Manila Standard - 2017 August 09 - Wednesday

DUTERTE CALLS ON ASEAN TO WORK FOR STABILITY

ONE ASEAN. President Rodrigo Duterte (6th from right) and Foreign Secretary Alan Cayetano (to his right) and other Southeast Asian foreign ministers and their representatives pose for a group photo during the closing ceremony of the 50th Asean regional security forum in Manila Tuesday, with Sarimanok-inspired floats (left below) leading a parade celebrating the bloc’s 50th anniversary from the Luneta to the Cultural Center of the Philippines. AFP/Norman Cruz

DESPITE recent challenges confronting the region, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will prevail, President Rodrigo Duterte said Tuesday.

Duterte said the 10-nation bloc, which celebrated its 50th founding anniversary on Aug. 8, proved that their diversity “is strength rather than a weakness.”

“We proved that regionalism developed at our own pace and under our own terms and with our values can work. We are stronger, more vibrant and more robust as the Asean Community.

Today, 50 years hence—we remain firmly convinced that we will prevail against the new and emerging challenges we now face as an Asean Community,” he told diplomats at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

Duterte urged member-states to remember their responsibilities and “fully realize the dreams and aspirations” of their peoples.

“We want a region that is secure, where our peoples can live without fear from the lawless elements and the debilitating effects of corruption and transnational crimes. We want a region that is stable, where democratic institution work, where nations regard each other with Next page

VOL. XXXI • NO. 176 • 4 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

US eyes air strikes vs IS Andy won’t quit, solons Defense execs balk at offer; not part of treaty not keen to probe case By John Paolo Bencito

By Vito Barcelo, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz COMMISSION on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista said Tuesday he will not resign despite an accusation by his estranged wife that he had amassed close to P1 billion in ill-gotten wealth.

In a press briefing, Bautista said his wife Patricia’s allegations were all lies and said he would not give in to her demands.

Bautista also said his wife had allowed herself to be used “to serve the political agenda of some opportunistic people.”

“Her allegations are all lies,

and I categorically deny all of them,” Bautista said.

The poll chief accused his wife of stealing cash, gift certificates, ATM cards and other documents in November 2016, all of which belonged to him and his family.

Even though his wife consulted a lawyer before taking the items, this was a blatant violation of his right to privacy, he said.

Bautista said his wife has tried to extort money from him, and when she realized he wasn’t going to give in, she filed an affidavit “based on fabrications and lies.”

The Bautistas have been married since 2000, but have been estranged for four years. Next page

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HE United States may conduct drone strikes on Islamic State-inspired extremists in the country should a Pentagon plan be approved, an NBC News report said Tuesday.

Quoting unnamed US defense as part of collective self-defense officials, NBC News said “the could be granted as part of an ofauthority to strike ISIS targets ficial military operation that may

be named as early as Tuesday.”

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana denied the report, however, saying that “no discussions regarding airstrikes from whatever platforms hitting local targets transpired at his level.”

“Nothing of the sort. I don’t know how this news originated,” Lorenzana told Manila Standard in a text message.

If approved, the US military would be able to conduct strikes

THE Supreme Court has ruled with finality to let the strongman Ferdinand Marcos remain buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

In its en banc session, the Court affirmed its ruling in November sustaining President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to allow Marcos’ interment at the cemetery for former presidents and fallen soldiers

in August.

Voting 10-5, the Court dismissed for lack of merit the appeals by the groups of former Bayan Muna Party-List Rep. Satur Ocampo and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, who wanted the late dictator exhumed.

The Court said there was no grave abuse of discretion in President Duterte’s order in August last year allowing Marcos’ interment at the cemetery. Next page

By Francisco Tuyay and John Paolo Bencito

SECURITY CONCERNS. President Rodrigo Duterte discusses Monday security matters with members of his Cabinet, including National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza and Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea following a meeting with Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop in Malacañang. Presidential Photo

Group scores in bid to impeach Sereno Digong hits PNoy anew, taunts Poe as ‘sore loser’

THE Supreme Court on Tuesday approved the release of court records and documents requested by the groups seeking to oust Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno in their bid to boost their impeachment complaint against her before the House of Representatives.

During its en banc session, Sereno’s 14 colleagues in the high court voted unanimously to grant the request of the Volunteers

Against Crime and Corruption and the Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution Inc. for certified copies of several documents that allegedly would support their allegations against her.

Sereno inhibited from the deliberations since she is the subject of the impeachment complaint.

Among the records ordered released to the VACC and VPCI were the high court’s rejection of twitter.com/ MlaStandard

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Reds’ claim of CIA plot to kill Du30 ‘fabricated’

High court affirms ruling on FM burial at ‘Libingan’

By Rey E. Requejo

against ISIS targets in the Philippines that could be a threat to allies in the region, which would include the Philippine forces battling ISIS on the ground.

In a news briefing at the Sofitel Hotel last Monday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson noted that US was providing the Philippine government with “intelligence capabilities” in the fight against ISIS. “As you know, most of what

Sereno’s order in 2012 to reopen a regional constitutional administrative office in Cebu without the approval of the members of the Supreme Court.

The high court also granted the release of Sereno’s memorandum appointing lawyer Solomon Lumba as the head of her staff and the subsequent letter of Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio withdrawing his signature in the

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PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday again attacked former President Benigno Aquino III and Senator Grace Poe, calling his predecessor as someone “bereft of emotional stability” and taunted Poe as a “sore loser.”

In a hastily called briefing in Malacañang on Monday night, Duterte lambasted his predecessor for his alleged insensitivity after

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criticizing his bloody war on drugs, “which has yet to produce results.”

“When a person is bereft of emotional stability, he talks that way. Son of a b****,” Duterte said.

“You should be… Look at the people who died [because of drugs]—millions—and you are one of the responsible officials Next page

THE Armed Forces of the Philippines on Tuesday described as preposterous the claim by the communist National Democratic Front that the US Central Intelligence Agency is planning to kill Jose Maria Sison, the founding chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines, and to oust President Rodrigo Duterte from office.

AFP spokesman Restituto Padilla said the claim was baseless and fabricated.

“Not true at all,” Padilla said.

“This is once again a propaganda line of the left to gain sympathy and toe the anti-US line that they usually take.

Again, this is a reposterous statement.”

The NDF Executive Committee claimed to have received reports from several sources in the AFP that certain military officers working with the CIA and within the circle of AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Eduardo Año were contemplating to assassinate Sison and subsequently overthrow Duterte.

The first stage of the military plot, the NDF claimed, was to Next page

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Alan: PH deleted ‘reclamation’ year’s host country, shifting its allegiance to Beijing, and leaving Vietnam alone to assert its territorial rights in the disputed waters.

On Saturday, Asean failed to issue the customary group statement due to the disagreement about whether to make oblique or direct references to China’s rapid expansion of its defense capabilities on artificial islands in the disputed waters.

It was reported that China is “sensitive” for Asean to mention its seven reclaimed reefs in the area. However, the joint statement released on Sunday expressed a stronger position than an earlier unpublished draft.

It said that after extensive discussions, concerns were voiced by some members about land reclamation “and activities in the area which have eroded trust and confidence, increased tension and may undermine peace, security and stability.”

Meanwhile, the Philippines and the Russian Federation have decided to speed up negotiations on various bilateral agreements that would boost Manila’s ongoing campaign

against terrorism, drug trafficking and criminality.

Cayetano disclosed this following his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers Meeting at the Philippine International Convention Center on Monday.

“Minister Lavrov and I both agreed to fast-track negotiations for pending bilateral agreements, particularly on militarytechnical cooperation, illegal narcotics, and law enforcement,” Cayetano said.

He also expressed Manila’s appreciation for Moscow’s support and its offer of assistance to improve the capabilities of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police in dealing with the threat posed by Islamic State-affiliated terrorist groups operating in Mindanao.

“Russia’s offer to assist is of vital importance to the Philippines, especially given its great expertise, vast experience and modern equipment in dealing with terrorism and other security concerns,” Cayetano said.

During their meeting, Cayetano said Lavrov requested him to convey to President Rodrigo Duterte Moscow’s “solidarity with his efforts to eliminate any extremist threat to your country and our appreciation for your solidarity with Russia’s fight against terrorism.”

“We believe terrorism is something that must unite all of us,” Cayetano quoted Lavrov as saying, after he was told about ongoing efforts to prevent the Islamic extremist threat from spreading to the rest of the Philippines.

Cayetano said he thanked Minister Lavrov for the offer of the Russian Ministry for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters to send a cargo aircraft carrying relief assistance for displaced families in Marawi.

Cayetano said Manila intends to continue pursuing what he described as the “irreversible momentum” in Philippine-Russia relations resulting from the independent foreign policy being implemented by the Duterte administration.

Andy...

gate Bautista in the same way it did with then Vice President Jejomar Binay.

“The Senate investigated Binay.... What if after investigation by the Senate, he [Bautista] is able to prove that he did no wrongdoing? Or no impeachment case is filed?” Escudero said.

But the House also seemed to shy away from investigating the Bautista case.

House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas said calls for a congressional probe were pointless because the proper venue to investigate Bautista is through impeachment.

“The House probes or investigates impeachable officials through the process of impeachment. Any other proceeding would result in redundancy, as any finding thereof would only be recommenda-

tory,” Fariñas said.

“If it finds sufficient ground to proceed against such an official, it would resort to impeachment proceedings,” he added.

A women’s party-list lawmaker said Tuesday that the marital problems of the Bautistas were less important than the Comelec’s integrity, given the revelations of his unexplained wealth.

“It is the unexplained wealth and not the status of his marital relations that Comelec Commissioner Andres Bautista should be explaining and made accountable for by the public,” Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas said.

“We are increasingly becoming wary that this issue will be reduced to a spat between spouses when it is in fact the integrity of the country’s poll body that is in fact at stake,” she added.

of—as a matter of fact, the highest [during your term] but nothing happened.”

Duterte likewise slammed Poe for telling the President to watch his mouth.

“My mouth since then was bad and even my character… but where are you now? You landed in fourth spot. Whose at number one? Me,” Duterte said.

“The one who’s cursing, blurting all of that son of a b****.

What do you want? Why did you lose [the election?].”

Poe, who ran for President but lost to Duterte, finished at third spot behind former Interior secretary Manuel Roxas II but still ahead of former vice president Jejomar Binay and the late senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago.

Contrary to some reports [not in this newspaper], and Duterte’s own words, Poe said she merely wanted to remind the President as she was confident that “he knows what is right and wrong.”

“That has been his style. But

of of course, as a public figure being heard by children, you might be emulated. Do we agree to that?” Poe said.

Duterte’s attacks didn’t stop even after he called Poe a loser, chiding her for being too reliant on her adoptive father’s surname and also accusing her of being a drunkard and a chain smoker.

“If the Filipino wants the prim and proper [President] without the cursing, why did you lose? You have all the money, you had the aura of… [but] your only capital is you’re father’s surname,” Duterte said of Poe. John Paolo Bencito

ing the appointment of a Philippine Judicial Academy official and the provision for the travel allowances of her staff.

The tribunal stressed that such memorandum could not be released pending a resolution from the Court.

De Castro’s internal memorandum assailed the appointment of Brenda Jay Mendoza as Philja chief of office for the Philippine Mediation Center, which she said violated their Ad-

ministrative Order 33-2008 that required the appointment for the post to be approved by the Supreme Court collegially.

She also assailed Sereno’s grant of a foreign travel allowance to the members of her staff without the approval of the full court.

She said Sereno’s staff members were being given travel allowances even when their trips abroad were on “official time,” which should not involve the ex-

penditure of public funds.

Lastly, De Castro questioned the “long delay” in the appointment to the vacant key positions in the high court pending before Sereno’s office, “which is prejudicial to the best interest of service.”

The VACC and VPCI asked the high court to provide them with copies of the documents after they filed the impeachment complaint last week, but no lawmaker came forward to endorse it.

An impeachment complaint

needs to get the endorsement of a sitting congressman before it can be referred to the House committee on justice for a hearing.

In their complaint, the groups accused Sereno of violating the Constitution by issuing an administrative order creating the new Judiciary Decentralized Office and reopening the Regional Administration Office in Western Visayas in the absence of an authority from the high court.

Rey E. Requejo

Bernabe, Samuel Martires, Noel Tijam and Andres Reyes Jr. Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and Associate Justices Marvic Leonen, Francis Jardeleza and Benjamin Caguioa dissented from the majority decision.

The Court ruled that Marcos possessed the qualifications to be interred at the Libingan as a “former president and commander-in-chief, a legislator, a secretary of national defense, a militaryman, a veteran and a Medal of Valor awardee.”

It said the late strongman could not be disqualified from such privilege because of his ouster during the People Power Revolution, explaining that disqualification for dishonorable separation only applies to military personnel prosecuted before

a court martial.

The Court rejected the argument of petitioners that Marcos was ineligible for burial at the heroes’ cemetery because when the totality of Marcos as a man is weighed in the balance, whatever achievements he has done for the country are completely nullified by his sins against the nation.

The Court also pointed out that Duterte is not bound by the 1992 agreement between the Marcos family and former President Fidel Ramos, which provides that the Marcos remains will be interred in Batac, Ilocos Norte.

Lastly, the Court pointed out that it is not rewriting the nation’s history in allowing Marcos’ burial as the Office of the Solicitor Ggeneral itself had clarified in the oral arguments that the interment at the cemetery would not make

Marcos a hero.

The burial of Marcos on Nov. 18 last year came 23 years after Marcos’ remains returned to the country from Hawaii where he died in exile in 1989 after the historic Edsa People Power revolution in 1986 that toppled him from power.

The Palace welcomed the Court decision.

“We acknowledge the decision of the Supreme Court as the final arbiter of all legal questions,” Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said.

“We hope the matter on [Ferdinand Marcos’ burial at the] Libingan ng Mga Bayani will finally be laid to rest, and that the country will move forward as one united nation working for a comfortable life for all, law and order, and lasting peace,” he added.

With John Paolo Bencito

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

T

HE Philippines, China’s new ally in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, was the one that removed the word “reclamation” from the joint communique issued by the regional body on the issue of conflicting claims in the South China Sea or West Philippine Sea. Stressing that he does not want to “shame” China, as Asean’s dialogue partner, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said he disregarded the issue on reclamation in the joint communique because China has allegedly “stopped” building structures in the vital waterway, and has allowed the Filipino fishermen to fish in its own sea within the 200 nautical miles of its exclusive economic zone.

“I did not want to include it.

It was not reflective of the situation. They’re not reclaiming land anymore, there are reclamations in the past and have not started reclaiming again, and there is a general statement

[from the Chinese], so I accepted it,” Cayetano said.

The majority of the 10-member regional bloc decided not to include “reclamation” in the joint statement as well, the secretary added.

“We cannot compromise freedom of navigation, overflight and international law. I had a hand on what to put there, so I told my staff it does not matter what to put or not to put in the zero draft. What is important is what the majority wants, in fact it’s more than [what the] majority [wants],” Cayetano said.

The issue of the South China Sea has long been the most divisive issue for the 10-member bloc, with the Philippines, this

Duterte...

Trump withdrew from the TransPacific Partnership which he described as a “job killer.”

The move delivered a hammer blow to the 11 other nations who spent seven years negotiating what was billed as the world’s largest trade deal.

During a speech celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Asean in Manila, Duterte gave his backing to a planned trade pact backed by China known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

“Asean has a bigger stake than any part of the world in standing up against protectionism and securing the rules of the game in the international trade,” he told delegates.

RCEP, he said, “will provide further impetus to our efforts,” adding he hoped negotiations on the Beijing-led deal “should conclude swiftly”.

He then added a jab over TPP’s collapse. “[I’m] reminded that the Transpacific, it was a dream, is no longer there,” he said.

Before Trump’s withdrawal, TPP would have covered 40 percent of the global economy.

It went further than most existing free trade pacts, with labor laws, environmental protections and intellectual property rights touted by backers as a new gold standard for global trade.

The deal, which excluded China, was also seen as a way to counter Beijing’s regional economic dominance. John Paolo Bencito, with AFP

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mutual respect and understanding where rule of law reigns supreme in the relations between states,” the President said.

With a combined current gross domestic product of about $2.6 trillion, Asean, founded on Aug. 8, 1967, is the world’s sixth largest economy and Asia’s third largest.

“The Philippines will continue to work closely with all stakeholders in the Asean to achieve what we set out: An Asean that is proactive, relevant and transformative,” he said.

“Today marks a genuine milestone [for] our region and our peoples: 50 years of Asean gives us reason to celebrate. Fifty years of Asean shows us there is a bright future to look forward to and to work for,” he added.

Also on Tuesday, a Landmark Lighting ceremony was held simultaneously with Asean member states participating in the occasion, along with 74 local government units across the Philippines.

In his speech, Duterte also took a swipe at the Trump administration’s retreat from a major free trade deal, joining Asian nations at a forum this week in criticizing rising protectionism.

Until recently China and the United States were both pushing sweeping free trade deals that excluded each other.

But shortly after taking office in January, US President Donald

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appointment over an internal issue.

However, the high court denied the groups’ request to release the memorandum of Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro questioning Sereno’s orders that lacked the approval of the whole Court as provided under the rules, includ-

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It also noted that the Constitution gave the President the prerogative to issue such an order.

The tribunal also dismissed the plea of Ocampo’s group asking the Court to cite Marcos heirs, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Department of National Defense for contempt for proceeding with the burial in November even as though the Court ruling was not yet final.

The 10 magistrates who voted to dismiss the motions for reconsideration were Associate Justices Presbitero Velasco Jr., Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Mariano Del Castillo, Jose Mendoza, Estela Perlas-

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Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, said he had his misgivings about opening an investigation on the case because this might become redundant if an impeachment complaint is filed against Bautista.

“So it is the House that should be investigating Bautista, and if they decide to impeach him, impeach him,” Gordon added.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon earlier expressed the same reservations because if the House files an impeachment complaint, the senators must sit as judges.

But Senator Francis Escudero said he believed the Blue Ribbon committee can investi-

Digong...

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Reds’...

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send a hit squad to The Netherlands to liquidate Sison.

“There is a high probability that the hit team for assassinating Sison is already operational,” the NDF said.

The group said the assassination plot against Sison had the verbal approval of Duterte and Gen. Año before or after the proclamation of martial law nationwide.

The rationale of the assassination was to demoralize the revolutionary forces and possibly sow confusion and pandemonium among them, the NDF said.

“The head and members of the hit team are made to appear as entirely renegades or dropouts from the New Peo-

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we’re providing them is information, some surveillance capabilities with some recent transfers of a couple of Cessnas and a couple of UAVs to allow them to have better information in which to conduct the fight down there,” he said.

“We’re providing them some training and some guidance in terms of how to deal with an enemy that fights in ways that is not like most people have ever had to deal with,” he added.

“Bringing our knowledge of having dealt with this enemy in other parts of the world is useful to them, and I think that is also in our national security interest as well.”

In a separate statement, Lorenzana said a US-led drone strike “is not within the provisions of the Mutual Defense Treaty.”

“The DND denies any discussions regarding the use of US drones to strike against Daesh-inspired terrorist groups in the Philippines. The AFP also states that no such discussions have occurred at their level,” he said.

“Direct military actions are only allowed during actual foreign invasion by another state actor. Hence, such [a] proposition has to undergo a process and an agreement must be reached that should have the approval of both the highest officials of our nation,” he added.

Although Philippine-US security relations and counter terrorism efforts are robust, US assistance has been “limited to technical assistance, sharing of information and training,” Lorenzana said.

A militant group, however, slammed proposals for US-led airstrikes in the country.

“There can be no justification for allowing a foreign superpower with the world’s worst rights record to be conducting airstrikes on Philippine soil,” Bagong Alyansang Makabayan secretary-general Renato Reyes said.

“The airstrikes will violate our national sovereignty and will run counter to the constitutional ban on foreign troops participating in combat operations in the Philippines,” he added.

Armed Forces chief Gen. Eduardo Año said the military has “yet to receive any formal notice or offer for such air capability deployment.”

“The existing Mutual Defense Treaty provides that only technical assistance and training may be allowed under the Mutual Defense Board-Security Engagement Board [MDBSEB],” Año said.

“Direct military actions may only be allowed during actual invasion of the Philippines by another state actor,” he added.

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said the matter had not been discussed by both countries.

Año expressed appreciation for the US’ “reported desire” to help the Philippines end the lingering crisis in Marawi, but said such a plan must undergo a process, and the commandersin-chief of both countries must come to an agreement. ple’s Army even as they are handpicked mainly from the special forces of the AFP and secondarily from the former Alex Boncayao Brigade,” the NDF said.

Sison said he was taking precautions.

“That is how much I believe in it,” Sison said.

“The sources are reliable and have been reporting for some weeks already. Best antidote by the NDFP to the plot is to expose it. Of course, I believe in the statement,” Sison said.

The second stage of the plot, the NDF claimed, was a military coup against Duterte for having collaborated with the communists and the New People’s Army for decades, betraying the alliance with the US and veering towards China and Russia.

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Lacson suspects PDAF in budget

By Macon Araneta

SIN TAX. A coalition of hundreds of health care professionals and civil society organizations gather at a news conference in Quezon City Tuesday, urging the Senate to include cigarette taxes in deliberations on the comprehensive tax reform package. Manny Palmero

Newsmen 3rd, 4th slain since June 30 TWO journalists have been shot dead in two days in separate incidents in the Philippines, reinforcing the country’s image as one of the world’s most dangerous for media workers, a newsman said Monday.

Broadcaster Rudy Alicaway and columnist Leo Diaz were the third and fourth journalists to be killed since President Rodrigo Duterte, a vocal critic of the press, took office last year, said Dabet Panelo, secretary-general of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines.

In both cases, the victims were riding motorcycles when gunmen on another motorcycle came up behind and shot them dead.

Diaz, 60, a correspondent of Manila tabloid Balita (News) and a columnist for a community newspaper, was killed in the southern town of President Quirino on Monday, said Fort Yerro, a Balita consultant.

Diaz, a former policeman, had covered stories on political corruption, illegal gambling and drugs, said Yerro, but added he did not know of any threats against him.

Alicaway, 47, who hosted a weekly community affairs show on DXPB radio station, was killed in the town of Molave on Sunday, a police report said.

Rocel Navarro, manager of the government-run station where the victim’s show aired, said he had not covered controversial issues.

“We are asking ourselves why this happened to him. He had no enemies as a broadcaster,” Navarro told AFP. Both killings took place on the southern island of Mindanao, where Islamic militants, communist guerrillas and political warlords are active.

“This again highlights the culture of impunity, in the attacks against and killings of Filipino journalists that have remained unabated despite an international outcry,” the NUJP said.

Last week, Michael Marasigan, a former newspaper editor, was shot dead in a Manila suburb.

A study by the International Federation of Journalists said last year that 146 journalists were killed between 1990 and 2015, making the Philippines the second most dangerous country for the media after Iraq.

Duterte, who took office last year, has lashed out at journalists over critical coverage of his anti-drug war that has claimed thousands of lives.

Shortly before taking office, Duterte made comments widely interpreted as justifying the murder of some journalists. AFP

Du30 clueless on source of funds for free tuition

By John Paolo Bencito, Macon Araneta and Rio Araja

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RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte remains clueless on where to source out funding requirements for his new law granting free tuition in state-run universities, colleges, and technical-vocational schools—leaving Congress to decide on how to appropriate budgets to fund such endeavor.

In his hastily called news conference at Malacañang, Duterte on Monday night admitted signing Republic Act 10931 or the “Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act,” even if he had yet to see a funding source for such endeavor.

“I don’t know, Congress approved the measure and they know we do not have the money,” he said in Filipino.

Earlier, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno warned that the population of students en-

rolled in state schools should no longer increase or the government would have a problem on how to fund the new law, effective by first quarter of 2018.

“My immediate concerns are those enrolled in the 114 SUCs. There should be no expansion in student population,” Diokno said, without further clarifying his pronouncements.

But the Budget chief said the exact estimates on how much would the government spend for the “mandatory” provisions of

the law would be finalized once the implementing rules and regulations had been crafted.

Meanwhile, the University of the Philippines System announced its immediate implementation of a no-tuition policy this school year.

UP president Danilo Concepcion, on Aug. 7, issued Memorandum No. PDLC 17-21B to all chancellors, registrars, students affairs units, deans and directors of academic units, and cash and accounting officers, instructing them to comply with the “recently promulgated Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act or Republic Act No. 10931 pending promulgation of its implementing rules and regulations.”

“While the new law will not take effect until next year, the memorandum implements the spirit of Sections 4 and 6 of RA 10931, which provides for the coverage as well as exceptions to the non-collection of tuition and other school fees,” the university said.

“No tuition and other school

Alvarez wants zero budget for CHR

By Maricel V. Cruz THE Commission on Human Rights’ persistent criticism against the Duterte administration’s war on drugs has prompted Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to quip the Commission should have a zero budget for next year.

“If you ask me, their budget should be zero if that’s their performance,” Alvarez said at the sidelines of the budget deliberations of the commission conducted by the House of Representatives’ committee on appropriations, chaired by Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier threatened to abolish CHR as he stood by the police and the military amid allegations of human rights violations.

At the same time, Alvarez chided CHR chairperson Chito Gascon for supposedly upholding the human rights of criminals instead of the victims.

“I do not see any reason for this government to fund your commission’s operations. You opt to protect and uphold the rights of criminals rather than the victims,” Alvarez said during the budget hearing.

Alvarez said the CHR did not deserve any budget from the government for always being critical on its policies, particularly its war on drugs.

“Who gives you the salary. Isn’t it the state, and yet you always criticize your government,” Alvarez said, adding “the problem with you is that you protect the rights of the criminals and not the victims.”

NEW VESSELS. Two vessels from Japan Multi-Role Response Vessels Capones and Suluan dock at the headquarters of the Philippine Coast Guard in Manila while waiting to be commissioned to active service by the PCG, which aims to use these as floating assets in Mindanao to fight terrorism. Norman Cruz

fees shall be collected from Filipino undergraduate students, except from students who have already attained a bachelor’s degree or comparable undergraduate degree from any higher education institution whether from public or private students who fail to comply with the admission and retention policies of the University, students who fail to complete their bachelor’s degree or comparable undergraduate degree within a year after the period prescribed in their program [Section 6, RA 10931],” the document read.

