Manila Standard - 2017 November 23 - Thursday

Cops regain lead role in drug war

VOL. XXXI • NO. 279 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2017 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday he would return the conduct of bloody anti-drug operations to the Philippine National Police ― without doing any major reforms to the institution he once called “corrupt to the core.”

“Whether I like it or not, I have to return the power to the police,” Duterte said in

a speech at Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija.

Duterte had earlier pulled out the PNP and assigned the PDEA instead to take over the campaign due to mounting public criticism over the thousands killed associated in his bloody drug war, particularly in several cases involving teenagers allegedly at the hands of the Caloocan City police.

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IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS. The Justice Committee of the House of Representatives resumes the impeachment hearing on Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno (inset right) Wednesday, the proceeding intended to determine whether or not there is probable cause to impeach the chief magistrate. Sereno has refuted allegations of her accuser Larry Gadon (inset left). Oriental Mindoro Representative and Committee Chairman Reynaldo Umali began by reading the statement of Sereno. Manny Palmero

Callamard ‘unfit’ for probe job —Palace

By John Paolo Bencito

UNITED Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Agnes Callamard is unfit to investigate the bloody war on drugs that saw thousands dead since President Rodrigo Duterte took office last year, Malacañang insisted Wednesday.

Responding to the strongly-worded tirade of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights condemning the attacks and threats made by Duterte and his supporters against one of its special rapporteurs, Palace Spokesman Harry Roque said they should not judge the President for his signature colorful language but look into what Duterte stands for.

“Ms. Callamard, we reiterate, is not a competent and impartial rapporteur on our anti-drug campaign,” Roque said in a statement.

Roque also claimed that Callamard’s conduct “does not befit her office.”

“Lest we forget, she came unannounced to the country in May this year even while the terms of her official visit were still being finalized. And she did Next page

House blocks Sereno lawyers by 30-4 vote

By Maricel V. Cruz

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AWYERS for Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno left the impeachment hearing in the House early after the committee on justice refused to let them cross-examine witnesses in her absence Wednesday.

HONOR FOR MARAWI HEROES. President Rodrigo Duterte examines photos in the exhibit during the tribute program

OPPOSITION Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Wednesday filed a libel complaint against proDuterte blogger Rey Joseph Nieto, who runs the blog ThinkingPinoy, over his Facebook post that insinuated the senator was a “narco” or a drug lord.

Trillanes, who filed his complaint with the Pasay City Prosecutor’s Office, expressed hope the libel complaint would give Nieto a “lesson.”

[her lawyers] should do it through any of the members, including through the chair if they have anything they want to relay to the committee,” Umali said.

Sereno’s lead counsel, Alex Poblador, urged the committee to immediately transmit the articles of impeachment Next page

called ‘Ang Huling Tikas Pahinga: Isang Pagpupugay sa mga Bayani ng Marawi’ at the Bonifacio High Street in Bonifacio Global City Tuesday. The program honored the heroism of the fallen soldiers and police officers who took part in the liberation of Marawi City. Malacañang Photo

Peace talks, Yule truce Reds, allies junked Mar, Kiko: MRT raps cover-up for Rody’s woes with

By John Paolo

By John Paolo Bencito and Macon Ramos-Araneta

FORMER Interior secretary Manuel Roxas II on Tuesday scored what he called “pathetic” plunder charges filed against him and other

Trillanes sues blogger for libel over ‘fake news’

By Macon RamosAraneta

Voting 30-4, the committee, headed by Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, prevented Sereno’s lawyers from cross-examining witnesses against her, after the chief justice skipped Wednesday’s hearing.

“We are not depriving the respondent of the right to cross-examine but they

But Nieto was unfazed.

“This is where your taxes go” was how Nieto said he would start his official response to the libel complaint Trillanes had filed against him.

As usual, Nieto took to ThinkingPinoy to respond to the senator’s allegations.

“I have yet to receive a copy of Antonio ‘Sonny’ Trillanes IV’s libel complaint, but wouldn’t it be fun if it start[ed] with ‘This is where your taxes go.’?”

Nieto, who has criticized opposition lawmakers Next page

twitter.com/ MlaStandard

Aquino Cabinet officials over the allegedly onerous Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 3 maintenance contract.

Roxas said the fact that he was included in the case because he was merely a part of the procurement board was “laughable on its face.”

“In a word? Pathetic,” Roxas said.

“Because they have no accomplishments to show for all their promises, they’ve invented a case with no substance, and that has no basis in truth or law,” he added in Filipino.

The Department of Trade alleged that Roxas and former Transporation secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, in conspiracy with other Cabinet members and former officials amassed wealth from a questionable maintenance contract Next page for the MRT 3.

Bencito

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday ordered the arrest of all the legal fronts of the communist New People’s Army for allegedly conspiring against the government.

Also, Duterte said there will be no Christmas truce with the communist rebels, as the government formally announced the cancellation of peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front.

“I don’t want to talk to them, especially after the last Next page

Duterte mulls over WPH Sea oil hunt revival

US Navy jet crashes into PH Sea

By John Paolo Bencito

A US Navy aircraft with 11 people aboard has crashed into the Philippine Sea while en route to an aircraft carrier, the US said Wednesday, the latest accident to hit its armed forces in East Asia.

“A United States Navy aircraft carrying 11 crew and passengers crashed into the ocean southeast of Okinawa,” a statement from the Navy said.

“Personnel recovery is under way and their condition will be evaluated by

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday he might lift the moratorium on oil exploration at the West Philippine Sea following his meeting with Chinese Premier Li Kequiang who recently visited the country.

“It’s one of the possibilities that will happen or can happen or will happen sa [in][the]South China Sea,” Duterte told reporters in a Next page

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S

SOULFUL FEATS. Passers-by who have an eye for art and history take a snapshot of the Arft Bonifacio Global City Bus Depot 2017 Arts Festival themed ‘Champions of Passion: Soulful Feats of Art’ with a new set of murals—with media members given a tour Wednesday.

Sonny Espiritu manilastandard.net

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2017

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Marawi to rise again—Palace

By John Paolo Bencito and Francisco Tuyay

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ARAWI CITY―Malacañang on Wednesday announced the government’s plan for the total rehabilitation of Marawi City’s “Ground Zero” in the aftermath of the clash between government troops and the Maute terror group.

“The goal is to completely rebuild Marawi during the term of President Duterte,” Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said in a press briefing here.

“To the residents of Marawi, sagot po kayo ni Presidente.

Babangon po ang Marawi [The President will take care of you.

Marawi will rise again].”

Security forces still stationed in Marawi City have intensified their monitoring to deter potential recruitment by terrorist elements of young adults to join them.

The supposed recruitment of the youth by the terrorists surfaced during a press briefing presided by Roque here.

The apparent recruitment was taking place in the surrounding areas in Lake Lanao, the takeoff point by the terrorists in launching the attack in Marawi City on May 23.

Meanwhile, Australia and Southeast Asia have joined forces to choke financing for militant networks, Australia’s justice minister said Wednesday, amid recent concerns about the Islamic State group gaining a foothold in the region.

Australia’s financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC and the Philippines’ Anti-Money Laundering Council will lead the group.

The creation of the alliance―named the South East Asia Counter

Terrorism Financing Working Group―is the latest effort to enhance regional cooperation against militants.

The new alliance aims to disrupt the funding of militant groups through enhanced financial intelligence sharing, Australian Justice Minister Michael Keenan said on Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur, where he is attending a counter-terrorism conference.

“The stability and security of Southeast Asia is of critical importance to Australia,” said Keenan, who also assists Australian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull on counterterrorism issues.

Canberra “is committed to de-

feating the threat posed by terrorist groups, including ISIL, in the region,” he added, referring to IS by another name.

Meanwhile, the Philippines is set to acquire 23 attack helicopters in a bid to quell terrorism in the country, President Rodrigo Duterte said.

In a speech Tuesday, Duterte reiterated his vow to no longer purchase second-hand equipment as he bid for a stronger military and police at the end of his presidency.

The Bangon Marawi press briefing was held in the city for the first time as an early commitment made by Roque when he took office as a member of President Duterte’s Cabinet.

Bangsamoro a la HK special region mulled THE government is studying the proposals to pattern the proposed Bangsamoro Region after Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China but which controls several affairs on its own, according to President Rodrigo Duterte.

Echoing his talks with some lawmakers whom he spoke with earlier this week, Duterte on Tuesday again stressed the need to resolve the issues hounding the Bangsamoro region.

“Nag-usap kami kagabi, sabi ng mga senador, maybe we can work out a plan like Hong Kong vis-à-vis with the mainland [China]. Parang local autonomy na lang talaga. Ibibigay na lang natin sa kanila the local autonomy and let it thrive on its own,” Duterte said in a speech in Taguig City.

“We have to… if you want a demarcation line, fine. If you want the boundary states, okay lang sa akin. But we have to find a way to get out of this problem now.”

Hong Kong, a former British colony, was handed back to China in 1997, following a 1984 agreement between China and Britain.

China agreed to govern Hong Kong under the principle of “one country, two systems,” where the city would enjoy “a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and defense affairs,” for 50 years.

But in a speech over the weekend, Duterte said he would not allow the creation of a regional armed and police forces under the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law calling for greater autonomy in Muslim Mindanao. John Paolo Bencito

House...

ing the panel to allow her lawyers to represent her as a matter of her constitutional right.

Umali also said the committee, which deliberated on the probable cause of the impeachment case leveled against Sereno, will respect the decision of the chief magistrate not to participate in the impeachment process at the House.

Umali said the invitation to Sereno to participate in the hearings was “continuing,” but said if she chose not to participate, “it is her own lookout.”

Fariñas also said that since Sereno’s lawyers will play no role in the impeachment proceedings, they could just course their questions and other concerns through members of the House justice committee.

The four lawmakers who voted for the motion to to allow Sereno’s lawyers to cross-examine witnesses and complainant were Reps. Kaka Bag-ao of Dinagat Islands, Christopher Belmonte of Quezon City, Lawrence Fortun of Agusan del Norte and Ramon Rocamora of Siquijor.

Belmonte said Sereno’s lawyers should be able to conduct the cross-examination on her behalf as any accused has the right to counsel.

“My point is, this is a political process. This is not simply administrative or criminal. Our work is a constitutional duty. It is only right that we be liberal in interpreting our rules.” Belmonte said.

Rocamora, also a lawyer, echoed Belmonte’s view. “If we are really interested in expediting these proceedings… allow the lawyers to respond directly, to save time,” he said.

Gadon accused Sereno of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, corruption, and other high crimes for her alleged litany of lapses including untruthful declaration of her wealth.

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to the Senate for trial, if the lawmakers believed there is a strong case against the chief justice.

“It is our inclination to have the proceedings in the committee expedited. If they (members) believe that the complainant has evidence then by all means prepare and file the articles of impeachment,” Poblador told reporters in an interview.

With permission from the committee, Poblador and other members of Sereno’s legal team left the hearing early after the panel voted to deny their motion to cross-examine the complainant, Larry Gadon, and his witnesses.

At the same time, the House justice committee agreed not to allow non-panel members participate or speak during the deliberation of Sereno’s impeachment case by a 30-3 vote to the motion of deputy speaker and Cebu Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia.

Lawmakers who were not members of the committee led

by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman appealed to the panel that they be allowed to participate.

“This is more than ordinary legislation. “This will decide the fate and fortune of impeachable officers,” Lagman said.

But Majority Floor Leader Rudy Fariñas said the committee would not be able to finish deliberating on the Sereno impeachment case if all 293 House members were allowed to participate.

“This is a constitutional process. If it is allowed, that will be a dangerous precedent,” Fariñas said.

The House justice panel maintained its position that only Sereno would be allowed to crossexamine the witnesses―a view the chief justice has opposed.

Sereno had executed a special power of attorney and submitted it to the committee Tuesday ask-

Duterte...

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chance interview in Taguig City.

“There’s really…it’s an area too big. But I think the players there would really be the Asean members who are also claimants.”

But Duterte said he would

only lift the moratorium for the benefit of the country.

“I will only lift it when I think the higher interest of the Philippines is served,” Duterte said.

He raised the possibility a week after the visit of Li who, in a joint statement, said the two countries “may explore means to cooperate with each other in other possible maritime activities,

Importers, brokers face ‘shabu’ raps THE Department of Justice has filed criminal charges against importers, brokers and other individuals involved in the smuggling of P6.4 billion worth of shabu shipment seized by the Bureau of Customs last May. The DoJ prosecutors filed on Wednesday a complaint for the crime of importation of dangerous drugs under Section 4, in relation to Section 26 (a) of Republic Act No. 9165, of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act, before the Valenzuela City Regional Trial Court.

On the other hand, the investigating fiscals led by Assistant State Prosecutor Aristotle Reyes dismissed the complaint of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency for conspiracy to import illegal drugs and protecting or coddling of drug traffickers under RA 9165, negligence and tolerance under Article 208 of the Revised Penal Code, and corrupt practices of public officers under Section 3 of RA 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for lack of probable cause. Rey E. Requejo

Peace...

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PLANE CRASH. This handout picture taken on November 17, 2017 and released by the US Navy on November

22, 2017 shows a C-2A Greyhound (top L) assigned to Fleet Logistics Support Squadron launching from the flight deck of the Navy’s forward-deployed aircraft carrier and flagship of Carrier Strike Group five, the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) in the Philippine Sea. Rescuers have plucked eight people to safety south of Japan on November 22 after a US Navy C2-A ‘Greyhound’ aircraft with 11 people on board came down in the Philippine Sea, the latest accident to hit US armed forces in East Asia. (Story on Page1) AFP

ties from the crash.

But US Embassy Press Secretary Molly Koscina said the names of the crew and passengers were being withheld pending notification of their next of kin.

The US military has a heavy presence in the western Pacific, with tens of thousands of troops and hundreds of pieces of hardware stationed in Japan and South Korea.

The USS Ronald Reagan last week was one of three American aircraft carriers that held rare joint

drills in the region, joined separately by Japanese navy and South Korean warships over the weekend.

The drills come as tensions persist between Washington and North Korea over its missile and nuclear program.

US military vessels have been involved in a number of accidents in recent months in East Asia.

The USS John S. McCain collided with a tanker off Singapore in August, killing 10 sailors and injuring five others. AFP, Sara Susanne Fabunan

connection with the 2016 killing of former Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. Marcos, he said, was not only reinstated but he was even promoted.

He also mentioned about the extortion case of Immigration Deputy Commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles involving almost P50 million; and the P64 billion shabu smuggling case involving former Customs officials Gerardo Gambala and Milo Maestrecampo, who were only transferred to another government agency even if they had not yet been cleared.

“Critics are silenced, allies go scot-free,” Pangilinan said.

“Despite all these, we trust that the Ombudsman will be fair and render impartial justice. We are confident that the former secretaries accused of wrongdoing will be able to defend and exonerate themselves,” he said.

Pangilinan also twitted the Duterte administration for its failure to clean up the MRT mess.

“When change is promised, the line and the wait at the MRT should be shorter, not longer. And the primary consideration should be that commuters are safe, not having their arms cut off or the coaches decoupled,” he said.

Also on Wednesday, BURI said it would seek an audience with President Rodrigo Duterte to explain why the train system has been hounded by systems glitches.

Maricris Pahate, external legal counsel of BURI, said they want a chance to personally discuss with the President how they have performed and how they were “unceremoniously kicked out of the contract.”

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales on Wednesday assured the public that action would be taken on the cases filed with her office over the alleged anomalous maintenance contract of the MRT-3 before her terms ends in July 2018.

through his Facebook posts, also said: “The [C]onstitution should be amended to require psychiatric tests for senators.”

Trillanes accuses Nieto of libel under the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 and of violations of the libel provisions of the Revised Penal Code as his Facebook post last October 31, 2016, allegedly met all the qualifications for the criminal act.

According to the law, an act

may be considered libelous if it imputes a crime, vice or defect, whether real or imaginary, to a person.

“Having posted in the Facebook account of respondent Nieto in the internet, this malicious imputation was published far and wide and all over the world,” Trillanes said in his complaint.

As of Nov. 21, 2017, he said, Nieto’s post had received 62,000 reactions and was shared 15,759 times Trillanes said Nieto’s claim constituted ‘fake news’.” He said the social media post failed to cite the news outfit that purport-

edly interviewed US President Donald Trump.

In fact, he said, The Philippine Star verified Nieto’s article and came out with a news piece titled “No Trump mention of Trillanes.”

“Being a very vocal and staunch critic of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, of whom respodnent Nieto is a self-confessed diehard supporter and defender, respondent Nieto’s post was clearly made solely for the purpose of besmirching my reputation and maligning my name,” Trillanes said.

including maritime oil and gas exploration and exploitation.”

The Energy Department had issued a moratorium on all exploration and drilling in Service Contracts 72 and 75 in December 2014 and 2015, respectively, amid the rising maritime tension with China.

The department said Londonlisted Forum Energy Plc held a

70-percent operating interest in SC 72 or the contract to explore Recto Bank in the South China Sea, where PXP Energy Corp. holds a share of 60.45 percent.

PXP Energy Corp., led by businessman Manny V. Pangilinan, also has a direct operating interest of 50 percent in SC 75.

The Energy Department reiterated in March that the drilling

moratorium still held in the disputed waters and that the decision to lift the moratorium would be based on guidance from the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Under the projected joint exploration, the President said the two parties could also jointly explore what they could extract, such as valuable minerals, aside from ore.

US...

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USS Ronald Reagan medical staff.

“The aircraft was en route to the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, which is currently operating in the Philippine Sea. “USS Ronald Reagan is conducting search and rescue operations. The cause of the crash is not known at this time.”

The US embassy in Manila did not say if there were casual-

Mar...

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Roxas and Abaya were accused of using the maintenance programs for the MRT-3 as a “fundraiser.”

While the government had awarded the MRT maintenance contract to Busan Joint Venture in December 2015, it was an entirely different entity, Busan Universal Rail, Inc. (BURI) that was tasked to implement the maintenance contract.

Transport officials claimed there was a “grand conspiracy” among BURI and the former transport officials to amass illgotten wealth.

Liberal Party president Senator Francis Pangilinan said the charges against former Aquino Cabinet members was a coverup for the Duterte administration’s own problems.

He cited the case of Supt. Marvin Marcos, who was charged in

Trillanes...

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ambush on the police in which they killed a four-month-old baby,” Duterte said in Filipino, referring to a Nov. 10 communist ambush in Talakag town in Bukidnon in which a baby was killed.

“If that’s the way they’re going to be, killing civilians, then let’s not talk,” he added.

In a speech at Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, the President said of the rebels: “I will simply declare you all terrorists. Terorista kayo pati ‘yung mga legal front ‘nyo, alam ko. Huwag na lang tayo magbolahan, galing ako diyan eh (You’re terrorists and even your legal fronts are terrorists, I know.

Let’s not fool each other, I’ve been there),” he said.

“We will treat you as a criminal, period. And we will arrest everybody connected and even their legal fronts,” the President added.

Duterte said the communist rebels will be treated as outlaws, since they are helping to topple the government or promote violence. He likewise invited the “legal fronts” such as the NDF to declare their “revolution” against him. With AFP

Callamard...

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so using an event organized by a group that was extremely critical of the administration and presenting herself as a resource person for that event,” he said.

“Her arrogance in going through the back-door not only went against protocol, but is deeply insulting,” he added.

Callamard earned Duterte’s ire after saying his bloody drug war should be investigated due to reports of state-sanctioned killings of drug suspects.

According to police statistics, some 3,906 drug personalities have been killed and 113,932 arrested in the government’s war on drugs. Rights groups, however, claim deaths number thousands more.

Cops...

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Duterte in January made a similar move apparently sidelining the PNP, describing the police force then as “corrupt to the core” and giving PDEA the lead role in the drug war.

Last November 17, PNP chief Ronald Dela Rosa admitted the police force should have undertaken ‘internal cleansing’ first before its all-out war on illegal drugs.

“We admit that we had not totally cleansed our ranks before we waged the war on drugs. We should have cleansed our ranks before we waged the war on drugs so that scalawag narco cops would not be part of it,” Dela Rosa said.

John Paolo Bencito

News

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2017

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‘PERYAHAN NG BAYAN’ ILEGAL! Para sa kalaaman ng publiko, ang operasyon ng “Peryahan ng Bayan” gamit ang pangalan at logo ng Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) ay hindi pinapahintulutan.

ANG PERYAHAN AY ILEGAL! Ito’y makaraang ibinasura nitong Oktubre ng isang korte ang hirit na pigilan ang PCSO sa pagbabawal sa operasyon ng peryahan.

Uulitin po namin, ni singkong-duling ay walang pumapasok sa kaban ng bayan mula sa milyung-milyong kinikita ng peryahan at dahil dito napagdesisyunan noong 2016 ng PCSO na ipawalang-bisa ang kompanyang nabigyan ng Deed of Authorization (DOA) para maglaro ng peryahan dahil sa paglabag nito sa kasunduan.

Dahil sa pagbasura ng korte, muli naming pinapaalalahanan ang publiko lalo na ang mga tumatangkilik sa peryahan na ilegal ito.

ITIGIL ‘YAN! Maraming salamat sa pagbasura ng korte sa hirit na pigilan ang PCSO sa pagbabawal nito sa operasyon ng peryahan.

Muli din kaming nananawagan sa Philippine National Police (PNP), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) at sa lahat ng law enforcement agency ng gobyerno kasama na ang mga pamahalaang lokal kung saan may operasyon ang peryahan gamit ang pangalan at logo ng PCSO na pigilan ito at arestuhin ang mga pasimuno sa pagtatayo nito.

Sa ilalim ng administrasyon ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte, naniniwala kami na ang lahat ng klase ng ilegal na sugal gaya ng peryahan, jueteng, swertres, masiao, at iba pa ay nagbubunsod at nagtataguyod ng korapsyon.

Kami’y nakikiisa sa ating Pangulo sa kampanya laban sa lahat ng klase ng ilegal na sugal at nananawagan kami sa mamamayang Pilipino na tulungan ang lahat ng ating law enforcement agency at lokal na pamahalaan na agresibong ipatupad ang Executive Order No. 13, o ang all-out war vs illegal gambling ni Pangulong Duterte.

Katuwang din kami ng PCSO sa pagtataguyod ng Small Town Lottery (STL), ang tanging legal numbers game sa bansa.

