Manila Standard - 2017 December 26 - Tuesday

28 KILLED IN TWO ROAD ACCIDENTS ON XMAS

By Francisco Tuyay TWENTY-EIGHT people were killed and dozens more were injured in two separate road accidents in La Union and Cotabato provinces, adding to the grim bodycount from disasters during the Christmas holidays.

Along the highway in Agoo, La Union, a fully loaded passenger jeepney taking a group of churchgoers to a dawn service crashed head-on into a passenger bus at

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3:30 a.m., killing 20 on board, including six children, police said.

Nine other passengers in the jeepney were injured, as were 17 traveling in the bus, an updated tally released by regional police said.

Most of those killed were members of the same extended family.

“They [the family] were trying to catch a mass in Manaoag,” Agoo police officer Vanessa Abubo said, referring to the Next page

36 bodies retrieved in mall fire; govt probe set shopping mall fire that killed 37 people, including call center staff from an American firm.

DAVAO CITY—The Justice Justice Secretary Vitaliano Department ordered a crimi- Aguirre announced the inquiry nal investigation Monday into a as firemen prepared to enter

By Rey E. Requejo, Joel E. Zurbano

what remained of the New City Commercial Center mall in the Davao City, where they retrieved the bodies of 36 who perished in Saturday’s blaze. One body was recovered earlier in a fourth floor

comfort room.

The fire compounded the Christmas misery in the south, where tens of thousands were also displaced by floods and Next page

Paolo Duterte quits as Davao vice mayor

By F. Pearl A. Gajunera

D

AVAO CITY—The President’s son, Paolo Duterte, resigned Monday as vice mayor of Davao City after a series of scandals hounded him and members of his family and threatened to cast a shadow over his father’s administration.

“There are recent unfortunate events in my life that are closely tied to my failed first marriage.

These, among others, include the maligning of my reputation in the recent name dropping incident in the Bureau of Customs smuggling case and the very public squabble with my daughter,” the vice mayor said in a privilege speech during a special session of the city council on Christmas Day. “The other person in this failed relationship is incorrigible and can-

not be controlled,” Duterte said, weeping. “And I take responsibility for all that has happened as a result of a wrong decision to marry at a very young age.”

Duterte did not name his former wife, Lovely Sangkola, with whom he had three children—Omar, Rodrigo II and Isabelle—but it was clear he was referring to her.

“When I was growing up, my parents never failed to remind me of the value of the time honored Next page

THE SON QUITS. The President’s son, Paolo Duterte, (in this file photo of AFP) resigns Monday as vice mayor of Davao City after a series of scandals hounded him and members of his family and threatened to cast a shadow over his father’s administration. In a privilege speech on Christmas Day, Duterte talked of his ‘failed relationship’—observers said he was referring to his former wife, Lovely Sangkola, with whom he has three children: Omar, Rodrigo II and Isabelle. AFP

China: Islands ‘reasonably’ expanded

By John Paolo Bencito and Sara Susanne Fabunan MIDNIGHT MASS. Pope Francis (right) on Sunday celebrates Christmas Eve Mass at St. Peter’s basilica in the Vatican, amplifying his voice around the globe to focus on refugees and migrants, drawing a parallel between their travails and that of the holy family at the time of the birth of Jesus. Using the example of the holy family to emphasize the ‘dangers that attend those who have to leave their home behind,’ Francis noted that in Bethlehem, Joseph and Mary found a city ‘that had no room or place for the stranger from afar.’ AFP

Group slams ‘inserted’ low tobacco taxes

By Macon RamosAraneta A GROUP is protesting a surprise insertion favoring a lower tax rate for tobacco products in Congress, saying that may result in 200,000 more Filipinos taking up the deadly vice.

New Vois Association of the Philippines president Emer Rojas said Marikina City Rep. Miro Quimbo did not hold any public consultations when he inserted the tobacco tax rate Next page

CHINA admitted expanding its islands in the disputed South China Sea, with continued construction in the challenged islands covering about 290,000 square meters or 29 hectares this year alone, state paper People’s Daily reported Monday.

The report, which detailed Beijing’s “ac-

UN vows aid, Pope prays for victims of storm Vinta THE Uni ted Nations, offering sympathies to the victims of Tropical Storm ‘‘Vinta’’ (international name ‘‘Tembin’’), has expressed readiness to extend support to Philippines’ humanitarian response to the badly-hit regions.

On Sunday, Pope Francis also offered prayers to the victims of the tropical storm.

“I want to offer my prayers to the population of the island of Mindanao, in the Philippines, hit by a storm that has caused numerous victims and destruc-

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tion,” the Pope said after his weekly Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

“Merciful Lord, take in the souls of the dead and comfort those who are suffering as a result of this calamity. Let’s pray for these people,” he added.

In 2015, the pontiff visited the Philippines and held a holy mass in Tacloban where Super Typhoon ‘‘Yolanda’’ caused enormous devastation in 2013.

On Christmas Eve, Ola Almgren, UN resident Next page

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celerated construction” and “enhanced military presence” on South China Sea islands and shoals over the past year, includes new facilities for underground storage, administrative buildings and large radar, which they claim “reasonably” expanded the area of South China Sea Islands—in a bid they claim enhances Chinese military defense capability within its sovereign scope and Next page

Palace claims crime down, cites no proof

By John Paolo Bencito

INFRASTRUCTURE COMPLETE. China’s state paper People’s Daily reports Monday the world’s most populous nation has admitted expanding its islands (including Fierry Cross Reef in this file photo) in the disputed South China Sea, with continued construction in the challenged islands covering about 290,000 square meters or 29 hectares this year alone.

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MALACAÑANG on Monday claimed that the bloody war against drugs, a campaign President Rodrigo Duterte launched since he took office last year, had been successful in bringing safer communities, but did not cite figures to support such pronouncements.

“It’s been hugely successful. I think the communities are safer and our young people are better protected against drugs,” Palace Spokesman Harry Roque said, replying to questions on his assessment of the administration’s policy.

Bringing back the Philippine National Police into the campaign is “the Next page

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News

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2017

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Firms dropped by MRT 3 to bid for transport deals B Rep. Jericho Nograles said Busan and Edison should be held accountable for turning the MRT3 into shambles, but they were the lone bidder for the maintenance of LRT Line 2.

“This is shocking! How can Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade allow this?” Nograles said.

“It is basic common sense that Busan and Edison should have been blacklist-

ed from joining any bidding for any government project, especially projects of the DoTr.” Nograles, quoting Transport Department sources, said the companies behind Busan Universal Rail Inc.― Busan Transportation Corp. and Edison Development & Construction, “were qualified by the DOTr as eligible bidders for three major DOTr projects despite the

fact that the DOTr canceled their contract due to Negative Slippage.”

Edison, a BURI incorporator, is a sole proprietorship of Elpidio Silvestre Uy who failed to declare his ownership stake in BURI to the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

Busan, another incorporator of BURI, is a Korean company facing charges as well in a plunder case filed by the DoTr. “The projects involve the rail replacement of MRT3, the restoration of four LRT2 trains, and, worst of all, is the lone bidder for the LRT2 Maintenance Contract,” Nograles said.

“How can the DOTr even consider qualifying Busan and Edison as bidders for its projects shortly after getting entangled in a scandalous contract for MRT3? Anyone in his right mind would not even touch these two com-

28 killed...

Authorities are investigating whether the driver, who Abubo said was among those killed, had fallen asleep or was under the influence, Villanueva added.

The pilgrims had come from the town of Bauang, an hour’s drive from Manaoag, police said.

Passengers who suffered critical injuries were taken to La Union Medical Center in Agoo, but died upon arrival. One died while being treated at a hospital in San

Fernando City in La Union.

Among those killed were five members of the Cabuenas family—the couple Florence and Nelson and their three siblings Joy, Ivy, and Ivan, all minors; four members of the Ramirez clan—Cecil Antolin, Jeraldin Cabradilla, Claudine Cabradilla and Vergie Antolin.

The other fatalities were three members of the Cabagbay family: Kennedy, 6-month-old Kyle, and

Vicky; as well as Mark Jerson Cabero, the driver Rolando Perez, Anna Karina Ramiscal, a minor, Manuelito Lomboy Jr., and Adila Antolin.

Initial reports said that on the way to Manaoag, the jeepney driver had reportedly overtaken a bus on a winding road where overtaking is strictly prohibiteds. After passing the said bus, the jeepney went into the opposite lane hitting an incoming Partas bus.

In Cotabato, a passenger jeepney plunged into a deep ravine killing eight occupants in President Roxas, town Monday morning. The jeepney was traversing a winding road when it suddenly lost its brakes and fell into a 60-foot ravine.

Over the holiday season, more than 200 people died in flash floods and landslides caused by Tropical Storm “Vinta” while 37 people died in a mall fire in Davao City.

Chinese President Xi Jinping to President Rodrigo Duterte, who played down reports of Beijing’s military build-up in the disputed waters.

Sought for comment on the report, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque again played down Beijing’s continued reclamation and construction in the disputed waters.

“We dont know where these works are. We continue to rely on China’s good faith. Location is material since we do not have claims on all the islands and waters in the disputed area,” he said in a text message to reporters.

Beijing’s admission confirms satellite imagery released earlier this month by

the Washington-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, which showed infrastructure build-up in the Spratly and Paracel islands during the entire year, covering 290,000 square meters.

Greg Poling, the initiative’s director, said Beijing had seized a “diplomatic opening” amid Duterte’s conciliatory stance toward Beijing over their territorial dispute.

“It’s gotten off the front pages, but we shouldn’t confuse that with a softening in China’s pursuit of its goals. They are continuing all the construction they want,” Poling was earlier quoted in an Associated Press interview.

Duterte earlier claimed

that Xi assured him that the increasing militarization in the South China Sea was “nothing” and was given the assurance that China would not impede the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. The Chairman’s statement of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), meanwhile, for its 31st Summit in Manila had taken a soft stance towards China’s militarization of the disputed waters, only referring to the vague need for “non-militarization and self restraint.”

Last November 13, China agreed to start with the negotiations for a binding Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, 15 years after they signed the Dec-

laration of Conduct, a nonbinding edict, in 2002.

The Asean and China decided to adopt “in its entirety” the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the disputed waters adopted by the foreign ministers of Asean member countries and China last August.

China claims most of the oil-resource-rich South China Sea where a total $5 trillion worth of trade passes through the disputed waters every year, citing its ninedash line policy based on an ancient Chinese map.

But the Arbitral Tribunal has ruled in favor of the Philippines and declared China’s claim as excessive and illegal to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

By Maricel V. Cruz

USAN Transportation Corp. and Edison Development & Construction have qualified as bidders for three Transport Department projects even if their maintenance contract for Metro Rail Transit Line 3 was terminated over its sloppy service and alleged anomalous dealings with the government, an official said Monday.

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centuries-old Our Lady of Manaoag church, a popular pilgrimage site that features an icon of the Virgin Mary, which the faithful say performs miracles.

Agoo police chief Roy Villanueva told radio dzMM by telephone that the smaller vehicle had left its lane to overtake a third vehicle.

China:...

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improve the lives of people living on the islands.

Beijing said it has conducted extensive land reclamation work on some of the islands and reefs it controls in the South China Sea, including building airports; international services such as search-and-rescue; and the increase of civilian facilities.

Among those that will be built in the future were: A floating nuclear power platform, libraries and stadiums, among others.

China also says it can do whatever it wants on its territory, despite an earlier reported assurance given by

UN...

Palace...

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coordinator, said the preparation and response efforts of the Philippine government were “acknowledged,” and, as in the past, UN “remains ready to render support in response to humanitarian need.”

The statement comes after SecretaryGeneral António Guterres on Saturday offered his sympathies to the families and victims of the calamity. “[Secretary-General Guterres] salutes the efforts of the national rescue and recovery teams as well as volunteers who are operating under difficult conditions,” his spokesperson said in a statement.

“The UN stands ready to support the local and national authorities, in addition to the support already being provided by humanitarian partners.”

In a tweet, US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim also offered his “thoughts and prayers” to the victims of tropical storm Vinta.

Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Amanda Gorley also shared similar sentiments, saying Australia’s “thoughts and sympathies” are with the families affected by ‘‘Vinta.’’ ‘‘Vinta’’ hit land in Davao Oriental last week and crossed various provinces across Mindanao causing flash floods and landslides, which rendered several roads impassable.

According to the National Risk Reduction and Management Council, about 100,000 families were affected in 998 barangays, at least 125 lives have been lost, and more than 159 still missing.

Of the more than 100,000 families affected, about 97,000 persons are staying in 261 evacuation centers. PNA

most efficient means of conducting a war against drugs,” Roque said, despite controversies rocking the police.

He said the crime rate went down by 35 percent, a “major accomplishment’ “not disputed,” but did not cite where he got his figures.

Latest figures of the Philippine National Police showed the volume of crimes in the Philippines dropped to 100,668 index crimes recorded from January to November 2017 or 21.8 percent

Group...

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in the House’s version of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion or TRAIN bill.

“The insertion was done in haste and there was no public consultation held to at least have an informed discussion on the issue before this provision was accommodated by the House,” Rojas said.

He said Quimbo’s version of the excise tax rate (P2.50 per pack) on top of the current P30 was too low compared to the P60 proposed by tobacco-control advocates at P60.

He said the inserted tobacco tax rate would not even make a

panies with a ten-foot pole under the present circumstances,” Nograles said.

Negative Slippage may be calculated as Total Accomplishment less Actual Accomplishment.

In the case of Busan Transportation Corp. and Edison Development & Construction Corp., DOTr sued these parties for nonperformance of a contract with the MRT3 leading to plunder, Nograles said.

The DOTr cited BURI’s poor performance and failure to ensure the availability of contractually obligated number of trains and put reliable and efficient trains as reasons for its action.

It said the company also failed to implement a feasible procurement plan for spare parts. BURI failed to procure and store the required volume of spare parts, which affected its

ability to effect immediate repairs on defective trains and other facilities of the MRT-3 system.

The department said BURI also failed to comply with the contractual requirements of a complete and up-to-date computerized maintenance management system.

The department In January 2016 signed a P3.8billion three-year contract with the joint venture Busan Transportation Corp., Edison Development & Construction, Tramat Mercantile Inc., TMICorp. and Castan Corp. to do maintenance work on the rolling stock and signaling system, the most critical maintenance component of MRT 3.

But BURI said it was confident it would be vindicated from the process of contract termination initiated by the Transport Department.

from 2016.

Homicide incidents, however, are the only ones in the index crime that rose by 14.6 percent in 2017, with 2,386 killings from January to November in 2017.

Earlier this month, Duterte gave another deadline to finish eradicating the drug menace for “just another year” after he ordered the PNP back to his bloody campaign which saw thousands dead since he took over the Presidency.

The President earlier signed Memorandum Order 17, directing the PNP “to resume providing active support” to the Philipdifference to finance the Duterte administration’s BUILD BUILD BUILD program, while a P60 per pack tax rate would automatically generate for the government P40 billion in revenues from tobacco alone.

He said having an acceptable tax rate on tobacco was important to curb smoking, which was proven when the government signed the amended sin tax in 2012 that resulted in one million Filipinos quitting smoking.

Rojas warned that requiring the tobacco industry to pay a measly additional P2.50 tax per pack tax would reverse this achievement and even result in an estimated 200,000 new smokers taking up smoking.

“Congressman Quimbo’s sug-

pine Drug Enforcement Agency, which still remains as the overall lead agency in the campaign against illegal drugs.

Back then, Duterte cited “public clamor” amid the “notable resurgence in illegal drugs in the Philippines and crimes” since the PNP and the other law enforcement agencies yielded in the antiillegal drug operations.

Aside from the PNP, other law enforcement agencies, including the National Bureau of Investigation, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Bureau of Customs, Philippine Postal Corp., will resume providing active support to the PDEA, Roque said. gested tax was way too low and is a guarantee that there will be 200,000 new smokers and tobacco victims in the country,” he said.

Rojas said higher taxes had proved to be effective in curbing smoking, specially as most of the tobacco consumers in the Philippines were poor.

“Tobacco tax is pro-poor as it protects people from acquiring preventable deaths and diseases caused by smoking,” Rojas said.

“If we prevent people from becoming ill or from premature death due to smoking, then we can channel the health budget to better use such as improving health support services, livelihood and other development projects.”

Paolo...

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principles of delicadeza and this is one of those instances in my life that I need to protect my honor and that of my children,” he said.

Only recently, Duterte had a very public row with his teenage daughter Isabelle on social media, after she accused him on Twitter of beating up a childhood friend.

“Even if you have a position in the city, you can’t beat up a person! Even if you have power, you can’t hurt another person!

You are hurting a human being! Not just human being, but a child! Even if you have a name, you can’t do things like that!

Even if you’re a Duterte, that is unacceptable!” she said in a mix of Visayan and Tagalog.

Her father gave her a tongue lashing afterward on his Facebook page, which he said he would delete.

Critics of President Rodrigo Duterte made an issue of Isabelle’s Instagram account, where she has shown a preference for expensive designer clothes and foreign travel.

Isabelle also drew flak after she turned Malacañang into a venue of her predebut photoshoot—when the Davao City government website put her age at just 15 years old.

Mayor Sara Duterte

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landslides from a storm that also killed more than 200 others on Friday.

“The loss of lives and the resulting damage... underscore the need to determine if someone is at fault and should be held criminally liable,” Aguirre said in a statement.

“By punishing those responsible, we can set an example to others so that, hopefully, there will be no repetition of those tragedies,” he added.

Deadly blazes occur regularly, particularly in slum areas where there are virtually no fire safety standards.

Local authorities on Sunday said no-one trapped in the fire would have survived.

The Davao fire marshal had on Sunday described the shopping mall as “an enclosed space with no ventilation,” though the authorities said they had yet to determine the cause of the blaze.

The building’s administrators on Sunday denied allegations from survivors that there were inadequate emergency fire exits and that some of them were locked.

