Manila Standard - 2017 October 31 - Tuesday

VOL. XXXI • NO. 259 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2017 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net

SC: Comelec to pay cost of Marcos protest

By Rey E. Requejo and Vito Barcelo

ABE GREETS DUTERTE. President Rodrigo Duterte (left) is welcomed Monday by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the latter’s official residence in Tokyo. Duterte is the first country official that met with Abe after the latter won a snap election. Duterte is set to hold talks with Abe in Tokyo, with the North Korean nuclear crisis expected to be high on the agenda. AFP

Nato chief tags NoKor reckless, ‘global threat’ TOKYO—The chief of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Jens Stoltenberg called North Korea a “global threat” Monday and said he backed tighter sanctions against it during a visit to Japan, which has been targeted by Pyongyang’s provocations.

Stoltenberg is in Tokyo to

meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other senior officials including Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera later in the day.

“We are as concerned as you are about the provocative, reckless behavior from North Korea,” he said in a speech to a group of security Next page

Sereno fears one-sided impeachment hearings A SPOKESPERSON for Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno said Monday the impeachment proceedings against her in the House would be one-sided if her lawyers are not allowed to cross-examine witnesses against her in hearings of the committee on justice.

“What will happen is that the determination of probable cause will become onesided, and in our view, neither the public nor the members of the committee will be able to get the full picture,” lawyer Josa Deinla, a spokesperson for the chief Next page

THE Supreme Court, acting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, denied the appeal of the Commission on Elections to compel the camp of former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos to shoulder the accumulated storage fees used for the ballot boxes and other election materials abroad.

In a resolution released on Monday, the PET directed the Comelec to shoulder the accumulated storage fees used for the ballot boxes and other election materials abroad because they could not ship back to the country the election materials following the Precautionary Protective Order issued by the tribunal Next page

Japan vows $15b in new aid—Du30

By John Paolo Bencito

J

APAN has committed more than $6 billion in fresh investments to the Philippines, on top of the 1 trillion yen (about P433 billion or $9 billion) aid package for the next five years in support of the country’s economic and infrastructure development as President Rodrigo Duterte began his second visit to Tokyo Monday.

Duterte, who met with Minister Shinzo Abe, unreelected Japanese Prime derscored the “golden age

of strategic partnership” between Manila and Tokyo.

“Our commitment and resolve show the desire to further expand cooperative ties.

I therefore say that considering what we have achieved, the Philippines and Japan are building a golden age of strategic partnership,” Duterte said in his joint press statement with Abe in Tokyo.

“It is a commitment founded on democratic values we hold dear. It’s a resolve that has stood the test of time. Working together,

we shall have much to show and be proud of in the years to come,” he added.

Duterte said he was pleased with Japan’s commitment to help the Philippines to the tune of 1 trillion yen.

“Fresh 1-trillion yen or close to $9-billion assistance to the Philippines.”

“This covers huge impact and high value infrastructure projects that my country needs to sustain and spur our economic growth,” he said.

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Bato’s pay hike vow good sound bite—Ping PHILIPPINE National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa vowed Monday to raise the salaries of police retirees after some of them complained about being left out of a planned pay hike next year, adding he would quadruple this if he became president.

Dela Rosa, set to retire in January 2018, said police officers 1 were given priority ROAD NETWORK. The Department of Public Works and Highways has completed the construction of an additional 1.3 kilometers ro expand the length of the newly paved Laguna Lake Highway to 4.5 kilometers. Among those in the picture showing the Duterte signature fist gesture are Public Works Secretary Mark Villar, Transportation Secretary Arturo Tugade and Foreign Secretary Alan Cayetano.

Duterte sees trouble in Moro draft delay

By F. Pearl A. Gajunera

proval of the Bangsamoro Basic Law may spell out trouble.

DAVAO CITY—President “Yes, we continue to talk Rodrigo Duterte warns leg- [about BBL] and I hope that islators a delay in the ap- Congress would expedite its

approval,” he said.

“If we do not act on it expeditiously, I think that we are headed for trouble. We must continue to talk and I will

heightened alert its officers in all airports and seaports to thwart any attempts by THE Bureau of Immigra- terrorists and illegal aliens tion on Monday placed on to enter the country dur-

By Vito Barcelo and Joel E. Zurbano

twitter.com/ MlaStandard

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facebook.com/ ManilaStandardPH

S

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By F. Pearl A. Gajunera

ing All Saints’ Day and in preparation for the coming Asean Summit meetings in mid-November.

Immigration raises terror alert in all ports

the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to submit actual numbers to validate the claim of the Department of Budget and Management that at least P5 trillion was needed to fund the increase.

Responding to one of his followers who clarified if he really meant trillion, Lacson

INCOMING Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Monday warned administration critics they risked being hit by hollow blocks if they would throw stones at President Rodrigo Duterte.

“I am giving notice to these ingrates who are out to vilify the President. If, in the past, you were able to throw stones without anyone hitting back, be warned that if you throw stones, I won’t just throw stones [back] but hollow blocks,” Roque said in a video posted on Communications Assistant Secretary Margaux “Mocha” Uson’s blog.

Roque said he would not allow disrespect of the president to go unanswered.

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City residents dared: File case at intl court DAVAO CITY—President Rodrigo Duterte said that the Marawi residents who are planning to file charges against him are free to bring their grievances to the local courts or the International Criminal Court.

“It’s well within their rights to do that… and if they think that the Philippine courts would be prejudiced

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in the salary increase as they were earning less than senior cops.

But Sen. Panfilo Lacson, a former PNP chief, scoffed at Dela Rosa’s vow in his social media account, saying that was just “good sound bite...the hardest part is doing the math.”

According to Lacson, the Senate has requested both

Roque vows quick action vs ‘bashers’

manilastandard.net

HERO’S WELCOME. An unidentified Marine trooper, among more than 500 returning government troops from Marawi City, holds high his child following their arrival Monday morning at Pier 13 in Manila where families welcome their sons, brothers, husbands or kin.

Norman Cruz

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Talks, not threats, may work on Kim

By Bloomberg and John Paolo Bencito

T

HE United States should stop threatening North Korea and instead assure leader Kim Jong-Un that there are no plans to oust him, President Rodrigo Duterte said Sunday ahead of his meeting with President Donald Trump next month.

Speaking to reporters before leaving for Tokyo on a two-day official visit, Duterte said he would deal with the tough-talking Trump “in

the most righteous way” when they meet next month to discuss regional security and Manila’s war on drugs, adding he and the US presi-

Nato...

transparently implemented,” he added.

Stoltenberg’s visit comes after Abe met with him in Brussels in July to agree on boosting security cooperation.

“We know and you know that [North Korea’s missile] ranges reach the west coast of the United States and the ranges reach most of Europe,” he said Monday.

But the Nato chief warned this month that military action against Pyongyang would have “devastating consequences,” after Trump said diplomatic efforts had failed.

Stoltenberg has stressed that Washington had the right to defend itself and its allies but called for greater diplomatic efforts.

“We don’t have to use military force—peaceful resolution is the aim,” he said Monday.

Maritime security, including territorial rows involving China in the East and South China Seas, was also likely to be a topic of discussion during Stoltenberg’s visit, according to a Japanese foreign ministry official. AFP

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experts and defense officials.

“It is really dangerous, it poses a direct threat to countries in this region [including] Japan, but it is also a global threat,” he added.

Pyongyang has sparked global alarm in recent months by conducting its sixth nuclear test and testlaunching missiles capable of reaching the US mainland, while US President Donald Trump and the North’s young ruler Kim Jong-Un have traded threats of war and personal insults.

It fired two projectiles over northern Japan in less than a month, ringing alarm bells in Tokyo as Abe called for a get-tough approach towards Pyongyang.

“Nato strongly support political, diplomatic, economic pressure on North Korea and we welcome the strengthening of the sanctions” adopted by the UN Security Council in September, Stoltenberg said.

“But even more important, we need to be sure that the sanctions are fully and

Sereno...

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justice, said in Filipino in an interview with radio dzBB. Sereno had asked the House justice committee to ensure her right to counsel, who will cross-examine witnesses during the impeachment proceedings.

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez had earlier ruled out the request, saying Sereno should appear personally to cross-examine the witnesses.

But Deinla said Sereno has the right to crossexamine the witnesses against her through her lawyers as part of “due process of law” enshrined in the Constitution.

Deinla said Sereno’s legal team will insist on their motion when the committee resumes hearings on the impeachment complaint on Nov. 20.

Deinla said so far, only Alvarez has made his position known, and they would like to know the stand of each committee member.

Sereno’s camp, in a statement, urged the public to remain vigilant against any attempt to deprive her of her constitutional right to due process in the impeachment proceedings in the House.

She said that vicious attempts to deprive the chief justice or any ordinary citizen of their rights should not escape public scrutiny.

Immigration...

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Immigration spokesman Grifton Medina said immigration officers had been instructed to be doubly strict and vigilant in screening travelers.

“Our officers were told to refer for secondary inspection foreigners who have doubtful purposes in entering the country and those who have questionable travel documents,” Medina said.

He said departing Filipino tourists would also be thoroughly screened to ensure they were not victims of human trafficking and illegal recruitment.

Meanwhile, the Manila International Airport Authority has formed a special team to go after members

City...

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or biased, they can always go to the International Criminal Court,” he said.

Duterte took full responsibility for his decision to declare martial law over the entire island of Mindanao after Maute group terrorists overran Marawi City on May 23.

“I hold myself solely responsible for what happened, including… the incidents there, the events that transpired,” he said.

Earlier this month, two groups of residents from Marawi said that they planned to file a class action suit against the government for the devastation caused by the five-month war against the terrorist group.

Suara Bangsamoro and

Duterte...

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urge Congress to fast-track it because they are getting impatient,” he added.

Duterte said he already asked the Moro people to wait a little longer since the government was still working to comply with their commitment with the BBL. He said he made a commitment with the Moro National Liberation Front and Moro Islamic Liberation Front to look for the federal setup he had been eyeing ever since he threw his hat into the presidential race last of the Salisi Gang and other unscrupulous people to ensure the safety of air travelers taking a vacation this holiday break.

MIAA general manager Eddie Monreal said the team, composed of nonuniformed Airport Police Department personnel, were tasked to monitor people engaged in baggage theft and prevent similar incidents to happen at the four terminals of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Authorities described the Gang members as people lurking where there were people: The malls, restaurants, airports, fastfood joints and computer shops and were just waiting for the victims to get distracted.

dent “move our mouths in the same cadence.”

Duterte said the US, Japan, China and South Korea should sit down with the North Korean leader to tackle Pyongyang’s weapons development and missile tests.

North Korea will be high on the agenda when the leaders of the four nations meet their Southeast Asian counterparts in Manila next month, Duterte said.

“Tell him nobody’s threatening him, that there will be no war,” Duterte said, referring to the North Korean leader.

“If you can just tone down or stand down, stop the threats, that will be the same for America, just to assure him that nobody is after you.”

Duterte, who met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday, has strongly backed Trump’s line on Pyongyang, repeatedly say-

ing he favors pressure over dialog to resolve the issue.

Aside from the developments over the Korean peninsula, Duterte will likewise be talking with Trump on terrorism, cooperation between the two countries and the fight against drugs.

Duterte and Trump are expected to meet at the AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation’s Leaders Meeting in Da Nang, Vietnam, on Nov. 10 to 11.

Trump will also fly to Manila on Nov. 12 to 14 to grace the Association Southeast Asian Nations’ forum.

Duterte and Trump’s first face-to-face meeting, however, is yet to be finalized: Whether it will be held in Vietnam or in Manila given their “complicated schedules.”

Duterte had previously described Kim as a “fool” and “a son of a bitch” for “playing with dangerous toys.”

Pump prices up; diesel costlier by P0.25 per liter

By Alena Mae S. Flores THE oil companies raised gasoline prices by P0.25 per liter, diesel by P0.25 per liter and kerosene by P0.45 per liter starting 6 a.m. Tuesday to reflect the movement of world oil prices.

“PTT Philippines to implement P0.25 per liter price hike on both Gasoline & Diesel effective 6am Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017,” PTT said in its advisory.

The oil firms that issued price ad-

Japan...

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Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the latest round of investments involving 18 companies “strengthens the bilateral trade and investment relations” between the Philippines and Japan.

“President Rodrigo Duterte met several Japanese companies and witnessed several B-B MOUs [business-to-business memoranda of understanding] and letters of intent on investment plans, joint ventures and expansion of operations in the Philippines,” Trade Secretary

visories included Seaoil Philippines, Phoenix Philippines and Flying and Pilinas Shell.

The Energy department said oil prices went up due to speculations of possible supply disruptions from Kurdistan amid the conflict between the Kurds and the Iraqi government.

Reports that the US drilling rigs declined for the third week in a row also pushed up prices.

“Oil prices jumped about two per-

Ramon Lopez said in a statement.

“Total new investments [are expected to reach] $6 billion,” he added.

Japanese investments were expected to pour into the areas of manufacturing, shipbuilding, iron and steel, agribusiness, power, renewable energy, transportation, infrastructure, mineral processing, retailing, information and communication technology, and business process management, Lopez said.

The trade chief said he also met with his Japanese Trade and Industry Minister Hiro-

Tindeg Ranao said in a joint statement that Duterte should be made accountable for the devastation that the war caused in Marawi.

One of the bases for the class suit will be the alleged violations committed by the soldiers during the siege.

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque, a lawyer, said the suit would have no chance.

“The case will probably be dismissed. In the first place, in the history of the Philippines there was no class suit that was brought to the court. Our justice system is not inclined to rule on a class suit,” Roque said.

He said that the President should be commended and awarded for restoring peace and order in Marawi instead of being sued.

“If anything, what the

President has proven in Marawi is that he has the political will to enforce the law, and he will not hesitate to use all resources available to the state to restore peace and order,” he said.

Newly appointed Health Secretary Francisco Duque said their current priority program is to help rebuild the war-torn Marawi City following its liberation from the Maute terrorists.

“We have to make sure that we can address the health needs of the people there, especially the damaged health delivery infrastructure,” said Duque.

The rehabilitation of Marawi City, Duque said, was one of Duterte’s standing orders when he was tapped to go back to the Department of Health. With Macon Ramos-Araneta

2016 presidential election.

He said he might also grant the territories the MILF and MNLF wanted with the approval of the BBL and the federal set up.

“I have committed to the main rebellion fronts, the MI pati MN, that we will work for a federal setup and maybe grant them the territories that they want and the kind of framework of governance that they expect with a reformation of all the things in the Philippines,” Duterte said.

On July 17, the Bangsamoro Transition Committee submitted the new BBL

draft to the Palace and later on transmitted to the Congress on Aug. 4.

MILF 1st chairman and BTC member Ghazali Jaafar said the approval of the BBL in Congress would erase doubts in the peace process and extremism in the country.

Jaafar added the devastation brought by the fivemonth siege in Marawi City only led to public hatred over extremism.

He added the Moro people, specially those living in Marawi, needed just and dignified peace that the BBL could offer to the entire Moro community.

SC:...

hibit them from transferring the ballots and other election-related materials to Manila.

“There is nothing in the PPO that prohibited the physical transfer of the election materials and paraphernalia; the Comelec was merely required to preserve and safeguard their integrity.

Thus, the Comelec’s proffered reason that its faithful compliance to the PPO has no basis,” the PET resolution stressed.

It ruled, “(a)s mentioned, the PPO is clear in that the Comelec and its agents were ordered to preserve and safeguard the integrity of the election materials and paraphernalia which could be done even if they needed to be transmitted to Comelec Central Office.”

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regarding Marcos’ protest against Vice President Leni Robredo.

The Comelec earlier said that for New York and Hongkong alone, the incurred storage fee was worth over P4.5 million.

The poll body argued that since the PPO ordered them to preserve and safeguard the integrity of the ballots and other election materials, they could not bring them back to the Comelec office in Manila within the required period and so the same had to be stocked in the foreign posts which resulted in additional costs.

However, the PET turned down Comelec’s assertion, saying the PPO did not pro-

cent on Friday, with the global benchmark Brent crude rising above $60 per barrel,” the Energy Department said.

“The price increases were buoyed by statements from the world’s top producers that supported extending a deal to rein in output.”

The Philippines imports more than 90 percent of its fuel requirements.

On Oct. 24, the oil firms raised the price of gasoline by P0.65 per liter, kerosene by P0.55 per liter and diesel by P0.35 per liter.

Policemen barred from loitering in casinos PHILIPPINE National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa on Monday ordered the conduct of intelligence operation in all the casinos in the Entertainment City in Parañaque City to identify the police officers loitering there.

“I am directing [Directorate for Intelligence Chief [Gregorio] Pimentel na mag-post siya ng intelligence sa Entertainment City at bantayan ‘yung mga pulis na palaging nakababad diyan sa mga casino,” Dela Rosa told reporters.

“So I am directing the director for intelligence, i-monitor mo ‘yung lahat ng pulis na tambay dyan. Marami nakababad na pulis dyan na scalawag, puro pera ang laman ng utak kahit na galing sa kriminal na paraan.”

Dela Rosa gave the order following the involvement of police officers in the kidnapping and killing of junket operator Carlos Abad Tan. He said police personnel had no business staying in casinos.

Without mentioning names, he said he knew of some policemen who were transferred to Mindanao but did not go there and instead were regular fixtures in casinos.

“Alam kong maraming ninja cops na hindi nagreport sa Mindanao, sa Basilan, hindi nag-report sa Marawi. Andyan sila ngayon sa Entertainment City nakatambay. Kung andyan sila para sa sugal, saan sila kukuha ng pera? Kung andyan sila, ano ang ginagawa nila?” Dela Rosa said.

He said they would focus on Entertainment City first, and then go to other casinos if they would receive reports that police officers were also hanging out there.

Tan and his driver John Nikko Tan were abducted on Oct. 21 along Naia Expressway in Parañaque City. Their kidnappers demanded an initial ransom of P50 million but later reduced it to P10 million.

The suspects then killed Tan on the night he was abducted, and his body was discovered on Oct. 23 on Pinaglintikan Bridge in Tagaytay City.

In a followup operation Friday, the PNP-Anti Kidnapping Group killed suspects Police Officer 3 Rodel Estonactoc, Police Officer 1 Ramil Espejo, Police Officer 1 Rolando Tabios and Erwin Escobido.

shige Seko to discuss ways on improving market access and lowering tariff of Philippine agricultural products like banana, pineapple and mango.

Japan expressed support to reach substantial conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership led by Asean, Lopez said.

The trade ministers said they will work to improve the supply chain for Japanese companies to benefit Philippine small and medium enterprises.

In a statement, Abe said that Japan will steadily implement its one-trillion-yen pledge to Manila, to “actively support the efforts of the Duterte administration.”

Among the projects that will be supported by Tokyo are: Infrastructure cooperation in Metro Manila and rural areas, including the railway programs for an integrated Manila metropolitan subway project and North-South commuter railway from Clark-Los Baños and the establishment of a railway training school; regional development including construction of roads and bridges; improvement of connectivity between Metro Manila and local cities; stimulation of local investment (Cebu, Davao etc.); and infrastructure projects for disaster prevention--river improvement in the Metro Manila area and Mindanao (Davao), and flood risk management.

In energy, Japan and the Philippines agreed to cooperate with the introduction of electric and LNG related infrastructure based on its “Action plan in the Philippine electric power field” proposed by Japan.

Japan will also provide restoration and reconstruction assistance of Marawi City and its surrounding areas, based on the Philippine government’s post-conflict needs survey.

Other areas of cooperation between the two countries are job creation and improving of living standards, public safety, telecommunications, environment, agriculture and disaster prevention.

In the same message, Duterte said that he is “sincerely grateful for the kindness and compassion” of Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, during their visit to the country last year.

“I am eager to convey my deep respect and admiration for his majesty,” he said.

The President’s visit to Japan comes ahead of Abe’s attendance at the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Manila in November.

Although not an Asean member, Japan is among the dialogue partners invited to the summit.

In 2017 alone, loans from Japan amounted to $4.84 billion, which is 44.83 percent of the total official development assistance received by the country during that period.

Bato's...

The Duterte administration in September came up with a draft Congress Joint Resolution authorizing compensation adjustment for military and uniformed personnel.

If signed by both houses of Congress, a Police Officer 1 will enjoy a 100 percent increase in monthly base pay from the current P14,834 to P29,668.

It will also double the pay of a Private in the Department of National Defense and equivalent ranks in the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Public Safety College, Philippine

Coast Guard, and the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority.

Overall, the adjustments will result in a 58.7 percent average increase in base pay for all military and uniformed personnel ranks effective Jan. 1, 2018.

Dela Rosa said they were still crafting a proposal to include the pensions of retired policemen in the adjustment.

“I’ll be retiring next year so I cannot set aside the welfare of retirees. We are still looking for the best option where we could all benefit from the salary increase,” Dela Rosa said.

Roque...

On Sunday, Duterte said he would not reveal his reasons for replacing outgoing presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella, insisting his decision was personal.

“That is my personal decision. I am not about to explain why I did it,” the President said.

Praising Roque, a human rights lawyer, Duterte said he believed the former minority solon would be able to meet his expectations.

“He will carry my word to the public and he’s very competent, able, everything,” Duterte said.

“It’s in the messaging, actually. We cannot speak the same words altogether but how he would convey that message from me would be most important,” he added.

John Paolo Bencito

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replied: “Yes, T as in trillion as initial seed money.”

“Other agencies say 6T or 9T even. That’s why we need to hear from the finance centers of the uniformed services and the Land Bank of the Philippines to get official records of actual payouts,” the senator said.

Lacson was referring to the statements made by Dela Rosa during the PNP flag ceremony, wherein the latter denied that he took for granted the welfare of his retired colleagues.

In fact, on several occasions the Comelec, despite the PPO, had moved and was granted permission by the Tribunal to move election materials.

This is the reason why, said the Tribunal, it could not understand why the Comelec did not make a similar move on the ballot materials in the custody of foreign posts.

“As to why it would treat differently materials and paraphernalia in the custody of the Posts escapes this Tribunal as the PPO did not make such distinction.

Indeed, the Comelec could have simply secured permission from the Tribunal for their transfer to the Comelec Central Office. The Comelec made no such request,” the PET added.

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“Stop throwing stones. If you want, just help the country with the many problems it is facing,” he also said.

Contrary to Roque’s pronouncements, however, President Duterte himself launched profanity-laced rants against those viewed as critical of the administration—including the European Union, the United Nations, media companies and members of the political opposition.

He also stressed he was ready for the criticisms and the kind of language the detractors would use against the administration.

Roque also urged the critics to help the Duterte administration instead of crucifying it.

News Divina seeks dismissal of hazing raps UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas law dean Nilo Divina on Monday asked the Department of Justice to dismiss the case against him implicating him in the fatal hazing of law freshman Horacio Castillo III by his Aegis Juris fraternity.

During the preliminary investigation hearing, Divina appeared before DoJ panel and sought the dismissal of murder, hazing and obstruction of justice charges filed against him

by Castillo’s parents.

Rey E. Requejo

‘Flat tax’ rate sought for pros, self-employed TO ENCOURAGE payment of correct taxes, the Senate version of the first tax reform package has made available to selfemployed individuals and professionals a flat tax scheme that is simpler and easier to comply, said Senate Sonny Angara.

Angara, chairman of the ways and means committee, siad that under Senate Bill 1592 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN), selfemployed individuals and professionals can choose between an 8 percent flat tax on gross sales or receipts to be filed only once a year or the scheduled personal income tax rate with allowable deduction.

Macon Ramos-Araneta

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

‘Reso’ on Coronas’ bank records reversed

By Rio N. Araja

T

HE Second Division of the Sandiganbayan has reversed its 2016 resolution, ordering to open the bank accounts of the late Supreme Court chief justice Renato Corona and his wife, Cristina.

