Manila Standard - 2017 August 10 - Thursday

What war might look like: Q&A

MONSTROUS MEMORY. On Aug.

9, 1945, the United States, with the consent of Britain, dropped a second bomb on Nagasaki, following a first on Hiroshima three days earlier which was not sufficient to convince the Japanese War Council to accept the Potsdam Conference’s demand for unconditional surrender. But the Nagasaki episode led to Japan’s unconditional surrender—the two bombings killing at least 129,000 people and the only instances nuclear weapons for warfare had been used.

WITH the window closing fast for the US to stop Kim Jong Un from obtaining a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile, North Korea watchers are starting to analyze President Donald Trump’s military options.

He warned on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) that North Korea would be met with “fire and fury” if it continues to make threats.

After the United Nations agreed to its most stringent sanctions yet on Kim’s regime, North Korea repeated its stance that its nuclear weapons program is necessary to deter a US invasion.

For Trump and the US, there are no easy choices.

1. Can’t the US try a surgical strike?

It probably wouldn’t work well enough. North Korea’s missiles and nuclear facilities are dispersed and hidden throughout the country’s mountainous terrain.

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VOL. XXXI • NO. 177 • 4 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2017 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

‘Maritime feud just between PH, China’

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said Wednesday no country had the right to tell the Philippines what to do over its territorial dispute with China.

Cayetano issued the statement after Japan, Australia and the United States urged the Philippines and China to abide by the ruling of the UN Arbitral Tribunal that invalidated Beijing’s claim to much of the disputed South China Sea. “We expect nations not to tell us what to do. They have their own foreign policy and interests,” Cayetano said.

“Japan, Australia, and the US are our friends. The US is our treaty ally. But we told countries around the world we are sovereign. We’ll decide what is good for us, we will decide what strategies are good for us because we are a sovereign nation,” Cayetano said.

“We respect their views but the… territorial dispute between

US warns Nokor of ‘fire and fury’ P

RESIDENT Donald Trump increased his rhetoric against North Korea to an unprecedented level Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila), warning Kim Jong-Un’s regime will face a devastating military strike if it continues threatening the United States.

Trump said North Korea faced “fire and fury” over its weapons programs, as Pyongyang said it was considering a missile strike near the US territory of Guam.

Trump’s comments marked a sharp intensification of Washington’s rhetoric over the North’s nuclear and missile programs, which saw a seventh set of United Nations sanctions imposed on it at the weekend.

The remarks also appeared to

Hapilon, 28 men hiding under tunnel—military

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Reward up for cops in ‘Ozamiz’

By Florante S. Solmerin

By John Paolo Bencito PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday offered a P2million reward for each of the policemen, “dead or alive” who were involved in the killings allegedly ordered by the Parojinog clan that held key political posts in Ozamiz City.

Duterte offered the bounty after police excavated a mass grave used by a gang linked to the Parojinog clan.

“Like the policemen who are now shortlisted in the killing of so many civilians buried in a cemetery there at the back of a barangay hall, each of the policemen [now carries a bounty of] P2 million,” Duterte said during the 116th police service anniversary at Camp Crame.

At the same time, Duterte vowed to protect cops who were involved in the killing of the Parojinog clan and Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa, who was gunned down in his jail cell.

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echo Pyongyang’s own regular threats, most recently repeated on Monday, to turn Seoul into a “sea of flames.”

“North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States,” said Trump, speaking from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

“They will be met with fire, fury and, frankly, power the likes of which this world has never Next page seen before.”

ANNIVERSARY HELMET. President Rodrigo Duterte, commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and the

Philippine National Police, wears Wednesday a helmet given to him by the Special Action Force unit during the 116th anniversary of the PNP at Camp Crame in Quezon City. AFP

ABU Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon and 28 of his men ready to die for him are tunneling under a mosque hoping to escape the war zone in Marawi City, multiple military sources said Wednesday.

“Isnilon Hapilon knew he was deserted by his Maranao followers so he has to find ways to bail himself and his remaining men

New twist in Bautista’s marital woe: NBI steps in

By Rey E. Requejo, Vito Barcelo, Maricel V. Cruz and Macon RamosAraneta JUSTICE Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Wednesday ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to look into the bank accounts of beleaguered Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista after his estranged wife accused him of amassing almost P1 billion in ill-gotten wealth.

Aguirre said the NBI, which will coordinate with the Anti-Money Laundering Council, will look into possible violations of the Antitwitter.com/ MlaStandard

Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. The investigation would go wherever the evidence takes it, Aguirre said, adding that there were many sources of evidence.

“We have the bank records,” he said.

Aguirre also said he has discussed the matter with commissioners of the Presidential Commission on Good Government, which Bautista used to head before he was appointed as Comelec chief.

Although the case stemmed from a marital dispute, it has already become a public concern because it involved public funds, Next page Aguirre said.

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out from Marawi City. They continue to dig in under a mosque hoping to reach the lake or the Agus River,” a high-ranking military officer said.

The military confirmed that Hapilon was still alive and inside the war zone, despite earlier reports that he had escaped along with brothers Abdullah and Omar Maute, leaders of the Islamic Next page

Rody to quit if son’s guilty of corruption

By John Paolo Bencito, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Rey Requejo

DEFIANT COMELEC. Despite moves in Congress to postpone the

barangay and youth council elections, the Commission on Elections is looking to complete the printing of over 77-million official ballots for the Oct. 23 polls, in a little over a month or 35 days. Chairman Andres Bautista shows one printed ballot at the start of the printing Wednesday. Manny Palmero

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PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday vowed to resign should presidential son and Davao Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte be found guilty of corruption charges, after his name was dragged into the House of Representatives’ inquiry into the P6.4-billion shabu smuggled through the Bureau of Customs.

“Corruption is really the one I Next page

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Fund misuse baseless—Imee I

By Maricel V. Cruz

LOCOS Norte Gov. Imee Marcos on Wednesday maintained her innocence over the alleged irregularities in the use of millions of pesos worth of tobacco excise funds from 2011 to 2012 to acquire vehicles using cash advances.

At the resumption of the hearing of the House of Representatives’ committee on good government and public accountability led by Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel, Marcos dismissed as baseless the alleged

misuse of P66.45 million worth to purchase mini-cabs, buses and mini-trucks by the provincial government.

Marcos said the purchase using cash advances was legal as validated by the Commission on Audit.

PNA in a spot over Xinhua story

By John Paolo Bencito THE state-run Philippine News Agency over the weekend fell for a propaganda by the Chinese state news agency Xinhua when it carried a commentary attacking the arbitration award won by the Philippines as an “ill-founded award.”

The PNA, which has a content partnership with Xinhua, published on Aug. 6 the commentary with the title “Time to turn a new leaf on South China Sea issue” by Chinese reporter He Jing.

He called on the parties to “cherish the hard-won results achieved through numerous rounds of bargaining accommodation, remain vigilant against outside interference and deliver on their joint commitments.”

The commentary described in scathing terms the arbitral award won by Manila in July 2016 and told the parties involved to move on.

“More than one year after an ill-founded award at a South China Sea arbitration unilaterally delivered by an ad hoc tribunal in The Hague, the situation in the South China Sea has stabilized and improved thanks to the wisdom and sincerity of China and the parties concerned,” the article read.

The PNA news wire took down the story from its website on Wednesday afternoon.

Facing criticism over the matter, Communications Secretary

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“Whether they settle or not, I think the proceedings will continue either in the impeachment court or ordinary criminal proceedings,” he said.

The evidence gathered by the NBI could also be used in impeachment proceedings against Bautista, he said.

While Bautista can be removed only by impeachment, he is not immune from criminal investigation.

Aguirre earlier ordered the NBI to probe the allegations of Bautista’s wife Patricia Paz and build up possible cases if warranted.

The allegation against Bautista came after his estranged wife met with President Duterte and executed an affidavit, which was then forwarded to the NBI. Bautista has denied his wife’s allegations and accused her of trying to extort mone from him.

Patricia said her husband had amassed close to P1 billion but had not declared all of it in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth.

In 2016, Bautista declared a net worth of P176.3 million.

In Congress, the leader of the minority bloc urged Bautista to

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Failing to hit them all would leave some 10-million people in Seoul, 38 million people in the Tokyo vicinity and tens of thousands of US military personnel

Martin Andanar said they had already “sent a memo to PNA to explain in writing why they should not be held liable for any administrative charges.”

“We will take appropriate action against liable PNA officials and/or staff if they are found to commit negligence in carrying out their duties and responsibilities,” he said.

Being the official press agency of the People’s Republic of China, Andanar said, it was understandable “that most commentaries of Xinhua News Agency reflect China’s position on certain issues.”

“Thus, all reposts from Xinhua and all other partner news agencies for that matter should undergo scrutiny and must be subject to discernment by PNA prior to reposting them,” he said.

On July 12, 2016, an international tribunal based in The Hague issued an award in favor of the Philippines and invalidated China’s nine-dash line claim over the South China Sea. This is not the first time that the PNA has been criticized for its content. In May, it drew flak for using a photograph from the Vietnam War in a story about the Marawi siege.

That same month, it posted erroneous information claiming that 95 nations in the 27th Universal Period Review of the UN Human Rights Council were convinced that there were no summary killings in the Philippines. take a leave of absence “to clear his name.”

While the controversy was sparked by a marital problem, the allegation of corruption against the Comelec chairman was serious, Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez said.

“The minority will not take this case lightly, just how we dealt with previous cases of government officials who were linked to corruption and other immoral practices. We call on Chairman Bautista to clear his name and restore the reputation of the agency he represents,” Suarez said at a news conference.

If warranted, Suarez said, the minority bloc would be willing to initiate an impeachment complaint against Bautista.

Earlier, House leaders said there was no need for a congressional probe into the allegations against Bautista since the proper venue for this would be impeachment proceedings.

Suarez said the allegations of corruption against Bautista should not be taken lightly as the Comelec and Smartmatic faced allegations of cheating in the 2016 national and local elections.

On Wednesday, Bautista confirmed that he has filed criminal complaints against his wife Patricia. in northeast Asia vulnerable to missile attacks—with either conventional or nuclear warheads.

Even if the US managed to wipe out everything, Seoul would still be vulnerable to attacks from North Korea’s artillery.

2. Why might Kim go nuclear?

“Even a limited strike” by the

“Ang sinabi ko ang cash advances, hindi ibig sabihing ibinubulsa ang cash. Ito ay legal na pamamaraan ng pagbabayad ng gobyerno at kinikilala rin ng batas natin. Ang isinasaad lamang kailangan na ang cash advances ay for specific purpose at liquidated fully and quickly for a specific purpose,” Marcos told lawmakers.

She was accompanied by former senator Juan Ponce Enrile who also serves as her counsel on the matter. Former first lady and Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Romualdez-Marcos and her brother, former senator Ferdinand Marcos, was also with her.

“Wala namang adverse find-

ings sa kanilang report at advice ng local finance na cash on delivery ang terms ng payment, [kaya] ginawa naming cash advance. Kaya hindi ko masasabi na prohibited cash advance ito dahil pumasa sa CoA audit, post-audit at walang notice of suspension,” Marcos said.

She said the purchase of the vehicles of the provincial government was aboveboard.

“Kumpleto naman ang vehicles, resibo, wala namang reklamo ang suppliers. Kumpleto, walang anomaly. They said all vehicles were there. I have no reason to believe otherwise,” Marcos said.

She lamented that the issue,

which started as a “political conflict,” ended as “personal.”

“I am not sure why it ended up here in the House [of Representatives]. It’s a political conflict in Ilocos Norte that turned into a personal one,” Marcos said.

“It started off that way. I think it’s gone beyond that.”

House majority floor leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas earlier filed HR 882 to investigate Marcos.

The resolution says the alleged highly irregular purchase of motor vehicles worth P66.5 million was done through alleged cash advances without the benefit of public biddings.

Hapilon,...

“The tunneling could lead to the lake or to the Agus River. Our troops are waiting for them to come out,” the official added, noting that the military was guarding all possible escape routes.

Armed Forces chief Gen. Eduardo Año said the Marawi conflict is nearing its end and the military was preparing for the rebuilding and rehabilitation program for the residents of the Islamic City.

The military’s engineering brigades will be involved in rehabilitation works with billions of pesos needed to restore Marawi from the ruins of war against the terrorists.

In the main battle area, ground troops discovered a tunnel under a building where the terrorists stored their food, bullets, and weapons.

Also on Wednesday, the former town mayor of Marantao, Mohammadali Abinal told GMA-7 that the Maute group was still trying to recruit fighters but was having difficulty doing so.

He also said Maute terrorists were still trying to get into Marawi City on boats from Marantao. He said he did not know if they made it into the war-torn city, however, as he heard gunfire coming from Lake Lanao.

hearings. The court released its decision after President Rodrigo Duterte came to power and reversed the previous administration’s diplomatic thrust.

Cayetano said Duterte plans to raise the issue on arbitration “at a proper time.”

“The President just uses the phrase ‘at the right time’ and I trust him that he knows the right time or the right circumstances,” Cayetano said.

He said the Philippines would not be able to negotiation with China or boost economic ties with it if the country kept pushing for the arbitral ruling.

“We won’t be able to build trust or negotiate if we....put threats or conditions,” Cayetano said.

Duterte has said it is setting aside the arbitral ruling to focus on improving economic ties with China.

His decision to put the Tru-

bunal ruling on the back burner brought in billions of pesos in loans from China.

Meanwhile, the Philippines is talking with other countries to jointly explore “non-disputed” areas to prepare for the eventual loss of the Malampaya gas field in about 10 years, Cayetano said.

He said he was keen to discuss the framework, once it is final, with other claimants, including China, to discuss joint oil exploration in the disputed area.

“We’re looking for a framework that will keep under our Constitution and will be acceptable to claimants in the area. So if it’s an area claimed by only China and the Philippines, only we will discuss the matter,” Cayetano said.

Cayetano did not identify which other claimants are being approached, or which areas he wanted to open up for joint exploration.

He said the mayor of Ozamiz deserved his fate, as he had already warned mayors repeatedly not to get involved in the illegal drug trade.

“There’s really no remorse for you and for me. Fair warning. I told you, do not—… I told them, do not destroy my city because I will kill you,” he said.

He said he would go unannounced to Ozamiz City to warn policemen linked to the Parojinogs.

“I will be visiting Ozamiz, I will not tell you when, but I will warn the policemen there….who were responsible for the death of six soldiers before, you will have your comeuppance,” he said.

Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Jr., who was among the

names Duterte read when he first released his list of narco-politicians in August 2016, was killed in a recent drug operation at his home, along with his wife, brother, and 13 others.

In an interview on radio dzMM, Ozamiz police chief Isp. Jovie Espenido said Vice Mayor Nova Princess Parojinog and her relative, Ardot, were behind most of the killings tied to their family.

“Ardot was the executioner and the vice mayor, who was worse than her father,” Espenido said in Filipino.

“Because there were so many killed, the bodies were dumped anywhere, sometimes at sea,” he added. With F. Pearl A. Gajunera and Rey E. Requejo

Trump’s tone was markedly different to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s assurances last week that Washington was not seeking a regime change in Pyongyang.

North Korea raised the stakes just hours later, saying it was considering missile strikes near US strategic military installations on the Pacific island of Guam.

Once finalized, the plan could be put into action at “any moment” once leader Kim made a decision, the official Korean Central News Agency quoted a

military statement as saying.

The remote island of Guam— a 210-square-mile dot in the Pacific—is a key US military outpost and home to some 6,000 US troops spread across facilities including the sprawling Anderson Air Force Base, as well as Naval Base Guam.

Guam-based US B1-B bombers overflew the Korean peninsula on Tuesday, which KCNA said “proves that the US imperialists are nuclear war maniacs.”

Trump’s comment came as North Korea, reacting to new UN sanctions against its rapidly developing nuclear weapons program, warned the US it would “pay dearly” for its crimes and said it was examining its plans

to strike the American military base of Guam with a missile.

It also followed a report in the Washington Post, citing a Defense Intelligence Agency analysis, that Pyongyang successfully developed a nuclear warhead that could fit onto its missiles.

“He has been very threatening, beyond a normal statement,” Trump said of Kim. North Korea has routinely used bombastic rhetoric to threaten the US, including military bases in Japan, South Korea, Guam and Hawaii.

It wasn’t clear whether the president consulted with key allies, the Pentagon or State Department before making his comment.

US “would run the risk of being understood by the North Koreans to be the beginning of a much larger strike, and they might choose to use their nuclear weapons,” said Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia nonproliferation program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.

Somehow, the US would need to signal to both North Korea and China—Pyongyang’s main ally and trading partner—that a surgical military strike is limited, and that they should avoid nuclear retaliation.

3. Is regime change an option?

New leadership wouldn’t neces-

sarily lead to a new way of thinking among North Korea’s leadership.

Kim’s prolonged exposure to Western values while at school in Switzerland led some to speculate that he might opt to open his country to the world—until he took power and proved them wrong. Bloomberg

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State-inspired terrorist group that stormed Marawi City on Aug. 23.

Some 539 terrorists and 122 soldiers have been killed in the fighting so far, and 45 civilians have died. The remaining terrorists—said to be from 50 to 70, including foreign fighters— have 100 civilian hostages. Four were recently rescued.

Another military source said Hapilon had duffle bags full of cash, jewelry and gold bars from ransacked banks and houses.

‘Maritime...

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China and fhe Philippine is between China and the Philippines,” he said.

In a joint statement released earlier, the foreign ministers of the three countries said the ruling of the Arbitral Tribunal, which favored the Philippines, was “final and legally binding.”

“We are not pro-China, proUS, pro-Japan, pro-whatever. We are pro-Philippines and pro-Asean because we were good friends with China, good friends with Japan, and good friends with theUS and we appreciate not to be told what to do,” Cayetano said.

The previous administration had brought the dispute to the Arbitral Tribunal but China rejected the court’s authority and refused to participate in the

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“They will have my protection. Not to obstruct justice, I will allow justice to run. But there is a time, when a President will have part of it and that’s where I can assure you, you will have the justice that we all want.

Remember that,” he said.

The mass grave, allegedly used by members of the “Martilyo gang” linked to the Parojinogs—contained bones, clothing, and other personal items.

Duterte told policemen not to commit crimes, especially extrajudicial killings.

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4 airport workers nabbed for theft

By Joel E. Zurbano FOUR airport employees were arrested on Wednesday for alleged theft theft of pieces of jewelry owned by the wife of the Turkish foreign minister who attended the recent meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Manila.

The suspects were identified as Yves Ronald Baguion, Wilson Mataganas, John Andews Racoma and one Mr. Alfaro, all employees of Miascor Groundhandling Corp. assigned to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Recovered from suspects were one white gold ring with diamonds, one gold ring with five diamond ornaments, one gold ring with a big pearl ornament, one small gold ring with a small pearl ornament, one set of round pearl earrings, one set of flat pearl earrings, one pearl earring, one gold chain bracelet with a diamond, a set of earrings and one ring with precious stones.

The four were arrested even as airport authorities on Monday also arrested another worker for possession of a prohibited drug.

Elizer Espiritu, a Miascor employee assigned as a ramp worker at Terminal 1, was held after airport police found a sachet of shabu, inside his locker on Monday.

The suspect was turned over to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency while the shabu obtained from him was sent to the PNP Crime laboratory for verification.

Connie Bungag, head of the Manila International Airport Authority’s Public Affairs Office, said the four suspects confessed they stole the items.

“The owner is Madame Hulya Cavusoglu, wife of the Turkish foreign minister who departed via Turkish Airline flight on 04 August 2017,” Bungag said in a message sent to viber.

She said the theft was reported to MIAA assistant general manager Ehran Balaban and to Ufuk Apaydin, Turkish Airline Country and Station manager, on Aug. 7.

“The access pass privilege of the suspects have been canceled by the MIAA and their names have been placed in our Stop List,” Bungag said.

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don’t like, even my son, he’s dragged [into] Customs. I told you before, I’m telling you now again—if one of my children gets involved in corruption, I will immediately resign,” Duterte said in his speech at the ‘Sulong Pilipinas’ Philippine Development Forum at Edsa Shangri-La Hotel.

“If you could find evidence against any of my sons and daughter, I will press charges... and I will see the luxury of going down,” he added.

The lead witness in the ongoing House probe into the smuggling issue at the BO— Customs broker Mark Taguba—dropped Vice Mayor Duterte’s name claiming the President’s son was involved in the transactions of a certain “Davao group” at the Customs bureau in Davao City.

Vice Mayor Duterte’s name is being name-dropped by individuals he earlier implicated in the corrupt activities of the customs bureau—a certain “Tita Nani,” “Jack,” and “Small.”

In a statement released Tuesday, the presidential son downplayed the allegation against him, saying it was based on hearsay. admitted 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,” he said.

News

‘Initial P16-b fund for SUCs ready’

By Maricel V. Cruz and John Paolo Bencito

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HE chairperson of the House of Representatives’ committee on appropriations on Wednesday said the newly signed law mandating free public tertiary education has already P16-billion available funds for its implementation next year.

Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles, the panel chairperson, said the amount will be sourced from departments and agencies that are underspending or underperforming.

“The estimate of the Commission on Higher Education [CHED] is around P30 billion. Right now, we have P16 billion and we have source for this,” Nograles said.

Nograles said P16-billion fund would come from various scholarships in various departments that can be pooled together and consolidated for the full implementation of the law. The various scholarships can be found in different State Universities and Colleges, CHED, the Department of Health, Department of Agriculture, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

This does not even include additional funds that may be carved out of underperforming and underspending agencies, if needed, Nograles said.

“We will be consolidating all scholarship funds and spending them according to RA 10931 since this is the latest law that supersedes all other laws, and this law takes into consideration scholarships in SUCs, LUCs, TVIs and even private colleges and universities,” Nograles said.

Nograles said the newly signed law that was enacted last week will be implemented as soon as the Budget department and the CHED are able to come up with the Implementing Rules and Regulation within 15 days.

Nograles said that it was agreed during the meeting that CHED and Tesda must come up with an accurate figure on the number of students who would benefit from the free higher education law so that his panel can figure out how much is really needed to ensure its full implementation.

Netizens may ‘cover’ President, PCOO says

By John Paolo Bencito NETIZENS only need to be at least 18 years old and have more than 5,000 followers in any social media platforms to be able to get access and “cover” President Rodrigo Duterte’s events.

This was bared Wednesday as the Palace said that it was opening its gates to so-called “social media practitioners” to cover Palace activities, “in order to generate news and information for the citizenry through social media platforms,” according to the Presidential Communications Operations Office.

In Department Order No. 15, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar ordered for an interim ‘social media practitioner accreditation system’ that will be handled by the PCOO’s Social Media Office under

former sex guru-turned-blogger, Assistant Secretary Margaux “Mocha” Uson.

A “Social Media Practitioner” refers to “a person that maintains a publicly accessible social media page, blog, or website, which generates content and whose principle advocacy is the regular dissemination of original news and/ or opinion of interest.”

To apply for accreditation, qualified persons need to file their applications at the Social Media Office at 2nd Floor, New Executive Building, J.P. Laurel St., Malacañang Palace, San Miguel, Manila.

Accreditation, however, is on a per event/activity only, which is valid for single use, unless expressly specified. They however, should seek clearance first from the Presidential Security Group, which handles Duterte’s security.

Probe assassination of journalists—Poe

By Macon Ramos-Araneta SENATOR Grace Poe condemned the recent killing of two journalists in Mindanao and exhorted authorities to conduct a thorough investigation for the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators.

“The incidents bring to fore the violence and culture of impunity in the attacks against Filipino journalists,” Poe said.

“The people are counting on the police and law enforcers to keep our streets safe; that criminals will be immediately hunted down and prosecuted,” she added.

Poe, advocate and sponsor of the Freedom of Information bill at the Senate, said journalists should be able to work freely in an environment free from danger.

“They should be able to report stories and issues relevant to the Filipinos, and we know that journalists have risen to the occasion despite the odds,” she said.

Aside from the police, the senator also called on the Presidential Task Force on Violations of the Right to Life, Liberty and Security of the Members of the Media to act with dispatch on the cases.

Killed were Rudy Alicaway, 46, radio anchor of Tigmo-Tigmo program at DXPB 106.9 (Radyo ng Bayan Molave) and Leo Diaz, reporter of Radio Mindanao Network and columnist of Sapol Newspaper.

Alicaway was on his way home on Aug. 6 in Molave town, Zamboanga del Sur when he was shot by two motorcycle-riding gunmen.

He was reportedly also a village councilman of Miligan in Molave.

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Opinion

THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2017

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EDITORIAL

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Adelle Chua, Editor

Masters of none

HE communications team of the Duterte administration is an embarrassment.

One would think that it would get the best minds, the most circumspect of staff members and most accountable of editors, in delivering the government’s supposed message of change to the people and the world.

The most recent gaffe is the news item reposted from the Chinese news agency that characterized the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, favorable to the Philippines, as an ill-founded award.

The Philippines sought the help of the court in The Hague amid

China’s show of force in parts of the South China Sea that form part of our exclusive zones.

