Manila Standard - 2018 January 02 - Tuesday

TE DEUM LAUDAMUS. Pope Francis holds the monstrance as he leads the hymn of praise to God at the St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on the eve of New Year. The hymn, containing many passages from the Bible, is used in the Anglican Communion, the Lutheran Church, and the Roman Catholic Church as part of morning prayers on festive occasions, and begins, ‘Te Deum laudamus,’ meaning, ‘We praise thee, O God.’ AFP

VOL. XXXI • NO. 319 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2018 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net

First storm of ‘18 looms over Caraga

By Rio N. Araja

A LOW pressure area is threatening to develop into a tropical depression by Monday night or Tuesday morning, the weather bureau said Monday.

If it becomes a tropical depression, it will be named “Agaton,” the first typhoon for 2018.

If it does not change its direction, it could make landfall in the Caraga Administrative Region.

The LPA brought a wet New Year’s Day in Bicol, Eastern Visayas, Caraga and Davao.

Forecaster Aldczar Aurelio said affected areas should brace for possible flash floods and landslides spawned by

tration said Visayas, Caraga, and Northern Mindanao would experience cloudy skies with scattered to widespread rains and thunderstorms brought by the trough of the LPA. Pagasa said the Bicol region and the rest of Mindanao would experience cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms.

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moderate to heavy rainfall.

Heavy rains and thunderstorms were expected in the Visayas and some parts of Mindanao due to the low pressure area over Surigao City, Surigao del Norte, the weather bureau said.

In its latest bulletin, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Adminis-

PNP chief on Shaw: It was a mistake PHILIPPINE National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa admitted Monday the shooting incident, where policemen were involved Thursday night, which left two individuals dead in Mandaluyong City was a “mistake” on the part of the police.

Dela Rosa, whose term as PNP chief had been extended by President Rodrigo Duterte, told Balitanghaili in an interview: “We admit there was a failure on the rules of engagement.

Whoever is responsible for such failure should be criminally and administratively

charged.”

Two persons, including Jonalyn Ambaon, victim of a prior shooting incident and was being rushed by volunteers to the nearest hospital for treatment, were killed when responding police opened fire at the vehicle they were told

was a getaway car of a gunman in the previous shooting incident.

Police sources later disclosed the vehicle was carrying Ambaon to the hospital after she was shot by an LPG delivery man after Next page

‘Cracker injuries fewest in 5 years’

PSG man, 4 others nabbed for misusing firearms

By Joel E. Zurbano

POLICE arrested a member of the Presidential Security Group and a retired Army sergeant after they were accused of firing their guns indiscriminately on New Year’s Eve. Taguig City police arrested

Cpl. Richard John Quijan, assigned to the Light Reaction Regiment, Special Operations Command-PSG, and a retired sergeant, Jamael Mindalano.

They were charged with indiscriminate firing, alarm and scandal, illegal possession of firearms Next page

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and John Paolo Bencito

T

HE country registered the biggest reduction in the number of firecrackerrelated injuries this holiday season, down 68 percent from the previous year, the Health Department reported Monday.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said there were 191 firecracker-related injuries recorded this year from Dec. 21, 2017 to Jan. 1, 2018, 77 percent lower than the five-year average, and 68 percent lower than the cases reported in the same period last year.

There was only one injury from a stray bullet, he added.

“I would say we are relatively pleased–relative because there are still injuries but pleased because of the substantial reduction in fireworks-related injuries from Dec. 21, 2017, to Jan.1, 2018, compared to the same period of the previous year,” Duque said.

Duque said there were no reported deaths, no reported cases of fireworks ingestion, but still seven cases of amputation.

He said the youngest victim of firecrackers was an 11-monthold baby and the oldest was 96 years old. Most of the cases were hand injuries.

Piccolo, an illegal matchstick-sized firecracker, still accounts for the most number of injuries with 94 cases, followed by kwitis with 14, unknown firecrackers with 12, fountain with 10, and boga with nine.

In the same media briefing, PNP Supt. Johnny Capalos said they listed only one stray bullet case in Caloocan City.

Records showed that Metro Manila had the most number of fireworks-related injuries, which amounted to 115 cases or 60 percent of the total number, followed by Western Visayas with 15 cases and Central Luzon, Calabarzon and Bicol with 13 cases each.

Among the districts in Metro Manila, the city of Manila had the most number of cases at 63 followed by Quezon City with 14, Pasig City with 11 and Valenzuela with six.

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ZERO DEATH, JUST INJURIES. Good news for the Department of Health, which recorded no death and fewer firecracker-related injuries from Dec. 21, 2017 to Jan. 1, 2018—a 68 percent decrease in similar injuries in the comparative period the previous year. That despite, relatives of injured victims had the shakes like the one (above) in wrenching pain, another one (top left) and a child in the child’s parent’s arms (left) and a man injured by a stray bullet (left down)—all being rushed to the emergency department of the government’s Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center in Manila for treatment. AFP

Kim defiant, vows to mass-produce nuke arms Oil firms greet new year with pump price increase

By Alena Mae S. Flores

PUMP prices are up by as much as P0.75 per liter starting today, Tuesday, as a result of higher prices in the world market, according to twitter.com/ MlaStandard

facebook.com/ ManilaStandardPH

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the oil distributors.

They raised kerosene prices by P0.75 per liter, diesel by P0.65 per liter and gasoline by P0.20 per liter.

Petron, the Philippines’ biggest oil company, raised Turn to A3

manilastandard.net

SEOUL—Kim Jong-Un vowed North Korea would mass-produce nuclear warheads and missiles in a defiant New Year message Monday suggesting he would continue to accelerate a rogue weapons program that has stoked international tensions.

Kim, who said Monday he always had a nuclear launch button on his desk, has presided over multiple missile tests in recent months and the North’s sixth and most powerful nuclear test— which it said was a hydrogen bomb—in September.

“We must mass-produce nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles and speed up their deployment,” said Kim in his annual address to the nation.

He reiterated his claims North Korea had achieved its goal of becoming a nuclear state but insisted its expansion of the weapons program was a defensive measure.

“We should always keep readiness to take immediate nuclear counter-attacks against the enemy’s scheme for a nuclear war.”

Pyongyang dramatically ramped up its efforts to be-

come a nuclear power in 2017, despite a raft of international sanctions and increasingly bellicose rhetoric from the United States.

The North claims it needs nuclear weapons to protect itself from a hostile Washington and has strived to create a warhead capable of targeting the US mainland.

US President Donald Trump has responded to each test with his own amplified declarations, threatening to “totally destroy” Pyongyang and taunting Kim, saying the Turn to A3

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2018

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SolGen: Anti-ML argument ‘asinine’

By Rey E Requejo

S

OLICITOR General Jose Calida on Sunday defended the oneyear extension of the martial law declaration in Mindanao, saying it was necessary despite the end of the rebellion in Marawi staged by the Maute terrorist group.

He disputed the arguments raised in the petition in the Supreme Court filed last week by opposition lawmakers led by Al-

bay Rep. Edcel Lagman.

“In fact, the rebellion staged by various secessionist, jihadist, terrorist and communist groups in

various places in Mindanao has been festering for several decades now. The argument that this rebellion can be quelled in 60 days is asinine,” Calida said.

“Anyone who doubts the necessity of the extension should visit the various strongholds of the rebellious groups scattered all over Mindanao.”

Calida also rejected the petitioners’ argument that, since the Constitution limits the period for the declaration of martial law, its one-year exten-

sion is “unwarranted, oppressively long and patently unconstitutional.”

“He [Lagman] should concede that the Supreme Court already decided that martial law and the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus covered the entire Mindanao,” Calida said.

He said there was “no provision in the Constitution that limits the period of [the martial law] extension to 60 days only.”

“The only criteria: that the invasion of rebel-

lion shall persist and that public safety requires it,” Calida said.

He also said the validity of the extension of martial law had already been resolved by Congress as provided in the Constitution.

“The 1987 Constitution vested Congress with the authority to extend the proclamation of martial law and the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus for a period to be determined by it,” Calida said.

“This is a political question as it is a con-

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Duque said an executive order signed

by President Rodrigo Duterte that banned private citizens from using firecrackers was behind the drop in firecracker-related injuries.

Duque thanked Department of the Interior and Local Government, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine National Police, EcoWaste Coalition, among other partners, for their cooperation in restricting the use of firecrackers.

Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag reminded parents to watch over their children to prevent them from picking up dud firecrackers left by New Year’s Eve revelers.

In an interview on Unang Balita, he noted the case of a seven-year-old who had his hand blown off by a firecracker, which he picked up thinking it was a dud.

A 13-year-old boy was also injured in the right eye when he lit a piccolo that he also picked up in Noveleta,

Cavite.

Traditionally raucous New Year festivities draw on ancient superstitions and Chinese traditions, with people firing guns and setting off powerful fireworks in the belief the bangs will drive away bad spirits.

Asked how to further minimize injuries, Duque said: “I think the end goal really is to ban fireworks completely.”

The President’s June order stated that firecrackers may only be used in areas approved by local governments and under the supervision of trained and licensed people.

Duterte in 2016 said firecrackerrelated injuries were a “very serious public health issue,” adding he was concerned about children, who make up most of the victims.

As Davao mayor, he signed in 2002 an ordinance that banned the manufacture, sale, distribution, possession and use of firecrackers

in the city.

Duterte’s spokesman said on Monday that the President might consider adopting a total firecracker ban nationwide.

“He might but there may be a need to amend the law,” Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said.

Roque welcomed the change in Filipinos’ mindset, saying it was possible to celebrate the New Year without firecrackers.

“There is no need for your fingers or hands to be amputated, or for you to lose an eye just to be happy in welcoming the New Year,” he said in Filipino in a radio interview.

The island barangay of Calmay in Dagupan City accounted for 13 percent of all injuries when 25 people, including 12 children, were hurt when baby rockets also known as kwitis misfired during a community fireworks display.

All the injured were transported by boat across the Calmay river and then taken by ambulances of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council to the Region 1 Medical Center for treatment.

Twenty-four of the injured were admitted to R1MC as out-patients and one was hospitalized after doctors found blood coming out from one of his ears.

All those injured were to watch a fireworks display in their village when the baby rocket bombs failed to go up in the air but instead fired horizontally, hitting the crowd.

Before this incident, two others were treated for firecracker eyerelated injuries at R1MC. Before noon of Monday, the number of firecracker victims rushed to R1MC was placed at 40 coming from various parts of Pangasinan. With AFP, PNA

crimes by victim, Jolly Moreno, who was slightly hit in [his] right midsection by ricochet bullet shrapnel while welcoming the New Year,” she said.

In Las Piñas City, Police Officer 1 Alexander Roy Rafer assigned at Police Community Precinct 6, was also arrested for indiscriminate firing. Confiscated from him was .9mm pistol. He is now detained and will be charged criminally before the city prosecutors office.

NCRPO director Oscar Albayalde assured the public that the

suspects would be thoroughly and speedily investigated.

“They must be liable to the law and to the victim. They must face the consequences and corresponding sanctions,” he said.

In Caloocan City, authorities also arrested Isagani Ancheta, 38, a resident of Block 11 Barangay 35 Sawata, Maypajo.

Ancheta was involved in a shooting incident at the height of the New Year revelry along Sawata Road between Block 2 and Block 3. The victims were

identified as Gil Calupaz, 27; Joven Earl Gaces, 10; and Princess Denise Cruzat, 10. They were taken to Dr. Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center and Tondo General Hospital.

Police took a Glock 17 caliber 9mm pistol with a defaced serial number used in the shooting.

Company driver Federico Alcala, 54, was also arrested for firing his gun, a .45-cal pistol, in Barangay Cembo in Makati City.

Police said there were no fires caused by firecrackers this year.

PSG...

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and ammunition, physical injury, direct assault, resisting arrest and serious disobedience before the Department of Justice.

Police took two .45-cal pistols, a .99mm pistol, a .38-cal revolver and assorted ammunition.

National Capital Region Police Office spokesperson Kimbery Molitas said the two were arrested following a complaint filed against them by their neighbor, Jolly Moreno.

“Mindalano and Quijan were reported to have committed the above

First...

PNP...

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Meanwhile, the northeast monsoon would bring cloudy skies with scattered rains over Cagayan Valley, Cordillera Administrative Region, Aurora and Quezon.

Metro Manila and the rest

of Luzon would have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rains.

As of 3 a.m., Pagasa said the LPA was spotted 545 kilometers east of Surigao City.

With PNA

trying to intervene in an argument.

But the responding police officers were told by tanods the vehicle was carrying an armed suspect, causing them to open fire.

Dela Rosa said the incident

was not a case of “mistaken identity” but of a “false report.”

Dela Rosa defended the police, saying during an ongoing shooting incident, they could not determine anymore where the shots were coming from.

Ten policemen and two of the four barangay tanods involved in the shooting incident had been ordered detained after the filing of homicide and frustrated homicide complaints against them.

LOOKING FOR GOOD LIFE. An unidentified couple walk between racks of merchandise Monday wearing their 2018 shirts Mr. Good and Mrs. Life in Manila’s Carriedo Street—their tee shirts shouting out their message for the new year.

Ey Acasio

troversy which revolves around policy choices and value determinations constitutionally committed to the executive or legislative branches for resolution.”

President Rodrigo Duterte cited the threats posed by extremists and the “continuing crime” of rebellion by the New People’s Army in his request for a one-year extension of martial law in Mindanao that Congress approved through a 240-27 vote earlier last month.

In their petition, Lagman

and company asked the high court to issue a temporary restraining order “before the effectivity on Jan. 1, 2017, of the challenged re-extension” of martial law.

The others who signed as petitioners were Reps.

Tomasito Villarin (Akbayan Citizens’ Action partylist), Edgar Erice (Caloocan City, 2nd District), Teddy Baguilat Jr. (Ifugao), Gary Alejano (Magdalo party-list) and Emmanuel Billones (Capiz, 1st District).

‘Old stock of oil exempt from excise tax hike’

By Alena Mae S. Flores THE Energy Department, through the Oil Industry Management Bureau, gave assurances old stock of petroleum products should not be slapped the new excise tax rates.

“Consequently, the retailers should not charge the new excise tax to the consumers,” the department said in a statement.

The implementation of excise tax and value added tax for petroleum products under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion is effective starting Jan. 1, 2018.

“The OIMB has issued an advisory to petroleum products stakeholders NOT to levy new Excise Tax rates on old stocks, considering that Excise Taxes are levied upon importation and not at the point of sale to the consumers,” Energy Assistant Secretary Leonido Pulido III said.

For VAT, the new rates under the TRAIN applicable to consumers becomes effective on Jan. 1, 2018.

In addition, the department said it stringently monitors oil trading in the

international market and analyzes its effects on the domestic prices of petroleum products as mandated by the Oil Deregulation Law of 1998.

Pursuant thereto, the department observed that last week’s international oil trading may have an impact of domestic pump prices.

It said gasoline prices may increase by around P0.15 per liter; diesel may increase by around P0.60 per liter; and kerosene may increase by around P0.55 per liter.

The department also reiterates that upon a declaration of a State of Calamity, the agency is implementing a ‘price freeze’ on kerosene and household liquefied petroleum gas.

The price freeze is applicable for 15 days, commencing one day after the declaration.

Through the OIMB and the agency’s Field Offices, the DoE is closely coordinating with the oil industry players in the implementation of the Republic Act 7581, as amended by RA 10623, which imposes a “price freeze” on these basic energy products being sold in the areas affected by the calamity.

So far, no deal reached with Marcoses—Palace

By John Paolo Bencito MALACAÑANG on Monday denied it had reached an agreement on the future of the disputed ill-gotten wealth accumulated during the 20year rule of President Ferdinand Marcos, in exchange for dropping all cases against his family.

In a statement sent to reporters, Duterte’s chief legal counsel Salvador Panelo nevertheless confirmed his office received a draft compromise deal with the Marcoses from Oliver Lozano, who serves as lawyer for the late strongman’s family.

“The document was sent to the office by Atty. Oliver Lozano,” Panelo said.

“Our office as a matter of courtesy and policy acknowl-

edges receipt of any letter coming from any citizen.”

But he denied he had taken action to proposals “to study the Compromise Agreement with the Marcos Family.”

Lozano, in a June 10, 2017 letter sent to President Rodrigo Duterte but coursed through Panelo, had proposed the creation of a legal team to discuss the return of the Marcos wealth.

Panelo did acknowledge receiving Lozano’s proposal in a July 31 letter—but only vowed to “further study” the suggestions made.

Duterte first made the disclosure about the supposed willingness of the Marcoses to return some of their wealth, including a few “gold bars” last Aug. 29― to help the Duterte administration fund its priority programs.

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Kim...

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North Korean leader was on “a suicide mission.”

But far from persuading Kim to give up his nuclear drive, analysts say Trump’s tough talk may have prompted the North Korean leader to push through with his dangerous quest. “[The North] can cope with any kind of nuclear threats from the US and has a strong nuclear deterrence that is able to prevent the US from playing with fire,” Kim said Monday.

“The nuclear button is always on my table. The US must realize this is not blackmail but reality.”

‘Incredibly dangerous’ Kim’s comments come after a former

top US military officer warned that the Trump presidency had helped create “an incredibly dangerous climate.”

“We’re actually closer, in my view, to a nuclear war with North Korea and in that region than we have ever been,” said Mike Mullen, a former chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, in an interview on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday.

When asked for a response to Kim’s claim that he had a nuclear button on his desk, Trump said “We’ll see, we’ll see.” in comments to reporters during the New Year’s Eve party at his Mar-aLago resort in Florida.

Pyongyang sees American military activities in the region—such as the

joint drills it holds with the South—as a precursor to invasion.

It has rattled the international community by testing increasingly longerrange intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) throughout 2017.

But any military intervention by the US could escalate rapidly into a catastrophic conflict that would threaten the lives of millions.

Critics say Pyongyang wants to forcibly reunify the peninsula—divided by a demilitarized zone since the end of the 1950-53 Korean war.

But Kim also sugared his speech Monday with a conciliatory tone towards Seoul, indicating for the first time

that the North is considering taking part in the South’s Winter Olympics next month. “[The Olympics] will serve as a good chance to display our Korean people’s grace toward the world and we sincerely hope the Games will be a success,” Kim said, urging the South to cease its “nuclear war exercise” with the US. At a time when the risk of a US preemptive strike is “higher than ever,” Koh Yu-Hwan, Political Science professor at Dongguk University, said the speech indicated Kim was using the Olympics gesture as a means to “shift from confrontation to peaceful co-existence with the United States.” AFP

gasoline prices by P0.20 per liter, diesel by P0.65 per liter, and kerosene by P0.75 per liter but did not raise prices in the areas under a state of calamity.

Seaoil Philippines said it raised its prices “to reflect the movements in the international petroleum market.”

Petron and Seaoil aside, Pilipinas Shell and PTT Philippines also raised prices while the other companies were expected to follow suit.

The Energy Department earlier said the old stock of petroleum products should not be slapped the new excise tax rates.

“Consequently, the retailers should not charge the new excise tax to the consumers,” the department said in a statement.

The implementation of the excise tax and value added tax on petroleum products under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion took effect on Jan. 1, 2018.

“The [department] has issued an advisory to petroleum products stakeholders NOT to levy new Excise Tax rates on old stocks, considering that Excise Taxes are levied upon importation and not at the point of sale to the consumers,” Energy Assistant Secretary Leonido Pulido III said.

He said the department stringently monitors oil trading in the international market and analyzes its effects on the domestic prices of petroleum products as mandated by the Oil Deregulation Law of 1998.

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2018 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

seeks ‘Road scam witness stays with WPP’ JBC 2 associate

By Rey E. Requejo

T

HE Department of Justice will continue to provide protection to the whistleblower who implicated officials of the previous administration into the alleged P8.7-billion anomaly involving road right-of-way scam for road projects in General Santos City, despite questions on his credibility.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Monday turned down a plea to have Roberto Catapang Jr. dropped from the DOJ’s Witness Protection Program despite attacked on his credibility as a witness.

“He [Catapang] does not appear to be the most guilty, so we are right in putting him in the WPP,” Aguirre ruled.

Aguirre said that the accusations of Mercedita Dumlao and Wilma Mamburam against Catapang would not suffice to disqualify the witness from WPP coverage.

“Tha’s their allegation.