“There is no truth to that allegation. In fact as per accounts of those who got out, they were able get out through the fire exit,” Thea Padua, the mall’s public relations officer, said.

Some relatives of those missing criticized rescuers for what they felt was the slow pace of recovery efforts.

“They seem so relaxed,” said Jolita Basalan, weeping as she waited for news of her missing 29-year-old son Jonas who worked at the call center.

“They are not pained because they don’t have a child there. They told us to come here but no one is moving,” she said.

But authorities said that firemen needed to inspect the structural integrity of the burnt-out building before venturing inside its gutted remains.

Aguirre said he has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct a parallel investigation into the fire to determine possible criminal liabilities in the mall fire.

“We want the NBI to be involved with its own probe. Their findings will enable us to make those

said she supports her older brother’s decision.

“Whatever makes him happy in his personal life [I will support him]. I also understand where this is coming from, he is talking about delicadeza and honor. He is not entirely putting the blame on another person, but also his decision to marry at a young age, [which] affected his life now,” she said.

The mayor said President Duterte knew beforehand that Paolo would resign.

If the President approves Paolo’s resignation, he will be replaced by 3rd District Councilor Bernard Al-ag, who is the current majority floor leader of the 18th city council.

Senator JV Ejercito said Paolo made the supreme sacrifice of resigning because he most likely wanted to spare the President from further controversies arising from his personal life and political issues.

“It takes guts and courage to make that ultimate sacrifice,” Ejercito said.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, a staunch critic of the Duterte’s, said the vice mayor was “probably just preempting the numerous investigations against him by the Ombudsman.”

“Delicadeza, seriously?

He engaged his daughter in a public spat on Facebook, and then now he claims delicadeza? That’s pure BS,” Trillanes said. With Bill Casas responsible fully accountable before our courts via the criminal cases that will be filed,” Aguirre said in a statement.

Initial reports said the blaze started at the four-story mall at around 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.

Built in 2003 by the Lim family, the NCCC Mall is one of the city’s bigger establishments.

SSI offered its condolences to the families of the victims and said it would help support funeral arrangements.

“It is with deep sadness that we confirm that 37 Research Now SSI employees were lost in the fire that struck the NCCC mall in Davao City, Philippines, where the company employs 500 in its local call center operation,” the company said.

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III on Monday asked the Bureau of Fire Protection to investigate thoroughly the cause of the blaze that killed 37 people inside the mall.

“I want to know why they were trapped, and if there is anything we could have done to avoid this. I look forward to the report of BFP and see if we need to update our fire safety regulations to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again,” Pimentel said.

Pimentel, a party-mate of former Davao City mayor and now President Rodrigo Duterte, also extended his condolences to the families of the victims trapped at the New City Commercial Center, one of the biggest malls in the city, On Saturday night, President Duterte visited the mall and talked to relatives of the 37 people trapped inside.

The Davao fire was second only to the 2015 blaze at the Kentex footwear factory in Valenzuela City that killed 42 workers. The blaze at Kentex, which started when sparks from a welder repairing a metal gate ignited nearby chemicals, highlighted the unsafe working conditions for many workers.

Survivors of that blaze blamed barred windows and other sweatshop conditions for trapping people inside the factory.

In the deadliest fire in in recent times, 162 people were killed in a huge blaze that gutted the Ozone disco in 1996. With F. Pearl Gajunera and AFP

News NIA signs MOUs with 6 ‘hydro’ developers for plants in north

By Rio N. Araja NATIONAL Irrigation Administration chief Ricardo Visaya has approved nine memoranda of understanding with six hydropower developers.

The pacts shall allow developers to conduct feasibility studies on the development of proposed hydropower plants within several NIA irrigation systems.

The feasibility study is at no cost to NIA, and will also have an inextensible term of one year from effectivity, Visayas said. The memorandum does not vest preferential or exclusive right to a developer to develop and implement the project upon the completion of the feasibility study.

“We will not spend here. No other irrigation systems will be removed because part of the memorandum of understanding is to instruct the developer not to remove, displace or destroy any improvement during the study,” Visaya said.

The developers included C Squared Prime Commodities Corp., which is interested in putting up a conventional hydroelectric power plant at the Agno river irrigation system in Pangasinan; Philcarbon Inc. intending to develop a 600-kW hydroelectric power plant along Maris Magat F in Cordon, Isabela; and Iraya Energy Corp., proposing to develop a 1-megawatt hydroelectric power plant along Maris (South) main canal in Ramon, Isabela.

The other developers signing the MOUs are Matuno River Development Corp., Tokyo Electric Power Services Co. Ltd. and DA Green Power Consultancy.

Visaya, a former Armed Forces chief of staff, vowed to optimize the potential of NIA’s existing irrigation systems, put up eco-tourism destinations, and build more hydropower plants in all potential irrigation sites owned and being managed by the agency.

He said 357 potential hydropower sites have been identified. Upon development, the sites would provide electricity to farflung communities and boost the economic development of the country “as a whole.”

PDEA in West Mindanao nabs pusher, P12.2-m haul of shabu ZAMBOANGA CITY—The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency has seized P12.2 million worth of shabu, the biggest drug haul so far this month, in its continued anti-illegal drugs campaign in Western Mindanao.

In a statement sent to the Philippine News Agency, PDEA Regional Director Lyndon Aspacio said they have also arrested a suspected big time drug pusher, Al-Jhmer Jakilan, 33, who disguised himself by working as a security guard.

Aspacio said Jakilan was arrested in a buy-bust operation around 1 p.m. Saturday in Estrada Drive, Barangay Tetuan, this city, following days of surveillance on the suspect’s illicit activities.

Seized from Jakilan were 2,443.8 grams of suspected shabu, packed in nine selfsealing plastic sachets and two self-sealing plastic bags worth P12.2 million; two P1,000 bills placed on top of two bundles of neatly-cut “boodle money” made to appear as P200,000 used as buy-bust money; and a biscuit can.

Aspacio said charges for violating Section 5 (selling of illegal drugs) and Section 11 (possession of illegal drugs) of Article II of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 are set to be filed against the suspect.

The P12.2-million shabu haul was the fifth and the biggest drug haul of Aspacio’s office, as their campaign against illegal drugs in the Western Mindanao area continues.

Western Mindanao covers the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay, including Zamboanga City, as well as the provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi that are part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The four other big drug hauls by PDEA were P5 million worth of suspected shabu seized in a buy-bust operation last Nov. 3 in Canelar, Zamboanga City; P1.5 million last Nov. 20 in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi; P5 million in Dec. 2 in Sta. Maria, Zamboanga City; and, P1.2 million last Dec. 6 in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi.

Aspacio said the latest haul was made possible through the assistance of the other law enforcement agencies such as the police and Naval Forces Western Mindanao. PNA

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

ERC hit for ‘pure blackmail’

By Maricel V. Cruz

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PARTY-LIST lawmaker on Monday dismissed as “pure blackmail” the claim of the Energy Regulatory Commission that massive blackouts will take place as soon as the Ombudsman’s order of suspension against its four commissioners takes effect.

Last Thursday, the Ombudsman ordered a oneyear suspension of ERC Commissioners Gloria Victoria Yap-Taruc, Alfredo Non, Josefina Patricia Magpala-

Asirit, and Geronimo Sta. Ana for allowing power utilities like the Manila Electric Company or Meralco to skirt the required bidding process for energy agreements.

“It is clear that [the] Commissioners… were found guilty of conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, aggravated by simple misconduct and simple neglect of duty by the Office of the Ombudsman and the said decision should be implemented,” Bayan Muna Party-List Rep. Carlos Zarate said.

“They committed an offense detrimental to the public and they should be made accountable and not treated as sacred cows.”

Zarate has filed House Resolution 566 asking Congress to consider his

allegation that the power supply agreements or PSAs were “sweetheart deals” between Meralco and the ERC, since they were accepted by the Commission despite the lapse of the application deadline at 5 p.m. on April 29, 2016.

The lawmaker dared the Palace to prove its sincerity in fighting corruption by ordering the outright dismissal of the four ERC commissioners, and appoint replacements whose track record were not tainted with alleged corruption.

“In fact, with the Ombudsman’s findings, the

Office of the President can even dismiss these erring commissioners and appoint news ones who would really look out for the best interest of the consumers,” Zarate said.

“The decision of the Ombudsman, as well as the anomalous facts established in the House probe, point not just to a whiff of corruption but stinks of it,” he added, referring to the seven Meralco PSAs that ERC “accommodated” despite the lapse of the filing date for exemption of the now mandatory competitive selection process.

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Opinion

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2017

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EDITORIAL

Adelle Chua, Editor

Memorial

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SAKA, Japan, is terminating its six-decade sister-city relationship with San Francisco after the latter designated a memorial to comfort women as city property.

The relationship of trust is gone, said the mayor, Hirofumi Yoshimura, who had called the memorial a form of Japanbashing, according to The Japan Times.

Earlier this year, he and the Osaka governor, Ichiro Matsui, said the memorial was “mistaken history.”

The memorial reads: “This monument bears witness to the suffering of hundreds of thousands of women and girls euphemistically called ‘Comfort Women,’ who were sexually enslaved by

the Japanese Imperial Armed Forces in thirteen Asian-Pacific countries from 1931 to 1945.”

Supporters of the memorial are standing firm: “[Prime Minister Shinzo] Abe’s policy of denial of the comfort women history and fake news has been now defeated. Let the record stand that neither the San Francisco mayor nor the Board of Supervisors nor the citizens will be bullied by the Japanese government when it comes to protecting all women from sexual violence,” said Julie Tang, co-chairman of the Comfort Women Justice Coalition.

Here at home, a seven-foot bronze statue of a Filipino comfort woman was recently unveiled along Roxas Boulevard.

So far, no adverse reactions from the

Japanese government have yet been noted.

We wonder whether it is because the statue completely escaped attention, or whether they did not think the issue was significant enough to merit a reaction.

Comfort women from the Philippines kept their silence for decades, even with their own families, before recounting their stories. Some of them carried their secrets to the grave. Now there are just a few of them and they are neither healthy nor strong enoughto keep up the fight for long. They need many things in their old age and fragile state, but first and foremost they need an acknowledgment that their ordeal indeed happened. Revisionism subjects them to shame and insignificance all over again.

The present spokesman of the Duterte

administration, Harry Roque, used to represent a group of comfort women in a landmark case—in which they lost. In April 2010 the Supreme Court ruled that the women’s petition had no merit because “from a domestic law perspective, the Executive Department has the exclusive prerogative to determine whether to espouse petitioners’ claims against Japan.”

The court also said that the Philippines is “not under any international obligation to espouse the petitioners’ claims.” They appealed but lost again.

The nation faces a lot of problems. A handful of old women with a dark past not of their own doing do not look like they stand a good chance of being given priority in their concern. Let the statue stand to tell everyone this part of history must not be forgotten.

What is bitcoin good for?

By Megan McArdle

TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

WHEN you reach the age of 90, you do a lot of reminiscing. And today I cannot help but recall what Christmas was like when I was growing up in the province of Abra, where my father was district supervisor of public schools.

One significant thing I can recall during the Christmas season was that my mother would get me new shirts and short pants. The family would have ice cream on top of a contraption—I don’t remember what it was called, but I have seen replicas.

Abra in those days was so primitive. Actu-

Christmases I knew ally, even now, it does not rank high as a destination. There is only one branch of McDonald’s and one of Jollibee. The medical facilities are not good—three of my other siblings died in infancy.

My father used to have a helper build me a toy made out of a can of condensed milk. He bore four holes, two on each side, and used sticks to connect them for the wheels. I would be going around the house with this toy car, using a string to carry it around.

When I was staying in Manila with my brothers and sister in their apartment, I was not difficult to please. On birthdays and Christmases, I was

happy with one peso.

I think young people today should thank their stars for technology. At my age of 90, I am a dinosaur compared to my children and grandchildren. I still pound on my typewriter to write my column. I never learned to use the computer or e-mail the newsroom.

Believe it or not, I don’t know how to text.

But back to my memories. We celebrated New Year’s Eve with paper trumpets our teachers would give us in school.

How simple life was back then. I miss those days. *** President Rodrigo Duterte should consider

How simple life was back then. creating a Department of Climate Change. This is in connection to deaths, loss of homes, livelihood and infrastructure after typhoons. People get displaced and live in evacuation centers.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council is only an ad hoc body under the Department of Defense, although now devolved, and the Climate Change Commission which has

billions to spare.

This department will need the budget that the NDRRMC is enjoying.

I would say that Senator Loren Legarda, who is already retiring from the Senate in 2019, would be perfect as the first Secretary of the Department of Climate Change. The environment has always been her advocacy. How about it, Mr.President? *** The pork barrel system is very much alive.

No amount of denial by Malacañang and Budget Secretary Diokno can prove otherwise.

With the House opposition lawmakers saying that Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez has deprived

them of their own budget for infrastructure and livelihood as some kind of punishment for being on the other side of the political fence, what do you make of that?

In effect, Alvarez was depriving the people from those constituencies of what is due them.

The zero budget of Davao del Sur Rep. Antonio Floirendo is something else. While Floirendo is with PDP-Laban and a contributor to the campaign of President Duterte, the root of all this is personal—a spat between their respective girlfriends.

I wonder what the President thinks of Alvarez’s Turn to A5

THIS may be a question you’ve asked yourself, looking at the recent runup in prices. Why, exactly, would you want to pay $18,000 and change to get your hands on one?

I myself have been asking that question. Is bitcoin in a bubble? Or do all those folks who are eagerly snapping it up know something that I don’t?

Maybe they do. That’s the magic of markets, isn’t it? As individuals, we’re often wrong, but markets aggregate the opinions of individuals, and over time, the errors ought to cancel each other out.

So the market’s guess at the value of bitcoin is probably better than mine.

Except: Markets do go into speculative bubbles (just ask anyone who bought a house in 2006).

Also, the bitcoin market is a little strange. At the moment, it consists of a relatively small band of heavy enthusiasts. A bunch of those enthusiasts work in media or Silicon Valley, so their fixation gets more attention than, say, the market for Hummel figurines.

But essentially, the market is similar to a market for collectibles, in that it is disproportionately composed of people who are obsessed with bitcoin.

Now, in and of itself that doesn’t mean the price reflects a bubble. But it does mean that we have to go back to the original question: What is a bitcoin good for?

There are basically two answers to this: Either a bitcoin is money, or it is a payment system.

This is a problem that very smart economists grapple with all the time; the question “What is money?” is perhaps the most delightfully dizzying metaphysical mystery to be found in modern economics.

The best way to think Turn to A5

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Opinion

ALTHOUGH there is no constitutional or statutory provision mandating it, the historical tradition in the Philippines is that the most senior associate justice of the Supreme Court is next in line as chief justice.

This tradition, however, is not akin to a hard and fast rule, as the historical record reveals.

During the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines (1942-1945), the Executive Commission appointed Jose Yulo chief justice. Four other associate justices were appointed to serve in the Yulo Court, including Manuel Moran, who was the most senior associate justice of the Supreme Court under the ousted Commonwealth of the Philippines.

In fine, Yulo’s appointment as chief justice bypassed Moran, and it was in breach of the foregoing judicial tradition. He was also an outsider inasmuch as he was never an associate justice of the Supreme Court.

At any rate, the appointment of Chief Justice Yulo did not create any stir since the country was undergoing extra-ordinarily unusual times.

Philippine presidents beginning from Manuel Roxas until Diosdado Macapagal honored the judicial tradition by appointing the most senior associate justice of the Supreme Court the chief justice whenever a vacancy arises in the said office.

President Ferdinand Marcos honored the judicial tradition four times— once during his first term (1965-1969), once during his second term (19691973), and twice during his extended term under martial law (1973-1981). More specifically, Marcos appointed Chief Justice Roberto Concepcion in 1966; Chief Justice Querube Makalintal in 1973; Chief Justice Fred Ruiz Castro in 1976; and Chief Justice Enrique M. Fernando in 1979.

Chief Justice Concepcion administered the oath of office to President Marcos in December 1969, while Chief Justice Fernando did the honor in June 1981.

Fernando was particularly close to Marcos since they were contemporaries in the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law. Under the original text of the 1973 Constitution, a justice of the Supreme Court must retire upon reaching the age of 65 (it was 70 under the 1935 Constitution). Thus, Chief Justice Fernando was due to retire in July 1980.

Chief Justice Fernando’s retirement plans, however, were postponed when in early 1980, the 1973 Constitution was amended anew, this time restoring the compulsory retirement age of 70 for all judges and justices provided in the 1935 Constitution.

A difficulty for President Marcos arose in July 1985.

Chief Justice Fernando was due for compulsory retirement, and the most senior associate justice of the Supreme Court was Claudio Teehankee.

The ties between President Marcos and Justice

Teehankee go back a long way. Even before Marcos won the presidency in 1965, Teehankee was Marcos’s legal counsel and adviser.

In 1968, Marcos appointed Teehankee associate justice of the Supreme Court.

Their close relationship soured in April 1973 when the validity of the 1973 Constitution was challenged in the Supreme Court. Teehankee was among four justices who voted against the validity of the new charter. Since then, Teehankee became the anti-administration vote in the Supreme Court whenever the validity of the official acts of the Marcos regime were challenged in the high tribunal.

If the judicial tradition were to be observed, President Marcos should appoint Teehankee chief justice upon the retirement of Chief Justice Fernando.

Although Chief Justice Fernando did not always rule in favor of the Marcos administration (he was a staunch advocate of judicial review of authoritarian measures), Marcos was comfortable with Fernando at the helm of the judiciary—a coordinate branch of the national government.

With Fernando as the chief justice and former Chief Justice Querube Makalintal as the head of the Interim Batasang Pambansa, Marcos had both the judiciary and the legislature on friendly terms with him.