The parroted line: “More than one year after an ill-founded award at a South China Sea arbitration unilaterally delivered by an ad hoc tribunal in The Hague, the situation in the South China Sea has stabilized and improved thanks to the wisdom and sincerity of China and the parties concerned.”

This is natural to China, which refused to participate in the arbitration case and which said the PCA did not have jurisdiction on the issue. For the Philippines, it is unnatural—and unforgivable—to echo this report, even as it has been taken down.

That’s not the first or the great-

est embarrassment, either. During its coverage of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings this week, state-owned PTV 4 flashed a summary of information onscreen that said Burma was the capital of Myanmar. The same screen also showed atrocious grammatical errors.

A recent photo bore the caption “Caption.”

The errors are not limited to grammar. The PNA also ran a story that said 95 out of 105 nations agree there were no extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, and a photo that was made out to be from Marawi but was actually from Vietnam.

An assistant secretary for communications blurs the line between offi-

cial functions and personal advocacy.

One slip, at a stretch two or three, may be forgivable. But when incompetence becomes a habit, and disregard for accuracy becomes the norm, then it’s clearly time for an overhaul.

President Duterte may believe he has bigger problems to solve, and we are sure he does, but acting on this would save him a lot of trouble in the years to come.

There is an expression: “Jack of all trades, master of none” that applies to people who dabble with so many preoccupations but know only the rudiments of each without being experts at anything. Some people in the government’s communications team must be worse: They have just one job—and yet fail spectacularly at it.

DUTY CALLS FLORENCIO FIANZA

Family feud

Missing the point LOWDOWN

JOJO A. ROBLES FIRST, the Yellows, who have inexplicably decided that they should circle the wagons around embattled Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista, wanted us to believe that the elections boss’ problems with his wife Patricia were the subject of a private marital dispute, unworthy of airing before the public. Then they started saying that this is really all about another man and another woman: former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Vice President Leni Robredo.

It seems to me that the Yellow sympathizers of Bautista— who really shouldn’t be backed by partisans of any camp, as head of a supposedly independent agency—will say anything about their new idol except what is staring them in the face: That

Bautista stands accused by his own wife of amassing more than P1 billion less than halfway through his term as chief regulator of all elections.

The sensational tabloid-fodder marital dispute, which has all the elements of a Dynastylike telenovela, is not nearly as big as the corruption issue.

And the Marcos protest, regardless of its political implications, is just a diversionary ploy often resorted to by the Yellows when they are backed into a corner.

The Yellows can’t seem to get it through their heads that the wife of Bautista, a certified Aquino family admirer who was twice handpicked by no less than Noynoy Aquino himself to head up two important agencies, is accusing him of enriching himself in office. And then, according to Patricia, Bautista cannot even share some of the loot with his legal (if estranged) wife, who according to the law, deserves half of everything he has.

By the way, the Yellows, now that they have abandoned the “marital spat” position and moved on Bongbong-Leni, skipping the corruption issue entirely, still insist that Patricia is be-

The new Yellow defense of Bautista, which alleges that Marcos is behind his travails, is truly a headscratcher. ing greedy. How the Yellows can focus on this while ignoring the avarice of Bautista as alleged by his wife, who is only basing her claims for money on the loot that

the chairman was supposed to have accumulated, only the Yellows can really explain.

There is greed enough to go around here, actually, but let’s not forget the original source. If Bautista had not so greedily built up a fortune that not even his wife knew about, would anyone really begrudge her demands for her share?

(Here it must be pointed out that all the nuns, women’s rights groups and civil society organizations that fell all over themselves defending Senators Leila de Lima and Risa Hontiveros and, yes, Robredo, when they were supposedly being shamed and bullied, have not uttered a peep about Patricia and her fight against the powerful Comelec chairman—emphasis on “man.”

What happened to the people behind #EveryWoman, is what I really want to know.)

Which leads us to the new Yellow defense of Bautista, which alleges that Marcos is behind the travails of the Comelec chair-

man, because the real goal is to unseat Robredo. This is truly a head-scratcher to me.

Bautista is no longer involved in the Marcos protest, which is now before the Supreme Court sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal—the Marcos protest will have no effect whatsoever on the legal process to remove Robredo.

Unless, of course, Bautista really did rig the 2016 elections in order to make Robredo win over Marcos. Because if he did, then the Yellows are right to be very afraid of any testimony that the Comelec chairman may give, if and when he is summoned before the PET. If it’s true that Bautista was involved in election fraud (which also explains his elevation to billionaire status), then a lot of things will fall into place.

Including the small matter of why the Yellows, who are nothing if not partisan, have decided to defend a government Turn to A5

ONE of the worst things that can happen to a public official is to have his or her private marital problems exposed in public for everyone to know.

This is exactly what is happening with the marital woes of the estranged Bautista couple.

It has only been a few days but it looks like this soap opera will get a lot messier. This is unfortunate for Commission on Elections Chairman Andy Bautista. His position is supposed to be one that does not only demand the highest integrity and honesty but also a moral character that is second to none.

The Comelec is the guardian of our democratic system of government. A corrupt Comelec will just make a mockery of our electoral process which is the very foundation of our cherished democratic government.

Yet, that is precisely what Andy Bautista is being accused of and the accusation is coming from his estranged wife, no less.

Patricia Paz Bautista is saying that based on some documents she found in their conjugal dwelling, it appears that Andy Bautista is worth the astonishing amount of more than a billion pesos instead of the P157 million that he reported in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth. As proof, she offered several documents like bank accounts both here and abroad together with other documents attesting to ownership of several real estate properties both here and San Francisco in the United States.

This alleged property in the US could easily be accessed to determine whether Andy Bautista does own a condominium unit in San Francisco.

Andy Bautista, for his part, has been making the rounds of the networks and has also made himself available to the print media to accuse his estranged wife of blackmail to the tune of P620 million.

I do not know about this blackmail thing but my very limited knowledge of the law on property is that if husband and wife separate, one is entitled to half of the conjugal property. And since in Patricia’s calculation, the wealth accumulated by Andy Bautista (whether legally or not) is about P1.2 billion, she is only asking for half of Andy’s wealth which is perfectly withTurn to A5

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Opinion

HELL hath no fury than a woman scorned!

Hell certainly is happening to Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista, whose estranged wife, Patricia, has exposed an alleged P1 billion not declared in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth. In the wake of all publicity and domestic quarrel between husband and wife, the Comelec chief is already guilty in the people’s eyes. Patricia has presented documents supporting her claim.

Bautista’s dilemma now is whether to quit his post or wait for an impeachment case to be filed against him.

If he resigns now, people will say he is guilty. But if he waits for an impeachment case, it would be worse with all the publicity that comes with it. He will surely be convicted by the Senate. He will also face criminal charges.

If Bautista continues to defend himself in media, it will be useless because the people already see him as guilty. This is what happened to the late Chief Justice Renato Corona.

This is unfortunate for Andy.

I know him to be a man of honesty and integrity.

The doubts are not only on him, but on the integrity of the 2016 national and local elections. This is why the Bautista case must be pursued to its logical end. The stakes are just too high!

So, were the poll results manipulated? Was the people’s will frustrated? This is why I believe Bautista should resign. *** Some Customs officials have been named as getting grease money from smugglers. We also should not forget the 604 kilos of shabu that was cleared in the express lane at the BoC. Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon is also being accused of hiring athletes as consultants for the intelligence groups. They are being paid P50,000 each, monthly.

Corruption at Customs is no longer news; it’s the norm.

What should be resolved is why all these happened under the watch of Faeldon. I believe he is aware of command responsibility. He should resign out of selfrespect and delicadeza.

President Duterte should by now realize that it was a mistake to appoint an outsider, a “novato” at the bureau. *** Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Roy Cimatu is finding how difficult it is to reconcile managing the country’s natural resources and protect the environment at the same time. Former DENR Secretary Gina Lopez singlehandedly caused the collapse of the mining industry. She suspended so many mining concerns and terminated sharing agreements between government and the industry.

The interests are contradictory, even irreconcilable.

This is why the functions should be separated.

An executive order from the President can quickly do the job. *** Being a government official is a thankless job. When you assume such a post, you have to take risks.

I have been tempted to go into government service myself. I had offers to be press secretary thrice. A friend, Joe Aspiras, made the offer in my home, in the presence of my wife, during the Marcos administration.

When I asked how much the salary would be, I was told it would be P19,000. I said I could not live on this income and I was assured I could augment it from other sources.

I got another offer during the time of President Fidel Ramos.

He asked me if I would like to be press secretary, and I told him I would like to recommend somebody else—Rod Reyes, who indeed was appointed press secretary.

Finally, my former student Joseph Estrada asked me the same, and again I said no.

Missing...

From A4

itself into an impeachment court, hold water when Drilon (who was Senate president at the time) let Binay get the thirddegree there, even if the vice president is also an impeachable official like Bautista? And, as I wrote yesterday, how can Drilon even pretend to be an impartial senator-judge when everyone knows how he started the impeachment of the late Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona through a speech in the Senate?

There was no other way for Drilon but to beat a hasty retreat. Even if he may be borderline correct by saying that the Senate must not be biased either way against an official that may come before them in an impeachment trial, he is the last person who should make that call.

This is the Comelec chairman’s quandary.

official who is supposed to be head of an independent, unbiased agency in charge of the elections. *** Senator Franklin Drilon has decided to withdraw his demand that the question of jurisdiction first be settled before Congress starts investigating the case of Chairman Bautista. All it took for Drilon to abandon his call was a reminder from two of his colleagues, Tito Sotto and Francis Escudero, that the Senate allowed a handful of its members to investigate Vice President Jejomar Binay for over a year.

How can Drilon’s suggestion for the Senate not to probe Bautista, on the ground that it may become biased when it converts

Family...

From A4 in the bounds of law.

Chairman Bautista is also accused of having P372 million deposited with the Luzon Development Bank. It appears that Bautista has been making daily deposits of amounts of less than P500,000 obviously to circumvent AMLAC regulations which require that any bank transaction of P500,000 or more must be reported to the central bank. The daily deposits clearly fall under the category of suspicious transactions as defined in the AntiMoney Laundering Law and

should have been reported by Bautista’s bank. It did not.

There are also two offshore accounts in US and Hong Kong dollars.

Bautista has dismissed these accounts as small. He said that having worked as a lawyer in Hong Kong, he is authorized to hold offshore bank accounts. But Andy Bautista seems to forget that the issue here is his failure to include this in his SALN. No matter how small the amount, if Bautista failed to include it in his SALN, it is a violation of the law which was the reason for the removal of the late Chief Justice Renato Corona.

A5

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Behind closed doors

TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

Resign or be impeached

THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2017

OVERSIGHT DANILO SUAREZ MONDAY’S headlines were dominated by the controversy between Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista and his wife, Patricia Paz. The couple admitted to marital woes that led to their estrangement.

Mrs. Bautista met with President Duterte in fear that her family’s assets were acquired through illegal or immoral acts.

She revealed several bank accounts and real estate properties worth almost P1 billion under the name of her husband, which were not declared in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and

Net Worth). Chairman Bautista only declared a net worth of P176.3 million in his SALN. The evidence was acquired by Mrs. Bautista from their conjugal house. However, the chairman insisted that everything he owns is stated in his SALN and some of the evidence presented by his wife were allegedly fabricated.

We must recognize two separate issues here: The marital problems of the Bautistas, which is personal; and the undeclared and unexplained wealth of Commissioner Bautista, which is an issue of public concern that requires further investigation.

This is a question of integrity and accountability of a public servant.

Prior to Mrs. Bautista’s revelations, there have been reports

of allegedly clandestine and suspicious meetings and sightings of the Commissioner in relation to the 2016 elections, like his supposed secret meeting with then VP candidate Leni Robredo. We cannot help but connect these events to Chairman Bautista’s supposed unexplained wealth. I filed a resolution for the appropriate House committee to conduct an investigation, in aid of legislation, on Comelec Chairman Bautista’s unexplained wealth and its possible relation to the 2016 national and local elections. The investigation would give the Chairman an opportunity to clear his name, address the allegations of unexplained wealth, if any, and its relation to the 2016 elections. With all

the election protests, 28 in the House of Representatives, one in the Senate, 14 for local positions, and one for the second position in the country, the issue of whether or not the 2016 elections is a true reflection of the people’s choice remains a dark cloud that is cast on the integrity of the electoral process and the Commission in charge of its proper conduct.

Chairman Bautista is an impeachable officer. Should it be proven that he violated the Constitution, he will be dismissed from government service. The minority will not take this case lightly, similar to how we deal with previous cases of government officials who were linked to corruption and other immoral practices.

Stop the slut-shaming, follow the money IT MIGHT look like a simple case of he said-she said, but Patricia Bautista’s shocking allegations of massive corruption against her estranged husband, Commission on Elections chairman Andres Bautista, have important implications on the legitimacy of our present leadership.

Both sides have lobbed shots at each other. Mrs. Bautista fired first, claiming her husband has amassed nearly P1 billion in unexplained wealth, showing dozens of bank passbooks and other documents as proof.

She reported the matter to President Duterte at the Palace, but the latter seems to be distancing himself by labeling the issue as something that the couple have to work out between themselves.

Mr. Bautista retaliated by denying the accusations and attacking the character of his wife. Speaking from his inlaws’ home, he said she was unfaithful and greedy.

Journalists and bloggers began their own investigations.

Manila Standard’s own Jojo Robles noted Mr. Bautista’s

ties to a former classmate who happens to belong to the family who owns the bank where much of the disputed money is deposited. This fellow was an appointee of the previous administration, Robles revealed, and in fact has been charged with graft for anomalous transactions in the agency he served. The money, he speculates, might be “someone else’s.”

Others have supported Mrs. Bautista, pointing to her cosmetology vocational school and other similar efforts as proof of her charitable nature. A New Age type who is into reading auras and energy healing, she shrugs off claims of “craziness” as well her alleged infidelity.

Everyone has an opinion, and many weighed in on social media. What caught my attention were these oft-repeated statements: that Mrs. Bautista is airing dirty linen in public and destroying her family, that she is immoral, and therefore less credible than her husband.

This is always the case when a woman levels accusations of wrongdoing against her husband—the burden of proof is heavier on her than on a man. In many cases of domestic abuse, for instance, the woman is expected to keep mum because “it will destroy the family.”

It is reasonable to assume that Mrs. Bautista thought long

and hard before going public with this matter. She knew her relationship with another man would be brought up. She knew she would be making dangerous enemies and be putting herself in harm’s way. But she believes that it is important for her truth to be told.

Whether it is the truth is another matter. But what makes her story believable is the money.

The passbooks are in Mr. Bautista’s name, and these amounts are not declared in his statement of assets and liabilities. All government officials and employees are required to give an honest report of their finances in their SALNs, and failure to to do carries many severe penalties.

The point here is, where did Mr. Bautista get nearly a billion pesos? Where did all that money come from? Are they bribes? Did he sell out the 2016 elections? If so, who of the politicians running amuck in local bailiwicks or Congress shouldn’t be there at all?

Or is he holding the moneybag for someone else?

The money is all anyone needs to look at. Mrs. Bautista has accused the Comelec chairman of corruption, she has provided documents to bolster her statements, so now it is for legal eagles, accountants, and inves-

tigators to follow the money.

Slut-shaming Mrs. Bautista is the natural reaction of a society with a mindset stuck in the Middle Ages, a society that is the last remaining holdout against a divorce bill, a society that is patriarchal and seeks to control women and curb their power through norms and customs.

Trying to embarrass her for her unorthodox spiritual practices is also the backward reaction of a society that cannot separate church from state nor accept any other belief systems other than those that are traditional and ‘properly accredited,’ inevitably those run largely on patriarchal lines.

Even if she does have a relationship with another man, even if she does believe her dead father speaks to her, all that money is still there on the table and that’s where the focus should be.

In other words—ad hominem attacks on Mrs. Bautista waste energy and effort. Follow the money trail. Investigate the allegations of graft and corruption.

And find out if we, the Filipino people, have once again been betrayed by those sworn to uphold the interests of the public.

Dr. Ortuoste is a Californiabased writer. FB: Jenny Ortuoste, Twitter: @jennyortuoste, IG: @jensdecember, @artuoste

Actually, Republicans are standing up to Trump Bloomberg editorial THE diligence of congressional Republicans in holding Donald Trump’s presidency in check has so far inspired little confidence.

Even some Republicans have been disappointed. “To carry on in the spring of 2017 as if what was happening was anything approaching normalcy required a determined suspension of critical faculties,” Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona wrote. “And tremendous powers of denial.”

All true. Yet this may be changing. Republicans are slowly, and perhaps even surely, beginning to use their constitutional authority to put some limits on a reckless presidency.

It’s a shift that should be recog-

As the saying goes, where there is smoke there is fire. For Bautista, he now has to prove that those bank accounts are just a figment of his wife’s imagination and are not true. He also claimed in one of his interviews that part of the funds deposited belong to his siblings living in the United States which is a common defense tactic. But why did he not put that on record with the bank that the money is a joint account instead of depositing the huge amount of money in his name?

The National Bureau of Investigation is now investigating the wife’s allegations and if both Houses of Congress can make up

nized—and encouraged.

Last week, before leaving Washington for their August recess, senators voted unanimously to hold pro forma sessions through the rest of August. The move is inconvenient, requiring a senator to preside briefly every few days over an otherwise empty chamber. But it was also crucial.

With Trump raging against special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into his affairs, the Senate made it impossible for Trump to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a feared first step in targeting Mueller, and replace him with a recess appointment.

Trump could still fire Sessions, but with the Senate officially in session, his replacement would require Senate confirmation,

making it more difficult to install a chief law enforcement officer who is primarily concerned with protecting Trump.

In a related act of Congressional defiance, both houses voted overwhelmingly in late July to sanction Russia for its attempts to influence the 2016 US election, among other misdeeds.

The vote was an unstated but obvious rebuke to Trump, who seems never to miss an opportunity to excuse Russian behavior.

Meanwhile, two Senate Republicans are proposing separate bipartisan bills that seek to shield Mueller’s probe from meddling

by Trump.

Noteworthy silences are on the rise as well. Flake, a consistent critic of Trump, just published a book in which he con-

demned the “Faustian bargain” of appeasing the president’s dysfunction and affronts to rule of law. Trump partisans attacked it harshly, but Flake’s Republican Senate colleagues didn’t.

“Under our Constitution, there simply are not that many people who are in a position to do something about an executive branch in chaos,” Flake wrote.

“As the first branch of government (Article I), the Congress was designed expressly to assert itself at just such moments.”

Flake is right again. Members of Congress have unique powers, and this confers unique responsibilities. To minimize the damage from a turbulent presidency, Republicans need to accept those responsibilities, and discharge them.

their minds, there might also be a Congressional investigation.

Both developments could not be good for Andy Bautista and if I were him, he should engage the services of a lawyer instead of lawyering for himself as he is doing. His counter accusations of blackmail and marital infidelity is only pouring more gasoline into the fire.

Could the accusation of unexplained wealth be true? If true, how and when did Bautista acquire his staggering wealth? As chairman of the Presidential Commission on Good Government or as chairman of Comelec?

Maybe he earned his riches be-

fore entering government service as a brilliant lawyer. For now, it is hard to say. But let me relate an incident related to me by a very reliable source from inside the Comelec. It seems that several months ago, the Comelec was able to uncover several election irregularities that occurred during the 2016 elections. This involved the electronic manipulation of the election results in several cities and provinces. The way this was found out according to this source was that the Comelec opened the server to determine the actual winners in these cities and provinces and found out that those proclaimed were

not the true winners. A decision was then made by the Comelec en banc to oust those who cheated and install the true winners.

Somewhere along the line, however, the installation of these officials was delayed so many times by Chairman Bautista until everything was set aside and forgotten. Reason?

According to my source, one of these officials paid a total of P65 million to Chairman Bautista which he apparently shared with a ranking government official who was recently dismissed by the president for corruption.

Folks, that is just from one official.

A6

THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2017

News

Du30’s EO revokes Noy’s NIR order

By John Paolo Bencito and Macon Ramos-Araneta

P

RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday issued Executive Order No. 38, which abolished the Negros Island Region crafted in the previous administration.

The new EO revokes Executive Order No. 183, issued by Duterte’s predecessor, former President Benigno Aquino III ordering the separation of the two Negros provinces—Negros Oriental back to Region 6 (Western Visayas) and Negros Occidental back to Region 7

(Central Visayas).

Aquino’s EO issued in May 2015 created the NIR, supposedly the 18th and newest region in the country, which has a population of around 4.5 million, of their respective regions and puts them together as one island region.

With the NIR—designated Region 18—scrapped, all regional offices created for it are also abolished and all personnel “shall return to their previous units of deployment, or reassigned to other offices within their respective departments/ agencies,” EO No. 38 read.

Duterte said that the establishment of regional offices of departments and agencies in the NIR would “require substantial appropriation to be fully operational, thus, competing with government priority programs and projects for funding.”

The new EO also ordered regional councils and offices to

return to their previous units of deployment or to be reassigned to other offices.

In December last year, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno pointed out that no funds had been allocated for the NIR in the 2016 national budget, the last under Aquino, or in the 2017 budget.

Diokno also called the new region an “expensive exercise” that would cost the government at least P19 billion and explained that abolishing the NIR would not affect basic services in the two Negros provinces.

“The services will be provided by existing regions before the

creation of NIR. We go back to the status quo,” he said.

But Senator Bam Aquino, a member of the minority in the Senate, expressed disappointment over the president’s order to abolish the NIR, saying this would weaken the economic development and hamper efforts to alleviate poverty in the region.

“We are disappointed with the decision to abolish the Negros Island Region amidst the Negrenses’ appeal for unification,” said Aquino.

He believes the issue on abolishing Negros Island warrants a public discussion.

“We hope the Senate can still

hold a hearing on the resolutions we’ve filed last year,” added the senator, referring to Senate Resolution No. 212 which he filed last October 24, 2016,” he said.

“We must immediately find out whether there are negative longterm effects for a divided Negros Island Region,” he added.

Aquino also filed a resolution to look into this matter after the president decided to revoke EO 183 dated May 29, 2015, which mandated the creation of a unified NIR, bringing together Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, and all the cities, municipalities and barangays comprising the two adjacent provinces.

CebuPac cancels flights to Mactan

By Joel E. Zurbano THE Cebu Pacific Air announced it has canceled at least 27 domestic and two international flights scheduled on Friday (Aug. 11) at the Mactan Cebu International Airport which will be closed to give way for the scheduled repair of the airport runway.

The canceled domestic flights include 5J-562 and 5J-553 (Cebu-Manila-Cebu), 5J-563 and 5J-564 (Manila-Cebu-Manila), 5J-586 and 5J-551 (CebuManila-Cebu), 5J-608 (CebuClark), 5J-611 (Davao Cebu), DG-6739 and DG-6738 (Cagayan de Oro-Davao-Cagayan de Oro), DG-6298 and DG-6299 (Caticlan-Clark-Caticlan), 5J485 and 5J-486 (Manila-Bacolod-Manila), 5J-959 (ManilaDavao), DG-6462 and DG6463 (Cebu-Bacolod-Cebu), DG6715 and DG06716 (Cebu- Cagayan de Oro-Cebu), DG-6690 and DG-6691 (Cebu-Camiguin-Cebu), DG-6272 and DG-

6273 (Cebu- Caticlan-Cebu), DG-6408 and DG-6409 (CebuIloilo-Cebu) and DG6588 and DG6589 (Cebu-Ormoc-Cebu).

International flights to and from Hong Kong 5J-240 and 5J241 were also canceled.

Local airport authorities said the runway will be closed for six hours on Aug. 11 in preparation for its repair. They added that the closure, beginning 2:30 a.m. until 8:30 a.m., will be made in order to commence the second half of its repairs.

“The runway repairs are precautionary in nature and are designed to ensure that the best possible level of safety is afforded to the passengers and stakeholders of the airport,” said the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority in its advisory.

The Cebu Pacific management advised affected passengers to check the travel itineraries or tickets, and contact its hotlines at (+632)702-0888 or (+6332)230-8888 for further information and inquiries.

MONTHLY MEETING. Philconsa president lawyer Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, (in barong), greets National Defense Secretary, Delfin Lorenzana (in dark suit, after the latter addressed officers and members of the Philippine Constitution Association in last night’s Philconsa monthly membership meeting in Manila. Also in photo is Philconsa director and Dangerous Drugs Board chairman, Dionisio Santiago. Ey Acasio

500-plus Caluya, Antique mayor suspended for ‘oppression’ ADDA violators caught

By Rio N. Araja

By Joel E. Zurbano MORE than 500 motorists were caught violating the Anti Distracted Driving Act in the National Capital Region during the first month of its full implementation, according to the Metro Manila Development Authority.

Most of the 547 violators caught by the agency’s closed-circuit television cameras from July 6 to Aug. 8 were car drivers.

