Manila Standard - 2017 September 15 - Friday

Aquino faces trial over SAF 44 OMBUDSMAN Conchita Carpio-Morales on Thursday upheld the finding of probable cause to charge former President Benigno Simeon Aquino III before the Sandiganbayan for the botched 2015 Mamasapano operation.

Aquino will face trial for one count of violation of Section 3(a) of the Anti-Graft

and Corrupt Practices Act and one count of Usurpation of Official Functions.

The Ombudsman maintained Aquino could be held liable for multiple counts of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide.

The Mamasapano operation resulted in the deaths of 44 Special Action Force soldiers.

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VOL. XXXI • NO. 213 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2017 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net

Congress split on CHR issue Senate bucks House vote

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz

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HE Senate and the House of Representatives headed for a collision Thursday, with senators vowing to restore the budget of the Commission on Human Rights that the House had slashed to P1,000 for 2018, while congressmen said they would not give up the power of the purse Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III said he expected members of the majority and minority blocs to join forces to restore the CHR’s proposed P678-million budget for 2018.

He noted that even President Rodrigo Duterte’s staunch allies in the Senate would not agree to the P1,000 allocation for the agency next year.

Pimentel, a close ally and party mate of Duterte in the ruling PDP-Laban, and

whose elder sister, Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana, is a commissioner in the CHR, said the senators believed the agency deserved more than P1,000.

“We in the Senate believe the CHR deserves more than P1,000. They deserve around P600 million,” he said.

The separate House and the Senate versions of the General Appropriations Bill will be scrutinized in the bicameral conference committee to reconcile conflicting

provisions.

If the House maintains its hardline stance on the CHR budget, there could be a deadlock in the bicameral conference committee, which in turn would lead to a reenacted budget, Pimentel said.

In such a situation, the 2017 budget would also serve as the national spending plan for 2018—which means the CHR would be allocated P725 million, even more than the P678 million proposed for Next page next year.

FUNERAL MARCH. Indigenous peoples joined by supporters march Thursday from the University of Santo Tomas in España to Mendiola Bridge (Chino Roces) near Malacañang, holding high a painted mural depicting 19-year-old Obello Bay-ao, a lumad killed allegedly by paramilitary forces under the Citizens Armed Force Geographical Unit last Sept. 5. The protesters, who included his former schoolmates, carried a mock coffin. Norman Cruz

Makabayan bolts House ruling bloc THE seven members of the so-called Makabayan Bloc on Thursday broke away from the pro-administration coalition in the House of Representatives “Today, we, the seven party-list representatives of the Makabayan Bloc, declare our separation from the majority coalition in the House of Representatives to intensify our opposition to the Duterte administration that has now

fully unraveled as a fascist, pro-imperialist and anti-people regime,” the group said.

Malacañang expressed sadness over the bloc’s decision.

“We take due notice of the decision of the seven party-list representatives belonging to the Makabayan Bloc to leave the House of Representatives’ majority coalition,” Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella

said in a statement.

The members of the Makabayan Bloc are Reps.

Antonio Tinio and France Castro of the ACT Teachers Party-List, Emmi de Jesus and Arlene Brosas of ACT Teachers, Carlos Isagani Zarate of Bayan Muna, Ariel Casilao of Anakpawis and Sarah Elago of Kabataan.

They said their continuing stay with the super majority Next page

‘Why are cops not releasing spot reports?’

CHR BUDGET DENOUNCED. Commission on Human Rights Commissioner Roberto

Cadiz (left), Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David (center) and former CHR Commissioner Loretta Anne Rosales hold a news conference Thursday to denounce the P1,000 budget for the commission passed by the House of Representatives for 2018. Lino Santos

By Macon R. Araneta SENATOR Bam Aquino on Thursday asked the police if they were not hiding something as a result of their decision not to show their spot reports to senators and reporters.

“Last hearing, General Ronald dela Rosa agreed that the PNP has nothing to hide, so I was wondering why their men refused to give their spot reports to the media,” said Aquino who earlier called on the government to suspend Oplan Next page

Caloocan cops in Kian murder face pre-trial

By Rey E. Requejo

FREE LRT RIDES. PLDT Gabay Guro, in partnership with Light Rail Manila Corp., unveils

the Gabay Guro LRT-1 train as part of Gabay’s 10th year anniversary celebration. The teachers from the group will get free LRT rides on Sunday. In photo are (from left) LRMC Corporate Communications Head Rochelle Gamboa, LRMC CEO Rodolfo Chansuyco, Jet Tabanera, Gabay Guro Chairperson Chaye Cabal-Revilla, Maida Bruce, Servillano Padiz Jr.

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THE Justice Department on Thursday began its preliminary investigation on criminal charges filed against four policemen implicated in the killing of student Kian delos Santos, 17, during an anti-narcotics operation in Caloocan City on Aug. 16.

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Palace: Dissenting opinions welcome

By John Paolo Bencito and Joel Zurbano DISSIDENTS are still much welcome in government, Malacanang said Thursday as it underscored the administration’s respect for the opinions of the different heads of agencies, including constitutional commissions.

This, amid calls from some lawmakers for Com-

mission on Human Rights Chairman Chito Gascon to resign for his fierce criticism of the government’s antinarcotics campaign which led to the lawmakers’ decision to cut the commission’s budget.

“As far as Malacañang is concerned, we respect the different opinions, beliefs of the different heads of agencies. The statements you heard comes from the

other branch, the legislative branch,” Communications Assistant Secretary Kris Ablan said.

“They are appointed by the President and previous president. The Palace respects the different heads of agencies, including constitutional commissions,” he added.

Ablan insisted the Palace respected the fixed term of heads of agencies. Next page

‘Divided court’ leads to impeach-CJ move

By Rio N. Araja THE chairman of the House justice committee said Thursday he believes a divided Supreme Court is behind the filing of an impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

“We are being accused of being so political, but come to think of it, when you look at the impeachment complaint itself, you will SC Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno

see the hand of a divided court,” Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, chairman of the committee, told the ANC news channel.

Umali noted that the complainant, lawyer Lorenzo Gadon, claims to have several justices willing to testify against Sereno, a sign that “there is something wrong in the Supreme Court and we Next page

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‘Anti-Du30 coup fake news’

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

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O COUP attempt against President Rodrigo Duterte amid claims by a certain “General Kakilala” about a “popular politician” recruiting graduates of the Philippine Military Academy Class 2006 to mount the uprising, said top military officials on Thursday.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Armed Forces of the Philippines chief-of-staff Gen. Eduardo Año said they had not received any information or monitored movements on an impending coup d eta’t to remove Duterte from the presidency.

“Nothing to worry. There’s no coup,” Lorenzana told reporters in an ambush interview at the Senate.

During the Senate finance

committee hearing on the proposed DND budget for 2018, Ano guaranteed to senators there was no verified information of a destabilization plot against the Duterte administration.

“So far, we have not monitored any recruitment activity in the organization. We have not received any cause for dissatisfaction We have not monitored any destabilization move of any poli-

tician or any personality,” Año told the Senate panel after Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said a certain “General Kakilala” had been spreading fake news about a “popular politician” recruiting graduates of the PMA Class 2006 to launch a coup against Duterte.

In the same hearing, Trillanes also asked Año if the military had monitored reports about a certain “General Kakilala” spreading “fake news” about a coup plot.

“We regard this as raw information. We’ve not seen any cause for a coup. The AFP is professional enough. We’ve not monitored any destabilization move of any personality,” said Ano. Trillanes, however, said he did not feel alluded to because he had not been recruiting and

also, he was not popular.

Lorenzana said he knew Kakilala but he only heard of Trillanes’ allegation when the senator raised it in the hearing. He said the said military officer had already retired from service.

“I do not know his name,” said Lorenzana, whose staff later identified him as as Brig. Gen. Joselito Kakilala, who retired last year.

In an ambush interview after the hearing, Trillanes said exchanges between Kakilala and other PMAers in a forum identified him as the politician supposedly recruiting members of Class 2006.

“They were really pointing at me. But there’s no recruitment.

I’m not recruiting. We are not approaching that camp even for myself,” said Trillanes.

“They said I was recruiting members of PMA Class 2006, but Año categorically clarified that there was no such thing.

There was no destabilization or recruitment taking place.

PMAyers have a forum. In their exchange, they are referring to me,” he added.

Trillanes, a former navy officer, launched two coup attempts against former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during the Oakwood mutiny in 2003 and the Manila Peninsula siege in 2007.

Trillanes, graduate of PMA Class 1995 and a member of the Magdalo group, slammed Kakilala for using “fake news” as his basis for implicating him in coup plot against the present administration.

Aguirre vows to file raps vs senator for wiretapping

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan and Macon Ramos-Araneta JUSTICE Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Thursday said his camp would file four violations of the Bill of Rights and the AntiWiretapping Law against Senator Risa Hontiveros after she presented what he called a leakage photo showing his personal text messages with a certain “Cong Jing,” later identified as former Negros Oriental Rep. Jacinto “Jing” Paras.

In an ambush interview at the sideline of an Anti-Human Trafficking forum, Aguirre told reporters they were now preparing the case and were planning to file it before the Sandiganbayan against Hontiveros next week.

“Article 3 of the Constitution assures the privacy of communication among individuals and must remain inviolable,” Aguirre said.

But in the Senate, Hontiveros said Aguirre was chasing a dead end and desperately resorting to squid tactics rather than answering the accusations squarely lodged against him.

“Let me respectfully enlighten the Justice Secretary. There is no violation of his privacy,” said Hontiveros, following Aguirre’s threat to charge her with violation of the Anti-Wiretapping Law and file an ethics complaint against her before the Senate Ethics Committee.

The opposition senator said Aguirre’s “shameful and deceitful text conversation” was simply inadvertently caught by someone’s camera lens.

Because of this, Hontiveros insisted there was no intent to tap or intercept his messages.

There was no reasonable expectation of privacy.

“The law is clear. What is prohibited is willfully and knowingly committing any acts con-

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Double Barrel and rethink its bloody war on drugs that has claimed thousands of lives since its implementation last year.

Aquino was referring to the hearing of the Senate committee on public order and illegal drugs on the killing of 17-yearold Kian delos Santos by Caloocan City policemen last month.

The member of the Senate’s minority bloc was also reacting to reports that reporters were not given access to the spot reports, citing a new directive from Camp Crame.

“If they are not hiding, they should show it to the media,” Aquino said. He said journalists were responsible enough to handle confidential information in the spot reports.

He expects Dela Rosa to comply with his earlier commitment that he would give senators a copy of the PNP’s spot reports,

Aquino...

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Aquino spokesman Abigail Valte said she would have to meet with her legal team “to determine her next course of action on the case.

stituting wiretapping,” she said.

“But if the Justice Secretary wants to file cases against me, go ahead. See you in court, Mr. Aguirre,” challenged Hontiveros.

She also shrugged off Aguirre’s threats of filing charges against her for disclosing his supposed text exchanges with Paras.

Hontiveros maintained she did not violate Aguirre’s right to privacy when she shared a photo of his text messages with Paras.

“The shameful and deceitful text conversation was simply inadverdently caught by someone’s camera lens. Thus, there was no intent to tap or intercept his messages. There was no reasonable expectation of privacy,” Hontiveros said.

On Tuesday, Aguirre slammed Hontiveros for disclosing in a privilege speech that she discovered through a photo of the text message that he and Paras were planning to “expedite” cases against her.

However, Aguirre would not comment on the content of the text messages, nor address allegations that he was plotting to bring cases against Hontiveros, whose office took custody of three witnesses to the killing of 17-year-old Kian delos Santos by Caloocan City policemen during an antidrug operation on August 16.

The justice secretary said he would file the ethics complaint, contending that Hontiveros violated the Bill of Rigths on privacy of communications and RA 4200 or the Anti-Wiretapping Act at the hallowed ground of the Senate.

He added he would be filing a civil case for damages before a regional trial court and an ethics case against her before the Senate.

“I do not believe that it [photograph of his text conversation] was inadvertently taken. I challenge her to prove it, for her source or photographer to prove it that it was accidentally taken,” he said. especially on the cases of alleged extrajudicial killings and deaths outside police operations.

“These spot reports, they prove there was really some suspicious occurrences, so it is important that we get them in our investigation. We still expect that the PNP will submit them to the Senate as promised,” Aquino said.

He called on the PNP to be transparent about its operations by showing spot reports to the Senate and to reporters.

He said the PNP’s directive to withhold spot reports from the media contradicted President Rodrigo Duterte’s push for transparency.

Senator Panfilo Lacson said Wednesday spot reports were covered by Malacañang’s executive order on the Freedom of Information ACT. However, the former chief of the Philippine National Police said the police had basis to prohibit the release of spot reports to the media if the security classification was confidential.

She said the Ombudsman might have misunderstood the facts and reached the wrong conclusion.

In a Sept. 11 consolidated order issued on Thursday, Morales denied the separate motions for reconsideration filed by Aquino and the com-

ITALIAN ENVOY. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte shares a light moment with Italian Ambassador to the Philippines Giorgio Guglielmino who presented his credentials in Malacañan Palace on Sept. 13, 2017. Presidential Photo

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Pimentel also said if the President vetoes the budget, Congress can override the veto by a twothirds vote per chamber.

Pimentel refused to answer questions about the CHR chairman, Chito Gascon, who is apparently the target of the administration’s ire, or suggestions that the House might restore the agency’s budget if Gascon resigns.

Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, meanwhile, said it was possible for people to give 5 percent of their taxes to the CHR. “We want Filipinos to get involved in governance and the budget process. The People’s Fund Bill gives them the chance to do that,” said Aquino, referring to a bill he filed July 20, 2016.

Aquino made the pronouncement after a movement under the hashtag #GiveMyTaxToCHR began to gain momentum.

Senators Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Zubiri and Grace Poe said they believed leaving the CHR with a budget of P1,000 was tantamount to abolishing it.

Pacquiao, a staunch ally of the President, surmised that lawmakers were only trying to send a message to the CHR, which has consistently attacked the administration’s policies.

He added that the human rights body should not allow itself to be used by politicians.

Zubiri said that as a constitutional body mandated to uphold human rights, the CHR deserves a working budget, which was in the spending plan that Duterte submitted to Congress.

In the Senate, Zubiri said he will work for the restoration of the CHR budget. He also said he was proud of his brother, Rep. Manuel F. Zubiri of Bukidnon, for voting against the budget cut.

Poe said the CHR should be assisted, not penalized.

“There are a lot of things that need to be investigated. Especially with the war on drugs and other concerns,” she said.

Other allies of the President who promised to oppose the budget slash were Senators Panfilo Lacson, Richard Gordon, Joel Villanueva, JV Ejercito, Ralph Recto, Francis Escudero, Sherwin Gatchalian and Nancy Binay.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said five other members of the minority bloc—Aquino, Senators Francis Pangilinan, Leila de Lima and Antonio Trillanes would support moves to restore the CHR budget.

“We believe that the CHR plays a very critical role in this government particularly in light of the numerous killings in the campaign against illegal drugs, most especially those involving the death of teenagers such as Kian Lloyd delos Santos,” Drilon said.

Poe reminded the government to observe the “balance of power” as she defended the existence of the CHR. With Rio N. Araja

Binay, former senator Rene Saguisag and young human rights lawyers—also criticized House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and the 119 congressmen who voted to allocate a measly P1,000 for the commission.

“Speaker Alvarez is taking the country down the road of tyranny, where the Constitution is treated as a mere scrap of paper, independent institutions are shackled, and the people’s right to live in dignity are sacrificed in the name of the ongoing drug war which has resulted to several extrajudicial killings,” the Artikulo Tres stated.

The European Union, while it refused to comment on the domestic policy, said there was a need for the Philippine government to adequately fund the Commission on Human Rights citing large figures of drug-related deaths that the institution needs to probe.

In a separate statement, Eu-

ropean Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines also warned that the decision of the House of Representatives to slash the 2018 budget of CHR to P1,000 may “not send the right signals” to foreign investors.

“Human Rights Commissions play an important role in any country and need to be sufficiently resourced to play that role,” EU said in a statement.

The EU maintained that President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs must adhere to due process in line with the national law and international human rights law.

“The European Union reiterates the importance of carrying out the fight against illegal drugs in the Philippines in full compliance with due process, national law and international human rights law,” the EU stated in a report posted in GMAnews online. With Sara Susanne Fabunan

but when things came out in the open, we felt obliged that some people be made accountable,” Umali said.

The justice committee on Wednesday found Gadon’s complaint against Sereno sufficient in form and substance, setting the stage for impeachment proceedings to move forward.

Gadon on Thursday said Sereno should resign rather than be ousted by impeachment.

“If I were Chief Justice Sereno, I will just resign and spare [myself] from the attacks during

the impeachment trial,” he said.

“She better think it over. You cannot stop the members of Congress from asking questions, questions that may even be offtangent just to attack you. These will really tear you apart,” he told ANC’s Early Edition show.

He said there are enough lawmakers in both chambers of Congress to oust Sereno.

He also said that while President Duterte had shot down moves to impeach Vice President Leni Robredo, he did not interfere in Sereno’s case.

coalition of Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez would be a “violation of our duties and principles,” being “representatives of the poor and marginalized sectors in Congress and as nationalist and progressive legislators.”

Tinio, Zarate and De Jesus were among the lawmakers allied with the majority bloc who were

stripped off their posts for not supporting the death penalty bill.

Tinio then led the House committee on public information, Zarate was head of the House committee on environment and natural resources, and De Jesus was head of the poverty alleviation committee.

The lawmakers said they had decided to join the majority bloc in support of President Duterte and his administration’s “promise of change.”

“From the very start, we con-

sistently opposed the administration’s anti-people bills and policies to the point that we were stripped of our committee chairmanships due to our stand against the death penalty bill. Despite one disappointment after another, we persisted in the majority in the hope that some socioeconomic and political reforms could be achieved, if not through Congress then through the GRP-NDFP peace talks,” the group said. Maricel V. Cruz and John Paolo Bencito

During the hearing, Kian’s parents Saldy and Lorenza appeared and subscribed to their complaint for murder and torture against Chief Inspector Amor Cerillo, Police Officer 3 Arnel Oares, and Police Officers 1 Jeremiah Pereda and Jerwin Cruz of Caloocan City police station 7.

The complainant through their lead counsel, Public Attorney’s Office chief Persida Rueda-Acosta, also presented seven of 16 witnesses before the department’s panel of prosecutors.

The witnesses, whose faces were covered with scarfs, affirmed their respective affidavits that supported the allegations against the four police respondents. Their names were also withheld for security reasons.

Among them was an eyewitness who saw Kian already under custody of the respondents before he was shot dead. With Rio N. Araja

plainants Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption and affirmed the findings contained in the June 13 consolidated resolution.

“President Aquino’s act of utilizing the services of the preventively suspended [Alan] Purisima for Oplan Exodus

prior to and during its implementation, despite an officer in charge [of the] Philippine National Police chief having been already designated, caused Purisima to perform under pretense of official position the acts pertaining to the PNP chief without being lawfully entitled

to do so in violation of Article 177 of the RPC on Usurpation of Official Functions,” the resolution read.

“President Aquino’s act of utilizing the services of Purisima for Oplan Exodus under the aforesaid circumstances constituted an act of persuading,

inducing or influencing another public officer to perform acts constituting a violation of the order of preventive suspension and a commission of usurpation of official functions in violation of Section 3(a) of RA No. 3019.”

Rio N. Araja and John Paolo Bencito

Palace:...

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“Of course anyone in the same position would feel slighted if the opinions differ. That’s very natural for every human being, but the official policy is they are appointed for a fixed term.

We respect the fixed term. They have their own opinions. This is a free country so we respect the opinions of the different heads of agencies,” he said.

In related develoipments: A group of human rights lawyers on Thursday urged the public to support a campaign aimed at funding the Commission on Human Rights after lawmakers voted to give the agency a budget of only P1,000 for 2018.

In a statement released by Atty.

Hilda Clave, the group—Artikulo Tres, whose members include former Vice President Jejomar

‘Divided...

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need to make people accountable.”

These justices may be invited to the panel hearings, he added.

Umali said President Rodrigo Duterte has “has not made any single move” to influence him or other members of the justice panel.

“This was never initiated…

[T]here was never an intention on our part to impeach [Sereno],

Makabayan...

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Caloocan...

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Daily wage in MM now at P512

By Vito Barcelo

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HE Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board announced a P21 daily wage increase on top of the existing P491 daily minimum wage for more than six-million minimum-waged workers in 17 cities and municipalities in Metro Manila.

The minimum wage in (October).

Metro Manila will become Wage hike petitioner P512 effective next month Associated Labor Unions-

Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALUTUCP) filed a P184 wage increase petition last June 6 on top of the existing P491 to enable workers and their families cope with rising prices of goods and services.

“The daily wage rate should be P675 for workers in the National Capital region,” ALUTUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said.

The Bangko Sentral

ng Pilipinas and the National Wage and Productivity Commission earlier reported that the purchasing power of P491 has eroded to P354.51 by July 2017, an erosion of 27.79 percent.

Tanjusay said the P21 increase remains inadequate to meet the needs of minimum-waged workers to escape poverty.

“The P21 increase in daily wage remains insufficient for families

to cope with rising prices of goods and increasing costs of goods. P21 is only 4.27 percent of the current P491. So it obviously did not lift workers out of poverty.

Workers who helped built a high economic growth of 6.9 percent average Gross Domestic Product do not deserve this very small amount,” Tanjusay said.

“We have no other choice but to come and ask President Duterte to

grant our long-standing request to him to provide a P500 monthly CCT-like cash voucher subsidy to minimum-waged workers who helped build our high economic growth,” Tanjusay said.

The proposal was submitted to Duterte on April 2017. Funded by the Office of the President, the cash voucher will be used by minimum-waged earners to purchase rice, groceries, and medicines.

Gabriela’s Ilagan named DSWD Usec PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has appointed a former militant lawmaker as undersecretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The president named Luzviminda Ilagan to the post on Sept. 13.

Ilagan is a former partylist representative and currently the National President of the Gabriela Women’s Party, which recently bolted out of the House majority bloc.

A former OIC City Councilor in Davao City from 1986 to 1988 and an elected Councilor from 1998 to 2001, Ilagan was among those who worked for the passage of the Davao City Women Development Code, the first of its kind in the Philippines and which has served as a model for other LGUs. Ilagan’s entry to the DSWD comes a few months after the departure of former Social Welfare Secretary Dr. Judy Taguiwalo, another leftist who was rejected by the Commission on Appointments last August.

John Paolo Bencito

Go easy on impeachment, MBC says

KIAN PROBE. The two witnesses cover their faces as they testify at the Department of Justice during the preliminary investigation on the killing of Kian delos Santos in Caloocan City on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017. Also in attendance are the three accused Caloocan City policemen. Norman Cruz

Comelec to enforce ban on guns, ‘bodyguards’ THE Commission on Elections said Thursday that the ban on bearing, carrying or transporting of firearms or other deadly weapons and the employment, availment or engagement of the services of security personnel or body guards will start on Sept. 23, 2017.

In a statement, the Comelec said the gun ban will run until Oct. 30, 2017, the election period in connection with the Oct. 23, 2017 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.

Under resolution no.