They should prove it,” the Justice Secretary said.

Earlier, Dumlao and Mamburan wrote a letter to Aguirre asking that the DOJ dropped Catapang from the

WPP for being a questionable witness.

According to them, Catapang is facing “numerous estafa complaints filed against him as well as his involvement in drugs cases in General Santos.”

Last month, Catapang implicated Dumlao, Mamburam, Col. Chino Mamburam and Nelson Ti as members of the syndicate who operated the RROW scam in General Santos City “in connivance with other government officials and private individuals.”

He alleged that Ti was the group’s alleged financier and a “close friend” of former President Benigno Aquino III. Among the government officials he tagged were former Department of Public Works and Highways

secretary Rogelio Singson and Department of Budget and Management secretary Florencio "Butch" Abad.

In a press conference, Catapang also implicated Eldon Cruz, brother-in-law of Aquino, in the controversy and claimed that the businessman signed a letter endorsing one of the projects in the anomaly.

The witness has since been placed under WPP coverage and given security.

In his affidavit, Catapang claimed that he was part of the syndicate who operated the scam.

He said they would fabricate fake titles in the name of non-existent persons and then secure payment using them.

Catapang said the syndicate was able to process over 300 RROW claims including one

amounting to P29 million.

He recalled that despite the discovery of the scheme in 2011, the syndicate continued its operations in General Santos City.

In fact, he recalled that Abad released some P500 million in December 2013 upon the request of Singson for payment of ROW involving fake land titles.

Abad, Singson and 41 others, including Mamburam and Dumlao, have already been placed on the DOJ’s immigration lookout bulletin order.

Aguirre even dared Dumlao to clear her name from Catapang’s accusations.

In a two-page letter, Dumlao dismissed Catapang’s allegations that she was one of those who facilitated the release of payment for the private

properties used for road projects funded by the Department of Public Works and Highways in General Santos using fictitious land titles.

“I vehemently deny having any involvement in the said scam and condemn in the strongest possible terms the unfair and baseless accusation made by Mr. Catapang,” Dumlao said in a two-page letter delivered by his legal counsel Danny Villanueva to the Office of the Justice Secretary.

“Contrary to Mr. Catapang’s claim, I am one of the numerous persons victimized by his felonious modus and scheme pertaining to his alleged RROW claims before the Region 12 Office of the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways),” read the letter. With PNA

FIREWORKS. People watch fireworks display during th New Year Celebration in Manila on Jan. 1, 2018. The Philippines is mainly Roman Catholic but the celebrations draw on ancient superstitions and Chinese traditions in which the noise from firecrackers is meant to drive away evil spirits and bring good luck in the coming year. Adding to the danger of annual fireworks celebrations in the streets, there are over 1.2 million unlicensed firearms in the Philippines and some of those are used in the festivities. AFP

Nograles assures ‘adjusted’ pension for retirees by 2019 THE chairperson of the House of Representatives' committee on appropriations has assured the retirees among the country's uniformed personnel that beginning 2019 or even earlier, their pensions shall be calibrated at par with the pay hike to be received by their active counterparts.

“The commitment of Malacañang, which is the guiding policy of the House of Representatives that possesses the power of the purse, is to adjust the pension of retirees in the MUP sector by 2019,” Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles, the panel chairperson, said.

The indexation of pensions is expected to benefit over 200,000 retirees, the threeterm congressman noted. It will cost the government an estimated P38 billion.

Nograles said the indexation will take effect following the salary increase that has been allotted for military and uniformed personnel beginning January 2018 wherein the monthly base pay of a Police Officer 1 in the Philippine National Police or a Private in the Armed Forces of the Philippines will be doubled.

The same is true for equivalent ranks in the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Public Safety College, Philippine Coast Guard, and the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority, he added.

Calibrated increases in base salaries will also be given to those in higher ranks.

“President Rodrigo Duterte would be the first to tell you that the retired sector deserves all the compensation and benefits that it can get from government. Indeed, loyalty, perseverance, and hard work must be rewarded,” Nograles said.

The one-year suspension of the indexation of pensions will give government some time to make adjustments in the national budget.

Nograles assured that the House, which exetcises the “power of the purse,” will look for funds for the pension adjustment under the 2019 national budget.

“It will be a challenge but it will not be impossible. Just look at how we were able to find P40 billion for the free higher education program in the P3.767-trillion General Appropriations Act of 2018,” Nograles said.

“We have been preparing for the pension indexation as early as this year. So we definitely don’t intend to disappoint our retirees in 2019,” he added.

The free higher education program, which will also be rolled out in 2018, is provided for under Republic Act 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act. The law was signed after the 2018 National Expenditure Program—the precursor of the national budget—had been submitted to Congress, meaning no funds had been set aside to cover the free tuition and miscellaneous fees of state colleges and universities at the time of its enactment.

Maricel V. Cruz

justices for CA

THE Judicial and Bar Council has opened for applications two Associate Justice positions in the Court of Appeals.

The vacancies became available after the appointment of Justice Romeo Barza as CA Presiding Justice last Dec. 8 and the death of CA Justice Florito Macalino last Dec. 7.

In an announcement dated Dec. 28 made by Supreme Court Clerk of Court and JBC Ex Officio Secretary Felipa Anama, it said applications “must all be received by the JBC not later than 4:30 p.m. of 13 February 2018.”

“The date of actual receipt by the JBC of the applications and complete documentary requirements shall be deemed as the date of filing,” the announcement read.

“Qualifications of applicants shall be reckoned from the said deadline,” it added.

The JBC is constitutionally mandated to screen and vet nominees to the President for vacant posts in the judiciary and the Offices of the Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsman.

The council is chaired

by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Aranal-Sereno, with ex-officio members, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, along with the legislative branch namely Senator Richard Gordon and Mindoro Oriental Rep. Reynaldo Umali, who shall have a term sharing seat in the JBC. Barza, a native of Lupon, Davao Oriental and a graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Law, had served as a regional trial court judge in Batangas City prior to his appointment as CA justice on May 4, 2006.

Apart from Barza, President Rodrigo Duterte appointed other members of the judiciary last December.

These include Makati Judge Maryan CorpusManalac as Associate Justice of Sandiganbayan and Walter Ong as Associate Justice of the CA. PNA

Solons OK EO ban on overseas trips for Palace officials

By Maricel V. Cruz LAWMAKERS have welcomed President Rodrigo Duterte's order on Thursday barring officials in the executive branch from taking trips abroad and for government agencies to take an active role in tracking down public officials who had taken unnecessary travels.

Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III said the President has shown what a good governance is about by setting an example to all officials and employees of government.

“The President has started to live by example,” Albano,

majority leader for the House contingent to Commission on Appointments, said. “If there is no reason to travel, why travel?”

Parañaque Rep. Gus Tambunting echoed Albano’s view.

Tambunting said the President's executive order barring officials under the executive branch to take unnecessary travels effective Jan. 1, 2018, except the Department of Foreign Affairs must be respected.

“I respect the decision of the President. In general, the Executive Department serves at the pleasure of the President and is under his control. If the Presi-

dent feels this is necessary to improve the service of the Executive Branch, that is his prerogative. He [President Duterte] can decide how to spend the funds of the executive department,” Tambunting, chair of the House committee on games and amusements, said.

Magdalo.party-list Rep. Gary Alejano said the President's order must be extended to all branches of government.

“I agree and support that policy. Only necessary official travels for all government officials not only for the executive branch but for all branches of government,” Alejano, an opposition, said.

Nevertheless, he said “government officials should still have the option to travel abroad as long as it is not during office days and not using government funds.”

For his part, Akbayan party-list Rep. Tom Villarin said the order was unnecessary as “all travels of the executive branch are approved by the Office of the President or through Cabinet officials who are the President’s alter egos.”

“After much traveling by Malacañang officials in 2017, now they want a travel ban in 2018. It is up to Malacañang to decide which travels are deem necessary,” Villarin, from the

opposition, said.

President Duterte earlier said he would also ask agencies to find out which officials had gone on excessive trips abroad.

He said the order was intended so as to be “strict in terms of money” to ensure that public money do not go to waste.

The President earlier sacked several government officials for supposedly taking unnecessary trips abroad, such as Dangerous Drugs Board chief Dionisio Santiago and Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor chief Terry Ridon.

PVAO extends P9.06-billion benefits for veterans’ families

NEW YEAR AT THE PARK. Families flock to Manila's Rizal Park to spend the onset of 2018, known in the Chinese calendar as the Year of the Dog. Ey Acasio

IN LINE with efforts to take care of veterans and their families, the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office disbursed P9.06 billion worth of pensions in 2017.

This benefitted an average of 208,159 pension accounts, Department of National Defense spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said.

He added that PVAO subsidized various medical and health care services availed

by Filipino veterans and their qualified dependents under the Veterans Hospitalization and Medical Care Program worth P85.05 million as part of efforts to recognize the services rendered by Filipino veterans.

“This accomplishment leads

PVAO to realizing its objective that no veteran should pay for his own medicine,” Andolong said.

The PVAO provided educational benefits to 2,185 “Iskolar ng mga Bayani” as of the end of November for a total amount of P38.11 million.

These beneficiaries are direct descendants of the country’s valiant defenders who fought in World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War. Andolong said PVAO’s Educational Benefits Program has produced close to 7,300 graduates since 2002.

The educational assistance for the “Iskolar ng mga Bayani” is given to qualified and deserving students for a maximum of P36,000 per year per beneficiary. PNA

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Opinion

TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2018

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

Adelle Chua, Editor

Fixing the signals

B

ETWEEN January 1 and December 26 last year, the Metro Rail Transit 3 experienced 517 glitches, translating to an average of 10 in a week or more than one in a day.

The final tally would definitely be higher—on the last day of 2017, the MRT again had to unload passengers because of a signaling problem. The suspension of the southbound operations lasted more than an hour on Sun-

day morning, New Year’s Eve. These glitches have given the MRT 3 its notoriety. The Department of Transportation was quick to issue a statement on its efforts to address the perennial glitches.

“In its commitment to progressively address the issues beleaguering the Metro Rail Transit Line 3, the Department of Transportation MRT-3 team recently completed the procurement of the first batch of various spare parts required for the system’s maintenance,” it said.

The delivery of spare parts has started and will continue for the

next three months, according to a transport official.

The department is also looking at a new maintenance provider for the MRT 3 by May. The engagement of the provider is supposedly tied to the grant of official development assistance from Japan. The loan will be for the upkeep of the rail system.

The contract with the former maintenance provider was terminated in November 2017 because of poor performance.

All these assurances give the riding public some reason to be hopeful at the beginning of the

year. These hundreds of thousands of riders deserve better times. After all, they have continued to patronize the train service despite the inconvenience of long lines and crowded coaches, and the dangers of signaling and other glitches.

A year and a half into the Duterte administration, transport officials no longer have the luxury of blaming the previous administration for this inherited problem.

The solutions should have come sooner, but at this point, the public is already happy that solutions seem to be on the horizon at all.

TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

We need more jails, rehab centers THEY never learn. In many parts of Metro Manila, people injured from firecrackers crowded hospitals despite the ban.

The mayhem continued on New Year’s Eve even as authorities claimed injuries had gone down significantly.

I still cannot understand why people spend thousands of hard-earned money to risk being injured.

How stupid! *** The new tax on diesel, liquefied petroleum gas and bunker fuel for electricity generation, among others, started yesterday.

This will create a domino effect on transport fares, electricity costs and other prime commodities.

The administration has to rethink its campaign against drugs.

What I learned in 2017 LOWDOWN

JOJO A. ROBLES IT’S never too late to learn something new. And here’s a list of new stuff I learned in the year just past: I learned that it’s possible for people to accept martial law, like Filipinos in Mindanao and elsewhere did during the war to eliminate the terrorists who occupied Marawi City for half a year.

And that it’s perfectly fine to praise our troops and to hit them up for selfies instead of looking at them with fear, loathing and suspicion.

I learned that it’s no longer kosher to dream up figures and to extrapolate them without question, as we’ve seen in the so-called body count in the ongoing war against illegal drugs.

Thus, from a high of 17,000 killed last year, without so

much as 100 actual, verifiable alleged victims of extrajudicial killings, it was all right to bring the figure back down to the 3,000 or so reported by the only official repository of such data, the Philippine National Police.

Speaking of which, I learned that human rights are the monopoly of one political faction in Philippine politics identified with the previous administration. Violations of human rights cannot be invoked when the victims cannot swear to be against the current government.

This is similar to a realization I made last year that good news on the economic front is meaningless if it takes place under President Rodrigo Duterte. Apparently, improvements in the economy can be bandied about only if that is the only thing that you can point to by way of achievement—even if most of the time government had absolutely nothing to do with their taking place.

I discovered that it is all right to not know anything, even if you are the head of state with a reputation for knowing nothing. And after you admit that you are clueless, misinformed or other-

The people who describe themselves as ‘decent’ can dream up the most scandalous perfidy.

wise totally ignorant, this relieves you of the problem of taking responsibility for your actions.

I learned only last year that being in the political opposition clothes you with the

blanket authority to criticize everything, even if it exempts you from proposing anything better. (Please refer to the positions on various issues taken by Edcel Lagman and Antonio Trillanes.)

I learned that there is really no reason to have a vice president if the president is fully capable of performing his job. Of course, occupying the post of vice president has always been a particularly useless endeavor—it’s just that the current occupant highlighted the inutility of the job in the past year.

I became convinced that it’s no longer possible to simply assume that because something was reported in the mainstream press, it’s necessarily true. That goes double for media outlets that cannot seem to decide if they should continue looking down on mainstream because they “own the Internet” and are the vanguard of “new media” or to identify as mainstream when they get

criticized in social media.

Finally, I learned that the people who describe themselves as “decent” can dream up the most scandalous perfidy, like the Dengvaxia scandal.

Okay, so maybe I didn’t learn that last year, since I’ve been basically saying that for nearly a decade now.

What the dengue vaccine scandal only did was to remind me of the hypocrisy and greed of the Yellows. Who, I learned last year, are no longer Yellow but Black, White and totally red-faced in shame. *** I also learned that it’s possible for the Lower House of Congress to outperform the supposedly wiser, noisier and higher-profile Senate.

And that the people, through opinion surveys, are noticing that the bigger, traditionally less glamorous chamber is doing a better job at legislating.

The just-ended first regu-

lar session of the 17th Congress saw the Lower House pass a total of 428 bills and resolutions, including 30 bills that were signed into law. Among these are those providing free tuition in state universities and colleges and state-run technical-vocational institutions, expanding the coverage of free emergency health care services for indigent patients, free Internet access in public places and the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN).

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez noted that House members filed a total of 8,528 bills since the 17th Congress opened in July 2016, broken down into 6,911 bills and 1,617 resolutions.

Alvarez reported that the House processed a total of 2,100 measures from July 2016 to December 2017, or an average of 14 per day.

The various House committees managed to finish

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I have said in an earlier column that while there are upsides to the government’s tax reform program, there are also downsides.

TRAIN was precisely enacted and signed into law to rationalize the tax program of the government for the benefit of wage earners. It will also fund the Build Build Build infrastructure program and create jobs.

This is why President Rodrigo Duterte’s economic managers must conduct a massive information campaign for all sectors of the economy. I believe that ultimately, the advantages of the tax package will outweigh the disadvantages.

But these should be made clear to the poor! * * *( The Duterte administration should make these two things a priority in its campaign against illegal drugs.

Turn to A5

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Opinion

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte should launch a war of eradication against communist rebels in the Philippines.

It’s about time the government ended the longest communist rebellion in world. Fortunately, President Duterte has the political will to carry out this objective.

President Ramon Magsaysay was able to destroy the Russian-inspired communist insurgency in Central Luzon in the 1950s. It can be done again, this time against the Chinese-inspired communist rebellion led by Jose Ma. Sison, who lives a life of comfort and luxury in the Netherlands while his cadres fight it out in the mountains. Duterte says Sison is in bad health.

During his time, President Ferdinand Marcos was faced with a communist insurgency that drew its support from peasant farmers, laborers, and student activists.

The communists sowed chaos in the metropolis to embarrass Marcos. Years ago, former communist cadres revealed the role of Sison in the bombing of Plaza Miranda on Aug. 21, 1971—the site of the proclamation rally of the Liberal Party, which was the political opposition party at that time. As Sison wanted, everybody who was against the government blamed Marcos for the bombing. It was only in the 1990s when the role of Sison in that carnage was revealed.

When ex-Senator Jovito Salonga, who was among the seriously injured personalities of that incident, realized that Sison was to blame, the exsenator took back his public accusation that Marcos was the architect of the Plaza Miranda bombing.

Truth to tell, the problems of the peasant farmers began under President Manuel L. Quezon when he merely paid lip service to the lamentations of the tillers of the central plains. The problem persisted under President Manuel Roxas who enticed peasant leaders in Central Luzon to run for seats in Congress, and who later expelled them from the roll of legislators after their victory at the polling precincts.

To solve the problems of peasant farmers, President Marcos introduced land reform and agricultural development projects in the countryside. Vast landholdings were subdivided and farmers began owning the land they cultivated for decades. Marcos’ Masagana 99 project increased rice productivity in the country.

President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino also came up with her own brand of land reform, the comprehensive agrarian reform program, but her family’s vast Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac was virtually exempted from the CARP. When peasant farmers protested their plight in Mendiola, they were massacred. So much for land reform under the Aquinos.

During the Marcos administration, membership in Sison’s Communist Party of the Philippines was declared by law to be a criminal offense. In 1972, the constitutionality of that edict was sustained by the Supreme Court on the ground that the CPP subscribes to the violent and forceful overthrow of the duly-constituted government.

The martial law dragnet eventually captured Sison and several other communists like Bernabe Buscayno, also known as Commander Dante.

Other communist militants like Commander Melody surrendered to the government earlier, but he was killed by other communist militants.

Sison boldly proclaimed that because of martial law,

Marcos was the best recruiter for the CPP’s armed organization, the New People’s Army.

As expected in typical communist propaganda, Sison did not mention that NPA cadres in the countryside were raking in millions of pesos from their clandestine extortion of socalled “revolutionary taxes” from big and medium-scale industries, and even outright banditry.

When Mrs. Aquino seized power in 1986, she ordered the release of Sison and other communist leaders detained during the Marcos administration. After remaining in the country for a brief period and after going through the semblance of peace talks with the Aquino administration, Sison and his close associates escaped to the Netherlands— but not before Mrs. Aquino repealed the old law declaring membership in the CPP a criminal offense.

Indeed, through her collective acts, Mrs. Aquino gave Sison’s communist insurgency another chance to continue destabilizing the Philippine government—a problem that continues to bedevil the nation today.

Her son, President Benigno Aquino III used all his influence in Congress to cause the impeachment and removal from office of then Chief Justice Renato Corona some time after the Supreme Court lifted the last obstacle to placing Hacienda Luisita under the CARP. Aquino III also appointed to the government bureaucracy and the judiciary several names known for their left-leaning views and affiliations.

When President Duterte assumed office in July 2017, he offered peace to the NPA since he was the head of a brand new administration. As a gesture of goodwill, Duterte even allowed the conditional release of several detained communists so they can join top level peace talks in Norway. Those communists have not returned to the country since they left for Norway.

The communists reciprocated President Duterte’s goodwill gestures by creating stalemates in the peace talks, and by allowing armed attacks against government troops in the countryside, including soldiers assisting in disaster-relief operations.

Such duplicity and underhandedness forced Duterte to cancel further negotiations with the communists.

In fine, history was proved correct once again—that peace talks with communists will never get anywhere. Just look at North Korea. Endless negotiations with this troublesome communist state have gotten nowhere.

Withal, left-leaning party list representatives in Congress have embarked on an endless array of criticial remarks against President Duterte for his iron-fisted approach to the drug menace plaguing the country. They are oblivious that deaths are to be expected in a war against the drug syndicates and their collaborators.

Where were these legislators just as vocal when the CPPNPA cleaned their ranks of suspected traitors by butchering them en masse a number of years ago?

As an ideology, communism has failed. The Soviet Union and its European satellites are no more, Communist China is now engaged in capitalism. There is widespread government corruption in Vietnam and Cambodia. Cuba is a dinosaur in the new century, and everyone in the civilized world hates North Korea. Premises considered, communism in the Philippines must end.

What...

Sereno.

