Manila Standard - 2017 September 20 - Wednesday

‘No bank account? I invented number’

Duterte shows documents on Trillanes’ bank accounts.

By John Paolo Bencito

VOL. XXXI • NO. 218 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday night admitted “inventing” the numbers attributed to the alleged bank accounts of his political nemesis, Senator Antonio Trillanes, claiming he intentionally

misrepresented them to catch his lie.

“Binasa ko, binawasan ko ng number… Wala ito, imbento lang [What Mocha [Uson] and Erwin [Tulfo] and what I’ve read — I removed some numbers. Really, its my invention],” Duterte said in a

live television interview hosted by Tulfo Tuesday.

Duterte said Trillanes’ actual account number at Singapore’s DBS branch in Alexandra Road was 11780-00261-60-2, and not 1780-00296-01-2 as what he, Uson and Tulfo Next page

Loopholes in hazing tale

‘Samaritan’ a person of interest

DREAM DENIED. Horacio Castillo II (right) exchanges sentiments with a guest at the wake Tuesday at the Santuario de San Antonio in Makati City of his son, Horacio III, a freshman law student at the University of Santo Tomas, who dreamed of becoming a lawyer and eventually work in the Supreme Court, before senior Aegis Juris law fraternity brothers allegedly put the curtains down on that dream. Norman Cruz

By Bill Casas and Joel E. Zurbano

T

HE man who brought hazing victim Horacio Castillo III to Chinese General Hospital on Sunday morning is now a person of interest, the Manila Police District said Tuesday.

John Paul Sarte Solano, 21 years old, who was earlier described as a “good samaritan” by the victim’s father, will be invited to clarify his testimony, because of

inconsistencies with the accounts of officials of Barangay 133 in Manila.

Solano was said to be the one who found Castillo, a freshman law student at the University of Santo Tomas and brought him to Chinese General Hospital.

MPD director PSSupt.

Joel Coronel said that aside from Solano, they have a list of persons of interest based on the information gathered from the university.

One of these was Axel Hipe, who was mentioned

by Castillo’s family as the last person contacted by their son, based on the

victim’s phone records.

Hipe is allegedly a member of the Aegis Juris fraternity that Castillo wanted to join.

Coronel said they were also verifying information from Castillo’s family that an Uber driver brought the victim’s personal belongings to their home in Makati City.

Police are checking if the person was indeed an Uber driver, Coronel added.

In the police spot report, Solano said he found Castillo at the corner of H. Lopez and Infanta streets in Barangay 133 around 8 a.m. on Next page Sunday.

Palace tells Govt cancels quake drill on ‘Day of Protest,’ militant groups set massive rallies House allies to be modest like Duterte

By Francisco Tuyay and Bill Casas

THE Palace on Tuesday told administration allies in Congress to refrain from seeking special treatment and to remain “modest,” like President Rodrigo Duterte himself, one day after Majority Floor Leader Rodolfo Fariñas urged traffic authorities to go easy on legislators if they violate traffic rules.

“The President himself continues to observe a modest lifestyle and he seeks no special treatment inside and outside the Palace. He hopes our colleagues in Congress, especially our allies, can bring themselves to do the same,” Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said.

He also said nobody is exempted from traffic laws.

“Law is law and it should be blind to all,” Next page he said.

MASKED CELEBRATOR. In line with the 45th commemoration of the declaration of martial law, a member of the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines wears a mask during the launching Tuesday of its campaign dubbed ‘Mamamayan Ayaw Sa Karahasan (MASK)’ during its news conference in Quezon City. Manny Palmero

DISASTER authorities called off a nationwide earthquake drill scheduled for Sept. 21 after an alliance of rights groups accused the Duterte administration of trying to sabotage protest actions to mark the 45th anniversary of the declaration of martial law by the dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

President Rodrigo Duterte this week suspended work in government offices and classes in public schools and universities on Sept. 21 in anticipation of threats of massive demonstrations against the alleged abuses of his administration.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said it would postpone the nationwide earthquake drill because most of the regional disaster risk reduction management councils had selected government offices and schools as their pilot areas.

An alliance opposing the government’s hardline Next page

Grab cars, motorbikes used NBI hunts two Taiwanese in drug smuggling, seeks Interpol assistance in drug trafficking—PDEA

By Bill Casas

By Rio N. Araja and Joel Zurbano DRUG dealers have taken advantage of the mobilebased app transport network vehicle services to deliver illegal drugs to their buyers, according to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

At a news conference

at the PDEA headquarters in Quezon City, director general Aaron Aquino said while dealers use the social media to sell drugs, Grab cars and motor bikes had been hired to transport drugs from one place to another.

“Such modus has been a practice for such a long time,” he told reporters. Next page

SHABU HEARING. DoJ Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre testifies Tuesday

at the Senate in regard to the case of 890 kilos of shabu seized by government agents in San Juan City last year. Senator Richard Gordon, who chairs the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, planned to send subpoena to Judge Jovencio Gascon for allegedly acting slowly on the P6 billion worth of shabu seized by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation in a series of raids in the city last December. Ey Acasio

THE government has sought the help of the International Police Organization in tracking down two Taiwanese men tagged in the P6.4-billion illegal drug shipment in the Philippines, the National Bureau of Investigation said on Tuesday.

The NBI is also coordinating with the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office to place Jhu Ming Jyun and Chen Min under surveillance, Ferdinand Lavin, NBI

director for International Operations, told senators during a congressional probe.

The two Taiwanese nationals are still at large after cylinders containing about 1,500 kilograms of shabu were discovered by operatives in Valenzuela in May. “They are in China [according] to my last information. They are closely monitoring the persons including the conduct of electronic surveillance,” Lavin said.

Meanwhile, Senator Richard Gordon ended

Tuesday the blue ribbon committee’s investigation on the P6.4-billion shabu shipment from China but said that they would continue with their probe on the alleged “tara” system in the Bureau of Customs.

“We are ready to make our report. We will release it tomorrow. It will be a report based on what we gathered here,” Gordon said, but stressed the committee would continue pursuing the cases filed against those allegedly involved in the Next page shipment.

Jeepney drivers bat for P2 fare hike to offset oil price increases IBP pleads

By Vito Barcelo and Maricel V. Cruz

DOTING GRANDFATHER. President Rodrigo Duterte

grabs a space for his grandson, Marko Digong, child of Davao City Mayor Sara and husband Manases Carpio of Paoay, Ilocos Norte, on the sidelines of the 6th Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Accredited National Convention of Public Attorneys opening ceremony at the Manila Hotel on Monday. Malacañang Photo

twitter.com/ MlaStandard

FIVE transport groups filed a petition for a P2 fare hike— immediately opposed—before the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), raising the minimum jeepney fare from P8 to P10.

Pasang Masda president Roberto “Obet” Martin said the petition was in preparation for the impending infacebook.com/ ManilaStandardPH

S

crease in prices of petroleum products and increase in the prices of auto spare parts.

The transport groups, Pasang Masda, Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (Fejodap), League of Transport Operators of the Philippines (LTAP), Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations (Acto) and Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (Altodap) filed the pemanilastandard.net

tition, citing increase in fuel prices.

The transport groups want the LTFRB to raise the fare

by P2 for the first 4 kilometers and 35 centavos for every succeeding kilometer, making the succeeding km P1.75 from the current P1.35.

But a militant lawmaker immediately opposed the P2 fare hike.

“This is always the consequence of the unimpeded oil price hikes, thus, we seriously hold the government

primarily culpable for this proposal that would undoubtedly impact the poor public,” Anakpawis Party-List Rep. Ariel Casilao said.

Casilao lamented what he observed was the Duterte administration’s helplessness to arrest the oil price hikes, as it was silent on proposals to repeal the Oil Deregulation Law that said to have empowered foreign monopoly oil firms to jack up prices of petroleum products.

Next page

for workable CHR budget THE Integrated Bar of the Philippines on Tuesday appealed to the senators to shepherd a workable budget for the Commission on Human Rights following a decision in the House of Representatives to give the agency a budget of only P1,000 for 2018.

Next page

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Impeach raps should proceed

By Maricel V. Cruz

A

N OPPOSITION lawmaker said Tuesday the impeachment complaint against Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista complies with the House of Representatives’ impeachment rules and should proceed to the next step.

Deputy Minority Leader and Kabayan Party-list Rep. Harry Roque made the statement even as the House justice committee will today decide on the impeachment complaint filed by former Negros Oriental Rep. Jacinto Paras and lawyer Ferdi-

nand Topacio against Bautista for his alleged betrayal of public trust and violation of the Constitution over his ill-gotten wealth.

Roque made his statement even as the camp of Bautista’s estranged wife, Patricia Paz, raised concerns over

Loopholes...

campus could hamper its ongoing probe.

Margarejo said the UST Faculty of Civil Law could have suspended the frat men implicated in the Castillo hazing case, but it should have made the members available for questioning.

UST Law dean Nilo Divina on Tuesday distanced himself from the the university’s investigation.

“I will not in any way participate or be involved in the process. The University has its own process in conducting an administrative investigation,” Divina said.

Divina is one of the notable members of the universityrecognized Aegis Juris fraternity currently embroiled in the death of Castillo.

Divina, however, clarified that he no longer had any involvement with the activities of the 38-year-old fraternity after he took a leave of absence from the brotherhood when he assumed the deanship eight years ago.

“I don’t speak for them,” he said.

Divina suspended all officers and members of Aegis Juris to give way to the UST’s probe into the incident.

Divina also barred them from attending classes and entering the UST premises.

The victim’s family on Tuesday said they would not rest until their son’s killers are brought to justice.

“We, the family of Horacio Topacio Castillo III decry the senseless murder of our Atio,” the statement read, referring Castillo by his nickname. “He was our most precious and cherished son, brother, nephew, cousin, and grandson...We grieve and despair at the life he was not able to live, and the cruel and inhumane way by which it was cut short.”

“While the death of Atio is still under investigation, it is clear to us that Atio was killed by criminals from the Aegis Juris fraternity in a blatant act of hazing. We are outraged that barbaric and criminal acts continue to be performed in the false name of brotherhood,” they said.

In their statement, the family called on school officials to ensure a swift and impartial probe of the student’s death.

“We plead with the administrators of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) and the administrators of the UST Faculty of Civil Law to ensure a thorough, impartial, and swift investigation into Atio’s murder,” they said.

The Castillo family also called upon members of the Aegis Juris fraternity, including UST Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina, to bring the killers to justice.

From A1

Solano told police investigators he was on his way to the San Lazaro Hospital, where he works, when he saw the law student’s body.

Solano said he flagged down a red Strada pick-up to help him bring Castillo to the Chinese General Hospital.

Coronel, however, said that barangay officials told them no body was found in their barangay and nearby areas at that time.

“So far, Solano’s statement is inconsistent with the testimony given by the barangay officials,” Coronel said.

Based on the MPD’s interview with personnel of the San Lazaro Hospital, investigators found out that Solano was a part-time employee and a law student at UST. Police had confirmed that Castillo died due to hazing.

The 22-year-old victim, who was also a law student at the UST, left home on Saturday for the “welcoming rites” of the Aegis Juris fraternity.

Barangay 133 CCTV operator Arnel Rovillo said Solano’s claim was “impossible” because the CCTV camera near H. Lopez and Infanta streets showed nothing to confirm his story.

Rovillo said they also checked the footage from other CCTV cameras but also found nothing.

“We were surprised that they said a body was found there because nothing of this sort was reported to our barangay. If there is somebody killed, people here will mill around, so it’s impossible that there was a body dumped there,” he said in Filipino.

Coronel said social media posts and information given

by Castillo’s friends are a big help to the MPD’s efforts to determine who are responsible for Castillo’s death.

MPD spokesman Supt.

Erwin Margarejo confirmed that CCTV footage did not show any body in the area that Solano indicated.

Margarejo said that police have also identified who sent the anonymous text message informing Castillo’s parents that his body was at Chinese General.

Investigators have requested copies of CCTV footage of the UST campus on the night of Castillo’s alleged hazing.

UST said it has launched a separate probe into the incident and has suspended all members of the Juris Aegis fraternity.

UST’s student council and management are also providing information to police investigators.

The MPD said UST’s move to disallow entry of Aegis Juris fraternity members to the

Jeepney...

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“This is what we have been asserting since last year, that the President should veer away from his neoliberal economic managers as their proposals are detrimental to the people, and now, we hold him accountable,” Casilao said.

The petition is only for the increase fare in the National Capital Region, Central Luzon (Region 3), Calabarzon (Region 4a), and Mimaropa (Region 4b).

The labor group Alliance of Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines said it would not object the P2 fare petition

because it would go through the process of determination whether there was a need or necessity for such an increase.

“We understand the plight of our jeepney drivers and their families amid rising fuel prices and rising prices of goods and services. We have no objection to the filing of the petition to increase,” ALU-TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said.

“As to how much should be the equivalent increase, there must be a thorough study on the amount of the increase,” Tanjusay said.

“We expect the LTFRB to involve labor groups in the consultation on the petition,” he added.

be dismissed due to insufficiency in form.

“There was a statement relayed to us that the justice committee is inclined to view the impeachment complaint as dismissable,” Kapunan said.

Roque said a potential defect noted by Umali in the complaint had been corrected with the filing by the Volunters Against Crime and Corruption of a substitute verification, a move allowed by the rules.

He said VACC members Ferdinand Topacio and former Negros Rep. Jacinto

Paras submitted on Sept. 13 a substitute verification of the complaint attesting that the allegations against Bautista were “true and correct of [their] own knowledge or based on authentic records.”

VACC lawyer Manuelito Luna attached the substitute verification in a Motion asking the committee on justice to admit it and substitute it for an earlier verification that they had submitted along with their impeachment complaint.

Umali earlier said the House committee on justice might dismiss the impeach-

ment complaint filed against Bautista for “insufficiency in form.”

The complainants had used an improper verification form that failed to state their common knowledge of the charges they alleged were based on authentic records.

They said the form was intended to send Articles of Impeachment to the Senate Impeachment Court through the support of one-third of the House members or at least 98 lawmakers, keeping in mind that the so-called “creeping” impeachment would still be the rule of the game.

Govt...

From A1

the group said.

The alliance also cited the national earthquake drill as another effort to sabotage the protests.

“We will not be intimidated by such actions. We will not be prevented from exercising our constitutional right to freedom of expression and assembly,” the alliance said.

The anti-martial law protests is expected to run from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Luneta Park.

Police will be deployed in key areas in Metro Manila to maintain law and order during the scheduled protests by various groups.

A police spokesman said they have not received any reports of threats that might disrupt Thursday’s protest actions.

Philippine National Police spokesman Chief Supt Dionardo Carlos said they were finalizing security preparations, including those for the perimeter of the Palace.

Carlos said the National Capital Region Police Office has tapped the Manila Police

District to activate Task Force Manila Shield, which was formed in 2000 to block groups from marching to Chino Roces Bridge, the gateway to the Palace.

Carlos said the police would exercise “maximum tolerance” on the day of protests.

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada said he has told the Manila Police District to ensure that there are enough units on the ground to maintain peace and order before, during and after the demonstrations in Rizal Park.

“The safety of the public is our paramount concern here, and also of the rally participants and the policemen,” Estrada said. “We will have sufficient men on the ground and our emergency units have all been placed on standby.”

Some 1,400 policemen from the MPD and the National Capital Region Police Office will be deployed to secure Manila during the Sept. 21 martial law anniversary.

While work in government offices and classes in public

schools and universities will be suspended, private companies and schools will have to decide for themselves, Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said Tuesday.

People may exercise their constitutional rights to freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, and to seek redress for the grievances against the government, past or present during the day, Abella said.

He added that law enforcement personnel have been directed to stay away from mass actions and to exercise maximum restrain unless intervention is needed to maintain public order.

The leftist Bagong Alyansang Makabayan said the people are determined to push through with the nationwide protests on Sept. 21.

“President Rodrigo Duterte can call the day whatever he wants but it won’t change the fact that it is a protest aimed at him and his fascist policies,” Renato Reyes Jr., Bayan secretary-general, said in a statement.

'No bank...

ka ba.”

On Tuesday, Trillanes went to Singapore just to refute Duterte’s allegations that he had bank accounts there.

Bringing his passport and a printout of a document being circulated on social media detailing his alleged account, Trillanes went to the DBS Bank on Alexandra Road and asked the branch manager to check on the status of the account numbered 178000296012.

After a few minutes of checking, a teller told Trillanes that there was no such account.

Asked where he got the account details, Trillanes said he was being accused by the President of the Philippines of owning such an account.

The branch manager talked to Trillanes for about 10 minutes, but said he could not issue a certification that the alleged account did not exist because Trillanes was not a client.

Trillanes also went to the Raffles City Tower and

showed journalists accompanying him that the business directory showed no listing for Hongkong Shanghai Bank, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited or HSBC. Documents circulated by Ben Tesiorna, owner of the Davao Breaking News Facebook page, and shared by Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson and journalist Erwin Tulfo alleged that the senator opened an account with “Hongkong Shanghai Bank” in its Raffles branch in Singapore in July 2013.

The account number 0016729915127, they said, had a balance of SGD 278,300 as of Aug. 30, 2017.

Trillanes also checked if there were any HSBC branches in the Raffles area, but found only an automated teller machine in Marina Square.

Trillanes earlier said he would file libel charges against Tesiorna, Uson and Tulfo.

the possibility that the complaint against him would be dismissed due to a “technicality.”

In a press conference at the House of Representatives Lorna Kapunan, the lawyeradviser of Patricia Paz, said they hoped the House justice panel would still find probable cause to oust Bautista.

“We were very concerned this morning,” Kapunan told reporters in response to the pronouncement of Rep. Reynaldo Umali, chairman of the committee on justice, that the impeachment complaint against Bautista might

policies on Tuesday accused Duterte of trying to sabotage an anti-dictatorship rally at Luneta Park in Manila.

“In an effort to scare rally participants, President Duterte has hinted that armed members of the New People’s Army would join the event and threatened to declare martial law nationwide if the rally turned violent,” the Movement Against Tyranny led by former senator Rene Saguisag, former Bayan Muna Party-List lawmaker Neri Colmenares, former Quezon congressman Erin Tañada, Free Legal Assistance Group chairman Jose Manuel Diokno, activist nun Mary John Mananzan, and University of the Philippines Diliman Chancellor Michael Tan. “He [Duterte] also said he would declare a holiday on the 21st, apparently in order to keep students and employees at home and prevent them from going to Luneta en masse from their schools and workplaces,”

From A1

claimed, and was eventually reported and picked up by the media.

Duterte also claimed the account’s alleged balance of “193,850” was a work of his mind just to catch his lies.

The President, however, did note that Trillanes, according to his foreign government sources, was already moving money from his Singapore bank accounts “since September 8” and questioned why he did not have a bank account here in the Philippines.

The President branded the Trillanes’ visit to Singapore as a “desperate” move, just to posture as a clean person.

The President claimed a foreign government which he did not identify gave him the information since they were “mad” at him.

He also nixed the suggestion of his nemesis for him to sign a waiver, saying in Filipino: “Uto-uto ba ako g***

Grab...

From A1 He said PDEA would coordinate with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to address the issue.

“There is an urgent need to stop this method of drug trafficking,” he added.

Aquino presented to the media Jovet Atillano, 32, an online seller of illegal drugs from Unit 506, fifth floor, Tower II, GA Towers, Epifanio delos Santos Avenue corner Sierra Madre Street, Mandaluyong City after his arrest Tuesday at 5 a.m.

“He has been using social media to transact business,” he said, adding “we had a hard time to locate him since he used to transfer from one condominium to another condominium every six months.”

Since June 2016, PDEA had kept an eye on Atillano, Aquino said.

The agency seized shabu, party drugs, valium tablets and Mogadon worth P1.4 million.

Meanwhile, Senator Richard Gordon on Tuesday criticized the judiciary after learning that the 890 kilos of methamphetamine hydrochloride, locally

IBP...

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IBP national president Abdiel Dan Elijah Fajardo said the House’s decision was an affront to the rule of law and anathema to the continued existence and independence of the CHR. The Senate should do something about it.

“In celebration of Law Week, the IBP Board of

known as shabu, seized by government agents in San Juan City late last year had not yet been destroyed.

Gordon, who chairs the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, planned to send subpoena to Judge Jovencio Gascon for allegedly acting slowly on the P6 billion worth of shabu seized by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation in raids in the city last December.

The law states that the court should conduct an ocular inspection of seized narcotics within 72 hours after the filing of related criminal cases.

The drugs should then be turned over to the PDEA and destroyed within 24 hours.

“I’m willing to challenge the gods of law and subpoena this judge even if I know I should not ... subpoena him so that I will create a constitutional crisis where the court will say you have no right to interfere with the judiciary.

And I will now say the judiciary is not doing their work,” said Gordon, during the continuation of the Senate hearing on the controversial P6.4billion shabu smuggled at the Manila North Harbor from China.

Governors, by a formal resolution, has urged the Senate of the Philippines to exercise its powers under Section 24, Article VI of the Constitution to propose amendments to the General Appropriations Bill approved by the House of Representatives and thereby ensure that the CHR is provided a sufficient amount of public funds in the GAA for 2018,” the IBP, the

Ombudsman wants Imelda convicted for graft cases

By Maricel V. Cruz

From A1 The President himself has expressed his disapproval over special car plates given to Cabinet secretaries and the use of sirens by government officials.

Fariñas drew flak after he asked Metro Manila Development Authority officials to cut lawmakers some slack because they had important work to do.

“If they introduce themselves as congressmen, don’t bring them to the station because they won’t be able to perform their functions,” Fariñas said in Filipino during a hearing Monday on possible traffic solutions, particularly duringthe upcoming holiday season.

“For example, he runs over and injures someone. If he introduces himself as a congressman, he shouldn’t be arrested immediately. Our rules state that as soon as the session ends, the Speaker will surrender him to you,” Fariñas said.

John Paolo Bencito

FORMER first lady and Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Romualdez Marcos should be convicted of graft, the Office of the Ombudsman says in memorandum.

In the 28-page memo its submitted to the Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division, the Ombudsman said Mrs. Marcos had been proven guilty “beyond reasonable doubt” as shown by documentary evidence and the testimonies of witnesses presented in the 26-yearold case.

“From the foregoing discussion, the people certainly had successfully discharged its duty of proving the guilt of accused Imelda Romualdez Marcos beyond reasonable doubt,” says the memo filed on Aug. 29.

“Hence, a verdict of conviction for the aforementioned crimes is sought for against the accused.”

Akbayan party-list Rep. Tom Villarin said Monday the memo was a welcome development.

“It is a great development and high time that the Marcoses pay for their crimes,” Villarin said in a text message.

“It is a fitting event two days before we commemorate the declaration of martial law by her husband, the dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

The wheels of justice continue to grind for us Filipinos and we should not lose hope that they will be made to pay in the end.