Ronnie Rivera, chief of the MMDA’s no-contact apprehension policy, said as of Aug. 8, they were able to monitor 157 distracted car drivers; and riders of 157 motorcycles, 82 Asian Utility Vehicles, 29 Sports Utility Vehicles, 25 public utility buses, 25 public utility jeepneys, 21 pick-ups, 21 UV Express, 13 trucks and eight taxicabs.

So far, according to Rivera, only 15 from the total number of violators were able to pay fines, and 11 of those were owners of private vehicles.

“They are aware of the law but some didn’t know how much is the penalty,” he said.

On the first day of implementation, the MMDA caught more than 200 drivers.

Under the implementing rules and regulations of ADDA, drivers are prohibited from using electronic devices and mobile phones, except when the hands-free functions have been enabled. Gadgets should also be placed only on the car’s dashboard as long as these don’t exceed the four-inch height limit.

THE Office of the Ombudsman ordered on Wednesday the suspension of incumbent Caluya Mayor Genevieve Reyes of Antique province for six months for oppression.

“No Sanggunian resolution supporting the housing project was presented as legal basis for respondent’s directive to clear and level the land. This reinforces the conclusion that the clearing operation was made without due pro-

cess of law,” its resolution read.

The suspension order came after the Ombudsman found that Reyes unlawfully authorized the demolition or clearing operation on a five-hectare coconut farmland in Sitio Poocan, Barangay Tinogboc in February 2014.

The clearing operation was supposedly undertaken in order to pave the way for a housing project to relocate residents from Sitio Sabang to Sitio Poocan.

According to the Ombudsman,

Reyes failed to present any application from the Philippine Coconut Authority for the cutting of coconut trees or land conversion.

In July 2014, the Commission on Human Rights requested the mayor to stop all relocation, eviction and demolition due to lack of proper and adequate consultation with the affected residents.

The Ombudsman anchored its decision on the provisions of the Local Government Code of 1991 that promotes a policy of consul-

tation before any implementation of certain projects consistent with the spirit of due process.

Meanwhile, the Ombudsman indicted ex-mayor Viscuso de Lira of Balangiga, Samar, and his wife, administrative assistant Emelita de Lira, for discrepancies in their joint Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth.

Viscuso and Emelita were charged with three counts of perjury and three counts of violation of Section 8 of the Code of Conduct

and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, based on a resolution approved by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales.

According to graft probers, the couple undervalued the cost of their Nissan Patrol Super Safari in their 2013 SALN by declaring the cost of the vehicle as only P1,800,000, instead of its actual value of P3,048,480, and that the mayor failed to declare ownership over several high-powered firearms in his SALNs.

‘Urgent’ Natl ID bill sent to Palace

INSPECTION. DPWH Secretary Mark Villar (second from right) and DOTr Secretary Art Tugade (rightmost) inspect the ongoing Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 project (MMSS-3 Project) in Makati City on Wednesday. The MMSS-3 Project is an elevated expressway over the entire length from Buendia, Makati City to Balintawak, Quezon City with a distance of about 14.82 kms. and also includes improvement works in selected at-grade sections. Norman Cruz

SOCIOECONOMIC Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said on Wednesday that the proposed Unified National ID System Act has already been endorsed to President Rodrigo Duterte for certification as “urgent.”

“I am pleased to note that the proposed Unified National ID System Act was endorsed by the Executive Committee of the Legislative-Executive Development Authority Council for certification by the President as ‘urgent’,” Pernia said in his remarks during the Philippine Development Forum 2017 in Mandaluyong City.

The proposal, filed by Caloocan Representative Edgar R. Erice, was approved by the House Committee on Population and Family Relations in May.

The measure seeks to unify all government transactions under one identification card which will be the “official identity verification” of all Filipino citizens.

The proposed ID will contain personal information, including a person’s name, permanent address, age, gender, and a photo.

Other biometric information such as fingerprints will also be contained in a chip inside the ID. “The bill is included in both the Common Legislative Priorities of Congress and the President’s Legislative Agenda [PLA],” Pernia said Wednesday.

A similar bill was filed by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV in the Senate, which he said would provide the government with a single database of Filipinos who can benefit from its services.

BI deploys more officers in intl provincial ports

By Vito Barcelo THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) has deployed additional Immigration officers to international ports outside of Metro Manila to thwart the entry of foreign terrorists and other undesirable aliens in the provinces.

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said that he had already issued personnel orders directing scores of Immigration officers to report for duty in other international ports nationwide.

Morente said the move was aimed at augmenting the number

of BI personnel assigned in the said ports whose primary function is to process and screen arriving and departing foreign and local travelers.

The places where the Immigration officers were reassigned are the airports in Mactan-Cebu, Davao,

Iloilo, Kalibo, and the international seaport in Zamboanga City.

According to Morente, the BI can now afford to disperse its personnel to the provinces as the bureau continues to expedite the recruitment of Immigration officers.

“We are still in the process of

selecting qualified applicants to hundreds of vacant positions for Immigration officers,” the BI chief said, adding that those who have been hired are now manning Immigration booths in the three terminals of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Sports Haze from Indonesia threatens SEA Games KUALA LUMPUR—Malaysia’s sports minister has urged Indonesia to ensure that haze from raging forest fires does not affect the Southeast Asian Games this month, a report said Wednesday.

Malaysia will host the major multi-sport event from August 19-30, with thousands of athletes from across the region descending on the capital Kuala Lumpur to take part.

However there have been fears that choking smog from the fires in neighbouring Indonesia could float over Malaysia during the games.

The haze is an annual problem caused by slash-and-burn fires started to clear land for palm oil and pulp and paper plantations. It often blows over Malaysia and Singapore, causing flight cancellations, school closures and soaring rates of respiratory illness.

Malaysian Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin played down fears that the games would be affected by haze, saying he did not believe there was currently a threat and Indonesia had improved efforts to tackle the problem.

But he said Jakarta still needed to take precautions.

“I hope Indonesia will be able to control this problem so it does not affect (the games),” he was quoted as saying in the New Straits Times newspaper.

“I believe they will be embarrassed if it does affect the SEA Games as they, too, are competing here.”

The blazes normally peak in September and October.

But there has already been an early spike on Indonesia’s western island of Sumatra -one of the main areas hit by blazes each year -- with dozens of people treated for lung infections and some schools closed in Aceh province last month.

Indonesia’s national disaster agency says there are currently about 160 “hotspots” across the country. These are areas detected by satellite that are either on fire or intensely hot and likely soon to go up in flames. AFP

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2017 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Ernie Els, Mickelson thank Woods for their longevity C

HARLOTTE —Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson will each make his 100th major start Thursday at the PGA Championship, and both credit Tiger Woods with helping them boost their fitness and longevity.

US left-hander Mickelson, a five-time major winner, and Els, a four-time major champion from South Africa, paid tribute to the injured 14-time major champion Tuesday at Quail Hollow.

“Had Tiger not come around, I don’t feel I would have pushed myself to achieve what I ended up achieving, be-

cause he forced everybody to get the best out of themselves,” Mickelson said.

“He forced everybody to work a little bit harder. He forced everybody to look at fitness as a big part of the game of golf, and I think that has actually helped me with longevity.

“He was a big influence on that, so I don’t think I would have had the same level of success had he not come around.”

Els, a runner-up to Woods in the 2000 US and British Opens, agreed, saying Woods’s 1997 Masters victory was so impressive it derailed his own major chances for a time.

“I was ready to win quite a few, if you know what I mean, and then when Tiger came in ‘97 and him winning the Masters in the way he did, that threw me off a little bit,” Els said.

“I thought I was really one of the top players, which I was, but that was a pretty special display of golf. I had quite a few run-ins with him in majors. It wasn’t really very close.

“This guy is so special and he absolutely changed the game. He got us to really elevate our games. But I could have had a couple more, definitely, without him around.”

Els won the 1994 and 1997 US Opens and the 2002 and 2012 British Opens.

Mickelson won the 2004, 2006 and 2010 Masters, the 2005 PGA and the 2013 British Open. Els was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011, Mickelson the following year.

“I think it will take a while to kind of sink in for the two of us, but it’s pretty cool,” Els said of becoming golf centurions.

Van Niekerk coasts to win in world’s 400 meters

KTM TRACK DAY AT CLARK SPEEDWAY. Champion riders, motorcycle enthusiasts, and celebrities trooped to the Clark International Speedway for the 1st ever KTM Track Day event in the country. The KTM Track Day is an exclusive event for KTM owners and bike aficionados that allow them to experience the Ready To Race performance of KTM motorcycles like the KTM RC 390, KTM RC 200, KTM 390 Duke and KTM 390 Duke, while also learning crucial riding techniques and skills on a professional track. A special one-day discount was also given to guests, who attended the event. KTM Asia Motorcycle Manufacturing, Inc., a partnership between AC Industrial Technology Holdings, Inc. (AC Industrials) of the Ayala Corp., and KTM AG of Austria is local assembler of KTM in the Philippines.

2 set pace in PGT Asia Tour Qualifying School TARLAC—Swede Fredrik From and Seungjae Maeng of the US hit late birdies at the front to fire identical four-under 68s for a one-stroke lead over three local bets at the start of the PGT Asia Tour Qualifying School at the Luisita Golf and Country Club here yesterday.

From scorched the backside of the tight layout with three birdies, added another on No. 3 then drained in a fifth one on

“It just goes by so fast. You don’t think about it,” Mickelson said. “It has been a lot of fun. I know we both want to win a couple more.”

Playing in 100 majors, 64 shy of the record set by Jack Nicklaus, was an astounding feat to Rory McIlroy, preparing for his 36th major appearance.

“That’s pretty impressive,” McIlroy said. “That’s (25) years of playing majors.

Wow. It would be nice to get to that number one day. That’s pretty good longevity right there.”

Each man was asked to pick one shot from his majors as his best, Mickelson naming his blast from the pine straw around a tree at the 13th hole at Augusta on the way to victory in 2010 and Els with his second shot at 17 to help seal his second US Open title at Congressional. AFP

No. 8 to negate his lone bogey mishap on No. 4 and match Maeng’s 34-34 card in hot, windless condition.

Ira Alido and Keanu Jahns produced the best scores among the local bets, putting in a pair of solid 69s to put themselves in early contention for low medal honors in the 72-hole tournament where the top 60 plus ties will gain cards for Asia’s newest pro golf circuit kicking off

next week with the $100,000 PGTA Aboitiz Invitational at Southwoods.

American John Michael O’Toole rallied at the back with two birdies and joined Alido and Jahns at third while Anthony Fernando, Randy Garalde, Indonesian Elki Kow, Canadian Lee Sang Gyun, Thai Pasavee Lertvilai, Cory Oride of the US and Aussie Ian Tonumaipe’a all turned in identical 70s.

Japanese Kazuma Shimaya and Englishman Grant Jackson, Swede Andreas Gronkvist and Thai Wisut Artjanawat all shot 71s to move in the upper half of the 112-player field from 17 countries chasing spots in the rich 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.

The top 80 players after 36 holes will advance to the final two rounds with the top 60 and ties gaining cards and joining the top 40 in the current Philippine Golf Tour Order of Merit ranking in the new regional circuit backed by Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Srixon, Callaway, Empire, NikeGolf, TaylorMade, Custom Clubmakers, Sharp, Omnisource Int’l., Silicon Computer and Telecoms, Inc.

Tugade nails 2 Olivarez titles VINCE EJ Tugade pulled off two hard-earned victories, including the premier boys’ diadem, to emerge the best among the best in the PPS-PEPP Olivarez Open regional age group 2017 at the Olivarez Sports Center in Sucat last Tuesday.

Tugade toppled No. 2 Klyde Lagarde, 6-2, 6-4, in the semis then upended top seed Marcus del Rosario, 6-4, 6-3, to snare 16-and-under crown. The top junior from Sultan Kudarat then wore down Gabriel Tiamson, 6-4, 7-6(9), to clinch the 18-U title and the MVP plum after posting the lone two-title feat in the Group 1 tournament sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop and presented by Slazenger.

Other winners in the event put up annually by Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez, Rep. Eric Olivarez and Dr. Pablo Olivarez as part of their long-time commitment to help in the country’s talent-search were Davao’s Patricia Velez, Gennifer Pagente of Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga’s Sydney Ezra Enriquez, Tiffany Nocos of Cebu, John David Velez of Davao, Agoo, La Union’s Marc Jarata, and Chad Cuizon, also from Cebu.

“Through the years, it has been the commitment of the Olivarez family to develop our players by providing top-notch tournaments like this and we thank Palawan Pawnshop for the support and promotion of Philippine tennis nationwide through its year-long, nationwide circuit,” said Mayor Olivarez.

Patricia Velez bested fellow Davaoeña Danna Abad, 6-3, 6-3, for the girls’ 18-U crown; Pagente also stunning top seed Abad, 6-2, 6-3, for the 16-U title; Enriquez trouncing April Bentillo for the 14-U diadem; and Nocos downing top seed Tenielle Madis, 7-5, 6-2, for the 12-U trophy.

“Watching the best junior players from the various PPSPEPP regional tournaments clash for the crown only inspires us to continue helping boost the country’s junior tennis program,” said Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro.

John Velez, on the other hand, trampled Exequiel Jacutan, 6-3, 6-2, foe the boys’ 14-U plum; Jarata held off Sal Andre Lago, 6-3, 6-4, for the 12-U crown; and Cuizon out-steadied Madis, 4-5(5), 5-4(3), 4-1, for the 10-unisex diadem in the event backed by PPS-PEPP, Stronghold Insurance, Milestone Guarantee Assurance Corp. and Sterling Insurance Company.

PH TEAM SENDOFF. The Philippine Sepak Takraw team, which will vie for gold in the 29th Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia gets a warm sendoff from sponsors Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company and La Filipina Canned Meats. After bagging the gold in the World Sepak Takraw Championships last year, the 17-man Philippine team and their coaches will continue their quest for glory in this year’s SEA Games. Joining the team in the sendoff are (starting seventh from left) La Filipina Canned Meats commercial director Nicasio Limjap and brand manager Danika Co; Philippine Amateur Sepak Takraw Association president Kara Caballero; and Juan Alonzo IV, PLDT Senior Relationship Manager – Public Sector. Norman Cruz

Nazareth School remains unbeaten NAZARETH School of National University clobbered La Salle Greenhills-B, 100-44, to stay unscathed over the weekend in the Best Center’s SBP-Passerelle twin basketball tournaments at the Xavier School gym.

It was Nazareth School’s third straight win to remain on top of Group A of the Pas-

serelle Division of this event sponsored by Milo. LSGH-B dropped to its first defeat in three games.

Ateneo de Manila is also unbeaten with two wins in the same group, scuttling San Sebastian College, 71-47. SSC dropped to its third straight defeat.

San Beda College-Rizal also remains unbeaten in Group B following a 45-39 win over LSGH-A, which dropped to 2-1.

In the Small Basketeers Philippines, San Sebastian College made short work of San Beda College, 58-34, to claim its second win in two weekends, while SBC slid to 1-1 in Group A.

LONDON—South African star Wayde van Niekerk is halfway to his target of the 400 metres and 200m world double after easing to victory in the former on Tuesday in London.

The 25-year-old’s task of landing both eased considerably with main rival Isaac Makwala of Botswana barred from running by the sport’s governing body because he had been diagnosed with the highly contagious norovirus.

It didn’t prevent the 30-year-old from turning up at the warm-up track only to be turned away. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said he should be in quarantine and not near the track.

“It was definitely a heartbreaking moment,” Van Niekerk said. “I have a lot of sympathy for Isaac.

“It is quite disappointing. I would have liked him to have his opportunity.

“But this is sports, these things happen.”

Van Niekerk added that the double was not a given.

“It’s easier said than done,” he said. “It’s competition, it’s very unpredictable.

“My body still feels very good. It took me a while to recover tonight.

“But from endurance I go straight to speed tomorrow... It’s a day-by-day, stepby-step process for us athletes.”

Botswana suffered further disappointment as 800m race favourite Nijel Amos -- second on the same track in the 2012 Olympic final -- faded to finish fifth with Frenchman Pierre-Ambroise Bosse taking a deserved gold for a bold and brave performance which he revealed afterwards reflected his love of gambling.

“I am a gambler, I love going to the casino,” said Bosse.

“And today I just gambled, I put everything on the red, even my last Euro. So hopefully, this is also for luck in love.”

However, for his compatriot Renaud Lavillenie his world gold drought continued even in the stadium where he won Olympic gold in 2012.

The Frenchman had to settle for bronze -- his fifth minor medal in the world championships -- with American Sam Kendricks taking the title in front of his parents and girlfriend to boot.

- Kipruto takes steeple Conselsus Kipruto maintained Kenya’s fine record in the men’s 3000 metres steeplechase winning in cheeky style from Morocco’s Soufiane El bakkali with long-time leader Evan Jager of the United States third.

Kipruto appeared to be under pressure from Elbakkali going to the last obstacle but once over it the Olympic champion cupped his hand to his ear and pounded his chest.

“I used my plans well and last night for morale I told myself: ‘I am Olympic champion and that others must break me’,” said Kipruto.

“There are others who are strong but I used my own plans. I knew if the race was around 8:10 that I was going to win.” AFP

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

Sports

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

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2017

Gilas Pilipinas all in for FIBA Asia Cup

By Jeric Lopez

Pocari Sweat ace hitter Myla Pablo unleashes one of her power spikes against Air Force setter Wendy Semana during their PVL Open Conference sudden death for the finals berth.

Pocari Sweat edges Air Force, st clinches 1 berth in PVL finals

P

OCARI Sweat dug deep from its bag of championship tricks to frustrate Hair Fairy Air Force as it battled back from two sets down to hack out a 16-20, 20-25, 25-23, 2519, 15-10 victory and gain a crack at a fourth straight championship in the Premier Volleyball League at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan last night.

Heather Guino-o came off the bench to fire 14 points, helping the Lady Warriors save two match points and steal the third frame before sustaining her form and combining with Myla Pablo the rest of the way to fashion out the stirring come-from-behind

victory in their sudden death for the first finals berth in the Open Conference.

Guino-o scored four points in their decisive 10-4 windup in the decider, turning a 5-6 deficit into a resounding fivepoint victory aided by Jocemer

Tapic’s serve that sailed long and ended the grueling encounter that saw players from both teams slow down in either trying to launch their spikes, chasing the incoming attacks or keeping the ball in play.

The two teams gained the last two points on each other’s miscue.

But the Lady Warriors proved steadier in the end, displaying grace under pressure and banking on their experience from their three straight championships in as many stints in the league organized by Sports Vision.

Pocari Sweat dropped a stinging straight-set loss to Air Force

in the opener of their best of three series, 20-25, 19-25, 2125, last Saturday but rallied from one set down to force a rubber match with a 25-22, 1625, 23-25, 25-21, 15-12 victory last Sunday.

Hair Fairy-Air Force looked headed to duplicating its Game One romp when it swept the first two sets of the sudden death but Guino-o, taking over the spot of Elaine Kasilag, stepped up late in the third, scoring five points as the Lady Warriors fought back from 23-25 to snatch the set.

They dominated the fourth behind Pablo and pulled away midway in the fifth.

Pablo finished with 22 points

Ex-junior standouts carry Cardinals past Blue Eagles

Pirates go for 7th win in a row Games today (EAC Gym) 2 p.m.- EAC vs LPU (jrs) 4 p.m.- EAC vs LPU (srs)

LYCEUM of the Philippines University seeks to keep its winning rampage going, while Emilio Aguinaldo College aims to stop it as the two collide today in the 93rd NCAA basketball tournament at the EAC Gym in Taft, Manila.

The Pirates roared to their sixth straight win by crushing the Perpetual Help Altas, 76-58, Friday and will go for win No. 7 when they take on the Generals in their 4 p.m. encounter as the league plays its fourth playdate as part of its “NCAA on Tour.”

EAC, for its part, made heads turn after slaying last year’s runner-up Arellano University, 85-79, Tuesday to jump to solo third place, just behind No. 2 San Beda, the defending champion which owns a 5-1 (win-loss) record.

And EAC coach Ariel Sison thinks they have a chance against LPU. “We want to be the first team to beat LPU,” said Sison, who is seeking to improve his team’s 6-12 slate since he took over as coach last season.

EAC, however, could miss last year’s NCAA First Mythical Team member Hamadou Laminou for some time as the 6’9” Cameroonian injured his left knee late in the first quarter of their last game.

built on 18 hits and two service aces while Guino-o ended up 10 attack points and four aces as they shared the game’s top honors. Jeanette Panaga added 13 hits for Pocari Sweat, which will meet the winner in the other sudden death between BaliPure and Creamline being played at presstime.

Mary Ann Pantino topscored for Air Force with 16 points, Iari Yongco churned out 15 markers, Joy Cases came away with 14 points, and Tapic had 13 hits.

Earlier, Cignal HD got back at Mega Builders, 25-23, 21-25, 25-19, 25-17 victory to zero in on the men’s crown in the league backed by Mikasa and Asics.

ALL IN. Gilas Pilipinas is pouring in all its heart in the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon.

The Nationals have just started their campaign in the prestige tournament hoping for the best.

Right off the bat, they are already facing one of the stiffest test of the tournament as they are playing perennial powerhouse China, as of this report, in its opening assignment in Group B play.

The top three teams will advance to the next phase.

This is an anticipated battle as these two teams faced off in the finals of the tournament’s 2015 edition with China, the host country then, taking the cup with a 78-67 victory in the finale.

Along with those two teams, Qatar and Iraq are the others in the group.

There is a big hurdle that the Nationals must overcome though --- lack of ceiling.

The absence of the two big men mainstays June Mar Fajardo and Andray Blatche is bound to affect the team but National coach Chot Reyes remains optimistic.

Gilas’ trademark heart will certainly be in full display despite the obstacles according to the veteran international tactician.

“What we lack in height, we will offset with our big hearts,” said Reyes.

The absence of those two left the squad with only Filipino-German big Christian Standhardinger and Raymund Almazan as the team’s legit presence down low.

It will certainly not be easy but still, Gilas is bound to fight to the best of its abilities in its quest for glory.

Also making it to the roster are Jayson Castro, Terrence Bill Romeo, Jiovani Jalalon, Roger Pogoy, Matthew Wright, Gabe Norwood, Calvin Abueva, Japeth Aguilar and Carl Bryan Cruz.

Ateneo’s RV Berjay tries to stop Mapua’s Sherwin Concepcion from driving inside.

THE Mapua Cardinals rode on the big games of three former junior standouts to swamp the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 88-72, last Saturday in the 15th Fr. Martin Cup Division 2 basketball tournament at the San Beda-Manila campus in Mendiola.

Sherwin Concepcion, one of three players who led the Mapua Red Robins to finals appearances in their high school days, shot 17 points for the Cardinals as they picked up their first win in two games in Group A. Last year’s NCAA junior MVP Jasper Salenga had 17 points, while Noah Lugo, who has returned after spending some time with the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals, tallied 15 points.

Adrian Nocum scored only four points, but his split charities in the last 58.1 seconds helped the Cardinals overcome a 60-all deadlock.

Concepcion’s drive with 8:33 to go in the final period allowed the Cards to stay up by six, 68-62.

Two of Salenga’s baskets saw the Cards taking a 10-point bubble, 76-66, in the remaining 5:55.

In other games, Manila Patriotic School defeated Letran, 69-64, while Far Eastern University stopped the Mapua Red Robins, 89-72, in a pair of junior matches.

It was MPS’s second straight victory after they won over the San Beda-Manila Red Cubs, 108-64, last week.

National University prevailed over San Beda-B, 90-84, while La Salle Greenhills turned back San Beda-Rizal, 75-62.

Commissioner Robert de la Rosa said 30 varsity squads have signed up, with 12 teams seeing action in the senior division, while 18 others are in the junior division.

Frayna seizes share of lead in Zeeland Open; So falls JANELLE Mae Frayna stunned Dutch International Master Koen Leenhouts in 44 moves of an English Opening to seize a share of the lead after five rounds of the 21st Hogeschool Zeeland Open 2017 in Vlissingenm, Netherlands Tuesday night.

The 21-year-old Frayna went on attack mode as early as the opening when the Philippines’ first and only Woman Grandmaster engaged Leenhouts into a tactical piece exchanges before emerging with a queen and a bishop against the latter’s pair of rooks and central passed pawn.

It left Leenhouts, however, with an exposed king that Frayna capitalized on as she won the former’s rook for her bishop in the endgame to extract the full point.

Frayna thus zoomed to the top with 4.5 points, alongside six others, including Russian GM Landa Konstantin whom the Filipina will play as black in the sixth round at press time.

Also at the helm were Venezuelan GM Eduard Iturrizaga Bonelli, Dutch GMs Benjamin Bok, Jorden Van Foreest

and Roeland Pruijjsers, and Indian IM R Praggnanandhaa.

Interestingly, GM Jayson Gonzales, Frayna’s coach and trainer, was half a point behind with four points.

Frayna also defeated Bas Roelen, Gert Van Rij, Nico Swins and drew with IM Lucas Van Foreest.

Meanwhile, GM Darwin Laylo finished second behind Indonesian FIDE Master Rudin Hamdani in the FIDE International Chess Tournament Jaksa Agung Cup in Indonesia.