Alvarez pointed out that the people seem to be noticing and appreciating the industry of the House, as shown by the results of the latest Social Weather Stations survey covering the period of Dec. 8 to 16. The survey showed Alvarez’s net satisfaction rating improving from “neutral” to “moderate” at +14 (38 percent satisfied and 23 percent dissatisfied), up by six points from his rating of +8 in September.

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hearings on a multitude of issues, submitting a total of 552 committee reports.

These include hearings on investigations conducted in aid of legislation, which seem to tie up the Senate no end, and on the impeachment cases filed against resigned Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista and Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes

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mst.daydesk@gmail.com

High hopes

HAIL TO THE CHAIR VICTOR AVECILLA

An end to communism

TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2018

FORMATION GARY OLIVAR FILIPINOS are a happy, hopeful lot. That’s well known by now throughout the world, thanks to the millions of overseas workers who are our informal ambassadors everywhere.

Perhaps it’s in our genes.

More likely, it comes from the leavening influence of the Church on our innate Asian spirituality. Or maybe it’s just because all that sun has gone to our heads.

Going into the new year, Social Weather Stations reports from its December quarterly survey that 96 percent of all Filipinos are hopeful—instead of fearful—about 2018. That is by far the highest score ever posted since SWS first started asking this question in 2000.

What’s also remarkable is that this rating comes back-to-back behind a virtually similar 95 percent at the beginning of 2017. Despite Marawi, the typhoons, alleged EJKs, and all the other bad news that the doomsayers gleefully like to point out—in spite of all that, our people’s hopefulness has not dimmed. *** A big beneficiary from this optimism—as well as perhaps a big reason for it—is the President. As we pointed out last week, his net satisfaction ratings improved from “good” in September to “very good” in December, especially in “balance of Luzon,” his weakest region, where he

added a net 14 points.

But it isn’t just Duterte who benefited. There seems to be an upswell of positive sentiment about the rest of government, according to SWS: Like Duterte, the Senate’s net satisfaction ratings also jumped, by 10 points, from “good” to “very good,” with Senate President Pimentel scoring a new personal high.

The House’s net ratings also improved by 10 points, with Speaker Alvarez jumping from “neutral” to “moderate” status.

Both the Supreme Court and the Cabinet gained by 6 points each.

Unfortunately for her, Chief Justice Sereno’s ratings again dropped to +6 in December, from +9 in September and +21 in June.

With the majority of justices now on record as opposing her in the impeachment proceedings, it shouldn’t surprise that she’s paying for it with her increasing unpopularity.

This year, fuel and food prices may inch up partly because of additional excise taxes under tax reform.

But the poor and the middle class will begin to enjoy the benefit of lower or no income taxes later in the year.

Ground will start breaking for all those infrastructure projects promised by Duterte’s men.

Congress will start deliberating on a new Constitution that carries the promise, not just of federalism, but also of a much-liberalized economy that can finally catch up with the rest of the region. All in all, our people’s hopefulness looks eminently reasonable.

*** Of course the critics will have something entirely different to say about this—and thankfully so. Were they to remain silent, Duterte would just be pilloried for silencing them and killing democracy.

Which is exactly what he was accused of by an obscure group in the US who style themselves the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. This year they decided to name Duterte their “Person of the Year” as “the individual who has done the most in the world to advance organized criminal activity and corruption.”

This self-conscious attempt at satire charges that the country has become “more corrupt, more cruel, and less democratic” under Duterte. Given his popularity, you have to wonder if this criticism is actually a swipe by patronizing Westerners at the natives who don’t know any better and have to be saved from themselves.

One local leader who would hugely enjoy this kind of Western company is Senator Trillanes, the undistinguished junior officer, mutineer and coup plotter who’s made a career out of attacking a laws-based order that he barely seems to understand even if he’s responsible for crafting those same laws.

The senator is now threatened with a civil suit by two of Duterte’s relatives for linking them to a recent drug-smuggling bust. But instead of rejoicing at the opportunity to show his evidence in court, this chronic harasser of ordinary citizens in his grandstanding Senate

inquiries—claims he’s being harassed!

Trillanes declaimed that “I have made it my life’s mission to make this murderous and corrupt [Duterte] clan accountable for its actions.”

Well, good luck with that, Mister Caped Crusader. *** Much more restrained— and more effective—was the recent criticism of the administration by the country’s bishops, now led by Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles, who is understandably no enemy of the President.

In their latest statement, the CBCP asserted that “we wish the President success.

The Church also wants the drug problem eradicated.”

What they objected to is the practice of “killing suspects like chickens,” adding that “if killings are rampant, the public should express some amount of disgust.”

This is a problem that doesn’t come up only in drug-related killings. Over the week-end, a bunch of Mandaluyong cops and barangay tanods pumped 40 bullets into a van that was rushing an injured female construction worker to the hospital. She and her lover were killed on the spot, with two others seriously injured.

The response of Metro Manila’s top cop, two-star Police Director Oscar Albayalde, was swift and unforgiving: Immediate suspension of the Mandaluyong police chief and all the officers involved. It may be recalled that Albayalde was also responsible for suspending the entire Caloocan police force over the

alleged EJK’s of teenagers a while back.

Unfortunately for us, any rot in the PNP organization may be so deep-rooted that it surfaces like an abscess only in tragedies like this.

When it does, like any abscess, it must be thoroughly lanced so all the pus runs out, no matter how painful it may be. With the PNP poised to resume drug war duties, this is a prospect that we ought to be hopeful, not fearful, about. *** It’s already the afternoon of Dec. 31st as I’m writing this piece, and so far I haven’t heard a single firecracker go off in our San Juan neighborhood. We have the President to thank for this year’s strict ban. It’s an annual gunpowder orgy that I’d gladly give up just to spare innocent children from risk to life and limb caused by unmindful adherence to a Chinese superstition.

We also have Duterte to thank for declaring December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, as a new non-working holiday in this heavily Marian country.

If the bishops thank the President properly for this, he might even be persuaded to go along with the idea of consecrating the entire country to the Blessed Mother—as the countdown continues towards the semimillennial anniversary of the Church in our country, and as the world heedlessly spirals downward to the nether depths.

Readers can write me at gbolivar1952@yahoo.com.

A year of danger and opportunity AS HAS been frequently emphasized, the Chinese character for crisis has two meanings—danger and opportunity. Let’s be ready for both in 2018: face the dangers we will meet and wrestle the opportunities for good from them to come out.

In the Dec. 28, 2017 issue of the Washington Post, American political pundit Joe Scarborough writes ominously: “A storm is gathering, and there is every reason to believe that 2018 will be the most consequential political year of our lives.” Scarborough makes a reference to Winston Churchill’s obra maestra “The Gathering Storm,” quoting a Republican strategist Steve Schmidt’s insistence to him that “Churchill’s ominous warnings to future generations will be more relevant to 2018 than at any time since it was written in the years after World War II.” Globally, it is no longer out of the question that war could break out anytime in the Korean peninsula with hundreds of thousands, even millions, of potential casualty. In the meantime, the Middle East smolders with tensions rising with such reckless decisions as the United States did in recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

While ISIS seems to have been rolled back in Syria and Iraq, terrorism has not been defeated and attacks from religious extremists, especially “lone wolf” attacks, are still expected.

Closer to home, in the Philippines there are many dangers to watch out for.

If you were in a poor urban neighborhood, the chances

We...

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First of all, there must be a massive buildup of community-based rehabilitation centers nationwide.

Mr. Duterte should seek the help of the private sector.

The cost of such centers is staggering.

I know for a fact that unless the demand for illegal drugs is stopped, supply will continue to flow and the menace will not end.

I hate to say this, but the strategy of the President in going after pushers and us-

of getting killed in the war against drugs is high. Keep watch on your children especially Kian, Carl, and Kulot are not going to be the last victims of a trigger-happy police, emboldened by assurances of the highest official in the land that he will stand by them as long as they are just doing their duty. Such assurance is fine except when the presumption of regularity is mistakenly misapplied. The rule is that every killing by law enforcers is presumed irregular and thus has to be investigated. Only after investigation are the policemen cleared.

Unfortunately, we have distorted the rule and now automatically exonerate the police until proof is shown that the force used was not justified.

A trigger-happy police leads to incidents like the shooting of innocent people last week day in Mandaluyong. For sure, there will be more of that in the year to come unless strong disciplinary measures are taken and well established protocols in the use of force are restored.

I would have thought that we have already learned to manage and respond to natural disasters. But the experience of Vinta and the way government responded to it, with 200 or so casualties, has been disastrous (pun intended). Have we abandoned zero casualty as our goal? Are we back to fatalism as President Duterte seemed to imply in one of his post-Vinta statements? Are we again going to blame victims for not heeding warnings when we already have a lot of experience of compulsory, preemptive evacuation?

It is not enough to just give notice and information to people. One must be aggressive in making the dangers known and taking measures to save lives.

That is why the award-winning

City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) of Cagayan de Oro was once again successful in achieving zero casualty when Vinta hit our hometown. Since I live by the Cagayan river, and was there on the eve of the storm, I saw CDRRMC’s preparations and congratulate them for their efforts.

Clearly Cagayan de Oro has learned from the lessons of Sendong which killed thousands of residents in 2011.

They have heeded the advice posted in Facebook by former Project Noah director Mahar Lagmay and now UP Resilience Institute for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (UPIRDRRM) head: “Let us not ignore the knowledge learned through the years. They are valuable and can save lives!”

Going now to politics, I suspect 2018 could be a very dangerous year for social and political activists, human rights advocates, journalists committed to truth, and opposition politicians.

Both forces of the government and non-state supporters of the Duterte administration are determined to quell criticism and legitimate debate, confident that the President is taking the country in the right direction. They believe that all those standing in the way are just obstructionists that need to be swept away. They do not understand that the more they attack those who resist, the stronger the resistance becomes.

I will not be surprised if the President declares a revolutionary government or if the House of Representatives, with or without the cooperation of the Senate and deviating from the recognized procedure of constitutional change, rams through a constitutional revision that would at the outset not

be legitimate.

Under both scenarios, the Supreme Court will be the forum of last resort to prevent dictatorship or other unconstitutional regime change. While many are skeptical, I believe that there are enough members of the Court who will have the courage to do the right thing.

I hope that the Court, in the pending cases questioning the government policy in the war against drugs, will decisively order the end of the massacre of the poor.

I hope that the administration will then modify current policy that would lead to less bloodshed, zero casualty in fact, and more interdiction of big drug syndicates and expansion of rehabilitation and treatment programs.

In front of all these dangers, the only response possible is to do our duty as human beings and as Filipinos.

In my case, I will respond as a leader, teacher, thinker, and lawyer, one committed to an absolute respect for human rights and to work passionately for social, climate, and environmental justice.

I am not partisan for or against the Duterte administration. There are things I support in what the government is doing. There are things I do not like. I will continue to keep that independent stance in 2018 and make sure that I bring a balanced and objective perspective in my writing, teaching, and in my legal and policy work. If granted an opportunity to take an academic leadership role, independence, balance, and objectivity will also be my stance.

I will certainly fight for democracy. Like Churchill, I believe that “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.”

If constitutional change were pursued properly, I am

open to it as I think the current constitutional framework has already outlived its usefulness. In principle, I support federalism and a mixed presidential and parliamentary system that is bicameral and with a Senate that is elected regionally.

In the economic realm, there are also definitely opportunities to bring the country to the right direction. We should engage constructively with the Duterte government to make TRAIN and Build Build Build work for the people.

In the environmental, climate change, and energy sectors, there are also good opportunities for better outcomes. We should work with the administration so that these can be maximized.

In politics, nothing is constant. In this country, change can come very quickly. People in power now should know better, that they will be not be there forever.

When change does come, we must maximize the opportunities for reform before the forces of reaction catch up again.

In The Gathering Storm, Churchill warns: “To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.”

I suspect 2018 could be our finest hour as a people. Let’s step up to the challenge and build a better country. Indeed, in 2018, another Philippines is possible.

Happy New Year, everyone!

ers will not stop the illegal trade.

The second thing is that there should be more jails.

Congestion rate has gone up by 595 percent.

Photos of jails here in Metro Manila tell us that inmates sleep almost naked because of the lack of ventilation in their cells.

Just hear these statistics and weep: When Mr. Duterte assumed office in June 2016, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology recorded around 110,000 inmates in different detention facilities across the country.

By the end of 2017, the number has ballooned to 149,000. The Manila City Jail has the highest number of inmates at 5,789, followed by Cebu City with 4,995 and Davao City with 3,345.

Based on records, 106,434 inmates are held on drug charges.

The problem right now is that more people are coming in than going out.

Government has long neglected the relocation of the national penitentiary. I wonder why. Perhaps Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II can answer my

question?

the bottom line is clear – she has been found lacking in moral integrity. *** Another problem that the Duterte administration should deal with this year is the traffic gridlock. There are simply not enough roads for the hundreds of thousands of vehicles registered every year.

There are also daily glitches in the MRT because of poor maintenance.

The Duterte administration van no longer say it just inherited the problem. It has been in power for more than a year!

*** Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno must take a serious look at her impeachment case now pending at the House Committee on Justice.

With no less than three incumbent and one retired associate justice testifying against her, she may have a difficult time establishing her innocence. Sereno and her lawyers must decide which way to go after all this.

I know that the lawyers of Sereno want her to fight her impeachment case. But

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tuesday, january 2, 2018

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‘Smoke-belching factories still up’

By Rio N. Araja

E

NVIRONMENTALISTS on Monday said several smoke-belching factories still continue operating despite the absence of the required permit to operate and environmental clearance certificate from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Environmental Management Bureau.

“We were shocked to discover that smoke-belching factories are continuously operating in our country without the required documents from the government.

Even worst, some of them do not possess the mandatory ECC,” said Manuel Galvez, Clean Air Philippines Movement Inc. president.

“The massive air pollution coming from such factories poses as a clear and present danger not only to the environment, but also to the health and life of factory workers inside the establishments, as well as the people in the community where the factories are located,” Galvez added.

He was referring to factories run by Melter Steel Corp., Real Steel Corp., Wan Chiong Steel Corp., Davao Mighty Steel Corp. and MetroDragon Steel Corp., for violation of the Clean Air Act and the provisions in the ECC’s environmental impact assessment plan.

“We filed the necessary complaints against certain smoke-belching factories nationwide months ago, but until now we are still awaiting the decisive action of EMB to swiftly resolve the deadly air pollution that the factories are producing,” Galvez said.

“On behalf of the unwilling victims who are continuously being exposed to

the dangerous air pollution from these establishments, we are appealing to government to immediately put a stop to this environmental crime,” he added.

“Each day of inaction clearly results in another day of life-threatening air pollution exposure that our people are subjected to,” Galvez said.

One out of every six premature deaths in the world, or about nine million, could be attributed to disease from toxic exposure, according to a major study released in 2015 in the Lancet medical journal.

The financial cost from pollution-related death, sickness

and welfare is equally massive, the report said, costing some $4.6 trillion in annual losses, or about 6.2 percent of the global economy.

“There’s been a lot of study of pollution, but it’s never received the resources or level of attention as, say, AIDS or climate change,” said epidemiologist Philip Landrigan, dean of global health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, and the lead author on the report.

The report marks the first attempt to pull together data on disease and death caused by all forms of pollution combined.

“Pollution is a massive problem that people aren’t

seeing because they’re looking at scattered bits of it,”’ Landrigan said.

Experts say the nine million premature deaths the study found was just a partial estimate, and the number of people killed by pollution is undoubtedly higher and will be quantified once more research is done and new methods of assessing harmful impacts are developed.

Areas like Sub-Saharan Africa have yet to even set up air pollution monitoring systems, the Lancet report added. Soil pollution has received scant attention.

And there are still plenty of potential toxins still being ignored, with less than half

of the 5,000 new chemicals widely dispersed throughout the environment since 1950 having been tested for safety or toxicity.

“In the West, we got the lead out of the gasoline, so we thought lead was handled. We got rid of the burning rivers, cleaned up the worst of the toxic sites. And then all of those discussions went into the background”’ just as industry began booming in developing nations, said Richard Fuller, head of the global toxic watchdog Pure Earth and one of the 47 scientists, policy makers and public health experts who contributed to the 51-page report.

MMDA suspends number-coding today

By Joel E. Zurbano THE Metro Manila Development Authority has suspended the number coding scheme for both public and private vehicles for today, as the agency prepares for the heavy traffic of people going back to Metro Manila following the holiday break.

“The UVVRP [Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program] or number coding scheme is suspended for private and public utility vehicles on Tuesday, January 2,” the MMDA said in an advisory.

Vacationers and the bulk of passengers coming from the provinces were expected to arrive in the metropolis beginning late Monday afternoon.

The suspension will allow bus companies to use all their available units to fetch passengers from the provinces in Southern and Northern Luzon back to Metro Manila, but it will create traffic since more

vehicles will be on the roads, the agency said.

MMDA supervising officer for operation Edison Nebrija Jr. said they will deploy 2,400 personnel from various units of the agency to manage the traffic flow in Metro Manila. Of those personnel, 500 of them will be assigned to Edsa.

“No day-off, no holiday and no absent policy is still in effect. But we are not expecting exodus until Jan. 2,” Nebrija said.

Most of the enforcers to be deployed will be assigned to man traffic in the areas of Balintawak, Commonwealth and Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, he added.

“We also have clearing operations in Q-Mart [in Quezon City] and Baclaran [in Parañaque] areas,” Nebrija said.

The MMDA earlier sent out night-shift traffic enforcers in anticipation of heavy traffic in the metropolis days before Christmas Day.

TRASH HEAP. Garbage of all kinds litters the street in front of the Zapote Market in Bacoor, Cavite on New Year’s Day. Norman Cruz

Filipino doctor accused of groping patient in Connecticut sent home

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan A FILIPINO physician, who was accused of sexually assaulting a male patient at a hospital in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 2016, is being sent home to the country after entering a one-year special probation program under a United States court.

Dr. Louie Mar Gangcuangco, 31, was accused of groping his 53-year-old patient during a physical ex-

amination. He was placed under the probation program on Dec. 19 before being sent home by an American court.

“He is going back to the Philippines where he is not likely to offend again,” lawyer Sean Barrett, Gangcuangco’s legal counsel, told Connecticut Superior Court Judge Maureen Dennis.

Dennis granted Gangcuangco’s request for accelerated rehabilitation, a pretrial program for people accused of nonviolent

crimes, according to a Connecticut Post report.

The Post reported that Gangcuangco did not plead guilty to fourth-degree sexual assault charges against him. With the one-year probation, Gangcuangco’s original charge could be dismissed if he does not get rearrested during the probationary period, it added.

In a statement he posted on the website Scribd, the doctor said he was “maliciously accused” by the pa-

tient, said it was “absolutely not true” and he had pleaded “not guilty” to the act.

Gangcuangco said it was a “very busy clinic day” when it happened. “I had to perform a full physical exam on the patient because he was due for a yearly check-up and had abnormal lab results that needed a groin exam.”

The patient consented to the exam and scheduled a follow-up appointment after three months, the doctor said, but a week later, the

patient “started harassing me on the phone accusing me ‘why did you do that?’”

“I repeatedly denied his allegations. A few weeks later, I was shocked to see that I had a warrant of arrest,” Gangcuangco added.

The reasons for the “false accusation” became clear, he said, when the doctor hired an investigator to perform a background check on the victim.

“We found out that he has an extensive criminal history of violent crimes,

including multiple counts of murder, that I even fear (sic) for my own safety,” Gangcuangco said. “My lawyer told me that the patient allegedly wanted hundreds of thousands of dollars to let the case go. I am innocent and I vowed to clear my name.”

According to a Wikipedia entry, Gangcuangco is “an HIV researcher, best-selling novelist, and one of the youngest licensed physicians from the Philippines.”

House bill wants to regulate criminology

By Maricel V. Cruz A PANEL in the House of Representatives has recommended for plenary action a substitute bill seeking to regulate the practice of the criminology profession in the country, through the creation of the Professional Regulatory Board of Criminologists.

The House committee on appropriations, chaired

by Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles, retained the funding provision of the substitute bill, which provides that the chairperson of the Professional Regulation Commission shall include in its programs the implementation of the proposed law, the funding of which shall be included in the commission’s annual General Appropriations Act. The committee recently approved the bill titled “The Philippine Criminology Pro-

fession Act,” which seeks to repeal Republic Act 6506 or “An Act Creating the Board of Examiners for Criminologists in the Philippines.”