In an Oct. 23 resolution, the Sandiganbayan said the documents were the subject of a forfeiture case against the couple, and that such should not be impeded by the Bank Secrecy Law. The Office of the Ombudsman is authorized to have access to the Coronas’ bank accounts and records under Republic Act 6770 or the Ombudsman Act. “There can be no infraction of the policy of secrecy of bank deposits. Bank deposits can be inquired into upon the order of this court if said deposits are the sub-

ject of litigation, like in this case,” the resolution read.

The couple were charged with a P130-million civil forfeiture case before the Sandiganbayan following the impeachment of Corona in 2012 over his failure to declare wealth in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth.

Corona succumbed to heart failure on April 29, 2016, leaving behind his wife in the forfeiture case.

In January 2016, the Sandiganbayan summoned several bank documents and the testimonies of some

bank officials to shed light into the P130-million forfeiture case.

When the couple filed an omnibus motion to oppose the anti-graft court’s subpoenas in February 2016, the court issued an April 28, 2016 resolution to withdraw its issuance of subpoenas.

The Sandiganbayan quashed the subpoenas of the prosecution issued to Enrico Cruz and Celia Orbeta of Deutsche Bank AG Manila.

The bank executives were tapped to authenticate copies of a letter dated June 2012 from the bank to thenBureau of Internal Revenue chief Kim Henares pertaining to Corona’s dollar deposits supposedly amounting to $167,000 from 2002 to 2011.

The Sandiganbayan also ruled to exclude the evidence produced from the subpoena addressed to Cruz and Orbeta, as well as to Anthony Chua of Allied Banking Corp., Francisco Burgos

Jr. and Maybelen Villareal of Land Bank of the Philippines, and Pascual Garcia III of PS Bank.

The court, however, reversed its April, 2016 resolution and released its new ruling a week ago.

“After a careful study, the Court finds merit in granting a reconsideration of the Resolution of April 28, 2016. Bank deposits can be inquired into upon order of this Court if said deposits are the subject of litigation, like in this case,” the Sandiganbayan said.

State prosecutors also cited the Ombudsman Act of 1989, which grants “investigators and prosecutors the authority to issue subpoena and subpoena duces tecume, or make an application for the issuance of such subpoenas before the Sandiganbayan.”

The Sandiganbayan said questionable bank accounts can be summoned if its de-

posits are the subject of litigation, saying even Republic Act No. 6426, or the Act Instituting A Foreign Currency Deposit System in the Philippines, has its exceptions.

Section 8 of RA 6426 provides that foreign currency deposits can be subpoenaed as long as it aids the “process of any court, legislative body, government agency or any administrative body whatsoever.”

Corona’s case stemmed from an impeachment trial against over his alleged misdeclarations in his statements of assets, liabilities and net worth.

In 2012, the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, convicted Corona for betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution over nondeclaration of several assets, including real estate properties in his SALNs, causing his removal from the Supreme Court.

JIL urges Du30 to uphold ‘God’s agenda’ CHRISTIAN leaders called on President Rodrigo Duterte to honor his commitment to uphold God’s agenda for the country even as they reminded the faithful especially those in positions of influence to stand on the tenets of the Christian faith.

Leaders of Philippines for Jesus Movement and the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, two of the largest non-Catholic organizations in the country, issued the call at the 39th anniversary of Jesus is Lord Church held in Quirino Grandstand, Luneta Park, Manila, on Friday.

Eco groups file raps vs erring firms ENVIRONMENTALISTS trooped last Friday and filed specific complaints at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources against several industrial factories and steel mills located at the National Capital Region, Region 3 (Pampanga) and Region 11 (Davao) for various violations of the Philippine Clean Air Act including the Environmental Compliance Certificate/ Environmental Impact Assessment law.

Additional complaints against these same factories were also filed by Clean Air Philippines Movement Inc, together with the Philippine Associations of Free Labor Unions at the Department of Labor and Employment for massive violations on the law on occupational safety and health hazards including other pertinent labor laws.

CAPMI president Manuel Galvez yesterday revealed the names of the different respondents in their complaints at DENR and DoLE. Named in the complaints are the Melter Steel Corporation, Real Steel Corporation and Wan Chiong Steel Corporation in Pampanga; the Davao Mighty Steel Corporation in Davao City and the Metrodragon Steel Corporation in Caloocan City, Metro Manila.

BEAUTIES IN A ROW. The 84 Miss Earth 2017 candidates pose for press photographers during a press presentation at the Diamond Hotel in Manila on Monday. Lino Santos

Misdeclared goods worth P25m seized at MICP

By Vito Barcelo THE Bureau of Customs seized smuggled imported shipments worth more than P25 million at the Manila International Container Port.

Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña said the confiscated contrabands include agricultural products, liquors, auto and aircraft parts, and other general merchandise.

Lapeña said the apprehen-

sion of the shipments was the result of intelligence operations and double checking of the declarations of the consignees.

MICP District Collector lawyer Ruby Alameda said there were 11 shipments held at the port for misdeclaration and lack of required import permits.

The shipments were consigned to JJTS International Trading and declared as woven pile fabrics but were found to contain onions.

Four other shipments declared as fabrics and lead lamps were found to contain auto parts, glue machanier, peking ducks, tissue and again, onions.

Another shipment declared as fresh pears and apples consigned to Malaya Multipurpose Cooperative was later discovered to be onions and carrots.

Alameda said that another shipments which were declared as bags, plastic films, fabrics, and writing paper

consigned to Zafari Trading were found to contain raw tobacco and cigarette brands Mighty and Jackpot.

Knock-down used aircraft and parts were found in a separate shipment consigned to Greenfive Trading Corp. which was declared as aluminum waste and scrap.

Alameda said that the seized goods came from China, Vietnam, Singapore, and Guam.

According to Lapeña, all shipments will undergo

seizure and forfeiture proceedings for violation of pertinent provisions of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act. “I have told Atty. Alameda to ensure that a thorough investigation be conducted.

The consignees and the customs brokers involved in these importations must be investigated. I have also agreed to her recommendation to suspend their accreditation from BoC,” Lapeña added.

Bangayan wants case junked, says he’s not ‘David Tan’

By Rey E. Requejo BUSINESSMAN David Bangayan on Monday rejected the criminal charges filed against him before the Department of Justice accusing him of monopolies and combinations in restraint of trade, among others.

Appearing before the DoJ’s investigating panel headed by Assistant State Prosecutor Eden Valdes, Bangayan submitted his counter-affidavit denying the charges in the complaint refiled by the National Bureau of Investigation.

Bangayan denied allegations of monopolies and combinations in restraint of trade under Article 186 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC); bid fixing, as penalized under Section 65 of Republic Act

No. 9184 or Government Procurement Act; using fictitious name or concealing true name, as penalized under Article 178 of the RPC; and violation of Commonwealth Act No. 142, as amended by RA No. 6085.

He also denied using “David Tan”, the person dubbed by authorities as king of rice smugglers—as his fictitious name or alias.

“I am categorically denying that I am ‘David Tan’ who supposedly was the ‘financier’ of certain cooperatives. My name is Davidson Bangayan. I was born out of wedlock to my parents Victoria Bangayan and Dy Ting Ham. Considering my illegitimacy, I am using my mother’s surname in all my personal and business dealings,” Bangayan’s 23-page counter-affidavit stated.

HOME AGAIN. Hundreds cheer the arrival of a fleet of 500 Marines at Pier 13 after spending five months fighting the Maute-ISIS terrorists in Marawi City. The fleet is composed of marines, sailors, seals, aviators and intelligence personnel who are welcomed back by their families just in time for the holidays. Norman Cruz

Town, brgy execs blamed for illegal drug crisis

By Rio N. Araja DANGEROUS Drugs Board chairman Dionisio Santiago on Monday blamed town, city and barangay officials for their failure to address the problem of illegal drugs.

At a news conference at the DDB headquarters in Quezon City, Santiago also blamed the public for their continued support to vote local officials who have even failed to adopt action plans to rehabilitate drug dependents and stop the drug menace within their jurisdictions.

“Authorities continue to apprehend young boys called ‘batang hamog’ [who are into drugs], but the local government would just release them after bathing them,” he said.

“They [officials] have done nothing, and yet they’re winning in the election,” he added.

According to DDB, local officials play an important role in the fight against drugs at the grassroots level.

“Why vote for them?

That is your fault,” Santiago said.

He also lamented that despite his dedication to serve the people and the government, and to fight the illegal drugs, he still lost in the senatorial race in May 2016.

“You did not vote for me,” he said.

According to Santiago, the agency has developed an integrated and balanced approach to outline the government’s efforts to curb the drug problem anchored on the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022, a roadmap for a national collaboration to realign drug initiatives “with the overreaching social development agenda and national security policy.”

Reptile shipment intercepted by Customs agents

By Joel E. Zurbano GOVERNMENT agents intercepted a shipment of various reptiles inside an accredited bonded warehouse at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Customs District III Collector Ramon Anquilan said his men discovered five Philippine cobras, one of them a viper, and 10 sailfin lizards inside plastic containers declared as sweet pastries.

He said that the shipment was bound for Sweden.

Nine of the lizards were already dead when it was found by Customs agents at the Pair Cargo last Oct. 26, 2017.

The shipment sender was identified as one Arvin Tuyay, a resident of San Pablo City in Laguna, while the consignee was Wal Demar Timot of Sjobo, Sweden.

Anquilan said he ordered his men to verify the authenticity of the sender and its recipient.

When Customs authorities found the reptiles, they noticed that the plastic containers do not have a single hole for ventilation which caused the deaths of the nine lizards.

The rest of the reptiles were subsequently turned over to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for treatment.

A4

Opinion

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2017

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

Coming as themselves

H

ALLOWEEN celebrations, which have become increasingly popular in urban centers in the Philippines, temper the somber spirit brought by All Saints’ Day. Children in scary or fantasy costumes walk the streets displaying what they wear and expecting a handful of candy besides. Grown ups’ parties meanwhile showcase the thought and effort put into showing up in award-

Adelle Chua, Editor

winning, attentiongrabbing garb.

The characters range from products of lore, to popular culture or literary icons, to politically tinged appearances.

It’s all good, clean fun—perhaps what we need in these genuinely

scary, bizarre times.

Unfortunately, some of the characters our officials assume are not taken from myth. They look as though they are imitating someone else but in reality they are just being themselves.

Look at the comical individuals we have had to put up with over the past 16 months. They talk above their heads, confound us on why they hold the important positions that they do,

and mangle our image before the rest of the world.

Make no mistake about it, however— they have the power over life and death of those not as prominent and influential and noisy as they. They can make or break fortunes and build or erode the confidence of tourists and investors.

The most recent display of character is the remark of Philippine

National Police chief General Ronald dela Rosa. He promised to raise the pension of retired policemen—and said he would even quadruple them if he becomes president.

By now we know better than take the general, fond of bobbing his head up and down, playing Santa Claus and bawling during congressional hearings, at face value. He remains on top of an

organization marred by excesses in carrying out the war against drugs and inadequacy in keep residents safe in their homes and on the streets.

We have five more years to this administration. We wonder how many characters —scary or bizarre or both—we must endure before we get the ones who are just themselves, doing their jobs without any fanfare.

TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

Women in the Senate polls IT’S too early in the game but people are talking about possible candidates in the 2019 senatorial race.

Chiz Escudero, Greg Honasan, Loren Legarda, Koko Pimentel and Antonio Trillanes are graduating from the Senate in 2019 and will not be eligible for reelection.

Those who will surely run for reelection are Sonny Angara, Bam Aquino, Nancy Binay, JV Ejercito, Grace Poe and Cynthia Villar. Note that there are three women in this lineup: Binay, Poe and Villar.

At this point there is also talk about other female candidates who will run in 2019. They are former president and now Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos, former Environment Sec-

I believe some of them will easily win.

Give ‘em hell, Harry LOWDOWN

JOJO A. ROBLES I, TOO, doubted the need to replace that soul of equanimity, Ernesto Abella, as spokesman of President Rodrigo Duterte. Then I saw the angry reactions of the anti-Duterte opposition to Abella’s replacement by the combative Kabayan Party-List Rep. Harry Roque and I became convinced that it was the right decision.

The opposition’s response to Roque’s appointment was typified by that of Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, who warned his fellow congressman that he should not be advising Duterte on matters like human rights because his role as spokesman was not to help form policy

but to only speak about it “after the fact.” I say Lagman’s criticism was typical because it skirted the Yellows’ real problem with his erstwhile House colleague: That his appointment signals that the kid gloves are now off and that the Duterte administration is ready to fight fire with the one-man factory of verbal napalm that is Roque.

In a four-minute Facebook Live interview with Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson, Roque made his intentions perfectly clear. Those used to throwing stones at the Duterte administration, expecting nothing more than Abella’s soft and softball responses, should now expect to get not just stones thrown back in retaliation, but “hollow blocks and adobe.”

And that is what the opposition really fears about

Roque: that he has the ability to fire back and that he is not afraid to use it.

(But think about Lagman’s objection for a minute. And then, as most peo-

What the opposition really fears about Roque is that he has the ability to fire back and that he is not afraid to use it.

ple with half a brain would do, immediately discard it.

As the blogger RJ Nieto pointedly said, who is the Albay congressman to set

limits on who should give advice to Duterte? Shouldn’t Duterte, after all, listen to all advice, regardless of where it comes from?)

I’ve known Roque for some time, since he became counsel for the families of the victims of the Maguindanao massacre of 2009.

He was also, for several years, the author of a column that I followed religiously in the opinion section of this newspaper.

And Roque, I have long ago decided, is as learned and erudite as he is acerbic.

He is not one to pull punches —but he always is grounded in a deep understanding of the law and in some very arcane sub-topics of the legal profession in which he is an acknowledged expert, like international law and human rights.

And unlike most people with mediocre-to-none

track records academically and professionally who have held the post of presidential spokesman, Roque brings to what is widely believed to be a minor Cabinet position a resume that would not be out of place for the head of a major portfolio. To wit: Roque graduated with a degree of economics and political science from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, got his law degree from the University of the Philippines and earned his master’s in law (with merit) from the London School of Economics. He taught for a decade and a half at the UP Law Center and was one of the founders of the Center for International Law (Centerlaw); he is the only Filipino accredited to practice law before the International Criminal Court.

Roque has also handled

some very high profile cases, like the aforementioned Maguindanao massacre; the case of Jeffrey (Jennifer) Laude, who was killed

by American serviceman Joseph Scott Pemberton; and the fisherfolk of Zambales who filed suit to reclaim their fishing rights to Scarborough Shoal. He won a Congress party-list seat last year representing Kabayan, a group representing Filipinos overseas.

That Roque possesses a first-rate mind to go with his acidic tongue was never in doubt. Now that he will use both to serve as Duterte’s spokesman, he must really be giving the Yellows fits. *** All that intellectual and verbal firepower, you’d be tempted to think, would be wasted in a position that normally means holding daily Turn to A5

retary Gina Lopez and Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman, a transgender.

With all these names, the 2019 polls can rightly be called the “women’s race!”

Among these names, I am confident Arroyo and Marcos will win. *** Going around Makati’s exclusive villages, one would think the affluent have nothing to do but scare people with their Halloween decorations.

Actually it’s a popular day in the US and Canada, when children wear costumes and go trickor-treating. People carve jack’o lanterns out of pumpkins. Parties for children of the rich feature fortune telling, mock haunted houses and scary stories, and games. People decorate their homes and yards.

Turn to A5

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press briefings for the media in Malacañang. But it should give you an idea of how important Duterte now considers the former role of Abella, a man of God who never raised his voice in anger or withheld a reply to any reporter’s question, no matter how asinine and idiotic.

But you can’t blame Duterte to deciding to change his media strategy when you consider how badly the President feels he’s been treated by the mainstream press, which his supporters consider an agent of the Yellows, for the most part.

Duterte is convinced that most reporters covering him have been ordered to employ “gotcha journalism,” a particularly slanted form of reportage where journalists use underhanded questions in order to entrap their sub-

Inflation has also altered China’s broader debt outlook. By some measures, debt levels relative to nominal GDP may have even started falling. However, this is almost entirely due to rapidly rising commodity prices pushing up nominal GDP. If the GDP deflator had risen by 2 percent instead of 4.2 percent through the first three quarters, the ratio of total social financing to GDP would’ve risen by another 4 percent. This doesn’t change the official data.

But it does illustrate how one small change can ripple through a range of closely followed variables.

It’s also important to recognize how narrow this shift is. The economy as a whole isn’t deleveraging: New total social financing is up 16 percent this year, and household borrowing has risen by 23 percent.

That basic commodities can nonetheless have such an impact reveals just how much China still depends on them for growth, whereas these price increases have barely registered in other major economies.

China’s government may hope that inflation is the path of least resistance in reducing debt levels. And under some conditions, that might be true. But this approach comes with significant risks. Although inflating away debt may work for certain industries in a controlled economy, it is dangerous for a country running a fixed exchangerate regime where asset prices—such as housing and stocks—are already elevated. Rising prices will eventually place serious pressure on the exchange rate, and a significant acceleration in consumer inflation could lead to social instability.

More to the point, commodity prices can’t keep rising by 50 or 100 percent a year forever. Analysts are already predicting a decline in the Producer Price Index, as the “base effect” that sometimes distorts inflation figures starts to kick in. Meanwhile, for all the talk of deleveraging, debt is growing faster across a range of measures compared to last year, meaning that substantially faster inflation would be needed to really make a dent.

Ultimately, trying to inflate away debt sector by sector is a losing battle.

Rebalancing China’s economy in a sustainable way will require substantially reducing credit and tolerating more corporate bankruptcies, slower growth and higher unemployment.

There’s no easy way out.

Bloomberg jects into making embarrassing or even out-and-out false statements.

As a lawyer himself, Duterte has apparently decided that he needed someone like Roque who will not coddle journalists lying in wait for him to make verbal faux pas that they can twist and spin at will. And judging from the reactions of people like Lagman, it seems Roque has already succeeded even if he has yet to assume his post officially.

Supporters of Duterte are already hailing Roque’s appointment as a sign that the media will no longer be babied and coddled, especially when they become outlets of fake news about their president. At the very least, Roque’s arrival, for me, means that media will be forced to up its game like Duterte has raised his with this latest appointment.

Good luck to you then, Harry. Give ‘em hell.

A5

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

The Cardinal, a doctor, and a farmer-entrepreneur

Can China inflate its debt away?

CHINA is witnessing something most of the world’s major economies haven’t seen in quite some time: rising prices. With growth strong but debt at perhaps 300 percent of gross domestic product, that’s a welcome sign. The danger is that China’s government now hopes inflation will solve its other problems.

From 2013 until this year, the GDP deflator, a broad measure of prices, never rose by more than 2.3 percent. Most of the time, it hovered just above zero.

This pushed up the real cost of China’s debt and raised the specter of Japan-style debt deflation. In the first quarter of 2017, however, the measure shot up by 4.6 percent. It’s set to finish the year above 4 percent for the first time since 2011, when China was exiting its postcrisis lending binge.

So what happened?

We know that this price increase wasn’t driven by consumers. Consumer price inflation remains below 2 percent, and the factory prices of consumer goods have risen by just 0.7 percent so far this year. During China’s recent Golden Week holiday, per-capita spending was up only 2 percent over the same period last year.

Instead, prices are being pushed up entirely by basic industrial and construction inputs. Industrial producer inflation has accelerated by 6.9 percent this year, while coal prices are up 33 percent and metallurgy prices up 23 percent. The cost of other basic inputs, such as petroleum and chemicals, is also rising fast. All this is more or less by design: China’s government has kept credit loose, encouraged capital to flow into financial products that trade commodities, and forced some factories to shut down temporarily to reduce capacity.

The resulting price increases have affected a broad range of economic metrics—and in some cases distorted them.

Non-performing loans peaked in 2016, for instance, shortly after commodity prices started rising. Because mining and manufacturing companies—including steel firms—have some of the highest rates of bad loans, any change to their profitability has an outsized impact on the bigger picture.

While profits at China’s A-share companies were up 20 percent in the first half of 2017 over the same period last year, coal company profits rose by 319 percent and steel firm prof-

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2017

POPE Francis once said: “Our loved ones have not disappeared into dark nothingness: Hope assures us that they are in God’s good and strong hands.

Love is stronger than death.” Indeed, death is not the end of life, but in fact completes it.

That is definitely the case of three Filipinos who passed to eternal life recently. Cardinal Ricardo Vidal, Dr. Claro Cinco, and Tatay Juaning La Viña all lived to more than 80 years in this world. Together, these men lived a total of 266 productive and fruitful years building institutions, enterprises, and families. Vidal was from Luzon but assigned by the Pope to Cebu. Cinco was a native of Cebu, but with maternal roots from Camiguin. La Viña was born in Leyte but was an early settler of Bukidnon. I did not know Cardinal Vidal personally but was definitely aware of his work. Cinco and La Viña are beloved uncles of mine, to whom I owe much. They were all nation-builders.

Cardinal Vidal was born on Feb. 6, 1931, Mogpog, Marinduque. He first served a priest in Quezon before moving to Malolos, Bulacan as a Bishop, after which he was elevated to become Archbishop of Lipa, Batangas. In 1982, Vidal was appointed

by Pope John Paul II as Archbishop of Cebu where he stayed for 29 years before retiring in 2011.

Among his achievements, he successfully led the

effort to have the first Cebuano saint, Pedro Calungsod, canonized.

As the Philippine Daily Inquirer described him, Cardinal Vidal was a champion of peace and voice of sobriety. According to a colleague: “He is a man of peace. All he wanted was peace and reconciliation.

If there was trouble in the Church or politics, he would always intervene.”

As president of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines from 1986 to 1987, Cardinal Vidal led the Church in its response to the fraudulent and violent February 1986 snap elections and the Edsa revolution which followed.

But, as noted also in the same Inquirer article, the Cardinal did not hesitate to fly to Hawaii to give former President Ferdinand Marcos the last rites, the Sacrament of Extreme Unction.

In 2001, it was also reported that the cardinal privately advised then President Joseph Estrada to step down from office. Consistent with his character, Cardinal Vidal supported the pardoning of Estrada by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Last year, he was also seen visiting President Duterte and promising the President he will pray for him.

Not far away from where Cardinal Vidal lived and died was where another great Cebuano also lived, worked, and died. Born on Aug. 30, 1928, Dr. Claro Cinco was a leading optometrist and grand pillar of Philippine Optometry.

Dr. Cinco took the profession seriously, once pointing out: “The History of the development of Optometry as a profession is

more than exciting episode of a profession’s struggle to achieve its present state of development. From its humble beginning as craft, then as a trade, and finally as a profession. Optometry won and lost battles, was vilified and maligned, suffered indignities, went into extreme sacrifices and conquered all attempts to con. in its growth.”

As recalled by his nephew, also an optometrist, Dr. Vic Cinco, Claro Cinco authored the book “Optometry and Related Jurisprudence” and was one of the first two Filipinos who became a Fellow of American Academy of Optometry and a member of American Optometric Association.

To me and many, however, Dr. Cinco was Tito Claro, Clark, or Dodo; husband to Tita Fe; father of Patsy, Roy, Maritel, Pinky, and Maritess; Lolo to six grandchildren; and an uncle I shared with my Cinco and Maestrado relatives.

To me, Tito Claro will always be alive—through my mother’s Inday La Vina’s memories of his beloved Cinco and other Maestrado cousins and through my own memory of Cebu summers. He was the first to introduce me to Dim Sum and to many things that I thought then were exclusively Cebuano.