Sa kasalukuyan, P12.1 bilyon na ang kinita ng STL mula Enero hanggang Oktubre nitong taon. Sa buwan ng Oktubre lamang, tumabo ang kita sa P1.7 bilyon mula sa P1.5 bilyon noong Setyembre.

30 porsiyento sa kita ng STL ay awtomatikong pumupunta sa pondo ng kawanggawa gaya ng ayuda sa bayarin sa ospital at gamot ng mga nagkakasakit lalo na ang mga kapus-palad nating mamamayan.

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Opinion

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2017

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

No numb senses

E

IGHT years ago today, the nation was shocked — horrified—at what would later on be known as the Maguindanao massacre. Fifty-eight people lost their lives in single atrocious act.

After all this time, it appears we are none the wiser.

There was of course initial outrage. The violence was universally condemned, arrests were made, cases were filed, and hearings were conducted.

Since then, however, we have lost track of how the cases were going, and how the families of the dead have recovered from the tragedy and moved on.

In 2009, there was indignation because we were not used to this kind of violence. Now,

under yet another administration, and under very different times, we wonder whether we would still be aghast if the massacre happened today. Or would we have been desensitized?

The value of a life appears cheaper these days, not that we accept or approve of it.

It would be asking too much, we know, to hope that the cases be resolved swiftly, or that

those behind it be made to pay for what they thought they could get away with. There is also the sheer inability of the justice system to respond to the demand for swift resolutions.

So, meanwhile, what can the once-outraged nation do?

We must continue to be outraged. There is no getting used to violence—on anyone, anywhere, at any time.

TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

Illegal raids I CAN’T believe it. I refer to the inclusion of several former members of the Aquino administration who are included in the indictment for the anomalies in the MRT 3.

The charge sheet claimed that nine, I repeat nine, members of the Aquino cabinet conspired and knew what the former transport officials were doing, but did not try to stop them.

Among those were former Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Science and Technology Secretary Mario Mometjo, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.

A justice said if there is coercion, there is torture.

Sereno goes a-whining LOWDOWN

JOJO A. ROBLES CHIEF Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno is getting all the breaks that her predecessor never got. And yet she can’t even show half of the decency that Renato Corona displayed, when he was undergoing the same process of impeachment.

Like the President who appointed her, Sereno is revealing herself to be a whiny, entitled brat, long before she has been brought to an actual trial. And I’d expected a lot more stoicism and dignity from someone who holds the post of leader of the judiciary, supposedly the most respectable of the three co-equal heads of the government.

Sereno began the week

by declaring that President Rodrigo Duterte and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez were behind the move to remove her from office by way of impeachment.

During the inauguration of a new court building in Metro Manila, Sereno used the opportunity to claim that she was the victim of persecution by the heads of the Executive and the lower chamber of Congress.

Then Sereno went on what Alvarez described as a “TV-hopping” binge, pleading her case before friendly media outlets in exclusive interviews, where she continued to harp on the same persecution theme. And all this from a chief justice who said she will stick to the law in order to prove her supposed innocence.

Of course, I also recall Corona saying the same thing five years ago, with

a key difference. Corona only began talking in public about a conspiracy to get him out of the Court hatched by Malacañang and Congress when it had already become clear, very late into his own trial in the Senate, that such a plot truly existed.

In contrast, Sereno is crying persecution when the House committee on justice has not even impeached her. And yet, the committee has bent over backwards for her, going through the unheard-of process of finding probable cause like a regular prosecutorial body, before even recommending her impeachment before the House plenary.

Neither Joseph Estrada nor Corona were given the same privilege. These two were put on the House “railroad” and declared impeached by the plenary in

such a hurry that the congressmen-prosecutors were still scrounging around for evidence to justify the articles of impeachment brought before the Senate during the trial proper.

(I noted with no small amount of irony that House majority leader, Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas, one of the prosecutors in the Corona impeachment trial, admitted yesterday that the charge sheet brought before the Senate was so faulty that he was not even among those who signed it before the document was transmitted. And yet, upon the urging of then House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., Fariñas said he agreed to help prosecute Corona in the Senate, on the basis of articles that he knew were so hastily prepared that they could be fatally flawed.)

That said, I think the

House should be commended for not repeating its past mistakes and making sure that Sereno is accorded all the courtesies that a Chief Justice facing impeachment should receive. But Sereno, bless her whiny Yellow heart, is just abusing the privilege.

By seeking to cross-examine the witnesses that the justice committee intends to summon in the forthcoming trial, Sereno has shown that she wants to discredit them before they even get to the Senate. And yet, she cannot even comply with the committee request that she appear before it, to test their credibility herself.

So what’s it gonna be, Madam Chief Justice? Do you want a trial now in the House committee and in the media or do you want it later, when it really should be done?

How can you say you trust the system and the law and go gallivanting before media to plead you case? Why do you send your 11-man team of lawyers to the justice committee with a mere special power of attorney to act on your behalf, when you can’t even put in one of those personal appearances that you do in media on a nearly daily basis?

I’ve already written that Sereno’s impeachment is giving me a serious case of deja vu. But maybe that’s just because I sense that the ending will be the same — even if everything that went on before the two trials are as different as night and day. *** The case filed by the Department of Transportation against some of the biggest names in the Aquino administration in connection

They supposedly knew what was happening at the MRT 3. But what would make the conspirators in the mess?

The effect is that it loses its impact. The credibility of the claim has been eroded.

I have no love lost for the Aquino administration. But if all those mentioned were guilty of plunder, why not include President Aquino himself? *** Here is an eye opener in connection with the bloody war on drugs.

Police raids of illegal drug suspects without judicial warrants violated antitorture and other individual rights—the right to privacy, enshrined in the 1987 Constitution, according to Associate Justices Antonio Carpio and Marvic Leonen.

Likewise, the Constitution presumes innocence of people until otherwise proven in a court of law, and the right against searches and seizures.

Justice Carpio was very clear when he said police-

Turn to A5

Turn to A5

Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher can be accessed at: manilastandard.net Published Monday to Sunday by Philippine Manila Standard Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Roxas, corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. Telephone numbers 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558 (connecting all departments), (Editorial) 832-5554, (Advertising) 832-5550. P.O. Box 2933, Manila Central Post Office, Manila. Website: www. manilastandard.net

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Opinion OVERSIGHT DANILO SUAREZ

By Leonid Bershidsky

Illegal...

From A4

men who conducted a case buildup against drug suspects who refused them entry could be held liable for violating the right to privacy.

This is what happens when cops claim the suspects fight back—“nanlaban.”

For his part, Leonen asked the petitioners—“If a suspect does not open the door, what happens to the suspect?

If you do not open the door, something will happen to you, is it not correct?” So there is a threat.

Leonen also said that when somebody is under a coercive process, to make that person do something then that in fact is torture, according to the law.

When these two magistrates reveal their sentiments on the war on drugs, we cannot but conclude the sentiment if others.

If the Supreme Court decides that this is illegal, what’s next? *** Whether or not former Dangerous Drugs Board head Dionisio Santiago is guilty of the charges brought against him, he is already guilty in the eyes of the people.

What is painful is that Malacañang based its charge on mere allegations from a union, which later denied sending it. Now Malacañang claims that the real reason Santiago was sacked was because he called the Palace’s pet project a mistake and impractical.

And indeed that mega-rehabilitation center in Nueva Ecija would be a mistake. It is located so far away from communities where parents can easily interact with those being rehabilitated. Rehabilitation should be community based. *** Now he is changing his tune. I refer to President Duterte’s call to the military to ignore talks about a revolutionary government even as he warned of arresting rebels who threaten national security.

It is obvious the President knows that a revolutionary government has no basis in law. He also cannot be too sure of the support of the military. *** If wives have not yet completed the Christmas shopping, they will surely have problems. The traffic gridlocks are getting worse every day.

A5

The drug problem continues

Google is filtering news for the wrong reason WE’VE known for a long time that Google makes content decisions, but recent moves in the direction of censorship are going too far. Unfortunately, it’s hard to imagine a regulatory backlash given Google’s victims: websites that no mainstream politician will defend.

Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, told a conference on Monday the company was working to engineer RT and Sputnik, the Russian propaganda channels, out of the Google News aggregator. “We don’t want to ban the sites,” Schmidt said. “That’s not how we operate. I am strongly not in favor of censorship. I am very strongly in favor of ranking.

It’s what we do.”

Schmidt’s words are a riff on an April post by Google Vice President of Engineering Ben Gomes, who teased changes to how Google searches for news. New instructions targeted “deceptive webpages” that look like news but seek to “manipulate users” with conspiracy theories, hoaxes and inaccurate information. “We’ve adjusted our signals to help surface more authoritative pages and demote low-quality content,” Gomes wrote.

I’m not going to claim RT and Sputnik are real news media (in fact, I’ve argued they’re not). But do I want Google to “engineer it out” of news searches or the Google News aggregation service? Absolutely not, and I want my fringe and alternative websites, too, regardless of their political coloring.

I am, of course, a media professional. I know these sites are frequently wrong, and wrong on purpose. I know they push conspiracy theories and propaganda. But the spin they put on the news is immensely illuminating to my work. Last year, US psychologist Robert Epstein published an article on Sputnik alleging Google’s search suggestions were slanted toward candidate Hillary Clinton.

In response, I wrote a column that voiced serious doubts about Epstein’s evidence. That process—an important one in democracies—would’ve never played out had Google downgraded Sputnik and left me blind to the existence of Epstein’s article.

Of course, it can be argued that the average news consumer shouldn’t be fed the fakes and the spins because she lacks the time and the engagement necessary to filter through it all. But that’s not really why Google censors the news through its ranking system.

Google is trying to minimize threats to its business, to avoid any kind of criticism that could lead to regulation. In the April post, Gomes referred to an incident from last December: Those asking Google “Did the Holocaust happen?” received a clear, embarrassing answer: no. Google wanted to make such situations less likely, Gomes wrote.

The same logic applies to its recent moves. Google decided to downgrade links to RT and Sputnik just as members of Congress investigate whether US technology platforms helped facilitate a Russian disinformation campaign during the presidential election. Until the possibility of regulation arose, the company was fine with those links, even though RT’s and Sputnik’s content was always as pungent as it is today.

The bottom line is that Google will downgrade any kind of content that can cause a backlash against it. That’s important to understand even if you don’t want to see altright, alt-left, pro-Russian, pro-Iran or any other biased “news stories.” What you do want can end up being censored, too, if Google’s finely tuned corporate nose smells complications.

Sure, there are applications, such as Feedly, Nuzzel or Flipboard, that let you build your own news aggregator. But they’re less convenient to use than Google News, which is attached to the Google function everyone uses—search. Google is a monopoly that regulators have mostly allowed to bundle various products with the main one. If that were not the case, competitors might arise that offer different degrees of filtering and different ranking models. That would be bad for business and good for consumers, who are now stuck using Google’s mainstream filter bubble. As someone who works in the mainstream media, I should probably welcome that— but I’d rather have fair competition for the inquisitive reader’s mind, and for traffic. Bloomberg

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2017

PRESIDENT Duterte launched an intensified campaign against illegal drugs in July 2016. From July 2016 to October 2017, the Philippine National Police assumed the lead role in anti-drug operations.

The Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign received strong public criticism because of several killings allegedly committed by the police during anti-drug operations. Some of these

were the cases of teenagers, Kian delos Santos and Carl Arnaiz. These events led to the President’s signing of a memorandum, on Oct. 10, which assigned the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency as the sole agency in conducting anti-drug operations.

Sixteen months into the illegal drugs campaign, illegal drugs continue to proliferate nationwide. There are news reports about drug-related crimes almost every day. Recently, a 23-yearold bank employee was raped and killed in Pasig City. A couple working as fast food chain em-

ployees were found f loating on the waters off the coast of the towns of Orion and Pilar in Bataan; and worse, the woman was allegedly sexually abused before getting killed. Even in my province, Quezon, there have been similar cases. In Lucena City, a a teenage saleslady at a boutique was stabbed in the body and face, including in the eye. I condemn all of these drug-related crimes.

Most Filipinos never realized the gravity of the illegal drug problem in the country until this administration revealed it to us

and took significant measures in trying to eradicate illegal drugs. In 2012, the United Nations released a World Drug Report, where the Philippines recorded the highest rate of “shabu” use in East Asia. The Aquino administration seemed to have neglected this report as the problem of illegal drugs worsened during their six-year term.

The illegal drugs in the country would not have been syndicated if not of the cooperation of the police and local government officials. Hence, despite the intensified campaign against illegal drugs of the current administration,

drug syndicates continue to exist and destroy our nation.

While the PDEA is doing its best to eradicate illegal drugs, the President is ready to reassign the lead role of the anti-drug campaigns to the PNP, should the illegal drug problem worsen in the next few months.

According to the President, he will put corrupt government officials behind bars. But now I challenge the President to go after the big drug syndicates, players, and protectors of illegal drugs, particularly those in the PNP and in the local government.

The MRT 3 is a mess DUTY CALLS FLORENCIO FIANZA THE management of MRT 3 is a mess —and this is saying it mildly. Constructed during the administration of former President Fidel Ramos, it was completed in time for former President Joseph Estrada to inaugurate it. It has therefore been in operation for the last 19 years. Over time, the reliability of MRT 3 as mass transport mode has simply gotten worse. There seems to be no assurances anymore that paying passengers can reach their destinations. Technical glitches are happening so often to a point that last Nov. 16, one of the wagons separated from the rest of the train which prompted Senator Grace Poe to ask the Department of Transportation to decide whether it is time to stop the operation of MRT 3 in order to finally fix whatever problem it is experiencing.

Designed for about 320,000 passengers a day, it is now carrying about 590,000 passengers a day. It is therefore safe to say that the system is over worked.

This being the case, what it needs is first class maintenance which the MRT 3

management is apparently unable to do. The amount of maintenance devoted to the system is directly proportional to how much the system is used. Since the MRT 3 is now operating way beyond the designed capacity, it stands to reason that maintenance must also be constant and efficient.

The railroad similar to the road. The more it is used, more maintenance work needs to be done.

To people who understand rail operations, what has happened to the MRT 3 is hardly surprising. Every time a new administration is inaugurated, a new MRT 3 management team is also sworn in. To add to the problem, no effort is made by the government to at least select competent people with experience and technical skills to be able to manage rail operations efficiently. People who are being appointed are friends or political cronies of the political party in power. Add corruption into the mix and it is easy to understand why the MRT 3 is so broken.

Efficient rail maintenance takes time to develop to a point when management can comfortably say that breakdowns are down to the barest minimum. This cannot be done with the frequent change of management teams in a railroad

company like the MRT 3.

Since the very beginning of its operation, MRT 3 has always outsourced it maintenance operation.

Because of this, there was very little effort devoted to developing its in house maintenance capability. I do not know whether the intention all along was to simply outsourced maintenance. If this is the case, it is hard to understand why this is so because I have never seen a rail road company that does not have an in house maintenance capability. What should have been done was to outsource the maintenance while developing MRT 3’s maintenance capability until it was ready to take over. Instead, the company took the easy way out.

If only MRT 3 has a professional maintenance department, it could have easily avoided many of the minor glitches that have bedevilled the company. Rail operations are complicated and difficult. But MRT 3 is only about 16 kilometers long and we cannot even run it efficiently. Maybe the MRT 3 management should send a team to India and visit the Darjeeling Himalayan Railways. This is a railway constructed by the British to go to Darjeeling which is more than 7,000 feet high.

Like Baguio, it was meant

for the British colonials to escape the oppressive Indian summer. The railway is now more than 100 years old running on the same original engines which are no longer manufactured anywhere in the world. Yet, the company have kept the trains in running order thru improvisation gained by many years of experience up to this day.

If the Indians can keep 100 year old engines running, there is really no reason why we cannot keep a 19-year rail road running efficiently.

A trip there may teach our MRT 3 officials a thing or two about maintenance. *** Ordinarily, there are two very common ways rail experts use to keep rail road companies operating efficiently. Time and distance like what we do with our cars is used. For instance, rail companies perform maintenance work every three months or 10,000 kilometers whichever comes first. But this is only done if the system is not overworked.

But if the system is so overworked and is operating way beyond its designed capacity, like MRT 3, the method that is used is by constant inspections and monitoring to be able to detect the impending problems before they happen.

As an example, the decou-

pling of the rail wagon last November 16 that caused so much inconvenience to the passengers could have been easily avoided if all the rail wagons were inspected before the trains left the train depot to begin operation.

There was also a time when electrical disruption caused the stoppage of MRT 3 operations. It was found out later that an object got entangled with electrical wires short circuiting the entire MRT 3 electrical system.

This problem could have been also avoided if there were MRT 3 maintenance personnel inspecting the whole stretch of the railroad. With MRT 3 so unreliable, there should be maintenance presence in the field at all times.

There are many things big and small that the MRT 3 management has to do in order to keep the trains running efficiently. Unfortunately these are not being done. One thing for sure, there are no magic formulas that MRT 3 can rely upon to solve the current maintenance problems quickly. Maybe the Transportation Department can start by replacing people with technically component people with management capability to start professionalizing MRT 3 management.

A thanksgiving recipe for success

By Cass Sunstein IMAGINE that at Thanksgiving dinner, you find yourself seated next to a cousin you like a lot but rarely see—or better still, a devastatingly attractive friend of the family, someone you think you’d like to know better.

Here’s a quiz: What’s the best way to make a good impression?

Talk about an amazing, exotic trip you took within the last year.

Find a subtle way to disclose something impressive about yourself, preferably an achievement of some kind.

Be funny and fun; tell plenty of jokes.

Ask the person a lot of questions about herself or himself, combined with follow-up questions.

Discuss, in the most interesting way you possibly can, something that’s in the news, whether it’s politics, books or music.

A lot of people act as if the right answer is (2) or (5). It isn’t. If you picked (4), congratulations. Your cousin might become a good friend—or you might get a date with the new acquaintance.

That’s the central lesson of recent research by Har-

Sereno...

From A4

with the alleged massive looting that attended the maintenance contract for the MRT 3 must have really

vard University’s Karen Huang, Michael Yeomans, Alison Wood Brooks, Julia Minson and Francesca Gino. Huang and her colleagues began with a simple experiment, arranging twoperson conversations with more than 400 people. They randomly assigned a task to one participant in these interactions: asking either a large or a small number of questions. The other participant was not made aware of that assignment.

After the conversation, people were asked what they thought about the person they had been talking to—and what they thought that person thought about them.

The central finding was clear: People ended up most liking those who asked them a lot of questions.

Notably, participants did not anticipate that. Those who asked few questions thought that their conversation partners liked them every bit as much as those who asked many questions.

(Nope.)

Third-party observers, asked to read the transcripts and to predict how much people would like their partners, also got it wrong. They failed to see that participants would like people who asked a

lot of questions. The lesson is that when you’re asked lots of questions, you feel drawn to the person who is asking them—and if you’re just observing the conversation, you probably won’t see that’s happening.

Huang and her colleagues later asked their research assistants to read the transcripts of the conversations and to rank participants in terms of “responsiveness,” using a scale that includes three factors: care, understanding and validation of their partners. Those who asked more questions were found to be more responsive. Apparently, people who are responsive, in conversation, are a lot more likely to be liked.

In support of that conclusion, Huang and her colleagues examined the specific kinds of questions that increase liking. In short, follow-up questions are best.

The reason appears to be that in order to ask such questions, you need to listen closely to what your conversational partner is saying. Follow-up questions demonstrate responsiveness. That’s why they’re effective in getting people to like you. (Which explains, by the way, why it’s not so charming to respond to someone’s story by asking,

“What do you like doing for fun?” or by exclaiming, “That reminds me of a story about myself!”)

To see how their findings might apply in the real world, Huang and her colleagues tested their claims with an extensive study of speed-dating, involving 110 men and women, participating in 15 to 19 speed dates. After each date, people were asked whether they wanted a second date.

The conversations were recorded, enabling the experimenters to ask: What’s the best way to get someone to want to go out with you?

Men were a lot more likely to be interested in second dates than were women; they wanted such dates with 57 percent of their partners, as opposed to 38 percent for women. But for both men and women, asking followup questions was a strong predictor of whether people would want a second date.

Huang and her colleagues are the first to establish the importance of follow-up questions, but their findings are in line with many others. People who promote themselves, by bragging about their accomplishments, greatly underestimate how much their conversation partners will be annoyed (rather than happy

for them).

Their efforts to impress others, and to win their affection, end up backfiring.

So, too, people often fail to see that if your goal is to be liked, it’s often smart simply to agree with what other people have to say.

Sure, there are complications, for Thanksgiving and dating alike. Most people like to talk about themselves, which creates a trade-off: If you focus on someone else, you might not have as much fun, even if you’ll be better liked.

And there are limits: If follow-up questions are too aggressive or too personal, they can be irritating and intrusive.

Importantly, Huang and her colleagues could not test the quality of follow-up questions. If your questions are insulting (“Why did you do something so idiotic??”), repetitive or routine (“And then what happened?”), or ridiculous (“Gosh, did you feel just like Spider Man?”), you might not make such a terrific impression.

But enough about that.

Here’s what I’d really like to know: What was the best book you read last month?

And what did you like about it?

Happy Thanksgiving.

Bloomberg

agitated a few people identified with that late, unlamented presidency. This is why, even if they admitted that they haven’t seen the actual complaint yet, they can dismiss it outright as

unfounded.

In quick succession, former Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, the supposed architect of the supposed anomalous multi-billion BURI mainte-

nance deal, his co-respondent failed presidential candidate Mar Roxas and even Senator Franklin Drilon denounced the filing of the case. That, to me, means that they’re all scared of

what the complaint may actually contain.

Whatever happened to a simple “no comment, haven’t seen or studied the complaint yet,” by way of a reply?

News

A6

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Roque gets another post P

By John Paolo Bencito and Sara Susanne Fabunan

RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has appointed international human rights lawyer Harry Roque as his Presidential Adviser on Human Rights, serving concurrent to his position as the presidential spokesperson.

"Further, being appointed recently as Presidential Adviser on Human Rights concurrent with my being the Presidential Spokesperson, I will take steps to ensure that the Philippines discharges its obligations in protecting and promoting human rights, especially the right to life," Roque said in a statement.