The bill provides that the State recognizes the importance of the criminology profession in national security, public safety, peace and order, and in nation-building and development.

Nograles, one of the bill’s authors, said the State “shall develop and nurture competent, virtuous, productive and well-rounded criminologists whose standards of professional practice and service shall be at par with the Philippine Qualifications Framework: excellent; qualitative; world-class and globally competitive through honest and credible licensure examinations, coupled with programs and activities that would promote professional growth and development.”

FORTUNE TOLD. A fortune teller performs a tarot card reading for a customer wanting to know his future in 2018 in front of the Quiapo Church in Manila on New Year’s Day. Norman Cruz

Tesda vows more aid for Marawi THE Technical Education and Skills Development Authority has vowed to continue helping in the rehabilitation of Marawi City, which was besieged by terrorists linked with the Islamic State in 2017.

Tesda Director-General Guiling Mamondiong cited some of the agency’s programs and efforts to assist the war-torn city in Lanao del Sur. “There’s still so much work to be done for Marawi, and Tesda is fully committed and determined to help rebuild the battlescarred city to its former glory,” said Mamondiong.

In his 2017 annual accomplishment report, Mamondiong said that Tesda has spent a total of P49.69 million for training 6,801 internally-displaced people or IDPs in Marawi City.

At least 3,176 persons trained under the Massive Skills Training Program for IDPs worth P42.05 million, covering free training, assessment, training support fund and toolkits.

An additional 1,500 persons were trained under the communitybased training interventions for IDPs costing P1.18 million.

A total of 2,125 people also trained under the Program for Accelerating Farm School Establishment worth P6.46 million.

Mamondiong also promised to carry on Tesda’s commitments to help in the effort to rebuild Marawi.

Sports

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2018 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

N Korea in Winter Olympics possible, says Kim Jong-Un S

EOUL—Kim Jong-Un on Monday gave the first indication that North Korea could participate in next month’s Winter Olympics in the South, despite tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme.

“I sincerely hope the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics will be staged successfully,” said Kim, the North Korean leader, in his new year’s address to the nation.

“We are willing to take necessary measures including to dispatch our delegation.

“For this purpose, authorities of the North and South would be able to meet in the near future,” he said.

Lee Hee-Beom, the head of the Pyeongchang Olympic Organising Committee welcomed Kim’s comments.

“We actively welcome the North’s suggestion that it is willing to engage in talks for the par-

ticipation in the Olympics”, Lee told AFP. “We’ve been preparing for the Olympics on the assumption that the North will eventually take part in the games”, he said, adding that all athletes, including North Koreans, would feel at home during their stay in Pyeongchang.

‘Peace Olympics’ He said relevant government authorities of the two Koreas should hold talks to discuss details although there was no immediate response from the South’s government.

Seoul and organizers have billed the Winter Games which begin on February 9 as a “peace Olympics”

and have been keen for the North to take part.

Two North Korean athletes— pairs figure skaters Ryom Tae-Ok and Kim Ju-Sik—have qualified for the Games but the North Korean Olympic Committee missed an October 30 deadline to confirm to the International Skating Union that they would participate.

The pair could still compete if given an invitation by the International Olympic Committee.

The Winter Olympic main venues are just 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the heavily fortified border with the North and the build-up to the event has been overshadowed by tensions running high over the Pyongyang’s escalating nuclear and missile tests.

Kim said the Olympics would “serve as a good chance to display our Korean people’s grace

toward the world.”

“The year 2018 is a significant year for both the North and the South, with the North marking the 70th anniversary of its birth and the South hosting the Winter Olympics.”

‘Unstable state’ Kim did strike one note of caution. “The sharp military tension between the North and the South must be eased and a peaceful atmosphere should be in place,” he said.

“As long as an unstable state which is neither a war nor peace continues, the North and the South cannot guarantee their scheduled events (including the Olympics) will be successfully staged, sit down for talks or move forward for reunification.”

Professor Kim Hyun-Wook at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy said the North

was trying to use the Olympics to improve ties with the South while tensions with the US show no signs of abating.

“The US will find it awkward to put brakes on inter-Korean dialogue focused on Pyeongchang,” he said.

North Korea’s past participation in sporting events in the South has largely depended on the political and military situation, though they did send a full team to the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, near Seoul.

“It is quite noteworthy that the North’s leader himself says the North is willing to participate in Pyeongchang,” Professor Yang Moo-Jin of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul told AFP. “The chances of the North coming to the Olympics now seem to be more than 80 percent.” AFP

Rockets end skid; Harden out with hamstring injury LOS ANGELES—The Houston Rockets take some good news—and perhaps some bad—into 2018 after snapping their fivegame NBA losing streak with a 148-142 double-overtime victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

James Harden scored 40 points but departed in the final minute of regulation with a hamstring injury.

Point guard Chris Paul scored 15 of his 28 points in the two overtime periods to carry Houston to a much-needed win on their home floor.

Paul played a part in four straight baskets in the first extra period, but Lakers forward Brandon Ingram made two free throws with eight-tenths of a second remaining to force the second.

In the second extra session, Paul made six free throws in the final minute and Houston took the lead for good on a second-chance basket by reserve forward P.J. Tucker -- his only points in the contest.

Moments later Tucker swatted away a three-point attempt by the Lakers Kyle Kuzma.

Trevor Ariza scored 26 points for Houston, who trailed by as many as 17 points.

The sight of Harden limping off must have tempered the Rockets’ pleasure in snapping their skid.

Houston coach Mike D’Antoni said it was too early to speculate about the sever-

ity of Harden’s injury.

“I don’t think we’ll know until (Monday),” D’Antoni said. “I don’t think they’ll be able to assess it until (Monday) morning.”

Williams fuels Clippers In Los Angeles, Lou Williams came off the bench to score 40 points and propel the Clippers to a 106-98 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

“He was just a nightmare tonight,” Charlotte forward Frank Kaminsky said of Williams. “He started hitting (threepointers) early, so we start getting up on his screen.

“He starts driving to the rim, and then he’s getting fouled.”

Williams scored 16 points in the first quarter as the Clippers seized the lead.

But the Hornets held them to just 13 points in the second period while fashioning a 28-7 scoring run that put Charlotte up by as many as 14.

Charlotte led by 10 at the interval, but Blake Griffin scored 14 of his 25 points in a third quarter dominated 33-14 by Los Angeles.

While the Hornets remained within striking distance in the fourth, they never got the deficit below four points.

The Boston Celtics held off the determined Brooklyn Nets 108-105 to notch their 30th win of the season. AFP

Chris Paul of the Houston Rockets handles the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. AFP

Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Falcons advance in NFL LOS ANGELES—The Buffalo Bills are headed back to the NFL playoffs for the first time since 1999 thanks to a 22-16 win over the Miami Dolphins in their regular-season finale on Sunday—and a little help from the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bengals stunned the Ravens in Baltimore, where a win would have sent the hosts into the post-season and eliminated the Bills.

The Ravens had rallied from a 24-10 third-quarter deficit and led 27-24 when Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton connected with Tyler Boyd for a touchdown on fourth down and 12 yards with 44 seconds remaining.

Prior to Sunday, the Bills had the longest active playoff drought

in all four major US team sports.

They had done all they could with their win in Miami, despite a third-quarter ankle injury to six-time Pro Bowl running back LeSean McCoy. The Dolphins threatened late with 13 straight points. Miami recovered an onside kick with 1:52 remaining, but Bills safety Jordan Poyer came up with an interception to seal the win, and when the Bengals produced their late-game heroics Buffalo had the sixth and final AFC playoff spot.

“I watched the end of the Bengals game next to (McCoy),” Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor said. “I can’t even think of the words to describe what our locker room was like.

“The best part is that this is just the beginning.”

Bills head coach Sean McDermott relished the “emotional moment.”

“No one gave this team a chance all year long,” McDermott said. “Our fans have been great all season long, and I’m looking forward to seeing them at our playoff game.”

The Tennessee Titans had booked their AFC wild card in more straightforward fashion, holding on for a 15-10 victory over the AFC South champion Jacksonville Jaguars—who will host Buffalo next week.

Ryan Succop booted three field goals and quarterback Marcus Mariota found Derrick Henry with a 66-yard touchdown

pass and the Titans defense delivered a strong performance to put Tennessee back in the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

The Titans booked a firstround clash in Kansas City, and also extinguished the hopes of the Los Angeles Chargers, whose 30-10 win over the Oakland Raiders proved insufficient.

As four teams scrambled for the last two AFC spots, the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots locked up homefield advantage as the top seed in the conference with a 26-6 victory over the New York Jets.

Superstar quarterback Tom Brady and the Pats, already assured of the AFC East division title and a first-round bye, secured the No. 1 seed for the second

straight season and the seventh time overall.

“That’s what we’re playing for, and that’s all that really matters,” Brady said.

New England’s victory over the lowly Jets, in frigid weather in Foxboro, Massachusetts, meant the Pittsburgh Steelers settled for the second seed in the AFC, despite a 28-24 victory over the hapless Cleveland Browns.

In another game played in arctic conditions, the Steelers rested quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and running back Le’Veon Bell.

Even so, the Browns claimed a dubious place in NFL history, joining the 2008 Detroit Lions as the only teams to finish an NFL season 0-16. AFP

Tight finish seen in PH Am Open

Tom Kim looms as the player to beat in the men’s division.

THE 2018 Philippine Amateur Open Championship reels off Thursday (Jan. 4) at the Riviera Golf Club with fierce battle seen in both the men’s and women’s sides after lopsided results in both categories last year.

With a huge field of 116, including the rising and leading amateurs from Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Canada and the US, the chase for the country’s premier amateur crowns could go down to the last putt on Sunday at Riviera’s Couples layout.

Tom Kim looms as the player to beat in the men’s division owing to his local knowledge of the par-72 layout with the young Korean out to make up for his seven-stroke defeat to absentee Thai Sadom Kaewkanjana last year.

But a slew of local aces also primed themselves up during the short holiday break with Aniceta Mandanas and Carl Corpus, who placed fourth and fifth, respectively, last year leading the local challenge in the 72-hole championship sponsored by the MVP Sports Foundation and held as part of the PLDT Group National Amateur Golf Tour.

Rupert Zaragosa, Judson Eustaquio, Kristoffer Arevalo, Luis Castro, Aidric Chan, Weiwei Gao, Gab Manotoc, Paolo Wong and Don Petil also in the hunt, ready to do battle against a crack international field headed by Kim Dong Hyun and Lim Su Min of Korea, Malaysians Muhammad Afif Mohd Fathi and Rhaasrikanesh A/L Kanavathi, and Brandon Han, Donovan Lee,

Sean Lee and Jeryl Tan of Singapore.

The same tight finish is also expected in women’s play with Kim Hee Ji likewise raring to atone for her nine-shot defeat to absentee Yuka Saso last year.

But the Korean faces an uphill battle against a bunch of talented local rivals, led by local aces Harmie Constantino, winner here in 2016, Nicole Abelar, Annika Cedo, Kristine Torralba, Kayla Nocum, Junia Gabasa, last year’s Porter Cup winner Lois Go and recent Malaysian Junior Open champion Mikha Fortuna.

Korean Hwang Min Jeong, who has won a tournament on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour, a pro circuit, is also tipped to contend for the crown in the event organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines. AFP

Galaxy Battles deliver biggest DotA tilt FALLOUT Gaming and Purpose Win Entertainment Limited are ready to kick off 2018 with the biggest DotA 2 (Defense of the Ancients 2) Major in the Philippines, Galaxy Battles II: Emerging Worlds.

Sixteen teams from all over the world will square off for a total prize pool of US$1,000,000.00.

The event will take place from Jan. 19 to 2 at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.

The first Galaxy Battles took place in June 2017 to a sold-out crowd at the Shenzen Bay Sports Centre, in Shenzen, China.

Eight teams went headto-head in a series of round robin matches for the chance to win a total prize pool of $150,000.00.

In the end, it was Team Newbee that took home the victory and the distinction as the first-ever Galaxy Battles champion.

Galaxy Battles II: Emerging Worlds is shap i ng up to be t he biggest major DotA 2 Tournament in 2018. The tournament will span a total of three days and will showcase 16 teams from Asia, Europe, North America, and South America.

Participating teams include Infamous, Red Bull OG, TNC Pro Team Team LFY, Evil Geniuses, Team Liquid, Virtus.Pro and Team Newbee.

“In less than a decade, we’ve seen the most growth in esports throughout Southeast Asia. More companies are now working together to materialize their vision; the realization that the need to work together more is what makes any industry succeed. With Galaxy Battles II: Emerging Worlds on the horizon, Fallout Gaming and its partners are excited to bring this event to the heart of DotA 2 in the Philippines.

Let’s grow esports together,” said Adrian Gaffor, Managing Director for Fallout Gaming.

Fifa claims try to contact doping whistleblower

PARIS—FIFA tried to contact Russian whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov over accusations of doping in Russian football and will do so again after samples have been re-tested by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), world football’s governing body told AFP. In an interview to the Associated Press, Rodchenkov’s lawyer said his client had information that could be of interest but claimed FIFA had not made any attempt to contact the man who was the source of revelations about state-sponsored doping in the host nation of the 2018 World Cup. Contacted by AFP, FIFA said they had tried to get hold of Rodchenkov via WADA before November 22 this year, only to be told he was not available.

Now FIFA are waiting for WADA’s reanalysis of doping tests, which they expect to begin in mid-January.

“The process is ongoing and FIFA will contact Dr Rodchenkov via the agreed channel when the time is right,” world football’s governing body said.

Rodchenkov is the former director of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory. He fled to the United States in 2016 saying he feared for his life after the sudden death of two senior officials in the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA).

He then provided information which led to an investigation of doping at the Sochi Winter Games in 2014.

Since then, Russian athletes have been banned from the Rio Olympics in 2016 and Russia has been barred from participating at February’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, though athletes who are deemed “clean” can compete under the Olympic flag.

The spotlight has turned to possible cases of doping in football with Russia set to host the World Cup in June and July.

However, FIFA president Gianni Infantino insisted earlier this month that all tests carried out thus far had come back negative.

“If you would have a serious doping issue in football this would be known by now, whether in Russia or any other country of the world,” Infantino said in Moscow prior to the draw for the World Cup on December 1. AFP

Sports

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

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Pagdanganan eyes Ladies Open repeat

TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2018

Bianca Pagdanganan is wary of a crack international field in the Champion Infinity Philippine Ladies Amateur Open 2018.

Big plans for Melindo even after his setback

By Randy Caluag

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LA Boxing has big plans for one its top boxers, Milan Melindo, and it looks like nothing much has changed even after he lost his title unification bout to Japanese Ryoichi Taguchi in Tokyo, Japan on New Year’s Eve.

Boxing Association for the seventh time.

Despite the loss, the year that had just passed was still a good one for Melindo, who took his first world title in his third attempt last May following a first-round TKO win over Akira Yaegashi, also in Japan.

Last September, Melindo successfully defended the title against Hekkie Budler with a split decision win.

Villamor, quoting from a site named livepositive11, figuratively gave a glimpse of what to expect from Team Melindo next year.

“Don’t cry over the past, it’s gone. Don’t stress about the future, it hasn’t arrived.

Live in the present and make it beautiful,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, Anthony Joshua said Sunday that talks over a March fight with Joseph Parker are 95 per cent complete as the British boxer bids to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

The 28-year-old currently holds three of the five heavyweight titles, having this year added the WBA and IBO belts to the IBF belt he won in 2016.

He aspires to become the first boxer in history to hold all five titles and thinks a deal to fight WBO champion Parker in the next few months is close.

“What I think can be a reality is, I want to fight for the other championship belts,” Joshua told BBC Five Live when asked what his ambitions were for 2018.

“There’s only two left, I have three. There’s five on the table and I have three of them, I want to fight for the fourth one, the WBO heavyweight championship of the world.”

“I think we’re 95 percent of the way there with completing with Joseph Parker,” he added.

When asked when a fight with the New Zealander would take place and if it would be on British soil, Joshua added: “End of March, I would say.

BIANCA Pagdanganan sets out for the Champion Infinity Philippine Ladies Amateur Open 2018 wary of a crack international field but hopeful of a title repeat when the 56th staging of the country’s premier championship is fired off Jan. 10.

Pagdanganan put up a threeday display of brilliant shotmaking, iron play and putting and ran away with a record nine-stroke romp over Thai ace Atthaya Thithikul on a stirring 16-under 200 total, also a new PLO mark, at Wack Wack’s West course last year.

But the Gonzaga University mainstay faces a tougher set of rivals this time, led by a young but talented Thai delegation along with young aces from Taiwan, Singapore and Japan and a local crew spearheaded by the seasoned Yuka Saso and Harmie Constantino.

Meanwhile, registration is still open with fee pegged at P8,500 for locals and $250 for foreigners. For details, email maisa_catindig@yahoo.com, secretariat@wgap-golf.com.

The Orchard’s Palmer Course is also expected to provide a different kind of challenge for the competing field, which includes 20 players in the Open division, another 20 in the Class A and 22 in Class B, according to the organizing Women’s Golf Association of the Philippines.

Backers of the event are Champion Infinity, Eva Air,

San Miguel Corp., Metro Pacific, Atty. Gilberto Duavit, Inquirer, Alveo Land, NGAP, Golfer’s Club Shares, Inc., Province of Cavite, Luisita Golf and Country Club, Mileage Asia, Vermogen, Golf Depot, Orchard Golf and Country Club, Alabang Ladies Chapter, Forest Hills GCC, Tagaytay Highlands, Sta. Elena Golf Club, Manila Golf Club and Canlubang GCC with TIB Taishan and The Turf Company-Texas Eagle as hole-in-one sponsors.

In dominating the field and scoring her breakthrough PLO win, Pagdanganan dropped just two bogeys against 19 birdies in three days. She took control by two after 18 holes, padded it to five in the second then led by as many as 11 in one stretch of the final day before posting the most lopsided win in recent years of the annual event that had seen a number of endgame thrillers, including Princess Superal’s one-stroke escape over Pauline Del Rosario and Saso at Midlands in 2016.

But Pagdanganan braces for a tough challenge from the likes of Onkanok Soisuwan, Pimkwan Chookaew, Kultida Pramphun, Phannarai Meesom-Us and Pinkaew Trachuentong of Thailand, Shannon Tan, Callista Chen and Hailey Loy of Singapore and Japanese Chieri Mabuchi and Tae Saito.

Halep, Sharapova off to flying starts

SHENZHEN—World number one Simona Halep began the year in emphatic style with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Nicole Gibbs as Maria Sharapova also romped through her firstround match at the Shenzhen Open on Monday.

Romania’s Halep, who will be seeking her maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in two weeks’ time, struck 12 winners to blitz the 110th-ranked American in one hour and nine minutes.

“We had a big crowd, which was nice to play in front of,” Halep said after her first-round match in the southern Chinese city, where she won in 2015.

Halep won the first set with the help of an aggressive forehand, and then opened the second set with a crunching backhand winner down the line before running away with the match.

“It’s always nice to play here in Shenzhen,” she added. “I won a title here three years ago already. It’s my first victory this year as number one in the world, so I’m just happy and enjoying the time.”

Meanwhile, five-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova, making her Shenzhen debut, also despatched Romania’s world number 56 Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-3, 6-0 in an hour and 20 minutes.

The Russian, who is embarking on her first full season since returning from a 15-month doping ban in April, sealed her straight sets win after striking 18 winners to 20 unforced errors. AFP

ALA boxing head coach Ala Villamor said Melindo “lost to a better fighter last night.”

“It was a great fight.

Thank you for all the support. Happy New year and looking forward (to) 2018,” Villamor wrote on his Twitter account that was also reposted on Facebook.

It was a bloody fight as Melindo suffered cuts in above

his eyes due to head clashes in the 12-round bout that went in favor of Taguchi, who won unanimously from all the judges’ scorecards--116-112, 117-111, 117-111.

Melindo, whose record fell to 37 wins against three losses, relinquished his International Boxing Federation light-flyweight crown to Taguchi, who had also successfully defended his World

Facilities ready for PH athletes

We’re not weak: Thai transgender boxer to blaze trail in France

By Peter Atencio IN THE first quarter of the year, facilities to get athletes ready for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games and several international competition will most likely be ready.