Laylo, who beat GM Susanto Megaranto in the last round, finished with nine points in 11 rounds, half a point behind Hamdani.

This was Frayna’s fourth tournament when she left the country to embark on an ambitious European campaign where the former Far Eastern U standout is hoping to gain enough rating points to barge into the world’s women’s top 10 and emerge the country’s first and only female GM. Frayna is coming off a solid 13th place finish in the Women’s International Open in Erfurt, Germany just a few days back.

Frayna’s European campaign is being bankrolled by Phl Sports Commission chair William “Butch” Ramirez with backing from the National Chess Federation of the Phl, FEU’s Aurelio Montinola, The Philippine STAR’s Miguel Belmonte and Edward Go, Senate President Koko Pimentel and Bobby Ang. Meanwhile, Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian pounced on Filipino GM Wesley So’s poor form to post a 32-move upset last Tuesday in the 5th Sinquefield Cup 2017 Grand Chess Tour in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Aronian’s second win against a draw and three losses came a day after the tournament took a rest day.

Analysts said Aronian won in style after he employed the Queen’s Gambit Declined.

So, playing black, was not at his best in this game, and Aronian, playing white, had a slight advantage.

The 34-year-old Aronian gained the upperhand when So first committed an error after allowing his opponent to mobilize his queen to the middle and gobble up his central pawn in exchange for a side pawn. Peter Atencio

Pure Foods’ profit rises 26% to P3.1b B3

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2017

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SM Group posts P16.6-b net profit C

By Jenniffer B. Austria

ONGLOMERATE SM Investments Corp., the holding company of tycoon Henry Sy, said Wednesday net income in the first half climbed 9 percent to P16.6 billion from a year ago, boosted by strong contribution from core property, bank and retail businesses.

GLOBE’S DIVIDEND. Globe Telecom Inc.’s board approves the third quarterly distribution of cash dividend of P22.75 per share for holders of common shares. The dividend will be paid to shareholders on record as of Aug. 22, 2017, payable on Sept. 6, 2017. Shown during the company’s recent analyst briefing are (from left) Globe chief finance officer Rizza Maniego-Eala, chief commercial officer Albert de Larrazabal, president and chief executive Ernest Cu, chief information and technology officer Gil Genio and general counsel Froilan Castelo.

Chamber of Mines eyes Canada practices

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales tal and social development ini- the areas of revenue sharing and rectors and officers that will be THE Chamber of Mines of the Philippines said Wednesday it formed a special committee to study the organization’s rules on membership and discipline, with the objective of bringing up its standards for membership participation.

CoMP made the statement following Apex Mining Corp.’s resignation from the chamber.

“It is unfortunate that Apex has decided to cut its ties with the Chamber of Mines. We have heard Dr. Brown’s position on the matter of self-regulation and are sympathetic. In fact, since May, long before Apex’s decision to resign, the chamber has already been hard at work on several fronts, particularly on how our member companies can enhance their environmen-

tiatives,” said CoMP officer-incharge Ronald Recidoro.

Recidoro said CoMP was studying the mining practices of other countries including the Towards Sustainable Mining or TSM initiative of the Mining Association of Canada and how it could apply its framework in the country.

Adopting the TSM protocols on indigenous peoples and community outreach, emissions and tailings management, biodiversity conservation, and safety and health, can have positive impacts on mining operations, environmental protection and social development, it said.

Recidoro said it was also CoMP that initiated the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (in the country, which institutionalized transparency in

IN BRIEF ABS-CBN sues Canadian company ABS-CBN Corp. said Wednesday it filed a $5-million lawsuit against a Canada-based company for copyright infringement.

The broadcast network, led by the Lopez family, said it served a statement of claim issued in Canadian Federal Court against Techspeed Canada Inc., Joe Baddas, Ferdinand Molina and Todd Ross for damages of over $5 million for copyright infringement, trademark infringement and enabling and inducing copyright infringement of ABS-CBN’s copyrighted works.

The lawsuit alleged that Techspeed Canada, Baddas, Molina and Ross sold set-top boxes that enabled buyers to access hundreds of ABS-CBN’s copyrighted movies and TV shows.

“ABS-CBN alleges that Techspeed Canada Inc., Joe Baddas, Ferdinand Molina and Todd Ross were taking advantage of ABS-CBN’s premium subscription service through its digital platform, TFC.tv, by registering over 78 emails and distributing the usernames and passwords to hundreds of customers,” ABS-CBN’s assistant vice president and head of global anti-piracy Elisha Lawrence said.

“These customers were participating in this illegal activity by paying the Techspeed group and giving access to their credit card information,” Lawrence said.

Darwin G. Amojelar

Metro Retail earned P401m in first half METRO Retail Stores Group Inc. said it registered a net income of P401 million in the first half, up 53 percent from P262 million in the same period last year, as revenues grew faster than expenses.

Metro Retail said in a financial statement with the Philippine Stock Exchange the six-month net sales rose 3.3 percent to P16.4 billion from P15.9 billion in the same period last year, boosted by the opening of three new stores.

Metro Retail said in the second quarter alone, net profit surged 45.9 percent to P305.19 million, as net sales increased 2.2 percent to P8.52 billion. The company had a total of 52 stores as of June 30.

Same-store sales growth was 1 percent in the first half, slower than the 5-percent increase in 2016.

Rental income increased 7.8 percent to P149.4 million in the first half, also due to the opening of three stores, which led to an increase in net leasable space. Share price of Metro Retail rose 3.9 percent to P4 Wednesday.

Jenniffer B. Austria

Cebu Landmasters’ income surges 164% NEWLY-LISTED developer Cebu Landmasters Inc. said Wednesday it is on track to surpass its P1.2-billion net income target for 2017 after posting robust first-half results.

CLI said in a disclosure to the stock exchange net income in the first six months surged 164 percent to P634 million, as revenues jumped 107 percent to P1.8 billion, on fast turnaround and strong sales takeup of its projects.

Real estate sales grew 108 percent to P1.78 billion, while leasing income climbed 21 percent to P19 million.

“We’re proud to be a homegrown VisMin brand that has captured the needs and preferences of our target market as reflected in the sales velocity of our developments.

We have also leveraged on our deep relations with our

taxation.

Recidoro said CoMP also introduced the Minerals Reporting Code in the Philippines, standardizing and regulating the information on mineral resources to protect and guide the investing public and the government.

“The chamber operates on the principle of inclusivity. We would like to bring all operating mines within the fold, and hopefully induce them to improve their practices. Our members realize that they can no longer sit idly by and pretend that everything is business as usual,” Recidoro said.

“In the next few weeks, you will be seeing an updated Chamber of Mines with new initiatives, and a board of di-

business partners and suppliers to ensure that our constructions progress as scheduled. We’re highly aware that meeting our commitments to our buyers on time has a great impact on our bottom-line and the strength of our brand,” CLI chief executive officer Jose Soberano said.

Jenniffer B. Austria

Telcos to comply with data privacy LOCAL telecommunications players are gearing up to work with the National Privacy Commission to ensure that they are complying with the Data Privacy Act of 2012.

The DPA, which seeks to protect the personal information of citizens over various information and communications technology platforms, is currently being routed by the NPC to various sectors and industries for a grounded footing of its implementing rules and regulations.

NPC and the Philippine Chamber of Telecommunications Operators co-organized an assembly of telcos, content providers and support technology firms to discuss the current status of data privacy within the industry and collaborate on solutions for potential challenges that may be encountered in the process of compliance.

“Telcos are actually the biggest data owners because they service all the different sectors and entities that the DPA covers. Being virtual custodians or banks of personal data, and also as providers of the communications gateway, telcos have to be the vanguard in protecting data privacy and security,” PCTO vice president Roy Ibay said.

Ibay said the main consideration of telcos was the cost of overhauling current business systems to comply with the DPA rules and regulations. He said these processes would take time, require additional manpower support and even entail changes in the physical structure of work stations.

He said telcos were seeking for further clarification and guidelines on how to manage various government and private sector requests for personal information, particularly in the interest of credit collection and law enforcement.

Darwin G. Amojelar

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Wednesday, August 9, 2017

F OREIGN E XCHANGE R ATE Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

50.3880

Japan

Yen

0.009066

0.4568

UK

Pound

1.299300

65.4691

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.127825

6.4408

Switzerland

Franc

1.026378

51.7171

Canada

Dollar

0.789578

39.7853

Singapore

Dollar

0.733730

36.9712

Australia

Dollar

0.791200

39.8670

Bahrain

Dinar

2.654562

133.7581

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266660

13.4365

Brunei

Dollar

0.731048

36.8360

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000075

0.0038

Thailand

Baht

0.030070

1.5152

UAE

Dirham

0.272279

13.7196

Euro

Euro

1.175100

59.2109

Korea

Won

0.000886

0.0446

China

Yuan

0.149076

7.5116

India

Rupee

0.015702

0.7912

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.233427

11.7619

New Zealand

Dollar

0.732700

36.9193

Taiwan

Dollar

0.033137

1.6697 Source: PDS Bridge

armed with a fresh mandate. We will be more aggressive in communicating our environmental protection and social development activities. More importantly, we will increase our engagements with government and other key stakeholders, to hear their position and consider them in our advocacies. All these changes are in response to President Duterte and Secretary [Roy] Cimatu’s call for the industry to be more responsible miners. Our aim is not just to follow the law, but to try to do better,” Recidoro said.

SMIC said excluding onetime items in 2016, recurring income jumped 16 percent in the first six months, on the back of strong revenue growth.

The company said in a disclosure to the stock exchange consolidated revenues climbed 7 percent to P181.6 billion in January to June, from P169.7 billion in the same period last year.

“Even without the benefits of an election year, we saw sustained growth across all our core businesses, driven by the strong economy and resilient consumer sentiment. SM will continue to capture this momentum through nationwide expansion and by investing in high-growth opportunities,” SMIC president Frederic DyBuncio said.

The property business contributed the most to consolidated net income at 42 percent.

This was followed by banks with 36 percent and retail with 22 percent.

SMIC said outside core businesses, it continued to build complementary businesses that could enhance group synergies and other businesses that could offer stable cashflows with attractive returns.

Among its equity investment portfolio are resorts development through Belle Corp., copper mining through Atlas

Consolidated Mining and Development Corp., community mall chain through CityMall, logistics through 2Go Group Inc., dormitel through MyTown and business process outsourcing through Net Group.

Retail unit SM Retail reported a 6-percent increase in net income and revenues to P5.2 billion and P131.6 billion, respectively. Net margin stood at 4.4 percent.

SM Retail’s food, non-food and specialty retail businesses continued to pursue aggressive expansion with the opening of new stores across the country.

As of end-June 2017, SM Retail had a total of 2,357 stores.

SM Prime Holdings Inc., the property development unit, reported a first-half consolidated net income of P14.4 billion, up 14 percent from a year ago, while consolidated revenues increased 10 percent to P43.2 billion BDO Unibank Inc. recorded a net income of P13.3 billion, while China Banking Corp. booked a net income growth of 10 percent to P3.6 billion in the first half, driven by the strong growth in lending business and core recurring income. SMIC has controlling stakes in BDO and China Bank.

SMIC’s total assets grew 1 percent to P916.3 billion as of end-June 2017.

B2

Business

THURSDAY,AUGUST 10, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Manila Water posts P3.22-b net income

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales Manila MANILA Water Company Inc. posted a net income of P3.22 billion in the first half, up by 3 percent from P3.14 billion registered in the same period last year, on higher billed volume and more service connections.

Manila Water said in a disclosure to the stock exchange revenues rose 4 percent in January to June to P9.1 billion from P8.7 billion a year ago.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization grew 1 percent in the sixmonth period to P6.12 billion from P6.08 billion in the same period in 2016.

Manila Water said total billed volume increased 3 percent to 366.9 million cubic meters from 355.7 million cubic meters in 2016.

Billed volume in its Metro

concession reached 242.2 million cubic meters, up from 239 mcm in the same period last year.

It budgeted P3.5 billion for capital expenditures in Metro Manila, a 68 percent increase from P2.09 billion it spent in the same period last year.

Manila Water said of the total expenditures, 94 percent was spent to wastewater projects, network reliability and water supply projects while 6 percent went to concession fees paid to Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System.

For Boracay Water, billed volume went up 10 percent from 2.5 mcm to 2.7 mcm this year.

Cebu Water’s billed volume rose 24 percent to 6.4 mcm from 5.1 mcm in 2016, while Clark Water’s billed volume rose 7 percent to 7.2 mcm from 6.7 mcm.

Stock mart closes flat; Petron, SMIC advance S TOCKS closed flat Wednesday, tracking the movement of other Asian markets, on mounting investor fears over escalating tensions between the United States and North Korea.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, shed 1 point to close at 7,985.83, as five of the six major sectors declined.

The broader all-share index also tumbled 11 points, or 0.2 percent, to settle at 4,723.13, on a value turnover of P6.9 billion.

Losers outnumbered gainers, 133 to 66, while 45 issues were unchanged.

Six of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by oil refiner Petron Corp. which climbed 2.9 percent to P9.93, after announcing a higher profit in the first half.

Petron said consolidated net income reached P8.2 billion in January to June, up from P5.3 billion it earned over the same period last year.

SM Investments Corp., which

booked a net income of P16.6 billion in January to June on a 9-percent increment from a year ago, went up 1.2 percent to P830, while SM Prime Holdings Inc. added 1.2 percent to close at P34.20.

Newly listed Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp. fell 4.9 percent to P10.04.

Meanwhile, Asian equities fell, driving the region’s benchmark index to its biggest loss in a month, on rising geopolitical risk after President Donald Trump warned the US will retaliate against North Korea, raising tension between the two countries.

European stock markets also swirled lower in opening trade on Wednesday on mounting investor fears over escalating tensions between the United

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017

NAME

OPEN

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 4.1 16,000 59.8 41,760 104.8 301,870 3.95 14,000 130 1,285,810 1.32 58,000 36 212,600 16.14 2,200 31.85 3,974,700 0.65 1,200,000 900 180 0.69 3,160,000 86.15 1,971,390 0.82 585,000 13.04 4,300 24.35 500 64.6 86,320 240 370 110 1,250 50.5 139,900 241.8 673,160 1,700 150 86.35 171,120 1.31 150,000

63,160 2,494,193 31,637,947 55,300 166,626,895 75,020 7,660,040 35,498 123,769,875 783,560 162,005 2,180,630 169,845,972.50 480,560 56,068 12,175 5,607,541.50 88,776 137,500 7,149,835 162,746,066 255,250 14,781,748 197,010

11,400 413,682 -12,516,954 16,036,490 22,100 2,044,395 1,614 1,678,350 -690,000 -2,895,308 -3,613,436 3,121,782 -

39.25 8.82 0.8 1.36 28.35 0.24 178 5.7 16.5 29.7 16.56 66 69 2 5.35 11.3 10.5 14.78 12.68 6.8 6.84 17.82 67 14.9 12.96 12 1.68 215.8 3.76 3.3 22.95 31.3 18.9 17.24 275.2 0.233 12.34 3.12 7.06 9.69 8 1.81 11.94 65.05 7.1 307.8 4.38 4.44 2.59 12 4.75 0.142 1.21 146.5 3.85 2.15 1.01

INDUSTRIAL 39.3 2,957,900 9.04 1,850,000 0.8 3,852,000 1.36 674,000 29.55 91,800 0.24 12,280,000 178 20 5.7 3,896,500 16.62 4,745,200 30.4 595,300 17.88 343,300 69 313,320 72.5 520 2 748,000 5.44 271,100 11.4 9,300 10.66 31,954,200 15.02 2,218,700 13.5 4,861,600 7.07 3,684,000 6.88 33,729,800 17.82 541,000 68.35 26,410 14.9 4,400 13 92,500 12.7 8,710,900 1.74 3,652,000 217 589,350 3.76 6,000 3.3 60,000 22.95 200 31.35 1,560,600 18.92 357,700 17.96 2,900,300 276.4 154,730 0.233 4,450,000 12.4 234,500 3.13 59,000 7.15 511,600 9.93 15,957,000 8.15 322,700 1.85 655,000 12.2 3,803,600 65.7 710,780 7.32 489,700 311 69,810 4.38 7,506,000 4.5 25,000 2.67 2,102,000 12.6 4,234,700 4.82 307,000 0.147 2,040,000 1.21 69,000 146.7 1,706,340 3.85 1,000 2.17 50,129,000 1.01 576,000

116,243,555(56 16,686,265 3,112,090 917,080 2,729,985 2,985,530 3,560 22,652,578 79,126,450 17,984,895 6,008,370 21,619,155 37,385 1,503,640 1,464,860 105,392 342,216,618 33,152,240 64,093,280 25,982,572 232,370,633 9,687,920 1,798,227.50 65,560 1,202,094 109,884,942 6,358,450 127,930,206 22,720 199,110 4,625 48,919,320 6,783,488 52,161,872 42,841,744 1,061,210 2,962,564 184,390 3,636,621 157,116,447 2,626,794 1,197,630 45,801,216 46,368,771 3,488,747 21,638,660 32,876,430 111,430 5,564,370 52,836,550 1,483,910 291,740 84,520 250,425,350 3,850 114,166,610 582,260

,726,005.0004) 3,440,326 43,560 -5,223,896 34,075,304 104,240 0 626,000 13,236,270 9,064,988 437,338 1,365,116 -7,600,436 451,360.00 644,957.00 -845,056 13,275,488 1,401,800 19,719,376 -2,580,170 396,744.00 -7,669,002 721,600 16,800 59,530 72,170,163 42,380 -384,400 2,174,891 2,315,715 -12,988,138 -16,425,000 48,840 333,920 18,310,898 586,520 10,110 -44,032,778 3,850 5,429,510 -

0.39 74.25 14 1.12 6.95 0.315 0.315 888 7.53 15.8 7.8 6.05 0.22 1,216 8.03 75.7 5.59 5.42 0.99 7 17.82 0.465 6.8 0.048 0.97 2.08 101.5 2.65 830 0.87 1.7 304.6 0.285 0.22 0.234

0.365 73.4 13.68 1.12 6.71 0.31 0.315 870 7.45 15.52 7.8 6.04 0.202 1,196 7.66 74.05 4.9 5.41 0.96 6.85 17.54 0.46 6.69 0.046 0.95 2.04 99.75 2.62 814.5 0.87 1.64 303.2 0.28 0.202 0.23

HOLDING FIRMS 0.38 7,860,000 74.05 658,470 14 6,205,500 1.12 54,000 6.76 12,300 0.315 1,090,000 0.315 220,000 888 326,060 7.45 974,000 15.58 4,829,900 7.8 3,900 6.05 16,100 0.203 360,000 1,200 67,035 7.96 12,700 74.05 620,680 5.59 4,000 5.41 4,300 0.97 4,811,000 6.9 660,300 17.82 1,544,500 0.46 80,000 6.74 14,421,100 0.046 16,200,000 0.95 311,000 2.06 1,159,000 101.5 134,390 2.62 83,000 830 287,440 0.87 26,000 1.69 1,380,000 303.2 4,180 0.285 520,000 0.202 2,970,000 0.23 50,000

2,928,600 48,753,409.5(21 86,052,356 60,480 82,746 343,250 69,300 288,632,805 7,292,008 75,365,166 30,420 97,385 75,160 80,507,180 98,861 46,096,173 21,580 23,283 4,668,060 4,557,652 27,341,448 36,900 97,157,335 749,000 296,590 2,374,850 13,494,995.50 217,700 237,626,965 22,620 2,286,220 1,270,372 148,050 606,490 11,640

187,500 ,886,095.4996) -20,096,382 158,501,605 2,449,376 20,645,622 2,200 -9,783,600 13,026,617.50 -574,346 -9,600,312 29,711,381 -23,000 381,670.00 -1,373,384 59,973,640 -13,200 -72,768 -34,200.00 2,200 4,680

5.55 1.44 2.33 1.01 43.2 3.66 4.86 5.3 0.52 1.24 1.53 0.207 0.52 46.85 0.71 0.157 1.87 1.66 0.98

5.48 1.3 2.2 1 42.3 3.56 4.66 5.3 0.5 1.19 1.51 0.192 0.5 44.7 0.69 0.151 1.8 1.54 0.94

PROPERTY 5.5 115,800 1.39 17,584,000 2.3 116,000 1.01 2,982,000 42.6 2,590,500 3.59 1,198,000 4.8 6,429,000 5.3 45,000 0.51 49,719,000 1.21 178,000 1.51 177,000 0.2 28,330,000 0.51 1,995,000 44.7 395,200 0.71 296,000 0.151 1,760,000 1.85 8,077,000 1.61 20,627,000 0.95 2,059,000

636,886 23,962,430 267,630 2,987,230 110,702,375 4,305,820 30,789,680 238,500 25,209,270 214,450 267,950 5,575,950 1,013,190 17,779,735 206,680 267,640 14,761,710 32,789,740 1,973,100

-106,489 63,900 -356,610 7,516,030 994,990 61,180 -577,400 23,380 2,000 11,730 1,046,670 14,050 3,100 175,630 9,673,970 -

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

AG FINANCE 3.8 ASIA UNITED 59.95 BANK PH ISLANDS 105.5 BDO LEASING 3.95 BDO UNIBANK 130 BRIGHT KINDLE 1.3 CHINABANK 36.15 COL FINANCIAL 16.14 EAST WEST BANK 32.45 FIRST ABACUS 0.66 MANULIFE 900 MEDCO HLDG 0.7 METROBANK 86.7 NTL REINSURANCE 0.83 PB BANK 13.86 PBCOM 24.35 PHIL NATL BANK 65.2 PHIL STOCK EXCH 241 PHILTRUST 110 RCBC 52.2 SECURITY BANK 243 SUN LIFE 1,705 UNION BANK 86.2 VANTAGE 1.31

4.1 59.95 105.5 3.95 130.4 1.32 36.35 16.16 32.45 0.66 900.5 0.7 87 0.83 13.86 24.35 65.2 241 110 52.25 247 1,705 86.6 1.34

3.8 59.6 104.7 3.95 127.9 1.28 35.95 16.1 30.4 0.65 900 0.69 85.95 0.81 13 24.35 64.5 239.8 110 47 236.4 1,700 86.2 1.31

ABOITIZ POWER 39.5 AGRINURTURE 9.15 ALLIANCE SELECT 0.81 ALSONS CONS 1.38 ASIABEST GROUP 30.1 BASIC ENERGY 0.248 BOGO MEDELLIN 178 CEMEX HLDG 5.9 CENTURY FOOD 16.7 CIRTEK HLDG 29.85 CNTRL AZUCARERA16.56 CONCEPCION 66 CONCRETE A 69 CROWN ASIA 2.03 DAVINCI CAPITAL 5.35 DEL MONTE 11.4 DNL INDUS 11.68 EAGLE CEMENT 15 EEI CORP 13.8 EMPERADOR 7.5 ENERGY DEVT 6.9 FIRST GEN 18.12 FIRST PHIL HLDG 68.1 GINEBRA 14.9 HOLCIM 13 INTEGRATED MICR 13.26 IONICS 1.85 JOLLIBEE 219 LMG CHEMICALS 3.8 MABUHAY VINYL 3.35 MACAY HLDG 23.3 MANILA WATER 31.35 MAXS GROUP 19.06 MEGAWIDE 18 MERALCO 275.2 MG HLDG 0.24 PANASONIC 13.6 PEPSI COLA 3.12 PETROENERGY 7.19 PETRON 9.69 PHIL H2O 8.46 PHINMA ENERGY 1.84 PHX PETROLEUM 12 PILIPINAS SHELL 65.15 PRYCE CORP 7.12 PUREFOODS 311 RFM CORP 4.44 ROXAS HLDG 4.44 SFA SEMICON 2.73 SHAKEYS PIZZA 13 SPC POWER 4.93 SWIFT FOODS 0.144 TKC METALS 1.26 UNIV ROBINA 146.8 VICTORIAS 3.85 VITARICH 2.49 VULCAN INDL 1.02

39.55 9.25 0.83 1.38 30.95 0.248 178 5.96 17 30.5 19 69.95 72.5 2.04 5.44 11.4 11.68 15.1 13.8 7.54 6.92 18.12 68.35 14.9 13 13.32 1.88 219 3.8 3.35 23.3 31.4 19.2 18.04 279 0.24 13.6 3.15 7.2 9.96 8.58 1.85 12.3 65.75 7.32 311 4.44 4.5 2.73 13 4.93 0.147 1.26 147.5 3.85 2.52 1.02

ABACORE CAPITAL ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL ANGLO PHIL HLDG ANSCOR ATN HLDG A ATN HLDG B AYALA CORP COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV FJ PRINCE A 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 SAN MIGUEL CORP SEAFRONT RES SM INVESTMENTS SOC RESOURCES SOLID GROUP TOP FRONTIER UNIOIL HLDG WELLEX INDUS ZEUS HLDG