President Marcos’s advisers stressed that appointing Teehankee chief justice will create the specter of a hostile judiciary. Indeed, Marcos was not keen on a Teehankee Court.

Thus, upon the retirement of Chief Justice Fernando, President Marcos by-passed Justice Teehankee and appointed Teehankee’s next-in-line, Justice Felix Makasiar, chief justice. Like Castro and Fernando before him, Makasiar was a Marcos appointee to the Supreme Court. He was also the strongman’s solicitor general before his judicial appointment.

Because Makasiar’s appointment as chief justice breached the judicial tradition, anti-Marcos politicians quickly denounced Makasiar’s appointment as an affront to the independence of the judiciary.

When Chief Justice Makasiar retired in November 1985, President Marcos again by-passed Justice Teehankee and appointed Teehankee’s next-in-line, Ramon Aquino chief justice. Like what happened earlier, anti-Marcos politicians denounced the Aquino appointment.

Teehankee finally became chief justice in 1986 when Mrs. Corazon Cojuangco Aquino appointed him to the post days after seizing power.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo also breached the judicial tradition when she appointed Artemio Panganiban chief justice, succeeding the pro-Aquino Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr. She by-passed Reynato Puno, who was the most senior associate justice at the time Davide retired. Puno was more

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The name of our future

HAIL TO THE CHAIR VICTOR AVECILLA

PNoy’s Marcosian judicial politics

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2017

join them. In a way, this is what we celebrate in Christmas—the continuing Incarnation of Jesus.

God continues to intervene with us. The Spirit is certainly guiding us and yes Jesus is present amid us; the Word becoming Man, the all-powerful Word (using beautiful language from Isaiah) leaps from the heavens, like a pitiless warrior, to the heart of a land doomed by destruction.

Yet, the reasons for the Incarnation persist.

Last week, typhoon Urduja barrelled through Tacloban and other parts of Leyte and Samar wreaking havoc in its wake. As if mother nature was not satisfied, another devastating storm, Vinta, visited Mindanao a few days ago causing severe and extensive damage, including hundreds of casualties in the affected areas.

My beloved hometown Cagayan de Oro was not excluded.

These are acts of nature but humans are also responsible in allowing climate change to run amok and in making ourselves more vulnerable through unsustainable development.

What were 100-year floods, as what we thought “Yolanda” and “Sendong” were, have become fiveto 10-year floods because of human stupidity and greed. Even in disaster risk reduction, we have backslid from what I thought we have already agreed on as a society: there must be zero casualty from these events.

There are also the thousands of families affected by the Marawi siege and the scourge of extrajudicial killings that continue unabated. And just this weekend, we saw the ter-

rible news from Davao of dozens of workers killed in the NCCC mall fire.

One may ask—is there reason for the displaced and/or mourning families and all the suffering to celebrate Christmas?

And then there are our fears, which take on many forms. Some are apprehensive of the state of our social and political life; for instance, whether martial law will be declared all throughout the country, or whether a revolutionary government will be installed in the immediate future. Some are scared of our children being harmed, as we have seen in how the country responded to the disappearance of Ica Policarpio.

In his traditional Christmas message, Pope Francis explains to us that fear is not exclusive to our days. He points out that the Gospels are replete with stories of fear, even among those who knew Jesus best.

The disciples shrink in fear when Jesus stills a storm: “They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this, then, who can command the wind and waves?’” When they spy him walking on water, they feel the same: “‘It is a ghost!’ they said, and cried out in fear.”

Jesus comes to proclaim an end to fear. He not only expressed this with his words but in his very life itself; where his miracles remove the need for fear both in healings, where years of fear vanish, and in the nature miracles, where the storms that threatened to swamp rickety boats evaporate.

Jesus also proclaims the end to fear in his Incarnation and birth.

The Trinity decided that the Son be born in a lowly

manger. In that powerlessness and poverty, Jesus became the mightiest of all kings. and showed the world the abundance of wealth that matters: Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and the Lord will give you everything you need.

In the words of Pope Francis, “the powerless one dependent on a poor young woman for sustenance will become the allpowerful one who bring riches to all who believe.

The one who feeds will become our food. It is no accident that he sleeps in a manger, a word meaning ‘to eat.’”

Jesus was both human and divine. His human nature understands fear.

Yet as the Holy Father tells us, Jesus keeps on consoling us by assuring us that hope is stronger than despair, love is stronger than hate, and life is stronger than death. Nothing—not poverty, not injustice, not cruel rulers like Herod— can thwart God’s desires in the world. But we must participate in those desires because God acts through us. And nothing is impossible with God. At dawn, last Saturday, preparing for Christmas Eve, I prayed for only two things this Christmas: First, that Ica, whose parents Penny and Joan I know in multiple ways through connections in Ateneo de Manila, the Ateneo Catechetical Instruction League, UP College of Law, and through other relatives that are my friends, would find her way home; Second, that there would be survivors from the NCCC mall fire.

Shortly after, news about Ica being found was posted. Regardless of the circumstances of her dis-

appearance, I am happy for the Policarpios and urge everyone to respect their privacy.

Alas, it does not look like there might be other survivors from the NCCC fire and there will be a lot of mourning in Davao.

It would be the height of insensitivity now to make political comments about the causes of and the Dutertes’ response to the fire.

Later of course, these must be investigated—how the fire started, whether the mall was compliant with regulations, and how the fire department responded—not necessarily to find fault but to ensure this tragedy is not repeated.

Clearly, the Incarnation is not a fix-all. It’s not a guarantee that there will be no more disasters, tragedies, injustice, sadness, evil, and sin.

Christmas is an assurance that God is with us, that The Lord will accompany us, our families and communities, in sorrow and joy, inviting us to be co-creators in saving the world. As my friend Mel Sta. Ana reposted in Facebook, a message in a Church summarizes this season well, “Even in sadness, our faith holds out to us the possibility of joy.”

Indeed.

Titay, my wife of 32 years, never tires of reminding me, “There is nothing so bad that God cannot take out good.”

That’s why, as Pope Francis said (and our friend Fr. Danny Huang SJ quotes this in his Christmas card to us), “To Christians, the future does have a name, and its name is hope.”

To all my readers, a Christmas full of hope is my prayer for you!

*** One of the controversies that would erupt next year is the move to enact the Bangsamoro Basic law.

There are, for instance, provisions that would make the Bangsamoro region a practical substate—its own budget

commission, interior department, even commission on audit. It would also have control of its natural resources.

However Mr. Duterte would like to please the Muslims in Mindanao by giving them all these, what then would stop the

Cordillera Administrative Region from asking the same? The result would be a country with so many sub-states! This is unconstitutional!

This, to me, is the weakness of the federalism campaign of the Duterte administration. No

wonder it is losing steam.

And with federalism, what will stop dynasties from taking over a region?

I am all for a parliamentary system of government, not a federal system. It can create more problems than solutions.

about it is that if bitcoin is a payments system, it will compete with Visa, or PayPal, or bank settlement, or some other system of moving money hither and yon. If it is money, it will compete with the dollar and the euro and the yen.

Bitcoin’s future as a payment system is more plausible, because it would not need to dethrone other currencies, something that the governments that run those currencies are apt to get rather testy about.

But if you think bitcoin is a payments system, you quickly run into a few

problems.

The first is that bitcoin has severe scaling problems. It is designed for transactions to take 10 minutes to clear (a modern miracle, but those of us used to the modern miracle of debit cards are probably not willing to stand at the grocery checkout queue for 10 minutes after our groceries are bagged). And its overall architecture means it simply can’t clear very many transactions—a tiny fraction of what Visa and Mastercard handle every day. Already people are complaining about rising fees and longer wait times for payments to clear.

For bitcoin to compete as a payment system, it has to offer the same benefits that Visa does: rapid transfers of funds, immense scale, protection against theft, in the US, at least, and the ability to dispute charges, all at a reasonably low transaction fee. Otherwise, it has to be better at something than Visa is.

The only area where it can really be said to better than a credit card lies in the privacy.

But I’ve yet to see evidence that people other than current bitcoin enthusiasts actually value privacy all that highly. I doubt they value it enough to support current bitcoin

valuations. So bitcoin is going to have to deliver on some of Visa’s other advantages. There’s no sign it can. Which makes it hard to see how bitcoinas-payment-system can justify current valuations.

There are ways to fix these problems. For example, you can increase the size of the transaction ledger that posts every 10 minutes (in fact, bitcoin’s digital architecture just had a “fork” that did this).

But then the total ledger of every transaction that was ever done will also get bigger—and bitcoin’s peerto-peer architecture means that this bloated ledger would have to be stored

on every computer in the network. That’s unlikely to be practical.

Alternatively, thirdparty systems can develop on top of bitcoin, so that most of the transactions are posted inside the thirdparty systems, and netted out, so that only some of the transactions have to be posted to the mass ledger. But then those third parties are really the ones competing with Visa, and bitcoin starts to look more like money.

In a column next week I’ll assess bitcoin’s plausibility as money. (Check out the new TV series “Ozark” if you want some homework before then.) Bloomberg

senior to Corona.

President Arroyo breached the tradition once more when, upon the retirement of Chief Justice Puno, she appointed Renato Corona chief justice, by-passing Antonio Carpio, who was the most senior associate justice.

When Mrs. Aquino’s

only son, Benigno Aquino III (also known as P’Noy) assumed the presidency in 2010, he was staunchly anti-Marcos. As president, P’Noy loved to recall what he considered as abuses committed by President Marcos during the latter’s incumbency. He also disdained President Arroyo.

In 2012, after Chief Justice Corona was removed from office by the Senate sitting as an impeachment court, P’Noy appointed one of the most junior justices in the Supreme Court, Maria Lourdes Sereno, chief justice. P’Noy appointed Sereno associate justice in 2010. By the

time Sereno became chief justice, she had been in the judiciary for just two years.

Sereno’s appointment as chief justice was as shocking as it was unprecedented. Aside from by-passing several justices who were her senior, Sereno’s appointment made her the

first female chief justice of the Supreme Court.

Evidently, PNoy not only breached the judicial tradition; he politicized the appointment process for justices of the Supreme Court.

In doing so, Benigno Aquino III had become, among others, another Ferdinand Marcos.

YEAR in, year out, Christians celebrates the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ who was sent by the Father to redeem us from the slavery of sin and free humanity from insecurity and death. Think about that—our God became human to save us.

During my 30-day Ignatian retreat in 2015, one of my most powerful experiences was the contemplation on the incarnation where Saint Ignatius asked retreatants to imagine listening to the conversation among the Trinity—God the Father, His son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit— about what they could do for humanity, scarred by sin. In that meditation, one cannot help but be filled with the immense love of God for humanity, a love that persuaded the Trinity, against rationality, to decide to send the Son and intervene in human history for the salvation of souls. And what makes it even more amazing was their decision not to send more prophets or to hurl lightning and other destructive things to the world, but for one of the three to become like us. I could not help but be awed by this realization.

I recall Pope Benedict’s point in Jesus of Nazareth when he explained what it meant for Jesus to ascend—why He had to ascend to continue to be present while also needing to return. Pope Benedict used the example of Jesus praying in the mountain and then seeing his apostles caught in the storm and so He decided to intervene and walks in the water to

Christmases...

From A4

actions.

We were told that this administration would be about change. It appears, however, that the more we talk of change, the more things remain the same.

What...

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Ex-rebel now a catalyst for peace, development

BPO still top job generator in 2017 – PhilJobNet

By Bill Casas

WITH close to 140,000 vacancies posted in 2017, the business process outsourcing industry is still the biggest generator of jobs, according to PhilJobnet.

The Department of Labor and Employment’s internet-based job and applicant matching system showed that in all months of 2017, the position of call center agent topped the list of job openings, with the months of August and September churning out the highest number of vacancies at 21,986 and 21,858, respectively.

A total of 133, 300 call center agent positions were recorded by PhilJobnet from January to December 2017.

On Friday, Dec. 15, DoLE’s Bureau of Local Employment reported that the top 20 vacancies in the DOLE job portal are Call Center Agent–781, Office Clerk–756, Service Crew– 756, Non-formal Education Teacher–359, Food Service Dispatcher–300, Salesman–295, Health Consultant–200, Staff nurse–159, and Production/ Factory Worker–150.

Rounding up the top vacancies are Sales and Marketing Assistant–130, Company Nurse–128, Market Salesperson–122, Sales Associate Professiona–100, Cashier–98, Truck Driver–97, Facial/Skin Treatment Consultant–96, Quality Inspector–94, and Casino Dealer–90.

The positions of Food Service Dispatcher, along with Health Consultant, Market Salesperson, Cashier, Truck Driver, Quality Inspector, and Casino Dealer are the new active vacancies recorded

by PhilJobnet during the holiday season.

A FORMAL rebel fighter has become a catalyst for peace and development between the government and rebels, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process said on Monday.

Israpil Samaya, 61, has been a “mujahedeen” for more than half of his life.

“I almost died during an encounter with government forces,” Samaya recalled, as he pointed to his disfigured thigh that was pierced by an M-16 bullet.

Although bleeding profusely and on the brink of death after taking another hit in the groin, he didn’t want to be brought to the hospital for fear he would be arrested by authorities.

“It was like a bad dream.

I didn’t know how I was able to survive,” said the former Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighter who was constantly on the run, moving from one hideout to another.

“The life of a rebel is very hard. You didn’t have a permanent home, you didn’t have food,” said Samaya whose family had to subsist mostly on root crops from the jungle to survive.

He revealed that a lot of his comrades have passed away after being killed during armed clashes with the military, while others have died due to illness after years of hiding.

Samaya’s life turned around after the Government of the Philippines and the MILF signed the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro in 2012 and subsequently, the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro in 2014.

In 2015, he was among the 145 decommissioned combatants who turned over their firearms to the national government under the CAB’s normalization process.

2018 budget addresses irrigation needs —Nograles THE chairperson of the House of Representatives’ committee on appropriations has said 2018 national budget will benefit not only college students and uniformed personnel, but also the country’s hardworking farmers.

“Included in the P3.767-trillion General Appropriations Act [GAA] for 2018 is a P2.6billion allocation for free irrigation as part of the Duterte administration’s farmer assistance program,” Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles, the panel chairperson, said.

“From the outset, President Duterte has vowed to help boost farmers’ production by subsidizing their irrigation needs. He highlighted this yet again when he signed the 2018 GAA on Tuesday.

It’s our responsibility as lawmakers to facilitate the Chief Executive’s worthy causes,” Nograles said.

Nograles said the P2.6billion irrigation fund represents a 30-percent increase from its 2017 allocation.

“In the 2017 budget, we set aside the amount of P2 billion as subsidy for free irrigation, and we did it again in the 2018 budget with a higher allocation of P2.6 billion,” Nograles said.

Maricel V. Cruz

BALL PIT. This picture taken on Dec. 24, 2017 shows children playing in a ball pit on Christmas Eve at an amusement park in Antipolo, east of Manila. AFP

PHOTO

EO needed to support supply of PUV modernization—DTI

T

HE Department of Trade and Industry wants to fast-track the creation of an executive order to support the supply side of the public utility vehicle modernization program.

DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said a new EO is needed to fund the agency’s support program for local body makers of modern PUVs. This is aside from the

DTI’s plan to reallocate some P9 billion for the third player under the P27-b Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy Program.

“We need a new EO on

that (PUV modernization program) so that we can get the budget as a support for the local manufacturing; for the local assemblers, body makers to supply modern PUVs,” Lopez told reporters.

The DTI chief said the support program for local assemblers may come later in the PUV modernization program while the replacement of old PUVs may already start as President Rodrigo Duterte targets to kick off the program in January 2018.

He added that jeepney operators can get orders from local manufacturers or opt to buy completely build up modern PUVs while waiting for DTI’s support program for local assemblers to supply modern vehicles.

Lopez said there is a need to hasten the creation of an EO to support the supply side of the PUV modernization in order for the locally manufactured vehicles to compete with the price of imported vehicles.

DTI Assistant Secretary Rafaelita Aldaba, meanwhile, said that it is best to source modern PUVs locally as service centers are already present compared to imported vehicles, which parts and services are not yet available here.

“It’s not our policy to restrict entry of imported vehicles. But for imported vehicles, there is also a need to invest in terms of services facilities, and parts should be ready and available locally,” Aldaba said in Filipino.

Du30 will respect my fixed term at CHED—Licuanan

By Rio N. Araja COMMISSION on Higher Education chairperson Dr. Patricia Licuanan on Monday said President Rodrigo Duterte will respect her fixed term until 2018.

She dismissed the claim of Fr. Jose Tabora S.J., Ateneo de Davao University president, who said that she would be replaced by professor Jose David Lapuz of the Lyceum of the Philippines University.

She maintained that she will continue to enjoy her fixed term.

“Yes, he said he will respect my term that I will continue doing my job,” she told a television interview, referring to the President.

She said it was only Tabora and Lapuz “who said that I would be removed from my post.”

“It was difficult for me. I don’t want to speak up [as much as possible]. It’s self-serving. [But] I have a fixed term. The President

will respect that,” she said.

Then President Benigno Aquino III appointed Licuanan to head ChEd in 2010 for a term of four years.

“In 2014, he [Aquino] reappointed me for another four years,” Licuanan said.

Despite her twice appointment under the Aquino administration, the CHED head said the President has her full support.

“I like the thrust of the Duterte administration wanting things efficient and honest.

That would encourage us for ethical and innovative system,” she added.

In June 2016, Tabora said the President “publicly designated” Lapuz as CHED chairperson in a gathering at the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Tabora earlier slammed Licuanan over a 2014 Commission on Audit report on unspent P1.2-billion fund

for poor students due to CHED’s “internal control weaknesses” to process and release allowances under the student financial assistance program.

According to Licuanan, the number of scholarship applications ballooned when the Priority Development Assistance Fund was ruled by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional.

“That has long been addressed a long time ago,” she said.