He made the announcement even as he said that United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, sum-

mary or arbitrary executions Agnes Callamard is unfit to investigate President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs.

Meanwhile, Philippine Ambassador Adnan Alonto assumed his post as the Philippines’ foremost representative to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

A lawyer by profession, Alonto arrived in Riyadh on Nov. 15 along with his wife Jo Alonto and was warmly welcomed by the officers

and staff of the Embassy and attached agencies led by Consul General Iric Arribas as well as the Heads of Posts of various Asean countries at the King Khalid International Airport.

A simple get-together for the Ambassador and his wife, officers and staff of the Embassy and attached agencies and some leaders of the Filipino community in Saudi Arabia at the Marriott Residences followed.

Despite enduring the effects of jet lag, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Alonto hit the ground running by reporting for work the following day, a few hours after his arrival in the Kingdom.

He held meetings with the officers of the Embassy and attached agencies in which he

emphasized that reforms will be put in place in order for the Embassy to be more responsive to the needs of the overseas Filipinos in the Kingdom and further strengthen the robust relationship between the Philippines and Saudi Arabia.

In a speech before the Filipino community at the International Philippine School in Riyadh on Nov. 17, 2017, Alonto declared that henceforth, the safety and comfort of the Embassy’s clients are of paramount concern.

He said that he issued an order that no Filipino transacting with the Embassy should be made to wait outside the Embassy premises to prevent exposure from the harsh elements.

Alonto earned his AB Political Science degree at the Mindanao State University

in 1981 and graduated from the San Beda College of Law in 1985.

After practicing law in the Philippines for almost a decade, Alonto and his family moved to the United States in 1995.

During the 2016 presidential elections, Alonto served as the overall North America Coordinator of the Brotherhood for Duterte-USA. Alonto came from a family with a long history in public service. His father, the late senator Ahmad Domocao Alonto, was touted as a champion of the rights of Filipino Muslims and was the only Filipino recipient of the prestigious King Faisal Award for Service to Islam.

His sister, Soraya Alonto Adiong, is the current governor of Lanao del Sur.

PCSO to probe ambush Maguindanao suspects still on trial of lottery operator in Albay

By Rey E. Requejo

THE Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office is set to summon its authorized Small Town Lottery operator in Albay as part of its investigation of the ambush on the operator’s chairman and a companion in front of a mall in Legazpi City.

PCSO general manager Alexander Balutan said on Wednesday the PCSO is interested to find out if the ambush on Alex Herman Alemania, chairman of Lucky V Prime Enterprises, an Authorized Agent Corporation of the PCSO, had anything to do with STL in Albay.

Alemania died on Monday while being treated at the Albay Doctor’s Hospital for a bullet wound in the stomach, while his female companion is still being treated for the gunshot wounds she

sustained from the attackers.

“The summon is part of the investigation of the agency on what is really the root of the incident. This also aims to settle whatever intra-corporate dispute they may have. If the dispute within Lucky V has something to do with this, the PCSO wants it to stop,” Balutan said.

“The PCSO is not discounting any possibility that this has something to do with the internal disputes among its stakeholders, so we are now investigating the case,” Balutan said.

He said if the result of the investigation shows that the ambush was due to the internal dispute, “they have to settle it immediately or PCSO may be forced to take appropriate action against the corporation. It may lose its authorization,” Balutan warned.

AFTER eight years since the gruesome murder of 58 people in the so-called Maguindanao massacre, none of the accused has been convicted yet and are still undergoing trial before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court.

In a case update released on Wednesdray, the Supreme Court reported that 103 of the 197 accused are still undergoing trial before the Quezon City RTC, Branch 221.

The SC said cases against the accused led by former Mayor Andal "Datu Unsay" Ampatuan Jr. are now in three final stages resolution of the remaining formal offer of evidences of the evidence-in-chief; demurrers to evidence, and the termination of the presentation of defense evidence.

"As soon as the accused have rested their presentation of evidence, their respective cases may already be submitted for the decision of the Court," the case status report stated.

"It is already the turn of the accused to present their evidence-in-chief. Thirty-one accused have already concluded the presentation of their evidence. Thirty four more accused are currently presenting their respective defense evidence-inchief," the tribunal said.

As of last Nov. 21, the RTC has already heard a total of 273 witnesses: 166 prosecution witnesses, and 107 defense witnesses. The Court has resolved all the 15 sets of formal offer of evidence in connection with the bail applications of 70 accused. It has likewise resolved all bail applications of the accused, in-

cluding that of accused Andal “Unsay” Ampatuan Jr., which was denied last May. According to the tribunal, the RTC may render judgment separately on each accused and not wait for all the accused to conclude presenting their evidence.

The SC said that the motion for reconsideration filed

by Unsay was already denied by the Court in its order dated June 16, 2017.

“The prosecution has already finished the presentation of evidence in the main cases against all of the accused, save for Datu Andal Ampatuan, Jr. Considering that the bail proceedings against him was already terminated, the Court is now awaiting for the Manifestation to be filed by the prosecution with respect to their Formal Offer of Evidence insofar as accused Datu Andal Ampatuan Jr. is concerned,” it added.

IN BRIEF Govt workers gain pay hikes STATE workers are set to receive another round of increases after the Budget Department on Wednesday announced the implementation of the third tranche of salary increases for government employees starting January 2018.

In a news briefing, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said that the government has allotted P24 billion for the third tranche of the Salary Standardization (Executive Order No. 201, s. 2016), expected to benefit more than 1.2 million government employees.

"Government workers, aside from increased basic salary, will continue to receive standard allowances and benefits, such as mid-year and a year-end bonus, each equal to one-month basic salary, cash gift, and the Productivity Enhancement Incentive," Diokno said.

Pay increases under the SSL are to be given in 4 parts annually from 2016, with the last tranche scheduled in 2019.

John Paolo Bencito

Budget for indigent students THE leadership of the House of Representatives will pass a supplemental budget to finance the educational assistance of indigent students whose fund this year was allegedly used by the Department of Social Welfare and Development for Marawi humanitarian mission, an opposition lawmaker said on Wednesday.

Ako-Bicol Party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin, a deputy minority leader, said he got the information from Majority Floor Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas. As to how much, Garbin could not tell yet but this has already the go signal of the Budget department.

“I brought this concern to the attention of our Majority Leader during our meeting and he told me that passing a supplemental budget is an option to address the depleted resources for the educational assistance to the poor, but well-deserving students,” Garbin, referring to the meeting of the House committee on rules chaired by Fariñas last Tuesday, said.

Garbin said his party-list group which occupies three seats this 17th Congress has an estimated 4,000 scholars benefitting from the DSWD program. Maricel V. Cruz

PAL sets flights to Toronto, NZ FLAG carrier Philippine Airlines announced on Wednesday it will start its non-stop flights to Toronto, Canada and Auckland, New Zealand next month.

Ma. Cielo Villaluna, PAL chief information officer and spokesperson, said the airline will begin the non-stop thrice weekly operation on the highly popular Manila-Auckland route, bringing down the travel time from the current 13.6 hours to 10 hours.

She said Flight PR218 will leave Manila every Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday at 11:15 p.m. and arrives in Auckland at 2:05 p.m. local time the following day. Flight PR219, on the other hand, leaves Auckland every Friday, Saturday and Tuesday at 12:30 a.m. local time and touches down in Manila at 5:45 a.m.

At present, the airline—using the narrow-body Airbus A320 aircraft—is operating flights to New Zealand with a Cairns, Australia stop over. Joel E. Zurbano

Petition filed on driver’s license THE Supreme Court has been asked to nullify the Land Transportation Office's P836-million project involving the procurement of driver's license cards with five-year validity due to allegedly anomalous contract.

In a petition, Rep. Aniceto Bertiz III of the Acts Overseas Filipino Workers Coalition of Organizations party-list group (ACTS-OFW) asked the high court to enjoin the procurement of over eight million plastic license cards for 2017 from the NEXTIX, Dermalog Identification Systems, and CFP Strategic Transaction Advisors joint venture.

It was the second petition filed before the high court against the LTO project. The first one was filed by AntiTrapo Movement last May. Rey E. Requejo

Christine F. Herrera, 49 Manila Standard senior reporter Christine Herrera died on Sunday morning, November 19, 2017, of cardiac arrest while on vacation in Bangkok, Thailand.

She was 49.

Christine, fondly called “Mamu” by her friends in the media, is survived by her husband Lito Herrera, daughters Nikki and Abby, son-in-law JB, and grandson Malcolm Mason.

Born on January 2, 1968, Christine joined the Standard during the stewardship of then editor-in-chief Jullie Yap-Daza, after her stint in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. She had been covering the Senate and the House of Representatives for the Standard.

Christine graduated from the University of the Philippines, where she was a student activist with the League of Filipino Students before embarking on her journalistic career. Her job as a reporter only fueled her wanderlust, but while known for her feistiness, she was a loving wife and nurturing mother to her brood.

Her remains now lie in state at the Heritage Park at Fort Bonifacio (Chapel 1 Left Wing). Masses will be held every night at 6 p.m. before her interment, which her family will announce later.

Christine’s daughters ask her friends this: “Please continue to include her in your prayers and thoughts.”

They also offered her a poem: If Roses grow in Heaven, Lord, please pick a bunch for me Place them in my Mother’s arms and tell her they’re from me Tell her that I love her and miss her, and when she turns to smile Place a kiss upon her cheek and hold her for awhile.

Because remembering her is easy, I do it every day But there’s an ache within my heart that will never go away.

In Loving Memory

Sports

Manila

Standard

TODAY

Panel formed to finalize Department of Sports Bill

By Maricel V. Cruz

A

PANEL in the House of Representatives has created a Technical Working Group that will harmonize various measures seeking the creation of a Department of Sports.

This came after the House committees on government reorganization and youth and sports development chaired by Reps.

Xavier Jesus Romualdo of Camiguin and Conrado Estrella III of ABONO party-list, conducted a joint hearing on House Bill 65 authored by Reps. Karlo Alexei Nograles of Davao

City, PBA Party-list Reps.

Jericho Jonas Nograles and Mark Aaron Sambar ; HB 287 by Rep. Michael Romero of 1-PACMAN; and HB 3633 by Rep. Cristina RoaPuno of Antipolo City.

Romualdo said during the hearing that the proposed measure seeks to create a Department of Sports that will provide the necessary

focus and adequate funding for the country’s sports development program to enable the Filipino athletes to get access to full training and exposure.

The bills seek to abolish the Philippine Sports Commission, with the agency’s powers and functions, assets, and properties to be transferred to the new Department of Sports.

“The proposal to create a Department of Sports is a response to the clamor to improve the dismal performance of Filipino athletes in international sports competitions,” said Romualdo.

Estrella said the proposal

to create a Department of Sports is one of the most important proposals on sports and is long overdue.

“After 27 years since the creation of the PSC, there is still much to be desired and improved in the state of Philippine sports such as the areas of sports facilities, national sports program, athletes and coaches training, funding, among others,” said Estrella.

Estrella said that most Southeast Asian countries have a Cabinet-level sports agency.

Sambar, in his sponsorship remarks, said his proposal to create a Depart-

ment of Sports seeks to promote physical education and to encourage sports programs, league competitions, and amateur sports, including training for international competitions to foster selfdiscipline, teamwork, and excellence for the development of an alert and healthy citizenry.

He said the creation of a Department of Sports, a cabinet-level agency, will provide leadership in the promotion and development of sports in the country and set the parameters to address the needs of the athletes, coaches, trainers, and sports officials.

Pumaren quits job as UE coach UNIVERSITY of the East coach Derrick Pumaren has reportedly tendered his courtesy resignation to Warriors.

His courtesy resignation came more than a week after the Red Warriors finished Season 93 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines’ men’s basketball tournament with a 3-11 win-loss record.

Pumaren is reportedly still finding out the direction that UE officials want with their program before he enters into renewed talks over returning to his former position.

The Warriors had a 1230 record during Pumaren’s watch.

Under Pumaren, the Warriors reached the Final Four in his first season.

Peter Atencio

BONIFACIO DRIVE, SOUTH HARBOR, PORT AREA, MANILA 1018, PHILIPPINES P.O. BOX 436, MANILA, PHILIPPINES Tel. No. (0632) 527-8356, Fax. No. (0632) 527-4855 HTTP://WWW.PPA.COM.PH

INVITATION TO BID

FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF INTEGRATED SEISMIC ACCELEROGRAPH

The Philippine Ports Authority, through the Corporate Budget of the Authority for CY 2017, intends to apply the sum of P 107,500,000.00 being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for the Procurement of Integrated Seismic Accelerograph (BAC-PGCS-34-2017). Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

The Philippine Ports Authority now invites bids for A. Delivery and Installation of the Accelerograph to 22 PPA Port Management Offices B. Delivery of Web/ Database Server and Software C. Integration/Interconnectivity of All Units for Central Monitoring. Delivery of the Goods is required within 30-60 days from the receipt by the successful bidder of the Notice to Proceed for the Delivery and Installation of the Accelerograph to 22 PPA Port Management Offices; within 90120 days from the receipt of the successful bidder of the Notice to Proceed for the Delivery and Installation of Web/Database Server, Software and Monitoring Computer and within 90-120 days after delivery and Installation of web/database server, software and monitoring computer for the Integration and Interconnectivity.

Bidders should have completed, within five (5) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 9184 (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.

Jarata adds 14-U title to collection MARIELLE Jarata kept her win run going, even ruling the tough 14-and-under girls’ crown to complete a threetitle romp in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala Agoo, La Union leg tennis tournament at the Don Mariano Marcos tennis courts recently.

The 10-year-old wonder worked her way up as an unranked player in the 14-U side, easing out second seed Sandra Tangalin, 6-2, 6-2, in the quarters then overpowering Adriana Cabahug, 6-2, 6-0, in the semis before beating Tristen Kitong, 6-0, 6-1, in the finals.

That came after the local star blasted her way to 4-0, 4-0 victory over John Lim in the 10-U finals and to a 6-1, 6-3 win over Cabahug in the 12-U championship of the Group 2 event which served as the second of a four-stage Northern Luzon swing of the country’s biggest talent-search sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop and presented

by Slazenger.

Reversals actually marked the five-day event supported by the Unified Tennis Philippines, including PPS-PEPP, Cebuana Lhuillier, Wilson, Toby’s, Dunlop, Slazenger and B-Meg with Vince EJ Tugade of Isulan, Sultan Kudarat trouncing top seed Kylde Lagarde twice.

He hacked out a 6-3, 6-4 decision in the boys’ 16-U finals then scored a dominant 6-1, 6-1 triumph to claim the 18-U plum.

“These reversals only prove that the lesser fancied players are fast catching up with the top seeded bets, practically making it a level playing field in most of our tournaments,” said Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro.

No. 3 Sharry Caluza of Baguio also came away with a 6-3, 6-4 upset of top seed Denise Bernardo to snatch the girls’ 18-U diadem after the latter, one of the rising stars from Laguna, toppled the former, 7-5, 6-1, in the 16-U finals.

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2017 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Interested bidders may obtain further information from the Philippine Ports Authority’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday to Friday.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested Bidders on 23 November 2017 from the address below and upon payment of the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents, pursuant to the latest Guidelines issued by the GPPB, in the amount of FIFTY THOUSAND (P50,000.00) PESOS. It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the website of the Philippine Ports Authority, provided that bidders shall pay the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.

The Philippine Ports Authority’s Bids and Awards Committee will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on 01 December 2017 at 2:00 p.m. at the PPA Function Room, 7th Floor, PPA Bldg., Bonifacio Drive, South Harbor, Port Area, Manila, which shall be open to all prospective bidders.

Bids must be duly received by the BAC Secretariat at the address below on or before 15 December 2017 at 9:00 a.m. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in the bidding documents.

Bid opening shall be on 15 December at 10:00 a.m. at the 7th Floor, PPA Building, A. Bonifacio Drive, South Harbor, Port Area, Manila. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend. Late bids shall not be accepted.

The Philippine Ports Authority reserves the right to reject any and all bids, declare a failure of bidding, or not award the contract at any time prior to contract award in accordance with Section 41 of RA 9184 and its IRR, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

For further information, please refer to: BAC Secretariat, Philippine Ports Authority 5th Floor, PPA Bldg., A. Bonifacio Drive, South Harbor, Port Area, Manila Telephone/Fax No. 527-47-35 527-83-56 to 83 loc. 539

Frank Berin, solo champ of the 2017 World Slasher Cup 1 and a repeat winner of the 2017 WSC 2, displays his trophy.

‘18 World Slasher Cup set Hayashi vs Magsayo THE biggest international cockfighting derby, the 2018 World Slasher Cup, will kick off at the Smart Araneta Coliseum from Jan. 29 to Feb. 7.

The preeminent derby where the world’s best breeders compete with their fiercest bloodlines, next year’s 9-cock invitational is expected to attract foreign combatants as well as local enthusiasts and even returning champions, all for the quest to be hailed victorious in what is reputed to be the toughest gamefowl event in the world.

Known as the “Olympics of Cockfighting,” the 2018 World Slasher Cup (WSC) will be a real smackdown among the finest winged-warriors.

WSC 2017 first edition lone champ, Frank Berin, beat hundreds of hopefuls with his NEJ Sebastian entry.

Berin was also one of the three last men standing in the WSC 2017 May edition, where his entry, Mulawin, scored a three-way victory along with Escolin Eslabon (owned by brothers Martin and Marlon Escolin), and Lucban (of owner Anthony Lim).

“All the best cocks compete here,” Berin insisted of World Slasher Cup.

The two-time 2017 winner made sure that only his strongest birds entered the WSC rueda.

Former champ Joey Melendez is also among those that don’t take chances, developing his lines from birds that are former World Slasher winners.

“If you want to prove how good you are, you come here to WSC,” he said. Between former champs joining to reclaim the title and other participants trying snatch it from them, WSC is slated to be the most exciting derby of all, with honor and glory at stake.

In the meantime, with only a few more months for participants to prepare, derby enthusiasts who are eager to see the biggest battle of the breeds for the covered WSC championship title can revisit 2017’s fiercest fights with the Limited Edition 15-disc 2017 World Slasher Cup DVD set that also comes with a bonus disc. The boxed set is available for now only through the SNAXX counters of Gateway Mall and the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Fans can also check out the 2018 World Slasher Cup Facebook page @WorldSlasherCupOfficial for more info and updates.

Rivera saves day for PH bets SHAIRA Rivera fashioned out a 6-2, 6-3 romp over Lunda Kumhom of Thailand to make up for a string of setbacks suffered by the local bets from foreign opposition in the Phinma-PSC Juniors Tennis Championships Week 2 at the Manila Polo Club in Forbes Park yesterday.

Rivera imposed her will early against Kumhom then fended off the Thai’s fightback to complete the straight-set victory that came after Melanie Dizon, Isabela Carlos, Rafaella Villanueva and Winona Cabardo bowed out one after the other to seeded foreign rivals.

Dizon fell to No. 2 Thai Punnin Kovapitukted, 6-0, 6-1; Carlos blew a tight first-set game and dropped a 7-5, 6-1 decision to seventh-ranked Japanse Saki Oyama; Villanueva yielded to Annika Kannan of India, 6-2, 6-3; and Cabardo succumbed to No. 2 Lisa Mays of Australia.

But Rivera, a veteran of the WTA Future Stars, will have her hands full in the second round where she will face No. 5 Wing Ka Lin of Hong Kong for a spot in the quarterfinals of the Group 4 ITF (International Tennis Federation) 18-and-under event sponsored by the Philippine Investment Management Consultants (Phinma) and Technifiber.

Meanwhile, Nicole Hammond kicked off her Week 2 campaign the way she closed out the first leg of the annual ranking event sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) as the power-hitting American whipped Malaysian Elsa Wan, 6-0, 6-0.

Hammond, who swept compatriot Elizabeth Stevens to rule Week I, never gave Wan a chance in their brief encounter, scoring almost at will to advance to the second round against Chinese No. 4 Xuanjin Li, who eased out Sydney Enriquez, 6-2, 7-6(2).

Enriquez tried to rebound with a gutsy stand in the second set but lost steam and poise in the tiebreaker and headed to where the other Pinays bets before her had trooped—to the exit.

PPA Website: www.ppa.com.ph

ADRIAN FERDINAND S. SUGAY Chairperson, PPA Head Office Bids and Awards Committee for the Procurement of Goods and Consultancy Services (HO-BAC-PGCS)

in Pinoy Pride 43 on SKY Pay-Per-View

MARK “Magnifico” Magsayo will fulfill a childhood dream of fighting in his hometown when he faces Japan’s Shota Hayashi in his hometown of Bohol on November 25, Saturday. SKY subscribers can watch the fight live at 6 PM through SKY Sports Pay-Per-View.

Magsayo goes into the fight undefeated, with a record of 17 wins, 13 of which are knock outs, giving him a 76 KO percentage. He is currently number two in the WBO featherweight class and ninth in the WBC featherweight class.

Now, the 22-year old undefeated boxer from ALA Boxing Gym will defend his WBO International featherweight belt against an experienced fighter from Japan, Shota Hayashi (306-1, 16 KO). Hayashi is an accomplished fighter with almost 40 matches under his belt. He defeated Filipino Markquil Salvana in his last fight.

Hayashi is a dangerous fighter and the promoters are using this fight to test Magsayo’s readiness for a world title fight. The young Filipino fighter is eyeing to battle Oscar Valdez for the WBO featherweight world championship.

Albert Pagara (28-1, 19 KO) and Jeo Santisima (14-2, 13 KO) will also fight in the main card against Tanzanian Mohammed Kambaluta (17-3, 6 KO) and Indonesian Kichang Kim (8-4, 2 KO), respectively.

Watch Magsayo ang Hayashi clasH in the ring live, commercial-free, and in high through SKY Sports PPV for only P99.

Call your local SKY office or 418-0000 to subscribe or visit www.mysky.com.ph/boxingppv.

SKYcable subscribers can also text BOXINGPPV to 23662. SKYdirect postpaid subscribers can text SKY to 23668, while prepaid subscribers can text PPV <SPACE> BOXING <SPACE> <BOX ID> TO 23667. SKYbroadband subscribers can watch via SKY on Demand.