In more recent years, until lately, he was one to the few octogenarians who was active in Facebook.

His online life was as active as his real life, vibrant, the zest of life evident. At that time, I wish I would be as active when I turn his age. Indeed, when he joined Facebook five or six years ago, I had to quip: “HI Tito Clark. Happy

birthday! You are my wisest Facebook friend and I am proud of having a uncle like you!

When Tito Claro was laid to rest last Wednesday in Cebu, I pointed out that it was just his body that will be buried. His legacy as an optometrist, as a true Cebuano and Filipino patriot, as a husband, father and grandfather, and as uncle to his many nephews and nieces will remain with us.

Nearly as senior as Claro Cinco was Juanito K. La Viña Sr. Born on Oct. 28,1928 in Southern Leyte.

Tatay Juaning was what many called him. What an appropriate title for one who was husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather. He nurtured not only a family, he helped build this city of Valencia.

Mindanao’s promise, and our country’s, is fulfilled through people like Tatay.

He is also rightly called Tatay ng bayan.

My first memory of him was from the 1960s when he and Tita Tining, his wife of more than sixty years, would come to Cagayan de Oro in their station wagon.

They would come alone or with their children, our cousins Nonoy, Inday, Bebot, Boy, Bebing, Joy, and later Tata and Kate. What a joy it was to see all of them. And what a joy it was for us to spend summers in Valencia, then a sleepy town. Aside from the La Viñas, we also got to know our Alkuino relatives well. We were also able to witness how they loved each other and how they helped build their city.

I saw how Tatay Juaning and Nanay Tining start and grow their businesses.

Tamay Lang. Up to now, I treasure the significance

of that phrase. From a trucking business, they branched out to farming (rice and sugar) and to land development. But to me, their best investment is in building twenty years ago the La Viña General Hospital. The hospital, among others, hosts the Mindanao Pediatric Cancer Care Network Satellite, an important service for the region.

For Tatay Juaning and Nanay Tining, helping others have always been as important as doing well with their businesses.

I am also a witness at how Tatay Juaning and Nanay Tining have been faithful to each other and to their children, even as with the latter it was sometimes tough love that they showed. Their 31 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren however experienced only pure love from them.

In the martial law years, Tito Juaning and Tita Tining made sure I was safe knowing I was an activist. While sometimes they did not like my politics, they were always faithful.

They even sent Manong Banong, a relative of ours and a peasant leader and activist, to warn me to be careful when I would travel to Bukidnon. Manong Banong died in 2016 and I regret that I was not able to thank him one more time.

Love. Faithfulness. Loyalty. To each other, to family, to the Church, to their cities, and to our country.

This is how Cardinal Vidal, Dr. Cinco, and Tatay Juaning lived. Now they are spirits among us; they will help us live as good, as fruitful, as they did.

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America’s catastrophic success against Islamic State

By Eli Lake ONE might expect President Donald Trump to take a victory lap after last week’s liberation of Raqqa from the Islamic State.

Thanks to American air power, Maoist Kurds, Syrian patriots and US special operators, this caliphate ended as the shortest-lived in Islamic history.

And yet the president chose not to exploit this win. The White House issued a five-paragraph statement. Much of last week was consumed with the president’s feud over his phone call to the mother of one of the soldiers killed in Niger.

How to explain the subdued reaction? (After all, this White House is desperate for policy wins.)

It’s the geopolitical equivalent of “Mo Money Mo Problems.” Success brings new challenges. In this case, the eclipse of the Islamic State reopens old rifts in the Middle East that were paused to defeat a

Women...

From A4

Halloween developed from an ancient pagan festival celebrated by the Celtic people over 2,000 years ago. This marked the end of summer and the beginning of winter.

In 700 and 800 AD, the Christian Church established a new holiday, All Saints’ Day. But those who don costumes should be reminded about a warning by a priest that these practices could lead to possession.

The Catholic priest from San Fernando, Pampanga has warned against diabolical possession since he performed exorcism on two

universally loathed enemy.

As I reported in 2015 from Iraq, even the US and Iran could cooperate (tacitly) against an outfit that operated sex slave markets and attempted genocide.

Now all of this fairweather esprit de corps is gone. One glaring example is in northern Iraq, where the Iraqi Security Forces advanced on Kurdish Peshmerga positions in the last week following their recapture of Kirkuk, the oil-rich city Kurdish forces protected from the Islamic State in 2014. But there are small examples as well. In Raqqa there are now reports the Kurdish YPG militia have started taking down Syrian revolutionary flags favored by Arab members of the opposition forces that liberated the city, according to Jennifer Cafarella, senior analyst with the Institute for the Study of War. This says nothing of the new tensions between the US and Iran in Iraq. This week Secretary of State

Rex Tillerson earned a rare public rebuke from the Iraqi prime minister’s office after he called on Iraniansupported militias fighting the Islamic State to return home now that the fight is coming to a close. Only two years ago, the US was providing air support for ground offensives led by these militias in that fight.

Cafarella told me that one of the problems with the US strategy against the Islamic State is that it was almost purely a military one, without the muchneeded political component necessary for winning the peace. “What we have not addressed are larger institutional and societal challenges that gave rise to ISIS to begin with, and are now fueling the cascading crisis in Iraqi Kurdistan,” she said. “The very best example of that is that we have ignored and overlooked Iran’s penetration into the Iraqi Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defense.”

In many ways this is an old story. Iran’s penetra-

tion into these institutions vexed George W. Bush before he decided to “surge” troops into Iraq and pursue a counterinsurgency under the leadership of General David Petraeus. One of the White House staffers who argued for that strategy was Brett McGurk, the American diplomat who went on to forge the coalition against the Islamic State.

At the time, the US pursued both Sunni and Shiite terrorists in Iraq, targeting any groups that threatened the elected government. Much of that strategy relied on a close partnership between Bush and the Iraqi prime minister at the time, Nouri al-Maliki.

Eventually Maliki, a Shiite Arab, succumbed to sectarianism. Under Obama, he pursued a ruthless campaign against Sunni groups in the west of the country, laying the ground work for the rise of the Islamic State. Maliki reasoned that if Obama was intent to leave, he best make his peace with Iran.

After the Islamic State began to take territory and went on a rampage in 2014, Obama abandoned his non-interventionism. He instructed McGurk to find an alternative that summer.

That alternative became Haider al-Abadi, who ascended to be prime minister that September. The Iranians supported Maliki in that power struggle and eventually lost.

Today Abadi is at a crossroads again. His security forces have pressed ahead into Kurdish areas over the objections of the US government—though a ceasefire was said to be reached on Friday. The situation threatens to pit two Iraqi forces, both supported and armed by the US government, against one another, even though only a month ago they were cooperating against the Islamic State.

It follows a certain depressing logic. Without an enemy to unite them, America’s allies in the Middle East return to fighting one another. Bloomberg

persons. One was wearing a black costume and one was possessed after ghosthunting with friends in an abandoned hospital. *** The recent appointment of Kabayan Party-list Rep. Harry Roque as presidential spokesperson, with a Cabinet rank, brings to fore the question—why was Ernesto Abella relieved?

Some Palace insiders sat that Abella, being a former pastor, advised President Duterte against uttering curse words. Mr. Duterte supposedly said “This is not a church!”

Roque is a human rights lawyer and constitutionalist. He would have a better understanding of the President’s frequent outbursts.

But will he be a better spokesman than Abella?

I doubt that Roque would be able to explain away the extrajudicial killings in the so-called war on drugs.

How can he reconcile these events with his human rights advocacy? Now we hear he wants to advise the President. How can he be adviser and spokesman at the same time?

Being spokesman for a president who likes to ramble is perhaps the most difficult job in the Cabinet.

Didn’t spokespersons once tell us to use our creative imagination in deciphering the President’s words?

But we in the mainstream media are not out to use our imagination. We report facts, whatever Duterte

says, whether he means them or not.

It’s a tough job because one has to lie and defend the indefensible. *** There are ambitious plans to put up alternative international airports by both the private sector and government. We needs alternatives to Naia, indeed. The problem though is when these will come to pass.

San Miguel Corp. headed

by Ramon Ang has obtained original proponent status from the government to construct an international airport with four runways covering 2,000 hectares in Bulacan towns near Manila Bay. When he was Philippine Airlines president, he proposed this

airport but the government did not seem to care.

The government is still awaiting the proposal of All-Asia Resources and Reclamation Corp.—a consortium led by the retail giant Henry Sy Sr. and the Tieng family—to build a new international airport with the help of Japan International Cooperation Agency to reclaim 2,500 hectares of Sangley Point— this will be completed in 12 months.

These two proposals are both practical and doable.

We may finally have that kind of international airports we can be comfortable with. The Department of Transportation seems to be headed in the right direction.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Manila

World

Standard

A6

TODAY OCTOBER 31, 2017 TUESDAY, Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

Crunch time as Madrid takes over in Catalonia

Unenviable task for US in climate talks in Bonn WASHINGTON―Facing 195 other countries who have chosen a different path, the task of US negotiators at the coming climate talks in Bonn is unenviable.

Donald Trump has vowed to exit the Paris Climate accord, just not yet, leaving US policy in limbo for the next three years until Washington can officially leave.

So, it falls to Thomas Shannon―a respected career diplomat―to this week lead a delegation into talks aimed at implementing an agreement the US is set to abandon.

“It is a strange situation, I don’t think I have seen anything like it in my almost 30 years of following this process,” said Alden Meyer of the Union of Concerned Scientists, a Washingtonbased non-profit working on environmental issues.

The Trump administration says it will still turn up, hoping to protect

Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

America’s interests and put “America first.”

Rather ambitiously, Washington wants to handcuff its biggest geopolitical rivals to their commitments.

A White House official told AFP it wants “to ensure the rules are transparent and fair, and apply to countries like China and other economic competitors to the United States.”

But Shannon and his team might find themselves on shaky ground.

Ben Rhodes, a former aide to president Barack Obama, believes Washington has abandoned any leverage it once had.

“The rest of the world has no incentive to make concessions to the US since we are now entirely isolated,” he told AFP. “My expectation is that the rest of the world will simply continue within the Paris framework and wait and see what happens in the US in 2020. AFP

B

ARCELONA― Spain enters uncharted and potentially perilous territory on Monday as Madrid moves to take over the running of Catalonia in response to the rebellious region’s parliament unilaterally declaring independence.

HALLOWEEN. A house is decorated with fake skeletons for the coming Halloween in Isernhagen, Germany. AFP

A Sure Bet for Progress in Gaming, Entertainment and Nation Building

InvItatIon to BId for the Procurement of PrIvate SecurIty agency ServIceS under ITB No. PB17-008oLo-10

INVITATION TO BID No. 25-2017 The National Irrigation Administration (NIA), Region 8, Marasbaras, Tacloban City through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), hereby invites Domestic Contractors, registered with and classified by the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB), to bid for the hereunder contracts. Bids received in excess of ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

Item/Description

Approved Budget for Contract (Php)

1. HagbayIP Contract #01-2017– Construction of Hagbay Dam Channel Protection and Repair of 1.8km.

FMR Bulao to Hagbay, Las Navas, Northern Samar

38,203,918.00

2. BulaoIP Contract #01-2017– Construction of Bulao Dam Channel Protection, Bonifacio Spillway Culvert and Remaining Works of On-Farm Canal Lining of Baluao IP, Las Navas, Northern Samar

25,810,976.00

Duration

Cost of Bid Docs

360 cd

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is inviting all interested bidders in its forthcoming re-bidding for the Procurement of Private Security Agency Services under ITB No. PB17-008OLO-10.

Brief Description Location Contract Duration

25,000.00

Approved Budget for the Contract

360 cd

25,000.00

Source of Funds:

The Prospective Bidders should have completed, within five (5) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project whose value must be at least fifty percent (50%) of the ABC. Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using non-discretionary pass/fail criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of republic Act 9184 (R.A. 9184), otherwise known as the “Government procurement Reform Act”.

Prospective Bidders are not allowed to participate if they have negative slippage in their on-going contracts. Individuals with Special Power of Attorney (SPA) are not allowed to transact and participate in the procurement utilizing another construction firm.

The schedule of BAC activities are as follows: Schedule

Time

1.

Issuance of Bid Documents

BAC Activities

Starting October 25, 2017

8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

2.

Pre-bid Conference

November 3, 2017

2:00 p.m.

3.

Receipt and Opening of Bids

November 15, 2017

2:00 p.m.

The BAC will issue a complete set of Bidding Documents to eligible bidders upon payment of non-refundable amount of the Bid Documents to the Cashier.

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

(Sgd) ALEJANDRO C. CULIBAR, D.M. BAC Chairman

Procurement of Private Security Agency Services Casino Filipino Olongapo, #580 Rizal Avenue, East Tapinac, Olongapo City For a period of three (3) years commencing from the date of receipt by the winning supplier of the Notice to Proceed.

The annual ABC is in the amount of Nine Million Two Hundred Thirty-Eight Thousand Seven Hundred NinetySix Pesos and 16/100 (PhP 9,238,796.16), VAT Exclusive, Zero-Rated Transaction or a total ABC in the amount of TwentySeven Million Seven Hundred Sixteen Thousand Three Hundred Eighty-Eight Pesos and 48/100 (PhP 27,716,388.48) for a period of three (3) years, VAT Exclusive, Zero-Rated Transaction.

Corporate Budget for CY 2017

Bidders should have completed, within the last three (3) years before the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

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

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

PAGCOR will hold a Pre-Bid Conference, which shall be open to prospective bidders.

All particulars relative to Pre-Bid Conference, Detailed Evaluation of Bids, PostQualification and Award of Contract shall be governed by the pertinent provisions of R.A. 9184 and its IRR. The schedule of bidding activities is listed, as follows: Activities Issuance of the Bidding Documents 2. Pre-Bid Conference

Noted: (Sgd) JIMMY L. APOSTOL Regional Manager (MS-OCT. 31, 2017)

3. Deadline for the Submission and Receipt of Bids

4. Opening and Preliminary Examination of Bids

Date, Time and Venue October 31, 2017 (Tuesday) to November 22, 2017 (Wednesday) Procurement Office, Casino Filipino Olongapo, #580 Rizal Avenue, East Tapinac, Olongapo City November 7, 2017 (Tue), 11:00 a.m.

Branch Conference Room, Casino Filipino Olongapo, #580 Rizal Avenue, East Tapinac, Olongapo City November 22, 2017 (Wed), 11:00 a.m.

Branch Conference Room, Casino Filipino Olongapo, #580 Rizal Avenue, East Tapinac, Olongapo City November 22, 2017 (Wed), 11:00 a.m. onwards Branch Conference Room, Casino Filipino Olongapo, #580 Rizal Avenue, East Tapinac, Olongapo City

Interested bidders may obtain further information from the Procurement Section (PS), acting as the BAC Secretariat, of PAGCOR and/or inspect the Bidding Documents at Procurement Office, Casino Filipino Olongapo, #580 Rizal Avenue, East Tapinac, Olongapo City during office hours of PAGCOR from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

INVITATION TO BID No. 26-2017 The National Irrigation Administration (NIA), Region 8, Marasbaras, Tacloban City through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), hereby invites Domestic Contractors, registered with and classified by the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB), to bid for the hereunder contracts. Bids received in excess of ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

Approved Budget for Contract (Php)

Item/Description 1

PIP Contract #01-2017 Construction of Siphonic Bridge Flume of Pinipisakan Irrigation Project, Las Navas, Northern Samar

88,541,664.80

Duration

Cost of Bid Docs

720 cd

50,000.00

The Prospective Bidders should have completed, within five (5) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project whose value must be at least fifty percent (50%) of the ABC. Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using non-discretionary pass/fail criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of republic Act 9184 (R.A. 9184), otherwise known as the “Government procurement Reform Act”.

Prospective Bidders are not allowed to participate if they have negative slippage in their on-going contracts. Individuals with Special Power of Attorney (SPA) are not allowed to transact and participate in the procurement utilizing another construction firm.

The schedule of BAC activities are as follows:

1.

BAC Activities

Schedule

Time

Issuance of Bid Documents

Starting October 30, 2017

8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

2.

Pre-bid Conference

November 6, 2017

2:00 p.m.

3.

Receipt and Opening of Bids

November 20, 2017

2:00 p.m.

The BAC will issue a complete set of Bidding Documents to eligible bidders upon payment of non-refundable amount of the Bid Documents to the Cashier.

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

(Sgd) ALEJANDRO C. CULIBAR, D.M. BAC Chairman Noted:

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested Bidders upon payment of the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents, pursuant to the latest Guidelines issued by the GPPB, in the amount of Twenty-Five Thousand Pesos (PhP25,000.00).

Prospective bidders may also download the Bidding Documents free of charge from the following websites: www.pagcor.ph and www.philgeps.gov.ph and may be allowed to submit bids provided that bidders shall pay the applicable fee of the Bidding Documents not later than the deadline for the submission and receipt of bids.

Prospective bidders should present to PAGCOR’s PAGCOR’s Finance Section located at the Casino Filipino Olongapo, #580 Rizal Avenue, East Tapinac, Olongapo City either the Payment Slip which may be secured from PS or a copy of this ITB in effecting payment for the Bidding Documents.

Bidders shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of his bid, and PAGCOR will in no case be responsible or liable for those costs, regardless of the conduct or outcome of the bidding process.

Bidders should note that PAGCOR will accept bids only from those that have paid the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents.

All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

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

PAGCOR assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of their bids.

In accordance with Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) Circular 062005 - Tie-Breaking Method, the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) shall use a nondiscretionary and non-discriminatory measure based on sheer luck or chance, which is “DRAW LOTS,” in the event that two (2) or more bidders have been post-qualified and determined as the bidder having the Lowest Calculated Responsive Bid (LCRB) to determine the final bidder having the LCRB, based on the following procedures: a.) In alphabetical order, the bidders shall pick one rolled paper. b.) The lucky bidder who would pick the paper with a “CONGRATULATIONS” remark shall be declared as the final bidder having the LCRB and recommended for award of the contract.

PAGCOR reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award in accordance with Section 41 of RA 9184 and its IRR, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

Please address all communications to the Branch Bids and Awards Committee thru PS Office, Casino Filipino Olongapo, #580 Rizal Avenue, East Tapinac, Olongapo City, Tel No.: (047) 223-4565 to 66 local 4335.

(SGD) NANCY C. ORCULLO Chairperson Branch Bids and awards committee (BBac) casino Filipino-olongapo

(Sgd) JIMMY L. APOSTOL Regional Manager (MS-OCT. 31, 2017)

(MS-OCT. 31, 2017)

Clowns bring laughter to Rohingya kids KUTUPALONG, Bangladesh―The Rohingya boys and girls shrieked with delight as the clowns juggled hoops and somersaulted, their rednosed antics provoking a sound rarely heard in the world’s largest refugee camp―children’s laughter.

The clowns have been providing much-needed levity in the crowded Bangladesh camps, where hundreds of thousands of traumatized Rohingya children spend long days in bleak and difficult conditions.

Mohammad Noor lives with his mother and three siblings in a makeshift shanty in the teeming Kutupalong camp, where a lack of food and water means a constant struggle to survive.

The 10-year-old fled Myanmar last month after his father was killed in brutal violence by the army that the United Nations has likened to ethnic cleansing.

The impromptu circus in a dusty clearing is a welcome distraction from the horror at home.

“It is hilarious. I have never seen anything like it. My friends and I were just laughing and laughing,” he told AFP, as a quartet of painted clowns performed skits before a huge gathered crowd.

Theater groups in Bangladesh have a record of using “drama therapy” to lift spirits in the most depressing of circumstances.

One troupe performed for the survivors of a factory collapse in 2013 that killed 1100 garment workers, while another hosted shows in a small village in Bangladesh’s south that lost nearly 50 children in a tragic road accident. AFP

Catalan leaders, dramatically sacked late Friday by the central Spanish government, have urged “democratic opposition” to Madrid, raising fears around Europe that Spain’s worst crisis in decades might turn ugly.

“We cannot recognize the coup d’etat against Catalonia, nor any of the anti-democratic decisions” by the central Spanish government, Catalonia’s deputy leader Oriol Junqueras, wrote in a Catalan newspaper this weekend.

It is unclear if Catalonia’s now ex-leader Carles Puigdemont and the rest of his sacked executive will try to go to work in Barcelona on Monday. “We will see,” a spokesman for the deposed regional government told AFP. “If they decide themselves that they are the government of the republic (of Catalonia) then we will come out and support them,” a source within the separatist camp told AFP. If they do try, Catalan police could be ordered by Madrid to stop them. Top police chiefs in Catalonia have already been replaced

by Madrid. The outgoing head has urged officers to be loyal to their new superiors.

Local government offices have been ordered to remove photos of Puigdemont, a police spokesman said. Some 200,000 Catalan civil servants are now meant to take direct orders from Madrid.

Spain’s Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis said it was “hard to see” how Puigdemont and the others, who prosecutors may charge with a string of offenses this week, “will go on governing”.

“Reality is already sinking in, will continue sinking in and they will realize that they cannot do something without the authority of law,” he told Britain’s Sky News on Sunday.

AFP

Kevin Spacey comes out as gay LOS ANGELES―Kevin Spacey came out as gay early Monday and apologized to actor Anthony Rapp, who accused the Hollywood star of making a sexual advance on him at a 1986 party when he was only 14 years old.

Spacey’s announcement, posted on his Twitter account at midnight, came after Rapp―best known for being part of the original cast of the hit Broadway musical “Rent”―made the accusation in an interview with Buzzfeed News.

Spacey, 58, a double Oscar winner and star of the Netflix series “House of Cards,” said he did not remember the encounter but that “if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.”

He went on to say that Rapp’s accusation “encouraged me to address other things about my life.”

“As those closest to me know, in my life I have had relationships with both men and women.

I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man.

“I want to deal with this honest-

ly and openly and that starts with examining my own behavior.”

Rapp, 46, told Buzzfeed that in 1986, while both he and Spacey were performing in Broadway shows, Spacey invited the then 14-year-old to a party at his New York apartment. Spacey would have been 26 at the time.

Rapp said he was in Spacey’s bedroom watching TV when Spacey appeared in the doorway at the end of the night, “kind of swaying” and apparently drunk.

Rapp said Spacey picked him up, put him on the bed and lay on top of the teenage boy.

“He was trying to seduce me,” Rapp told Buzzfeed. “I don’t know if I would have used that language.

But I was aware that he was trying to get with me sexually.”

Rapp said he squirmed away after a brief period of time and went into the bathroom. Shortly after, he left Spacey’s apartment and went home.

Rapp’s accusation came after more than 50 women accused movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of misconduct including rape, sexual abuse and harassment. His accusers include stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and Mira Sorvino. AFP

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Sports

A7

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2017 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Cavaliers, Warriors toppled L

OS ANGELES—The NBA champion Golden State Warriors and beaten finalists Cleveland tumbled Sunday as early season struggles continued for the league’s powerhouse teams.

Tim Hardaway Jr. and Kristaps Porzingis combined for 66 points to lead the New York Knicks to a 114-95 victory over the Cavs in Cleveland.

In Oakland, California, the Warriors coughed up 25 turnovers in a 115-107 loss to the Detroit Pistons.

The Knicks notched their first win over the Cavs since October 30, 2014, ending a 10-game losing streak against the Cavs, tipped before the season to

be headed to the finals for a fourth time.

Hardaway scored 34 points and Porzingis added 32 with 12 rebounds for the Knicks, who handed LeBron James and the Cavaliers a fourth defeat in eight days.

“Tonight’s loss and the last couple are unacceptable, and the only way we’re going to be able to get out of it is to put the work in -- as players, as coaches,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn

Lue said. “And we’re going to do that.”