“PDAF was distributed to five agencies. One of them was CHED. We had to handle more slots. We are now handling this [matter well].

I can say now that the P1.2-billion fund has already been spent [for the students],” she added.

The other factor of the delay in the release of such allowances was caused by the submission of several requirements by the students, she noted.

Meanwhile, Licuanan admitted

colleges and universities are suffering from lack of tuition and displacement of many faculty members due to the K to 12 program of the Department of Education.

“Faculty is underloaded. They have no enough students to teach,” she said, adding “the educational institutions are left with no option but “to let them go. Those are the immediate causes of [K to 12].”

According to Licuanan, only 50 percent of the country’s teaching personnel at the tertiary college level have earned their master’s and doctorate’s degrees, “way behind our Asian counterparts.”

“This is a great opportunity [for the other 50 percent] to take up or complete their post-graduate degrees,” she said.

CHED is extending scholarship grants to faculty members who wanted to pursue a higher education, she said.

Teo expresses full support for DFPC-DTI’s Go Lokal!

TRUE to its objective to become the ultimate top-of-mind destination for pasalubong (Filipino tradition of travelers bringing gifts from visited destinations to people back home) shopping for both local and foreign visitors, the Duty Free Philippines Corp., has launched Go Lokal!, a retail concept store showcasing quality local products created

by Filipino micro, small, and medium enterprises, on Thursday at the DFP Fiestamall.

Department of Tourism Secretary Wanda Tulfo-Teo graced the inauguration of the Go Lokal! branch, applauding

DFPC (an attached agency of the DoT) and the Department of Trade and Industry for spearheading the promotion of Filipino culture and industry through the retail concept store.

“As a government agency, we have a responsibility to promote the best from our local entrepreneurs, and the biggest help we can extend to our MSMEs is by showcasing the talent and skill of the Filipino. In this manner we continue showing the world that Philippine made is high-quality yet reasonably priced,” Teo said. Bill Casas

CHRISTMAS FUN. Families and their kids spend time with Sky bike and boat-riding experience at the Quezon City Memorial Circle leisure park on Christmas day. Manny Palmero

House declares Limahong Channel as tourist spot

By Maricel V. Cruz THE House of Representatives expects a Senate action on its plenaryapproved measure which seeks to declare the historic site Limahong Channel in Lingayen, Pangasinan, as a tourist spot.

The Lower House approved on third and final reading House Bill 6682 authored by Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil of Pangasinan.

Bataoil said the Limahong Channel is a historic site because it is where the Chinese Corsair Limahong, who invaded the Northern Philippine Islands in 1574, sought refuge when he was repulsed by the defenders of Parañaque, then a royal encomienda.

“Pursued by the Spanish colonizers, he dug a channel in Domalandan, Lingayen that served as his escape towards the China Sea. It is located along the Agno River at the mouth of the Lingayen Gulf,” Bataoil said.

Bataoil, chairperson of the committee on veterans affairs and welfare, said declaring the Limahong Channel as a tourist spot could entice tourists, local and foreign, especially the Chinese, to visit the place.

“Moreover, this in a way will generate employment opportunities for the residents of the municipality and the nearby communities, thus improving their lives,” Bataoil said.

Sports

A7

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2017 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Federer, Nadal shine in 2017 P

ARIS—Written off as dead men walking, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal defied time to sweep the Grand Slams in 2017 while the injury curse which dogged their rivals looks set to be the new year’s early storyline.

Evergreen Federer, who will turn 37 in 2018, took his majors tally to 19 with a fifth Australian Open title, which was secured by a five-set triumph over Nadal, and a record eighth Wimbledon with a stroll past a tearful Marin Cilic.

Nadal, 32 in June next year, was not to be outdone, claiming a 10th French Open, a third US Open crown and the year-ending world number one spot.

Federer finished the year at number two in the world, having started at 16, and a season-leading seven titles —including three Masters at Indian Wells, Miami and Shanghai—despite having skipped the entire clay

court season.

“It’s been an amazing year for me,” said Federer who had missed the last six months of the 2016 season through injury.

Nadal added two Masters titles at Monte Carlo and Madrid to his triumphs at Roland Garros and Flushing Meadows, finishing the campaign with six trophies.

The 16-time Grand Sam champion also secured the year-ending top ranking for a fourth time.

“I never would have imagined I would end up as number one at the end of the season again,” said the Spaniard.

“It wasn’t one of my goals going into the season

-- far from it. After returning from a difficult period in my career and battling through injuries, this wasn’t on my mind.”

Nadal will go into the new season without his uncle Toni who has been his coach since childhood.

But one thing will be familiar—his career-long battle with knee injuries.

He was forced to withdraw after just one round at the World Tour Finals and has already pulled out of an

PVL expects bigger staging next year WITH a new name and a wide-reaching television partner in ABS-CBN, the Premier Volleyball League served its inaugural season quite well.

For one, three different champions emerged from what was formerly known as the Shakey’s V-League with Pocari Sweat topping the season-opening Reinforced Conference, BaliPure ruling the Open Conference before National University dominated the Collegiate Conference.

The league also featured the men’s side, the former Spikers’ Turf, with Cignal stamping its class in the first two conferences, while Ateneo went all the way in the season-closing Collegiate Conference.

The PVL also threw its full support to the national team with Alyssa Valdez of the Creamline Cool Smash-

Saints, Rams, Chiefs in playoffs WASHINGTON —Drew Brees reached an NFL milestone and threw a touchdown after a rearaided interception to power the New Orleans Saints into the NFL playoffs Sunday by beating Atlanta 23-13.

The Los Angeles Rams, Kansas City Chiefs and Carolina Panthers also won to clinch post-season berths on the penultimate weekend of the 2017 NFL campaign.

New England, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Minnesota and Jacksonville had already secured playoff berths, which leaves three wildcard spots up for grabs next Sunday before the playoffs begin in January.

Brees, who turns 39 next month, completed 21-of-28 passes for 239 yards to spark the Saints, becoming the fastest quarterback in NFL history to surpass 70,000 career passing yards in the process.

Brees joined retired stars Peyton Manning and Brett Favre in reaching the milestone with a 12-yard screen pass to Mark Ingram during the first quarter, reaching the mark in 248 games to 258 for Manning and 293 for Favre.

With 70,200 career passing yards, Brees could crack Manning’s all-time passing yardage mark of 71,940 next season. AFP

ers and the league’s leading men’s players backstopping the country’s campaign.

Creamline, in particular, didn’t think twice in allowing Valdez, who became the first Filipino to play as an import in the Thailand and Chinese Taipei leagues, to suit up for the Nationals that stymied the Cool Smashers’ bid for a potential crack at the championship.

The PVL also cut one of their conferences short to allow its fans to support the country’s campaign in the Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur last August.

To cap its maiden season, the league held the All-Star Game with proceeds going to charity and launched the “PVL on Tour” to widen its fan base where games were held in Batangas, Cagayan Valley, Iloilo, Bacolod and most recently, in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

exhibition tournament in the United Arab Emirates from December 28-30.

Injury worries Injury permitting, Nadal will now start 2018 as top seed in Brisbane from next weekend with the Australian Open due to get underway on January 15.

The Spaniard is not the only A-lister under an injury cloud.

Former world number one Andy Murray and fellow three-time major win-

ner Stan Wawrinka have not played since Wimbledon—Murray suffered a hip injury while Wawrinka required two knee operations.

Murray has delayed his departure to Australia while Swiss star Wawrinka joined Nadal in pulling out of the UAE event.

Novak Djokovic will play in Abu Dhabi as the former world number one and 12time Grand Slam winner makes his return having last played at Wimbledon where he picked up a season-ending wrist injury.

Djokovic is now ranked 12 in the world, Murray is at 16 while Wawrinka starts 2018 at nine.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if 2018 worked out for them as well like it worked out for me and Rafa,” predicted Federer.

The new year could also see the highly-regarded Alexander Zverev make a

Slam breakthrough after a 2017 which saw him win five titles.

However, the beanpole German had a roller-coaster year at the Slams—a last-16 spot at Wimbledon punctuated by a first-round loss in Australia, a secondround exit in New York and a third-round defeat to Nadal in Australia.

On the women’s circuit, Serena Williams started the year with an Open-era record 23rd Slam triumph in Melbourne.

The achievement was made even more remarkable when the American star revealed she had won the title while pregnant.

Williams, who hasn’t played since her Australian Open win, married boyfriend and Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian in November, two months after the couple celebrated the birth of their baby daughter in September. AFP

GOLF WINNERS.

Justin Alexandre Magsino (right) and Juan Santino Xebastian Amigo Laurel of Team SurigaoOmnipharma bagged individual titles in Division E of the Fil-Am Golf Tournament held recently at the Camp John Hay and Baguio Country Club. Both first timers, the 16-year-old Magsino of Hope Christian High School scored 111 points to win Group 6, while the 15-year-old Laurel of De La Salle Santiago Zobel totaled 103 points to rule Group 8 to become the first teammates to capture individual trophies in different groups.

Bienvenida preparing La Salle for title repeat FOR coach Marvin Bienvenida, the road to La Salle Greenhills’ title-retention bid in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 94 Junior basketball starts now.

Bienvenida, 37, said the Saint Benilde-La Salle Greenhills Baby Blazers joined the Philippine Secondary Schools Basketball Championship last Dec. 16 and will also play in the Got Skills tournament next year to prepare the team for a bigger battle next NCAA season.

“We are expecting Season La Salle Greenhills team players and coaches 94 to be tougher and more difficult, that’s why we the La Salle-Greenhills Cruz, 6’9” Ladis Lepalam joined pre-season tourna- pool by March to deter- and Mark Daniel Sangco. ments like PSSBC and then mine the composition of Bienvenida added his next year, the Got Skills the team. Bienvenida said team will be the target next tournament. Right now, the players from Team B season of all teams. we are competing in the are expected to replace “Last season, we were MMBL (Metro Manila Bas- graduating players Jacob ranked No. 7, but now, we’re ketball League) and we’re Lao, Joshua Marcos, JM expecting Season 94 to be 2-1 there,” said Bienveni- Pedrosa, Kairl Beljica and tighter in terms of the comda, an alumnus of La Salle Albert Boldeos. petition that’s why we really Greenhills in 1998.

Finals’ heroes Joel Cagu- need to prepare seriously,” “I’m testing some of the langan and Josh David added Bienvenida, whose players here in these tourna- will once again anchor the team survived an exhausting ments prior to the formation team’s campaign next sea- four knockout games to win of the pool next year,” he son. along with Jared Lao, its first-ever NCAA junior added.

Inand Fornilos, Nikki Per- title since 1998.

The ex-University of the ez, Sidney Masqueda, DiAfter finishing with Philippines guard will form ego Morales, Joshua Dela an 11-7 record, La Salle

American...

From A8

Europe’s stars had a mixed season, although 37-year-old Garcia produced the year’s stand-out moment by finally ending his wait for a major title by edging out Justin Rose in a thrilling Masters play-off back in April.

Garcia’s compatriot Jon Rahm stole a few headlines by rising to world number four in his first full season as a professional, but four-time major winner Rory McIlroy was plagued

by injuries and loss of form as he failed to win an event for the first year since 2008.

American players received most of the plaudits for their major-winning exploits, but Europeans like Tyrrell Hatton, Rafael Cabrera Bello and Paul Casey slid slightly under the radar to finish 2017 inside the world’s top 20.

“You tell me a time where there’s been 11 Europeans in the top 21 in the world,” said Europe’s Ryder Cup skipper Thomas Bjorn.

“It might have happened but it’s not something that you see very often.

Serena to return in Abu Dhabi

ABU DHABI—Former world number one Serena Williams will make a surprise comeback at the Mubadala exhibition event in Abu Dhabi next Saturday, as she gears up for her Australian Open title defence in January.

The decision to play in the United Arab Emirates should virtually confirm Williams’ participation at Melbourne Park.

The 36-year-old has not played since clinching a 23rd Grand Slam singles title 11 months ago, after revealing she was pregnant during the tournament and taking time off to give birth to her first child, Alexis Olympia in September.

Williams will return with a match against Latvia’s French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, making them the first women to compete in the previously male-only event.

“I am delighted to be returning to the court in Abu Dhabi for the first time since the birth of my daughter,” she said in a statement released by the tournament organisers on Sunday.

“The Mubadala World Tennis Championship has long marked the beginning of the men’s global tennis season and I am excited and honoured to be making my comeback as part of the first women to participate in the event.”

The former world number one can equal Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Grand Slam titles, although she will have to make do with a low seeding Down Under after slipping to 22nd in the rankings.

Williams’ comeback raises the prospect of a renewal of her one-sided rivalry with Maria Sharapova, after the Russian’s own comeback earlier this year from a doping ban.

It also provides a boost the Australian Open, after two-time champion Victoria Azarenka pulled out of the warm-up event in Auckland over the ongoing custody battle that has stopped the Belarusian from playing since Wimbledon in July. AFP

LA Lakers’ Ball injures left shoulder

Greenhills knocked off San Sebastián in the playoff round for the last spot in the final four before defeating many-time champion San Beda High School twice in the semifinal round to land in the finals and meet Mapua.

La Salle Greenhills took Game 1 in the finals, before losing Game 2. But it found a way to nip Mapua in Game 3 to capture the crown last Nov. 24.

“The players will cherish this unforgettable experience forever. But now, we

“So that’s a very strong European team.”

Tiger’s back, again A year that began with a failed attempted injury comeback from Tiger Woods, ended with the 14-time major champion starting another return.

The 41-year-old pulled out of February’s Dubai Desert Classic with a back injury, but after surgery and an appearance as a Presidents Cup vice-captain, he produced a promising performance in the Bahamas earlier this month.

“I knew I was going to be able to play all four rounds, that wasn’t

have to prepare for another chapter—our title defense —next season,” said Bienvenida, who thanked all the players, coaching staff, the school community and the management who support the school through ups and downs last season.

Meanwhile, a grand victory party celebration for La Salle Greenhills Greenies will be held on Jan. 19 at the La Salle Greenhills football field.

All the graduates and students of La Salle Greenhills are invited.

going to be an issue,” said Woods, who also missed all of the 201516 season with back trouble, after finishing tied-ninth at the Hero World Challenge.

“I was still scratchy with my irons. I drove it pretty good all week, made some good putts.”

The chances of Woods adding to his major tally— and reviving his bid to chase down Jack Nicklaus’ all-time record of 18 titles —will become clearer when he returns to Augusta National for the Masters, where he has 11 topfive finishes including four green jackets.AFP

LOS ANGELES—Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball is out of the lineup after suffering a sprained left shoulder in Saturday’s NBA game against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Ball will not play in the Lakers’ Christmas Day matchup against Minnesota and is expected to be re-evaluated by team doctors in one week, the club announced on Sunday.

Ball returned to the court on Saturday after initially suffering the injury when he collided with Portland’s Jusuf Nurkic near the end of the first half, and played a total of 28 minutes.

Ball, the second pick overall in the 2017 NBA draft, is averaging 10 points and 6.9 assists through the first 31 games of his NBA career. AFP

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

P0 M+ P0 M

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

A8

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2017

Sports

Prosperity (11), ridden furiously by jockey Mark Angelo Alvarez, bursts into the finish line against the fading bunch to win the P2.5M Philracom Juvenile Championship on Sunday at the Saddle & Clubs Leisure Park in Naic, Cavite.

NLEX banks on Ravena nd again, grabs 2 victory

By Jeric Lopez

N

LEX banked on its systematic approach in the Christmas presentation of the 2017-18 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup at the Philippine Arena in Boacaue, Bulacan yesterday afternoon.

With Kiefer Ravena leading the attack, the Road Warriors crushed the GlobalPort Batang Pier, 115104, to grab the lead in the All-Filipino tourney at 2-0.

Showing that his scintillating debut wasn’t a fluke, rookie sensation Ravena continued his impressive showing, scoring a teamhigh and a new career-high 20 points, to go with five

American youngsters make their mark ahead of Ryder Cup

PARIS—The rising generation of Americans dominated the 2017 season after Spaniard Sergio Garcia’s memorable Masters triumph, laying down a marker ahead of next year’s Ryder Cup in Paris.

Brooks Koepka, 27, claimed the US Open title, before Jordan Spieth’s third major crown at the British Open and his fellow 24-year-old Justin Thomas’ breakthrough victory at the USPGA Championship.

Add in world number one Dustin Johnson, and United States Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk has a formidable team more than capable of repeating October’s Presidents Cup thrashing of the Internationals.

The US are the favorites to retain the trophy come next September at Golf National, but they haven’t won on European soil since 1993 at The Belfry.

“We have 25 years of scars to overcome,” Furyk said in Paris in October.

“I don’t want (them) going in there being overconfident that they are the greatest team. I want them going in with a chip on their shoulder that they have something to prove.”

Turn to A7

assists and four steals as his well-rounded brilliance once again led the way for NLEX for the second straight time.

JR Quinahan was the one who set the tone early for the Road Warriors, tallying 19 points and nine rebounds for a near doubledouble as his inside presence proved too difficult to handle for the Batang Pier.

NLEX scored 34 points in the third quarter as it slowly but surely built its lead through the first three periods to take a 74-66 lead going into the fourth canto.

The Road Warriors then took good care of their advantage, even upping it to double-digits for most part of the final 12 minutes to cruise to the victory and remain unbeaten.

“We were able to get control of the game and do a better job closing out. It’s another good start for us,” said NLEX coach Yeng Guiao.

Like Ravena and Quinahan, Larry Fonacier likewise gave NLEX a huge boost, having a fantastic

all-around stat line of his own with 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

In just two games, NLEX had already surpassed its win total from last season’s Philippine Cup, where it only had a lone win.

Stanley Pringle scored a game-high 33 points and 11 rebounds but his efforts went for naught as the Batang Pier weren’t able to fully establish their game as NLEX kept them at bay for most of the game.

As of press time, crowd darlings Barangay Ginebra and Magnolia are once again figuring in an intense Christmas Day tango.