Pinoy Pride 43 is also available on free TV on Sunday, November 26 at 3:30pm on ABSCBN and on primetime at 6:30pm on S+A and S+A HD. Fans can also watch the documentary on Magsayo, “Lakas ng Kamao,” on Friday, November 24, 12NN on S+A and S+A HD on SKY on SKY.

BONIFACIO DRIVE, SOUTH HARBOR, PORT AREA, MANILA 1018, PHILIPPINES P.O. BOX 436, MANILA, PHILIPPINES Tel. No. (0632) 527-8356, Fax. No. (0632) 527-4855 HTTP://WWW.PPA.COM.PH

INVITATION TO BID

FOR THE LEASE AND MAINTENANCE OF COPYING MACHINES The Philippine Ports Authority, through the Corporate Budget of the Authority for CY 2017, intends to apply the sum of P 2,592,000.00 being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for the Lease and Maintenance of Copying Machines (BAC-PGCS-02-2017). Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

The Philippine Ports Authority now invites bids for A. Lease of Twenty-Five (25) units of Copying Machines B. Maintenance and Repair Services for the Copying Machines. Contract Duration is Twelve (12) Months from the receipt by the successful bidder of the Notice to Proceed. Bidders should have completed, within five (5) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 9184 (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.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from the Philippine Ports Authority’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday to Friday.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested Bidders on 23 November 2017 from the address below and upon payment of the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents, pursuant to the latest Guidelines issued by the GPPB, in the amount of FIVE THOUSAND (P5,000.00) PESOS. It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the website of the Philippine Ports Authority, provided that bidders shall pay the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.

The Philippine Ports Authority’s Bids and Awards Committee will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on 01 December 2017 at 2:00 p.m. at the PPA Function Room, 7th Floor, PPA Bldg., Bonifacio Drive, South Harbor, Port Area, Manila, which shall be open to all prospective bidders.

Bids must be duly received by the BAC Secretariat at the address below on or before 15 December 2017 at 1:00 p.m. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in the bidding documents.

Bid opening shall be on 15 December 2017 at 2:00 p.m. at the 7th Floor, PPA Building, A. Bonifacio Drive, South Harbor, Port Area, Manila. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend. Late bids shall not be accepted.

The Philippine Ports Authority reserves the right to reject any and all bids, declare a failure of bidding, or not award the contract at any time prior to contract award in accordance with Section 41 of R.A. 9184 and its IRR, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

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

M. Standard – Nov. 23, 2017

For further information, please refer to:

P0 M+

BAC Secretariat, Philippine Ports Authority 5th Floor, PPA Bldg., A. Bonifacio Drive, South Harbor, Port Area, Manila

P0 M

Telephone/Fax No. 527-47-35 527-83-56 to 83 loc. 539 PPA Website: www.ppa.com.ph

ADRIAN FERDINAND S. SUGAY Chairperson, PPA Head Office Bids and Awards Committee for the Procurement of Goods and Consultancy Services (HO-BAC-PGCS) M. Standard – Nov. 23, 2017

Sports

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

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Lakers put on a late show to stun Bulls

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2017

LOS ANGELES—Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Kuzma led the way as the Los Angeles Lakers staged a late rally to down the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday.

In the only NBA game of the day as the United States prepares for Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday, the Lakers fought back to win 103-94 at the Staples Center.

The win saw the Lakers improve to 8-10, lifting them into the playoff places in the Western Conference.

The defeat was another setback for Chicago, however, who are languishing near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings at 3-12.

The Lakers, who are in a rebuilding phase after missing the playoffs for the past four seasons, trailed 89-83 with just over six minutes left.

But a late scoring burst helped them haul in Chicago to seal the win.

Kuzma led the scoring with 22 points while Caldwell-Pope was just behind with 21.

Brandon Ingram added 17 points while both Julius Randle (10 points) and Jordan Clarkson (12) also had double figures.

Lonzo Ball of the Los Angeles Lakers looks to pass against the Chicago Bulls at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. AFP

It’s Ateneo-La Salle in finals

By Peter Atencio

A

N AWKWARDLY executed basket from Isaac Go after he fell on his knees propelled the Ateneo Blue Eagles to their second straight finals’ appearance in the 80th University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament.

Tamaraws in their Final Four rubber match last night at the Mall of Asia Arena.

“We were not thinking that this was a 7-and7 team. We knew that we will play a close game with them. And that’s what happened. And our players never gave up, stayed focused and stuck to the game plan. There were ups and downs. But what a great game,” said coach Sandy Arespacochaga.

With the Blue Eagles enjoying an 87-83 advantage

Games Saturday (Game 1 at the MOA Arena) 11 a.m. UE vs UST (women) 4 p.m. vs La Salle (men)

after Go successfully sank his attempt in the remaining time, the Blue Eagles sealed a dream best-ofthree finals showdown with the defending champion La Salle Green Archers for the second straight season.

Thirdy Ravena tallied a game-high 17 points for Ateneo, which forced the overtime after Go con-

nected with a triple in the last 8.5 seconds.

Go finished with 13 points and nine rebounds as he found his opening in the dying seconds of the extension period in the absence of a fouled-out Tamaraw big man Prince Orizu.

The Tams drew 19 points from Jesper Parker, who put FEU ahead for the last time at 80-79 in the last 2:41 with his driving shot against Vince Tolentino.

After that, Blue Eagle big man Chibueze Ikeh

tied the match with a split freebie, 80-all.

Then, Nieto struck twice, first with a drive off Richard Escoto, and a triple in the last 46.9 seconds, following a turnover from FEU cager Hubert Cani’s bungled three-point try as the Eagles grabbed an 8580 lead.

FEU, getting 13 points from Tolentino, struggled to stay ahead, 71-69, after they lost Orizu to five fouls off Nieto in the final 1:39 of regulation.

The 6’8” Go released his attempt from the right side moments after he dropped to the ground in an effort to retrieve a missed outside attempt by

Matt Nieto with 20.1 seconds left.

The basket helped carry the Blue Eagles to an 8884 overtime triumph over the Far Eastern University

5 teams stay clean in Rebisco spikefest

Del Rosario stumbles, but pulls away by 8 shots

Games today (Thursday) 1 p.m. – NSN vs KNC 2 p.m. – DLL vs BTT 3 p.m. – HCS vs HFA 4 p.m. – FEU vs HRC 5 p.m. – LNS vs UMT 6 p.m. – USJ vs ALC

BACOLOD Tay Tung High School, De La Salle-Lipa and Holy Rosary College of the host city nailed their second straight victories to force a three-way tie for the lead in Pool B and match Pool A top teams Nazareth School of National University and Hope Christian High School’s strong start in the 18-and-under Rebisco Volleyball League at the Sta. Rosa Multi-Purpose Sports Complex in Laguna last Tuesday.

Led by Shane Carmona and Beatrice Decena, the BTT spikers held off the University of San Jose-Recoletos side, 25-17, 25-23; DLL thwarted Far Eastern University-Diliman, 25-18, 25-20; while HRC subdued Cagayan de Oro’s Angelicum Learning Center, 25-8, 25-19, to go 2-0 in their side of the two-group tournament sponsored by Rebisco and organized by Metropolitan Sports and Events Group, Inc. headed by Freddie Infante.

BTT and HRC were disputing the solo lead at presstime with DLL also gunning for its third straight win against USJ-R, which remained winless along with ALC and FEU. NSN and HCS also notched their second straight victories in Pool A with the former battling back from a second set foldup to hack out a tough 25-22, 16-25, 25-22 decision over Koronadal National Comprehensive HS, and the latter imposing its will against Leyte National HS, 25-15, 25-13.

TAGAYTAY—Pauline del Rosario struggled with her long game and hobbled with a wind-raked 73 but still doubled her four-stroke lead over Chihiro Ikeda as the rest fumbled in the second round of the ICTSI Splendido Ladies Classic at Taal Splendido Golf Club here yesterday.

Del Rosario bogeyed two of the first four holes and though she rebounded with two birdies linking both nines, the winner of three of the last five legs of the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour hit

an errant drive on No. 14 and made a double bogey before birdying the par-3 17th for a 37-36 card.

Counting her opening 68, Del Rosario pooled a three-under 141 and looked headed to surpassing her huge sevenstroke romp over Princess Superal and Thai Tirana Yoopan at Pradera Verde last August in the 54-hole championship sponsored by ICTSI as her rivals failed to mount any challenge in tough condition.

Ikeda, winner at Forest Hills last

month who rallied with a backside 32 to save a 72 Tuesday, never recovered from a bogey-bogey start, finishing with a 77 marred by a double bogey on No. 11 for a 149.

Cyna Rodriguez, the former threetime LPGT Order of Merit winner, rallied from six down to within three with back-to-back birdies from No. 10. But the LPGA Tour veteran dropped five strokes in a four-hole stretch from No. 13 and ended up with a 76.

She stayed at third at 150 in a tie with

Thai Chonlada Chayanun, who fought back from an opening 40 to card a 75, while Princess Superal turned in the day’s best score of 72 but still lay 11 strokes off Del Rosario heading to the final 18 holes of the event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. “I still struggled with my driver and hope to correct those mistakes by playing smarter tomorrow (today),” said Del Rosario, hoping to reach peak form in time for the ICTSI Philippine Ladies Masters at The Country Club in two weeks time.

PH warrior Corminal tries to extend KO streak in ONE tilt

By Reuel Vidal SINGAPORE—A stoic Richard Corminal sat stone-faced at the Simpor Junior Ballroom, Marina Bay Sands before members of the international media yesterday during the ONE: Immortal Pursuit press conference.

The Filipino veteran is only too aware of the importance of his next bout when he faces French veteran Arnaud Lepont on the undercard of the promotion at the iconic Singapore In-

door Stadium on Friday.

Corminal—who sports a four-win, twoloss MMA record—has won all his fights by knockout and aims to do the same to Lepont who makes his ONE Championship return after a long two-year layoff.

ONE Championship Welterweight World Champion Ben Askren stakes his crown against grappling legend Shinya Aoki in the main event.

Singapore’s Amir Khan battles bruiser Adrian Pang in fight between

Lightweights in the comain event.

Filipina Gina Iniong —who tallied a spectacular victory against Indonesian Priscilla Hertati Lumbangaol less than two weeks ago—returns to the cage to battle top Atomweight contender Mei Yamaguchi.

Corminal wants to get back on the winning track by spoiling the return to ONE Championship of the celebrated Lepont. The 35-year-old Filipino lost his ONE

Corminal

Championship promotional debut against Thai martial arts superstar Shannon Wiratchai last March and hopes to bounce back against Lepont.

“I have watched his (Lepont) fights. He is good. He is tough. I am just going to do my thing.

I want to finish my fights standing.

Sometimes when I have an opponent on the ground, I can beat them up. But I prefer to finish a fight standing,” said Corminal.

Lepont took a long break from competition to manage one of Vietnam’s biggest martial arts gyms in the nation’s capital of Ho Chi Minh City. After two years away from the cage,

Lepont makes his longawaited return to ONE Championship.

Despite Lepont’s long layoff Corminal expressed caution especially because of the experience of the wily Lepont.

“He is a more experienced fighter than I am. I know what he is capable of doing inside the cage. I will do my best. I’ve worked hard just to make it here in ONE Championship. I won’t waste this opportunity,” said Corminal.

Rookie star Lonzo Ball had another wayward scoring night, finishing with just eight points. But he managed to pull down 13 rebounds and provided four assists.

Caldwell-Pope’s points total included 11 in the final minutes as Los Angeles completed a comeback in a game which had seen them trail by as many as 19 points at one stage.

Denzel Valentine led Chicago’s points with 17 while Antonio Blakeney was the next highest with 15. Four other Chicago players posted double-digit scores.

Meanwhile, Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant insists he is unfazed by the prospect of facing his former team as the NBA champions prepare to take on Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.

Durant, who is battling to recover from a left ankle sprain, left Oklahoma City for Golden State after eight seasons in 2016.

In his return to Oklahoma City last season, Durant put up 40 points, and blocked out the hostile reception which greeted him.

More of the same is expected on Wednesday, but Durant said he is unconcerned by the catcalls. AFP

Cignal tries to halt skid in PSL 4:15 p.m. – Iriga City vs Victoria Sports-UST 7 p.m. – Cignal vs Sta. Lucia Realty

CIGNAL tries to check its skid when it battles Sta. Lucia Realty today in the Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga Grand Prix at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Action erupts at 7 p.m. following the battle between struggling Iriga City and Victoria Sports-UST in the 4:15 p.m. first match of this prestigious club tourney sponsored

by Mikasa, Grand Sport, Senoh, Mueller, Island Rose, Cloudfone and UCPB Gen. Although armed with a loaded roster, things are looking gloomy for the HD Spikers in this league that also has Gold’s Gym and Gerflor as technical sponsors and ESPN5 as broadcast partner.

They have lost three of their past four games, with the previous setback coming from F2 Logistics, 22-25, 1325, 12-25, late Tuesday.

In that match, the HD Spikers came out firing in the first set, before wilting under the hot defense of the Cargo Movers in the second and third sets en route to another painful setback.

F2 Logistics was so dominant defensively that nobody from Cignal emerged with double-digit scoring. The Cargo Movers were more superior at the attack zone, 38-27, as well as in the blocking (12-5) and service (6-3) departments.

Even worse, seasoned spiker Jovelyn Gonzaga crashed with a knee injury in the crucial stretch of the second set, prompting league officials and medical staff to rush her to the nearest hospital for immediate treatment.

Stars collide at Golden Fiesta’s Heart Healthy Camp GET ready to be starstruck on Sunday (Nov. 26), when celebrity hotties engage health buffs in a holistic fitness program in the second leg of Golden Fiesta’s Heart Healthy Camp.

To be held at Track 30th in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, the Heart Healthy Camp will feature high-profile ‘fitspirations’ who will take time off from their packed schedules to sweat it out with camp participants.

Power couple Solenn Heussaff and Nico Bolzico of the wildly popular ‘hubby vs. wifezilla’ videos will take their “feud” to the Golden Fiesta Heart Healthy Camp as they lead other celebrities and fitness enthusiasts in trying out various fitness routines.

The celebrities will be split into two groups—Team Solenn and Team Nico—as they com-

pete in circuit training.

The second leg of Golden Fiesta’s Heart Healthy Camp will also be graced by former Philippine Azkals player Anton del Rosario and his fiancée, fashion designer royalty Sam Richelle; Miss Earth 2015 Angelia Ong; Mr. World Philippines 2016 Sam Ajdani; volleyball superstar Rachel Daquis; actress Maricar de Mesa; Miss World Philippines 2015 Hillarie Parungao; model-mom Angel Jones; singer-actress Ana Roces; and model June Macasaet.

Scores of young professionals who aspire to be heart-healthy will have a chance to interact with their celebrity fitspirations as they learn and enjoy new fitness techniques at the Golden Fiesta Heart Healthy Camp—all for free.

Interested participants may register at Track 30th as early as 5 a.m. on Nov. 26. They will get

a free test to check their current fitness status using Golden Fiesta’s Karada machines, which will also determine whether they are suited for the beginner, intermediate, and advance levels of activities. They will also receive a special event passport that will be stamped after they finish each fitness activity, plus a Finisher’s Shirt and other special treats from Golden Fiesta upon completing all activities.

Aside from joining various stations of workout activities manned by professional coaches and trainers, participants may watch a live cooking demo— using heart-healthy Golden Fiesta Canola Oil—by celebrity chef and fitness buff Jose Sarasola. The chef-actor will teach participants how to prepare simple but healthy recipes at home, like Golden Fiesta Let-

tuce Salad with Guyabano Vinaigrette, Golden Fiesta Bangus Back Fillet and Adobo Kangkong Duo, and Golden Fiesta Japanese Chicken Katsu in Curry Sauce. A food sampling will follow. Registered nutritionist and dietician Fia Batua will also give free consultations to participants on how to maintain a heart-healthy lifestyle.

“It’s not every day that we get a chance to train with our celebrity idols and fitspirations, not to mention jump-starting a new fitness regimen with them—for free. This is why we encourage everyone, especially residents of the metro and nearby areas, to sign up for the Golden Fiesta Heart Healthy Camp on Nov. 26,” said Carl Constantino, category marketing manager at NutriAsia.

“It is a great opportunity for you to evaluate your lifestyle and

Jump-start a new fitness regimen with the help of professional coaches and your favorite celebrity fitspirations at the Golden Fiesta Heart Healthy Camp at Track 30th, BGC on Nov. 26. initiate positive changes, including making the right food choices. After all, it’s an event made possible by heart-healthy Golden Fiesta Canola Oil.”

After the BGC leg, the Golden Fiesta Heart Healthy Camp will be held at Eton Centris Walk in Quezon City on Dec. 3, Sunday.

Business

BPI to open 30 branches next year

B2

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2017

B

BoI: Investment pledges surge 187%

By Othel V. Campos

IN BRIEF

I

NVESTMENT commitments surged 187 percent in October to P27.6 billion from just P9.6 billion in the same month last year, the Board of Investments said Wednesday.

Del Monte gets nod to raise $160m DEL Monte Pacific Ltd. said Wednesday it secured a green light from the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue $160 million worth of dollardenominated preferred shares.

Del Monte said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it received the SEC’s permit to offer securities for sale covering the preferred shares offering.

The sale will be the second and final tranche of dollar denominated preferred shares under the company’s $360-million dollar-denominated securities shelf registration approved by SEC in 2016.

The company tapped BDO Capital and Investments Corp. as the sole issue manager for the offering.

Del Monte in April issued and listed $200 million worth dollardenominated preferred shares to become the first company to register the securities with the Philippine Stock Exchange.

The company used the proceeds from the April fund raising activity to refinance debts.

The company said in September it was selling US-based Sager Creek vegetable business to McCall Farms Inc., a familyowned business that manufactures brands such as Bruce’s Yams, Margaret Holmes and Glory Foods, for $55 million.

The sale will allow the company to focus on core business and explore new products. Darwin G. Amojelar

Senate passes energy bill on 2nd reading THE Senate approved on second reading Senate Bill No. 1439, the Energy Virtual One Stop Shop Act of 2017, which seeks to modernize and streamline the permitting process of power generation projects in the country.

“The permitting process to get a power plant off the ground takes as long as three and a half years. This legislation will eradicate the red tape in the process which impedes the increase of the country’s energy supply. Ultimately, the EVOSS Act is projected to drive down electricity costs and provide significant savings to electricity consumers,” said Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Energy Committee and principal author of SBN 1439.

The bill seeks to establish a technology and operations management software platform for all government entities to promote a unified permitting system.

The system, to by supervised by the Department of Energy, will improve coordination between entities and provide easier access to all information necessary to apply for new energy generation projects.

The EVOSS Act also aims to eliminate overlapping mandates in documentary submissions – one of the main factors contributing to the lengthy application process. Alena Mae S. Flores

Tax measure to remove housing perks THE proposed Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion under the Senate committee on ways and means chaired by Senator Sonny Angara will remove the VAT-exemptions currently given to socialized, economic and lowcost housing units which cost P450,000 to P3.2 million per unit.

Rodolfo Javellana Jr. of the Union of Filipino Consumers and Commuters expressed fear that this “spells bad news for the 15 million overseas Filipinos workers trying to earn a decent living away from their families and the rest of our kababayans planning to buy their own homes.”

Javellana said in a statement that with the current prices for socialized, economic and lowcost housing, even workers with a take home pay of P30,000 a month could barely afford a decently sized house and lot.

“If Senate will agree to increase housing prices to anywhere from P50,000 to 360,000 per unit by imposing VAT, our OFWs and homeless citizens can say goodbye to their dreams of owning a piece of property for their families,” he said, underscoring that buyers will take the full brunt of the tax burden as VAT is an aftersales tax.

Javellana said that the burden would also extend beyond 12 percent as housing loans for these amounts could only be afforded through long-term loans by the homebuyers.

EAGLE PLANT GROUNDBREAKING. Eagle Cement Corp. embarks on plan to raise its production capacity to 9.1 million metric tons with the recent groundbreaking of its fourth production line in Malabuyoc, Cebu. Line 4, which is expected to be completed by 2020, will include a 2-million metric ton integrated cement manufacturing plant, port facilities and cement terminals to serve the Visayas and Mindanao markets. Shown during the groundbreaking ceremony are (from left) Eagle Cement chief finance officer Monica Ang-Mercado, chief operating officer and general manager Manny Teng, president and chief executive Paul Ang, Malabuyoc Mayor Lito Narciso Creus, Vice Mayor Lito Narciso Creus III, councilor Daisy Creus and executive adviser Mike Fitch.

Govt spending jumped 28% to P227b in October

By Julito G. Rada GOVERNMENT spending jumped 28 percent in October from a year ago, following a 1.8-percent contraction in September, indicating strong economic activities at the start of the fourth quarter.

Data showed the government disbursed P227 billion in October, up 28 percent from the same month last year. This represented the highest growth this year and reversed the 6.9-percent contraction posted in the same month last year.

Total disbursements in the first 10 months hit P2.421 trillion, up by P204 billion or 10 percent from the same period in 2016.

“So if you take into account the first 10 months of the year, we have done

very well in terms of government disbursements. Government spending is expected to further strengthen for the remaining two months of the year due to faster implementation of programs and projects,” a government official said.

Economists from First Metro Investment Corp. and University of Asia & the Pacific said in the November issue of the Market Call Capital Market Research that the national government’s infrastructure spending, as well as capital goods and consumer spending, would pick up further in the second half.

“Together with accelerating exports, propelled by unexpectedly stronger world economy, [this] should enable Philippine GDP growth to hit our 6.5 percent to 7 percent projection for the

full year 2017,” the economists said in a joint statement.

“The economy’s twin-engines―domestic demand and exports―continue to propel growth in the second half.

Robust national government spending especially on infrastructure and consumers’ opening their wallets with better-than-expected OFW remittances fuel the first engine,” the report said.

The report said with the US economy expanding 3 percent in the third quarter on top of 3.1 percent in the second quarter, and the EU, Japan and China growing above expectations, “we think exports will accelerate further in the fourth quarter, and provide the additional thrust to bring PH GDP growth within government targets.”

Data from BoI showed total investment approvals in the first 10 months, hit P408.7 billion, up 38 percent from the same period in 2016.

“We remain bullish in attracting more investments in the last two months of the year as the infrastructure program of the government is now in full swing,” said Trade Secretary and BoI chairman Ramon Lopez.