0.38 74.1 13.98 1.12 6.95 0.315 0.315 886 7.5 15.8 7.8 6.04 0.22 1,216 8.03 75.5 4.9 5.42 0.98 6.98 17.54 0.465 6.8 0.048 0.97 2.05 101.3 2.65 827 0.87 1.67 304 0.28 0.22 0.234

8990 HLDG 5.5 A BROWN 1.42 ARANETA PROP 2.2 ARTHALAND CORP 1.01 AYALA LAND 43 BELLE CORP 3.6 CEB LANDMASTERS 4.66 CEBU HLDG 5.3 CENTURY PROP 0.52 CITY AND LAND 1.19 CITYLAND DEVT 1.53 CROWN EQUITIES 0.201 CYBER BAY 0.51 DOUBLEDRAGON 46.1 EMPIRE EAST 0.69 EVER GOTESCO 0.157 FILINVEST LAND 1.87 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.65 IRC PROP 0.98

VOLUME

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

MEGAWORLD 4.81 MRC ALLIED 0.335 PHIL ESTATES 0.54 PHIL REALTY 0.52 PRIMEX CORP 4.7 PTFC REDEV CORP 29.6 ROBINSONS LAND 24.6 ROCKWELL 1.81 SM PRIME HLDG 34 STA LUCIA LAND 1.02 STARMALLS 6.95 SUNTRUST HOME 0.87 VISTA LAND 5.9

4.95 0.34 0.56 0.52 4.76 29.6 24.9 1.81 34.25 1.02 7.5 0.88 5.9

4.78 0.3 0.44 0.5 4.63 29.6 24 1.76 33.8 0.99 6.95 0.86 5.8

4.88 0.315 0.5 0.52 4.73 29.6 24.35 1.79 34.2 1.01 7.5 0.87 5.89

50,657,000 149,470,000 27,248,000 5,296,000 1,732,000 300 1,568,200 30,000 3,813,400 700,000 400 849,000 6,805,100

245,128,710,144 47,416,650 13,651,215 2,700,240 8,091,860 8,880 38,181,475 53,150 130,113,865 700,910 2,845 736,040 39,768,661

,679,389.9998 333,600 50,040 -56,000 79,190 -1,498,195 18,758,640 -2,095 -17,833,102

2GO GROUP 22.3 ABS CBN 43.6 ACESITE HOTEL 1.74 APC GROUP 0.7 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.042 ASIAN TERMINALS 11 BERJAYA 5.28 BLOOMBERRY 9.18 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.072 CEBU AIR 102 CHELSEA 10.56 DFNN INC 11 EASYCALL 3.23 FAR EASTERN U 970 GLOBE TELECOM 2,040 GMA NETWORK 6.2 GOLDEN HAVEN 15.26 HARBOR STAR 2.35 IMPERIAL 3.14 INTL CONTAINER 106 IPM HLDG 8.68 ISLAND INFO 0.168 ISM COMM 1.34 JACKSTONES 2.98 LBC EXPRESS 15.6 LEISURE AND RES 4.04 LORENZO SHIPPNG 1.45 MACROASIA 11.36 MANILA BULLETIN 0.57 MANILA JOCKEY 2.41 MELCO RESORTS 8.62 METRO RETAIL 3.86 MLA BRDCASTING 16.4 NOW CORP 2.26 PAL HLDG 5.2 PHIL SEVEN CORP 170 PHILWEB 9.16 PLDT 1,658 PREMIUM LEISURE 1.59 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.41 PUREGOLD 47.1 ROBINSONS RTL 86.9 SBS PHIL CORP 5.8 SSI GROUP 4.65 STI HLDG 1.36 TRANSPACIFIC BR 1.85 TRAVELLERS 3.4 WATERFRONT 1.26 WILCON DEPOT 8.63

22.7 43.6 1.74 0.71 0.043 11 5.3 9.23 0.074 102 10.62 11 3.23 970 2,050 6.2 15.92 2.45 3.24 106.5 8.68 0.169 1.38 2.98 15.6 4.2 1.46 11.36 0.6 2.41 8.8 4.1 16.4 2.38 5.2 170 9.2 1,663 1.6 0.41 47.15 87 5.8 4.66 1.37 1.85 3.42 1.26 8.63

20.4 43.4 1.63 0.62 0.041 11 5.28 8.95 0.071 99.9 9.5 9.62 3.23 970 2,028 6.14 15.26 2.25 3.1 102 8.68 0.167 1.34 2.96 15.58 4.04 1.27 10.02 0.57 2.41 8.55 3.78 16.4 2.26 5.05 170 9 1,620 1.58 0.395 46.6 85.8 5.63 4.33 1.26 1.84 3.36 1.16 8.1

SERVICES 21.2 579,000 43.45 10,900 1.63 1,223,000 0.67 30,205,000 0.042 32,500,000 11 200 5.3 14,100 9.05 7,502,600 0.071 16,780,000 100.7 223,440 10.04 58,050,400 9.8 1,290,000 3.23 1,000 970 600 2,042 10,895 6.18 175,800 15.88 42,400 2.28 1,910,000 3.24 31,000 103.3 2,896,310 8.68 250,000 0.167 3,510,000 1.37 73,000 2.98 82,000 15.58 10,100 4.08 874,000 1.32 7,107,000 10.8 4,231,400 0.58 104,000 2.41 2,000 8.79 727,100 4 8,573,000 16.4 100 2.3 1,937,000 5.2 10,200 170 40 9 414,800 1,635 87,475 1.59 3,587,000 0.405 3,230,000 47 2,056,300 86.9 2,345,570 5.63 129,900 4.4 2,482,000 1.32 26,138,000 1.85 24,000 3.42 733,000 1.18 35,843,000 8.28 6,670,100

12,342,790 473,595 2,083,240 19,651,770 1,337,000 2,200 74,520 68,079,818 1,202,720 22,519,375 582,466,294 13,097,578 3,230 582,000 22,238,280 1,081,066 668,926 4,421,170 96,890 298,753,304 2,170,000 587,710 97,890 244,090 157,558 3,574,800 9,466,240 45,302,230 60,370 4,820 6,319,755 33,622,950 1,640 4,492,330 51,939 6,800 3,750,506 143,331,720 5,698,440 1,298,450 96,548,165 203,467,528.50 738,870 11,109,090 33,981,070 44,300 2,482,320 42,875,510 55,153,214

1,030,345 -60,040 22,251,426 1,450 12,562,552 -1,712,641 671,472 -11,386,340 80,390 6,240 -52,136,560 23,840 -616,392 -863,369 372,450 630,447 -86,667,990 1,159,850 2,000 67,824,855 279,938 8,540 115,380 4,225,030 1,771,130 2,240 4,293,622

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

0.0028 1.61 5.06 1.84 1.82 1.32 0.385 8.45 2.6 0.295 0.183 0.191 0.01 1.86 6.33 1.91 0.51 1.03 0.011 0.012 2.5 8.88 3.61 166.5

0.0029 1.62 5.16 1.84 1.82 1.32 0.385 8.45 2.65 0.305 0.183 0.191 0.011 1.9 6.49 1.96 0.55 1.08 0.011 0.012 2.5 8.88 3.61 167.6

0.0028 1.56 5.06 1.84 1.82 1.11 0.375 8.36 2.54 0.285 0.178 0.191 0.01 1.84 6.21 1.89 0.5 1.01 0.01 0.011 2.5 8.77 3.28 165.5

MINING & OIL 0.0029 103,000,000 1.62 4,508,000 5.06 147,400 1.84 11,000 1.82 10,000 1.22 18,252,000 0.38 2,400,000 8.36 800 2.55 2,291,000 0.29 8,320,000 0.179 6,640,000 0.191 190,000 0.011 600,000 1.84 280,000 6.32 2,803,300 1.94 80,000 0.51 587,000 1.06 542,000 0.01 1,100,000 0.011 24,400,000 2.5 9,000 8.8 439,100 3.41 6,520,000 165.8 826,650

289,700 7,190,330 751,730 20,240 18,200 22,065,320 ( 906,800 6,743 5,954,950 2,393,150 1,199,230 36,290 6,100 519,130 17,865,029 151,790 297,510 552,240 11,900 291,500 22,500 3,866,732 22,306,230 137,266,812

-128,800 -21,362 770,450.0001) 328,220 2,950 -2,290,205 -1,000 -12,500 -538,500 101,680 -46,328,348

ABS HLDG PDR AC PREF B1 AC PREF B2 ALCO PREF B DD PREF FGEN PREF F FGEN PREF G GLO PREF P GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF B MWIDE PREF PF PREF 2 SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

43.5 516 515 106.5 105.5 107 114.8 516 5.93 1,020 108 1,014 77 79.5 79.4 79 79.95

43.5 516 515.5 106.5 105.5 107 114.9 516 5.93 1,020 108 1,014 77 79.95 79.4 79.1 80

43.5 516 515 106 105.1 107 114.8 516 5.93 1,020 108 1,012 77 78 78.9 79 79

PREFERRED 43.5 100 516 200 515.5 10,000 106 103,570 105.1 20,020 107 9,390 114.9 650 516 100 5.93 8,500 1,020 950 108 130 1,012 1,200 77 6,490 78 14,100 78.9 560 79.1 37,840 79 8,500

4,350 103,200 5,152,500 10,983,095 2,104,110 1,004,730 74,675 51,600 50,405 969,000 14,040 1,214,980 499,730 1,120,530 44,219 2,991,790 678,901

4,350 -41,510 -

LR WARRANT

2.26

2.38

2.26

WARRANTS 2.35 106,000

246,760

-

ITALPINAS MAKATI FINANCE PHILAB HLDG XURPAS

3.59 3.2 4.63 5.63

3.67 3.2 5.33 6.09

3.5 3.2 4.03 5.63

SME 3.6 3.2 5.12 6.09

1,838,040 6,400 662,090 38,260,141

140,400 -25,600 -5,720,742

120.8

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 119.5 120.8 19,640

2,364,009

-

NAME

OPEN

MS FIRST METRO ETF 120.5

TRADING SUMMARY

SHARES

VALUE

FINANCIAL

14,051,111

696,930,548.25

INDUSTRIAL

223,907,994

2,189,075,283.54

68,072,038

1,076,236,388.86

HOLDING FIRMS PROPERTY

392,980,760

813,682,753.49

SERVICES

273,375,485

1,883,230,829.18

MINING & OIL

184,098,711

224,007,704.053

GRAND TOTAL

1,163,587,515

6,926,311,249.37

523,000 2,000 133,000 6,420,200

FINANCIAL 1,985.97 (DOWN) 10.76 INDUSTRIAL 10,925.85 (DOWN) 86.62 HOLDING FIRMS 7,948.72 (UP) 40.95 PROPERTY 3,777.73 (DOWN) 0.25 SERVICES 1,655.82 (DOWN) 20.52 MINING & OIL 12,711.06 (DOWN) 66.20 PSEI 7,985.83 (DOWN) 0.68 All Shares Index 4,723.13 (DOWN0 11.51 Gainers: 66; Losers: 133; Unchanged: 45; Total: 244

States and North Korea.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 0.5 percent to 160.41 as of 11:07 a.m. in Hong Kong as more three stocks declined for each one that advanced. Japan and South Korea equities slid as Trump said further threats from North Korea, which was reported by Washington Post to have developed a miniaturized nuclear warhead that could fit onto its missiles, would be met with “fire and fury.”

“A war is still far from erupting but, given recent gains and pricey valuation, prudence suggests it’s best to capitalize on the rising geopolitical tension by taking some money off the table,” said Jonathan Ravelas, chief market strategist at Manilabased BDO Unibank Inc. “Investors have a good excuse to stay on the sidelines.”

Japan’s Topix index was headed for its biggest slide since May 18 as the yen strengthened. South Korea’s benchmark equities gauge fell for a second day, dragged

by Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has rallied 19 percent so far this year, last week posting its highest close since 2007 amid strong earnings from some of the region’s key companies and optimism U.S. interest rate increases will remain gradual. The rally has pushed stock valuations to an almost two-year high. With AFP, Bloomberg

PSBank cuts stake in leasing company

By Julito G. Rada PHILIPPINE Savings Bank, the thrift bank arm of the Metrobank Group, will sell 4 million shares worth P379.92 million in a motorcycle leasing company which it established eight years ago with Sumitomo Corp. (Japan) and Sumitomo Philippines.

PSBank said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it would sell 2 million shares in Sumisho Motor Finance Corp. and another 2 million shares of PSBank Retirement Fund in Sumisho Motor Finance Corp.

“PSBank has approved the sale of 2,000,000 SMFC common shares for the amount of P94.98 per share, or a total of P189,960,000.00 subject to the confirmation and acceptance of the purchase price and terms and conditions of the sale by the GT Capital Holdings Inc.,” it said. After the sale, PSBank would still own 6,000,000 shares in SMFC. “PSBank Retirement Fund will also sell its entire shareholdings in SMFC consisting of 2,000,000 shares or the amount of P94.98 per share, or a total of P189,960,000.00 to GT Capital Holdings Inc.,” it said.

SMFC is a joint venture established by PSBank, PSBank Retirement Fund, Sumitomo Corp. (Japan) and Sumitomo Philippines. It was incorporated in 2009 to engage, transact or deal in the business of lending or leasing to retail customers for the purchase of motorcycles in the Philippines.

PSBanks said by selling the shares, it would improve its Tier 1 capital ratio and capital adequacy ratio―a measurement of financial strength―in line with its capital planning initiatives under Basel III. “On the other hand, Sumisho Motor Finance Corp. will be able to harness GT Capital’s strength by developing synergies across various businesses within the group,” it said.

Business

B3

THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Pure Foods’ profit rises 26% to P3.1b Importers fire back at big cement firms GOVERNMENT’S attempt to tighten up on cement shipments has drawn sharp rebuke from small importers.

A group of cement importers has protested department administrative order (DAO) 07-02 of the Department of Trade and Industry requiring them to obtain an Import Commodity Clearance on top of the Product Safety mark.

The order exempts the big cement manufacturers-importers from the ICC requirement.

The order has already piqued one importer after the DTI issued the directive as a pretext to protect consumers and ensure the high quality of cement that enters the country.

“Their much-trumpeted investments in cement manufacturing plants which provide jobs in the process do not give them the license to exploit consumers through price and supply manipulation in collusion with some DTI officials to form a cartel,” the importer said.

Small cement importers have slammed DAO 17-02 /05, saying it was grossly biased and would allow the big manufacturersimporters to dominate the industry by acting as a cartel, and thus, gain full control of the lucrative construction projects under the Duterte administration’s Build, Build, Build infrastructure program.

The pure importers denied reports of substandard imported cement proliferating in the domestic market. They argued that small importers and the big manufacturers-importers get their supply from the same sources abroad. The cement quality, thus, is the same across the board.

For all intents and purposes, the DTI certification scheme implies that other countries allow substandard imports. But the industry has not heard of any consumer complaints against the quality of imported cement. In contrast, local manufacturers have been the subject of several complaints and formal charges over substandard quality.

The import clearance requirement, according to small cement importers, discriminated against them and was clearly banning their products from joining the government’s massive infrastructure program.

“How sure is DTI that imports of the big cement manufacturersimporters are not substandard when they are not subjected to ICC procedures? Is being a big manufacturer enough to measure compliance with local and international standards?” one cement importer asked.

Pre-shipment tests Small cement importers prefer equal treatment with local producers. They said local cement producers should submit themselves to the same certification scheme if they are confident their own imports are of good quality.

The small importers are also posing a challenge to the big manufacturers-importers by agreeing to pre-shipment tests. Tests will be conducted using international standards and will facilitate the ICC issuance without delay.

“There will be no chance of substandard cement landing in the Philippines as no importer in his right mind will bring in a product that will not pass tests from contractors,the Department of Public Works and Highways and other users,” the cement importer said.

Pre-shipment testing, he said, would also assure ample cement supply for the government’s many infrastructure projects.

Ernesto Ordoñez, president of the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines, earlier conceded that local producers could not meet the total demand for the construction material.

Big manufacturers-importers are themselves importing the commodity—proof of a huge demand that they themselves cannot meet.

Think tank BMI Research earlier noted that while Philippine construction industry has “the most favorable regulatory frameworks for private and foreign investments in Asia, in practice, the country’s poor operating and political risk environment limits the attractiveness of the fast-growing market.”

One reason, it said, is that “the construction market is dominated by family-controlled and politically-linked conglomerates that pose a significant barrier against the entry of other companies.”

Small cement importers warned against the emergence of monopolies and cartel-like behavior in industries. They said the Philippine Competition Commission should include DAO 1702/05 as one of the vital documents in its ongoing investigation of an alleged cartel operation by certain local cement players.

The DTI order clearly violates Articles 14 and 15 of the Philippine Competition Act as it exacerbates the abuse of dominant position by the local cement industry.

E-mail: rayenano@yahoo.com or business@manilastandard.net or extrastory2000@gmail.com

MRC Allied, Uni Solar sign solar energy deal

By Alena Mae S. Flores LISTED MRC Allied Inc. said it signed a memorandum of understanding with Uni Solar Inc. to develop solar energy projects in the country.

“The purpose of the MoU is to confirm that both parties have an interest in developing Solar Photo Voltaic Rooftop projects in the Philippines as identified

by Uni Solar,” MRC Allied said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Wednesday.

Uni Solar is a company based in the Philippines which is engaged in the business of design, global sourcing, local distribution, manufacturing and sales of quality and environmentfriendly solar power products especially in solar photo voltaic for rooftops.

MRC Allied said that under the agreement, it would conduct

a due diligence for a period of one year.

“The purpose of the due diligence is to allow MRC to make a decision to pursue solar photo voltaic rooftop projects with Uni Solar,” the company said.

MRC Allied has been aggressively pursuing renewable energy projects following its announcement to develop at least 1,000 megawatts of clean and renewable energy in the next five years that would require investments of about P80 billion to P100 billion.

The company also executed an MOU with China Energy Engineering Group Guangdong Power Engineering Co. Ltd. for the possibility of developing renewable energy projects in the country.

GPEC is based in Guangzhou in China and engaged in exploration, development and construction of energy projects.

By Jenniffer B. Austria

S

AN Miguel Pure Foods Company Inc., the food manufacturing arm of conglomerate San Miguel Corp., said Wednesday net profit climbed 26 percent in the first half to P3.1 billion from a year ago, on higher-thanexpected second-quarter performance.

SMPFC said in a disclosure to the stock exchange first-half consolidated revenues increased 5 percent to P56 billion, driven by higher volumes and favorable selling prices of branded valueadded and agro-industrial businesses.

The company said that with

lower costs on some major raw materials, a better sales mix and improved operational efficiencies, operating income grew 24 percent to P4.5 billion.

SMPFC’s agro-industrial business, composed of feeds, poultry and Monterey fresh meats, registered

combined revenues of P39.5 billion in January to June, up 6 percent over the same period last year.

Higher volumes and favorable selling prices for the poultry and fresh meat segments continued to boost the business’ performance, it said. The feeds segment remained stable.

The milling business contributed P4.6 billion in revenues, down 2 percent from last year, as soft global wheat prices and intense industry competition continued to weigh down on the segment.

Revenues of the branded valueadded business reached P12.6 billion, a 4-percent increase from

last year, as a result of better sales mix, increased volumes from the processed meat segments in all sales channels and continued market expansion.

“With our expansion projects in full swing, we expect to be able to produce more product offerings to meet the increasing demand and varying needs of our consumers,” San Miguel president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said.

The company earlier announced plans to spend P56 billion in capital expenditures over the next three years to expand the production capacities of its poultry, processed meats and flour milling businesses.

ELECTRICITY SUPPLIER. Global Business Power Corp., through retail energy arm Global Energy Supply Corp., signs an agreement

with SM Prime Holdings Inc. for the supply of electricity to certain SM malls in the Visayas pursuant to the Department of Energy’s retail competition and open access scheme. Shown during the signing ceremony are (from left) GBP first senior vice president Elisa Dayao, SMPHI chief finance officer John Nai Ong, GBP executive committee chairman Jose Ma. Lim, SMPHI director Hans Sy, SMPHI president Jeffrey Lim and GBP president Jaime Azurin.

Vista Land allocates P5b to build new shopping malls PROPERTY developer Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. is spending nearly P5 billion over the next two years to build four new malls and expand an existing one as part of the strategy to build up recurring income, an executive said Wednesday.

Vista Land investor relations head Bryan Edang said in an interview at the sidelines of the company’s P5-billion fixedrate bond listing at Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. that the company planned to build Vista Malls in Marilao, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro and Naga.

The four new malls will add

116,000 square meters of leasable space to the group’s portfolio.

The company will also expand Evia mall in Daanghari which will increase its leasable space to 100,000 sqm from the existing leasable area of 61,000 sqm.

Vista Land said from 950,000 sqm of leasable space as of endMarch 2017, it aimed to have 1 million sqm of total leasable space by end-2017 and 1.3 million sqm by end-2018.

Funding for the construction of the new malls will come from the P5-billion bonds due 2024 and 2027.

The bonds represent the first

tranche of the company’s P10billion bond shelf registration approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“We have successfully and continuously improved the profile of the company. We have transformed the company from being the largest homebuilder in the Philippines to be one of the country’s leading property developers with acquisition of Starmalls in 2015,” Vista Land chairman and founder Manuel Villar said.

“We have now added a significant leasing components to our core residential development

business. Our transformation puts into reality Vista Land’s expanded vision of creating multiuse communities that integrated residential and commercial developments,” he said.

The move to expand into leasing business will provide the company stability to its core residential business.

Vista Land, which has presence in more than 120 cities and municipalities, is also embarking on the next 100 new cities and communities in a bid to strengthen its leadership in the house-and-lot segment of the market. Jenniffer B. Austria

Biomass, an untapped renewable energy source THE energy sources that are widely discussed as alternatives to fossil fuel are geothermal, solar, wind and wave energy. Hardly ever do biomass— farm and urban wastes of an organic character—and biogas figure in discussions regarding renewable energy (RE). Biomass is being treated as a poor relative of the other, more glamorous sources of renewable energy.

This is a great pity not only because biomass-sourced energy is as clean as the other RE sources but also because the supply of raw material is close to limitless.

I was first introduced to biomasssourced energy many years ago, when I was running a small business consulting company. A friend brought to my office a German businessman who was looking for a joint venture with a Philippine company interested in getting involved in a biomass energy project. I sat fascinated as the German explained to me, verbally and with diagrams, the process by which urban and farm wastes are converted into clean, comparatively inexpensive energy. I recall endorsing my visitor to San Miguel Corporation, which had varied manufacturing operations – for example, animal feed production and meat processing – that generated large quantities of waste on a regular basis. As I endorsed my new German friend, I told myself that I wished my company were in a position to be the joint-venture partner he was looking for.

My interest in biomass as a renewable-energy source was reignited by a presentation made

recently on the subject by the president of First Environtech Alliance Corporation, Ditmar Gorges. Mr. Gorges’ central thesis was that agriculture has always been regarded primarily as a source of food and fiber; it should also be recognized as a source of energy.

With every advance in biogas technology, the connection between agriculture and energy has become closer.

The potential of biomass as a major player in the RE field could be inferred from some of the words and phrases contained Mr. Gorges’ presentation: farm wastes, rice bran, food processing wastes, animal materials from piggeries, fish innards and wastes from wet markets. Even sludge from septic tanks and waste water from ethanol plants could be a source of biogas. The availability of these materials in huge quantities on a regular basis is a fact that doesn’t need statement, Dr. Gorges said. Fully utilized, these farm and urban wastes together had “the potential capacity to contribute about 10 percent of (the Philippines’) power output,” he declared.

“Farm waste and organic materials coming from wet markets as well as animal materials from piggeries could be used to power biogas plants,” the First Environtech Alliance president said, He added: “Food processing wastes, whether in solid or liquid form, could be the feedstock for biomass plants.”

In every Philippine farm there is plenty of waste material that can be used for mini-biogas plants.

Chief among these are piggery and hatchery wastes and the residue from rice cultivation, such as bran. The German businessman I spoke of at the beginning of this column told me that the methane gas produced by the operations of a Philippine farm using the proper technology could produce enough power to light up the family residence and run the farm equipment.

In the cities the abundant resources of biogas-plant raw materials would, as already stated, be wastes from wet markets and sludge from septic tanks.

Treatment plants would be necessary for the septic-tank sludge.

There are enormous quantities of farm and urban waste that are going unharnessed. The technology has long been available. The market is there. All that is needed, Mr. Borges concluded, is for the government— more particularly, the Department of Energy and the Department of Agriculture—to recognize the potential of biogas as a major source of renewable energy and then implement a program for generating biogas with the vast amounts of farm and urban waste as raw material.

The relentless pressure from climate change and this country’s limited renewable-energy options necessitate the making of such a policy response.

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

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

B4

THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2017

Business

Nokor warning jolts world markets

P

resident Donald Trump’s threat to hit North Korea with “fire and fury” jolted markets from New York to Seoul even as US lawmakers questioned the president’s willingness to back up the heated rhetoric.

“North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States,” Trump told reporters in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Tuesday. “They will be met with fire, fury and, frankly, power the likes of which this world has never seen before.”