The Gin Kings are mak-

ing their tournament debut, while the Hotshots are looking to win their second straight game and replicate what NLEX did to gain a piece of first place.

The scores: NLEX 115 - Ravena 20, Quinahan 19, Fonacier 12, Tiongson 10, Alas 9, Baguio 8, Gotladera 8, Miranda 8, Mallari 6, Monfort 5, Rios 5, Taulava 3, Al-Hussaini 2.

GLOBALPORT 104 Pringle 33, Anthony 19, Grey 13, NAbong 9, Arana 8, Elorde 5, Guinto 4, Taha 4, Juico 4, Sargent 2, Flores 2, Gabayni 1.

Quarters: 25-25, 50-45, 84-76, 115-104.

Prosperity wins P1.5M for owner PROSPERITY and jockey Mark Angelo Alvarez made it a prosperous Christmas for owner Leonardo Javier Jr. after winning the P2.5 Million Philippine Racing Commission’s 2017 Philracom Juvenile Championship on Sunday at the Saddle & Clubs Leisure Park in Naic, Cavite.

Making a tactical ride three-fourths of the way, Prosperity made its move in the final 400 meters, bursting into the finish from the outside against the fading bunch to score a four-length victory in the 1,600-meter race.

The win was worth P1.5 million for owner Javier, who was represented by trainer Renato Yamco in the awards rites attended by Philippine Racing Club Manager Antonio Alcasid and Philracom Commissioner Lyndon Guce. Yamco received P75,000 as breeder’s prize.

“Ang plano po talaga, magkainitan muna sila, hindi ako sumama. Noong magkaroon ng konting butas, naipasok ko kabayo ko, dire-diretso ko na.

Mga one fourth to go, medyo malayo sa akin ‘yung bandera, pero alam ko, kalkulado ko, aabutan ko,” said Alvarez, whose horse scored a winning time of 1:41, with quarter times of 25, 24, 24 and 27.

Victorious Colt, ridden

by JB Guce, gifted owner

Efleda dela Cruz the secondplace purse of P562,500, while Sweet Dreams of jockey DH Borbe Jr. placed third, good for P312,500 for owner Alfredo R. Santos.

Fourth placer Goldsmith (jockey OP Cortez) clinched P125,000 for owner Joseph Dyhengco.

Other winners were Wo Wo Duck (Race 1), Worth the Wait (Race 2), Temecula (Race 3), Kota Kinabalu (Race 5), Love Affair (Race 6), Amazing Day (Race 7), Bliss (Race 8), Creme Brule (Race 9), Kingship (Race 10) and June Three (Race 11).

All 11 races held on Christmas eve at the Santa Ana Park were conducted in accordance with the Philracom’s Rating-Based Handicapping System, which is a result of the commission’s affiliation with the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities, whose mission is to promote good regulation and best practices on international matters pertaining to the sport.

As a member of IFHA, Philracom is ready to embrace the world standards set by the international body, such as the rating-based handicapping system, equine drug-testing and transfer of technology, thereby making sure that horseracing in the Philippines is held at the highest level.

Abalos, Torralba eyes big golf finish MATTHEW Abalos moves up in division play, ready to test his mettle against the best in the ranks as he teams up with Kristine Torralba in the National Doubles Amateur Golf Championship firing off tomorrow (Wednesday) at Camp Aguinaldo Golf Club in QC. With Don Petil as partner, they ruled Group II last year, beating the Riggs Illescas-Pierre Ticzon pair by five.

With Torralba, Abalos hopes to draw solid backup from a player who bagged the low amateur honors in the recent ICTSI South Forbes Invitational of the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour.

But they will be in for a tough outing against 18 other talented pairs, guaranteeing a fierce showdown for top honors in the seventh staging of the annual season-ending championship organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines.

They include many-time national champion Rupert Zaragosa, who will be teaming up with Adrian Romero; former pro Eddie Bagtas, who will be with son Leandro; national mainstay Harmie Constantino, who will partner with Joseph Orbito; and sisters Nikki and Sam Bruce.

Petil will now link up with Paolo Wong, while other pairs include Aldo Barro-Paqo Barro, Dan Cruz-Luis Guerrero, Santino Diokno-Miguel Roque, Carlo Gatmaytan-Rocky Brobio, Annika Guangko-David Guangko; GJ Katigbak-Mike Kim, Clare Legaspi-Felicia Medalla, Sofia Legaspi-Mariel Tee, Aniceto Mandanas-Carlo Quimson, Sean Ramos-Jed Dy, and Sunshine ZhangLaurea Duque.

Guang Xi Sports Bureau signs agreement with PH organizers

By Peter Atencio SPORTS jointly organized and promoted throughout the Southeast Asian region will be the thrust of the ASEAN Goodwill Games.

Sports officials from the province of Guang Xi in China said this after they entered into an agreement with Filipino and Chinese promoters on Christmas Eve. “We hope we can exchange and communicate more on physical education and sports development,” said Xie Qiang, director of the Guang Xi Sports Bureau.

Xie met with Philippine representative, businessman and former three-term Representative of the 1st District Xie Qiang (center, standing), director of Guang Xi Sports Bureau, and Martin Romualdez (right), look of Leyte Martin Romualdez, on as Manny Cabili of Row One Promotions (right, seated), and Yie Jian Hua, GM of Mitime Sports sign along with a delegation from an agreement at the Manila Golf Club, Makati City. Ey Acasio Guang Xi Province.

The Guang Xi Sports Bureau, through Xie, has assigned Chinese promotion company Mitime Sports, and signed a cooperation agreement with Filipino promoters through Manny Cabili of Row One Sports in a simple signing ceremony at the Manila Golf Club.

Initially, there are plans to promote boxing events.

Eventually, they will also venture into car racing and marathons.

The agreement with Filipino promoters was made possible with the assistance of Romualdez.

Last May, Mitime Sports was involved with the live broadcast of the Indianapolis 500 in Chinese. Partnership with car racing officials in the United States gave Chinese fans access

to the live TV coverage of the sport.

Xie said through an interpreter that this will be the 11th year of the Chinese touring assembly and with their presence for the first time in the Philippines, they hope to be involved in many world championship events.

“We are very excited because we feel that through sports and athletics, the relationship between the Philippines and China will be stronger,” said Romualdez.

Cabili said the promotion of events in the country and in the SEA region is still in the planning stages. Also in the pipeline, according to Cabili, are events in triathlon, yachting, sailing, kite boarding, surfing, sky diving, aero sports, motorsports and wind surfing.

ESPN5 launches SportsCenter A WORLD-CLASS program that caters to Filipino sports fans and tackles local and international sports is now in the Philippines as ESPN5 has just launched its SportsCenter.

Produced live and exclusive by ESPN5, the show is hosted by the Philippine Basketball Association panel’s familiar fixtures Magoo Marjon and Aaron Atayde and former courtside reporter Lia Cruz and fitness buff Amanda Fernandez.

The 30-minute daily program will bring to Filipino fans the latest sports news and developments from the

Philippines and around the world, with daily content contribution from SportsCenter US. Marjon is a long-time PBA play-byplay commentator, who has been in the business for 15 years. He has been covering Asia’s pioneering professional basketball league and has covered FIBA-sanctioned tournaments, including FIBA Asia and FIBA World Cup. Cruz, on the other hand, has covered sports for a long time before being assigned in the news department of News 5. She is continuously tapped

by the network for the coverages in FIBA and the Olympics.

Host Aaron Atayde also brings a wealth of sports knowledge to SportsCenter. Well-known to sports fans as one of the most-recognized voices on Philippine radio, Atayde has built an 11-year career doing play by play commentary for college basketball. He also hosts Sports5’s Sports 360.

TV Host, football club manager and fitness facility owner Amanda Fer- SportsCenter hosts (from left) Magoo Marjon, Lia Cruz, Amanda nandez rounds out the team with her Fernandez and Aaron Atayde will bring up-to-date sports news fitness and lifestyle knowledge. to Filipinos.

China signals slower growth

B2

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2017

IN BRIEF

PILMICO SUPPORT.

The Bureau of Animal Industry of the Department of Agriculture receives a donation of 100 liters of Dualguard 20 disinfectants from Pilmico Food Corp. in support of the agency’s program to prevent the spread of avian influenza.

At the turnover ceremony are (from left) Ronnie Domingo, director, BAI; Enrico Garzon, Assistant Secretary for livestock, DA; Othmar Lopez, Pilmico swine feeds and animal health manager; Gelonie Yap, Pilmico assistant vice president for brand and marketing; and Thet Castillo, Pilmico government relations manager.

BDO Leasing cleared to sell debt paper

New P12-b Cavite road eyed

By Darwin G. Amojelar

C

AVITEX Infrastructure Corp. said it is set to submit

by February next year a proposal to the Toll Regulatory Board to build a P12-billion expressway linking Kawit and Rosario in Cavite province.

“We’re finishing up the feasibility study.

We will complete it [feasibility study] January. And then, we will submit business proposal to TRB in February,” Cavitex president and chief executive Luigi Bau-

tista said.

“If TRB approves it, we will start completing detailed engineering design and then we go to implementation,” he added.

The Segment 5 of Cavitex is a 7.6-kilometer road that will link Kawit to Noveleta and Noveleta to Rosario in Cavite.

The company earlier earmarked P1.7 billion in capital expenditures to expand the Manila-Cavite Expressway.

Cavitex earlier tapped FF Cruz Construction Inc. to construct the first phase of the Cavitex C5 South Link, which will connect C5 and Merville, Parañaque by way of a flyover.

The second phase will link Merville and Cavite and cost P9.5 billion.

Cavitex C5 South Link will allow residents from Cavite, Las Piñas and parts of Parañaque to avoid Edsa and take a direct link to and from C5 to Cavitex.

Bautista said the new expressway, which was expected to be completed in 2019, would add 40,000 to 45,000 vehicle traffic per day, on top of the 130,000 vehicles currently using Cavitex.

C5 South Link will ultimately connect with R1 Expressway (Coastal Road) and provide fast, safe and convenient travel for motorists going to and from Parañaque,

Las Piñas and Cavite and for Paranaque residents in Multinational, Moonwalk and Merville villages.

The new expressway will not only decongest the Parañaque villages, but will also provide easier travel from Taguig, Makati, Pasay, Pasig, Quezon City and other northern areas to Manila, Las Piñas and Cavite.

It will also provide relief for vehicles using the congested Edsa and C5 Road arteries of the metropolis.

When completed, the expressway will provide a seamless connection to Cavitex road network and to Cavite-Laguna Expressway slated for completion in 2020.

SMC puts other coal power plants on hold

By Alena Mae S. Flores SAN Miguel Corp. has put on hold developing greenfield power plants after its recent acquisition of the Masinloc coal-fired power plants in Zambales province.

“It’s on hold but we will still build it if there is a market,” San Miguel president Ramon Ang over the weekend.

San Miguel earlier planned to build two 600-megawatt coal-fired power plants in Luzon, pending environmental compliance certificates and the approval of a power supply agreement with Manila Electric Co. San Miguel subsidiary Central Luzon Premiere Power Corp. planned to build the 600-MW coal-fired power plant in Pagbilao, Quezon province set to be operational in 2021.

Meralco agreed to purchase up to 528 MW of the output of Central Luzon Premiere but the power supply agreement remained pending with the Energy Regulatory Commisson.

Another San Miguel unit, Mariveles Power Generation Corp., is also supposed to put up a 600-MW circulating coal-fired power generating facility in Mariveles, Bataan province for completion in 2020.

INAUGURAL FLIGHT. AirAsia celebrates its inaugural flight from Kuala Lumpur to Davao, Philippines. The new route will operate with four times weekly flights between Davao and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia A send-off ceremony is held at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport to celebrate the maiden flight AK590 at 10.25 a.m. with a 100 percent load factor. All guests on board the flight received souvenirs.

Meralco rates down in January POWER rates of Manila Electric Co. will likely go down in January due to lower demand amid cooler temperatures and the reconciliation of the outage allowance of the generators.

“Hopefully there will be another reduction in January... If we will use historical records as basis, normally rates are lower in January,” Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said.

He said the less outages also contributed to the lower rates of P0.3785 per kilowatt-hour charged to consumers in December.

“The reason why power rates were lower in December is because there were less outages aside from the strengthening of the peso,” he said.

Meralco head of utility economics Lawrence Fernandez attributed the anticipated drops in rates to the reduction in capacity fees arising from the annual reconciliation of outage allowances done at the end of each year under the contracts approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission.

Meralco’s power rates declined in December due to lower generation charges amid a stronger peso and lower prices at the spot market.

The overall rate of a typical Meralco household dropped to P9.2487 per kWh from last month’s P9.6272 per kWh.

B1

“The lower December rate is mainly due to a P0.3035 per kWh reduction in the generation charge,” Meralco said earlier.

Meralco said the generation charge fell to P4.6045 per kWh this month from P4.9080 per kWh in November primarily due to the peso’s appreciation and lower Wholesale Electricity Spot Market charges.

Charges from the WESM decreased P0.4658 per kWh despite a slight increase in the demand for power in Luzon.

Meralco said the power supply situation improved from October, when the grid experienced three instances of yellow alerts due to thin reserves.

Meralco obtained 12 percent of its power requirements from the WESM in December.

Charges from independent power producers and power supply agreements also registered a decline of P0.2191 per kWh and P0.3244 per kWh, respectively, mainly due to the strengthening of the peso against the US dollar.

Meralco said the peso-dollar exchange rate affected around 97 percent of IPP and 60 percent of PSA charges. Meralco secured an equal 44 percent of its requirements from IPPs and PSAs. The transmission charge of residential customers fell P0.0186 per kWh due to lower wheeling and ancillary charges.

Alena Mae S. Flores

THE Securities and Exchange Commission en banc has given BDO Leasing and Finance Inc. the go-signal to raise P15 billion in fresh funds from the sale of debt paper.

Documents from the SEC showed BDO Leasing was issuing P15 billion worth of commercial paper, which it would use for re-lending and other expenses.

BDO Capital & Investment Corp. was tapped as the exclusive selling agent of the proposed issuance.

BDO Leasing is 85.09 percent owned by BDO Unibank Inc., the country’s biggest bank in terms of assets, and 1.11 percent held

by BDO Capital. Both BDO Leasing and BDO Capital are subsidiaries of BDO Unibank.

Philippine Rating Services Corp. earlier assigned a PRS Aa issuer credit rating on BDO Leasing A company rated PRS Aa differs from the highest-rated corporates only to a small degree, and has a strong capacity to meet its financial commitments relative to that of other companies.

Jenniffer B. Austria

Data privacy law benefits explained THE National Privacy Commission launched its nationwide campaign on how local government units can start their journey to compliance and reap the benefits of the Data Privacy Act of 2012.

Speaking during the launch in Davao City, NPC chairman Raymund Liboro stressed the importance of systematic compliance, saying it would foster greater trust in the the way local governments work among businesses executives and the general public.

This would also allow citizens to enjoy the benefits of local government projects, like the Listahanan and other initiatives, worry-free and in a secure manner, he added.

“Filipinos experience government service on a more personal level when they avail of social services offered at city and town halls. If LGUs in the region would rigorously enforce data privacy safeguards in their daily operations, not only will it usher in better local government administration and enhanced social services. It will also redound to improved business practices and usher in the region’s readiness to absorb the economic benefits of the emerging knowledge economy,” Liboro said.

Othel V. Campos

B2

Business

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

China signals slower growth C PRE-CHRISTMAS TRADITION. A customer carries home a suckling pig bought during the traditional pre-Chrismas meat sale at Smithfield market in the city of London on December 23, 2017. AFP

Crytpo Asian stock markets mixed; yen holds steady currencies resume decline THE biggest cryptocurrencies resumed their decline on Sunday, failing to reverse a selloff that began when bitcoin’s unprecedented rally fell short of breaking above $20,000.

A rebound on Saturday fizzled in the afternoon and traders turned pessimistic again, driving bitcoin down 13 percent in the past 24 hours. The drop among the 10 largest digital coins, ranging as much as 17 percent for iota, brings more end-of-year weakness to a market that just had its worst four-day tumble since 2015.

“The West is what’s causing this selloff,” said Mati Greenspan, senior market analyst at Tel Avivbased online broker eToro, pointing to increased trading in dollars and less in yen. The recent cryptocurrency rally was so steep that investors were prone to take money off the table going into the Christmas holiday season, he said.

The retrenchment isn’t typical for cryptos, which often snap back after a few losing sessions. The last time bitcoin dropped for five successive weekdays was September and, before that, July. While the market has been volatile for most of this year, the rapid run-up has made the recent selloff sting more for digital coin enthusiasts.

Traders have knocked about $160 billion in market value off the biggest cryptocurrencies in about three days, according to CoinMarketCap data. The tumble coincided with several warnings in the past week from financial authorities about elevated risk in holding digital coins. Bloomberg

ASIAN shares were mixed while the yen held steady in thin trading on a day when many global markets are closed for a holiday.

The Topix index edged higher in Tokyo, extending a 26-year high, while Shanghai stocks retreated after completing their first weekly gain in more than a month.

The Japanese currency traded little changed against the dollar for a third day. Topix trading volume was about 37 percent lower than the 30-day average. Bitcoin fell for a fifth day, heading for its longest losing streak since September.

Asian equity markets from Australia to India and Hong Kong, as well as markets in Europe and the US, are closed Monday for the Christmas holiday. Global stocks capped a fifth weekly advance on Friday, while US Treasuries posted their biggest weekly loss since September, as Congress passed a sweeping tax bill and data pointed to economic vitality, raising the prospect of reduced central bank stimulus. A measure of global equities is poised for its biggest annual gain since 2009.