Despite such conditions, the exempted students may apply for financial assistance or discount.

Graduate students are not covered by the guidelines, but may apply for scholarship.

On the other hand, law and medicine proper students are also not qualified for tuition and other fees subsidy under RA 10931, but may avail themselves of financial assistance or discount from the UP’s socialized tuition system.

SENATOR Panfilo Lacson has raised several questions to bolster his suspicions about the presence of the Priority Development Assistance Funds or the so-called pork barrel in the 2018 budget.

“That’s what the Department of Budget and Management and the House appropriations committee always say before, during and after our budget deliberations,” said Lacson, when asked if he believed the assertions of the DBM and House leaders that there was no pork in next year’s capital outlay.

Lacson, who never received a single centavo from his pork barrel since he became a senator, demanded an explanation on the huge lump sums in several government agencies like the Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Education and Department of Agriculture, among others.

He also asked why legislators in both houses of Congress were being asked to submit lists of their projects just before the period of amendments of the appropriations bill or even before that.

He also cited the billboards in some jurisdictions/districts where some congressmen boldly claim that ongoing projects were theirs.

“How would they account or explain the P8.3 billion that they discovered and realigned to fund the free tuition of students in state universities and colleges in the 2017 General Appropriations Act?” he asked.

The senator earlier said the Senate last year excised some P8.3 billion in pork barrel allocations tucked in the budget of the DPWH to fund the free tuition in SUCs this year.

“Let’s be honest to our people and to ourselves,” he said, after calling on his fellow lawmakers to give up their pork barrel in the proposed 2018 budget so that the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act or the free college education law could be funded.

But Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno has maintained there are no pork barrel allocations in the proposed P3.767trillion national budget for 2018.

House to declare Nov. 8 Yolanda Day THE House of Representatives’ committee on revision of laws on Tuesday endorsed for plenary consideration a bill declaring Nov. 8 of every year as “Yolanda Commemoration Day” in Eastern Visayas to honor those who died during the typhoon that destroyed Tacloban City and other parts of Eastern Visayas in 2013.

Pangasinan Rep. Marilyn Primicias-Agabas, the panel chairperson, approved House Bill 4383 or the “Yolanda Commemoration Day” filed

by Leyte Rep. Yedda Marie Kittilstvedt-Romualdez to remember the Yolanda victims, and declare a special nonworking public holiday in Eastern Visayas.

The bill recognizes the help of volunteers during the onslaught of the super storm almost four years.

During the hearing, Abang Lingkod party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano moved for the approval of the bill that was seconded by ABS partylist Rep. Eugene de Vera after Northern Samar Rep. Raul Daza asked Romualdez to coauthor her measure.

Later, all lawmakers who were present in the hearing which included Yacap partylist Rep. Benhur Lopez Jr., An Waray party-list Rep. Victoria Isabel Noel, Zamboanga Sibugay party-list Rep. Wilter Wee Palma II, Pasig City Rep.

Richard Eusebio, and others joined Daza as co-authors of the measure.

“I thank my colleagues for their overwhelming support on my proposal,” Romualdez, vice chairperson of the House committee on government enterprises and privatization, told lawmakers.

In defending her measure, Romualdez told the committee the bill was a “fitting tribute to the memory of all who died in the disaster and to salute the selflessness of all volunteers and organizations who took part and contributed in the recovery and rehabilitation efforts of the communities affected by the typhoon.”

“Finally, November when we celebrate—not the tragedy—but the strength and resilience of our people, of our phenomenal capacity to survive that could prove to be an inspiration to our fellow Filipinos, many of which lie amidst adversities caused by disasters and conflict. In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought,” said Romualdez.

HB 4383 states the holiday covers the highly urbanized City of Tacloban and the provinces of Leyte, Biliran, Southern Leyte, Northern Samar, Western Samar, and Ormoc City in Eastern Samar or Region 8. Maricel V. Cruz

A4

Opinion

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

F

Adelle Chua, Editor

First, Bautista must resign

IRST, before anything else, Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista must resign. Common decency demands it.

Regardless of how we learned it, we now know that the elections commissioner had much more money than he declared in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth . In 2016, he declared a net worth of P176.3 million, with real properties totaling P158.5 million and personal property worth 83.3 million as against liabilities of P65.5 million.

But his estranged wife—with many of his bank books and documents in her

possession—this week said Bautista did not include several bank accounts and condominium units in his SALN, and that he had amassed hundreds of millions of pesos in ill-gotten wealth.

Bautista has sought to discredit his wife, saying she tried to extort money from him, that she threatened him with dire consequences if he did not agree to her terms, that she made up the allegations against him, that she was being used for political reasons, and that she had taken a lover.

Even assuming that all this were true, none of it would change the fact the tale told by the bank books that have now been turned over to the National Bureau of Investigation. From those documents alone, we can see that Bau-

tista had lied about his wealth in his SALN—an offense that was used by the previous administration to impeach and ultimately oust and destroy a chief justice of the Supreme Court. It doesn’t matter now that Bautista claims that some of the money was not his, and merely put under his name by family members who asked him to manage their nest egg. If the accounts were in his name, he should have declared them.

This doesn’t even begin to address the other issue that will hound Bautista.

How did he amass the kind of wealth that his estranged wife revealed? Did he compromise the integrity of the 2016 elections, for example, as some parties have suggested? Why were most of his

transactions just under the amount that would have invited the unwanted attention of the Anti-Money Laundering Council?

Given Bautista’s tarnished record at the Comelec—by his negligence, he allowed the biggest data beach in Philippine history that left millions of registered voters at risk—even the whiff of further wrongdoing would be reason enough for the chairman to go. The stench left by his wife’s revelations makes it imperative for Bautista to step down as Comelec chairman.

If Bautista is too thick to leave on his own, Congress must show him the door by initiating impeachment proceedings against him. He no longer deserves our trust.

VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ

Andy Bautista’s purgatory

know about the other senators, but Drilon will only be impartial, as the idiom goes, when pigs fly. *** My own suspicion is that Drilon has a huge motive for not investigating Bautista on charges leveled by his own wife that he amassed billions as head of the government agency that oversaw the conduct of the 2016 elections.

If you will recall, Drilon pulled an incredible upset in the last senatorial race, handily beating even such great votegetters as Vicente “Tito” Sotto (who was backed by the phenomenal AlDub Nation of star-struck fans) and Manny Pacquiao.

Ultimately, Drilon even beat President Rodrigo Duterte himself, garnering 18.6 million votes to Duterte’s 16 million.

A FRIEND asked me recently what I advice I could give him if he joined government. I said, whatever are your claimed assets in your proposed SALN (Statement of Assets and Liabilities) are, double the amount.

Even if my friend, Andy Bautista, the chairman of the Commission on Elections, had heeded that advice, it would not have served him well.

Andy, an Ateneo-educated lawyer who claims to be a bar topnotcher, declared a networth of just P176.3 million in his 2016 SALN. Per his estranged wife, Patricia, 47, Andy has assets of anywhere from P1 billion to P1.3 billion.

In a court of law, and in the court of public opinion, Patricia is a very credible witness.

She has the crucial pieces of evidence—bank passbooks (32 in just one bank with total deposits of P300 million and with transactions of less than P500,000 each, the money laundering threshold); records of investments here and abroad, titles to condos and other properties, and even a “commission sheet” from the Divina Law office that is linked to Smartmatic, the Venezuelan company that provided the software and the counting machines and managed the Automated Election Sytems for the 2016 presidential elections.

The implication, and there is no proof of this yet, is that Andy Bautista cried all the way to the bank/s before and after the 2016 elections.

According to Glenn Chong, a former congressman from Biliran, Leyte and who has documented how the May 2016 election was stolen, four things were wrong with the Automated Election System: One, Comelec violated the law; two, Smartmatic tampered with the system; three, Smartmatic monopolized all the contracts; and four, the entire system was not secure.

The law (RA 9369) required the review and certification of the source code. The entire election results transmission system, including all the servers, switches, routers, and other computers were not subject to source code review.

The Transparency Server and Central Server were not

Turn to A5

Turn to A5

When pigs fly LOWDOWN

JOJO A. ROBLES ON THE surface, Senator Franklin Drilon appears to be the voice of reason amid the various calls for a congressional investigation of embattled Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista on ill-gotten wealth charges. But that’s only on the surface.

Drilon, apparently full of legal gravitas, has pointed out that Bautista is an impeachable official who may come before the Senate in a trial, if the House of Representatives impeaches him. The implication being that the impartiality of the senator-judges may be compromised, if they do the investigating before becoming

the magistrates who will decide Bautista’s eventual fate.

This is hogwash, if you’ll pardon the word. And Drilon’s own famous role in the last impeachment case that went before the Senate—that of the late Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2012—proves that the senator is just up to his old tricks of misdirection.

I think many people still remember just how “impartial” a senator-judge Drilon was during the Corona impeachment trial. In fact, I’m willing to bet that there are those who still recall how Drilon stood up in the Senate to denounce Corona for his various alleged offenses, even before the House received the articles of impeachment against the chief justice.

If the Corona impeachment was the Balangiga Massacre, Drilon’s speech was the ringing of the bells that signaled

the start of the attack. Right after the senator’s speech, the articles were filed, the House —by a huge majority of 188— impeached Corona and by January 2012, the trial in the Senate began.

Several times during the trial, which ended with Corona’s conviction and removal from office in May, Drilon was accused of acting like a prosecutor in the case— by the defense, by some of his colleagues and even by ordinary observers like former Senator Francisco Tatad. Tatad, during a break in one hearing, even had a memorable verbal altercation with Drilon over the latter’s unseemly prosecutorial actuations.

There were several calls for Drilon to inhibit himself during the course of the Corona trial, but he brushed them all aside.

And later, thanks to Jinggoy

Estrada, another senator-judge who exposed the Disbursement Acceleration Program that was used in part to pay back senators for convicting Corona, we understood why.

Soon after the Corona conviction, Estrada was arrested for allegedly misusing his pork barrel fund. He then exposed the DAP scandal and how practically the entire Senate was bribed the mastermind of the whole show, then President Noynoy Aquino, to do it; Drilon, apart from getting a big chunk of the DAP funds as his own reward, was also gifted by Aquino with the Senate presidency.

Now Drilon has the temerity to proclaim that the Senate is an impartial body and should not be influenced in the Bautista case by prejudging it through a blue ribbon committee investigation? I don’t really

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Opinion

NO DOUBT about it, the alleged P1-billion ill-gotten wealth of Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista, exposed by his estranged wife, is not just a domestic issue. It is a political issue with far-reaching consequences.

While Andy Bautista’s wife Patricia, daughter of a wellknown socialite, much be investigated, it is too early to make conclusions about the allegations against the Comelec chief. But what does this tell us about the integrity of the 2016 elections? We know that there are corrupt officials in the election body; they manipulate election results for a fee.

Personally, I was shocked at Patricia’s revelations. I have always seen Bautista as a professional government official, like what he was when he was still with the Presidential Commission on Good Government.

I praised his appointment to the Comelec since he showed honesty and integrity at the PCGG. But these allegations of illgotten wealth are disturbing.

Where did Bautista amass that kind of money—through commissions?

Manipulation of the polls by the very people who are supposed to safeguard its integrity is a serious matter. The fact that former Senator Bongbong Marcos, a vice presidential candidate, has alleged that there was cheating in the polls makes us suspicious.

There are also allegations that the Liberal Party and some cohorts of former President Benigno Aquino III were able to manipulate the results making Mar Roxas overtake Grace Poe in the final results. Rodrigo Duterte’s lead over Roxas was much too wide to overcome but the difference between Marcos and Leni Robredo, the LP’s vice presidential bet, was slim enough.

While the husband-and-wife issue may be fodder for newspapers and voyeurs, we should not forget that there are bigger things that are involved. *** The recent 10-man summit of Asean nations brings to fore the question—who won and who lost?

No doubt about it, the joint communique of Asean was tepid to say the least. It was an obvious attempt to placate China which has all but claimed the entire China Sea as its own despite the fact that the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan have conflicting claims.

The Philippines as host and other Asean countries tried to push for a maritime Code of Conduct at the South China Sea, but China would have none that would be binding. A non-binding Code of Conduct was better than none.

Only the United States, Aus-

tralia and Japan dared denounce Beijing’s island-building and militarization of the South China Sea. China’s known allies like Cambodia and Laos all stood behind China’s claim to the entire South China Sea. The Philippines? It all but dropped the ball on its West Philippine Sea claim even as the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands ruled in its favor.

The Philippines got a rebuke for the first time from its trading allies, the US, Australia and Japan for not pressing its legal victory against China.

In a joint statement last Monday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Kono expressed serious concerns over reclamation and militarization. They called on the Philippines and China to abide by the ruling of the PCA. *** Why are there basketball and volleyball players who act as consultants at the Bureau of Customs? This shows Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon’s lack of regard for public funds.

Santa Banana, Faeldon gives each of them P50,000 monthly— and for what?

Don’t tell me it’s intelligence work.

They do not have to show up for work like other employees do—their records are done by somebody else. This is clear malversation of public funds! *** Budget and Management Secretary Benjamin Diokno claims that the 2018 National Appropriations Act is “pork barrel-free.” He said the same thing for the 2017 national budget. But why do some congressmen and senator claim they got theirs?

According to Senator Panfilo Lacson who gave up his pork barrel several years ago, some congressmen said they got theirs and it ranged between P5 billion and P6 billion.

So whom do we believe— Lacson or Diokno? *** When I go to the mall with my wife and daughter, I see salesladies in high heels. I ask them if they can stand working eight hours a day wearing those.

They say they are required to do that by management.

Isn’t this dangerous to their health? *** I cannot end this column without extending my deepest condolences to the widow and children of Roy Sinfuego, former Manila Bulletin reporter and columnist. He was a regular at the 365 Club.

Another journalist who died recently was Roy Acosta, who used to be with Manila Standard. He was also my good friend.

Both Roys will be missed.

This is about the integrity of the 2016 elections.

When...

From A4 And Duterte was adjudged a runaway winner, winning by one of the most convincing margins in Philippine electoral history.

Bautista, of course, has been accused by his wife Patricia of

being in bed with Comelec’s Venezuelan election automation provider, Smartmatic, whom he referred to the Divina Law firm as a client. Patricia, the overnight political celebrity, accused Bautista of amassing billions in funds that were not declared in the election boss’ mandatory Statement

A5

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The case of the Comelec chief

TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

A far-reaching case

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017

BACK CHANNEL ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO THE case filed by the wife of Commission on Elections chairman Andres Bautista should not be dismissed as nothing more than a domestic dispute. It raises questions on when and how Bautista amassed P1 billion in his brief stint as Comelec chief. If the source of Bautista’s wealth is spurious, then we have a more serious case on the integrity of elections held under his watch including the national and local elections of 2016.

In documents she obtained from their conjugal home, Mrs. Bautista revealed her husband had several bank accounts here and abroad, a condominium unit in Bonifacio Global City and another condo in San Francisco, USA. Owning real estate property abroad is not against the law. For sure, many of our public officials and legislators have a place stashed away somewhere outside the Philippines. But these assets, bank accounts and

real estate property must be declared in their Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) as required of public officials.

Not declaring his true SALN was what got the late former Chief Justice Renato Corona.

After his impeachment, the state filed tax evasion case against Corona and he died a broken man.

Bautista, in a press conference he called to air his side, claimed his estranged wife who has taken on a lover wants to extort P369 million from him in exchange for her not going public with her allegations. He also claimed that some of the money and real estate property in documents taken

by Patricia really belong to other members of his family.

But things Bautisa said in a press conference is not binding as when he testifies under oath in a Senate or Housing hearing to be called. Under oath in a congressional investigation, he is liable for perjury if he is proven lying.

With some of the sordid details of this bitter marital breakup already out in the open, those with a vicarious

streak can’t wait to hear more of the salacious, seamy side of other people’s lives. An attractive woman with three children, the curious crowd salivating for a scandal would no doubt like to see who Mrs. Bautista’s lover is. This is like a de ja vu of Senator Leila de Lima’s dalliance with her driver bodyguard Ronnie Dayan.

Whether Bautista will go the way of Corona or his wife Patricia suffer the same fate as De Lima remains to be seen in the ensuing events of a public hearing.

Bautista said he is willing to resign from his post if the President tells him to. A resignation, however, does not expunge criminal liability. With the cloak of immunity from prosecution which Bautista enjoys as Comelec chief, criminal cases can then be filed against him if he steps down depending on the documents Mrs. Bautista submitted to the National Bureau of Investigation and to President Duterte.

President Duterte said he’s not going to take a direct hand in Bautista’s case since the documents have already been filed

with the NBI which will determine whether there is basis for criminal prosecution. Recall that Bautista’s predecessor Sixto Brillantes Jr. was also awash with rumors of alleged payoff from Smartmatic, the provider of the vote counting machines used in two past elections. But nothing came of it because no one filed a case against Brillantes after he retired.

I for one, would like to see the case against Bautista prosper because it would unravel the truth as to whether the integrity of our electoral process has been compromised by those in charge of overseeing it.

If Bautista comes through unscathed in a Senate or House hearing, well and good. It would at least assure the citizenry that our elections process is in good hands. If not, by all means prosecute and punish these erring officials.

There has been a clamor for wide-ranging election reforms.

The investigation of Comelec chief Andy Bautista is a good place to start. If we cannot trust the man at the top of this sensitive poll body, whom can we trust?

Sad SO I SEE LITO BANAYO IT’S the beginning of August.

The temperature here in Taipei is 38 degrees Celsius, but at noon and early afternoon, with low humidity, it feels like 42 degrees.

But with all the news filtering in from the beloved country, it seems like a gray November.

Sad. A not-too-close friend is seeing his whole world tumbling down. And it looks like this is going to be a “striptease” of “revelations,” whether true or concocted, by the protagonists and/or their lawyers, where ultimately the victims are the offspring. Sad. I was a guest in their wedding almost two decades ago. The groom had worked with a dearly departed friend, the Chief Justice of the realm no less, after being class valedictorian in the school of the country’s most elite.

It was a lovely wedding, and the bride was much too lovely.

The crème de la crème was present, the mother of the bride being a glamorous socialite in the

Andy...

From A4 subjected to source code review.

This explains the “enye” mystery in the names of Señeres, Osmeña and Napeñas (which the computer reflected as Se?enres, Osme?na, and Nape?nas, respectively) which gave an excuse to that foreigner to reprogram or access, by remote control, the computers (the Queue Server) on the night of Election Day, May 9, 2016.

The Queue Server acted like a funnel whereby all transmitted results from all 92,509 vote counting machines were made to pass through before being transmitted to the central canvassing system. The Justice department thinks this is a case of cybercrime under RA 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act).

It was the time when Vice Presidential Candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who was leading by a million votes over Leni Robredo in the early to late evening count, suddenly lost to the latter by early morning after

of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth or even to her, as the estranged spouse.

To be fair, the accusations of massive fraud that marred the last elections were not limited to the Senate race, which saw several survey frontrunners losing and some unusual and unexpected names gar-

jewelry business. The reception was just a few meters away from the groom’s alma mater; not too long ago an electric power plant which would in a few years become the fabulous Rockwell.

We were together in the campaign of 1992, where the late CJ Marcelo Fernan ran for vicepresident, after a failed attempt to go for the presidency after Cory. I was in the communications team, eventually its campaign spokesman. He was the vice-presidential candidate’s campaign aide. We lost.

He then went to Harvard, and two years after, joined an established law firm. Later I was to learn that he had become CEO of the Kuok Group which was into prime, prime real estate and fivestar hospitality.

In the early days of PNoy’s election victory and before the inauguration, I congratulated him prematurely because he was to be appointed secretary of tourism, as told to be by what I thought was an “unimpeachable” source inside the bowels of Malacañang. That did not happen because of last-minute shuffling of gratitude cards. But he became chairman of the PCGG. And then PNoy appointed him to succeed Chairman Sixto

“Boy” Brillantes to head the Commission on Elections, a plum for a relatively young man.

And now this. Sadder for the children, so young, so fragile, who must bear the brunt of speculative attacks on integrity as the ugly striptease of facts and tales continue to engage a nosy public so attuned to scandal. ** * President Duterte was right when he advised them to settle the fray amicably. It was one issue brought to his attention where he was clearly stumped.

For once, the decisive president did not know how to decide the matter.

But then, anger, hurt and bitterness could not be calmed. So this. *** The “striptease” also engages all in the House of Representatives, as layer after layer of corruption allegations are peeled in an ongoing investigation over a shabu shipment that got away, was caught, and turned out to be a legal pyrrhic victory, seemingly out of sheer incompetence, perhaps a disingenuous “excuse” to cover up for something more sinister.

The limelight focused Last Monday on the “tell-all” of

young Mark Taguba, so early-on corrupted by a system that defies solution, from one commissioner to another. Is Taguba trying to escape the “system” that had made him rich so early?

Is this public confession, a baring of one’s soul, or a conspiracy of black tar?

Whichever, it is a sad episode. *** Two journalist-friends died in the last few days. Roy Acosta, with whom I used to chew the fat and drink the night away along with then Senator Orly Mercado.

And Roy Sinfuego, the jolly Bicolano with so many “tales” to enliven company, whether at the Manila Hotel, or Café Adriatico, or even in Hong Kong with Senator Ping Lacson and other friends.

Through this space, let me express my profound condolences to their bereaved families. They left this world a few days after I left the homeland for my foreign posting.

And though I hardly knew him, I convey my condolences as well to the family of another journalist, Mike Marasigan, who was killed in dastardly manner two days before I left Manila.

Thirteen days before the “ghost month” begins, it is a gray November upon one’s soul.

election day, May 10.

Smartmatic had contracts to supply and distribute the voting machines, to transmit electronically election results (for P558 million), and for the National Technical Support Center (a P122.7-million contract).

According to ABS-CBN, Kabayan Party-List Rep. Harry Roque claimed that among the documents in Patricia’s possession were vouchers from Smartmatic, the private contractor that supplied the automated election system for the 2010, 2013 and 2016 national elections.

Andy Bautista, citing local and international election watchdogs, insists the 2016 elections “were the cleanest and the best managed in Philippine history.” Also, “Wala po akong tinanggap na komisyon, kahit na isang kusing tungkol sa isang halalan. Totoo po iyun—wala. [I did not receive any commission, not even a single penny from the elections. That is the truth —I accepted nothing],” he said in a phone interview with ABSCBN News.

Andy decries the politicization of what is basically a marital dispute. On July 26, 2017, President Duterte tried to play marriage counselor for three hours at the presidential palace.

Mrs. Bautista sought and got an audience with the President who dutifully lent his ears. After hearing Patricia, he summoned Andy, and unknown to the Comelec chief that his wife was just in the next room, was told to relate his side of the story. His claim: Patricia is having an affair, wants out of the marriage, and wants half of his legitimate income over the years. Duterte tried to work out a formula to which the quarrelling factions initially agreed.

Someone balked, however.

Andy cried ransom. Patricia felt she was being accused of extortion. So no deal. Thus, Duterte’s first-ever recorded professional attempt at marriage counseling failed.

Even assuming Andy didn’t collect commissions from the Smartmatic contracts, his salary as a government official

(P198,000 monthly or P2.57 million a year, including 13th month bonus) would not be able to account for his assets, liquid and solid, both as declared in his SALN and as alleged by his wife of 17 years (a minimum of about P600 million and upwards of P1 billion).

Ever the wily lawyer, the President said he is hands-off in L’ Affaire Patricia, but his justice secretary, Vit Aguirre, has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to probe Chairman Bautista. They simply are following the money trail. If Andy is culpable, he could be impeached, or forced to resign, which means Duterte gets a Comelec chair he wants. If the attempt to impeach Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno succeeds, Duterte will also get the SC chief he wants. As President of six years, Duterte will name no less than 11 SC justices.

That will make him one of the most powerful presidents of the Philippines.

nering top spots, like Drilon.

The election protest of former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who lost by a razor-thin 200,000-vote margin to the proclaimed winner, Vice President Leni Robredo, is just the most prominent of these alleged anomalies.

But at least Robredo and the

others who won on questioned and questionable grounds have all decided to take a vow of silence in the Bautista case. All of them, that is, expect Drilon, who is “worried” that Bautista may not get a fair shake before a Senate convened again as an impeachment court on the same grounds —but on a much greater

magnitude—that Corona lost his job over.

Drilon seems to think that everyone has forgotten what he did just five years ago, which is why he can now pretend to be a stickler for the laws and the impeachment rules. That’s what he thinks.

I say: In a pig’s eye.

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News

A6

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Duterte threatens to bomb narco-pols armies

By John Paolo Bencito PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte threatened to unleash the military’s air assets against private armies of narco-politicians as he confirmed that more names had been added to the new narco-list.

In a hastily called news briefing at Malacañang on Monday night, Duterte once again reiterated his warning to ‘kill’ narco-politicians who continue with their ways.

“Don’t flaunt [to me] that you have this private army. It won’t help you anyway. Look. Even if you have 100, 200 armed men, it won’t help you. Why would you fight me—? I have 12 [FA50] jets, I’ll just bomb you [if I want],” the President said.

“I will really use the full might of the government. Look —one day, ‘yang mga hijackhijack diyan, makatikim ’yan.

Sabi ko talaga, ang order ko is, ‘Pasabugin mo.’ Kung nagkamali, pasensya.”

Duterte also confirmed that more names had been added to his roster of drug personalities in the country.

“There are new [names in the government’s drug list],” Duterte said. “Why would I include the names of those slain in the updated [drug list].

The updated one includes those who are still alive.”

In his meeting with mining companies on Aug. 3, Duterte showed an “updated” list containing the names of around 1,000 individuals involved in the drug operations.

The President likewise said that the death of Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Jr. should serve as a lesson to narco-politicians that they may not like the “consequences” they are about to face.