“I hope, though, that the Duterte administration will not intercede for Imelda Marcos and the courts will not grant her reprieve by reason of old age.”

Mrs. Marcos is 88 years old.

Her office declined to make a statement on the issue, saying it had yet to read the memo.

Based on the case information filed in 1991, Mrs. Marcos was charged with 10 counts of graft for her participation in the management of several nongovernment organizations in Switzerland from 1978 to 1984 Mrs. Marcos, who was then the Minister of Human Settlements, Metro Manila Governor and a member of the Interim Batasan Pambansa, was not allowed by law to get involved in those transactions.

“I will close the meeting on drugs but we will not abandon pursuit on the cases filed with respect to drugs.

We will continue to pursue that even if we terminate this hearing,” Gordon said.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency has filed a criminal complaint against former BoC commissioner Nicanor Faeldon and 11 others before the Department of Justice in connection with the shipment.

“We will not hesitate to drop the hammer on anyone.

We will write the Ombudsman, the Supreme Court, and we will make sure the report on this investigation will be given to them,” Gordon said.

He also said they would continue with their communications with other countries to address the problem on drug smuggling.

Gordon said the next hearing, set for Sept. 25, would focus on the alleged “tara”

(bribe) system exposed by Senator Panfilo Lacson in a privilege speech in late August.

Subpoenas have been delivered to seven other people who attended congressional probes that scrutinized how the narcotics-filled cylinders managed to enter the country without being flagged by the Bureau of Customs, Assistant State Prosecutor Aristotle Reyes said.

On Sept. 4, subpoenas have been sent to Fidel Anoche Dee, Chen Ju Long (Richard Tan), Li Guang Feng (Manny Li), Dong Yi Shen (Kenneth Dong), Eireen May Tatad, Mark Taguba II, and TJ Marcilliana, he said.

Lavin said further details about the developments of the case would only be disclosed during an executive session with members of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee due to its “very confidential” nature.

Lavin said while the Philippines did not have extradition treaty with Taiwan, they

already made arrangements with Teco for the possible arrest of the two.

“We have an arrangement with Teco to extend full and close coordination in so far as the movement [and] identification of these two [are concerned]. They are closely monitoring the two. They placed the persons under the electronic surveillance,” Lavin told the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing the matter.

Lavin said the two were now in China, based on latest information they received.

Lavin refused to provide other details due to confidentiality but he said he could show the senators the exchange of communication between him and his counterparts in Taiwan.

“They are now in China, based on last information.

For reasons of confidentiality, we cannot say more but we can show the exchange of communication,” he said.

Gordon told him to submit that to the Senate panel.

mandatory lawyers’ organization, said in a statement.

The Senate finance committee earlier recommended approval of the CHR’s proposed budget of P678 million for 2018.

The IBP said the budget proposed by the Senate was more in keeping with the clear and unequivocal constitutional intent behind the creation of the CHR.

The group said providing sufficient funding to the CHR would not only give meaning to the Constitution but also to the fundamental policy of the State to value the dignity of every human person and to guarantee full respect for human rights.

The House’s decision to give the CHR a P1,000 budget next year drew criticism from various sectors,

but House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez defended the move saying the agency was too one-sided in its criticism of the government’s antidrug war, which had resulted in the death of thousands of people since last year.

Alvarez has also called for the resignation of CHR Commissioner Chito Gascon, a call that Gascon has rejected. Rey E. Requejo

NBI...

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Palace...

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Solons seek refund for telco users

By Rey E. Requejo

T

HE Supreme Court has been asked to compel major telecommunication companies in the country to refund their subscribers for overpriced text message rates amounting to more than P17.7 billion.

In a 44-page petition, Bayan Muna Representatives Neri Colmenares and Carlos Isagani Zarate asked the SC to reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals dated June 27, 2016 enjoining the National Telecommunications Commission from implementing its November 2012 orders mandating mobile

phone companies to immediately refund and cut text messaging charges to P0.80 from P1.

Covered by the NTC order were Globe Telecom, Smart Communications Inc. and Digitel Philippines Inc., which operates Sun Cellular.

The three telcos were impleaded as respondents

in the petition.

The NTC order also directed the three telecom companies to refund or reimburse their subscribers the excess charge of P0.20 per off-net SMS from the effectivity of Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 02-102011 in October 2011 until fully settled, by crediting the load of prepaid subscribers or effecting the refund through the respective bills for postpaid subscribers.

NTC Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 02-10-2011 orders the lowering of the interconnection charge between networks from Php0.35 to not more than Php0.15 which the telco companies acceded to.

But despite the supposed adjustment, the NTC found out that subscribers con-

tinued to be charged P1.00 for each regular off-net text message.

This prompted the NTC to order the P.20 refund, which it insisted was a necessary consequence of lowering the interconnection charge.

The controversy arose after the telco companies filed a petition before the CA assailing the validity of the P.20 refund.

In its June 27, 2016 decision, the CA ruled in favor of the telco companies and struck down the orders of the NTC “for being bereft of legal basis and for having been rendered in utter disregard of the requirements of due process.”

It held that to penalize the three telco companies for not lowering the SMS retail rate “will be the height

of injustice and unfairness” considering that it is not mandated under MC Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 02-10-2011.

The appellate court also said that “the demands of justice and fair play should not be relegated to the background for the sake of popularity.”

The Computer Professionals Union, one of the parties pushing for the implementation of the NTC order, claims that for PLDT, Smart, and Sun, the excessive amount collected daily from overcharged standard text message is at least P17.5 million.

It based this data from the 2013 PLDT report and the third quarter report of Globe for 2013.

The petitioner said using

this CPU data, the amount of over-collection by Smart and Globe as of September 11, 2014 is not less than P17.7 billion.

In its petition, Bayan Muna claimed that the reduction of SMS retail rate was merely a necessary consequence of the lowering of the interconnection charge and not act of regulation by the NTC. “Respondents claim that interconnection charges do not form part of the SMS retail rate and lowering interconnection charge will not result in the lowering of the rates imposed on subscribers. This incredible claim lacks factual basis and should not have been used as the Court‘s basis for overturning the NTC Decision,” the petitioner said.

No politics involved in Jinggoy’s bail —judge

By Rio N. Araja THE Office of the Ombudsman’s Chief Special Prosecutor, former Sandiganbayan justice Edilberto Sandoval, denied on Tuesday that politics had something to do with the anti-graft court’s order to grant former senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada bail for plunder and graft raps he is facing.

At a news conference, Sandoval said he trusted the Sandiganbayan’s Special Fifth Division in its decision to allow Estrada to post a bail of P1 million for plunder and P330,000 for 11 counts of graft after his detention for over three years.

He said his former colleagues cannot be controlled by politics in their decision.

“I don’t think so,” he said.

“I was there for 16 years. Those words saying there were politicians involved were all just hearsay.”

He, however, said the bail grant was questionable.

“I have trust and confidence even in the Sandiganbayan and Supreme Court that they will not have a sweeping application of the ruling, and that there must be a pinpointed main plunderer, otherwise it could affect many cases.

We will cross the bridge when we reach it. We are ready to argue that,” he said.

Sandoval voted to grant bail to retired general Carlos Garcia, former comptroller of the Armed Force of the Philippines, who was charged with a P303million plunder complaint filed by then Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo in 2010.

According to Sandoval, the Ombudsman is preparing a motion for reconsideration to appeal Estrada’s bail grant.

Comelec resets filing of CoCs THE Commission on Elections has reset the dates for filing of Certificates of Candidacy for the barangay and sangguniang kabataan elections in anticipation of the approval of a law suspending the local elections.

Commissioner Andres Bautista said the Comelec en banc moved the filing period from Sept. 23 to 30 to Oct. 5 to 11, 2017 to afford more time for both Congress and Senate to approve a law suspending the village and SK elections.

“The Comelec en banc has reset the filing of CoCs for village and SK elections to October 5, 2017 since the bill postponing it has yet to be approved and signed into law,” he said.

He said that two separate bills are still pending which call for the deferment of the same elections to 2018.

Vito Barcelo

More than 3k OFWs jailed abroad—Recto

RIDING IN TANDEM? Two protesters wear masks depicting President Rodrigo Duterte (left) and Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II as a riding-in-tandem during a rally outside the Department of Justice on Tuesday. The rallyists are demanding to stop the extrajudicial killings. Norman Cruz

PCIA backs DTI policy on cement products THE Philippine Cement Importers Association on Tuesday expressed full support to the new policy of the Department of Trade and Industry addressing their complaint opposing the requirement for their importations to undergo another conformation procedure while exempting importations made by local manufacturers.

In a consultation meeting called by DTI Assis-

tant Secretary Ernesto V. Perez, the Bureau of Philippine Standards presented the latest Department Administrative Order setting new quality and conformity certification procedures, including a pre-shipment test, another seven-day product testing upon arrival, and another verification test plus a 10-percent surety bond on top of the PS license requirement, “We

are satisfied with the latest DTI proposal. Now, there is equal footing between importations of pure traders and manufacturers-importers,” PCIA executive director Dani Enriquez said.

“There are now many brands of cement in the country. It is good that the BPS is considering our proposal to include as requirement that every impor-

tation be covered by an affidavit of undertaking from the PCIA. The PCIA shall then compel importers to comply with DTI rules and regulations and certify authenticity of testing reports and import documentations which I think is where the DTI shall be needing some sort of assistance.”

The PCIA earlier pointed out the discriminatory effects of DAO 17-02/05 fa-

voring importations made by local manufacturers over pure importers in violation of the key principles and obligations of the World Trade Organization where the Philippines is a member.

During the meeting, there was initially some resistance from local manufacturers over issues on consumer protection that the members of PCIA said were one-sided.

Cayetano to tackle Du30’s anti-drug drive at UN

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano is set to discuss President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign against criminality and illegal drugs during the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Philippine Permanent Representative Teodoro Locsin Jr. said Cayetano, who arrived in Washington on Sunday, will also share with

other UN member-states the efforts being undertaken by the Philippine government to protect the rights and promote the welfare of Filipino migrant workers, the threats of the Islamic State and the continuing missile test launches and detonations by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly formally opens in New York on Tuesday with

BoC chief sacks two district collectors

By Vito Barcelo TWO Bureau of Customs district collectors were relieved from their posts for implementing the benchmarking system instead of the proper valuation of imported shipments to raise revenue collections.

BoC Commissioner Isidro Lapeña sacked Port of Manila district collector Rhea Gregorio and Manila International Container Port collector Phillip Vincent Maronilla and were replaced

by POM deputy collector Ernie Aquino and MICP deputy collector Rubie Alameda, respectively.

The two top customs district collectors were ordered relieved from their posts for ignoring Lapeña’s order to apply the correct valuation and assessment of each shipment to avoid the so-called “tara”

system which is the source of corruption at the BoC. In an executive meeting, Lapeña said the two district collectors disregard his order by implementing a benchmarking system and pegged a fixed assessment of P120,000 for a 20-footer container van and P150,000 to P170,000 for 40-footer containers which is illegal.

He said that his instruction is proper valuation and not benchmarking which is an illegal form of assessing duties and taxes of imported shipments.

The two major ports were also consistent in failing to meet its assigned monthly collection target since January this year.

He said the agency needs to collect more than P50 billion a month starting September to December to meet the P468 billion target.

Cayetano representing President Rodrigo Duterte in the annual event that brings together leaders from all over the world.

Cayetano will address the General Assembly on Saturday to deliver President Duterte’s message for the international community to unite against terrorism, nuclear weapons and other common threats.

The DFA said Cayetano’s participation in this year’s UN General

Assembly Session is his first appearance in the world stage since he assumed office as secretary of Foreign Affairs in June.

In addition to attending various events at the UN Headquarters, Locsin said the secretary will also have bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Belgium, Colombia, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Morocco, Norway, Poland, the United Arab Emirates and the Vatican.

ONLINE BUSINESS.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Director General Aaron Aquino presents to the media arrested suspect identified as Jovet Atillano, a.k.a. OJ, 32 years old and reportedly an online seller of illegal drugs and resident at Unit 506, 5th floor, Tower ll, GA Towers, Mandaluyong City.

PDEA agents confiscated from the suspect 10 plastic sachets of suspected shabu worth P350,000, and 500 party drugs worth P1,000,000 at his condominium during a drug raid in Mandaluyong City.

Manny Palmero

AT LEAST 3,827 Filipinos were put in jail, 137 of them including 33 female, serving life sentences, while 625 others are under investigation due to various criminal and immigration-related cases in 52 countries, Senator Ralph Recto said on Tuesday.

Citing a 1,084-page Department of Foreign Affairs report to the Senate, most of those Filipinos were jailed for their alleged involvement in drug -related cases.

He said the DFA report is a compendium of dispatches sent by Philippine embassies and consulates on the problems confronted by Filipinos in distress within their jurisdiction from July to December 2016.

Recto said it will be hard to pin a final number, or piece together a complete picture of Filipinos in trouble with the law abroad as many of the reports submitted by the DFA’s 81 foreign posts lacked details or were incomplete.

Joel E. Zurbano

SC set to rule on De Lima’s case in Oct THE Supreme Court has slated for next month the resolution of the petition of Senator Leila de Lima seeking her release from detention and to stop her indictment for drug trading charges.

An SC insider revealed the SC justices approved to set their voting on the case on Oct. 10 during regular session Tuesday.

In her petition filed last February, De Lima asked the SC to stop her indictment before the Muntinlupa City regional trial court by the Department of Justice for allegedly benefitting from illegal drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison.

De Lima sought issuance of temporary restraining order stopping the proceedings in the drug cases against her and status quo ante order on the arrest warrant issued last week

by Muntinlupa City regional trial court branch 204 that would allow her release from detention.

Rey E. Requejo

A4

Opinion

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

Hazing must be made illegal

I

N WHAT decent, civilized society is it all right to beat and torture a young man as part of his initiation into a “brotherhood” that is supposed to aid and protect its members? Why did the life of Horacio Tomas Castillo III, a 22-year-old freshman law student at the University of Santo Tomas, have to be snuffed out, simply to satisfy the sadistic urges of hyenas who believe that the ability to withstand extreme physical pain is a prerequisite to membership in their cowardly pack?

For utter cowardice was what the members of the Aegis Juris fraternity exhibited when they decided to dump Castillo—who had suffered a massive heart attack after undergoing a hazing— on a dirty sidewalk in Balut, Tondo, instead of bringing him to a hospital where he might have been saved.

An autopsy showed Castillo had severe blood clotting on both arms, pos-

sibly from being beaten there repeatedly, and there were burns from cigarettes and candle wax on different parts of his body.

It was heart-rending to see Castillo’s father, Horacio, crying as he recounted his son’s last days, how he had joined the Aegis Juris fraternity over his parents’ reservations, and how he reassured them that his initiation was already over. The young Castillo left for a “welcome event” that

was supposed to be held Saturday at UST but never made it home. No father should have to bury his son, he cried as he sought justice for his dead boy.

As the authorities work through who were responsible for Castillo’s death and move to prosecute them, lawmakers need to revisit the Anti-Hazing Law, which has failed to stop violent initiation rites since it was passed in 1995.

From 2000 to 2008, 13 people between the ages of 16 and 25 died from hazing, police records show. After that, there has been at least one death recorded every year from hazing.

In 2015, the House of Representatives passed a bill repealing the Anti-Hazing Law and replacing it with a measure that imposes stricter measures to penalize schools

and fraternity and sorority officers.

Under the existing law, hazing is merely a regulated activity and becomes a crime only when someone dies, is raped, sodomized or mutilated. The new law, proposed

by Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian at the time, would make the act of hazing a crime.

Now a senator, Gatchalian is urging his colleagues to take action on his proposals.

Senate Bill No. 199, would repeal the 22-year-old law to institute a more comprehensive anti-hazing regime by providing a more prohibitive definition of hazing, expanding the scope of liabilities and increasing the penalties for hazing offenders, and mandating educational institutions to play a central role in hazing prevention and awareness.

As lawmakers go about repealing the ineffective law, they should also take into account the Supreme Court recommendation that intoxication and the presence of non-resident or alumni fraternity members during hazing should be considered aggravating circumstances, and these would increase the applicable penalties.

These suggestions make eminent good sense.

Of course, no law will eradicate an illegal act. To bring the barbaric act of hazing to an end demands a cultural change, particularly on the part of fraternity members who have moved on to positions of power and influence. They need to speak up and disown a senseless tradition that makes fraternity members, and not outsiders, the true barbarians.

TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

Rallies for what?

HERE’S one for the books.

Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas would like members of Congress to be exempted from minor traffic violations. He believes they are special people, while we ordinary mortals—who are paying for their salaries, by the way—are not.

I no longer wonder why many people believe we would be better off without Congress. *** This Thursday is not a holiday but there will be no government work and no classes in public schools.

According to President Duterte, it will be National Protest Day. I don’t know if this was done to defang the rallies that people are planning to protest the possibility

Do these things really accomplish anything?

The Gods of the House LOWDOWN

JOJO A. ROBLES IT’S easy to dismiss the proposal of Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Farinas to exempt House members from arrest for minor traffic violations as the rantings of an entitled government official terminally detached from the reality that the rest of us have to live with. But if you really want to be outraged, you should consider the apparent plot to exculpate Commission on Elections Chairman Andres “God Said Not Yet” Bautista in the same House where Fariñas resides.

Fariñas, who has been in public office almost his entire adult life, is merely so out of touch with the world outside of the Batasang

Pambansa that he cannot seem to understand that most people are forced to leave early in order to get to work on time. His sin is one of entitlement, of believing that his work as a congressman who has to be present before Congress sessions begin at 4 p.m. (4 p.m.!) is more important than that of the wage-earner whose pay is decked for the slightest tardiness.

Fariñas’ case is not helped by his recourse to a supposed immunity from the ordinary inconvenience suffered by a motorist who is stopped for a traffic violation. Imagine if a car-owner tells a traffic constable that he must not be held up (sometimes in both senses of the phrase) because he just has to get to work; or if the driver of a public utility vehicle asks to be waved off because his passengers are

in the same situation.

But Fariñas, who has never been known to go halfmeasures, as his decision to indefinitely detain the so-called “Ilocos 6” in the House proved, was not done

Bautista’s God is apparently the same one who is immune from arrest on traffic violations. yet. Even if a congressman’s car runs over someone, he explained, his progress on the road must not be impeded—the offended party and law enforcement agents, after they ascertain the identity of a congressman, must

let him off and pursue their case before the House leadership later on.

As strong as his sense of entitlement is, Fariñas seems to possess a woefully underdeveloped concept of compassion and empathy. (He is, after all, routinely accused of being an apostle of the unfeeling Yellow One, a lawmaker who ascended to his current high post as majority whip because of his adroitness in that other political skill, turncoatism.)

Malacañang has seen it fit to remind Fariñas that President Rodrigo Duterte has always strived to lead a simple, unadorned life ever since he was elected to public office. Even the Yellows who have been left behind

by Fariñas cannot accuse Duterte of living a lavish lifestyle.

The only consolation that

anyone can derive from Fariñas’ political career is that it will soon be over, when his term ends two years from now. Then, he will no longer be able to claim the immunity that he prizes—and he should really be careful when he crosses the street. *** But the scarier news from the House of Fariñas, by an order of magnitude, is the reported plan of the House justice committee headed by Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali (another of those quick-thinking, quick-flipping ex-Yellows) to throw out the impeachment complaint against the beleaguered Bautista.

The noise has gotten so loud that the fix is in that Patricia “Tish” Bautista, the long-suffering wife of the Comelec boss, took the

unusual step of calling a press conference yesterday to urge the committee not to junk the charges.

Umali, who gained famed for conjuring up the spectral and still-unidentified “little lady” during the Corona impeachment trial five years ago in the Senate, seems to be telegraphing this unseemly absolution of Bautista. Umali has been warning everyone that his panel will be a lot stricter in the evaluation of the required sufficiency in form and in substance of the verified complaint against Bautista, which he says could be dismissed in same manner that the second complaint against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno was—on a mere technicality.

Umali has taken pains to point out that the start of the evaluation of Bautista’s case

Turn to A5

of the declaration of a nationwide martial law. I just have the feeling that this is contrived.

Yesterday I wrote about what former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile told me. Enrile, a long-time minister during martial law, said President Duterte faces more problems now than what the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos did.

Mr. Duterte faces the seemingly endless problems of illegal drugs, criminality and corruption. He has the communist insurgency, the Muslim problem, and most of all terrorism. The IS is now allied with the Abu Sayyaf, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and Maute groups.

I do not intend to alarm people, but I think martial law now is likely. And can a revolutionary government be far behind? *** I don’t know if human rights groups will accede Turn to A5

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Opinion Chinese deals need more Western scrutiny Bloomberg Editorial

LEADERS from Washington to Brussels are increasingly troubled by the flood of Chinese money seeking acquisitions abroad, and asking themselves how best to respond. The answer is: more carefully.

The US has a federal panel, created more than four decades ago, that scrutinizes foreign investments for national-security implications, but it isn’t adequate to the task. The European Union’s current arrangements are even less satisfactory.

It openly aspires to build up both its military and national champions in industries of the future—partly by acquiring advanced Western technology. It has more money than any other country to apply to this goal: Its companies vastly increased their investments in the US and EU last year, to $46 billion and $42 billion, respectively, and its government maintains close ties even to ostensibly private firms.

As a matter of policy, this push is notably one-sided: Tight restrictions apply to inbound investment, including requirements to share intellectual property. Above all, unlike previous rising economic

powers, China is neither an ally nor a democracy.

The range of security concerns is growing. Many advanced civilian technologies now lend themselves to military application.

Even companies with no apparent connection to security issues may control a wealth of customer information that could be of great interest to Chinese spy agencies.

To be sure, Western governments shouldn’t overreact—as happened when Japan launched its own buyout spree in the 1980s.

But regulators do need to broaden their scrutiny so that it more fully embraces sensitive technologies, cybersecurity and big data.

The EU needs a similar mechanism, with a similarly broad purview. And as far as possible, Europe, the US and their Nato allies should coordinate their efforts.

This broader approach won’t please Beijing—but it needn’t be a cause for alarm, and it shouldn’t be seen as a provocation. China should do the same. Two-way flows of investment that facilitate competition and commerce are win-win. Efforts to attend more carefully to security concerns are needed—but that vital truth should never be obscured.

Rallies...

From A4

to President Dterte’s offer to put up a satellite office in Manila so that United Nations officials can join raids on neighborhoods with drug suspects. It should be interesting to watch the circus.

The President said this after the people’s reaction to the House of Representatives’ move to slash the budget of the Commission on Human Rights to P1,000.

This is a smart move by the President. They can no longer say there is extrajudicial killing by the police if he invites observers to the raids.