China can achieve a goal

of doubling the size of its economy by 2020 even if annual expansion slows to 6.3 percent, Yang Weimin, an official from the Communist Party committee overseeing economic policy, said over the weekend, according to the official Yinhua News Agency. China is seen growing 6.8 percent this year and 6.5 percent in 2018, according to economist estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

North Korea rejected tighter United Nations sanctions aimed at stopping its nuclear expansion, describing the move as an “act of war” and vowing retribution

on US sympathizers who approved it. The United Nations Security Council unanimously approved new sanctions Friday targeting North Korea’s economy after the launch of a ballistic missile last month.

The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.5 percent. The Topix closed 0.2 percent higher in Tokyo, while the Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.2 percent.

Taiwan’s Taiex slid 0.1 percent, while Thailand’s SET Index rose 0.5 percent. Vietnam’s benchmark gauge advanced 0.6 percent.

Bloomberg

RAIL CONGESTION.

Travelers gather at the entrance to the train station at Bercy in Paris on December 23, 2017, after some passengers with tickets were unable to board their scheduled trains.

Many travelers who did not manage to board their trains, despite having tickets criticized Société nationale des chemins de fer français, the French national railways company, alleging congestion of some Parisian stations.

However SNCF denied any “disorganization” and raised “usual” problems of the Christmas weekend.

AFP

hina can achieve a goal of doubling the size of its economy by 2020 even if annual expansion slows to 6.3 percent, according to a senior Communist Party official, signaling a greater willingness to tackle debt and pollution at the expense of growth.

In its blueprint for 2016 to 2020, China set a minimum annual growth target of 6.5 percent for the fiveyear period to achieve the goal of doubling gross domestic product from 2010 levels. But over the weekend, Yang Weimin, an official from the Communist Party committee overseeing economic policy, said annualized growth of 6.3 percent in 2018-2020 would do.

Based on current economic performance, the 2020 target won’t be a “huge barrier,” the official Xinhua News Agency cited Yang, deputy head of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs, as saying. China is seen growing 6.8 percent this year and 6.5 percent in 2018, according to economist estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

President Xi Jinping and other top leaders have likewise signaled less emphasis on growth, pledging earlier this month to focus on “critical battles” against financial risk, pollution and poverty in the next three years. Yang dismissed the notion that China would abandon a growth target before 2020 while investment banks including UBS Group AG see China potentially giving a 2018 target that is worded similar to this year’s “around 6.5 percent” but without language that it should be higher if possible.

“What Yang Weimin said is no surprise except that he’s preparing for a publicly acceptable official soft landing for the alreadydetermined policy,” said Chen Zhiwu, an economics

professor at the University of Hong Kong. “The target growth rate for 2018 will be lower than 2017.”

GDP will reach 80 trillion yuan ($12.2 trillion) by year end, Han Wenxiu, deputy head of the State Council research office, said in a recent article in the official Economic Daily.

The economy only needs to grow by 6.3 percent a year and residential income by 5.3 percent to reach the targets of doubling 2020 GDP and per capita income from 2010 levels, he said.

Yang’s remark is “a heads up on how the new thought will be implemented,” said Zhu Ning, deputy director of the National Institute of Financial Research at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

China, meanwhile, has shut down or revoked the licenses of 13,000 websites since 2015 for violating the country’s internet rules, state media reported Sunday.

The news comes as the Communist country continues to strengthen its already tight regulation of the internet, a move which critics say has picked up pace since President Xi Jinping came to power in 2012.

Platforms have also closed nearly 10 million internet accounts for “violating service protocol,” the official news agency said Sunday, likely referring to social media accounts.

“These moves have a powerful deterrent effect,” Xinhua quoted Wang Shengjun, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, as saying.

Bloomberg, AFP

Florida orange growers brace for worst harvest after hurricane, disease NEW YORK―Hit by Hurricane Irma and a citrus ailment known as “Yellow Dragon Disease,” Florida orange growers are bracing for potentially the worst harvest in more than a half century.

Forecasters are projecting a yield of 46 million boxes of oranges for the 20172018 Florida orange season, a drop of 33 percent from last year and the lowest out-

put since at least 1944-1945, according to the US Agriculture Department.

Some areas have lost as much as 90 percent of their fruit due to winds from Irma, or root damage due to flooding.

“It may take months for growers to gauge the true scale of the impact of Hurricane Irma and years to fully recover,” said Shelley Rossetter, a spokeswoman for the Florida Citrus Department.

Florida oranges aren’t the only casualty of 2017, an unusually busy year for natural disasters in North America.

The massive “Thomas” wildfire, considered the second biggest fire ever in California, has damaged lemon and avocado crops in the region north of Los Angeles.

Hundreds of acres of producing land have burned, said Ken Melban, vice president of industry affairs at the

California Avocado Commission.

“It’s a very unusual fire, some areas have been burned several times,” Melban said.

“It has a tremendous impact on growers impacted by the fire.”

But Melban said it was difficult to determine the full impact on avocado prices because of higher imports and the supply from California growers not touched by the fire.

But in Florida, where the orange industry employs 45,000 and an economic impact in the state of $8.6 billion, the outlook is grim, especially since the industry already faced myriad challenges even before Irma hit in September.

Citrus greening disease― otherwise known as Yellow Dragon Disease―is a bacterial malady spread by insects that has begun to ravage

crops, killing some orange trees and rendering other fruit small and sour.

Orange production in Florida, which peaked at 244 million cartons in 1998, fell last year to 67 million.

There is no cure, so growers are focusing on ways to limit the spread of the disease, and on technologies and growing practices that could build resistant to the disease. AFP

Economic aspects of tax regime changes

TWO national presidents of similar character, Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines and Donald Trump of the US, have just succeeded in getting their legislatures to approve packages of tax regime changes. The US tax package involves $1.5 trillion worth of revenues and the Duterte administration package involves an estimated P90 billion worth of incremental revenues.

Changes in tax regimes—the imposition of taxes on previously untaxed activities and things and the removal of tax rates on such activities and things—have always been essentially socio-political exercises. Throughout history sovereigns and parliamentary majorities have sought to reward or punish their opponents by lightening or making heavier – as the case may have been – their tax burdens. “Tax them into financial impotence” has always been the favored approach to their

opponents by despots and ruling political majorities.

But changes in tax regimes are not strictly socio-political in character. They also have their economic aspects. In point of fact, the fiscal weapon—the imposition or removal of taxes and changes in tax incidences and rates —is arguably the most powerful of the tools in a government’s economic-policy armory.

When deployed as a weapon for management of the economic cycle, tax regime changes are made with due regard (1) to the circumstances of the individuals sought to be affected by the tax changes and (2) to the changes needing to be made in the functioning of the economy.

The matter of incidence is of utmost importance in the making of tax policy. The issue of tax incidence boils down to the question, who will end up actually paying a tax? The answer to this question is very important because the capacity of a tax to be easily passed

on will determine whether the real objective of a tax measure will be attained. What, after all, would be the point of the best-crafted tax measure if an unintended person or entity will end up paying the tax?

Another important economic aspect of tax policymaking is timing. A tax measure must be enacted after due consideration of the economy’s position in the economic cycle at the time the tax measure is enacted. Obviously, a new tax should not be instituted on the economy poised to go into a downturn.

By the same token, the tax regime should not be lightened when the economy is experiencing an upturn.

Still another economic aspect of a program of tax restructuring is what economists call the marginal propensity to save (MPS) or marginal propensity to consume (MPC) of a person to whom the government will grant a fiscal benefit. If a tax measure will reduce a person’s tax liability by, say, P1,000, is

that person likely to spend that windfall on P1,000 worth of additional consumption, or is he likely to save all or most of it? The determination of MPS or MPC is very important from the standpoints of both economic stability and economic growth.

The tax packages that the Philippine and US Congresses have just approved are more socio-political exercises than economic ones.

Presidents Trump and Duterte got the US and Philippine legislatures to approve their tax packages not because their national economies needed them but because of the Chief Executives’ need to strengthen their political bases. The Philippine economy is currently one of East Asia’s fastest-growing economies —the second fastest-growing in fact—and the US economy is currently in the upturn phase of the economic cycle. Thus, from the standpoint of timing, the enactment of the two tax packages was wrong.

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

World

B3

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2017

Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

MASS WEDDING. This picture taken on December 24, 2017, shows an Indian bride preparing for a mass wedding ceremony in Surat, some 270 km from Ahmedabad.

251 fatherless girls were married off to partners in the mass wedding organized by the charitable PP Savani & Movaliya Groups. AFP

Catalan officials urged to avoid confrontation MADRID―Spain’s King Felipe VI in a Christmas speech on Sunday urged Catalan lawmakers to respect their region’s diversity and avoid another confrontation over independence.

Felipe’s remarks came three days after separatist parties, led by ousted president Carles Puigdemont, won an absolute majority of seats in a parliamentary vote.

The wealthy northeastern region’s newly elected parliament must “face the problems that affect all Catalans, with respect to plurality and bearing in mind their responsibility to the common good,” the monarch said.

“The road cannot lead again to confrontation and exclusion, which as we already know generate nothing but discord, uncertainty and discouragement,”

he said at his Madrid residence, flanked by Spanish and EU flags.

Spain’s central government called the election after sacking Puigdemont’s cabinet, dissolving the Catalan parliament and stripping the region of its treasured autonomy following an independence declaration on October 27.

The declaration rattled a Europe already shaken by Brexit, and inflamed passions across Spain.

It followed a banned independence referendum on October 1, which saw a brutal police crackdown that focused the world’s attention on the Catalan crisis.

Two days after the referendum, Felipe made a rare televised speech, condemning the separatists’ “unacceptable disloyalty”. AFP

US-Canadian group tracking Santa W ASHINGTON―It’s the question every good little girl and boy asks on Christmas Eve: When is Santa coming?

As it has done every year since 1955, a Canadian and American defense agency is tracking the jolly old man’s path around the globe in his reindeer-powered sleigh.

A 3-D, interactive website at www.noradsanta.org shows Santa on his delivery route, allowing users to click and learn more about the various cities along the

way.

The Santa tracker presented by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) dates to 1955, when a Colorado newspaper advertisement printed a phone number to connect children with St Nick but mistakenly directed them to the hot-line for the mili-

tary nerve center.

To avoid disappointing the little ones, NORAD’s director of operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, ordered his staff to check the radar to see where Santa might be and update the children on his location.

President Donald Trump joined in the NORAD tradition on Sunday, answering the phone from his Mar-aLago resort in Florida.

“What would you like more than anything?” the president asked one child.

“Building blocks, that’s what I’ve always liked too.

I always loved building blocks,” Trump said after the child responded.

Another asked help for his hospitalized grandmother.

“So you want your grandma to get out of the hospital?

That’s what your wish is?

That’s great. That’s better than asking for some toy or something,” Trump said.

“Your grandma’s gonna be good, okay, she’s gonna be good.”

First Lady Melania Trump also took calls: “How are you? Merry Christmas. Are you tracking Santa? Do you know where he is right

now?” she asked.

“As soon as you go to sleep, Santa will be there.”

When not spreading holiday cheer, NORAD conducts aerospace and maritime control and warning operations―including monitoring for missile launches from North Korea, something that may have been on Santa’s mind as he passed over the country’s capital of Pyongyang.

“NORAD radars have sensed movement near the North Pole. It appears that the elves have finished loading Santa’s sleigh and Santa

Former president Fujimori pardoned LIMA―Peru’s jailed expresident Alberto Fujimori, who was serving a 25-year sentence for corruption and rights abuses, has been pardoned on humanitarian grounds, the presidency said Sunday.

The announcement came after Fujimori’s son Kenji split the opposition vote in parliament, allowing President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski to avoid impeachment and sparking speculation about a pardon as political payback.

“The president of the republic... has decided to grant a humanitarian pardon to Mr. Alberto Fujimori and seven other people in similar condition,” the presidency said in a statement that did not name the other recipients.

A medical team “determined that Mr Fujimori suffers from a progressive, degenerative and incurable illness and that prison conditions represent a grave risk to his life,” the statement said.

Kenji Fujimori hailed the decision.

“On behalf of the Fujimori family, I would like to thank President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski for the noble and magnanimous gesture of giving my father Alberto the humanitarian pardon,” he wrote on his Twitter account.

His sister, opposition leader Keiko Fujimori, also expressed her delight.

“Today is a great day for my family and for Fujimorism. Finally my father is free. This will be a Christmas of hope and joy!!!”, she wrote on social media.

But the decision sparked criticism from rights groups while in the capital Lima, young demonstrators clashed with riot police as they tried to march to the government palace. AFP

has lifted off! Even loaded with all the gifts and goodies, Santa’s sleigh seems to be moving lightning fast,” the website said in a video clip at the launch of Santa’s global journey.

As of 0715 GMT, Santa was making his way through the western US state of Colorado, having already left more than 6.1 billion gifts in his wake.

Volunteers manning the NORAD phone line included military members in uniform. One soldier completed his look with a camouflage Santa hat, according to pho-

tos on the website’s Twitter account.

The Santa tracker “has become a magical tradition for generations of families everywhere,” General Lori Robinson, commander of the US Northern Command and NORAD, told Politico.

“While certainly a reminder that we have the watch defending North America, our ultimate goal is to provide goodwill and cheer during the holiday season.”

Volunteers are armed with a 14-page handbook detailing the “tracking operation,” Politico reported. AFP

Turkey sacks over 2,700 in latest post-coup purges

PROMOTIONAL EVENT. This picture taken on December 24, 2017, shows Indonesian singer Wizzy Williana posing during a photo shoot to promote her new movie soundtrack in Jakarta. . AFP

Russians endorse Navalny to challenge Putin in March MOSCOW―More than 15,000 Russians on Sunday endorsed the candidacy of Alexei Navalny, seen as the only Russian opposition leader who stands a fighting chance of challenging President Vladimir Putin in a March vote.

“An election without us is not an election,” Navalny declared in Moscow around 1700 GMT before submitting his nomination to the Central Electoral Commission, which will rule whether he can run.

Authorities have deemed the 41-year-old ineligible to run due to a criminal

conviction, saying “only a miracle” would help him get registered. Navalny has described the conviction as politically motivated.

Thousands backing the charismatic lawyer met in 20 cities from the Pacific port of Vladivostok to Saint Petersburg in the northwest to nominate him as a candidate in the presence of electoral officials to boost his chances of contesting the March 18 ballot.

His campaign said more than 15,000 people endorsed him nationwide.

An independent candidate needs 500 votes to get

registered with election authorities, according to legislation.

In Moscow, more than 700 people supported Navalny’s candidacy as they gathered in a huge marquee set up in a picturesque park on the snow-covered banks of the Moscow River.

“I am hugely happy, I am proud to tell you that I stand here as a candidate of the entire Russia,” the Western-educated Navalny told supporters earlier.

“We are ready to win and we will win these elections,” Navalny said before finishing his speech in a

cloud of confetti.

Navalny said that if he is not allowed to put his name on the ballot he will contest the ban in courts and repeated his threat to call for the polls to be boycotted if he did not get registered.

“Thwart the elections if they are dishonest,” he told supporters.

Putin, 65, announced this month that he will seek a fourth presidential term, which would extend his rule until 2024 and make him the longest-serving Russian leader since dictator Joseph Stalin. AFP

ANKARA―The Turkish yers and academics have been government on Sunday or- sacked or suspended since a dered the sacking of more failed coup in July last year, than 2,700 people working while some 55,000 people in public institutions over have been arrested over susalleged links to “terror” pected links to US-based Isgroups, in the latest purg- lamic cleric Fethullah Gulen es since last year’s failed and the coup attempt.

Turkey claims Gulen and his coup.

In a separate emergency de- Hizmet (service) movement, cree, the defense procurement which it calls the “Fethullah agency was ordered to answer Terrorist Organization”, orto President Recep Tayyip Er- dered and conducted the atdogan instead of the defense tempted coup.

Gulen, who has lived in ministry, in a move widely viewed as a further expansion self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, denies of his powers.

Turkey’s intelligence ser- any links to terrorism and the vice (MIT) also came under failed putsch. AFP E r d o g a n ’s Manila control in Standard more importantly, financial quarrels.

Republic of the Philippines That respondent demanded that National Capital Judicial Region August.

TODAY petitioner stop sending money to her REGIONAL TRIAL COURT family in the Philippines and obliged A total of petitioner to give him 5 “lapad”, but Mandaluyong City respondent became more violent until Branch 211 they separated sometime in April 2014.

2,756 people IN RE: PETITION FOR JUDICIAL That petitioner and respondent have including no children out of their marriage and RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN DIVORCE AND DECLARATION OF they have not acquired any property. academics, That on April 14, 2014, petitioner and CAPACITY TO REMARRY UNDER respondent mutually agreed to divorce ART. 26 OF THE FAMILY CODE. soldiers and and they signed the divorce certificate.

The divorce was registered in the SHERRY YEE PANUELOS, Official Family Register issued by the military perPetitioner, Mayor of Amakusa City, Kumamoto Pref., Japan, and a copy of the divorce -versussonal were certificate is hereto attached as Annex “B”.

R-MND-17-03734-SP removed petitioner caused the FOR: JUDICIAL RECOGNITION That registration of the Divorce Certificate from differOF FOREIGN DIVORCE with the Department of Foreign Affairs so that the document can be accepted ent bodies ISAMU KANDA by the Local Civil Registrar of Manila in accordance with the circular by the Respondent. including Supreme Court, and the petitioner x----------------------------------x was presented the original copy of the ORDER the interior, divorce certificate by the Department This is a verified petition filed by of Foreign Affairs for authentication, petitioner praying that after due hereto attached as Annex “C” and “D”, foreign and the publication, notice and hearing, respectively.

Order be issued rendering the d e f e n s e an That the divorce was filed in following judgment: conformity with the laws of Japan, 1. Recognizing, upholding and particulary Book IV, Chapter II, Section ministries, enforcing the divorce on April 4, Subsection 2, Article 763 of the Civil 14, 2014 obtained in Japan by Code of Japan and pertinent portion of according to petitioner as contained in the which reads as follows: Family Registration; “Section 4. Divorce. the Official 2. Nullifying the marriage of petitioner Subsection1, Divorce Agreement. and respondent solemnized on Article 763. Husband and wife may Gazette.