Around 100 elite athletes will be sent to Iba, Zambales, while 200 more will travel to Baguio to get them in shape.

Philippine Olympic Committee President Jose “Peping” Cojuangco said this following talks with Foreign Affairs secretary and SEA Games Organizing Committee chairman Allan Peter Cayetano and Philippine Sports Commission chairman William “Butch” Ramirez.

“We can start (training athletes) right away,” said Cojuangco.

In March last year, athletes preparing for the 29th SEA Games were sent to the Zambales Sports Complex for the first time to prepare.

“They do have facilities there (in Zambales) that can accommodate a hundred athletes and they can live comfortably,” added Cojuangco The SEA Games working committee that Cojuangco, Ramirez and Cayetano formed is set to bring in former PSC Chairman Ricardo “Richie” Garcia.

Cojuangco brought up Garcia’s role before Cayetano and Ramirez last month.

Garcia is expected to help in out the organizational and operational aspects of handling the Games.

C H AC H O E N G SAO — Wearing red lipstick and a pink sports bra, Nong Rose trades blows with her twin brother in a Thai boxing gym, preparing for a foreign debut that will make her the first transgender fighter to enter the ring in France.

A few weeks ahead of the Muay Thai match in Paris, the 21-year-old is training hard in central Thailand’s Chachoengsao province, with her brother as sparring partner.

Boxing is part of the siblings’ DNA—they learned how to jab, cross and kick from their uncle, a professional Muay Thai fighter, who started teaching them the basics when they were eight.

“Since (we were) little ones, we used to fight... but she was always stronger than me,” Nong Rose’s twin brother, Somrak Polchareon, told AFP. In the eyes of the Thai government, Nong Rose is a man named Somros Polchareon.

But she has always felt

Muay Thai boxer Nong Rose, 21, does pad work during a training session in Thailand’s central province of Chachoengsao.

Wearing red lipstick and a pink sports bra, Nong Rose trades blows with her twin brother in a Thai boxing gym, preparing for a foreign debut that will make her the first transgender fighter to enter the ring in France. AFP

like a girl, and started dressing like one at the age of 14.

In life as in the ring, where she competes against men, finding her place has not always been easy.

“When I started fighting (as a girl), I was afraid that people would not accept me,” she told AFP, wiping

away sweat after a feisty round of training.

While Thailand has a reputation as a free-spirited haven for LGBTQ people, discrimination abounds outside of nightlife and entertainment venues.

The boxer says her male opponents were initially rat-

tled—or even angered—by her appearance.

“In my village everyone knew me so it was easy,” she says. “But outside the city, some boxers looked at me wrong and said that trans people could not win.”

Many trans Thais say they are treated like second-

class citizens in a country where changing genders was considered a mental illness by the military as recently as 2012.

The practice is still not legally recognized, causing headaches for those trying to navigate medical care or bureaucratic processes.

Nong Rose, who turned professional after graduating from high school two years ago, pushed through the prejudice by racking up victories in the ring, winning half of her 300 matches.

Today, she is better known for her knees of steel.

“In combat, she always walks on you and hammers you with her knees,” said Chalongchai Meemindee, a 25-year-old boxer known as “Phetsuphan” who faced Rose in November.

“It’s good to have her in the ring because it brings colour and attracts viewers, especially foreigners,” he added.

‘Beautiful Boxer’ Nong Rose is not the first transgender boxer in Thailand.

Nong Toom, whose story is captured in the 2004 film “Beautiful Boxer”, led the way, famously using her championship winnings to pay for a sex change.

“She was my role model,” said Nong Rose, adding that the fighter comes to support her at most matches.

For the up-and-coming boxer, the Paris competition on January 6, against formidable French Muay Thai champion Akram Hamidi, is a chance to advance her career—and bring more attention to trans fighters.

“It helps to promote the trans, to show that we are worth as much as the others.

We are not weak,” she said.

Nong Rose says she plans to take her transition to the next step after her boxing days are over.

“Today, I do not take hormones because it affects my condition and my boxing.

When you are on hormones, you have much less energy.”

“But as soon as I stop boxing, I do all the operations to finish my transformation.” AFP

29th Andrada Cup Tennis Championships erupt today at Rizal center THE country’s finest agegroupers take centerstage starting today for the 29th Andrada Cup Tennis Championships at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

Some 130 players will see action in different age brackets: 10-under unisex, 12-under boys and girls, 14-under boys and girls, 16-under boys and girls and 18-under boys and girls.

There will be doubles action in

10-under mixed, 14-under boys and girls and 18-under boys and girls.

The annual tournament runs will run until Jan. 8. Today’s opening matches are set at 8 a.m.

Col. Salvador Andrada, former president of the Philippine Tennis Association, is behind the tournament, which is now on its 29th year, making it the longestrunning grassroots event for tennis in the country.

“It’s been a tradition. It’s part of our commitment to help the sport,” said Andrada, also former commissioner of the Philippine Sports Commission, on the eve of the tournament that offers ranking points for the age-groupers.

Eyes will be on the 14-under group because it is part of the selection process for the national teams to the Junior Davis Cup, Junior Fed Cup and the World Junior

Tennis Championships.

John David Velez of Mindanao and Macy Carlos of Manila ruled the boys’ and girls’ 14-under divisions last year. Among last year’s winners were Janus Rangia (16-under boys) and Crystal Mildwaters of Australia, who ruled both the girls’ 16-under and 18-under groups.

Among the talents that have come out of the Andrada Cup tournament are Jeson Patrom-

bon, Alfredo Lim Jr., and Francis Casey Alcantara, who all made it to the national team.

Andrada thanked the Philippine Sports Commission and private companies like Thadeus Sports and Altamar Shipping headed by Manuel Misa for their full support to the event. Tecnifibre is the official ball.

“They all know the value of grassroots development,” said Andrada.

Singapore economy rose 3.5% last year B2

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2018

B

Govt urged to fill ERC vacuum

By Alena Mae S. Flores

IN BRIEF

E

NERGY industry stakeholders pushed for an early resolution of the power vacuum at the Energy Regulatory Commission following the suspension of four commissioners which could lead to a power shortage in the next five years.

Clark airport serves over 1.5m CLARK International Airport Corp. said it served more than 1.5 million passengers in 2017, surpassing its previous record of over 1.3 million passengers in 2012.

ClAC president Alex Cauguiran attributed the significant rise in the passengers accommodated by Clark Airport to the transfer of some domestic flights of local airlines to Clark from Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Airlines operating in Clark include Qatar Airways, Cebu Pacific, Tigerair, Jin Air, Asiana Airlines, Dragon Air, AirAsia Berhad, Philippine Airlines and Emirates Airlines.

These airlines mount flights to Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Macau, Pudong, Incheon, Doha, Dubai, Davao, Cebu and Kalibo.

The Bases Conversion and Development Authority and the Department of Transportation awarded to Megawide GMR Consortium the construction and operation contract for a new passenger terminal at Clark.

BCDA president and chief executive Vince Dizon said the Clark airport expansion project would help decongest Naia as the new passenger terminal would accommodate an additional eight million passengers a year. Darwin G. Amojelar

Taxpayers asked to attend dialog THE Bureau of Internal Revenue said it is currently in the midst of preparations for the implementation of Republic Act No. 10963, or the “Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion.”

The agency asked all taxpayers to read the provisions of the law and to participate in public consultations and briefings to be conducted by the BIR where they could air their views, comments and recommendations.

RA 10963 was signed into law by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte who vetoed certain line items in the law.

The BIR asked the taxpayers to make clarifications of certain provisions of the law with the BIR national, regional and district offices to help the various committees established by the bureau to craft the implementing rules and regulations.

The bureau is set to conduct public consultations on the proposed implementing rules for income tax, excise tax (sweetened beverage tax), value added tax and excise tax (cosmetic procedures) on Jan. 11 and 12 at the BIR National Training Center in Diliman, Quezon City.

BIR to streamline SME requirements THE Bureau of Internal Revenue assured the Department of Finance that it will work double-time on streamlining the documentary requirements of micro, small and medium-scale enterprises.

BIR commissioner Caesar Dulay said cutting down the requirements needed to register or renew permits for businesses was now ongoing at the bureau.

“After the [tax reform] package, we’ll go into that streamlining process, although it’s an ongoing work being done

by BIR. Even the procedures, we will cut down on the documentary requirements,” Dulay informed Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III during a recent DOF executive committee meeting.

Dulay made the assurance after the Finance chief told BIR officials that he had received complaints from MSME owners about the tedious process they had to undergo to renew their BIR certificates of registration.

“Let’s cut down on the documentary requirements,” Dominguez told Dulay.

To renew a business permit, the applicant must first secure a barangay clearance and a mayor’s business permit renewal that requires several documents such as the original copy of the mayor’s permit for the previous year, proof of payment for the permit, income statements, contract of lease, among others, which could take about one to two weeks. Julito G. Rada

GENERAL SANTOS GOES RENEWABLE. South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative Inc., which serves General Santos City and surrounding areas, is pushing to balance its generation mix after signing a 20-megawatt RE supply agreement with Aboitiz Power Corp.’s subsidiary Hedcor. Shown during the contract signing are (from left) Hedcor Inc. vice president for operations and maintenance Rolando Pacquiao, Socoteco II president Butch Santos and general manager Bong Sotelo. Hedcor Inc. specializes in generating renewable energy from run-of-river hydropower systems. See story on B2.

Govt finalizing deal with Japan for MRT 3 upgrade

By Darwin G. Amojelar THE Department of Transportation said it is finalizing a deal with the government of Japan for the rehabilitation and maintenance of Metro Rail Transit Line 3.

Transportation assistant secretary for railways TJ Batan said the agency was now in the final stages of exchanging note verbales between the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Japan Embassy in Manila.

Batan said the arrangement would involve the grant of an official development assistance for the rehabilitation and maintenance requirements of MRT-3, which encountered numerous malfunctions in recent years because of alleged substandard maintenance and underinvestment.

Batan said the DOTr would utilize the bidding process of Japan in getting the rehabilitation and main-

tenance service provider for MRT-3, as required in all ODA arrangements with them.

He said the procurement rules and regulations would be observed in choosing the service provider. This means that the provider would be Japanese, like other projects of DOTr with Japan.

Batan said the government was expected to exchange note verbales with Japan in the first week of

January.

After the exchange, the DOTr and railway engineers from the Japan International Cooperation Agency would conduct a due diligence study of MRT-3 until February to clearly identify the needed rehabilitation works.

The department recently completed the procurement of the first batch of various spare parts required for the MRT 3 system’s maintenance.

“Taking into serious consideration the possible power outages and paralysis of the power industry due to the suspension of four commissioners of the ERC, consumer group Citizen Watch urges all parties, both government and private sectors alike, to do their part in ensuring that the power supply remains to be uninterrupted so as not to impede the progress of the entire economy,” Citizen Watch said.

The Office of the Ombudsman ordered a one-year suspension of all four commissioners of the ERC―Josefina Patricia Asirit, Alfredo Non, Geronimo Sta. Ana and Gloria Yap-Taruc in December―for allegedly giving power retailer Manila Electric Co. an undue advantage when it exempted it from the competitive selection process for power supply agreements.

“The stability of supply and price of power are of utmost importance, not only for the consumers but for the entire power industry,” Citizen Watch said.

The consumer group called for the speedy resolution of the issue. At the same time, CitizenWatch urged the industry players and stakeholders “not to take advantage of the situation and to closely monitor any artificial hike in electricity rates.”

Aboitiz Power Corp. president Antonio Moraza said the suspension could spell “disaster” for the energy industry while Semirara Mining and Power Corp. chairman Isidro Consunji said he was hoping the ERC could resume normal business soon.

“I hope the ERC starts running. So much has to be done. Otherwise another crisis in the next five years or so,” Consunji said.

The Philippine Independent Power Producers Association Inc., a group of power generators, also warned that a non-functioning ERC would be devastating to the power industry.

“PIPPA would like to stress that the energy industry needs a fully functional commission in order to effectively implement their mandate in accordance with Epira [Electric Power Industry Reform Act],” PIPPA said.

Epira mandated reforms in the power industry and ERC was tasked to regulate the sector.

“Without a working commission and putting a pause on the important work of the ERC, we will find ourselves without the needed approvals for PSAs, connection agreements, price determination regulation, compliance certificates and licenses,” PIPPA said.

Peza asks govt to expedite approval of new ecozones

By Othel V. Campos THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority asked the national government to expedite the approval of P72.3 billion worth of special economic zones awaiting presidential proclamation.

Peza director-general Charito Plaza said 42 applications were pending with the Office of the Executive Secretary, including five that were not acted upon by the previous administration.

“The office [OES] promised to release more. Hopefully by January [2018] we’ll have more projects approved so our industries can start constructing and operating,” Plaza said.

She said Peza had a productive meeting with the OES together with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Plaza said nobody was willing to accept who was at fault, “but as far as we are concerned, we have a chart detailing the aging of projects and when they were applied. We are hoping

Banks holding $39.1b worth of foreign currencies

that everything will work out fine for the industries that are excited to get started.”

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea invited Peza and PCCI for a dialog after the chamber included Peza’s concern regarding the slow release of proclamation in its annual set of resolutions submitted to the president during the 2017 Philippine Business Conference.

The number of pending economic zones ballooned to 78 in October 2017, but the OES has since then released 22 projects.

The OES proclaimed 35 projects as of December 2017. Peza expects more economic zone developers to register more projects with the launch of the Philippine Economic Zone Map before the holding of the Global Economic Zone Convergence on April 4 to 6, 2018.

Among the economic zones that took form recently are the agro-forestry economic zone and the minerals processing economic zone.

By Julito G. Rada

Visitors at Resorts World Manila enjoy the spectacle at the lighted pedestrian walkway called Lumina: Walkway of Lights which connects the second level of Maxims Hotel to Newport Mall.

Resorts World plans to open three hotels, rebrand two others in 2018 TRAVELLERS International Hotel Group Inc. said it aims to continue the expansion of Resorts World Manila with the opening of three hotels and the rebranding of two facilities this year.

“Resorts World Manila has the largest concentration of hotel rooms in any development in the Philippines,” TIHGI president Kingson Sian told journalists over lunch.

Resorts World Manila, a joint venture of Alliance Global Group and Genting Hong Kong Ltd., has more than 1,800 rooms across four hotel brands: Marriott Hotel Manila and its West Wing expansion, Maxims Hotel, Remington Hotel and Belmont Hotel.

Sian, who is also the president

and chief operating officer of Alliance Global Inc., said the plan is to have 3,500 hotel rooms by 2019 under various stages of development, including the completion of the 391-room Sheraton Manila Hotel, the 355-room Hilton Manila and the expansion of Maxims Hotel. Resorts World Manila is also opening the 11-story, 191room Okura Hotel in 2018.

Okura, a Japanese company, agreed to construct another 13-story hotel with 380 rooms in Bayshore City Resorts World, the second complex of TIHGI that would rise on the Entertainment City complex in Parañaque City.

Sian said other plans include the rebranding of Maxims Hotel and the renaming of the 712-room Reming-

ton Hotel into Holiday Inn Express.

Sian said average occupancy rate at the hotels remained healthy at over 80 percent.

Resorts World Manila, which opened in August 2009 across Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3, also hosts Marriott Grand Ballroom, the country’s largest hotel ballroom; Newport Mall, a casino area, Newport Cinemas and Newport Performing Arts Theater.

The hotel and casino operator incurred a net loss of P36.8 million in the first nine months of 2017, after the June 2 incident when a gunman razed a portion of the facility resulting in the death of 38 people. The complex was closed for 27 days and reopened

on June 29.

The company renovated the affected area and opened a lighted pedestrian walkway called Lumina: Walkway of Lights which connects the second level of Maxims Hotel to Newport Mall. Lumina has 100,000 multi-colored LED bulbs that brighten the 110-meter walkway.

TIHGI reported P15.7 billion in gross revenues and P2.6 billion earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in January to September.

The company aims to be among the premier world-class integrated entertainment and tourism destinations in Asia once the third phase of expansion is completed by 2018. Roderick T. dela Cruz

FOREIGN currency-denominated deposits held by Philippine banks rose 11.9 percent to $39.05 billion in the third quarter of 2017 from $34.9 billion a year ago, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas show.

The amount was also higher than $37.2 billion seen in the second quarter. The bulk of deposits, or 97.4 percent, continued to be held by Filipinos.

The overall loan-to-deposit ratio increased to 38.4 percent in the third quarter from 37.6 percent in the second quarter and 34.9 percent a year ago, with the faster expansion in loan portfolio compared to FCDU deposits.

Data showed that foreign currency-denominated loans granted by banks reached $15 billion in the third quarter, up by 20.6 percent from $12.4 billion a year earlier. It was also 7.1 percent higher than $14 billion in the second quarter.

“The maturity mix of the loan portfolio remained biased towards medium-to long-term debt [or those payable over a term of more than one year, which represented 75 percent of total,” the Bangko Sentral said in a statement.

Outstanding loans benefitted major resident borrowers and industries, such as towing, tanker, trucking and forwarding, with $3.5 billion or 23.4 percent of total; merchandise and service exporters, $3.2 billion or 21.5 percent; public utility firms, $1.7 billion or 11.2 percent; producers/manufacturers, including oil companies, $600 million or 4.1 percent; and management/holding and stock brokerage, $600 million or 4 percent.

B2

Business

TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2018 extrastory2000@gmail.com

LAW FIRM MARKS 20TH YEAR. The Ocampo

Manalo Law Firm celebrates 20 years of business over dinner at Makati Shangri-La Hotel with employees, clients, business partners, friends and associates. Shown during the event are (from left) San Miguel Holdings chief financial officer Raoul Romulo, Atty. Mannix Manalo, private equity guru Gil Camacho, Asian Appraisal Company president Anthony Te, Atty. Carlos Ocampo and former Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez.

Aboitiz, SEC warns public against online trading schemes Socoteco II sign power supply deal

By Jenniffer B. Austria

By Alena Mae S. Flores ABOITIZ Power Corp.’s subsidiary Hedcor Inc. will supply 20 megawatts of renewable energy to South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative Inc. under a new agreement.

Socoteco II, which serves General Santos City and surrounding areas, forged the supply agreement to balance its generation mix.

Hedcor’s 69-MW Manolo Fortich hydro power plant in Bukidnon is set to deliver supply to Socoteco II in 2018.

“We are excited with this brand-new partnership with AboitizPower. For many years now, we have witnessed the company’s commitment in helping us provide the best service to our members-consumers” said Socoteco II general manager Crisanto Sotelo.

The electric cooperative is currently serving the municipalities of Sarangani, Tupi and Polomolok in South Cotabato and General Santos City.

Socoteco II is the latest addition to the list of electric cooperatives in Mindanao that chose AboitizPower’s cleanergy supply through subsidiary Hedcor Bukidnon and started their shift to a more balanced energy supply mix.

Hedcor Bukidnon also signed renewable energy supply agreements with Zamboanga del Sur Electric Cooperatives 1 and 2, Zamboanga del Norte Electric Cooperative, Misamis Occidental I Electric Cooperative, Siargao Electric Cooperative, Bukidnon Second Electric Cooperative and Surigao del Sur 1 Electric Cooperative Inc.

THE Securities and Exchange Commission warned investors against investing in a company called My Community E-Commerce System Inc. which it said was not authorized to solicit investments from the public.

The SEC said in an advisory posted on its website that it received reports that My Community, also known as My Community Credit Cooperative, was engaged in soliciting investments from the public by promising investors of a compounded 5-percent monthly

interest rate on investments.

Based on SEC records, My Community was registered with the corporate regulator as a non-stock and non-profit association.

Its registration with the SEC only pertained to the primary license of a corporation which gives it a juridical personality but not an authority to solicit investments, an activity that requires secondary license from the SEC. The SEC said aside from soliciting investments, the company was also into lending activities without a certificate of authority from the regulator.

“In view thereof, the public is hereby advised to exercise self restraint in investing their hard earned money int such high-yielding risk investment scheme and to take the necessary precaution in dealing with individuals representing the above named entity,” the SEC said.

The SEC said salesmen, brokers, dealers or agents of My Community who helped in selling and conniving people to invest in the “fraudulent scheme” would be prosecuted and held liable.