The President just wants CHR chairman Jose Luis Martin Gascon to resign because the commission has become politicized under him.

But since the CHR is constitutionally mandated to go after human rights violations, the institution must continue whether or not Gascon is there.

If the House does not back down, a re-enacted budget may be possible.

administration of President Noynoy Aquino would be unacceptable.

This is the biggest tragedy of our nation. We still do not have a credible opposition. Certainly it is not Vice President Leni Robredo.

*** I have been asked many times: Do I think print media would be overtaken by information technology?

Will the Bible ever become passe? My answer is no.

The Philippine press will continue to be vibrant as it was decades ago. I am dismayed at the entry of some opinion writers who think they can write when they are just publicists of powerful people. This runs counter to what a newspaper is all about.

During my time, journalists had to earn their spurs before they were allowed to write in the opinion pages.

Not anymore.

I am not against competition. I respect the opinion of everybody. But I still believe that media should not be a propaganda vehicle.

This is the reason I have *** not left Manila Standard A new group called Tin- despite many opportunities dig Pilipinas wants to stop to do so. I will keep on writthe killings perpetrated by ing here until I write “30.” the police in the name of the so-called war against *** drugs.

The Marawi siege is now The group is composed on its fourth month, and the of many organizations terrorists are still holding —and knowing who the out within the 10-hectare founders are, it is easy to perimeter of the city. see that their agenda is to President Duterte and the destabilize the government Armed Forces should know and oust President Duterte. that the Mautes and Abus If you ask Filipinos have already occupied whether they trust the some parts of Cotabato and members of this group, I Maguindanao. This is why am sure the answer would martial law will not be liftbe no. Anybody tied to the ed anytime soon.

The Gods...

From A4

today could lead to this course of action, if the committee votes like it did on the second Sereno complaint. He explained that that complaint was dismissed because the complainants had no “personal knowledge” of Bautista’s wrongdoing and that even the passbooks proving the existence of bank accounts (which the Comelec chief has never denied) do not constitute “authenticated documents.”

The more important roadblock that I deduced from interviewing Umali is the Catch-22 that nullifies the passbooks seized by Tish Bautista: The passbooks cannot be certified by the bank that issued them without a court order, but since a case cannot be filed without them being certified as authenticated documents, even the strongest pieces of evidence that Tish possesses will be worthless.

Of course, the unasked question in all this is why the House committee decided to get all so persnickety with the determination of substance and form, when they used to just round up the required one-third of the membership and let the Senate do all the heavy lifting. The House did that to Joseph Estrada and they did it to Renato Corona— why is it fussing over Bautista this time?

It’s enough to make you believe Bautista when he said God told him to not resign just yet. Bautista’s God is apparently the same one who is immune from arrest on trivial traffic violations—the same God who is apparently working on his exoneration despite all the evidence against him.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

A5

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Summoning Sereno BACK CHANNEL ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO WHY does the House justice committee want Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno to appear before it when the impeachment complaint against her has already been endorsed by 25 congressmen?

An impeachment case is initiated in the House and if found sufficient in form and substance is transmitted to the Senate which will then convene itself into an impeachment court. This was what happened in the case of the late Chief Justice Renato Corona who was found guilty of not stating his true Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth.

Unseated as chief magistrate with only three senators —Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the late Miriam Defensor Santiago and Joker Arroyo voting against the rest of the Senate— Corona died a broken man, a

casualty of the numbers game in a political process. Corona was appointed chief justice by former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo while Sereno was named chief magistrate by former President Noynoy Aquino. Having a chief justice appointed by the president as well as stacking the deck with justices appointed by the Palace gives the administration an edge on legal issues before the high court. So, who’s to say this isn’t politics after all?

In Sereno’s case, she is accused by little-known lawyer Larry Gadon of alleged betrayal of public trust, and corruption for spending SC funds without the consent of the rest of the justices sitting en banc.

Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, chairman of the House justice panel, wanted CJ Sereno to answer the charges within 10 days upon receipt of the complaint. If an impeachment case is a numbers game, the Duterte administration’s supermajority in the House could just send to the Senate the documents in the case as it

did in the Corona case.

Recall that then-House Speaker Manny Villar, on the opening of Congress banged the gavel and declared the impeachment case against President Joseph Estrada transmitted to the Senate. It may have been a surprise to some but it was a well scripted scenario known to key House members.

To hear Umali, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Cebu Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia state their case that they want to give Sereno a fair hearing before the case is transmitted to the Senate, one is given the impression the chief magistrate is going to be given a chance to clear herself. The House, however, in effect has already condemned her when the justice panel endorsed the complaint as sufficient in form and substance.

For the Chief Justice to submit herself to the lower chamber would only be further humiliating herself. Her answers to probing questions would bind her to stick to what she

says in the House and what she will testify in the Senate. So, why show your hand?

In a regular criminal case, an accused through his lawyer sometimes foregoes a preliminary hearing before a fiscal.

This is to have a line of defense not known to the prosecution when the case goes to trial before a judge.

How will the present composition of the Senate vote in a Sereno impeachment trial?

Senators Ramon Revilla, Jinggoy Estrada are out of the Senate. Senator Leila de Lima is in detention for alleged involvement in drug trafficking in the New Bilibid Prison. Alan Peter Cayetano has moved to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Senator Gregorio Honasan is out on bail on the pork barrel scam. The verdict will be left to Senate President Koko Pimentel and Senators Panfilo Lacson, Richard Gordon, Edgardo “Sonny”Angara, Grace Poe, Franklin Drilon, Tito Sotto, Kiko Pangilinan, Ralph Recto, Paulo “Bam” Aquino, Riza Hontiveros, Antonio Trillanes,

Joel Villanueva, Sherwin Gatchalian, Loren Legarda, Cynthia Villar, Manny Pacquiao and Nancy Binay.

While there are senators who are perceived to be sucking up to Duterte’s ruling PDP-Laban Party, opposition senators and those who want to be seen as independent could tip the verdict for Sereno—or we could see a deadlock in the votes cast.

It all depends on the evidence presented by the prosecution and how Chief Justice Sereno can parry the accusations.

But then, the interpretation of the law is as varied as there as many lawyers. The country so far, has witnessed two other impeachment cases, that of then President Joseph Estrada and Chief Justice Renato Corona. It is in an impeachment process where the forces of the legislative and the judiciary come into play.

Let us not rule out the unseen hand of the executive branch which was revealed in the Corona case by former Senator Jinggoy Estrada.

A sorry apology VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ TODAY, I adopt as my column an excellent article written by my daughter, Ivy. She is a lawyer and mother of three and married to Benedict, also a lawyer: As long as we interact with humans, we will commit mistakes and offenses for which we need to apologize. It’s necessary to maintain civility and restore good relations.

How we apologize is strongly influenced by the weight and meaning we assign to it. It can range from the trivial to the significant.

It’s easy to say sorry for simple things like bumping into someone (“Oops, sorry.”) or for failing to hear someone’s question (“Sorry, what did you say?). We tend to be more polite to strangers and acquaintances, so it’s not a big deal to apologize for small actions that don’t really matter to us.

We also say sorry as customary expressions dictated by the occasion—“I’m sorry to bother you, but can you help me?”, “I’m sorry to hear that”, or “I’m sorry for your loss”.

Sometimes, an apology is given as part of customer service, like the cashier who tells you, “Sorry to keep you waiting.” We both know it’s not really her fault but she tries to smooth over our in-

convenience and she hopes we appreciate her effort by not becoming annoyed.

Generally, the less emotionally invested we are with another person, the easier it is to apologize for the inconsequential. But as our relationships become more complicated and entwined, the apology morphs into a volatile tool instead of a simple statement of remorse.

An apology is a regretful acknowledgment of an offense or failure yet this simple definition is often violated by the common ways we say sorry to each other.

The habit of apology starts from early childhood.

A parent demands that we apologize to a playmate for hitting him. We learn that we should say sorry upon demand so we can put the incident behind us. No acknowledgment of our fault.

Sorry is just a way to end the issue.

If we also endure a tiresome tirade of our shortcomings (“How could you do such a thing? I am so disappointed in you.”), we feel ashamed and so we apologize to stop the attack. We say sorry to appease our disapproving parent and hopefully regain their affection.

“If you shame someone in a lesser position of power, it can lead that person to conform, obey, and give the obligatory apology. But shame will not inspire reflection, self-observation,

and personal growth. These are essentially self-loving tasks that do not flourish in an atmosphere of self-depreciation and self-blame.”

(Harriet Lerner PhD, Why Won’t You Apologize?

Healing Betrayals and Everyday Hurts, 2017) Our past greatly influences how we view an apology.

Inextricably tied to our past is the formation of our selfesteem, which determines if we will even apologize.

One survey found that people with a high selfesteem are more likely to apologize (Scientific American). One explanation is that a confident person has a healthy perception of himself so he knows that if he inadvertently hurt someone, he just made a mistake. Since everyone makes mistakes, this omission is just one aspect of his personality that he can fix, so he can easily apologize and move on.

In contrast, an insecure person is afraid that if he apologizes, his mistake will define him completely. (“If I say sorry for neglecting my wife, that means I am a bad husband.”) So he won’t apologize and he can dissociate himself from his misdeeds and maintain his perfect persona. The same is true for narcissists. They won’t apologize so they can maintain their vanity.

Honest, humble, and conscientious people apologize more. So do those

who are prone to guilt and shame. But agreeable people don’t necessarily apologize easily. (Patrick Dunlop, Science Direct, 2015) Females apologize often because they perceive themselves committing more offenses for which they need to apologize.

While males are hardly apologetic because they have a higher threshold for what is offensive behavior.

But both genders apologize in proportion to their perceived offenses. (NCBI or National Center for Biotechnology Institute) High income strongly correlates with apologies.

“The more you earn, the more you apologize and vice-versa. The more you apologize, the more you earn.” (perfectapology.com) Married people are almost twice as likely to apologize than unmarried people (perfectapology.com).

It is joked that this is due to the high cost of divorce or separation. But relationship experts note that when the wife has an unresolved hurt caused by the husband’s behavior, she withdraws her support for him. This can manifest in many ways that can disrupt the husband’s daily life and well-being.

Many husbands know this feeling of abandonment and neglect.

Religion also plays a role in the likelihood of an apology. Catholics believe in the act of contrition. While

others may be influenced by their custom and do not bother to apologize or view it as unnecessary.

Culture also dictates whether an apology is given. The Japanese apologize more often than Americans. (William Maddux, INSEAD, Cultural Differences in the Function and Meaning of Apologies) But some people just don’t think that they are (ever) at fault, so they will never apologize, especially if they consider the apology an admission of guilt.

There’s no use waiting for them to say sorry.

“Sorry!” (Not really) It’s most frustrating when we receive an unsatisfactory apology, especially when we (always) feel rightfully aggrieved.

There are the justified apologies I call sorry but because they apologize but explain why they did the wrongful act. In effect, such an apology dilutes their accountability and even seems to transfer the blame to the offended party.

“Sorry I screamed at you but I only did that because you were annoying me.”

“Sorry, but you made me do it.”

An insidious kind is the non-apology where they say sorry for how we reacted to their behavior: “I’m sorry you got upset when I interrupted you.”

“Sorry if you were offended by my joke.” biznewsasia@gmail.com.

It seems our concept of business entrepreneurship is confined to exacting rent for property owned or borrowed. It is not one of harnessing the factors of production, such as land, hiring labor, and producing a product through good management and risking capital.

But that is not all.

We also rent “ourselves,” and I do not mean those plying the sex trade, though that too is rent.

We get into politics and “rent” our connections, our influence, our power.

The barangay chairman or kagawad who allows street urchins or even adults to “guard” parking spaces in public thoroughfares, in exchange for a share (often bigger) in the tip, exacts rent of his “power”.

The customs collector and examiners, or for that matter, as some aver, everybody in the BOC, from top to bottom, collects “rent” out of influence and position. Ditto the BIR examiner.

The legislator who gets a share of the public works projects in his district collects rent for his power. So does the mayor, and most every other government official. So does the judge or the “fix-cal” rent his power and influence.

And so do those “oligarchs” who bankroll political campaigns and extend monetary favors to influential politicians. Once their “protégés” are ensconced in power, they then ask for favors, for monopoly privileges, for tax breaks, for sweetheart deals, for fat contracts.

That too is rent. A nation of rentiers.

Making money not by the sweat of one’s brow, or the skill of one’s hands, or the creativity of one’s mind, but by sitting pretty and collecting tolls.

Wonder no more why our neighbors who swear and live by the Confucian ethic of hard work and risk-taking, are well advanced compared to our laggard state.

Rent SO I SEE LITO BANAYO ONE very real observation about the Philippine economy is that it is characterized by rent-seeking.

Most everyone is into the business of renting out something. The concept of business, even by the lowly, is one of rent-seeking.

Let us begin with the most common. We put our money into real estate, be it raw land with the intention of leasing it, or a condominium unit also for rent. In the previous generations, people save to be able to build apartments, which they rent out, providing them with some form of stable and “sure” income. It is not as entrepreneurial as putting up a factory or shop where labor is employed and management skills are put to test.

The apartments graduated into town-houses, more

fashionable especially since Marcos froze rentals during martial law through PD 10.

With land becoming more expensive, the in-thing among lessors now are condominium units, supposedly for “investment.”

But rent goes beyond houses or apartments.

There are the jeepney operators who rent their rickety contraptions to poor drivers by exacting a fixed daily payment called “boundary.”

The same goes for buses.

And taxis.

One reason why we have such a crazy transportation system in the country, particularly in heavily congested NCR, is the boundary system which defines our public transport system.

Bus, taxi and jeepney drivers have to earn enough at the very least, to pay their daily boundary to the operator-rentier, instead of getting paid wages for honest toil.

Nowadays, Uber and Grab have come to the scene. The “enterprising”

man or woman buys a car, and then enlists it with either transport innovator. The idea sounds good, where the driver is the owner of the car. But trust the “enterprising” Filipino to exact rent once again. He buys a fleet of cars, hires drivers, and then “rents” the Uber or Grab-enlisted vehicle again.

Before agrarian reform, our landowners exacted rent by way of the “kasama” paying a portion of the harvest to the landlord.

It was called crop-sharing, which bound the tenants to poverty.

But now that the land is theirs by virtue of land reform laws, they are proscribed from selling or mortgaging their small landholdings, and they become prey to the new “landlord”, the “mamamakyaw” who lends them money to buy seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, but ensure that they buy the harvest, often at prices below market and below fairness. Advanced money is thus rented too.

A6

World

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

Lennox leads calls for sustained aid NEW YORK―Singer Annie Lennox has voiced confidence that public pressure can in time solve the world’s humanitarian crises as she received an award for her philanthropy.

The voice of the Eurythmics was honored in New York on Monday by Global Citizen, the advocacy movement that plans a much larger concert Saturday led by Stevie Wonder to press for sustained levels of foreign aid.

Lennox―a longtime advocate of international development, HIV/AIDS awareness and gay rights―voiced alarm at the state of the world, including mass human displacement and worsening calamities linked to climate change.

“The catastrophic events of wantonly plundering Earth’s natural resources,” she warned, is “risking the veritable sustainability of human existence on this planet.”

But she said: “My thinking is, if we can distribute Coca-Cola to all the corners of the world, and send men and women into space, then surely there are solutions to these problems.”

“Collectively everybody can make a difference. But you need to choose hope over despair, responsibility over indifference, feminism over misogyny,” she said to applause.

Global Citizen presented the Scottish singer with an award named after the late Beatle George Harrison, who pioneered the mega-benefit show with his 1971 concert in New York to support war- and cyclone-ravaged Bangladesh. AFP

Suu Kyi rebuffs criticism N

AYPYIDAW, Myanmar―Aung San Suu Kyi said Tuesday she does not fear global scrutiny over the Rohingya crisis, pledging to hold rights violators to account and to resettle some of the 410,000 Muslims who have fled army operations in her country.

In an address timed to preempt a likely censure of Myanmar at the UN General Assembly in New York―delivered entirely in English and aimed squarely at an international audience―she called for patience and an understanding of the unfurling crisis in her “fragile democracy”.

But she offered no solutions to what the UN calls “ethnic cleansing” in Rakhine state, where army-led operations have burned Muslim Rohingya from their homes, and refused to point the finger at the men in uniform.

Rights group Amnesty International said the Nobel peace laureate was “burying her head in the sand” over documented army abuses and claims of rape, murder and the systematic clearing of scores of villages.

Inside Myanmar, supporters say the 72-year-old leader lacks the the authority to rein in the military, which ran the country for 50 years and only ceded limited powers to her civilian government.

“She is trying to claw back some degree of credibility with the international community, without saying too much that will get her in trouble with the (military) and Burmese people who don’t like the Rohignya in the first place,” said Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch. AFP

Japan places missile defense in Hokkaido TOKYO―Japan deployed Tuesday an additional missile defense system on its northern island of Hokkaido, days after North Korea launched a missile over the island and sparked emergency warnings to take cover.

“As part of the measures to prepare for emergencies, we will today deploy a PAC-3 unit” to a base of the nation’s Ground SelfDefense Force in the southern tip of Hokkaido, Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters.

The Patriot Advanced Capability-3 system arrived at the base later on Tuesday, a local defense official told AFP. The move came with the tensions on the Korean peninsula at fever-pitch after Pyongyang carried out its sixth nuclear test and fired two missiles over Japan in the space of less than a month.

North Korea “may take further provocative actions including launching ballistic missiles that would fly over Japan again in the future”, Onodera said, adding that his ministry “would take appropriate measures to protect people’s safety”.

According to local officials, Japan has already deployed the PAC-3 system to another part of Hokkaido.

But defense officials declined to confirm where in Japan other systems were deployed, citing the sensitive nature of defense information.

North Korea has threatened to “sink” Japan into the sea and said Saturday it was seeking military “equilibrium” with its arch-enemy the United States by developing a full nuclear arsenal. AFP

Suu Kyi ‘burying head in the sand’ INDECENTLY DRESSED. A sharia police officer watches a motorist put on a sarong to cover his legs after he was caught wearing short pants in public, and was considered indecently dressed, in Banda Aceh. AFP

World leaders wait to hear Trump at UN assembly UNITED NATIONS―World leaders open their annual debate at the United Nations on Tuesday, eager to hear US President Donald Trump deliver his maiden address amid the global anxiety over North Korea and Iran.

Trump takes the podium at the General Assembly just after Brazil’s Michel Temer, presenting his message to the world as he pushes his nationalist “America First” agenda.

At a first UN appearance on Monday, Trump vowed to push for reform at the world body that he once disparaged as a “club” where “people get

together, talk and have a good time.”

On Tuesday, the US leader will outline his foreign policy priorities, from confronting North Korea over its nuclear and missile tests to deciding the fate of the Iran nuclear deal.

A top White House aide said Trump will take aim at “rogue regimes that threaten world stability and peace,” singling out Pyongyang and Tehran during his 30-minute remarks and urging responsible nations to step in to curb their behavior.

Trump will argue that nation states should be free to pursue their interests

unfettered―a contentious message for delegates to the world’s foremost multilateral forum.

French President Emmanuel Macron, seen as the face of a more confident postBrexit Europe, will also be making his first address to the 193-nation assembly.

His speech will likely offer a sharp contrast to Trump’s world view.

The French leader has embraced multilateralism and even went so far as to turn Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan into a motto in favor of climate protections: “Make the Planet Great Again.” AFP

BANGKOK―Aung San Suu Kyi and her government are “burying their heads in the sand” over the violence in Rakhine state, Amnesty International said Tuesday, criticizing Myanmar’s leader for failing to condemn the army’s alleged abuses in a televised speech.

The United Nations, rights groups, and a tide of Rohingya refugees pouring into Bangladesh have accused Myanmar’s military of using bullets and arson to wage an “ethnic cleansing campaign” against the Muslim minority.

In her speech Tuesday, Suu Kyi expressed sympathy for the “suffering of all people” swept up in the violence but did not address the accusations of ethnic cleansing.

She instead said only that anyone guilty of rights abuses would be brought to justice.

“Aung San Suu Kyi today demonstrated that she and her government are still burying their heads in the sand over the horrors unfolding in Rakhine State. At times, her speech amounted to little more than a mix of untruths and victim blaming,” Amnesty said.

The rights group blasted Suu Kyi for remaining “silent about the role of the security forces”, whom they have accused of being “engaged in a campaign of ethnic cleansing”. AFP

End urged to North Korea cycle NEW YORK―The Chinese and Russian foreign ministers called for a peaceful end to the “vicious cycle” on the Korean peninsula as they met in New York for the UN General Assembly, Beijing said Tuesday.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov urged all parties to seek a “peaceful resolution” to the current stand-off with Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons program, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement.

“The Korean Peninsula nuclear problem must be solved through peaceful means,” it quoted Wang as saying, adding that “the current deepening vicious cycle must be broken”.

“Restoring peace talks is also a necessary step to carrying out the UN Security Council’s resolution,” he said.

Lavrov said Russia’s position on the issue is “completely identical” to China’s, the statement said.

Russia has joined China’s call for a “dual-track” approach in which North Korea suspends its weapons program in return for the United States halting military drills in the region.

The White House said earlier that US President Donald Trump had spoken with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping over the phone, saying the two leaders were “committed to maximizing pressure on North Korea through vigorous enforcement of United Nations Security Council resolutions.” AFP

Crisis boosts Japan’s hawkish PM CONCERT. Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, accompanied by Italian soprano Elisa Balbo, perform during a concert at the archeological site of Jerash, some 50 kilometres north of the Jordanian capital. AFP

Australia unveils new strategy to combat spiralling meth problem SYDNEY―Cooperation with China and other key drug-producing nations will be boosted under a new strategy unveiled Tuesday to combat a flood of crystal meth into Australia that has seen ice use triple in five years.

With its street prices soaring, Australia has become an increasingly attractive destination for drug smugglers, which has made it the highest per capita consumer of methamphetamine in the world.

Justice Minister Michael Keenan

said it was evident more needed to be done to halt narcotics reaching Australia and that could only be achieved by boosting ties with overseas agencies.

“We need to not sit here in Australia waiting for these drugs to hit our shores, but we need to go offshore and do what we can to disrupt supply,” he said.

“The demand remains so high in Australia that organized criminals from all over the globe are keen to get involved in the market.”

An Australian Crime Commission report in 2015 found that while US$80 bought one gram of ice in China, the estimated 270,000 users in Australia had to pay US$500 for the same amount.

Keenan said intelligence showed China and India were key sources of the precursor chemicals needed to make ice, while China and Myanmar were notable manufacturers of the end product.

Distribution networks thrived in

Vietnam, Cambodia and other parts of Southeast Asia.

The new strategy will involve reinforcing information-sharing arrangements with Interpol and Europol to better pinpoint organized crime groups.