August 17, 2010 and to cause the effect divorce agreement.” cancellation in the entries of the and a copy of the English version All those Book of Marriages the marriage of the Civil Code of Japan is hereto of the parties; 3. Declaring the petitioner as attached as Annex “E”. dismissed capacitated to remarry under That paragraph 2 of Article 26 of Articles 26 paragraph 2 of the the Family Code in relation to Section were either Family Code in view of the divorce 48, Rule 39 of the Rules of Court, certificate. the divorce certificate has the effect members of That petitioner Sherry Yee Panuelos of a judgment as final order with of legal age, married and presumptive value as evidence. “terror” or- iswitha Filipino, residence address at 907 Block That under the foregoing Fabella Street, Mandaluyong circumstances, petitioner respectfully ganizations 39, City where she may be served with seeks of the Honorable Court that summons and other court processes. their divorce dated April 14, 2014 be or had links That respondent Isamu Kanda recognized and upheld. is a Japanese citizen, of legal age, Acting on the petition, this Court to strucmarried and with residence address at hereby orders the petitioner to cause Okayaman Shi, Kitaku, Sayuwai Shou the publication of a copy of this Order tures which 4-26-506, Bukyo, Japan and summons at its own expense before the hearing other court processes under the on January 31, 2018 at 1:30 o’ clock were acting and circumstances may be served through in the afternoon before the Regional publication.

Trial Court, Branch 211, 2 Floor, against naThat petitioner and respondent met Old Municipal Hall Building, Maysilo where petitioner was working in a club Circle, Mandaluyong City. Let a copy this Order be published in the Manila tional secu- and respondent would frequent the ofStandard, a newspaper of general club and for months they met almost circulation in Metro Manila selected every day. rity, it said. by the raffle pursuant to PD No. 1079, That the relationship became serious once a week for three (3) consecutive 17 Turkand they eventually married on August weeks.

17, 2010 before the Regional Trial A copy of this Order shall likewise of Mandaluyong presided by ish institu- Court Hon. Judge Monique Quisumbing- be posted in the bulletin board of this Ignacio and the NSO copy of the Court. tions were Report of Marriage is hereto attached Let the Office of the Solicitor General, Annex “A”.

Philippine Statistics Authority and the also ordered asThat as promised, respondent Local Civil Registrar of Mandaluyong for petitioner a visa to enable City be furnished with a copy of this to close, in- secured Order, together with the petition and her to go to Japan. its annexes at the expense of the while in Japan, petitioner petitioner, the proof of service thereof cluding two andThatrespondent lived together after to be duly proven and established to marriage, and during the early stage the satisfaction of the Court. newspapers of their marriage, petitioner and SO ORDERED. respondent went along well and and seven enjoyed their married life for the Mandaluyong City, November 17, respondent then had a well paying job. 2017. associations.

(Sgd.) OFELIA L. CALO That however, the respondent got sick and everything change because Judge More than respondent stopped working.

Copy Furnished: That respondent became hot- Atty. Tomas J. Caspe 140,000 tempered and always shouted at the Office of the Solicitor General and they almost have daily Local Civil Registrar of people in- petitioner heated arguments because they have Mandaluyong City and difficult personalities, Philippine Statistics Authority c l u d i n g separate ranging from language barrier, Manila Standard jealousy, verbal abuse, age gap, and (MS-Dec. 12, 19 & 26, 2017) judges, lawnd

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

B4

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2017

LGUs LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

CENTENNIAL BABY.

The Muntinlupa local government named Jira Estrella de Leon Moriska (center) as the city’s ‘Centennial Baby’ after being born at midnight of Dec. 19, Muntinlupa’s 100th anniversary founding date.

Mayor Jaime Fresnedi (second from right) welcomed the baby’s parents, Brgy. Poblacion residents Ma. Josephine de Leon Moriska and Jerson Moriska (second and third from left) with their daughter at city hall. The family received P100,000 cash gift from the city government and additional gifts from Muntinlupa-based companies last Dec. 21. Also in photo (from left) are Acting City Health Officer Dr. Maria Teresa Reyes Tuliao, and Dr. Magdalena Meana, Search for Centennial Baby Chairperson.

Councilman nabbed for Xmas eve gunfire

TAYUG, Pangasinan—A village councilman is now in hot water after he indiscriminately fired his gun at 10:15 p.m. on Christmas eve in Barangay Trenchera here.

Arrested by elements of the Public Safety Mobile Force Company of the police was Raquily Bado, 49, a businessman. His neighbors reported him shortly after he fired his gun twice, less than two hours before Christmas.

Found in his possession was a caliber .45 Armscor pistol, with a magazine containing five live bullets.

The suspect, however, was able to present pertinent documents of ownership of the firearm, which are now the subject of verification by the Firearms and Explosives Office in Camp Crame.

He was brought to the Eastern Pangasinan District Hospital for physical and medical examination and later brought to the Tayug Police Starion for proper disposition.

All the confiscated pieces of evidences will be brought to Crime Laboratory Office in Urdaneta City for ballistic examination. The suspect will also be subjected to paraffin test.

Meanwhile, in Labrador, Pangasinan, one person died while three were hurt when a Manila-bound passenger bus rammed a motorcycle in Barangay San Jose in Labrador town Saturday night (Dec. 23).

The fatality was identified as Raymond Ochave, 24, driver of the Honda motorcycle (without a plate number), a resident of Barangay Jose, Labrador.

His two back riders, identified as Rhoderick De Vera, 32 and Jimmy Tamondong, 47, sustained injuries in different parts of their bodies and brought to the Labrador Municipal Hospital for treatment.

The motorcycle was hit by a south-bound Five Star bus driven by Rudy Camaso,46, of Tondol, Anda, also in Pangasinan.

The bus was tailing the motorcycle but ran into it when it suddenly slowed down to veer to the left. PNA

Celebrating ‘Mawlidin Nabi’

By Nash B. Maulana

C

(FIRST OF TWO PARTS)

OTABATO CITY—Unlike Christians on Christmas, many Muslims are still divided on whether to celebrate the birth of Prophet Muhammad.

But like Christians, Muslims’ commemoration of Muhammad’s birth 1,400 years ago corresponds this year to December, according to Mayor Zamzamin Ampatuan of Rajah Buayan, Maguindanao, an advocate of old Muslim tradition.

Ampatuan said “Mawlidin Nabi”—literally “Birth of the Prophet”—is usually commemorated one whole week from the 12th day of Rabbi-ul Awal of the Hijrah Calendar. The period corresponded this year to Dec. 9 to 16.

He said Mawlidin Nabi is “commemorated rather than celebrated, by sharing the true teachings of the Prophet Muhammad Sallahi Alayhi Wassalam (Peace be with him) with the children and even with non-Muslims as special guests.”

Ampatuan said local Muslims would fondly commemorate the prophet’s birth, especially in the past, when they would even invite Christian neighbors to listen to narrations about the life of Muhammad from birth to his last breath.

One such story is that Muhammad became an orphan

at infancy when his mother died weeks after his birth.

His father died before his birth. In his time, lactating mothers nursed newborns, and the one who took care of him designated her right breast to the baby Muhammad and the left breast to her own child.

By the woman’s account, the infant Muhammad would not suck of the milk from the left breast when her right breast ran out of milk.

The Mawlidin Nabi of the not-so-distant past was also the season for circumcision of young boys; “a time of

transformation to manhood,” Ampatuan said.

Ampatuan said stories about Muhammad’s values were the essence of commemorating the Prophet’s life for young generations, in times when all that they hear were twisted stories about jihad he led in his time.

Ampatuan explained that many modern-day Muslims, who have embraced the teachings of 19th century Arab teacher Mohamad ibn Abdulwahab, consider festive mood on Mawlidin Nabi as being like holiday celebrations in the western world.

Tanza’s Pacumio treats PWDs

MAYOR Yuri Pacumio of Tanza, Cavite and Councilor Icel Del Rosario recently treated persons with disabilities at one of the popular fastfood chains along Macapagal Boulevard in Parañaque City.

Pacumio and “municipal mom” Del Rosario treated them to snacks along with their chaperons and handed over Christmas gifts to hundreds of PWDs. The municipal officials also treated all barangay officials led by Association of Barangay Chairman Federation President Simon “SM” Matro in a simple Christmas gettogether with Cavite 6th District Rep. Luis A. Ferrer IV. The Christmas gift giving for PWDs is an annual project of Pacumio since he assumed office in cooperation with General Trias native Ferrer.

In General Trias City, the city government led

by Mayor Antonio “Ony” Ferrer has offered a P200,000 cash reward for any information that can help solve the killing of a mother and daughter in a subdivision in Barangay Navarro here. according to Police Supt. Sandro Jay Tafalla, city Chief of Police.

Supt. Tafalla revealed that Mayor Ferrer offered the bounty for the immediate arrest of the killers of Ruby Gamos, 37, and her daughter Shaniah, 7.

Local police have identified at least four persons of interest in the case.

The victims were found lifeless in their house in Barangay Navarro last Dec. 10, a few days after their relatives failed to contact them.

Abdulfatah Tanog, a Muslim preacher delving on comparative sects, said Muslims peoples are so divided in many ways, adding that the “widest of such divide” is evident in the Sunni-Shiite issue which often stirs debate among their lay followers.

Today, most narrations about Muhammad’s life are limited to his spiritual and political life as a person and as leader. But Ampatuan said forums where such stories were told were even made exclusive to Muslims, unlike the Mawlidin Nabi gathering where even non-Muslims

were invited.

“What happens when Muslims do not spread the teachings, the lessons, the values exemplified by the Prophet, through some festive mood that children usually enjoy?

On the other hand, some people tend to corrupt Islam in some sources of learning like the internet which the young love most. And what do we do then? Do we tell those people that it is bid’a [innovative] or even shirk [mortal sin] to alter the meaning of the Qur’an? No! Most do not do so,” Ampatuan said. (continued tomorrow)

Energy firm throws party for 300 kids

By Butch Gunio

CHRISTMAS TIEUP. Uniqlo spreads holiday cheer to the kids of Bantay Bata in partnership with the ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation as they were treated to a holiday shopping spree at the Japanese fashion store. Following a sweet Christmas serenade by Jose Mari Chan, the kids headed to the store to shop for their own Christmas outfits. Photo shows (from left) Uniqlo Philippines Co-COO Geraldine Sia and the Uniqlo Philippines Marketing Team, ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation’s Martin Guzman, host Mia Cabalfin, and the kids from Bantay Bata.

Displaced canning workers gain jobs ZAMBOANGA CITY—The first congressional district office, in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment, has provided temporary employment to 1,277 canning factory workers affected by the fishing ban here.

The temporary employment, initiated by first district Rep. Celso Lobregat, was made possible through the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers or TUPAD program of DoLE. The TUPAD program beneficiaries are workers from the 11 canning factories that temporarily ceased production since the closed season for sardine fishing took effect on Dec. 1.

The closed fishing season, which ends on March 1, covers east Sulu Sea, Basilan Strait and Sibuguey Bay. The beneficiaries were employed for a period of 15 days effective Dec. 22 and each will receive salary based on the minimum wage of P296 daily with no deductions such as withholding tax.

They are to undertake clean and green program in their respective barangays.

“Since the start of the fishing ban last Dec. 1, these factory workers are unemployed, but they have to sustain their families. So, in my own little way, we are giving them assistance by means of livelihood in the spirit of Christmas,” Lobregat said. PNA

SUBIC FREEPORT ZONE—RP Energy employees, together with partners from its parent company Meralco Power Gen Corp., contractor Azul Torre Construction, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, the Rotary Club of Quezon City, and Enriquez Security Services recently held a thanksgiving party for around 300 kids from Cawag Resettlement Elementary School in Barangay Cawag, Subic, Zambales.

RP Energy and its partners also provided the school with a brand-new LCD projector, electric fans, and sports equipment, in line with the firm’s corporate social responsibility program for education.

“Christmas is for kids and we are glad to dance ‘Baby Shark’ with them! We are thankful that RP Energy enjoys the full support and warm welcome of the community,” said Litz Santana, VP and Head of External Affairs.

“Beyond the usual gift-giving, we go a step further in gathering resources to augment the school’s limited budget. Our very own employees and partners contributed in buying these new educational and sports equipment,” added Jason Gavina, CSR Officer of RP Energy.

Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. is a consortium composed of Meralco PowerGen Corp., Aboitiz Power Corp., and Taiwan Cogeneration Corp. It is the developer of an environment-friendly and state-of-the-art 2x300-megawatt coal-fired power plant at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

Operation: ’Tulong’ Express comes to Ormoc’s aid ORMOC CITY—SM Foundation, through its Operation: Tulong Express teams and volunteers, recently distributed relief goods to families affected by Typhoon “Urduja” in Liloan, Ormoc, Barangays 63 and 87 in Tacloban, and in Biliran.

The relief goods, called “kalinga packs” (care packs) were given to 1,190 families in Ormoc and 1,390 families in Tacloban City. Meanwhile, two thousand relief packs are in transit to Biliran.

The relief goods were sourced and prepared by SM Supermarkets and Stores near the area to

‘TULONG’ EXPRESS.

Residents of Liloan in Ormoc City receive ‘kalinga’ packs from SM Foundation volunteers, prepared through the local SM supermarkets and stores.

facilitate speedy distribution.

Volunteers from SM City Tacloban and SM Ormoc headed by Marlon

Tan and Jane Losaria, respectively, together with SM Savemore’s Rod Robles were on hand to help in the distribution.

Operation: Tulong Express is SM Foundation’s immediate response to help victims of calamities and disasters.

a

FTER successfully opening its first property in Puerto Princesa, Hue Hotels and Resorts brings its distinct shade of comfort and leisure to another top destination in the Philippines—Boracay.

Hue Hotels and Resorts Boracay, managed by Hospitality Innovators, Inc. (HII), officially opened on Oct. 26, offering guests a refreshing and gamechanging way to enjoy and experience the island.

Life

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

travel and leisure

tuesday, decemBeR 26, 2017

C1

“We are so excited to be opening the second Hue Hotels and Resorts property in the country’s top vacation destination,” says Dexter Lee, managing director of Luana Lifestyle and Leisure Inc., owner of Hue Hotels and Resorts. “Just like with all our present and future Hue properties, Hue Boracay is design forward and culturally rooted. The design, concept, and even the facilities reflect the personality of the destination and its cultural identity.” Hue Boracay recreates and infuses the island’s energy and vibrancy in its property so that guests can get the complete experience in the comforts of the hotel—the only reason they’ll leave the hotel is for the worldfamous beach.

Hue’s distinct circular structure shape stands out among the typical buildings in Boracay, and is built DESTINATION WITHIN A DESTINATION. Newly opened Hue Hotels and Resorts Boracay offers its own dining spots, retail shops, and other facilities that let guests enjoy the experience of being in a destination right within the comforts of a hotel on the world-class island of Boracay. around a picturesque pool with its own sunken bar. The whole property is filled with open, expansive and highly Instagrammable spaces, which include the hotel’s lifestyle complex Station X. With exciting mix of homegrown dining and retail concepts that espouse Hue’s advocacy of promoting local culture, visitors will never run out of because we were so impressed with the interesting things to see, eat and disconcept,” shares HII founder and CEO cover within Hue. Luis Monserrat. “They have been a “With Station X, we’re bringing the great pleasure to work with and we are concept of ‘cosmopolitan local’ to life,” grateful to the Hue Hotels and Resorts describes Dennis Lee, also a managing team for choosing and trusting HII in director of Luana Lifestyle and Leisure this endeavor.”

Inc.. Guests can experience a melting With brilliant design and archipot of various cuisines in the island’s tecture, a creative lifestyle complex first and only Food Hall called Streetfilled with original concepts and market, enjoy world-class cocktails impressive offerings, and warm and from the much buzzed about bar Prisma, responsive service all enhancing and more. and contributing to crafting a comBehind each unique and colorful stay plete experience, Hue Hotels and at Hue Hotels and Resorts is HospitalResorts Boracay is a destinationity Innovators, Inc. (HII), the company within-a-destination. behind a number of well-received and rated hotels in the country. HII is reHue Hotels and Resorts Boracay is losponsible for the overall management cated at Station 2, Main Road, Boraof Hue Hotels and Resorts Boracay, cay Island, Malay, Aklan, Philippines. encompassing day-to-day operations, For inquiries and reservations, please financial results, sales and marketing, email boracay@thehuehotel.com, resfacilities upkeep and maintenance, and ervations@thehuehotel.com, borapeople management. cayreservations@thehuehotel.com, or “We are very excited about this partThe property is built around a circular pool with a sunken bar visit www.thehuehotel.com nership with Hue Hotels and Resorts, Space X is the retail complex in Hue Boracay

Discover a new Hue in Boracay

Bungy Battlers’ crazy jump day at Macau Tower MaCau Tower hosted the seventh annual Crazy Jump Day, powered by the world’s best low-cost airline airasia and organized by the world’s top adventure tourism company aJ Hackett.

Featuring the theme “airasia Destinations”, the costumed bungy jump event saw 23 participants from across asia Pacific take the plunge from Macau Tower, the world’s highest commercial bungy jump at 233 meters operated by aJ Hackett.

The participants from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, austral-

ia and China (which covers Mainland and Macao) were selected to jump by airasia and aJ Hackett via a social media contest held a month before Crazy Jump Day. The participants were chosen for their creativity, storytelling skills and the relevance of their costume to the theme, which was inspired by airasia’s extensive route network of more than 130 destinations. after four hours of non-stop bungy action, Ernesto Humberto Trevino Amezcua was named winner of the

Best Costume award for his execution and wow factor. The Mexican national who currently resides in China also won the Best Jump of the Day award for his style and excellent jump footage.