“Itong mga Parojinog family, naging gangster at kinontrol nila lahat pati shabu. At marami silang pinatay na pulis diyan sa Ozamiz na hindi sumusunod sa kanila.

They killed about four or five.

Then walang makasalita, walang maka-criticize, maski mga radyo doon, tahimik.

Talagang papatayin ka,” the president explained.

“Kaya dumating ng panahon… Nang p–– ina niya, sinabi ko, ayan. Sinabi ko sa inyo, huwag ninyong kontrahin ang gobyerno. Gagamitin ko ang gobyerno because I have to protect the people who represent the government. I will not hesitate,” he added.

Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Jr., who were among the names Duterte read when he first released his drug list in August 2016, was killed in a recent drug operation at his home, along with his wife, brother, and 13 others.

Comelec on hold as House postpones SK, brgy polls

By Vito Barcelo and Macon Ramos-Araneta

T

HE Commission on Elections has slowed down the preparations for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections after Congress moved to postpone the scheduled October 2017 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls to May 2018 with a holdover provision among incumbent village officials.

The Comelec said it has already suspended the printing of ballots for the village and SK elections, and slowed down the preparations for the local elections.

The poll body made the move after Congress reached a consen-

sus to hold the barangay elections in May next year.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez earlier said a law to again postpone the poll should be enacted immediately to avoid unnecessary and untimely expenses.

The poll official said that the sooner the House passes a bill postponing the elections, the better.

Barangay and SK elections are scheduled for Oct. 23, 2017 after President Rodrigo Duterte signed a law that postponed the elections last Oct. 31, 2016.

Meanwhile, Senate President Ralph Recto said the controversy hounding Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista should not “derail nor distract” the Comelec rankand-file in preparing for the barangay elections.

“Their attitude, I think, is that it’s all systems go. Until Congress pulls the plug yet again on the twice-postponed village polls, they should follow their timetable,” he said.

While he is not yet ready to agree 100 percent with it, Recto said the Lower House’s plan to immediately pass a bill resetting the October polls to May next year and allow incumbents to continue in a holdover capacity is better than the suggestion to appoint officers-in-charge.

“Was it not the Palace which handpicked the 42,306 acting barangay chairmen, in such a very short time,” Recto said. “And that mode of selection can be tainted with criticisms of being whimsical and partisan.”

Recto said that “at present, my position is to hold the elections in October as scheduled. Postponing it by seven months makes no great

difference.”

“Perhaps, in critical areas under martial law, a deferment is justified, but in other areas hindi,” Recto said.

Deferring the elections anew, he added, “would mean that tens of millions of pesos spent in preparatory activities will again be wasted.”

“We cannot save money with the cancellation. We can only save money if we are permanently cancelling the polls. But we are only postponing it. So instead of spending at least P7 billion this year, we will only delay spending it by seven months, so in the end, we will still have to spend that P7 billion,” Recto said.

AFP oks MSU bid to reopen classes

By Florante S. Solmerin and Sara Fabunan

FIRE MONITORING. Top officials of the Bureau of Fire and Protection National Capital Region formally launched the BFP-NCR Fire Command Operations Center to monitor fire incidents and their vicinity in a ceremony held at the BFP office in Quezon City. Manny Palmero

Solon takes cudgel for Paolo Duterte on BoC issue

By Maricel V. Cruz A LAWMAKER on Tuesday took the cudgels up for President Rodrigo Duterte’s son and Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte who had been linked to allegations of corruption at the Bureau of Customs.

Quirino Rep. Dakila Cua, chairperson of the House committee on ways and means which deliberated on the tax aspect of the shabu smuggling controversy, said his panel would no longer invite Vice Mayor Duterte to respond to allegations made by Customs broker Mark Taguba during Monday’s congressional probe into the the P6.4-billion shabu shipment.

Cua said he sees no need to summon the Davao City Vice Mayor unless Taguba is able to substantiate his allegation.

“It will depend on the statement

of Mark Taguba next time if he believes we should [invite him] or not,” Cua said.

Taguba linked Vice Mayor Duterte in the so-called “Davao Group” which does transactions at the BoC. But Taguba admitted this information was a rumor at the bureau.

Vice Mayor Duterte disputed Taguba’s testimony.

“Taguba admitted that his testimony against me was based entirely on rumors. Why would we entertain or believe a hearsay?

One does not dignify lies with a response,” Vice Mayor Duterte said.

In a related development, Customs Imports Assessment Service Director Milo Maestrecampo resigned from his post after he identified Taguba as one of the Customs officials who receive weekly payola at the bureau, long perceived to be as one

of the most graft ridden agency of the government.

Maestrecampo submitted a resignation letter addressed to President Duterte dated Aug. 8, saying he is tendering his resignation and is submitting himself to an investigation.

Taguba has accused five other major officials of the BoC of taking bribes to facilitate his shipments, and identified them as Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Group Teddy Raval, Manila International Container Port District Collector Vincent Philip Maronilla, Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service director Neil Estrella, and MICP-CIIS District Intelligence officer Teodoro Sagaral.

The former marine captain is one of the 20 former mutineers from the Magdalo group now working at the BoC. In his letter, Maestrecampo said

that “in order to fight for my honor and integrity and in the name of ‘delicadeza,’ I hereby tender my resignation and submit to investigations in order to clear my name.”

Maestrecampo was named

by Taguba as one of the officials accepting bribes for the prompt release of shipments during the congressional hearing on the P6.5billion shabu shipment, but denied the accusation saying “I am a rebel but I’m not a thief.”

“I will step down as soon as I go back to the BoC [Bureau of Customs]. I’m contented with my salary. No, I’m not involved in any illicit activities. I will present myself in any investigation,” Maestrecampo said.

While Taguba admitted that he did not give payola money directly to Maestrecampo, the BoC official said that his name has already been dragged into the mess and already captured by the media.

SC upholds QC curfew on minors

By Rey E. Requejo

REMEMBERING ‘YOLANDA.’ Leyte (1st Dist) Rep. Yedda Marie K. Romualdez (left)

delivers a sponsorial speech of her House Bill 4383 declaring Nov. 8 of every year a special non-working public holiday in the Eastern Visayas Region to be known as the ‘Yolanda Commemoration Day,’ during a committee hearing on Revision of Laws at the House of Representatives. The Committee approved Romualdez's Bill. Looking on is Leyte 4th District Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez (right). Ver Noveno

THE Supreme Court on Tuesday declared as constitutional an ordinance in Quezon City implementing curfews on minors.

However, the SC disallowed similar ordinances in the cities of Manila and Navotas, which were assailed by a youth group Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan in July last year.

The SC ruled that Ordinance No. SP 2301- 2014 by the Quezon City government is constitutional.

On the other hand, the assailed ordinances of Manila and Navotas were declared unconstitutional for their failure to provide the least restrictive means to address the compelling state interest they seek to advance.

The tribunal cited the penal provisions in the Manila ordinance imposing reprimand, fines and imprisonment on minors, which are in conflict with Section 57-A of RA 9344 of Juvenile Delinquency Act. The SC agreed with petitioners that the

Manila City curfew ordinance violates Republic Act No. 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act. It noted that the ordinance punishes violators despite the fact that the JJWA prohibits the imposition of curfews except if it is for the protection of the child and the child or minor is not punished.

In ruling on the case, the SC has lifted the temporary restraining order (TRO) it issued on the three ordinances also in July last year.

Spark, a group of students in the three cities, argued in their petition filed through lawyer Jesus Falcis III that the curfew ordinances were unconstitutional due to vagueness as they result in arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement and overbreadth as they impair legitimate activities of minors during curfew hours.

The petitioner also claimed violation of the right of minors to liberty and to travel without substantive due process, adding that the curfew deprives parents of the natural and primary right in the rearing of the youth without substantive due process.

THE military said it has no problem responding to the clamor educators, students, parents and local officials to reopen classes at the Mindanao State University but added that security should be a paramount concern to all to prevent a possible infiltration of Islamic extremist personalities inside the campus.

“Education is the best antidote to terrorism. If we suspend classes and disallow children from going to school, then terrorism has already won,” Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom) chief Lieutenant General Carlito Galvez Jr. said in a meeting called by university officials on Monday.

At the same time, Galvez dared the beleaguered terrorists—Maute, Abu Sayyaf and their foreign comrades who are still holed up inside a couple of barangays in Marawi City to surrender.

The military said that more than 500 terrorists, 122 government troops, and 45 civilians were killed with more than a thousand wounded since the terrorists occupied Marawi in the latter part of May. During the two-hour discussion, military and university officials and faculty members discussed recommendations on the resumption of classes and the reopening of establishments near the university.

Galvez said security arrangement and schedule of class resumption were thoroughly discussed with Joint Task Force Ranao commander Brigadier General Ramiro Rey, MSU President Dr. Habib Macaayong, and other university officials. Also present was Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Assemblyman Zia Alonto Adiong.

Adiong has proposed a “holistic approach” since Mindanao is under martial law and especially so that there are still many civilians living within the school compound.

“There is a need to consult and involve the other members of the MSU community so that they too will have ownership over the problem and take part in the solution,” Adiong said, referring to the security plan that would be crafted within and outside the campus.

“It was also initially agreed that the school can go on accepting enrollees until such time classes opens in two weeks or on a later date,” Galvez said.

He said the university is the symbol and life of Marawi City and a bastion of knowledge as he assured school officials that classes will be opened at the soonest time possible.

Students studying at the university mostly came from marginalized families from Mindanao and Visayas and from as far as Palawan.

“It [MSU] has produced a number of distinct professionals and scholars and even topnotchers, both Muslims and Christians in its 56 years of operation,” Galvez said.

Reports said that Omar Maute, one of the leaders of the terrorist group, studied in MSU. “Continuing talks and assessments will be held to weigh things and ascertain the date of opening.

We might have to delay it, but we will definitely have to open the MSU for our students and for our people,” Galvez said.

“The opening of the university is a challenge, but we have to test the waters and come up with means to bring back the life of Marawi through the opening of this revered institution,” he added.

Sports S+A to air Asian volley THE Philippine women’s national volleyball team officially begins their quest for glory this Wednesday at the 19th Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship, and Filipinos will be with them every step of the way as S+A, the ABSCBN sports channel, will be airing the tournament on free TV and in high-definition on S+A HD. Week one of the tourney begins with a match between Korea and New Zealand, which will be beamed live from the Alonte Sports Arena in Binan, Laguna at 12:30pm, while the opening ceremony and the anticipated match between the Philippines and Hong Kong will be aired on primetime starting at 6:30 pm.

On Thursday, fans can catch the titanic match between powerhouses China and Japan at 12:30 p.m. while the Kazakhstan-Hong Kong and Thailand-Iran duels will be telecast at 6:30 p.m. Team Philippines will see action anew on Friday (Aug 11), as they tussle with Kazakhstan, followed by the showdown between Thailand and Chinese Taipei, which will air on primetime starting at 6:30 p.m. The weekend games consist of Korea-Vietnam on Saturday (August 12) at 12:30 p.m. with the start of the classification round opening on Sunday (August 13) also at 12:30 p.m.

Fourteen teams, including 2015 champion China will be competing in the prestigious biennial tournament, which offers a ticket to the 2018 AVC Asian Cup to the Top 8 finishers.

The Philippine team, bannered by volleyball stars led by team captain Mika Reyes, Philippine volleyball phenom Alyssa Valdez, and 6’5 middle hitter Jaja Santiago will have to go through Kazakhstan and HongKong in Pool A, while heavy favorites Japan, China, and Australia are locked in a three-way battle for supremacy in Pool B. Pool C has Korea, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and New Zealand, while Pool D is made up of our Southeast Asian neighbors Thailand and Chinese Taipei, with Iran, and Maldives.

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Malignaggi slams McGregor L OS ANGELES—Former boxing champ Paulie Malignaggi says he has no regrets about quitting Conor McGregor’s training camp, describing the mixed martial arts fighter as a “scumbag” who surrounds himself with “a bunch of yes men.”

McGregor is preparing to face boxing star Floyd Mayweather in a Las Vegas boxing ring on August 26 in what could be one of the richest fights in history.

The 36-year-old Malignaggi, who retired from boxing five months ago, walked out of training camp last week after he said McGregor used him like a pawn, disrespected him in the dressing room and housed

him and the other sparring partners in dumpy accommodations.

“He’s a scumbag,” Malignaggi said of McGregor in an interview Monday with the American website The MMA Hour.

He also gave a detailed breakdown of how their sparring sessions went, no doubt providing Mayweather with a blueprint on how to beat McGregor.

Malignaggi, a former multiple world champion, said despite training little during retirement he had no trouble getting the better of McGregor.

Malignaggi said McGregor is more concerned about putting on a spectacle in training camp than getting ready for a serious boxing debut against one of the greatest fighters of all-time.

Malignaggi was also upset about training camp pictures made public that show the Irishman in a positive light.

“The guy is all about his ego.

He’s actually not trying to get better. He’s got a bunch of yes men in his corner who tell him he’s doing good even if he’s doing bad. It is just about him and cheerleading,”

Malignaggi told MMA Hour.

He said he asked McGregor to stop releasing misleading sparring photos that showed the MMA fighter getting the better of the exchanges. McGregor refused.

“At this stage I’m waiting for Ashton Kutcher to walk into the dressing rooms and tell me I got Punk’d. I thought it was a joke. I thought there was no way this guy is that much of an asshole,” he said.

‘Some kind of crackhouse’ “I showed up with the best intentions to camp and at a certain point you start to realize you are being used as a pawn where somebody’s trying to get ahead at your expense and not through your help.

“I said ‘I can’t deal with this.’ His team is a bunch of cheerleaders.

Chase for PGT Asia Tour slots under way

Members of the Taguig City University erupt in a frenzy after reclaiming the cheerdance competition title of the National Milo Marathon. Peter Paul Duran

Cheerdancers steal show in Milo Marathon

By Peter Paul Duran RUNNERS at the 42nd National Milo Marathon were being blown away.

One reason was the howling monsoon winds which stayed after a torrential downpour drenched Metro Manila only a couple of days back.

The other? A pep squad from Taguig resolute in reclaiming their crown.

“Kailangan namin mabawi kung anong dapat sa amin,” said Mark Darwin Cebullino, captain and acting coach of the Taguig City University, which last won the Milo Marathon Cheerdance competition two years ago.

Due to conflict of schedules and a team in disarray, they had to give up their crown and skip the contest last year. Now they’re back, hungrier and more determined as ever.

They are not improving him. I don’t need to be around these people. It is not like they brought me in for anything tactical.”

He said the training camp accommodations were better suited to drug dealers. “They put me in some kind of a crackhouse,” he said.

Malignaggi indicated that Mayweather should have little trouble with McGregor over 12 rounds of boxing as long as he goes to the body on a regular basis.

“From about six rounds on, he became very hittable,” the former champ said. “So much more hittable that I was putting more weight on my shots and sitting down more on my shots, and of course, the body shots started to affect him more and more. AFP

“Kailangan talaga namin maibalik ang kampeonato sa TCU,” Cebullino vowed.

Somersault after somersault they wowed the crowd. Judges scrutinized every toss and pyramid. Photojournalists bobbed and weaved, not sure if the flying legs captured on their viewfinders may appear too close for comfort. But the squad from Bicutan impressed with every landing. Everyone was their audience now.

Though there had been a lull in the competition beforehand after some trickle brought by the wayward winds rendered the mat temporarily unplayable, their feet seemed to flutter above the slippery canvas, their movement like clockwork. It’s hard to ponder they had little time to prepare for their ascent back to the throne.

An arduous climb at that.

“Two weeks ago lang may

napilayan sa amin, pero ‘di namin siya pinabayaan at lumaban siya ngayon kahit may injury siya,” explained Cebullino, a first time captain of the varsity cheer team, who said he had doubts if they’ll be able to compete on the heels of another grueling competition just weeks ago.

“Two months ang balak, pero naging one month preparation lang.

At nu’ng time na nabalian ‘yung isa, madami sa amin ‘yung pinanghinaan ng loob, kung kakayanin ba namin sa ikli ng time. May naputukan pa nga ng labi at nabasagan ng ngipin, gaya ko (laughs). Pero ‘di kami nagpatalo sa doubt,” added the 22-year-old, who chipped his front teeth while rehearsing a toss.

A trio of fliers flirt with gravity, their hurdlers waiting below, squinting at the peeking midmorning sun. Basket catch done to perfection. The girls flaunt their arabesque, while the boys

their bananas. Another mount is ready in the offing. Again the ladies embrace the sky. Earlier, they had seen what the defending champions from Pasay were to offer. Now, they lay their own wares at the table.

“Ginanahan kami. May kaba pero determinado talaga kami manalo,” said the BS Education junior, who had to act as leader and mentor to a band of ‘overachievers’ after their coach left to permanently reside in Davao just a week ago. “’’Di man namin siya nakasama dito pero ‘yung mga turo niya nagstay. ‘Kayang-kaya niyo manalo’ sabi niya sa’min bago umalis. Wala siyang doubt sa’min.”

They had won their first title in 2013, said Cebullino, a third is close at hand. Teams from the elementary and high school divisions egged on the former champions. They had only prepared

not to get things wrong, but they were doing everything right.

The pyramid held strong and the choreography was impeccable. The routine is at its penultimate stage. Here they were--a young pool of raw talent, who only a few weeks prior were losing the will to compete.

“Kailangan as a leader, imotivate mo ‘yung mga kasama mo. Sabi ko sa kanila bago ‘yung laban ‘ang Milo Cheerdance title para sa TCU,’ gawin natin lahat para mabawi ‘yun!”

Mark Darwin planted a perfect tuck after twisting in the air. The routine was done, orchestrated to perfection. The audience erupted and even the defending champs couldn’t hide their awe. They knew there was a clear winner.

The 41st Milo marathon cheerdance trophy has returned to Central Bicutan.

Sudden deaths to decide Premier Volley finalists THE chase for championship berths in the Premier Volleyball League comes down to a pair of rubber matches today with a promise of another set of down-to-thewire finishes that have marked the Final Four of the Open Conference.

BaliPure and Pocari Sweat hacked out a five-setter each over Creamline and Air Force, respectively, last Sunday, setting the stage for what could be another pair of thrillers among the league’s top teams at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.

The Lady Warriors and the Lady Jet Spikers dispute the first finals berth at 4 p.m.

Saturday. with the former out to susGames today Air Force coach Jasper tain their come-from-behind 10 a.m. – Air Force vs Sta. Elena Jimenez believes he’s got 25-22, 16-25, 23-25, 25-21, (best-of-3 for third) 15-12 victory in Game 2 that 1 p.m. – Cignal vs Mega Builders what it takes to stop three(best-of-3 for title) time champion Pocari in its kept their drive for a fourth 4 p.m. – Pocari vs Air Force quest for another title crack straight championship in the (women’s) league organized by Sports 6:30 p.m. – Creamline vs BaliPure although he hopes his veteran crew will endure the Vision going. (women’s) pressure not only from the But the Lady Jet Spikers hope to make the necessary adjustments Lady Warriors but also from the crowd.

Expect Air Force to bank on its vaunted and re-display the form that powered them to a surprise 25-20, 25-19, 25-21 quick-set play anchored on tall Dell Paloromp in the opener of their best-of-three mata and setter Wendy Semana with Iari series backed by Mikasa and Asics last Yongco, Mary Ann Pantino, Joy Cases and

ONE hundred fourteen players from at least 17 countries begin their chase for spots in Asia’s newest pro golf league—the PGT Asia Tour —as the 72-hole Qualifying School unwraps Wednesday at the Luisita Golf and Country Club in Tarlac.

Thirty-eight locals, majority of whom stand outside of the top 40 of the current Philippine Golf Tour Order of Merit rankings, banner the field vying for the top 60-plus ties berths in the four-day qualifier leading to high-stakes tournaments beginning with the PGTA Aboitiz Invitational at Southwoods next week.

The organizing Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. has lined up US$100,000 championships for the first seven PGTA legs and a minimum of US$300,000 for the eighth event of the new regional circuit, put up by the International Container Terminal Services Inc. following the continued success of the men’s and ladies circuits of the ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour.

ICTSI, which revived the local pro golf circuit in 2009 and turned it to become Southeast Asia’s largest national circuit, will also put up a total prize of US$1.7 million in 2018 and US$2 million in 2019 with plans to further increase the purse in the future.

This should make the next four days worth watching with the aspirants expected to dish out their best for the coveted PGTA slots. In fact, more tournaments for the next two years are also being finalized and talks to hold future legs in other parts of Asia, particularly Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, are ongoing.

A number of players inside the PGT OOM top 40, including young guns Jobim Carlos, Keanu Jahns and Micah Shin, are also in the Q-School, all seeking to earn cards when the PGTA eventually holds tournaments abroad.

Australia has 21 players in the elims while South Korea and the US have 10 each. Other countries represented are Malaysia, Spain, Indonesia, Sweden, New Zealand, South Africa, Guatemala, Japan, Thailand, United Kingdom and Singapore.

The top 80 players after 36 holes will advance to the final two rounds with the top 60 and ties gaining cards on the new regional circuit.

The PGTA will kick off with the Aboitiz Invitational on Aug. 15-18 at Southwoods followed by the Central Azucarera de Tarlac Open at Luisita (Sept. 6-9), ICTSI Riviera Championship (Sept. 13-16), the ICTSI Wack Wack Challenge (Nov. 15-18) and the Splendido Taal (Nov. 29-Dec. 2). Still to be determined are the venues for the seventh leg set Dec. 6-9 and the eighth leg scheduled early next year.

The PGTA is geared towards offering golfers from the Philippines, Asia and other parts of the world another platform on which to play and at the same time to complement each country’s national golf tour and the existing regional circuits.

Jocemer Tapic ready to provide firepower from both sides.

But momentum is on the side of the Lady Warriors with coach Rico de Guzman pinning his hopes on Myla Pablo, Jeanette Panaga, Elaine Kasilag and Desiree Dadang and setter Gyzelle Sy. Creamline, on the other hand, is hardpressed to rebound from its 19-25, 2519, 16-25, 25-18, 13-15 loss to BaliPure with the Cool Smashers now beginning to miss the services of top gun Alyssa Valdez, particularly in a nerve-wracking ending.

Philippines to compete in 2017 Merlion Cup Some time before the tournament, contributed 16 points, 4 rebounds, THE HOARSE Arena in Singapore.

The Merlion Cup 2017 is ex- BAS will hold an exhibition at which and 4 assists, with Lo Domingo WHISPERER pected to be more intense with outreach activities with the public shooting 18. However, the team stronger teams expected to deliver will be staged, such as basketball keenly felt the absence of Ray JENNY clinics and coaching workshops, as Parks Jr. who was sidelined bebetter competition.

ORTUOSTE Making their Merlion Cup de- well as meet-and-greet sessions with cause of injuries.

THE Philippines is sending players from Alab Pilipinas to compete in next month’s 11th Merlion Cup, a regional event organized by the Basketball Association of Singapore.

The Merlion Cup is an invitational basketball tournament organized by the Basketball Association of Singapore that features six of the best basketball clubs across the region. It is set for Sept. 20 to 24 at the OCBC

buts are Australia’s champions, the Adelaide 36ers, Taiwan SBL runners-up, the Yulon Luxen Dinos, KBL runners-up, the Jeonju KCC Egis, and Philippine’s Asean Basketball League, the Alab Pilipinas.

They will be joined by the hosts, the Singapore Slingers and last year’s champions, the Shanghai Sharks.

With the Merlion Cup, BAS aims to develop the local basketball scene and engage with the public to increase participation in and support for the sport.

international players.

For more details and ticket information, visit the BAS website at merlioncup.bas.org.sg. *** What are the chances of Alab Pilipinas in this year’s Merlion Cup? When the team went up against the Singapore Slingers last April in the ABL semi-finals in a game held at the Baliwag Star Arena in Bulacan, they lost 82-64 to the Slingers.

Kiefer Ravena was brought into the game a bit too late although he

Alab Pilipinas will be hungry for a victory and hopefully will play better this time around.

In last year’s Merlion Cup, Mighty Sports represented the Philippines and managed to grab silver for second place. Ravena was also part of the 2016 team.

Here’s the current roster of the Alab Pilipinas team: Bobby Ray Parks Jr. (6’4’), Paulo Hubalde (6’0”), Val Acuña (6’3”), JR Cawaling (6’3”), Robby Celiz (6’4”), Jeric Fortuna (5’8”), Hans

Thiele (6’5”), Anthony Gavieres (6’4”), Jovet Mendoza ( 6 ’4 ” ) , Jens Knuttle (5’11”), Kiefer Ravena (6’0”), and imports Igee King (6’1”), Sampsom Carter (6’8”), and James Hughes (6’11”). Mac Cuan is head coach, assisted by Japs Cuan and Paolo Rivero.

At the moment I haven’t seen an announcement of who’s going to be playing in the Merlion, but we wish good luck to all the team members as they face the best of the region next month.

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

Carlos

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

P0 M+ P0 M

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

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017

Sports PBA PLAYER OF THE WEEK. Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings forward Joe Devance (center) drives strong to the hoop against a pair of Kia Picanto defenders.

Devance was chosen PBA Player of the Week by the PBA Press Corps.

Devance chosen week’s best player JOE DEVANCE became the second Barangay Ginebra player to bag the PBA Press Corps Player of the Week award after playing a huge role in the Barangay Ginebra Kings’ runaway 110-97 win over erstwhile unbeaten NLEX Road Warriors in their Governors’ Cup road game in Calasiao, Pangasinan last Saturday.

The 6-foot-7 Devance banged in 23 points behind nine-of-11 shooting from the floor, helping Ginebra take control of the third period on the way to its third straight win in the season-ending conference.

The left-handed Devance beat Ginebra teammates LA Tenorio, the first PBA Press Corps Player of the Week in the Governors’ Cup and Greg Slaughter, San Miguel Beer’s June Mar Fajardo, Star Hotshots big man Ian Sangalang, Meralco Bolts guard Chris Newsome as well as Blackwater Elite playmaker Mike DiGregorio for the weekly citation.