Australia will also work more closely with counterpart law enforcement agencies in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Mekong region of Southeast Asia to smash syndicates and follow money trails. AFP

TOKYO―The North Korea crisis has been like “divine aid” for hawkish Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, experts say, burnishing his nationalist credentials and possibly tempting him into a snap election.

Abe is aiming to capitalize on a public perception of strong leadership in a time of crisis, as well as an opposition in turmoil, and is reportedly considering a vote as soon as late October.

Analysts say North Korea’s provocative actions―including a nuclear test and two missile launches over Japan―have fanned the fears of Japanese voters, and Abe will use the crisis to justify his call for an early general election.

“For Abe, it’s like divine aid,” Shinichi Nishikawa, a political analyst at Meiji University, told AFP. The crisis has diverted attention away from a series of scandals that have pushed down Abe’s approval ratings, including allegations of favoritism to a friend in a business deal, which the premier strongly denies.

During the scandals, “people thought that he wouldn’t last, but by using his sense of crisis, Abe has managed to turn the situation around,” said Nishikawa.

Abe has sought to deliver a strong but reassuring message to a jittery population by reacting swiftly to missile launches and insisting his government has “complete grasp” of each projectile’s path. AFP

Sports THE HOARSE WHISPERER JENNY ORTUOSTE

Charity race for UP College of VetMed THE Philippine Racing Commission recently held a charity race for the University of the Philippines College of Veterinary Medicine as assistance for the development of a modern equine surgery facility at the college.

UPCVM Dean Ed Torres visited the Philracom office to receive a check of around P220,000 to help finance a modern equine surgery room, which will be for the use of students and faculty as well as shared with horseowners as needed.

A memorandum of understanding to be inked by the two parties heralds “an agreement of cooperation with [UP],” said Philracom Executive Director Andrew Rovie Buencamino, himself a veterinarian.

This agreement is a pledge on the college’s part, he said, “to give support to the horseracing industry by means of a shared common vision of improving the training and skills of equine vet practitioners,” who will be able to “learn new knowledge and experience from farm and field operations to help boost equine medicine and breeding.”

Buencamino is also in talks with Dean Torres “on the possibility of the industry to sponsor scholarships for students who will eventually be honed to specialize in equine medicine.”

“The Philracom realized,” Buencamino added, “that there is a need to boost interest in vet students to go into equine practice.”

In turn, UPCVM will support Philracom’s equine drug testing, breeding, and quarantine programs.

This is a very significant development because I have always advocated the partnership of government and private sector with the academe with regards to knowledge and best-practices sharing.

Both worlds benefit— the academe gets to study and immerse in reality and practice, while outside institutions gain the knowledge and expertise they otherwise lack or cannot access.

In addition, synergy between government institutions strengthens all involved and leads to better delivery of services to the public. *** Now, I hope the industry will also realize the importance of communication, which has often been dismissed as inconsequential.

There is never a time when communication is not necessary in the field of human endeavor—it’s what drives and guides activity, it is not a by-product of it.

Organizations often relegate the communication aspect of their business to the back burner, and wonder why they are not realizing their industry’s potential.

Well, duh—communication is the means by which products and services are presented to the public, and by which the public is engaged and involved with the company.

Perhaps there will also be scholarships for mass communication students later on. God knows the industry needs creative— writers, especially.

This is not an area where one can say, “Puede na ‘yan.” There lies mediocrity and a waste of the industry’s potential to grow. *** Facebook: Gogirl Racing and Jenny Ortuoste, Twitter: @gogirlracing and @ jennyortuoste, and Instagram: @jensdecember and @artuoste

A7

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Pradera seizes 21-point lead

C

EBU CITY—Pradera Verde Golf and Country Club surged to a commanding 21-point lead over defending champion Manila Southwoods Masters at the start of the 12th Philippine Airlines Ladies Interclub golf team championships yesterday at the Cebu Country Club.

Yuka Saso, the 16-yearold Fil-Japanese, fired 59 points built around eight birdies to lead the Lubaobased squad which also drew 55 points from Tomita Arejola and 53 from national player Harmie Constantino.

Kristine Torralba did not count with her 50 points.

Pradera, a team formed only two weeks ago, collected 165 points in the four-to-play, three-tocount tournament. It could have been 167 if not for the two-point deduction it in-

curred after Torralba failed to pick up on the 15th hole.

“We did not expect to lead this big,” said Pradera captain Normandy Sto. Domingo. “Tomita’s oneunder was a big surprise.”

Saso used her length off the tee to set up her birdies, the most by anyone in the field. The only blot in her scorecard came on the par-5, No. 9 where she picked up after pushing her teeshot to the shrubs, misplayed her bailout shot and took four more strokes to reach the green.

To underscore Pradera’s

big start, nobody else in the championship division managed to score in the 50s.

Samantha Bruce was Southwoods’ best scorer with 49 points followed by Bernice Ilas 48, and Laia Simone Barro 47. Loralie Roberto did not count with 46.

Southwoods coach Bong Lopez is not about to throw in the towel.

“We need to reduce the lead at least by half tomorrow,” Lopez said.

Cebu Country Club finished with 140, four points behind Southwoods. Scor-

ing for the host squad were Junia Louise Gabasa 48, Irina Paulin Gabasa 48 and Crystal Faith Neri 44.

This year’s PAL Ladies Interclub sponsors are Primax Broadcasting Network, Mareco Broadcasting Network, Fox Sports, Travelife Magazine, People Asia, Asian Air Safari, Airbus, Travel Now Magazine/ TouchPay, Bombardier, PLDT and Mastercard.

Support also comes from TFC, Rustan’s Commercial Corporation, Asia Brewery Inc., Alaska Corporation,

Eton Properties, Trinity Insurance and Marco Polo Plaza Cebu.

A fou r-horse race is shapi ng up i n the Fou nders division.

Lady Eagles Australia Golf, the only foreign club in the field, drew 50 points from Julia Caroline Camarsh to open an eightpoint lead over Alabang Golf and Country Club with 134 points.

Ten points adrift with 124 were Manila Southwoods Legends and Del Monte Golf Club.

Navo, Villanueva top finishers in aquathlon DETERMINATION and some luck paid off nicely for Richard Anson Navo and Andrea Villanueva as they emerged the fastest finishers of the 1st Sun Life Aquathlon Sunday at the Makati Aqua Sports Arena and the University of Makati track oval.

Navo, who raced in the 15 to 17 male age group, finished the Aqua Full distance of a 400-meter swim and 5-Km run in 26 minutes and 6 seconds, while Andrea Villanueva, racing in the 18 to 24 age group, was top finisher among the women crossing the finish at 33:43.

“I relied on my swimming skills and just endured the toughness of the run until I crossed the finish line. I did not even expect to make the Top 3 of my category,” said Navo.

Pradera’s 16-year-old Yuka Saso (left) scores 59 on the first day of the PAL Ladies Interclub to take Pradera Verde to a 21-point lead over defending champion Manila Southwoods at the Cebu Country Club. At right, Pradera’s Tomita Arejola adds 59 to her team’s total of 165.

Garnering points for Bike King’s “Athlete of the Year” rankings motivated Villanueva to push harder.

“I kept on training and recently I finished a standard distance triathlon. I focused on this race and did not expect to finish first,” she said.

Hot on Navo’s heels were Jonathan Reyes, who was 2nd overall with 26:55. He was also 2nd place in the 15 to 24 category.

Third overall was Timo Hoezlchen, who won 1st place in his 40 to 44 age group at 29:07.

Among the females, Tiffany Batilo placed 2nd overall and first in her 35 to 39 age group to breast the tape just over a minute shy of Villanueva at 34:45. Roshen Henson, also of the 35 to 39 age group, came in third overall among the women at 36:18.

Fessap fetes Universiade medalists So, Morrison, Balangui British AS part of the worldwide celebrations of the International Day of University Sports on Sept. 20, the Federation of School Sports Association of the Philippines paid tribute to the three Filipino athletes who brought honor to the country during the Summer Universiade from 2011 to 2017.

FESSAP president David Ong said the three Filipino athletes—chess champion GM Wesley So, taekwondo star Samuel Thomas Morrison and wushu sensation Jomar Balangui—serve as outstanding role models for youth, who excel in sports.

“The achievements of Wesley So in chess, Samuel Morrison in taekwondo and only

recently, Jomar Balangui in wushu, are perfect examples of our young and talented university athletes who can make a big difference,” said Ong in a message to student-athletes during the FESSAP-organized IDUS celebrations at the University of Baguio.

Balangui, the hero in the Philippines’ campaign in the recent Taipei University held last Aug. 17 to 30, comes from UB. Ong personally congratulated all three Filipino medalists—So for winning the gold medal in chess during the 2013 Kazan Universiade, Morrison for bagging the silver in taekwondo in the 2011 Universiade and Balangui

for bringing home a silver in wushu in the 2017 Taipei Universiade.

“As we join our FISU family in this annual celebration of the International Day of University Sports every Sept. 20, it is only proper that we pay tribute again to our three biggest athletes in the Universiade,” said Ong. Newly appointed FESSAP regional director for Cordillera Autonomous Region Dhanna Kerina Bautista Rodas of UB and Balangui led the celebrations.

The annual celebration of the International Day of University Sports was initiated

by FISU president Oleg Matytsin of Russia. It was start-

Villamor steps up WGAP drive, rules Cangolf leg

VILLAMOR pressed its bid for the overall WGAP Circuit crown as it hacked out a pair of victories in contrasting fashions in the penultimate leg at the North course of Canlubang Golf and Country Club in Laguna recently.

The Villamor ladies dominated Class A with a 142 for a six-point romp over Alabang (136) then their Class B squad nipped Tagaytay in a thrilling duel, 152-151, to collect six points and pool a 27-point aggregate after seven legs of the annual circuit organized by the Women’s Golf Association of the Philippines.

Tagaytay struggled for just two points and barely hung on to the lead with 28 points heading to the final stop at Sta. Elena on Oct. 9 with Forest Hills a distant third with 20 points and Sta. Elena and Alabang hiking their outputs to 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Villamor could’ve actually tied Tagaytay but lost to Sta. Elena in the

countback in their spirited battle for third in Class C. Lala Barro shot 38 Stableford points, Kristine Torralba added 36 points and Ester Fasol and Harmie Constantino each fired 34 points for Villamor’s 142 total in Class A. Alabang drew 37 points from Jonah Magcalayo while Rita Hora, Azalea Heredia and Marilyn Reyes added 36, 34 and 29 points, respectively for Alabang’s 136 output.

Sta. Elena, led by individual winner Carina Ricamonte’s 38 points, placed third with a 135, edging Tagaytay (135) in the countback while Canlubang placed fifth with a 132 followed by Forest Hills (130), Eagle Ridge (127), respectively.

Marie Guerrero, meanwhile, sizzled for 41 points while Ting Yupangco and Mary Ann Reyes each shot 38 points and Marthy Fernando chipped in 35 points as Villamor assembled a 152 and foiled Tagaytay, which had a 151, for Class B honors.

ed last year and officially endorsed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

FISU said the celebration is aimed at confirming the importance of sports in universities and the role of the universities in the community as responsible actors for consolidating and developing quality physical and sports education.

FISU and UNESCO member-countries are encouraged to annually mobilize the academic world and hold tailor-made events according to their culture and specific needs with the focus that sports is taken out of the universities and left solely to

the initiative of the private sector because sports must be fully integrated in higher education.

The FESSAP, headed

by Ong, Atty. Baldomero Estenzo, Prof. Robert Milton Calo, Jedel Agron, Dr. Diosdado Amante, Dr. Godofredo Gallega and businessman-sportsman Alvin Tai Lian, is the only local governing body in university sports duly recognized by FISU since 2009.

FESSAP has hundreds of member-universities and colleges all over the country, such as the SCUAA, BAP, PRISAA, CESAFI, FCAAF, PISCUAA, CAAP, LAAA, among others.

PARIS—A British cyclist set a new world record Monday by travelling around the globe in 79 days—beating the fictional exploits of Phileas Fogg by a day.

Scottish adventurer Mark Beaumont rode into Paris 78 days, 14 hours and 14 minutes after he set off from the French capital, smashing the previous record of 123 days for a roundthe-world bike trip.

Arriving in evening rush hour traffic under light drizzle, the 34-year-old rode the last cobbled mile to the Arc de Triomphe with a 20-strong entourage on wheels, including a man in a top hat on a pennyfarthing bicycle.

Some 50 supporters were at the monument to greet him, including his tearful wife Nicci and his daughters Harriet, four, and Willa, one.

“I doubt I’ll ever do anything like it again,” said Beaumont, describing the journey as “definitely the longest twoand-a-half months of my life”.

Bouncing his grinning oneyear-old in his arms, Beaumont said the world record was “an absolute dream come true”.

A Guinness World Records judge was on hand to present him with his two framed records—he also beat the previous time for the farthest distance cycled in a month— British cyclist Mark Beaumont poses for pictures with Guinness World while he was still in the saddle.

Records certificates after arriving at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on Beaumont had held the September 18, 2017 to complete his tour around the world in 78 days.

British adventurer Mark Beaumont bettered the fictional exploits of Phileas round-the-world record unFogg—by going around the world in under 80 days on a bicycle. The til 2009 when it was beaten 34-year-old Scotsman set a new world record for circumnavigating the by a New Zealander, leavglobe on a bike when he arrived at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on the night ing Beaumont to conclude of September 18, 78 days after setting out from the landmark in the centre he simply had to have the of the French capital. AFP title back. AFP

Velez scores triple victory in Cotabato tennis tournament JOHN David Velez bucked the odds, including top seed Bruce Hurtado in the boys’ 18-and-under finals, to complete a rare three-title romp in the Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala Mlang regional tennis tournament at the Mlang Tennis Club in Cotabato last weekend.

The 14-year-old star from Davao sustained his fierce form coming off straight-set victories in his agegroup and in the 16-U finals, stun-

ning doubles partner Hurtado with his baseline game and superb recoveries to hack out a thrilling 7-6(5), 4-6, 11-9 triumph in the centerpiece event.

The Precious International School of Davao mainstay actually held off Hurtado, 6-4, 6-3, in their earlier face-off in the 16-U finals after clobbering Andrei Padao, 6-1, 6-1, for 14-U title in the Group 2 tournament sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop headed by president/

cyclist smashes record

CEO Bobby Castro and presented

by Slazenger.

Local ace Jazzelle Madis also claimed two victories in the girls’ side, mastering doubles partner Minette Bentillo, 6-3, 6-3, in the 16-U championship and 6-1, 6-1, in the 18-U finals of the event backed by the Unified Tennis Group, composed of Cebuana Lhuillier, PPSPEPP, Wilson, Toby’s, BMeg, Citigreen, Babolat and Tru-Flex.

Younger sister Tennielle Madis

also pulled off a pair of wins, crushing Jose Cabanting, 4-0, 4-0, for the 10-unisex crown and repulsing Jillian Manangking, 6-4, 1-6, 10-7, in the 12-U finals.

Bentillo, from Sultan Kudarat, made up for her twin losses to Jazzelle Madis by taking the 14-U crown via a 6-2, 6-0 romp over Manangking while Andrei Padao from Digos City took the boys’ 12-U diadem with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Cedric Pamplona.

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

P0 M+ P0 M

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

A8

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

Sports

Phoenix Petroleum Fuelmasters player Matthew Wright (35) drives strong to the hoop against San Miguel Beer defender Marcio Lassiter. The Beermen try to grap a slot in the top four when they battle the Fuelmasters today.

SMB, Rain or Shine race to top four slots

By Jeric Lopez THE race towards the top four intensifies further as the San Miguel Beermen and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters continue their push to place as high as they can when they face separate eliminated opponents in the resumption of the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup. The streaking Beermen (6 wins, 3 losses) aim on keeping in-step with their fellow toptier teams as they take on the Phoenix Petroleum Fuelmasters (2-8) at 7 p.m. in the main course at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City tonight.

Preceding that is a clash between Rain or Shine (5-4) and the Alaska Aces (3-7) at 4:15 p.m. to open the show.

The quarterfinals cast is already complete this early and the focus of the teams now shift towards a bigger goal—a top four finish.

The top four finishers will enjoy a twice-to-beat incentive against the lower seeded teams in the quarters.

Defending champion Barangay Ginebra (8-2) leads the standings. Trailing closely are the Meralco Bolts (7-2), TNT KaTropa (7-3) and the NLEX Road Warriors (7-3).

Generals defuse Bombers

By Peter Atencio

S

YDNEY Onwuberre struck with 28 points as the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals outplayed the third-running Jose Rizal University, 88-84, yesterday at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.

The win allowed the Generals to move to solo fourth in the 93rd National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball tournament.

Toting a 6-6 win-loss record, the Generals are now trailing the third running Heavy Bombers, who have a 7-5 slate.

A 13-3 windup near

the end of the fourth allowed the Generals to turn the tables on the Heavy Bombers.

The Generals faced a 7177 deficit before they took a 84-80 lead off the heroics of Jerome Garcia and Jeric Diego.

Garcia and Diego led a13-3 windup before Onwubere capped the rally with two big plays.

Onwubere first assisted Diego underneath with 1:24

Games Thursday (at the Arena in San Juan) 12nn Perpetual Help vs Lyceum (jrs) 2 p.m Perpetual Help vs Lyceum (srs) 4 p.m. SSC vs CSB (srs) 6 p.m. SSC vs LSGH

points and three assists while Diego and Phillip Tampoc had 11 points apiece.

Garcia and Diego strung up 10 points in touching off the run

which put them up, 8180, lead inside the last two minutes.

On the other hand, Onwuberr’s trey off a pass from Francis Munsayac pushed them further, 84-80. with 57.4 ticks to go.

Jed Mendoza tried keep JRU in the fight with his drive at 86-88 with 18.4 seconds.

But Garcia’s freebies allowed the Generals to take the win.

Folayang defends ONE crown

Mequi joins anti-Peping protest FOR Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco to quit or give up his post, heads of national sports association must be convinced to cast a vote of no-confidence on him.

And that is what a group calling for the Cojuangco’s ouster will seek when they hold a rally on Thursday at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Vito Cruz, Manila.

“Not even a miracle can make Peping resign from the POC. But we want him to get out for two reasons,” said former Philippines Sports Commission chairman Aparicio Mequi.

Mequi, who is part of the Sept. 21 Movement for Peace and Change in Philippine Sports, explained that they are first seeking Cojuangco’s ouster after the performance of Filipino athletes in international meets steadily declined.

This is based on the Philippines’ overall performance in successive Southeast Asian Games.

Second reason for wanting his ouster is poor governance. Mequi said this manifested by unliquidated financial assistance of many NSAs. The former PSC chief said that it will be up to the POC general assembly to boot Cojuangco.

And during the rally, his group will make an appeal to members of the NSAs to seek a vote of no-confidence on Cojuangco.

Mequi said they hope many NSA leaders would come and support their cause on that day The group, which appears to have the support of PSC Commissioner Ramon Fernandez, is expected to come in force on Thursday. Peter Atencio

left in the game to give the Generals the lead for good, 81-80.

Then, he hit a three pointer with 57.4 seconds to go to take out the fight from the Bombers for good.

“Wala akong masabi kundi thankful talaga sa Lord and sa mga players ko.

They are doing their very best,” said head coach Ariel Sison.

Garcia finished with 16

ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard Folayang will defend his title against ONE Featherweight World Champion Martin Nguyen at ONE: Legends of the World at the Mall of Asia Arena. ONE Championship

REIGNING ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang defends his title against ONE Featherweight World Champion Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen at ONE: Legends of the World at the Mall of Asia Arena on Nov. 10.

Chatri Sityodtong, Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship, said ONE will push the boundaries of sports and entertainment with their next event.

“Our next show in Manila is going to be absolutely phenomenal. Two world champions in their respective weight classes are set to go head-to-head in a cross-divisional showdown that will be talked about the world over.

Newly minted ONE Featherweight World Champion Martin Nguyen will take on reigning ONE Lightweight World Champion

Eduard Folayang in a bout that is sure to produce fireworks,” said Sityodtong.

Folayang said he welcomed the fight because he is constantly looking for the biggest challenges.

“As a champion and a martial artist, I welcome any and all challengers.

Martin is one of the best in the world and it is an honor to share the ONE Championship cage with him.

This is a bout for the fans, and I can’t wait to perform in front of my hometown crowd in Manila once again. I have complete respect for my opponent’s skills,” said Folayang.

Nguyen said New Year will come early this year because there definitely be fireworks in his fight against Folayang.

“I’m out not only to make a statement, but to go down in history as the best to ever compete under

the ONE Championship banner. I have the utmost respect for the lightweight champion, and will definitely not take his skills for granted. But this is going to be a dog fight. It’s the first time two champions in different divisions go head-to-head in ONE. I am excited to give the performance of a lifetime. The real winner of this bout will be the fans at the Mall of Asia Arena.”

Folayang is one of the Philippines’ most experienced martial artists.

Folayang has an impressive 18-5 professional record.

The 33-year-old veteran is currently riding a four-bout winning streak against high-profile opponents, including an emphatic technical knockout victory over Japanese legend Shinya Aoki to capture the ONE Lightweight World Championship in 2016.

Mbala reunites with De La Salle Green Archers after stint in Afrobasket AFTER relying on their high-scoring offense against National University, the defending champion La Salle Green Archers are expected to settle down and again lean on their defense now that prized big man Ben Mbala has returned.

The presence of the 6’8” Mbala is expected to give the Green Archers more firepower and more muscle un-

derneath when they meet the Adamson Falcons at 4 p.m. today at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Mbala, who made 32 points and 10 rebounds when Cameroon lost to Nigeria, 106-91, in the quarterfinals of the Fiba Afrobasket in Tunisia, returns as the Green Archers seek their third straight triumph in the 80th University Athletic As-

Games Today (At the MOA Arena) 2 p.m. NU vs UST 4 p.m. Adamson vs La Salle

sociation of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament.

Coach Aldin Ayo said they will be ready to play their usual pressing game against the Falcons.

But, he expects a much

improved Falcons to adjust their style of play.

“Two years na namin game iyun. Nag-adjust na ang mga teams. Ang ginagawa na lang namin, ubusan lang. Whoever’s the toughest on court, yun ang mananalo,” said Ayo. When they beat NU the last time around, 115-109, the Green Archers tallied the highest score in the league

since 2003.

La Salle sophomore Aljun Melecio, emerged as number 1 scorer in the UAAP so far with his 24.5 point norm after two games.

On the other hand, Adamson University has played its best recently after stopping University of Sto. Tomas 8881 in their last game.

They have a 1-1 win-loss slate. Peter Atencio

The other teams include the Star Hotshots (5-4), the Blackwater Elite (5-5), the GlobalPort Batang Pier (3-7) and the Kia Picanto (0-10).

