addition to warning stations, the DoST is also installing rain gauges and water level stations in the different parts of the region with 120 weather monitoring stations in the region already established.

“We are urging the public to protect the monitoring stations in their respective communities as they are very helpful in giving accurate weather forecasts and warnings in times of calamities,” Taguiam said.

He said they are also working with local government units to help capacitate their constituents on disaster preparedness to achieve resiliency among Cagayanos.

IN BRIEF

Once the operation of the systems comes to its full, the consultant shall also fully deploy its personnel committed for the project. Corresponding deductions equivalent to the monthly rate of the personnel involved shall be made to the payment accruing to the consultant for his failure to deploy the said personnel during the given period.

a) b)

(MS-JULY 25, 2017)

the second tranche is P56,000 salary,” Inocando said.

“We’ve got a big difference in salary level. After the RA 10149 was promulgated, we don’t have step increment anymore. The increase is now based on commendable performance, where slots are also limited. Our salary is flat now,” she added.

In their protest, Inocando stressed the stand of Kapisanan

NGCP seminar for electrical engineers BALANGA CITY, Bataan―The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines recently conducted a seminar for engineers and personnel of electric cooperatives and companies in the provinces of Zambales and Pampanga.

About 35 participants, mostly engineers from Zambales 1 Electric Cooperative Inc. (Zameco1), Zambales 11 Electric Cooperative Inc (Zameco 11), Olongapo Electricity Distribution Inc. (OEDC), Subic Enerzone Corp., and San Fernando Electric Light and Power Co. (Sfelapco) attended the two-day seminar on Overcurrent Protection Relay held at Subic Park Hotel.

NGCP Protection Services Division Unit Head Engineer Rodel Concepcion was the resource person. Butch Gunio NOTICE OF EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE Notice is hereby given that the estate of the late FELIX H. LIMON was extrajudicially settled by and among his heirs as per affidavit executed on July 10, 2017 and entered as Doc. No. 284, Page No. 58, Book No. 1 Series of 2017 of the notarial registry of Atty. Jerome L. Flojo, a notary public for and in the Cities of Pasig, San Juan and Municipality of Pateros.

ERRORS & OMISSIONS

In Classified Ads section must be brought to our attention the very day the advertisement is published. We will not be responsible for any incorrect ads not reported to us immediately.

(MS-JULY 11, 18 & 25, 2017)

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES CORPORATION 11-13 Sunrise Drive. Brgy. Bagong Lipunan ng Crame Cubao, Quezon City

Notice of Stockholders` Meeting To All ERC Stockholders: Please be informed that the Annual Stockholders` Meeting of the Educational Resources Corporation shall be held on July 29, 2017 at 12:00 noon at the Barrio Fiesta EDSA, Greenhills, San Juan City to take up the following matters.

1. Election of new directors for the incoming fiscal year; 2. Report of the President; and 3. Other relevant matters Please be guided accordingly

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

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

(Sgd) Atty. LACANDOLA S. LEAÑO Corporate Secretary

Please address all communications to the Bids and Awards Committee through PD, at Room 203, Second (2nd) Floor, PAGCOR House, 1330 Roxas Blvd., Ermita, Manila, Tel No. 524-3911, 521-1542 loc.

223 or 617 (SGD) RODERICK R. CONSOLACION Chairperson Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) 1

(MS-JULY 25, 2017) (TS-JULY 25 & 27, 2017)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

World

TUESDAY, JULY 25, 2017

C3

US envoy heads to Israel for crisis talks

SANCTUARY. People nap on a bed at an Ikea store to escape the heat outside in Hangzhou, in China’s eastern Zhejiang province, on July 24, 2017. Parts of China have seen record

temperatures in recent weeks in what has been a torrid summer for much of the country while large areas of south-central China have endured raging floods from torrential rain. AFP

Under pressure over holy site J ERUSALEM―Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced mounting pressure Sunday over the new security measures at a sensitive Jerusalem holy site after a weekend of violence left eight people dead, with fears more unrest could follow.

Israeli officials signaled they may be open to changing the measures at the Haram al-Sharif mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, after the installation of metal detectors at the entrances following an attack that killed two policemen stoked Palestinian anger.

The metal detectors remained in place on Sunday morning, though cameras had also been mounted

near at least one entrance to the compound in Jerusalem’s Old City―a possible indication of an alternative to the detectors.

Netanyahu was also holding a cabinet meeting and was due to meet with his security cabinet later in the day.

“Since the start of the events, I have held a series of assessments with security elements including those in the field,” he said at the

start of the meeting.

“We are receiving from them an up-to-date picture of the situation, as well as recommendations for action, and we will decide accordingly.”

Israeli Major General Yoav Mordechai―head of COGAT, the defense ministry agency responsible for civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories―signaled changes to the policy were possible.

“We are examining other options and alternatives that will ensure security,” Mordechai said in an interview with Al-Jazeera.

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said he would continue to support the metal detectors remaining in place unless police provide a satisfactory alternative.

The crisis has resonated interna-

tionally.

The UN Security Council will hold closed-door talks Monday about the spiralling violence after Egypt, France and Sweden sought a meeting to “urgently discuss how calls for de-escalation in Jerusalem can be supported”.

Arab League chief Ahmed Abul Gheit on Sunday accused Israel of “playing with fire” with the new security measures.

Tensions have risen throughout the past week over the metal detectors at the compound, which includes the revered Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, following the July 14 attack that killed two policemen.

Palestinians reject the metal detectors because they view the move

Libya PM to meet strongman near Paris PARIS―Libya’s UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj will hold taalks near Paris on Tuesday with Khalifa Haftar, the powerful military commander based in the country’s east, the French presidency said.

French President Emmanuel Macron will host the meeting, the presidency said in a statement on Monday.

“France intends, through this initiative, to facilitate a political agreement” between the two rivals as the newly appointed UN envoy for Libya, Ghassam Salame, takes office, the statement said.

Tuesday’s talks, which were first reported by France’s Journal du Dimanche newspaper on Sunday, would be the second between Sarraj and Haftar in the space of three months after they met in Abu Dhabi in May. Sarraj this month laid out a new political road map for his violence-wracked country, including the scheduling of presidential and parliamentary elections in March 2018.

Political rivalry and fighting between militias have hampered Libya’s recovery from the chaos that followed the 2011 uprising that toppled and longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi, who was killed in the aftermath.

Sarraj’s Government of National Accord has been struggling to assert its authority since it began work in Tripoli in March 2016. Haftar’s rival administration based in the remote east has refused to recognize it.