The Kings (3 wins, 1 loss) are now at solo fourth spot in the standings, behind league-leader Meralco (4-0), Star (3-0) and NLEX (4-1) heading into the week-long break to give way to Gilas’ FIBA Asia Cup campaign in Beirut, Lebanon.

The other teams include San Miguel Beer (2-1), TNT KaTropa (2-1), the Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters (2-3), the GlobalPort Batang Pier (1-2), the Blackwater Elite (1-3), Alaska Aces (0-4) and the Kia Picanto (0-5).

Devance was the first overall pick in the 2007 PBA Draft by the Welcoat Dragons (now Rain or Shine). He was traded for Sol Mercado and joined the Alaska in 2008. He then moved to the B-Meg Llamados (now Star Hotshots) in 2011. He transferred to Ginebra in 2015.

Coincidentally, Tim Cone was Devance’s coach in Alaska, B-Meg, Star and Ginebra.

Ginebra now takes a three-week break and won’t see action till Aug. 26 against Alaska.

Emilio Aguinaldo Generals subdue AU Chiefs, 85-79

By Peter Atencio

J

EROME Garcia provided the spark that powered the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals to an 85-79 stopping of the Arellano University Chiefs yesterday at the Arena in San Juan.

The former Adamson University standout, who had 14 points, knocked in two of his three triples during a crucial stretch in the third period.

His efforts helped propel the Generals to their second consecutive win and third place in the standings in the 93rd National

Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball tournament. The Lyceum Pirates are on top of the standings followed by the San Beda Red Lions.

“We wanted to have two consecutive wins. Ito talaga ang pinaghandaan namin,” said Generals coach Ariel Sison as

Games Thursday (at EAC-Manila) 2 p.m. EAC vs LPU (jrs) 4 p.m. EAC vs LPU (srs)

EAC went on to post third triumph in five games.

Fil-Nigerian cager Sidney Onwuberre shot a game-high 17 points, including one of three charities in the last 26.2 seconds to help the Generals keep their distance from the Chiefs, 82-78.

With the count tied a 55-all in the last 2:53 of the third, the Generals stepped on the gas, moved ahead on a 13-5 blast off Garcia’s two treys and enjoyed a 67-59 spread at the end of the period.

Kent Salado knocked in 11

of 24 points in the fourth as the Chiefs fought back to within four, 76-80, off Brylle Meca’s drive with 2:10 left.

The Generals lost Cameroonian cager Hamadou Laminou to injury after his knee gave out on him in the last 2:42.

Onwubere continued to show MVP form and fired a team-high 17 points including four booming triples on top of 14 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and a steal to help fill the void left by the 6-9 Laminou.

“He (Laminou) will undergo an MRI and we hope it’s nothing serious,” said EAC coach Ariel Sison. “Good thing Sydney stepped up big for us.”

In junior action, Kobe Camacho unloaded 24 points while Aaron Fermin added 15 points and 17 rebounds to tow the Arellano University Braves to an 83-65 demolition of the EAC Brigadiers.

Coach Tylon Darjuan said the Braves’ fourth win in six outings helps prepare the team for tougher matches ahead.

Camacho hit seven points right after the Brigadiers threatened, 34-37, and the Braves went on to earn an 11-point lead, 4534, with 5:02 to go.

This put the Braves in third, behind the Mapua Red Robins and the La Salle Greenhills Junior Blazers.

Fernandes preserves record MACAU, China—Defending ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes relies on experience and ring savvy to preserve his long unbeaten record in ONE Championship.

In his latest outing Fernandes made quick work of Andrew Leone, submitting the American challenger with a rear-naked choke in the first frame of the much-awaited championship clash last weekend.

It was the beginning of the end for Leone when Fernandes hammered a knee to the midsection that slumped his opponent to the mat.

The 37-year-old Brazilian authored the final sequence by latching on the match-ending submission, keeping the prestigious gold-plated strap securely fastened around his waist.

With the impressive victory over Leone, Fernandes has set an unprecedented ONE Championship record of seven successful title defenses, remaining unbeaten in the promotion.

“I feel great. I feel great, thank you Macao for having me. Thank you for my family in Canada and my family in Brazil who are watching me right now. I am here to stay. I welcome all challenges. I want to say thank you to Chatri (Sityodtong) and Matt Hume. I’m happy with ONE Championship. I want to continue fighting. Whoever I have to fight, I will accept. I am

LEAP OF FAITH.

Colombia’s Caterine Ibarguen competes in the final of the women’s triple jump athletics event at the 2017 IAAF World Championships at the London Stadium in London on Aug. 7, 2017. AFP

always ready!” said Fernandes.

In the co-main event, Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes of Brazil defeated Kairat Akhmetov of Kazakhstan via five-round unanimous decision to become the sole owner of the ONE Flyweight World Championship. Moraes, who previously held the interim title, controlled the majority of the action with his grappling while defending champion Akhmetov tried his best to fend off the Brazilian’s advances with his wrestling. On the feet, Moraes got the better of the exchanges and landed the harder blows.

All three judges scored the bout in favor of Moraes, who unifies the flyweight titles to become the undisputed king of the division.

Hard-hitting Russian featherweight Timofey Nastyukhin and former world title challenger Koji “The Commander” Ando of Japan figured in an incredibly tactical three-round matchup, with Nastyukhin coming away with a wellearned unanimous decision victory.

After Ando nullified most of the action using his feints and pacing, Nastyukhin turned up the pressure in the second half of the contest, consistently landing the more telling blows. Both competitors unloaded their best offense in the final minute of the third round. All three judges saw the bout in favor of Nastyukhin.

Top lightweight contender Shannon

Unbeaten Bibiano Fernandez (top) pounds Andrew Leone en route to a decisive victory.

ONE Championship

“OneShin” Wiratchai made quick work of India’s Rajinder Singh Meena, winning by knockout just moments into a scheduled three-round bout. The Bangkok Fight Lab mainstay authored one of his quickest finishes yet, landing a right knee flush to Meena’s

head from the clinch. Referee Olivier Coste wasted no time in calling a halt to the contest once he realized Meena was completely out of it. The end came officially at 29 seconds of round number one, and is the fastest finish of Wiratchai’s career.

ROS ships Tolomia to Bolts

By Jeric Lopez APPARENTLY, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters aren’t done shuffling in the Philippine Basketball Association.

After changing imports and surprisingly trading top gunner Jeff Chan, the Elasto Painters continued making moves and followed those up with yet another trade.

Rain or Shine traded National team pool member Mike Tolomia for fellow Gilas cadet Ed Daquioag from Meralco in a one-on-one swap. Both are rookies.

This was the Elasto Painters’ third move in a span of 24 hours as they are serious to turn their fortunes around in the ongoing Governors’ Cup where they stare at a 1-2 card.

They first shipped Chan to Phoenix for Mark Borboran and a second round pick before changing imports, replacing JD Weatherspoon with J’Nathan Bullock.

Both trade transactions were already approved by the league.

In Daquioag, the Painters get a bigger and more athletic guard that can slash and get to the hoop.

On the other end, the Bolts will have a heady point guard in Tolomia that can help lead guard Baser Amer in directing traffic for the team.

Gilas cadets aren’t allowed to be traded for two years for other players but they can be swapped directly for each other.

In an earlier trade a month ago, San Miguel and GlobalPort also swapped cadets with Arnold Van Opstal going to the Batang Pier in exchange for Von Pessumal for the Beermen.

PSC backs Watanabe’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic dream FILIPINO-Japanese judoka Kiyomi Watanabe won’t be alone in her bid to reach the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The Philippine Sports Commission will be there to support her win a qualifying slot.

PSC chairman William “Butch” Ramirez said this some three weeks after 21-year-old Watanabe brought home the gold medal in the Asian Judo Open Taipei Judo

Championships in Hsinchu City.

“Kiyomi Watanabe is a potential gold medallist to the Tokyo Olympics. And the Philippine Judo Federation is hopeful that she earns a qualifying slot,” said Ramirez.

Ramirez talked about the PSC’s support to Watanabe following a courtesy call Watanabe made with her mom Irene and PJF president Dave Carter.

In winning the gold medal in the Taipei meet, Watanabe demolished two Japanese fighters in the women’s 63-kilogram category preliminaries.

Watanabe, who is preparing for the coming Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) in Kuala Lumpur, outplayed Japan’s Chika Kudo in the finals.

She also got past Japanese Haruna Ota in the quarterfinals before stopping Taipei’s Yu Ching

Cheng in the semi-finals.

“I can say this with condidence that we can qualify her for the Games,” said Carter.

This is Watanabe’s best finish this year after she claimed a bronze and silver in the Paris Grand Slam 2017 and 2017 European Judo Open Women in Austria, respectively.

Watanabe is currently ranked no. 23rd in the world. Peter Atencio

Anti-trust body warns of penalties B3

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017

B1

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Tuesday, August 8, 2017

F OREIGN E XCHANGE R ATE

Currency

Unit

US Dollar Peso

United States Dollar

1.000000

50.3100

Japan

0.009031

0.4543

Yen

UK

Pound

1.303800

65.5942

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.127882

6.4337

Switzerland

Franc

1.028066

51.7220

Canada

Dollar

0.788706

39.6798

Singapore

Dollar

0.733891

36.9221

Australia

Dollar

0.791100

39.8002

Bahrain

Dinar

2.654421

133.5439

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266660

13.4157

Brunei

Dollar

0.731208

36.7871

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000075

0.0038

Thailand

Baht

0.030009

1.5098

UAE

Dirham

0.272279

13.6984

Euro

Euro

1.179800

59.3557

Korea

Won

0.000888

0.0447

China

Yuan

0.148779

7.4851

India

Rupee

0.015669

0.7883

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.233536

11.7492

New Zealand

Dollar

0.736100

37.0332

Taiwan

Dollar

0.033097

1.6651 Source: PDS Bridge

IN BRIEF Eagle Cement nets record income in H1 CHELSEA DEBUT. Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp. raised P5.84 billion from the initial public offering to accelerate the Davao City-based company’s expansion strategy. Shown during the bell-ringing ceremony at the Philippine Stock Exchange are (from left) CLC independent director Jesus Guevara II, independent director Gener Mendoza, director Arthur Kenneth Sy, director Efren Uy, director Eduardo Bangayan, president and chief executive Chryss Alfonsus Damuy, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. chairman Domingo Uy, Transporation Secretary Arthur Tugade, CLC director and treasurer Cherylyn Uy, chairman Dennis Uy, Charlize Donatela Uy, Chelsea Denise Uy; PSE chairman Jose Pardo, president and chief executive Ramon Monzon, directors Ma. Vivian Yuchengco, Amor Iliscupidez and Francis Chua, chief operating officer Roel Refran and director Alejandro Yu.

IMF cuts growth forecast to 6.6%

By Julito G. Rada THE International Monetary Fund on Tuesday reduced its 2017 growth forecast for the Philippines to 6.6 percent from an earlier estimate of 6.8 percent on slower-than-expected expansion of 6.4 percent in the first quarter.

IMF mission chief Luis Breuer, who visited Manila on July 26 to Aug. 9, said the 2018 growth projection was also cut to 6.8 percent from 6.9 percent previously.

“Basically, growth in the first quarter was lower than anticipated. During the electoral cycle, there was higher spending,” Breuer said in a briefing at the Bangko Sentral after the completion of the 2017 Article IV Mission.

Breuer said despite the reduced growth forecasts, the country’s economic growth was seen “to remain close to potential at 6.6 percent in 2017 and 6.8 percent in the medium term, supported by robust domestic demand and recovery in exports.”

“Inflation is projected at the center of the target band [2 percent to 4 percent] in 2017-18, reflecting stable commodity prices and a near-zero output gap,” he said.

The government set a gross domestic product growth target of 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent this year. The first-quarter GDP grew 6.4 percent, amid sluggish spending which was comparatively strong in the run-up to the presidential a year ago.

The IMF team met with Bangko Sentral Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr., the secretaries of economic cluster, senior government and local government officials, private sector representatives and the financial community.

Breuer said structural reforms would be essential to sustaining rapid inclusive growth to significantly lower poverty and maximize the demographic dividend in the Philippines He said the comprehensive tax reform program was a very important initiative of the state because it would generate revenues for priority projects, particularly those pertaining to social services and infrastructure.

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno welcomed the multilateral lender’s favorable affirmation of the performance and growth outlook of the Philippine economy.

Petron’s net income jumps 56% to P8.2b P The company said the solid performance was driven by its deliberate focus on more profitable segments and improved refinery ETRON Corp., the production yields, while sustaining sales volcountry largest oil refiner umes coming from a record-breaking year in 2016. and distributor, said our upgraded refining capabilities, Tuesday net income surged 56 we“With derived more value and produced more percent in the first half from profitable products. This is strongly complemented by our extensive expansion efforts a year ago, despite crude oil in both our logistics and retail businesses,” inventory losses and a 45Petron president and chief executive Ramon Ang said. day scheduled maintenance Petron’s total sales volumes in Malaysia shutdown of its refinery as a and the Philippines reached 52.9 million part of a 10-year inspection barrels, slightly higher than the previous record of 52.6 million in the first six months program.

Petron said consolidated net income of 2016. Petrochemical sales also surged 78 reached P8.2 billion in January to June, up percent year-on-year.

Consolidated sales revenues increased from P5.3 billion it earned over the same pe28 percent to P207 billion in the first six riod last year.

By Darwin G. Amojelar

months, from P161.9 billion a year earlier.

Operating income grew 27 percent to P14.6 billion from the previous year’s P11.5 billion.

The company said it was confident about prospects for the year, underpinned by the country’s strong economic performance.

“With the country’s economy growing at a rapid pace, we are expanding our facilities not just for the needs of today, but also to ensure a reliable and continuous supply of quality fuels for tomorrow. Our expansion projects mean more employment opportunities and economic activity, which help in nation-building,” Ang said.

Petron has a combined retail network of almost 2,900 service stations, more than a fifth of which are in Malaysia.

The company has rebranded and built an extensive retail network of nearly 600 stations in Malaysia since 2012.

Meralco announces slight rate increase in August MANILA Electric Co. on Tuesday announced a slight increase in electricity rate for the month of August amounting to P0.1388 per kilowatthour.

The country’s largest power distribution company said the overall electricity rate for a typical residential household rose to P8.3849 per kWh this month from P8.2511 per kWh in July.

Meralco said this would mean a P27 increase in the total bill of a typical residential household consuming 200 kWh. Meralco said the August rate also

reflected the last installment of the refund of over-recovery on passthrough charges from January 2014 to December 2016 totaling around P6.9 billion.

The company’s petition for refund with an appeal for provisional authority was granted by the Energy Regulatory Commission on May 11, 2017 for implementation from June to August 2017.

The refund is not shown as a separate line item in the bill but is embedded in different pass-through charges indicated in the bill, which include generation, transmission

and system loss charges and lifeline and senior citizen subsidies.

For residential customers, the refund translated into a reduction of P0.79 per kWh, excluding taxes.

Meralco also said the overall generation charge increased by P0.0378 per kWh, from P3.9385 per kWh in July to P3.9763 per kWh in August.

The cost of power from power supply agreements increased by P0.2222 per kWh due to lower plant dispatch resulting from forced outages of Masinloc and Pagbilao.

“The cost of power sourced from

DTI-TESDA PARTNERSHIP.

The Department of Trade and Industry and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority sign a memorandum of agreement to boost government efforts to spur employment and entrepreneurship among Filipinos. Shown are Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez (left) and Tesda directorgeneral Guiling Mamondiong during the formal launching of the Skills Training for Employment/ Entrepreneurship Program, which aims to provide Filipinos necessary skills development on employment/ entrepreneurship that could help improve their economic status.

the independent power producers [IPPs] also increased, by P0.0642 per kWh. With the quarterly repricing of Malampaya natural gas, natural gas prices went up to reflect higher world crude oil prices. The share of PSAs and IPPs this month stood at 45.6 percent and 44 percent, respectively,” Meralco said.

Charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market decreased by P0.9768 per kWh, mitigating the increase in PSAs and IPPs rates. Prices in the spot market decreased in August due to lower power demand in the Luzon grid. Darwin G. Amojelar

EAGLE Cement Corp. registered a record profit of P2.2 billion in the first half, up 13 percent from a year ago, even as local cement prices hit a four-year low, a top executive said.

Eagle Cement chief finance officer Monica Ang said in a news briefing first-half net sales rose 12 percent to P7.5 billion from P6.7 billion in the first half of 2016 on higher sales volume of both bagged and bulk cement.

Ang said the increase in production capacity resulted from the operations of the second production line which became operational in March 2016.

Eagle Cement president Paul Ang said cement prices went down by 6 percent to 9 percent in the first half because of increased competition. Ang said cement prices could go down further in the second half, a weak period because of the rainy season.

Jenniffer B. Austria

Max’s Group books P331-m net earnings RESTAURANT chain operator Max’s Group Inc. said Tuesday net income in the first half grew 12 percent to P331.7 million from P295 million it posted in the same period a year ago, on aggressive store openings and steady same-store sales.

Max’s Group said in a disclosure to the stock exchange systemwide sales increased 12 percent to P8.29 billion in January to June from P7.43 billion in the same period in 2016.

“We are happy with the results despite an increasingly challenging environment. Moving into the next quarter, we have lined up exciting product initiatives to cushion cyclicality effects during wet season,” Max’s Group president and chief executive Robert Trota said.

Restaurant sales climbed 11 percent to P5.04 billion, while commissary sales went up 7 percent to P674 million. Sales from new franchises, royalty and continuing license fees gained 23 percent to P333.65 million from P270.52 million, following additional franchise sign-ups and a larger recurring income stream. Jenniffer B. Austria

EMB set to hold 3rd environment summit THE Environmental Management Bureau, an attached agency of the Environment Department, is holding the 3rd Integrated Waste Management Expo and Environment Summit on Aug. 10 to 12 at SMX Aura, Taguig City.

The expo aims to raise the bar of environmental awareness of consumers and beef up efforts in solving the rising problem of solid waste in Metro Manila and other urban areas in provinces across the country.

The expo is open to the public, including government agencies and non-government organizations. Admission is free to the expo which offers various activities like forums, talks and workshops that bear interesting topics on environmental protection, renewable energy, sustainable livelihood and updates on consumer goods that help save the earth.

It is organized by DENR–EMB in partnership with Department of Interior and Local Government, Metro Manila Development Authority, Philippine Information Agency and the local government units of Quezon City and Taguig City.

ICTSI posted $103.6-m earnings in six months PORT operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. said Tuesday it posted a 19-percent increase in net income in the first half, boosted by robust global trade and new container terminals abroad.

ICTSI, which is led by businessman Enrique Razon, reported a net profit of $103.6 million in January to June, up from $87.3 million in the same period last year.

The company attributed the increase in net income to the continuing ramp-up at the new terminal in Matadi, Democratic Republic of Congo, strong operating income contribution from the terminals in Iraq, Mexico and Brazil, and the one-time gain on the termination of the sub-concession agreement in Nigeria.

Gross revenues from port operations in the first half increased 10 percent to $603.7 million from $550.8 million reported in the same period in 2016.

“The increase in revenues was mainly due to volume growth, tariff rate adjustments at certain terminals, new contracts and services with shipping lines and the contribution from the company’s new terminals in Matadi, DRC and Melbourne, Australia,” ICTSI said.

Excluding the new terminal in DRC and Australia, consolidated gross revenues increased 5 percent.

Gross revenues increased 8 percent in the second quarter to $306.5 million from $284.3 million a year earlier.

Darwin G. Amojelar

B2

Business

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Chelsea raises P5.8b, drops 1.1% on debut

By Jenniffer B. Austria SHARE price of Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp., the shipping company of businessman Dennis Uy, fell on its debut at the Philippine Stock Exchange in line with the market’s decline Tuesday.

CLC closed at P10.56 Tuesday, down 1.1 percent from its initial public offering price of P10.86. The Philippine Stock Exchange index fell 0.1 percent.

CLC offered 546,593,000 new common shares to raise P5.84 billion in gross proceeds.

Uy said in an interview following the company’s listing ceremony CLC was in talks with a “handful of shipping companies” for possible acquisitions.

Uy said the planned acquisitions would boost the company’s earnings moving forward and add value to the company.

“The role of the shipping and logistics industry in sustaining and driving the growth of the economy of an archipelago like the Philippines is, to say the least, crucial,” Uy said.

“Moving agricultural products, construction materials, petroleum and other vital goods as well as large numbers of people from one island to another requires a robust, efficient and reliable shipping industry,” he said.

CLC earmarked P1.78 billion of the P5.5-billion IPO proceeds for fleet expansion, including the acquisition of a medium-range tanker that could carry 45 million to 55 million liters of bunker fuel across international waters.

The company also budgeted P245 million for the acquisition and/or upgrade of ports, port facilities, containers, machineries and equipment to support its core business.

Stock market declines; Security Bank, BDO up

S

TOCKS declined Tuesday to end a threeday advance, despite yet another record close on Wall Street, as investors focused on upcoming US inflation data for fresh clues about the direction of the American economy.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, dropped 5 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 7,986.51, as three of the six major sectors declined.

The heavier index, representing all shares, also shed 18 points, or 0.4 percent, to settle at 4,734.64, on a value turnover

of P8.6 billion. Losers outnumbered gainers, 138 to 60, while 51 issues were unchanged.

Nine of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led

by Security Bank Corp. which climbed 3.6 percent to P243 and developer Ayala Land Inc. which rose 2.8 percent to P43. BDO Unibank Inc., the largest lender,

gained 1.6 percent to P131, while PLDT Inc. picked up 1.1 percent to 1,658.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones eked out a ninth straight all-time high Monday, as a strong second-quarter earnings season continued to attract more funds to US equities, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq also advanced.

But regional bourses paused for breath in light summer holiday trading after recording healthy gains Monday on strengthening faith in the health of the world economy spurred by a better-than-expected US jobs report for July.

In Tokyo, a stronger yen, which

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2017

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 4 15,000 59.95 65,110 104.8 993,670 131 6,086,790 1.3 23,000 36.15 146,000 16.16 22,700 32.45 941,400 0.67 16,000 1.72 24,000 910 80 0.69 1,730,000 86.5 2,765,360 0.84 280,000 13.86 21,100 24.85 3,600 65.2 42,020 241 580 91 200 52.35 63,860 243 1,013,920 1,700 305 86.3 50,250 1.31 73,000

60,910 3,891,165 104,457,481 798,322,464 29,190 5,293,370 366,072 30,539,090 10,600 40,530 73,050 1,196,070 240,851,582.50 237,040 278,140 89,325 2,749,881(1, 139,456 18,200 3,379,876.50 244,147,070 517,925 4,336,587 97,250

12,000 3,059,375.50 -35,164,105 102,050,345 994,480 271,070 -49,156,972 517,480.5001) -9,100 -21,002.50 150,627,730 -

39.2 9.3 0.8 1.37 29.9 0.249 178 5.7 16.7 29.75 15.72 65.5 70 1.95 5.32 11.4 11.7 14.96 13.58 7.51 6.9 17.98 67 14.8 13.02 13.2 1.85 218.2 59.5 3.68 3.35 20.15 31.6 18.94 17.8 275 0.24 13.5 3.12 7.2 9.57 8 10.26 1.84 11.86 65.15 7.11 310 4.39 4.4 2.62 12.98 4.85 0.144 1.23 146.8 3.9 2.44 1.02

INDUSTRIAL 39.25 1,434,200 9.3 707,900 0.8 2,599,000 1.37 185,000 30.25 25,000 0.249 6,490,000 178 100 5.9 2,817,000 16.74 2,761,100 30.7 711,700 16.4 29,400 66 1,370 70 410 2.01 1,028,000 5.36 267,200 11.4 7,400 11.7 8,598,000 15 1,993,300 13.8 1,496,200 7.59 191,700 6.91 27,281,000 18.1 2,046,600 68.05 38,660 14.9 18,000 13.02 86,200 13.2 1,541,500 1.86 725,000 219 508,310 59.5 600 3.95 97,000 3.35 9,000 22.8 17,500 31.75 590,200 19 537,800 18.04 3,140,700 275.2 408,300 0.24 660,000 13.6 341,600 3.12 42,000 7.2 479,000 9.65 7,597,000 8.45 444,700 10.26 800 1.84 1,264,000 12.06 3,050,600 65.2 331,220 7.11 186,200 311 19,210 4.4 2,262,000 4.41 26,000 2.7 1,679,000 13.04 555,100 4.93 28,000 0.144 1,050,000 1.26 381,000 146.8 5,278,000 3.9 7,000 2.49 29,072,000 1.02 67,000

56,471,785 6,626,983 2,102,600 255,190 754,355 1,621,970 17,800 16,172,375 47,322,102 21,681,045 479,694 90,028 28,700 2,054,790 1 1,440,845 84,850 101,958,414 29,957,402 20,652,564 1,449,161 188,599,038 37,038,012(1, 2,628,858.50 267,132 1,123,588 20,513,918 1,348,790 111,357,796 35,707 378,550 30,490 395,030 18,745,915 10,246,208 56,738,078 113,532,952 158,910 4,804,072 131,650 3,457,373 73,272,538 3,775,789 8,220 2,333,640 36,880,606 21,688,553 1,326,716 5,968,172 9,953,620 114,420 4,530,770 7,230,564 136,750 151,200 472,890 776,648,407 27,520 72,996,320 68,340

-38,290,555 290,455 1,970,365 -13,884,684 18,438 ,284,620.0001 39,402,160 15,909,906 -880,170 -103,497 -64,020,598 373,499.9996) 607,438.50 -498,426 -1,084,270 130,200 7,446,810 198,210 -114,540 1,688,840 661,546 -34,407,906 -904,616 18,900 -24,310,674 -4,125 162,420 -927,042 7,173,678.50 683,986 2,367,700 932,760 105,600 317,680 6,672,036 68,850 8,640.00 59,164,632 -1,076,870 68,340