A day after falling to the New Orleans Pelicans, the Cavaliers looked lethargic as they trailed by 18 points in the third quarter.

They trimmed the deficit to 94-88 on a James layup with 8:20 to play before the Knicks regained control.

Kevin Love again led Cleveland with 22 points and 11 rebounds. James added 16 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists and said it’s too early in the season to worry.

“What is this? October?

I’m not about to go crazy over it right now,” James said.

While the Cavs have

struggled with slow starts, the Warriors have been finding it hard to hold onto leads.

Golden State squandered a 14-point third-quarter advantage over Detroit, who shot just 46.2 percent from the field but benefitted from the Warriors’ sloppy play.

The Warriors connected on a blistering 61.4 percent of their shots over the first three periods, but trailed 101-88 at 6:25 of the fourth quarter.

The Warriors were down 108-105 with 1:55 to play when they got a steal from Stephen Curry. But he missed the contested layup and then a three-point attempt.

Tobias Harris added a

three-pointer for Detroit, before Curry lost the ball to Avery Bradley, whose layup sealed it for the Pistons.

“At some point, the ball just has to matter,” said exasperated Golden State coach Steve Kerr. “We are throwing the ball all over the place. It’s focus and execution.

“Teams are coming after us every single night, and we know that. We are getting everybody’s best shot, and if you don’t match that type of energy and play with some intelligence and some discipline, you are not going to win.”

Perennial Western Conference contenders San Antonio also fell as Indiana’s

Victor Oladipo drained the game-winning threepointer with 10.3 seconds remaining in a 97-94 win over the Spurs.

Poised Pacers The Pacers led much of the game before the Spurs rallied to take a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter.

“We just stayed poised,” said Oladipo, who finished with 23 points. “It’s a long game, there’s a lot of ups and downs. It’s a game of runs. You’ve just got to lift each other up. We did a good job of that.”

Oladipo admitted that his shot from 30 feet away, which put the Pacers up 9594, was “maybe too deep”.

AFP

Velez, Milliam score PPS tennis twin-kills JOHN David Velez and Alexa Milliam kept their win run going in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala regional age group tennis, posting a pair of victories to share the MVP honors in the San Carlos leg in Negros Occidental yesterday.

Velez, a perennial leg winner in the circuit, including the recent Pikit stop in Cotabato, routed Sai Lago, 6-1, 6-0, in the boys’ 14-and-under finals then the Precious International School of Davao ace repulsed Reynan Mahusay, 6-2, 7-5, to claim the 16-U title in the Group 2 tournament backed by Palawan Pawnshop and presented

by Slazenger.

Milliam, from La Carlota, also sustained her form coming off a rare three-title feat in Bacolod last week, beating Casey Padilla twice, 6-4, 6-0, in the girls’ 12-U finals and 6-3, 6-3, in the 14-U side

Ahanmisi is UAAP top cager of week JERRICK Ahanmisi provided the spark Adamson needed in its push to a strong finish in the elimination round of the UAAP Season 80 men’s basketball tournament.

The Fil-American guard averaged 18.5 points per game over the past two games for the Falcons in capturing the Chooks To Go-UAAP Press Corps Player of the Week.

Ahanmisi finished with 21 points, including crucial shots in the end game to lead the Falcons to a 7570 win over University of Santo Tomas on Wednesday, before he once again spearheaded his team to another victory this time at the hands of National University, 90-77, after tallying 16 points on 4-of8 shooting from threes.

With Ahanmisi’s performance, Adamson remained in contention for a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four with an 8-4 record, but two games behind second-place La Salle (10-2).

Ahanmisi, however, said it is still a learning process for him and the Falcons especially after the close win over UST, and the win over NU that saw the Falcons lose a 28-point lead in the game.

“I think we should learn from that. We should have not let them come back like that,” said Ahanmisi, referring to the win over NU.

of the event supported by Cebuana Lhuillier, PPSPEPP, Wilson, Toby’s, BMeg, Citigreen, Babolat and Tru-Flex of the Unified Tennis Group.

“These two young players have the potential to become the country’s next stars and through the PPSPEPP circuit, we are providing them the support, motivation and exposure they need to live up to their promise,” said Palawan Pawnshop president/COO Bobby Castro.

Milliam actually completed another three-title romp as she teamed up with Lyrah Repollo to down Padilla and Safina Solon, 8-2, in the 14-U doubles finals.

Sharing the podium with the co-MVPs were Naga Cebu’s Vincent Canete, Sogod, Leyte’s Lago, Pontevedra’s Mahusay, Elsie Abarquez of Carcar, Cebu and Cagayan de Oro’s Aubrey Calma.

Members of the Red Team, coached by Roger Gorayeb, display their awards.

Team Vhyl, Roger win at PVL All-Star Games IT WAS a day to remember for fans and players alike as the Premier Volleyball League marked the end of its inaugural season on Oct. 29 with a successful AllStar Sunday that saw Team Vhyl and Team Roger win in the Men’s and Women’s matches, respectively.

Coach Vhyl Verayo led the Yellow team to win over coach Oliver Almadro’s Blue team, 25-16, 20-25, 25-

22, 23-25, 15-9 behind a balanced attack led by Fauzi Ismail’s 14 points. Four others scored in double figures for Yellow, while Marck Espejo and Mark Alfafara led Blue with 16 and 10.

Meanwhile, coach Roger Gorayeb’s Team Red prevented a Team White comeback when they ended the women’s match in four sets 25-21, 25-22, 13-25, 25-21.

Riding on the herculean ef-

forts of Diana Carlos who finished with 15 points, Gorayeb’s squad held off the rampage of coach Rico De Guzman’s wards led by Nicole Tiamzon with 14 points.

The event, held at the San Juan Arena and streamed on premiervolleyballlegue.com, with the women’s match airing live on S+A and S+A HD, was for the benefit of the Hero Foundation.

The fans, who supported the league for three years, were treated to a meet and greet with their volleyball idols. Participants from S+A’s Heroes Camp Volleyball Clinic, which has gone to six barangays to teach and inspire budding Filipino athletes volleyball fundamentals and positive values, were also present to cheer for and meet their volleyball idols.

M’ lang bets shine in Cebuana net tournament LOCAL girl Tennielle Madis emerged as the biggest winner at the recent Cebuana Lhuillier Age Group Tennis Championship Series leg in M’lang in North Cotabato, ruling two individual categories and sharing a doubles’ title while sibling Jazzelle Madis added another individual title.

Tennielle was an easy 6-2, 6-2 winner over provincemate Sittie Nur Manangking in the girls’ 12-under and du-

plicated it with an even easier 6-0, 6-0 victory over Jasmen Kadalum, also from North Cotabato. She then added the girls’ 14-under doubles’ title as she partnered with Kadalum and beat Manangking and Daniela Dalandanin, 8-4, in the finals of the tournament backed by Dunlop as the official ball.

Jazzelle, meanwhile, shocked multi-titlist Carlyn Bless Guarde, 6-4, 6-2, in the

finals of the girls’ 16-under for her share of family wins, but Guarde got back at her erstwhile tormentor when they met anew in the girls’ 18-under championship match as she swept her opponent, 6-2, 6-2, for the crown.

“With the end of hostilities in Marawi City, we expect even bigger number of entries in our remaining legs in the series. Participation in the past legs in Mindanao was

also good as sports is always a good unifier,” said Jean Henri Lhuillier, President/CEO of Cebuana Lhuillier, who initiated the country’s longestrunning age group tennis eleven years ago.

In the boys’ side, the Sonsona brothers, John Christopher and John Steven, had their own family act in the tournament as they won an individual title each, with the latter annexing a doubles’ title, too.

Wozniacki: Extended break did me good

PSL PRESS CORPS. United States women’s national team head coach and FIVB Hall of Famer Karch Kiraly and Philippine Superliga president Ramon “Tats” Suzara induct the newly-elected officers of the PSL Press Corps. Assuming leadership for the next two years are Meilin Lozada of Spin.ph (President); Miguel Flores of Tiebreaker Times (Vice President for Reporters); Jerome Ascano of Spin. ph (Vice President for Photographers); Nads Ong of Volleyverse (Secretary); Matthew Li of Tiebreaker Times (Treasurer); Jerome Lagunzad of Manila Bulletin (Auditor) and Rave Sengco of Volleyball PH (PRO).

Ex-pros lead L & J to cage triumph

THIS time, ex-pro James Martinez and the rest of L & J Spa cagers made sure they’ll get the job done.

Martinez knocked down 23 points built around six triples to power L & J to a big bounce-back win by dumping Madam Tess, 10485, in the Marikina City Basketball League at the Marikina Sports Center.

A former player of the Powerade Tigers in the PBA, the sweet-shooting Martinez also got ample support from former Purefoods player Gerwin Gaco, Dennis Villamor, Renz Palma, Mike Ayonayon and JR Taganas, all of them finishing in

double figures for L & J. Gaco, a fan favorite in the PBA, is making his presence felt in the MCBL. He contributed 15 points and pulled down 15 boards in a solid effort.

Villamor chipped in 13 while Palma and Ayonayon had 12 each.

Taganas, a long-time teammate of Martinez, also had a double-double performance of 10 points and 15 rebounds as L & J clobbered its rivals in the battle of the boards, 63-39.

Ex-pro Paul Sanga led the way for Madam Tess with 26 markers, but failed to get enough support from his teammates.

SINGAPORE— Caroline Wozniacki said an extended injury break last year was a crucial factor behind her WTA Finals victory, an echo of this season’s brilliant comebacks by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

The former world number one beat Venus Williams for the first time in eight attempts to seal the biggest title of her career at the prestigious season finale in Singapore late on Sunday.

It’s an outcome that seemed unlikely just over 12 months ago, when Wozniacki languished at number 74 after struggling to return from a major ankle injury sustained early in 2016.

But the 27-year-old Dane, who appeared fresh and hungry as she lost just once in five matches in Singapore, said the 10-week layoff was a blessing in disguise.

“I strongly believe everything happens for a reason and maybe I wouldn’t be here if that (injury) wouldn’t have

happened,” she told reporters after her 6-4, 6-4 win.

“I think the break from tennis for me was great. I really enjoyed being home, just doing normal stuff and not being able to hit a ball actually felt nice.

“When I felt ready, I came back and I was enjoying to play out there.”

Wozniacki’s success follows revivals by Nadal and Federer, who both struggled with injury last year but have returned to split the men’s Grand Slam singles titles and the top two rankings in 2017.

Federer, 36, is a proponent of taking time to rest and he has announced that he will skip this week’s Paris Masters, admitting: “My body is asking for a break.”

Players have long complained about the arduous tennis season, which stretches from January to November with rankings points available at tournaments around the globe. AFP

Nadal set to seal no.1 in Paris

PARIS—Rafael Nadal will be crowned as the year-end world number one if he wins his first match at this week’s Paris Masters, after Roger Federer withdrew from the tournament.

The two old rivals have both had stunning seasons, returning to form and fitness with two Grand Slam titles each.

But Federer, who could have still usurped Nadal at the top of the rankings with titles in the French capital and at the World Tour Finals in London, pulled out of the final event of the regular season to protect a back problem.

The 36-year-old said winning his eighth Swiss Indoors title on Sunday against Juan Martin del Potro left him unfit to play at the Bercy Arena.

“I am very sorry to have to pull out of the Paris Masters but my body needs a rest after Basel,” said the Swiss legend.

“I’ve played a lot of tennis this year and need to make sure I look after my physical wellbeing if I want to continue to compete at the highest level for years to come.

“I love to play at Bercy, it’s a few times now that I’ve not played there. It’s a tough one but they have to understand that it’s for the cause of staying injuryfree and healthy.

“I’d like to be fully fit for London and for 2018.”

Top seed Nadal, who has a bye for the first round in Paris, just needs to win his opening second-round clash to secure the top ranking heading into next year. AFP

Angered...

From A8

NO. 2 seed San Juan outsteadied No. 7 Valenzuela, 88-86, while No. 5-ranked Navotas shocked No. 4 Marikina, 78-75, Tuesday to advance to the semifinals in the North Division of the 2017 Metro Basketball Tournament seniors’ competition at the San Juan Gym. John Kenneth Zamora and Joshua Emmanuel Montero scored 19 points apiece as San Juan held off Valenzuela’s last-ditch rally to barge into the semis of the tournament organized by the Metro Manila Development Authority and sponsored by Synergy 88, San Miguel Corp., World Balance and Higer Bus. The Whatta Whatta, which finished in a three-way tie with Manila and Marikina at 4-2 after the classification stage, but took the higher seeding by virtue of a more superior quotient, await the winner of the No. 3 Manila vs. No. 6 Caloocan quarterfinal in the semis, which will also be a knockout affair in the tournament, which has Mobile App ng Bayan Barangay 143 as presentor, my|phone “Bida ang Pinoy” as official mobile phone and Spalding as official ball.

San Juan, which lost to Valenzuela, 8985, in the classification phase last Oct. 8, appeared headed to an easy win as it led 86-72 with 3:40 left.

But Valenzuela, with Josiah Esplana and Jaymar Gimpayan combining for 39 points, came charging back via a 14-2 run to threaten at 86-88 with still 27 seconds left.

Both teams, however, failed to score again until the final buzzer, enabling the Whatta Whatta to escape with the win at the start of the playoffs of the 24-and-under tourney also supported by Excellent Noodles, Nature’s Spring Water, 1-Pacman Partylist, Hopewell Sales Corp., Star Bread, Frabelle Foods, Regan Industrial Sales, Inc., Glitter.ph, Alcoplus and Archie’s Bespoke Bar + Grill.

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

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2017

Sports

Alex Bregman of the Houston Astros celebrates after scoring on a double by Jose Altuve (not pictured) during the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game five of the 2017 World Series at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. AFP

Houston wins thriller, grabs World Series lead H OUSTON—Alex Bregman singled home Derek Fisher with the winning run in the 10th inning and the Houston Astros reached the brink of their first World Series title Sunday, outlasting the Los Angeles Dodgers 13-12 in a tension-packed thriller.

The Astros seized a 3-2 lead in Major League Baseball’s best-of-seven final and can claim the crown by winning game six on Tuesday in Los Angeles.

“It was unbelievable, the best game ever for sure,” said Astros shortstop Carlos Correa, who blasted a threerun homer. “Emotions are running high right now. We have the lead in the Series.

We’re going to go out there

and take it in LA.” The Dodgers, seeking a seventh championship and their first since 1988, must win to force a winnertake-all seventh game on Wednesday.

“It’s still a one-game season,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “We’re coming off a big win. It’s a singular focus for us.”

In an epic game that mirrored the momentum

swings a drama-filled series has produced, the outcome was decided after five hours and 17 minutes on a single by a 23-year-old third baseman who made his major league debut just 15 months ago.

“He understands what we need. Being calm in the moment is inate,” Hinch said of Bregman. “One of the many plot twists and turns is what to do and when.”

Astros catcher Brian McCann started the decisive rally by taking first base when struck in the right arm by a pitch from Dodgers closing pitcher Kenley Jansen, who then walked George Springer to put the winning run on second base.

The Astros inserted pinch-runner Fisher and

Bregman followed with a single to left field that sent Fisher racing across the plate ahead of a desperate throw that was too late to prevent the deciding run and an emotional celebration by the Astros and their fans.

“I was so happy just to help this team win,” Bregman said. “I got (Jansen) on a slider last night so I knew he wouldn’t throw that. I was looking for a cutter, tried to stay on top and we’re up 3-2, baby!”

It was the second-highest score for a losing team in World Series history, the only similar slugfest in the event’s 113 editions being Toronto’s 15-14 game-four win at Philadelphia in 1993.

The Astros led 12-9 in

By Jeric Lopez

IT IS an end of an era for Barangay Ginebra.

Just several days after the Kings won their second straight Governors’ Cup championship, longtime Ginebra star and icon Jayjay Helterbrand announced his retirement yesterday after 17 seasons in the Philippine Basketball Association as a Gin King.

The 2009 league Most Valuable Player formally announced his retirement in a live interview on CNN’s Sportsdesk Monday morning.

“I’ve had a great career. I have no regrets whatsoever. I think this is the perfect time for me to hang it up on my own terms,” said Helterbrand.

After Ginebra ended its eight-year title drought last season by winning its first of two successive Governors’ Cup crown, many thought that he might retire and fortunately for Ginebra

fans, he stayed on for one more season.

As the Gin Kings retained their title, Helterbrand called it a career for himself and ended it with a bang with a sixth overall championship.

Helterbrand and longtime backcourt Mark Caguioa have been the faces of the franchise for almost two decades as they’ve rejuvenated Ginebra and delivered multiple titles along the way.

Now, ‘The Fast and the Furious’ will no longer be whole with Helterbrand on his way out.

Prior to Helterbrand’s announcement, Ginebra spitfire Scottie Thompson admitted that he felt his veteran teammate is bound for retirement.

Helterbrand had a colorful PBA career, having won six championships, a league MVP in 2009, a finals MVP in 2007, two Best Player of the Conference awards and seven All-Star selections.

He is also one of the 40 greatest players in the PBA.

Angered by owner’s comment, players kneel for anthem

the ninth and were one strike from victory before the Dodgers equalized.

Yasiel Puig smashed a two-run homer into the leftfield stands off Houston relief pitcher Chris Devenski with one out to pull the Dodgers within 12-11.

It was the 22nd homer of this World Series, breaking the total homers mark of 21 set in 2002, and the game’s seventh combined homer for both teams, matching a Series record from 1989.

Austin Barnes followed with a double and took third on Joc Pederson’s ground out to shortstop. Dodgers leadoff batter Chris Taylor was down to his last strike before ripping a single up the middle to score Barnes and level the game. AFP

LOS ANGELES—Houston Texans players, stung by team owner Bob McNair’s remarks while discussing the NFL’s national anthem demonstrations, knelt for “The Star-Spangled Banner” before their game in Seattle on Sunday.

Duane Brown and Jadeveon Clowney were among the majority of Texans players who took a knee and linked arms during the pre-game anthem.

Their demonstration came two days after McNair apologized for a comment he made in a meeting with other team owners about the impact of the protests this month, when he was reported by ESPN to have said “we can’t have the inmates running the prison.”

Although McNair met with his players and issued two apologies, all but 10 Texans took a knee -- a departure for a team whose players had previously opted to stand for the anthem.

“What he said, a lot of the players felt was wrong,” said cornerback Marcus Williams, who had four tackles and intercepted Russell Wilson late in the fourth quarter of the Texans’ 41-38 loss to the Seahawks.

“But at the end of the day, we’ve got to come out and play the game. What happens off the field, we try to keep it there, and when it’s time to play, we’ve got to come out and make plays.”

Brown said the meeting with McNair went “not too well” but added that the team went into the contest focused on the job.

“It was a lot of emotions running for our team, but just a huge sense of unity we all felt coming out here and playing for each other,” Brown said. “And that was that. Once kickoff started, we tried to block out any other distractions we may have had.”

McNair’s seeming comparison of the league’s players to prison inmates sparked a bitter backlash from players across the league -- and even from athletes in other sports. AFP

Smart/MVP Sports national age-group taekwondo slated

Archers must win last 2 tiffs

By Peter Atencio WINNING their last two games is important for the defending champion La Salle Green Archers.

Doing so will assure the Green Archers the no. 2 seeding in the Final Four semifinals of the 80th University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament.

“We have to focus on our last two games.

They’re important and we have the Blue Eagles to take on,” said Green Archers big man Ben Mbala.

The Green Archers now have a 10-2 record in second spot after they smothered the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, 94-59, last Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Adamson Falcons are close behind with their 8-4 record and are in a position to take the no. 2 spot if the Falcons hurdle their games with the University of the Philippines and Far Eastern University.

Aside from the Blue Eagles, the Green Archers still have the National University Bulldogs as one of their remaining rivals.

“We just have to stick to the system. Depensa talaga,” said Mbala’s teammate Ricci Rivero.

Ginebra’s Jayjay calls it a career

JL TKD’s Gaiven Batayuga, shown delivering a roundhouse kick against Wildcats’ Liam Shawn Lee, is one of the athletes to watch in the age group tilt.

IT’S the turn of the country’s young taekwondo campaigners to take centerstage on Nov. 4-5 with the staging of the 2017 Smart/MVP Sports Foundation national age group (free sparring) and PLDT Home Ultera (poomsae) championships at the Rizal Memorial coliseum.

Around 1,200 contestants, including male and female aspirants as young as four-years-old, are expected to show their wares in the twoday nationwide event organized by the Philippine Taekwondo Association and sponsored by Meralco, Philippine Sports

Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee and MILO. The competition also supports the country’s as well as the PTA’s grassroots sports development program. The free sparring event features Novice and Advance players in three divisions -- Juniors, Cadets and Gradeschool.

Poomsae action is open only to blackbelt students for the following events -individual, pair and team.

Poomsae or forms is performed by following a systematic time of movements in consecutive sequences against an imaginary opponent

or multiple opponents.

The participants use hands and feet and interconnected techniques like blocking, punching, striking, thrusting and kicking. Constant poomsae training helps improve flexibility and control in breathing, balance, power, eye focus and mental discipline.

Competition on both days will start at 9 a.m. but the opening ceremony will be held at 1 p..m. on Nov. 5.

Martial arts enthusiasts, especially children who are interested to learn the sport, and sports fans are invited to watch the competition.

Magis subdue Justice Boosters after 2 OTs THE Judiciary Magis turned back the Justice Boosters, 95-88, after two overtime periods on Sunday at the Pasig City Sports Center in the continuation of the UNTV Cup Season 6 elimination round.

Chester Tolomia banged in 34 points, including six treys, while Don Camaso struck for 30 points, highlighted by eight treys, as the ex-pros led Judiciary’s scoring attack.

The two got ample support from Frederick Salamat (12 points) and Warren Ybañez (8).

It was a toe-to-toe battle for most of the game, with the count

being tied at 75-all and then 80-all for a rare double-overtime finish, a first in UNTV Cup history.

DOJ’s Paul Gerard Reguerra scored 31 points, spiked by 6 three-pointers. He was backed up

by Justine Lopez, Eric Mabazza and Marlon San Juan, with 12 points each.

Meanwhile, the NHA Builders denied the Ombudsman Graft Busters their first win of the season following a 101-80 victory.

Marvin Mercado was Hailed as Best Player of the Game after leading the Builders with his 25 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and

2 steals.

The Graft Busters were led by Renelou Lumague and Francis Palacio with 13 points apiece.

On the other hand, the BFP Firefighters got their first victory of the season after defeating the DOH Health Achievers, 89-68.

Former professional basketball players Rob Wainwright (20p/7r/2b) and playing coach Gilbert Malabanan (18p/8r/1a/2s) led the Firefighters.

Meanwhile, the Health Achievers were spearheaded by Marlon Kalaw (15p/4r/1a) and Stephen Mopera (12p/6r/2s).

Judiciary Magis’ Chester Tolomia (29) tries to steal the ball from DOJ Justice Boosters’ Paul Gerard Reguera during their teams’ UNTV Cup game at the Pasig City Sports Center.

Local retailers buck further liberalization B3

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2017

PhilWeb now ready to resume operations ONLINE gaming solutions provider PhilWeb Corp. said Monday it can now resume operations after obtaining a certificate of accreditation from state-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

Philweb said in a disclosure to the stock exchange that as a Pagcoraccredited electronic gaming system service provider, it could offer its software and other services to the operators of Pagcor-licensed gaming sites for electronic games.

Philweb president Dennis Valdes earlier said the company would resume operations as soon as it got the actual certificate of accreditation from Pagcor.

The company was previously issued a provisional certification of accreditation.

Valdes said he was hoping to win back 120 independent gaming operators who used to work with Philweb.