Western intelligence services fear that Islamic State jihadists are capitalizing on the chaos to set up bases in Libya as they are chased from their former strongholds in Iraq and Syria. AFP

as Israel asserting further control over the site. They have refused to enter the compound in protest and have prayed in the streets outside.

Israeli authorities say the July 14 attackers smuggled guns into the holy site and emerged from it to shoot the policemen.

Friday’s main weekly Muslim prayers -- which typically draw thousands to Al-Aqsa -- brought the situation to a boil.

In anticipation of protests, Israel barred men under 50 from entering the Old City for prayers.

Clashes broke out between Israeli security forces and Palestinians around the Old City, in other parts of annexed east Jerusalem and in the occupied West Bank, leaving three Palestinians dead. AFP

JERUSALEM―A top aide to US President Donald Trump was due in Israel Monday in a bid to ease the tensions over the new security measures at a highly sensitive Jerusalem holy site after a weekend of deadly violence.

Jason Greenblatt’s visit comes after more than a week of tensions over the Haram al-Sharif mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and central to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel installed metal detectors at the entrances to the site, which includes Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, following an attack on July 14 that killed two policemen.

Palestinians view the move as Israel asserting further control over the site. They have refused to enter the compound in protest and have prayed in the streets outside.

Israeli authorities say the metal detectors are needed because the July 14 attackers smuggled guns into the site and emerged from it to shoot the officers.

Clashes have broken out during protests over the measures, leaving five Palestinians dead.

On Friday, a Palestinian broke into a home in a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank and stabbed three Israelis to death.

An incident on Sunday night in Amman that, according to Israeli officials, saw a Jordanian attack an Israeli security guard with a screwdriver at the Israeli embassy compound raised further concerns, though it was not immediately clear if there was any link.

The security guard was said to have shot dead the Jordanian, while a second Jordanian there at the time was also killed.

Separately on Monday, Israeli tank fire struck a Hamas post in the Gaza Strip after what was believed to be a rocket from the

17 staff of anti-Erdogan newspaper to go on trial

PARTY. From left, Lindsey Morgan, Tasya Teles and Marie Avgeropoulos attend Entertainment Weekly’s

annual Comic-Con party in celebration of Comic-Con 2017 at the Float at Hard Rock Hotel San Diego on July 22, 2017, in San Diego, California. AFP

ISTANBUL―Seventeen directors and journalists from one of Turkey’s most respected opposition newspapers go on trial Monday after spending over eight months behind bars in a case that has raised new alarm over press freedoms under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The suspects were detained from October last year under the state of emergency implemented after the July 15, 2016 failed coup blamed on the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen.

The opposition fears the emergency has been used to go after anyone who dares defy Erdogan and if convicted, the defendants face varying terms of up to 43 years in jail.

The trial is seen as a test for press freedoms under Erdogan in Turkey, which ranks 155th on the latest Reporters Without Borders world press freedom index, below Belarus and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to the P24 press freedom group, there are 166 journalists behind bars in Turkey, most of whom were arrested under the state of emergency.

Erdogan, however, insisted in an interview earlier this month there were just “two real journal-

ists” behind bars in Turkey.

Cumhuriyet (Republic), which was set up in 1924 and is Turkey’s oldest mainstream national title, has been a thorn in the side of Erdogan in recent years.

It is one of the few genuine opposition voices in the press, which is dominated by strongly pro-government media and bigger mainstream dailies that are increasingly wary of challenging the authorities.

A total of 17 staff of the newspaper―including writers, cartoonists and executives―will go on trial from 0600 GMT at the imposing palace of justice in Istanbul.

Those appearing in court include some of the best known names in Turkish journalism including the columnist Kadri Gursel, the paper’s editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu and the respected cartoonist Musa Kart.

Also being tried in the case is the investigative journalist Ahmet Sik who in 2011 wrote an explosive book “The Imam’s Army” exposing the grip Gulen’s movement had on the Turkish state.

The book was initially banned and caused a sensation when published on the internet as “000Kitap” (“000Book”). AFP

Boycott urged of vote to amend constitution CARACAS―Venezuela’s angry opposition is pushing for a boycott of a coming vote that it dismisses as a ploy by President Nicolas Maduro to cling to power.

Ahead of next Sunday’s election for a 500-plus member assembly to rewrite the constitution and give the president more power, the opposition also plans a general strike―the second in weeks―on Wednesday and Thursday and a big protest march on Friday.

It all makes for a dramatic week in the opposition’s dogged drive to unseat the socialist Maduro, whom it blames for an acute eco-

nomic crisis marked by shortages of food, medicine and such basics as diapers, soap and toilet paper.

Four months of almost daily street protests in the oil-rich OPEC member have left 103 people dead.

“Let them lock us all up. The fight must move forward,” said Freddy Guevara, the deputy speaker of the opposition-controlled congress.

“The people of Venezuela must fuel the general strike. They must come to Caracas and help us prepare for the civic boycott,” Guevara told a news conference. He

insisted his supporters will not resort to violence.

Next Sunday’s vote is supposed to be for a 545-seat constituent assembly that will draw its members not from political parties but rather social sectors which the opposition sees as loyal to Maduro, a former bus driver who was the handpicked successor of late socialist firebrand Hugo Chavez.

Maduro on Sunday urged the opposition to refrain from violence, respect the voting and let those who wish to cast ballots do so.

“I demand this of all the opposi-

tion leaders,” Maduro said on state TV. “The US right wing thinks it can give orders in Venezuela, but the only one who gives orders in Venezuela is the people,” Maduro said on his television show.

Maduro’s comments Sunday followed a warning the president had issued the previous night about the vote, and how the opposition behaves next weekend.

“We will be relentless if they try to generate a process of violence in order to stop that which cannot be stopped,” he said.

Also during his Sunday TV pro-

gram, Maduro said that 33 judges whom the opposition-controlled congress designated Friday as a sort of shadow Supreme Court would be arrested. One of them had already been detained Saturday.

The opposition says the current top court is packed with hardcore Maduro loyalists. Many of its justices were hastily appointed shortly before Maduro’s ruling party lost its majority in congress in 2015 legislative elections.

The Supreme Court said that by swearing in shadow judges, congress overstepped its bounds and committed treason. AFP

Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

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TUESDAY, JULY 25, 2017

Bomb attack kills 24 in Kabul

World

The war’s mental toll in Syria A ZAZ, Syria―At an austere mental health clinic in northern Syria, male patients with shaved heads squat barefoot in a courtyard, some dressed in uniforms and others in T-shirts and tracksuit trousers.