Under Section 73 of the Securities Regulation Code,

violators will be penalized with a maximum fine of P5 million or maximum penalty of 21 years or both.

The SEC urged people who invested or were approached to invest in the scheme to report to the commission for further investigation. The regulator earlier issued a warning on unregistered investment scams operating through social media.

It said a number of investment scams like pyramiding and Ponzi schemes had proliferated using popular and free social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Linkedln to lure investors.

YOUNG VOLUNTEERS.

iVolunteer is one of the five startups which won the Globe Future Makers social innovation competition participated in by 135 individuals and groups. iVolunteer teams up with non-governmental organizations to help develop volunteer engagement facilities, make a sustainable impact on the community and create a holistic program for the beneficiaries. Show are the young and dedicated members of the iVolunteer team, including (from left) Danielle Najos, Jasmine Salem, Jennilyn Redublo and Danalynne Dumaliang.

THE Philippines’ international investment position resulted in a net external liability of $35.2 billion as of end-September 2017, which means that foreign investments in the country continued to exceed Filipino holdings of international assets.

Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed that the next external liability position in the third quarter increased by 5.1 percent from the second quarter.

“The higher negative balance was reflective of the

INGAPORE’S economy expanded 3.5 percent in 2017, more than double the initial government forecast as the country benefited from the global economic upswing, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his New Year message Sunday.

Lee said the city-state would press on with economic restructuring and infrastructure projects such its fifth airport terminal as well as review healthcare policies to prepare for an aging population.

“All these are essential investments in our future. They require time and resources, and will stretch way beyond this term of government. We have to plan well ahead for them,” Lee said in a statement released by his office.

Singapore’s 2017 growth comes at the top end of the most recent trade ministry prediction of 3 percent to 3.5 percent and compares with the median 3.3 percent forecast in a Bloomberg survey. The government is due to release preliminary gross domestic product figures for the fourth quarter on Jan. 2, with a Bloomberg survey of economists predicting annualized growth of 1.6 percent from the previous three months.

Steady growth in the export-reliant economy has raised the possibility of fiscal and monetary policy tightening in the coming year. The Monetary Authority of Singapore is forecasting growth of 1.5 percent to 3.5 percent in 2018.

DBS economist Irvin Seah expects growth to moderate to 3 percent in 2018 but adds that this shouldn’t be seen as “a negative thing” as it shows Singapore’s economy “shifting from a recovery to a normalized profile”.

Prime Minister Lee also said Singapore’s external environment would remain uncertain in 2018, citing tensions on the Korean Peninsula as well as terrorism and a US foreign policy approach that remains “yet to be fully articulated”.

“We hope to keep relations with our immediate neighbors steady as they gear up for elections – Malaysia this year, and Indonesia the next,” Lee said. Bloomberg

Cotton 2017’s star crop; funds have high hopes

PH net foreign fund recipient of $35.2b

By Julito G. Rada

Singapore economy rose 3.5% last year S

1.8-percent increase in total external financial liabilities for the period which outpaced the 1.1-percent growth in total external financial assets,” the Bangko Sentral said in a statement.

It said that as of endSeptember 2017, total outstanding external financial liabilities reached $201.8 billion, while total outstanding external financial assets amounted to $166.6 billion.

The stock of external financial liabilities in the third quarter grew mainly on account of the 4-percent increase in foreign direct

investments and the 1.5-percent growth in foreign portfolio investments or “hot money.”

“The build-up was reflective of the significant investment inflows and positive price revaluation of nonresidents’ holdings of local equity capital and equity securities on the back of the country’s sustained positive economic performance and growth prospects,” the BSP said.

Meanwhile, the improvement in external financial assets in the third quarter was due to the accumulation of

portfolio (6 percent growth), direct (1.9 percent growth), and other investments (1.6 percent growth) abroad by residents despite the drop in the country’s reserve assets.

The Bangko Sentral registered a net external asset position as of end-September 2017, although this was lower than the level posted a quarter ago. In contrast, the other major sectors— deposit-taking corporations (banks, except the central bank), general government, and other sectors—remained net users (borrowers) of foreign resources.

THE longest winning streak in two decades propelled cotton to 2017’s biggest increase among crop commodities, and hedge funds are ready for more gains in 2018.

Of the nine components tracked by the Bloomberg Agriculture Subindex, only cotton and wheat contracts posted gains last year. The fiber lead the way with an 11 percent advance as demand grew for US exports.

Prices capped 2017 with 10 straight weekly gains, the best streak since 1998.

Cotton was also one of the few crops that hedge funds got more positive on during the course of the year. Money managers held a net-long position, or the difference between bets on a price increase and wagers on a decline, of 102,402 futures and options as of Dec. 26, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released Friday. That’s up from 76,052 at the end of 2016.

Cotton’s stellar performance came as crop woes in Pakistan and India, two of the world’s biggest growers, raised prospects for American shipments. In the 20172018 season, commitments

for U.S. cotton exports are running 29 percent higher than a year earlier, government data show.

The investors also added to their bullish outlook in soybean meal in 2017, the CFTC show. By contrast, the funds lowered their netlong holdings in soybean oil, while turning bearish on coffee, sugar and soybeans during the year.

Cotton’s gains are especially notable in a year that was dismal for most other crops amid large global gluts. Combined wagers on benchmark corn, wheat and soybean contracts reached a net-short position of 421,450 contracts as of Dec. 26, the CFTC figures show.

That’s the most-bearish ever in data that starts in 2006.

While both varieties of winter wheat posted gains in 2017, they were pretty small, coming in at less than 5 percent. The other members of the Bloomberg Agriculture Subindex—corn, soybeans, soybean meal, soybean oil, sugar and coffee—finished the year with losses. The gauge reached a record low in December, data going back to 1991 show. Bloomberg

When political base maintenance becomes toxic THE best feature of the democratic system of government is the ability of a candidate for public office to be elected by freely-voting citizens who believe in the candidate’s program of government; those citizens comprise the candidate’s political base. And the worst feature of the democratic system of government is the continuing pressure on a victorious candidate to keep his (or her) political base intact.

Keeping his political base intact may— and often does—entail a politician’s initiating or supporting programs and policies widely regarded as ill-advised or inimical to the national interest. For instance, a politician may be opposed to a certain government program or may not favor a particular piece of legislation, but he may lend his support to the program or legislative proposal out of a desire to please his political base.

Of course, it also can be that a candidate

for public office campaigns on a platform of ideas and principles that is entirely promotive of the public good and he has the full support of his present or future constituents. That is the best of all political worlds.

The best example of the deleterious effect of the maintain-the-political-base mindset is Donald Trump’s first year as president of the US. Every major policy that Mr. Trump has introduced and every policy change that he has proposed, has had as its rationale the need to keep his political base intact and happy. Mr. Trump’s political base is composed mostly of bluecollar workers in the industrial states, unemployed workers without college degrees and the older folk in the rural states.

Unfortunately, the policies and policy changes of Donald Trump have involved arrangements and institutions that during the last seven decades have underpinned the geopolitical order of the world, the US rise to unquestioned international leader-

ship and the unparalleled expansion of the American economy.

These arrangements and institutions include the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the North American Free Trade Association, the UN-sponsored Climate Change Treaty, the Transpacific Partnership, US relations with Mexico and the legal framework governing immigration into the US. Mr. Trump has at one time or another threatened to reduce US participation in the UN and NATO, ordered the renegotiation of NAFTA’s terms and US withdrawal from TPP, pulled the US out of the 192-nation Climate Change Treaty, ordered the construction of a wall along the entire USMexican border and issued executive orders banning immigrants from seven (later reduced to six) mainly-Muslim countries and mandating more stringent vetting of all would-be immigrants into the US. Knowledgeable observers and commenta-

tors have attributed all these highly disruptive official acts to maintain Mr. Trump’s desire to maintain his political base, which comprises 48 percent of the total votes cast in the 2016 presidential election. During the electoral campaign Trump declared, and during his presidency has maintained, that the jobs that had been taken away from American workers must be returned to the US. However, the steady decline in Donald Trump’s approval rating—35 percent, the lowest in post-war US political history —suggests a substantial narrowing of his political base. Considering that his political base was not enough to secure him a majority of the popular vote, Mr. Trump would probably fare worse if a presidential election were held today.

In the face of the apparent erosion that has taken place in his political base, Donald Trump clearly needs to rethink the political strategy of his administration. If he fails to do so, not only the size of his polit-

ical base will be at stake, the very survival of his Presidency might be at risk.

An elected politician has a choice between putting the national interest and according priority to the needs of his political base. There lies the difference between a patriot and a charlatan. In prioritizing the interest of his political base, Donald Trump has chosen the path of non-patriotism. That choice has proven to be very costly to the US and, because of America’s status and as the sole superpower and the largest economy, the world.

Unfortunately, all of this—a politician’s saying and doing things to please, first and foremost, those who voted him into office —is part and parcel of the political system that we know as democracy. Which makes me want to paraphrase what George Bernard Shaw said about the youth. My paraphrase is, “Ah, democracy! What a pity it’s wasted on politicians obsessed with their political base.”

World Trump looks at mid-term elections in new tweet WA S H I N G T O N ― U S President Donald Trump tweeted right to the end of 2017 Sunday, boasting of his accomplishments in his turbulent first year in office and throwing down the gauntlet for the US midterm elections.

He highlighted his tax cut and a surging stock market in a series of New Year’s Eve tweets that seemed to set the table for next year’s fight for control of the US Congress.

“Why would smart voters want to put Democrats in Congress in 2018 Election when their policies will totally kill the great wealth created during the months since the Election,” he said.

“People are much better off now not to mention ISIS, VA, Judges, Strong Border, 2nd A, Tax Cuts & more?”

“2nd A” appears to refer to the constitutional right under the Second Amendment to keep and bear arms -- though it was unclear what action, if any, Trump has taken in that regard.

Trump is ringing in the New Year at his Mar-aLago resort in Palm Beach, Florida before returning to Washington.

“As our Country rapidly grows stronger and smarter, I want to wish all of my friends, supporters, enemies, haters, and even the very dishonest Fake News Media, a Happy and Healthy New Year,” he tweeted, repeating his often-used term for well-established news outlets which have issued investigative reports that cast him in a negative light.

“2018 will be a great year for America!” Trump said.

He goes into 2018 with the lowest approval ratings of any modern first-year US president, after a year during which he shattered political expectations, strained longstanding alliances and courted controversy on race and immigration. AFP

Colorado shooting kills deputy WASHINGTON―A sheriff’s deputy was killed and six others, including four deputies, were wounded Sunday in what police called a “disturbance” in a residential suburb near Denver, Colorado.

The lone suspect was killed at the end of a twohour standoff at an apartment complex in Highlands Ranch, 20 kilometers south of Denver, Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock told reporters in a televised briefing.

Spurlock said he believed the suspect, whose identity had not yet been confirmed, was someone who had had “law enforcement contact on a number of occasions ... but no criminal history.”

He said the man used a rifle and fired at least 100 rounds, catching deputies off guard.

“They all went down almost within seconds of each other,” Spurlock told reporters.

The dead deputy was identified as Zackari Parrish, 29, a married father of two young children. He had been on the force only seven months.

Spurlock, who had never lost a deputy before, described the agony of holding the hand of Parrish’s wife and “seeing in her eyes her life is over.”

All four wounded deputies were in stable condition, Spurlock said. He said all had been wearing protective vests. AFP

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 02, 2018 Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

Freezing New York welcomes 2018 with tightest security NEW YORK―Some two million people braved New York’s coldest New Year weather for a century to welcome 2018 in Times Square, with police enforcing intensely strict security.

Residents and tourists faced the worst New Year freeze since 1917, with temperatures of nine degrees Fahrenheit (minus 12.7 Celsius).

After two attacks in the city inspired by the Islamic State group,

in December and October, security was tightened with more than 20 roads closed. Barricades and sandfilled trucks were in place, along with bomb-sniffing dogs and more officers on the ground.

Police also carried out two rounds of security screening on everyone who entered the Times Square security perimeter, the largest in history.

On entering the secured area,

revelers emptied and discarded their purses and other small bags, which were not allowed.

After a mass shooter in October killed 58 people in Las Vegas by firing into a crowd from his hotel room, police also deployed personnel to hotels and restaurants for the first time.

“This is like the most exciting day in my life. I am very committed [to facing the cold],” said Hader

Ghulam, 27, a Pakistani student based in Oklahoma visiting the city for the first time.

He told AFP he was impressed by the security measures and felt “pretty safe.”

Amber Gerrits, a student from Michigan, said she was not worried.

“I think it’ll be all right,” she said, adding that “a lot of layers” of clothing helped prepare for temperatures which the National

Weather Service warned were “dangerously cold.”

“And we plan on not drinking too much water,” the 21-year-old said, referring to the difficulties of finding a public bathroom among the huge crowds.

The celebrations in Times Square featured music performances, fireworks, 3,000 pounds (1,360 kilograms) of confetti and 25,000 balloons. AFP

Iranians stage new protests T

EHRAN―New protests were held in Iran overnight, local media said Monday, despite President Hassan Rouhani’s calling for calm and vowing more “space for criticism” in a bid to head off days of unrest.

ONSTAGE. Mariah Carey performs at the Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2018 in New York City. AFP

10 Amerians killed in plane crash in Costa Rica SAN JOSE―Ten Americans flying from a vacation hot spot on Costa Rica’s tropical Pacific coast died Sunday when the small plane they had just boarded crashed and burst into flames shortly after take-off, officials in the country said.

A list of the passengers given by local media showed five shared the same last name, suggesting they were related.

“The government of Costa Rica profoundly regrets the deaths of 10 US passengers and two Costa Rican pilots in the air accident,” which occurred in the country’s northwestern Guanacaste region, Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis said in a statement posted to social media.

A US State Department official said: “We confirm the deaths of multiple US citizens in an airplane crash in Costa Rica.”

The official said “we express condolences to all those affected by this tragedy,” as well as assistance to “affected US citizens, but that “out of respect for the families, we are not sharing additional information at this time.”

Costa Rican officials said the plane that came down belonged to Nature Air, a domestic airline that

services routes across the country and which also provides aircraft for charter.

Guanacaste is a popular vacation destination, especially this time of year, when its pristine beaches and jungle provide a respite for tourists fleeing the northern hemisphere’s winter.

Americans are by far the biggest group of tourists visiting Costa Rica.

The plane that crashed was a single-engine turboprop Cessna 208 Caravan. Its debris was scattered across a wooded mountain close to the beach town of Punta Islita.

Images posted by the country’s public security ministry showed blackened wreckage, some in flames, with only part of the tail recognizable.

The cause of the crash was not known.

Solis said in his statement that his government “gives its commitment to do everything necessary to work with the relatives of the victims to give them what they need in this difficult moment.”

He said emergency services launched into action when the alarm over the crash was given at 12:13 pm (1813 GMT). The process of recovering the bodies continued into

the night in Costa Rica.

Early Monday “the investigations into the causes of the accident will begin,” Solis said.

The Costa Rican newspaper La Nacion gave the names of the 10 passengers as: Thibault Astruc, Amanda Geissler, Charles Palmer, Bruce Steinberg, Irene Steinberg, Matthew Steinberg, William Steinberg, Zachary Steinberg, Leslie Weiss and Sherry Wuu. No ages were given.

The newspaper reported the plane had taken off from the capital San Jose at 11:37 am (1737 GMT) for the small sealed airstrip in Punta Islita, where the tourists boarded.

The passengers had paid $2,300 for their flight, it said.

The two pilots were identified as Juan Manuel Retana Chinchilla and Emma Ramos.

Former Costa Rican president Laura Chincilla―Solis’ predecessor―said on Twitter that Retana, 52, was her cousin.

“You will remain in our hearts, dear Juan Manuel Retana,” she wrote.

This time of year is particularly busy in Costa Rica’s coastal resort areas as tourists and locals alike spend end-of-year holidays in the sun. AFP

ANNUAL RALLY. Protesters take part in the annual New Year’s Day pro-democracy rally in Hong Kong. AFP

Rouhani finally broke his silence on Sunday night about the protests that mark the biggest test for the regime since mass demonstrations in 2009.

Police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse a small protest in Tehran’s Enghelab Square on Sunday evening, according to unverified social media videos.

Protesters in the small northwestern town of Takestan torched a school for clergy and government buildings, the ILNA news agency said, while the state broadcaster said two people had died in Dorud after crashing a stolen fire engine.

There were also reports of protests in the cities of Izeh (southwest), Kermanshah and Khorramabad (west), Shahinshahr (northwest) and Zanjan (north).

Verifying reports remained challenging due to travel restrictions and sporadic blocks on mobile Internet and popular social media sites including Telegram and Instagram.

The protests began as demonstrations against economic conditions in second city Mashhad on Thursday but quickly turned against the Islamic regime as a whole, with thousands marching in towns across Iran to chants of “Death to the dictator”.

“The people are absolutely free in expressing their criticisms and even protests,” Rouhani said in a message on the state broadcaster.

“But criticism is different to violence and destroying public property.”

He sought a conciliatory tone, saying that government bodies “should provide space for legal criticism and protest” and calling for greater transparency and a more balanced media.

US President Donald Trump said the “big protests” showed people “were getting wise as to how their money and wealth is being stolen and squandered on terrorism”.

“Looks like they will not take it any longer,” he wrote on Twitter. AFP

US courts to seek sexual harassment protections WASHINGTON—Chief Justice John Roberts unveiled a plan Sunday to help shield US court employees from sexual harassment, acknowledging the judicial branch is “not immune” after a powerful appellate judge retired over misconduct allegations.

The top US Supreme Court justice has already tasked Administrative Office of US Courts chief James Duff to review procedures to protect court employees from sexual misconduct, according to a memo released Wednesday that also spelled out existing recourse.

Duff said he was setting up a working group that would provide a report and recommendations by May 1.

The memo came just days after Alex Kozinski stepped down from his post at the influential San Francisco-based US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit after he was accused of inappropriate behavior by at least 15 former clerks and staffers.

The Romanian-born Kozinski is the highest-ranking judiciary official ensnared in a swirling nationwide reckoning on sexual harassment and abuse, which has toppled a number of powerful men in entertainment, politics, business and the media.

And nearly 700 current and former law clerks had sent Roberts a letter seeking action to better handle sexual harassment in the workplace.

“Events in recent months have illuminated the depth of the problem of sexual harassment in the workplace, and events in the past few weeks have made clear that the judicial branch is not immune,” Roberts wrote in his 2017 State of the Judiciary Report.

“The judiciary will begin 2018 by undertaking a careful evaluation of whether its standards of conduct and its procedures for investigating and correcting inappropriate behavior are adequate to ensure an exemplary workplace for every judge and every court employee.” AFP

‘Star Wars’ passes $1-billion mark LOS ANGELES―The latest episode in Disney’s colossally popular “Star Wars” series has passed the $1-billion mark in worldwide revenues after just three weeks, a Disney spokesman confirmed Sunday.

That helped provide a positive spin to what has been a year of ups and downs for Hollywood while giving a clear boost to Disney, now the only studio to surpass $5 billion globally for the last three years, according to Deadline.com.

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” is expected to surpass another Disney film, “Beauty and the Beast,” as the year’s top-earning film. “Beauty” took in more than $500 million domestically and exceeded $1.3 billion worldwide.

“Jedi” is expected to earn about $65.6 million over this fourday holiday weekend in North

America, for a $530.3 million total since its opening three weeks ago, said industry watcher Exhibitor Relations.

The space saga stars Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver and two members of the series’ original cast, Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker and the late Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia.

Its domestic earnings come on top of an international take estimated at $523 million for this eighth episode in the series. “Jedi” is now the year’s number one film in European theaters.

If the estimates are borne out, “Jedi” will be the eighth highestgrossing domestic movie of all time, according to Variety.com.

It opens in the enormous Chinese market on Friday.