10197, the Comelec said: “No person shall bear, carry or transport firearms or deadly weapons outside his residence or place of business, and in all public places, including any building, street, park, and in private vehicles or public conveyances, even if he is licensed or authorized to possess or carry the same, unless authorized by the Commission.”

The poll body also prohibited the employment, availment or engagement of the services of security personnel or body guards, “whether or not such security personnel or bodyguards are regular members or officers of the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, other law enforcement agency of the government or from a private security service provider, unless authorized by the Commission.”

The transport and delivery of firearms and/ or its parts, ammunition and/or its components, and explosives and/or its components are also prohibited. Vito Barcelo

Lapeña to hire PDEA agents for BoC intel work CUSTOMS Commissioner Isidro Lapeña said he will hire several agents from the Philippine Drug and Enforcement Agency to boost the intelligence gathering of the bureau against smuggling, particularly illegal drugs into the country’s premier and

sub-seaports.

He said the bureau needs at least 2,000 new BoC personnel to fill up the more than 2,000 plantilla positions at the bureau to beef up the workforce and improve productivity.

The new Customs chief

said hiring agents from the PDEA is part of his reform program for the agency, where 70 percent of illegal drugs that enter the country pass through various seaports.

He said the supply of drugs remains unabated, and this

was likely because the illegal contraband were delivered by suppliers via the the high seas, later passing the seaports.

Lapeña added that two customs district collectors will be replaced for alleged underperformance

and failing miserably to improve the collection of the BoC. However, the customs chief declined to name the two BOC officials, but added that he will announce their names next week.

Vito Barcelo

Let’s do our part to contain HIV, Erap urges LGU execs

By Bill Casas

MANILA Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada on Thursday called on his fellow local chief executives to help the national government control the spread of the deadly HIV, after the Philippines was tagged as the country with the fastest growing HIV epidemic in Asia and the Pacific.

Estrada said the frightening speed by which HIV infect the local populace should be a major concern of not only the Department of Health but also of every barangay, municipal, city, and provincial government all over the country.

“It is bad enough that thousands of people get infected of HIV every day, but no one should remain complacent. Fighting this epidemic requires the determined effort of everyone, especially us local officials,” Estrada said.

As with the City of Manila,

Estrada appealed to his fellow mayors to include in their priority projects and funding a comprehensive program on curbing the tide of HIV cases in their respective jurisdictions.

“The City of Manila is doing its part to contain this epidemic. We should all do our part,” Estrada said.

To help in DoH’s efforts to arrest the increasing number of HIV infections in the country, Estrada has converted the city-run Sta. Ana Hospital as the city’s new HIV treatment hub.

The 500-bed, 10-storey Sta. Ana Hospital, one of six public hospitals in the city that underwent a P500million renovation under the Estrada administration, is classified as a “Level II” medical facility. It is located in New Panaderos Street in District 6.

The hospital has so far complied with the basic requirements of DoH to qualify as an HIV treatment facility such as a laboratory for

treatment and analysis of HIVinfected blood, trained personnel for counselling of patients, and obstetricians and surgeons to operate on patients with HIV, as well as highly trained nurses and other medical staff, and upgrading and procurement of facilities, Estrada said.

Dr. Regina Bagsic, overall coordinator of the city-run hospitals in Manila, said the city government has a “very robust” AIDS education program under the Manila Health Department.

“Manila is doing its part. We have a social hygiene clinic. We have an accredited HIV treatment center.

We have programs in line with the national government campaign,” Bagsic said.

The city of MNIL is also offering HIV testing and treatment to bona fide residents—for free. The free HIV tests and treatment are being conducted at the Manila Social

Longer validity for prepaid cards pushed

By Macon Araneta SENATOR Grace Poe on Thursday vowed to advance the interest of millions of mobile prepaid subscribers in the country as she pressed for longer validity periods for prepaid loads.

“We have to consider what is best for the highest interest of our consumers,” said Poe, chairperson of the Senate committee on public services.

She said the current rules issued in 2009 which set a minimum validity of three

days is quite brief.

She noted that the poor which oftentimes have no capacity to buy more expensive load are being forced to buy small amount of load so that their SIM card will remain active.

The senator said she will call for technical working group meetings to thresh out concerns surrounding prepaid load and other related issues.

The advocacy group democracy.net.ph has proposed to set “dormancy periods” in which a SIM card without any call, text or data transactions

for a year will be considered dormant and “dormancy deductions” in which from the time a SIM card is considered dormant, one credit will be deducted per day until the credits are zeroed out and the SIM card can finally be deactivated.

During the hearing, the National Telecommunications Commission said the setting aside of the expiry period is feasible and suggested that this can be done based on a 17-year-old memorandum circular.

GRACE POE

Hygiene Clinic in Sta. Cruz, Bagsic added.

MHD, which supervises the operation of the city’s 59 community health centers and 12 lying-in clinics, also received an additional fund of P360 million this year to effectively carry out its health programs.

“It’s really alarming,” Bagsic said of the local HIV epidemic.

“We’re happy to say that Manila is not one of those cities that have high number of cases. We have our own problems but thankfully, we have not contributed to the increase of the epidemic.”

United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS Regional Support Team for Asia Pacific Director Eammon Murphy earlier reported that that the number of new infections in the Philippines has more than doubled in the past six years from an estimated 4,300 in 2010 to an estimated 10,500 in 2016.

THE Makati Business Club maintains its position that an impeachment process is a vital part of the country’s democratic system of checks and balances.

In a statement, the business group expressed concern over the unprecedented number of impeachment complaints lodged against highranking officials from the President, the Supreme Court Chief Justice, the Ombudsman and the Commission on Elections.

“We believe that the impeachment process engraved in the Constitution must not be invoked arbitrarily to persecute and silence individuals with opposing views, nor to undermine independent institutions, the bulwark of our nation’s democracy,” it said.

The group noted that the impeachment cases must be substantiated by strong evidence of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, corruption or other high crimes, and not supported by mere accusations or anecdotes.

Othel V. Campos

Senate panel okays DND’s budget bid THE Senate finance committee on Thursday approved the more than P195-billion proposed 2018 budget for the Department of National Defense.

Opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, however, has proposed that the P500 million from the police anti-drug “Oplan Double Barrel” realigned to augment the military’s intelligence funds.

Trillanes’ proposal came after the senators who deliberated the DND budget noted that the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ intelligence fund had been increased by only P220 million next year, for a total of P1.58 billion.

Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said they had asked for a P280-million increase in the AFP’s intelligence fund but the Department of Budget and Management did not grant the full amount.

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Opinion

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2017

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

World Bank help

F

INANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez asked the right institution that could start the ball rolling on the construction of 75 flagship infrastructure projects over the next five years under the Philippines’ “Build, Build, Build” program. The World Bank is the ideal partner, with the bank’s mission dovetailing with the government’s objectives.

Dominguez and other government officials are set to sit down with World Bank representatives to explore the partnership and tap

Adelle Chua, Editor

the multilateral institution’s assistance, as well, in getting Marawi City back on its feet.

Says Dominguez: “People will go back

and live there, so the infrastructure should be good and sound.

That’s certainly an area where we will need assistance.” World Bank executive board director Otaviano Canuto committed the bank’s help, assuring that its experience and expertise “is unmatched,” especially in the area of education.

Dominguez conceded that the Philippines had neglected infrastructure projects and that the govern-

ment was “determined to close the country’s infrastructure gap,” which will require funding of around $170 billion over the next five years.

“We are coming from a long period when we underinvested in infrastructure as compared to our neighbors,” Dominguez said. “We have announced our major program is to reduce poverty and [one of] the tools to be used is building a lot of infrastructure. There’s

a wide open field for your engagement on those areas.”

Infrastructure projects such as toll roads, bridges, airports, seaports and rail networks speed up the flow of goods and services.

They bring the market closer to the countryside and encourage productivity in farms and fishing communities.

World Bank’s assistance, meanwhile, will come in handy. From early loans that helped

rebuild nations devastated by World War II, the bank has shifted its focus from reconstruction to development. It has funded infrastructure such as dams, electrical grids, irrigation systems and roads.

The Philippines will, indeed, need the bank’s expertise and rigid norms in building projects. The presence of the multilateral institution may also thwart corrupt practices that attend such big projects.

PENSEES FR. RANHILIO CALLANGAN AQUINO

Language and the praxis of democracy THE classical pre-Wittgenstinian theory of language was something almost all of us learned in the elementary grades. In the mind (wherever that might be!), I have thoughts, but if I have to pass on those thoughts to others, these must be properly coded.

Language is the coding of thought and it occurs either in speech or in writing. The reader of the hearer then decodes, and if the process is correct, then the very same thoughts as occurred to me should occur in the mind of my reader or hearer. But

Words matter.

They can hurt.

Bam’s sneaky move LOWDOWN

JOJO A. ROBLES PAOLO Benigno Aquino, the cosplayer-senator, has leveled up. From calling for the distribution to the poor of fastfood leftovers, the man who used a pair of spectacles and a famous surname to somehow worm his way into the Senate now bats for the allocation of five percent of our taxes to the House-defunded Commission on Human Rights.

But wait. As it was filed in July last year, Aquino’s Senate Bill 699 actually proposes nothing of the sort, which is really sneaky on the part of this Ninoy lookalike-wannabe.

Aquino obviously just wants to ride on the supposed outrage caused by the action of the House of Representatives this week to slash to budget for 2018 of the CHR

to P1,000. His original bill called for giving taxpayers the choice of earmarking five percent of their income taxes to fund: An accredited charity or civil society organization; A priority national or local government project; or A legitimate political party This is misrepresentation not seen since Aquino proposed to bring down the cost of Internet service by conducting an investigation that did not lower the price of connection at all. And I still remember that high-profile probe every time I pay my Internet service provider.

“If my bill becomes law, the taxpayer will have the power to choose where to spend a portion of their taxes,” Aquino explained yesterday. “This is already done in other countries and it’s time to do this here.”

Because I no longer trust Aquino to do my research for me, I decided to check out this last claim of his. I came

up with something called the American election campaign fund checkoff, which allows taxpayers in the US to tick a box that will give $3 from their federal tax payments to something called the Presi-

If Aquino really wanted to fund the CHR, he would donate all his salaries and benefits as a senator to the rights agency.

dential Election Campaign Fund.

This fund is by no means partisan, unlike Aquino’s proposal. Both the Repub-

lican and Democratic parties receive a fixed amount of “checkoff dollars” while other parties get smaller amounts if they get over five percent of the vote, to go with matching funds from the federal government for every dollar that they get directly from taxpayers.

No way is $3 (around P153), even in this impoverished country, equivalent to five percent of income. And if you are among those who already get taxed the maximum 32 percent on P500,000 annual income under the current tax regime (not a lot of money these days), you’ll get the idea of the size of the tax “donation” that Aquino wants you to make.

It is worth noting that after the passage of the US campaign fund checkoff law in 1971, no other such “tax choice” measure has been approved by Congress. Even if this early attempt at “crowdfunding” was merely a token, it was never repeated.

Now Aquino, who had earlier claimed that he was responsible for the free college tuition bonanza last year (he was not; it was a fluke surplus to end a bicameral budget standoff), wants us to directly fund political parties like his very own—hint, hint—LP with our taxes by riding on the CHR issue.

Aquino just wants to push his misbegotten bill using the current brouhaha. Even if in his own proposal, he never thought of funding an entire government agency once Congress had defunded it.

If Aquino really wanted to fund the CHR, he would donate all his salaries and benefits as a senator to the rights agency. If he can’t do that, he’s just play-acting once again—sneakily and not too convincingly, if I may add. *** Is it just me or is the House attempting to get Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista off the hook

by throwing out the impeachment case filed against the elections boss on a mere technicality? This could be the scenario as a result of the junking of the second verified impeachment complaint against Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

According to reports, the second complaint against Sereno was dismissed on the basis of improper form because it did not follow the rules for a charge that would not be directly sent to the Senate. This is supposedly the same infirmity that plagues that endorsed complaint against Bautista, which the House justice committee intends to tackle next week.

What the committee is saying is that the form of the second Sereno complaint was intended not to be heard in the House but to be immediately brought before the Senate through the “creeping impeachment” method used to Turn to A5

when Wittgenstein wrote his programmatic lines in the great slender volume beguilingly titled “Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus:” “The world is all that is the case.

The world is the totality of facts, not of things”, then even if he would revisit his theory of language subsequently, the coding theory was debunked forever! Now, we have accepted that our access to the world—to “reality”—is never pure but always mediated, by language, particularly. It is not because “red” and “crimson” are different hues that we have different terms for them. Rather, it is because we have different terms for them that we distinguish between “red” and “crimson”.

There is no such thing as an “extra-linguistic” or a “prelinguistic” thought.

You cannot think two hundred sixty three nautical miles east northeast of Aparri without saying those words, at least to yourself, sotto voce or even sine voce!

And the Roman empirebuilders (imperialists, in the very real sense) knew the power of words. SPQR—Senatus Populosque Romanus —the Senate and the Roman People: It was that crucial distinction between “Romanus” (what and who was Roman) and “gens” that spelled the difference between the applicability of Roman law as Turn to A5

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Opinion Consumers drive China now

By Daniel Moss THE yuan’s ascent this year has brought with it some of the usual handwringing about the impact on China’s exports.

The anxiety kind of misses the point about modern China, as does much of the political conversation in America. A peek at the past week’s data from China is instructive.

The really important numbers weren’t a decline in exports, but a jump in consumer sentiment and a rise in imports.

With consumption and services now accounting for more than half of gross domestic product, it matters less and less what the yuan does, absent a dramatic and abrupt shift that suggests a breakdown in policy or something seriously amiss.

(It’s up about 7 percent versus the greenback this year.)

The rebalancing within China’s economy—long sought but rarely acknowledged since it arrived—also helps explain why the nation has beaten growth forecasts this year despite the incessant warnings that a heavy debt load just has to bring the place down.

I‘ve written before about the aggressive plans of Starbucks Corp. and what that says about the changing face of China’s economy. The country’s consumers are in an expansive and upbeat mood, according to a couple of barometers of sentiment. An index of sentiment published by the National Bureau of Statistics shows confidence the strongest since 1996.

(Just to put that in some historical context: The revolutionary Deng Xiaoping was still alive.)

Lest those numbers be criticized because they are published by the government, Nielsen Holdings Plc came to broadly the same conclusion.

Nielsen’s private consumer confidence index climbed to its highest since at least 2009.

The guts of the report are even brighter: Willingness to spend hit a new high while readings

on employment and personal finances also advanced.

Not that exports are insignificant. And it’s not like Chinese authorities are about let the yuan go where it pleases just because young professionals in Shanghai want an extra shot with their latte. But it’s not your grandfather’s China anymore.

That textile plant that left North Carolina in the 1990s may not even be in China anymore. It may have moved somewhere cheaper long ago.

The yuan’s advance reflects at least partly the unexpected strength of the economy this year, a decline in the dollar, and authorities’ relative comfort with its movement for most of the year.

There are a few signs in recent days that regulators want to slow the momentum; little of substance happens with the yuan that authorities aren’t comfortable with. Market forces play a much greater role in the currency than they did in 1996 when consumer confidence was last this high, but it’s still a relatively limited role.

While Beijing figures out where it wants the yuan to be, the task has a bit less urgency thanks to the transformation of the economy. Now investors need better data on the new engine of the Chinese economy —so they are scouring industry and corporate data to build databases that best capture the consumer emergence.

Bank-card networks like China UnionPay can provide a potential goldmine of information on restaurants, hotels and real estate for those willing to put in the time. JD.com Inc., China’s second-biggest Internet retailer, has scores of indexes measuring sales of liquor, appliances, cosmetics and apparel.

More and more, the Chinese consumer’s habits may look familiar. There may even be data for that American lunch China is supposed to be eating. Bloomberg

Language...

From A4 distinct from “jus gentium” -the law of (non-Roman) peoples! So it is to that on some favored cities, no matter that they were distant from Rome and that its inhabitants had not a drop of Roman blood, the status of “Roman” would be bestowed, making them thus “Romans”. The French Revolution’s cry of “egalite” made all titles and sobriquets irrelevant (sometimes, even deathdealing) and championed the equalizing terms of l’homme and citoyen.

The praxis of democracy is the institutionalization of inclusiveness, more than it has to do with configuration of governmental power. And therefore characterizations and categorizations that tend towards exclusion are threats to democracy. Two such terms are “Dilawan” and “Dutertard.”

A “Dilawan” will not be paid heed, because of the colors he wears. A Dutertard will likewise be ignored in many circles of discourse because of his allegiance. One can also include “Loyalist,” referring to the persons who believe that Ferdinand Marcos was a great leader—which, really, is a defensible position—and “Noytard,” which suggests mental retardation on the part of those who were associated with the past regime. No, we will never really be free of monikers and labels but when they obstruct discourse, when they stand in the way of respectful exchange, when they create communicative (and political) dis-equality, then the praxis of democracy is compromised.

“Troll” is another such slight.

No one pays serious attention to a troll: She is either paid to

troll, or paid to wag. In either case, she is not worthy of serious attention. If the reason that the Commission on Human Rights faces the prospect of operating on a one-thousand peso budget is because Gascon is “Dilawan,” then that is exactly what I mean by the adoption of language that stands in the way of democracy. Freedom of speech and expression cannot be invoked to make the exercise of these very freedoms and others that go with them impossible! Similarly, many trolls may be an annoying lot, but there is also so much that has been ignored as “trollyism” that may nevertheless be a genuine echo of popular sentiment, and thus instructive to government.

The recent letter of the CBCP takes up this point as well. When we have labelled certain members of our society as “irremediable,” “perverse”, “sira,” “adik,” then it becomes so much the easier to treat them as expendable because of what we call them.

Similarly “nanlaban” has become a read shield against assiduous investigation of murders and homicides committed by law-enforcers, just as “nanlaban”—when used by opponents of the present administration or of its policies, masks legitimate police operations and shrouds them in suspicion and aspersions of unlawfulness.

One of the nursery rhymes we learned as children went: “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” We should know better. Words matter. They can hurt. And they can threaten democracy!

Bam’s...

From A4 impeach both President Joseph Estrada and Chief Justice Renato Corona. Because the House wants to hear it first, the Bautista complaint is now in danger of suffering the same fate as the second Sereno charge sheet.

Of course, it is the House justice committee that determines sufficiency in form (and substance) of impeachment complaints. And by dismissing the second complaint against Sereno, the panel has

now laid the predicate for the dismissal of Bautista’s charges using the same rule.

And why would the House throw out the complaint against Bautista, which in the opinion of many is a lot stronger and more important than the Sereno impeachment? I don’t really know.

But maybe the sheer number of the House members who got elected last year with Bautista’s “help” has something to do with it.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2017

Coercing the CHR BACK CHANNEL ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO IT’S the politicians’ weapon of choice whenever someone or some institution dares cross them and oppose their whims and their self-arrogated power and privilege.

This time it’s the Commission on Human Rights getting the squeeze by those in Congress who are jostling to outdo each other in brown-nosing President Rodrigo Duterte. These lackeys know that by doing so they can get their share of funds for projects in their districts.

Top House honcho Pantaleon Alvarez wants the CHR to get only P1,000 from the P3.7- trillion 2018 national budget. He has raised the hackles of the minority group of Edcel Lagman, Lito Atienza, Gary Alejano, Emmi de Jesus and Raul Daza. These dedicated congressman voiced their opposition against the onerous proposal to slash the CHR budget.

Atienza, Lagman et al denounced the House proposal as effectively abolishing the Commission on Human Rights. The

outnumbered opposition in the House found support in the Senate where Senator Ping Lacson vowed to junk the House proposal.

“Reducing the CHR budget to a token P1,000 a year is illegal and a blatant abuse of power,” said Buhay Party-List Representative Atienza, one of the most vocal members of Congress who speak out on issues inimical to public interest.

Alas, Atienza’s voice and that of the few remaining opposition are drowned out by the sheer number of the administration’s supermajority coalition in the House.

Netizens have also expressed their outrage over the brazen tactic of the administration to silence the CHR, which is one of the most outspoken critics of Duterte’s brutal war on drugs and the alleged extrajudicial killing of suspects. Many, if not most, of these incidents happen in impoverished and depressed neighborhoods. The most recent of these alleged EJK was the case of 17-year-old student Kian de los Santos. Three Caloocan cops have been charged with his death when CCTV film footage showed them dragging away Kian. This was contradictory to the police version the victim

A5

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

fought and fired a gun at the arresting police operatives.

If at all, Kian de los Santos gave a human face to the other faceless victims of summary executions by police. Because the police have gotten away with impunity over these summary executions, the victims become merely statistics, filed away as cold cases.

The outrage over the high number of casualties has also drawn the international community’s condemnation from the United Nations, the European Union and other human rights watch groups. The plan to emasculate the CHR budget is in stark contrast to Duterte’s generous pay increases of policemen at the forefront of the war on drugs.

On another front in the government’s sweeping move to silence its critics, the conscripted Congress, notably the judiciary committee, also ruled as sufficient in form and substance the impeachment case against Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. Yes, this is the same House judiciary committee that was quick to dismiss the impeachment complaint filed by Magdalo Party-List Rep. Alejano against a certain Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

There is also a move to unseat

Ombudsman Conchita CarpioMorales.

If Chief Justice Sereno is impeached, the Commission on Human Rights is abolished, and Carpio Morales is removed, who else would dare criticize President Duterte? And to think the man has not even declared martial law nationwide. Yet he is already exercising vast and awesome powers that should be ringing alarm bells, warning the public to be vigilant.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV has dared go up against Digong but the President has threatened to “destroy Trillanes if he destroys me.”

So who makes the first move?

Duterte with a preemptive strike, or Trillanes pulling another military coup? Either move is not good for the country.

Our world has indeed become a dangerous place.

Aside from the man-made disaster, the forces of nature are also causing havoc to the environment and people’s lives.

I was on a sabattical in the United States for two weeks. I thought I would get relief from the daily dose of TV news reporting on the crime wave and the constant coverage of death and destruction. However, the back-to-back hurricanes that

struck in Texas and Florida and the 8.1 earthquake that killed hundreds in Mexico is shuddering. I watched with horror the news on TV how Hurricanes Harvey (category 4) wrought destruction on the Texas gulf cities including Corpus Christie, Rockport and Houston.

And then, even before Texas had recovered from Harvey, Hurricane Irma (category 5) slammed Florida, sending hundreds of thousands of residents fleeing the hurricane’s path along Key West, Key Largo, Miami, Daytona, Jacksonville, Naples, West Palm Beach and Fort Myers.

These are all prime beach front property. Buyers of these houses and condominium tower apartments invested money and until Hurricane Irma came along last week were settled for life. But now many of them are unloading at fire-sale prices.

Or should I say hurricane sale prices?

TV footage showed rooftops pried off by the hurricane’s nearly 200-mile-per-hour winds. The condo units are still standing but their wide window panes were smashed by the hurricane’s fury.

Palm trees were uprooted.

Florida was a picture of paradise lost.

the ground. As a result of their irresponsibility, the system now has to be bailed out by the GSIS, which estimates a total of SEVEN TRILLION pesos needed to do the job.

That’s a lot of pain to be shouldered by the taxpayers alone. In fairness, much of the burden will have to be shared by future, and even existing, pensioners among our men and women in uniform. We haven’t seen the innards of the problem, but we’ll wager that it includes the following: Large unfunded pension liabilities, most probably compounded by actual negative equity, i.e. technical bankruptcy.