One man screams at those around him, while another laughs to himself. A third sings exuberantly, exposing bare gums missing teeth.

The second floor houses female patients in patterned dresses and flowery scarves.

Some smile at visitors while others lie motionless on their beds.

One woman is tied to her bed frame.

The horrors of Syria’s six-year war have left the country’s population with devastating psychological scars, but staff at the only mental health facility in Syria’s opposition-held north are doing their best to treat those affected.

Among the patients at the clinic in Azaz, northern Aleppo province, is a 17-year-old girl deeply scarred by the conflict.

“She saw a small child that had been killed and was being eaten by animals,” Dorar al-Sobh, one of two doctors at the facility, tells AFP. “She was so shocked she lost her ability to speak.

Now she can’t sleep or eat... She avoids everyone.”

A male patient from the neighboring province of Raqa came back to his bombed-out home to find the lifeless bodies of his wife and six children.

“He has difficulty sleeping... he gets flashbacks and nightmares,” says Sobh, 46.

Some cases predate Syria’s conflict, but others― particularly of post-traumatic stress disorder―have been directly caused by the war.

“Of course, we have seen an increase in cases, especially depression, PTSD and coping disorders,” Sobh says.

Nurse Mohammed Munzer recalls receiving patients who had been arrested at the peaceful protests in 2011 that kicked off Syria’s uprising.

“They were tortured and beaten, especially on the head. They started to have mental problems,” the 35-year-old says.

Others have developed anxieties related to the relentless bombing and violence that has killed more than 330,000 people.

“There are people who can’t handle the sound of airplanes,” Munzer says.

The facility serves nearly 140 inpatients as well as others who come from outside for care.

It was originally set up in Masaken Hanano district on the northeastern outskirts of Aleppo city.

But it was forced to relocate when fighting broke out after rebels entered the city in 2012.

“The hospital was hit in Masaken Hanano, wounding one of the nurses in his hand and handicapping him,” facility administrator Mohyiddin Othman says.

Many of the hospital’s medical staff fled and left patients behind, some of them wandering the streets.

Local residents, alarmed by the situation, contacted a Turkish medical NGO that worked with local Syrian doctors to transfer the patients.

By 2013, they had been moved first to a facility in western Aleppo province, and then to Azaz with help from charity group Physicians Across Continents.

While Azaz has been periodically targeted by regime strikes, particularly in the early years after the patients were moved to the area, the new hospital has not been hit.

That has allowed medical staff to focus on their work, offering residents and outpatients medication, assessments and one-on-one treatment. AFP

PERFORMANCE. Maddie Marlow of Maddie & Tae performs during Country Thunder on July 23 in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin. AFP

HIV-positive women still stigmatized YAOUNDE, Cameroon―Blandine, a 28-year-old mother of a baby girl, sits restlessly on a chair in a womens’ health center in Cameroon’s capital, not knowing how or what to feel as she waits for an HIV test.

Blandine is HIV positive.

But the waiting is not for her―it is to find out whether her one-year-old girl also has the human immunodeficiency virus.

A few minutes later, she has her answer.

“I am so relieved,” Blandine said upon learning that her baby’s blood tests came back negative for HIV. “I feel like I’ve won a battle with my child, a battle I was unable to win for myself.”

In Cameroon, more women are living with HIV than any other group, and

they are also more stigmatized than their male counterparts.

Blandine, a teacher, was willing to share her story but preferred to use an alias to protect her identity and her family, including her husband, who has public responsibilities.

“I have a life to build,” she said by way of explanation. “There is progress but we cannot say that the stigma has disappeared. When you have a certain role in society, you have to defend your husband and your in-laws.

“You have to protect your children”.

Blandine discovered she was HIV positive nearly two years ago, after a long illness. Her husband was the one who broke the bad news to her, as she was too weak to speak to the doctor herself.

She is still not sure how she came to contract the virus. Her husband, like their daughter, does not have it.

“It is really due to my husband’s love that I was able to live through that situation,” she said.

Blandine added that many HIV positive women are rejected by their husbands and families and then isolated from society as a whole.

“Some women don’t even dare talk about their status for fear of being abandoned,” she said. “They deal with it on their own, without even opening up to their husbands.”

Serodiscordant couples―where one partner is HIV positive―face an extra set of hurdles in a relationship, especially as it relates to personal hygiene and sexual relations. AFP

KABUL―At least 24 people have been killed and 42 wounded after a car bomb struck a bus carrying government employees in western Kabul Monday, the latest attack to strike the Afghan capital, an official told AFP. “The car bomb hit a bus carrying employees of the ministry of mines during rush hour,” interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish told AFP. No militant group immediately claimed the blast, but it came as the Taliban have stepped up attacks across the country in recent days, with several new districts falling to the militants over the weekend.

The neighborhood in which Monday’s bomb detonated is home to many Shiite Hazaras, a persecuted ethnic minority who have been targeted many times in the past.

It is also near prominent politician and former warlord Mohammad Mohaqeq’s home.

Omid Maisom Mohaqiq, a spokesman for the politician, said the bomb had detonated near the first checkpoint approaching the house, “killing and wounding some civilians”.

Kabul is regularly rocked by suicide bombs and attacks. A recent UN report showed they accounted for nearly one-fifth of all civilian Afghan casualties in the first half of 2017.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), which has been documenting civilian casualties since 2009, said in its recent report that 1,662 civilians were killed and more than 3,500 injured in the first six months of the year.

Many of those deaths happened in a devastating single attack in Kabul in late May when a truck bomb exploded, also during the morning rush hour, killing more than 150 people and injuring hundreds.

UNAMA put the civilian death toll at 92, saying it was the deadliest incident to hit the country since 2001.

The bloody toll for the first six months of 2017 has unsettled the government of President Ashraf Ghani, who has come under increasing pressure since the May attack in Kabul.

Protests and deadly street clashes hit the Afghan capital in the wake of the May attack as people incensed by security failures called for his government’s resignation.

The UNAMA report also said that nearly half of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces have seen an increase in civilian deaths in the first six months of the year, mainly due to the rise in attacks by anti-government forces across the country.

NATO’s combat mission in Afghanistan ended three years ago, handing sole responsibility to the country’s security forces, who has also suffered spiraling casualties ever since as they try to beat back the resurgent Taliban and contain the growing threat from the Islamic State group. AFP

9 suspected migrants found dead

DAY 3. A festival goer attends day 3 of FYF Fest 2017 at Exposition Park on July 23 in Los Angeles. AFP

SAN ANTONIO―Nine suspected migrants were dead Sunday after being packed inside an overheated truck that was discovered in a Walmart parking lot in Texas, and 30 others were hospitalized in what police said appeared to be a “horrific” human trafficking crime.