PhilWeb also expects to the company to return to profitability by 2018 after regaining Pagcor accreditation.

PhilWeb’s gaming license expired in August 2016, which resulted in the closure of 286 eGames cafes across the country.

Pagcor did not renew PhilWeb’s license after President Rodrigo Duterte expressed his negative sentiments over online gaming.

The president also singled out then company chairman Roberto Ongpin as one of the oligarchs in the country that his administration wanted to destroy.

Ongpin was forced to divest from PhilWeb by selling his entire shares to businessman Gregorio Araneta III for P2 billion.

Philweb posted a net loss of P141 million in the first half, a downturn from the P234-million net profit it booked in the same period last year Share price of Philweb fell 2.36 percent Monday to P7.86.

Jenniffer B. Austria

B1

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Friday, October 30, 2017

F OREIGN E XCHANGE R ATE Currency Unit US Dollar Peso

AIRLINE UNITY.

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade (center) joins the presidents of local airlines and top global aviation officials in a show of unity at the conclusion of the first Philippine Aviation Day organized by the Air Carriers Association of the Philippines and sponsored by the International Air Transport Association. Shown (starting fourth from left) are CEBGo president Alexander Lao, PAL Express president Bonifacio Sam, Rafael Garchitorena of Deutsche Bank, IATA director-general Alexandre de Juniac, Tugade, PAL president Jaime Bautista, Cebu Pacific president Lance Gokongwei and Philippines AirAsia president Dexter Comendador.

United States Dollar

1.000000

51.7990

Japan

Yen

0.008794

0.4555

UK

Pound

1.312800

68.0017

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128149

6.6380

Switzerland

Franc

1.002908

51.9496

Canada

Dollar

0.780214

40.4143

Singapore

Dollar

0.732815

37.9591

Australia

Dollar

0.767100

39.7350

Bahrain

Dinar

2.653224

137.4343

Saudi Arabia Rial

0.266660

13.8127

0.730140

Brunei

Dollar

Indonesia

Rupiah 0.000073

0.0038

Thailand

Baht

1.5560

UAE

Dirham 0.272287

14.1042

Euro

Euro

1.161100

60.1438

Korea

Won

0.000889

0.0460

China

Yuan

0.150342

7.7876

India

Rupee

0.015378

0.7966

Malaysia

Ringgit 0.235793

0.030039

37.8205

12.2138

New Zealand Dollar

0.687800

35.6274

Taiwan

0.033164

1.7179

Dollar

Source: PDS Bridge

Phoenix buys PH FamilyMart

By Jenniffer B. Austria

P

HOENIX Petroleum Philippines Inc., a listed company led by Davao Citybased businessman Dennis Uy, is acquiring 100 percent of Philippine FamilyMart, as Uy diversifies into the highly-competitive convenience store industry.

Phoenix Petroleum said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it signed a memorandum of understanding with SIAL CVS Retailers Inc. and its Japanese partners for the planned 100-percent acquisition of PFM. PFM is engaged in operating convenience stores under the trademark “FamilyMart” in the Philippines.

SIAL CVS, a joint venture of ALI Capital Corp. of Ayala Land Inc. and SSI Group Inc., owns 60 percent of PFM while Japanese companies FamilyMart Co. Ltd. and Itochu own 37.6 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.

The sale, which also attracted the interests of several buyers including FilipinoTaiwanese businessman Jerry Liu who owns Figaro Coffee and Angel’s Pizza and businessman Lowell Yu who owns Kuya J Restaurant and Landers membership shopping, will be subject to the approval of the Philippine Competition Commission.

Phoenix Petroleum said the potential acquisition of PFM would complement its retail fuel business, with 518 stations nationwide, and marked its entry into the fast-growing domestic convenience retail market. The value of the

transaction was not disclosed.

“Philippine FamilyMart has built a reputation for convenience and fresh, quality offerings. We are pleased to have it as a strategic addition to the group as we broaden our products and services and offer greater convenience to our customers,” said Uy, who serves as Phoenix Petroleum president and chief executive.

Uy, who acquired a 28-percent stake in logistics company 2Go Group Inc., has made several deals this year including the acquisition of Enderun Colleges Inc. and the purchase of Petronas Energy Philippines Inc., the local unit of Malaysia’ Petroliam Nasional Berhad which is engaged in the business of selling liquefied petroleum gas.

He also finalized a deal to acquire a 177-hectare logistics hub called Global

Gateway Logistics City in Clark City.

Ayala Land and SSI Group teamed up with two Japanese firms in 2012 to bring FamilyMart to the Philippines.

“We are proud to have introduced FamilyMart to the Philippines. Filipinos have really embraced the convenience store format and FamilyMart is well positioned as one of the top CVS brands in the country,” SSI president and chief executive Anthony Huang said.

Jose Emmanuel H. Jalandoni, senior vice resident of Ayala Land said: “We are delighted that Phoenix Petroleum shares our vision for the continued growth of the FamilyMart brand in the Philippines. We believe that they have a robust platform for taking FamilyMart to the next level and will be excellent stewards of the brand moving forward.”

ICTSI seals deal to get 34.9% of North Harbor

By Darwin G. Amojelar PORT operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. said Monday it completed the acquisition of a 34.88-percent stake in Manila North Harbor Port Inc. ICTSI, owned by billionaire Enrique Razon Jr., said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it complied with the conditions on the share purchase agreement involving 10,499,000 shares or 34.88 percent of Petron Corp. in MNHPI. The transaction was valued at P1.5 billion.

Harbor Center Port Terminal Inc. of the Romero family owns the remaining 65-percent stake in MNHPI, which operates and maintains the Manila North Harbor, which in turn handles domestic shipments in the Port of Manila.

ICTSI earlier said the trans-

IN BRIEF ADB approves $100-m infra loan

THE Asian Development Bank said Monday its board of directors approved a $100-million loan for the Infrastructure Preparation and Innovation Facility to support the Philippine government in accelerating the delivery of high-quality public infrastructure projects under the ambitious “Build, Build, Build” program.

The facility will assist two key agencies―the Department of Transportation and the Department of Public Works and Highways―in preparing flagship infrastructure projects under the infrastructure program using international best practices.

It is estimated to spur $3.8 billion in public infrastructure investments in national roads, railways, bridges, flood control, ports, and airports, which in turn will add as much as $10 billion to the country’s gross domestic product between 2019 and 2024.

“The flagship infrastructure projects under the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program will spur economic growth and improve people’s living standards. Better infrastructure will lower the cost of doing business, shorten travel times, and usher in more economic opportunities in remote areas. It will also make it easier for people to access education, healthcare, and other social services,” said ADB country director Richard Bolt.

25 ecozones up for proclamation

THE Office of the Executive Secretary agreed to work with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, the Trade Department and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry to speed up the presidential proclamations for new special economic zones.

PCCI said the move was in response to investor concerns which they expressed during the recently concluded 43rd Philippine Business Conference.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea said the review of pending applications took longer than expected given the lack of important documentation and requirements, specifically those that pertained to land titles.

Medialdea asked Peza and the Trade Department to jointly work and undertake due diligence to ensure that everything was in order before sending applications to his office for endorsement.

He cited the importance of working according to the letter of the law to prevent future issues.

action would allow the company to contribute its experience, expertise and state-of the-art technology and infrastructure to enhance the operational efficiency of the domestic terminal in the Port of Manila and improve the traffic condition in Metro Manila.

Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. owns a 43.44-percent stake in MNHPI. MNHPI won the 25-year contract to manage, develop and operate the 52-hectare seaport terminal.

The company earlier committed to invest P14.5 billion to develop the port facility.

Aside from developing passenger port terminal with a capacity to serve 2 million to 3 million passengers a year, the company plans to build a container yard. The port serves close to 4,000 vessel calls annually.

Medialdea assured that the OES had completed reviews of 25 pending ecozone applications which were ready for presidential proclamation. Othel V. Campos

Calata resorts to cryptocurrency

EMBATTLED agriculture company Calata Corp. plans to list its shares in a cryptocurrency exchange, a new solution it proposed to shareholders once the Philippine Stock Exchange decided to delist the company due to multiple disclosure violations.

A cryptocurrency exchange is an online platform where one can exchange one cryptocurrency for another cryptocurrency like bitcoin.

Calata said the company planned to have it shares listed in a cryptocurrency exchange in Europe over the next two months under Calcoins.

“We will be the first cryptocurrency in the Philippines that can be used for our day-to-day purchases. We will lead it and we will do it,” Calata said.

Under the plan, Calata will issue digital tokens or etherem based tokens, equivalent to their shares in the company.

Calata is undertaking the move as it faces possible delisting from the stock exchange after its potential white knight Millennium Global Holdings Inc. cancelled the plan to take over the company. Jenniffer B. Austria

Cebu Pacific defers Hawaii flights THE operator of Cebu Pacific said it deferred plans to fly to Honolulu, Hawaii and the US mainland to focus on the growing demand for domestic and regional flights.

“We have no immediate plans to fly to the US mainland at this point. Right now, we do fly to the territory of Guam.

We were exploring it, but there’s no active plan,” Cebu Air Inc. president and chief executive Lance Gokongwei said.

“We’d rather focus our resources on meeting the demand, existing demand for regional and domestic flights,” he said.

Cebu Pacific vice president for corporate communications JR Mantaring said in July the airline was likely to fly to Honolulu next year in time for the delivery of new aircraft .

“If you want to do a direct flight, it requires new aircraft to do US mainland. Hawaii, we could probably do with our existing Airbus 330 but we have no current plans to do so,” Gokongwei said.

The airline has a current fleet of 59 aircraft. Between 2017 and 2022, Cebu Pacific expects delivery of seven Airbus A321ceo, 32 Airbus A321neo and nine ATR 72-600 aircraft. Darwin G. Amojelar

ICTSI’S GIVES AWAY HOUSES. Port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. has rolled out since 2016 a new employee rewards program by raffling off new house and lot units to qualified employees of its flagship, Manila International Container Terminal. Shown is ICTSI senior vice president and head of Asia-Pacific and MICT Christian Gonzalez (center) congratulating MICT quay crane operator Raldy Lido (left), one of the 40 new owners of a house and lot as of October this year.

MICC to hold biennial mining review

By Julito G. Rada FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said Monday the inter-agency Mining Industry Coordinating Council will review mining operations in the country every two years.

MICC is co-chaired by Dominguez and Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu.

Dominguez lauded the MICC for starting the “factfinding and science-based” review of mining operations across the country for the first time since the inception of the multisectoral oversight body five years ago.

Dominguez said since the MICC was reconstituted in 2012 under Executive Order No. 79, the body had failed―until now―to perform one of its main tasks under the law, which was to carry out a multi-stakeholder review of mining operations once every two years.

“I have to congratulate all of you because this

group was set up in 2012.

It’s the first time ever that we are going to do this review,” Dominguez said at the recent MICC meeting.

Dominguez recalled that the first time the MICC met under the Duterte administration and began to discuss the conduct of a multistakeholder review was in February. “So after that, we got things done. Congratulations to everybody,” he told his fellow members in the council during their latest meeting on Oct. 24.

The first batch of mining operations covered by the review were the 26 sites arbitrarily ordered either closed or suspended by former Environment secretary Reginal Lopez.

Dominguez said was MICC was mandated to conduct a review of mining operations every two years, the council should start discussing in January next year the review plan for 2019, which should cover a different set of mine sites.

He predicted that “after two or three cycles,” MICC would have already covered the review of all mining sites in the entire country.

“Because it took quite a bit of time to plan for the implementation of this [first review], and because we are mandated to do this every two years, I think, in January we should already be planning what we will do for 2019,” Dominguez said.

“Let’s start planning already for the second round,” he said.

MICC, in the first round of the review covering the initial batch of 26 mines, is expeced to release the preliminary results in January next year and the final report by March. Five technical review teams will carry out the review.

Finance Undersecretary Bayani Agabin said the clustering of the mines for review were based on the types of minerals and locations.

BDO’s net income rises 5% to P20.4b BDO Unibank Inc., the country’s largest lender controlled by tycoon Henry Sy, said Monday net income in the first nine months rose 5 percent to P20.4 billion from a year ago, driven by the sustained growth in core lending, deposit-taking and feebased businesses.

BDO said in a disclosure to the stock exchange net income would have grown 17 percent in January to September, after excluding extraordinary items primarily related to the consolidation of life insurance business (BDO Life) in 2016.

“With a strong capital base, solid business franchise and extensive geographic reach, the bank is well-positioned to take full advantage of the country’s growth opportunities and further strengthen its dominance in the industry,” BDO said. Julito G. Rada

B2

Business

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Market advances; GT Capital up SM agrees to put up S TOCKS advanced Monday, following Wall Street’s record climb last week and as investors place their bets on blue chips ahead of a two-day break.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, climbed 69 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 8,365.26, ahead of All Saints Day. The heavier index, representing all shares, also gained 34 points, or 0.7 percent, to settle at 4,891.93, on a value turnover of P6.7 billion. Gainers outnumbered losers, 96 to 87, while 58 issues were unchanged.

SM Prime Holdings Inc., the property development arm of tycoon Henry Sy, jumped 3.6 percent to P37, while GT Capital Holdings Inc., the investment arm of tycoon George Ty, rose 3.5 percent to P1,180. JG Summit Holdings Inc. of the Gokongwei family went up 3.1 percent to P76.90.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks were largely flat in early trade as investors braced for key earnings reports and US President Donald Trump’s announcement of the new Federal Reserve chair.

Hong Kong and Tokyo shed early gains after traders—boosted by strong US growth data at the back end of last week—had initially followed Wall Street upward, while the Shanghai exchange was more sharply down.

Wall Street had closed with gains Friday on blowout earnings from tech giants, as well as strong third-quarter economic growth figures which overshot forecasts.

In New York on Friday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq and broad-based S&P 500 powered to fresh records following blowout earnings from Amazon and other tech giants and a bullish update from Apple on its latest smartphone.

Equity benchmarks fluctuated in Japan, while Chinese shares fell, with the Shanghai Composite Index tumbling the most in more than two months as the na-

tion’s bond slump deepened amid mounting deleveraging concerns. European index futures signaled a lower open for the region’s stocks. Profit reports due this week from some of the world’s largest companies may show if there’s enough juice in the earnings season to propel leg higher for global shares.

Speculation continues around who US President Donald Trump will choose as the next Fed chair, with Governor Jerome Powell said to be the front-runner.

Trump last week stoked the sense of drama surrounding his choice, tweeting a video teasing an announcement he said would come this week. The president is leaning toward appointing Powell, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The slide in Chinese stocks came after a period of calm through the recent Communist Party Congress, as sovereign bonds extended a monthly rout amid concern the government will step up efforts to reduce leverage in the financial sector. With AFP, Bloomberg

EV charging stations

By Alena Mae S. Flores SM Supermall, the country’s largest shopping mall chain, signed an agreement with technology start-up QEV Philippines to put up electric vehicle charging stations around the country starting February 2018.

“The installation of EV charging infrastructure will support the proliferation of the EV industry as well as aid QEV’s mission to reduce carbon emissions and make use of a more sustainable source of energy

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW MONDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2017

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 4.79 122,000 59.7 10,220 98 1,340,010 3.9 10,000 137.5 2,277,220 2.28 434,000 33.5 122,100 9.98 400 15.88 2,800 32.4 1,557,000 0.69 1,000 1.7 63,000 0.67 399,000 86.6 1,894,770 12.64 57,200 25 200 58.45 546,790 244.6 5,390 100.5 250 90 410 59 349,740 246 390,280 1,945 305 87.1 54,560 1.26 135,000

564,690 609,585 131,288,174 39,000 310,779,716 980,320 4,114,485 3,992 43,904 50,436,940 690 107,070 259,050 164,689,030 731,372 5,000 31,976,486 1,314,506 25,125 36,270 20,753,566.50 96,502,888 587,225 4,746,287 168,790

9,260 283,100 -11,532,964 11,700 -100,015,951 -2,300 1,820,425.00 4,541,970.00 -85,000 -41,650 -112,399,840 -5,286,294.50 24,460 -5,025 999,721 -58,406,548 -95,750 -264,375 -

42 11.12 0.74 1.35 19.1 0.229 4.5 15.2 44.2 18.08 63.6 69 1.9 6.25 11.28 10.12 14.5 12.3 7.05 5.77 1.6 17.52 63.5 15.2 11.9 17 1.74 248.4 60.6 4.2 3.11 21.15 30.55 19.06 16.48 289.4 0.21 10.8 2.86 6.4 9.72 7.3 9.6 1.7 11.22 62.25 6.52 307 4.68 4.74 2.06 12.98 4.65 0.139 1.21 141 2.1

INDUSTRIAL 42.5 239,400 11.98 3,311,400 0.74 143,000 1.38 129,000 19.76 19,800 0.237 21,040,000 4.57 3,777,000 15.2 154,500 44.5 675,000 18.08 2,100 65 46,020 69 150 1.93 148,000 6.25 56,000 11.68 3,800 10.38 1,134,200 14.6 2,593,500 12.32 259,400 7.2 2,388,600 5.77 27,600,800 1.61 10,000 17.58 1,243,000 63.85 53,940 15.48 18,800 12 66,700 17.7 4,671,000 1.79 62,000 249 301,950 60.6 3,100 4.21 285,000 3.11 6,000 22.8 8,200 31 382,500 19.3 29,600 16.82 5,381,100 291.8 805,980 0.21 1,090,000 10.9 15,400 2.88 181,000 6.4 86,600 9.74 3,751,900 7.5 172,200 9.68 33,600 1.7 1,449,000 11.5 70,693,900 62.25 412,360 6.52 6,200 308 20,870 4.68 101,000 4.77 21,000 2.06 848,000 13 235,200 4.69 50,000 0.14 150,000 1.21 30,000 143 227,950 2.1 1,662,000

10,158,905 38,533,926 105,820 175,720 381,404 5,011,620 17,405,430 2,360,792 30,072,530 38,004 2,950,825 10,350 283,200 360,265 43,058 11,698,122 37,957,624 3,206,486 17,142,853 161,465,917 16,080 21,857,058 3,433,972 291,022 797,400 81,249,634 109,150 75,290,518 187,860 1,235,400 18,840 183,405 11,759,045 569,866 90,187,798 235,219,976 230,780 167,796 520,320 554,586 36,748,608 1,288,061 323,720 2,468,250 813,043,100 25,792,830 40,844 6,425,018 472,680 100,220 1,770,810 3,058,932 233,380 20,870 36,710 32,391,753 3,501,310

1,041,245 1,256,912 -8,160 427,020 -65,320 1,246,466 5,046,135 310,335 3,197,772 6,630,220 -1,268,856 -1,330,722 -50,648,689 -133,468.00 -534,546 351,100 -24,436,070 7,493,716 8,499,135 -5,782 3,403,504 20,567,408 -279,370 -4,159,220 -216,070 23,940 2,567,618.50 -5,162,080 9,600 -1,204,850 1,535,270 -9,081,813 422,000

0.345 73.2 15.62 7 0.435 0.44 1,028 8.49 15.34 7.56 4.9 0.191 1,144 7.71 74.6 5.21 5.37 0.8 5.77 17.6 6.75 0.051 1.48 2.08 103 2.58 940 1.43 296 0.26 0.186 0.204

HOLDING FIRMS 0.345 30,000 74.9 367,340 16 3,587,100 7.05 74,000 0.44 9,430,000 0.44 2,310,000 1,031 130,735 8.52 5,985,200 15.34 4,113,600 7.56 90,900 4.9 1,000 0.191 40,000 1,180 73,965 7.75 88,600 76.9 1,151,810 5.22 2,100 5.37 200 0.81 181,000 5.8 1,027,100 17.98 3,027,300 6.8 10,279,300 0.053 34,300,000 1.5 924,000 2.09 626,000 103 783,140 2.58 23,000 955 216,990 1.45 551,000 297.8 2,460 0.26 4,820,000 0.187 690,000 0.211 100,000

10,350 27,378,879 57,038,430 519,272 4,137,100 1,025,750 134,738,705 50,979,504 63,775,870 687,204 4,900 7,640 86,858,175 686,666 87,988,178 10,961 1,074 145,370 5,961,549 54,304,058 69,929,400 1,802,810 1,391,140 1,307,250 81,355,313 59,340 206,983,905 791,000 732,512 1,253,950 128,440 20,580

-3,949,491 2,627,112 42,480 -20,417,790 2,556,039.00 -3,398,266 32,874,170 -3,584,671.50 1,616,747 268,678 36,958,669 -371,520 7,865,436 -7,531,245 208,426 -1,253,950 -16,360

1,144,155 2,574,110 934,100 3,078,390 3,236,000 227,350,400 2,304,960 2,024,650 1,848,410 143,650 109,890 3,729,390 14,200 4,952,045 2,676,650 1,450 10,005,990 2,432,250 217,010

-37,455 -479,960 738,600 -45,930,960 -406,850 -13,760 -508,980 -99,700 1,984,645 -2,625,730 8,977,700 -

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

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

4.67 59 98 3.9 138 2.23 33.8 9.98 15.6 32 0.69 1.7 0.65 88.85 12.66 25 58.5 242.6 100.5 88.2 59 252 1,915 87 1.25

4.79 59.7 98.15 3.9 138 2.3 33.85 9.98 15.88 32.6 0.69 1.7 0.67 88.85 12.8 25 58.5 245.2 100.5 90 60.5 252.2 1,945 87.1 1.26

4.6 59 97.4 3.9 134.6 2.22 33.5 9.98 15.6 32 0.69 1.69 0.64 86.6 12.64 25 58.35 242.2 100.5 88.2 58.95 246 1,915 86.6 1.25

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

42 11.68 0.74 1.38 19.98 0.23 4.66 15.28 44.2 18.08 64.5 69 1.91 6.5 11.3 10.3 14.66 12.5 7.1 5.8 1.6 17.7 64 15.2 11.9 17.42 1.76 250 60.6 4.3 3.19 22.7 30.6 19.3 16.48 290 0.213 10.8 2.9 6.42 9.95 7.5 9.69 1.71 11.26 62.7 6.73 308 4.68 4.77 2.07 13.2 4.65 0.139 1.22 141 2.12

42.5 12 0.74 1.38 20 0.243 4.76 15.3 44.85 18.2 65 69 1.93 6.5 11.7 10.38 14.84 12.5 7.2 5.94 1.61 17.88 64.05 15.5 12 17.8 1.79 251.2 60.6 4.47 3.19 22.8 31 19.3 16.92 292.6 0.213 10.98 2.9 6.43 10 7.79 9.69 1.72 11.86 62.75 6.73 308 4.68 4.8 2.15 13.2 4.69 0.14 1.23 143 2.15

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

0.345 74.6 16 7.08 0.44 0.45 1,030 8.5 15.5 7.56 4.9 0.191 1,145 7.71 74.6 5.21 5.37 0.82 5.8 18 6.75 0.054 1.56 2.09 104 2.58 950 1.44 298.8 0.265 0.187 0.205

0.345 74.9 16 7.08 0.45 0.455 1,034 8.54 15.9 7.56 4.9 0.191 1,189 7.95 76.9 5.22 5.37 0.82 5.89 18 6.85 0.055 1.56 2.1 104.5 2.58 959 1.46 298.8 0.265 0.187 0.211

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

5.2 1.08 8.6 2.42 0.98 43.75 3.79 4.86 0.52 1.27 1.24 0.199 0.47 40.8 0.67 0.145 1.94 1.49 0.78

5.25 1.08 8.93 2.58 0.99 43.75 3.8 4.95 0.52 1.27 1.25 0.204 0.48 40.8 0.67 0.145 1.98 1.52 0.79