An underperforming investment asset base that can’t generate enough operating cashflow to cover pension expenses plus overhead, nor enough net income to cover pension accruals and build up equity.

An actuarially unsound operating structure that will require the following reforms: (i) Eliminate automatic indexation of benefits to current salaries; (ii) Perhaps convert to variable (instead of defined) benefits based on investment performance; (iii) Mandatory contributions by plan members; and (iv) Increase pensionable age from the ridiculously young 56 years at present to the standard 65 years or even older.

Existing pensioners may have to agree to take a haircut on their existing payments.

This will be widely resisted, of course. But perhaps they will respond to appeals to their patriotism, as well as concern for the younger men and women

who’re still in active service and deserve their pensions no less in the future.

Because bad governance and management was clearly the main culprit, the AFP-PNP pension system may be taken over

by GSIS, but should be operated as a separate business vehicle.

This will limit government’s equity exposure and will also open up room for additional investments even from private insurers and asset managers, both here and abroad.

A professional management company may need to be brought in under contract, with government participation limited to board-level governance.

It’s time to think out of the box before we throw trillions of pesos at this problem. Our servicemen and women and their families deserve no less from us.

‘Irmaring’ FORMATION GARY OLIVAR EARLY this week, Hurricane “Irma” devastated the Florida coastline, immediately followed

by Tropical Depression “Maring” which flooded our streets in Metro Manila. And that explains my column title today. *** The saga continues for my fellow veteran of the GMACorona wars, Atty. Larry Gadon. Yesterday the House committee on justice ruled that his impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Sereno was “sufficient in form and substance” to deserve a hearing. Sereno has thus been given 10 days to reply to the first of his allegations.

The committee vote was 30-4, with opposition predictably coming from 3 LPs—all with leftist backgrounds—and one certifiable leftist from Bayan Muna. If they wanted to, the administration allies in the House had enough votes to send the complaint immediately to the Senate, seeing as they were able to muster 119 votes on another issue: To defund not just one, but three government agencies.

However, it seems that Speaker Alvarez wants Sereno to begin to answer for her actions already. This is a courtesy I hope she will appreciate, as this also gives her the chance to begin clearing her name early. How the Senate

may later vote on the impeachment is still up in the air, since the administration apparently doesn’t intend to throw billions of pesos at the senators the way PNot did against the former CJ Corona.

But an inkling may already have been given by Senator Kiko Pangilinan, who denounced Atty. Gadon’s complaint as a ploy to “destroy the justice system.” I’m eager to hear the good senator explain exactly how this impeachment of Sereno destroys the justice system, while an exactly similar—and in fact procedurally inferior—impeachment of Corona only five years ago served to save the system. *** The earlier-mentioned House vote to authorize a budget next year of only one thousand pesos each for a number of government agencies provoked a lot of criticism. But almost all of it concerned only one of them, the Commission on Human Rights.

On performance grounds, this puzzles me. One of the three, the Energy Regulatory Commission, regulates the entire power industry: What could be more serious than that? I understand that a major problem of ERC is the lack of knowledgeable technical and commercial experts who really understand the industry, and an excess of lawyers.

As for the third one, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, they are responsible for all the indigenous populations in our country, a

substantial number that also happens to be quite noisy. Ask any developer, not to mention government officials involved with power and infrastructure, how much trouble the IPs can cause.

But it is CHR that has hogged the limelight, simply because human rights are the permanent issue du jour for activists abroad and the opposition at home. Under its current chairman, who used to be PNot’s deputy political adviser and the secretary general of the Liberal Party, this commission has rarely filed human rights cases if at all. They’ve been content to serve as a hound dog of the opposition, encouraging irresponsible criticism even from abroad.

The Senate minority leader, Senator Drilon, branded the defunding as “constructive abolition” of a Constitutional body.

Most of the senators, including administration allies, are likely to join him in forcing a deadlock, followed by a re-enacted budget for 2018, if this issue isn’t settled in bicam.

In the end, the CHR and those other agencies are likely to get their budgets after all, and things will revert to normal. But this face-off will be a timely waker-upper for holdovers from the ancien regime who may forget that they ought to focus on performance these days because they remain in office only on sufferance. *** Clearly the above lesson was not learned by all the dodos who ran the AFP-PNP retirement pension system into

*** In closing, let me congratulate my fellow UP alumni on our alma mater being the only Philippine higher education institution to make it to the Times’ list of top 1,000 universities worldwide (in the 601-800 rankings). We also ranked between 201-250 in the list for Asian institutions alone.

This is of course bittersweet news for us, since the whole point is for as many Philippine schools as possible to enter that magic circle. Improving the infrastructure for building world-class minds should command priority in the administration’s Build Build Build program.

Readers can write me at gbolivar1952@yahoo.com.

PAL and PH tourism VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ JIMMY Bautista’s focus on his vision remains as sharp as his skills as a financial whiz kid. The president of flag carrier Philippine Airlines wants it to be a five-star airline or among the best of the world’s best by 2020. That’s three years from today.

To be in the league of global carriers like Emirates, Qatar, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Asiana, ANA, and even Garuda, however, Asia’s first airline needs to do a lot of homework.

First, PAL must improve service—online, on the ground, and in flight. That is quite easy, given the Filipino’s natural warmth, hospitality, caring nature, and sense of service. Thus, it is no surprising PAL’s slogan has changed, from Asia’s First, to “the airline with a heart.” Accordingly, PAL has enhanced its Mabuhay Miles priority passenger club and introduced a new Premium Economy on its major jets.

The flag carrier has unveiled its reconfigured A330s that will have 309 seats, configured into Business Class, Premium and Regular Economy.

PAL has taken away more

than 100 seats from eight alleconomy A330s to make the cabin more spacious. The reconfigured A330s will have all new seats and a new inflight entertainment system.

Second, PAL must improve its fleet. Again, PAL is on track. By end-2017, the carrier will have 87 aircraft, most of them brand new. That will rise to 96 by 2021.

In the second half of 2017, PAL gets two Boeing 777300ER for long-haul flights like London and US cities San Francisco and Los Angeles, and five next-generation Bombardier Q-400s for short hops island to island.

PAL will have a new flagship aircraft, the much-awaited twin-engine A350-900.

Six are coming, delivered during 2018 and 2019. Another six 350-900s are an option.

The A350 can fly non-stop from Manila to New York, crossing over the polar region.

PAL will phase out 18 old aircraft and secure 27 brand new planes until 2021.

The third strategy is a little tricky. PAL must improve its home base, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, which is now bursting at the seams. It is operating beyond its capacity, of 30 million passengers a year. With their fleet expansion, PAL and rival Cebu Pacific could handle already 50 million passengers a year, if given the space. Where will they service that many pas-

sengers?

Since 1999, PAL has been operating out of the Naia Terminal 2, brand new under President Estrada. Naia 2, however, is now overcrowded.

Terminal 2 had bad toilets.

They are now maintained by PAL. Terminal 2 had broken escalators. The airport management ordered new parts.

Departing passengers have to sit on the floor waiting for flights, for lack of space.

Meanwhile, PAL has shifted arrivals of its US-originating flights to Terminal 1 and its Middle East flights to Terminal 3. Still, PAL feels constrained. It needs to expand— expand big and urgently. PAL will increase its passenger volume by one million passengers a year over the next five years, or from 15 million today to 20 million.

“The Philippines is five years behind in building its airports,” winces Bautista.\ PAL wants to build a new terminal building at the old 8.9-hectare Nayong Pilipino at a cost of P20 billion.

Under president Ramon Ang, in 2014, PAL got a contract to lease from state gambling firm Pagcor the sprawling facility as parking for its wide-body jets, for 20 years, until 2033, at only P40 per square meter.

Pagcor now balks at this seemingly low rate and wants to play hardball.

Says PAL: “The existing

contract between PAL and Pagcor is legal, valid and based on the terms negotiated by both parties three years ago.” PAL thus expects Pagcor to respect the terms of this contract.

Asks Bautista: “If we can’t get all the runway and the terminal slots needed at Naia, how can we build our scheduled ‘banks’ of flights that will connect smoothly so we can bring tourists from London to Boracay, or from New Zealand to Bohol?” “PAL wants to decongest Naia while stimulating air travel in the Philippines,” he says.

Southeast Asia is the most dynamic global market for air travel today. International passenger growth is 10 percent per year for the last three years. The trend will continue.

In Asean, fastest growing is Vietnam tourism. It is not that Vietnam is a better place to visit than the Philippines.

The Hanoi government is simply focused on tourism and has been expanding facilities rapidly. You know the Vietnamese. They wanted to be the world’s No. 1 rice exporter.

They did it. They wanted to be the world’s No. 1 coffee exporter. They did it. They want to be the No. 1 in tourism.

They have done it.

Also growing faster than the Philippines are such relatively unknown countries before as Cambodia and Laos.

Very soon, with just a single

attraction, the temples of Angkor Wat, Cambodia will have more arrivals than the Philippines. In fact, if you remove Balikbayans as among our foreign tourists, Cambodia arrivals and Philippine arrivals are now at par.

Because of infra constraints and congestion at Naia, our main airport, the Philippines and PAL cannot grow as fast we want to. The secret of tourism growth is airports, not tourist attractions. Tourists make do with tourist attractions in their natural state. But they hate bad airports.

Tourists travel not really to look for resorts or tourist attractions, but simply for the heck of traveling. That is why good airports are essential.

Airports are the first part of travel experience.

Naia is a bad airport. For at least a couple of years, it was rated the worst airport in the world, even without reckoning with the laglagbala (bullet planting) racket (where passengers were extorted money allegedly for having a bullet or bullets in their luggage) under the BS Aquino administration.

It’s a pity because the best way to earn foreign exchange is not to borrow or lure foreign investors. It is tourism. Each tourist spends on average $1,200 when he visits the Philippines, which is really more fun to visit. biznewsasia@gmail.com

A6

World

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2017 Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

Nursing home deaths probed M IAMI―President Donald Trump is to visit stormravaged Florida on Thursday as authorities investigate the deaths of eight residents of a nursing home that lost power when Hurricane Irma whipped through the region.

The deaths brought the total number of storm-related fatalities in Florida to 20, and illustrate the urgency of restoring electricity to the millions of people across the southern state.

Trump and his wife Mel-

ania will head to the city of Fort Myers, where they will be briefed on hurricane recovery efforts along with Vice President Mike Pence, the White House said.

The three will then head to nearby Naples to visit

with hurricane victims.

Both cities are on Florida’s west coast, far from Trump’s swank Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, on the state’s east coast.

The visit comes as Florida residents who evacuated ahead of Hurricane Irma trickle back home, and as tens of thousands of utility company workers, many from out of state, work around the clock to restore power to millions of customers.

Florida Governor Rick Scott said he was “absolutely heartbroken” on Wednesday to learn of the deaths of the

elderly residents at a retirement home in Hollywood, north of Miami.

Around 115 of the nursing home residents were evacuated after a nearby hospital began receiving patients suffering from heat-related problems as there was no air conditioning due to power outages.

Three of those who died were in their nineties, including 99-year-old Albertina Vega. The youngest was 70, according to the Broward County Medical Examiner’s office.

“We believe at this time

they [the deaths] may be related to the loss of power in the storm,” Hollywood police chief Tomas Sanchez told a news conference.

Scott vowed to “aggressively demand answers” on how this happened. “This situation is unfathomable,” he fumed in a statement.

The governor said he ordered a probe by state authorities, while Sanchez confirmed a criminal investigation has been launched.

Memorial Regional Hospital began receiving patients early on Wednesday, said Dr. Randy Katz, medical direc-

tor of the hospital’s emergency department. “(We) quickly identified some issues inside the facility with fire rescue and immediately evacuated the building,” Katz said.

He said most of the patients admitted to hospital have been treated for respiratory distress, dehydration and heat-related problems.

Florida residents that heeded warnings to evacuate ahead of the storm faced lengthy traffic jams as they returned home after days in shelters or with friends or family. AFP

School fire kills 24 children, teachers KUALA LUMPUR― Twenty-four people, mostly children, were killed Thursday when a blaze tore through a Malaysian religious school, trapped in their dormitory by metal grilles on the windows.

Pupils and teachers inside the Islamic study center in downtown Kuala Lumpur screamed for help as helpless neighbors looked on.

Many of the bodies of the victims―who included 22 boys aged between 13 and 17―were found piled on top of one another, indicating there may have been a stampede as the students sought to escape the blaze that erupted before dawn.

Firefighters rushed to the scene and the fire was out within an hour but it wreaked terrible devastation. Pictures in local media showed ash-covered, fireblackened beds in the students’ sleeping quarters.

“The building was on fire as the [morning call to prayer] was sounding,” Norhayati Abdul Halim,

Superman confronts new villain WA S H I N G T O N ― N o longer are planet-destroying extra-terrestrials or billionaire evil geniuses the villains: Superman, the DC Comics superhero, has a new mission: protecting hard-working immigrants from white supremacist bullies.

In the latest edition of the “Action Comics” series, which has published Superman’s adventures since 1938, the “Man of Steel” intervenes to stop an outof-work factory worker as he is about to kill some immigrants.

Wearing a blue work shirt and red-white-and-blue bandana, the mustachioed cartoon villain embodies all the cliches of the poor bluecollar American.

Gun in hand, he threatens veiled women and rails at Hispanic workers, accusing them of stealing his job.

“You work cheap, don’t speak English so you can’t talk back or even ask for a penny more. You cost me my job! My livelihood! For that… you pay!” he says, as he opens fire.

Just then Superman steps in, bullets bouncing off his chest, to save the day.

“The only person responsible for the blackness smothering your soul is you,” Superman tells the white supremacist.

The passage echoes the recent violent protests by American right-wing extremists.

In August, a 32-year-old woman was run over and killed by a Nazi sympathizer after a violent “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. AFP

46, who lives opposite the school, told AFP. “I could hear screaming, I thought there were people fighting. I opened the window to my house and I could see the school on fire―they cried for help but I couldn’t do anything.”

By the time firefighters arrived at the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah religious school in the heart of the capital, “the screams had stopped”, she added.

Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said the children, who were boarders at the school, were “desperately trying to escape the flames” but the metal security grilles covering the windows of their dormitory prevented them.

Officials said they were unable to leave through the only door to the dormitory, as it was on fire.

Khirudin Drahman, director of Kuala Lumpur’s fire and rescue department, told AFP it was one of the country’s worst fire tragedies in 20 years. AFP

PROTEST. People take part in a demonstration against the prohibition on swimming and other nautical activities since July 2013 on the Black Rocks Beach in Saint-Gilles-les-Bains on the French overseas island of La Reunion on September 10, 2017. AFP

Evidence of one of world’s rarest birds found in Australia SYDNEY―A feather from one of the most elusive birds in the world has been found in South Australia, the first proof in more than a century that it lives there, wildlife experts said Thursday.

The “night parrot” ranks among the world’s rarest avian species and was thought extinct until an intrepid Australian naturalist provided photo evidence of one in Queensland state in 2013.

It has since also been spotted in Western Australia.

The expert behind the

Queensland sighting, John Young, and fellow ecologist Keith Bellchambers from the Australian Wildlife Conservancy have now shown it is also in South Australia.

The pair found a feather from the small, yellowishgreen bird in the nest of a zebra finch around remote Lake Eyre while following up on blurry images from a camera trap in the area.

“Keith and I looked at many zebra finches’ nests before finally an unmistakable small green feather ap-

peared within the fresh base lining of one of the nests,” said Young.

“People show excitement in many different ways, mine was to shake uncontrollably with numbing excitement and Keith’s was sheer disbelief with his hands holding his head. An incredibly emotional time for both of us.

“In my eyes there was no doubt that this was the feather of a night parrot.”

The freshness of the zebra finch nest indicates the

feather may have been collected “within a few hundred meters in the past few weeks”, Young added.

The curator of ornithology at the Western Australian Museum confirmed their find.

The next step is to map the distribution of the species, which was last recorded at Lake Eyre in 1883, and assess the population size using song meters and camera traps, said Young.

Researchers feared for decades that the nocturnal,

desert-dwelling parrot was extinct, with no sightings between 1912 and 1979 and only a handful since, before the conclusive evidence in 2013.

In 2012, the Smithsonian Magazine rated it at number one among the world’s five most mysterious birds.

Endemic to Australia, it is listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which estimates there are about 50-250 in the wild and declining. AFP

Tillerson in London to urge more pressure on N. Korea LONDON―US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson discussed the need to boost pressure on North Korea in talks with Prime Minister Theresa May in London on Thursday where the Iran nuclear deal was also raised.

The two discussed North Korea’s “destabilizing activities” and the importance of the international community coming together “to put pressure on the regime,” May’s spokesman said.

On the Iran nuclear deal, which is viewed sceptically in Washington, May was “underlining its importance in preventing Iran from procuring nuclear weapons,” the spokesman said.

Tillerson’s policy adviser Brian Hook said the Secretary of State “never misses an opportunity in bilateral, multilateral settings to raise North Korea and the need to increase pressure on North Korea”.

Tillerson is also scheduled to meet with his British counterpart and a French foreign ministry official in London later on Thursday.

British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson reiterated Britain’s commitment to tackle “the aggressive and illegal actions of the North Korean regime”.

“The UK is at the heart of mobilizing world opinion with the aim of achieving a diplomatic solution to the situation on the Korean peninsula,” Johnson said in a statement ahead of the meeting.

On September 3, North Korea detonated its sixth and most powerful nuclear test to date, prompting the UN Security Council to implement new sanctions.

Although Britain and France backed the US demand for tougher sanctions, the final resolution was toned down to secure backing from China and Russia.

In another meeting, Tillerson will also discuss the situation in Libya, where two competing governments and dozens of militias have jousted for power followed the 2011 overthrow of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi. AFP

OLYMPICS CITY. Pigeons fly past the Olympic rings installed on the Esplanade du Trocadero near the Eiffel tower following Paris’ nomination as host for the 2024 Olympics. AFP

Russia launches war games near Nato MOSCOW―Russia On Thursday began major joint military exercises with Belarus along the European Union’s eastern flank―a show of strength that has rattled nervous Nato members.

Named Zapad-2017 (West-2017), the maneuvers, scheduled to last until September 20, are taking place on the territory of Moscow’s closest ally Belarus, in Russia’s European exclave of Kaliningrad and in its frontier Pskov and Leningrad regions.

Moscow says the drills will involve 12,700 troops, 70 aircraft, 250 tanks and 10 battleships testing their firepower against an imaginary foe close to the borders with Poland and the Baltic States.

In a statement announcing the start of the exercises, Russia’s defense ministry insisted the maneuvers were “of a strictly defensive nature and are not directed against any other state or group of countries.”

But Nato claims Russia has kept it in the dark and seems to be massively underreporting the scale of the exercises, which some of the alliance’s eastern members insist could see more than 100,000 servicemen take part.

The war games come with tensions between Russia and Nato at their highest since the Cold War due to the Kremlin’s meddling in Ukraine and the US-led alliance bolstering its forces in eastern Europe. AFP

Protection urged for fleeing Venezuelans SAN JOSE, Costa Rica― The UN migration agency is urging Latin American countries hosting growing numbers of Venezuelans fleeing economic crisis to give them temporary rights to stay, its deputy chief told AFP on Wednesday.

“There is indeed a spike in arrivals” in several countries in the region, Laura Thompson of the International Organization for Migration said after a two-day migration conference in Costa Rica that discussed the accelerating outflow of Venezuelans.

“Not everybody is asking for asylum. There are a lot of Venezuelans that are moving out of the country without specifically asking for asylum,” she said.

“What we have advised is for countries to take temporary protection measures, even for those that are not asking for asylum.”

Certain countries, such as Colombia and Peru, have already extended measures to allow Venezuelans to stay for a time, she said. Others, such as Chile, were considering following suit.

Yet others, however, lacked laws permitting a temporary protection status, Thompson said. AFP

Another town scraps Australia Day, drawing government ire SYDNEY―Marking Australia Day is like celebrating the Holocaust, a Melbourne politician said as her council scrapped a holiday it deemed offensive to Aboriginal people, in a move the government on Thursday labeled “extreme and divisive”.

The council in the Mel-

bourne suburb of Moreland became the third in Victoria state to decide not to recognize Australia Day. The annual holiday, on January 26, commemorates the arrival of the country’s first British settlers in 1788 and is a time when citizenship ceremonies are held.

But it is termed “Invasion Day” by many indigenous Australians who say it marks the beginning of the decline of Aboriginal culture.

In debating the issue Wednesday, Moreland Socialist Alliance councilor Sue Bolton said commemorating Australia Day “would

be like celebrating the Nazi Holocaust”, state broadcaster ABC reported.

Assistant Minister for Immigration Alex Hawke said in a statement the government rejected “the extreme and divisive nature of the discussion Greens and Socialist councilors are promoting”. AFP

Manila

Sports

Standard

Clubhouse lead to Dumandan S ILANG, Cavite—Marvin Dumandan carded a second straight one-under 70 and took the clubhouse lead as play was suspended due to darkness with a number of flights, including that of opening round leader Clyde Mondilla, stranded in the second round of the ICTSI Riviera Classic at the Langer course yesterday.

Mondilla, who seized early control with a bogey-free 65 Wednesday, actually came out of the two-hour long delay due to threats of lightning in fierce form, bouncing back from a bogey on No. 14 with birdies on Nos. 16 and 2 for a running seven-under overall before play was stopped.

Three others – Michael Bibat, Arnold Villacencio and Korean amateur Tom Kim –

pooled thee-under totals with seven holes to play while Ira Alido, who shot a 67 in the first round, fumbled with a two-over card after 12 holes.

That leaves Dumandan with the lowest completed round in another demanding day here with the former club pro assembling a 140 for a provisional one-stroke lead over Charles Hong, who took advantage of an early morning

start and fired a bogey-free 68 for a 141.

Unheralded Omar Dungca hobbled with a 72 for a 142.

Mondilla and company will complete their unfinished rounds early today with the top 50 plus ties after 36 holes proceeding to the final two days of the $100,000 championship serving as the third leg of the PGT Asia Tour put up by ICTSI and organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. Others with completed 36 holes were Paul Echavez (71144), Colombian Wolmer Murillo (74-144). Erwin Arcillas (75-145), Jerson Balasabas (76-145), Jaime Clavijo, also of Colombia, (74-145), Indonesian Elki Kow (73-145),

Dumandan

Justin Quiban (68-145), Aussie Andy Chu (71-146), DJ Loypur, also of Australia, (74-146), Gerald Rosales (73146), Rico Depilo (73-147) and Randy Garalde (72-147).

Expected to crowd Mondilla at today’s resumption

are Bibat, who had a fiveunder card after 12 holes, while Kim and Villacencio had two-under.

Jay Bayron, winner here in the ICTSI Philippine Gofl Tour last year, had a oneover card and one-over overall after 15 holes, Tony Lascuña also had a one-over and two-over overall after 12, and Rene Menor, winner of last week’s PGTA Splendido Classic, had a three-over card and five-over overall with three holes to play in the 72hole championship backed

by Custom Clubmakers, Meralco, Champion, Summit Mineral Water, K&G Golf Apparel, BDO, Sharp, KZG, PLDT and M.Y. Shokai Technology Inc.,

Duterte to athletes: Make us proud again

By Randy Caluag PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte handed out cash incentives to Filipino athletes who brought honor to the country. And he’s hoping it won’t be the last.