Seventeen of those taken to hospitals after the discovery in the early morning hours in San Antonio―about a two hour drive from the Mexican border―were in critical condition, suffering from heat stroke and dehydration, authorities said.

At least 39 people were in the trailer, including one person who was later found in a nearby wooded area, federal prosecutors said in a statement.

At least two were school-age children, Fire Chief Charles Hood said.

It was not immediately clear how many suspected migrants might have fled and were unaccounted for.

City police chief William McManus told CNN that the dead were all adult men. Authorities

were not releasing the victims’ names or nationalities until their families were notified.

Mexican officials were working with US authorities to identify the dead, the country’s foreign ministry said.

McManus told a news conference that someone from the truck had approached a Walmart employee asking for water.

The employee brought water to the truck in the parking lot, and then called the police who “found eight people dead in the back of that trailer,” the police chief said, calling it a “horrific tragedy.”

“We’re looking at a human trafficking crime,” McManus said.

The truck driver had been arrested, he said.

Federal prosecutors said James Mathew Bradley Jr, 60, of Florida, was in custody and would be charged Monday morning in San Antonio.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott confirmed Sunday evening that the death toll had climbed to nine and called the case “a heartbreaking tragedy.”

“Texas will continue to pro-

vide protection for the victims who have been robbed of their most basic rights, and bring down the full weight of the law for the perpetrators of this despicable crime,” he said in a statement.

People in the truck were “hot to the touch,” Hood said. The air conditioner in the trailer was not working.

“For those people who survived, they took a beating,” he told CNN. “With heat stroke, you sometimes have neurological deficits that you’re never going to be able to recover from.”

Hood estimated the temperature in the truck could have reached 150 degrees Fahrenheit (65 degrees Celsius).

“If that truck would have been there overnight, there’s no doubt that we would have lost all 38 of those people,” Hood said.

The US Department of Homeland Security and immigration officials are assisting local law enforcement with the investigation.

“This is not an isolated incident... this happens all the time,” McManus said. AFP

Life

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com

CULTURE & MEDIA

TUESDAY, JULY 25, 2017

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The Manila Symphony Orchestra playing Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 at Irwin Lee Theater at the Ateneo de Manila campus.

Finest moments for MSO and MSJO

By Pablo A. Tariman

T

HE Manila Symphony Junior Orchestra (MSJO) under the stewardship and tutelage of the Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO) made its auspicious Vienna debut on July 6 in the hometown of Mozart in Salzburg.

One of the competing participants in the 11th Summa Cum Laude Music Festival in Vienna, the MSJO under the baton of Jeffrey Solares performed Mozart’s Divertimento in D, K. 136 from his set of “Salzburg” Symphonies written in Mozart’s hometown.

The MSJO -- composed of 36 musicians between the ages nine and 21—was also invited to perform in Munich and Prague.

Meanwhile, the MSO is all set for another season concert on Aug. 5 and 6 with guest conductor Darrell Ang and guest soloist Iskandar Widjaja (IDN/GER) on violin Aug. 5 at Irwin Theater in

Ateneo and Aug. 6 at the Circuit in Makati.

Program includes Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole, Dvorak’s Symphony No.8 and a new composition by a Filipino composer.

Meanwhile, the main highlight of the opening season concert of the MSO under Arturo Molina last month was the monumental Symphony No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 27 mounted at The Circuit in Makati.

The work is rarely performed in Manila and it is understandable. The orchestration requires hard work and the structure demands a lot of focus from the musicians.

Happening as it did when the country was reeling from the ongoing war in Marawi, the Rach-

The members of the Manila Symphony Junior Orchestra in Mirabell Palace in Salzburg.

maninoff symphony was at once timely as it conjured images of gloom and hope, of the world’s uncertain conditions and reflects the weary, almost hopeless outpouring of humanity in the third movement. The electrifying finale at once conveyed new hope for humanity.

Like it or not, the MSO was in good shape in this piece de resistance and what an incredible show of energy and stamina!

Under Molina’s baton, the sound was rich and intoxicating and it smoldered from one musical phrase to another.

As it was, the music settled in one’s psyche like a bolt of lightning and it entered one’s pores and remained there to one’s complete delight.

But the adagio of the third movement brought out a familiar sound (it inspired many pop compositions including Eric Carmen’s “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again”) and here you see Rachmaninoff as the Master of Melodic Contours.

Its opening was breathtaking and in a few moments came the sea of lyrical outpouring that could melt the heart.

Brilliant was the only world that came to mind as one heard the last movement with the familiar theme from the first movement.

The first theme assaulted the senses as it sizzled although controlled by a march with woodwind getting reactions from bass strings.

Like it or not, you could not help but recall the sea of sound associated with Tchaikovsky with such lush and rich orchestration.

The last notes of the symphony resulted in an audience too stunned to react and no doubt mesmerized as one by one, they stood to give the orchestra a rousing standing ovation.

It has been a long time since one saw a symphony being cheered as ecstatically as this one.

Moreover, the first part of the concert is abnormally short (less than 30 minutes) but they were enough to showcase Nonong Buencamino’s Tiamis, which is about the unrequited love between Leonor Rivera and Jose Rizal.

Originally scored for cello and piano, the piece became an orchestral piece with cellist Arnold Josue as soloist.

Nonong Buencamino with cellist Arnold Josue

As it were, the piece brought us to another time and another place with its poignant and lyrical outpouring. It ended with the last lonesome notes of the cello and instantly, it captured the nobility and depth of the once and future love of the Filipino hero and his Leonor Rivera.

Probably built with the same emotional coloring was the rendition of the seldom heard Sibelius’ “Swan of Tuonella.” It was short but the audience enjoyed its lush and dreamy orchestration.

The latest MSO concert is but one of the many facets of the Filipino musicians who remain the enduring symbols of what is amazing about the Filipino artists.

With no visible government support, the MSO has managed to sustain its season offerings and the people behind it and yet still find time to teach young musicians in its MSO music academy and to hone a new generation of musicians in its MSO Junior Orchestra.

The musicians of the MSO carry many of the redeeming qualities of the Filipino performing artist. Without a home of its own and with no rehearsal hall of its own, these musicians survive by the skin of their teeth, so to speak.

One hopes the new administration will find time to listen to Filipino musicians who symbolize what is good and enduring about the Filipino as music interpreter.