5.1 1.05 8.6 2.42 0.96 43 3.73 4.85 0.51 1.24 1.23 0.198 0.47 40.5 0.67 0.145 1.94 1.49 0.76

VOLUME

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

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

5.27 0.32 0.375 0.54 6.85 25.6 1.82 3.1 36.05 1.02 0.85 6.01

5.34 0.32 0.395 0.54 6.85 25.65 1.82 3.2 37 1.02 0.88 6.09

5.27 0.315 0.365 0.52 6.65 25.2 1.81 3.1 35.85 1.01 0.85 5.95

5.33 0.315 0.37 0.53 6.75 25.2 1.81 3.2 37 1.02 0.88 6.09

13,194,900 8,850,000 7,170,000 6,495,000 677,800 382,700 378,000 2,802,000 6,719,200 311,000 5,000 1,752,900

70,186,285 2,796,600 2,735,550 3,452,830 4,541,079 9,700,895 684,610 8,948,000 246,654,785 316,430 4,280 10,604,208

34,066,169 -326,250 475,200 -365,604 -644,440 57,920 99,520 46,733,435 6,478,281

2GO GROUP ABS CBN ACESITE HOTEL APC GROUP APOLLO GLOBAL ASIAN TERMINALS BERJAYA BLOOMBERRY BOULEVARD HLDG CEBU AIR CHELSEA DFNN INC FAR EASTERN U GLOBE TELECOM GMA NETWORK GOLDEN HAVEN HARBOR STAR IMPERIAL INTL CONTAINER IPEOPLE IPM HLDG ISLAND INFO ISM COMM JACKSTONES LBC EXPRESS LEISURE AND RES LORENZO SHIPPNG MACROASIA MANILA BULLETIN MANILA JOCKEY MELCO RESORTS METRO RETAIL 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

19.4 39 1.52 0.52 0.053 11 5.1 9.5 0.069 108.1 9.4 7.1 965 2,042 5.95 18.8 2.41 2.6 105.1 11.86 8.39 0.151 1.4 3.24 15.6 4 1.3 18.84 0.55 2.8 6.67 4.05 2.21 11 5.1 3 176 8.05 1,700 1.44 0.395 51.55 94.95 5.9 3.9 1.75 1.93 3.86 0.97 8.49

19.44 39 1.58 0.54 0.054 11 5.19 9.6 0.07 109.9 9.52 7.55 965 2,048 5.95 18.8 2.54 2.6 106 11.86 8.39 0.154 1.4 3.3 15.6 4.1 1.34 19 0.55 2.85 6.87 4.07 2.23 11 5.1 3 176.2 8.1 1,710 1.45 0.395 51.7 97 5.9 4.15 1.86 1.93 3.93 1.02 8.53

19.3 38.6 1.52 0.52 0.052 11 5.02 9.24 0.069 107.5 9.39 7.1 965 1,998 5.9 18.48 2.41 2.6 102.3 11.86 8.3 0.151 1.37 3.24 15.6 4 1.27 18.5 0.55 2.76 6.67 4.03 2.2 11 5.05 2.99 175 7.77 1,679 1.39 0.395 50.7 94.95 5.9 3.77 1.74 1.92 3.85 0.96 8.46

SERVICES 19.34 38.75 1.55 0.53 0.052 11 5.19 9.44 0.069 109 9.49 7.55 965 2,042 5.95 18.48 2.5 2.6 105.9 11.86 8.3 0.154 1.37 3.29 15.6 4 1.29 19 0.55 2.78 6.8 4.03 2.21 11 5.05 2.99 176.2 7.86 1,710 1.45 0.395 51 97 5.9 3.88 1.8 1.92 3.9 1 8.48

34,500 21,400 47,000 1,214,000 48,190,000 1,902,000 2,300 16,170,400 11,430,000 251,120 435,000 2,600 60 26,620 195,700 19,800 904,000 4,000 332,050 6,500 340,500 750,000 64,000 73,000 200 399,000 1,127,000 1,002,700 3,000 248,000 4,545,700 132,000 776,000 2,500 14,700 30,000 5,010 949,200 73,715 35,265,000 150,000 3,438,160 1,288,980 10,000 4,556,000 47,341,000 8,000 250,000 14,593,000 1,777,300

668,230 827,400 72,300 631,520 2,549,610 20,922,000 11,812 151,993,908 789,170 27,305,917 4,121,947 18,593 57,900 53,792,630 1,158,704 366,646 2,248,090 10,400 34,898,602 77,090 2,852,389 113,860 88,880 239,450 3,120 1,609,710 1,464,050 18,851,986 1,650 689,840 30,906,284 533,490 1,719,140 27,500 74,255 89,840 876,812 7,520,026 125,694,420 51,036,670 59,250 175,637,212 123,704,827 59,000 17,955,740 85,668,480 15,410 972,470 14,593,850 15,085,941

-15,466.00 0 21,744,613 10,345,840 935,522 -10,395,920 -246,380 -61,241 -4,530 -327,820 7,620 196,524 22,403,871 -48,460 -131,238 -2,851,333 52,218,580 -1,550,770 -4,828,180.50 11,849,021.50 2,867,380 1,998,580 660 -286,880 3,703,380

151,200 10,951,740 29,500 311,478 12,840 1,810 14,089,130 25,856 75,425,320 7,750 3,921,410 1,970 251,100 1,100 493,880 27,885,266 143,820 78,950 42,000 19,800 130,810 2,293,802 38,002,037 46,419,560 7,500

760,930 65,750 5,092,750 15,978,274 906,130 5,068,535 -9,604,595 -

MS

PROPERTY 5.13 1.05 8.68 2.47 0.99 43.2 3.8 4.91 0.51 1.26 1.23 0.2 0.47 40.5 0.67 0.145 1.98 1.51 0.79

221,500 2,436,000 107,300 1,227,000 3,273,000 5,253,900 611,000 412,000 3,622,000 115,000 89,000 18,700,000 30,000 122,000 3,995,000 10,000 5,090,000 1,620,000 280,000

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

0.0024 1.72 4.85 15.46 1.84 1.81 1.68 8.18 2.8 0.26 0.179 0.197 0.01 0.011 1.96 6.78 1.75 1.01 0.012 0.011 2.27 7.56 7.91 41.95 0.0075

0.0024 1.74 5 15.5 1.84 1.81 1.68 8.18 2.84 0.26 0.179 0.197 0.011 0.011 1.99 7.04 1.81 1.03 0.012 0.011 2.27 7.7 8.18 42.5 0.0075

0.0024 1.7 4.85 15.46 1.83 1.81 1.62 8.07 2.7 0.255 0.17 0.197 0.01 0.011 1.89 6.78 1.75 1.01 0.012 0.011 2.25 7.56 7.9 41.95 0.0075

MINING & OIL 0.0024 63,000,000 1.7 6,412,000 5 6,000 15.5 20,100 1.83 7,000 1.81 1,000 1.62 8,593,000 8.07 3,200 2.71 27,441,000 0.26 30,000 0.175 22,430,000 0.197 10,000 0.01 24,900,000 0.011 100,000 1.89 258,000 7 3,990,600 1.75 81,000 1.03 77,000 0.012 3,500,000 0.011 1,800,000 2.25 58,000 7.61 301,500 8.12 4,698,600 42.5 1,099,200 0.0075 1,000,000

AC PREF B2 ALCO PREF B DD PREF FGEN PREF F GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B LR PREF PCOR PREF 2B SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

530 108 106 106 5.66 1,020 1,045 1.07 1,145 75.3 81.05 76.45 78.1 80.9 78.5 79

530 108 106 106 5.66 1,020 1,045 1.07 1,145 75.3 81.95 76.45 78.1 80.9 78.5 79

530 108 105.6 106 5.61 1,010 1,045 1.07 1,145 75.3 81.05 76.45 78.1 80 78.5 79

PREFERRED 530 10 108 100 105.6 2,130 106 10 5.61 76,300 1,010 290 1,045 35 1.07 4,000 1,145 960 75.3 50 81.95 42,670 76.45 50 78.1 22,000 80 20,370 78.5 28,000 79 9,000

5,300 10,800 225,716 1,060 431,013 295,000 36,575 4,280 1,099,200 3,765 3,458,757.50 3,822.50 1,718,200 1,633,990 2,198,000 711,000

5,300 -405,688 -1,718,200 -

LR WARRANT

2.41

2.5

2.4

WARRANTS 2.46 51,000

123,730

-

ITALPINAS PHILAB HLDG XURPAS

6.5 4.04 5.34

6.68 4.04 5.39

6.5 3.82 5.3

6.5 3.82 5.39

7,655,411 1,431,590 1,809,466

-4,352,471 -7,850 -78,716

FIRST METRO ETF

125.9

126.5

125.9

913,479

12,600

TRADING SUMMARY

SHARES

FINANCIAL

14,147,477

INDUSTRIAL

158,004,581

HOLDING FIRMS

85,150,687

PROPERTY

100,475,079

SERVICES

200,810,228

MINING & OIL

169,833,303

GRAND TOTAL

730,708,714

SME

1,168,100 369,000 340,200

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 126.5 7,250

VALUE 2,001.06 (down) 17.10 1,870,417,959.50 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 10,910.84 (up) 30.14 1,813,804,477.99 HOLDING FIRMS 8,577.89 (up) 115.32 952,124,203.46 PROPERTY 3,945.48 (up) 52.11 1,708.18 (up) 20.55 789,733,679.03 SERVICES MINING & OIL 13,224.48 (up) 48.19 1,006,801,027.53 PSEI 8,365.26 (up) 69.31 220,728,081.86 All Shares Index 4,891.93 (up) 34.37 6,665,430,061.40 Gainers: 96; Losers: 87; Unchanged: 58; Total: 241

in order to have cleaner and greener cities,” QEV Philippines said in a statement.

The signing with SM Malls followed QEV Philippines and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp.’s agreement to put up ABB e-vehicle fast chargers at Shell gasoline stations starting December.

The agreement with Pilipinas Shell calls for an initial 100 pilot sites for the e-vehicle charging stations, with an initial 10 sites by December.

QEV Philippines, the joint venture between Filipino and Spanish business partners Endika Aboitiz and Enrique Banuelos, plans to put up more than 200 EV fastcharging stations nationwide with the help of location partners such as SM, before 2022.

“SM mall-goers may have access to these charging stations to plug in compatible evehicles as early as February 2018,” the company said.

QEV Philippines general manager Audrey Peñaranda said the first charger would be installed at SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City.

“The other locations are still being identified. We are looking at a minimum of 100 charging stations with SM,” Peñaranda said.

QEV Philippines earlier said one of the main reasons for the slow uptake of electric vehicles in the country was the lack of supporting charging infrastructure.

QEV Philippines aims to promote a sustainable solution for healthier, cleaner cities by reducing the amount of carbon emissions in the air brought about by transportation.

PLDT allots P7b for new international cable system

By Darwin G. Amojelar PLDT Inc. said it is investing nearly P7 billion in a new trans-Pacific cable system to further increase its international cabling capacity and reinforce the resiliency of its undersea fiber links to the US and Japan.

“We are investing in this new cable system in anticipation of the continued explosion of data traffic over the next few years, as households and businesses in the Philippines adopt more and more digital services,” PLDT chairman and president Manuel Pangilinan said.

“Along with our other technology initiatives, this new project will enable PLDT to gear up for the emerging ‘Gigabit Society’ where ultra-high-speed connectivity will support a wide range of bandwidth-heavy, low-latency digital applications and internet-of-things [IOT] services,” he said.

PLDT’s investment in the new cable system called “Jupiter” includes purchases

by PLDT of complementary terminal equipment and other related facilities in the Philippines, Japan and the US. Jupiter is a fiber optic submarine cable system with a total length of 14,000 kilometers that will employ wavelength selectable switch technology and which is being built based on the “open cable” model.

It can deliver a capacity of more than 60 Tbps from the Philippines to Japan and the US directly. It will be ready for service in early-2020.

Business

B3

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

BSP welcomes telco competition

By Julito G. Rada

EV CHARGING STATIONS. SM Supermalls, the largest mall chain in the country, signs an agreement with tech start-up QEV Philippines to put up electric vehicle fast-charging stations around its malls. The agreement follows the recent announcement of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. to up the ABB fast chargers also with QEV Philippines in its gasoline stations.

At the signing ceremony are (from left) QEV Philippines general manager Audrey Peñaranda, QEV Philippines co-owner Endika Aboitiz, SM Supermalls senior vice president Steven Tan, SM Malls VP for operations Bien Mateo and SM Supermalls VP for corporate compliance Liza Silerio.

Maibarara expansion to meet December goal

By Alena Mae S. Flores MAIBARARA Geothermal Inc. said its 12-megawatt geothermal expansion project in Batangas is on track to meet the December target for commercial operation.

The expansion will bring Maibarara’s total capacity to 32 MW. MGI power plant manager Paul Morala said the company, along with National Grid Corp. of the Philippines, installed the revenue meter of Maibarara-2 on September 30.

He said Maibarara and Manila Electric Co. engineers successfully completed on October 24 the testing of Maibarara-2’s protection relays and circuit breakers.

“We commend the highly professional and helpful cooperation we have received from NGCP and Meralco.

We anticipate such cooperation to continue and to extend as well to other agencies such as the DoE (Department of Energy), ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission), and PEMC (Philippine Electricity Market Corp.) as the unit’s commissioning and testing enter their final phases,” Morala said.

Maibarara’s existing 20 MW Unit-1 in Sto, Tomas, Batangas, meanwhile, reached its 600 GWh generation mark during the billing period ending October 25.

Maibarara said the milestone was achieved three years and eight months from the start of the facility’s commercial operation on February 8, 2014.

ternet service providers to break the country’s telecommunications duopoly in a bid to promote greater competition for faster services.

“The only way to improve your service is to give them competitors. Or if there are only two of you, (discuss it),” the President said in an interview over state-run PTV-4.

The President said the telco duopoly could have been disadvantageous to the public, since the two dominant players “can always go into a cabal” and do a “cartel” on market prices and services.

Duterte said he was already “hurrying up” the entry of new players—with some pending applications in his desk already.

Local retailers buck further liberalization L

By Othel V. Campos

OCAL retailers are opposing a proposal that will easily allow foreign companies to penetrate the local retail sector.

Philippine Retailers Association chairman emeritus Samie Lim said Filipino retailers would be at a disadvantage if the government lowered the foreign retail capitalization requirement to $200,000 from the current $2.5 million.

“They will be here for business they can easily get into. They cannot become manufacturers or bankers, so it will be easy for them to start a business. A business $200,000 worth is just an SME in their country of origin. And if we let them in, they will wipe out our own SMEs,” he said.

Manila He said if foreign small and medium Standard enterprises were allowed toTODAY come up with

a capital of $200,000, they would slowly eat up competition to the detriment of local SMEs. The Philippines, he said, “will be just a nation of consumers and we will no longer be able to create a nation of middleclass SMEs.” The Philippines has opened retail trade since 20 years ago through licensing, franchising and joint ventures, allowing foreign players to come in with investments of not less than $7.5 million.

The required investment decreased over time to $5 million and then to $2.5 million as a compromise with Congress.

“When they opened in the last 20 years, they promised Congress that they will come and will sell 30 percent Philippine product.

They also promised that after so many years of being here, these companies will divest a portion of their shares to the local retail sector. They have not done that. So why are we going to the next step when they have not even kept their promises to this day,”

Not fake news; just inaccurately reported news THE concept of news—the very stuff of journalism and freedom of information— is under virulent attack in two democratic societies in the world. One is the Philippines and the other is the US. The most insidious element of the attack has been the deployment of the word ‘fake’ to qualify news.

There is no such thing as fake news. Indeed, fake news is an oxymoron. The suggestion that there are two kinds of news—fake news and true news—is absurd. News is news. What is involved in this fracas is not fake news versus non-fake news; what is involved is the difference between accurate reporting and inaccurate reporting of news. If an event or a situation is accurately and straightforwardly, you have news. On the other hand, if in the narration of an event or situation there is a departure from actuality, what you have is not news but a case of false reporting.

There is nothing new about what is being widely decried nowadays as fake news.

Inaccurately reported news has been with us for as long as there have been people who wish to cause damage to the well-beings and reputations of others. Hucksters and hacks— that’s what trolls were called in times past— have always been there to wreak their particular kind of havoc on the enemies of their masters.

False news, how well we know thee.

Apart from the change in technological uses, what makes today’s Philippine and US journalistic environments different is the apparent encouragement, support and direction provided by Malacañang and the White House.

People who in times past would have been run out of town for their nefarious activity— concocting stories and writing up blogs against the critics of the Duterte and Trump administrations—today are being coddled, praised and even given fancy positions in the government. In times past, being called a purveyor of ‘fake news’ was a badge of absolute demerit; today such a name-tag is being worn with apparent pride and honor.

BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. expressed full support to the planned liberalization of the telecommunications industry because of its expected benefits to the whole financial system.

“The BSP fully supports an initiative to open up the telco business so that there will be more competition and better service delivery which will benefit the whole financial system,” Espenilla said during a forum organized by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines recently.

“Personally, I see a lot of value in liberalizing that as well. It is a pain point for

our approach of promoting digital delivery of financial services because of infrastructural issues,” he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte in October last year said he was entertaining the idea of opening the local telecommunications industry to Chinese competitors if largest players PLDTSmart Communications and Globe Telecom Inc. of the Ayala Group fails to improve their services.

Duterte in a speech in Davao City shared the frustration of millions of mobile phone users in the Philippines, who complain of poor phone service and slow internet speeds Duterte in the early part of October said planned to allow four to six foreign In-

What I have been saying above is that news cannot be faked; it can only be inaccurately reported. In real journalistic establishments, i.e., establishments manned by people who have undergone training as journalists and are committed to upholding the basic principles of journalism, individuals who repeatedly misreport or distort stories are reprimanded or fired. Excuses such as “I thought these were the facts” are not accepted.

A major contributor to the fuss about socalled news is that product of the era of the Internet—the blog. Deny it to high heaven as they will, the fact is that bloggers like to pass themselves off as journalists, like the men and women whose views are published in the oped (opinion editorial) pages of newspapers.

Bloggers operate on the fringes of the press.

They are not news reporters or editors; they are writers of opinion. Reporters and editors have to handle facts; opinion writers don’t.

Thus, the fuss and the hullabaloo should be not about fake news but about baseless blog opinions.

To the Senators who are upset about socalled fake news and are about to examine an anti-fake-news bill I say the following.

Don’t be concerned about so-called fake news.

There’s no such thing; there are only accurately reported news and inaccurately reported news.

The media establishments have the rules and the means to discipline employees—reporters and editors—who report the news inaccurately.

The people that your proposed measure should be going after are the bloggers, who try to pass off non-journalistic writings that contain baseless and hopelessly biased thoughts as news.

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

Lim said.

Retailers, worried the government will approve the proposal in November, plan to issue a position paper to express their concern.

“They will call for a meeting at the last minute but nothing will change. They’ll have it on record that they’ve met with us when we have not met at all. We’re not going to fall for that,” Lim said.

He noted that the group had data supporting their position and proving that the entry of small foreign retailers would “lead to the slaughter of local SMEs.” Retailers, he added, were aware the government was merely trying to put an impression that many investors were coming in to the Philippines.

“This is just for show that we have 10 more investors worth $200,000 each. As far as we are concerned, that’s a joke. They’re (government) just trying to window dress the scorecard of their performance,” Lim said.

040608 (Bank Code)

METRO SOUTH COOPERATIVE BANK

IDC Centre, Zapote Street cor. Kalayaan Avenue, Brgy. Sta. Cruz, Makati City

BALANCE SHEET

As of SEPTEMBER 30, 2017 ASSETS Cash and Cash Items Due from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Due from Other Banks Financial Assets at Fair Value through Profit or Loss Available-for-Sale Financial Assets-Net Held-to-Maturity (HTM) Financial Assets-Net Loans and Receivables - Net Loans to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Interbank Loans Receivable Loans and Receivables - Others Loans and Receivables Arising from RA/CA/PR/SLB General Loan Loss Provision Other Financial Assets Equity Investment in Subsidiaries, Associates and Joint Ventures-Net Bank Premises, Furniture, Fixture and Equipment-Net Real and Other Properties Acquired-Net Non-Current Assets Held for Sale Other Assets-Net Net Due from Head Office/Branches/Agencies, if any (Philippine branch of a foreign bank) TOTAL ASSETS LIABILITIES Financial Liabilities at Fair Value through Profit or Loss Deposit Liabilities Due to Other Banks Bills Payable a) BSP (Rediscounting and Other Advances) b) Interbank Loans Payable c) Other Deposit Substitute d) Others Due to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Other Financial Liabilities Other Liabilities TOTAL LIABILITIES STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY Capital Stock Other Capital Accounts Retained Earnings TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY CONTINGENT ACCOUNTS Others TOTAL CONTINGENT ACCOUNTS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Gross total loan portfolio (TLP) Specific allowance for credit losses on the TLP Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) a. Gross NPLs b. Ratio of gross NPLs to gross TLP (%) c. Net NPLs d. Ratio of Net NPLs to gross TLP (%) e. Ratio of total allowance for credit losses to gross NPLs (%) f. Ratio of specific allowance for credit losses on the gross TLP to gross NPLs (%) Classified Loans & Other Risk Assets, gross of allowance for credit losses DOSRI Loans and receivables, gross allowance of credit losses Ratio of DOSRI loans and receivables, gross of allowance for credit losses, to gross TLP (%) Gross non-performing DOSRI loans and receivables Ratio of gross non-performing DOSRI loans and receivables to TLP (%) Percent Compliance with Magna Carta (%) a. 8% for Micro and Small Enterprises b. 2% for Medium Enterprises Return on Equity (ROE) (%) Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) on Solo Basis, as prescribed under existing regulations a. Total CAR (%) b. Tier 1 Ratio (%) c. Common Tier 1 Ratio (%) 1/ Deferred Charges not yet Written Down Unbooked Allowance for Credit Losses on Financial Instruments Received

Amount Current Quarter Previous Quarter 645,034.93 694,541.86 63,340,031 .45 56,344,038.28 695,166.895.07 646,147,365.67 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 10,000 000.00 10,000,000,00 2,091,041,343.00 1,921,405,078.70 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 2,117,673,085.78 1,948,036,821. 48 0.00 0.00 26,631,742.78 26,631,742.78 19,512,567.98 19,558,686.13 0.00 0.00 35,802,977.62 36,945,226.30 102,730,572.33 103,322,908.08 3,615,544.45 3,895,867.40 0.00

BOARD OF DIRECTORS FR. SERAFIN F. PERALTA Chairman ATTY. MICKEL M. BORIGAS Vice-Chairman DIRECTORS ROBERT V. AREVALO PATRIA T. CHIONG ROMEO A. DE JESUS DORIS R.DORIGO NORMA G. GUHITING EDITA S. LAURON ROBERTO C. MASCARINA PEDRO A. PLAZA DIVINA C. QUEMI PEDRO E. RIEZA, JR. JUANITO P. ROSINI NICOLAS H. VERONILLA EXECUTIVE OFFICER Renelia V. Estioko

0.00 President

3,021,854,966.83

2,798,313,712.42

2,046,950,978.90 0.00 332,091 ,666.68 0.00 332,091 ,666.68 0.00 0.00 0.00 7,816,274.63 53,072,558.02 2,439,931,478.23

1,782,744,295.47 0.00 392,554,166.68 0.00 392,554,166.68 0.00 0.00 0.00 6,670,476.42 126,457,490.72 2,308,426,429.29

531,333,142.88 9,364,321 .77 41 ,226,023.95 581,923,488.60 3,021,854,966.83

438,024,300.00 7,389,110.38 44,473,872. 75 489,887,283.13 2,798,313,712.42

2,730,102.47 2,730,102.47

2,547,461.91 2,547,461.91

2,220,961,499.44 103,288,413.66

2,042,325,235.14 94,288,413.66

427,859,051.32 19.26% 324,570,637.66 14.61% 30.37% 24.14% 45.00 336,605,811.70 15.16% 0.00 0.00%

394,649,620.41 19.32% 300,361,206.75 14.71% 30.64% 23.89% 45.00 225,220,265.32 11.03% 0.00 0.00%

20.32% 34.72% 3.00%

12.22% 28.51% 3.00%

17.22 452.38 0.00 0.00 0.00

15.83 438.02 0.00 0.00 0.00

1/ Common Equity Tier 1 is only applicable to all Universal and Commercial Banks and their subsidiary banks.