Speaking to sports officials and athletes, who won medals in the recent 29th Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia, Duterte urged them to “continue to represent the best of what the Philippines has to offer, President Duterte talks with women athletes who personally received their cash incentives in Malacañang. here and abroad.”

“Make us proud again,” the president urged his audience.

Duterte made the statement before he led sports officials from the Philippine NATIONAL bowlers Krizziah the showdown with Krizziah.

Sports Commission and Tabora and Jomar Jumapao took Jumapao, sales rep of familyPhilippine Olympic Comdifferent routes Wednesday to owned firm Coolspot Specialmittee in handing out presibag the 2017 BWC (Bowling ists, felt so excited after getting dential citations and cash inWorld Cup) national titles at his first BWC national crown on centives worth P18,037,500 to Paeng’s Eastwood Bowl and earn his first try. “Masaya talaga ako, the athletes, plus P7,181,250 a trip to Hermosillo, Mexico. but I’m not too satisfied with my more for the their coaches.

Tabora, 26-year-old winner of the shots. I have to work on them in “I congratulate you all, same crown in 2012, bounced back preparation for the Mexico comespecially our medalists, for from a first-game loss to down mapetition,” added Jumapao. the accomplishment that you ny-time international titlist Liza del Jumapao came in second in the have brought honor to the Rosario, 2-1 (225-266,238-193, 236quarterfinals with 6813 pinfalls, country. Through hard work 179) in the ladies’ finals. then turned back Merwyn Tan, and discipline, you have preJumapao, 27-year-old Cebu 2-1 (190-196, 208-168, 224-200) to vailed and made our nation star who is now based in Manila, earn a finals slot against Olaivar, 2-0 proud,” Duterte said in his thumped Nicco Olaivar, 2-0 (206(215-155, 213-204) winner over opening speech on Wednes195, 233-199) for the men’s plum.

Kenneth, frontrunner from the day night at the Rizal Hall in “I was so happy and excited,” said start up to the quarterfinals.

Malacañang, Manila.

Tabora, 13th finisher in the 2012 BWC champions Jomar Jumapao and Krizziah Tabora display their Olaivar checked in only fourth One of those in attendance BWC international tournament in trophies after the award ceremony. Also in picture, from left, are in the quarterfinals with 6701 four-time international BWC titlist Paeng Napomuceno, Puyat was taekwondo official Rep. Wroclaw, Poland who brought home pinfalls.

Sports Group executive vice president Engr. Gilbert Gavino and PBF Monsour Del Rosario, who a bronze medal from last month’s Tabora and Jumapao will reppresident Steve Hontiveros. a few hours later, left with Southeast Asian Games in Kuala resent the Philippines in the 2017 more than hundred athletes knocked out fellow PH bowler Del Rosario, who ousted last International Bowling World Lumpur, Malaysia. bound for the Asian Indoor She topped the quarterfinals Alexis Sy, 2-0 (228-135, 182-165) year’s champion Lara Posadas, Cup in Hermosillo, Mexico on and Martial Arts Games in with 6034 pinfalls and then to advance to the finals against 2-0 (246-178, 207-183) to arrange Nov. 4-12.

Turkmenistan.

Del Rosario was designated chef de mission of Team Philippines in this tough competition among countries in Asia and Oceania.

“We’re looking forward TWO-TIME Most Valu- answered back with their “(I’m) praying that we all able Player Ollan Omiping own 5-0 blast to finally to a more energetic UNTV come home victorious in our scored 23 points including seal the victory as they aim Cup Season 6 because of fights,” said Del Rosario. five triples to help the de- to be the first team in the the additional teams and A few weeks ago, the fending champions PNP league to win back-to-back hopefully we can help Philippines won 24 gold, more charitable groups for Responders earn a hard- championships.

33 silver and 64 bronze “Our mission is to de- each participating governfought 87-79 win over the medals in the KL SEA gritty Bureau of Fire Pro- fend the championship. ment agencies,” said BMPI Games--good for only sixth tection Firefighters at the We’ve just shown the president and CEO Kuya place, with the overall chamstart of the UNTV Cup team’s camaraderie, that Daniel Razon—the brains pionship going to host MaSeason 6 opener at Smart- we know each other’s play behind UNTV Cup. laysia, which was congratuHe added that even Araneta Coliseum last and that even if we’re unlated by Duterte—not for dermanned, all of us will though the participating Tuesday. winning the most number of teams have yet to win, they Leading by nine points step up,” said Omiping. medals, but for successfully The game will be tele- already have something to with less than three minutes hosting the event. to play in the final frame, cast on Sunday from 12 give to their chosen chariThe president also extable institutions. the Responders were able noon to 2 p.m. pressed hopes that “we will Meanwhile, the main UNTV Cup, unwrapped to hold off a 9-3 rally by continue to foster this spirit the Firefighters after Rob its 6th season to a huge sponsor of the league, Bro. of goodwill and sportsmanDaniel “Mr. Public Service” Razon performed the Wainwright hit consecutive crowd of basketball fans Eli Soriano of the Memship” even as the Philipceremonial toss between the Philippine National triples to cut the deficit to inside the Smart-Araneta bers Church of God InPolice and the Bureau of Fire Protection to start pines gets ready to host the sixth season of UNTV Cup at the Smart Araneta just three, 79-82.

Coliseum in Quezon City ternational, delivered his the 30th edition of the SEA Coliseum on Tuesday. opening remarks.

The defending champs last Tuesday.

Games in 2019.

Tabora, Jumapao cop Bowling World Cup titles

Responders turn back Firefighters in UNTV Cup opener

Soaring Eagles eye PVL elimination-round sweep AFTER racking up four straight victories in emphatic fashions, reigning back-toback UAAP champion Ateneo braces for a tougher stretch of three matches in its drive for a sweep of the Premier Volleyball League Collegiate Conference elims at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.

But the way they trampled their first four rivals, the Eagles look headed to accomplishing the mission for a crack at the inaugural men’s crown of the league organized by Sports Vision and backed

by Mikasa and Asics.

They trounced the FEU Tams in four

last Sept. 3 to open their campaign then strung up shut out victories over San Beda, UST and St. Benilde to zero in on the first semifinal berth in the single round elims among eight of the country’s top collegiate teams.

Top hitter Marck Espejo has been lording it over the field with 76 hits, including 68 attack points, after four games with Gian Glorioso, Chumason Njigha, Karl Baysa, Ron Medalla, libero Manuel Sumanguid III and playmakers Joner Polvorosa and Ishmael Rivera providing the solid backup.

Midway though the elims, the dominant Eagles are soaring in the stats sheet.

With Espejo emerging as the leading scorer, the four-time UAAP MVP and Rivera also pace the spiking department with 60.71 and 48.61 success, respectively. Polvorosa is also the league’s top setter with a 10.62 norm per set while Sumanguid leads the receivers with 58.44 percent efficiency.

As a team, Ateneo is also tops in spikes with 45.36 percent success, in serves with 1.46 average, and in setting and receives with 10.85 norm and 52.75 percent efficiency, respectively.

A7

TODAY FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2017 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

LOTTO RESULTS

6/49 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ 6/42 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ 6 DIGITS 00-00-00-00-00-00 3 DIGITS 00-00-00 2 EZ2 00-00

Canelo-Golovkin on Sky Sports PPV BOXING powerhouses unleash their might this coming weekend as SKY Sports Pay Per View broadcasts live, commercial-free, and on high definition Pinoy Pride 42 Clash for Glory on Saturday, together with Supremacy: Canelo vs Golovkin on Sunday.

Mexican Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will go up against Gennady “GGG” Golovkin from Kazakhstan for the unified middleweight title at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Sept. 17, 9 a.m.

Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KO) is the lineal middleweight world champion. He handily defeated Julio Chavez Jr. earlier this year and knocked out Britain’s Amir Khan last year. Online boxing blogs are tipping Alvarez to give Golovkin his first loss.

Meanwhile, Golovkin (33-0, 33 KO) is an undefeated fighter looking to defend his IBF/WBA/ WBC middleweight titles for the 18th time. He had a decade-long streak of ending fights without going the full distance of he fight. This ended when he narrowly won over Daniel Jacobs earlier this year.

Milan “El Metodico” Melindo, fresh from his championship fight against Japan’s Akira Yaegashi for the IBF world light flyweight belt, will defend his title against IBO world light flyweight champion Hekkie “The Hexecutioner” Budler from South Afric on Sept. 16, 2017, 6 p.m., at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.

Melindo (36-2-0, 13 KO) is on a winning streak after besting his past four opponents, including Yaegashi earlier this year.

On the other corner, Budler (31-2-0, 10 KO) won the IBO world light flyweight belt also earlier this year, against Filipino boxer Joey Canoy. He is currently 6th in the WBC and IBF light flyweight division.

SKY Sports PPV offers The Definitive Boxing weekend bundle live, commercial-free, and in HD for only P249. Subscribers can also get these two fights individually with Pinoy Pride 42 at P99 and Supremacy: Canelo vs Golovkin for P199.

Pinoy Pride 42 is also available on ABS-CBN on Sunday at 3 p.m., with a same day primetime telecast on S+A at 6:30 p.m.

N OTICE Notice is hereby given that 8990 HOUSING DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, with office address at 8990 Corporate Center, Negros St., Cebu Business Park, Cebu City, is applying for registration with the Board of Investments (BOI) as an Expanding Developer of Economic and Low-cost Housing Project (Deca Homes Pavia Resort Residences Phase 2) with a capacity of 2,159 economic and low-cost house and lot units on a non-pioneer status, with project site located at Brgy. Balabag & Jibao-an, Pavia, Iloilo.

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.) MARY ANN E. RAGANIT Officer-In-Charge Infrastructure and Services Industries Service (MS-SEPT. 15, 2017)

Republic of the Philippines Department of Finance Securities and Exchange Commission IN THE MATTER OF

: : REGISTRATION OF COMMERCIAL PAPERS

CITY & LAND DEVELOPERS, INCORPORATED : : x----------------------------------------x

NOTICE Notice is hereby given that on 5 September 2017 a sworn Registration Statement was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on behalf of CITY & LAND DEVELOPERS, INCORPORATED for the registration of Four Hundred Million Pesos (Php4,000,000.00) worth of Commercial Papers.

According to the papers presented, the following persons are the officers/directors of the corporation: Name Atty. Sabino R. Padilla, Jr. Stephen C. Roxas Andrew I. Liuson Grace C. Liuson Josef C. Gohoc Peter S. Dee Cezar E.A. Virata Alice C. Gohoc Helen C. Roxas Emma A. Choa Rudy Go Eden F. Go Melita M. Revuelta Romeo E. Ng Melita L. Tan Rosario D. Perez Winefreda R. Go Atty. Emma G. Jularbal Jocelyn C. de Asis

Position Independent Director/Chairman of the Board Director/Chairman of the Executive Committee Director/Vice Chairman of the Board Director/Deputy Vice Chairman of the Board Director/President Independent Director Independent Director Director Director Executive Vice President/Treasurer Senior Vice President/Compliance Officer Vice President Vice President Vice President Vice President Vice President-Executive Affairs Vice President Vice President-Legal Affairs/Corporate Secretary Assistant Corporate Secretary

Said registration statement and other papers/documents attached thereto (collectively known as *RS*) are open to inspection by interested parties during business hours, and copies thereof, photostatic or otherwise, shall be furnished to any party, upon request, at such fees as the Commission may prescribe. The RS and the Prospectus dated 05 September 2017 and the corresponding updated version may be downloaded from www.cityland.net.

VICENTE GRACIANO P. FELIZMENIO, JR. Director Markets and Securities Regulation Department (MS-SEPT. 15 & 18, 2017)

Republic of the Philippines Department of Finance Securities and Exchange Commission IN THE MATTER OF

: : REGISTRATION OF COMMERCIAL PAPERS

CITYLAND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION : : x----------------------------------------x

NOTICE Notice is hereby given that on 7 September 2017 a sworn Registration Statement was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on behalf of CITYLAND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION for the registration of One Billion Three Hundred Fifty Million Pesos (Php1,350,000,000.00) worth of Commercial Papers.

According to the papers presented, the following persons are the officers/directors of the corporation: Name Washington SyCip Stephen C. Roxas Andrew I. Liuson Grace C. Liuson Josef C. Gohoc Atty. Sabino R. Padilla, Jr. Peter S. Dee Alice C. Gohoc Helen C. Roxas Emma A. Choa Rudy Go Eden F. Go Melita M. Revuelta Romeo E. Ng Melita L. Tan Rosario D. Perez Atty. Emma G. Jularbal Catherine Grace T. Wong

Position Independent Director/Chairman of the Board Director/Chairman of the Executive Committee Director/Vice Chairman of the Board Director/Deputy Vice Chairman of the Board Director/President Director Independent Director Director Director Executive Vice President/Treasurer Senior Vice President/Compliance Officer Vice President Vice President Vice President Vice President Vice President-Executive Affairs Vice President-Legal Affairs/Corporate Secretary Assistant Corporate Secretary

Said registration statement and other papers/documents attached thereto (collectively known as *RS*) are open to inspection by interested parties during business hours, and copies thereof, photostatic or otherwise, shall be furnished to any party, upon request, at such fees as the Commission may prescribe. The RS and the Prospectus dated 07 September 2017 and the corresponding updated version may be downloaded from www.cityland.net.

VICENTE GRACIANO P. FELIZMENIO, JR. Director Markets and Securities Regulation Department (MS-SEPT. 15 & 18, 2017)

Sports

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

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2017

Paris, LA will host Olympics LIMA, Peru—Paris and Los Angeles celebrated their coronation as host cities for the 2024 and 2028 Olympics here Wednesday, delivering a jolt of good news for the International Olympic Committee as it battles escalating corruption allegations.

In a drama-free conclusion to a three-year bidding race, IOC members voted unanimously to rubber-stamp a deal hashed out in July for Paris to be given 2024 and Los Angeles 2028.

The pre-ordained outcome did little to dampen celebrations inside the Lima Convention Centre, where Paris and Los Angeles officials cheered and congratulated each other.

IOC President Thomas Bach—a driving force behind the decision to confirm 2024 and 2028 at the same time—hailed the joint award as a “winwin-win.”

“It’s a magical, unique victory,” said jubilant Paris 2024 bid co-leader Tony Estanguet as French President Emmanuel Macron saluted a “victory for France.”

Los Angeles 2028 leaders were equally ecstatic.

“This was the right answer, it was about fraternity, it was about friendship, it was about finding a win-win,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti told AFP. IOC chief Bach meanwhile said the Olympic movement had secured the result “we were looking for.”

“I couldn’t be more happy than I am right now,” Bach said. “We have the two best possible games for the Olympics in 2024 and 2028, in two great Olympic countries.” AFP

NBA player sentenced over pot LOS ANGELES—Sacramento Kings forward Zach Randolph was sentenced to community service on Wednesday in connection with an incident that saw him charged with marijuana possession.

With his no-contest plea, the 36-year-old Randolph had the charge against him reduced to delaying an officer.

The 36-year-old was arrested last month in a late-night disturbance at a housing estate in the gritty Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts.

He was originally charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana and resisting arrest.

Randolph was placed in a diversion program and must complete 150 hours of community service. He was ordered not to associate with any known narcotics sellers or users, according to Frank Mateljan with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office.

If he completes the program, the case against him will be dismissed.

Randolph signed a twoyear $24 million contract with the Kings in July after playing eight years with the Memphis Grizzlies. Prior to signing with the Kings the Grizzlies announced that his jersey number 50 will never be worn again by another Grizzly and would eventually retire it in the future. AFP

Dancers perform during the opening ceremony of the 131st IOC Session in Lima. The International Olympic Committee confirmed Paris and Los Angeles as hosts for the 2024 and 2028 Olympics, crowning two cities at the same time in a historic first for the embattled sports body. After a week that has seen the IOC forced onto the defensive over mounting corruption allegations, the Olympic movement will bask in a welcome jolt of good news as the two cities celebrate their respective awards. AFP

JRU Heavy Bombers beat Letran Knights

By Peter Atencio

L

Games today:

ESSONS learned, actions taken.

The Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers made an effort to play a patient, low-scoring game with the Letran Knights yesterday at the Arena in San Juan.

The Heavy Bombers then came away with a 77-68 beating of the Knights to improve their chances of making it to the Final Four of the 93rd National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball tournament.

The team took to heart the mistakes and good points that were learned when the Heavy Bombers absorbed a 109-115 setback to the Arellano Chiefs last week.

“Sa tingin, ito yung character ng team after losing a won

ballgame against Arellano last week. Ang, importante, we bounced back,” said JRU coach Vergel Meneses.

Teytey Teodoro and Ervin Grospe led the scoring parade with 15 points apiece while Jed Mendoza and MJ Dela Virgen added 11 and 10 points, respectively, as the Bombers rediscovered their winning ways with their seventh victory in 11 games.

Rebounding from a tough 109-115 double overtime loss to Arellano University

(Filoil Flying V Centre) 12 noon – LPU vs AU (Srs) 2 p.m. – CSB vs UPHSD (Srs) 4 p.m. – SSC-R vs SBC (Srs)

last week, JRU needed the win to boost its Final Four aspirations.

With the victory the Bombers (7-4) opened a twogame lead over the Knights (5-6) who suffered their third consecutive defeat to drop to fifth place behind the San Sebastian College Stags (5-5).

Leading the standings are the Lyceum Pirates (11-0) and the San Beda College Red Lions (10-1).

The other teams include the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals (4-6), University of Perpetual Help (4-6), the Arellano University Chiefs

(4-6), the College of St. Benilde Blazers (2-9) and the Mapua Cardinals (1-10).

JRU built a 36-27 advantage at halftime and posted the biggest lead of the game, 64-48, on a Dela Virgen layup at the 7:34 mark of the third period.

“We cannot outscore the other team. Defense is our main offense,” said Bombers coach Vergel Meneses.

The Heavy Bombers also displayed better teamwork with 20 assists leading to 29 made field goals.

JP Calvo came through with 21 points, Rey Nambatac had 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists while Bong Quinto had a doubledouble outing of 11 points and 12 rebounds for Letran.

The Knights have now lost

three in a row after stringing together four consecutive wins.

In the juniors division, Kurt Reyson shot 20 points in a reserve role as Letran bested JRU, 91-87, for its seventh win in 11 matches.

In junior action, Neil Tolentino scored on a gamewinning shot in the last 2.5 seconds, sending the Letran Squires to a 91-87 win over the JRU Light Bombers.

His basket came after JRU’s Ronnie Camua turned the ball over on an offensive foul. The Squires went on to earn their sixth win in 10 matches.

They moved up to third, and overtook the San Beda Red Cubs(6-5). Kurt Reyson showed the way with 20 points for the Raymund Valenzona coached Squires.

Eustaquio still dreams of ONE Championship crown GEJE Eustaquio considers himself as a fortunate individual, but he has always possessed the drive and talent to achieve all of his lofty goals.

The 28-year-old Baguio City native has capitalized on every opportunity that has come his way in his professional mixed martial arts career.

Eustaquio has the opportunity to cement his status as one of the best flyweights in the world today as he is set to face former flyweight kingpin Kairat “The Kazakh” Akhmetov in the main event of ONE: Total Victory in Jakarta, Indonesia on Saturday, September 16.

Although a tall order is in front of him, Eustaquio remains optimistic that he will have his hand raised in triumph as he is driven by his desire to become the best competitor in the organization’s 61.2-kilogram weight class.

“Nothing is easy. A person has to go through hardship to become successful. I know it will be hard, but I am willing to dig deep and get that victory. In order to be a winner, you have to endure. I am

here to endure all the hardships because I want to be the best,” he said.

Eustaquio has a Master’s degree and is a perennial contender in ONE Championship’s talented flyweight division.

Training out of the legendary Team Lakay, Eustaquio made his professional debut in February 2011. He competed on three local shows, winning two of the contests, before signing with ONE Championship.

Eustaquio made his promotional debut a year later against Alex Silva at ONE: Battle of Heroes in February 2012, and it was a night he will never forget.

“My first ONE Championship fight is the most memorable to me,” he said. “It is the biggest victory of my career because it was the first time I won internationally.”

Ever since he became part of ONE Championship’s burgeoning roster of world-class athletes, Eustaquio positioned himself as well-respected veteran from Mark Sangiao’s Team Lakay camp as he holds a respectable 9-5 record,

Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio of Team Lakay enters the ONE Championship cage ahead of another exciting fight. ONE Championship

with two wins coming by knockout and another two by submission.

Eustaquio continued to excel in the promotion’s flyweight division,

even vying for the inaugural ONE Flyweight World Championship at ONE: Rise of the Kingdom back in September 2014.

Duterte asks POC to widen search

By John Paolo Bencito AS the Philippines hosts the 30th Southeast Asian Games in 2019, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) to recruit the youth into sports nationwide, including indigenous peoples and out-of-school youth which could be the country’s next award-winning athletes.

“I enjoin the PSC (Philippine Sports Commission) to widen its scope and recruit nationwide. Look for them in non-traditional places and include members of the indigenous tribes and the out-ofschool youth,” Duterte said Wednesday night in his speech at Malacañang.

Duterte directed the agency to look for athletes in non-traditional places and encourage them to focus on improving their skills and to strive to do better in the next SEA Games.

“Let us give them a chance to hone their talent and live up to their fullest potential,” he said.

Duterte assured that the government and the Filipino people will support the athletes “every step of the way.”

“Continue to represent the best of what the Philippines has to offer, here and abroad. Make us proud again,” he said.

At least P18 million in incentives will be given to athletes and at least P17 million to their coaches, after the Philippines collected 24 gold, 33 silver and 64 bronze.

Duterte likewise expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the athletes who have represented the Philippines in the recently concluded SEA Games.

“I congratulate you all, especially our medalists, for the accomplishment that has brought honor to the country. Through hard work and discipline, you have prevailed and made our nation proud,” he said.

Golovkin skips daughter’s birth to train for title fight

WBC, WBA and IBF middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin attends a news conference at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. AFP

LAS VEGAS—Gennady Golovkin is one of the most dedicated boxers in the world and even the birth of his daughter couldn’t pry him out of the gym.

The three-belt champion missed the birth on Friday because he was training for his upcoming world middleweight title fight.

Golovkin stayed in the gym for two hours after his wife, Alina, gave birth to the couple’s second child.

They also have a son.

“He didn’t leave the gym until 6 p.m.,” Golovkin’s trainer Abel Sanchez said.

“The baby was born at 4 p.m.

“His wife was in the hospital for one day. She came home next day so

he was home with them.”

Golovkin, who holds the World Boxing Council, World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation middleweight belts, will face Canelo Alvarez in a 12-round mega title fight on Saturday in Las Vegas.

Sanchez said he was concerned during the long training camp about how Golovkin was doing with the baby on the way and the most important fight of his career around the corner.

“I started to voice my concern.

‘The baby’s not here’. He said ‘coach the baby is going to come whether I am there or not. I have already done

my part.’”

Sanchez said Golovkin has been in high spirits as the fight preparation shifted this week from their training camp to Las Vegas.

“He is in a great mood. I don’t know if it is because of the baby being here or if because he finally got the fight he wanted,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez says Golovkin is a good father and just as dedicated to his family as he is to his work.