PAGES

Pia Wurtzbach

in Metro’s big beauty issue GET ready to see Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach in a whole new light as she is poised to take on a new venture, starting with her dazzling cover of Metro Magazine this month.

From classic beauty to ultra glamazon, this month’s glossy pages are homage to the incredible style and resilience of this generation’s crowned Miss Universe. At 27 years old, she has made herself a pop-culture icon as the third Filipina to bring home the coveted title, and one of the most celebrated beauty queens in pageant history. Now, a year after her reign, Pia is just getting started, as all eyes are eagerly awaiting her next big showcase.

What’s more, when one queen’s journey passes on, another is just about to begin. Metro has the exclusive story on the country’s next contender for the Miss Universe title, Rachel Peters. Inspired by Pia’s story, Rachel is pushing to take home the crown yet again to the Philippines, as she promotes her campaign of “Love Yourself.”

Last, but not the least, this month’s issue has the biggest beauty spread to go with all the beauty queen exposé. The Metro Beauty Awards is this year’s most extensive list of holy-grails, swatches, sampling, and reviews of the best beauty products in the market to date. With beauty addicts in mind, the team went all out to gather the best beauty tidbits

The Poons divulge #relationshipgoals FOUR years into their marriage, celeb”What makes this book interesting rity couple Richard Poon and Mariis that they’ll get a glimpse of the Poon car Reyes have discovered noteworthy and Reyes home, how we were raised ways to deal with common relationship and how different we are from each battles and have decided to share these other,” disclosed Richard. in their first book, 10 Things We Fight “It basically answers the question, what About (ABS-CBN Publishing). happens after saying, “I do,” said Maricar.

“The book started as an idea from The couple’s book also comes with our blogs. To write about something reflections and lessons that can help real, something close to our hearts. And those young, married couples in underone of those things are those conflicts standing their partner better and setwe go through,” shared Maricar. tling a lover’s quarrel.

Readers will be delighted in learning The couple formally introduced their more about the experiences the actress latest project in a book launch held and the crooner have gone through as Maricar and Richard Poon are authors of a in National Book Store, Glorietta in they continuously strive to maintain a relationship book Makati City last July 16. happy married life despite the usual scufThe Poons’ 10 Things We Fight About fles. In the book, the couple cited lending securities, criticism and fake apologies as is available in leading newsstands and money to others, false accusations and in- among those causing squabble. bookstores nationwide for P225.

Pia Wurtzbach dazzles on the cover of Metro magazine’s July issue

Take a peek into the happy home of

and interviews, guaranteed to take existing routines a notch higher.

This month’s issue of Metro is bundled with Metro Weddings, with a special double cover featuring Coleen Garcia and Francis Libiran with his muses Pia, Megan Young, and Kylie Verzosa.

Metro is available in bookstores and newsstands for P150. Metro can also be downloaded on the NoInk app, available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. `

StarStudio has an exclusive story of one of the most iconic couples in the industry in its July issue.

Featuring the songbird and the songwriter, Regine Velasquez and Ogie Alcasid, the magazine takes you on a tour of their beautiful house and listen to the story of how their beautiful family came to be, with big new revelations that will surprise, inspire, and touch the readers’ hearts.

Ogie and Regine

Also featured in the issue are brides-tobe Maxene Magalona and Coleen Garcia, mother-daughter tandems Sunshine and Angelina Cruz and Jessa and Jayda Avanzado, and actor-turned-artist Hero Angeles. StarStudio’s July 2017 is available in bookstores and newsstands nationwide.

StarStudio magazine features the home of Ogie and Regine Velasquez Alcasid

Life

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TUESDAY, JULY 25, 2017 isahred@gmail.com

VISUAL ARTS

TWO VIEWS, ONE HOME in Habitat & Soleil and Kris F

OR the entire month of July, Habitat Manila presents an exclusive collection by young creative couple Soleil Ignacio and Kris Abrigo, under the new Habitat & design collaborations program.

The micro studio vignette styled by artists Soleil Ignacio and Kris Abrigo with their artworks, and Habitat furniture and accessories

‘Wasting Your Time’ Hand embellished archival print on 100% cotton paper 40cm x 60cm

The Habitat & Soleil and Kris collection is composed of illustrative prints, paintings and quirky art toys set in a micro studio vignette that the couple styled with Habitat furniture and accessories.

Soleil Ignacio and Kris Abrigo

Launched on June 28 in the Habitat Bonifacio Global City showroom, the collection includes pieces that portray the couple’s opposite but complementary styles, and a reimagining of their studio life, which mix everyday living with their artistic pursuits.

The collection is composed of illustrative prints, paintings and quirky art toys set in a micro studio vignette that the couple styled with Habitat furniture and accessories. It highlights the couple’s differing styles: hand-made paintings are hung alongside digital prints with bright pastels against cozy, muted colors.

Soleil’s relaxed, organic, and laid-back elegance is a response to Kris’ sharp geometric lines and hard urban aesthetic.

Balance is achieved by complementing calm contrasts between each of their own unique personality and style of work. The inspiration for the curated space came from the couple’s experiences in living and working together in a small art studio for 4 years in a crowded city in Manila. They mix and match artworks and furniture; the softness and warmth of plants combined with hard and quirky concrete sculptures.

The exhibit, the first under the Habitat& design collaborations program, also highlights the sophistication and versatility of Habitat furniture and accessories when placed alongside highly creative work. “For us, design is a lifestyle,” says Habitat director Walter Lim. “Artistry and personal style is expressed most comfortably in our homes and most private spaces.

“We are delighted that Soleil and Kris are sharing a part of their personal story through this beautiful collection, featuring Habitat pieces that appeal to their excellent tastes.”

The art pieces will be made available by Soleil and Kris exclusively through Habitat Bonifacio Global City for the entire month.

“We look forward to having more collaborations with original minds through the Habitat& design program,” says Lim. “We are proud to host wonderful works that complement the furniture and decor in our flagship Habitat store. We’re excited to work with more emerging talents and giving them a venue to showcase their work alongside a well-established European home brand.”

Habitat Manila is located on the 3rd Level of Abenson, beside The Ascott Residence, at the corner of 5th Avenue and 28th Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

News, promos and product features are also posted on the /HabitatMNL Facebook and Instagram accounts, and on www.habitat.com.ph.

Philippine choral group wins three prizes in France CORO San Benildo, a Filipino choir group, won three prizes in the recently concluded 46th Florilège Vocal de Tours, the highly-anticipated, sole annual choral competition in France, which sees regular participation of large and small musical ensembles from all over the world.