0.375 72.5 13.92 6.97 0.31 882.5 7.45 15.5 7.62 0.22 1,203 7.8 74.4 4.71 5.6 0.98 6.71 17.5 0.435 6.73 0.047 0.97 2.05 2.55 100.5 2.73 813.5 1.67 303 0.285 0.22 0.234

HOLDING FIRMS 0.38 5,670,000 72.55 457,540 13.92 5,716,600 6.98 76,600 0.325 1,010,000 885 306,210 7.5 1,289,500 15.76 5,807,200 7.8 4,700 0.22 130,000 1,215 50,515 7.96 20,200 74.4 581,000 4.71 1,000 5.6 100 0.99 981,000 6.98 1,798,800 17.5 4,315,100 0.435 940,000 6.75 12,368,000 0.048 19,300,000 0.97 3,000 2.05 2,008,000 2.56 11,000 101 58,930 2.73 1,000 820 328,710 1.7 695,000 304.6 2,670 0.285 200,000 0.22 2,480,000 0.234 60,000

2,131,800 33,410,917 79,921,952 536,184 318,100 271,004,890 9,694,258 91,250,114 36,664 28,600 61,403,285 159,338 43,441,997 4,710 560 962,980 12,442,675 77,514,424 416,700 83,523,005 908,400 2,910 4,120,160 28,180 5,953,976 2,730 269,832,160 1,172,280 812,078 57,000 550,990 14,040

6,847,523.50 -27,170,764 126,347,410 1,877,675 34,619,410 4,400 37,368,670 9,243,106 -2,637,996 4,536,218 89,000 35,015,390 200 102,500.00 -5,060 -12,960,875 1,720 -

1,060,352 38,628,950 1,137,700 2,284,140 691,447,135 9,882,080 21,932,540 507,827 10,484,980 68,090 299,670 35,304,090 942,960 10,462,350 4,577,350 185,590 9,581,860 34,072,220 420,500 235,945,120 8,383,400 14,894,080 3,697,240 5,115,980

-742,947 47,750 28,497,755 -1,528,580 3,025,000 -427,550 1,230 -590,300 268,260 1,229,675 -2,186,180 1,550 643,720 1,773,710 22,358,850 -61,150.00 103,160.00 736,660

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

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

4 59.7 106.7 130 1.26 36.15 16 32 0.66 1.68 915 0.69 87 0.86 13.98 24.4 65.7 239.8 91 53.9 235 1,705 86.3 1.32

4.16 59.95 106.8 132.1 1.3 36.4 16.16 32.6 0.67 1.72 915 0.7 88.15 0.86 13.98 24.85 65.75 241 91 53.9 244.2 1,705 86.35 1.36

4 59.55 104.1 129.9 1.26 36.15 16 32 0.66 1.63 910 0.69 86.5 0.84 13.02 24.4 65.1 239.8 91 52.25 233.8 1,685 86.3 1.31

ABOITIZ POWER AGRINURTURE ALLIANCE SELECT ALSONS CONS ASIABEST GROUP BASIC ENERGY BOGO MEDELLIN CEMEX HLDG CENTURY FOOD CIRTEK HLDG CNTRL AZUCARERA CONCEPCION CONCRETE A CROWN ASIA DAVINCI CAPITAL DEL MONTE DNL INDUS EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP EMPERADOR ENERGY DEVT FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG GINEBRA HOLCIM INTEGRATED MICR IONICS JOLLIBEE LIBERTY FLOUR LMG CHEMICALS MABUHAY VINYL MACAY HLDG 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 VULCAN INDL

40.1 9.35 0.81 1.38 30.75 0.25 178 5.79 18 30.7 15.72 66 70 1.97 5.42 11.48 12.18 15.18 13.6 7.67 6.92 18.46 69.2 14.86 13.2 13.36 1.91 219.4 59.55 3.91 3.44 22.5 31.65 19.3 18.1 280 0.241 13.76 3.14 7.23 9.65 8.4 10.3 1.85 12.7 66.2 7.14 311 4.42 4.4 2.87 13.04 4.85 0.144 1.27 149 4.01 2.5 1.02

40.1 9.4 0.82 1.41 30.75 0.26 178 5.9 18 30.7 16.46 66 70 2.03 5.42 11.48 12.22 15.18 13.92 7.67 6.93 18.46 69.2 14.9 13.2 13.5 1.91 220 59.55 3.98 3.45 23.1 31.95 19.3 18.14 280.6 0.241 14.5 3.14 7.3 9.68 8.81 10.3 1.86 12.7 66.3 7.35 312 4.49 4.41 2.87 13.06 4.93 0.144 1.27 149 4.01 2.58 1.02

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

0.38 75.5 14.16 6.97 0.315 886.5 7.5 15.8 7.62 0.22 1,229 7.82 76.8 4.71 5.6 0.99 7.1 18 0.445 6.8 0.048 0.97 2.07 2.58 101.3 2.73 815 1.68 304 0.285 0.221 0.234

0.385 75.5 14.2 7.04 0.325 887.5 7.59 15.8 7.84 0.22 1,229 8.03 76.8 4.71 5.6 1 7.1 18.04 0.445 6.8 0.048 0.97 2.07 2.58 101.4 2.73 825.5 1.74 305 0.285 0.234 0.234

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

5.5 1.54 2.3 1.02 42.25 3.68 4.82 5.3 0.53 1.19 1.52 0.215 0.51 48 0.72 0.155 1.87 1.68 0.99 4.85 0.35 0.56 0.53 4.79

5.51 1.56 2.33 1.02 43.4 3.7 4.84 5.33 0.53 1.23 1.55 0.225 0.52 48.1 0.72 0.157 1.88 1.68 0.99 4.85 0.35 0.59 0.53 4.83

5.46 1.42 2.19 1 42.2 3.6 4.65 5.3 0.51 1.19 1.52 0.2 0.51 46.1 0.7 0.154 1.85 1.61 0.98 4.78 0.335 0.52 0.51 4.66

VOLUME

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

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

30.05 25.3 1.78 3.19 34.2 1.02 7.4 0.88 5.9

30.05 25.3 1.8 3.24 34.9 1.02 7.4 0.89 5.9

30.05 24.35 1.78 3.19 33.8 1 6.92 0.87 5.82

30.05 24.5 1.78 3.24 33.8 1.01 7.4 0.88 5.9

1,100 1,063,900 269,000 5,000 7,455,100 1,015,000 400 224,000 7,499,300

33,055 26,093,325 483,430 16,110 254,765,790 1,019,050 2,867 196,570 43,889,038

-18,030 -2,196,645 -21,320,900 -2,127 -38,274,716

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

23.8 43.6 1.8 0.73 0.043 10.6 5.31 9 0.074 102.2 9.6 11.04 10.88 970 2,060 6.17 15.8 2.62 3.15 106 12.08 8.6 0.169 1.35 2.98 15.88 4.14 1.61 11.52 0.59 8.81 3.9 16.22 2.35 11.38 5.2 8.16 175 9.32 1,649 1.6 0.405 46.9 87 5.93 4.62 1.41 3.42 1.38 8.79

23.8 43.7 1.81 0.73 0.043 10.62 5.31 9.23 0.074 102.2 9.6 11.22 11.2 970 2,080 6.2 15.8 2.62 3.16 106.6 12.56 8.68 0.169 1.35 3.05 15.9 4.14 1.61 11.72 0.6 8.98 3.91 16.4 2.36 11.38 5.2 8.16 178 9.33 1,658 1.6 0.425 47.2 87 5.93 4.75 1.41 3.42 1.4 8.79

22 43.3 1.74 0.67 0.041 10.6 5.28 9 0.072 101.5 9.5 10.56 10.78 970 2,020 6.16 15.7 2.35 3.15 104.5 12.08 8.6 0.167 1.34 2.98 15.88 4 1.41 11.3 0.58 8.63 3.85 16.22 2.23 11.38 5.09 8.16 173 9.1 1,641 1.59 0.405 46.9 86.55 5.77 4.52 1.36 3.35 1.27 8.6

SERVICES 22.8 43.7 1.75 0.69 0.041 10.6 5.28 9.14 0.072 102 9.5 10.56 10.96 970 2,080 6.17 15.8 2.35 3.15 105.2 12.56 8.68 0.167 1.34 2.98 15.9 4.04 1.42 11.42 0.59 8.63 3.85 16.4 2.26 11.38 5.1 8.16 173 9.16 1,658 1.59 0.41 47 86.9 5.8 4.62 1.37 3.41 1.27 8.62

608,200 28,400 619,000 23,742,000 20,600,000 600 22,100 7,509,000 31,000,000 165,110 16,200 136,394,000 1,023,500 2,000 12,650 89,700 13,600 4,926,000 26,000 1,486,880 5,800 265,700 6,270,000 189,000 63,000 7,900 1,245,000 8,088,000 1,325,400 133,000 5,009,900 1,707,000 1,400 1,316,000 9,800 15,100 1,000 19,670 137,200 89,735 2,394,000 1,240,000 769,200 730,940 365,000 10,804,000 13,248,000 275,000 49,058,000 661,400

13,629,335 1,236,300 1,093,560 16,487,440 ( 855,500 6,364 116,970 68,658,365 2,255,250 16,835,075 153,930 1,495,309,274 31 11,246,614 1,940,000 26,107,490 554,818 213,896 12,075,860 81,970 156,442,394 70,544 2,285,435 1,050,710 253,560 188,860 125,462 5,061,970 12,057,000 15,174,684 78,210 43,722,079 6,619,300 22,860 2,997,240 111,524 77,965 8,160 3,404,194 1,258,554 148,087,725 3,811,320 510,700 36,166,170 63,520,497 2,128,032 50,366,180 18,178,870 8 928,820 64,084,880 5,722,350

324,325 -53,400 137,999.9997) 576,440 6,580 8,520,564 ,492,999.9996 -5,565,624 -1,900,200 31,720 79,700,707 12,560 -434,690 2,423,244 -22,424,033 144,050 13,740 26,680 -36,800 -30,818,840 -397,880 20,561,320 -209,347.50 5,800 1,358,650 ,008,750.0001 145,310 2,807,250 487,113.00

ABRA MINING APEX MINING ATLAS MINING ATOK 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 UNITED PARAGON

0.0028 1.59 5.23 13.22 1.22 0.385 8.42 2.61 0.3 0.184 0.191 0.01 0.011 1.83 6.45 1.96 0.59 1.04 0.01 0.01 0.013 2.5 8.81 3.77 168.2 0.008

0.0029 1.62 5.3 14.18 1.36 0.385 8.45 2.67 0.305 0.186 0.191 0.011 0.011 1.91 6.45 1.97 0.59 1.05 0.011 0.011 0.013 2.5 8.84 3.77 168.2 0.0082

0.0028 1.58 5.05 13.22 1.2 0.385 8.36 2.57 0.29 0.184 0.191 0.01 0.011 1.83 6.31 1.91 0.52 1.02 0.01 0.01 0.012 2.5 8.78 3.59 166.5 0.008

MINING & OIL 0.0028 64,000,000 1.59 3,613,000 5.1 471,800 14.18 4,100 1.32 12,264,000 0.385 460,000 8.37 10,700 2.57 19,831,000 0.295 3,210,000 0.184 2,270,000 0.191 10,000 0.011 600,000 0.011 200,000 1.86 321,000 6.31 1,466,700 1.96 20,000 0.55 374,000 1.03 318,000 0.011 10,900,000 0.011 2,500,000 0.012 15,700,000 2.5 6,000 8.83 357,900 3.62 4,021,000 166.5 412,700 0.0082 12,000,000

181,400 5,770,090 2,430,970 54,298 15,950,850 177,100 89,729 51,749,330 942,350 417,720 1,910 6,100 2,200 599,600 9,350,906 38,780 202,920 327,040 114,500 26,000 188,700 15,000 3,152,336 14,674,350 68,913,939 96,200

-724,810 -19,543 722,520 1,036,620 -6,000 94,860 -876,342 2,600 841,829 704,900 -11,757,818 -

ABS HLDG PDR ALCO PREF B DD PREF FGEN PREF F GLO PREF P GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF B LR PREF PCOR PREF 2A PF PREF 2 PNX PREF 3B SFI PREF SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

43 107 105.5 108 516 5.93 1,020 1.04 1,037 1,013 112 2.26 77 81.75 78 81.5 78.9 78.95 80

44.4 107 105.5 108 516 5.93 1,020 1.04 1,065 1,020 112 2.26 77 81.75 78 81.8 78.9 79 80

43 106 105.5 108 516 5.92 1,020 1.04 1,036 1,013 107.5 2.25 77 81.75 78 81.5 78.9 78.95 79.95

PREFERRED 43.5 2,100 106 5,500 105.5 400 108 50 516 10 5.92 126,500 1,020 5,800 1.04 1,000 1,065 8,160 1,020 2,790 107.5 4,100 2.25 24,000 77 7,270 81.75 4,800 78 1,500 81.5 3,400 78.9 6,700 79 95,600 79.95 1,530

91,565 587,600 42,200 5,400 5,160 750,114 5,916,000 1,040 8,493,425 2,838,725 441,665 54,210 559,790 392,400 117,000 277,106 528,630 7,551,110 122,325

69,905 -622,650 2,400

LR WARRANT

2.28

2.32

2.27

WARRANTS 2.27 505,000

1,154,010

-

ITALPINAS PHILAB HLDG XURPAS

3.71 5.07 6.12

3.71 5.07 6.14

3.59 4.7 5.6

3.59 4.75 5.62

3,128,330 1,891,539 70,635,452

-1,072,817 -9,027,415

FIRST METRO ETF

120.9

120.9

120.4

709,772

-

USD DMPL A1

10.5

10.5

10.5

31,500

-

MS

PROPERTY 5.48 1.42 2.2 1.01 43 3.6 4.66 5.33 0.51 1.23 1.53 0.2 0.51 46.1 0.7 0.157 1.87 1.61 0.98 4.83 0.34 0.54 0.52 4.66

192,900 26,546,000 515,000 2,263,000 16,068,300 2,712,000 4,664,000 95,500 20,168,000 57,000 197,000 163,740,000 1,845,000 223,800 6,535,000 1,190,000 5,140,000 20,715,000 427,000 49,090,000 24,560,000 26,996,000 7,132,000 1,084,000

TRADING SUMMARY

SHARES

FINANCIAL

14,378,675

INDUSTRIAL

123,257,504

HOLDING FIRMS

66,859,859

PROPERTY

399,718,943

SERVICES

335,150,751

MINING & OIL

155,419,035

GRAND TOTAL

1,108,170,983

SME

856,000 388,800 12,135,200

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 120.7 5,880 10.5

DDS

3,000

VALUE 1,996.73 (up) 12.90 1,441,169,796.75 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 11,012.47 (down) 167.13 1,913,787,029.145 HOLDING FIRMS 7,907.77 (down) 53.74 1,111,039,165.90 PROPERTY 3,777.98 (up) 20.15 SERVICES 1,676.34 (up) 7.51 1,468,531,023.09 MINING & OIL 12,777.26 (down) 101.18 2,387,610,134.37 PSEI 7,986.51 (down) 5.76 175,493,654.23 All Shares Index 4,734.64 (down) 18.72 8,573,999,272.28 Gainers: 60; Losers: 138; Unchanged: 51; Total: 249

weighs on exporters’ profits, capped the Japanese market’s gains, as the greenback started to give up gains from Friday’s robust US jobs data.

The Nikkei was off 0.3 percent by the break, also dragged down by tech giant SoftBank slipping into negative territory, while Hong Kong was flat in morning trade and Shanghai was marginally lower as figures showed Chinese imports and export growth missed forecasts in July.

Analyst said recent rises in equities in the US and Asia had been driven by strong earnings.

“The message from corporate CEOs around the world was loud and clear,” said Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG Markets.

“They are not concerned with Trump, geopolitics or trade restrictions, they see earnings growth as the main game in town and equity investors are aligned with this outlook.”

Market watchers are now eyeing whether the US bluechip index can match the all-time run of gains seen in January 1987, Weston added.

However, Chinese trade growth slowed significantly in July compared to the previous month, official data showed Tuesday, coming in well below expectations after months of steady momentum.

“Overall exports and imports are still resilient,” Raymond Yeung, chief greater China economist at ANZ in Hong Kong, said in a Bloomberg Television interview.

With Bloomberg, AFP

PSBank’s net profit up by 2% to P1.18b

By Julito G. Rada PHILIPPINE Savings Bank, the thrift bank arm of the Metrobank Group, said Tuesday net income in the first half rose 2 percent to P1.18 billion from P1.16 billion a year ago.

The bank said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the growth was driven by an 18-percent expansion in core income to P6.06 billion.

“Our first-half results validate our core banking strategy anchored on customer experience and digitalization.

We continue to post a strong financial performance with our retail business growing organically by double-digits, without increasing our brick and mortar branch network,” PSBank president Vicente Cuna Jr. said in a statement.

“We continue to innovate products and services and develop operational efficiencies while observing prudence. All these things, we do for our customers and stakeholders,” he said.

Stable demand for consumer loans continued to fuel the expansion of the bank’s total lending portfolio, which grew to P137.01 billion from P121.35 billion. Auto loans solidified the bank’s market position, recording a 20-percent growth in the first half.

Total deposits surged 32 percent to P183.61 billion from P139.34 billion, with low-cost current account, savings account deposits increasing 16 percent.

Total capital adequacy ratio―a measure of financial strength―stood at 14.2 percent while Tier 1 ratio reached 11.3 percent, above the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ benchmark of 10 percent and 9.3 percent, respectively.

Business

B3

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Keep papers in order, remittance firms told

BPI CAPITAL AWARDS. BPI Capital Corp., the investment banking arm of Bank of the Philippine Islands, bags multiple awards from The Asset and Finance Asia, both respected regional business and finance publications. BPI Capital in last month’s The Asset Triple A Asia Infrastructure Awards 2017 clinched five major awards: Renewable Energy Deal of the Year (Asia); Most Innovative Deal (Asia); Project Finance House of the Year (Philippines), Project Finance Deal of the Year (Philippines); and Most Innovative Deal (Philippines). Receiving the awards are (from left) Gabriel Mañalac of Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc., Clarice Marucut of Aboitiz Equity, Bonnie Banzon of BPI Capital and Noritaka Akamatsu of Asian Development Bank.

BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas reminded remittance companies, money changers and foreign exchange dealers in the country to observe proper record maintenance and adopt minimum internal control standards to safeguard their business.

Bangko Sentral issued a memorandum signed by Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier containing guidelines that must be followed by those engaged in the money service business.

Money service business operators must ensure proper records maintenance and conform to the Philippine financial reporting standards.

“It shall maintain proper and adequate accounting records...

It shall also ensure that all business transactions [cash and non-cash] are properly recorded and accounted for and reconciled with all relevant source documents,” it said.

Bangko Sentral said records, ledgers, books and documents, including those in electronic media, must also be made

available for examination upon request.

“Refusal to permit examination shall include any act of refusing to present the pertinent record upon request by any duly authorized BSP officer or examiner,” the regulator said.

Money service business operators must also adopt adequate and effective internal control measures to safeguard their assets, through proper segregation of duties and functions for critical operational functions, including cash handling and record keeping, to prevent the likelihood of mismanagement or fraud.

“No individual shall have complete authority and responsibility for handling all phases of any transaction from beginning to end, without some check or balance from some part of the organization,” it said.

In addition, no employee will be allowed to process a transaction in which he is either a beneficiary/remitter or buyer/ seller of currency.

Julito G. Rada

Anti-trust body warns of penalties

By Othel V. Campos

T

HE Philippine Competition Commission starting today may penalize and impose fine on companies found violating the Philippine Competitiveness Act following the end of a two-year transitory period that gave them time to correct unfair practices.

Commission chairman Arsenio Balisacan said hefty fines awaited violators of the law “but it also gives everyone a fair chance to get it right.”

“The operations of the Commission and the implementation of the competi-

tion law are now, indeed, in full swing. To the companies who welcome the challenge of competition, let us work hard to achieve our goals,” Balisacan said in a briefing Tuesday in Ortigas, Pasig City.

“However, to all those who

prevent real market competition from being realized, the law equally applies to all businesses, large or small, and we will not hesitate to use it to ensure fairness in the market,” he said.

The PCC is a quasi-judicial government agency tasked to stop anti-competitive behavior and practices in the market.

Balisacan said unfair practices which are detrimental to consumers and industry players occur when businesses agree to fix their prices or engage in bid rigging, when dominant firms actively prevent small and medium

enterprises or SMEs from expanding or entering the market, or when large companies merge, and as a result, raise prices and offer lowerquality products.

“Whether you are a CEO or a director in your company, you should think twice about allowing anticompetitive acts to be part of your business strategy,” he said.

Companies in the last two years were given the chance to renegotiate their agreements, amend their practices and restructure in order to comply with the law that was passed in 2015.

“With the full force of the

antitrust law, this shall serve as a warning to companies that continue to engage in unfair business practices or harbor anti-competitive behavior.

The Commission is your partner in progress but remember that we will also do whatever it takes to fulfill our mandate,” he added.

Commissioner Stella Quimbo said among the 114 cases reviewed by the Commission, there are two, aside from the acquisition of Globe Telecom Inc. and PLDT Inc., that may have anti-competitive tendencies. The two companies from the manufacturing and logistics sectors are still validating

Builder of $100-b Asian city looks beyond Chinese buyers

By Melissa Cheok COUNTRY Garden Holdings Co. said it’s looking to attract customers from countries such as Thailand and Vietnam as some Chinese buyers hit by capital controls have pulled back from the $100-billion Forest City project in southern Malaysia.

China’s escalating crackdown on capital outflows this year has spooked buyers seeking to invest in property abroad, with some reconsidering past purchases and others holding off on new purchases.

Developers that expanded into Malaysia’s Johor area to tap rising demand from Asia’s biggest economy are now trying to attract more non-Chinese buyers. Country Garden said it expects to open galleries targeting customers in the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan and Dubai between August and October, and plans to invest an additional $5 billion ringgit ($1.2 billion) this year in Forest City.

“This year, in the first half, we did see a slowdown. I would be lying if I said there was no impact from everything but that’s really why we’ve diversified our customer base,” Yu Runze, chief

Construction cranes stand beyond a landscaped area at the Country Garden Holdings Co. Forest City development site in the Iskandar Malaysia zone of Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia. Iskandar Malaysia is a government effort to leverage Singapore’s success by building a new metropolis near the causeway that connects the island state to the Malaysian city of Johor Bahru. Bloomberg

strategy officer of Country Garden Pacificview Sdn said in an interview. “Currently, there is no plan to slow down or stop the project,” said Yu. Country Garden’s Forest City development, which houses thousands of residential apartments, has seen less than 60 buyers ask-

ing to cancel their bookings out of the total 16,000 units sold last year, according to the company, which declined to provide sales numbers for this year.

Artificial Islands Built on four artificial islands in the state of Johor, near the causeway that con-

nects Singapore to Malaysia, the project will house approximately 700,000 people once completed.

The company currently has 15 sales galleries open across Malaysia and will add five more by the end of this month to promote residential apartment unit sales.

Country Garden expects to see diversification in its buyer base pick up from the first half of next year, said Yu from Pacificview, a Country Garden unit in Malaysia.

The developer also opened the first of six planned prefabrication facilities to manufacture ready-to-assemble concrete structures like staircases, beams and columns. The first facility, the largest in the world by volume, according to the firm, will be able to produce materials for up to one million square meters of built-up area.

In three to five years, these facilities will cater to other external projects beyond Forest City, Yu said.

The Forest City projects were first marketed in China with thousands of buyers paying deposits for apartments that cost as much as double the rate per square meter paid by Malaysian home buyers. But since the Chinese government tightened capital controls, some buyers have stopped making installment payments in fear of being held liable under China’s foreign exchange rules. The company has since ceased marketing Forest City in its sales offices in China and no longer organizes tours to the Johor projects for potential Chinese buyers. Bloomberg

D&L Industries cuts income growth target to single-digit level

By Jenniffer B. Austria D&L Industries Inc., the country’s largest customized food ingredients and oleochemicals firm, reduced its 2017 net income growth target to single-digit level from an initial projection of a double-digit expansion on slow infrastructure spending.

“We are guiding lower partly because we have always been conservative as a company. But

we are also seeing reasons why the growth might slow,” D&L president Alvin Lao told reporters in a press briefing Tuesday.

While the administration had exerted efforts to improve infrastructure in the country, project implementation is slow.

D&L posted marginal growth in earnings in the second quarter to P688 million because of exceptionally strong earnings in the same last year as a result

of election-related spending.

First-half earnings stood at P1.35 billion, up 7.5 percent, on higher export sales.

Revenues in the first six months of the year climbed 24 percent to P12.7 billion as exports surged 64 percent to P2.9 billion on the strong performance of the food ingredients business.

With the company’s partnerships with Ventura and Bunge maintaining pace, Lao said the

food ingredients segment was now the biggest contributor to exports, accounting for 42 percent of total sales compared with just 19 percent in the full of 2016.

Lao said the company was keeping a plan build a new manufacturing facility to expand its capacity despite a conservative net income target for the year.

“All our plants are running at 70 percent capacity and it will

only be a matter on time when we will hit full capacity. So we still need to expand,” Lao said.

D&L is primarily engaged in product customization and specialization for the food, plastics, and aerosol industries.

Established in 1963, D&L has the largest market share in each of the industries it serves, as well as longstanding customer relationships with the Philippines’ leading consumer and chemical companies.

data and assessing the proposed transactions.

“If the Commission has not yet arrived at a decision within a 60-day period, the transactions are considered approved,” she said.

Of the 114 notifications submitted to the Commission approximately worth P2 trillion, 95 have been cleared while 32 were reviewed.

Others are in various stages of completion.

Majority of them are from the financial, manufacturing, electricity, and transportation sectors, accounting for about 62 percent of the total number of notifications.

PAL set to expand flights to London

By Darwin G. Amojelar PHILIPPINE Airlines said it will deploy Boeing 777300s for its Manila-to-London flights starting September 19, replacing Airbus 340s.