Hollywood has had its struggles this year, however. AFP

Baguio nears deal for new garbage dump

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor lgu@manilastandard.net editor.lgustandard@gmail.com

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tuesday, january 2, 2018

LGUs Local government units

TAXPAYERS HONORED. The General Trias City government, led by Mayor Antonio Ferrer (back row, sixth from right) and Cavite 6th District Rep. Luis ‘Jon Jon’ Ferrer IV (center, back row) stand with representatives of the city’s Top Ten Business Taxpayers for 2016 during a ceremony at Bayleaf Hotel Ballroom in Manggahan, coinciding with GenTri’s 2nd cityhood anniversary and 269th foundation anniversary. The 2016 awardees are Analog Devices inc., House Technology Industries, Purefood Hormel Corp., ProFriends Inc., Schneider Electric (American Power Conversion), JAE Philippines Inc., Maxim Phil. Operating Corp., Cypress MFG. Limited, Inc., Unilever Philippines Inc., and Antel Holdings.

New 38-ha. ecozone in Silay opens to investors BACOLOD CITY―The development of the 38-hectare economic zone in nearby Silay City, Negros Occidental is expected to start early this year, a local business leader said Monday.

Roberto Montelibano, president of Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the group is waiting for the final valuation for the site previously owned by chamber member Rolando Arnaiz.

Montelibano said the ecozone is mainly for light manufacturing.

“It is now open to interested investors,” he added.

The property adjacent to the Bacolod-Silay airport has been registered by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority as a special ecozone.

Dubbed the BacolodSilay Ecozone and Technopark, the site in Barangay Bagtic has been acquired by the Golden Dragon Agri-Aqua Corp.

The signing of the registration agreement was held last September between PEZA Director General Charito Plaza and Golden Dragon AgriAqua president Eric Hernaez in Taguig City.

The registration is provided under Proclamation No. 315 issued by President Rodrigo Duterte on Sept.

14, pursuant to Republic Act No. 7916 or the Special Economic Zone Act of 1995.

Jocelle Batapa-Sigue, executive director of the Bacolod-Negros Occidental Federation for Information and Communications Technology, witnessed the signing.

She said the BacolodSilay Ecozone and Technopark is the 20th preside nt ial ly-pro clai me d ecozone in the city, and the first mixed-use zone in Negros Occidental. PNA

Crimes in QC down 20%

By Rio N. Araja

Q

uezon City saw an average 19.92 percent decrease in focused crimes— such as homicide, robbery, theft, motorcycle theft, motor vehicle theft, physical injury and rape—from January to December 2017 compared to the same period in 2016, police said Monday.

Chief Supt. Guillermo focused crimes went down Eleazar, Quezon City Po- from 7,149 crimes in 2016 lice District director, said to 5,725, or a decrease of

almost 20 percent.

Murder cases went down by 1.8 percent, from 331 incidents last year to 325 in 2017, Eleazar added. However, homicides went up by 34 incidents, with 54 cases in 2017 against 2016’s 20.

Robbery plunged by 23.6 percent, with only 1,096 incidents in 2017 versus 1,454 in 2016, while theft also dipped by the same percentage, from 3,098 in 2016 to 2,366 in 2017, he added.

Motorcycle theft dropped by 19.43 percent, and motor vehicle theft “tremendously decreased” from 138 last year to only 64 in 2017, or a decrease of 53.62 percent, Eleazar noted.

Physical injury cases went down 10.27 percent from 1,451 in 2016 to 1,302 for 2017. Rape cases also fell by 23.62 percent, from 271 incidents to 207 in 2017.

The year-on-year decrease in crimes was consistent

with that over an 18-month period from July 2016 to December 2017. During this span, focused crimes in Quezon City fell by 40 percent, from 14,908 to 8,931 cases, compared to the previous period from January 2015 to June 2016, the QCPD noted.

As proof, Eleazar said homicides decreased by 27.16 percent, or from 81 to 59 incidents; robberies fell 44.06 percent from 3,014 to 1,686; and thefts decreased

44.58 percent, from 6,712 to 3,720 incidents.

In addition, motorcycle and motor vehicle thefts also dropped by 50.74 percent and 74.82 percent, respectively, Eleazar said. Physical injury cases dropped 32.77 percent, from 2,969 to 1,996, and rape incidents fell 26.41 percent from 462 to 340.

However, the QCPD noted a rise in murders from 319 to 563 during the same span.

Baguio sets 15 events for 23rd Panagbenga

By Dexter A. See

HABITAT PACT. Habitat for Humanity-Philippines recently signed an agreement for the building of 86 houses and a community center in Silay City, Negros Occidental through the generous donation of the Maritess A. Young or MAY Foundation. Signing the pact in Makati City are (from left) Eugene Alava, MAY Foundation CEO; Micky Yong, MAY Foundation chairman; Mike Meaney, managing director of Habitat for Humanity-Philippines; Erlynn Campos, HFHP Board Member; and Rick Hathaway, area vice president, Habitat for Humanity-Asia Pacific. Yong put up the foundation in loving memory of his wife Maritess Alava. The project is estimated to cost P44 million and will provide decent and safe shelter to families living in earthquake and flood-prone areas in Silay.

La Trinidad studies 2 pay-parking proposals LA TRINIDAD, Benguet—The local government is studying two proposals for the construction and operation of a pay parking facility at the heart of the provincial capital.

Mayor Romeo Salda said the two proposals have been submitted to the municipal council for study, assessment, evaluation and validation to

determine the best offer.

The winner will be awarded the contract to covert the government land along Km. 5 into a parking and income-generating venture.

“We need to seriously study the two proposals because we want the best offer to be the one to be adopted by the local government. We need a little time to do so, that is

why we referred the matter to the municipal council for further study and for them to come out with their recommendations the earliest time possible,” Salda stressed.

The mayor said one of the proposals came from JARCO Realty and Development Corp. which intends to put up a four-story structure in the government property.

GenSan co-op, AboitizPower ink pact South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative Inc., which serves General Santos City and its surrounding areas, is pushing to balance its generation mix after signing a 20-megawatt renewable energy supply agreement with AboitizPower subsidiary Hedcor.

With Hedcor’s 69-MW Manolo Fortich hydro power plant in Bukidnon wrapping up its construction, SOCOTECO II is looking forward to receiving their energy supply by 2018.

“We are excited with this

BAGUIO CITY—The city government is close to solving its solid waste disposal problem as Benguet Corp. has issued a deed of usufruct for the use of a 12-hectare portion of its Antamok open pit mine site for the planned integrated solid waste disposal facility.

Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan said the City Legal Office is reviewing the deed of usufruct to ensure that the proposed terms and conditions will be of greater advantage to the local government, as the city’s solid waste disposal problem is eating up a huge portion of Baguio’s annual budget.

“We continue to aggressively search for the most appropriate solution to our garbage disposal problem through a more efficient and effective solid waste disposal system, using the latest environmentallyfriendly technology,” Domogan stressed.

While the city is working on a permanent solution to the garbage issues, the mayor said hauling the city’s residual waste to an engineered sanitary landfill outside the city is still the most feasible solution to prevent a garbage crisis.

Starting next year, Domogan said the local government will use the the Urdaneta sanitary landfill instead of the one run by Metro Clark Waste Management Corp., as the former charges P550 per ton of garbage compared to the P650 fee of the latter. Dexter A. See

brand-new partnership with AboitizPower. For many years now, we have witnessed the company’s commitment in helping us provide the best service to our members-consumers” said SOCOTECO II General Manager Bong Sotelo.

The cooperative is currently serving the municipalities of Sarangani, Tupi, and Polomolok in South Cotabato and General Santos City.

SOCOTECO II is the latest addition to the list of electric cooperatives in Mindanao who have chosen

AboitizPower’s “cleanergy” supply through its subsidiary Hedcor Bukidnon, and started their shift to a more balanced energy supply mix.

Hedcor Bukidnon has also signed renewable energy supply agreements with Zamboanga del Sur Electric Cooperatives 1 and 2, Zamboanga del Norte Electric Cooperative, Misamis Occidental I Electric Cooperative, Siargao Electric Cooperative, Bukidnon Second Electric Cooperative, and Surigao del Sur 1 Electric Cooperative, Inc.

Under JARCO’s proposal, the first two floors will be used for pay parking, while the other two will be used for commercial activities like business center and hotel, considering the municipality has limited hotels to accommodate the influx of visitors frequenting the famous strawberry fields here. Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY—Organizers have confirmed the 15 traditional events for the staging of the 23rd Panagbenga or Baguio Flower Festival that will run from Feb. 1 to March 4.

The theme of the city’s major crowd-drawing festival is “Celebration of Culture and Creativity,” in support of the city’s latest recognition as a member of the elite club of Creative Cities given by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

The highlights of the festival―the grand streetdancing parade and the grand float parade―will be held on Feb. 24 and 25, respectively.

The weeklong Session Road in Bloom event follows from February 26 to March 2, when the whole stretch of Baguio’s signature road will be closed to vehicular traffic and converted into a promenade area.

Interested elementary schools in the city will compete in the grand opening parade of the flower festival from the Panagbenga Park in Upper Session Road up to the Baguio Athletic Bowl,

where contingents will showcase their performances during the elimination round of the street-dancing competition.

The finalists will then compete in the festival’s grand street-dancing parade on Feb. 24.

The month-long Baguio Bloom Expositions, showcasing flower-inspired handicrafts, will also open to the public right after the grand opening parade, organizers said.

On February 11, 2018, organizers will hold the Handog ng Panagbenga sa Pamilya Baguio program simultaneously with the “Let A Thousand Flowers Bloom” art and painting competition, the Panagbenga Open kite flying competition, and the Panagbenga cultural show, all at the Melvin Jones grandstand.

Elementary and high schools in the city will also join the school-based floral arrangement competition on Feb. 14.

On Feb. 15 to 17, participating elementary and high schools will be judged for their landscaping skills to help sustain the beauty and scenery around the city during the the festival and beyond.

Hedcor’s vice president for operations and maintenance Rolando Pacquiao (left) represents Hedcor Bukidnon, while SOCOTECO II board president Butch Santos (center) and general manager Bong Sotelo (right) represent the cooperative during the contract signing last Dec. 9 in General Santos City.

Life

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

travel and leisure

tuesday, january 2, 2018

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Rediscovering Bohol Going beyond the usual Bohol itinerary, tourist can find the Candijay Rice Terraces, which are formed from elevated areas converted into farmlands by the natives

By Nickie Wang

I

t was eight in the morning and we were a few kilometers away from the shore of Panglao. There were at least 60 motorboats that huddled in the area near Balicasag Island, a marine sanctuary.

The scene was like a naval warfare but these water shuttles were there, including ours, just to race against each other to get a glimpse of the amazing mammals that reside near the islands – the dolphins.

As the boats started to encircle the area where these water creatures normally appear, I asked one of the boatmen, “Don’t you think we’re disturbing them. They seem be swimming away from us?”

Our guide shyly replied in Tagalog, “They would have already left a long time ago if that’s the case. But as you can see, they keep on giving tourists a good show every day at exactly the same time.”

I really do hope that this is really the case because the number of boats might double in the coming months due the influx of local and foreign tourists especially that the Panglao Island International Airport is nearing its completion.

“Tourism business is really booming here in Bohol. In the last five years, we’ve seen a sudden increase of visitors, both foreign and domestic, heading to this province,” said Margie Munsayac, VP for Sales and Marketing of Bluewater Resorts in Panglao.

The resort hotel executive added that every property in Panglao anticipates the opening of the international airport that is why construction of additional rooms and buildings are in full swing, too, to accommodate the influx of tourists that the new airport might bring.

During lean season, their occupancy rate is between 60 and 70 percent and they are fully booked for the rest of the year – a solid indication of a thriving tourism business in the island province.

“We are having expansion plans. From the current number of rooms, we are going to add at least 200 more rooms. We are planning to buy the property next to our resort to finally commence with this project. We are also preparing for

the opening of the International Airport, which is just around 15-minute drive from our property,” she said.

The Panglao Island International Airport is scheduled to be operational by August 2018. Once complete, it is expected to accommodate at least 2 million passengers a year accepting direct flights from Japan, South Korea and China.

“We have just finished constructing the runway today. It’s 2.5 kilometers,” Tadashi Aoi of Japan Airport Consultants, Inc. told some members of the press during a site visit in late November.

Aoi is the Executive Engineer that heads the construction of the 7.7-billionpeso complex that features a terminal inspired by the Chocolate Hills.

“This airport is huge. It’s as big as the one in Iloilo. Its passenger terminal is 13,000 square meters and the entire complex sits on 230-hectare property,” the executive engineer told Manila Stndard.

He further said that the airport is an eco-structure. The roof of the passenger terminal building will be fitted with 2000 solar panels that will handle 80 percent of the airport’s energy requirement.

“The building is supposed to be just a one-level building. But last year, we had a change of architectural plan. The terminal was adjusted to two levels. From flat roof it now has varying height from 2 meters to 4.6 meters to resemble the famous hills of this province,” he shared.

The other side of Bohol

Little did many tourists know, beyond the usual tourist itinerary, there’s more in Bohol than visiting roadside destinations like the centuries-old churches and man-made forest, island hopping to its marine sanctuaries, sunbathing on its equally stunning white sand beaches, cruising the Loboc River, sight-seeing in Chocolate Hills, and touring the natural habitat of the iconic tarsiers.

Bluewater Resort and its partner Coordinates Travels and Tour specially cu-

A view of Bluewater Panglao’s pool near the Aplaya Restaurant, which offers international cusine and authentic local fare

The Panglao Island International Airport, which is expected to be fully operational by the third quarter of 2018 (left) and the majestic CanUmantad Falls that features a 60-foot drop, the tallest in the entire island (right)

rated a tour to give us a taste of Bohol different from the usual tourist destinations the island province is known for.

A day-tour took us to the carve hills and mountains used for rice planting – the Candijay Rice Terraces. It’s not as magnificent as the one in Banaue but this charmer is uniquely beautiful just like the famous natural heritage site.

Trekking downhill from the rice paddies is another jewel waiting to be discovered. The majestic 60-foot drop of the Can Umantad Falls is the tallest in the entire island. It’s clean, clear and the cold is conducive for swimming while the splash of heavy flowing water coming from the falls is a free hard massage you get after a trek. The site, surrounded by a forest, is suitable for picnics and other fun activities, too.

Bohol is also known as a cave country, according to our tour guide, the island hosts thousands of caves with varying sizes. But for more adventurous visitors, there’s the Cabugnaw Cave. It has a pool said to be 25 feet deep. Thus, the cave pool is fast becoming a destination for thrill seekers.

We capped our day with a nice afternoon stroll on Anda White Sand Beach and waited for the sunset. Then we headed back to Bluewater Resort for dinner.

Your home in Bohol

Nestled in an island with white-sand beaches, pristine waters and marine sanctuaries, Bluewater Panglao creates a luxurious escape that honors Bohol’s natural beauty. The entire complex is beautifully manicured with paths covered by bamboos and fruit-bearing trees.

The resort complex’s Filipino architecture and design complement Bohol’s culture, inherent warm hospitality and ecofocused initiatives. The design concept matches well with the environment—organic yet elegant, innovative and functional. Take its sky-lit bathroom fitted with a large, free standing bathtub and separate shower for example.

“We have a wide variety of activities, from aqua sport, to ATV, and duck pin bowling, inside the resort specially designed to keep our guests engaged. We offer mango picking also when it is on season,” Munsayac told Manila Standard.

Approximately one and a half hours from Manila, the resort hotel has something for everyone to enjoy either it’s an adventurous island break or a laid-back, easy-going getaway.

Makati CBD parks renewed The vision of a greener, refreshed city comes to life as Makati Commercial Estate Association (MaCEA) unveils the new landscapes of Legazpi Active Park and Washington SyCip Park. After seven months of reconstruction, two of the most iconic parks in the country’s premier business district have been transformed into spaces where nature and art converge.

The park redevelopment is part of MaCEA’s larger commitment to its greening projects and to improve pedestrian friendliness in Makati. Vibrant and relaxing, an assortment of Philippine trees has been preserved to provide a soothing green surrounding with fresh air. These include Narra, Bagras, Mahogany, Acacia and more. Sculptures by notable Filipino visual artist Impy Pilapil add an artistic charm to the scene.

Notable words of wisdom and motivation by Washington SyCip, the business icon whom the park was named after, provide inspirations to park goers.

Other park features include a pond with koi, jogging paths, an amphitheater, clean restrooms, and pavilions where transients and office workers can relax and de-stress after a hectic day. Park entrances and exits were added to provide access along natural pedestrian paths.

“The redevelopment of the Legazpi

Active Park and the Washington Sycip Park is part of our bigger initiative, which is to revitalize the Makati CBD. Along with the greening projects is the commitment to enhance walkability, upgrade infrastructures and sidewalks, as well as increase security features in Makati CBD,” says David L. Balangue, president and chairman of MaCEA. As a primary mover of the city’s development, MaCEA is taking active steps with a set of redevelopment projects in store to keep the district resilient and relevant.

Together with the renewal of Legazpi Active Park and Washington SyCip Park, MaCEA has accomplished a long list of greening projects in order to provide its community and its guests a wider breathing space that can compliment the distinct Makati vibe. Some of their recent project included the installation of the green patios and the Amorsolo Greenwall, as well as the landscape improvements.

“A sense of community spirit in Makati is being strengthened with better venues for community events, art exhibits, and general public services such as dental and medical missions of Brgy. San Lorenzo ” adds architect William V. Coscolluela, vice president and chairman of Special Projects Committee of MaCEA.

Making Makati greener. Leaders of the Makati Commercial Estate Association (MaCEA) and Makati executives led the unveiling of the Legazpi Active Park. From left: Jonathan C. David, General Manager, MaCEA; Brgy. Captain Ernesto Moya, Cesar V. Campos, Ismael G. Cruz, Monique Yazmin Maria Q. Lagdameo, Makati City Vice Mayor; Mar-Len Abigail S. Binay, Makati City Mayor; David L. Balangue, President, MaCEA; Arch. William V. Coscolluela, Vice President, MaCEA; Antonio G. Puyat, Treasurer, MaCEA; Thanatip Upatising, Ambassador of Thailand

Life

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tuesday, january 2, 2018 isahred@gmail.com

Set sail on the Mariner

of the Seas with Citi Credit Cards

R

oyal Caribbean International cordially invites Citi credit cardholders to come aboard its luxurious voyager class ship, the Mariner of the Seas.

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Part of its 21-strong fleet, Mariner of the Seas can accommodate up to 3,114 guests on double occupancy.

According to David Stoughton, Citi Philippines Credit Payments Director, “This is only one of many irresistible travel offers available on our PayLite ‘Bucket List’ campaign. For the coming months, our clients will be spoilt for choice with one-of-a-kind discounted travel experiences available on easy on the pocket payment options.”

Itching to go around the whole continent? Go on the 9Nights Exotic Asia Cruise, which takes you through Shanghai, Okinawa, Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh and Singapore for as low as $288. Longing for an escapade but only have a week to spare? Not to worry— the 7Nights Exotic Asia Cruise brings you to bustling Singapore, scenic Pen-

ang and breath taking Phuket.

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Tourism Industry in the New Year the Department of Tourism (DOT) continues to face challenges in its efforts to move the Industry up, because of these many challenges.

It is for this reason that I find it laudable that the DOT recently came up with the Tourism Crisis Management Symposium, to improve the country’s resiliency in dealing with disasters and safety issues. The timely event was attended by stakeholders from all over the country.

As Secretary Teo said, it behooves those involved in the Industry to have a shared responsibility in seeing to the safety and security of our visitors when they travel to any part of the country.

The Tourism Excellence Award given to Lima Park Hotel

CALABARZON’s tourism champion

The Department of Tourism gave Lima Park Hotel the Tourism Excellence award during the 4th CALABARZON Tourism Summit late last year.

With the theme “Working Towards Sustainable Tourism and Building Partnerships Through Appreciation and Recognition,” the Summit was the venue for recognizing the efforts of individuals and companies supporting the tourism sector. Lima Park Hotel was cited for its “valuable contribution in adherence to tourism accreditation, quality standards and services, generation of data and information on tourist arrivals, both for overnight and same-day visitors, and initiating programs aligned to the National Tourism Development Plan of the Department of Tourism.

“Further, for having manifested consistent compliance and innovation, generous support to DOT programs and activities, and continuous effort in the pursuit of excellence for tourism products and services.”

Rated by DOT as the first and only four-star hotel in the province of Batangas, Lima Park Hotel has been consistently promoting tourist arrival in the Lakeshore District of Batangas by creating tour experiences that include the Lake Taal cruises and Marian Orchard pilgrimage site in Balete. The hotel is also involved in numerous annual multisectoral and community activities, such as the Batangas Development Summit, the Batangas Earth, Wind, and Water Festival, Karipasan Run for Wellness, Bisikleta Iglesia, among others.