Coro, the resident choral group of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB), shared third place with Azusa Pacific University Chamber Singers from Los Angeles, California in the Renaissance Category, and ranked Third Place in the International Mixed Vocal Ensemble. No First Prizes were handed out in these events.

The Filipino team likewise received

the Prix de Public, the People’s Choice Award, which is presented to the audience’s most-admired group.

Rome’s Coro Musicanova garnered the contest’s Grand Prix de la Ville de Tours Champion’s honor, earning the right to compete in next year’s European Grand Prix for Choral Singing, which is considered to be the Olympics for choirs.

In a statement, Coro revealed that as they represented the country, the entire educational and enlightening experience let them hone their skills and talents. They are proud to come home not only with two laurels from the tournament, but also the People’s Choice Award.

Coro San Benildo in Paris for the 46th Florilège Vocal de Tours

Led by its choirmaster Lorenzo C. such the 70th Llangollen International Youth Choir competition, second in the Gealogo, Coro San Benildo has also Music Eisteddfod held in Wales, where Adult Folk category, and a finalist in the won in entirely different tournaments, they were hailed Champions in the culminating Choir of the World Event.

Malate Catholic School implements blended learning DIGITAL technology has brought a shift in the delivery of education.

A technology-infused curriculum opens ways to address the challenges of teaching 21st century learners.

This rings true for Malate Catholic School, which recently rolled out its hybrid program with the help of Genyo e-Learning (Genyo). In the new setup, students are required to come

to school for only four days. Fridays are dedicated to remote online work.

According to Maria Socorro Balbido, administrator of Malate Catholic School, the hybrid format enhances the learning experience of students. “Since the school started its technology integration journey in 2012, Genyo has been our trusted partner. A well-designed hybrid

class takes advantage of the best features of both face-to-face and online learning, reinforcing and complementing each other’s activities,” she said.

In blended learning, students are required to have 60-hour faceto-face contact time and 20-hour online class. The learners engage in forums, do collaborative perfor-

mance tasks, and take online formative and summative assessments through Genyo.

Balbido also cites how Genyo enhances the teaching competency of teachers. Aside from the software, Genyo’s developer, Diwa Learning Systems Inc, also provides trainings for the school’s staff. To ensure that partner schools have immediate

solutions for any Genyo concern, Diwa assigns learning integration specialists (LIS) to serve as on-site advisers for teachers and students.

“Genyo is a trusted partner. We wouldn’t have gotten this far without its support – including teacher training and curriculum enrichment. The LIS have been very assisting.” Balbido enthused.

TUESDAY, JULY 25, 2017

SOPHIA PILAPIL Busy and happy

YASSI

thinks bashers in showbiz is normal YASSI Pressman is aware that, with her current rise as one of the hottest young female stars in the ‘biz, having bashers is just normal.

“In this age of the social media, the presence of bashers is part of the whole package, so to speak. Whether you’re in show business or in any other field, there will always be people who would really air their dislike on you. We can’t do anything about it. Sometimes, I get affected but most of the time, I just ignore them,” she avers.

Since she became the leading lady of Coco Martin in the hit soap opera FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, it became noticeable that her bashers mushroomed, prompting many to think these people want her out of the show. Some say these bashers could possibly be supporters of Coco and Julia Montes (who is being linked to Coco). Given this scenario, did she have a conscious effort to start avoiding Coco on the set of the show?

“Not really. Coco and I are friends and we’re together almost every day. It’s inevitable that we talk specially that we do a lot of scenes together.”

Many are curious if the be-dimpled lad is sweet to her.

“I think he is basically sweet,” reveals Yassi.

“Not only with me but with everyone on the set.

He is caring even with the staff and crew that’s why he’s well-loved.”

Many were surprised when Yassy wasn’t picked as Coco’s leading lady in the grand action-fantasy potboiler Ang Panday, which is an official entry to this year’s edition of the Metro Manila Film Festival. Considering their chemistry and popularity with the viewers because of FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, the production chose 2017 Bb. Pilipinas International Mariel de Leon instead.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect. I’m not in the position in the first place. I know that many of our fellow stars in FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano are in the cast of the movie. But as I’ve said, it’s not my nature to expect. As for me, I’m excited to watch the film.”

Despite talks linking her with Coco, Yassi maintains her love life is zero.

“That’s right! First and foremost, I don’t have the time due to my hectic workload. In fact, I seldom see my family these days. I tape from Monday to Saturday.”

Doesn’t she miss having a special someone by her side to inspire her?

“Well, I’m full of love. Ha-ha-ha! I think that will do for now. Let’s see in the coming days,” ends Yassi. ******** Derrick Monasterio just laughs off the reaction to the news hat Bea Binene “friend-zoned” him considering that they’ve been a love team for quite some time now but romance is yet to blossom between them.

“Ha-ha-ha! I don’t want to comment on that friend-zone angle. It doesn’t necessarily follow that because you’re a screen pair, you have to be in a relationship. But of course, you don’t know what the future holds, right? It’s better to adopt the wait-and-see attitude,” states Derrick.

Does she consider Bea a girlfriend material?

“Yes she is! For one, she has many endearing qualities. Perhaps, my mind is not set on that at this point. My priority is my job. I’ve lots of assignments to attend to so I want to strike while the iron is hot.”

It can be remembered that he was romantically linked with his former screen partner Barbie Forteza before. His followers want to know if they become real-life sweethearts during those times.

“Nope! We didn’t become an item then but I courted her. She just didn’t answer me. Ha-haha! We were still so young then,” says Derrick.

By Robbie Pangilinan

S

HE has her hands full these days—something Sophia Pilapil is truly thankful for.

Focused on building her career as a young professional and a blossoming artist in the industry, the solo artist is currently working with talented songwriters and managers on new songs to be released soon.

She is also an event organizer who does golf tournaments to grand birthdays parties, and everything in between. She still finds time for modeling, a career she has had since she was in college while earning a BS in Leisure and Tourism Management.

“Pretty much all my time as of now I devote to my craft, work, family and friends. And that’s about it!” says Sophia, daughter of former news caster and actress Pia Pilapil and former super model and now athlete of the Philippine Team Gerry Gonzalo, and granddaughter of Pilar Pilapil and the late Salvador “Doy” Hidalgo Laurel, one time vice president of the country.

Besides her social media exposure, Sophia’s social life revolves around her family and friends.

She says her lovelife is on hold right now.

“I’m actually single and happy. As of now, I’m really focused on my career. I use most of my time to work on myself and grow as an individual. Love can wait! But then, you’ll never know, right? We’ll see. God will give him to me someday,” says the singer, volleyball player, and bookworm.