San Miguel is starting to show its championship form, having won three straight to put itself in a good position to end up inside the top four.

However, it needs to continue its winning streak and win its last two games to be able to secure its place inside the top four.

The Beermen will be heavily favored against the ailing Fuelmasters, who are already out of contention as they are riding an atrocious eight-game losing streak after winning their initial two assignments of the tournament.

Reigning three-time Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo is starting to return to his dominant ways, dropping a season-high 41 points in San Miguel’s 118-112 victory over Kia last Saturday.

Despite its rollercoaster ride this conference, the Elasto Painters are already safely in the quarters and still have an outside shot of landing in the top four.

However, they need to win their final two games and hope that the teams above them drop some games along the way.

Alexander garners silver at AIMAG ASHGABAT, Turkm e n i s t a n — Jiu-Jitsu fighter Marc Alexander Lim fell short in his bid to win a gold medal after he sustained a 2-0 loss to Talib Saleh Mohamed Sale Alkirbi of United Arab Emirates in the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) Monday night at the Ashgabat Olympic Complex here.

Lim, a purple belter, was on top of his black-belter opponent majority of their six-minute encounter in the -65kg men’s Ne-Waza. The 20-year-old native of Davao City had a few chances of forcing Alkirbi into submission but failed to capitalize on his opportunities.

In the final moments of the match, however, Alkirbi was able to escape Lim’s stronghold and got better positioning to score the crucial points in the last 17 seconds for the gold medal of the match held at the Martial Arts Indoor Arena.

Lim settled with the silver medal, the first for Team Philippines competing here in AIMAG, and second medal overall after Alvin Lobriguito earned a bronze in freestyle traditional wrestling.

“It would have been nice to have ended it with a win, or at least 0-0 (referee’s decision),” Lim said. “I’m very happy to have delivered a medal, but I would have been happier if it’s a gold, so I can’t really say that I’m happy with the silver.”

The 25-year-old Lobriguito got the luck of the draw in his category where there were just seven entries. In his lone match, he suffered a 4-0 defeat to host nation’s Yakupnazar Yakubow in the semifinals.

In comparison, Lim went through five tough assignments to make it to the finals—where Alkirbi proved to be a difficult match.

‘Persecuted’ Ronaldo returns to Real Madrid after ban MADRID, Spain—Cristiano Ronaldo returns from a five-match ban for Real Madrid on Wednesday at home to Real Betis.

“I hope it is for the last game this season,” said Zinedine Zidane at the prospect of missing Ronaldo for Sunday’s vital 3-1 win at Real Sociedad as the European champions got back to winning ways in La Liga.

The World Player of the Year’s “persecution”, as he described his ban, is over as

he will be free to make his first league appearance of the season against Betis on Wednesday.

His absence was most keenly felt in profligate Madrid displays in dropping points at home to Valencia and Levante.

Ronaldo showed Real what they were missing with a double against APOEL Nicosia last midweek.

But his enforced absence could yet benefit Madrid as it did last season when

a delayed start to the campaign through injury meant a fresher Ronaldo hit top form in the final months of the season, scoring 10 goals in the Champions League from the quarter-finals on.

Meanwhile, Barcelona begin a four-month stretch without injured club record signing Ousmane Dembele, but will be expected to sweep aside Eibar to continue their 100 percent start to La Liga on Tuesday.

Dembele’s prolonged ab-

sence hands Gerard Deulofeu a chance he could only have dreamed about when resigning for his boyhood club in June.

At the time Deulofeu was seen as able deputy to back up a front three of Neymar, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

But the 23-year-old has already enjoyed over three times as many minutes in his second spell at Barca than his first due to Neymar’s departure and Dembele’s misfortune.

Portugal’s forward Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates a goal during the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying round Group I football match between Armenia and Portugal in Yerevan in file photo. AFP

Business

ERC rejects opposition to Meralco supply deals

B3

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

B1

Govt to sell Mile Long in 2018

By Julito G. Rada

F

INANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said Tuesday the government will privatize the controversial Mile Long property in Makati City next year to raise more funds for development projects.

“Mile Long, that is the new asset that we received which we should be privatizing by the middle of next year,” Dominguez told reporters in a news briefing.

Dominguez said the government’s plan was to speed up the privatization of more state assets, starting with the “big ones” including Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and Mile Long.

Dominguez said the valuation of Mile Long remained to be verified.

He said the government would tap an internal and two external valuation firms.

“I think we have to get two or three.

And then, of course, there are several ways to do it. And then we have to evaluate. Do we sell it as one chunk or separate chunks,” he said.

“I don’t really know yet what is the optimum for the government,” Dominguez said.

Mile Long, a 2.9-hectare complex along Amorsolo Street owned by state-run National Power Corp. and the government, was leased to Technology Resource Center Foundation in 1978 until 2002.

TRCF subsequently subleased the lot to Sunvar Realty Development Corp.

The Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 141 ordered Sunvar last month to vacate the Mile Long property following the Aug. 14 resolution of the Court of Appeals.

The order was served by Solicitor

General Jose Calida and the court sheriff on Sunvar and other tenants of Mile Long.

Sunvar said in a statement it would comply with the order of the Court of Appeals and instructed its lawyers not to file any court pleading that might impede the execution of the earlier decision of the court.

The Mile Long property has been the subject of a long battle between the government and Sunvar, a company owned by the Rufino and Prieto families since the early 2000s.

Dominguez earlier said the government would start privatizing next year the 17 casinos being operated by state-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

He said the capacity, including the number of tables and visitors of each casino, should be known first to finally determine their real valuations.

He said the privatization of Pagcor casinos might take several

years because the deals were quite “complex,” requiring a thorough study to see to it that it would be advantageous for the government.

He said privatizing Pagcor should be done now to avoid losing their customers.

Pagcor operates 46 casino properties in the country and is required by law to remit half of its annual gross earnings to the Bureau of the Treasury. These funds are eventually used in community and development projects of the government.

President Duterte told Pagcor last year to privatize its assets to raise funds for the government. In the first quarter of 2017, Pagcor’s net income grew 25.75 percent to P1.3 billion from a year ago.

Pagcor also paid a total of P7.37 billion in gaming taxes and contributions to the government in the first three months of the year.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Tuesday, September 19, 2017

F OREIGN E XCHANGE R ATE Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

51.1770

Japan

Yen

0.008964

0.4588

UK

Pound

1.349600

69.0685

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.127936

6.5474

Switzerland

Franc

1.040258

53.2373

Canada

Dollar

0.813802

41.6479

Singapore

Dollar

0.742060

37.9764

Australia

Dollar

0.796000

40.7369

Bahrain

Dinar

2.654491

135.8489

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266667

13.6472

Brunei

Dollar

0.739317

37.8360

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000075

0.0038

Thailand

Baht

0.030239

1.5475

UAE

Dirham

0.272264

13.9337

Euro

Euro

1.195600

61.1872

Korea

Won

0.000886

0.0453

China

Yuan

0.152066

7.7823

India

Rupee

0.015588

0.7977

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.238834

12.2228

New Zealand

Dollar

0.726300

37.1699

Taiwan

Dollar

0.033235

1.7009 Source: PDS Bridge

BoI clears P322-m steel plant in Cavite

By Othel V. Campos

FRANCHISE EXPO. The Association of Filipino Franchisers Inc. holds a press conference for the upcoming 16th Franchise & Business Expo to be held at World Trade Center on Sept. 29 to Oct. 1. Shown are (from left) Ricardo Cuna, president of Fiorgelato; Tess Ngantian, president of Lot’s A Pizza; John Chung, president and chief executive of Acquasuisse and president of AFFI; Sonny Francisco, president and chief executive of Ferino’s Bibingka, chairman of AFFI and expo chairman; and Annie Francisco, chief operation officer of Ferino’s Bibingka. Ey Acacio

IN BRIEF Franchisers seek 20% growth

HOMEGROWN franchising companies are looking at a 20-percent growth in sales this year to P128.4 billion from P107 billion in 2016, as more Filipino companies expand locally and overseas.

Association of Filipino Franchisers Inc. president John Chung said the group was optimistic growth would continue for local franchisers particularly for new members.

“We have about 170 members that are trying to expand their businesses through franchising. We all have the same goals. But as a group, we want our members to reach the full potential of the business. We have companies that are exporting now, as we speak, like Julie’s Bakeshop, Fiorgelato, Potato Corner, among the few bigger companies,” he said in a news briefing Tuesday.

Chung’s company Acquasuisse, a local perfume bar, sees good prospects in Australia and the US. AFFI will holds the 16th Franchise and Business Expo on Sept.

29 to Oct. 1 at the World Trade Center. The group is also celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Othel V. Campos

AirAsia flies to Ho Chi Minh

THE Philippine unit of Southeast Asia’s largest budget carrier said it will start flights to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam from Manila in November.

“We are thrilled to announce that we will start servicing direct flights from Manila to Ho Chi Minh in November as part of our commitment to continue bringing the Philippines closer to neighboring cities within the Asean region,” AirAsia Philippines chief executive Dexter Comendador said.

Comendador said AirAsia is now the only airline that directly services all ten Asean countries with established operations in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

“Last year, the AirAsia Group carried 13.4 million people within Asean and we aim to continue bringing the region closer together via inter-Asean connectivity,” he said.

The airline is offering all-in fares from as low as P990 for Manila-Ho Chi Minh route, which is available for booking until Oct. 8, 2017. Darwin G. Amojelar

BSP likely to keep rates steady

THE Monetary Board, the policy-making body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, is expected to maintain the benchmark interest rates steady in its meeting Thursday mainly on the back of manageable inflation environment and favorable economic growth prospects, ING Bank Manila said in a report.

“We are with the unanimous consensus of a decision of steady policy settings. Inflation and inflation forecasts remain within the inflation target range of 2 percent to 4 percent over the policy horizon,” ING Bank Manila senior economist Joey Cuyegkeng said Tuesday.

He said there was no compelling reason to support or restrain growth for now as economic growth was expected at 6.5 percent this year and 6.6 percent next year.

The economy grew 6.4 percent in the first half, near the lower bound of the target range of 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent this year, supported by higher fiscal expenditures, robust domestic demand and investments. Economists predicted that growth would be more robust in the second half as the government ramped up spending, particularly on infrastructure under the “Build, Build, Build” program. Julito G. Rada

THE Board of Investments granted incentives to a new steel plant in Cavite province.

The BoI said in a statement it approved the registration of Portal Steels Inc. as a new producer of steel billets and rebars.

The company is investing P322.7 million in a facility in Hong Chang compound, Carmona, Cavite.

Portal Steels qualified for tax incentives under the manufacturing activity of the Investment Priorities Plan. It is expected to produce 48,000 metric tons of steel billets and 22,800 MT of rebars starting December 2017. It will initially hire 75 workers.

Portal Steels will sell half of the billet production to other rolling mill operations in the local and foreign markets.

The other half is for its own use intended for integrated rolling mill operations.

Rebars will serve the domestic requirement of the infrastructure industry.

“Steel companies stand to benefit in light of the government’s ‘Build, Build, Build” strategy to usher the country in the ‘golden age of infrastructure’ with infrastructure spending of up to seven percent of the country’s gross domestic product,” said Trade Undersecretary and BoI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo.

German biometrics firm eyes ID project

By Darwin G. Amojelar GERMAN biometrics company Dermalog Identification Systems GmbH, which won the contract to supply driver’s license cards in the country, expressed interest to participate in the national ID system project.

“We have helped to shape the world of security through our innovations, and we see many areas where the Philippines can benefit from our technology. From border control systems to e-passports and ID cards, we are ready to support the government,” Dermalog chief executive Gunther Mull said.

The company’s existing projects include large-scale government installations in Germany and 25 other European countries as well as biometric border control systems and ID systems in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei and other Asian countries.

Dermalog recently established an office in Makati City, exhibiting its confidence in the continued progress and development of the Philippine economy.

Dermalog and local partners CFP Strategic Transaction Advisors and Nextix Inc. won a five-year contract from Land Transportation Office to supply driver’s license cards worth P830 million.

METROBANK-AYALA DEAL. Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. grants Ayala Land Inc., the country’s leading property developer a P10-billion, 10-year loan agreement to partially finance its capital expenditure program which includes the expansion of residential, office leasing and shopping mall segments. Shown signing the agreement are (from left) Metrobank executive vice president and head of institutional banking sector Mary Mylene Caparas, Metrobank president Fabian Dee, Ayala Land president and chief executive Bernard Vincent Dy and Ayala Land deputy chief finance officer and treasurer Augusto Bengzon.

Dominguez: PH to get more investors despite human rights issues

By Julito G. Rada FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said Tuesday the Philippines’ solid macroeconomic fundamentals will continue to attract more foreign direct investments despite concerns of some quarters over the seemingly worsening human rights violations in the country.

Dominguez said in a news briefing there were “always two sides to the story…. You know there’s a lot of talk about this… how will it affect I am not sure,” he said.

Dominguez said a proof that the country continued to lure foreign investors was the all-time record posted by the Philippine Stock Exchange index in the past few days.

He also said Morgan Stanley recently recommended the Philippines as the top pick in Southeast Asia, given the earnings growth in the country and valuable action on infrastructure.

“The PSEi increased by 19 percent since the start of the year,” he said. Dominguez said people continued to believe and support the

administration’s policies.

Dominguez also downplayed any potential impact on investors’ sentiment of the measly P1,000 budget endorsed by lawmakers for the Commission on Human Rights.

“The Senate put it back, so I don’t know what will come out in the end, but it seems that democracy is working,” he said.

“Well fortunately, we are not part of the bicam [bicameral conference committee] but the administration presented a budget of over P600 million for the CHR… You know

I am really confident that the legislature will come to a rational agreement on this budget,” Dominguez said.

The European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines expressed concern last week over the House of Representatives’ endorsement of a P1,000 budget for CHR. ECCP president Guenter Taus said the move would not send a good message to foreign investors.

Taus said human rights was a key concern for investors and this would remain until the commis-

sion’s annual allocation was sorted out.

Opposition senators pledged to block the P1,000 budget for the CHR, which repeatedly criticized President Duterte’s bloody war on drugs. The House and the Senate are set to reconcile their respective versions of the budget before the President can sign it into law.

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno expressed hope that lawmakers from both chambers of Congress would resolve the budget standoff soon.

B2

Business

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Alliance Global plans to buy back P5-b shares

By Jenniffer B. Austria CONGLOMERATE Alliance Global Group Inc. said its board approved a P5-billion two-year share buyback program to improve shareholder value.

AGI president Kingson Sian said during the annual stockholders’ meeting of the company that its shares were “hugely undervalued” despite showing decent profits and attractive growth prospects.

“We are undertaking this corporate action because we believe that our shares are grossly undervalued. Our group has been consistently profitable, with attractive growth prospects, and enjoys strong brand equity and therefore views this exercise as a means to enhance shareholder

value over time,” Sian said.

Share price of AGI dropped to a 52-week low of P12.20 on March 14 from a high of P16.50 on Sept. 22, 2016.

AGI said to sustain growth, it budgeted P80 billion for 2017 capital expenditures, of which 75 percent would be spent for Megaworld Corp.’s residential developments and the construction of office and commercial projects.

Over 10 percent will be used to fund the ongoing expansion program of Travellers International Hotel Group at Resorts World Manila while the balance is intended for Emperador Inc.’s capital expenditures and store rollout by Golden Arches Development Corp., the local franchise holder of fast-food giant McDonald’s.

Stock market retreats; IMI, AGI lead advances

S

TOCKS dropped Tuesday to end a five-day rally, as investors took profit from strong gains that pushed the benchmark index near the 8,300-point level Monday.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company bellwether, plummeted 131 points, or 1.6 percent, to close at 8,162.70, as all six major sectors declined.

The heavier index, representing all shares, also tumbled 58 points, or 1.2 percent, to settle at 4,828.21, on a value turnover of P8.9 billion.

Six of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by semiconductor manufacturer Integrated Micro-Electronics

Inc. which jumped 7.2 percent to P18.10 and conglomerate Alliance Global Group Inc. which climbed 1.9 percent to P15.04.

Developer Robinsons Land Corp. rose 1.6 percent to P20.20.

Meanwhile, Japanese stocks soared when the market reopened Tuesday on a weak yen as the dollar was lifted by expected monetary tightening and renewed hopes for Donald Trump’s economic agenda, but

most other Asian markets retreated after recent gains.

Equities had rallied Monday as investors turned their attention to macro issues, particularly a Federal Reserve policy meeting and Trump’s maiden speech to the UN General Assembly.

While the US central bank is not expected to raise interest rates this week, remarks from the Fed and its boss Janet Yellen will be pored over for clues about future moves—with talk of another rise—and its plans to wind down the vast bond-buying stimulus put in place during the financial crisis.

Analysts said that despite the expected tightening, investors were

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 4.79 207,000 59.6 17,100 102.6 587,900 129.8 3,826,950 1.85 2,087,000 36 23,500 15.92 4,000 31.95 1,058,100 9.3 9,500 1.69 17,000 910 13,530 0.7 2,329,000 87.75 2,605,100 0.91 523,000 13.12 73,100 25 5,000 60.4 54,720 237.6 10,460 89 150 50.2 121,370 247.4 1,197,890 1,795 170 86.75 84,470 1.32 78,000

978,250 1,019,587 60,443,311 496,509,118 3,919,680 845,140 64,172 33,954,600 83,131 29,070 12,312,300 1,628,950 229,293,481.50 476,840 958,962 125,500 3,310,562 2,485,312 13,350 6,100,319 295,894,058 306,650 7,328,071 103,460

753,843 -3,467,808 56,292,296 -625,505 1,015,390 -29,628,474.50 -273,000 -603,174 -1,886,552 -1,912,477 72,292,774 -17,950 -6,630,994 -

41 9.2 0.8 1.44 22.3 0.233 126 5.86 17.1 165.3 36.95 21.5 64 85 1.92 6.07 11.32 10.26 15.3 14.46 7.2 7.01 1.69 18.94 68 13.94 12.84 16.88 1.86 240.8 59.5 4.2 3.3 30.85 20.35 17.08 270.6 0.23 12 3 6.7 10.42 7.02 1.8 12.52 68.55 6.55 309.2 4.31 4.38 2.68 12.88 4.53 0.143 150 2.24 28.2 0.99

INDUSTRIAL 41.15 1,406,800 9.3 1,045,600 0.8 1,813,000 1.45 325,000 23 20,000 0.233 2,260,000 126 400 5.89 2,981,700 17.26 6,834,400 165.3 10 37 448,200 21.6 8,600 64 38,360 85 30 1.93 276,000 6.2 405,500 11.6 37,200 10.3 6,090,800 15.36 1,409,200 14.7 1,037,000 7.23 241,400 7.25 1,512,700 1.78 26,000 18.96 2,064,100 68.2 138,010 14.34 1,500 12.94 264,500 18.1 13,782,600 1.9 1,058,000 244 1,421,290 59.5 1,200 4.25 275,000 3.35 20,000 31 2,298,300 20.5 516,500 17.08 890,400 270.6 315,430 0.23 510,000 12.06 204,900 3.01 12,747,000 6.8 362,100 10.42 2,618,900 7.2 40,500 1.8 229,000 12.74 894,900 68.6 1,114,340 6.6 188,700 310 23,740 4.31 10,000 4.38 97,000 2.72 279,000 12.92 399,700 4.53 12,000 0.144 240,000 150 2,733,180 2.26 7,606,000 28.2 1,200 0.99 8,000

57,893,495 9,683,971 1,450,410 471,030 456,650 528,340 50,550 17,579,748 117,874,532 1,653 16,649,285 186,045 2,455,040 2,550 532,710 2,514,911 427,674 62,802,366 21,682,138 15,115,352 1,759,480 10,878,696 44,620 39,140,138 9,414,234.50 21,400 3,418,632 238,457,722 2,000,490 349,268,796 71,415 1,185,600 66,150 71,043,070 10,651,495 15,393,194 85,556,008 117,350 2,533,990 38,368,090 2,454,739 27,583,182 286,819 412,510 11,398,202 76,446,242 1,244,844 7,359,120 43,170 424,860 754,340 5,163,290 54,360 34,510 410,173,036 17,281,300 33,840 7,940

-25,102,875 -246,678 14,500 -2,374,718 9,010,904 37,000 -888,960 -19,200 -1,000 24,918,254 6,164,508 -1,494,858 -14,323 1,269,175 29,461,354 -4,103,109.50 -2,165,850 106,541,220.00 -161,650 -81,201,852 -242,680 -13,590,580 2,485,170 -4,749,802 12,033,164 -2,300 -258,990 1,358 -5,988,306 35,964 36,000 -41,158 18,785,678 238,260 -5,533,468 -21,620 61,930 3,236,030 -7,150.00 -68,363,856 124,070.00 -

0.35 73.25 14.7 1.08 6.9 0.33 0.325 934 8.1 15.82 7.75 5.17 5.01 1,149 74.1 5.01 5.03 5.43 0.89 6.94 17.24 6.84 0.049 2.07 97.95 2.65 839 1.47 206 299 0.275 0.195 0.224

HOLDING FIRMS 0.35 580,000 73.5 321,900 15.04 18,347,800 1.09 101,000 6.9 44,000 0.34 6,070,000 0.33 1,300,000 935 250,840 8.24 4,648,100 15.92 5,359,600 7.83 14,800 5.17 18,400 5.01 300 1,150 119,980 74.1 727,680 5.01 5,200 5.03 2,500 5.43 5,700 0.89 781,000 6.98 478,300 17.24 5,681,800 6.88 26,659,800 0.05 3,040,000 2.07 554,000 98.05 168,610 2.65 75,000 848 613,060 1.48 771,000 206 600 299 210 0.275 20,000 0.196 520,000 0.224 580,000

203,300 23,640,068 276,361,836 110,080 305,854 2,088,500 441,050 237,938,935 38,145,030 85,304,964 115,019 108,107 1,503 139,421,710 54,346,903.50 26,052 12,590 30,951 696,660 3,335,708 98,317,708 184,850,115 152,140 1,148,710 16,529,361.50 198,750 520,373,665 1,142,660 123,620 62,880 5,500 104,270 130,000

-6,804,686 -70,035,470 -5,290,895 13,438,758.00 -35,473,350 -57,908,875 -14,419,945 2,936,316 38,955,994 -1,764,394 -1,470 231,490 -4,276,538 139,631,385 4,020 2,320

2,438,917 10,319,740 8,800 1,688,480 4,238,780 427,922,145 3,231,440 7,933,518 2,916,397 4,650,690 573,520 33,660 3,213,220 186,150 24,825,785 240,000 7,710 131,054,660 14,749,880 2,787,370 504,294,462 49,232,900