Trump’s remarks came as North Korea—reacting to new United Nations sanctions against its nuclear weapons program—warned the U.S. would “pay dearly” and said it was examining plans to fire a missile toward an American military base on Guam. The exchange followed a Washington Post report, citing a Defense Intelligence Agency analysis, that Pyongyang successfully developed a nuclear warhead to use on its missiles.

“He has been very threatening, beyond a normal statement,” Trump said of Kim. While global powers and financial markets have long been accustomed to over-thetop rhetoric from North Korea, the US has traditionally taken a more diplomatic stance.

Trump’s suggestion he might meet Kim’s threats with action startled markets and prompted a renewed focus on the narrowing list of military and economic options available.

The S&P 500 Index fell to session lows Tuesday, and the CBOE Volatility Index jumped 11 percent after Trump spoke.

The comments jolted markets from a summer slumber, with US assets largely little changed for most of the session.

South Korea’s benchmark Kospi fell 1.1 percent to the lowest since June 21, while the won fell the most in three weeks. Japan’s Topix index had the biggest slide in almost three months.

Whether the president first

consulted with allies, the Pentagon or other government agencies was unknown. It also wasn’t clear whether Trump’s “fire and fury” threat described a conventional strike or one involving nuclear weapons.

The Defense Department offered no explanation. “We remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies and to use the full range of capabilities at our disposal against the growing threat from North Korea,” Pentagon spokesman Johnny Michael said in an email. North Korea has routinely used bombastic rhetoric to threaten the US, including military bases in Guam, Hawaii, Japan and South Korea.

South Korea said on Wednesday it was monitoring for any additional moves by North Korea, and would continue to push for peace. An official at the presidential office in Seoul told reporters that there’s no “imminent crisis,” Yonhap News Agency reported.

“We are working to fundamentally resolve the North Korean nuclear and missile issues at the earliest date possible, and are working with a belief that the possibility is very high,” Yonhap reported, without identifying the official.

Japan welcomed the US’s decision to keep all options on the table, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters in Tokyo.

North Korea’s reported progress on miniaturizing nuclear warheads―coupled with two test flights of intercontinental ballistic missiles in July―are raising pressure on Trump. Before taking office, he pledged to prevent North Korea from developing an ICBM: “It won’t happen,” he wrote on Twitter.

Bloomberg

A trader works on the floor at the closing bell of the Dow Industrial Average at the New York Stock Exchange on August 8, 2017 in New York. Wall Street stocks fell Tuesday amid rising tensions between the US and North Korea, bringing the Dow’s streak of nine straight records to an end. Stocks had pushed into positive territory, but dropped in the last hour of trading after US President Donald Trump warned Pyongyang it will face “fire and fury” if it continues to threaten the US. AFP

Thai beer company to buy KFC restaurants THAI Beverage, the spirits giant that makes Chang beer and SangSom rum, is expanding into the fast-food business to take advantage of the rising appetite for fried chicken in Asia.

ThaiBev agreed to purchase more than 240 existing KFC restaurants in Thailand for about 11.3 billion Thai baht ($340 million). A deal is also in place for the company to take over stores that are being developed, with the cost of those locations to be determined when the transaction closes, according to a filing. KFC is operated by Louisville, Kentuckybased Yum! Brands Inc., which also runs the Taco Bell and Pizza Hut chains.

Billionaire Chairman Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, who founded the company, has been seeking to diversify ThaiBev’s operations for

years, with a goal of generating more revenue from nonalcoholic beverages by 2020. The fast-food push comes as Western restaurant companies increasingly target Asia as a key market for growth. For Thai Beverage, the KFC deal is a bid to seize on the popularity of chicken in Asia, according to Nirgunan Tiruchelvam, a director at Religare Capital Markets in Singapore.

“The KFC acquisition is a very good way of exposing oneself to the rise of quick-service restaurants in Asia, especially the rise of chicken consumption,” he said.

Emerging Markets Emerging-market demand for KFC is strong, and the concept has a local focus in each market. The brand is centered around a protein with few belief-based dietary restrictions, giving it a broad base of

potential customers.

Yum, which spun off its China division last year, is seeking to accelerate development of its Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell brands, particularly in overseas markets. At the same time, Yum aims to become 98 percent franchised by the end of fiscal 2018.

Thailand accounted for 2 percent of KFC’s sales in emerging markets last quarter. It was the only region in that division that saw sales drop year-over-year, posting a 2 percent decline.

Charoen previously expanded his property business amid government measures to curb alcohol consumption in Buddhist Thailand. He was ultimately forced to list the company unit in Singapore in 2006 after activists and monks held protests to block a local share sale by the company.

Rice to riches: Vietnam’s shrimp farmers fish for fortunes

By Jenny Vaughan SOC TRANG, Vietnam―With a flashy gold watch and a chunky matching ring, Tang Van Cuol looks a far cry from the average Vietnamese farmer as he slings back a shot of rice wine and boasts about his projected earnings.

After years scratching a living growing rice and onions or farming ducks, the 54-year-old says his life was transformed in 2000―by shrimp.

The Mekong Delta, long renowned as the “rice bowl of Vietnam,” is now also home to a multi-billion-dollar shrimp industry and burgeoning numbers of farmers are building fortunes from the small crustaceans.

“Raising shrimp can bring so much income, nothing can compare,” Cuol says over lunch with friends, a healthy spread of rice, salad, pork and―of course―shrimp.

This year he expects to make one billion dong, or around $44,000―an enormous sum in the delta, where rice farmers make around $100 a month.

The shrimp bonanza began in the 1990s when rising sea-levels seeped saltwater into the Mekong Delta.

It has surged in parallel with demand from the US and European Union.

Savvy locals were swift to spot the changing conditions were ripe for shrimp farming.

The wealth has transformed Cuol’s part of Soc Trang province: motorbikes have replaced bicycles on newly-paved roads dotted with multi-story concrete homes unimaginable just a generation ago.

Cuol owns several motorbikes, funded his daughter’s wedding and claims an impressive collection of antiques “worth hundreds of millions of dong.”

Crisis is looming But environmentalists warn that the bounty from intensive shrimp farming may be shortlived.

Today pollution and disease frequently lay waste to crustacean harvests.

But a wider crisis is looming caused by the obliteration of mangrove forests to make way for farms, exposing the area to lashings from storms and further rises in sea-level linked to climate change.

In this photo taken on July 13, 2017, a shrimp farmer uses a plastic basket to move shrimp from one holding pen to another in a pond in the My Xuyen district in southern Vietnam. The Mekong Delta, long renowned as the “rice bowl of Vietnam,” is now also home to a multi-billion-dollar shrimp industry and burgeoning numbers of farmers are building fortunes from the small crustaceans. AFP

“This is not sustainable,” said Andrew Wyatt, Mekong Delta Program Manager at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The IUCN is encouraging farmers to preserve mangroves and stop using harmful chemicals so their shrimp can be certified as organic, earning a five to 10 percent premium in the process.

Yet shrimp farmers say the financial rewards are too great to ignore.

Just like his father and grandfather, Tang Van Tuoi struggled as a rice farmer.

He slept under a roof fashioned from coconut palms, earning just enough to support his family.

But when saltwater started creeping into his rice fields―he saw an opportunity and started harvesting shrimp.

“Now everything is developed, we have vehicles, roads, things have changed massively,” he told AFP from his polished living room, where a flatscreen TV hangs over a wood furniture set.

Even in a bad year, he can earn more than he did as a rice farmer. In a good year he can rake in upwards of $40,000.

Flush with cash, he has built three homes for his family.

“We have money, we have enough of everything,” said the father of six, as his granddaughter played a video game on a smartphone nearby.

But he admits that such farming is a gamble.

His ponds have been hit by disease and pollution.

Attuned to the long-term risks, the government has resisted opening the whole region to the shrimp industry even as seawater continues to seep further inland.

Food fears Instead, authorities have ploughed millions of dollars into sealing off freshwater zones needed to grow rice―the nation’s staple―throughout the Mekong Delta.

The strategy is in part to ensure the region can grow enough rice to feed the country, a historic pillar of the communist government’s centrally planned economy.

But as the country has embraced market reforms, the lure of exporting high-earning shrimp―mainly to Europe and the United States―has become increasingly attractive.

This year, the prime minister called for shrimp exports to reach $10 billion by 2025, a jump from $3 billion last year. AFP

The company’s long-term strategy involves generating 50 percent of its revenue from countries outside Thailand and nonalcoholic beverage by 2020. That’s expected to drive more deals in the region.

Sales outside that country amounted to less than 4 percent in the last fiscal year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“Thai Beverage is a company that is looking to expand in the food and beverage space in Southeast Asia,” Tiruchelvam said. “It has very strong core cash flow from its spirits business, and it’s expanding into other areas.”

Yum shares slumped 1.1 percent Tuesday in New York, after reaching a record high on Aug. 2. Thai Beverage did not trade Wednesday as the Singapore market was closed for a holiday. Bloomberg

Vantiv acquires UK’s Worldpay LONDON―US card payment processing giant Vantiv has agreed to buy British peer Worldpay for €9.3 billion ($12.1 billion, 10.3 billion euros), the pair said Wednesday.

The blockbuster deal will create a leading international e-commerce payments provider that will process about $1.5 trillion in payments and 40 billion transactions per year in 146 countries and 126 currencies, they said in a statement.

The new group―which will be called Worldpay―will have a combined stock market value of approximately €22.2 billion.

“The boards of directors of Vantiv and Worldpay are pleased to announce that they have reached agreement on the terms of a recommended merger of Worldpay with Vantiv... in the form of a recommended offer,” they said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange.

The announcement, which followed an initial agreement last month, was billed as a merger but will see Vantiv shareholders take a 57 percent stake of the combined group. Worldpay investors will hold 43 percent.

The new company will have its global and corporate headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, while London will be its international base.

Vantiv will pay 397 pence per share for Worldpay, or €8 billion, plus another €1.3 billion to cover debts.

“This is a powerful combination that is strategically compelling for both companies,” added Charles Drucker, Vantiv president and chief executive.

“It joins two highly complementary businesses, and will allow us to achieve even more together than either organization could accomplish on its own.

“Our combined company will have unparalleled scale, a comprehensive suite of solutions, and the worldwide reach to make us the payments industry global partner of choice.”

Worldpay chief executive Philip Jansen added that the deal would offer “substantial opportunities to capitalize on the rapid evolution of payments.”

The deal will “offer more payment solutions to businesses, whether large or small, global or local, enabling them to meet consumers’ increasing demands”, he added. AFP

QC needs P1.6b sans Payatas dumpsite WITH the closure of the Payatas sanitary landfill, Quezon City needs at least P1.6 billion to dump the city’s trash in Manila and Rizal.

City administrator Aldrin Cuña said the disposal of at least 2,800 metric tons of trash daily from Districts 1, 3 and 4 to Vitas, Tondo, Manila, and Districts 2, 5 and 6 to Rodriguez, Rizal has entailed the city government P1.667 billion in hauling cost should the Payatas dump be shut down permanently.

“This is so because of the long turnarounds of our garbage trucks as well as an increase in the gas consumption,” he said.

The city government is spending only P780 million in hauling cost to dispose of trash in Payatas, he said.

The turnaround of a truck to and from Quezon City and Rodriguez takes about four to five hours, and a truck to and from QC and Manila takes six to eight hours.

Meanwhile, Mayor Herbert Bautista is asking Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu to help him identify a new dump after the temporary closure of the Payatas sanitary landfill last July 27.

The mayor presented a status report to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources about the Payatas closure.

“The DENR will help identify the [new] area,” Ares Gutierrez, the city’s Public Affairs and Information Services Office chief, told the Manila Standard.

The city government is coordinating with the Metro Manila Development Authority, too, Gutierrez said.

Cimatu has not yet given Quezon City any commitment.

According to Gutierrez, Bautista is trying to convince the DENR chief to allow the city manage the operations of the new dump.

“He showed the secretary how the city government was able to manage the engineered landfill efficiently and effectively in a bid to bolster his request,” he said.

Right after the meeting at the DENR, Bautista, Cimatu and MMDA Chairman Danny Lim went to the Payatas landfill for an inspection, he added. Rio N. Araja

LGUs LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor Roger M. Garcia, Assistant Editor jimbo.gulle@gmail.com mslocalgov@gmail.com THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2017

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ASEAN LIGHTS. The Navotas City Hall glows against the night sky as the city joined the nationwide celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations,

which the Philippines hosted. Navotas was one of the 76 local government units that participated in the simultaneous Asean Landmark Lighting. The city government held a short program amid a festive crowd of local government employees, senior citizens, students and city officials, with Mayor John Rey Tiangco at the forefront. Andrew Rabulan

‘All sides heard in casino issue’

By Rio N. Araja

P

ROPONENTS of the proposed Quezon City Responsible Gambling Ordinance have vowed to consider the concerns of all stakeholders to fine-tune the measure and protect the people from the adverse consequences of all forms of games of chance.

In an interview, District 1 Ivy Xenia Lagman, committee on games and amusement chairperson, assured the public the measure is a “good ordinance.”

“If you would see all the provisions in the proposal, you will notice that we have make it harder for them [operators] to do business here,” she told Manila Standard.

“I don’t see any reason why some stakeholders would oppose it. We are trying to put in place very strict regulations,” Lagman added.

She clarified the measure will not only cover the operation of a casino, but also the operation of

electronic games, bingo, carnivals, off-track betting stations, cockfighting and other gambling establishments.

“Here in Quezon City, it is not that easy to get a permit to operate. In other cities and municipalities, only a letter of no objection without regulations is needed,” she said.

In a letter, Daniel King, president of the Quezon City Association of Filipino-Chinese Businessmen Inc., told

Manuel Luis Quezon University president Dr. Isagani Germar (left) and vice president Dr. Vince Villaseñor (right) flank Archimedes Martinez and Raphael Pedroso. The university rewarded the men—Martinez with P1 million—after they placed in the top 10 of the recent Civil Engineering board licensure examinations.

Reviving Old Glory, the MLQU Way WHEN people talk of the best and leading universities in the country, Manuel Luis Quezon University is right up there with the usual names on the list.

For the last decade, MLQU has stood out like a sturdy brick and mortar tower while silently producing graduates who excel in government, public service and other vocations and industries. They are the same unheralded graduates who have topped bar exams and other government licensure tests.

Now under fresh management after it was acquired by New San Jose Builders Inc. (NSJBI), MLQU and its new leadership headed by its president, Dr. Isagani Germar, believes it is time the school restores its old glory and academic ascendency, and give recognition to whom it is due.

“The MLQU has a rich history of excellence, and under the new management we felt like we need to bring back the glory to our campus once again, just like an old song that says ‘We can make it happen, happen again, we can make it, we can make it again,’” Germar stressed.

Results of last year’s licensure examinations for Civil Engineering highlighted the

university’s resolve to bring pride to the institution, as two Quezonians placed in the top 10.

In simple ceremonies, MLQU feted board passers Archimedes Martinez, who was eighth with a 92.65 percent average, and Raphael Pedroso, whose grade of 93.25 percent was the third-highest but was not considered official based on the Professional Regulation Commission’s “retakers” ruling.

The school rewarded Martinez with P1 million for the honor he brought the school, while Pedroso received P50,000.

MLQU officials said this is just the start of a long journey of its students toward excellence and success, and the school is committed to helping them reach their dreams.

During the same event, MLQU also recognized recent graduates from its law school and school of accountancy who passed the bar and board exams this year.

The university is also beefing up its faculty with educators of highest qualifications and integrity while improving its facilities and constantly innovating.

Turn to C2

Lagman the group “fully supports in ‘toto’ this laudable ordinance.”

“Gambling has always had a negative impact on family values, society and other businesses. We believe that if enacted this ordinance, will discourage and decrease the proliferation of gambling operations, and will become a model and a beacon to other cities in our country,” the QCAFCBI read.

According to the Principals and Supervisors Association of Quezon City Inc., headed by

Lagro High School principal Dr. Maria Noemi Moncada, “gambling is one of the most addictive activities out there because of the greed involved with the activity... who doesn’t want money without having to work for it?

“Also, gambling is about escapism from reality so many people go to gambling, for long periods of time, to escape their stress or troubled times,” the group added.

“Gambling also ruins families,

relationships [and] lives, [and] cripples people’s finances and potentially homes. Gambling should be treated the same as alcohol and cigarettes that are removed from being advertised,” Moncada’s letter to Lagman read.

She said operators must be required to “do everything within their means to ensure that underage customers are not allowed to gamble,” and that to “implement the anti-money laundering policies and procedures.”

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

LGUs

Standard THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2017 C2 TODAY Manila

‘No drug-free barangay in Cagayan’

By Jessica M. Bacud

T

UGUEGARAO CITY―No barangay in Cagayan province is drug-free, officials of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Region 2 said during the Cagayan Peace and Order Council Meeting here.

PDEA Regional Director Laurefel Gabales said based on the new parameters released by the Dangerous Drugs Board last March, only 10 barangays were declared as drug-free in Cagayan Valley region except for the barangays in Batanes province.

Batanes had earned the distinction of being the country’s first province proclaimed drugfree upon the verification and approval of members of the country’s anti-drug Oversight Committee.

The barangays declared as

drug-free in Cagayan “were only initiatives of the different chiefs of police,” Gabales stressed.

“The PDEA, being the head of the oversight committee is the only authorized agency to declare a barangay as drug-free,” he told the mayors present at the meeting.

“Before declaring that a barangay is free from illegal drug activities, the committee must convene and validate the nonavailability of drug supply in the area, and the absence of drug transit activity, clandestine drug laboratory and chemical warehouse, marijuana cultivation site,

drug den, drug pusher and user,” said Gabales.

Meanwhile, Gov. Manuel Mamba has instructed mayors in the province to coordinate with the barangay captains of the previously declared drug-free barangays in their towns to remove the tarpaulins posted in their barangay halls declaring them as such.

Pursuant to the parameters set by the DDB as provided in Section 8 of its Board Regulation No. 3 Series of 2017, otherwise known as “Strengthening the Implementation of the Barangay Drug-Clearing Program,” a barangay is said to be drug-

affected when there is a reported presence of a drug user, pusher, manufacturer, marijuana cultivator, or other drug personalities and facilities regardless of number in the area.

The Oversight Committee, which is chaired by PDEA, is composed of provincial representatives of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Philippine National Police, Department of Health, and local government units.

According to the DDB, three basic parameters that determine barangay drug affectation: “slightly affected,”

“moderately affected,” and “seriously affected.”

Barangays are considered “slightly affected” if there is a reported presence of less than two percent of the barangay’s total population as drug personalities; “moderately affected” if two to 20 percent of the population are reportedly into drugs; and “seriously affected” if at least one drug laboratory or marijuana plantation, more than 20 percent of barangay’s total population are into drugs, and three or more drug dens or “tiangges” are reported to exist in the community, Gabales disclosed.

Manila starts listing ‘padyak’ operators

By Bill Casas TO LEGITIMIZE pedicabs as a mode of transportation in Manila, the city government under Mayor Joseph Estrada on Wednesday started the mass registration of thousands of “padyak” plying the city streets. Estrada said the pedicab registration campaign has two objectives: get rid of colorum and improve the livelihood of duly licensed pedicab drivers in Manila.

“We know that these lowly pedicab drivers only want to earn a living, so we have thought of helping them by having their vehicles registered and given transport franchises, free of charge,” Estrada said.

In addition, Estrada said the legally licensed pedicab drivers and operators will get to avail of the wide array of free services and programs being offered by the city government, such as free hospitalization and healthcare and capital assistance, among others.

This is the first time the city government has embarked on a pedicab registration program, according to Julius Galang, chief of the Manila Tricycle Regulatory Office.

The registration started last Friday, Aug. 5, in District 5 where 1,200 pedicab drivers were given identification cards and license plates; the annual permit fee of P425 and the cost of license plate, P300, have been waived, Galang said.

“We’ll be doing this by district,” Galang pointed out.

“By registering them, we acknowledge that they are legitimate part of the transport industry,” he also said. “So all those not included here we will consider these colorum.”

There are about 15,000 pedicabs, most of which are unlicensed, that operate in Manila, based on MTRO’s estimates.

The duly-registered and licensed pedicab drivers will also undergo a seminar on safe driving and traffic rules and regulations, and will also be familiarized with the city’s policies about tricycle and pedicab operations, Galang said.

“Aside from IDs and license plates, the pedicab drivers will also be asked to wear proper attire while at work to distinguish them from the colorum ones. Moreover, we will teach them proper decorum when interacting with their passengers,” Galang added.

BONIFACIO DRIVE, SOUTH HARBOR, PORT AREA, MANILA 1018, PHILIPPINES, P.O BOX 436, MANILA, PHILIPPINES TEL. NO. (0632) 527-8356, FAX NO. (0632) 527-4855 HTTP://WWW.PPA.COM.PH

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF SERVICES FOR THE REVISION OF THE CHART OF ACCOUNTS The Philippine Ports Authority, through its Corporate Budget for CY 2017 intends to apply the sum of P25,000,000.00 Pesos being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for the Procurement of Services for the Revision of the Chart of Accounts (BAC-PGCS 06-2017). Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at the opening of the financial proposals.

The Philippine Ports Authority now calls for the submission of eligibility documents for the following Scope of Work: A. Implement the Upgrade of PPA’s Existing Oracle eBusiness Application R12.0.6 to the Latest Version B. Provide a Test Server that will be Used Until the Delivery of the New Production Server and Migration to the Live Environment C. Change the Existing Chart of Accounts D. Conduct Technical and Functional Trainings E. Resolution of User Support Requests (USR). Eligibility documents of interested consultants must be duly received by the BAC Secretariat on or before 18 August 2017 at 9:00 a.m., at the BAC Office, 5th Floor, PPA Building, A. Bonifacio Drive, South Harbor, Port Area, Manila. Opening of Eligibility Documents is on 18 August 2017 at 10:00 a.m.

Applications for eligibility will be evaluated based on a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from the Philippine Ports Authority Bids and Awards Committee for the Procurement of Goods and Consultancy Services (BAC-PGCS) and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during office hours (8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.).

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested Bidders on 25 August 2017 from the address below and upon payment of the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents, pursuant to the latest Guidelines issued by the GPPB, in the amount of P25,000.00. It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the website of the Procuring Entity, provided that Bidders shall pay the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.

The BAC shall draw up the short list of consultants from those who have submitted Expression of Interest, including the eligibility documents, and have been determined as eligible in accordance with the provisions of Republic Act 9184 (RA 9184) otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act,” and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). The short list shall consist of not more than FIVE (5) prospective bidders who will be entitled to submit bids. The criteria and rating system for short listing are: 1. Applicable experience of the consultant and members in case of joint ventures, considering both the overall experiences of the firm or, in the case of new firms, the individual experiences of the principal and key staff, including the times when employed by other consultants; 2. Qualification of personnel who may be assigned to the job vis-à-vis extent and complexity of the undertaking; and 3. Current workload relative to capacity.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using nondiscretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the IRR of RA 9184. Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, cooperatives, and partnerships or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines.

The Philippine Ports Authority shall evaluate bids using the Quality-Cost Based Evaluation (QCBE) procedure. The weight to be allocated for the Technical Proposal is 70% while for the Financial Proposal, the weight is 30%. The criteria and rating system for the evaluation of bids shall be provided in the Instructions to Bidders.

The contract shall be completed within ONE (1) YEAR. The Philippine Ports Authority reserves the right to reject any and all bids, declared a failure of bidding, or not award the contract at any time prior to contract award in accordance with Section 41 of RA 9184 and its IRR, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

Further information, please refer to: BAC Secretariat, Philippine Ports Authority 5th Floor, PPA Bldg., A. Bonifacio Drive, South Harbor, Port Area, Manila Telephone/Fax No. 527-47-35 527-83-56 loc. 539 PPA Website: www.ppa.com.ph •

Cost of Eligibility Documents : P 1,000.00

58TH BRANCH. Rev. Fr. Mark Angelo Arcilla (right) officiates the blessing of the new Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office branch in Virac,

Catanduanes on Aug. 4. This is the 58th in the agency’s nationwide network of branches. Leading the occasions are (from left) Catanduanes Rep. Cesar Sarmiento and Gov. Joseph Cua, PCSO general manager Alexander F. Balutan, Dr. Vietrez Abella, Medical Director of Eastern Bicol Medical Center, and Dr. Richard Garay of the Department of Health. GM Balutan also turned over brand new ambulances from the PCSO Ambulance Donation Program to the municipalities of Pandan, Caramoran, San Miguel, Bato, and the Gigmoto District Hospital.

201 Flora officials submit to drug test

By Nazario A. Rodriguez Jr. with the results to be submitted FLORA, Apayao—Public officials and employees of the Local Government Unit here, mostly women, joined a mass drug testing activity on Aug. 4.

The mandatory drug test was conducted by the Cordillera Administrative Region regional office of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency at the Dr. Efren U. De San Jose Memorial Sports Center, where 201 individuals—115 females and 86 males—submitted urine samples for testing.