“The successful hosting by the country of the Asean 2017 and the 6.9 percent GDP growth [in the third quarter] will sustain the momentum on investments as the year comes to a close and will surely carry over to the new year with greater opportunities,” Lopez said.

The BoI approved 369 projects in January to October, up by 30 percent from 283 projects a year ago. These projects are expected to generate 69,862 jobs once they are fully operational, representing an increase of 35.1 percent from the jobs that were anticipated from investment approvals last year.

Trade undersecretary and BoI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo said the investment promotion agency remained bullish on hitting the P500-billion investment target for the year.

“We are on track of achieving our P500 billion for the year as a slew of projects in the pipeline are expected to make the cut,”

DoF cuts withholding tax on gold sales to 1% FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III signed a new set of revenue regulations reducing the creditable withholding tax on gold sales from 5 percent to 1 percent, a move seen to encourage small-scale miners to sell back their gold produce to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

The Finance Department said in a statement Wednesday the new revenue regulations also kept the excise tax on gold sales at 2 percent.

Dominguez said the policy-making Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral was already advised of the new regulations prescribing the new creditable withholding tax rate for gold sales.

“With this new tax rate and the possible reduction both in the assay fee and in the processing of gold payments in the Security Plant Complex, small-scale gold miners have committed to sell back their gold produce to the BSP,” Domin-

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Wednesday, November 22, 2017

F OREIGN E XCHANGE R ATE Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

50.7970

Japan

Yen

0.008893

0.4517

UK

Pound

1.323400

67.2247

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128013

6.5027

Switzerland

Franc

1.008776

51.2428

Canada

Dollar

0.782228

39.7348

Singapore

Dollar

0.738552

37.5162

Australia

Dollar

0.757700

38.4889

Bahrain

Dinar

2.647954

134.5081

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266660

13.5455

Brunei

Dollar

0.735835

37.3782

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000074

0.0038

Thailand

Baht

0.030506

1.5496

UAE

Dirham

0.272316

13.8328

Euro

Euro

1.174100

59.6408

Korea

Won

0.000918

0.0466

China

Yuan

0.150818

7.6611

Rupee

0.015415

0.7830

India Malaysia

Ringgit

0.241663

12.2758

New Zealand

Dollar

0.683000

34.6944

Taiwan

Dollar

0.033364

1.6948 Source: PDS Bridge

guez said.

Dominguez said he would “propose bottom line-friendly appropriate numbers to the Monetary Board in consultation with SPC.” He said the new CWT rate would help gold miners in the cities of Davao, Zamboanga, Naga and Baguio to get a fair market price for their gold produce instead of being shortchanged when they sell to the black market.

“We will also be working with the Congress to institutionalize this revenue regulation through an appropriate amendment to the National Internal Revenue Code,” Dominguez said.

Dominguez said besides helping small scale miners, the new regulations would also allow the BSP to build its gross international reserves without having to spend dollars, as it would now be able to buy gold directly using local currency.

Julito G. Rada

PetroEnergy posts 103% growth in net income

By Alena Mae S. Flores

FORTINET’S AWARD. Fortinet Philippines, a global leader in high-performance cyber security solutions, is recognized as the Best IT Security Solutions Provider during the 12th National Product Excellence Awards organized by the National Council for Product and Service Quality and QAsia Magazine at Crown Plaza Hotel Manila in Quezon City. Shown are (from left) Fortinet Philippines regional director Jeff Castillo, inside sales representative Jessica Jugo and regional pre-sales consultant for Southeast Asia and Hong Kong Nap Castillo.

Prices of mobile, broadband services dropped 70% in 2016

By Darwin G. Amojelar PRICES of mobile cellular and broadband services in the Philippines fell nearly 70 percent in 2016 from the previous year, according to the latest report released by the International Telecommunication Union, the United Nations agency that coordinates telecommunication operations and services throughout the world.

ITU said in a two-volume

Rodolfo said.

He said the 10-month figure had not yet counted several pending projects in manufacturing, services, retail and real estate, which were the main drivers of growth in the third quarter.

Among the pending projects are those under feasibility studies, joint venture partnerships and site selection in strategic heavy industries, power generation and manufacturing.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed the manufacturing sector expanded 9.4 percent in the third quarter and contributed 22.4 percent to the aggregate 6.9-percent gross domestic product growth in the period.

The industry posted the fastest growth rate at 7.5 percent in the third quarter, while the services and agriculture sectors posted growth rates of 7.1 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.

Renewable and power projects remained the biggest source of investments with P128.9 billion in the first 10 months, while construction and PPP projects followed with P127.7 billion, up 105 percent from P62.3 billion last year.

Real estate activities registered P78.3 billion, up 90.1 percent from P41.1 billion in 2016. Manufacturing investments grew 81.7 percent to P38.5 billion from P21.2 billion a year earlier.

report that the Philippines’ mobile cellular prices, or the average cost of 100 SMS and 30 mobile calls per month, represented 3.2 percent of the country’s average monthly gross national income per capita in 2016, down from 3.42 percent the previous year.

The 2016 figure was also at par with the Asia and the Pacific region’s average of 3.2 percent and well below the world average of 5.2 percent.

The ITU report also said that fixed broadband prices, or monthly subscription to an entry-level fixedbroadband plan, based on a monthly data usage of 1 GB minimum, represented 7.1 percent of GNI per capita, down from 7.53 percent in 2015.

This figure was also below the regional average of 14.5 percent and the global average of 13.9 percent.

Mobile broadband prices for 500 MB and 1GB

worth of data each made up 2.1 percent of the GNI per capita. Both figures were lower than the Asia Pacific average of 2.7 percent and 5.4 percent respectively, and the world average of 3.7 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively.

Between 2015 and 2016, mobile-broadband services for 1GB data in particular became more affordable, dropping 4.64-percentagepoints from 6.74 percent to 2.1 percent.

PETROENERGY Resources Corp. said consolidated net income jumped 103 percent in the first nine months to $7.71 million from $3.81 million a year ago.

The company said net income attributed to PetroEnergy equity holders also increased 227 percent to $4.18 million from $1.28 million in the same period last year.

PetroEnergy president Milagros Reyes said, “our renewable energy facilities are showing good results in terms of energy yield and operational efficiencies”.

PetroEnergy attributed the company’s strong performance to the efficient operation of three renewable energy projects, including the 20-megawatt Maibarara Geothermal Power Project in Batangas, the 36-MW Nabas Wind Power Project in Aklan and the 50-MW Tarlac Solar Power Project in Tarlac.

The company said the efficient operations resulted in the increase in the net income of the operating companies: 58 percent for Maibarara Geothermal Inc., 25 percent for PetroSolar Corp. and eight percent for PetroWind Energy Inc. PetroEnergy said the

slightly higher average crude oil prices also contributed to the profit increase, with average price reaching $50.35 per barrel in the third quarter compared to $38.08 per barrel in the same period last year.

B2

Business

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

BPI to open 30 branches next year

By Julito G. Rada

B

ANK of the Philippine Islands, the fourthlargest lender in terms of assets, will put up 20 to 30 more branches next year in a bid to widen its coverage nationwide and seize growth opportunities amid the growing economy.

“We are looking at adding 20 to 30 branches next year,” Joseph Gotuaco, the bank’s executive vice president and head of retail client segment group, told reporters late Tuesday afternoon. BPI opened its 680-square meter flagship branch at the corner of Paseo de Roxas and Ayala Avenue at the iconic Insular Life Building in Makati City.

“... The central bank [earlier] has given us the permission to put up around 50 to 60 branches, and we will use up those licenses very soon between this year and next year,” Gotuaco said.

Gotuaco said BPI in 2017 opened around 20 branches in the different parts of the country. He said the bank would end the year with a total of 841 branches.

He said BPI would also prioritize refurbishing a lot of branches and spend more on renovations.

BPI president and chief executive Cezar Consing said the new and redesigned branches were part of the bank’s efforts to better serve its growing client base.

“We are continually enhancing our customers’ banking experience and developing innovative products and services that cater to their needs. It is not only about expanding our branch footprint but also about offering what our customers need, and being present where our customers need us to be,” Consing said in a statement.

The new Makati branch has expansive and

quiet spaces amid the congestion of the business district, and features specialized and in-demand services and amenities such as lounges for preferred customers and safety deposit boxes. The lobby also showcases BPI’s latest electronic channels, such as ATMs and online banking.

Gotuaco said the branch design would soon be “cascaded” in several branches nationwide. The bank’s branches currently serve around 8.2 million clients.

Gotuaco said the bank had also been strengthening its cybersecurity. He said of the thousands of transactions per second in its branches, some of those are subjected to some form of security scan.

He said BPI was on track of meeting the deadline set by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on switching to the more secure Europay Mastercard Visa cards from the magnetic stripe cards which are prone to fraud.

BPI’s net income declined 1.9 percent to P17.05 billion in the first nine months of 2017 from P17.38 billion a year ago on the absence of one-time gains in 2016.

Eagle Cement sees profit reaching P6.5b next year

By Darwin G Amojelar EAGLE Cement Corp. expects net income to hit P6.5 billion next year on the strong domestic economy and higher production capacity.

Eagle chairman Ramon Ang told reporters revenues next year would reach P23 billion from a P15-billion target this year. The company posted a total revenue of P13.27 billion in 2016.

Ang said net income was projected to hit between P4.3 billion and P4.5 billion.

“The company will even improve the performance [next year] com-

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2017

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 3.55 386,000 59.9 18,320 101 2,462,020 3.89 6,000 144.5 854,080 2.07 698,000 33.35 86,100 15.28 1,100 35.35 1,893,200 7.72 9,100 0.66 50,000 1.65 32,000 0.6 1,809,000 94.1 1,209,420 0.8 520,000 12 222,600 57.5 107,110 242 1,090 99 460 89.9 40 54.8 398,570 254 260,870 1,900 475 86.9 84,840 1.27 245,000

1,336,670 1,092,229.50 247,665,886.50 23,340 124,857,588 1,449,870 2,874,525 16,800 66,501,695 70,702 33,000 52,800 1,085,700 113,827,845 410,810 2,735,370 6,149,959 264,540 45,540 3,596 21,774,692 66,090,804 902,450 7,372,912.50 311,150

541,272.50 119,052,900 -42,172,382 -20,100.00 23,945,145 53,336,545 56,800 2,030,050 -2,088,385.50 -29,058 2,257,494 2,651,644 -3,206,649.50 -

39.85 12.12 0.72 1.33 16.98 0.22 3.97 15.5 43.7 19 64 63 1.9 5.35 11 10.34 14.5 10.98 7.25 5.73 17.02 61.4 22.6 11.82 18.5 2.01 253.4 4.1 3.49 28.6 18.12 17.82 322.8 0.2 8.25 2.37 5.9 9.35 7.06 9.68 1.55 11.84 57 6.52 482.2 4.9 4.6 2 12.74 5.9 0.137 1.16 137.5 1.97 25.1 0.64

INDUSTRIAL 39.85 2,454,800 12.4 1,211,300 0.72 107,000 1.33 1,160,000 17.46 28,700 0.228 1,750,000 4.1 4,013,000 15.5 374,900 44.7 524,700 19.06 2,200 64 120,800 63 950 1.91 109,000 5.35 102,300 11.2 18,400 10.54 11,346,800 14.7 524,900 11.1 1,813,400 7.35 774,600 5.73 23,027,400 17.1 829,800 62 37,650 23.5 484,400 11.82 16,200 19.76 3,520,800 2.01 3,218,000 255 680,180 4.1 2,169,000 3.6 500,000 28.8 1,762,200 18.18 51,100 18.22 2,798,500 323.8 616,610 0.204 1,090,000 8.25 11,400 2.37 1,567,000 5.92 118,300 9.35 5,808,100 7.5 10,900 9.68 800 1.56 293,000 11.84 703,600 58 894,600 6.9 2,700 500.5 44,220 4.9 87,100 4.6 166,000 2 209,000 12.8 621,500 6.15 988,500 0.137 760,000 1.16 182,000 138 877,170 1.98 4,532,000 25.1 100 0.66 932,000

98,354,625 14,892,750 77,040 1,549,630 488,490 392,990 16,399,900 5,844,196 23,084,795 41,852 7,764,000 59,861 207,300 550,103 205,092 119,825,280 7,679,032 20,082,380 5,690,776 132,330,796 14,217,390 2,319,862.50 11,429,665 191,876 69,095,177 6,643,320 174,182,628 9,155,930 1,819,570 50,805,350 928,150 50,642,704 199,572,394 218,690 94,393 3,825,930 699,011 54,971,296 77,960 7,744 456,240 8,491,248 51,719,211.50 18,115 22,147,353 430,156 811,340 419,360 7,950,042 6,030,400 104,220 218,440 120,928,605 9,048,120 2,510 612,840

-38,969,615 -62,244 3,990 1,047,500 -561,152 245,750 2,560,000 28,650 37,412 66,594,874 457,808 -12,051,028.00 -140,604 -13,151,819 -197,260 -474,750.50 -1,200,000 -104 -15,598,678 128,800 -66,301,440 -334,960 -88,000 -21,037,605 70,584 -6,418,296 130,475,226 -1,904,820 37,238 -42,788,464 46,500 -911,210 6,912,572 1,599,884 1,747,814 -19,229 10,170,121 404,010.00 -

0.335 70 15.92 0.99 7 0.38 0.395 1,025 7.9 14.94 8 5.1 0.183 1,175 7.73 72.4 5.08 0.68 5.65 18.88 6.73 0.048 1.13 2.06 112.9 2.53 990 0.84 1.83 287 0.239 0.184 0.197

0.32 68.4 15.82 0.95 7 0.37 0.38 1,012 7.56 14.48 7.9 5.1 0.182 1,160 7.71 71 5.08 0.66 5.49 18.2 6.65 0.046 1.06 2.05 109.5 2.53 958 0.83 1.54 275 0.23 0.184 0.194

HOLDING FIRMS 0.325 1,220,000 68.8 970,140 15.82 2,514,500 0.96 323,000 7 4,500 0.38 2,270,000 0.39 1,210,000 1,019 316,500 7.57 702,900 14.48 3,546,100 7.9 83,300 5.1 1,600 0.182 170,000 1,167 64,595 7.73 29,400 71.05 2,227,370 5.08 3,200 0.68 831,000 5.6 205,400 18.7 2,649,800 6.66 19,131,700 0.048 7,100,000 1.06 585,000 2.06 595,000 110 156,880 2.53 1,000 958 194,560 0.84 416,000 1.76 19,509,000 284.4 3,110 0.23 640,000 0.184 360,000 0.194 1,180,000

396,850 67,005,322.50 39,866,290 307,420 31,500 852,500 469,450 322,579,745 5,354,147 52,041,954 662,252 8,160 31,090 75,341,135 227,158 159,098,747 16,256 551,310 1,140,685 49,223,418 127,649,694 332,800 629,880 1,220,000 17,378,961 2,530 188,666,045 348,590 32,887,440 865,990 147,970 66,240 229,860

162,500 -24,962,230 -7,336,956 -85,822,605 -2,640,426 -267,608 -304,505 -66,997,120.50 -327,101 22,799,328 -41,935,986 3,014,193 14,048,745 -906,160 5,582 -

5.58 0.95 10 2.5 0.96 43.3 3.69 4.86 5.46 0.48 1.13 1.15 0.209 0.465 39.5 0.67 0.154 1.82 1.51

5.41 0.92 8.83 2.39 0.93 42.65 3.65 4.74 5.25 0.47 1.13 1.15 0.204 0.46 38.15 0.66 0.14 1.78 1.49

2,285,393 4,038,580 1,100,272 121,200 2,049,090 446,275,070 473,820 5,347,030 400,106 4,938,500 11,300 57,500 942,370 385,850 7,967,485 201,800 58,200 59,008,070 6,330,330

-27,600.00 28,200 -120,750 33,263,860 -51,420 41,462 -595,200 102,300 -1,039,105 -27,959,610 15,000

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

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

3.7 59 100 3.89 149 2 33.55 15.2 35.1 7.8 0.66 1.65 0.6 94 0.79 12.98 57.45 243 99 89.9 53 247.8 1,900 87.05 1.27

3.7 59.9 101.3 3.89 149.5 2.15 33.55 15.28 35.35 7.8 0.66 1.65 0.61 94.3 0.8 12.98 57.75 243 99 89.9 54.8 254 1,910 87.05 1.27

3.32 59 99.3 3.89 144.5 2 33.3 15.2 34 7.72 0.66 1.65 0.6 94 0.78 12 57.4 239 99 89.9 52.55 247.8 1,895 86.9 1.27

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 FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG GINEBRA HOLCIM INTEGRATED MICR IONICS JOLLIBEE LMG CHEMICALS MABUHAY VINYL 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 VIVANT VULCAN INDL

40.6 12.3 0.72 1.35 17.5 0.223 4 15.52 44 19 64.5 63.05 1.9 5.35 11.26 10.34 14.7 11.7 7.3 5.75 17.02 61.5 22.8 11.88 18.68 2.06 254 4.19 3.65 29 18.2 17.84 323 0.202 8.41 2.44 5.92 9.64 7.08 9.68 1.57 12.48 57.4 6.95 490 5 4.6 2.08 12.84 6.19 0.138 1.2 138 2.05 25.1 0.66

40.85 12.42 0.72 1.36 17.5 0.228 4.12 15.78 44.7 19.06 65 63.05 1.91 5.48 11.26 10.64 14.78 11.7 7.45 5.79 17.5 62 24 11.9 20.2 2.15 259 4.24 3.9 29.1 18.46 18.26 324 0.204 8.41 2.5 5.99 9.64 7.5 9.68 1.57 12.5 58 6.95 512 5.01 4.98 2.08 12.84 6.3 0.138 1.25 138.6 2.05 25.1 0.67

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

0.33 69 15.9 0.99 7 0.37 0.38 1,012 7.73 14.64 8 5.1 0.183 1,165 7.71 72 5.08 0.68 5.51 18.2 6.65 0.047 1.11 2.05 109.6 2.53 978.5 0.84 1.54 279 0.23 0.184 0.197

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

5.42 0.95 8.83 2.41 0.96 42.75 3.65 4.78 5.46 0.475 1.13 1.15 0.209 0.465 39.5 0.66 0.15 1.79 1.5

VOLUME

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

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

0.78 5.6 0.405 0.38 0.51 6.84 23.85 1.93 3.18 35.4 1.04 0.87 5.88

0.8 5.67 0.415 0.38 0.53 6.84 24.55 2.03 3.21 36.3 1.04 0.89 5.9

0.78 5.5 0.39 0.37 0.51 6.74 23.85 1.9 3.18 35.4 1.02 0.84 5.73

0.79 5.55 0.4 0.375 0.53 6.74 24.3 2.01 3.2 35.6 1.04 0.87 5.81

202,000 20,005,000 289,690,000 1,280,000 7,748,000 702,900 2,535,800 3,115,000 197,000 8,805,600 139,000 315,000 9,402,900

159,870 111,065,415 117,162,450 474,250 4,054,770 4,757,574 61,420,895 6,205,270 630,390 315,318,420 143,870 270,960 54,467,317

-59,200 -16,418,281 -976,750 -165,790 -20,706,945 1,330,060.00 614,380 -116,171,015 -29,990,814

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

17.3 37.1 1.44 0.48 0.048 11.98 9.64 0.07 100.2 8.8 9.15 7.15 2.17 1,899 5.97 17.02 3.25 2.47 103.3 8.36 0.145 1.38 3.08 15.7 3.68 1.25 22.2 0.52 3.3 5.91 3.96 16.1 2.77 11 5 2.86 220 8.47 1,635 1.28 49.05 94 5.7 3.53 1.67 3.68 0.96 8.16

17.3 37.5 1.49 0.49 0.048 12 10.38 0.079 101.3 8.8 9.16 7.15 3.01 1,899 5.97 18 3.29 2.49 104 8.36 0.147 1.39 3.16 15.7 3.72 1.26 23.4 0.53 3.41 6.44 4 16.1 2.95 11 5 2.86 225 8.48 1,650 1.31 49.05 94.8 5.84 3.64 1.67 3.75 0.96 8.19

17 36.5 1.44 0.47 0.046 11.5 9.64 0.07 99.9 8.8 9.04 7.12 2.17 1,860 5.83 17.02 3.05 2.47 102 8.34 0.144 1.37 3.07 15.7 3.64 1.19 20.8 0.52 3.26 5.91 3.91 16.1 2.76 11 5 2.86 219 8.34 1,610 1.26 47.05 94 5.7 3.42 1.64 3.65 0.93 8

SERVICES 17.1 36.7 1.49 0.48 0.048 11.5 10.38 0.076 101.3 8.8 9.11 7.12 2.61 1,874 5.83 18 3.09 2.47 103 8.36 0.145 1.39 3.16 15.7 3.7 1.24 23.4 0.53 3.41 6.4 3.93 16.1 2.9 11 5 2.86 220 8.45 1,610 1.29 47.3 94 5.82 3.43 1.66 3.7 0.95 8.02

116,600 34,400 55,000 980,000 44,500,000 36,900 7,032,200 218,450,000 337,990 1,500 3,037,800 2,000 1,094,000 34,865 621,500 10,700 15,957,000 9,000 377,840 275,100 3,860,000 290,000 168,000 800 774,000 1,710,000 8,308,200 3,000 1,096,000 14,749,400 1,574,000 100 21,869,000 3,800 2,000 24,000 7,120 1,177,600 79,005 5,529,000 2,879,200 220,730 9,800 11,471,000 6,711,000 586,000 3,986,000 3,535,700

1,988,890 1,273,170 79,930 465,100 2,086,900 441,770 71,334,722 16,527,970 33,898,744 13,200 27,576,146 14,285 3,046,790 65,371,995 3,669,448 190,092 49,684,800 22,290 39,007,938 2,298,961 559,820 398,520 516,470 12,560 2,848,280 2,087,260 184,888,680 1,570 3,673,050 91,291,780 6,205,580 1,610 62,780,260 41,800 10,000 68,640 1,568,850 9,906,076 128,537,440 7,115,200 136,386,435 20,808,949 56,923 39,551,460 11,138,610 2,158,630 3,756,720 28,516,394