-1,826,764 -123,000 8,720 40,927,140 940,020 731,137 261,040 -26,800 352,000 1,973,110 4,710 4,126,700 -12,640 20,680 -211,513,352 -1,153,500

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

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

4.8 59.9 104 130.3 1.93 36.05 15.9 32.55 8.5 1.75 910 0.7 88.5 0.94 13.02 25.5 61 237.6 89 50.35 244.2 1,810 86.8 1.34

4.8 59.9 104 130.3 1.98 36.05 16.1 32.55 9.35 1.75 910 0.71 88.7 0.94 13.12 25.5 61 238 89 50.4 247.8 1,810 86.85 1.34

4.65 59.5 102 129.4 1.8 35.9 15.9 31.9 8.33 1.66 910 0.69 87.6 0.91 13.02 25 60.3 237.6 89 50.15 244.2 1,795 86.7 1.32

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

41.4 9.25 0.8 1.45 23.1 0.235 127.5 5.86 17.12 165.3 37.4 21.5 64 85 1.94 6.19 11.58 10.32 15.5 14.8 7.34 7.01 1.69 19 68.2 14.4 12.84 16.9 1.89 246.4 59.55 4.28 3.3 31 20.9 17.3 273 0.23 12.36 3.01 6.9 10.72 7.06 1.8 12.96 68.6 6.6 310 4.33 4.38 2.71 12.94 4.53 0.144 153 2.28 28.2 1.01

41.45 9.3 0.81 1.47 23.5 0.235 127.5 5.95 17.44 165.3 37.4 22 64 85 1.94 6.32 11.6 10.48 15.58 14.88 7.35 7.25 1.79 19.04 68.85 14.4 13 18.1 1.91 251.4 59.55 4.39 3.35 31.05 20.9 17.48 273 0.232 12.58 3.01 6.9 10.74 7.27 1.81 12.98 68.7 6.84 310 4.33 4.38 2.72 12.94 4.53 0.144 153 2.3 28.2 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 FJ PRINCE A FJ PRINCE B GT CAPITAL JG SUMMIT JOLLIVILLE HLDG KEPPEL HLDG A KEPPEL HLDG B LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP METRO PAC INV PACIFICA PRIME ORION SAN MIGUEL CORP SEAFRONT RES SM INVESTMENTS SOLID GROUP SYNERGY GRID TOP FRONTIER UNIOIL HLDG WELLEX INDUS ZEUS HLDG

0.355 73.95 14.8 1.1 6.99 0.34 0.35 970 8.13 16.26 7.83 5.89 5.01 1,201 76.4 5.01 5.06 5.43 0.9 6.98 17.6 6.94 0.05 2.07 98 2.65 865 1.48 206.2 300 0.275 0.201 0.228

0.355 74 15.16 1.1 7 0.355 0.355 970 8.24 16.26 7.83 5.96 5.01 1,204 76.4 5.01 5.06 5.43 0.91 7.08 17.6 7.02 0.051 2.09 98.5 2.65 866 1.49 206.2 300 0.275 0.203 0.228

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 MRC ALLIED

5.1 1.24 8 2.4 1.12 46 3.89 5.15 5.35 0.53 1.34 1.53 0.235 0.49 42.5 0.68 0.157 2.14 1.59 0.95 5.49 0.395

5.25 1.24 8 2.4 1.12 46.05 3.92 5.16 5.38 0.53 1.34 1.53 0.237 0.495 43.1 0.69 0.157 2.25 1.6 0.97 5.5 0.4

5.08 1.2 8 2.37 1.07 45.05 3.79 5.04 5.31 0.51 1.34 1.53 0.233 0.485 42 0.68 0.15 2.11 1.55 0.93 5.2 0.36

VOLUME

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

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

0.51 0.5 6 25.9 1.78 3.21 35.05 1.04 0.89 6.36

0.53 0.5 6.05 26.4 1.81 3.24 35.15 1.05 0.89 6.36

0.51 0.49 5.9 25.85 1.78 3.15 34.2 1.03 0.86 6.2

0.52 0.5 5.97 26.2 1.8 3.15 34.5 1.05 0.87 6.29

10,615,000 3,036,000 4,409,900 4,442,200 1,945,000 270,000 11,464,200 2,581,000 118,000 4,688,100

5,511,950 1,504,585 26,271,654 116,130,440 3,476,930 851,470 395,995,810 2,698,410 102,210 29,593,811

4,126,260 65,197,005 91,600 -54,743,765.00 -10,500 -5,816,177

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

20.9 40.75 1.67 0.6 0.039 10.84 10.92 0.075 112.2 9.3 10.48 7.59 2,038 6.1 19.1 2.23 2.98 108 8.42 0.168 1.35 3.09 15.58 4.58 1.41 12.82 0.59 2.45 8.7 4.25 18.24 2.65 11.02 5.18 2.86 170 9.56 1,704 1.64 0.405 51.6 95.35 5.85 4.6 1.56 1.99 3.61 1.24 9.13

22.4 40.75 1.67 0.6 0.039 11.2 11 0.075 112.5 9.3 10.7 7.59 2,038 6.12 19.1 2.3 3.08 108 8.42 0.17 1.35 3.14 15.58 4.65 1.45 13.14 0.59 2.46 8.7 4.42 19.3 2.66 11.06 5.18 2.86 170 9.69 1,718 1.64 0.405 51.6 95.35 5.88 4.75 1.56 2.19 3.64 1.33 9.18

20.9 40.7 1.57 0.58 0.039 10.84 10.12 0.073 111.9 9.3 10.4 7.55 2,004 6.1 17.8 2.2 2.97 104.6 8.4 0.159 1.33 3.05 15.44 4.5 1.4 12.8 0.59 2.35 8.13 4.19 18.22 2.52 10.98 5.18 2.85 170 9.5 1,659 1.59 0.4 50.85 94.7 5.85 4.59 1.49 1.91 3.6 1.24 8.76

SERVICES 22.3 40.7 1.66 0.59 0.039 11.2 10.18 0.075 111.9 9.3 10.54 7.57 2,030 6.12 18.6 2.28 3.05 104.6 8.4 0.166 1.34 3.14 15.52 4.51 1.41 13.12 0.59 2.36 8.19 4.3 19.3 2.54 10.98 5.18 2.85 170 9.54 1,660 1.63 0.4 51 95 5.87 4.69 1.53 2.09 3.63 1.29 8.87

716,500 19,100 33,000 2,876,000 8,200,000 4,300 48,655,100 9,820,000 468,900 3,800 4,917,700 38,600 41,400 104,200 194,000 3,169,000 9,000 1,798,890 330,000 23,330,000 93,000 52,000 10,500 585,000 2,141,000 5,745,700 24,000 83,000 7,439,100 9,490,000 12,300 2,294,000 67,000 33,400 10,000 2,910 433,200 121,570 6,295,000 40,000 1,019,470 489,110 63,300 6,231,000 20,586,000 139,000 882,000 43,096,000 9,341,500

15,705,955 777,685 53,100 1,681,650 319,800 47,692 506,376,094 721,880 52,506,696 35,340 52,090,642 292,926 83,796,130 636,221 3,601,158 7,150,330 27,120 189,616,728 2,778,000 3,822,850 123,720 161,700 163,382 2,667,800 3,034,150 74,697,162 14,160 200,640 61,937,475 41,016,800 228,386 5,887,570 737,600 173,012 28,560 494,700 4,142,452 203,139,150 10,193,200 16,100 52,194,960.50 46,464,523.50 371,085 29,120,900 31,625,630 288,360 3,195,020 55,484,610 83,685,338

-218,410 -130,870,816 -2,190 42,219,467 -3,448,924 -133,536 6,117,000 234,142 -319,200.00 -2,970 -79,987,271 62,360 -435,000 4,923,198 7,902,594 -748,390 -20,780 -224,400 -95,534 -125,096,180 850,660 -1,629,533.50 2,644,818 2,698,820 7,771,710 -540,170 1,191,040 -25,250,873

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

0.0026 1.67 5 1.83 1.83 1.46 0.395 8.87 2.67 0.27 0.182 0.01 0.012 2.08 7.87 1.84 1.04 0.012 0.014 0.012 2.42 8.6 5.15 48.5

0.0027 1.68 5.02 1.83 1.83 1.5 0.395 9.4 2.68 0.275 0.183 0.011 0.012 2.1 7.87 1.84 1.04 0.012 0.014 0.013 2.51 8.6 5.42 48.5

0.0026 1.66 4.93 1.83 1.83 1.38 0.395 8.55 2.63 0.265 0.182 0.01 0.012 2.03 7.58 1.77 1.02 0.012 0.014 0.012 2.41 8.54 5.15 46.5

MINING & OIL 0.0026 198,000,000 1.67 1,886,000 4.98 309,400 1.83 5,000 1.83 6,000 1.39 8,229,000 0.395 240,000 8.71 61,900 2.65 5,239,000 0.27 940,000 0.183 40,000 0.011 25,400,000 0.012 500,000 2.03 1,847,000 7.58 5,365,000 1.81 224,000 1.04 1,338,000 0.012 11,900,000 0.014 100,000 0.012 158,600,000 2.41 27,000 8.54 293,300 5.29 6,374,500 46.5 1,382,400

515,300 3,137,400 1,542,610 9,150 10,980 11,605,600 94,800 557,003 13,904,320 253,350 7,310 267,400 6,000 3,784,190 40,910,156 398,570 1,385,330 142,800 1,400 1,905,000 65,830 2,508,843 33,824,908 64,807,800

-13,000 -1,660 -13,350 5,490 -588,790 -2,700.00 1,330,500 4,800 -480,900 3,098,795 334,880 -1,200 -737,193 3,610,916 -12,605,660

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

40.4 517 527 106 105.3 109.8 118.2 5.78 1,028 1.05 108 106.9 76.45 81.5 76 78.1 79 79.05

40.7 517 527 106 105.3 109.9 118.2 5.85 1,028 1.07 108 106.9 76.45 81.5 76.5 78.1 79 79.05

40.4 516 527 106 105.3 109.8 118.2 5.78 1,028 1.05 108 106.8 75.5 81.5 75.85 78.1 79 79.05

PREFERRED 40.7 83,500 516 1,020 527 1,420 106 6,120 105.3 30 109.9 360 118.2 10 5.78 5,600 1,028 595 1.05 46,000 108 50 106.8 170 75.5 1,060 81.5 20 75.85 12,290 78.1 15,600 79 63,100 79.05 6,780

3,397,865 526,420 748,340 648,720 3,159 39,529 1,182 32,718 611,660 48,760 5,400 18,159 80,657 1,630 938,906.50 1,218,360 4,984,900 535,959

3,333,225 -32,140 -

LR WARRANT

2.6

2.68

2.53

WARRANTS 2.59 128,000

333,590

-

1,252,470 453,400 4,929,850

29,940

682,200

37,620

353,040

-

MS

PROPERTY 5.14 1.2 8 2.4 1.07 45.05 3.82 5.04 5.31 0.51 1.34 1.53 0.235 0.49 42 0.69 0.15 2.15 1.56 0.94 5.2 0.37

474,700 8,448,000 1,100 711,000 3,896,000 9,421,500 842,000 1,553,600 546,200 8,978,000 428,000 22,000 13,680,000 380,000 582,100 350,000 50,000 60,069,000 9,398,000 2,978,000 95,912,800 128,930,000

ITALPINAS PHILAB HLDG XURPAS

4.68 4.9 5.71

4.68 5 5.89

4.55 4.76 5.71

FIRST METRO ETF

125

125.5

123.6

USD DMPL A1

10.7

11

TRADING SUMMARY FINANCIAL

SHARES

14,934,568

INDUSTRIAL

81,626,224

HOLDING FIRMS

78,082,868

PROPERTY

486,923,065

SERVICES

221,966,119

MINING & OIL

429,204,666

GRAND TOTAL

1,313,956,901

10.7

4.55 4.99 5.79

SME

273,000 92,000 847,100

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 123.6 5,490 11

DDS

32,550

VALUE 1,984.20 (down) 8.74 1,158,213,249.81 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 11,336.87 (down) 21.17 1,787,070,266.53 HOLDING FIRMS 8,061.12 (down) 173.26 1,792,621,037.535 PROPERTY 3,923.50 (down) 67.99 SERVICES 1,707.66 (down) 33.35 2,343,923,760.00 MINING & OIL 13,956.62 (down) 295.54 1,637,393,087.562 PSEI 8,162.70 (down) 131.44 181,691,940.072 All Shares Index 4,828.21 (down) 58.27 8,908,240,206.11 Gainers: 69; Losers: 121; Unchanged: 54; Total: 244

again optimistic that Trump can push through the market-friendly policies that helped drive a global rally at the start of the year.

“We are not overly concerned about [tighening]”, Merrill Lynch and US Trust head of fixed-income strategy Matthew Diczok told Bloomberg Television.

“If you model it out, over about the next three years they’ll take out about $1.3 trillion or so. That’s only a third of what they put into the market. So it’s going to be a very slow, very gradual, very deliberate and it shouldn’t lead to any nearterm fireworks into the market at all.”

After the selling earlier this month fueled by North Korea’s nuclear test, traders returned to buying ways.

On Monday global markets ended mostly up, with the S&P 500 and Dow on Wall Street each hitting fresh highs.

“The surge was yet another testament that the reinvigoration of the Trump trades is gaining traction,” Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at AxiTrader, said.

“Recent happenings have seen Trump’s leadership change and it is clear markets are seeing that,” he added.

Japanese dealers returned from a three-day weekend Tuesday and picked up the baton, sending the Nikkei two percent higher with exporters buoyed by the dollar’s push towards 112 yen.

However, elsewhere in the region markets turned lower as traders cashed out.

With Bloomberg, AFP

Maynilad investing P102m in Pasay pipes WEST zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. said Tuesday it is spending P102 million for the laying of 1.2 kilometers of new secondary and primary pipelines in Pasay City to boost water pressure for 31,500 customers in Pasay and Parañaque.

The new 300mm to 600mm diameter primary lines run from the corner of Coastal Road and MIA Road to Ninoy Aquino Avenue in Pasay City.

Once completed by October, water pressure will increase from 7 psi (pounds per square inch) to 16 psi at Baltao, Pildera, and Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminals 1 and 2 in Pasay; and at Barangay Tambo in Parañaque.

“We continue to invest in improving the water infrastructure in the west zone because we have a commitment to sustain enhanced service levels for our customers,” Maynilad president and chief executive Ramoncito Fernandez said.

Maynilad is spending P382 million this year alone for the installation of new pipelines in Caloocan, Quezon City, Valenzuela, Las Piñas, Parañaque and Bacoor and Imus in Cavite province.

Laying new pipelines has enabled Maynilad to bring potable surface water to previously unserved and underserved areas within its concession area.

The Maynilad water distribution system is the longest ISO-certified facility of its kind in the Philippines. It stretches from North Caloocan to Cavite province and delivers over 2,000 million liters of potable water per day to over nine million people.

Business

Manila

Standard

TODAY

B3

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Toys “R” Us, amid heavy debt, files for bankruptcy

NIPPON PAINT RETIREMENT FUND. Philippine National Bank, through its Trust Banking Group, and Nippon Paint Philippines Inc. sign an agreement on August 10 in Cabuyao City, Laguna to set up a retirement benefit plan for Nippon Paint employees under the PNB Employee Enrichment Solutions program. Signing the agreement are (from left) Gerry Sebastian, Nippon Paint assistant general manager; Mark Owen Webb, Nippon Paint president; Roberto Vergara, PNB chief trust officer and Trust Banking Group head; and Joy Jasmin Santos, PNB corporate trust head.

Travellers: Soft opening of casino expansion up

By Jenniffer B. Austria TRAVELLERS International Hotel Group Inc. plans a soft opening of the third phase of expansion in Resorts World Manila to replace the damaged portion of the casino.

Travellers president Kingson Sian said the phase 3 expansion once fully built out would have 650 gaming tables and 4,000 gaming machines across 12,000 square meters of gaming space.

Sian said the phase 3 expansion would enable RWM to replace the 6,000 square meters of gaming space lost due to the robbery and arson attack on the gaming complex on June 2.

“We are rushing the phase 3 expansion of Resorts World Manila which we target to open by the first quarter of 2018. But there could be a slight chance that we will be able to soft open by late December this year,” Sian said.

“That should be enough to augment what we have lost,” he added.

Sian said the whole second

floor gaming area where the June 2 incident occurred had been closed down and would be converted as part of the mall.

Meanwhile, Sian said foot traffic at Resorts World Manila had improved significantly, with average daily visitors reaching 26,000 from 28,000 prior to the June 2 incident.

Hotel occupancy of the hotels located within the area, namely Maxim’s, Marriott and Remington, is back to the 90 percent level.

Aside from additional gaming facilities, phase 3 expansion will involve the completion of new hotels, including well-known international hotel brands Hilton, Sheraton and Maxims The new hotels will bring Resorts World Manila’s total hotel room capacity to about 2,400 keys, reinforcing its position as country’s largest integrated resort with the most diversified hotel offerings.

Travellers is also set to complete the master plan for a second casino project within Pagcor Entertainment City in Parañaque City.

ERC rejects opposition to Meralco supply deals

By Alena Mae S. Flores

T

HE Energy Regulatory Commission has dismissed the opposition filed by certain personalities against the seven controversial power supply agreements of Manila Electric Co.

The regulator in separate decisions dismissed the petitions for intervention of Romeo Junia, Fe Bait and Uriel Borja against the supply agreements of Meralco with Atimonan One Energy Inc., St. Rafael Power Generation Corp., Panay Energy Development Corp. and Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. The ERC said it denied the plea of the personalities representing cause-oriented groups to be intervenors in the case.

It also rejected the petition to dismiss the supply agreements filed by Junia for having no legal personality.

The ERC said the oppositors forwarded their petitions seven to nine months after the initial

hearing, citing that interested parties must submit at least five days prior to the initial hearing.

“The commission finds no merit in the explanation advanced by the petitioners for the belated filing of the petitions for intervention,” the regulator said.

The ERC, however, said the commission treated the petitions for intervention as oppositions.

“If you are given the status of intervenor you can present witnesses as well as cross examine the other parties’ witness. If you are treated as an oppositor, you may submit your position paper anytime during the proceedings for the commission’s consideration,” ERC spokesman Floresinda Digal said.

The ERC said in July it might come out with a decision on Meralco’s pending power supply agreements with seven generators within three months.

Meralco signed 3,551 megawatts of power supply agreements with seven power generators, capturing 81 percent of the 4,384-MW combined capacity of their power projects in April 2016.

The agreements were signed before the the implementation of the competitive selection process, or CSP, which required the distributors to hold bidding for their supply requirements, a move that drew flak from various groups.

The ERC earlier asked Meralco to submit its comments to the

concerns raised by the various groups.

The Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development, along with Sanlakas, Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, Freedom from Debt Coalition, Koalisying Pabahay ng Pilipinas and other member organizations of the Power for People (P4P) organization filed separate petitions questioning the applications.

They alleged that the agreements would have an impact on the environment and Filipinos might end up paying more for electricity.

Meralco denied the claims of “midnight contracts” with the seven power plants that would allegedly result in “costlier and dirtier energy from coal.”

PUBLIC NOTICE GOODMAN INTERNATIONAL MANPOWER, INC. New Directors`/Officers, Sept. 15, 2017

PNOC says lease deal with Petron ‘onerous’ STATE-RUN Philippine National Oil Co. has asked Petron Corp. to strike out allegedly “onerous” provisions in their lease agreements that pose a stumbling block to ongoing negotiations to renew the contracts for the bulk plant and service stations.

PNOC president and chief executive officer Reuben Lista asked Petron president and chief executive Ramon Ang to nullify the provisions that the government company considers “onerous, burdensome and disadvantageous to the government.”

A provision in the contracts states that “in case the parties fail to come to an agreement, the same terms and conditions shall apply except the initial rental rate for the renewal period... “ The lease rental covers 67 stations and 24 bulk plants around the country.

“Personally I am worried that they might not be interested because they have not responded to my two letters. We cannot renew because we feel that the provision is onerous, burdensome and disadvantageous to the government,” Lista said.

Lista wrote Ang two letters regarding PNOC’s request for the nullification of the controversial provision to allow the negotiations to start. The lease agreements will expire by end of August next year.

Alena Mae S. Flores

NEW YORK―Retailer Toys “R” Us has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a US court, the company said, amid heavy debt and a tough environment for bricks and mortar stores.

The chain which sells toys and baby products in the United States as well 38 other countries and jurisdictions joins other traditional retailers that are struggling to compete with the likes of Amazon.

The company will “restructure its outstanding debt and establish a sustainable capital structure that will enable it to invest in longterm growth and fuel its aspirations to bring play to kids everywhere and be a best friend to parents,” Toys “R” Us said in a statement late Monday.

It noted that operations outside the US and Canada, “including its approximately 255 licensed stores and joint venture partnership in Asia,” are not part of the bankruptcy proceedings.

“Together with our investors, our objective is to work with our debt holders and other creditors to restructure the $5 billion of longterm debt on our balance sheet, which will provide us with greater financial flexibility to invest in our business, continue to improve the customer experience in our physical stores and online, and strengthen our competitive position in an increasingly challenging and rapidly changing retail marketplace worldwide,” chairman and chief executive Dave Brandon said in the statement.

Various lenders including JPMorgan have agreed to infuse Toys “R” Us more than $3 billion which will “immediately improve the Company’s financial health and support its ongoing operations during the court-supervised process.” AFP

Novalyn D. Manansala - Director/President Omar Khatab - Director (MS-SEPT. 20, 2017)

ORIE NTA L MINDORO E LEC TRIC COOPE R ATIV E , INC. (O R M E C O) Simaron, Calapan Cit y INVITATION TO BID All interested bidders are invited to participate in the actual bidding for these three (3) LOTs detailed as follows: LOT - I Supply of Materials for Correction of Lines Damaged by Typhoon Nina (Recloser, Steel Poles, Wood Poles, Steel Crossarm, Spool Insulators, Steel Ground Rod, and Conductor Bares) Approved Budget Cost: Php23,000,000.00 (VAT-Inclusive) Source of Funding: Typhoon Nina Delivery Schedule: To be announced during the pre-bid proper.

AWARDING: PER LOT LOT - II Supply of Wood Poles (Australian Hardwood), Steel Poles, Pole Line Materials and Distribution Transformer with Fuse Cut-out and Arrester.

Approved Budget Cost: Php52,585,000.00 (VAT-Inclusive) Source of Funding: 5% Reinvestment Fund Delivery Schedule: To be announced during the pre-bid proper.