“Golovkin is a family man. He has always been very, very, very focused,” Sanchez said.

“He has never been the type of guy to go out at night. You are never going to lose him for a day. AFP

PSE set to secure P1.55b in loans

Business

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2017

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Economic team to visit Japan

Producers Savings Banking Corp. is the first Philippine bank to sign up with Globe Business, the corporate information and communications technology arm of Globe Telecom Inc., for the use of G Suite office collaboration tool. Globe Business senior vice president Peter Maquera (second from left) and PSBC chairman and chief executive officer Andres Cornejo (second from right) officially seal the G Suite partnership.

With them are (from left) Globe Business cluster sales head Tisha Sadorra and PSBC vice chairman Sandra Mendoza (right).

THE Philippine economic team will visit Tokyo later this month to discuss with Japanese officials ways of speeding up the implementation of the government’s flagship infrastructure projects for possible funding by Japan.

The Finance Department in a statement Thursday said the visit also aimed to brief potential investors on the vibrant prospects for the Philippine economy.

The meeting in Tokyo of the Philippines-Japan High-Level Committee on Infrastructure and Economic Cooperation will be the third such dialog to be called since the first was held in Tokyo in March this year.

The second high-level committee meeting was held in July in Manila, where Secretary Ernesto Pernia of the National Economic and Development Authority, who co-chairs, with Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, the committee for the Philippines, announced an indicative list of projects with an estimated total cost of P315.4 billion that were pipelined for possible Japanese financing. Julito G. Rada

More foreign flights for PAL

QC court orders MWSS to indemnify Maynilad

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales

C

ustomers of Maynilad Water Services Inc. may pay higher water rates this year after the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City ordered the immediate implementation of Maynilad’s final award in an arbitration case. proposed from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2017.

Metro Pacific said once the RTC decision becomes final and executory, Maynilad’s 2017 average basic charge would increase by 9.89 percent, or an average of P3.41 per cubic meter of the 2017 average basic charge of P34.51 per cubic meter.

For households with monthly water consumption of 10 cu.m. or less, this

would mean an increase of P11.56 in their monthly bill from P118.61 to P130.18.

For those with monthly water consumption of 20 cu.m., the additional rate will be P43.76 per month from P444.29 to P 488.05, or an increase of P2.19 per cu.m.

The tariff increase is expected to boost Maynilad’s claim against the government, as recently determined by a three-man arbitral tribunal that unanimously upheld Maynilad’s claim against the Philippines.

Maynilad president Ramoncito Fernandez said the decision “confirms that the concession Aareement works, and restores investor confidence in the public-private partnership program of the government.”

“This also ensures the continued implementation of Maynilad’s capital expenditure projects that are intended to benefit further our customers,” said Maynilad.

Fernandez, however, said that the government coiuld still appeal the court’s decision.

“They [MWSS] can still appeal. There are many ways to implement that [rate hike] that is why we are closely coordinating with the government,” said Fernandez.

Earlier this year, the three-man Arbitral Tribunal unanimously upheld the company’s claim against the government and ordered the state to pay P3.42 billion for losses incurred from March 11, 2015 to August 31, 2016.

The tribunal, in a decision dated 24th July 2017, upheld the validity of Maynilad’s claim against the government, through the Department of Finance, to compensate the company for the delayed implementation of tariffs for the rebasing period 2013 to 2017.

The concession agreement stipulates that the government should indemnify Maynilad of any losses resulting from a delay in implementing any increase in the standard rates.

The tribunal ordered the government to reimburse Maynilad the amount of P3.4 billion, without prejudice to any rights that Maynilad may have to seek recourse against MWSS for losses incurred.

PNOC: 12 firms eyeing Malampaya banked gas AROUND 12 foreign companies have expressed interest to acquire the government’s banked gas from the Malampaya natural gas field in northwest Palawan, an official said Thursday.

“We want to monetize the banked gas so that we do not have to borrow. There are around a dozen serious ones for the banked gas,” staterun Philippine National Oil Co. president Reuben Lista told reporters.

PNOC earlier bared plans to trade the government’s banked gas in the international market to provide funding for the planned liquefied natural gas project in the country.

“Neda (National Economic Development Authority) will not likely approve if we borrow $2 billion. We have equity from the banked gas and that is the direction we are tying to adapt. We are looking for a partner willing to monetize my banked gas.

There are 12 interested... all foreign,” Lista said.

The government earlier estimated that the planned integrated LNG facility would cost around $2 billion to construct. PNOC estimates the value of the banked gas around P11.9 billion.

Lista said PNOC could sell the banked gas below the price of natural gas sold to the Ilijan natural gas plant.

“I have to justify that.

We are answerable to the

business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com

IN BRIEF

GLOBE’S PARTNER.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp., parent company of Maynilad, said in a disclosure to the stock exchange that the Regional Trial Court Branch 93 of Quezon City, in a decision dated August 30, granted its petition to enforce the arbitration award following the refusal of Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System to implement it.

The final award upheld the 13.41 percent rebasing adjustment that Maynilad

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor

government and money of the people that’s why we need CoA (Commission on Audit) and Neda,” he said.

PNOC earlier informed Congress that trading the banked gas outside of the country “is an offshoot of a realization that a domestic sale of the banked gas may pose some difficulty.”

The unused Malampaya natural gas, or banked gas, is stored in the Malampaya reservoir and is owned by PNOC. It was contracted, paid for by the government and reserved for future use.

The banked gas, however, has accumulated in the past several years.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Thursday, September 14, 2017

F OREIGN E XCHANGE R ATE Currency Unit

US Dollar Peso

United States Dollar

1.000000

50.9670

Japan

Yen

0.009052

0.4614

UK

Pound

1.321300

67.3427

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.127995

6.5235

Switzerland

Franc

1.037344

52.8703

Canada

Dollar

0.821625

41.8758

Singapore

Dollar

0.740631

37.7477

Australia

Dollar

0.798400

40.6921

Bahrain

Dinar

2.654632

135.2986

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266652

13.5905

Brunei

Dollar

0.737898

Indonesia

Rupiah 0.000076

0.0039

Thailand

Baht

1.5407

UAE

Dirham 0.272272

13.8769

Euro

Euro

1.188800

60.5896

Korea

Won

0.000884

0.0451

China

Yuan

0.152795

7.7875

India

Rupee

0.015625

0.7964

Malaysia

Ringgit 0.238663

0.030230

New Zealand Dollar

0.723800

Taiwan

0.033292

Dollar

37.6084

12.1639 36.8899 1.6968 Source: PDS Bridge

SCPA BACKS HARIBON. Sanitary Care Products Asia Inc. teams up with the Philippines’ pioneer environmental organization Haribon Foundation for the third year in a row to preserve the environment by adopting a forest and planting 3,000 seedlings. Fifty seven employees from SCPA and 100 community members from Dolores and Haribon Foundation trekked for the tree-planting activity held August 19 at the Mt. Banahaw–San Cristobal protected landscape, situated in San Pablo, Laguna province.

Non-life companies may invest in real properties

By Julito G. Rada THE Insurance Commission said non-life insurance companies may now invest their assets in real properties provided they adhere to the conditions set in the recently signed circular of the commission.

The commission earlier prescribed the parameters to be observed in cases of investments in real properties of nonlife insurance companies.

“The new guidelines now allow non-life insurance companies to invest their money in incoming-producing real properties, other than those utilized as its main place of business or offices, provided that the applicant non-life insurance company satisfies the conditions stated therein,” Insurance Commissioner Dennis Funa said Thursday.

Under the circular, only those non-life companies with a minimum networth of P550 million and have complied with the liquidity requirements may invest in incomeproducing real properties.

PHILIPPINE Airlines said it plans more international flights next year in time for the delivery of its new aircraft.

PAL president and chief operating officer Jaime Bautista said the flag carrier would be flying the Airbus A321 NEO, including a special longer-range version, to enable the airline to launch nonstop services to Brisbane, Delhi, Perth, Mumbai and Sapporo, as well as increase flights to Melbourne and other Asia/Pacific destinations.

“Also in 2018, we are excited to introduce the Airbus A350 as our new ultra-long-range flagship, a 295-seater wide-body airplane that will help us link the Philippines nonstop to New York, Chicago, Seattle and far-flung points in Europe and North America,” he added.

Bautista said PAL would take delivery of two brand new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft later this year to complete its fleet of 10 B777s for deployment to New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, Vancouver and now also to London Heathrow. Darwin G. Amojelar

$427m in hot money flee PH

FOREIGN portfolio investments or “hot money” in August 2017 posted a net outflow of $58 million, a reversal of the net inflow of $427 million a year, ago as investors were hesitant to pour their money in the domestic markets during the “ghost” month.

“This may be attributed to August being considered the ‘ghost’ month, as well as investor reaction to the rising geopolitical tension between the US and North Korea, mixed second-quarter corporate earnings, reinvigorated anti-drug campaign of the administration, and alleged anomalies at the Bureau of Customs,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said in a statement Thursday.

The August net outflow was also a turnaround from the $206-million net inflow a month ago. This brought hot money in the first eight months to a net outflow of $318.88 million, a sharp reversal of the $1.973 billion net inflow a year ago.

Gross inflows for the eight-month period reached $10.694 billion, down from $12.604 billion a year ago, while total outflows hit $11.012 billion, higher than the $10.630 billion on year.

Julito G. Rada

Aboitiz Power eyes AES holdings in PH

By Alena Mae S. Flores for sale, we will look (at ABOITIZ Power Corp. has joined around 15 to 20 foreign and local companies interested in acquiring the power assets of AES Corp. of the US in the Philippines.

Aboitiz Power president Antonio Moraza told reporters the company was seriously looking at joining the sale transaction, which it expects to be completed within the year.

“We are studying (the sale)... Very advanced and everyone else, am sure.

A lot of local, regional (investors) are all there,” Moraza said.

The official said companies were interested in the AES Philippines’ 51 percent stake in the Masinloc Power Partners Co. Ltd., which owns the 630-megawatt Masinloc coal-fired power plant in Zambales province and the 335-MW expansion in the same area due for completion in 2019.

“There’s I think 20 (investors). We are interested.

As long as power projects in the Philippines that is

it). The interest (for AES) is very wide, foreign, local, wide. I understand there is more than 15 (parties),” Moraza said, AES Philippines is reportedly selling its stake for $1 billion. Moraza said the company had not discussed the issue of acquisition cost and that it was under the impression that the sale would be concluded before the end of the year.

AES Corp. of the US earlier sold its 45 percent interest in Masin-AES Pte Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of AES that owns business interests in the Philippines, including the 630-megawatt Masinloc coal plant, to Electricity Generating Public Co. Ltd. of Thailand for $453 million in September 2014.

The sale includes indirect stakes in the 630 MW;Masinloc coal plant in Zambales; expansion of the existing Masinloc facility; and approximately 60 MW of potential energy storage projects in advanced development.

BoI investments climb 38% to P325.8b

By Othel V. Campos THE Board of Investments is confident of hitting its P500billion investment target this year, as projects registered with the agency reached P325.8 billion in the first eight months of the year, up 38 percent from P235.4 billion year-on-year.

Trade Secretary and BoI chairman Ramon Lopez said prospective investments could exceed the target with investors exploring opportunities in energy, infrastructure and agribusiness.

“Investors are banking on the construction boom as a result of the “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure pro-

gram of the government, and to sustain this, they are also looking at the energy requirements to get this done,” he added.

Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said registered construction and public private partnership projects reached P127.7 billion in the eight-month period, up 300 percent from a year ago.

The real estate sector remained robust with committed investments of P72.8 billion, up 113 percent from P34.1 billion on year.

Investments in manufacturing sustained an upward trend with P36 billion in project approvals, up from P20.7 billion in 2016, while

agriculture projects rose 47 percent to P2.5 billion from P1.7 billion.

Among the biggest projects approved for August were the P14.6-billion wind energy project of Currimao Solar Energy Corp. in Rizal, the P12.5-billion cement production of South Western Cement Corp. in Cebu, and the P777-million biomass energy plant of VS Gripal Power Corp. in Nueva Ecija.

The P763.2-million lowcost housing project of 8990 Housing Development Corp. in Davao City and the P623.5-million e-commerce project of Global Fashion Group rounded out the five biggest projects.

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Stock surge; JG Summit up

T

HE stock market surged Thursday as investors picked up select blue chips to push the benchmark index safely above the 8,000-point mark.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index climbed 91.03 points, or 1.1 percent, 8,144.91 on a value turnover of P8.5 billion. Gainers beat losers, 111 to 85, with 62 issues unchanged.

Conglomerate JG Summit Holdings Inc. of industrialist John Gokongwei advanced 4.8 percent to P76, while Filinvest Land Inc., the property unit of the Gotianun Group, rose 4.2 percent to P1.97.

GT Capital Holdings Inc. of tycoon George Ty gained 3.4 percent to P1,199, while SM Prime Holdings Inc. of tycoon Henry Sy Sr. climbed 3 percent to P34.50.

The dollar, meanwhile, built on its

recovery against the yen Thursday on rekindled hopes for Donald Trump’s tax plan but most Asian markets retreated on profit-taking following gains earlier in the week.

Equity markets were unable to maintain momentum as investors took profits from a healthy start to the week that came on the back of relief that North Korea tensions had eased and Hurricane Irma had not been as devastating to Florida as feared.

Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.3 percent after climbing for three straight days as the softening yen was unable to fend off profit-takers.

Hong Kong slipped 0.4 percent and Shanghai pared early gains to end down 0.4 percent after a disappointing print on Chinese factory production, retail sales and state investment.

Sydney lost 0.1 percent and

Singapore eased 0.4 percent but Seoul jumped 0.7 percent on a weaker won.

Wellington eased but Jakarta and Taipei were higher.

Wall Street provided another positive lead with a second-straight record for all three main indexes after Republicans set a September 25 target for releasing a plan to slash taxes while surging oil prices boosted energy firms.

The announcement out of Washington fanned optimism Trump’s market-friendly agenda to boost the economy could see the light of day.

World markets soared for months after Trump’s November election win on hopes for such reforms but his struggles to push through any major legislation since taking office, as well as a series of controversies, have forced him to put his plans on the back-burner.

“Nothing concrete has been announced,

but there is a growing feeling that something will be done amid Trump’s bipartisan approach along with the need for Republicans to score some runs ahead of next year’s election,” Rodrigo Catril, currency strategist at National Australia Bank, said in a commentary.

Investors were last week surprised when the tycoon reached a deal with Democrats to raise the US debt limit and avert a government shutdown, fanning hopes he can strike further agreements in future.

The greenback bounced back above 110 yen, having fallen last week to a 10-month low around 107.30 yen on worries about North Korea’s missile and nuclear tests.

In Asian trade the dollar extended gains against the Japanese unit, while it was also building on a rally against the euro.

The single currency was stuck below $1.19 Thursday, having flirted with $1.21 just a week ago. With AFP

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2017

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 4.61 607,000 59.8 60,200 101.9 1,373,630 4.01 11,000 129.8 2,486,770 1.7 9,347,000 35.95 48,400 16.1 8,000 30.7 905,900 8.76 11,800 0.66 25,000 1.64 10,000 910 300 0.7 2,492,000 87.7 3,211,390 0.9 225,000 13.12 4,600 25.5 1,600 60.3 23,050 237.6 30 114.8 50 88.05 10 51.7 49,350 249 451,730 1,805 100 86.85 5,900 1.34 51,000

2,817,980 3,589,531.50 140,121,205 43,840 322,465,960 15,540,020 1,740,670 127,596 27,829,460 100,071 16,600 16,400 273,000 1,747,790 282,112,896.50 204,480 60,352 40,800 1,388,128 7,152 5,740 880.5 2,555,404 112,418,216 180,500 512,214.50 68,540

2,886,809.50 -45,413,165 7,920 -110,010,694 -25,105 -2,301,065 77,700 -65,477,110.50 -12,646.50 -876,549.50 88,516,400 -28,640 -

40.1 8.6 0.8 1.47 21 0.239 120 5.85 17.22 37 22.2 64 80 1.91 5.69 11.28 10.24 15.1 14.66 7.1 6.85 1.8 18.16 68 14.36 12.4 16.26 1.77 241.6 4.12 3.37 22.05 30.4 19.48 17.18 269.2 0.229 10.76 2.92 6.77 10.4 7 9.96 1.8 12.46 67 6.54 309.4 4.31 2 4.38 2.65 12.68 4.5 0.142 1.21 152.6 2.25 28.15 0.97

INDUSTRIAL 40.1 1,222,300 8.84 1,181,200 0.81 755,000 1.49 768,000 21.5 79,300 0.24 900,000 125 1,190 5.88 6,178,800 17.4 1,439,100 37.4 585,100 22.2 23,600 64 10,440 80 1,000 1.91 113,000 5.84 547,100 11.58 12,600 10.26 5,195,400 15.36 1,738,100 15.2 2,133,900 7.11 1,555,800 6.9 3,015,100 1.8 16,000 18.5 4,488,900 68 130,880 14.36 100 12.84 201,400 16.96 5,706,700 1.8 378,000 245 637,260 4.12 62,000 3.37 1,000 23 5,900 30.55 2,349,200 19.52 300,700 17.2 1,684,500 269.6 296,920 0.23 2,550,000 11 31,100 3.04 494,000 6.77 45,400 10.4 3,327,300 7.21 192,000 9.96 4,100 1.8 1,075,000 12.54 975,100 67.15 86,820 6.65 368,100 310 63,820 4.4 51,000 2 11,000 4.5 54,000 2.75 3,369,000 12.72 1,887,000 4.53 49,000 0.145 590,000 1.22 124,000 153.9 2,765,580 2.33 11,932,000 28.15 100 0.98 107,000

49,635,325 10,323,658 604,310 1,138,900 1,719,115 215,580 149,562 36,401,074 24,924,902 21,852,220 526,600 668,335 80,040 216,080 3,208,411 143,392 53,807,894 26,572,814 31,971,204 11,093,079 20,792,347 28,960 82,913,798 8,954,226.50 1,436 2,574,528 95,319,342 678,800 156,320,492 256,570 3,370 135,600 71,791,105 5,863,614 28,973,064 80,040,248 587,040 337,028 1,484,920 308,876 34,732,100 1,375,687 40,956 1,938,680 12,238,308 5,823,364.50 2,419,959 19,784,176 223,320 22,000 236,740 9,207,500 23,991,498 221,120 85,260 152,400 425,773,858 27,484,340 2,815 104,110

-12,682,135 57,451 -29,800 -9,571,773 985,738 3,545,670 640,000 -2,238,728 1,779,944 76,558 -1,879,449 1,922,310 -29,103,862 -5,466,894.50 -1,349,620 28,071,472 215,700 48,759,234 29,050 -42,500,445 893,460 -13,111,264 484,558 832,600 9,404,928 178,750 -22,920.00 345,600 925,446 800,623 -1,624,514 -2,325,000 3,335,950 13,650,536 2,910 -69,438,413 -1,559,250 -

0.35 72.8 14.82 1.09 6.9 0.315 0.32 925 8.1 16.3 7.52 0.201 1,160 7.98 72.4 5.01 5.2 5.43 0.89 7.01 17.22 0.415 6.77 3.22 0.051 2.07 97.25 813 0.86 1.45 298.8 0.275 0.196 0.218

HOLDING FIRMS 0.35 570,000 73.5 776,920 14.86 5,634,400 1.12 22,000 6.91 16,600 0.315 1,530,000 0.325 170,000 925 277,070 8.2 263,200 16.6 11,319,900 7.52 351,500 0.205 110,000 1,199 147,970 7.98 4,200 76 1,535,220 5.01 2,100 5.2 500 5.43 100 0.9 570,000 7.08 117,300 17.68 2,764,200 0.415 380,000 6.77 46,522,500 3.22 6,000 0.051 18,790,000 2.07 616,000 97.3 495,890 825 429,250 0.86 2,000 1.47 1,101,000 300 6,040 0.28 40,000 0.196 650,000 0.218 280,000

201,100 57,007,383 83,820,702 24,400 116,059 484,850 54,500 257,149,710 2,147,027 187,400,290 2,659,758 22,400 175,911,490 33,516 115,774,019.50 10,593 2,600 543 512,340 830,645 48,176,784 157,950 316,352,653 19,320 969,940 1,278,700 48,276,559 353,614,410 1,720 1,597,780 1,810,306 11,150 127,430 61,320

-12,551,764 -19,891,618 -1,140 -10,423,305 750,756.00 56,847,874.00 -601,160 76,597,970 4,685,838.50 365,031 -2,242,864.00 -21,000 14,377,555 1,040 103,900 -6,220,979.50 -86,288,795 -425,680 -

5.08 1.19 7.45 2.37 1.08 43.7 3.74 5.09 5.25 0.5 1.29 1.56 0.237 0.49 39.8 0.69 0.156 1.89 1.49 0.95 5.27

PROPERTY 5.09 1.2 7.8 2.38 1.11 44.15 3.75 5.09 5.25 0.52 1.35 1.57 0.238 0.49 39.85 0.7 0.156 1.97 1.5 0.95 5.35

5,878,580 19,665,470 514,522 150,330 3,728,190 1,013,302,405 4,300,890 20,491,460 37,275 14,561,420 1,070,140 544,720 9,526,650 837,900 48,196,325 371,180 3,120 148,732,740 11,503,370 1,834,490 331,624,611

-4,512,161 -554,780 -170,778 -220,000 113,428,725 959,680 2,783,243 523,770 254,440 48,600 -14,187,435 -354,400 76,608,280 -90,000 21,238,761.00

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

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

4.77 59.6 102 4.01 128.9 1.53 36 16.1 30.6 8.3 0.67 1.64 910 0.71 87.3 0.89 13.12 25.5 60.25 236 114.8 88.05 53 250.8 1,805 86.75 1.36

4.77 59.8 103 4.01 130 1.75 36 16.1 30.9 8.77 0.67 1.64 910 0.71 88.45 0.91 13.12 25.5 60.5 241.6 114.8 88.05 53 250.8 1,805 86.85 1.36

4.6 59.05 101.8 3.95 128.6 1.53 35.9 15.9 30.5 8.2 0.66 1.64 910 0.7 87 0.89 13.12 25.5 60.15 236 114.8 88.05 51.1 247 1,805 86.75 1.34

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

40.7 8.82 0.8 1.48 22.5 0.239 127.1 5.96 17.34 37.35 22.5 64.5 84 1.91 5.7 11.58 10.5 15.4 14.78 7.1 6.9 1.81 18.16 68.75 14.36 12.46 16.3 1.8 242 4.27 3.37 22.05 30.9 19.5 17.3 269.6 0.23 10.82 2.98 6.9 10.48 7.15 10.02 1.83 12.46 67 6.61 310 4.31 2 4.39 2.76 12.7 4.52 0.142 1.21 154 2.27 28.15 0.98

41.1 8.84 0.81 1.5 22.6 0.243 130.1 5.98 17.44 37.5 22.5 64.75 84 1.92 6 11.58 10.54 15.4 15.2 7.25 6.9 1.82 18.6 68.85 14.36 12.9 16.98 1.83 249.6 4.27 3.37 23 30.9 19.52 17.3 269.8 0.232 11.16 3.04 6.9 10.52 7.43 10.04 1.83 12.68 67.15 6.7 310 4.4 2 4.5 2.8 12.78 4.53 0.146 1.25 155 2.34 28.15 1.01