197,604 23,330 9,200 4,502,674 -68,600 -9,554 9,119,037 5,400 4,291,420 -21,201,270 3,739,713 73,950 -584,900 33,938,615 -151,800 -14,640,368 423,070 368,180 68,640 -1,410,100 -4,450,815 -21,475,335 -1,757,670 -23,461,500 -10,984,805 -1,272,090 3,455,580 804,080 18,800 9,323,659.00

695,300 60,307,780 989,650 87,886 10,500 19,250 4,245,530 549,700 17,005,940 105,690 2,914,490 1,335,040 97,400 486,920 12,921,610 14,080 253,500 762,270 69,600 2,400 85,800 88,500 7,026,318 609,816,606 115,477,605

-5,154,410 -9,650 -16,500 -6,900.00 17,580 -26,990 30,550 3,640 -5,660,537 15,640 11,000 -1,409,973 19,926,512 -22,840,355

MS

PROPERTY 5.43 0.93 10 2.4 0.94 42.7 3.66 4.77 5.46 0.475 1.13 1.15 0.206 0.46 38.3 0.66 0.154 1.8 1.49

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

0.0025 1.83 4.9 16 1.75 1.75 1.65 0.355 2.87 0.246 0.152 0.154 0.01 1.81 6.87 1.57 0.47 0.99 0.012 0.012 0.011 2.21 7 10.98 36.2

0.0025 1.86 4.9 16 1.75 1.75 1.65 0.365 2.89 0.255 0.153 0.154 0.011 1.82 6.87 1.57 0.47 0.99 0.012 0.012 0.011 2.31 7.14 12.34 37

0.0024 1.71 4.82 15.96 1.75 1.75 1.62 0.34 2.8 0.245 0.151 0.152 0.01 1.8 6.71 1.52 0.46 0.92 0.012 0.012 0.011 2.21 6.94 10.1 36.2

MINING & OIL 0.0025 285,000,000 1.71 33,539,000 4.83 202,000 15.98 5,500 1.75 6,000 1.75 11,000 1.64 2,600,000 0.365 1,560,000 2.83 6,022,000 0.25 430,000 0.151 19,230,000 0.152 8,770,000 0.011 9,400,000 1.81 269,000 6.72 1,916,800 1.57 9,000 0.46 550,000 0.94 807,000 0.012 5,800,000 0.012 200,000 0.011 7,800,000 2.21 40,000 6.97 1,007,400 10.16 54,200,200 36.75 3,144,800

ABS HLDG PDR DD PREF FGEN PREF G GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B LR PREF MWIDE PREF PCOR PREF 2A PCOR PREF 2B PF PREF 2 SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

36.9 104.5 118.4 5.6 1,050 1,020 1.08 106.1 1,049 1,141 1,018 77 82.2 78.1 81 78.5 80

37 104.5 118.4 5.6 1,050 1,020 1.08 106.1 1,049 1,141 1,020 77 82.2 78.1 81 79.5 80

36.4 104.5 118.4 5.5 1,050 1,020 1.06 106.1 1,049 1,141 1,018 76 82 78.1 80.25 78.5 80

PREFERRED 36.4 762,100 104.5 510 118.4 110 5.5 509,300 1,050 10 1,020 510 1.06 66,000 106.1 5,000 1,049 130 1,141 535 1,019 3,420 77 5,660 82 28,200 78.1 16,000 80.3 16,610 79.5 39,710 80 25,100

27,845,850 53,295 13,024 2,805,348 10,500 520,200 69,980 530,500 136,370 610,435 3,485,445 435,720 2,315,095 1,249,600 1,340,968 3,137,245 2,008,000

-203,580 -2,785,530 -2,084,935 -1,332,135 -

LR WARRANT

2.27

2.27

2.24

WARRANTS 2.25 309,000

697,200

-

22,631,210 1,613,830 28,569,270

-52,816 -7,819,460

348,991

1,262

51,000

-51,000

ITALPINAS PHILAB HLDG XURPAS

11.06 3.18 3.68

11.96 3.37 4.09

11 2.9 3.68

FIRST METRO ETF

126.4

126.6

125.5

USD DMPL A1

417,000 4,334,000 119,300 50,000 2,191,000 10,400,200 129,000 1,124,000 74,500 10,470,000 10,000 50,000 4,590,000 830,000 206,900 305,000 390,000 32,807,000 4,235,000

10.2

TRADING SUMMARY

10.2

SHARES

FINANCIAL

11,680,557

INDUSTRIAL

90,659,007

HOLDING FIRMS

69,458,862

PROPERTY

420,990,349

SERVICES

385,583,062

MINING & OIL

442,670,835

GRAND TOTAL

1,430,845,451

10.2

11.2 3.17 3.93

SME

1,997,100 529,000 7,266,000

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 126.1 2,770 10.2

DDS

5,000

VALUE 2,082.64 (down) -4.49 699,139,406.96 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 10,926.32 (up) 4.27 1,726,096,462.67 HOLDING FIRMS 8,369.01 (down) -55.75 1,156,706,860.22 PROPERTY 3,855.43 (up) 28.85 1,629.96 (down) -5.54 1,364,602,730.32 SERVICES MINING & OIL 12,047.27 (up) -44.89 1,095,373,217.194 PSEI 8,265.68 (down) -23.51 835,434,920.474 All Shares Index 4,846.38 (up) -5.3 6,930,546,659.57 Gainers: 83; Losers: 109; Unchanged: 50; Total: 242

pared to last year because we are in the process of finishing the third line,” Ang said, adding production from the third line would start by January or February next year.

“With GDP growing about 6.9 percent, which is the highest in the region, I think the consumption of construction material will continue to grow more than the neighboring countries,” he added.

The country’s cement consumption is about 210 kilos per capita, lower compared than 600 kilos per capita of neighboring countries.

Eagle plans to complete its third production line in Bulacan by 2018, which will raise capacity to 7.1 million metric tons per year. This will expand the company’s coverage to more markets in Southern Luzon.

Eagle embarked on a plan to raise its production capacity to 9.1 million metric tons with the recent ground breaking of its fourth production line in Malabuyoc, Cebu.

The Cebu plant (Line 4) targets its completion date in 2020 and will include a 2-million-metric-ton integrated cement manufacturing plant, port facilities and cement terminals to serve the Visayas and Mindanao markets.

“This groundbreaking brings us a step further to achieving our long-term goals as a company, which is to strengthen the brand and increase market share. We hope to continue succeeding by increasing capacity to better serve our consumers nationwide,” president and chief executive Paul Ang said.

HK stocks end above 30,000; PH index falls HONG KONG—Hong Kong stocks ended above the 30,000 mark for the first time in 10 years on Wednesday as Asian markets extended a global rally following another record close on Wall Street.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index, meanwhile, declined 23.51 points, or 0.3 percent, to 8,265.68 on a value turnover of P6.9 billion. Losers beat gainers, 109 to 83, with 50 issues unchanged.

After retreating for most of this month, investors were back in buying mood this week on optimism about the world economy and earnings, while they remain upbeat that US lawmakers will eventually push through much-vaunted tax cuts.

All three main indexes in New York closed at all-time highs once again as dealers there begin to wind down for the Thanksgiving holiday Thursday.

Tech firms were the big winners, with top titans including Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google parent Alphabet firming more than one percent.

The positive energy flowed through to Asia, where Hong Kong pushed 0.6 percent higher, sitting above the 30,000 barrier for the first time since late 2007.

The Hang Seng Index has soared by a third this year, boosted by Tencent, which has doubled in value in that period—helping the internet giant surpass half a trillion dollars in market capitalization and overtaking Facebook.

Business/World

B3

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Manila

Standard

TODAY

Zimbabweans await their new president H ARARE―Zimbabweans waited Wednesday to discover when their new leader would be appointed after president Robert Mugabe’s resignation brought a sudden end to a 37-year reign of authoritarian rule.

FILM FESTIVAL. British Elizabeth Hurley smiles on the red carpet during the opening of the 39th Cairo International Film Festival late on November 21, 2017. AFP.

North Korea flights suspended BEIJING―Air China has suspended flights to North Korea, further limiting the secretive state’s links with the outside world, in what the government said was a business decision with no political motives.

The suspension comes shortly after US President Donald Trump visited Beijing and pressed his counterpart Xi Jinping to do more to rein in North Korea’s nuclear program.

China sent a special envoy, Song Tao, to the North last week but his four-day trip ended with no direct statement on the crisis, after Pyongyang’s series of nuclear and missile tests triggered global alarm.

Air China said in a statement to

AFP that it canceled the Beijing to Pyongyang flight route because the “operational situation is not ideal”.

“Market conditions will determine the resumption of the flight route,” the statement said.

Air China last canceled flights to North Korea in April, citing low customer demand, but resumed them soon after.

China has denied any political motives behind its flag carrier’s suspension of the route.

“The airliners just work out their own operation plans based on the state of operation and the market,” foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a press briefing on Tuesday when asked about the apparent move. AFP

Why 2008-2016 world downturn can happen again A DEBATE Is in progress as to whether the world economic downturn that began in 2008 and ended in 2016 was of greater severity than the Great Depression, which was triggered by the 1929 collapse of the US stock market. There may be a dispute as to whether the former was more severe than the latter, but there is no dispute as to the loss, misery and dislocation that the 2008-2016 downturn brought to the economies, people and institutions all around the world.

Economies and people were badly battered, and the institutions that were most severely hit did not recover.

The immediate cause of the 2008-2016 downturn was the collapse of the sub-prime securities—the market for securities backed by sub-prime mortgages market—but its deeper cause was the liberality that characterized the regulation of the US securities industry. The market collapse occurred when investors came to realize that what they were being placed on the market—and what they had been buying—was pretty much garbage tied with neat ribbons and passed off as securities.

Anxious to avert trouble for the securities industry, the regulatory agencies concerned—the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Department of Treasury and ultimately, the Federal Reserve Board (Fed)—tried to get the US Congress to toughen the laws governing the design and issuance of securities.

Expectedly, Wall Street fiercely opposed the regulatory agencies’ push for tougher regulation and instructed their lobbyists in Congress to vigorously advance the regulation-versus-progress argument. The lobbyists were told to argue that America’s economic interest would be better served if the US securities industry were not closely regulated and, instead, were allowed to go about its business with as little regulation as possible.

In the wake of the 2008 meltdown—millions of people around the world dispossessed of their homes and thrown out of work, Lehman Brothers and other formerly respected financial institutions shuttered and massive economic dislocation caused to many countries – the US Congress took the regulation side of the regulation-versus-progress argument and passed the Dodd-Frank Act. Co-authored by Sen. Christopher Dodd and Rep. Barney Frank, the Act was intended to rein in Wall Street’s buccaneering spirit and to curb its appetite for deals of the creative kind. After reviewing the record and undertaking extensive consultations with the academic experts and the stakeholders—including the securities industry itself—the legislators proceeded to lay down regulations that were tougher with regard to limits, definitions and qualifications.

The Dodd-Frank Act and similarly intentioned policy changes were intended to ensure the non-recurrence of arguably the worst downturn in the history of the modern world economy. US legislators believe that they did a good job of preventing a recurrence.

But can the 2008-2016 downturn happen again?

Any study or analysis work that suggested an affirmative answer would be disturbing to the highest degree. But Yes was the answer put forward by a recent documentary on the 2008-2016 events made by one of the leading international television networks.

And why was a recurrence of the downturn possible, nay likely? The TV network’s answer was simple: Because the personalities within the US government who were the principal first responders to the crisis had themselves been major players in the US securities industry. Surnames such as Geither, Paulson and Rubin—all of whom held the position of Secretary of the Treasury under the Bush II and Obama administrations—were presented by the documentary’s makers to support their theory that recurrence of the 2008-2016 downturn was possible. Now that they are out of the government, these personalities and their lower-level Treasury subordinates are back with their confreres in Wall Street. Possibly helping hatch creative securities deals with potential for doing renewed harm to unwary investors and to the economy? The documentary makers suggested that investment bankers are as greedy as tigers and that they will never change their stripes.

A chilling documentary. An even more chilling possibility.

Mugabe’s tenure ended in an announcement at a special joint session of parliament where MPs had convened to impeach the 93-year-old who dominated every aspect of Zimbabwean public life for decades.

On the streets, the news that his long and often brutal leadership was over sparked wild celebrations on Tuesday evening. Car horns honked and large crowds erupted into ecstatic cheers and dancing.

The likely next president is Emmerson Mnangagwa, who Mugabe sacked as his deputy earlier this month in a move that pushed infuriated army chiefs to

seize power and force Mugabe’s exit.

Mnangagwa was once a key Mugabe ally, but he was also chief rival of the president’s wife Grace in a bitter succession battle that erupted publicly in recent months.

“I, Robert Gabriel Mugabe... hereby formally tender my resignation... with immediate effect,” said the letter which was read out by parliamentary speaker Jacob Mudenda.

“My decision to resign is voluntary,” he said, speaking of his “concern for the welfare of the people of Zimbabwe and my desire to ensure a smooth, peaceful

and non-violent transfer of power”.

A man removed a portrait of Mugabe from a room inside the conference center where MPs had assembled for the extraordinary session to impeach the defiant president.

Another bystander replaced it with an image of Mnangagwa, who critics accuse of being a ruthless hardliner guilty overseeing years of state-sponsored violence.

The ruling ZANU-PF party said Mnangagwa, who fled Zimbabwe after his sacking, could swiftly be named interim president as the country charts a way through the turbulence.

“Mnangagwa... will come back in the next 24 hours or so and he will be the one who will be sworn in to be (interim) president for 90 days,” said party spokesman Simon Khaya Moyo on Tuesday.

The resignation capped a week in which the military seized control and tens of thousands of ordinary Zimbabweans took to the

streets in an unprecedented show of dissent against Mugabe.

“I am so happy that Mugabe is gone, 37 years under dictatorship is not a joke. I am hoping for a new Zimbabwe ruled by the people,” Tinashe Chakanetsa, 18, told AFP. As the news began to sink in, crowds gathered brandishing national flags and often praising army chief General Constantino Chiwenga who led the military’s power-grab.

Mugabe had ruled Zimbabwe almost unopposed since independence in 1980 -- but efforts to position Grace Mugabe, 52, as his successor prompted intervention from the military that underpinned his regime.

His monolithic grip was shattered last week when armored military vehicles took to the streets, blockaded parliament and soldiers placed him under house arrest.

The operation had all the hallmarks of a coup, but the generals stopped short of forcing him out.

AFP

Real reforms, not ‘sweet’ tax, is the healthier option THE proposed tax on sugar will surely leave a bad taste in one’s mouth if lawmakers go ahead and pass the legislation. From consumer advocates to organizations of stores and carinderia owners, a number of groups have come out opposing the proposed tax on sugar-sweetened beverages.

The resistance is understandable and economic in nature.

Considering the demographic that consumes most if not all of the affected products, any movement in their prices will have repercussions on the budget of low-income families, not to say anything of the debilitating blow to affected retail stores and industries.

The anticipated government revenues to be raised from the proposal also leads consumers to suspect that the proposal is not a health measure as proponents want to paint it. The bill’s critics noted many other potential sources of funds for the administration’s ambitious infrastructure program. Plugging the leaks in the Bureau of Customs as a result of smuggling,

for one, offers much higher revenues than the so-called sweet tax. Revisiting the public-private partnership model to fund the infrastructure projects can also yield the desired results But even granting that it is a health measure, does that argument hold? Health maintenance, after all, is a complex problem and science has long established that it cannot be blamed on a single factor, including sugar.

Medical experts have consistently pointed out that things like lifestyle, stress, exercise, overall diet, and even the environment and sanitation, all contribute to the state of one’s health.

The health angle put forth by proponents of the SSB tax is a way to sugarcoat what in reality is a revenue generating measure.

The administration of President Rodrigo Duterte had instructed Congress to prioritize the passage of its banner tax reform program, called TRAIN, in time for implementation by January 2018.

Solving obesity?

Diabetic people know that minimizing sugar intake is just part of a holistic change required in controlling the disease. Lawmakers, however, wrongly believe that the imposition of addi-

tional taxes on food and drinks, including and especially soda, is a simple and convenient solution to reduce incidences in obesity.

But the experience of many countries and cities across the world tells us that the demand for beverages tends to be “inelastic.”

Thus, any attempt to control the consumption through taxation would be questionable. Worse, consumers of these products will just likely substitute untaxed products and equally caloric food and drink items in their diet. And even if there was a drop in the consumption of these products, the human body’s dynamic metabolic adjustment would likely resist the effect of such change, lowering the chances of weight loss.

It is no coincidence then that for countries that have imposed food and drink taxes, such as the United States, Mexico and France, there is little evidence of any discernible decline in obesity rates. The average Body Mass Index for these countries, in fact, either remained stable or increased.

In Canada, the per capita soda and overall sugary drink consumptions fell 27 and 12 percent, respectively, between 2004 and 2015, but the obesity rates grew, putting to question the tradition-

Republic of the Philippines

NOTICE OF DECREASE IN PAR VALUE & AUTHORIZED CAPITAL STOCK Notice is hereby given that the Board of Directors of APC GROUP, INC. (hereinafter referred to as the “CORPORATION”) in a Meeting of the Board of Directors held on 09 August 2017, approved the decrease in the par value and authorized capital stock of the CORPORATION, which resolution was duly ratified by the affirmative vote of the stockholders owning and representing at least twothirds (2/3) of the outstanding capital stock of the CORPORATION at the stockholders’ meeting held on 27 September 2017.

By: The Board of Directors (SGD.) WILLY N. OCIER (SGD.) BERNARDO D. LIM (SGD) VIRGINIA A. YAP (SGD) TOMAS D. SANTOS (SGD.) LAURITO E. SERRANO

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE

Roxas Boulevard Corner Pablo Ocampo, Sr. Street Manila 1004 1.

(SGD) JACKSON T. ONGSIP (SGD) EDMUNDO L. TAN

2.

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES) ) S.S. DIRECTORS’ CERTIFICATE WE, the undersigned majority of the Board of Directors and the Corporate Secretary of APC GROUP, INC. (the “Corporation”), a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of the Philippines with office at G/F MyTown New York Bldg, General E. Jacinto St. corner Capas St., Brgy Guadalupe Nuevo, Makati City.

1. The attached Articles of Incorporation is true and correct copy of the Articles of Incorporation of the Corporation as amended by at least a majority vote of its Board of Directors in a meeting held on 09 August 2017 and duly ratified by the affirmative vote of the stockholders owning and representing at least 2/3 of the outstanding capital stock of the Corporation at the Stockholders’ Meeting held on 27 September 2017 held at SMX Convention Center, Seashell Lane, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City.

2. The amendment particularly refers to the SEVENTH ARTICLE of the Corporation’s Articles of Incorporation as reflected in the following resolution: “RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors of APC GROUP, INC., (the Corporation) hereby approves the quasi-reorganization of the Corporation through the reduction of the par value of its shares from Php1.00 to Php0.01, amending for this purpose the first paragraph of Article Seventh of the Articles of Incorporation to read as follows: “SEVENTH. The capital stock of the Corporation is TWO HUNDRED MILLION (P200,000,000.00) PESOS, Philippine currency, divided into FOURTEEN BILLION (14,000,000,000.00) Common Shares and SIX BILLION (6,000,000,000.00) Preferred Shares both with par value of ONE CENTAVO (P0.01) per share.

RESOLVED FURTHER, that the additional paid-in capital that will be generated from the reduction of par value will be used to eliminate the capital deficit of the Corporation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, we have hereunto set our hands this 10th of November 2017, at Mandaluyong City.

(SGD) WILLY N. OCIER Director & Chairman of the Board TIN 101-934-954-000

(SGD) BERNARDO D. LIM Director TIN: 112-436-550-000

(SGD.) JACKSON T. ONGSIP President and CEO TIN 178-486-617-000

(SGD) TOMAS D. SANTOS Director TIN: 100-061-178-000

(SGD.) VIRGINIA A. YAP Director TIN: 109-337-969-000

(SGD.) LAURITO E. SERRANO Director TIN: 102-097-361-000 (SGD) EDMUNDO L. TAN Director TIN: 132-173-235-000

ATTESTED TO BY: (SGD) RICHARD ANTHONY D. ALCAZAR Corporate Secretary TIN: 178-486-310-000

Doc. No. 60 Page No. 12 Book No. 232 Series of 2017.

(MS-NOV. 23, 2017)

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InvItatIon to BId for the eXPanded dof enterPrISe reSoUrCe PLannInG (eXPanded dof-erP) SYSteM ProJeCt The DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE (DOF), through the Department of Finance, has received a Grant from the MITHI , intends to apply the sum of FOURTEEN MILLION PESOS (PhP 14,000,000.00) being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) as payments under the contract for the Expanded DOF Enterprise Resource Planning (Expanded DOF-ERP) System Project (the “Project”). Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

The DOF, through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), now invites bids for Expanded DOF Enterprise Resource Planning (Expanded DOF-ERP) System Project. Bidders should have completed, within five (5) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project which is equivalent to fifty percent (50%) of the ABC. 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 nondiscretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (R-IRR) of Republic Act (RA) No. 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.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from the BAC Secretariat and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during office hours 8:00 am – 5:00 pm.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested Bidders starting on November 23, 2017 up to December 14, 2017 at the BAC Secretariat Procurement Management Division, 7th Floor, EDPC Building, BSP Complex, Pablo Ocampo Sr. Street corner Roxas Blvd., Manila and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents, in the amount of Fourteen Thousand Pesos (Php14,000.00), pursuant to the latest Guidelines issued by the GPPB. It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the website of the DOF, provided that the Bidders shall pay the non-refundable fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.

The schedule of bidding activities is as follows:

ACTIVITIES Advertisement/Posting of Invitation to Bid Issuance and Availability of Bid Documents Pre-Bid Conference Request for Clarification Issuance of Supplemental Bid Bulletin Deadline for Submission of Bids Opening of Bids

SCHEDULE November 23, 2017 starting November 23, 2017 December 1, 2017, 11:00 am December 4, 2017 (by email) December 7, 2017 December 14, 2017, 9:45 am December 14, 2017, 11:00 am

7.

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this 10th day of November 2017 affiants exhibiting to me the following: Name Willy N.. Ocier Bernardo D. Lim Jackson T. Ongsip Tomas D. Santos Virginia A. Yap Laurito E. Serrano Edmundo L. Tan

ally accepted correlation between soda consumption and obesity.