Sophia’s day is usually spent on meetings, events and photo shoots. After work, she hits the gym to workout. Other than that, she makes time for important people in her life. On her free time, Sophia makes it a point to go out and have fun.

“Sometimes, I would watch movies on my own.

I’d treat and reward myself with food that I crave

‘Blue Bloods’

AXN's police procedural drama "Blue Bloods" featuring a family of cops dealing with different aspects of police work

THE Reagan family is back to uphold the law at all costs in the latest installment of the crime drama series Blue Bloods on AXN. For years, Police Commissioner Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) has been at the forefront in fighting criminality in New York City. With the help of his sons, detective Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) and police officer Jamie (Will Estes), daughter Erin (Bridget Moynahan), the assistant district attorney, and a great deal of advice from his father, they face the toughest criminals in the city’s violent underworld.

The new season opened with the Attorney General’s Office getting new evidence against Danny for shooting a serial killer in self-defense. Frank is pressured to back an investigation into

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

(2 wds.)

54 Romp 57 Dined on 58 Canadian prov.

59 Prankster 60 Going over again 63 Mr. Zola 64 Metallic element 65 Move very slowly 66 Obie relatives 67 Mice, to cats 68 Come together DOWN 1 Brisling 2 “Hasta —!”

3 Oblige 4 “Bien” opposite 5 Miniature maple, e.g.

6 Singer Bonnie — 7 Hesitant sounds 8 Wan 9 Stevedore 10 Supplements 11 Hammer’s target 12 Chocolate candy 13 Have existence 18 A bit creepy 23 Circle the Earth 25 In a cordial manner

which sometimes I end up regretting afterwards.

Aside from that, I go out with my family and friends,” she says.

Beautiful and fit, Sophia sticks to a beauty and health regimen.

“I put on body lotion and facial moisturizer.

Always my holy grail! I work out once a day. If I’m busy on a certain day and won’t be able to workout, I make sure to workout twice the next day. Still coping with proper diet though. Not really my forté since I really love eating sinfully,” she confesses.

To aid in maintaining her skin and body beautiful, Sophia only trusts Clarence Anti-Aging, Slimming and Dermatology Centre.

“I’m always on the go. I do a lot of work every single day that sometimes, I forget to take care of myself. I trust Clarence because of their exquisite and effective treatments. I saw results immediately after my first treatment and it was astonishing!

Besides that, they also have accommodating and friendly staff that will remind and assist you along

Police and family drama

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Svelte 5 La — Tar Pits 9 Sri — 14 Wild cat 15 Galley movers 16 Walking — — 17 Fill up again 19 Biscotto flavor 20 Birthday count 21 Superlative ending 22 Tyrolean tunes 24 Allow 27 King 28 Seneca’s twelve 29 Omaha’s state 34 Standing wide open 37 “Star Wars” knight 38 Coach’s responsibility 39 Burger mate 40 Ceiling 41 Wild about 42 Diving bird 43 I cannot tell — — 44 Lugs along 45 Totally inadequate 47 Outlaw 48 Groom’s reply (2 wds.)

49 Visits briefly

Like her parents and grandmother, solo artist Sophia Pilapil works hard to make a name for herself

26 Bad guys 30 Jean Stein bestseller 31 Thrilled 32 Klondike — 33 Cookie man 34 Freedom org.

35 Thug, slangily 36 Matty or Felipe 37 Tumbler of rhyme 40 Toil 44 Uses a camcorder 46 Lights incense

to 47 Plant science 50 Skiing mecca 51 Conjecture 52 Field enclosure 53 Brawl 54 Lake in Lombardy 55 Related 56 Stumble 59 Fast plane 61 Do incorrectly 62 That fellow

police brutality. Jamie has his hands tied, as his fellow officers believe that his father is holding him back, while Erin prepares for another court showdown with her lawyer ex-husband.

Despite personal issues at home and at work, Frank has to maintain the balance between running the police department and running his family. If he cannot, he will be placed in a difficult position to choose – to serve the force or to serve his family.

Blue Bloods Season 7 airs every Friday at 11:35 p.m..

AXN is available on SKYCable Channel 49, Destiny Cable Channel 61, Cignal Channel 121, Dream Satellite TV Channel 20, G Sat Channel 51, and Cablelink Channel 38. AXN HD is available on SKYCable Channel 247.

the way. Also, one of the reasons why I trust them is because I can see that they really love helping out and they try their best to give the most efficient and effective treatments to their clients,” says Sophia, who usually has Clarence’s RF Treatment.

Sophia reveals that her target areas are her arms, back and abdomen and they have all already slimmed down with the treatment and proper diet. Sophia also wants to try Clarence’s Revlite Skin Treatment and Laser Hair Removal Treatment.

“I think the secret to staying beautiful is to love yourself. Don’t take yourself for granted. Learn and allow yourself to grow each and every day.

Stay beautiful by being the best version of yourself inside and out. Other than that, everything else will follow,” says Sophia.

Sophia wishes that people will be able to hear her music and support her in her upcoming projects.

“I just hope and pray everything will work out. By God’s grace, I will be successful, happy and content with my future self,” ends Sophia.

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com TUESDAY, JULY 25, 2017

Jillian Ita-as

CEREMONIAL TOAST.

Cignal TV President Jane Basas (center) joined by other TV executives during a recent event that unveiled Cignal's latest content

Cignal trailblazes THE RISE OF HIGH QUALITY, ORIGINAL FILIPINO SHOWS

F

ILIPINOS’ viewing habits are now changing as they have access to programs produced abroad via TV, mobile and computer.

From big US hits to binge-inducing Korean series, the exposure to more sophisticated content has evolved the Filipino’s taste for entertainment.

The challenge now for local networks and entertainment companies is to tell good stories – stories that take us to different places, that make us cry or make us laugh.

Stories that are able to touch us, move us, motivate us, or even change us; stories that are intelligent, relevant, of the highest quality, and most of all, stories that are meant for the Global Filipino.

Cignal TV is rising to this challenge by launching Cignal Entertainment -- a full entertainment brand of original content catering to Filipinos’ evolving and upgrading tastes. In a grand launch at the EDSA Shangrila Hotel, Cignal Entertainment showcased its new and exciting content.

“With the almost 1.8 million Cignal subscribers, and with 65.9 million broadband and mobile subscribers available in the SMART/PLDT group, we have taken on the challenge of bringing fresh, relevant and intelligent content to the screens of Filipinos” says Cignal TV President, Jane Basas.