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

0.355 73 14.82 1.09 6.9 0.315 0.32 926 8.2 16.4 7.55 0.201 1,160 7.98 72.5 5.01 5.2 5.43 0.91 7.18 17.48 0.42 6.81 3.22 0.053 2.11 97.95 813 0.86 1.46 300.4 0.275 0.196 0.221

0.36 73.9 14.94 1.14 7 0.325 0.325 936 8.2 16.7 7.7 0.205 1,199 7.98 76 5.25 5.2 5.43 0.91 7.18 17.68 0.42 6.87 3.22 0.053 2.11 97.95 829.5 0.86 1.47 300.4 0.28 0.197 0.221

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

5.19 1.23 7.48 2.39 1.11 43.7 3.8 5.15 5.25 0.52 1.33 1.56 0.238 0.49 41.8 0.71 0.156 1.9 1.53 0.97 5.27

5.2 1.23 7.9 2.39 1.11 44.75 3.8 5.18 5.25 0.52 1.35 1.58 0.244 0.49 42 0.71 0.156 1.99 1.53 0.97 5.39

VOLUME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

MRC ALLIED PHIL ESTATES PHIL REALTY PRIMEX CORP ROBINSONS LAND ROCKWELL SHANG PROP SM PRIME HLDG STA LUCIA LAND SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND

0.33 0.55 0.5 5.69 24.7 1.78 3.2 33.9 1.01 0.89 6.07

0.375 0.55 0.51 5.91 25.3 1.81 3.25 34.65 1.02 0.89 6.24

0.325 0.53 0.5 5.69 24.5 1.78 3.2 33.55 1 0.87 6.05

0.375 0.54 0.5 5.85 25.25 1.81 3.25 34.5 1.02 0.88 6.22

242,950,000 3,833,000 3,216,000 4,142,900 4,041,500 102,000 5,000 12,102,900 1,504,000 55,000 5,058,900

87,076,200 2,061,880 1,608,240 24,252,646 100,979,200 184,200 16,130 416,625,970 1,514,510 48,400 31,222,238

-471,450 -10,800 -162,597 44,658,285 -45,371,570 -547,140

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

20.6 40.9 1.62 0.58 0.039 5.29 10.96 0.074 110.5 9.25 10.48 7.68 1,995 6.09 19.76 2.15 3.05 107.9 12.38 8.42 0.168 1.34 3 16 4.51 1.47 12.04 0.58 2.35 8.79 4.06 18.24 2.54 11.02 5.17 3.01 8.1 169 10.14 1,680 1.65 0.41 51.75 93.2 5.85 4.28 1.52 3.6 1.28 9.48

20.65 40.9 1.63 0.6 0.04 5.29 11.18 0.075 112.5 9.25 10.64 7.75 2,010 6.1 20.35 2.45 3.1 107.9 12.38 8.43 0.171 1.34 3.07 16 4.52 1.52 13 0.58 2.45 8.83 4.2 19.7 2.62 11.06 5.17 3.01 8.25 170 10.24 1,703 1.65 0.42 51.9 96.3 6 4.36 1.55 3.62 1.29 9.5

20.45 40.8 1.59 0.58 0.039 5.12 10.94 0.074 110.3 9.25 10.34 7.6 1,980 6.07 19.54 2.03 3.05 106.2 12.38 8.4 0.167 1.34 2.9 15.6 4.49 1.45 12.04 0.55 2.35 8.5 4.06 18.24 2.52 11.02 5.16 3.01 8.1 169 9.86 1,678 1.62 0.405 51.2 92.8 5.85 4.28 1.5 3.59 1.22 9.3

SERVICES 20.65 40.85 1.63 0.59 0.039 5.12 10.94 0.074 111.7 9.25 10.54 7.7 1,980 6.1 20 2.3 3.1 106.2 12.38 8.42 0.171 1.34 3.07 15.94 4.49 1.48 12.9 0.55 2.38 8.51 4.2 19 2.61 11.06 5.16 3.01 8.25 170 9.88 1,684 1.65 0.405 51.65 95.95 5.95 4.36 1.55 3.59 1.24 9.5

37,800 39,000 143,000 5,023,000 22,700,000 2,400 30,065,500 3,880,000 712,780 2,300 3,283,700 118,700 27,020 182,200 397,600 20,162,000 17,000 1,012,730 1,000 94,000 2,540,000 200,000 110,000 14,600 574,000 1,401,000 6,834,900 72,000 201,000 14,233,000 1,290,000 1,600 4,624,000 4,400 5,300 13,000 24,000 127,700 1,490,500 134,300 2,985,000 1,430,000 3,095,310 678,620 28,400 1,342,000 11,000,000 1,649,000 15,966,000 1,690,400

775,195 1,594,150 230,140 2,965,520 890,000 12,662 332,263,304 287,560 79,763,893 21,275 34,555,048 909,280 53,869,745 1,109,102 7,962,122 46,166,070 52,250 107,871,404 12,380 789,930 430,440 268,000 323,930 231,898 2,584,120 2,074,360 85,641,378 39,930 478,870 122,509,103 5,340,530 30,184 11,913,750 48,594 27,399 39,130 195,000 21,707,540 14,906,263 226,628,925 4,902,820 590,600 159,645,274.50 65,040,517 169,241 5,798,020 16,777,170 5,933,820 19,927,670 15,952,667

-97,200 -93,376,634 17,347,703 -659,198 -32,972,215 -129,580 2,080,790 3,395,422 12,380 59,000 -85,500 -13,155,392 -31,739,557.00 -407,490 -51,800 -5,170 39,130 -719,130 -2,691,708 -77,577,790 1,819,460 98,400 -2,248,714 -30,409,876 -800,770 -4,090,370 164,460 1,176,910 1,554,766

132,500 6,211,750 481,385 292,500 9,750 5,617,610 590,150 9,334 11,360,660 81,900 3,200,750 3,980 35,200 2,400 2,815,240 72,242,749 450,670 54,120 4,543,950 954,100 295,100 1,443,800 644,310 9,493,953 45,573,049 191,194,130 157,000

1,166,320 -5,142 9,750 55,830 1,831,000 35,836,739 -193,260 59,740 -127,795 1,310,999 92,194,485 -8,300

NAME

MS 1,146,000 16,382,000 68,700 63,000 3,405,000 22,951,700 1,142,000 3,995,000 7,100 28,511,000 808,000 347,000 39,750,000 1,710,000 1,180,600 531,000 20,000 76,344,000 7,650,000 1,921,000 62,032,000

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 MANILA MINING B MARCVENTURES NICKEL ASIA NIHAO OMICO CORP ORNTL PENINSULA ORNTL PETROL A ORNTL PETROL B PHILODRILL PHINMA PETRO PX MINING PXP ENERGY SEMIRARA MINING UNITED PARAGON

0.0026 1.7 5.15 1.95 1.95 1.45 0.395 8.35 2.61 0.27 0.181 0.199 0.011 0.012 2.12 7.74 1.87 0.52 1.1 0.013 0.013 0.012 2.52 8.65 5.5 46.2 0.008

0.0027 1.71 5.18 1.95 1.95 1.46 0.395 8.65 2.63 0.27 0.183 0.199 0.011 0.012 2.12 7.79 1.87 0.54 1.1 0.013 0.013 0.013 2.52 8.8 5.61 47.4 0.0083

0.0026 1.68 5.12 1.95 1.95 1.37 0.39 8.32 2.59 0.26 0.18 0.199 0.011 0.012 2.09 7.5 1.76 0.52 1.01 0.012 0.013 0.012 2.43 8.6 5.39 46.2 0.008

MINING & OIL 0.0027 50,000,000 1.69 3,669,000 5.12 93,300 1.95 150,000 1.95 5,000 1.41 3,954,000 0.395 1,510,000 8.38 1,100 2.61 4,352,000 0.27 310,000 0.181 17,720,000 0.199 20,000 0.011 3,200,000 0.012 200,000 2.09 1,339,000 7.65 9,444,400 1.81 252,000 0.54 104,000 1.07 4,398,000 0.013 79,300,000 0.013 22,700,000 0.013 120,300,000 2.43 262,000 8.67 1,099,200 5.39 8,277,400 47 4,059,400 0.0083 19,000,000

ABS HLDG PDR AC PREF B1 AC PREF B2 DD PREF FGEN PREF F GLO PREF P GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B LR PREF MWIDE PREF PF PREF 2 PNX PREF 3A SFI PREF SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2I

40.7 516 520 105.6 111.5 516.5 5.78 1,025 1,025 1.06 106 1,018 103 2.29 76.5 81.95 77 78.15 81.55 79.95 80.75

40.7 516 520 106.5 111.5 516.5 5.78 1,025 1,028 1.06 108 1,025 103 2.29 76.5 81.95 77 78.15 81.55 79.95 80.85

40.7 515.5 520 105.6 111.5 516.5 5.78 1,025 1,025 1.06 106 1,018 103 2.29 76.5 81 77 78.15 81.55 79.5 80.5

PREFERRED 40.7 4,100 515.5 10,000 520 200 106 11,520 111.5 10 516.5 2,000 5.78 50,000 1,025 8,785 1,028 5,600 1.06 11,000 108 50 1,025 1,400 103 10,950 2.29 2,000 76.5 3,070 81 10,810 77 40,000 78.15 500 81.55 100 79.95 16,610 80.5 14,670

166,870 5,155,035 104,000 1,224,283 1,115 1,033,000 289,000 9,004,625 5,754,175 11,660 5,380 1,432,900 1,127,850 4,580 234,855 875,619.50 3,080,000 39,075 8,155 1,324,004.50 1,185,234.50

166,870 -271,660 -234,855 3,080,000 -

LR WARRANT

2.52

2.55

2.51

WARRANTS 2.53 250,000

629,850

-149,300

1,457,750 5,720 392,690 13,476,355

-2,004,981

2,420,001

79,495

21,924

-

ITALPINAS MAKATI FINANCE PHILAB HLDG XURPAS

4.5 2.86 4.92 5.96

4.58 2.86 4.92 5.96

4.47 2.86 4.74 5.85

FIRST METRO ETF

122

123

122

USD DMPL A1

10.8

T RADING S UMMARY FINANCIAL

10.8

4.47 2.86 4.89 5.86

SME

323,000 2,000 82,000 2,283,700

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 123 19,770

10.8

10.8

DDS

SHARES

VALUE

21,411,636

916,009,742.46

INDUSTRIAL

73,885,605

1,402,187,099.93

HOLDING FIRMS

95,911,878

1,963,859,139.20

PROPERTY

547,014,467

2,303,777,235.14

SERVICES

163,985,349

1,486,396,603.77

MINING & OIL

356,588,195

357,934,444.814

GRAND TOTAL

1,261,509,500

8,447,925,428.81

2,030

FINANCIAL 1,982.68 (up) 4.37 INDUSTRIAL 11,292.04 (up) 16.55 HOLDING FIRMS 8,042.56 (up) 123.86 PROPERTY 3,876.61 (up) 68.32 SERVICES 1,726.32 (up) 4.59 MINING & OIL 14,088.15 (up) 143.47 PSEI 8,144.91 (up) 91.03 All Shares Index 4,815.91 (up) 39.56 Gainers: 111; Losers: 85; Unchanged: 62; Total: 258

MAC leading market gainers GROUNDED planes are helping a Philippine stock fly.

Behind the five-fold increase in MacroAsia Corp. shares this year is a venture’s expanded jet service and maintenance business. The company is the top performer among the 274 equities listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange, with its market value approaching $300 million. More gains may lie ahead.

Part of billionaire Lucio Tan’s empire that includes Philippine Airlines Inc., Manila-based MacroAsia expects its other businesses― airline catering and baggage handling―will also benefit as the government attracts international travelers by improving the nation’s roads and airports. Profits will increase at least 20 percent a year, it says, after more than doubling in 2017.

“MacroAsia could be a potential three-bagger even at the current level,” said Jonathan Ravelas, chief market strategist at BDO Unibank Inc., referring to a three-fold increase. “Imagine how high the stock would go once government delivers on infrastructure and tourist traffic takes off.”

The Philippines has set a $170-billion, five-year infrastructure program, funded in part by tax changes that will raise new revenue while cutting personal taxes. Congress has yet to approve the first part of the plan and any delay in actual construction is an added risk.

MacroAsia, which started as a miner in 1970 and then became a holding company, doesn’t have any analyst coverage, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Tan took control in 1997, when his Philippine Airlines bought a 70 percent stake. The stock rose as much 3.3 percent Thursday in Manila.

Bloomberg

PSE set to secure P1.55b in loans

By Jenniffer B. Austria THE Philippine Stock Exchange plans to obtain P1.55 billion in loan from three banks primarily to finance the acquisition of an additional stake in Philippine Dealing System and Holdings Corp., the owner and operator of the local bond exchange.

The PSE in a disclosure to the stock exchange said its board approved the availment of P1.15 billion in term loan facility from three banks— BDO Unibank Inc., Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. and Bank of Commerce. The loan will have a term one-year.

The PSE plans to use P1.15 billion of the total loan to purchase more shares in PDS Holdings and P400 million for the exchange’s new headquarters in Bonifacio Global City and other capital requirements.

The PSE’s plan to acquire a majority stake in PDS Holdings is part of a strategy to merge the equities and the bond exchanges. The deal is worth P2 billion.

So far, PSE signed share purchase agreements with three shareholders of PDS Holdings, namely Bankers Association, the Philippines Investment Houses Association of the Philippines and Whistler Technologies. The deals will boost PSE’s ownership in PDS Holdings to 53.36 percent.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

LGUs

Manila

Standard

TODAY

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2017

SC bans NV court clerk B

By Abe Almirol

AYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya—The Supreme Court has banned a former Nueva Vizcaya clerk of court from government employment and his retirement benefits forfeited after finding him liable for incurring shortages in court fees and failing to deposit the funds on time.

In a 19-page en banc decision, promulgated last July 11 but just recently posted on its website, the High Court found Gerard Lindawan of the Bagabag-Diadi Municipal Circuit Trial Court in this province guilty of gross dishonesty and grave misconduct.

The SC found that Lindawan committed several irregularities in the administration of funds, as the failure to deposit them on time deprived the court of the interest that could have been earned.

Lindawan was also faulted for collecting cash bonds without issuing official receipts, falsifying receipts, and losing several booklets of receipts.

“Undoubtedly, the ultimate penalty of dismissal would have been imposed upon Lindawan had he not resigned from his post.

Thus, in lieu of the dismissal, the Court shall forfeit the retirement benefits that may be due him,” read the decision penned by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

Judge Bill Buyucan, mean-

while, was fined P20,000 for simple neglect of duty and conduct unbecoming of a judge for his part, being the direct supervisor of Lindawan.

Meanwhile, the high court has affirmed the move of local prosecutors to clear two Pangasinan barangay officials accused of fabricating the blotter to dishonor a local resident.

In a recent 10-page decision, the SC First Division said complainant Danilo Cariaga failed to show grave abuse of discretion on the part of the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor and Office of the Regional State Prosecutor in dismissing the complaints in their resolutions in April 2014 and January 2015, respectively.

The SC said the ORSP correctly ruled there was no probable cause to indict barangay chairman Emmanuel Sapigao and barangay secretary Ginalyn Acosta of Barangay Carosucan Sur, Asingan town, for the offenses of slander by deed and false certification.

It said there was no improper motive on the part of Sapigao and Acosta, as they made the blotter entries in good faith and in performance of their official duties as barangay officials.

“On the other hand, Caria-

ga’s insistence that the blotter entries were completely false essentially rests on mere selfserving assertions that deserve no weight in law,” read the decision penned by Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe.

Republic of the Philippines Province of Bataan City of Balanga BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE OFFICE InvItatIon to BId no. Infra -092-2017 92

The Provincial Government of Bataan, through the General Fund intends to apply the below listed project w/ corresponding Approved Budget of the Contract (ABC). Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected a bid opening.

Name of Project Approved Budget of the Contract (ABC) 1. Design and Construction of Bataan District Jail Facility (Phase I), =P=96,000,000.00 Balanga City, Bataan 2. Construction of Road, Barangay Quinawan, Bagac, Bataan =P=19,999,953.09 3. Construction/Improvement of Access Road (Capitol Going to Roman Superhighway) =P=19,999,971.28 Phase II Barangay Tenejero, Balanga City, Bataan The Provincial Government of Bataannow invites bids for the above listedProjects.

Completion of works is requiredon or before the maturity date stipulated on contract.

Bidders should have completed, at least one (1) contract that is similar to the contract to be bid. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

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

SEC Memorandum Circular No. 10 Series of 2017 SUBJECT : ADOPTION OF NEW AND REVISED ACCOUNTING STANDARDS AND INTERPRETATIONS The Commission, in its meeting held on 15 August 2017, approved the adoption of the following pronouncements as part of SEC’s rules and regulations on financial reporting: Title

Brief Description

Amendments to Philippine Financial Reporting Standards (PFRS) 4, Applying PFRS 9, Financial Instruments with PFRS 4, Insurance Contracts

The amendments will become effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2018.

Early adoption of the amendment is permitted if an entity adopts PFRS 9 early. The overlay approach and the deferral approach will only be available to an entity if it has not previously applied PFRS 9.

PFRS 15, Revenue from Contracts with Customers

An entity shall apply this standard for annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2018. Earlier application is permitted.

Clarifications to PFRS 15, Revenue from Contracts with Customer

An entity shall apply the amendments for annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2018. Earlier application is permitted.

PIC Questions and Answers (Q&A) No. 2016-01: Conforming Changes to PIC Q&As-Cycle 2016

This Q&A No. 2016-01 sets out the changes (i.e., amendments or withdrawal) to certain PIC Q&As. These changes are made as a consequence of the issuance of new PFRS and amendments to certain existing PFRS that are effective as of December 31, 2015. The consequential amendments are set out in the same section as the amended PIC Q&As attached to this Q&A No. 2016-01.

PIC Questions and Answers (Q&A) No. 2016-04: Application of PFRS 15 “Revenue from Contracts with Customers” on Sale of Residential Properties under Pre-Completion Contracts

Bidding is open to all interested bidders, whether local or foreign, subject to the conditions for eligibility provided in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from Office of Bataan Bids & Awards Committeeand inspect the Bidding Documents from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the same office.

Bid documents will be available only to eligible bidders upon payment of a nonrefundable amount of using standard rates approved by GPPB as stated on their Resolution No. 04-2012 listed below.

Approved Budget for the Contract 500,000 and below More than 500,000 up to 1 Million More than 1 Million up to 5 Million More than 5 Million up to 10 Million More than 10 Million up to 50 Million More than 50 Million up to 500 Million More than 500 Million

Maximum Cost of Bidding Documents (in Philippine Peso) 500.00 1,000.00 5,000.00 10,000.00 25,000.00 50,000.00 75,000.00

The Provincial Government of Bataan will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on September 20, 2017 at 10:00 A.M at Provincial BAC Office, PEO Capitol Compound, Balanga City, Bataan.

Bids must be delivered on or before October 2, 2017 at 1:30 P.M. at Provincial BAC Office, PEO Capitol Compound, Balanga City, Bataan. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated on IRR of RA 9184 or Bid Securing Declaration in standard form.

The effective date of the amendments is included in the Q&As affected.

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

This guidance should be read in conjunction with the respective applicable accounting standards specifically, PFRS 15 “Revenue from Contracts with Customers”.

In case of the above dates is declared a special Non-Working Holidays, it will automatically reset on the next working days.

This Q&A applies to the accounting for revenue from the sale of a residential property unit under pre-completion stage (i.e., construction is ongoing or has not yet commenced) by a real estate developer that enters into a Contact to Sell (CTS) with a buyer, and the developer has determined that the contract is within the scope of PFRS 15 by satisfying all the criteria in paragraph 9 of PFRS 15.

Activities 1. Advertisement/Posting of Invitation to Bid 2. Eligibility Check 3. Issuance and availability of Bidding Documents 4. Request for Clarification 5. Opening of Bids

The consensus in this Q&A is effective on the same date as the effective date of PFRS 15, Revenue from Contracts with Customers.

The Provincial Government of Bataan reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

All of the foregoing pronouncements have been adopted by the Philippine Financial Reporting Standards Council and Philippine Interpretations Committee, and approved by the Board of Accountancy and Professional Regulation Commission and published in the Official Gazette.

Issued this 29 day of August 2017 at Pasay City, Philippines.

For the Commission:

Other necessary information deemed relevant by the Provincial Government of Bataan Schedule September 13 – 19, 2017 Refer to date of Opening of Bids September 13 – October 2, 2017 September 22, 2017 October 2, 2017

For further information, please refer to: Ms. Aileen C. Sagun Provincial BAC / PEO Bataan Provincial BAC / PEO Office, Capitol Compound, Balanga City, Bataan 047-237-9316 bac@bataan.gov.ph (SGD) ENRICO T. YUZON BAC Chairman

TERESITA J. HERBOSA Chairperson

‘GABAY’ REHAB. The Municipal Police of Rizal, Laguna, headed by

Sr. Insp. Catherine Ilao (standing, fifth from left), praised the new Rizal Gabay rehabilitation center in the town’s Barangay Entablado for giving drug surrenderers a livelihood program call RIZAL Papel, physical fitness activities, and moral recovery program. Gabay is supported by the local government headed by Mayor Tony Aurelio (standing right), the Sangguniang Bayan headed by Vice Mayor Viner P. Muñoz (second from right) and the Laguna Provincial Police Office led by provincial director Sr. Supt. Cecilio Ison (third from right). Roy Tomandao

(MS-SEPT. 15, 2017)

Through its value brand, TNT, Smart initiated the Tropang Ready Disaster Preparedness Caravan in recognition of the youth as vital contributors in their communities. It is an enhancement of Smart’s ongoing series of nationwide trainings which started in 2013, featuring lectures and activities done “infotainment”-style for families, communities and members of the clergy.

Following BatSU, the caravan went to Bulacan State University, Southern Leyte State University, University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines–Cagayan de Oro, University of Baguio and Isabela State University.

On Aug. 25, the caravan headed to Eastern Visayas State University in Tacloban City, Leyte. The province has been recovering from the effects of a magnitude-6.5 earthquake that hit Jaro town on July 6.

(MS-SEPT. 14, 2017)

Republic of the Philippines Department of Education REGION IV-A CALABARZON Gate 2 Karangalan Drive, Cainta. Rizal

1.

The DepED Ragion IV-A CALABARZON, through the SARO No. OSEC4A-16-2281 intends to apply, the sum of Five Million Nine Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php5,900,000.00) being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for the Reproduction of Gr. 11 Learning Resources. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically, rejected at bid opening.

Old Communication TX --------------------------83,232 cps.

TM--------------------------- 645 cps Organization & Management TX---------------13, 112 cps Introduction to World Religion & Belief------- 8,554 cps Filipino sa Piling Larang -Akademik (RD)---41,440 cps (TG)--------------------------- 288 cps Filipino sa Piling Larang-TechVoc (RD) ------- 23,118 cps (TG) -------------------------------190 cps General Biology, I Acad STEM - TX------------- 8,114 cps TM--------------------------------- 84 cps

2.