Republic of the Philippines ) Makati City) s.s.

I/We, RODA L. CRUZ and RENELIA V. ESTIOKO of the above-mentioned bank do solemnly swear that all matters set forth in the above balance sheet are true and correct to the best of my/our knowledge and belief.

RODA L. CRUZ Finance Head

RENELIA V. ESTIOKO President

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this 20th day of October 2017 at Makati City, affiant exhibiting his/her/their Passport No.P1057056A, issued at DFA NCR EAST on December 01, 2016 and Passport No. P1747134A, issued at Manila City on January 25, 2017.

Doc. No. 372 Book No. 176 Page No. 76 Series of 2017

LGUs

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor editor.lgustandard@gmail.com

B4

tuesday, october 31, 2017

LocaL government units

TOURING VALENZUELA. Candidates of the Miss Earth 2017 beauty pageant listen attentively to Valenzuela City tourism officer Jonathan Balsamo prior to their tour of the city as part of their immersion experience in different parts of the country. Jun David

NLEX-SLEX road won’t displace families in Manila

By Bill Casas MAniLA Mayor Joseph Estrada on Monday assured that no Manileño will be displaced once construction of the P23.3billion nLEX-SLEX Connector Road Project commences.

Estrada said he agrees with the project proponents, including the Department of Public Works and Highways, and said proper relocation will be provided to would-be affected informal settlers.

“We will stick to our rule: ‘no relocation, no demolition.’ no families will be asked to move out without new homes they can transfer to,” the mayor said.

As to titled lands of private property owners, Estrada said they will be properly compensated as mandated by Republic Act 8974, which provides the guidelines in the acquisition of right-of-way, site or location for national government infrastructure projects.

Estrada stressed that while the project will be beneficial to the City of Manila, especially in terms of traffic, he will see to it that “not one single family will be unjustly displaced.”

Based on estimates of north Luzon Expressway Corp., 3,500 informal settler families in Manila will be affected by the construction and might be asked to relocate.

Magalang’s squatter problem

By Romeo Dizon

M

AGALAnG, Pampanga—This first-class municipality, which is the sweet tamarind capital of the Philippines, may no longer realize its expansion program, as 50 hectares intended for tamarind farmland has been invaded by other people for their personal use.

Mayor Malou P. Lacson complained that since 2005, local politicians, rich families and squatters have

occupying the land instead of being used for the sweet tamarind and tourism project for the sustainable live-

lihood of the people.

Lacson said the current occupants have constructed concrete houses, rest houses, gardens, and other establishments for their own recreation.

During a media forum here, Lacson said the squatters “constructed their establishments without holding any title to show they own the land, but only dubious rights.”

About 20 hectares has already been occupied by these people, and they are

planning to occupy more, ignoring her warning to vacate the land immediately, the mayor said.

The land in question is in barangay Ayala, one of 27 barangays of this municipality with a total population of 113,147 based on the 2015 census.

The land was donated by the Ayala family to the municipality sometime in the early 1920s, but it was used by the Mt. Pinatubo Commission as a relocation site for the people

displaced by the eruption of the volcano in 1991.

However, when the commission bowed out in December 22, 2000, the land was returned to the municipality. That is also when the politicians and land grabbers started converting the land for their own use, Lacson claimed.

According to the first woman mayor of Magalang, the plan of the municipal government is to use the land for modern

farming for its sweet tamarind expansion program, in cooperation with the Sweet Tamarind Center of the Pampanga State Agriculture University, which pioneered the program for the local and export market.

The sweet tamarind represents the “One Town, One Product” project of the local government for the provincial and national category.

“This is also one way to give the people sustainable income through farming the

land with tamarind because it is profitable,” Lacson said.

According to the center, one sweet tamarind tree planted on the Ayala land yields P1,250 per year with a modest cost of only P250. Planting 100 trees in a hectare can yield P100,000 annually, it added.

Lacson said the food importers from Europe and around Asia Pacific are very interested to the sweet tamarind of Magalang because of its quality and affordable price.

Free medicine and supplies for QC’s elderly QUEzOn City Mayor Herbert M. Bautista has approved an ordinance giving the city’s elderly residents free maintenance and dental medicines and supplies, anti-TB drugs and multivitamins.

City Ordinance 2619-2017, authored by Councilor Roger P. Juan, mandates the city government to initially appropriate P13 million to implement the measure.

The amount will be taken from one percent of the city’s general fund, which is allocated for programs, projects and activities of Quezon City’s senior citizens.

The free medicines will be dispensed in the city’s 65 health centers, which shall be entitled to at least P200,000 worth of medicines.

“The free maintenance and dental medicines may be availed

of by all registered resident senior citizens of Quezon City from the barangay health center nearest his or her residence,” Section 4 of the ordinance read.

“Those who shall receive medication are required to undergo regular monthly checkups at their respective barangay health center for the continuous monitoring of their health condition,” it added.

The City Health Department, Social Services Development Department, Office of Senior Citizens Affairs, barangay health center workers and other agencies were tasked to jointly craft the implementing rules and regulation of the ordinance.

Meanwhile, the council also passed a resolution authorizing giving a Special Use Permit to Santu-

ario de Santo Domingo inc. for the construction and operation of a twostorey ossuary in Barangay Sto. Domingo along Quezon Avenue.

City Resolution 7252-2017, introduced by Councilor Marvin C. Rillo, declares that Filinvest, the firm that will build the ossuary, “has complied with the necessary requirements prescribed by law, ordinance or administrative issuances.”

The building will provide a mausoleum and garden ossuary where bones and ashes of the departed will be interred.

“Due to limited space in the city’s private and public cemeteries, the proposed project is a timely undertaking to solemnly accommodate the remains of the said departed loved ones,” the resolution read. Rio N. Araja

In BrIef muntinlupa city Hall extension inaugurated in iTS commitment to improve the public’s access to the government and bring services closer to communities, the city government of Muntinlupa expanded its offices with the opening of Plaza Central in Poblacion.

Mayor Jaime Fresnedi and other local government officials led the inauguration of the three-storey extension building costing P101.5 million last Oct. 6.

Plaza Central will be housing the Cultural and Tourism Development Office, Muntinlupa Scholarship Program Office, Joint Resources Financing Program Office (Dagdag Puhunan), City Library, Public Order and Safety Office, Boy Scout of the Philippines Muntinlupa Chapter, and Colegio de Muntinlupa extension office.

The area where Plaza Central stands used to be the site of Muntinlupa’s old municipal hall (Contessa Building). Living up to its name, the area has been the convergence for the people of the city.

Fresnedi vows to continue developing avenues and LGU programs that make the government more accessible to the public.

TESDA WINNER. Kathleen Claire Abad (second from right), a graduate of the Toyota Motor Philippines School of Technology, receives the gold medal in the Automobile Technology category of the Technical Educational Skills Development Authority-Laguna Provincial Skills Competition 2017. The event was co-organized by the Association of Laguna Technical Institutions Inc. and Laguna League of Accredited Competency Assessors. Also in photo (from left) are TMP Tech technical director Roberto Arzadon, Tesda provincial director Jaime Castillo, and Abad’s coach Apolinar Rampola, during the awarding ceremonies held at Jacobo Gonzales Memorial School of Arts and Trade in Biñan, Laguna.

PAL to airlift Marawi donations for free PHiLiPPinE Airlines is offering to airlift critical supplies and relief goods for free for the rebuilding of Marawi City.

PAL is flying donations to Cagayan de Oro, for transport by land to Marawi City, through accredited government agencies, Securities and Exchange Commission-registered foundations, non-government organizations, nonprofits, and charitable, civic, and religious organizations.

The program, which covers the airlifting of donations within the Philippines only, is flying goods on space availability basis.

Priority goods are urgently needed items such as medicines, ready-to-eat halal processed foods and products, mats and blankets, water purification tablets and equipment, hygiene supplies such as baby diapers, and other commodities that are

not readily sourced in the affected areas.

Donors may send an email to the PAL Foundation at palfoundation@pal.com.ph, indicating the following details—name and contact details of donors/organizations, recipient or consignee, contents and estimate cost of donation, weight, and other details.

Donors will then be given instructions on the schedule of shipment.

manhunt on for 6 Laguna jailbirds STA. CRUz, Laguna—Laguna police have launched a province-wide manhunt for six prisoners who bolted the provincial jail in Poblacion 1, Sta. Cruz here at 10:40 a.m. on Sunday.

Laguna Provincial Police Office Director Senior Supt. Cecilio ison Jr. ordered an investigation into the jailbreak involving six inmates, who escaped on board a maroon Toyota Revo. ison said the inmates grabbed the caliber .38 revolver of one of the prison guards, Jail Guard norberto Malabanan, at the main gate and shot him in the face. He was rushed to the Laguna Medical Center.

Two other guards, Alfonso Mariano and Miguel Arceta, were also on duty at the time of the jailbreak.

The prisoners then grabbed an M-16 rifle from another guard and commandeered the Toyota with plate number WGM-193 and sped towards Los Baños, where they abandoned it after colliding with another vehicle.

Policemen in the province have been directed to set up checkpoints to track down the escapees. Roy Tomandao

YOUTH SUMMIT. Author and inspirational speaker Francis J. Kong (second from right) receives the plaque

of appreciation from General Trias City Mayor Antonio ‘Ony’ Ferrer (center) during the 6th General Trias Youth Leaders’ Summit 2017 at the Gen. Trias Cultural and Convention Center in Barangay Sampalukan on Friday. Also in photo are (from left) JCI Katipunan president Kyle Salazar, Summit Project director Lhen Kempiz, and Cavite Councilor’s League president Kerby Salazar.

Power firm comes to war-torn city’s aid THE Alsons Power Group, Mindanao’s first and most experienced independent power producer, recently donated hygiene kits and food items for residents affected by the conflict in Marawi City.

The Mindanao-based power company, through its subsidiary the Mapalad Power Corp. (MPC) that operates a 103-megawatt diesel power plant in iligan City, put together hygiene kits containing bath soap, towel, toothbrush, toothpaste, and shampoo as well as food items such as biscuits, crackers, noodles, tuna flakes and chocolate milk drink for 200 families that have been forced to evacuate.

The kits and food items were delivered to inahan sa Kinabuhi Church in iligan City, which distributed the donations to the evacuees.

t

hE historic army and Navy Club (aNC) in Manila, one of the best known landmarks of Manila and the first American social club to be established in the Philippines in 1911, has been restored into an elegant fivestar boutique hotel reminiscent of the city’s glorious past as the ‘Paris of asia’.

originally built as a rest and recreation facility for the exclusive use of US military personnel and civilians, the army and Navy Club was the site of many important events in Philippine-american relations. the building was designed by none other than architect William Parsons known for his trademark use of arches and neoclassical style.

For decades, the club was one of the centers of a beautiful city once regarded as the “Paris of the East.” By the 1980’s, however, the building—one of the few remaining pillars of Manila’s glorious past—started showing signs of deterioration. National historical Commission of the Philippines (NhCP) on april 26, 1991 declared it a National historical landmark. after years of neglect, the oceanville hotel & Spa Corporation saw it fit for the building for restoration. oceanville had strictly retained the old Club’s architectural design, distinctive features, layout, room dimensions, and interior motif during the course of its restoration. It also retained the building’s trademark arches as originally designed

by Parsons.

“So far, oceanville is the only Filipino company that has undertaken a restoration project of such cost and scale,” Simon Lee-Paz said, adding that oceanville “is out to bring about the renaissance of Filipino architecture.”

Reviving the old army and Navy Club is just the first step, he pointed out. “oceanville would be open to helping government rehabilitate more historic buildings around the country.” the hotel features 110 beautifully designed rooms with unique colonialera motif that takes its guests to a trip down memory lane in comfort and luxury. Its all-day dining restaurant, Café Rizal, offers a delectable selection of international cuisine through a buffet spread and a la carte menu. It also has fully-equipped entertainment facilities such as a spa, a courtyard, and a casino.

Function halls, a swimming pool, gym and lifestyle centers, marina, and a Chinese fine dining restaurant are also expected to open by the end of the year. the Rizal Park hotel stays true to its motto of offering its guests an experience of “history In Style”. By mixing the old with the new, the Rizal Park hotel is a symbol for a new generation of Filipinos who value their rich cultural heritage but also promote economic progress and development for the country.

For more information about the Rizal Park Hotel, please visit www.rizalparkhotel.com.ph. For inquiries and reservations, call (02) 804 8700.

Life

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com

travel and leisure

tuesday, octoBeR 31, 2017

GLorious pAst

of old Manila in former

Army and Navy Club

HISTORY IN STYLE. The Rizal Park Hotel takes guests to a trip down memory lane in comfort and luxury with its 110 beautifully designed, colonial-era rooms and other facilities and amenities.

More flights between Hong Kong and top travel destinations

Halloween

part of religious tradition

By Honor Blanco Cabie

Starting March 25 next year, flights between Hong Kong and Tel Aviv will be increased to six times a week.

Cathay Pacific announced new flights to select destinations starting this month. travelers can enjoy more options and greater flexibility when flying between European and asian cities.

Due to the popularity of Cathay Pacific’s seasonal operation to Barcelona during the summer peak, the airline has decided to make it a year-round service. From three weekly flights from hong Kong starting april 15, 2018, it will increase to four-times weekly on July 1, 2018. the new flights, which will be operated by the technologically-advanced airbus a350-900, will complement Cathay Pacific’s existing four-times weekly service to Madrid, which also increases to five times a week beginning last Sunday. this makes the airline the provider of more non-stop flights to Spain from asia than any other carrier. another route will be getting more frequent flights starting March 25, 2018. the airbus a350-900-operated route between hong Kong and tel aviv will be increased to six times a week, increasing to daily throughout November.

Customers travelling to and from hong Kong and Barcelona and tel aviv can be assured of a premium experience on-board the airbus a350. the fuel-ef-

C1

Cathay Pacific’s regional carrier Cathay Dragon will be increasing the frequency of its services between Hong Kong and Fukuoka starting on Dec. 18, 2017.

ficient aircraft is equipped with the airline’s latest cabin products, an enhanced inflight entertainment system and WiFi connectivity in Business, Premium Economy and Economy classes.

Meanwhile, Cathay Pacific’s regional carrier Cathay Dragon will be increasing the frequency of its services between hong Kong and Fukuoka from Dec. 18. the airline will initially operate an additional weekly flight to Japan’s fifth largest city, bringing the total number of flights per week to eight, increasing to 11 flights per week between Jan. 14 and March 24, 2018.

according to Cathay Pacific Director Commercial and Cargo Ronald Lam, the additional frequencies are based on the great demand and positive customer feedback on the current servicing of these routes. he shares, “Growing our reach to destinations not otherwise served from hong Kong enables us to capture new sources of revenue and solidifies the city’s status as asia’s largest international hub. this will provide even greater convenience and gives our customers another reason for choosing Cathay Pacific.”

halloWEEN in this Southeast asian archipelago is celebrated with marked variations, being among the country’s age-old religious tradition that dates back to the 16th century.

In Metro Manila and nearby provinces, residents refer to the celebration as undas, or araw ng mga patay. those in Central Visayas call it kalag-kalag, or piesta dagiti natay, and among Ilocanos, semana ti ar-aria for the weeklong bash to all Saints’ Day and all Souls’ Day. In the run-up to the two days, by law non-working regular holidays in this predominantly Christian country, which received the Cross in 1521, people who hack out a living in the metropolis but have their roots in the provinces begin a tension-filled exodus back to the countryside –- by buses for northerners and boats and aircraft chiefly for southerners as well as buses for those going home to the Bicol peninsula.

It is an annual trek that has become a solemn affair -– among instances when the living visit the graves of their departed dead in public or manicured private memorial parks. halloween in these parts is marked differently by the communities –- one tradition in a Central luzon town being the kin of the dead gathering in the graveyard on all Saints’ Day for some prayers, feasting, and merry-making. the merry-making extends to rides in ferris wheels and roller coaster swings in the metropolis –- in stark contrast to the different practices in the provinces where surviving kin remember their dead with prayers and, sometimes, five minutes of funeral

marches played by the town band by the epitaph of the dead relation.

In the Christian areas of the Philippines, halloween can be said to be actually more of an observance than a ‘celebration’ or a day to remember the dead.

During the halloween season, Filipinos go to the cemeteries to visit their dead, clean their tombstones, sometimes repaint them, light candles, and offer flowers and prayers for the dead.

Most often, masses are also offered in the graveyards where the priest, beyond the request of a grieving kin nearby, also prays for those who have been forgotten, their resting places abandoned for years.

Some kibitzers have seen whole families camping in cemeteries and sometimes even spending the whole night or two near their dead relative’s tomb.

During this time, card games are played, ghost stories are told, and there are eating, drinking, singing, and merriment in commemoration of the departed loved ones. the occasion is more like a family reunion or banquet or family picnic. halloween also coincides with the day, often on oct. 31, when relatives clean up the tombstones and graves -– repainting the stones or uprooting covering wayward grass, including cadena de amor, which is a familiar sight in Philippine cemeteries.

Some in Cebu, like Mary Jane and her siblings and their father, will be going to tindog on the northern side of the island province to visit the grave of their mother for prayers before they drive back to Minglanilla, south of the capital city for additional prayers at home.

Turn to C2

Life

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tuesday, october 31, 2017 isahred@gmail.com

Villar’s heart for tourism mercury rising

I

BY BOB zOzOBRADO

HAVE always been awed

by Sen. Cynthia Villar every time I watch her on TV or read about her. She is one senator I tip my hat to.

She never ceases to impress with the wealth of knowledge she has about anything and everything. Small wonder she is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, the Committee on Agrarian Reform, the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, and the Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development.

Not too long ago, I had lunch with her, together with a few friends, where she gave me more reason to idolize her, as she announced a new development that is close to my heart---her family’s entry into the tourism industry.

She principally authored Republic Act 19816 or the Farm Tourism Development Act, paving the way for an increasing number of farmers, farm owners and farming communities to benefit from converting their farms into tourist destinations. This sets the stage to make farm tourism more popular in our country, the same goal that former Tourism Secretary Mina Gabor is also working on.

Sen. Villar is aware of the sad plight of our country’s farmers. Their meager income of only P150 a day is way below the poverty threshold of P5000 a month. What’s worse, the farmers’ children prefer to leave their farms to look for better opportunities in the big cities, which makes the future of the farm industry look very bleak. This does not bode well for our future either, because 80% of food on our table comes from these small farms.

Because of this alarming situation, Sen. Villar is putting up farm schools all over the country, with the full support of the Technical Education and Skills De-

The attractive façade of Boracay Sands Hotel, now owned by the Villars. (Inset) Senator Cynthia Villar

velopment Authority (TESDA), which want their tour packages to include plant- Department of Agrarian Reform and teaches farmers modern methods of crop ing, harvesting, and interacting with locals, the Department of Tourism. production to augment their income. In for them to experience and appreciate betThe Villar family already lays claim fact, she has her own Villar SIPAG (So- ter the true culture of the country. to a formidable list of businesses that cial Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Early this year, Sen. Villar launched are among the leading enterprises in Governance) Farm Schools in Las Pinas- a directory of farm tourism destinations the country. Vista Land operates sevBacoor-Cavite area, and eral subsidiaries includanother one in San Jose del ing Camella Homes, Monte City.

Communities PhilipYOUR TUESDAY CHUCKLE These schools serve as pines, Crown Asia, training centers for farmers Vista Residences, BritThe position of a husband is just like a split-aircon unit: No and farm owners, at the same tany and Starmalls. It matter how loud he is outside the house, he is designed to time, as an exhibit farms for has also ventured into remain silent indoors. foreign tourists interested in the retail industry with obtaining a deeper insight into their All Value Holdour culture, beyond the usual ings Corp, listing under natural and modern attractions the coun- and training schools, including a list of it: AllHome, a one-stop shop for home try offers. Farm tourism is now gaining TESDA-accredited courses on Agri- essentials, AllDay, a convenience store, ground all over the world, although it is still culture, which these farm schools can AllShoppe, a department store, and the far from being a major contributor to tour- teach, and which farmers or farm own- newest addition, The Coffee Project, a ism receipts. But, this sustainable segment ers can avail of for free. The directory chain of full-service coffee shops. of the Industry, which is low-impact and is a project of Villar SIPAG, in partnerBut what interests me the most is the empowers local communities socially and ship with TESDA, Department of Agri- Villar family’s plan to develop four hoeconomically, attracts those travelers who culture, Agricultural Training Institute, tels under the Mella brand in Las Pinas,

Boracay, Tagaytay and Bataan. These hotels will have around 150 rooms each, with three-star to four-star accommodations and services.

The family officially joined the tourism industry when it acquired the Boracay Sands Hotel in 2015. This 55-room property will soon be rebranded. Sen. Villar says they are now constructing their second hotel in Boracay near the Shangri-La Resort and this will be much bigger and will include a beachfront. Next in line will be a Mella hotel beside the family-owned Crosswind Estate in Tagaytay, and the hotel projects will continue through the years.

With the Department of Tourism’s expected increase in tourist arrivals in the coming years, I’m glad the Villar family’s heart also beats for the Tourism Industry.

For feedback, I’m at bobzozobrado@gmail.com

Save on flights and hotels

Boracay from dusk to dawn Enjoy the world-class beauty of Boracay as Cebu Pacific increases its Manila to Caticlan flights from 39 to 51 times

CATCH one of the world’s most sought-after beauties in a different light, with the Caticlan airport extending its operations until after dusk.

And as the gateway to Boracay began welcoming night flights, leading carrier Cebu Pacific Air added evening flights to Caticlan, ready to shuttle in travelers out for a weekend island adventure. The airline is the first to offer night flights to Caticlan, providing guests the most extensive network that connects them to Boracay.

CEB now flies 51 times a week from Manila to Caticlan from 39 original flights, giving everyJuan more chances to enjoy the paradise treat in the 24/7 island. Travelers can catch a flight to Boracay until 6:55p.m. and schedule their return to Manila on the last flight at 8:45 p.m., right before the new week starts.

Aside from Manila, guests can fly direct to the world-class island via Caticlan from Clark and Cebu daily with Cebu Pacific’s year-round lowest fares.

For as low as P 2,774.88, passengers can fly from Manila to Caticlan; from Clark to Caticlan for P 2,365.88; and from Cebu to Caticlan for only P 2,217.88.

An alternative to Caticlan is to fly to Kalibo, then travel by land to Cati-

clan. With an introductory all-in fare of P599, Cebu Pacific flies thrice a week (Mon/Wed/Fri) from Clark to Kalibo. This provides vacationers and foreign travelers more options to get to the island-paradise of Boracay, via the Clark International Airport, which has direct flights to and from Incheon, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Dubai, and Busan.

“Most vacationers are on a schedule and our night flights allow everyJuan making their way to Boracay to make the most of their vacation—whether it’s to party with friends, to relax and rejuvenate, or to bond with family,” said Alexander Lao, president and CEO of Cebu Pacific subsidiary Cebgo.