Elsewhere in the world, research from both the scientific community and the taxation policy side concludes “a striking absence of success over the long-term.” Consumers respond to price incentives, but outside of the behavior modification, the ultimate effect of a tax measure on diet is often so small as to be utterly insignificant.

The public health angle of SSB tax proponents, while seemingly laudable, in reality merely disguises the measure for what it is: a revenue scheme. Clearly, obesity and diabetes are complex lifestyle diseases, requiring a holistic remedy, not a one-size-fitsall approach like the SSB tax.

As the TRAIN bill is being pushed to be passed into law next, several amendments have been proposed in the Senate to find a “sweeter” balance between the millions of stakeholders that will be affected and the valid need to raise revenues for badly needed infrastructure projects.

Like diabetes, a holistic approach that combines real reforms in tax collection, stopping, corruption, and ending gambling and illicit trade will be the healthier option.

Competent Evidence of Identity TIN 101-934-954-000 TIN: 112-436-550-000 TIN 178-486-617-000 TIN: 100-061-178-000 TIN: 109-337-969-000 TIN 102-097-361-000 TIN: 132-172-235-000 ATTY. JOSE B. DULNUAN Notary Public For the City of Mandaluyong Until December 31, 2017 COMMISSION NO. 0458-16 IBP Life Time No. 0016085 PTR No. 69252527;1-13-17, Cainta, Rizal ROLL NO. 26304 MCLE COMP. NO. V-0022171,6-15-16 VALID UNTIL 04-14-2019 D-22-AB GUEVENTVILLE II, 52 D.M. GUEVARA ST., MANDALUYONG CITY Tel. No. 532-8858-5334664 Email Add: jbdulnuan@gmail.com

Bids must be delivered to the BAC Secretariat, Procurement Management Division, 7th Floor EDPC Building, BSP Complex, P. Ocampo Sr., Street corner Roxas Boulevard, Manila on or before December 14, 2017, 9:45 am. The bidders shall drop their duly accomplished eligibility requirements, technical and financial proposals in two (2) separate envelopes in the bid box located at the abovementioned address. All the bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in the Instructions to Bidders (ITB) Clause 18.

8. Bid opening shall be on the date indicated above at the DFG Conference Room, 4th Floor DOF Building. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend. LATE BIDS SHALL NOT BE ACCEPTED 9. The DOF reserves the right to accept or reject any and all bids, 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. In instances, that may arise and not specifically mentioned herein, the DOF shall resolve bidding issues by resorting to and applying the pertinent provisions of RA 9184 and its Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations.

10. For further information, please refer to: Ms. Liceria A. Te Department of Finance BAC Secretariat, Procurement Management Division 7th Floor EDPC Building, BSP Complex P. Ocampo Sr., Street corner Roxas Boulevard, Manila Telefax No.: 526-4786 Email Address: lte@dof.gov.ph / matienza@dof.gov.ph

(MS-NOV. 23, 2017)

(SGD) GIL S. BELTRAN Undersecretary and DOF-BAC Chairperson

LGUs

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor editor.lgustandard@gmail.com

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2017

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

OFW SUMMIT. Senator Cynthia A. Villar (front row, orange dress) gathers overseas Filipino workers and their families in a show of force during the Villar SIPAG 7th OFW and Family Summit held at the World Trade Center in Pasay City on Wednesday. Joining the senator was her son, Public Works Secretary Mark Villar, Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez, Acts OFW Party-List Rep. Aniceto John Bertiz III, and engineer Albert Paredes, Pasay City Mayor’s Chief of Staff. Lino Santos

No sightings of ‘foreign jihadists’ in Manila–Erap

By Bill Casas MANILA Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada on Wednesday assured the public that the country’s capital is safe from terrorists, including foreign jihadists earlier reports stated have managed to enter the country.

Still, Estrada said he has ordered the Manila Police District to maintain its high alert status to protect the city’s 1.7-million residents and vital installations and business establishments.

“In so far as Manila’s concerned, we have no confirmation of sightings of foreigners who are suspected to be ISIS members,” Estrada said, citing the report of MPD director Chief Supt. Joel Coronel.

The mayor said the city government and local police are closely coordinating with the senior leaders of the three Muslim communities in Manila – in Quiapo, Sta. Mesa, and Baseco Compound.

Estrada has forged a security arrangement with these Muslim enclaves wherein the local community and barangay leaders would immediately report the presence of suspicious individuals in their neighborhood.

In an interview, Coronel echoed Estrada’s assurance, saying the city is “secured and safe.”

Makati revenue hits P15.5b

By Joel E. Zurbano

T

HE Makati City government announced on Wednesday it has collected P15.5 billion in revenues from January to October, attaining 106 percent of its full-year target of P14.5 billion.

The 10-month collection figure is 12 percent more than the city’s take during the same period last year.

Mayor Abigail Binay ex-

pressed her gratitude to the city’s taxpayers for their contributions, and vowed to continue pursuing reforms and innovations

towards “more efficient, responsive and compassionate public service.”

“We are heartened by the positive outcome of the changes we have introduced into the processes and systems at city hall.

We wish to reassure our stakeholders, including the business community, that we are firmly committed to raising Makati’s competitiveness level in all aspects of governance,” she said.

Binay reiterated her goal to eventually implement a ‘no physical contact’ policy in the city government’s transactions with the public through the use of technology, which will also promote transparency in government.

Based on the Treasurer’s report, the bulk of revenues came from business tax with a total of P8.2 billion as of October, which is 97 percent of target and nine per cent higher than last year. Real

property tax came in second with P5.4 billion or 129 percent of target, exceeding the previous year’s collection by 17.5 percent.

City Treasurer Jesusa Cuneta pointed out that the 17.5 percent increase in realty tax collections was boosted by the P727.76 million collected from delinquent realty tax payments and penalties as of end-October.

On the orders of Binay, the Realty Tax Division

of the city Finance department has been issuing demand letters to real property owners with outstanding obligations, and will be publishing a list of delinquent taxpayers this December, she added.

Cuneta said the satellite realty tax payment system in the barangays was another effective collection measure, generating around P90 million in revenue since January.

Other local revenue sources for the said period included Fees and Charges, P658.5 million (five percent increase), and Economic Enterprises with P186.4 million (12 percent increase).

Income from other sources included Interest Income with P194.2 million, Internal Revenue Allotment with P886.8 million, Share from Economic Zone, P226.2 million, and share from Pagcor/ PCSO, P6.5 million.

Navotas opens Business One Stop Shop TO ENSURE ease of doing business in the city, the Navotas City Government launched a Business One Stop Shop on Tuesday.

Created through City Ordinance No. 2017-05, the BOSS seeks to offer “fast, easy, effective and efficient business registration and licensing procedures in Navotas City.”

The facility also intends to “ensure smooth delivery of services to constituents on a longterm basis.”

Mayor John Rey Tiangco noted that through the BOSS, he hopes the city government will be able to enhance customer experience of current business owners and prospective investors.

“We value how our constituents experience the services

we provide. We want members of the business sector to enjoy ease of doing business here.

We intend to give them fast, effective, and efficient service,” Tiangco said.

The BOSS is designed to accommodate three sections needed for business application, including pre-registration, assessment and evaluation, and payment and releasing of business permits.

From seven steps, business owners will now have to complete only three steps to secure a permit. These include receiving and assessment of requirements, payment of fees, and releasing of the permit.

The Business Permits and Licensing Office will conduct a post-audit a month after a busi-

ness application has been approved to ensure that the establishment continues to comply with all regulatory measures and requirements.

In addition, from 12-14, business application will now require only 10 documents. Processing of the permit will also last 20-30 minutes, compared to the previous duration of more than two days.

The BOSS will also house the Department of Trade and Industry-Negosyo Center, which will offer business name registration, business consultancy, and other services.

“Behind this endeavor is the desire to effect an improvement not just in our work processes but in how we do public service,” Tiangco said. Jun David

IN BRIEF RTC denies Comteq plea for TRO vs SBMA SUBIC BAY FREEPORT―The Regional Trial Court in Olongapo City has denied the motion of a computer school in this Freeport to restrain the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority from serving an eviction notice due to its failure to settle outstanding obligations amounting to P19.9 million.

In an order issued on Monday, Judge Richard A. Paradeza of RTC Branch 72 refused to grant Comteq Computer and Business College, Inc. a temporary restraining order against the SBMA in the absence of a reason for its issuance.

“One of the requisites for the issuance of a temporary restraining order is the presence of a substantial right that needs to be protected,” Paradeza said in his order.

However, “It is clear that [Comteq] has no clear existing and unmistakable right in esse that is entitled to legal protection, a violation of which would justify the issuance of the injunctive relief applied for,” the judge ruled. Butch Gunio

FOR THE KIDS. The Liliw Municipal Police Station in Laguna, led by Chief of Police Senior Inspector Reymund Alfred Osea, feeds some of 133 elementary students from Barangays Daniw and Dagatan in Liliw as part of the celebration of the 25th year of the National Children’s Month. Roy Tomandao

Artwork fundraiser by special students ONE World School will be presenting the artworks of its students in a show dubbed “Nilay” as the exhibit, which opens on Saturday at the Nova Gallery in Makati City, will showcase over 100 works of art by both regular and differently-abled students.

Each student of the school has contributed at least one painting for the show. The budding artists, aged two to 39, used water colors and acrylic.

“Nilay” will run up to Tuesday, Nov. 28, at the Nova Gallery, located at Warehouse 12A,

La Fuerza Compound, 2241 Don Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City. For details, contact Sharon at 0916-371-9952.

Located along EDSA in Guadalupe, just off Palm Village and Estrella St., One World School was established five years ago to provide education for children who have mild to significant special education needs.

Ericson J. Perez, the founder and headmaster, explained that the show is being held to raise more funds for the expansion of One World School, which be-

gan accepting students just four years ago.

He said many children and adults with special needs tend to respond positively to pictures and images. Art, Perez pointed out, is one of their favorite subjects in school.

“Nilay” promises to be a showcase of impressive abstracts and pictures. Supervised by their art teacher Precious Gamboa, the students have come up with paintings that could add a certain character and flair to any room.

Ayunan G. Gunting-Al-Hadj

Pangasinan to receive 4th Natl Corn award LINGAYEN, Pangasinan―The provincial government of Pangasinan led by Governor Amado I. Espino III is set to receive its 4th National Corn Achievers’ award (provincial category) on Thursday at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

Pangasinan, under the administration of former governor and now 5th District Rep. Amado T. Espino, Jr. harvested two national corn achievers award given by the Department of Agriculture in 2013 and 2014.

In 2016, under the watch of Governor ‘Pogi’ Espino, Pangasinan bagged its third national corn achievers award, which recognizes the outstanding performance of stakeholders in the corn industry.

On September 6 at the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center, the DA evaluated Pangasinan’s performance on corn production, where OIC Provincial Agriculturist Jose Moya presented the accomplishments and programs of the provincial government on corn production.

The provincial corn production development program of Pangasinan aims to make the province as one of the major producers of high-grade yellow corn to support the emerging livestock in Pangasinan and to support the government’s thrust for food security and self-sufficiency with readily available alternative staple food for the community. Dexter A. See

PROTEST. Residents of Antipolo Hills Phase 3 and members of the estate of Felipe Padua Sr. in Sitio Banaba,

Brgy. San Luis, Antipolo City hold up signs as they called on the city government to penalize Barangay Capt. Crisol Cate due to alleged harassment and for not providing any barangay Clearances, Owing To An Ongoing Dispute Where Their Households Are Build On Land Owned By Padua. Andrew Rabulan

Improved Pampanga NLEX exit unwrapped SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga―The newly improved eight-lane San Fernando Exit Interchange of the North Luzon Expressway here was opened to traffic Wednesday.

The P287 million project of NLEX Corp. aims to decongest traffic along the Jose Abad Santos Avenue here, which is seriously congested during weekends and the holiday season.

Rodrigo Franco, president and CEO of Metro Pacific Tollway Corp. and NLEX Corp., said the two big intersections complete with traffic lights will surely improve the traffic along Abad Santos.

Franco said the improvement of the avenue was needed because the San Fernando exit and interchange serves as the path to western Nueva Ecija, Subic, Olongapo City, Pampanga and Bataan. Romeo Dizon

T

heRe’S this raging obsession for bags among women these days. And in the coming holidays, totes, handbags, purses and other kinds of bags could be the no. 1 in the list of gifts many would be looking at to buy. here are some of the new models that you can find in department stores or shops in malls in Metro Manila.

Life

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com

shopping

thuRsday, noVemBeR 23, 2017

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The Coach X Selena Gomez Collection featuring Selena Grace Bag

coach x Selena Gomez, a new collection in partnership with the actress and singer features the Selena Grace, a bag designed by Selena Gomez in collaboration with coach creative Director Stuart Vevers.

The Selena Grace is a double-handled carryall named after the star and the quality she most embodies. A staple that reflects Gomez’s effortless allAmerican style, it’s a go-everywhere bag built for real life. The Selena Grace features Gomez’s personal touches: a hangtag bearing her signature and a story patch sewn inside with her empowering message: “To be you is to be strong.” The bag is further customized with “Love yourself first” in Selena’s handwriting—a phrase inspired by one of her tattoos—embossed onto the base of the bag.

The Selena Grace comes from a legacy of American authenticity, craftsmanship, and unfussy luxury for which coach is known, imbued with a youthful new personality. it is available in three exclusive colors: Selena Black cherry, Selena White, and Selena Red. The collection also includes bag charms, wallets, and the Selena wristlet.

Jimmy Choo’s Lockett Petite handbag

The Lockett Petite cross body handbag makes a strong style statement. The patented exclusive push lock closure is a combination of chic and functionality. coated in luxurious dark midnight blue enamel, the lock is subtly offset with rich gold accent detailing. The sides and base of the bag are fastened to the body using bold round riveted studs, which are visible from both the inside and outside, creating a strong visual identity and a luxurious detail.

Bags

for the holidays

Bancroft Handbag Collection

Michael Kors is pleased to introduce the Bancroft, a luxurious new family of Michael Kors collection handbags me- The Selena Grace bag features Selena Gomez’s personal touches, including a hangtag with her signature and her empowering messages sewn inside and embossed on the base ticulously handcrafted in Florence, italy. inspired by a market basket Michael spotted while on vacation in corsica, the Bancroft evokes practical, timeless glamour.

Michael Kors’ market “i wanted to design a bag that blended basket-inspired the casual functionality of a market bashandbag, the Bancroft ket with urban polish—an elevated, everyday, everywhere bag. Because there’s nothing more sophisticated than understated elegance,” says Michael Kors.

The Bancroft is made from the highest quality european-sourced smooth and pebbled leathers and an array of exotic finishes and trims. The thoughtfully designed interior includes zipper and flat pockets plus italian cotton-twill lining.

Jimmy Side gussets snap in or out, altering the Choo’s shape of the bag for a versatile sensibilLockett ity, while the polished lock hardware is Petite reminiscent of a classic train case. cross body The Bancroft is available in four handbag styles—medium satchel, large satchel, weekender, and tote—each designed with pragmatic appeal and a spirit of inimitable chic.

Furla’s Men’s Collection Spring/ Summer 2018 Venice. The magical city glistening on the surface of its channels where 1,500 years of history are reflected on the waters of the lagoon is a city built on water that seems to float in the air: air and water, the dual soul of Venice made whole by its light—the mysterious light of the murky, long months of winter that turns dazzling, joyful, shimmering in summer. The only thing more striking, to the observer’s eyes, than the light of Venice is its history—its glorious past projected into its thrilling future.

Furla’s Spring/Summer 2018 Men’s collection pays tribute to Venice’s artistic heritage, the city as showcase of the monuments of its glorious past and of today’s contemporary art scene—the ancient history of the Serenissima, and the contemporary dreams of the Biennale. This journey–from ancient

city to reference of the contemporary art world—lies at the heart of the Spring/Summer 2018 Men’s collection: a collection conceived, with a very italian kind of lightness, between a stroll through the calli and a gondola ride through the canals. in Murano, glassmakers flaunt their wares, the murine—the colored patterns inside long rods of glass cut in cross-sections—shimmering in a rainbow of colors. The handsome gondolieri strut in their beautifully made striped jerseys. An impossible city dreamed on the surface of the waters, a unique city that constantly changes like the vegetation in the barene—the shoals that emerge from the lagoon in the low tides, then disappear when the water rises again.

The collection

Patterns and colors from floors and mosaics—from the subtle magic of Palazzo Fortuny to the glory of the Palazzo Ducale—are the inspiration for the patchwork decoration of the Furla ‘Marte’ handbag.

The inlays of Venetian furniture—the geometric patterns, the colors as if on an artist’s palette— inspire the marquetry designs on the Furla ‘Zeus’ handbag.

Venetian tapestries are the starting point for the inspiration of the Furla ‘Atlante’ handbag: a bestiary—a compendium of mythological creatures and fantastic animals—over geometric designs that reference St. Mark’s mosaics.

Ulysses, the lead character of Homer’s Odyssey, master of disguises, in this playful collection chooses for himself a gondoliere’s uniform: the shape-shifting Furla Ulisse backpack can become

different characters—the gondoliere and the sailor, the lifeguard and the regatta boat’s skipper. Lucky charms like teddy bears dressed up as sailors, gondolieri, and lifeguards and small leather goods decorate the backpacks.

Furla Ulisse backpacks, always changing, try on different skins with patchwork motifs: aquatic animals and lagoons, and bright geometric patterns.

Removable waterproof lining pads, rubberized details, 3D fabrics, and waterproof zippers are the defining characteristics of the sporty, functional Furla ‘Marina’ bag: beautifully printed neoprene for active leisure.

The quiet, digni-

fied elegance of Riva yachts and motorboats are the point of reference for the Furla ‘icaro’ handbag: wood and navy blue, navy at the heart of this special, masculine bag.

Furla’s S/S2018 Men’s collection features bags that pay tribute to Venice’s artistic heritage

Life

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thursday, november 23, 2017 isahred@gmail.com

4 reasons Christmas

is cheerful and convenient at Ayala Malls

By Bernadette Lunas

C

hRiSTMAS may be the most wonderful time of the year, but it is the most frantic time of the year, too. No wonder “Grinches” come out during this season as heavy traffic, long queues, and madding crowd take the happy out of holidays.

But Ayala Malls aims to remove the stress of the season with its holiday campaign of shopping-related conveniences and exciting shows.

You can buy fresh produce straight from farmers

Get your fresh milk from Batangas, pomelo from North Cotabato, salted egg from Pampanga, tinawon rice from Banaue, and other fresh produce straight from farmers and fisherfolk at farm gate prices at Ayala Malls. The company teams up with the Department of Agriculture to bring TienDA sa Ayala Malls.

Catch TienDA sa Ayala Malls at Ayala Center Cebu (Nov. 25-26), UP Town Center (Dec. 2-3), Alabang Town Center (Dec. 9-10), Ayala Malls The 30th (Dec. 16-17) and Solenad (Jan. 18-21).

You can catch exciting shows and musical performances

From left: Ayala Malls The 30th general manager Mariana Zobel de Ayala, Steps Dance Foundation directress Sofia Zobel Elizalde, Ayala Malls head of Operations and Leasing Myrna Fernandez, and Zalora co-founder and managing director Paolo Campos

You can shop from your home

The season of giving and Christmas bonuses means shopping. But for those who want to avoid the frenzy at the malls, Ayala Malls launches its Christmas Catalog in Zalora, allowing you to shop from the comfort of your own home, or basically anywhere you are.

Choose gifts from a wide array of merchandise in the catalog—including brands such as Fitflop, Roxy, Call it Spring, Guess, Bench, Penshoppe, and more—and have them delivered straight to you or to the home of your loved one. Log on to www.zalora.com.ph/ayala-malls.

You can travel with less hassle

if you’re taking a cab to go to any Ayala Malls, you can use the promo codes by Uber and Grab to enjoy big discounts. On the other hand, reserved parking slots for 30 minutes are available if you’re bringing a car to do a quick run to the mall. Ayala Malls also partners with Grab Express, which will take care of all your delivery needs.

Go to Arca South for hassle free shopping ChRiSTMAS is just around the corner and the only thing better than the breeze getting colder, nights getting longer and carols filling the air, is the fact that it’s now the time for some shopping.

With bazaars in various parts of the Metro that offer almost always similar items, it may be hard to find something unique for loved ones. But don’t fret! There’s a better way to get a head start at crossing out items on your Christmas gift list without having to go from one place to another to find that one-of-a-kind present for your loved ones. if you happen to live in the city, you’ll be a stone’s throw away to the much-awaited ultimate holiday shopping and entertainment experience. introducing Pop Up Town—the biggest and hippest Christmas bazaar happening at Arca South on Dec. 2 and 3.

The bazaar features over 200 curated shops, dining options and a ton of activities for the whole family.

What’s in store at Pop up Town?

A variety of shopping options to choose from—everything from quirky novelty gifts, to hard-to-find local products. PopUp Town will consist of four zones: Pop Up Shop, Pop Up Market, Pop Up Gallery, and Pop Up Local.

Pop Up Shop will have a variety of well curated goods and pre-loved items from Karl Edwards, Passion Fly, UP JMA, Mommy Mundo, and big discounts by Folded and hung.

Unique brands and pre-loved items from celebrities will also be featured under the Star Avenue section such as Janice De Belen, Kaila Estrada, Inah de Belen, Ara Mina, Danita Paner, Maricar Reyes Poon, Marissa Sanchez, Nene Tamayo, Nikki Valdez, Christine Babao, Maria Lopez, Mara Lopez, Gretchen Fullido, MJ Marfori, Aubrey Carampel, Cherry Lou Damaso, Denise Joaquin, Mike Agassi and Miriam Quiambao.

A wide variety of scrumptious dishes will give everyone a taste of the season at Pop Up Market with Mercato.

Appreciate and own a piece of art at the Pop Up Gallery featuring works curated by Para sa Sining. homegrown and locally sourced and locallymade products will be showcased under the Pop Up Local.

Different events are happening at Ayala Malls nationwide.

I Got Stung, a musical performance by Steps Dance Studio inspired by the music of Sting will be performed at Ayala Malls The 30th on Nov. 26 with guest Gian Magdangal, Marquee Mall on Dec. 2 with Sam Milby, and Ayala Center Cebu on Dec. 9 with Piolo Pascual.