The DepED Region IV-A CALABARZON now invites bids for the Reproduction of Gr. 11 Learning Resources. Delivery of the Services is expected for the Contract duration of sixty (60) calendar days. Bidders should have completed, within five (5) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section ll. Instructions to Bidders.

3.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a nondiscretionary pass/fail” criterion as specified in the 2016 Revised implementing Rules and Regulations (lRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”. (i)

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

4.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from DepED Region IV-A CALABARZON (BAC Secretariat) and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during office hour 8.00am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday.

5.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested Bidders on September 13, 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 Five Hundred Pesos (Php500.00).

Note: For lot procurement, the maximum fee for the Bidding Documents for each lot, shall be based on its ABC, in accordance with the Guidelines issued by the GPPB; provided that the total fees for the Bidding Documents of all lots shall not exceed the maximum fee prescribed in the Guidelines for The sum of the ABC of all lots).

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.

6.

The DepED Region IV-A CALABARZOAN will hold a Pre-Bid Conference3 on September 19, 2017at 10:30 a.m. to be held at the Director’s Office Conference Room which shall be open to prospective bidders.

7.

Bids must be duly received by the BAC Secretariat at the address below on or before October 2, 2017 at 11:00 am. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

8.

Bid opening shall be on October 2, 2017, 11:00 am at the Directors Office Conference Room. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.

9.

The DepED Region IV-A CALABARZON reserves the right to reject any and all bids, declare 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.

For further information, please refer to: Ann Geralyn T. Pelias DepED Region IVA CALABARZON Gate 2 Karangalan Drive, Cainta, Rizal 6477487 & 6474914 www.depedcalabarzon.ph

Batangas State University students conduct their own ‘Tropang Ready’ disaster preparedness training for the parents of scholars of the government’s Pantawid Pamilya Program in their community.

Republic of the Philippines Province of Bataan City of Balanga BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE OFFICE

INVITATION TO BID REPRODUCTION OF GR. 11 LEARNING RERSOURCES

Duck-cover-hold routine pays off for BatSU youth THE series of earthquakes that hit Batangas in April caused injuries to some residents and damage to property. Students of Batangas State University, however, were able to teach their families to assume the duck, cover and hold position while the tremors were ongoing, and later led them to safe locations after the shaking stopped.

BatSU was the venue of the first-ever Tropang Ready Disaster Preparedness Caravan, a series of campus tours of PLDT wireless subsidiary Smart Communications, designed to educate the youth on disaster readiness.

A few months after the caravan, the teacher education students of BatSU themselves conducted their own preparedness training for parents of scholars of the government’s Pantawid Pamilya Program in their communities.

B3

(SGD) ANN GERALYN T. PELIAS BAC Chairperson 3 1

InvItatIon to BId no. Infra -091-2017 In response to the first advertisement for Construction of Three (3) Storey TwentyFour (24) CL School Building, Mariveles NHS Annex-Cabcaben, Barangay Alas-asin, Mariveles, Bataan, nobody purchased and submitted bidding documents which is scheduled to be opened last August 22, 2017 at 1:30 p.m.; Under Section 35, of RA 9184, the BAC shall declare failure of bidding when no bids are received. The BAC members resolved to declare Failure of Bidding and recommended to Re-bid the above-mentioned project subject to the approval of the Provincial Governor.

In view of the failure of the first bidding, the Provincial Government of Bataan advertised again the Invitation to Bid for the Construction of Three (3) Storey Twenty-Four (24) CL School Building, Mariveles NHS Annex-Cabcaben, Barangay Alas-asin, Mariveles, Bataan in the Provincial Government of Bataan Website, in the Philgeps and in a conspicuous place at the premises within the Provincial Government of Bataan continuously for seven (7) days; 91

The Provincial Government of Bataan, through the Special Education Fund intends to apply the below listed project w/ corresponding Approved Budget of the Contract (ABC).

Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected a bid opening.

Name of Project Approved Budget of the Contract (ABC) 1.Construction of Three (3) Storey Twenty Four (24) Classroom School Building =P=36,999,944.59 Mariveles NHS Annex – Cabcaben, Barangay Alas-asin, Mariveles, Bataan The Provincial Government of Bataannow invites bids for the above listedProjects.

Completion of works is requiredon or before the maturity date stipulated on contract.

Bidders should have completed, at least one (1) contract that is similar to the contract to be bid. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

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

Bidding is open to all interested bidders, whether local or foreign, subject to the conditions for eligibility provided in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from Office of Bataan Bids & Awards Committeeand inspect the Bidding Documents from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the same office.

Bid documents will be available only to eligible bidders upon payment of a non-refundable amount of using standard rates approved by GPPB as stated on their Resolution No. 04-2012 listed below.

Approved Budget for the Contract 500,000 and below More than 500,000 up to 1 Million More than 1 Million up to 5 Million More than 5 Million up to 10 Million More than 10 Million up to 50 Million More than 50 Million up to 500 Million More than 500 Million

The Provincial Government of Bataan will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on September 20, 2017 at 10:00 A.M at Provincial BAC Office, PEO Capitol Compound, Balanga City, Bataan.

Bids must be delivered on or before October 2, 2017 at 1:30 P.M. at Provincial BAC Office, PEO Capitol Compound, Balanga City, Bataan. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated on IRR of RA 9184 or Bid Securing Declaration in standard form.

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

In case of the above dates is declared a special Non-Working Holidays, it will automatically reset on the next working days.

Other necessary information deemed relevant by the Provincial Government of Bataan Activities Schedule 1. Advertisement/Posting of Invitation to Bid September 13 – 19, 2017 2. Eligibility Check Refer to date of Opening of Bids 3. Issuance and availability of Bidding Documents September 13 – October 2, 2017 4. Request for Clarification September 22, 2017 5. Opening of Bids October 2, 2017 The Provincial Government of Bataan reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

For further information, please refer to: Ms. Aileen C. Sagun Provincial BAC / PEO Bataan Provincial BAC / PEO Office, Capitol Compound, Balanga City, Bataan 047-237-9316 bac@bataan.gov.ph

Mav be deleted ill case the ABC is less than One Million Pesos (PhP1,000,000.00) where the Procuring Entity may not hold a Pre-Bid Conference.

(MS-SEPT. 15, 2017)

Maximum Cost of Bidding Documents (in Philippine Peso) 500.00 1,000.00 5,000.00 10,000.00 25,000.00 50,000.00 75,000.00

(MS-SEPT. 15, 2017)

(SGD) ENRICO T. YUZON BAC Chairman

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

SC denies Vizcaya provincial workers’ plea for retention

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor jimbo.gulle@gmail.com mslocalgov@gmail.com

B4

By Ben Moses Ebreo

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2017

LGUs LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

FARM TOUR. A boy from Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya stands in the middle of a contour farm planted with heavy-laden bush beans in Tuccod, Cabarroguis, Quirino. Upland farmers see the substantial daily food requirements of the mining operations in nearby Didipio, Nueva Vizcaya, which encouraged them to focus on organic vegetable production. Ben Moses Ebreo

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya—The Supreme Court has denied the motion for reconsideration of close to 200 employees of the provincial government who were appointed and promoted in the wake of the 2013 elections.

The employees, who sought casual and permanent positions including promotions, were approved before the end of the incumbency of then-Governor Luisa Cuaresma in 2013.

The High Court’s Third Division issued its notice, denying the workers’ motions with finality “as no substantial arguments were raised to warrant their reconsideration.”

The resolution and notice dated July 17, 2017 was signed by Michael Domingo Battung III, SC Third Division’s Deputy Division Clerk of Court.

The case stemmed from the issuance of appointments of the provincial government for new and existing employees from January to June in 2013.

Former governor Ruth Padilla, who won in the 2013 elections, questioned the legality of Cuaresma’s “midnight” appointments.

Padilla issued Executive Order No. 3 to nullify the appointments, saying the Provincial Selection and Promotions Board was not legally constituted, the provincial government had insufficient funds for the salaries of the newly appointment workers, and their appointments “are not yet necessary.”

QC aims to be ‘smart city’

By Rio N. Araja

Q

UEZON City aims to join the ranks of the world’s smartest cities through the efficient use of information technology and urban informatics to help improve the delivery of basic services to city residents.

Mayor Herbert Bautista described the city’s move as “one step closer” toward the goal of participa-

tive governance “wherein citizens interact to ensure services, transparency and development.”

He ordered the creation of a centralized online database of all public records and transactions, augmentation of traffic and urban solutions, provision of online sensors for critical facilities and infrastructure services as part of the city’s capability building.

According to Bautista, the city’s strategic pillars for the development of the Smart City are anchored on governance and administration; economic development;

security, peace and disaster preparedness; infrastructure, housing and urban planning and development; policy and legal framework, environmental protection, climate change adaption and poverty reduction, social development and welfare as outlined in the 2016 to 2019 Information Systems Strategic Plan of Quezon City.

A smart city is an urban development vision designed to integrate information and communication technology

and Internet of things (IoT) technology in a secure fashion to manage a city’s assets.

Based on the fourth edition of the “Cities in Motion Index” prepared by the IESE Center for Globalization and Strategy, the world’s smartest cities included New York, London, Paris, Boson, San Francisco, Washington DC, Seoul, Tokyo, Berlin and Amsterdam.

The Quezon City government has already introduced the use of informa-

tion and communication technology in disaster risk reduction management, health programs and cashless credit scheme for the taxpayers can pay their taxes conveniently 24/7.

Meanwhile, QC’s investment in “underground” infrastructure proved to be a step in the right direction as floodwaters quickly receded after the heavy rains brought by tropical depression “Maring.”

According to the city’s

IN BRIEF

Navotas malnutrition center set for unveiling NAVOTAS is set to open the first Community-Based Management of Acute Malnutrition Outpatient Therapeutic Center in the National Capital Region.

A memorandum of agreement was signed by Navotas City’s Health Office, City Nutrition Office, and barangay chairmen with the nongovernmental group Save the Children to establish the center.

The CMAM-OTC will provide treatment and rehabilitation to severe acute malnutrition patients using Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food and will regularly monitor their progress.

The Department of Health will supply the RUTF. CMAM is a methodology for treating acute malnutrition in young children using a case-finding and triage approach. It helps in the timely detection of SAM in the community and provision of treatment to those without medical complications.

“We are grateful that the Save the Children chose to set up the first CMAMOTC in NCR here in Navotas. More than just an on-point treatment facility for the severely malnourished, the center helps provide long-term solutions to the city’s malnutrition problem,” Mayor John Rey Tiangco said.

In March 2016, Navotas in partnership with Save the Children initially launched the CMAM Pilot Project in North Bay Boulevard North (NBBN). Jun David

Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, relief and clean up teams managed to get to flood-affected areas when knee-to-chest high floodwaters dropped to manageable levels as early as Tuesday noon.

The mitigation structures that Mayor Herbert Bautista had set up in areas traversed by the San Juan River facilitated the drainage of floodwaters, QC DRRMO chief Karl Michael Marasigan said.

P40 wage hike for Region 2 workers

AGRI EXPO. Univet Nutrition and Animal Healthcare Co. or UNAHCO, the leading manufacturer and distributor of the country’s top-selling animal health and nutrition brands, and Foundation for Resource Linkage and Development Inc., are staging the ‘Agrilink, Foodlink, and Aqualink’ expo, bringing industry stakeholders all under one roof. In photo (from left, standing) are Dr. Fe A. Colieo, Head of Sarimanok Poultry; Dr. Q. Capili, senior brand manager for Pigrolac; Clint B. Escondo, AVP for marketing, UNAHCO Swine Cluster; Crispin O. Pajimola, AVP for UNAGRO Operations; Luis Miguel G. Vaca, chief finance officer; Dante I. Nacar, Division vice president and head, Pigrolac Operations; Edwin C. Mapanao, AVP for Marketing Cluster III, and (seated, from left) Antonio V. Roces, president of FRLD Inc., and Ricardo C. Alba, President and COO of UNAHCO, during the contract signing ceremony at the UNAHCO office in Mandaluyong City. Manny Palmero

Through various corporate citizenship initiatives, BDO Foundation continues to pursue efforts to support civilians, police and military personnel affected by the Marawi City crisis, such as these boxes of toiletries for evacuation centers in the area.

Foundations join hands to bring more aid to Marawi BDO Unibank continued to serve people affected by the armed conflict in Marawi City through various corporate citizenship initiatives. The largest bank in the Philippines recently joined other companies in providing financial assistance to the families of at least 100 soldiers and police personnel killed in the Marawi siege.

Facilitated by BDO Foundation, the bank’s P2-million donation was turned over to the families in an event in Malacañan Palace.

BDO Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of BDO Unibank, also partnered with Makati Medical Center Foundation to support a medical-surgical mission for injured soldiers.

The foundation donated 200 hygiene and grooming kits to the Marawi Mercy Mission for military personnel confined at Camp

Evangelista Station Hospital in Cagayan de Oro City.

The mission was organized

by MMC Foundation in partnership with the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation and the Adventist Medical Center in Iligan City.

For an estimated 33,000 school children displaced by the fighting in Marawi, classes were inevitably disrupted. In response, BDO Foundation and One Network Bank, the rural bank subsidiary of BDO, provided 238 teachers with educational kits to enable them to continue teaching students in temporary learning spaces in evacuation centers.

These donations are on top of the relief goods previously provided by the foundation for around 3,000 families displaced by the fighting, and 300 soldiers injured in the military operations.

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya—The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board of Region 2 has announced a P40 wage for private sector workers in the Cagayan Valley region.

Per the wage board’s order, workers in nonagriculture and retail or service establishments employing more than 10 workers will receive a minimum wage of P340 per day. Agricultural workers will receive P320 per day, and retail or service establishments employing not more than 10 people will receive P300 per day.

Abe Almirol

Valenzuela officials hone ADR skills VALENZUELA City’s barangay officials and members of the peace and order councils in 33 barangays recently attended the Department of Justice’s Basic Alternative Dispute Resolution Skills Training.

According to lawyer Rodan Parrocha, officer in charge of DOJ’s Office for ADR, the goal of the training is to promote settling of conflicts between and among parties in a peaceful manner before bringing the issues to court.

Parrocha said ADR skills training include mediation, conciliation and arbitration aimed at lessening the pile of complaints in different justice courts and for barangay officials to truly become advocates of peace and reconciliation. Jun David

Life

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com

CULTURE AND MEDIA

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2017

C1

24-year-old Filipina soprano Mheco Manlangit singing with the festival orchestra in Perugia, Italy. Conductor added killer variations in the Donizetti aria. (Inset) Mheco Manlangit.

A promising songbird

By Pablo A. Tariman

I

N THE culminating concert of the last master class of Romanian diva Nelly Miricioiu, one soprano brought the house down with a tough aria from Donizetti’s Linda di Chamonix.

The voice – though not yet in full bloom – is pure gold, the agility way above ordinary and most of all, she can act.

Mheco Manlangit, 24, has the promise of a future Joan Sutherland and, true enough, she wants to sing Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor in the future.

By coincidence, her debut concert at the Ayala Museum on Sept. 28 with pianist Gabriel Paguirigan ends with Regnava nel silenzio from the same opera.

A few weeks after the masterclass, she brought home the top prize in the voice category of the recently concluded Singapore International Festival of Music Competition.

She said her dream roles are Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor), Violetta (La Traviata), Queen of the Night (Die Zauberflöte) and Musetta (La Boheme).

Recent vocal exposure is her participation in the music festival in Perugia, Italy where she met other young musicians all over the world.

Considered the largest music festival for young musicians in Italy, Music Fest Perugia (MFP) allowed her to participate in more masterclasses and getting to sing with an orchestra in the culminating concert.

The other festival subject is called Lingua e Lyrica, which is a series of one masterclasses after another.

She narrated, “The masterclasses offered Italian diction with translation courses. In

MFP, the highlight was the performance with an orchestra. On the other hand, Lingua e Lyrica focused on the science of singing covering subjects such as breathing, voice production, body work and many others.”

In this festival, she noticed Italian teachers are very particular with the details.

She recalled, “Every word, every note, every rest has to mean something. They won’t give up until you understand that one thing that they are trying to show you. During Maestra Eva Mei’s masterclasses, all my classmates were asked to sing on the wall. I was asked to do the exact thing during Maestra Nelly Miricioiu’s masterclass in Manila. The exercise was meant for us to have better breathing. Good thing Maestra Nelly taught that to me earlier so I was the only one in Eva Mei’s class who was not asked to do it.”

By her own admission, she started singing only seven years ago. She wanted to be a doctor but she got sick and had to be an outpatient for a year. Then came the doctor’s advice: she can’t take any course with laboratory classes. Suddenly, a pre-medicine course was out of the picture.

It was when she enrolled at the UST Conservatory of Music that she fell in love with classical music. She was in the company of young singers and pianists who became her friends. “We studied, practiced and survived college together! My teacher, Dr. Eugene de

Mheco Manlangit with Maestra Nelly Miricioiu in a masterclass los Santos, taught me how to sing. It was difficult for me at first since I had a hard time with rhythm and intonation, but I had the kindest teacher! He was very strict with me and persistent as well. He made sure I took the voice exam almost every semester and by fifth year, I could finish the voice exams and was preparing for NAMCYA and my recitals.

I am also blessed to be coached by Prof. Najib Ismail. The way he describes music makes everything beautiful! Whenever I dislike an art song or an aria, I would sing it in his Art of Accompaniment class. After the class, all of us in the room fell in love with that song. Sir Najib’s words are like beautiful passage to difficult songs. He made the most difficult songs

Art for everyone STUDENTS who have a passion for visual arts had a new and exciting avenue to showcase their art pieces as SM Supermalls held its second Art for Everyone fair simultaneously in nine SM malls nationwide – SM Megamall, SM Aura Premier, SM Mall of Asia, SM City Dasmariñas, SM City Baguio, SM City Clark, SM City Cebu, SM City Bacolod, and SM Lanang Premier.

While gallery owners had showcased their artworks in select SM malls last year, the Art for Everyone exhibition this year featured works of students from various universities, colleges and institutions nationwide.

During the five-day art fair, the students’ artworks were exhibited and on sale.

Art professionals and educators also held instructive workshops during the exhibit aimed at developing creative ideation as well as help unleash the full potential of students in visual arts.

Among the featured schools were the University of the Philippines Diliman and Manila, De La Salle College of Saint Benilde, Far Eastern University, University of Makati, Southville International School, CIIT College of Arts and Technology – Quezon City, University of Rizal System – Angono, Our Lady

of Fatima University – Valenzuela and Antipolo, University of the East Caloocan, I-Academy, Philippine Women’s University, San Beda College Alabang, Asia Pacific College, Chiang Kai Shek, College of the Holy Spirit – Manila, Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Technology – Manila, PAREF Woodrose School, Polytechnic University of the Philippines and Technological University of the Philippines Manila.

“We noticed that there have been growing enthusiasm from the youth whenever we hold art-related events in our malls. We want to nourish that youthful passion, and what better way than to give them a space for their craft in our malls where they get a wider audience in our customers,” shares SM Supermalls Senior Vice President for Marketing Jonjon San Agustin.

With a renewed vision to promote professionally curated visual artwork ranging from paintings to mixed media made by students, the art fair was geared up to hold more activities for the students and their respective schools as their art pieces indulge mall-goers.

“As students try to explore their calling and style and find their place in the art

Self-portrait artworks by students of San Beda College Alabang (Humanities class)

'Freedom'

by Issey Kirsten Abrera from De La SalleCollege of Saint Benilde world after school or after going through informal training, they look for platforms through which to present their work,” says Dr. Patrick Flores, of the University of the Philippines Vargas Museum, and lead of the Art for Everyone team. “This is an important time in their creative life as they come in contact with an audience and a potentially supportive public.”

With this, “Art for Everyone helps provide this opportunity to support young artists professionally and creatively, allowing them to reach their audience and public and giving them the chance to survive in a very competitive art world.”

Dr. Flores adds, “It also affords them a view of the artscape: where they are in relation to their peers and how they may be able to further develop their art.

In other words, the platform becomes a gauge, a compass, a source of confidence and inspiration.”

Art for Everyone is one of the many exciting events at the SM Supermalls. For exclusive news about SM Supermalls, visit www. smsupermalls.com or follow SM’s official social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram; and get an insider access to all the fun happenings at SM Supermalls nationwide through SM’s Viber Public Chat. #EverythingsHereAtSM

'Sentro ng Sanlibutan'

by Rexy Tamayo from University of the East Caloocan

highly appealing.”

She said she learned the killer aria from Linda di Chamonix only two years ago. It was supposed to be part of her junior recital but replaced it with Je veux vivre from Romeo et Juliet.

Needless to say, she feared the difficult runs in the Donizetti aria. “On top of that you have to contend with the high notes and the new variations that the conductor in MFP added. I am not a coloratura originally, so the runs were difficult, I almost gave up.

“The easy part was internalizing the character. I practically don’t have to act when I sing it. In O luce, Linda daydreams about her lover, Carlo. He may not be famous as of that moment, but with his talent he will be one day and she will be called his wife. I don’t have a boyfriend, but I do have a crush! I daydream about him all day, every day. I also love sharing his achievements to others and how good of a person he is.

For this reason, the interpretation was fun.”

Did the high notes come easy for her?

“In the past, it was difficult but my teacher and I had to work hard for them to come out—and they eventually did!”

Her Sept. 28 repertoire at Ayala Museum with pianist Gabriel Paguirigan is like vocal gems from various composers and includes O had I Jubal’s Lyre, Du bist die ruh, Gretchen am Spinnrade, Morgen, Signing, Oras nga labing mangitngit, Hangin, Kundiman ng Langit, Marietta’s Lied, Eccomi in lieta vesta...Oh! quante volte and Regnava nel silenzio.

For tickets, call 782-7164 or 0918-347-3027.

C2

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2017

Four months since it debuted on national TV, “Mulawin vs Ravena,” which features Dennis Trillo in the lead role, is bidding primetime goodbye

‘Mulawin vs. Ravena’

FINALE TONIGHT

Korean horror film in PH screens FROM the company responsible for the zombie apocalyptic thriller Train To Busan, now comes The Mimic that also stars the Queen of Korean Horror Yum Jung-Ah, famous for her role in the classic Tale of Two Sisters.

From the director of Hide and Seek, Huh Jung offers another Korean horror movie fans another scary tale.

The film is about a mother, Hee-yeon, who moves to her hometown near Mt. Jang, wishing her mother-in-law remembers how she lost her son, Jun-suh.

One day, near a cave, she meets a girl in tatters and reminds her of Jun-suh. Feeling sympathy, she decides to offer the girl a bed until Hee-yeon finds the girl’s parents. Gradually, the girl mimics Hee-yeon’s daughter, Jun-hee’s name, voice, and look; eventually, calling Heeyeon, mom.

Also, strange things begin to happen to the family and at last, the mother-in-law who suffered from auditory hallucination disappears in the cave touted to be the home of a mysterious creature.

The Mimic is based on the Tiger of Mt. Jang – a legendary ghost which mimics the sound of humans. The film also stars Park Hyuk-kwon and Shin Rin-ah.

The film is now screening in cinemas nationwide.

Horror Queen Yum Jung-Ah in a scene from the South Korean horror-thriller, “The Mimic” From left: Almiro (Derrick Monasterio), Anya (Bea Binene), and Rafael (Kiko Estrada) are some of the well-love characters in the realms of Avalon and Avila

G

MA Network’s wellloved primetime series Mulawin vs. Ravena airs its finale episode tonight.