Travelers don’t have to wait for the next long weekend to get their healthy dose of the seas. Landing in a dim Caticlan, they can wake up to the warm colors of the skies and the restful pace of the island. The delicious break begins from the shore with the tranquility of the seas and the vision of the Paraws gently riding the waves.

From there, they can head on to peaceful beaches like Puka and Diniwid, before proceeding to the adrenaline-charged activities along Bulabog Beach and the famous White Beach.

They can take their pick from parasailing, kite surfing, ATV rides, reverse bungees, mermaid swimming, and stand up paddling. Exciting activities like cliff-diving and snorkeling are also available in nearby Crocodile Island, Magic Island, and Malay. For a few bucks, travelers can get a whiff of thrill in Boracay.

When the tide turns and the evening comes, a vibrant scene erupts in front of the White Beach. The world’s most beautiful island is a different and electrifying view at night with the music, fire dancers, and sumptuous meals dressing up the shore.

After a few hours, the sunset breaks and Boracay transforms to the tranquil beauty it was just the morning before.

These sweet transitions can now be savored by travelers often and up close with the Caticlan airport’s more generous hours.

Fly in to Caticlan today to experience adventure that runs from sunrise to sunset. For bookings and inquiries, guests can visit www.cebupacificair.com or call the reservation hotlines (02) 7020-888 or (032)230-8888. Follow CEB’s official Twitter (@CebuPacificAir) and Facebook pages to stay updated on Cebu Pacific treats and seat sales.

WITH your Citi credit card, you can indulge your love for travel, even share the joys of seeing the sights, trying exotic cuisines, and learning new cultures with family and friends.

Citi credit cardholders in the Philippines can save as much as eight percent on their travel adventures, using their Rewards Points and PremierMiles when booking via Citi ThankYou Rewards.

Citi ThankYou Rewards is a global program designed to give loyal cardholders access to the best lifestyle and travel brands worldwide online, from the comforts of their home or office.

“As our way of expressing our heartfelt appreciation for their loyalty, only the most generous of rewards for our clients will do,” explains David Stoughton, Citi Philippines Credits Payment Products director. “Hence, we want our clients to see more of the world with greater ease.”

This convenient and secure digital customer experience has been offering the most generous deals as a way of giving thanks and showing its appreciation for Citi clients through Shop With Points, electronics and gadgets, dining

deals, trip promotions and unique services.

Available to holders of Citi Prestige, Citi PremierMiles, or Citi Rewards cards, it’s easy to enjoy these exclusive perks whether you’re travelling for leisure or business. Furthermore, by booking via the Citi ThankYou Rewards Travel Center, you get additional options and flexibility. Plus, no black-out dates apply and no waiting is needed for airline miles to be posted to your account.

Beyond the convenience, from now until Dec. 15, you can also enjoy eight percent discount on airline flights and hotels around the world. Simply visit www.citibank.com.ph/thankyou and use the promo code “PHAIR8” to get a discount on flights, or “HOTELS” to avail of discounted hotel bookings.

So now you can see the world, live well and do more with your Citi credit card! Indeed with Citi ThankYou Rewards, the world is yours to explore.

For more information, or to apply for a Citi Prestige, Citi PremierMiles or Citi Rewards credit card, log on to www.citibank.com.ph.

Halloween...

the family altar from 6 p.m. shortly before Angelus until past 8 p.m. when the Church bells ring.

Observers say this is done to welcome the souls of the dead who, given the folk belief, are free to roam about on Halloween night.

Some say a quick look at the altar and the number of lit candles there can give the impression how many have passed on from the family.

The nine days of prayer for the departed souls in the Ilocos and the Cagayan Valley are believed to help the souls in Purgatory gain “a seat in heaven and a sight of the Lord.”

The nine days of prayer, which end with some food feast and merry-making, are believed by some Catholics and Aglipayans to bring back to life reunions with those who have answered God’s summons.

The dead at this time are believed to be visiting their surviving relatives in their ancestral homes – but many say that in fact those who are still living are the ones who enjoy the food festival.

While the practices may differ, they point to one axiom: belief in the afterlife.

From C1

But in some areas of Negros Oriental, orphaned relatives will visit the graves of their dead kin for an overnight stay –- on shifts -– at the cemetery for what they call the kalagkalag, which is also practiced by some in Negros Occidental, like the family of Jeanie in Sagay City.

In some towns in Ilocos Norte, the piesta dagiti natay –- literally feast of the dead –- is marked by nine masses at home or masses arranged to be celebrated in churches, either Aglipayan or Catholic, with the ninth culminating on All Saints’ Day. The practice is replicated in many towns in Cagayan, Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya, especially in the Ilocanospeaking towns of these provinces of the Cagayan Valley, which lie on the western side of the Sierra Madre.

In the Visayas, as in some towns in Negros Oriental, some distinct Halloween customs and beliefs are observed, including the burning of candles on

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2017

Enchong Dee and Peri-Peri

Enchong Dee ventures into food business with a franchise of an emerging restaurant brand

HOMEGROWN restaurant Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken and Sauce Bar, known for its flavorful charcoal-grilled Chicken and its signature sauces, now has a brand endorser in the person of actor and young entrepreneur, Enchong Dee. The restaurant recently launched a series of advertisements featuring Enchong enjoying the vibrance of the Peri-Peri cuisine and grooving to the festive moves of the Peri Peri Chicken Dance.

Bryan C. Tiu, president and CEO of Ifoods Group, mother company of Peri Peri Charcoal Chicken and Sauce Bar, said the actor was chosen as the face of the restaurant because of his “youthful energy and fun personality that match the upbeat energy and vibe of PeriPeri as a brand.”

The actor also happens to be a Peri-Peri happy franchisee at UP Town Center, SM Megamall, and Marquee Mall, Pampanga branches.

As the purveyor of the spitfire-grilled chicken experience, Peri-Peri is set to amaze more taste buds as it introduces new items to its already vibrant menu. More than 40 new dishes were added to the menu, spicing up and bringing in more flavors from South America. While the dishes are inspired by international culture, they are localized to appeal to the Filipino taste.

The restaurant also kicked into high gear as it continues to expand and make the PeriPeri dining experience more accessible to its growing market.

To reinforce its presence, Peri-Peri plans to open more stores in the coming months in Ayala Feliz, Marikina; SM Marikina, Evia Lifestyle Center, Las Piñas; Okada Manila; Robinsons Manila; Brittany Square, Fairview; Robinsons Magnolia; and Resorts World Manila among others.

Currently, the restaurant has 16 branches in and outside the Metro. Peri Peri Charcoal Chicken and Sauce Bar is in Nuvali Solenad 3, Alabang Town Center, Mc Kinley Venice Piazza, Uptown Mall BGC, Greenbelt 3, Eastwood Mall, Capitol Commons, Megamall B, Promenade Greenhills, Gateway Araneta Center, UP Town Center Katipunan, Trinoma Mall, Ayala Marquee Mall, SM City Bacolod, Meerea High Street Mandaue Cebu and soon to re-locate its branch in Myanmar.

For Franchising inquiries, Contact PeriPeri’s marketing arm, BrandAction Inc, at 09055158463 or 807-0399. For more updates, follow Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken on facebook. com/peripericharcoalchicken and instagram. com/pericharcoalph.

Store facade of one of Peri-Peri branches

PALACE intrigues reveal more than the politics and lifestyle of the United Kingdom’s most esteemed family.

Underneath the crown and regal vestments, members of royalty are still very much human.

Time and again, these rulers and their family often become the subject of controversy. History remembers many past monarchs behaving badly, like King Henry VIII challenging the Pope in the 16th century so he can annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, or the witch hunts organized by King James VI of Scotland before ascending the English throne at the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603. Fortunately, not all royal squabbles are terrible. Most are just juicy fodder, the kind we ordinary individuals can’t help but feel fascinated about.

There’s no doubt that sovereigns carry a certain charm, thanks to the position, power and fame they possess. Still, the things that make them human—their love lives, their petty jealousies, and their secret obsessions—make them perfect in the eyes of their admirers.

Here we list down a few royal scandals in recent history that left watchers shocked and intrigued the world over: Rekindling Old Passions At the top of the list are the extramarital affairs of former royal couple Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

In 1986, Charles resumed his former relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, now the Prince’s second wife.

Bowles Diana was aware of the affair and took matters in her own hands by confronting Camilla at a birthday party in 1989.

String of Affairs Diana, too, had been romantically linked to several men during her marriage with Charles, like with exarmy captain James Hewitt, car salesman James Gilbey, and her former

Royal scandals history won’t forget

The cast of "Reign's" newest season that captures a tale of romance, horror, betrayal and political scheming.

Jason’s long and hard decision to move to GMA ACCORDING to Jason Abalos, his decision to leave ABS-CBN and move to GMA didn’t happen overnight.

“Actually, it was a long process,” he reveals. “For one, it wasn’t easy because I’ve been a Kapamilya for 12 years. That’s a long period of time. It took three years for me to finally arrive at such decision.

“I believe that God intervened. He guided me along the way. I prayed hard for this.

As I’ve said, it wasn’t an easy decision to make but I’m glad that now, I’m entering a new phase in my career as a Kapuso!”

Many are curious to know how the negotiations between his camp and GMA transpired.

“Supposedly, I was scheduled to meet with the management along with Matt (Evans) who is a fellow former Kapamilya talent. On the date of the meeting though, I had to attend to an equally important matter so I wasn’t able to show up. I thought that was the end of it. Luckily, after a week, GMA summoned me again and the rest, as they say is history.”

How did he say goodbye to his former mother studio?

“Oh, it went smoothly!” says Jason.

“From my bosses in ABS-CBN and Star Magic to my handlers, I was able to bid farewell. Of course, it’s inevitable to become emotional considering the time I spent with them. I guess it’s just normal because you’re like family already.”

The appealing actor points out that he left ABS-CBN without any hurt feelings.

“I love all of my bosses there as well as fellow actors. In my last three years with them, they’ve given me good projects like the primetime drama Two Wives opposite Erich Gonzales and Kaye Abad. It was a top-rater. Same with the afternoon soap Lupa. It also became a hit.”

Langit at Lupa Many are already anticipating his maiden show as a Kapuso dubbed as The One That

Got Away. In this romantic-comedy series, he is paired with Rhian Ramos.

“Yes! It will be aired in January next year.

It’s one of GMA’s opening salvos for 2018.

The thought of working with Rhian excites me to the hilt. It’s something refreshing. It’s like a new adventure.

“For the longest time, I’ve been paired with almost all the leading ladies in the Kapamilya lot. Now, it’s different. I’m sharing the frame with a new partner. It’s a thrilling experiment in which I feel challenged to deliver my best,” ends Jason. ******** Ending earlier speculations that she would transfer to ABS-CBN, Janine Gutierrez remains a Kapuso after renewing her contract with GMA. “I know that rumors spread after news came out that I’m now under Tito Leo (Dominguez). Before, it was my mom (Lotlot de Leon) who handled my career along with GMA. But because she is also busy with her own career, plus she opened a restaurant, she deemed it best to entrust me to someone who can really focus on my growth as an artist and Tito Leo fits the bill,” she avers.

The beauteous star is simply happy to stay with her original home studio.

“I consider myself lucky and blessed to have signed up again with the Kapuso. For one, it’s where I started and honed my acting chops. After my last contract expired, we’ve been in talks. They took good care of me and I’m thankful to be working under them in the next years!”

What does she expect now in terms of her future acting assignments?

“I hope to be given more challenging materials like the last soap I did which was Legally Blind. I would also like to do more mature portrayals. For me, acting is a never-ending process and I’m confident that GMA will make this hap-

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Tuesday, October 31, 2017

ACROSS 1 Not so hot 5 “Golden touch” king 10 Talks to a beat 14 Too suave 15 Bungling 16 Earthenware jar 17 Minor anomaly 18 Yule sleigh driver (2 wds.)

20 Tuba and bugle 22 Stubborn 23 Pint-size 25 Action word 26 Mozart’s home 27 Heir, often 28 Huge hairstyle 32 Is off base 33 Reuben purveyors 35 Reddish-brown horse 36 Moo goo — pan 37 Wire gauge 38 Freudian subjects 39 — — foot pole 41 Galas 43 Drama award 44 Orchid-loving Wolfe 45 Advantages 46 Dry red wine 48 Tool storage 50 Magic lamp

dwellers 51 Starbucks orders 54 Make fun of 55 Place of retreat (2 wds.)

57 Label 61 Restaurant handout 62 Get up 63 Wedding-cake part 64 Stiffly decorous 65 Full and then some 66 Steel-mill refuse DOWN 1 Move up and down 2 Small, in Dogpatch 3 “The Greatest” 4 Punctuation marks 5 Interpret wrongly 6 Ludicrous 7 Cozy rooms 8 NYC dwelling 9 Flower parts 10 Car safety feature (2 wds.)

11 Asian range 12 Arithmetic sign 13 Robe tie 19 Stray dog

bodyguard Barry Mannakee. The first of this short list was even forced to deny rumors of being Prince Harry’s biological father.

Caught Naked The second son of Charles and Diana has had his fair share of shocking reveals during his rebellious days, including being caught using cannabis and getting into a brawl with paparazzi.

Perhaps Prince Harry’s most jawdropping scandal involved him going naked over a game of strip billiards in a Las Vegas hotel. Leaked photos soon circulated on the Internet and the redhead royal was forced to rush back to England to explain himself not only to his dad but also the Queen.

Anything for Love Formerly the Prince of Greece and Denmark, Queen Elizabeth II’s husband Prince Philip had to endure much controversy when the two got engaged in 1947. At the time, he was dismissed as a “German” by the British and was considered “not good enough” by the king’s advisers. Perhaps his poor image wasn’t unfounded: Not only was he penniless and a foreigner, his sisters also married German princes who had Nazi ties. To improve his image, he abandoned all his royal titles, taking on the style of Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten using the surname of his mother’s British family. He also converted to Anglicanism.

Many more scandals have plagued royal families along with the nobility throughout the centuries. For more shocking revelations, catch Reign every Tuesday at 9 p.m. on RTL CBS Entertainment.

RTL CBS Entertainment is available on SKYcable channels 53 (SD) and 196 (HD), SKYdirect channel 35, Destiny Cable channel 53 (Digital) and 89 (Analog), and Cablelink channels 37 (SD) and 313 (HD).

21 23 24 25 26 27

Have Steal software More creepy Thin material Meat avoider Narrow openings 29 Weakness 30 Walkie-talkies 31 Commencement 34 Revise 40 Old-time remedy 41 Mariachi gigs 42 Smudged

43 Aligns 47 Naval off.

49 Attention getter 50 Sky honkers 51 Walk haltingly 52 State positively 53 Ms. Braxton 54 Kid 56 Mouths 58 Have a cold 59 Give — — break 60 Foot-pound relative

pen for me,” Janine states.

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2017

SQUAD GOALS. Marco Gallo, Maymay Entrata, and Edward Barber take turns in hosting shorts that tackle life hacks for teens.

New exclusive DIGITAL SERIES

T

HE choices of entertainment for mobile users just got a lot bigger as ABS-CBN mobile launched seven exciting, new, and original shows starring hottest up-and-coming stars on the ABSCBNmobile Exclusives website.

Viral sensation KaladKaren, Kapamilya stars Maymay Entrata, Edward Barber, Kisses Delavin, and Marco Gallo, host and comedian Alex Gonzaga, celebrity radio jock Mr. Fu, and kilig ambassadors Hashtags host their own shows in short format that cover everything from exclusive celebrity interviews, love advice, life lessons, fun game shows, and even scary stories.

Kaladkaren gets her own hilarious show Kikinang-kinang in which she sits down with ABS-CBN celebrities and personalities and gets them to spill some secrets while

Jervi Li a.k.a. KaladKaren debuts on ABS-CBNmobile Exclusive as she sits down with the network's most popular stars and personalities

Members of "It's Showtime's" kilig authority give viewers an inside look at their life behind the camera

doing outrageous challenges.

Teen sensations and Pinoy Big Brother alumni Maymay Entrata, Edward Barber, Kisses Delavin, and Marco Gallo, who recently made waves in their first starring movie Loving in Tandem, will headline Squad Goals, where they’ll take turns hosting shorts that tackle fun do it yourself (DIY) hacks that teens and adults can do to make life more fun.

IT’S been claimed that the advent of Pinoy Rock in the '70s was the golden age of the genre – mainly because the urgency of the times produced artists who paved the way and influenced those who were lucky enough to witness it first-hand. Even so, the following decades proved to be a continuous uphill battle for Pinoy rock to find its proper place in mainstream music.

Which is why from the '90s and into the early years of the millennium, this was the period when it all came together – when the music and the artists not only reshaped the genre as pundits and fans knew it, but became a household name and solidified itself in the consciousness of Filipinos of all ages and backgrounds.

Remember when you first heard of the Eraserheads’ “With A Smile” and cheered-up a buddy of yours? Or how Rivermaya’s “214” or “Torpe” by Hungry Young Poets perfectly encapsulated that feeling of butterflies in your

Meanwhile, Dear Alex will have Alex Gonzaga dishing out love advice with her signature sense of humor and with the help of classic ABS-CBN series and Star Cinema movies as she puts a new spin on classic lines.

The series Hashtags Uncovered give viewers an inside look at It’s Showtime’s” kilig ambassadors’ life behind the camera as they share their signature moves,

and get much-awaited on-cam moments individually.

Shookt give crime shows a run for their money as it retells some of the creepiest, scariest stories you won’t believe are true, originally told in Maalaala Mo Kaya.

Kapamilya fans get a virtual allaccess pass and get an insider’s look of ABS-CBN shows or segments with never-before-seen clips and interviews in Seen Zone.

A laugh-out-loud viewing experience is what Roleta ng Fortune starring radio jock Mr. Fu offers, as he goes to the streets and challenges random strangers to crazy dares for P1,000.

ABS-CBNmobile users can also have access to the latest blockbuster movies via Kapamilya Box Office (KBO), now available on their phones and tablets.

Also included in the exclusive offerings is The Hacks, where fans of La Luna Sangre can join i challenges via Moonchasers.ph in an interactive online experience.

ABS-CBNmobile’s expansion of its exclusive shows online comes as ABS-CBN rapidly transitions into an agile digital company agile digital company with the biggest online presence among all media

GetMusic NU Rock Years stomach as you braved asking out your high school dream date to prom? We bet you remember how Sugarfree’s bittersweet anthems got you through your first breakup, and how Itchyworms’ brand of wackyyet-intelligent lyricism got you on your feet later.

Call it a generation, an era or a movement… undoubtedly, this was the time when bands were churning-out hit-after-smash-hit, and influencing a new generation of decade-spanning youngsters and music fans. More notably, this was the period when a seminal radio station - known as NU107FM, or simply, “the home of nu rock” - led the charge and became an institution local music enthusiasts could rally behind.

So it’s about time that we all celebrated this

epoch of creativity and wonderfully diverse music, as Smart Music Live presents GetMusic Nu Rock Years, Nov. 25 at Smart Araneta Coliseum. Far from simply being a nostalgia trip, the event boasts an impressive lineup of legends who are not just relevant, but who are still at-it – changing the face and sound of local music as we speak: from iconic songwriters Ely Buendia and Ebe Dancel singing their greatest hits, to Rivermaya and Itchyworms whose undying anthems have spanned age groups, and Barbie Almalbis, who effortlessly remains to carry the torch for female musicians and songwriters all over the land.

For serious local music fans, this is ‘the” big event they have been waiting for… a time to get-

companies and a growing list of digital properties.

To access ABS-CBNmobile Exclusives, ABS-CBNmobile users must have an active SIM with internet connection (3G or Wifi). Subscribers can subscribe to KSURF promo loads to get value for their money. For as low as P30, ABS-CBNmobile subscribers can get 350MB to watch these shows.

To subscribe to KSURF30, they just need to dial *128#.

ABS-CBNmobile load can be easily purchased at SM Stores, 7-11, Puregold, Ministop and Globe Load retailers.

ABS-CBNmobile Exclusives can be accessed on the website via a smartphone, PC, laptop, or tablet.

Visit www.abscbnmobile.com to find out more.

together again, re-live the years and revisit the “NU Rock” sound. None other than Paolo Valenciano will direct and, for sure, will inject a youthful treatment to the overall production.

Tickets are available at Ticketnet Online, (Patron seated) P3,200 and (Patron standing) P2,500. What’s even more exciting is that fans who buy immediately shall be rewarded with a month-long early bird promo, with top-tier tickets at P2,500 and second-tier tickets at P2,000. Interested parties can either log on to their site, or call 911.5555 for inquiries and reservations. So hurry and tell all your friends!

GETMUSIC Nu Rock Years is presented

by Smart Music Live and Smart, and made possible by MCA Music Inc. For more information, check out the official Facebook page of MCA Music: https:// facebook.com/mcamusic

Maja, Matteo, and Vic Sotto on Sun’s LTE launch

Sun Prepaid subscribers FOR the first time ever, may now head to any Sun Sun has brought together Shop nationwide to swap Maja Salvador, Matteo their old Sun Prepaid 3G SIM Guidicelli, and Vic Sotto with a FREE LTE-ready SIM in its biggest campaign yet – without having to change introducing its newest and their existing Sun number. widest LTE network.

On the other hand, Sun Sun features the three shall facilitate the LTE celebrities in its latest upgrade of its postpaid commercial as they usher subscribers within the month. in a better and improved “As a brand that caters to mobile experience for all practical Filipinos and gives Sun subscribers across them best-value choices, the country through LTE Sun’s upgrade to LTE means or Long Term Evolution, unlocking even greater value the international standard Sun LTE brand ambassadors Maja Salvador, Vic Sotto and for our beloved subscribers, for high-speed mobile Matteo Guidicelli who can now enjoy our communication. value-packed promos infused With LTE, Sun now makes it possible for subscribers to enjoy online activities at with data to suit their needs,” said Miriam Choa, Prepaid blazing speeds 24/7 – from surfing online, streaming videos Business head.

Sun’s LTE upgrade is part of PLDT Group’s ongoing and music, playing games, and downloading files on the go.

Sun subscribers can also expect Maja, Matteo, and Vic network improvement efforts, which includes the integration of to soon introduce new best-value data offers that allow the Smart and Sun mobile networks to provide subscribers of Filipinos to make the most of the Sun LTE experience as both brands. As a result, Sun subscribers can now enjoy wider they stay in touch with loved ones, enjoy their dose of mobile and more reliable coverage for calls, texts, and mobile data.

The PLDT Group has finished its LTE rollout in Metro entertainment, or benefit from online services 24/7.

Sun subscribers can start their Sun LTE experience by Davao, Metro Cebu, Boracay, and Rizal, while it is currently upgrading to a Sun LTE-ready SIM and an LTE-capable device. ongoing in Metro Manila.

MTRCB Chair Rachel Arenas (center, seated) with the agency's board members at the Nida Blanca Conference Room

Conference room named after NIDA BLANCA THE Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) celebrated 32 years of service for the Filipino people with the unveiling of the new Nida Blanca conference room on Oct.4. Chairman Rachel Arenas, with Emmanuel Borlaza, then still alive as Vice Chairman and other Board Members.

The celebration began with a thanksgiving mass after which followed the blessing and unveiling of the new conference room dedicated to former MTRCB Board Member

and actor Nida Blanca.

Present at the launch was daughter Kaye Torres, Chari Villa, and Luz Valdez.

After the unveiling, Arenas expressed her appreciation of board member Gloria Sevilla for her efforts in making this dedication towards the renowned actress possible.

The conference room was renamed to keep alive the memory of Nida not only as a Board Member but also as a friend, a family member and a public servant.