Currently, Lima Park Hotel serves as home to a big number of expatriates serving multinational companies in Batangas. It is also the leading conven-

tion hub in the province and center for social events.

DOT Region IV-A Regional Director Rebecca Villanueva-Labit said, “We have everything in the region, we have so many things to offer. The strength of this region is actually the goodness of the spirit of all our partners, the private sectors, the public sectors and the local government units.” Labit, in particular, cited Lima Park Hotel for its innovative approach to tourism that even includes community development and environment protection.

“We thank the Department of Tourism for this recognition. We are grateful for the overwhelming support of Regional Director Labit who, together with her team, has always been with us every step of the way in achieving what we have today,” Lima Park Hotel Resident Manager Edilberto P. Evangelista Jr. said. “We hope that this recognition will inspire other hotel and resort owners and operators in CALABARZON to support our government’s tourism programs by adhering to DOT’s quality standards.” Evangelista also received a plaque of recognition for his dedication to the development of tourism.

Labit revealed that DOT-Calabarzon expects an increase to the 26 million same-day tourists recorded in 2016. She remains confident that the region will be able to generate 20 percent increase for same-day arrivals, and another 20 to 25 percent increase for overnight staying visitors.

“By next year, we will have more training to improve our human resources. We will be putting our thrust to ecotourism, farm tourism, and faith tourism to strengthen emerging and developing destinations,” Labit said.

Philippine Red Cross Secretary General Oscar Palabyab stressed the need to have a risk-informed sustainable infrastructure development for every aspect of the Industry. He also highlighted the shortage of trained personnel for emergency response in our different Tourism establishments.

Dr. Ted Esguerra (Everest Doc) who mercury rising is with the International Disaster ReBy bob zozobrado sponse Network, chimed in with this.

I welcome the New Year with a toast He advocates the creation of a crisis to our tourism industry, which continteam which will be in the frontlines of ues to surge, recently contributing apdisaster management. proximately 20 percent of our country’s Of course, crisis communication in gross domestic product (GDP). No betthe aftermath of disasters, pandemics, ter way to start the New political turmoil or terYear than that! rorism, is very imporTourism Secretary tant, as explained by JuYOUR TUESDAY CHUCKLE Wanda Tulfo-Teo nie del Mundo, CEO of I read that 4,153,237 people got married last year. Not to brought a lot of optithe EON Group, a pubmism to the future of the lic relations firm. The cause any trouble, but shouldn’t that be an even number?

Industry when she anspeed of recovery from nounced, at the start of a crisis depends on how her term, that her goal is effective the country is for our country to welcome 10 million For her part, DOT Undersecretary in managing the situation. to 12 million foreign tourists per year Alma Rita Jimenez encouraged the As the Symposium ended, Tourism by 2022, more than double the numbers stakeholders to involve themselves in USec. Jimenez unveiled the PUKSA registered in the past. learning the ways of prevention, man- Crisis Management Process Flow, a Since then, many marketing strate- agement and mitigation of disasters program designed to establish systems gies have been crafted. Marketing pro- that may come our way. The economic and procedures to be used in overcommotions are on an all-time high. Mar- implications of these hazards and risks ing the risk factors, which are cleverly kets that have not been too strong in to tourism facilities and destinations tagged with the acronym, PESTE: Pothe past are now registering marked in- should be considered. litical turmoil, Economic instabilities, creases in their share of the arrivals pie.

Donald Patrick Lim, CEO of Dentsu Social disturbances, Technological atAny which way, our country’s tourism Aegis Network Philippines, stressed the tacks, and Environmental hazards. industry is booming. role of digital communication tools in With this Program smoothly operatHowever, we can’t disregard the fact countering negative news affecting the ing, it is safe to say that our Tourism that our country also has to deal regular- country. He also said that current technol- Industry is definitely ready for the New ly with natural disasters, i.e., typhoons, ogy is highly effective in creating compel- Year and beyond. So, with a smile on flash floods and earthquakes. Added ling stories about any situation, stirring my face and glee in my heart, I sincerely to these calamities are the perceived curiosity and excitement among the target wish everyone, HAPPY NEW YEAR! security and safety problems that prop audience. The use of viral marketing and up every now and then. In fact, in spite inviting influencers to support a certain For feedback, I’m at of the gains we have in foreign arrivals, Tourism cause is also an effective strategy. bobzozobrado@gmail.com.

Tourism Sec. Wanda Tulfo-Teo leads efforts to address the present challenges to the country’s Tourism Industry

TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2018

‘Art 2 Art’opens 2018 with Christian Bautista THE art advocacy program Art 2 Art opens 2018 with Christian Bautista, dubbed as “Asia’s Romantic Balladeer,” as its featured guest on Jan. 7.

Produced by the Manila Broadcasting Company and hosted by “Ballerina ng Bayan” Lisa Macuja, Art 2 Art airs every Sunday, 3:30 to 4 p.m., on radio via DZRH (666 khz on the AM band), on cable television via RHTV (Ch. 129 on Skycable in Metro Manila, Ch. 18 on Cignal TV and Ch. 3 on Cablelink) and online livestreaming at http://dzrhnews television.tv.

The show may also be viewed through the Facebook account DZRH News Television.

Though Bautista sang with the church choir as a kid, he did not consider music as his eventual career, finishing landscape architecture at the UP Diliman. But joining a singing competition in 2003 led him to a different path. He has since established himself as a pop artist not just in the Philippines but also in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

Bautista, incidentally, will be guesting for the first time with Macuja’s Ballet Manila for the company’s Ballet & Ballads concert series in February at Aliw Theater.

For inquiries, please e-mail art2artdzrh@ gmail.com or visit the Ballerina ng Bayan page on Facebook. Past episodes of the program may be viewed on YouTube, on the Art 2 Art with Lisa Macuja channel.

Prima Ballerina Lisa Macuja with balladeer Christian Bautista

Gladers’ last fight for survival Dylan O’Brien and Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Gladers in the third and final installment of 'Maze Runner' series

T

HE highly kinetic and global hit YA book-tomovie series Maze Runner comes in full circle in the final chapter Maze Runner: The Death Cure where the Gladers have finally caught up in the reality of their nightmare. Reprising their roles in the concluding saga are Dylan O’Brien, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Ki Hong Lee, Kaya Scodelario, Rosa Salazar, Giancarlo Esposito, Aidan Gillen and Patricia Clarkson.

Based on the book by James Dashner and directed by Wes Ball, from the first global box-office hit film, the Gladers found themselves in the midst of a giant maze with no memory of who they were before.

In the second film Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials Trials, they had achieved their goal, only to discover that the outside world contained just as many horrors.

And now, in Maze Runner: The Death Cure, as Thomas (O’Brien) and his fellow Gladers adjust to life in the Scorch, they realize that the key to putting an end to this war they find themselves at the heart of lies in the Last City, a walled-off utopia where WCKD has its base, and where the last survivors of the deadly Flare virus keep safe.

Time has passed since the events

of The Scorch Trials, during which Teresa betrayed her friends and Minho (Ki-Hong Lee) was captured by the shadowy organisation WCKD. As the Maze Runner: The Death Cure opens, the Gladers are orchestrating an elaborate train heist to try and rescue their friend, finally ready to fight rather than flee.

“It’s the world of WCKD,” Ball says.

“The last city left standing. WCKD has built, essentially, the same maze walls around it, surrounding the city to protect this core group of people that are just trying to survive the Flare virus. They’re looking for safety, a cure, whatever.”

“When we pick up with the characters in this, it’s the first time we’re seeing any time pass in these movies,” says Dylan O’Brien. “This is really the first time you’re seeing Thomas experienced and a little more mature. He’s dead set

1:43 receives McJim Classic Leather’s OPM advocacy grant WORLD-CLASS Leather goods maker McJim Classic Leather has chosen iconic Filipino boy band 1:43 as the second recipient of its Dreams Get Real OPM Advocacy Grant for its new single “Pasensya Na.” McJim Classic Leather, which has always been supportive of Filipino music, tapped the revamped 1:43 to further promote OPM by making it more appealing and relevant, especially to the younger generation. Towards this end, in fact, McJim successfully launched talent searches for the next big thing in the local music scene and has—in the recent past—sponsored the music of personalities like Tony Labrusca and X-Factor UK contestant JBK. “For decades, McJim Classic Leather has always adhered to its exceptional standards in product quality,” the company said in a statement. “By taking on this advocacy, the brand shows its intent to pursue outstanding local music talents in the country and, in the process, help realize the potential of OPM as a world-class force.

“And right now,” the leather brand adds, “we can’t think of a better partner for this than the rejuvenated and charismatic 1:43. We are confident that their heart-tugging second comeback single ‘Pasensya Na’ will engage more Filipinos,

1:43 members (from left) Art Artienda, Wayne Avellano, Jason Allen Estroso and Ced Miranda

especially young local music fans.”

Written by Jayson Dedal and arranged by Sonic State Audio Studio, “Pasensya Na” dwells on the kind of love that is willing to give—and give some more—just as long as the beloved is happy.

“Handa akong gawin ang lahatlahat ng gusto mo / Handa akong ialay ang aking buhay para lang sa’yo / Handa akong ubusin ang aking sarili, o mahal ko / Basta’t lumigaya ka lang kahit ako pa ang masaktan,” goes the song’s chorus.

“Pasensya na kung talagang mahal kita . . . Lahat ng sakit ay kakayanin ko / Alipin mo ako, alipin ng pag-ibig mo.”

“Pasensya Na” is McJim Classic Leather’s official soundtrack in its viral short film Sinturon, which has over 10 million views

in various Faceboook pages in just a span of three weeks.

“Pasensya Na” can also be streamed on various digital platforms like Spotify worldwide, and is currently enjoying favorable airplay on FM radio stations nationwide.

It follows the success of 1:43’s hit comeback single “Trapik Tralala,” which centered on love in the time of traffic gridlock.

Chris Cahilig, 1:43 founder and manager, says that ‘Pasensya Na’ is a song that all hopeless romantics can easily relate to.

“After all,” Cahilig muses, “it can’t be denied that most of us—at one point in our lives— have been martyrs of love and slaves to our emotions.

“Whether it’s all about unrequited love, loving someone from a

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Tuesday, January 2, 2018

ACROSS 1 Turnpike rumbler 5 Clean, as a spill (2 wds.)

10 Tarzan’s transport 14 Arrange for 15 Plato’s last letter 16 On the ocean 17 Just like (2 wds.)

18 Spring onions?

(2 wds.)

20 Cheerful tones 22 Yellow bird 23 Gumshoe 25 Schmooze 26 Bogs 27 Misfortune 28 Auction site 32 Clementine’s shoe size 33 Is acquainted with 35 Went in headfirst 36 Unser and Gore 37 Exist 38 Store-bought hair 39 Ice sheet 41 Hen 43 Smelting waste 44 Mil. branch 45 Dorm coverer 46 Choral

ensembles 48 Take it easy 50 Stick fast 51 Digestive fluid 54 Convoy 55 Kitchen gadget (2 wds.)

57 It’s for the birds 61 Coffee dispensers 62 Ms. Zellweger 63 Point — — return 64 Rx amount 65 Make changes to 66 Beak DOWN 1 Whirlpool locale 2 Chi. trains 3 — tai (rum drink) 4 Raise to a feverish heat 5 Oyster or clam 6 Drops 7 Golf tees 8 Word of disgust 9 Repairs 10 Widely praised 11 Cuba, to Castro 12 Wyo. neighbor 13 No sweat!

19 Sheepish comment 21 Brat

23 Drinks greedily 24 Horse-drawn cab 25 Intimidated 26 Big mix-up 27 Verbose 29 Derby hat 30 Emulate Earhart 31 People with safe jobs?

34 Inexperienced 40 Solar event 41 Unheard-of 42 Called from the Alps

43 Ten-gallon hat 47 Amigo of Fidel 49 Hail, to Caesar 50 Poet — Ginsberg 51 KP peelable 52 Space lead-in 53 Med. staffers 54 Not coarse 56 Dues payer, for short 58 Mysterious sighting 59 Coast Guard off.

60 Familiar digit

distance, or pining for a lost love, ‘Pasensya Na’ speaks for all those who have given their lovers all they’ve got and are still found wanting. If you have ever said sorry or ‘pasensya na’ to someone because loving them too much is simply not enough, this song speaks to you.”

The new 1:43 features four talented and charismatic young men in the persons of Art Artienda, Ced Miranda, Jason Allen Estroso, and Wayne Avellano. The band bagged the 2013 Star Awards for Music Song of the Year for the monster hit “Sa Isang Sulyap Mo” and scored the “Most Promising Performing and Recording Group” recognition in the Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Scholarship Foundation’s 45th BoxOffice Entertainment Awards.

Aside from the monster hit “Sa Isang Sulyap Mo,” 1:43 also popularized the songs “Hayop Sa Ganda,” “Pag-Ibig na Kaya,” and “Ang Saya-Saya,” which became the official theme song of the GMA-7 sitcom Ismol Family”.

1:43 is co-managed by Cahilig and Mario Colmenares of Primetime Events and Talent Management. For booking inquiries, interested parties may send a message at chriscahilig@ gmail.com or call 09054409521.

on this goal of redemption, and taking down WCKD once and for all. He’s driven. And they’re all dialed in.”

It’s about redemption for Teresa too, says Kaya Scodelario, during a pause in shooting. “This is her trying to redeem herself and make sense of her decisions,” she explains. “Not only to Thomas, but to herself.”

“The first movie was about leaving the house for the first time as a kid,” says Ball. “The second is like going off to college. You’re on your own but you don’t know who you are yet. And in the third movie, it’s really about coming to a more mature look at good and evil.

I think, in this movie, you’re going to see, ‘Wow, maybe we don’t agree with what Teresa did, but you can see why she did it.’”

Join the Gladers in their last fight on Jan. 24 in cinemas nationwide from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2018

ISAH V. RED

L

AST week, we chanced upon the young Congressman from Davao City and present chair of the Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives who ably shepherded the national budget.

He is also known as a champion of looking for the much needed funds for the free tuition of students studying in state universities and colleges (SUCs) for school year 20182019.

Karlo Alexei B. Nograles of the first district of Davao City is, many of us, are unaware a film buff. Ask him about Star Wars and he can eloquently tell you the synopses of all the films from the first installment to Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

As we all know he chaired the 2017 Metro Manila Film Festival, or the MMFF, with balancing artistic standards of films and commercial interests of theatre owners and producers in mind.

We asked him a few questions about the recently concluded film festival and he answered them gamely. questions posed to him: What cay you say about the present quality of Filipino films vis-a-vis foreign ones especially the different fentries to the MMFF? On the technical quality, of course, Hollywood still has the edge with their Computer Generated Imagery. But the Filipino film industry has made great strides in polishing some of our graphics, particularly in fantasy films, which are traditional fare of MMFF. The MMFF films are usually wellfunded films boasting impressive graphics, though nakakaangat pa rin technical wise ang Hollywood. For this year’s MMFF, I personally appreciate the efforst in trying to strike a ‘balance’ between commercial and indie films.

What areas need improvement, if any?

I think the focus should be on making more quality films rather than pandering to what the market seems to want. We’ve had really great Filipino films but didn’t prove

JBJ’s 1st fan meet in Manila

Congressman KARLO NOGRALES on the MMFF MMFF Chairman Cong. Karlo Nograles (second from right) with wife Marga and other members of MMFF Executive committee during the fest's Gabi ng Parangal

From left: Cong. Nograles, his wife Marga and the cast of 'Ang Panday' Elisse Joson, McCoy de Leon and Jake Cuenca

to be commercially successful.

So I think the audience should have more venues to appreciate quality films in such a way that they dont have to choose between artistic quality or commercial appeal.

Is there a need for additional incentives from government to the movie industry?

Maybe in areas of taxation like amusement taxes. There has

MMFF Chairman Cong. Nograles with Star of the Night and 'All of You' lead actor Derek Ramsay

With ‘Ang Larawan’ star Rachel Alejandro (center)

always been a call to decrease amusement taxes Big producers can afford the fees but what about indie or regional producers who have limited fund source?

The government can also give support to the local film industry on the aspects of production, wherein more fund grants can be given to produce quality films, story wise. Sadly, good stories normally do not get

funding from big outfits who focus on the marketability of the artistas than the story.

On the aspect of marketing, there should also be a policy to increase screenings of local films in cinemas. The indie film industry is looking forward to a regional cinema development bill since film festivals in the regions have sprouted, just like the Mindanao Film Festival,

which had over 100 films in participation in the first week of December.

What is your general observation of the recent MMFF? MMFF 2017 reverts back with same crowd drawing formula that made huge money in the previous years. If it makes more money then we’ll see this as the current template for future MMFFs.

*** Karlo together with wife Marga (who is a successful entrepreneur herself being the brains and moving spirit of Kaayo, a company that specializes in making stylized and classy indigenous clothes from Mindanao) are looking forward to seeing more quality Filipino films in the next 12 months.

Bell breaks new ground as SAG Awards® first-ever host

Fave Entertainment's rising K-Pop boy group, JBJ

DUBBED as an “idol group miracle” by both the media and fans alike, JBJ has announced they will be holding their first fan meeting ever in Manila on Jan. 14 with their local fans.

JBJ was dubbed an “idol group miracle” in Korea, because members Taehyun, Kenta, Sanggyun, Longguo, Donghan, and Hyunbin participated in the second season of Produce 101 and gathered huge support from fans, who decided to create their own “dream group,” purchasing expensive billboard ads at the bustling

Samseong Subway Station in Seoul, and posting their wishes on hoping for the members to officially debut.

Having released their first mini album, JBJ reached more than three million hits within the first week, creating yet another miracle after miracle, proving themselves as the next rising star, and further beginning to hold a series of oversea fan meetings starting November.

Apart from choosing to spend the beginning of 2018 with their fans in the Philippines, JBJ has also prepared many special gifts for their fans- such

as chances to attend HITOUCH with JBJ, group photos, artist polaroid selfies, autographed CDs, and signed posters, while all attendees will receive a free poster.

Don’t miss the chance to create an everlasting memory with JBJ. JBJ 1st Fan Meeting In Manila “Come True” will be held on Jan. 14 at KIA Theatre.

Tickets are now on sale via Ticket Net Online and all Ticket Net outlets nationwide. New ticket prices start at P7,500.00 for SVIP, P5,500.00 for VIP, P3,000.00 for gold and P1,500.00 for silver.

KRISTEN Bell (The Good Place, Frozen) will host the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® on Jan. 22.

It will be simulcast LIVE from the U.S at 9 a.m. on Blue Ant Entertainment, formerly RTL CBS Entertainment.

As the SAG Awards has never had an emcee before, Executive Producer Kathy Connell and the SAG Awards Committee are breaking a long-standing custom by inviting the multi-faceted actor to fill this prestigious role.

“We are delighted to have Kristen Bell as the firstever host of the SAG Awards,” Connell said. “This has been a year in which assumptions have been challenged, stereotypes have been shattered, and precedents have been broken. We decided to capture the cultural mood by casting aside one of our own traditions, and we’re thrilled to have such a talented performer like Bell help us do so.”

“I am honored to be part of the SAG Awards, and am a little nervous about being its first-ever host,” Bell said. “I’m so glad that I’ll be in the company of my fellow actors, many of whom I’ve worked with before, so I know they’ll be warm and supportive. It’s going to be an amazing night.”

Kristen Bell currently stars as the late Eleanor Shellstrop, who may have landed in the wrong afterlife in The Good Place, opposite Ted Danson. Also this year, she will star in the Netflix comedy Like Father, with Kelsey Grammer as her titular dad. Bell then is reprising her role as Anna in the 2019 sequel to Disney’s Frozen, the highest grossing animated film of all time. She appeared in the musical special Encore, which she also executive produced. Her extensive list of credits includes films like A Bad Moms Christmas and CHiPs,

and television series such as House of Lies, Veronica Mars, and a guest-starring arc in Parks & Recreation.

Blue Ant Entertainment is available on SKYcable channels 53 (SD) and 196 (HD), SKYdirect channel 35, Destiny Cable channel 53 (Digital) 89 (Analog), and Cablelink channels 37 (SD) and 313 (HD).