The samples were brought to Baguio City for proper evaluation,

Local employees of national line agencies, including the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Commission on Elections, the Department of Health, and former town employees under job order who are submitting new applications to various positions under contract of service that were recently created through local legislation likewise submitted to the test.

A suspect accused of allegedly raping his own daughter was escorted by a police officer as he was ordered to undergo the same drug test.

Catherine Ortega, Municipal Human Resource Management

officer, said the mandatory drug test is required by the Civil Service Commission for all regular employees of the government.

Vice Mayor De San Jose said she will be very sorry for those who would be tested positive.

“We cannot do anything about them if they are found positive.

There are many others who can qualify for such vacant positions if need be,” she said.

Part of the day’s activity was a symposium on President Rodrigo Duterte’s efforts to change the form of government from unitary to federal system, conducted by the DILG regional office, the local DILG office and LGU-Flora.

Summit boosts blood donation program

By Ben Moses Ebreo SOLANO, Nueva Vizcaya—A regional blood summit here recently revealed the huge support from various agencies in the provinces of Ifugao, Quirino, Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya, boosting the multi-sectoral support and capability in sustaining the area’s Blood Donation Program.

George Basilio, Health Education and Promotions officer of ERRORS & OMISSIONS In Classified Ads section must be brought to our attention the very day the advertisement is published. We will not be responsible for any incorrect ads not reported to us immediately.

the Veterans Regional Hospital in Bayombong town, said the Southern Blood Services Zone, organized with only 11 founding members, has grown to 65 member-agencies.

The SBSZ was organized a few years ago to strengthen the networking efforts of public and private hospitals, medical centers, local government units and civil society organizations in sustaining the availability of blood supply.

PETITION FOR CHANGE OF FIRST NAME The public is hereby notified that Urbano Noel S. Ponteres resident of Buacao, Clarin, Bohol has filed with Local Civil Registry Office of Clarin, Bohol No. MP CFN-0001-2017 for Change of First Name from URBANO to URBANO NOEL in his Certificate of Live Birth.

He was born on December 20, 1962 at St. Mary`s Hospital Manila and was recorded under Registry No. 3372. Ground for filing the petition is he has habitually and continously used URBANO NOEL and he is publicly known in the community with that first name.

(MS-AUG. 3 & 10, 2017)

N OTICE Notice is hereby given that CURRIMAO SOLAR ENERGY CORP. is applying for registration with the Board of Investments (BOI) as Renewable Energy Developer of Wind Energy Resources (151.2MW Talim Wind Power Project) in Binangonan & Cardona, Rizal to avail of the incentives under the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 (RA9513).

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

(SGD.) NESTOR P. ARCANSALIN Director Resource-based Industries Service

ADRIAN FERDINAND S. SUGAY Chairperson, PPA Head Office Bids and Awards Committee for Goods and Consultancy Services (HO-BAC-PGCS) Standard – Aug. 10, 2017

later to Mayor Rodolfo B. Juan.

In an orientation before the activity, PDEA assured the testers that the results will be strictly confidential and to be released only to the Mayor’s office.

Mayor Juan, Vice Mayor Jessica L. De San Jose, and all the members of the Sangguniang Bayan, all heads of municipal departments, all chairmen of the 16 barangays of Flora, and some barangay kagawad (council) members lined up for the test.

The local Philippine National Police force, including Municipal Police Station chief Ruben Labutan, also joined the activity.

(MS-AUG. 10, 2017)

“The SBSZ serves as a network of blood donors and medical practitioners who are involved in supplementation and complementation of blood supply demand and availability for the needy. It has grown a lot after its creation a few years ago,” Basilio said.

He said the recent Regional Blood Summit at the Highlander Hotel and Resort here has generated more than 310 participants from the four provinces.

Reviving...

From C1 Futures at stake

Both topnotchers had interesting stories to share that night, as they revealed the challenges, struggles and “demons” they needed to conquer to reach that moment of success in their lives.

Martinez, who hails from Cagayan Valley, was a typical student—a carefree and negligent young adult who thought he had all the time in the world.

Martinez’s father had little faith in him, thinking that he would not take his studies seriously. For a moment he was right, as “Archie,” as he’s known to friends, found himself in a bit of trouble on his second year.

Martinez later found himself hooked on gambling, after friends introduced him to glitzy casinos and online bingo joints all over the city.

Entering his third year, Martinez had to quit school, as he gambled away the money meant for his tuition fees. For some time, he managed to pretend to be enrolled, but his sister later found out the truth. He had no choice but to abide his father’s order to return to the province and live there.

His long sabbatical made Martinez realize that life is no gamble. He feared winding

From the figure, 92 were awardees, while 65 were recognized for their full support and assistance to the SBSZ, Basilio said.

The SBSZ at present has 30 blood screening facilities that are in charge of collecting, screening and storing donated blood from various sources.

“In this way, we are assured of the availability of blood supply anytime of the day, especially during disasters and natural calamities,” Basilio said.

up like his childhood friends, who labored so hard because they chose not to finish school.

So after a year, Martinez was able to convince his father that he really wanted to earn a degree in Civil Engineering. He returned to MLQU and vowed to finish what he started.

When asked if he knew he could pass the board exams, Martinez gave a confident answer. “I knew from the start that I will pass it, but I never expected to be in the top 10.”

Out of 6,998 examinees last year, only 2,514 passed, and Martinez and Pedroso hurdled the test with flying colors.

The two credited their professors and the school for equipping them with the right teaching, motivation, environment, and facilities they needed to succeed in the board exams.

“Aside from long hours of review, our professors have inspired us so much, they have given us all the instruction and pieces of advice. In the process, they have become our idols, because they are accomplished people in our society, and we thank MLQU for making sure that we were in good company,” Martinez said.

Both topnotchers had no clue MLQU was giving them a reward, and they claimed it would be another surprise for their parents who also, played big roles in their success.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

World Soldier begins prison sentence RISHON LEZION―An Israeli soldier convicted of manslaughter for shooting dead a prone Palestinian assailant in a trial that deeply divided the country arrived alongside motorcycle-riding supporters Wednesday to begin his 18-month prison term.

Elor Azaria, 21, entered the Tserifin military base near the city of Rishon LeZion to begin serving his sentence, his car driven by his father festooned with photographs of him and Israeli flags.

A few dozen supporters waved Israeli flags and chanted Azaria’s name as the car pulled up. Several supporters on motorcycles rode alongside his car along the route, including some wearing leather jackets with “God Bless Israel” on the back.

A smiling Azaria briefly exited the car outside the base but did not speak. His father spoke briefly, saying: “Thank you to the Israeli people,” before driving inside the base’s gates.

In a message posted on social media last week, the French-Israeli said that “‎I am going to prison with my head held high. I love this country with all my heart. I love the army.”

On July 30, a military court rejected Azaria’s appeal against his conviction for manslaughter and upheld the prison sentence.

He could have appealed to the country’s supreme court, but opted not to after Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman pleaded for him to allow the country to move on.

He has instead requested a reduced sentence from military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, asking for community service instead of prison time.

Azaria can also request a pardon from Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, with right-wing leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling for it to be granted.

The March 2016 shooting in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron was caught on video by a human rights group and spread widely online.

It showed Abdul Fatah al-Sharif, 21, lying wounded on the ground, shot along with another Palestinian after stabbing and wounding a soldier, according to the army.

Some 11 minutes after the initial shooting, Azaria shot him in the head without any apparent provocation.

He said he feared Sharif was wearing an explosive belt and could blow himself up, a claim judges rejected.

“His motive for shooting was that he felt the terrorist deserved to die,” Judge Colonel Maya Heller said as he read the verdict in January.

Azaria, a sergeant and military medic at the time of the incident, was sentenced in February.

He later appealed the verdict, while military prosecutors asked for an increased sentence after having initially requested between three and five years. AFP

THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2017

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Gulf crisis splitting families D

OHA―For the Qataris affected by the diplomatic crisis rocking the Gulf, the reality of politics is stark: families divided, assets frozen and dreams put on hold.

EVENT. Singers Rita Ora, LEFT, and Charli XCX attend Variety’s Power of Young Hollywood Event on August 8, 2017, in Hollywood. AFP

Guam calm, dismisses North Korea threat HAGATNA―Guam Governor Eddie Calvo downplayed North Korea’s threat to attack his Pacific island state but said the US territory was “prepared for any eventuality” in a televised speech Wednesday as tensions escalated in the region.

US President Donald Trump threatened North Korea with “fire and fury” over its nuclear ambitions on Tuesday. Pyongyang raised the stakes just hours later, saying it was considering missile strikes near the US strategic military installations on Guam.

In a televised address, Calvo said Guam was working with Washington “to ensure our safety.

“I want to reassure the people of Guam that currently there is no threat to our island or the [neighboring Northern] Marianas,” he said.

“I spoke to Joint Region Marianas Commander Rear Admiral Shoshana Chatfield who confirmed this with me.”

Guam, home to about 6,000 US troops, is strategically located midway between the Korean Peninsula and the South China Sea and houses two US military installations―the Andersen Air Force Base and the Naval Base Guam.

It was described by President Barack Obama’s defense secretary Ashton Carter as “an important strategic hub for the US military in the Western Pacific”.

Calvo said there were “several levels of defense” strategically placed to protect Guam and he had been assured by the White House that a strike on the territory would be considered an attack on the United States.

“They have said that America will be de-

fended. I also want to remind national media that Guam is American soil and we have 200,000 Americans in Guam and the Marianas. We are not just a military installation.

“With that said, I want to ensure that we are prepared for any eventuality.”

On the streets of Guam capital Hagatna, there was a sense of calm.

“It’s not like there’s anything we can do anyway. This is a small island. There’s nowhere to run to,” resident James Cruz said AFP. Madeleine Bordallo, Guam’s delegate to Congress, said North Korea’s nuclear capabilities were “deeply troubling,” but she was confident the island was safe and protected.

Guam’s local population numbers 162,000 and its economy depends primarily on tourism and the US military. AFP

Sara, a 29-year-old Qatari, had been poised to start her senior year in business school in Dubai when on June 5, a bloc of Arab states led by Saudi Arabia abruptly cut ties with her country.

“We were suddenly told that we were no longer permitted to attend classes and had to go back to Doha,” she said.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain accused the Gulf emirate of supporting Islamist extremism and being too close to Riyadh’s regional arch-rival Iran.

They ordered all Qataris to leave their territories within two weeks, recalled their ambassadors and citizens from the emirate and banned Qatari carriers from their ports and airspace.

Qatar denied the allegations and denounced what it called a “blockade” aimed at bringing the wealthy emirate to its knees.

Qatari authorities have committed schools and universities to enrolling repatriated students.

But for Sara and many like her, the crisis was personal.

“When someone prevents you from studying, it destroys your dreams,” she said.

“One day, overnight, with no warning― suddenly you’re told ‘you have to stay home, no school for you’.”

As the standoff drags into its third month, the uncertainty is causing agony, particularly for families of mixed nationality.

Sara, who did not want her surname revealed because she feared the consequences for her relatives elsewhere in the region, has an Emirati mother and a Qatari father.

That is nothing unusual in a region where cross-border marriages are commonplace.

The diplomatic spat has thrown such families into their own crises.

“Half my family is in Dubai, in the UAE. I also have family in Bahrain,” Sara said, choking back tears.

When her grandmother fell ill in Dubai, her mother was reluctant to travel to the UAE for fear she would not be allowed to return to her children in Qatar.

States in the Saudi-led bloc have demanded that their citizens leave Qatar, but many have hesitated to do so―especially those with families in the tiny gas-rich emirate.

Some say they fear punishment by their own governments.

One Saudi mother, who has been based in Qatar for years and asked to remain anonymous, said she was terrified.

She and her two adult daughters are caught between fear of their own government and uncertainty about their future in Qatar.

“We feel trapped,” she told AFP by phone.

“We will have to renew our visas in a year. It’s frightening―we don’t know what will happen.”

She said she does not want to go back to Saudi Arabia, but fears that if she does not she will be blocked from accessing her late husband’s Saudi pension, her only source of income.

Her daughters, who work in Qatar, also want to stay. One has started losing her hair because of stress over the issue.

All three declined to meet AFP journalists in person for fear of the consequences.

Other Qataris, interviewed at a center in Doha set up to support those affected by the crisis, fear for their assets in other countries.

AFP

End nuke threats, mayor urges

PRESENT. Guests attend FMB Development breaks ground at 1317 S. Hope Street, Los Angeles, on August 8. AFP

TOKYO―Nagasaki must be the last place to suffer an atomic bombing, its mayor said Wednesday, marking 72 years since the devastating American nuclear attack on the Japanese city with a passionate call for denuclearization.

The anniversary comes as the tensions over North Korea’s rogue weapons program and increasingly bellicose rhetoric from United States president Donald Trump rattle the region and put nuclear threats in the spotlight.

“A strong sense of anxiety is spreading across the globe that in the not too distant future these weapons could actually be used again,” said Mayor Tomihisa Taue at a ceremony at Nagasaki Peace Park.

“Nagasaki must be the last place to suffer an atomic bombing,” he said.

A bell tolled as thousands of people, including aging survivors and relatives of victims, observed a minute’s silence at 11:02 am (0202 GMT), the

exact moment that the blast struck on August 9, 1945 in the closing days of World War II. Japan is the only country to have suffered atomic attacks.

The US dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, killing around 140,000 people. The toll includes those who survived the explosion itself but died soon after from severe radiation exposure.

Three days later, the US dropped a plutonium bomb on the port city of Nagasaki, killing some 74,000 people.

Japan announced its surrender in World War II on August 15, 1945.

Wednesday’s ceremony took place amid the regional concerns over North Korea, with Trump sharpening the rhetoric against Pyongyang late Tuesday.

“They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen,” the US president said at his golf club in New Jersey.

The security fears over

North Korea have recently been cited by nuclear powers Britain, France and the US to oppose a UN treaty banning atomic weapons. It was a position supported by Japan.

Taue lambasted Tokyo over its stance on the treaty as “incomprehensible to those of us living in the cities that suffered atomic bombings”.

Japanese officials routinely argue that they abhor nuclear weapons, but the nation’s defense is firmly set under the US nuclear umbrella.

Many in Japan feel the attacks amount to war crimes because they targeted civilians and due to the unprecedented destructive nature of the weapons.

But many Americans believe they hastened the end of a bloody conflict, and ultimately saved lives, thus justifying the bombings.

Barack Obama became the first sitting US president to visit Hiroshima in May last year, paying moving tribute to victims of the devastating bomb. AFP

Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2017

Venezuela battles its growing isolation

World

6 injured as car rams soldiers outside Paris P ARIS―French police launched a manhunt on Wednesday after a car rammed into soldiers near their barracks outside Paris, injuring six people, two of them seriously.

Police were scrambling to track down the vehicle, which took off after the incident described by local mayor Patrick Balkany as “without a doubt a deliberate act”.

The incident took place around 8:00 am (0600 GMT) outside a military barracks in the northwestern Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret.

Balkany told the all-news channel BFMTV that the car “accelerated very fast when they [soldiers] were coming out” of the barracks.

France has been under a state of emergency since November 2015 and has seen a string of attacks on security forces, par-

ticularly those guarding key tourist sites.

On Saturday an 18-year-old with a history of psychological problems was arrested on Saturday at the Eiffel Tower after brandishing a knife and shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is Greatest).

He told investigators he wanted to kill a soldier, sources close to the case told AFP. In the bloodiest attack targeting France, 130 people were killed in a wave of shootings and bombings in Paris on November 13, 2015, in carnage claimed by the Islamic State group.

In January 2015, two brothers who had vowed allegiance

to Al-Qaeda gunned down 12 people at satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris.

France is part of the US-led international coalition fighting IS and has carried out air strikes against the extremist group in Syria.

In February, a man armed with a machete attacked four soldiers on patrol at Paris’s Louvre Museum, while in April another extremist shot and killed a policeman on the Champs Elysees.

In June, a 40-year-old Algerian doctorate student who had pledged allegiance to IS attacked a policeman with a hammer outside Notre Dame cathedral.

The attacks have taken a serious toll on tourism to France, the world’s top tourist destination, but the industry has begun to recover as incidents have become more widespread and

generally less deadly.

With terror attacks hitting not just France but also Belgium, Britain and Germany, potential travelers show “a kind of fatalism”, said Josette Sicsic, head of Touriscopie, a firm that tracks tourist behavior.

The French tourism ministry expects a five to six percent increase in overall arrivals to France this year, for a new record of 89 million visitors in 2017.

The lowest point for Paris came at the end of March 2016―four and a half months after the Paris attacks when IS jihadists targeted people enjoying an evening out at trendy eateries, a concert hall and the national stadium.

In a rebound that began at the end of 2016, Paris saw a record 2.6 million foreign arrivals in the first four months of this year― a 19 percent increase over the same period last year. AFP

CARACAS―Venezuela’s government battled growing international isolation on Tuesday, after the UN slammed it for using “excessive force” against protesters and Latin American nations condemned it for breaking “democratic rule.”

President Nicolas Maduro invited allied nations including Cuba and Bolivia to Caracas, where their representatives echoed his assertion that Venezuela is the target of a plot by the “imperialist” United States.

“Venezuela is the big prize, the jewel of the crown―that’s what they say in the corridors in Washington,” Maduro told his allies, saying the United States had designs on Venezuela because of its oil and mineral wealth.

Meanwhile, Caracas stepped up moves against the opposition, whose protest movement appears to be losing steam as repression against it increases. Four months of street violence have left nearly 130 dead.

Venezuela’s supreme court sentenced a prominent opposition mayor, Ramon Muchacho, to 15 months in prison and stripped him of his right to hold political office. He was convicted on charges of not preventing protests in his district in the capital.

And a loyalist “Constituent Assembly”―a body with supreme powers installed last week after elections marred by violence and allegations of fraud―passed a law creating a “truth commission” to prosecute opposition leaders.

Over the weekend, the assembly fired the attorney general, Luisa Ortega, who had broken ranks with Maduro to become an outspoken critic of the direction he

was taking.

The UN rights office on Tuesday slammed “widespread and systematic use of excessive force and arbitrary detentions against demonstrators in Venezuela.”

It highlighted the use of force “to instill fear, crush dissent, and to prevent demonstrators from assembling, rallying and reaching public institutions to present petitions.”

UN chief Antonio Guterres expressed concern “that recent developments could lead to further escalation of tensions.”

Venezuela is already struggling under a dire economic crisis in which much of the population of 30 million is suffering shortages of food and medicine.

The hardening of the Maduro’s stance against the opposition made negotiations and a peaceful solution appear less likely.

Fears the crisis could tip into far worse violence were stirred on Sunday when a group of 20 armed men led by two renegade officers raided an army base in the third city of Valencia, stealing weapons from its armory.

Venezuela’s military was still searching for the group after two were killed and eight captured in the raid.

The country’s defense minister and head of the armed forces, General Vladimir Padrino, insisted the attackers were “terrorists” acting with US backing and in no way represented a split within the military.

On Tuesday Padrino addressed the Constituent Assembly in uniform, after the military earned unanimous backing from the body. He stressed the “anti-imperialist” and “revolutionary” character of the armed forces. AFP

Quake kills 19 as thousands are evacuated CHENGDU―China on Wednesday evacuated tens of thousands people in its mountainous southwest after a strong earthquake killed at least 19 people and rattled a region where memories of a 2008 seismic disaster remain fresh.

The 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck Sichuan province late on Tuesday, tearing cracks in mountain highways, triggering landslides, damaging buildings and sending residents and tourists fleeing into the open.

Thousands of people, including many visitors to a popular national park near the epicenter, remained outside overnight, according to reports. They were being evacuated to safety Wednesday as nerves were kept on edge by more than 1,000 aftershocks that rippled across the region.

No reports of widespread damage or largescale casualties had emerged by Wednesday afternoon. The impact was expected to become clearer soon as hundreds of rescue workers, soldiers and other aid personnel flooded into the region.

The quake killed at least 19 people and injured 247, 40 of them seriously, according to the local government of Aba prefecture where the epicenter was located.

Images showed cars and buses tossed into ravines or crushed by giant boulders jolted loose from surrounding hills, while uniformed paramilitary police with shovels were pictured digging through rubble for victims.

Elsewhere, injured victims were photographed being treated in hospitals while stunned crowds, fearing more tremors, waited out in the open to be evacuated, particularly near the epicenter at Jiuzhaigou.

The official Xinhua news agency said at least five deaths occurred in Jiuzhaigou, a picturesque national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site famed for its karst rock formations, waterfalls and lakes.

It said more than 30,000 people had been evacuated from Jiuzhaigou alone.

“Nearly all the tourists are being evacuated,” a local tour company worker, who gave only her surname Yan, told AFP by phone.

“We slept overnight in tour buses and have been staying in the open ground. Landslides are pretty bad, rocks keep falling down.”

China’s official earthquake monitoring agency said more than 1,000 aftershocks had been detected, the most powerful reaching magnitude 4.8 on Wednesday.

China’s National Commission for Disaster Reduction had estimated in the hours immediately following the quake that as many as 100 people may have been killed, based on census data in the sparsely populated region, and that tens of thousands of homes may have been damaged.

Another lightly-populated part of China was also rocked by a strong quake Wednesday morning.

A 6.3-magnitude tremor shook the northwestern Xinjiang region, more than 2,000 kilometers from Sichuan, according to the US Geological Survey, followed by aftershocks of 5.2 and 5.3 magnitude.

At least three people were injured there when their home collapsed, Xinhua said. AFP

SIZZLING IN TOKYO. Children cool off in a water fountain at a park in Tokyo on August 9, 2017. AFP

UN urges China to do more to fight climate change SEOUL―The world’s biggest polluter China has a “big job” ahead of it in the global fight against climate change, the UN’s environment chief said Wednesday.

Since US President Donald Trump’s decision in June to quit the Paris agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Beijing has proclaimed its willingness to stick to the pact.

Analysts say the US move gives China an opportunity to establish its credibility and strengthen its diplomatic clout ahead of future negotiations.

Beijing has repeatedly pledged to reduce its reliance on carbon-belching coal as it seeks to clear the toxic smog from its cities.

But it has also invested heavily in coal projects abroad as part of its Belt

and Road infrastructure initiative, prompting accusations it is exporting its pollution to the poorer and less developed countries.

Erik Solheim, head of the UN Environment Program, told AFP the world was in a “transformative phase” from coal to renewable energy and Beijing had a vital role to play.

As well as its number one position as a source of pollution, China is also the world’s biggest investor in renewable energy such as solar and wind power.

Its coal consumption has fallen for the past three years, and earlier this year it reportedly canceled more than 100 carbon-belching coal power projects.

But China still relies on the fuel for 62 percent of its primary energy mix.

“China has a very big job ahead of it

to transform fundamentally from coal into these very promising new technologies,” said Solheim.

German environmental group Urgewald estimates that around 250 Chinese companies are involved in nearly half the 1,600 new coal power projects planned or being built worldwide, including in countries such as Pakistan and Egypt which currently burn almost no coal.

Solheim warned that “locking yourself into this old-fashioned technology is very dangerous”, as it would make them heavily dependent on fossil fuel for decades with serious environmental and health risks.

Trump “clearly made a mistake” in withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, said Solheim, who was in Seoul

for meetings with South Korean officials and businesses.

But the consequences of Trump’s decision were “limited”, Solheim insisted, adding it had only “energized the entire environment community” including America’s big businesses such as Apple, Google and Microsoft.

“They do that for their customers and for the environment. They don’t do it for the White House,” he said.

The Paris climate accord was signed last year by 175 countries and went into effect in November, just days before Trump was elected―having vowed on the campaign trail to back out of it.

The Paris accord aims to limit global warming to “well below” two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial levels. AFP

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2017

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Life

MEANINGFUL CELEBRATION.

Radio jock and TV host Joyce Pring recently celebrated her 24th birthday with children from a community assisted by World Vision.

HEALTH & WELLNESS

RADIO JOCK

spends birthday with World Vision assisted kids

Joyce having fun with her birthday party guests at the La Mesa Eco Park

Marc Nelson and Pring hosted World Vision’s 60th Anniversary press launch in the Philippines (From @ joycepring Instagram)

ADIO jock and TV host Joyce Pring recently celebrated her 24th birthday with children from a community assisted by World Vision, a Christian child-focused agency. The party, held on May 20 at La Mesa Eco Park in Quezon City, was attended by a few of Joyce’s friends, World Vision staff and about 30 children from Navotas.

“World Vision is very close to my heart. This party is not for me. Para sa mga bata talaga ito.” shared Joyce.

Earlier this year, she joined the World Vision family as Ambassador for Child Sponsorship. She explained that it has been an annual tradition for her to personally organize outreach activities with children.

Aside from treating the children to lunch and snacks courtesy of Burger King and Hungry Juan, Joyce and her friends also entertained the kids with a magic show. Afterwards, the children toured La Mesa Eco Park’s attractions and played fun games with the World Vision celebrity ambassador.

“Sobrang saya ng mga bata. Kakatapos lang naming pumasyal, nakakain na sila, at ngayon meron pa silang baon pag-uwi,” Joyce revels after playing tag with the children. Seven-yearold Reanna smiles and agrees, “Nagenjoy po ako sa games.”