The Boeing triple 7, considered the airline’s flagship aircraft on US transpacific route, will soon serve Manila to United Kingdom operations to provide passengers a premium travel experience.

By December, PAL will increase frequencies between the two cities from four times weekly to daily giving passengers the flexibility to choose from a wide selection of flight schedules.

“As we carry out the brand promise to be a full service five star carrier of the country and be a source of pride of Filipinos everywhere, we shall continue to enhance the total travel experience along the route,” PAL president and chief operating officer Jaime Bautista said.

“We want our passengers to have the ultimate travel experience marked by comfort, inflight connectivity and the caring service of our cabin crew, embodying the Heart of the Filipino,” he added.

The B777 replaces the A340s which have served as workhorses between Manila and London Heathrow since 2013.

“With its range and operational capability, the flag carrier will be at par with other full service carriers along the route. We will also increase capacity as the aircraft will have a 370-seating capacity on a two–class configuration (42 on business and 328 on economy) as compared to the 254-seating capacity of the A340,” Bautista said.

Ray S. Eñano, Editor business@thestandard.com.ph extrastory2000@gmail.com

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017

Business

China trade growth slowed in July

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EIJING, China―Chinese trade growth slowed significantly in July compared to the previous month, official data showed Tuesday, coming in well below expectations after months of steady momentum.

This photo taken on August 7, 2017 shows employees working in a textile factory in Linyi in China’s eastern Shandong province.

Chinese trade growth slowed significantly in July compared to the previous month, official data showed on August 8, coming in well below expectations after months of steady momentum.

AFP

Germany’s trade surplus widened in June FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Germany―Germany’s trade surplus grew in June, official figures showed Tuesday, while saber rattling continues in Washington and Brussels over possible US protectionist moves.

Europe’s largest economy exported 21.2 billion euros ($25 billion) worth of goods more than it imported in June, the federal statistics authority, Destatis, calculated in figures adjusted for seasonal and calendar effects.

In absolute terms, the amount of goods sold abroad amounted to 104.9 billion euros in June, a drop of 2.8 percent from the

figure for May, while the total amount of goods bought from abroad totaled 83.7 billion euros, down 4.5 percent on the month.

Germany increased both its imports and its exports to the EU in June, but while its imports to the the rest of the world grew strongly, exports shrank slightly.

The drop in exports was “disappointing,” analyst Carsten Brzeski of ING Diba bank said, although he noted that increased trade from fellow EU members slightly offset the fall in exports to Britain.

British customers’ purchasing power is weaker, as the pound

has lost value since voters elected to quit the EU last June.

Overall, Germany’s trade surplus―which has long been a bone of contention between Berlin and the US and even its closest allies in the EU―grew in both a month-on-month and year-on-year comparison.

Germany’s trading partners argue that Europe’s economic powerhouse could do more to rein in its trade surplus and thereby help to boost their economies, for example, by investing more at home to drive up imports.

But Berlin has long insisted that its export strength is attrib-

utable to the quality of its products. Germany also argues that the loose monetary policy from the European Central Bank has driven down the euro, making German exports more competitively priced in other currencies.

US President Donald Trump, who swept to power on protectionist rhetoric, has threatened to slap punitive tariffs on German and European goods in a bid to drive down America’s trade deficit.

The European Union has said it is ready to respond with sanctions of its own on items from across the Atlantic. AFP

Analysts said that while export and import rates were still robust year-on-year, the latest data indicated a downward trend.

Exports rose 7.2 percent year-on-year to $193.65 billion, the customs administration said, undershooting a Bloomberg News forecast of 11 percent.

Imports were up 11 percent year-on-year―compared with an expected increase of 18 percent― to $146.9 billion, lifting the trade surplus to $46.74 billion.

“Despite the uptick at the end of (the second quarter), trade growth now appears to be on a downward trend,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard, a China economist at Capital Economics.

“In particular, the sharp decline in import growth since the start of the year suggests that domestic demand is softening.”

The trade figures come despite positive recent economic data, including better-thanexpected second-quarter GDP growth of 6.9 percent.

China has been trying to curb capital flight and risky bank lending, putting restrictions on property purchases as the country’s mounting debt fuels fears of a looming financial crisis that could have global repercussions.

Regulators are now focused on reining in “grey rhinos”―a term broadly referring to risky financial practices that have long been visible but ignored.

The term in China applies to several large quasi-private companies such as Wanda, Anbang, and Fosun that have used

cheap debt from state-owned banks to fuel aggressive expansion at home and abroad but whose wings are now being clipped by Beijing.

The July import and export data follows the passing on Saturday of a UN Security Council Resolution that significantly strengthened sanctions on North Korea by banning its exports of coal, iron, and other key hard-currency earners.

China is North Korea’s most important trading partner but has presented an increasingly united front with the US to Pyongyang.

“Although China’s monthly trade surplus increased, trade tensions between the US and China have eased following China’s co-operation with the US for tougher economic sanctions on North Korea,” said Rajiv Biswas, chief economist for IHS Markit.

“US-China bilateral trade relations are currently being driven by US-China cooperation on trying to bring North Korea back to the Six Party Talks.”

Demand for Chinese products has remained resilient as growth in major trading partners continues to recover. At home, stronger-than-expected output is supporting robust import demand. Yet the world’s largest exporter confronts more uncertainty as US President Donald Trump continues sporadic tough talk on trade.

The White House may be considering a probe of alleged intellectual property violations, which could risk igniting trade tensions. AFP, Bloomberg

Oil stays below $50 a barrel OIL traded near $49 a barrel as officials from Russia and Kuwait conducted meetings in Abu Dhabi with producers to examine why some are shirking their commitment to reduce output.

Futures lost 0.2 percent in New York after dropping 0.4 percent Monday. Talks are being held separately with representatives from Iraq, United Arab Emirates and Kazakhstan through Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter. US crude stockpiles probably declined by 2.1 million barrels last week, a Bloomberg survey shows before government data Wednesday.

Oil in New York was unable to hold its first advance above $50 a barrel since May as signs of rising global supply eroded optimism that output curbs by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners are rebalancing the market.

Compliance by Opec members slid to 78 percent in June, according to the International Energy Agency.

“The market will look for confirmation that the group will continue to abide by their cuts,” said David Lennox, a Sydney-based analyst at Fat Prophets. “Oil prices will probably do some work between $45 and $55 for some time.”

West Texas Intermediate for September delivery was at $49.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 10 cents, at 7:45 a.m. in London.

Total volume traded was about 24 percent below the 100-day average. Prices lost 19 cents to $49.39 on Monday.

Brent for October settlement dropped 14 cents to $52.23 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

Prices slid 5 cents to $52.37 on Monday. The global benchmark traded at a premium of $2.81 to October WTI. Bloomberg

Customers sit at outdoor tables at a Starbucks Corp. coffee shop in Shanghai, China. Bloomberg

China millennials swap tea for coffee as Starbucks pushes East AT A Starbucks in downtown Beijing, Du Beibei is getting her lunch-break caffeine fix. Like many young Chinese, she’s chosen to sip a cup of coffee instead of the more traditional tea.

“I drink coffee three or four times a week and usually go to coffee shops to meet friends,” she said. “They are more comfortable than tea houses.”

Du, who is in her 30s and still drinks tea at home, is among a growing number of Chinese consumers flocking to coffee shops and developing a taste for what’s viewed as a trendy Western beverage.

The resulting consumption growth is grabbing the attention of big-brand chains including Starbucks Corp., which last month extended its reach in China with a $1.2-billion deal for control of more than 1,000 coffee shops. While volumes remain low by global standards, a shift toward coffee in the most-populous and biggest tea-drinking nation could have a massive impact over time.

The Chinese coffee market grew several times faster than the global average in the decade to 2013-14, according to International Coffee Organization data,

as the country prospers from urbanization, a growing middle class and rising incomes.

Retail sales of tea still outweigh coffee by about 10 to one, but consumption growth mirrors an earlier expansion in Japan, which became the world’s fourth-largest coffee consumer in the 2000s.

“If you take the growth curve of Japan between 1963 and 1973, you will see it’s practically the same as China’s in the decade to 2014,” said Joseph Reiner, the head of coffee at Cofco International, a unit of China’s top food company. “They used to drink only tea and now you have that Starbucks effect.”

The $1.1-billion Chinese coffee market is dominated by Nestle SA, with a 66 percent share, according to Euromonitor International Ltd. The world’s largest food company says it’s optimistic about consumption prospects and expects China to become one of the leading coffee countries.

Chinese Potential While Chinese demand is still a fraction of US consumption and less than half of Japan’s, the potential for growth means retail chains are already jostling for position. Starbucks has been in the country for almost 20 years

and has expanded to about 2,800 outlets. Last month, the Seattlebased retailer said it would buy out its partners in a joint venture in east China, taking control of roughly 1,300 franchised locations.

“We think bringing east China into a company-operated model sets the opportunity for the next two decades,” Kevin Johnson, chief executive officer of Starbucks, said in an interview.

“We’re playing a long game.”

Dunkin’ Donuts Inc., which failed in two previous attempts to crack the Chinese market, is targeting 1,400 locations within 20 years from 34 stores now.

Consumers still drink a relatively small amount of coffee, but the category is growing fast and could eventually surpass tea, according to Dunkin’ Chief Executive Officer Nigel Travis.

The ICO estimates Chinese coffee demand increased by 16 percent on average a year in the 10 years to 2013-14. That compares with global growth of about 2 percent, the US Department of Agriculture estimated.

Cream and Sugar For now, Chinese consumers still favor instant drinks, particularly the so-called 3-in-1, which contains coffee, sugar and creamer, as well as any flavorings.

More than 90 percent of coffee retail sales are the instant type, said Limin Yu, senior research associate at London-based Euromonitor.

Most instant kinds of coffee are made from robusta, a cheaper variety of coffee that’s predominately grown in Vietnam. The growing popularity of cafes means there’s potential for consumers to trend up with higher-end beverages, which will increase demand for milder and more expensive arabica beans.

“The first step is to switch tea into more mild coffee drinks such as 3-in-1s and the frappuccinos you get at Starbucks,” Cofco’s Reiner said. “Then coffee starts being consumed in the office and at home. That’s how it develops.

We are talking a massive potential here, with between 450 to 600 million Chinese joining the middle class by 2021-22.”

Back in Beijing, Kathy Chen, 28, says that she likes all kinds of coffee, from Italian brews to Vietnamese drip.

“Coffee bars are the places where you can talk to friends and relax,” she said, adding that strong Mandheling, a type of Indonesian coffee, is her favorite.

Bloomberg

52nd National Day of Singapore

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017 advertise@thestandard.com.ph

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Singapore—A Global Aviation Hub The new icon of Changi Airport (Photo courtesy of Ministry of Transport, Republic of Singapore)

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INGAPORE has come a long way from our earlier days as a technical stop between Europe and Australia. From the outset, our aviation policies emphasized open skies, and our airport was designed to facilitate hassle-free connections between flights. Today, Changi Airport serves nearly 7,000 flights every week, connecting passengers to more than 380 cities worldwide.

Transforming the Aviation Sector The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) is working with stakeholders to build an even more vibrant air hub. Unveiled in April 2017 by Second Minister for Transport Ng Chee Meng, the Air Transport Industry Transformation Map (ITM) provides a roadmap for the future of Singapore aviation through a pipeline of initiatives.

The target is for the aviation sector to achieve real valueadded growth of 16% from 2015 to 2020, boost productivity by 3 – 4% per annum, and create an additional 8,000 good aviation jobs by 2025. This will be done through four key thrusts.

Thrust 1: Innovation To encourage businesses to pioneer novel solutions to solve pressing issues facing aviation today, CAAS will set up testbeds and support companies’ experimentation with new technology and processes.

Thrust 2: Productivity The ITM will seek higher productivity by accelerating the use of technology, redesigning work processes and encouraging new ways of doing business, in order to overcome manpower and resource constraints.

For instance, airport companies

ADVANCES in digital technology can help address urban challenges and open up new possibilities to enhance the way we live, work, play, and interact. The Smart Nation initiative is our national effort to leverage technology to support better living, build stronger communities, and create more opportunities, for all.

We are putting in place the required infrastructure, policies, tools and enabling platforms to facilitate and encourage co-creation by people and businesses with the Government.

Good Infrastructure and Innovation Ecosystem Singapore is one of the most well connected cities in the world, and we continue to improve and enhance coverage.

The number of Wireless@ SG hotspots across Singapore will be doubled from 10,000 to 20,000 by 2018 and free WiFi connectivity will be expanded to cover all MRT and LRT Platforms, bus interchanges and terminals by 2020.

We invest in education and upgrading of skills through the Skillsfuture programme to equip our workforce with the necessary digital skills so our people stay relevant and can

such as ground-handling company SATS are exploring the use of autonomous vehicles, both within the terminals and on the apron. These will allow workers to be redeployed from routine driving to higher valueadded roles, such as managing fleets of these unmanned vehicles and ensuring timely and accurate aircraft departures.

With the implementation of Fast and Seamless Travel (FAST) at Changi Airport, self-service processes are now offered at key passenger touch points.

Automated check-in and bag-drop facilities can already be found at Terminals 1, 2 and 3. A full suite of FAST automated options with biometric integration for check-in, bag-drop, immigration clearance and boarding will be implemented at the new Terminal 4 when it opens later this year.

This will greatly reduce manual passenger processing.

Thrust 3: Jobs and Skills To keep pace with growth, the aviation sector will also need to deepen the skills of the workforce.

Schemes for skills upgrading, such as the SkillsFuture Study Awards for the Air Transport Sector, encourage Singaporeans to develop and deepen careerrelated specialist skills, while the Professional Conversion Programme makes it easier for

Sky Nets (Photo courtesy of Ministry of Transport, Republic of Singapore)

mid-career workers to take up aviation jobs. CAAS will also be developing a new air transport degree programme, which offers opportunities for internships and work-study stints to facilitate graduates’ seamless entry into the sector.

Thrust 4: Enterprise Last but not least, CAAS will provide opportunities for local businesses to grow. For example, CAAS will be issuing a Call for Proposals (CFP) to collaborate with end-users and drone companies to test out innovative use cases for drones.

Contributing to International Civil Aviation Singapore is actively engaged with the international civil aviation community through our participation in global and regional bodies. Singapore is currently a member of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), ICAO’s Air Navigation Commission, and over 110 ICAO expert bodies.

Singapore chairs 18 of these expert

bodies and has seconded experts in the fields of air navigation, aviation safety and aviation security to the ICAO Secretariat at its Montreal Headquarters and the Asia-Pacific Regional Office in Bangkok.

Singapore is also a key member of the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation.

In support of the push towards an ASEAN Single Aviation Market, CAAS chairs the ASEAN Aviation Regulatory Monitoring System, which seeks to align the regulatory systems of ASEAN Member States with ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices.

In another initiative, CAAS has teamed up with Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) from other Asia-Pacific countries to trial Distributed Multi-Nodal Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM). This information-sharing framework among airspace users, airport operators and ANSPs aims to regulate the departures of flights to cut airborne holding times and minimise delays on arrival. It will reduce imbalances between air

traffic demand and capacity at key airports, as well as fuel burn and carbon emissions.

Operational trials to validate the ATFM concept have been ongoing since 2015, in partnership with China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, and have yielded positive results.

A three-day operational trial in August 2016 at Changi Airport, involving a total of 112 flights, saw a reduction in airborne holding times by approximately six minutes on average, which equates to aggregated fuel savings of approximately S$100,000.

Capturing Passenger Mindshare with Jewel Changi Airport Even as we work to enhance the safety, security, efficiency and sustainability of Changi Airport, we are mindful that an enjoyable passenger experience is also key to its success. To further elevate the Changi Experience, Jewel Changi Airport is under construction.

Jewel sits in the middle of and connects Changi Airport Terminals

Singapore’s Smart Nation Initiative seize opportunities that technology presents.

We nurture a vibrant innovation and business ecosystem, by linking and expanding networks of companies, research centres and public agencies to share knowledge and innovation throughout the economy and society. We have incubation spaces and accelerators set up at Cleantech Park and Launchpad to support startups at various stages of their growth. By bridging innovation and enterprise, solutions can be tested, scaled up and adapted for application beyond our shores.

Enabling Platforms We are also investing in integrated digital platforms to facilitate and support the development of innovative services by businesses and people. Singapore is developing a National Digital Identity where our citizens can digitally identify themselves, and easily sign and securely transact with Government and businesses. Another platform we are building is the Smart Nation Sensor Platform, which is a joint platform for Government agencies to exploit sensors, and IoT and the associated backend intelligence. It

Smart Health TeleRehab (Photos courtesy of IHiS)

allows data from different sources such as security, transport and to be integrated, for improved sustainability.

We are setting out enabling public service delivery in areas

regulations and policies in place to drive innovation. Besides extending some 67km of public roads to facilitate Self-Driving Vehicle (SDV) trials, we have established the Centre of Excellence for Testing & Research of AVs – NTU (CETRAN) for the development of SDV technologies and regulations. We are also putting regulatory sandboxes to develop emerging solutions; Looking Glass @ MAS, for the development of new FinTech innovations and services.

To foster co-creation of solutions, we provide open source platforms, real-time APIs and open data such as through www.data.gov.sg and LTA’s Datamall, which have resulted in the creation of many citizen-centric, ground-up applications.

Enhanced Mobility and Healthcare We harness data and digital technologies to enhance commuting experiences.

By identifying commuter hotspots and using data to manage bus fleets to meet realtime demand, we have reduced crowdedness on buses and shortened waiting times for popular services.

To improve quality of healthcare

1 to 3, and provides not just facilities for airport operations such as expanded arrival and baggage claim halls for Terminal 1, dedicated services for flycruise and fly-coach passengers, and early check-in facilities, but also unique lifestyle offerings, including gardens and other attractions, retail and dining options, and a hotel. Jewel will open in 2019.

Located at Jewel’s topmost level, the Canopy Park will feature three iconic attractions that blend into lush greenery – Sky Nets, Canopy Mazes and Discovery Slides. In addition, there will be open areas where children will be able to wander amidst the greenery. One such area, Foggy Bowls, will incorporate mist to simulate the experience of playing amongst clouds.

Emphasising Singapore’s aim to be a City in a Garden, Jewel will house one of the country’s largest indoor plant collections, with Canopy Park boasting over 1,400 trees and palms. Nestled amongst winding walkways, the Topiary Walk will surprise visitors with its animal-shaped topiaries at every turn, while the Petal Garden will showcase seasonal floral displays.

The highlight of Canopy Park is the 50-metre long Canopy Bridge, which provides visitors with an excellent vantage point to enjoy the breath-taking 40-metre high Rain Vortex, which is slated to be the world’s tallest indoor waterfall. Suspended 23 metres above ground, the Canopy Bridge will incorporate glass panel flooring in its centre for visitors to look right through to the ground floor of Jewel.

With these unique offerings, Jewel promises to strengthen Changi Airport’s appeal as one of the world’s leading air hubs.

and aid active ageing, Video Consultation and TeleRehabilitation services help shift care beyond hospitals to the community, offering seamless access to patientcare while Elderly Monitoring Systems in homes also ensure the well-being and safety of the elderly through the use of motion sensors.

Enhanced Public Services Digital Government Services have helped transactions with companies and citizens become more seamless. CorpPass acts as a single corporate digital ID for businesses, making business transactions with the government more convenient and secure.

Foreign entities are also able to make use of this portal without having to register for Unique Entity Numbers (UEN).

As a one-stop health information and services web portal and mobile application, HealthHub offers citizens access to own health and medical records, medical appointments, and directory of healthcare facilities. Authorised caregivers can also be granted access to help better manage care receiver’s health.

Visit www.smartnation.sg to find out more.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Manila

LGUs

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TODAY WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017

Makati retags fault line buildings M

By Joel E. Zurbano

AKATI City Mayor Abigail Binay has ordered the retagging of critical structures and areas in the city near the West Valley Fault, in line with the city government’s contingency measures for a powerful earthquake that could hit Metro Manila.

Tagged were properties and households located within the five-meter buffer zone on either side of the Fault, which traverses four barangays in the city and is expected to generate a magnitude-7.2 earthquake in Metro Manila anytime soon.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology identified Makati as one of the cities in Metro Manila to be severely affected by a massive quake if the Valley Fault System moves.

Binay said an update of the present list of affected properties is needed to implement the marker installation project in the four barangays. She also asked for a survey of households located in lots within the buffer zones to determine the number of tar-

get beneficiaries for the city’s relocation assistance program.

“We have prioritized the retagging of properties within the fault buffer zone and the household survey to obtain accurate data for the effective implementation of our marker installation project and to determine how many households would need relocation assistance from the city government,” said Binay.

In coordination with the Makati Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, the city’s Department of Engineering and Public Works is delineating the properties within the buffer zones, while the Makati Social Welfare Department is conducting the household survey.

The Assessment Department provides property valuation

A Sure Bet for Progress in Gaming, Entertainment and Nation Building

InvItatIon to BId for Supply and delIvery of nIne (9) lotS varIouS Grocery ItemS for pamaSkonG HandoG under ItB no. pB17-054cor-08 The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is inviting all interested bidders in its forthcoming public bidding for the Supply and Delivery of Nine (9) Lots Various Grocery Items for Pamaskong Handog under ITB No. PB17-054COR-08.

Brief Description Lot No. Description 1 Supply and Delivery of Spaghetti Noodles 2 Supply and Delivery of Spaghetti Sauce 3 Supply and Delivery of All-Purpose Cream 4 Supply and Delivery of Cheese 5 Supply and Delivery of Corned Beef 6 Supply and Delivery of Ham 7 Supply and Delivery of Chocolate Powdered Drink 8 Supply and Delivery of Condensed Milk 9 Supply and Delivery of Fruit Cocktail Approved The total ABC is in the amount of Ten Million Five Hundred Sixty-Two Budget for the Thousand Six Hundred Twenty-Five Pesos (PhP 10,562,625.00), VAT Contract (ABC) Exclusive, Zero Rated Transaction, with breakdown as follows (ABC VAT Exclusive, Zero Rated Transaction) Eight Hundred Seventy-Five Supply and Delivery of 1 Thousand Nine Hundred TwentySpaghetti Noodles Five Pesos (PhP 875,925.00) One Million Eighty-Two Thousand Supply and Delivery of 2 Twenty-Five Pesos Spaghetti Sauce (PhP 1,082,025.00) Six Hundred Eighteen Thousand Supply and Delivery of 3 Three Hundred Pesos All-Purpose Cream (PhP 618,300.00) One Million Five Hundred NinetySupply and Delivery of Seven Thousand Two Hundred 4 Cheese Seventy-Five Pesos (PhP 1,597,275.00) Supply and Delivery of One Million Eight Hundred Three 5 Corned Beef Thousand Three Hundred SeventyFive Pesos (PhP 1,803,375.00) Two Million Nine Thousand Four Supply and Delivery 6 Hundred Seventy-Five Pesos of Ham (PhP 2,009,475.00) Supply and Delivery of Nine Hundred Twenty-Seven 7 Chocolate Powdered Thousand Four Hundred Fifty Pesos Drink (PhP 927,450.00) Seven Hundred Twenty-One Supply and Delivery of 8 Thousand Three Hundred Fifty Condensed Milk Pesos (PhP 721,350.00) Nine Hundred Twenty-Seven Supply and Delivery of Thousand Four Hundred 9 Fifty Pesos Fruit Cocktail (PhP 927,450.00) Within fifteen (15) calendar days commencing from the date of receipt by the winning contractor of the Notice to Proceed or upon the advice of the end-user.

Corporate Budget for CY 2017 Lot No.

Delivery Schedule Source of Funds

Description

NOTE: Bidders may bid on any or all lots.

Bidders should have completed, within the last three (3) years before the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

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

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

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

All particulars relative to Pre-Bid Conference, Detailed Evaluation of Bids, Post-Qualification and Award of Contract shall be governed by the pertinent provisions of R.A. 9184 and its IRR. The schedule of bidding activities is listed, as follows: 1.

Activities Issuance of the Bidding Documents

2.

Pre-Bid Conference

3.

Deadline for the Submission and Receipt of Bids

4.

Opening and Preliminary Examination of Bids

Date, Time and Venue August 9, 2017 (Wednesday) to August 29, 2017 Tuesday) August 17, 2017 (Thursday), 10:00 A.M. at Corporate Lounge, Sixth (6th) Floor PAGCOR Corporate, 1588 M.H. Del Pilar corner Pedro Gil Streets, Malate, Manila August 29, 2017 (Tuesday), 10:00 A.M. at Corporate Lounge, Sixth (6th) Floor PAGCOR Corporate, 1588 M.H. Del Pilar corner Pedro Gil Streets, Malate, Manila August 29, 2017 (Tuesday), 10:00 A.M. onwards at Corporate Lounge, Sixth (6th) Floor PAGCOR Corporate, 1588 M.H. Del Pilar corner Pedro Gil Streets, Malate, Manila

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

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested Bidders upon payment of the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents, pursuant to the latest Guidelines issued by the GPPB, based on the following schedules: Approved Budget for the Contract 500,000.00 and below More than 500,000.00 up to 1 Million More than 1 Million up to 5 Million More than 5 Million up to 10 Million More than 10 Million up to 50 Million

Cost of Bidding Documents (in Philippine Pesos) 500.00 1,000.00 5,000.00 10,000.00 25,000.00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In accordance with Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) Circular 06-2005 - Tie-Breaking Method, the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) shall use a non-discretionary and non-discriminatory measure based on sheer luck or chance, which is “DRAW LOTS,” in the event that two (2) or more bidders have been post-qualified and determined as the bidder having the Lowest Calculated Responsive Bid (LCRB) to determine the final bidder having the LCRB, based on the following procedures: a) In alphabetical order, the bidders shall pick one rolled paper. b) The lucky bidder who would pick the paper with a “CONGRATULATIONS” remark shall be declared as the final bidder having the LCRB and recommended for award of the contract.