Lead star Dennis Trillo who plays the role of Gabriel expressed his gratitude to the entire team and crew for the bold storyline and the opportunity to be part of the iconic series once again.

Younger stars Bea Binene, Derrick Monasterio, Kiko Estrada, Bianca Umali, and Miguel Tanfelix said t they enjoyed their journey and considers it an unforgettable one.

With Avila still in ruins, the Mulawin opens

Bianca Umali as Lawiswis, considered as the most beautiful Avian in the Kingdom of Avila

a new chapter for them and rebuilds their home. Pagaspas (Miguel Tanfelix) finally asks for Lawiswis’ (Bianca Umali) hand in marriage and Almiro(Derrick Monasterio) does the same to Anya (Bea Binene). Avila rejoices in the marriage of the couples, but Rafael (Kiko Estrada) isn’t letting them off the hook that easy and rages a fight against them once again.

Battle always comes with a price and more lives will be sacrificed. Will the Mulawin be able to fight for peace and end the war once and for all? Or is all hope lost for them?

Don’t miss the Mulawin vs. Ravena finale tonight after Alyas Robin Hood on GMA Telebabad.

PEOPLE ...are not talking about

…are talking about John Lloyd Cruz There have been ugly talks surrounding the viral videos featuring the Kapamilya actor and they are not showing any signs of dying down, at least in the next couple of days. It’s just really hard to understand why some people call the videos disturbing. Don’t we all get drunk and act the same way or even worse? First of all, Lloydie is neither a teenager nor a saint. He’s a human being who gets drunk and acts foolishly when under the influence of alcohol just like anybody else. The problem in this society, a lot of hypocrites hide behind their computers and mobile devices and pretend to be decent.

Matthias Rhoads He got bashed for posting a photo of him together with Marian Rivera.

Trolls were quick to label him as “user-friendly” for tagging the Kapuso primetime queen in his social media post. It’s true that he’s a virtually an unknown talent compared to his costar but given the fact that he’s been cast alongside bigger names means he’s got what it takes to be a big star in showbiz, too. And the fact that brainless fans keep on trolling him around social media means he already got their complete attention.

Angel Locsin Fans of Kathryn Bernardo were threatened with the return of the Imortal actress to the top-rating primetine fantasy, La Luna Sangre. Angel got trolled by KathNiel fans when her Twittertrending comeback to the weeknight drama as Jacinta Magsaysay drew positive feedback. The episode where Angel reappeared even registered higher viewership as it jumped five points higher than its average rating. Maybe that’s the reason why Kathryn’s fans were bothered. They couldn’t accept that an older actress was able to boost the series in which their idol is supposed to be the star.

The Promise of Forever

How did the Paulo Avelino and Ritz Azul-starrer drama fare in the ratings game? The Kapamilya execs wouldn’t really want to know.

The afternoon soap billed as one of ABS-CBN’s most expensive TV projects to date registered a 5.5 percent rating based on the data gathered

by AGB Neilsen. We have to note that the series’ predecessor also averaged around 5 percent, too, but that’s nothing to celebrate about. On primetime, using the same measurement by AGB Nielsen, Kapamilya dramas topple its competition by a wide margin. Why can’t it happen in the afternoon block? Doesn’t The Promise of Forever have enough appeal to lure more viewers?

Maria Sofia Love Who is? Her “rampa para sa ekonomiya” posts on social media went viral in 2015. And because of these videos, she was even featured in magazine shows on TV. Meanwhile, the LAbased transsexual uploaded another video, this time lewdly dancing to “Lupang Hinirang,” obviously maligning the national anthem. People were disgusted by the fame whore’s post and immediately called the attention of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines to investigate the matter. They actually don’t mind if Maria’s passport gets cancelled because it’s clear that Internet personalities like her need to be educated apart from giving them a lesson.

Sharon Cuneta Did you know what happened to her first Cinemalaya outing? It was a flopperoo!

The film Ang Pamilyang Hindi Lumuluha didn’t win any award during the awards night. And when it had its commercial release last week, it was pulled out of the movie theaters quickly. So what’s wrong with film? Was it the director, the story itself, or the cast members? In a star driven industry, no matter how awful the film is, it can still be salvaged by the lead cast.

Apparently, it didn’t happen. Hence, the answer to the question is very clear.

Cinemalaya’s Best Picture in commercial theaters soon FROM his debut single Gayuma, Raymond Abracosa known as Abra is now conquering the movie screens with his first movie break Respeto, a 2017 Cinemalaya’s official entry.

The movie won the top honor (Best Picture) at this year’s Cinemalaya.

Respeto is the story of an amateur rapper and a veteran poet whose paths cross after a stand-off between the authorities and illegal settlers.

In this interview with Abra, he admits that he never imagined how big this movie was.

“Kinakabahan ako kasi mayroong major role na nakapatong sa balikat ko and nakaka excite din on the other hand kasi lahat ng aspect ng movie from Cinematography, yung execution and yung mga co actors ko lahat sobrang lapit.” He said during the celebrity block screening at Rockwell Cinema.

The Respeto lead star also added that his team was not after winning the award from Cinemalaya.

“Kahit wala naman yung prize ng Best Picture parang panalo na yung film e so plus plus plus talaga yung feeling ng kasiyahan ko tapos sobrang blessed talaga ng feeling namin regardless kung may award or wala,” he says.

Since he already experienced acting, will Abra consider doing future acting projects?

“Miss na miss ko na din kasi mag music e, Baka mag dwell muna ako sa music world pero pag may ano[offer] na magandang concept game tayo diyan,” he explains.

Aside from this recognition from Cinemalaya, Abra is also thankful for the positive reviews he received from both critics and netizens for this movie.

“Opo grabe! pag bukas ko ng social media ko umaapaw at nakaka gaan ng loob. Hindi ko po expected na gusto pa nila ulitin at i share pa talaga nila kaya nakakataba ng puso,” he said.

Meanwhile, Abra also believes that this movie is timely for this generation of movie goers especially for the millennials.

“Ang kuwento ng Respeto parang makikita mo yung kabuuan ng sitwasyon ng Pilipinas sa kasalukuyan sa film. Bukod sa surface na Rap Movie siya, yung depth ng film is malalim talaga may kinalaman pa sa history ng Art at yung appreciation nating mga Pilipino pagdating sa Art andoon tapos may contrast din ng paano nag re-reflect ang past at yung present na same pero iba. Parang balagtasan and rap andon din yung contrast kaya talagang dapat panuorin kasi ako mismo na impress sa daloy ng story,” he adds.

Aside from his award winning movie, Abra is set to continue his craft as a rapper and musician.

Treb Monteras directed the film that also stars Dido de la Paz Loonie, Kate Alejandrino, Chai Fonacier, Ybes Bagadiong, Brian Arda, Thea Yrastorza, and Nor Domingo.

It screens in cinemas beginning Sept. 20.

Actor-rapper Abra debuts on the big screen in the Cinemalaya best feature film, “Respeto”

Motoring

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2017

C3

JOY OF DRIVING

BMW holds Xpo at BGC C

ELEBRATING its passion for creating unparalleled experiences, Asian Carmakers Corporation, the official importer and distributor of BMW in the Philippines, will be hosting the BMW Xpo 2017 from September 15 to 17, 2017 at the BMW Pavilion, 9th Ave. corner 30th St., Bonifacio Global City. BMW clientele, enthusiasts, and the general motoring public will get the chance to discover pure exhilaration and bear witness to the much anticipated annual showcase of the brand’s latest automobiles and activities for adults and children alike.

“BMW has consistently led unique and exciting customer experiences, pushing boundaries through daring and visionary creations that do not compromise the ultimate goal: Sheer Driving Pleasure.

This event demonstrates our dedication to delivering premium mobility that allows us to be the pioneer of Joy,” said ACC President Maricar Parco. “There’s no better way to share our journey and vision than through the BMW Xpo 2017, with no less than our customers and industry

partners.”

Under the theme “Experience Sheer Driving Pleasure,” this year’s BMW Xpo will reflect the brand’s strengthened drive to create memorable individual journeys with not only its segment-leading vehicles, but also activities that help develop a better understanding of the heart of the BMW brand –Joy. The event will feature 3 exhibitions of BMW’s core values that deliver the brand’s commitment to bring Joy in every

aspect of mobility: Visionary, Precious, and Thrilling.

Visionary.

BMW’s constant pursuit for automotive excellence, passion for innovation, and vision for the future of automobile will be in full display, with the latest generation of BMW’s mostsuccessful business sedan, the all-new BMW 5 Series, leading the roster. Other featured vehicles will represent the brand’s ground-breaking concepts for the mobility of tomorrow along with a fas-

BMW offers the public a venue to experience sheer driving pleasure.

cinating augmented reality experience with the Vision Next 100 Concept Car and BMW 5 Series through the BMW Vision Gate.

Precious.

BMW’s most precious pieces, embodying timeless elegance and pure adrenaline, will come together to form a truly delightful experience. The epitome of contemporary luxury, the BMW 7 Series, will be displayed together with the newest collection of BMW Lifestyle.

Curated modern apparel and accessories to match every individual with a discerning palate will also be presented

by Hugo Boss.

Even the smallest of BMW fans can look forward to limitless pleasure as the event will include a Junior Drivers’ Course and Kiddie Dome with arts and crafts activities for the young and young at heart, making the event a family affair.

Thrilling.

The most powerful letter in the world, M, will take guests to where too much is just right. Visitors can feast their eyes on the first-ever BMW M2, the intensified BMW M4 in Competition Package, and select vehicles in the exclusive M Sport trim. Adrenaline pumping activities such as a digital

Suzuki car clubs: Reaching out PIONEER compact car distributor Suzuki Philippines supports the series of activities organized by several car clubs from the growing Team Suzuki Philippines family. Accredited car clubs Swift 1.2 Philippines and Vitara Club of the Philippines recently held outreach programs in support of their respective Suzuki vehicles and as part of efforts to reach out to more communities and create a positive impact.

Suzuki Philippines Assistant General Manager Cecil Capacete commended the efforts of Swift 1.2 and VCP: “On behalf of Suzuki Philippines, I would like to extend our deepest gratitude for your continued and heartfelt support for the brand. These outreach activities and programs have always been in line with our objectives. They reiterate that our efforts and vision go beyond providing quality and practical

earn favorable market response.

Caring for the environment while bonding with Suzuki family VCP recently held a treeplanting activity at the Treasure Mountain in Tanay, Rizal. The event, which was attended by more than 50 members and their families and friends, was capped by an overnight fellowship. The participants bonded during the camping, sharing not just food but laughter, stories and experiences as well to make the VCP family even closer.

“As the oldest car club of Suzuki Philippines, we would like to show our sincerest gratitude to the company for their continued support.

This year’s tree-planting activity not only provided an opportunity to help the environment but also allowed us members to take some time off our usual routines and bond. We are definitely looking forward to a more fruitful relationship among the VCP members and with Suzuki Philippines,” VCP President Mike Borja said.

Unlike the Swift 1.2 that comprises mostly young professionals, the VCP is made up of athletic and adventurous individuals.

It currently has more than 550 members.

“To Team Suzuki Philippines, we are most grateful for the support you have given the company.

You have for many years now continued to work with us amid our heightened efforts to bring our vehicles to more Filipino homes and make Suzuki vehicles every Filipino’s most-trusted companion. Your team spirit has always inspired us―and will continue to inspire us―to forge ahead and gear up for more milestones and successes,” Suzuki Philippines General Manager for Automobile Swift 1.2, one of Suzuki car clubs, has embarked on an outreach program with its members tagging along 40 kids. Shuzo Hoshikura said. compact cars. We are delighted and honored to be an instrument in achieving your goal of making a difference as a means of bringing to more Filipinos the Suzuki way of life.”

Making a difference the Swift 1.2 way Swift 1.2 Philippines conducted its first ever outreach program last August 12 in partnership with the No One In Need Movement.

The activity, held at San Diego Restoration Village in Valenzuela City, was participated in by more than 40 kids and community members, who joined the games and program that included singing, drawing and dancing. Prizes were given away to the delight of the kid attendees.

The event mirrors the club’s mission to strengthen camaraderie among its members. It also supports Suzuki’s commitment to give more Filipinos a better un-

derstanding of the Suzuki Way of Life.

“We would like to thank Suzuki Philippines for the support they have given us in making our first outreach activity possible. We at Swift 1.2 were brought together two years ago by our love and support for Swift. Over time, we realized we have more things in common. Wanting to touch other people’s lives and make a difference is among them. We are definitely excited to do more of this in the future,” shares Swift 1.2 Philippines officer Argel Lapuz.

Established in 2015, Swift 1.2 quickly expanded over a span of only two years. It currently comprises more than 500 members and is expected to continue growing in the years ahead, a reflection of the success of Suzuki’s most famous hatchback. Equipped with a stylish and elegant façade, Swift continues, without a doubt, to

Performance floor mats from Sparco REGARDED as the country’s largest automotive accessories retail chain with 50 stores nationwide, Blade has carved a respectable niche in the aftermarket industry with its extensive line of affordable automotive accessories and car care products that ranges from car audio-video down to air fresheners and wheels.

Among their popular brands is Sparco, an Italian auto part and accessory company headquartered in Volpiano, Turin, Italy that specializes in producing

items such as seats, steering wheels, harnesses, racewear and helmets. In the Philippines, Blade is the distributor for Sparco’s lifestyle products such as seat covers and floor mats. Sparco floora mats are easy to clean and made from a non-skid backing material and designed to universally fit most cars and AUV’s.

All of their stores carry globally recognized brands such as Sparco, OMP, Goodyear, Polaroid and Chupa Chups. “The brands we carry are all licensed and Blade

is an official distributor of the aforementioned brands.

All branded merchandise that we carry are original and licensed,” explains Albert Go of Blade. For brands such as Sparco, OMP and Goodyear, Blade caters to the consumer line of automotive products such as air compressors, seat belt pads, and car floor mats. They also offer a complete line of car care products such as Blade signature products, Sonax, Mother’s, Meguiar’s and Wurth among others.

experience in which guests may create their own BMW M Statement image and become part of the M movement also awaits.

Guests can even immerse in the thrill of making life a ride with BMW Motorrad.

The growing Heritage Line, including the pure riding machine BMW R nineT that embodies the quality and tradition of the BMW Motorrad brand, will be showcased together with motorcycles from the Adventure and Sport Lines.

The Perfect Time to Drive a BMW is Now. Apart from the interactive highlights, participants

may also test-drive the latest BMW vehicles, while aspiring BMW owners may choose from a wide range of certified pre-owned vehicles or the BMW Premium Selection at special prices. During the 3-day fête, limited offers on all brand-new BMW vehicles will also be available along with a chance to win exclusive raffle prizes.

“With all of these thrilling activities and world-class display of premium automobiles, the BMW Xpo 2017 represents our strengthened commitment to delivering Sheer Driving Pleasure today and the years to come,” concluded Parco.

FASTLANE Petron’s toy supercars roll out THE 2017 version of the much-awaited Petron Supercars Collection will be available at over 700 participating service stations in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. As in previous years, the Porsche 918 Spyder, this time in red, will be one of three toy car models available to Petron customers. The collection also includes the Bentley GT3 Continental Concept in black, and the Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 Roadster in orange.

The Petron Supercars 2017 collectibles are licensed originals and come in a 5-side see-through display box. They are larger scale 1:24 models, made from high-quality die-cast metal with detailed parts. Features include door opening alarm sounds with lights, as well as hood press-activated start-up with rev and acceleration sounds.

To complete your Petron Supercars 2017 Collection, all you have to do is fuel up with Petron Blaze 100 Euro 6, Petron XCS, Petron Xtra Advance, Petron Turbo Diesel, and Petron Diesel Max, or protect your engine with Petron Ultron, Petron RevX, or Petron Sprint 4T. Every 500-worth of single or accumulated receipts entitle you to purchase one Petron Supercar toy car for only P700. The promo runs from September 20 to October 6, 2017.

Caltex opens more stations Chevron Philippines Inc, marketer of the Caltex brand of fuels and lubricants, opened seven new Caltex stations in different parts of the Philippines over the past two months. CPI continues to increase its retail presence to match rising demand for fuel buoyed by the country’s strong economy, which grew 6.8 percent year-on-year in 2016 and is projected by the World Bank to continue on an upward trend this year and next.

The newly opened stations in Pansol, Laguna; National Highway, Makilala, North Cotabato; Cagayan Valley Road, Aparri; Pagbilao, Quezon Province; Aquiles-Zayco Road, Negros Occidental; Sulat-Taft Road, Eastern Samar; and Provincial Road, Tabuk City, Kalinga will make clean, safe and high-quality fuels more accessible to the rising number of motorists all over the country.

“Our nationwide efforts to expand retail services is a testament to the company’s commitment to bring premium, highquality fuels, and services to the Filipino community. We are excited to help fuel the country’s economic growth as this provides more opportunities for everyone,” newly installed CPI Country Chairman Louie Zhang shares.

Motoring

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

C4

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2017

Flanked by two shiny Subarus, Katsuyuki Mizuma, Corporate Senior VP for Subaru and Glenn Tan, Executive Director of Tan Chong International unwrap the all-new Subaru XV.

More than meets the eye

Text and photo by Genevieve Tiu

A

S A FOLLOW-UP to the successful regional launch of the Subaru XV in Taiwan middle of this year, Motor Image has upped the ante with the introduction of the all-new Subaru XV, the second-generation since the launch of the original model back in 2012.

Held at the activity center of the Bonifacio Global City, Subaru’s crossover is designed for the urban jungle, and then some — it answers the market’s growing demand for a practical, functional daily drive in the city, yet offers fun and comfort for that long drive in the great outdoors.

The 2017 XV is powered by a revamped 2.0-liter Boxer Engine, making it lighter, with better fuel economy. It brings to the table a host of innovations such as the XMODE, a feature that enhances driving performance on challenging terrains through the integrated control of the engine, all-wheel drive system, and other functions.

It also boasts of automated features like the High-Beam Assist technology, which detects preceding and oncoming vehicles for auto-switch between high and

low beam, and Steering Responsive Headlights, which allows the headlight beam to move in the direction that the car is steered.

The XV is also the second Subaru model built on the Subaru Global Platform. Launched in 2016 in the all-new Impreza, this platform creates an entirely new driving experience for XV fans. A better suspension system means that the car is more able to absorb the impact from uneven roads (think, Manila’s random potholes and an unexpected of-

froad drive) without compromising steering control and stability.

It is also made safer with a lowered center of gravity, especially in the case of sharp or sudden turns (again, Manila driving).

However, more that the technical upgrades and features, the allnew Subaru XV plays a strategic role in Motor Image’s direction to capture a new market base, not just in Manila, but within the region.

This is clearly seen in the brand’s campaign efforts that has grown beyond motorsport and male-centered advertising — the most notable of which is in its collaboration with the highly-rated lifestyle reality show, Asia’s Next Top Model, and more recently, Bolt of Talent.

We also recall the launching ad for the Levorg in 2016, which told the story of a woman being the decision-maker as to which car to buy for her home.

From what we see, the all-new XV launched with a cool, unapologetic style that captures the eye of 2 new markets that are aligned with the said campaign direction: the urban, city-loving, modern woman, and the aspiring young professional working his or her way up the ladder. Unlike the usual crossover SUV, it has a modern curvature and a minimal-

ist styling approach reminiscent of today’s interior design trends, yet maintains the signature sporty edge on its front-end that makes it uniquely Subaru — not to mention the 4 delicious colors that it comes in. Suddenly, it speaks to a more universal crowd.

The collaborations that Motor Image are undertaking are also meant to make the brand more directly relevant to more markets by showing that key element of fun and performance for both men and women. Tan Chong International Managing Director, Glenn Tan has this to say about the latest iteration of the XV, “We are confident that the Subaru XV will not only attract new customers, but also help maintain the current Subaru fan base. Especially with the new style, better driving, and good pricing.”

The launch of the all-new Subaru XV is another step for Motor Image in growing the Subaru brand amongst an emerging new lifestyle market — one that is still discerning, loves a good long drive, yet also practical in his or her daily requirements. With the new performance features, improved design, and a competitive price tag, the XV may just be the ticket to attaining that goal.

‘VWorld Weekend’ slated at Glorietta VOLKSWAGEN Philippines, exclusive importer and distributor of the country’s best-selling European car brand, will hold the “VWorld Weekend” on September 16 and 17 (mall hours) at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati City.

For two days, the “VWorld Weekend” offers Filipino motoring enthusiasts on the lookout for world-class vehicles an easier way to own their very own premium German-branded, precision-engineered and designed Volkswagen at special

purchase and financing packages.

On display at the “VWorld Weekend” will be the accessorized Beetle and the Polo Hatchback Club Edition. Volkswagen will also showcase at the event the new Jetta that will be sold starting P1.1 million (for the Comfortline). Additional variants for the Jetta are Highline, Business Edition and Business Edition +.

The Jetta has been Volkswagen Philippines’ bestselling sedan in 2016. The Jetta has

been dubbed the sedan “Made for Everyday Living” with its stylish looks, feature-packed amenities, and remarkable comfort features--characteristics that have enabled 14 million units to be sold worldwide in its six generations. The Jetta is the only diesel model in its segment, powered by a 2.0-liter Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) diesel engine mated to a 6-speed DSG transmission system that generates 150 PS of power at 3,500-4,200rpm and a class-leading 340Nm of torque

at 1,750-3,000rpm. Standard for all variants are the sunroof, leather seats, Keyless-Go with Push Start and the 5.8” Touchscreen Color Display Audio.

The “VWorld Weekend” will also be offering the Polo Hatchback starting at P858,000 and the iconic Beetle starting at P1.24 million. The event further sweetens its offer via special financing packages courtesy of BPI Family Savings Bank, the event’s exclusive bank partner, and its BPI Auto Loans for faster loan processing. These sales

offers include all-in down payment for as low as P80,000 and 0% interest for up to 60 months (5 years). BPI Family Savings Bank officers will be on hand to assist customers.

The “VWorld Weekend” also promises to be a fun family event for both adults and their children. During the two-day run, Volkswagen Philippines’ award-winning Child Safety Initiative (CSI) will offer the Junior Driving Course.

The Junior Driving Course is aimed at introducing early

childhood road safety awareness to children 4 to 8 years old, while imparting important road safety habits to their parents. A 15-minute seminar for both parents and their children will be held, then the 50-square-meter Junior Driving Course simulating a road network complete with kiddie cars, toolkits and road signs will make the children learn, hands-on, the importance of road safety. At the end of the course, Junior Driver’s Licenses will be issued to young CSI “graduates”.

How SAFE is your car?

ABS

ke System

Bra Anti-lock

STD

Dual Airbag

Low Downpayment

PHP 28K

Fu el Efficiency

based on 20% DP

Applicable for Bank Financing.

Total Effec

TECT

tive Contro l Te

SRP P 429.000.00 Promo period: August 03 — October 31, 2017

SAFE

Built

Suzuki Customer Care Hotline: (02) 462-5000 Like us @ facebook.com/SuzukiAutoPh | www.suzuki.com.ph/auto

ASC REF. NO. S090P081017S

Small car.

chnology Bo

dy

BIG on safety.

Per DTI-FTEB Permit No. 9208 Series of 2017