AWARDING: PER LOT

PH-KOREA TALKS. More collaborative initiatives are expected from the Philippines and the Republic of Korea as discussion on trade and investments progresses, with focus on strengthening bilateral cooperation on agriculture and manufacturing industries. Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez (left) and Korean Minister for Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jyun Chong shake hands on September 8, 2017 at the sidelines of the Philippine hosting of the 49th Asean Economic Ministers’ Meeting and Related Meetings in Pasay City. The two sides considered expanding cooperation on tropical fruits and meat products.

PH considered ‘most ready’ in infra building

By Julito G. Rada THE Philippines is considered the “most ready” among the 10 member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to carry out a massive infrastructure buildup due to several positive factors supporting the economy, the Finance Department said Tuesday.

Finance cited the findings made by the regional development arm of the United Nations for the Asia-Pacific region.

Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said the positive factors stressed by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific included substantial financing opportunities from the Philippines’ development partners, the government’s tax reform program and rising rev-

enue collections, and the declining debt service ratio.

He said these would all contribute to an adequate fiscal space to allow the Philippines pursue an expansionary policy.

The UNESCAP, the largest UN body serving the Asia-Pacific, recently convened in Manila its Workshop on Infrastructure Financing Strategies forum to discuss the Philippines’ infrastructure needs and different financing modes and sources.

Beltran, who represented Finance in the dialogue held at the Shangrila Hotel in Makati City, said besides the ample fiscal space, the workshop cited the country’s strong financial system, which is teeming with excess liquidity and supported by a good supervision and a rising savings rate.

The workshop found the Phil-

ippines to be among the most ready in Asean in boosting infrastructure development, Beltran said in his report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III. Beltran said UNESCAP also cited the government’s “strong project evaluation and prioritization system based on economic viability” in undertaking infra projects, and the Right-of-Way Law, or Republic Act 10752, which encourages the government and landowners to agree promptly on land transactions for infrastructure projects.

Another favorable factor cited

by UNESCAP “is the country’s Public-Private Partnership law that sets up an institution and a set of rules to implement projects in an orderly manner and a private sector that is aggressive in participating,” Beltran said.

LOT - III Supply of Service Motorcycle for Meter Readers Approved Budget Cost: Php3,920,000.00 (VAT-Inclusive) Source of Funding: 5% Reinvestment Fund

Delivery Schedule: To be announced during the pre-qualification proper.

AWARDING: PER LOT GENERAL GUIDELINES 1. Interested bidders may secure BID DOCUMENTS and obtain further INFORMATIONS from the ORMECO, Inc. Bids and Award Committee (BAC)/ Procurement Section, ORMECO, Inc., Simaron, Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro. A non-refundable fee in the amount of Php10,000.00 for LOT - I, Php15,000.00 for LOT - II, and Php5,000.00 for LOT - III and shall be collected as payment for BID DOCUMENTS. 2. Interested bidders must be accredited as supplier before joining the pre-bidding conference and accreditation will start on September 25, 2017 at 8:00am until 5:00p.m. of September 29, 2017. You can call at telephone numbers 0432882349/043-2869375 or send an email at ormeco_coop@yahoo.com.

3. PRE-BID CONFERENCE will be held at ORMECO, Inc. Board Room, Sta. Isabel, Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro at 2:00 p.m. of October 2, 2017 for LOT - I, 3:00 p.m. of October 2, 2017 for LOT - II, 2:00p.m. of October 3, 2017 for LOT - III. 4. SEALED PROPOSALS will be received at 2:00 p.m. of October 16, 2017 for LOT - I, 3:00 p.m. of October 16, 2017 for LOT - II, 2:00 p.m. of October 17, 2017 for LOT - III, immediately after which, the said proposals will be opened during the actual bidding in the presence of the attending bidders.

5. ALL BIDS must be accompanied by a BID BOND payable to ORMECO, Inc. in the form of CASH, CASHIER’S CHECK, MANAGER’S CHECK or BANK DRAFT issued by a reputable bank equivalent to TWO PERCENT (2%) of the Approved Budget Cost (ABC). No Bid Bond in the form of Surety Bond shall be accepted. The bidder with the lowest calculated bid will be considered the winning bidder.

6. The winning bidder shall issue FIVE PERCENT (5%) in the form of CASH, CASHIER’S CHECK, MANAGER’S CHECK or BANK DRAFT from a reputable bank, representing the PERFORMANCE BOND. 7. If the bidder who submitted the best offer refuses to push through with his / her proposed BID during and after the bidding, his / her Bid Bond shall be forfeited, and failure of bidding shall be declared.

8. ORMECO, Inc. reserves the right to accept or reject any Bids, declare failure of bidding and not to award the contract without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders. ORMECO, Inc. also has no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnity bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of their bids.

ORMECO, INC. (SND) MR. RONIE T. MORALES BAC CHAIRMAN (MS-SEPT. 20, 2017)

LGUs

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

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

President Rodrigo Duterte and former President Fidel V. Ramos (right) flash the peace sign with employees of the Office of the Presidential Advisor on the Peace Process, which celebrated its 24th anniversary on Sept. 14 at Malacañang Palace. Presidential Photo

QC gains land parcel donations from companies

By Rio N. Araja THE 36-member Quezon City council has passed a series of resolutions authorizing Mayor Herbert Bautista to accept property donations from different corporations.

Resolutions 7079, 7082 and 7083 authored by Councilors Alexis Herrera (District 1) and Franz Pumaren (District 3) allow Bautista to sign the deeds of donation and accept certain parcels of land in Quezon City.

City Resolution 7079-2017 declares portions of land, consisting of six alleys, 15 road lots, an open space, and three easements owned by Fern Reality Corp. located inside Fern Village in Barangay Pasong Tamo, that would be donated to the city government.

City Resolution 7082-2017 also affirms the donation of a parcel of land owned

by G.B Francisco Inc., particularly Lot 4 (open space), Road Lots 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, Lot 9 Block 8, Lot 7 Block 6, Lot 2 Block 7 situated in Doña Amparo Subdivision, Barangay Nagkaisang Nayon.

City Resolution 7083-2017 is about the donation of a road owned by Modern Trends Inc., described as Lot 5-H (Road) located at Xavierville Avenue, Loyola Heights.

The properties were transferred in accordance with the provision of Presidential Decree No. 1216, which states that all “open spaces, roads, alleys, and sidewalks in residential subdivisions are for public use and are, therefore, beyond the commerce of men.”

‘Credit Du30 for tourist growth’

By F. Pearl A. Gajunera

D

AVAO CITY—Mayor Sara Duterte has thanked her father, President Rodrigo Duterte, for boosting tourism for the city, as he became its biggest endorser even before his victory in the 2016 elections.

Since her father won the presidency over a year ago, Mayor Sara said tourist arrivals in Davao have risen, since people “want to witness the President’s ‘Exhibit A’” in governance.

The President was the city’s mayor for over two decades.

“The tourism office no longer needs to provide a huge budget on promotions for Davao City anymore.

There are an increasing number of local tourist arrivals in the city because Davao is now highlighted as a city to visit in Mind-

anao,” she said.

For last month’s Kadayawan Festival, the city recorded 185,660 local and foreign tourists who witnessed Davao’s annual fiesta. The number is 8.04 percent higher than the 171,851 tourist arrivals for last year’s Kadayawan.

City Tourism Operation Office head Regina Rosa Tecson said the 8-percent increase for the month of August itself is a huge success for the city, since Mindanao is still under martial law.

“Considering there is a Mindanao-wide martial law, the increase [of tourist arrivals] is a big success for us. Before the event, we really prayed that we can at least match the same tourist arrivals last year, but we even surpassed those numbers,” Tecson said.

Although the city is now being highlighted and has seen more tourists, Mayor Sara said Davao still faces a negative perception from foreign tourists worried about the issue of security in Mindanao.

To counter that, she said the CTOO is working on foreign promotions to showcase the safety and security programs of the city, and encourage these foreigners to visit Davao.

Meanwhile, the Interface Development Interventions has vowed to intervene in the case filed by big banana players questioning the legality of the Watershed Code, particularly on the payment of Davao City’s environmental tax at P0.25 per square meter.

IDIS executive director

IN BRIEF

Cavite, volunteers join Coastal Cleanup THE Provincial Government of Cavite and thousands of volunteers participated in the 2017 International Coastal Cleanup Day, simultaneously done in the towns of Tanza, Noveleta, Naic, Maragondon, Rosario, and Silang and the cities of General Trias, Imus, Bacoor and Cavite City last Sept. 16.

A kick-off ceremony was held at Barangay Julugan 1, Tanza, Cavite with Mayor Yuri A. Pacumio, who welcomed and thanked all the participants for supporting the cleanup drive.

Engineer Ernesto Cenizal Jr. of the Provincial Government-Environment and Natural Resources Office, on behalf of Governor Jesus Crispin Remulla, thanked the mayor, the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources officers, and all volunteers who helped clean the trash from the shorelines of the towns and cities involved.

In Noveleta town, Mayor Dino Reyes Chua and local officials led the cleanup at the shores of Barangay San Rafael III and IV. Chua also spearheaded the cleanup of rivers and debris caused by floods owing to recent Typhoon “Maring.”

In General Trias, Mayor Antonio Ferrer, Vice Mayor Morit Sison, city officials and the GenTri Cenro joined hundreds of volunteers from different companies in cleaning up the Ilang-Ilang River from Barangay Navarro up to Barangay Bacao.

Other volunteers came from members of the 129th PCGA Squadron-Asian Institute of Maritime Studies, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Philippine Coast Guard, Rotary Club of Tanza, Powertech, AIM School, different multi-purpose cooperatives in Tanza, church, municipal and provincial government employees, and other volunteer organizations.

tions who reportedly refused to pay their payment for environmental services.

Four big banana plantations are operating within the city’s Talomo-Lipadas and Panigan-Tamugan watershed area.

Golle said the big banana players have argued that the imposition of the environmental tax is excessive.

She said banana plantations not only wish to invalidate the provision on environmental tax, but to declare the Code as unconstitutional. With PNA

Negros sugar growers fear return of HFCS

Vizcaya posts growth on quarry tax collection BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya—The provincial government has dramatically increased its sand and gravel tax collection this year following its aggressive initiative to impose tax payments from private contractors.

Rhoda Moreno, provincial treasurer, said Nueva Vizcaya has collected more than P15 million in sand and gravel taxes as of August, which has already surpassed their 2017 target of P11 million.

“This is a result of our intensified and aggressive monitoring of our quarry sites in the province. This has been our focus for improvement in the past years,” she said.

To strengthen their collection, Moreno said the provincial government hired workers and deployed them at various quarry sites as checkers.

She said the sand and gravel tax is now one of the major tax generators of the province, aside from real property taxes and income from its five public hospitals.

“Out of the total budget allotted for our public hospitals, 70 percent are spent while 30 percent serves as our income,” Moreno said. Ben Moses Ebreo

Chinkie Pelino-Golle said owners of these plantations have been paying the environmental tax to the city since 2014, even as it was under protest.

Golle noted that it was only after six to seven years since the approval of the Davao City Watershed Code in 2007 that the banana plantations paid their environmental tax.

The case is against the city government, but Golle said IDIS will file a motion for intervention to support the city government against planta-

QUEZON HONOREE. Candelaria, Quezon businessman Nelson Licup [center] receives a Plaque of Appreciation from Quezon Gov. David C. Suarez (right) as a member of the Quezon Medalya ng Karangalan (Medal of Honor), as lawyer Vicente Joyas (left), chairman of the QMK selection committee, looks on. Benjie A. Antioquia

Olongapo to host Unesco Peace gab EDUCATORS, administrators and college students from different parts of the country will converge in Olongapo City from Sept. 20 to 22 for a national seminarworkshop on Values and Peace Education.

The Unesco-Asia-Pacific Network for International and Values Education (APNIEVE), in cooperation with the City of Olongapo, will lead in a series of discussions at the Ferdinand M.

Aristorenas Hall.

Endorsed by the Commission on Higher Education, the conference carries the theme “Together for Peace: Promoting Respect, Safety, and Dignity.”

Leading the panel of resource speakers is Dr. Toh Swee-Hin (S.H. Toh), professor emeritus of the University of Alberta, Canada.

A recipient of the Unesco Prize for Peace Education, Toh will share his insights

on the conference theme.

Dr. Maria Lourdes Q. Baybay, president of the UnescoAPNIEVE Philippines, will discuss the group’s role as a “Catalyst of Values and Peace Education.” Dr. Ronaldo Motilla, director of the Integrated Lifestyle, and Wellness Center (ILAW) in Miriam College, will tackle the enriching qualities of “Peace and Values Educators through Positive Health and Wellbeing.” Rex Arcadio R. San Diego II

LOCAL sugar industry stakeholders fear the revocation of a Sugar Regulatory Administration order that regulates the entry of high fructose corn syrup or HFCS in the country, if SRA board member Hermenegildo Serafica takes over as the new administrator.

Serafica is being groomed to replace Ana Rosario Paner, who has resigned as SRA chief.

Wennie Sancho, convenor of the Save the Sugar Industry Movement, and Hernane Braza, secretary-general of the National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines based in Negros Island, expressed apprehension that Serafica might lift Sugar Order No. 3 on the order of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol.

“The new [SRA] administration may become a ‘puppet’ of the Department of Agriculture, which has been tagged of favoring multinational softdrink manufacturers,” the groups said.

Piñol had locked horns with the sugar barons of Negros after the Agriculture chief allegedly lobbied in favor of Coca Cola FEMSA Philippines and Pepsi Cola to allow the en-

try of high fructose corn syrup in the country.

Piñol had proposed to retract Sugar Order 3 because big businesses were not included in the consultation process, the sugar groups said.

“There is a problem with Sugar Order No. 3 of SRA because it will regulate the importation of HFCS,” Piñol told reporters previously. “Now, Coca Cola at Pepsi Co. are appealing to me because they were not properly consulted.”

“They came to me. My recommendation to the President [Rodrigo Duterte] is for him to authorize me to hold in abeyance SO 3, pending proper consultations with the stakeholders,” the DA chief added.

Piñol even said the “rich and spoiled brat” hacienderos of Negros Occidental, who have ties with former President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, masterminded the public demonstration staged against him for siding with the softdrink manufacturers.

In her speech in Bacolod on Monday, the SRA’s Paner admitted there is “massive pressure” from other highranking officials of the government to allow the multinational companies to import the HFCS from China.

World Water Council picks Baguio City for sanitation study BAGUIO CITY—The World Water Council has selected Baguio City as one of eight cities from eight countries to conduct a study on increasing access to improved sanitation facilities.

The council, an international

and independent organization that fights for better water management across the world, hopes to identify the most appropriate financial mechanisms that could be put in place for better sanitation works, taking into consideration the host country’s

social, political and economic context.

Tom Soo, WWC executive director, said the council is convinced the results of their analysis will be extremely beneficial to develop the sanitation sector of the countries

involved in the project, and could also serve as an example to other countries.

“We believe that Baguio City would be a suitable example to develop the analysis, considering the important efforts that the local government

is making under your leadership to improve water and sanitation services to respond to the rapid urban expansion and to the benefit of the population,” Soo stated in his letter to Baguio Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan. Dexter A. See

Fashion Can Serve 2017 features designers JC Buendia, Rosenthal Tee, Vania Romoff, Mia Arcenas and Ito Curata

Life

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com

FASHION & BEAUTY

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

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FASHION CAN SERVE 2017

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What fuels the fight

HERE’S no special skill required to make a difference; all that’s needed is the burning desire to help. This desire is what brought six of the country’s illustrious fashion designers together to use their craft to help support a great cause at ICanServe Foundation’s Fashion Can Serve fashion show on Oct. 8 at Raffles Makati Hotel.

Proving that the business of fashion is beyond just glam and glitter, six designers at the top of their game—JC Buendia, Ito Curata, Cary Santiago, Vania Romoff, Mia Arcenas, and Rosenthal Tee—together with their celebrity muses and models, will showcase their creative vision and use their Holiday 2017 collections to send this year’s message of hope and raise support for ICanServe Foundation and its advocacy of Awareness and Early Detection of Breast Cancer.

Slated during the Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it returns with a powerful new message for 2017: “WhyWeFight.”

“Last year’s show had the theme We Don’t Walk Alone, and the muses walked with a family member or friend who accompanied them on their journey battling the cancer,” explains ICanServe Foundation Chairwoman Libet Virata. She adds, “Our theme this year is ‘WhyWeFight’ and our muses will include mother and her young child, or grandmothers and grandchild. That’s how the show differs from last year’s.

We also have some supporters who walk in honor of a family member or friend who passed away.”

“Our theme emphasizes the reason why persons diagnosed with breast cancer choose to fight: They do this for their spouses, children, and grandchildren,” says ICanServe Foundation President Tang Singson.

More than your typical fashion show, Fashion Can Serve aims to deliver a special message of hope with the help of the designers, models, and their muses. “There is life during and after cancer. The mere fact you have breast cancer survivors walking down the ramp is showcasing hope and life in motion!” stresses Kara Alikpala, ICanServe Foundation founder. “Some of the organizers and women in the audience are also cancer survivors brimming with hope and rallying for fellow survivors. The designers on their own spread awareness and information so patients know how to navigate their healing journey.”

Maureen Wroblewitz, the first

STRENGTH AND FEMININITY. The muses and models wearing the creations of Fashion Can Serve 2017’s featured designers (from left) Lia Andres Ramos-Moss wearing JC Buendia, Katarina Rodriguez in Rosenthal Tee’s gown, Amanda Florentino wearing Vania Romoff, Mariel De Leon in Ito Curata’s creation, and Fatima Rabago wearing Mia Arcenas.

Filipina to win Asia’s Next Top Model, is the face of Fashion Can Serve 2017.

Her mother, a former ICanServe volunteer, succumbed to breast cancer, and it’s in her memory that Maureen is supporting the foundation.

This October, survivors and supporters alike will lend their time to grace this year’s runway; this year’s muses include Margie Moran Floirendo, Gloria Diaz, Solenn Heusaff, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Katarina Rodriguez, Tootsy Angara, WynnWynn Ong, Techie Velasquez, Mila Camus, Sandy Moran, Sabrina Panlilio, and co-founder Crisann Celdran, among many others.

Finding inspiration close to home

With the Philippines having the highest incidence of breast cancer in Southeast Asia and being among the top 10 in the world, the advocacy behind Fashion Can Serve is something every Filipino should care about. “Our show highlights that breast cancer does not equate

to a death sentence—it is curable, most especially if caught at an early stage,” Virata points out.

All six designers have the heart for the cause, and the message the event hopes to convey especially resonates with some of them who have loved ones touched by the disease.

Cebuano style visionary Santiago says, “I am joining this show since cancer survivors are so close to my heart. I have a sister who is a cancer survivor. It gives me great joy lending my time and dresses to this worthy cause.”

“The reason I joined Fashion Can Serve this year is, my main assistant is actually a survivor of breast cancer.

We only found out she had breast cancer late last year; it was already Stage 3,” shares Tee. “Luckily we were able to find her the help to do chemotherapy and have the breast removed, and now she’s recuperating well so far. It hits so close to home because she’s someone I encounter everyday and she’s like family.”

“I know of a few women who have been affected or have had loved ones affected by breast cancer. It’s something that needs to be fought and this is my way of helping support the fight against it,” declares Romoff.

Collections that celebrate strength

The designers will draw inspiration from the courageous and triumphant journeys of breast cancer survivors and will interpret these in their creations, all while showcasing their respective aesthetic.

“I want to convey happiness in my collection because I’ve learned over the years of making clothes for breast cancer survivors that the secret to battling cancer involves inviting positive vibes and being just happy,” shares celebrated fashion designer Buendia, who marks 30 years in the industry this year. “Of course, I’ll be using the color pink, and I’m thinking of using cherry blossoms and peonies as design elements,” he continues.

Meanwhile, Santiago’s collection this year will feature “all muted colors, still and classic.” The designer, who’s the go-to couturier of celebrities and powerful women, describes his collection for Fashion Can Serve as “a celebration of a woman’s fluidity and femininity.”

One of today’s most in-demand young designers, known for her romantic and feminine pieces, Romoff will likewise use feminine lines and silhouettes in her collection to reflect the strength of a woman. “I wish for my clothes to convey strength seen through a woman’s beautiful figure,” she expresses.

Strength is also the central message in the youthful Arcenas’ collection, especially since “a lot of my mom’s friends and some people in the family, like my dad’s cousins, have gone through that, and they’re fortunate to be survivors.

It’s such a strong cause to support,” she relates. “Because of the cause we are supporting, I want [my collection for the show] to convey the two aspects of Turn to C2

Rosbert Villar’s ‘Ramona’ features a different take on androgyny and Hollywood glamour The top 10 participants during the fashion show were selected and will be given the opportunity to showcase their creations at the upcoming season of Manila Fashion Festival. These include Tajah Jireh Fuentes, Imma Colarina, Patricia Gavan, Miuccia Olivares, Rosbert Villar, Vairo Velasco, Andrea Suarez, Kelvin Morales, Macy Blasino, and HA.MU’s Abraham Guardian and Mamuro Oki

Young designers take center stage at SM Aura Premier THE graduating students of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde’s Fashion Design and Merchandising Program gave mallgoers a glimpse of fashion’s bright future in Sinulid: The Connotations of Design, an exhibition and show held recently at SM Aura Premier.

The fashion show at SM Aura Premier’s Samsung Hall featured the creations of the students in the

Fashion Design group, who worked closely with guest mentor Anat Heifetz and Jerome Lorico.

Meanwhile, design critic sessions brought in designers Dennis Lustico, Ivarluski Aseron, Barge Ramos, and photographer Johann Bona.

The students were inspired by topics including movies, countries, literature, art and various personal experiences. They were able to express their own design identity as they explored traditional textile design practices like dyeing, printing, and knitting. Non-traditional methods included digital design, alternative surface treatments, media, and technologies.

After the runway show, participants were surprised when it was announced that the Top 10 participants selected by a distinguished board of

judges have a chance to showcase their creations at the upcoming season of Manila Fashion Festival.

The judges included designers Albert Andrada, Rajo Laurel, Dennis Lustico, Ivar Aseron, Barge Ramos, and CJ Cruz, as well as Irene Araneta, Saga’s Robby Carmona, and Hinge’s Bea Ledesma.

De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde School of Design and the Arts Dean Emeritus Joey Yupangco, Associate Dean Cynthia Funk and mentor Heifetz also joined in the selection.

Fashion Design and Merchandising Program’s Chairperson Lulu Tan-Gan, who spearheaded the event, said that through this program, “We aim to raise a generation of Filipino designers with individuality and Filipino sensibility.”

Life

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 isahred@gmail.com

Hannah Kong

launches an all-new wedding collection T

HE young fashion designer Hannah Kong made her debut recently in the wedding industry at Marry Me at Marriott with a glimpse of her promising career as a master craftsman in the lost art of embroidery and beadwork. Fresh to the industry, Hannah established her atelier in 2015, where brides-to-be have sought her touch on their weddings dresses.