“Thank you to my World Vision family for making this experience extra special,” said Joyce. “Today was an exhilarating, emotional day of crying and then laughing so hard—because my heart is filled to the brim.”

World Vision recently celebrated 60 years of ministry in the Philippines with the theme “Caring for Children, Building Sustainable Communities.” Joyce offered her precious time and talent to cohost the organization’s anniversary launch last March.

With more generous partners, and ambassadors with a heart for children like Joyce Pring, World Vision is drawing closer to its goal of reaching three million children in the country by 2020.

Makati Street Meet 2017 returns to fitness AN EVENT that began in 2016, the Makati Street Meet has become an avenue to discover one of a kind finds in food, fun, and entertainment. With its success last year, garnering the love of thousands of people, Makati celebrates this festivity on the last Sunday of the month.

On the 30th of April, more than 7,000 attended and experienced summer in the city, as they gathered along the stretch of Paseo de Roxas. The Makati community and guests were given an afternoon filled with fun family activities, musical performances, and delicious street eats from merchants of the Mercato Central Group and the Food Truck Association of the Philippines.

Kids and kids-at-heart played arcade game and adventurous souls showed off their parkour skills while being assisted by professional trainers from Ninja Academy PH. Guests were also treated to sand art activities. The Makati Street Meet truly served as a great venue to show that summer is not just about beaches during the year’s most vibrant season.

After transforming Paseo de Roxas into a summer hotspot, Makati Street Meet 2017 returned with the latest in workout trends and celebrated fitness.

On May 28, thousands of individuals flocked to Makati to move and groove as Paseo de Roxas and the Ayala Triangle Gardens’ courtyard were transformed into a hub for fitness, along with only the best local and international instructors.

Guests were given the chance to participate in a fun series of workouts such as Retro Fitness, Zumba, a Night Street Jam with The Project and DJ Jazz Zamora, and Pound, a cardio jam session inspired by the fun of playing drums—the first of its kind to happen here in the Philippines.

Pound uses lightly weighted drumsticks to transform drumming into a

The Makati Street Meet held on May 28 offered its guests a wide variety of food options and one of a kind summer finds.

full-body workout. It combines various trainings for cardio, conditioning, and strength with yoga and pilates-inspired movements. The infectious workout is the perfect avenue to let loose, get energized and toned up.

Ayala Land, in partnership with Karl Edwards International treated the Makati community and its guests to a wide variety of food and goods that surely brightened up a hot summer’s day. The Instagram-worthy food trucks were also back with delicious eats that truly satisfied one’s appetite after having a good workout.

The event transformed the Makati business district into a fitness hub where participants sweat it out during the workout sessions

Fitness instructors from Singapore (Sagayagorge Kanagasingam and Shu Ping Juay) demonstrate the Pound workout

For more information, visit www. makeitmakati.com or like and follow Make It Makati on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Life

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2017 isahred@gmail.com

Cancer is not the End of the Road C ANCER can change everything and chooses no one.

Even the strongest woman that we know can be afflicted with the disease.

For some, cancer is seen as the end of the road—but for many hopefuls, it is just a bend that one resiliently passes through.

Marites Marzan, a mother of three kids and a proud cancer survivor, shares how she faced cancer full of hope.

“At the age of 50, I was diagnosed with stage three fallopian tube carcinoma, an abnormal growth of malignant cells in one or both of a woman’s fallopian tubes. At first, I experienced spotting and abnormal duration of my monthly period,” Marites explained.

Marites got scared, so she immediately consulted her Ob-Gyne and she initially concluded that is due to premenopausal period. However, as time passes by, she experienced a lot of changes in her body. That’s when she consulted a doctor at a local hospital and was then diagnosed with fallopian tube carcinoma.

Marites continued, “Years down the line however, my treatment in the Philippines was not successful. I was again instructed to undergo another cycle of chemotherapy. A friend told me about Fuda and the new and advanced treatment in China.”

“Without second thought I took the risk and hoped for the best. Fuda’s di-

ALLERGIES manifest themselves in many ways and in varying degrees. Beyond the inconvenience of rashes and sneezes, some allergy manifestations can be as bad as swollen lips, shortness of breath, vomiting, or at its worst, it can cause a medical emergency like an anaphylactic shock.

The symptoms depend on what you’re allergic to and how you came in contact with it. Most of the time, you find out that you’re allergic to something when it has already caused a reaction in your body, and not before you can avoid it.

With Faber, the screening test for allergies, you can identify your allergens before they can cause an allergic reaction.

Faber is the most up-to-date and complete tool today to diagnose an allergy. Made with the most advanced knowledge in the field of nanotechnology, Faber was created to measure specific antibodies against bacteria, viruses and allergens; and uses molecular allergens and allergen extracts using only minimal blood samples from the patient.

The Faber test evaluates allergenic molecules and extracts from over a hundred possible allergenic sources such as: mites and other insects; pollen from various weeds, grass, and trees; animal hair (dogs, cats, horses, rats); molds and yeasts; various types of food; insect venoms; and latex.

There are many reasons to take the Faber test. It is recommended to take the Faber test if you have allergy with

Cancer survivor Marites Marzan and her husband Manny are flanked by Fuda Cancer Hospital’s medical oncologist Dr. Ning Yu and Fuda coordinator Segundo Cruz III

agnosis was the same on the local evaluation in the Philippines. My doctor was Dr. Chen, an Oncologist and Surgeon in Fuda Cancer Hospital. I trusted his judgments and recommendations on

how to treat my disease. I told myself that I needed to heal for my family, that they need me, and that I need to live to win,” she continued.

Fuda Cancer Hospital is known for its

personalized cancer treatment program.

Dr. Chen gave Marites a Combined Immunotherapy for Cancer (CIC), a treatment done quarterly and Cancer Microvascular Intervention (CMI), wherein a

drug is also directly inserted into blood vessels supplying blood to the tumor.

“Aside from CMI, they performed Brachytherapy or Seed knife, a procedure wherein a seed with iodine-125 or palladium-103 seeds (brachytherapy) is implanted in the body. Brachytherapy requires no surgical incision, offers patients a shorter recovery time, and has less chance of troubling side effects,” Marites expounded further.

She continued, “After sometime, I felt the changes in my body. Everyday I felt that I was gaining my strength and my hope is slowly being restored.

I was given hope that I will see my kids go to school and seat with them during dinner.”

According to Marites, “Fuda is not just a hospital (sic) who treats you—It is an institution that restores your hope and faith. I choose to live, that’s why I flew to China. Each treatment equates to a new hope and life after cancer. I can say, that going to Fuda was a risk worth taking for.”

Fuda Cancer Hospital in Guangzhou believes in empowering each patient to have a new hope, to feel confident and a gratified life after treatment with the help of their advance treatment. With more than a hundred survivors, Fuda continues to raise the bar in treating cancer and each survivor stands as advocate to fellow patient in seeking the right treatment.

For inquiries, visit the Philippine office of Fuda Cancer Hospital at Unit 901-A, Centuria Medical Makati (along Kalayaan Ave., cor. Salamanca St., Brgy. Poblacion, Makati City, or call 0917-7753426 or (02) 507-3426.

Visit www.fudahospital.com or Fuda Cancer Hospital - Philippines on Facebook for more information.

Define your allergies before they define you

Faber test is an efficient screening test for allergies that measures specific antibodies against bacteria, viruses, and allergens.

rhinitis, conjunctivitis, asthma, urticaria, eczema, food reactions including abdominal pain and diarrhea, or insect or latexinduced reactions; and if there are other members of your family who suffer from these allergies. Also when more than one symptom appear at the same time and are have several triggers. Find out what

is causing your reactions so you and your doctor can take a more proactive and specific approach to your allergies. Take the test also if you have done the restriction diets but without success, and avoiding the things you are allergic to but without success. The test is also a good preparation for moving or traveling to a new for-

eign locale, or starting a new job. It is also used to perform a periodical screening test for early diagnosis, or simply for an allergy vaccine.

Anybody is eligible to take the Faber test—from infants to the elderly. There is no need to fast or to stop therapies, even for allergies. It only takes a small

amount of blood to perform the test, and unlike skin tests, even patients with severe dermatitis such as urticaria or eczema can have it done.

You may request for the Faber test from your medical practitioner. Global Medical Technologies Manila is the Philippine partner of Faber.

Metro Retail Stores Group conducts medical mission

Residents of Barangay Bagumbuhay in Anonas, Quezon City took advantage of free consultation, medical assistance, and medicines during Metro Retail Stores Group, Inc.’s two-day medical mission.

HUNDREDS of residents of Barangay Bagumbuhay in Anonas, Quezon City were recently given free medical services by Metro Retail Stores Group Inc. (MRSGI) during the company’s two-day Metro Cares, Metro Shares medical mission held at the third floor of Super Metro Anonas branch.

Complementing the free checkups and testing services for common forms of adult ailments like hypertension and diabetes were the distribution of vitamins and flu medications for children and senior citizens. The medical mission is in line with MRSGI’s continuing corporate social responsibility program to be of assistance to its host communities and neighboring areas.

“As with any community programs that we implement, we aim to improve the quality of life of the people we serve,” says Anna Marie Periquet, MRSGI vice president for corporate affairs.

Medical professionals from Red Cross Valenzuela chapter joined volunteers from MRSGI’s ancillary business Metro Pharmacy and brand partner RiteMED in servicing the medical needs of individuals and families. The project, together with Anonas LRT Property and Development Corporation, also involved the participation of Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Co., makers of Salonpas; Philippine Blue Cross Biotech Corporation; and Aldrtz Corporation, makers of Pau Liniment.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2017

ABS-CBN TVplus’ Bida Best School Tour kicks off

Film based on real heroic accounts of marine commandos in theaters

NOW

Students from Laguna receiving learning material and some goody bags from Yey and Knowledge Channel

MORE than 4,000 students in Mega Manila have access to educational learning programs available on ABS-CBN TVplus’ YeY and Knowledge Channel, after “Bida Best School Tour” recently kicked off.

“Bida Best School Tour” is making the rounds of public schools to help make learning fun while giving back to elementary school students. The first leg of the tour happened at the CAA Elementary School in Las Piñas, with the second leg at Landayan Elementary School in Laguna.

Sam Shoaf and Raven Cajuguiran, two of “Team YeY’s” hosts, headed to Las Piñas on July 14, while fellow hosts AJ Urquia and Raven Cajuguiran went to Laguna on July 21. The “Team YeY” hosts engaged more than 500 students in each school with song and dance numbers and learning activities.

They also joined the kids in friendly Charades where winners won exclusive Team YeY merchandise.

Selected students also participated in the “Knowledge on the Go” segment on stage. Kids enjoyed answering Science, Math, English and Filipinos questions, while their co-students in the audience learned from this fun Q&A. To play the game, student participants are asked to roll the dice and answer a question based on different subject categories, and win prizes for participating.

At the end of each program, the schools were given an ABS-CBN TVplus box to give students and teachers access to the rich educational materials available on YeY and Knowledge Channel via digital TV. Following the first and second leg of the school tour, the ABS-CBN TVplus’ “Bida Best School Tour” will head to more public schools in Laguna, Pampanga, Malabon, Pampanga, Pasig, Rizal, and Bulacan.

Knowledge Channel and Yey channel are two of TVplus’ exclusive channels where kids and teens can learn and enjoy while watching locally and internationally produced TV shows.

Team YeY is YeY’s original all-kids variety show packed with activities children will enjoy all week long. Each day brings new activities: singing, dancing, arts and crafts, sports, storytelling, and even food preparation. Team YeY airs daily on YeY channel at 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. .

Knowledge on the Go is Knowledge Channel’s latest new offering that helps students remember important trivia that tackles different subject matters in a fun way. Other shows include MathDali, which helps students understand and master math topics with the help of visual aids and creative materials.

MathDali airs Monday to Sunday at 10:20 a.m. 3 and 5p.m. on Knowledge Channel, while Knowledege on the Go airs after MathDali that also airs on ABSCBN every Saturday at 8 a.m..

Other exclusive channels on ABS-CBN TVplus are DZMM Teleradyo and Cinemo.

Avail now of ABS-CBN TVplus for a one-time payment of P1499. ABS-CBN TVplus signal coverage is available in Metro Cebu, Cagayan De Oro, Iloilo, Bacolod, Davao, Metro Manila, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Rizal, Laguna, Pampanga, Tarlac, Benguet, and Cavite. YeY and Knowledge Channel are also available on cable via SKYcable and Destiny Cable and on direct-to-home or satellite TV via SKYdirect. For more information, visit tvplus. abs-cbn.com and follow ABS-CBN TVplus, YeY, and Knowledge Channel on Facebook.

The first movie made from an eight-novel series, "Hard Target" stars American actor Tyler Hoechlin (right) and English actor Dominic Cooper

F

ROM Simon West, director of Con Air, The Mechanic, and The Expendables 2 comes Hard Target (aka Stratton), the latest non-stop action movie exploding in theaters now.

Based on the real-life heroic accounts of former Special Boat Service commando Duncan Falconerturned-scribe, it is the first movie made from his eight-novel series.

Members of the Special Boat Service (SBS) are trained individuals who are part of the UK Special Forces, and they have been on active duty since its

FIRST

Mrs. Tourism in Manila MRS. Tourism, the first Manila-based international pageant exclusive for married women was recently launched and will be held from Oct. 17 to 27 with at least 35 countries around the world competing for the three titles at stake, namely, Mrs. Tourism Universe, Mrs. Tourism International and Mrs. Tourism Earth.

Mrs. Tourism is presented by Mrs. Tourism Universe Foundation, Inc. and Megastar Productions, headed by “Mother of All Pageants” Ovette Ricalde, the country’s first national director for various international pageants for married women, and holder of the franchise for Mrs. Universe, Mrs. World, Mrs. Globe, Mrs.

Ovette Ricalde (right) with former Mrs. Universe Philippines and now politician, Jennifer Cruz aka Ina Alegre

Risa Caldoza-de Leon, Philippine representative to the international pageant for married women

Earth, Mrs. Global International and Mrs. Asia International, among others.

Risa Caldoza-de Leon, a 46-year-old, skin specialist who was included in Rupert Jacinto’s Fabulous 15 Women of 2016 and recently named Mrs. International World 2017 Ambassador, was handpicked as the Philippine representative to the newest international pageant for married women.

The first Mrs. Tourism winner will earn the tag as “The Mother Who Cares for the World” and will become the face and voice of the pageant’s chosen advocacy to fight racial discrimination around the world while promoting her own personal advocacy.

Mrs. Tourism 2017 has received major support from media partners and various stakeholders including internationally acclaimed clinics Asian Dental Care and Zi Institute of Plastic Surgery and Dermaesthetics as launching partners.

Eton B. Concepcion

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Thursday, August 10, 2017

ACROSS 1 Yacht features 6 Caboose’s spot 10 Cab driver 14 “Right” prefix 15 Wheel rod 16 Herbal soother 17 Ski lifts (hyph.)

18 Bluish-green 19 Mme.’s daughter 20 Painted tinware 21 Lack of unity 23 Disney city 25 They’re often polled 26 Well-known Pharaoh 27 Leaf of grass 29 Baker’s buy 32 Discomfort 33 Roundup gear 37 High peak 38 Upright pianos 41 Forefront 42 Game of marbles 44 Undo 45 Street lingo 47 Tie a turkey 49 I-70 50 Multitude 53 Least difficult 57 In a mocking manner 60 Japanese wine

61 Cozy 62 Matinee — 63 More attractive 64 Surf maker 65 Collar site 66 Racing shell teams 67 Withered 68 Feds (hyph.)

69 Sight or touch DOWN 1 Slogan 2 Leafy recess 3 Delay on purpose 4 Hazards 5 “Titanic” message 6 Math figure 7 Alimony getters 8 Cry of woe 9 Germane 10 Pet in a cage 11 Kate’s sitcom friend 12 Use crayons 13 Laments loudly 21 Insect killer 22 Non-verbal OK 24 Protein sources 27 Harmful things 28 Encumbrance 29 Root vegetable 30 Yale grad 31 Police alert

inception in 1940.

Hard Target stars Dominic Cooper as John Stratton, one of the most resourceful agents of MI5.

Stratton goes on a mission to infiltrate a laboratory complex in Iran to obtain deadly biochemical weapons. The complex mission goes sideways and his partner Marty (Tyler Hoechlin) gets caught in the crossfire resulting in his death.

Back at headquarters, Stratton finds out that a former Soviet Union operative by the name of Barovski (Thomas Kretschmann) who was thought to be dead for the last 20 years, has gone rogue and plans to start a deadly terrorist attack as revenge with the stolen biochemical weapons.

Stratton together with his team and Hank (Austin Stowell) a US navy seal trained by Marty goes all out to find, capture and prevent a terrorist attack in the United Kingdom.

32 Apple seeds 34 Biologist’s eggs 35 Stovetop item 36 MIT grad 39 Swooping down on 40 Former JFK landers 43 Scorpion’s weapon 46 Spare time 48 French king 49 Beam of light 50 Memory joggers 51 Comedian —

Kovacs 52 Red-coated cheese 53 Ms. Barkin 54 Wolfed down 55 Distorts, as data 56 To the point 58 Bede or Smith 59 Go at an easy gait 63 Vaccine amts.

Cooper who started his career by playing the role of Sky in the 2008 film version of Broadway classic Mamma Mia, is not new to taking up roles that feature combat scenes, he played Howard Stark in Captain America: The First Avenger, and as Darcy in Dead Man Down.

In an article by Deadline.com, West sees Hard Target as his answer to the 007 series. “We’ve got Bond, who’s an institution. But we don’t have anyone else. I felt there was a gap for a British action hero that was an alternative to Bond. More gritty and realistic, but just as fun.

Hard Target also stars Gemma Chan, Tom Felton, Olegar Fredoro, Derek Jacobi, and Connie Nielsen.

Hard Target in cinemas nationwide is from Axinite Digicinema.

Trailer link: https:// w w w. f a c e b o o k . c o m / 1 3 2 9 6 4 5 0 0 2 3 9 7 9 3 / videos/661920927344145/

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2017

A

YOUNG man who thinks he just got “lucky” suddenly experiences one unfortunate circumstance after another. A male model on the rise is plagued by a mysterious ailment that turns his career upside down.

And a love-struck folk singer discovers that the object of his affection is not who he thinks she is.

Three stories. Three different narratives. This is what Triptiko is all about.

The feature film debut of young and edgy filmmaker Miguel Franco Michelena is a trilogy best described as an amalgam of classics, like The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror with an original dose of Pinoy humor.

“Minsan ang buhay medyo weird so I came up with the concept of Triptiko: three Filmmaker Miguel Franco Michelena (center) with Albie Casiño (left) and Kean Cipriano, stars of the trilogy and CEB Graded-A film, "Triptiko" bizarre, absurd and out of this world yet compelling plot lines,” says the 31-year old director who honed his directorial skills under Marilou Diaz-Abaya.

Michelena also wrote the screenplay.

Kicking off the film is “Swerte” which stars Albie Casiño as Jake, a hot-blooded young man who thinks he is the luckiest guy on earth. Unfortunately for Jake, his luck is about to change.

In a startling turn of events, Jake witnesses a murder and finds himself being chased by the killer. He then finds himself caught in an awkward situation experiencing nonstop mishap one after the other.

“It’s a rambunctious escapeand-chase story with an ending that questions the very meaning of swerte or luck,” Michelena explains.

The next story, “Hinog” stars

‘TRIPTIKO’

at FDCP’s Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino

real life rising star Joseph Marco as Jason, a male model who wakes up one day to discover a shameful ailment spreading all over his body. Unsure on how he got afflicted with the disease, he tries to do whatever he can to save his dying career. The truth is later revealed during a session with a notorious shaman - a “medicine man” who is able to access the supernatural.

“The lead character (Jason) is then faced with a moral dilemma to test his resolve,” continues Michelena.

Finally, there’s the tragic tale of “Musikerong John” in which the title character, a folk musician returning to the stage after a twoyear hiatus, is played by Kean Cipriano,. In between songs during his live set, he tells the heartbreaking tale of Ann, the love of his life played by Kylie Padilla.

“Built around Musikerong John’s three original songs, the story slowly reveals how John’s relationship ended in a painful conclusion when Ann started to transform into something he does not fully understand,” the director explains.

While Michelena would not say if the three stories are related in any way, he defines the unusual title, Triptiko, as “a Filipino pop culture version of triptych, which is a set of three associated artistic, literary, or musical pieces intended to be appreciated together.”

“Tatlong kwentong medyo weird. This is what Triptiko is all about,” the director concluded.

The young director is excited to see how Triptiko would be received by the movie-going public when it opens on Aug.16 as one of the entries in the upcoming Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino organized by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP).

Triptiko was recently Graded A by the Cinema Evaluation Board.

A film by Michelena Brothers Production and Barrio’s Pictures, Triptiko has been picked up for distribution by ABS- CBN’s Star Cinema. Other members of the film’s star-studded cast also include Jerald Napoles, Art Acuña, Jay Gonzaga, Pinky Amador, and Karl Medina.

NORA AUNOR

leads nominees for 2018 Order of National Artist (ONA) Award Anchors of the nightly newscast, "24 Oras"

Mel Tiangco, host of the drama anthology, "Magpakailanman"

GMA Network dominates nationwide TV ratings in July GMA Network, Inc. (GMA) remains the country’s TV network of choice. That is according to data from the industry’s ratings service provider, Nielsen TV Audience Measurement.

GMA ruled across all dayparts in the National Urban Television Audience Measurement (NUTAM) for the entire month of July (with July 23 to 31 based on overnight data), with an average total day people audience share of 43.5 percent; leading ABS-CBN’s 37 percent by 6.5 points.

Similarly in Urban Luzon, which accounts for 77 percent of the total urban TV household population in the country, the Kapuso Network maintained a strong

Dennis Trillo

lead from morning to evening block with an average people audience share of 50.3 percent; besting competition by 19.5 points.

Majority of the shows in NUTAM’s list of top-rating programs were from GMA. Likewise, in Urban Luzon, the Kapuso Network bagged the first nine spots in the list of top programs led by Pepito Manaloto, Magpakailanman, Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho, Mulawin vs.

Ravena, 24 Oras, My Love from the Star, Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko, 24 Oras Weekend, and Ika-6 Na Utos.

Meanwhile, GMA-7’s airing of the Battle of Brisbane: Pacquiao vs Horn on July 2 was the most watched

Jennylyn Mercado and Gil Cuerva Jessica Soho

TV special nationwide and in Urban Luzon last month.

More Filipinos also tuned in to GMA’s live telecast of President Rodrigo Duterte’s second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 24.

GMA Network’s SONA 2017 became the most watched coverage nationwide with 37.4 percent people audience share; outranking ABS-CBN’s Pangako ng Pagbabago: SONA 2017, which only got 34.3 percent 9int the NUTAM survey). GMA-7’s coverage registered an even bigger margin in Urban Luzon with 43.2 percent people audience share versus competition’s 26.2 percent.

Gloria Romero

ROBBED of her rightful place in the roster of National Artist awardees in 2014, Superstar Nora Aunor may finally earn presidential approval this time to be proclaimed as National Artist. Aunor’s rejection and non-inclusion in the Order of National Artist (ONA) Award by then President Benigno Aquino, calling it a presidential prerogative, caused national uproar.

Aunor now leads the nominees for the highest national recognition, a special rank conferred on Filipinos for their significant contributions to the development of arts in the country in various categories, including Music, Dance, Theater, Visual Arts, Literature, Film and Broadcast Arts.

In a recent press conference at the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) office announcing the opening of nominations to the ONA, NCCA deputy executive director Marichu Tellano said that the legendary actress, having passed the first, second and even the third screening, and was already part of the list of awardees, will no longer have to go through the same process again, the NCCA will only have to update on her works and accomplishments from 2014.

“She doesn’t need to be nominated again. She is automatically part of what we call the final deliberation,” said Chris

Millado, vice president and artistic director of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).

The final list of nominees are elected by the joint board of the NCCA and CCP and then submitted for the approval and signature of the President who then will confer the honors via presidential proclamation.

Since 2014, Aunor has won multiple nominations for best actress and was honored by her Asian peers with a Lifetime Achievement Award presented at the 2nd ASEAN International Film Festival and Awards (AIFFA) in 2015 at the Borneo Convention Center, in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.

The country now has a total of 66 recognized National Artists to date, with the most number in the fields of Visual Arts, Literature and Music. Submission of nominations for National Artists 2018 is up until Sept. 30, 2017 with the announcement of awardees set on June 11, 2018. Nominations are open in Dance, Music, Theater, Visual Arts, Literature, Film and Broadcast Arts, Design, and Architecture and Allied Arts categories.

Ramon Santos was dropped by then President Gloria Arroyo in 2009 from the list of nominees and re-nominated and proclaimed by President Aquino in 2014 as National Artist for Music. Will this be a case of déjà vu for Aunor?

Eton B. Concepcion