The Manila Symphony Junior Orchestra will play their winning pieces performed on their recent competition in Vienna, Austria at Alabang Town Center on Dec. 1, and Trinoma on Dec. 2.

Bamboo Live! on Dec. 2 and Lani Misalucha on Dec. 17 are happening at Alabang Town Center, 12 Days of Symphonies at Ayala Malls Vertis, and Giant Lantern Festival on Dec. 29 at Marquee Mall, among other shows and holiday sales.

Pottery Barn and West Elm open holiday pop-up JUST in time for the holidays Rustan’s, the country’s premier gift destination, welcomes Brooklyn, New York home furnishings retailer West Elm and the San Francisco, California home furnishings and décor brand, Pottery Barn to its roster of premium labels available in the department store.

Rustan’s Makati is the first to introduce Pottery Barn and West Elm to its customers with organized lifestyle displays for the living room, dining room, bedroom, and home office, as well as focused displays on bedding, dinnerware, and other home furnishings. Rustan’s Shangri-La follows suit on Dec. 1 with Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, and West Elm. Christmas shopping and decorating have never been more exciting this season with Pottery Barn’s sophisticated and classic pieces that greatly accentuate any space—big or small.

West Elm will feature its holiday assortment of unique, affordable designs for modern living, including Fair Trade Certified and handcrafted products, designed to make an impact Furniture and furnishing pieces from West Elm and Pottery Barn are now available at Rustan’s in everyday life.

How your pets help reduce stress, improve your well-being ThiNKiNG about bringing home a pet? having a pet may help decrease the stress that may envelop you on certain days. Then again, owning a new pet entails a lot of work, and commitment. You need to make sure you are up to the challenge of properly caring for a pet and have the resources to do so.

Once you are sure you can be a responsible pet owner, the payoffs can be huge. here are some benefits of pet ownership: 1. Pets have a reassuring, calming effect Research supports the efficacy of the human-animal bond and the therapeutic, calming effect of pets on people in a variety of settings. Pets at home can bring delight. Some pet dogs and cats have amusing antics and endearing qualities that may bring joy to their owners. Their affectionate, loyal and amusing ways can help ease stress. Pet ownership also gives a person a sense of purpose. Cuddling and playing with pets can also lead to the release of the feel-good chemical serotonin, and decrease production of the stress hormone cortisol. Research uncovered that petting a pooch or feline pet can help lower a person’s blood pressure reading. Watching fish in an aquarium is known to have the same effect. By offering companionship and a listening ear to their masters, pets in effect help improve mental health.

2. Pets help improve physical health Apart from helping release the

Patrick Sugui with his furry canine pet

Cuddling with pets decreases stress

feel-good chemical serotonin, and decreasing production of the stress hormone cortisol, playing with pets can physically rev up your body.

Most pets require a daily form of exercise, like a daily 30-minute walk, playing fetch, jogging, hiking, running and agility training. Dog owners are motivated to walk more often and take longer walks with their pets in tow. indeed, having a family dog increases physical activity not just of mature pet parents but also adoles-

cent pet owners. Moreover, there are studies that point out how pet owners may also have increased odds of surviving for at least a year after having a heart attack. Pet owners with high blood pressure may also possibly keep their blood pressure lower with the help of their pooches.

3. Therapy animals to the rescue Besides encouraging social interactions, pets are used alongside conventional medicine for therapy. Therapy animals typically visit hospitals, work

in therapeutic settings, or are utilized to assist the disabled. Such pets are trained to behave in public and can bring immense comfort to those people in need. Foster homes are also needed for therapy animals in training.

4. Reduced risk of allergies & asthma from pets Most people think that because pets have hair and shed it from time to time, they are health hazards. The notion is that it can trigger allergies and asthma and lower one’s immune system. Surprisingly, studies found that exposure to a pet during infancy may mean less chance of the individual developing such reactions in adulthood. Scientists theorized that it is because the immune system becomes desensitized to allergens. hence, exposure to pets early on in a child’s life can make the tot less reactive to dander and allergens.

Nothing beats having a steady best friend on hand, but you need to pay close attention also to your four-legged friend’s needs. Get quality pet paraphernalia and nourishing meals for your canine and feline pals from Bow & Wow, with stores located on the 6th level of ShangriLa Plaza, the lower ground floor of Greenbelt 5; the 3rd level of Robinsons Magnolia; the ground floor of Excelsior, Eastwood City; the 3rd level of Ayala Center Cebu; and the ground floor of Ayala Malls Solenad 3, Nuvali, Sta. Rosa Laguna.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2017

Award-winning shows "Salam: Bagong Kaibigan" and "Team Yey"

Knowledge Channel, ABS-CBN TVplus’ YEY win at Sinebata 2017 TWO shows from Knowledge Channel and YeY, ABS-CBN’s youthoriented channels, were honored for upholding quality, value-oriented content for children and their families at the first Sinebata children’s video festival, a prelude to the 1st Southeast Asian Prix Jeunesse.

Knowledge Channel’s Salam: Bagong Kaibigan, a social studies and values education show, won in the Fiction category for programs targeted to children 13-17 years old.

The peace education series incorporates essential peace concepts and pertinent social issues with lessons from World History. It also uses everyday situations in a teenager’s life and shows how the youth can play a role in promoting a peaceful society.

Meanwhile, YeY’s Team YeY, a kiddie show that showcases creative and informative activities per day like dance, storytelling, and music, was hailed as the winner in the Non-Fiction

category for programs designed to children under 7 years old.

Team YeY airs on ABSCBN TVplus’ all-day children’s channel, YeY, top billed by Kapamilya child stars.

As winners of Sinebata 2017, Salam: Bagong Kaibigan and Team YeY are also part of the country’s official 10 entries to the 1st Southeast Asian Prix Jeunesse, a video festival for, by, and with children.

It is inspired by the Prix Jeunesse International of the Prix Jeunesse Foundation, which honors programs of the highest quality in youth and children’s television.

Sinebata 2017 is a nationwide search for the best videos produced for children. Its theme for this year is “Pride in Self, Family, and Traditions.”

The Anak TV Foundation, in partnership with the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), is convening the Southeast Asia Prix Jeunesse on Nov. 2729 at Peninsula Manila.

PMPC honors Kapuso stars, network

Dingdong Dantes

Alden Richards

AiAi delas Alas

H

OME to the country’s top entertainment as well as news and public affairs programs, GMA Network once again proved its excellence after winning numerous awards at the 2017 Philippine Movie Press Club (PMPC) Star Awards for Television.

Dingdong Dantes and Ruru Madrid tied for the Best Drama Actor award for Alyas Robin Hood and Encantadia, respectively. The first season of the former was voted Best Primetime Drama Series.

Winning the Best Single Performance by an Actor was Alden Richards for his role in Eat Bulaga’s Lenten Special, “Kapatid”.

Sunday PinaSaya bagged the Best Variety Show trophy, while Marian Rivera-Dantes, the Best Female TV Host award.

Aiai delas Alas won the Best Comedy Actress award for her role in Hay, Bahay!

Mikee Quintos won the Best New Female TV Personality award for her role in Encantadia.

Mikee Quintos

Wowowin was named Best Game Show while Pepito Manaloto the Best Comedy Show.

Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho took home the Best Magazine Show award, Wish Ko Lang, Best Public Service Program, while Vicky Morales won Best Public Service Program Host .

I-Witness won Best Documentary Program and Howie Severino, Kara David, Jay Taruc and Sandra Aguinaldo, Best Documentary Program Hosts.

Saksi’s Arnold Clavio took home the Best Male Newscaster award.

Clavio is also one of the hosts of this year’s Best Morning Show Unang Hirit, longest-running morning show.

Meanwhile, Drew Arellano is the

Perfect Christmas gift for the whole family CHRISTMAS shopping can be overwhelming at times because of the many gift items you plan to give to every family member on your gift list.

Besides doing an early Christmas shopping to avoid the hassle, here’s another Christmas gift hack: you don’t need to scour bazaars and malls to find the perfect present for every important person in your life.

A great gift is something that the whole family will use and enjoy allyear round, just like an ABS-CBN TVplus box.

Here are five reasons why ABSCBN TVplus is a perfect early Christmas gift that fits the bill.

1.

ABS-CBN TVplus features iconic kiddie shows, fun educational programs Kids will love to spend their weekends and after-school free time watching ABS-CBN TVplus’ YeY, an all-day children’s channel that features some of the most iconic cartoon shows such as Peppa Pig, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, and Dora the Explorer” among others.

YeY is also home to the awardwinning local children’s show, Team YeY, an all-kids variety show that introduces kid-friendly activities including storytelling, arts and crafts, singing, dancing, sports, and food preparation.

Kids and teens can find ways to have a fun learning experience via the Knowledge Channel on ABS-CBN TVplus. Here, they get a better appreciation of the lessons they have in school with shows like

Product endorser Sarah Geronimo in ABS-CBN TVplus TVC

MathDali, which teaches students simple techniques to solve math problems so they can overcome their fear of learning math.

Sesame Street, the long-running American children’s show that is home to well-loved characters Big Bird and Elmo, also airs on Knowledge Channel so Filipino kids can read, write, and speak the fun way.

2.

ABS-CBN TVplus airs movies all day long If your family likes classic, oldschool movies, ABS-CBN TVplus’ CineMo has got you covered as it airs timeless action and comedy movies top billed by Dolphy, the country’s King of Comedy, and Fernando Poe Jr., the one and only King of Philippine Movies.

CineMo also features Karla Estrada and Bayani Agbayani in the hit sitcom, Funny Ka, Pare Ko, which was named as Best

Comedy Show in Gawad Tanglaw.

In between shows, audiences also get a treat from Lakas Tawa, the comedy show of Laugh Factory’s Funniest Person in the World finalist, Alex Calleja.

3. ABS-CBN TVplus offers the best sports events Dads who are always looking for their sports fix will be happy with the various sporting events that air on S+A (Sports + Action) like the NBA, ONE Championship, Top Rank Boxing, UAAP, NCAA, V-League, and the Philippine Azkals.

Besides the action, dads will be delighted with inspiring stories of Filipino athletes who are the epitome of hard work and determination that are featured on S+A. 4. ABS-CBN TVplus delivers fresh news Moms, meanwhile, will be updated on the hottest news stories from around the world

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Thursday, November 23, 2017

ACROSS 1 Brother of one’s father 6 Fuel material from bogs 10 Write on glass 14 Glitterati member 15 Auel heroine 16 Oliver Twist’s request 17 Depart from permanently 18 Estate recipient 19 A Great Lake 20 Impassioned 22 Left 24 Darth’s daughter 26 Harped on 27 Reacted to pepper 30 “Ulalume” poet 31 Playwright Oscar — 32 Experienced 35 Cummerbund 39 Wanted-poster abbr.

40 Garage jobs 43 Billiard stick 44 Mr. Roddenberry 46 Fawn’s parent 47 Oman neighbor 49 Hirt and Gore 51 Horse’s gear 53 Run of luck

56 Follow 57 Discussed 59 Not digital 63 Bogus butter 64 Stork cousin 66 Kennel noise 67 Meatloaf serving 68 Narrative of heroic exploits 69 Lithe 70 London park 71 Cough syrup meas.

72 Feel instinctively DOWN 1 West Coast sch.

2 — -do-well 3 Dressed 4 Made horizontal 5 Mr. Scrooge 6 Cry of disdain 7 Watched carefully 8 Sigourney Weaver thriller 9 Roofing roll (2 wds.)

10 Appears 11 Nut cake 12 Called out 13 Attention 21 Bind 23 In time gone by 25 Conform

27 Pirate’s booty 28 Running shoe name 29 Vivacity 33 Bleat 34 Set ablaze 36 Peak 37 Hires a lawyer 38 Egg layers 41 Ralph Waldo Emerson, e.g.

42 Mock oranges 45 Hoop site 48 Make bigger 50 “Annabel —”

52 Rte. mappers 53 Witty remark 54 Tire surface 55 Shish — 57 Stylishly elegant 58 Sarcastic remarks 60 Steak cut 61 Wise old birds 62 Mirth 65 Drain, as energy

that are delivered fresh via DZMM TeleRadyo, the home of notable news and current affairs programs and broadcasters in the Philippines, like Failon Ngayon sa DZMM anchored by Ted Failon, and Dos Per Dos hosted by Anthony Taberna, among others.

Lifestyle and showbiz news are also featured on DZMM TeleRadyo with programs such as Todo-Todo Walang Preno hosted by Winnie Cordero and Ariel Ureta and Chismax hosted by Ahwel Paz and Jobert Sucaldito.

5. ABS-CBN TVplus has a weekly movie marathon feature Does your family enjoy having movie marathons on weekends?

ABS-CBN TVplus has Kapamilya Box Office (KBO), an additional feature that lets your families bond together by watching fresh from the cinema movies from Star Cinema and other local blockbusters. KBO also gives families access to calls, 100 free tri net texts, and 50MB data via ABS-CBNmobile –all these for only P30 per weekend.

Christmas is also merrier because each TVplus box comes with free two weekends of KBO upon purchase. Talk about more chances of movie bonding!

Make your holiday gift something memorable for the whole family all-year round only with ABSCBN TVplus that is available for a one-time payment of P1,499. For more details, visit tvplus.abs-cbn. com and follow ABS-CBN TVplus on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ ABSCBNTVPlus).

Arnold Clavion

Best Travel Show Host for GMA News TV’s Biyahe ni Drew. The Best Lifestyle Show Host award went to Rhian Ramos and Solenn Heussaff for Taste Buddies.

The World of Gandang Ricky Reyes was as this year’s Best Lifestyle Show.

Special awards were given to Vic Sotto (Ading Fernando Lifetime Achievement Award); Maynila (Longest Running Daytime Drama Anthology); and Rocco Nacino and Sanya Lopez (German Moreno Power Tandem).

PMPC Star Awards for TV is given by members of the Philippine Movie Press Club whose members are mostly columnists and contributors in local tabloids.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2017

G

MA Network’s Bubble Gang, the country’s longest-running and multi-awarded gag show, continues to offer non-stop entertainment to Filipino viewers as they celebrate their 22nd anniversary.

"Bubble Gang" senior cast member and Creative Director Michael V

Because of their unique, amusing and extraordinary parodies, sketches and gags about television commercials, famous personalities and current events, the Kapuso program is still the Filipinos’ favorite comedy program.

For this year, the cast of the well-loved comedy show offers a two-part TV special – the first part was aired on Nov. 17 and the second part tomorrow night 24 featuring a musical show entitled “Parokya Bente Dos: A Laugh Story”.

It is the story of a simple guy named Buloy (Michael V.), V a die-hard fan who has built his dreams around an actress, Birdie Aguila (Kim ( Domingo) Domingo and the countless adventures he had to go through in order to fulfill his life-long dream to be her leading man on and off screen.

The show features songs from one of the country’s favorite OPM bands, Parokya Ni Edgar.

Together with Bubble Gang’s Creative Director Michael V., the anniversary show features, apart from Domingo, Chariz Solomon, Valeen Montenegro, Antonio Aquitania, Boy 2 Quizon, Paolo Contis, Jackie Rice, Denise Barbacena, Lovely Abella, Sef Cadayona, Betong Sumaya, Mikael Daez, Arra San Agustin, Jak Roberto, Archie Alemana, Arny Ross, Mikoy Morales, Ashley Rivera, Analyn Barro, Juancho Trivino, Jan Manual, James Macasero, Rodfil Obeso, Myka Flores, and Diego Llorico playing multiple characters in this anniversary special.

‘BUBBLE GANG’s’

one-of-a-kind special presentation

Knowledge Channel, ABSCBN TVplus’ YEY win at Sinebata 2017

‘Magpakailanman’ counts 5 years on air GMA Network’s awardwinning drama anthology Magpakailanman, hosted by multi-awarded broadcast journalist Mel Tiangco, celebrates its 5th anniversary this November.

Throughout its 5-year run, the show has been touching the lives of many Filipinos and promoting good family values to its viewers.

Magpakailanman continues to showcase “the real story behind the story” making each episode not only inspiring and uplifting but also informative and interesting.

The month-long special opened with the touching story of the Lagdamat sisters—four orphaned children who had no one else but each other to lean on. The episode ,“BSF: Best Sisters Forever: The Lagdamat Sisters Story,” was featured Sunshine Dizon, Diana Zubiri, Sheena Halili and Sanya

Lopez. It aired on Nov.4.

On Nov. 11, Magpakailanman presented the love story between an American sailor and his maid. Directed by Joel Lamangan, the episode,

“My Heart Belongs to You: The Bud and Gloria Brown Story,” featured Ivan Dorschner and Denise Barbacena.

Last Saturday, Magpakailanman shared

"Magpakailanman" host Mel Tiangco

AFTER competing in the Wide Angle category of the Busan International Film Festival in October, Carlo Fajarda’s short film, Suerte, will vie for awards next in the Southeast Asian short film competition of the 28th Singapore International Film Festival from today till Dec. 3.

Suerte, which literally means luck in Filipino and was used as a name of a street in the film, follows two amateur filmmakers (played by Fajarda himself and the film’s director of photography and editor Phillipe Quintos) shooting a documentary about the drug trade.

While they go along with their subjects, brothers Betong (Karl Medina) and Roel (Dan Medrana), they slowly get involved until the point of no return. As the night wears on, their dangerous obsession with their project forces them to cross the line between observer and creator.

Fajarda’s thesis film at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde joins three other Filipino films competing for the Silver Screen Awards in the festival. They are Carlo Francisco Manatad’s Jodilerks Dela Cruz, Employee of the Month, Margarita Mina’s Puppy Love, and Andrew Stephen Lee’s The Sound of Coins Hitting Brass.

the real-life stories of Azramie “Ramram” Cabugatan and Marawi Suicide Squad soldier PFC Jomille Pavia.

The “Isang Bata, Dalawang Ina” episode is about a young boy who was taken away from his parents but later on reunited with his biological mother Rohaniza “Hani” Abdul Jabbar Cabugatan after seven long years. This episode stars Yasmien Kurdi and Sharmaine Arnaiz and will be directed by Gina Alajar.

The “Kuwentong Marawi sa Mata ng Isang Sundalo” episode is about a brave soldier who was deployed in Marawi and was able to survive and save a number of civilians especially an old woman trapped in her own home. The episode features Alden Richards.

The last part of the two-part episode airs this Saturday on GMA7 after Pepito Mananloto.

‘Suerte’ in Singapore

The cast and crew of the digital short film, "Suerte"

SGIFF will feature over 100 films from 42 countries. It is the longest-running and leading international film platform in Southeast Asia for independent cinema. Also part of the Philippine contingent in the official selection are Salvage: Malay Wild by Sherad Anthony Sanchez, The One Armed Executioner by Bobby A. Suarez. and In the Claws of A Century

Wanting by Jewel Maranan.

Founded in 1987, the festival focuses on independent films, particularly those from Asia. The Silver Screen Awards is divided into the Asian feature film competition and the Southeast Asian short film competition.

The awards night will be held at the Grand Theatre of Marina Bay Sands on Dec. 2.

Lionsgate's "Wonder," is an inspiring drama film about a young boy born with a facial difference who has been in and out of hospitals for years

‘Wonder’ in cinemas next week BASED on the New York Times bestseller by R.J. Palacio, Wonder is an inspiring and heartwarming story of 10-year-old August Pullman. Born with facial differences that, up until now, have prevented him from going to a mainstream school, Auggie becomes the most unlikely of heroes when he enters the local fifth grade.

As his family, his new classmates, and the larger community all struggle to find their compassion and acceptance, Auggie’s extraordinary journey will unite them all and prove you can’t blend in when you were born to stand out.

Directed by Stephen Chbosky, Wonder stars Academy Award® winner Julia Roberts. Academy Award® nominee Owen Wilson, and Jacob Tremblay. Also starring are Izabela Vidovic, Mandy Patinkin, Daveed Diggs, Sonia Braga, Danielle Rose Russell, Nadji Jeter, Noah Jupe, Bryce Gheisar, Millie Davis, and newcomer Elle McKinnon.

Golden Globe nominee Jacob Tremblay tackles the one-of-a-kind role of Auggie Pullman, whose birth defects and multiple surgeries have kept him out of school -- until now.

Jettisoned into what is for him the brave new world of the 5th grade, Auggie steps into an unexpected journey.

All Auggie ever wanted was to be an ordinary kid, but as his sister keeps telling him, you can’t be ordinary when you were born to stand out. Though he once found solace inside a space helmet, suddenly he must face a whole universe of gawking kids who don’t yet know how to face him back.

Now, in a year by turns funny, tough and beautiful -- Auggie and all around him are transformed by the things that count most: friendship, courage and the everyday choice to be kind to everyone in your path.

From the start, the filmmakers wanted to bring the facial difference community into the inner fabric of the production – and to make sure their voices were heard. They began collaborating closely with several organizations including MyFace and the Children’s Craniofacial Association (CCA). Both organizations had taken the popularity of the book as a chance to raise much greater awareness of craniofacial differences and bust through some of the social stigmas.

For author Palacio, the love so many “real-life Auggies” have for her book has been as gratifying as its success. “The friendships I’ve formed with kids who have craniofacial differences have been incredibly special to me,”

she says. “It’s been moving to see how Wonder has positively impacted their lives.”

To learn more, the entire Tremblay family attended CCA’s annual family retreat, a tradition started by CCA’s national spokesperson, Cher. Jacob had a blast. “I made friends with many kids there, which I thought was wonderful.” laughs Tremblay. “And while I was having fun, I learned a lot about kids with craniofacial syndromes and it really helped me to do this role the right way.”

One family in particular would come to influence the film project: that of 12-year-old Nathaniel Newman, who has become close with Palacio. “A couple months after the book came out, Nathaniel’s parents reached out to me and we had lunch. Although I didn’t know him while I was writing, I discovered that Nathaniel was Auggie come-to-life,” says Palacio.

“Nathaniel has TreacherCollins syndrome and looks a lot the way I imagined Auggie, and speaks the way I hear Auggie. He has great parents and a brother who doesn’t have a craniofacial difference.

Nathaniel has had to endure many surgeries and deal with a lot of the issues Auggie has. And like Auggie, he’s loving, funny and brave beyond words.”