Hannah studied couture embroidery at Ecole meticulous aesthetic of beadwork evident in her Lesage, a specialized fashion school in Paris, wedding collection. “I tried, as much as posFrance. She has since acquired expertise in the sible, to showcase what I could do in terms of

Hannah Kong (in black) is flanked by her muses (from left) Janna Simpao, Maricar Reyes-Poon, Hidilyn Diaz, Tricia Gosingtian-Gabunada, Maris Racal, and Maika Rivera during her presentation at ‘Marry Me at Marriott’

Kong with her bride-muses (from left) Hidilyn Diaz, Tricia Gosingtian-Gabunada, Maris Racal, Marika Rivera, Janna Simpao, and Maricar Reyes-Poon

handcraft,” she says revealing that the Marry Me at Marriott show challenged her team with a three-week lead time.

In the Philippines, Hannah acknowledges that the conventional thinking towards beadwork has been limited to heavy, dated dresses dominated by crystals and pearls. “I wanted to show that you can do so much more,” she shares, “The craft of using your hands is a dying craft, doing those types of embroidery and beadwork from scratch. Whenever someone asks me and I talk about embroidery, I always say that it’s like you’re painting but you’re only using threads, that’s the only difference from a painter that uses watercolor.”

Hannah’s canvasses at Marry Me at Marriott included an entourage of bride-muses: Maricar Reyes-Poon, Hidilyn Diaz, Tricia Gosingtian-Gabunada, Janna Simpao, Maris Racal, and Maika Rivera. Poon-Reyes, celebrity, and friend to the Kong family, wore a fully beaded dress that Hannah had initially wanted for her own wedding gown in 2018. “I was just so excited to use the beadwork that I thought, I can just use something else [for myself,]” gushes Hannah, “Maricar’s hair was so edgy that I really wanted something classic for her.”

Hannah met Diaz at one of her father’s talks, where she struck a friendship that resulted in a quintessential silhouette that the 2016 Olympic weightlifting medalist elegantly carried down the expansive runway at Marriott.

“For Tricia, I made a dress that only she could pull off, with those sleeves,” says Hannah of the fashion blogging celebrity, who is also an old friend. Her churchmate, Janna Simpao of Bride & Breakfast fame, also lent her personal style to Hannah’s decision in designing an ephemeral loose gown. Hannah said Simpao is among the wedding industry professionals that continues to push her to get her work out. The young actresses, Racal and Rivera, for their parts, wore youthful cuts.

Rivera, in particular, caught the Marriott Grand Ballroom’s eye with a feminine handpainted piece.

“I feel that my brides may not be super girly, but they want something classic, timeless, and elegant,” says Hannah. Some of them are edgy but, of course, I tell them it has to be a bridal dress.

Ten years from now, when they look back, I want to give them something they don’t have to explain was the trend. My brides are more timeless and they really appreciate the finer details.”

VA N I T Y C O R N ER

Coach introduces ‘Bandit’ —the ideal versatile bag PRE-FALL 2017 introduces the ‘Bandit’, a slouchy and no-frills style hobo.

This versatile silhouette is two bags in one, featuring a detachable interior compartment that can be used on its own either as a shoulder bag or a clutch.

Soft and spacious, the ‘Bandit’ is crafted in buttery pebble leather. It has minimal hardware to highlight the natural drape of the leather, with contrasting lining that adds a bold and textural touch.

Select versions of the interior pouch feature a sweet floral print. It’s the ideal bag for every day (and when you’re on the go).

Creative Director Stuart

Vevers comments, “In designing the ‘Bandit’ I wanted a bag with no hardware that was all about a beautiful piece of leather and just felt amazing. It’s a bag that feels very Coach to me, with a purity that comes from being simply constructed.”

The pebble leather Bandit retails for $695 and comes in six colors. Colorblock and suede styles will also be available.

The Bandit launches in select Coach stores and online at Coach.com.

In the Philippines, COACH is exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists, Inc., and is located at Rustan’s Shangri-La.

COACH bags are simply constructed

SKIN CARE REGIMEN ESSENTIALS Skin care regimen varies from one person to another— some keep it simple with basic cleanse-tone-moisturize, while others follow a multiple step routine.

Ever Bilena Advance offers two of the essentials in a skin care regimen: White Purity Cleanser and White Purity Lightening Toner.

The cleanser range comes in three variants each addressing specific skin concern. The Lightening Milk Cleanser is a lightweight, cream-based cleanser that removes impurities on the skin without stripping off moisture; the White Radiance Dual Phase Cleanser, on

the other hand, has vitamin B3 that lightens and moisturizes the skin, while effectively removing makeup and deep-seated dirt; and the pore-tightening Acne Solution Dual Phase Cleanser has Salicylic Acid that helps fight acne.

Follow up the cleanser with Ever Bilena Advance White Purity Lightening Toner whose vitamin B3 ingredient helps lighten and moisturize the skin, remove impurities, and clarify complexion.

These products are available at leading drugstores, beauty stores, and supermarkets nationwide.

GET THAT NATURAL GLOW

Slouchy and no-frills style boho

Coach Runway Colorblock style

Fashion Can...

From C1

fluences,” she reveals.

“I hope the audience will have an open mind and appreciate the works of all designers, since we all have distinct aesthetics. I know it will be a good show,” renowned designer Ito Curata asserts.

Beyond the beautiful clothes, the real highlight of the show is always seeing a cancer survivor walk down the fashion ramp, hearing the audience cheer for her, and seeing the survivor smiling proud and looking triumphant.

Since it began in 1999, ICanServe Foundation has made great progress in spreading awareness, but indeed, there’s more to be done. This year, Fashion Can Serve could not do without their partners for this endeavour.

a woman: the soft side and femininity, and also the fact that she’s strong and she can take care of herself, even with a disease like breast cancer.”

Another young designer making waves in the industry, Tee, who has already done a show for New York Fashion Week within two years of getting into the business of fashion, hopes to contribute to the cause with her holiday collection. She says it will definitely showcase her aesthetic that brims with “flirtatiousness and youthfulness, which fuses together different cultures.

I’m going to play with Eastern Asian in-

Flaunt your au naturel glow with the help of versatile makeup products that enhance your features.

Start off by acing your base. Conceal skin imperfections and keep oil at bay for a few hours with a dust of Human Nature Perfect Finish Mineral Loose Powder.

This lightweight powder offers medium coverage, and comes in three neutral shades: Soft Ivory (light), Hazelnut (fair), and Warm Mocha (medium).

Add subtle definition by lightly dusting Human Nature Mineral Matte Bronzer on your forehead, hollows of your cheeks, and along your jawline. Aside from giving you a sun-kissed glow, this bronzer helps control shine thanks to its mattifying kaolin clay.

Highlight your peepers with Human Nature Perfect Eyes Mineral Eyeshadow in Sunset Bloom or Earthy Beauty.

Prep your lips with Human Nature Sunflower Lip Miracle whose blend of sunflower oil, beeswax, and castor oil helps restore the suppleness of your lips.

Finally, get that blooming flush by applying Human Nature Perfect Flush Cream Tint on the apples of your cheeks. You The complete Human Nature makeup line is exclusively can also use it on your lips to give them a pop of color. Choose from Petal (peach), Rosy (pink), and Hibiscus (berry) shades. available in all Human Nature branches.

PINK MAGIC What if you could get a pink shade for your lips that’s unique to you?

Swipe EB Evera Magic Lipstick on your lips to get a shade of pink based on your skin’s pH level. It’s infused with moisturizers and comes in fruity scents such as Apple, Grapes, Lemon, Orange, Strawberry, and Watermelon.

This color-changing lipstick is available at leading drugstores, beauty stores, and supermarkets nationwide.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

J

UST like her “Golden Buzzer” performance during the “Judge Cuts” episode of America’s Got Talent in July, 10-year-old singer Angelica Hale is definitely on fire when she got enough votes to advance into the grand finals of the hit reality singing show.

If she wins tomorrow (Sept. 20 in the US), Angelica will be the youngest grand winner of AGT and the seventh singer to walk home with the coveted prize. Last year’s winner was singersongwriter Grace VanderWaal, 12, and the first season winner was singer Bianca Ryan, who was only 11 when she won.

Last week, approximately 11.59 million viewers watched the live semifinals result night when the young Filipino American singer was announced part of the final round of the competition. Angelica is the youngest in the top 10 competing against five other singers, a dog act, a stand-up comedian, and two dance groups for a chance to bring home $1 million.

In the semifinal round, the young powerhouse singer blew the judges away as she stood confidently on the stage and flawlessly sang Usher and David Guetta’s 2011 chart-topper, “Without You.” Nailing every single note, Angelica shone like a star against the huge sparkling backdrop.

“You deserve to be there next week, you really do,” judge Howie Mandel said while praising the performance. “Another wow moment, for years, and that range, and the control you have with that voice. You made tonight tougher than it could ever be. What a great closing to our show.”

Angelica has impressed the judges since her auditions for the show in June. During her first appearance, the then nine-year-old belted out the emotional lyrics of Andra Day’s “Rise Up.” The Atlanta, Georgia native, who said she wanted to be the next Whitney Houston, showed a vocal range and talent far beyond her age that simply stunned everyone in the room.

“This shouldn’t happen. You’re tiny. Your voice

Angelica

Kapuso awards 2 outstanding graduates

HALE

is on fire

Fil-Am singer Angelica Hale stands confidently on the AGT stage during show's semifinal round

The 10-year-old Atlanta, Georgia native presents herself before the judges during the audition

is huge,” Simon Cowell told the young singer after her performance. “You are absolutely brilliant. I predict that all of your dreams are going to come true.”

The video of Angelica’s audition immediately went viral, with over two million views garnered on America’s Got Talent’s YouTube channel less than 24 hours after the show’s broadcast. As of this writing, the video has been viewed more than eight million times and the full audition already has more than 21 million views.

As the momentum continued for the talented young singer in the show’s 12th season, she received the “Golden Buzzer” from guest judge and comedian Chris Hardwick after singing Alicia Keys’s “Girl on Fire.” For the second time, she concluded her performance with a well-deserved standing ovation from the crowd and the judges.

Meanwhile, Angelica’s spot in America’s Got Talent revealed a touching backstory. Prior to Angelica’s audition, her parents opened up to Tyra Banks, the show’s presenter, how they never thought she would be on the AGT stage, as she needed a life-saving kidney transplant when she was only four years old. In 2013, Angelica was on life support. It was only until discovering that her Filipina mother, Eva Bolando, was a match and the two went into surgery for a transplant.

Since her recovery, Angelica has been touring around the US through her participation in fundraisers to help young patients in children’s hospitals.

How ABS-CBN TVplus strengthens Kapamilya bonding ABS-CBN TVplus is not just for enjoying exclusive channels like CineMo and Yey, but is also for family bonding while watching movies on KBO (Kapamilya Box Office).

This experience is available to the 3.3 million owners of the ‘mahiwagang black box.’ This is just another innovation that the country’s pioneering digital terrestrial television brings to Filipino families today.

“We’re giving our Kapamilya fans a chance to strengthen family bonding on weekends as they watch and enjoy movies together on the Kapamilya Box Office (KBO). It includes blockbusters, new releases from Star Cinema, MYX, and catch up of your favorite Kapamilya teleserye,” ABS-CBN head for digital terrestrial television Chinky Alcedo said.

“Additionally, KBO also gives them access to calls, texts, and mobile data for internet through ABS-CBN mobile, so the family can

ABS-CBN TVplus is enjoyed by more than 3.3 million Filipinos across the country

stay connected,” She added.

When families register to KBO 30, they can enjoy several movies, call, text, and surf the Internet via ABS-CBNmobile. If they register to Super KBO 99, they get premium movies that are fresh from the cinemas that are bundled with ABS-CBNmobile’s trinet and mobile data.

“Kapamilya moms want the best value for their families, so the opportunity to enjoy movies at home, plus access to ABS-

CBNmobile services offers a complete bonding experience,” Chinky explained.

Since KBO’s launch in 2016, families with ABS-TVplus have more enriching times at home.

Among those who registered to KBO is 23-year-old Pamela Estupigan, a grade school teacher who lives in Manila.

Pamela, her mom, and her sisters have enjoyed watching movies at home via ABS-CBN TVplus’ KBO like Four Sisters and a

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Wednesday, September 20, 2017

ACROSS 1 Pond dweller 5 Doctor 10 Petty quarrel 14 Proposal 15 Curly-tailed dog 16 Water, in Baja 17 Swindle 18 Bitterness 20 Make a choice 22 Finders’ fees 23 Timidly 26 RSVP word 27 Actor Willem — 30 Charged particle 32 Sherpa’s country 36 Matty of the diamond 37 Hair goo 39 Famous Khan 40 Bring up 42 Nestled 44 Baseball’s Mel — 45 Do a slow burn 47 Glassmaker — Lalique 48 Type of spray 50 Mr. Tolstoy 51 Surfer slang 52 Alert color 54 Out of kilter 56 Glide lightly 60 Type of cracker 64 Not daunted 67 Pinch

68 Congers 69 “Lohengrin” or “Tosca” 70 Now, to Caesar 71 Bug repellent 72 Blunt 73 Like slate DOWN 1 Robins’ beaks 2 Actress — Adams 3 Healthy 4 Dates (2 wds.)

5 Singer — Robbins 6 Barely make it 7 Negative prefix 8 Cato’s road 9 Hollow stems 10 Nogales nosh 11 Disney CEO Bob — 12 Endow 13 Oily substances 19 Coiled about 21 Ernesto Guevara 24 Big name in trains 25 — Kippur 27 Writer — Runyon 28 Prince Val’s wife 29 Printer’s assortments 31 Tortilla snacks

33 Grew ashen 34 Old satellite launcher 35 Put cargo on board 37 “The Gold-Bug” author 38 Unpaid 41 Small land masses 43 Nodding off 46 Iced drink 49 Portrait painter 51 Psst!

53 Audition tapes

55 Early camera 56 Went to court 57 Trouser part 58 Out of work 59 Entranced 61 Travel 62 Active volcano 63 Spicy 65 Stadium cheer 66 Make a wrong move

Wedding and John Lloyd-Bea movies, among others.

“I watch KBO with my whole family. It is always a good bonding experience for us because we get to spend more quality time together at home,” said Pamela.

Pamela also looks forward to watching latest Star Cinema movies on KBO with her family and shares that the service also encourages her to avoid patronizing pirated content.

GMA Network recently honored two exemplary student achievers as the 2017 GMA Network Excellence Award (GNEA) concluded its nationwide search for outstanding graduates of communication and technology-based courses.

Lorraine Mitzi Ambrad (communication category) and Rangel De Guzman Daroya (technology-based category) were hailed as the GMA Network Excellence Awardees for 2017.

The awarding ceremony recently held at the GMA Network Center. GMA Network Chairman and CEO Atty. Felipe L. Gozon was there to present them with their prizes; each received P50,000, a plaque, and a certificate.

Ambrad graduated magna cum laude at University of San Jose-Recoletos Cebu with a Bachelor of Arts degree major in Communication, while Daroya earned her BS Electronics and Communications Engineering at the UP Diliman with a summa cum laude honor.

GMA Network Chairman and CEO Atty. Felipe L. Gozon (center) with 2017 GMA Network Excellence Awardees Rangel De Guzman Daroya (left) and Lorraine Mitzi Ambrad (right).

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com

P

RIMETIME viewing gets more intense as award-winning actress Angel Locsin joined the cast of ABS-CBN’s hit fantasy action drama La Luna Sangre as the mysterious Jacintha Magsaysay.

Angel Locsin returns to "La Luna Sangre" playing yet another pivotal role

THIS festival’s name is familiar to K-Pop fans in the country as it was first held last September 2013 with iconic acts such as SHINee, EXO-K, and Dal Shabet as part of the lineup. K-POP Republic is finally returning this 2017, bigger and better, an event K-POP fans all over should definitely look forward to.

K-POP Republic 2 is happening on Oct.28 at the Circuit Event Grounds. Not only will fans get to see their favorite groups perform live - there will be various activities and games that fans can get to participate in. Yes, that’s 1 day of K-Pop festivities for everyone.

Kicking off this year’s K-Rep2 lineup are two of the hottest groups in the K-Pop scene today NCT127, Cosmic Girls (WJSN), G-Friend and N.Flying. More exciting things are yet to be announced so make sure to stay tuned.

NCT127 is a K-Pop group under SM Entertainment. The name stands for “Neo Culture Technology” and the 127 in the group’s name represents the longitude coordinates of Seoul.

The group is composed of Taeil, Taeyong, Yuta, Jaehyun, WinWin, Mark and Haechan.

The group popularized the hits - “Fire Truck,” “Limitless,” and “Cherry Bomb.” Fans can expect a powerful performance from the group during K-POP Republic 2.

Cosmic Girls also known

Sandrino (Richard Gutierrez) wants Jacintha, the campaign strategist, on board his team to make sure he wins the presidency.

“Jacintha is a very mysterious person.

She used to live abroad and became popular after she helped a presidential candidate who got involved in a big scandal. She is really good at what she does. Sandrino looked for her so she can help him become the next president of the Philippines,” said Locsin.

Star Creatives’ Henry Quitain added, “Compared to Lia, Jacintha is a human being.

If we watch closely, we can see her sophistication while she speaks and she is affluent. She can keep up with anybody and she speaks her mind.”

Netizens warmly

received Angel’s surprise entry that effortlessly trended online. Lead star Kathryn Bernardo was also among the many people excited for Angel’s new character.

“I didn’t have the chance to tell Kathryn earlier since it was a secret. I didn’t know who else knew about my character. However, before the episode aired last night, I already texted her and said ‘Kath, I’ll see you soon.’

The she replied with so many emoticons so I think she’s just as happy as I am,” Angel shared.

What role will Jacintha play in the lives of Tristan, Malia, and Sandrino? How will she shake things up in the hit primetime series?

La Luna Sangre airs weeknights after FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano on ABS-CBN and on ABS-CBN HD (SkyCable ch 167). Catch up on the show’s past episodes via iWant TV or skyondemand.com.ph for Sky subscribers.

For more updates, follow @starcreatives on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

K-POP REPUBLIC 2

Beyond the usual K-Pop concert South Korean rap rock band N.Flying

The Seoul-based boy group Neo Culture Technology a.k.a. NCT 127

Cosmic Girls is a newly-formed girl group composed of Chinese and South Korean members

as WJSN (woo-ju-seo-nyeo) is a K-Pop group composed of Korean and Chinese members.

The group is managed under Starship Entertaiment and Yue Hua Entertainment. The group is

popularly known for their singles such as “Mo Mo Mo”, “Catch Me”, “Secret”, “I Wish” and their latest single “Happy.” Make sure to look out for these energetic and sweet girls only on K-POP

K-Pop girl group and hits chart regular G-Friend

Republic 2.

G-Friend, which actually stands for “Girlfriend” (Yeoja Chingu) is a K-Pop group quite known for their addictive songs and dance steps. They are under Source

Music and is composed of Sowon, Yerin, Eunha, Yuju, SinB, and Umji. The group is known for their catchy tunes, which had the group win various awards since their debut in 2015. G-Friend’s hits

include “Glass Bead”, “Rough”, “Me Gustas Tu”, “Navillera”, “Fingertip” and their latest single “Love Whisper”. Get ready to fall in love with these lovely ladies only on K-Pop Republic 2.

N.Flying is a South Korean rap rock band formed in 2013

by FNC Entertainment, home to known artists F.T. Island, C.N.Blue, and A.O.A. The band consists of Kwon Kwang-jin (bass, rap), Lee Seung-hyub (rhythm guitar, vocal, rap), Cha Hun (lead guitar, vocal), Kim Jae-hyun (drums) and newly added member Yoo Hwe-seung (vocal), who’s known to have joined the popular boy group survival reality show Produce 101 Season 2.

Ticket prices for K-Pop Republic 2 are the following: SVIP Standing and Seated P10,000.00, VIP - P6,500.00, Gold - P3,500.00 and Silver -P2,000.00, available at SM Tickets and Ticketnet, online and outlets.

For provincial and international fans, you may also purchase your tickets through the following links from All Access Productions.

International Form: https:// tinyurl.com/InternationalOrderForm Provincial Form: https:// tinyurl.com/ProvincialOrderForm K-Pop Republic 2 is brought to you by HM Entertainment and All Access Production together with TV Daily, Sports Today and LUMOS E&M.

PR Congress 2017 Inspires Practitioners to ‘Ignite, Collide and Unite’ COLLABORATING to advance and prosper, the 2017 Public Relations (PR) Congress recently unveiled this year’s theme that aims to strengthen the role of PR through three key pillars: Ignite, Collide, and Unite. The much-awaited biggest PR event this year is happening from Sept. 28 to 29 at Shangri-La The Fort in BGC. Aptly themed, “The Boardroom: Ignite, Collide and Unite,” the 2017 PR Congress aspires to “Ignite” the role of communicators in protecting and strengthening brands; to “Collide” different perspectives in establishing the importance of research,

benchmarking, and next practice sharing; and “Unite” a community of leaders and value-creators to promote synergy, harmony, and innovation.

“With this year’s PR Congress, we are pushing for an industry that stays relevant and ever evolving. But the question remains, ‘how do we take public relations to the next level in the face of diversity and emerging technology? What can we do to learn from other PR experts so we can raise the bar of our own practice?’ We want answers to these questions. And through an interactive, experiential PR Congress this year, we know we will be able to

respond to these needs,” announces 2017 PR Congress chair Chito Maniago.

For this year, the PR Congress boasts of four powerful plenary sessions and 10 learning modules facilitated and conducted by over fifty thought leaders from the industry. Among the well-respected leaders joining this year’s roster of speakers are Howie Severino of GMA Network, Tina Dumlao of Inquirer, Randy Estrellado of Maynilad, Francis Flores of Jollibee, Carlo Ople of PLDT, Nina Terol of McCann Philippines, Ramon Isberto of SMART, Atty. Gina Eala of

CEMEX, Blen Fernando of Alaska, Joe Zaldarriaga of MERALCO and PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar.

This year’s keynote will be given

by Charles Lankester, multiawarded PR guru and EVP for Global Reputation & Risk Management of Ruder Finn Asia.

Held annually, the Public Relations Congress is the premier gathering of PR professionals hosted by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP).

This year, the Congress opens its doors to leaders from other fields and sectors such as marketing, human resources,

government institutions, micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), among others.

“This is one of the most ambitious PR events we have organized to date, our end goal is to advance the importance of communication synergy and foster an environment of collaboration and learning,” Maniago added.

For more information on the 2017 PR Congress and to REGISTER online, visit www.theboardroom2017.com or email the PR Congress Secretariat atprsptheboardroom2017@gmail. com.