Aside from creating awesome content, Basas shares that these materials will be made available through different platforms and experiences, from the smallest screens on mobile to the largest theaters, and beyond.

Several content partners shared Basas’ enthusiasm and vision for Cignal Entertainment including Content Cows

Visitors at the launch of Cignal Entertainment, a full entertainment brand that caters to local audiences

with Wilma Galvante, VIVA, Ideas First with Perci Intalan and Jun Lana, Fox’s Jude Turcuato and more.

Also spotted was APT’s Tony Tuviera.

From every video that will come from Cignal Entertainment, the audience can be sure to find stories that are intelligent, relevant and of high quality.

For its premier production, Cignal Entertainment is proud to present its first miniseries Tukhang, a crime drama that explores the social costs behind the controversial war on drugs while mining the human drama that surrounds it.

The four-part series, directed by Lawrence Fajardo, stars James Blanco and Karel Marquez whose day-today lives are spent trying to survive the unforgiving drug warzone of our nation.

This is just the first of many more awesome content that Cignal Entertainment promises to deliver. In their line-up

are shows of different genres such as Tabi Po, Advocasine 1 & 2 and the prequel of the movie Die Beautiful, Born Beautiful.

To ensure that they deliver their commitment to quality, Cignal Entertainment initially partnered with some of the most exciting story-tellers in the country Sari Sari Network, Unitel, Percy Intalan’s Idea First, Wilma Galavante’s Content Cows, and Masque Valley Productions. Simultaneously while gathering these great minds, Cignal has also opened doors encouraging and inviting the young, up-and-coming content creators, directors, producers and writers to collaborate, especially through CineFilipino.

Get ready for awesome content and watch the backto-back episode premier of Tukhang on Colours (Ch 60 SD, Ch 202 HD), Sari Sari (Ch 3 SD) and Bloomberg TV Philippines (Ch 8SD, Ch 250HD), on Cignal.

Maya Encila

REP Theater for Young Audiences stages ‘Beauty and the Beast’ PREMIER theater company REP is bringing audiences of all ages the chance to catch a retelling of timeless fairytale Beauty and the Beast from Aug. 12 to Dec. 14 at Onstage, Greenbelt 1.

REP’s staging of Beauty and the Beast is this year’s production of the REP Theater for Young Audiences, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Cara Barredo, Alana Vincente, Jill Ita-as, and Maya Encila are set to play Beauty, while Arnel Carrion, Jos Jalbuena, Hans Eckstein , and George Schultz the Beast.

Follow the enthralling tale of a loving father who wanders into an enchanted garden as he takes shelter from a storm. Having promised Beauty, the youngest of his three daughters, that he would bring her home a rose, he decides to pick one, unknowingly angering the Beast who owns the garden. As punishment, the Beast demands that Beauty live with him in his castle in exchange for her father’s freedom. Little does Beauty know that her captor is under a spell that only true love can break it.

Don’t miss this spellbinding show directed by REP’s Artistic Director and founder of REP Theater for Young Audiences Joy Virata, with book written by Peter de Valle and John Ahearn, music by Michael Valenti, and lyrics by Elsa Rael.

Seats are sure to go fast, so book yours right away. Purchase your tickets by calling REP at 843 3570 or Ticketworld at 891 9999, or log on to www.ticketworld.com.ph.

For updates and show schedules, log on to www.repertoryphilippines.ph, like and follow repertoryphilippines on Facebook and Instagram, and follow @repphils on Twitter.

LUC BESSON’S ‘VALERIAN’ is greatest visual experience since ‘Avatar’ ON THE heels of global epic adventure hits Avatar and Star Wars comes Luc Besson’s spectacular high-speed adventure film Valerian based on the acclaimed bestselling graphic-novel series Valerian and Laureline by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières, first published in 1967. Powered by the imagination of Besson, it takes audiences on an unforgettable intergalactic adventure.

Taking on the title role as Valerian is talented and acclaimed actor Dane Dehaan starring alongside modelturned-actress Cara Delevingne as Laureline.

Valerian is set in the not-so-distant future, 28th century where we see the lead characters Valerian and Laureline working together with a team of special operatives charged with maintaining order throughout the human territories.

Under assignment from the Minister of Defense (Oscar� and Grammy�-award winning composer Herbie Hancock), the two embark on a mission to the astonishing city of Alpha — an everexpanding metropolis where species from all over the universe have converged over centuries to share knowledge, intelligence and cultures with one another.

There is a mystery at the center of Alpha, a dark force that threatens the peaceful existence of the City of a Thousand Planets, and Valerian and

Billed as the most expensive independent film ever produced, "Valerian" is a science fiction film wherein drama unfolds between time and space travel

Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.

Starring alongside DeHaan and Delevingne is an accomplished troupe of performers and newcomers to the big screen led by Clive Owen, Ethan Hawke, John Goodman, Kris Wu, and Rutger Hauer.

In a stunning performance, global pop icon Rihanna (who’s also in the upcoming Ocean’s Eight) makes her debut in the fantasy film genre.

As Valerian and Laureline plot their course through this visually stunning, intergalactic space adventure, they must navigate landmines of flying car chases, shootouts with criminals of the alien underworld, narrow escapes from deadly creatures, and space battles unlike anything ever seen on the big screen.

Long before Luc Besson became one of the world’s foremost action auteurs — writing, producing and directing a string of iconic hits such as Taken, Transporter, La Femme Nikita, and Taxi— he was a

young boy transfixed by a comic-book series called Valerian and Laureline.

Constrained by the relatively primitive visual effects technology available in the 1990s, Besson knew it would be some time before he was able to create the wondrous Valerian and Laureline universe he knew the source material deserved. It would take a seismic jolt and a huge evolutionary leap forward in visual effects to enable the filmmaker to bring Valerian and Laureline to life.

After James Cameron invited Besson to the set of his space epic, Avatar, the French director made up his mind. “When Avatar arrived, it made everything seem possible. I remember thinking, ‘One day I will come back to sci-fi with these new tools, where the only limit is your imagination. That’s when I decided to make Valerian” With more than $ 200 million in production cost, Valerian poises to be Avatar-esque in terms of the visually stunning effects and vistas as entertainment news site The Wrap considers Valerian as the greatest visual experience seen since Avatar.

Valerian is in cinemas from Pioneer Films.

For more updates, check Facebook page Viewers’ Choice Philippines. Trailer link: https://www. facebook.com/ViewersChoicePH/ videos/1303356009790477/

Cara Barredo

Jos Balbuena

Alana Vicente