PAGCOR reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award in accordance with Section 41 of RA 9184 and its IRR, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

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

The Marker Installation Project, on the other hand, is part of the Revised Makati Earthquake Contingency Plan, and aims to reinforce public awareness on the location of the fault and its buffer zone.

During dialogs with residents of the four barangays last March, Mayor Binay emphasized the city government will not purchase affected lots, but will instead provide financial assis-

based on proposed delineations, and Liga ng mga Barangay facilitates coordination with the barangay authorities.

The Makati DRRMO and Urban Development Department provide technical support to the composite field teams.

To date, the field teams have completed retagging and survey in Barangays East Rembo and Pembo. A total of 96 private properties and 201 households were tagged within the fault’s buffer zone in East Rembo, while 87 private properties with 175 households were tagged in Pembo.

On Monday, they started the activity in Barangay Rizal where they tagged 42 private properties with 71 households on the first day.

The retagging of properties in the buffer zones is being implemented following the assessment by Phivolcs that the current list includes some properties outside of the buffer zones. The list had been prepared using the city’s Geographic Information System, cadastral maps and property inventory from the Assessment Department.

Under the city’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan 2013-2023 and its corresponding Zoning Ordinance, the 10-meter buffer zone of the fault system is delineated as “open space” with corresponding development strategies.

ship with the National Housing Authority to accommodate households that will agree to relocate.

Binay initiated dialogs in the four barangays traversed by the fault as part of an aggressive campaign to raise awareness among affected residents and community leaders about the risks of living within the identified buffer zones of the West Valley Fault.

HOSPITAL INSPECTION. Senator JV Ejercito (center) visits the Batangas Medical Center, formerly known as the Batangas Regional Hospital, in his role as chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography. Ejercito inspected the hospital’s healthcare facilities and offered medical services with Batangas Gov. Hermilando ‘Dodo’ Mandanas (right).

P20-m PLM MVP tech center unveiled

By Bill Casas MANILA Mayor Joseph Estrada on Monday unveiled a new P20million state-of-the-art technology and laboratory center at the city-run Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.

Estrada said PLM students now have greater access to the kind of technology and equipment they need to succeed in the future through the MVP Tech-

nology and Innovation Center, built through funds provided by tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan.

“This facility is an important step in enriching the learning experience of PLM students as they seek to be the next generation of our city’s leaders,” Estrada said during the turnover ceremonies.

“On behalf of PLM officials, faculty and students, as well as the entire City of Manila, I ex-

Republic of the Philippines Province of Bataan City of Balanga BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE OFFICE InvItatIon to BId no. Infra -067-2017 The 67Provincial Government of Bataan, through the Special Educational Fund intends to apply the below listed project w/ corresponding Approved Budget of the Contract (ABC). Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected a bid opening.

Name of Project Approved Budget of the Contract (ABC) 1. Construction of Three (3) Storey Twenty-Four (24) CL School Building, Mariveles NHS Annex-Cabcaben, =P=36,999,944.59 Barangay Alas-asin, Mariveles, Bataan The Provincial Government of Bataan now invites bids for the above listed Projects. Completion of works is requiredon or before the maturity date stipulated on contract. Bidders should have completed, at least one (1) contract that is similar to the contract to be bid. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

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

Bidding is open to all interested bidders, whether local or foreign, subject to the conditions for eligibility provided in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from Office of Bataan Bids & Awards Committeeand inspect the Bidding Documents from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the same office.

Bid documents will be available only to eligible bidders upon payment of a nonrefundable amount of using standard rates approved by GPPB as stated on their Resolution No. 04-2012 listed below.

Approved Budget for the Contract 500,000 and below More than 500,000 up to 1 Million More than 1 Million up to 5 Million More than 5 Million up to 10 Million More than 10 Million up to 50 Million More than 50 Million up to 500 Million More than 500 Million

Maximum Cost of Bidding Documents (in Philippine Peso) 500.00 1,000.00 5,000.00 10,000.00 25,000.00 50,000.00 75,000.00

The Provincial Government of Bataanwill hold a Pre-Bid Conference on August 11, 2017 at 10:00 A.M at Provincial BAC Office, PEO Capitol Compound, Balanga City, Bataan.

Bids must be delivered on or before August 21, 2017 at 1:30 P.M. at Provincial BAC Office, PEO Capitol Compound, Balanga City, Bataan. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated on IRR of RA 9184 or Bid Securing Declaration in standard form.

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

In case of the above dates is declared a special Non-Working Holidays, it will automatically reset on the next working days.

Other necessary information deemed relevant by the Provincial Government of Bataan Activities 1. Advertisement/Posting of Invitation to Bid 2. Eligibility Check 3. Issuance and availability of Bidding Documents 4. Request for Clarification 5. Opening of Bids

Schedule August 4 – August 10, 2017 Refer to date of Opening of Bids August 4- August 21, 2017 August 10, 2017 August 21, 2017

The Provincial Government of Bataanreserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

For further information, please refer to: Ms. Aileen C. Sagun Provincial BAC / PEO Bataan Provincial BAC / PEO Office, Capitol Compound, BalangaCity, Bataan 047-237-9316 bac@bataan.gov.ph

(SGD.)RODERICK R. CONSOLACION Chairperson Bids and awards Committee (BaC) 2

(SGD) ENRICO T. YUZON BAC Chairman (MS-AUG. 9, 2017)

tance to each affected household that agrees to be relocated.

The mayor also said that although there will be no forced eviction for residents who refuse to relocate, they will be asked to sign a waiver stating that they accept the risks, and that they expect no assistance from the city government.

To date, the city government is studying a potential partner-

(MS-AUG. 9, 2017)

tend my deepest thanks to you for this generous gesture of support to our city’s educational sector,” the mayor told Pangilinan.

Pangilinan, chairman of PLDT-Smart and One Meralco Foundation, said it was with “great joy” he turned over the facility, as he thanked Estrada and PLM president Lenny de Jesus for giving him an opportunity to help the university.

“It is really not just my generosity, but this flows from the generosity and efforts of my colleagues at Meralco and PLDT. We are partners in this endeavor,” he said.

Born in Manila where he spent his early childhood years, Pangilinan vowed to help the city more, particularly public schools such as PLM. “This will be a continuing engagement with PLM because they still need a lot of things, such as desks, facilities, and others. And the auditorium, we will fix it,” he said.

The tycoon said his companies could also provide on-thejob training and summer jobs to IT students “so they can be more familiar with the practical aspects of IT.” The MVP Technology and Innovation Center occupies two floors of the new Gusaling Emilio Ejercito Sr. recently constructed by the city government.

It has fully equipped laboratories for civil and chemical engineering students.

The center also has an instrumentation and control laboratory, four computer laboratories, a mechanical and manufacturing engineering laboratory, drawing rooms, data center, and information and communication center.

De Jesus said the facility is a big contribution to PLM’s College of Engineering and Architecture.

“We’re very grateful to Mr. MVP for his donations, and he is asking what more he can assist the university with,” she said.

No. 2 most wanted killed in encounter

By Roy Tomandao CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna —The No. 2 most wanted man in the Calabarzon region was killed in an encounter with authorities in Sariaya, Quezon, Batangas police reported Tuesday.

Jose Contreras, alias “Dayo,” was slain by operatives of the Philippine National Police Batangas Provincial Intelligence Branch, Batangas SWAT, Quezon PIB and Sariaya police after a manhunt that ended at around midnight on Monday in Purok 3, Barangay Concepcion Palasan in Sariaya.

In a report to Calabarzon Police Regional Director Chief

Supt. Ma. O Aplasca, Batangas Provincial Director Senior Supt.

Randy Peralta said the authorities were serving a warrant of arrest for criminal case 20018 issued by Judge Albert A. Kalalo of RTC Branch 4 in Batangas City.

Contreras was wanted for murder, and Peralta said he was considered a high-value target by police in the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon.

Authorities said the suspect resisted arrest and suffered gunshot wounds on different parts of his body. Contreras was brought to the Candelaria Medical Center in Quezon but died while undergoing treatment, doctors there said.

One dead after bus crushes motorcycle TUGUEGARAO CITY—One person was killed when a sleeper bus of G.V. Florida Transport Inc. collided head on with a motorcycle—which set the bus on fire—in Barangay Gosi Sur here early Tuesday morning.

Authorities identified the fatality as Noriel Christian Parallag, a project architect at AAP Custom Designs and Innovations and a

graduate of B.S. Architecture at the University of Saint Louis, Tuguegarao, according to his Facebook account.

Parallag died after his motorcycle rammed the bus traveling the Manila-Cagayan Valley route at high speed. Police and fire marshals are still determining how the impact sent the bus up in flames. Abe Almirol

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

World Taliban turns to heroin making KABUL―The Taliban―which banned poppy cultivation when it ruled Afghanistan―now appears to wield significant control over the war-torn country’s heroin production line, providing insurgents with billions of dollars, officials have told AFP. In 2016 Afghanistan, which produces 80 percent of the world’s opium, made around 4,800 tons of the drug and bringing in revenues of three billion dollars, according to the United Nations.

The Taliban has long taxed poppy-growing farmers to fund their years-long insurgency, but Western officials are concerned it is now running its own factories, refining the lucrative crop into morphine and heroin for exporting abroad.

“I pretty firmly feel they are processing all the harvest,” William Brownfield, US Assistant Secretary for Drugs and Law Enforcement, told reporters in the Afghan capital Kabul recently.

“Everything they harvest is duly processed inside the country. They receive more revenues if they process it before it has left the country.

“Obviously, we are dealing with very loose figures, but drug trafficking amounts to billions of dollars every year from which the Taliban is taking a substantial percentage,” he added.

Poppies, which are cheap and easy to grow, make up half of Afghanistan’s entire agricultural output.

Farmers are paid about $163 for a kilo of the black sap―the raw opium that oozes out of poppy seed pods when they are slit with a knife.

Once it is refined into heroin, the Taliban sells it in regional markets for between $2,300 and $3,500 a kilo. By the time it reaches Europe it wholesales for $45,000, according to a Western expert who is advising Afghan anti-narcotics forces and asked not to be named.

He said an increase in seizures of chemicals required to turn opium into morphine, the first step before it becomes heroin, such as acid anhydride, points to an escalation in Taliban drug activity.

Sixty-six tonnes of the chemicals were seized in all of 2016, while 50 tonnes were impounded in just the first six months of this year, the expert said.

In early July, he said, 15 tonnes were confiscated in the west of Afghanistan near the border with Iran, the start of a popular drug route to Europe through Turkey.

Seizures of morphine have also increased. Fifty-seven tonnes were discovered in the first half of 2017 compared to 43 tonnes for the whole of 2016, added the expert, who said that only about 10 percent of what is produced is actually discovered. AFP

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017

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Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

Junta pressed on N. Korea B

ANGKOK―US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson landed in Bangkok on Tuesday with a plea to the kingdom to curb business ties with North Korea, as Washington rounds up allies for its bid to halt Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions.

SCREENING. Brigette Lundy-Paine attends the Netflix original series ‘Atypical’ special screening on August 7 in LA. AFP

China holds war games amid tensions SHANGHAI―The Chinese navy and air force flexed their muscles in live-fire drills in the seas adjacent to the Korean Peninsula, the defense ministry said, amid regional tensions over North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weaponry.

The “large-scale” exercises were being conducted in the seas and skies off China’s east coast in the Yellow Sea and Bohai Gulf, and included the firing of dozens of missiles, a notice posted late Monday on the Ministry of Defaense website said.

Naval and air force assets including dozens of ships, more than 10 aircraft, submarines and an unspecified number of coastal defense personnel took part in the drills, which the ministry said were aimed at testing weapons and honing the military’s abilities in con-

ducting coastal assaults and intercepting air targets.

The ministry did not specify how long the drills were to last but a fourday shipping ban ending on Tuesday was issued for the area where the drills were held, according to notices by the military and local authorities.

It was not immediately clear whether the war games were meant to send any sort of message.

But the announcement comes just days after China backed a US-drafted UN Security Council resolution passed on Saturday that significantly stiffened sanctions against North Korea for its pursuit of nuclear and missile weapons systems.

In the wake of the resolution’s passing, China has reiterated its resolve to side with the international commu-

nity in opposing North Korea’s nuclear weaponization and aggressive saberrattling.

China has for some time been engaged in a modernization of its oncebackward armed forces, seeking military clout commensurate with its economic might, a drive that has caused unease among its regional neighbors.

China also has consistently railed against recurring US-South Korean war games that are directed at deterring a North Korean attack, but which China blames for fanning regional tensions.

North Korea vowed Monday that the tough new UN sanctions would not stop it from developing its nuclear arsenal, rejecting talks and angrily threatening retaliation against the United States. AFP

Tillerson is the highest level American diplomat to visit Thailand since a 2014 coup strained ties between the longtime friends and saw China cosy up to Bangkok with massive military sales and infrastructure deals.

Thailand is one of a raft of Southeast Asian countries that hosts a North Korean embassy and enjoys valuable bilateral trade with the reclusive regime.

In 2014 the two countries shared trade worth $126 million, according to Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, nearly a three-fold increase since 2009.

America’s top diplomat will press Thailand to crack down on North Korean firms that open fronts in Bangkok and use the capital as a trading hub, said acting US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs Susan Thornton.

He will also lean on the kingdom to tighten the visa requirements for North Koreans entering Thailand and squeeze its diplomatic mission, Thornton added.

Tillerson’s one-day visit follows a regional forum in Manila, where the former ExxonMobil CEO hailed a tough new UN sanctions regime on North Korea over its growing nuclear arsenal.

Those sanctions could cost North Korea $1 billion a year.

They were levied―with the agreement of North Korean lifeline China―in response to the launch of two intercontinental ballistic missile tests last month.

The US envoy will also urge Thailand to take in more North Korean refugees, said Thornton.

The kingdom has long been a transit route for defectors who make the arduous journey through China, then into Laos or Cambodia and Thailand, where they seek sanctuary at the South Korean Embassy.

Thailand does not grant official status to refugees.

After landing in Bangkok Tillerson, who visited Thailand often as an executive for ExxonMobil, told US embassy staff he wanted to “grow” the relationship between America and its oldest Asian ally, “even in its ups and downs”.

President Donald Trump’s administration is reshaping America’s approach to the Thai junta after relations hit the buffers following the 2014 coup.

The US condemned the takeover and distanced itself from the regime, trimming back military aid.

But relations are on a better footing under Trump, with the US president extending an invitation to junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha. The thaw also comes amid Washington’s growing concerns over rival superpower China’s clout in the region.

Beijing entices its smaller neighbors by offering massive investment decoupled from human rights concerns, which appeals to leaders weary of US pressure.

Thailand is a linchpin country in China’s massive trade and infrastructure ‘One Belt, One Road’ strategy.

It was not immediately clear how firmly the former oilman would push the junta government on its crackdown on political rights.

The US wants Thailand to “emerge as a strengthened democracy that respects and guarantees human rights and fundamental freedoms,” said US embassy spokesperson Steve Castonguay.

Tillerson is also due to pay respects to Thailand’s late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who has been lying in state at the Grand Palace since his death in October 2016.

Later he will travel to the Malaysian capital. AFP

Japan says Pyongyang’s missile development poses new threat TOKYO―North Korea’s missile development poses a “new level of threat”, Japan’s defense ministry said Tuesday in an annual report that also reiterated the concerns over China’s increasing military posture.

Japan, which lies across the sea from North Korea, has been wary for decades over its missile development as well as Pyongyang’s history of abducting Japanese citizens to train its spies.

North Korea has increasingly been firing missiles into the waters between the two countries and last month launched two intercontinental ballistic missiles, with leader Kim Jong-Un boasting the entire United States was within reach.

While experts and officials doubt the North’s missile technology is really that advanced, the country has made steady progress in recent years under Kim. “Especially since last year, when it pushed ahead with two nuclear tests and launched more than 20 ballistic missiles, it has posed a new level of threat,” Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said in the white paper.

Onodera, reappointed to the post last week after having served in the position 2012-2014, also reiterated phrasing from past reports calling the danger from North Korea “significant and imminent”.

“It is conceivable that, over time, the risk will increase for the deployment of ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads that put our nation within their reach,” the Japaneselanguage paper said.

The UN Security Council at the weekend unanimously approved tough new sanctions against North Korea that could cost Pyongyang $1 billionA a year.

Japan’s white paper also reiterated Tokyo’s concerns about China’s efforts to expand its military influence and territorial claims, particularly in the waters around Japan.

The government has long complained about Beijing’s routine dispatch of coastguard ships to Japan’s territorial waters surrounding the disputed islands in East China Sea. Tokyo controls the islands as the Senkaku while Beijing claims them as the Diaoyu.

Coastguards from the two sides have engaged in maritime standoffs, while their militaries have also had close calls. Experts fear such situations may lead to unplanned clashes.

“Regarding China, we are strongly concerned about its impact on the regional and global security environment as it continues to make unilateral, uncompromising assertions that are incompatible with the existing international order,” Onodera said. AFP

ONSTAGE. Singer Bebe Rexha performs onstage during iHeartRadio LIVE with Bebe Rexha presented by Forever 21 at the iHeartRadio Theater on August 7, 2017, in Burbank, California. AFP

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017 advertise@thestandard.com.ph

52nd National Day of Singapore

Y

OUNG, successful people aim to exemplify their achievements through their own unique personal expression. For many, this kind of expression finds its creative outlet in their choice of a home, and how they decide to decorate it.

Property giant Megaworld brings its pioneering aftersales services to ready for occupancy (RFO) buyers of One Eastwood Avenue at Eastwood City. The first tower of the residential enclave now offers premium units to discriminating buyers that wish to personalize their homes—and showcase their success—at no extra cost.

RFO units are considered the “prime cuts” in the property market today. Megaworld Prime RFO offers complementary interior design services to address the style needs of buyers, whatever their aesthetic preferences may be. These interior design services allow clients to select, negotiate and purchase their preferred furniture, fixtures and appliances.

Megaworld Prime RFO is the first in real estate industry to offer a wide range of after-sales services.

Aside from free interior design services, it also takes care of leasing, resale management, turnover and maintenance.

One Eastwood Avenue is an exceptional two-tower residential condominium that, on its own, tells a story of its residents’ collective success. Cutting a striking silhouette in shades of blue and white, it combines a distinctive design with a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

One side of the podium features a LED video wall, where a display of videos and images can be admired from street level. There’s a wide paved walkway encircling the ground level, where the retail arcade, fronted by metal-clad columns and palm trees, is located. Available to residents are three levels of basement parking and five levels of podium parking.

The amenities of One Eastwood Avenue can be found at the seventh-level recreational deck. Here, there’s a lap pool, wooden sun deck and children’s pool. There’s also a children’s playground, outdoor chess set and meditation garden with reflexology path.

A fully equipped gym is the centerpiece of the indoor amenity area, which emphasizes healthy living as well as social interaction. There’s a yoga-Pilates room for more sophisticated workouts, a game room for bigger kids, and a play room for toddlers.

Meanwhile, there are several function rooms which can be linked for larger gatherings.

At the 47th floor, two air-conditioned badminton courts can host both a singles game and a doubles game at the same time. When not in use for sports, they convert to large function areas.

Beyond the doorstep of One Eastwood Avenue, the vibrant Eastwood City is waiting to be explored.

The 18.5-hectare township is hailed as the country’s first integrated urban township showcasing a LIVEWORK-PLAY-LEARN lifestyle. It masterfully integrates residential condominiums, office buildings, learning institutions, malls and establishments for leisure and dining.

Eastwood City is conveniently located, making many destinations easily accessible. Here, it takes only a few minutes to get to the mall, supermarket or bank.

It’s a city within a city that features colorful attractions.

There are events on any given day—from free concerts to pet shows. The township is also a short distance away from various schools and a few kilometers away from a hospital.

Are you excited to let your home showcase your success?

Megaworld Prime RFO is here to make it happen for you at One Eastwood Avenue.

Contact (02) 696-3774 or 0917-626-3774, email primerfo@megaworldcorp. com or visit www. megaworldprimerfo.com.

The lobby area exudes a homey feel with a touch of elegance through its contemporary design.

AN EXPRESSION OF ONE’S SUCCESS

Megaworld’s One Eastwood Avenue is well-designed and packed with ‘not so usual’ amenities, now ready for move-in residents

One Eastwood Avenue maximizes its wide spaces for the convenience of the residents.

One Eastwood Avenue is an exceptional two-tower residential condominium that combines a distinctive design with a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

I love my work, but success in fashion is not enough.

– Natori

Life FASHION & BEAUTY

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017

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4 decades of Natori in fashion

“I

HAVE always believed there are no boundaries,” says Josie Cruz Natori, founder of The Natori Company.

Exemplifying her own mantra, Josie Natori crossed continents, navigated varying careers, and surmounted countless obstacles, to create a global brand, Natori.

Designer Josie Natori is flanked by models wearing her Spring 2017 collection

Nature-inspired prints and cuts

Colorful clutch bags

Natori uses playful prints in her latest collection

Accessories in the Spring 2017 collection

Born Josephina Almeda Cruz, she credits her entrepreneurial nature to the matriarchal society she grew up in along with the support of her closeknit Filipino family.

“Women are encouraged to be entrepreneurs,” says Natori of her home country, the Philippines. “My grandmother always said, ‘Don’t put yourself in a position where you have to depend on anyone.’”

It seemed like serendipity when the very place she grew up in, the place that instilled her with the motivation to become an entrepreneur, was also the inspiration for what turned into a successful lingerie co llection; a hand embroidered Filipino blouse.

Using an Asian aesthetic, Natori was able to build a distinct brand, melding the visual appeals of both the East and the West.

But, Natori did not always want to be in the fashion industry; in fact it was never even in her plans. As a child Natori displayed a natural affinity for the piano, performing a solo concert with the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra at age 9. Born with an ear for music and an eye for art, Natori did not pursue a career in what came so naturally. Instead she decided to challenge herself with a career in business.

At the age of 17, Natori left Manila for New York where she studied economics at Manhattanville College.

Following graduation, she ascended the corporate ladder landing at Merrill Lynch as the first female vice president of investment banking. By 1976, the rising Wall Street star had married Ken Natori, then executive managing director of Smith Barney, and had given birth to her son Kenneth Jr. By 1977, looking for new challenges and bored with her position, Josie was eager to start something new.

Natori considered a number of entrepreneurial ventures, but none of them seemed to take off. On a whim she brought an embroidered blouse from the Philippines to a buyer at Bloomingdale’s. The buyer encouraged her to turn it into a sleep shirt.

Natori took the advice and she was in business.

“At the time, lingerie was either lewd or frumpy,” said Natori, who worked to fill the niche in between. More than three decades later the company has grown into a lifestyle brand that has come to include lingerie collections (Josie Natori, Natori, Josie and N Natori), the Josie Natori ready-to-wear collection, home, fragrance and eyewear.

“I love my work, but success in fashion is not enough,” says Natori, who sits on the boards of the Asian Cultural Council, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Women in Need and the Fashion and Design Council of the Philippines. She is also a member of the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) and the Committee of 200.

In 1988 Natori was honored for her achievements with the Galleon award, presented by Corazon Aquino, then President of the Republic of the Philippines. In 2007, Natori was given the prestigious Lakandula Award from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, considered the highest honor for a Filipino citizen. She also received Fashion Group International’s prestigious Humanitarian Award. “I want to be able to give something back, to make a difference in people’s lives.” To that end, she established facilities in the Philippines to handle 50 percent of all Natori production.

What began with creating lingerie on her living room floor truly has evolved into a lifestyle. “Natori is a total concept, a way of life,” says Natori.

“I just happened to start at the back door with lingerie. Now as the company grows, we grow our sensibility too, taking our concept and making it a whole world. As we say here, Natori is ‘where life meets art’.”

Josie Natori RTW, Natori, and Natori RTW are available at Rustan’s Ayala Center Makati and Rustan’s ShangriLa. N Natori is exclusively available at Rustan’s at Gateway Mall Cubao and Rustans’s Ayala Center Cebu.

Michael Kors fuses ‘50s glamor with ‘80s power dressing IN THE latest collection of Michael Kors, ‘50s glamour meets ‘80s power dressing.

Menswear tailoring with defined waists, strong shoulders and military accents juxtaposed with curvy ultra-glam dresses and skirts. Longer mid-calf lengths and cropped high-waist\trousers, season-less party dressing; black, white, lipstick and chino with metallic silver and gold accents. Graphic florals, menswear checks and pinstripes, flirty fringe on dresses and accessories, Park Avenue-punk chain embellishment and embroideries throughout.

Structured bags blend military precision with uptown polish, zipper and chain details on satchels, pumps and booties, architectural cone, stiletto and kitten heels.

In the Philippines, Michael Kors is exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists, Inc., and is located at Central Square in Bonifacio High Street Central, Greenbelt 5, Newport Mall, Power Plant Mall, Rustan’s Makati and Shangri-La Plaza Mall.

Michael Kors’s latest collection is composed of pieces that are sophisticated for a day in the office and glamorous for a party in the evening.

Life

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017 isahred@gmail.com

By Bernadette Lunas

W

OMEN face a bunch of stereotypes: they are passive, they are the weaker gender, they should only have one role in their life, and either smart or beautiful—but not both.

Beauty or Brains?

Why not both?

Society’s view on women is evolving for the better, but there’s still a long way to go. Thankfully, we don’t have a shortage of women who continuously break the barriers and prove that females are not the stereotypes assigned to them.

“One of the main stereotypes I’d like to break is that women cannot do what men can,” says Dr. Ian Banzon, a medical practitioner, national athlete for Water Polo, and triathlete. “In my case, that’s doing sports and making it a part of your career.”

Dr. Banzon, is one of the many examples of women who excel in sports, not to mention juggling it with her medical profession.

Shamcey Supsup-Lee is a beauty pageant titleholder—third-runner up in Miss Universe 2013—and a practicing architect. She would have been living an enviable life, if only people didn’t assume that she couldn’t do her job that involves being out in the sun because she’s a beauty queen.

“There’s a different reaction when I tell people that I practice architecture. Whenever I have to represent my company, I have to bring my portfolio as well,” relates Supsup-Lee. She adds, “They don’t believe that I am practicing, and, sometimes, they think I am too young to design such a big structure.”

Supsup-Lee also admits that prior to her Binibining Pilipinas stint, she always thought she couldn’t be beautiful while doing her job. “I’m always under the sun, I always have dirt on my clothes, on my shoes, and I feel not so glamorous as an architect. But I thought, I can still Céleteque Ambassadors Marie Lozano, Shamcey Supsup-Lee, and Dr. Ian Banzon prove that women can be both beautiful and smart

L’Homme Lacoste has a masculine woody spicy scent

The smell of champions INSIDE the contemporary Lacoste man is the legacy of an original. René Lacoste: tennis champion and inventor. René Lacoste, was known for his focused and driven mode of play that transformed into a smile as soon as he left the court.

Nicknamed the “Crocodile” thanks to the tenacity he demonstrated during his matches, Lacoste was also a meticulous and stylish tactician. Inspired by his moniker, he asked a friend to design a crocodile that he wore embroidered on his blazer. This emblem quickly became the figure of his international renown and is now an icon symbolizing confidence, determination, and tenacity—qualities that René Lacoste displayed on and off court.

Today, Lacoste celebrates the tenacious origin of the Lacoste Crocodile with a launch of a new fragrance: L’Homme Lacoste.

A woody spicy scent, L’Homme Lacoste captures the inimitable heritage of René Lacoste, elegantly ignoring the rules to being free from convention. The fragrance’s structure reveals the sides of the modern Lacoste man.

Dynamic top notes of mandarin and sweet orange essence combined with unexpected fruit quince and rhubarb infuse the energy of confidence. Determination evident in the vibrant spices at the heart of black pepper, ginger, transparent jasmine, and almond, revealing the L’Homme Lacoste man’s strength

of character. His timeless elegance is revealed in a masculine and sensuous woody base featuring cedar wood with dry amber, musk, vanilla, and Akigalawood. The mix of masculine and elegant notes of L’Homme Lacoste is created for men who live by the philosophy that winning is nothing without style.

Crafted with sophisticated packaging codes, L’Homme Lacoste’s tall and masculine bottle subtly echoes the icons of the brand and the essence of the scent. Inspired by the graphic lines and color of a tennis court, the translucent rectangular shaped glass bottle is profiled with a luminous silver box on its façade. Inside the frame is a silver crocodile, the icon of the brand positioned above the chic navy blue lettering that matches the ridged navy rounded cap.

In the Philippines, Lacoste is exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists, Inc., and is located at Central Square in Bonifacio High Street Central, Alabang Town Center, Eastwood Mall, Estancia in Capitol Commons, Fairview Terraces, Gateway Mall, Greenbelt 3, Newport Mall, Podium, Power Plant Mall, Robinson’s Galleria, Robinson’s Magnolia, Robinson’s Place Manila, Rustan’s Makati, Rustan’sShangriLla, Shangri-La Plaza East Wing, SM Mall of Asia, SM Megamall, TriNoma, Ayala Center Cebu, Abreeza Davao, SM Davao and Veranza KCC Mall. Lacoste Accessories is located at Gateway Mall and Glorietta 4.

be beautiful even though I work in this kind of environment.”

On the flip side, joining beauty pageants is her way of breaking stereotypes that contestants of such competition are only pretty and sexy, nothing much else.

“When I joined Binibining Pilipinas, I was able to learn that we all have different stories, we all have something to contribute to our communities. It really changed my perception on beauty queens, that’s why I also want to change other people’s perception on beauty queens by being who I am: by being an architect and being a mom,” she shares.

Speaking of motherhood, model and Lifestyle journalist Marie Lozano shares how people often get surprised whenever she tells them she’s a mom. Her slender physique, pretty face, and demanding career don’t seem to fit in a life of a mother.

A stereotype she wants to break.

“Moms are modern women. They have careers, they juggle their work and motherhood, and can look good—they don’t have to look like ‘manang’,” emphasizes Lozano.

Dr. Banzon, Supsup-Lee, and Lozano are proof that women can be both accomplished and attractive, reason why beauty and skin care label Celeteque tapped them to be ambassadors of its #ThinkPlusBeautiful campaign.

Céleteque’s #ThinkPlusBeautiful campaign zeroes in on the idea that smart beauty choices are the best ones, and that a true woman of substance knows exactly what she needs to achieve healthy and beautiful skin.

Using science to produce clinically proven results and cocreated with dermatologists, the Céleteque DermoScience skin care and DermoCosmetics makeup lines cover a wide range of products that improve and beautify the skin: Hydration, Advanced Anti-Aging, Sun Care, Acne Solutions, Brightening, Sun Care, Hair & Scalp Care, and Everyday Cosmetics.

“You know what, I wasn’t blessed with great skin. I’m acneprone. So, I’m very careful with what I put on my face. Céleteque, being non-comodegenic and approved by dermatologists, is the perfect choice,” enthuses Supsup-Lee.

Stories come to life

at the Beginnings Bridal Showcase WHO doesn’t want a storybook wedding?

Crimson Hotels Filinvest City Manila invites couples to start their fairy tale journey as husband and wife at the Beginnings Bridal Showcase on Aug. 19.

The daylong affair shines the spotlight on every major detail needed for a dream wedding, inspiring visitors with exhibits of themed celebrations. There will be a fashion show by designer Francis Libiran, in partnership with Wedding Essentials Magazine.

Guests can walk through several wedding tableaus, artfully decorated to stimulate ideas for their special days At the Deck Bar, for example, an open rooftop ceremony situates the festivities under blue skies, while a string trio fills the air with romantic music. The Monet Function Room, on the other hand, features a countryside-wedding set-up with an abundance of fresh flowers, wood accents, and the rustic charm of repurposed decor. The reception area at the Pollock Function Room exudes feminine elegance in its dainty theme, with antique furniture and shimmering satins in rich hues of brass, gold, blush and peach.

Francis Libiran will present his latest wedding gown collection at the event

For couples with creative souls, the art-themed exhibit at the Warhol Function Room embodies the excitement of new beginnings through exuberant splashes of color amidst a dazzling background. In contrast, the Joya Function Room presents an all-white lounge setup, its understated elegance allowing guests to put their full attention on the bride and groom.

The Calder Function Room will dis-

play elegance through timeless luxury in its Crimson Posh setup. Imagine a wedding reception that’s set amid a backdrop of deep red roses and sparkling lights romantically adorning the whole area.

Throughout the showcase, soon-tobe-wed couples can also meet Crimson Hotel Filinvest City’s event partners for honeymoon destinations such as Crimson Resort and Spa Boracay Island, Aklan and Crimson Resort and Spa Mactan, Cebu.

Brides and brides-to-be might find their perfect gowns at one of Beginnings’ highlights: a fashion show featuring Francis Libiran’s latest wedding gown collection, Affaire de Coeur.

The renowned designer’s collection takes inspiration from Parisian architecture and the City of Love’s picturesque foliage, expressing it in meticulously crafted garments of Chantilly lace, Duchess satin and Mikado silk. The gowns are minimalist by design, allowing brides to move with grace in any setting.

Grooms will also be able to plan their outfits, as Libiran will be including gentlemen’s suits in the exclusive show.

Soon-to-be wed couples can get ideas for their wedding day at the Beginnings Bridal Showcase in Crimson Hotel Manila

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017

I

DON’T consider myself a movie critic.

I am just an ordinary moviegoer who can easily spot a good film from the terrible ones. It’s not rocket science.

I am an avid fan of indie films, too. One of the first indie movies I saw as a newbie writer was 127 Hours (2010) starring James Franco and the most recent was Her Love Boils Bathwater (2016) by Japanese director Ryota Nakano. But I would have to be honest; I rarely watch local indie films.

Since I started covering the Cinemalaya Film Festival in 2008, I have been writing about the film event and the films it features based on how the actors and directors describe their work. I haven’t seen any of the entries screened at the Cultural Center of the Philippines including in its satellite venues until last Sunday.

Nine o’clock was the schedule for the last full show at the Main Theater. The venue was packed.

It was the gala night for Perry Escaño’s full-length directorial debut, Ang Guro Kong Di Marunong Magbasa.

The title instantly caught my attention, although I was keeping my expectation low, I was thinking of watching a character similar to the one Kate Winslet portrayed in The Reader.

Before the film was shown, Escaño told the crowd that he’s proud of the team that worked behind and in front of the camera because if not for their dedication, he wouldn’t be able to finish shooting the film in just six days. I didn’t know if it was a good thing but hearing how short it took him to finish the film made me think twice. But I still gave it a go.

Ang Guro Kong Di Marunong Magbasa is one

Actor-politician Alfred Vargas with a child actor in a scene from Perry Escaño's Cinemalaya entry

IN FILMMAKING,

PASSION

is not enough of the full length features in competition in this year’s Cinemalaya. It is a passion project according to its director who happens to be its writer, too. He even did years of research to come up with a story unheard by a segment of the general public that has never experienced living in the quagmire where young children choose to fire riffles instead of learning how to read and write.

Inspired by true events, the film is an inspirational

action drama set in a far-flung area in Mindanao. It is a historical true story mixed with fiction where farmers and their struggles serve as the device to justify the film’s resolve.

The 90-minute film centers on the life of an illiterate farmer named Aaquil (Alfred Vargas) who is forced to be a teacher since no one dares to teach the children in their small barrio because of the conflict between

the military and the rebels. With the help from two of his students, who are able to reach second grade and whom he confessed his secret of not knowing how to read and write, Aaquil becomes an educator in their small community.

One day, Aaquil heads to the city to buy medicine for their barangay captain and fails to return. Feeling hopeless and confused, his pupils decide to commit themselves to a rebel organization believing it will ease their situation at hand.

They mercilessly shoot at their enemies including their town mayor and some military men whom they accuse of being the reason for their failure to pursue their dreams. But given the incidents leading to this turning point, it is just hard to understand how these children, who are depicted to have high emotional quotient, became heartless killers. I also wonder what happened to the adults in their village who seem to have suddenly disappeared after Aaquil’s no show (he died in the hands of the military, by the way).

You see, it’s a well-intentioned film. Obviously, Escaño has dedicated a portion of his life just to put this story together. But how the film was executed is an entirely different story. While its advocacy is clear, the director failed to make it palatable even to an ordinary moviegoer.

Ang Guro Kong Di Marunong Magbasa is too ambitious of a film and yet it’s confined in its modest budget, which prevented it from using a better camera and decent special effects. It touches a very sensitive topic but the direction and storytelling couldn’t support the requirement of a conflict drama. Then you have the kind of acting that’s too theatrical as if the actors are performing in a stage play.

It would have been better if I decided not to watch the film because it left a bad taste in my mouth. Not a good experience for my first Cinemalaya film. It just reminded me that passion in filmmaking is not enough; you also need some good amount of talent, vision, and creativity, which I obviously didn’t see in Escaño’s work. Or maybe, the film requires a real movie critic to see those.

Ayen Laurel bows out of ‘Ikaw lang Ang Iibigin’ IN THE thick of her wonderfully challenging contravida role in ABS-CBN’s Ikaw Lang Ang Iibigin, Ayen Munji-Laurel had to make the painful decision to take a graceful exit from the show because of her pregnancy.

Ayen, who is married to singeractor Franco Laurel and the proud mother of four beautiful children, is on her fifth month. She plays the role of Victoria de la Vega in the soap. In the story, she complicates the life of the characters played by Gerald Anderson and Kim Chiu.

Ayen’s end of the first trimester of her fifth pregnancy, she decided to quit, because, like in all her past pregnancies, this period proves to be high-risk and most challenging for her physically and emotionally.

She is due to give birth on Dec. 12.

Ayen said they started working on the soap since October, last year. She found out she was unexpectedly pregnant in April, one month before the soap was launched on May 1. Knowing that the conflict in the story emanating from her character was until the end, her manager discussed with Dreamscape’s Deo Endrinal the changes that needed to be done since her tummy will show before the end of the program. Major changes were effected in the production, script re-written and her character underwent major revision.

In the meantime, Ayen lost a lot of weight. She couldn’t eat and was always throwing up.

During tapings, Ayen said the production people already started to notice how much difficulty she was experiencing. “In fact,” Ayen said, “in a crying scene with Jake (Cuenca), I started to hyperventilate they had to call someone to check my pulse rate

which was very high at that time.

Hirap na talaga ako.”

So, instead of the original nine weeks to bow out of the show, it was reduced to eight weeks and had the script rewritten.

Consequently, Victoria de la Vega reached the end of her saga. And it was quite a spectacle.

Ayen takes this opportunity also to appreciate ABS-CBN and Dreamscape for their unequivocal support for her through all of these.

“They were very, very supportive and very caring. They even had a medical team on board while I was taping. They also reduced my cutoff time from 2 a.m. to 12 midnight.

They were very considerate. I couldn’t ask for a better team.

Sobrang bait nila,” she said.

Ayen confesses that in the beginning, she got depressed thinking of this unplanned pregnancy. “You have to understand that I am a planner.

It’s hard to see my plans being vanquished in one fell swoop. Isa pa, at my age, the ratio of getting pregnant is only 2:2000. What are the chances that I will be part of the two? But I thank God for the wonderful support system that I have. My family and friends, and our church family were very supportive. I really feel the grace of God through them. The kids were so happy when we told them of the news,” Ayen narrated.

Ayen said that she is in a much better place now. “I have learned to accept it with all my heart. God showed me that no matter what I have planned for my life, in the end it is still God’s plans that will prevail. I’m enjoying my pregnancy and relishing the rest from all my days of non-stop working. Come to think of it, the only time I am really able to rest is when I get pregnant!”

also knows me very well. When I asked him ‘what’s the weirdest thing that could ever happen to us at our age?’ Franco knew the answer right away. He answered ‘don’t tell me you’re pregnant?’”

Ayen Laurel (center) with “Ikaw Lang Ang Iibigin” co-actors Michael de Mesa (left) and Gerald Anderson (right)

she said laughing.

She said she was about to launch an album when Angia, now 14 (with a voice of an angel) was conceived. For Sofia, 3, she also had to take a leave from the soap she was working on then on GMA-7.

“Maybe God knows that I will not voluntarily stop working that’s why He makes sure I get pregnant again when He thinks I needed to rest,” she joked.

The former princess also takes stock of the beautiful family life she has. She said she was reminded of the truth that all her children bring her so much joy.

Mariella, 26, is now trying her wings on stage acting, writing, and directing. In fact, come October, she will be launching her first directorial project, a sung-through musical where she will also be performing under the music division of Artists Playground’s Playlist. She also wants to study abroad to help hone her craft better.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Wenesday, August 9, 2017

ACROSS 1 Going into overtime 5 Sailor 8 Ferocious bear 14 Livy’s year 15 Fish-to-be 16 Get even for 17 New York nine 18 Oz. or tsp.

19 Sinew 20 Effronteries 23 Small landing field 24 Princess Leia’s love 25 Car model 29 Mag. staffers 31 Slalom gear 33 “Fancy” singer 34 “Knot” craft 38 Run slowly 40 Tainted 41 Pal in Paris 42 Sardine holder 43 Dog days in Dijon 44 Colorado tribe 45 Container 46 Go wrong 47 Pretty songbird 49 Online auction 51 “— -Tiki” 53 Carbondale sch.

54 More unusual 56 Grassy expanse

58 Knight’s attire 62 Extraordinary event 65 Insulation meas. (hyph.)

68 Tachometer abbrev.

69 Chess piece 70 Anthology cousin 71 Pixie 72 “Zara” composer 73 Garden tools 74 “Everybody Hurts” group 75 Kind of pearl DOWN 1 Packs firmly 2 Dormant 3 Put in a log 4 Spy’s file 5 Lab weight 6 Pep 7 Brightly colored aquarium fish 8 The Green Hornet’s valet 9 Pizzerias’ needs 10 Thicker, as fog 11 Gary’s st.

12 Give it — — 13 Howard or Berry 21 Rework 22 Type of printer

26 Troubleshoot 27 Die down 28 D.C. consumer advocate 30 Leer 32 Smidgens 34 Inventor 35 It divides to multiply (var.)

36 Tobacco product 37 Matriculate 39 Friendly 48 Arctic light shows 50 Bellowed

52 55 57 59

Closer at hand Awaken Orchard tree Lone Ranger portrayer 60 Protective layer 61 Did a lawn chore 63 Rents 64 Kind of radio 65 Hwys.

66 Dignitary 67 Turkish honorific

Television and films are also part of her future plans. Mariella has also been getting offers to do indie and short films and the good thing is, this early, she knows how to go about responding to these offers.

“She knows what questions to ask,” Ayen said.

Of all her kids, Ayen says Mariella is the one most likely to follow in her footsteps. “I feel that this is the right time for her to penetrate this industry. She is ready, even her temperament is right,” Ayen said.

Her only son Hasan, 22, is also very musically inclined, a gift he certainly got from his grandfather Emy Munji. He plays bass guitar in a Christian band called Saved and is now on his junior year in college taking up Music Production. He is also interested in films.

Needless to say, the loving support Ayen gets most from is through her husband Franco. She said, “He is very supportive of me and he loves me and our kids. He

That answer accounts for all the rest, indeed.

“So you see, truly my family is a blessing from God. And this baby is the completion of those blessings,” she concludes.

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017

MARTIN NIEVERA and the TABERNAS

collaborate in fundraiser for

DUMAGATS

N

OT very many artists who have become successful think about giving back as a way of sharing their success with ISAH V. RED the less fortunate. And if we see someone doing this we couldn’t help but think this could just be a publicity stunt, more so if that artist’s career is at the time known to be sagging.

Not Martin Nievera, who has been in the music and entertainment business in the last three decades or so, and holds a sterling career while showing no signs of slowing down at all.

In fact, on Aug. 19, he stars in Big Mouth, Big Heat, Big Night, a three -hour musical show at Metrotent Convention Center in Pasig.

This dinner benefit show will be a musical bliss and premium entertainment with high-energy performances from the Big Mouth himself – the one and only “Concert King.’’ The show will feed your Big Heart because it will benefit our Katutubong Dumagat friends in Sitio Apia, Baranggay Calawis in Antipolo.

This will certainly be a Big Night featuring the industry’s talented stars – “the Dental Diva” Cacai Bautista, “Soul Supreme” KZ Tandingan, and other must-watch local performers.

Rossel Velasco-Taberna, managing director and owner of Outbox Media

Powerhouse Corposration or OBM and husband Anthony Taberna or more popularly known as ABS-CBN News Personality Ka Tunying who, by the way, is also owner of Ka Tunying’s Café (KTC), co-produced the 11th anniversary dinner benefit show.

While OBM is the event organizer, KTC is the caterer.

It was in 2006 when a group of mass communication graduates started their journey in the field of events, marketing and advertising.

Encompassing their hunger for challenges, they have built a stronghold for their company—Outbox Media Production Agency. A decade later, it has become a corporation with it’s new handle—Outbox Media Powerhouse Corporation.

Their courage and relentless passion for their craft led OBM to its first year of its second decade. Evident through their successful event, marketing and

Martin Nievera with concert producer Rossel Taberna (center), husband Anthony Taberna and their children

Concert King Martin Nievera is holding a benefit concert entitled “Big Mouth, Big Heart, Big Night”

advertising projects, they continuously uphold their mantra of Burning Passion, Unceasing Dedication and Limitless Diversity. Catering different multinational companies such as Wyeth Nutrition Philippines, Royale Business Club, EMS Components Assembly, Inc., Toshiba Information Equipment, Philippines, Inc. and a lot more. Beyond their numerous breakthroughs, they never forget to pay it forward by hosting an annual benefit show.

Eleven years of Outbox Media fortify their strong lead in the events industry.

Despite the emerging millennial entrants, their team wouldn’t waver. With their Burning Passion, Unceasing Dedication and Limitless Diversity, they strongly suggest you #ExperienceOBM. Outbox Media Powerhouse Corporation thanks Water Front Hotels and Casinos, Chinese General Hospital, Foton Motors Philippines, Sta. Elena Construction and Development Corporation, Tapa King, Bounty Fresh Chicken, San Miguel Corporation, Chelsea Logistics Corporation, New San Jose Builders, Hotel Sogo, P.A. Properties and Development Corporation, Acacia Hotel Manila, Petrol, Royce Motors, Ferna Corporation, Mega Soft Hygienic Products, Inc., Uratex and

ARC Refreshments Corporation and their media partners.

For tickets and inquiries, call 703 4239. *** A wedding is in the offing but will there be a happy ending?

In the last two weeks of I Heart Davao, viewers will find themselves at the edge of their seats as the GMA Public Affairs’ romantic comedy series promises heartpounding scenes and character twists in the bittersweet story of Hope, Ponce, and Paul.

The cat is out of the bag. Ponce (Tom Rodriguez) finally discovers that Hope (Carla Abellana) underwent a heart transplant operation. To make matters complicated, Paul (Benjamin Alves) reveals to him that Hope’s donor is no other than Ponce’s ex–girlfriend Aileen.

Torn between his past and the present, Ponce finds himself caving in again. He flies back to Davao, trying to figure out his feelings for Hope.

Furious, Hope confronts Paul. The latter, in turn, finally sheds off his ‘cool guy’ attitude, letting out all his pent-up emotions overtake him and tells Hope he could no longer be the friend who has been in love with her forever. Hope fires Paul and this is affecting their chocolate

business—something that Hope’s sister Pru (Glenda Garcia) won’t allow. Pru threatens to terminate thecontract with the Malagos Farm owned by Ponce’s family.

Those who missed the picturesque view of Davao will have their craving satisfied as more shots of the ‘the land of promise’ await them with Ponce’s homecoming.

Upon his return, will Ponce be able to put back together the pieces of his heart and finally find the peace he needed or will Aileen’s memories and her father’s wrath continue to haunt him?

In the past few weeks of I Heart Davao, viewers were also introduced to two noteworthy characters—Max (Patricia Tumulak) and Architect Euge (Zoren Legaspi).

Max, Paul’s friend who came home from abroad, claims she has moved on from her feelings for him. But will this prove true when they spend more time together? Will Paul finally realize that Max can be the perfect girl for him?

Will Hope and Ponce still find their way back to each other’s arms or will their love story have a bitter ending?

Don’t miss these riveting scenes and more in the last few episodes of I Heart Davao weeknights after My Love From The Star on GMA Telebabad.

Love comes naturally to Camille Prats FILIPINOS are known around the world for their hospitality, warmth, and genuine love for their families.

Many Filipinos want the best that their money can buy. This is why talk-show host and celebrity mom Camille PratsYambao is always on the lookout for pure, natural, high-quality and affordable products that are safe for modern Filipina moms like her, which she cheerfully shares with her audiences on TV and on the Internet.

Early this year, Camille excited millions of her fans when she announced that she and her husband are expecting a daughter. Recently on her Instagram, she showed beautiful pictures from her latest photo shoot, and many complimented her healthy, glowing skin and look.

On July 26, in a special Baby Shower at Ibiza Beach Club in BGC, Camille finally unveiled her secret to achieving healthy skin during her pregnancy.

Aside from a healthy diet and having a thankful and happy outlook in life, she also uses the specially formulated, organic, and natural skincare products from Sanosan.

Created by Mann & Schröder,

a German company with over 60 years of experience developing highquality skin and hair care products — Sanosan’s skincare solutions are effective because they are based on two pure and natural ingredients: olive oil and hydrolyzed milk protein.

Olive oil is rich with powerful antioxidants and vitamins E, A & D, and has been used since ancient times as an effective yet gentle cleanser, moisturizer and protector of skin and hair. Milk is known to be healthy for the body, and popularized by Cleopatra of Egypt said to bathe in milk.

Today, experts have found that hydrolyzed milk contains amino acids and nutrients that rejuvenate tired skin by gently removing dead skin cells, and brightening one’s complexion safely and naturally.

Now, thanks to Myrna T. Yao, CEO of Richprime Global Inc. and Most Influential Filipina™ awardee, Philippine consumers can have easy access to Germany’s best skincare products for mothers and their babies.

“We believe that every child deserves a happy childhood,” says Myrna. “For over 30 years, we have served Filipinos

who want their kids to grow up healthy, happy, and with a higher quality of life.

Our customers trust us to carry products made with the highest standards, without harsh chemicals that can harm children.

We’ve made it our mission to help today’s parents gain access to high quality products that will really improve their lives, without breaking their budget.”

Myrna, a long-time champion for women’s advocacies, recounts when she first discovered Sanosan from Germany. “I was impressed with their hypoallergenic, pure and natural formula.

I knew this would be something that will benefit Filipina moms and their children. We introduced it last year to the local market, and already the brand is growing at a promising rate. We’re very happy that Camille is partnering with us to reach more Filipinos who can see for themselves how Sanosan PH can help them achieve healthier skin, naturally and affordably.”

Camille (who is loved by millions of fans who grew up with her since her AngTV and Sarah...Ang Munting Prinsesa days) agrees wholeheartedly, “I’ve been using it for quite some time now, and it’s TV host and expectant mother Camille Prats- Yambao really just what I need. During my first

pregnancy, one of the most difficult things for me was battling those pesky stretch marks. Now with my second child, I’m better prepared – thanks to Sanosan’s AntiStretch Mark Cream. I use it at least twice a day, and I see that it’s really effective.

The best part is, it’s more affordable than other brands in the market. I wouldn’t partner with just any brand – and I believe in Sanosan.”

With her delivery date coming soon, Camille’s excitement is hard to contain.

“I’m so excited to meet my little girl na, so that I can start using Sanosan’s Baby Care line. I just know that bath time is going to be easier!” Camille shares enthusiastically. “Mabango sya and since it comes from all natural ingredients, I know I don’t have to worry about damaging my baby’s skin. Choosing pure and natural products is my way to show her how much I love her, even before she is born.”

Sanosan Baby Care, Sanosan Natural Kids, Sanosan Anti-Stretch Mark Cream, Mom-To-Be Oil and other Sanosan Mama Care products are available online at Lazada, Baby Company, Kids Company, and in leading department stores all over the Philippines.