For having won the best costume, amezcua received a pair of airasia return tickets to auckland, New Zealand, a chance for two people to experience the aJ Hackett bridge bungy and bridge climb there and 50,000 airasia BIG Points. He also won one airasia return ticket to Singapore, a chance for one Turn to C2

Crimson Hotel welcomes the new year Brazilian-style with its Rio Carnivale Countdown Party and room packages inspired by Brazil.

Crimson Hotel’s New Year Vibe

The jolly jumpers from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, China, and the Philippines who battled it out for the best costume and best jump in AirAsia’s costumed bungy jump event in Macao.

(Inset) Winners of Best Jump.

Say olá to the New year!

Crimson Hotel in Filinvest City will host a Brazilian themed New year celebration. The Rio Carnivale New year’s Eve Countdown Party will be on Dec. 31 at 9 p.m at the hotel’s grand ballroom.

Guests can wear their most vibrant samba ensembles of fringe and rhinestone accents, headdress and boa feathers for a night of frenetic rhythm of Brazil’s Carnival. Nyko Maka with Out of Scratch and Jazz Dufourt will perform the beats of Brazil with a range of motion that includes slick percussive power and melodic flexibility.

Nykó Macá flows in French, Tagalog, Portuguese and everything else while afro-Cuban prodigy Jazz Dufourt can throw at Out of Scratch’s sonic game.

So expect a night of spectacular display of refined artistry and raw grooves.

Tickets are priced at P2,380++ per person. This includes a lavish buffet dinner and wonderful New year treats.

Crimson Hotel Filinvest City, Manila also offers fabulous Rio Carnivale themed room packages for Dec.31. One doesn’t need to fly to Brazil to experience an ecstatic and vibrant New year. all room packages already include two tickets to Rio Carnivale New year’s Eve Countdown Party, Santa’s Surprise Treat and shopping credits for kids at Santa’s Cafe. The Copacobana room package with a rate of P10,760++ includes an overnight stay and buffet breakfast for two persons.

If feasting on the 1st of January is your top priority, New year’s Day Brunch Buffet for two persons is part of the Rio de Janeiro room package.

The rate starts at P12,550++ and it also includes an overnight stay and buffet breakfast for two persons. a longer staycation means more fun.

The Girl from Ipanema room package, which starts at P17,290++ offers a three days, two nights stay with buffet breakfast, New year’s brunch buffet for two persons and dining credits worth P1,000. Check-in date can be as early as Dec. 30.

In addition, the Café Eight’s Culinary Team is preparing the most spectacular way to enter the New year recharged and full of optimism. The New year’s Eve Dinner Buffet features confit duck terrine with pickled vegetables, coxinha – Brazilian chicken croquettes, oysters, baked salmon with saffron fondue, and whole roasted red sea bream in banana leaf which will surely be the highlight of the dinner table. Diners will get refueled with New year’s Day Brunch Buffet’s asparagus and Brie cheese salad, sesame pork and foie gras terrine, lobster bisque, grilled beef fillet, salmon coulibiac, date opera cake and Crimson cake. Buffet rate starts at P1,450++ per person.

For more information or reservations, please visit the official website at www.crimsonhotel.com/manila/ or call (02) 863-2222.

Life

C2

tuesday, december 26, 2017 isahred@gmail.com

Travel elegance

you can bring anywhere

B

E IT a luxury cruise across the Mediterranean, a nightlife tour of Tokyo or a mid-winter exploration in Europe, luxury travel is now all the rage. Privileged travelers conquer some of the world’s best and most exclusive destinations with expensive gadgets and luxurious luggage in tow.

Brics, an Italian heritage brand that’s been producing handcrafted travel bags and fine leather for the most discerning clientele since 1952, is one of the most preferred luxury luggage brands in the world desired by socialites, business executives and influencers from around the world. It creates fashionable and timeless bags and trunks that boast of unparalleled artistry, exemplary craftsmanship and durability.

This Fall/Winter 2017, Brics is offering everyone the chance to own his/her piece of timeless, fashionable luggage,

to show off anywhere with its new Capri collection.

The new Brics collection is composed of modern rigid trolleys with a classic design. These beautiful pieces are also the perfect gifts for traveling friends and loves with a discerning taste.

All pieces under the Capri collection boasts of Makrolon polycarbonate shell that makes them ultra -lightweight and temperature and scratch resistant.

Each Capri trolley, cabin or medium size, has four double swiveling, easyglide wheels, and TSA lock offering

flexible mobility and security, and making each piece ideal for either short or long journeys.

Above all, what redefines and sets this collection apart is the exquisite real leather detailing in each of the trolleys, which gives each piece that timeless, classic and elegant look. The pieces are trimmed in full grain Tuscan leather.

Brics bags and trunks feature quality leather, which further lends credibility to the brand’s image as one of the finest luggage makers The Capri trolleys are priced from P16, 000 to P20, 000 and are available in Cabin and Medium sizes only.

All pieces are available in SM Aura, Shangri-La Plaza and Ayala Malls Cebu.

Brics luxury luggage is distributed in the Philippines by Beawmont Distributions Inc.

Travel elegantly with Italian heritage luggage brand Brics whose trunks and bags boast unparalleled artisty and durability

The Capri collection is composed of modern, rigid trolleys with a classic design

Tourism’s merry season mercury rising

BY BOB zOzOBRADO

Our country’s tourism industry always looks forward to Christmas, when business is at its peak. Hotels and resorts run high occupancies due to balikbayans, staycations, etc. and their food and beverage outlets have to cope with overflowing bookings for all kinds of celebrations.

Airline seats are all sold out to families and groups of friends who prefer to spend the Holidays outside the country. Travel agencies are abuzz with bookings to all parts of the world. Local Tour Operators have their hands full with bookings from their international partners demanding interesting itineraries that showcase the very best of our country.

All these point to one of the reasons why the Industry goes out of its way to really celebrate the Christmas Season.

Of course, our being a predominantly Christian country is the other reason The elegant white-and-silver Christmas Tree Impy Pilapil’s space-age Yuletide symbol at Conrad Manila serves as the backdrop for why the year-end Holidays always mean of New World Manila Bay Santa Claus, with Cory Quirino on his lap sparkling celebrations, dazzling colors, The official tree lighting ceremony and a bounty of culinary specialties for in such “wonderland” and, later, partakeveryone. Here are a couple of samples ing of the hearty dinner buffet at the ho- was participated in by SM Hotels and Conventions Corp. SVP Peggy Anon how the hotel industry celebrates the tel’s popular Market Café. geles, uS Ambassador Sung Y. Kim, This annual tradition of New World Yuletide Season.

Manila Bay is certainly a most noble ac- Austrian Ambassador Bita rasoulian, White and silver Christmas tivity, as the hotel not only gives thanks Felicidad Sy, SM Hotels & Conventions This year, New World Manila Bay to its supporters but also gives back to Corp. President Elizabeth Sy, Pasay City Mayor Antonio Calixto, SM Prime chose white and silver as the motif of the community it does business in.

Holdings Chairman Hans their Christmas decor: “A Sy, and Conrad Manila White Christmas, IllumiGM Harald Feurstein. nating Lives.” The hotel YOUR TUESDAY CHUCKLE With the evening’s Prolobby is filled with atgram hosted by Wellness tractive ornaments, all in Money talks…but all mine ever says is GOODBYE! Guru Cory Quirino, and these colors, making you the Christmas Tree all lit feel you’re in a Winter up, a musical concert folWonderland as you enter. lowed, featuring the Philippine Youth The official lighting of their ChristSymphonic Band and the Hail Mary the mas Tree had Manila Vice Mayor Hon- Captivating Christmas Towards the other end of roxas Queen Children’s Choir. ey Lacuna and hotel General Manager The beautiful evening festivities ended Mark Heywood turning on the giant Boulevard, another hotel marked the switch, as Christmas carols were sung lighting of its Christmas tree with the with Cocktails at the C Lounge where in the background by the Symphony of aforementioned theme, showcasing an Santa Claus took time to have his phoAngels, a choral of children. This was “artistic” celebration. Conrad Manila’s to-op with the guests, before he settled preceded by a live violin performance Yuletide symbol is a masterpiece in down at the designated Santa’s Corner at by a cancer survivor from Kythe Foun- modern art. Designed by the famous the Atrium. While sipping their favorite dation. There was also a snow machine artist Impy Pilapil, who is known for drinks, the guests also had an unobstructcontinuously spraying the lobby with her graceful works in glass, metal, and ed view of the 7PM fireworks display in tiny white flakes, completing the win- stone, the metallic tree stands tall in one Manila Bay. Conrad Manila certainly corner of the lobby. It is made of pre- knows how to do things in style. try ambience of the place.

May the Blessings of this Season Living up to the theme, the hotel’s spe- mium stainless steel rods, small metalcial guests at the Tree-lighting event were lic sheets shaped into graceful waves, bring you the best of everything you the children of Kythe Foundation who are and accentuated with glistening orbs. It need. Merry Christmas! afflicted with cancer and other chronic looks even more dramatic in the evenFor feedback, I’m at illnesses. It was so heartwarming to see ing as lights of subtle hues are beamed bobzozobrado@gmail.com. all of these children, enjoying themselves from above it.

Several gastronomic delights await guests welcoming 2018 at Diamond Hotel

New Year’s Eve Countdown to 2018 at Diamond Hotel CELEBrATE the year that was and welcome 2018 with open arms. There is no better place to start the year than at Diamond Hotel Philippines. Party in style for the arrival of the New Year at Corniche, Lobby Lounge or Bar 27. It’s a glam and VIP end to 2017 that you should not miss on Dec.31.

Kick off the New Year with a bang with an elegant feast of gastronomic delights. Have your New Year’s Eve Dinner at the Corniche Buffet at P3,580 nett per person from 6:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. and celebrate new beginnings with a glass of Cava, party favors and access to the New Year Countdown Party with live entertainment by the Infinite Band and Yellow Lane Band. Plus, you will get a chance to win round-trip airline tickets for two to Davao.

Buy three tickets and get an additional ticket to the party for free when you purchase at onlineshopping.diamondhotel.com.

Yurakuen features a savory Japanese Dinner Set Menu to welcome the New Year that includes Cava and acoustic duo for entertainment at P2,980 nett per person from 6pm to 10pm. ring in the New Year at the Lobby

Lounge with Jamon and Wine Pairing Dinner at P1,180 nett per person from 6 to 9 p.m. and a midnight buffet spread with access to the New Year’s Countdown party.

Don’t miss the midnight buffet spread at the Mezzanine Area for only P880 nett per person from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. and party the night away at the countdown bash.

Enjoy cocktails and barbecue with a festive al fresco vibe at the Poolside Bar at P750 nett per person from 6 to 11p.m.. Party the night away with great music and hearty snacks plus refreshing drinks.

Pop the champagne as you count down to midnight at Bar 27 Bid 2017 adieu with cocktails in hand and a spectacular view of the Manila Bay and fireworks. Have your fill of antipasti and tapas with a glass of standard drink priced at P2,380 nett per person from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.. Of course, with live entertainment by Maria’s Project.

These New Year’s Eve Countdown offers are also available for purchase at onlineshopping.diamondhotel.com.

For reservations, call Diamond Hotel at (632) 528-3000 ext. 1121.

Bungy Battler’s...

bungy jump, Giant Swing and Vertical Skywalk and 20,000 AirAsia BIG Points, while second runner-up John Paul Esguerra Fernandes from the Philippines received 20,000 AirAsia BIG Points.

Macau Tower Crazy Jump Day 2017 is powered by AirAsia and AJ Hackett, in support of the goal to bring more visitors to Macao as well as to Macau Tower to experience the thrill and excitement of the world’s highest commercial bungy jump and SkyWalk.

From C1

person to experience the AJ Hackett Sentosa bungy jump, Giant Swing and Vertical Skywalk and 50,000 AirAsia BIG Points for his winning jump.

Best Costume first runner-up Nicholas Andrew Webber from Australia received one AirAsia return ticket to Singapore, a chance for one person to experience the AJ Hackett Sentosa

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2017

T

Broadcast journalist Nina Corpuz shares parenting tips from popular moms in her new book

NINA CORPUZ’S BOOK features super moms

SOME of today’s big celebrities highly attribute their success to their doting moms, and readers will finally get to find out more about these mothers’ parenting styles plus some untold stories about their children in Nina Corpuz’s new book How To Raise A Superstar (ABS-CBN Publishing).

Nina interviewed Min Bernardo, Kathryn Bernardo’s mom; Pinty Gonzaga, mother of Alex and Toni Gonzaga; Dionisia Pacquaio, mother of Sen. Manny Pacquaio; and the only actress among the featured moms, Karla Estrada, a.k.a.

‘Queen Mother’ of Daniel Padilla. She compiled their revelations in her muchawaited parenting book.

The author said the project aims to share parenting tips from popular moms highly acknowledged for the success of their celebrity sons and daughters. “We chose them because they are almost as visible or nearly as talked about as their children. This time we will

hear their side of the story and see how close they come to the saying, ‘mother knows best,’” shared the anchor/ host in the book.

The book highlights these personalities as certified super moms. “After reading the book you will realize that the people behind these superstars are superstars themselves. Two words – Super Moms, and there is a wealth to learn from their experiences,” said Nina who is also a mother of three.

The book is not just for moms who want their children to shine. It is also about chasing dreams and dealing with failure, serving as an inspiration to dreamers who aspire to be superstars in different fields. It also includes advice from TV host and talent manager Boy Abunda, and tips from behavioral pediatrician, Dr. Francis Xavier Dimalanta.

How To Raise A Superstar” is published by ABS-CBN Publishing in partnership with Working Mom. It is in bookstores and newsstands nationwide for only P225.

HE Christmas lighting ceremony is a much-awaited annual tradition at the Promenade and Theater Mall that officially kicks off Christmas in this part of Greenhills.

Enlivened by the presence of stars and entertainment personalities, the tradition began in 2008, the 20th year of the Music Museum, when German “Kuya Germs” Moreno invited stars like Gloria Romero to join him in providing Christmas cheer and dazzle at the ceremony.

Through the years, young stars like Barbie Forteza, Bea Binene, Jake Vargas, Hero Angeles, and Ken Chan joined Kuya Germs in spreading Christmas cheer to shoppers and mall goers at the Promenade.

The celebrities assemble at the site of the Christmas Switch, put their hands together and press the switch. Immediately, the bright lights of Christmas start to shine all over the place. It’s as if the stars of the entertainment world lend their sparkle to the Holiday look.

This year, stars of hit television show Meant To Be – Ken Chan, Jak Roberto and Barbie Forteza – including Mac Manicad and John Nite carried on

KEN, BARBIE, JAK

Lead Christmas lighting ceremony at Theater Mall and Promenade

Barbie Forteza (center) with Jak Roberto (third from left) and Ken Chan (third from right) add sparkle to the annual festivity that started in 2008

the tradition begun by Kuya Germs. At the flick of the switch, the Christmas lights inside and outside the mall and on the Christmas tree came alive in a blaze of big and little lights, punctuated by transparent Pinoy parols deftly put together by resident artist Francis Dano-og.

The Christmas Lighting ceremony was led by Music Museum Group President Precy M. Florentino and other MMG officials. It

will touch off engaging Christmas activities at the mall highlighted by a Christmas Bazaar at the Missouri area that will go on till Dec. 31. It will also herald new surprises in store for the coming year.

The dining, shopping and entertainment enclave is best known for its popular performance venues, the Music Museum and Teatrino, its state of the art Greenhills Cinemas that pioneered the Dolby Atmos

Team Kramer smiles for Hapee Kiddie, Hapee Buddy, and Gumtect FOR celebrity parents Doug and Chesca Kramer, nothing is left to chance when it comes to their kids Kendra, Scarlett and Gavin – especially when it comes to their teeth.

“Every product we use in the house for the children is carefully chosen, just so we know we are getting the best for them. And we are just so thrilled that we have the perfect toothpaste for them in Hapee Kiddie and Hapee Buddy,’’ say Doug and Chesca.

Team Kramer has found the perfect ally in Lamoiyan Corporation, the first ever fully-owned Filipino company to successfully penetrate the toothpaste industry, as the celebrity brood signs up to be the poster family for Hapee Kiddie, Hapee Buddy and Gumtect.

The perfect toothpaste for children aged 6 to 12 years old, Hapee Buddy is the newest addition to Lamoiyan’s Hapee toothpaste line which includes Hapee Kiddie and Gumtect. It has Calcium that strengthens the teeth

enamel and Vitamin C that promotes healthy gums.

Its kiwi flavor is perfect for kids and provides overall mouth freshness.

“Team Kramer embodies the perfect Filipino family.

They really value family bonding time and what it means to get together everyday to keep the family ties strong, and that’s what we want brushing teeth to be—a family practice,” says Joel Pedro, chief operating officer of Lamoiyan Corporation.

Chesca is just too happy to speak for the Hapee Kiddie line. “Needless to say, Doug and I only want the best for our kids.

Hapee Kiddie and Hapee Buddy protect and give us the oral care that our kids need,” says Chesca at the media launch held at the Mind Museum in Taguig City.

For kids two to five years old, brushing teeth is more enjoyable with Hapee Kiddie toothpaste with its gel formulation that comes in seven exciting flavors: Strawberry Bloom, Tutti Frutti Twist, Orange

Squeeze, Apple Crunch, Juicy Grapes, Bubblegum Pop, and Cookies and Cream Ahoy.

Lamoiyan has also come up with Hapee Baby Infant Toothgel, a special formulation for babies from four to 24 months old that gives cavity protection for baby’s milk teeth without the sugar and added artificial colors of a regular toothpaste.

Filipinos can also get their dose of therapeutic oral care with Lamoiyan’s new and improved Gumtect line, which has two variants. The Gumtect line is specially formulated to care for weak and bleeding gums and helps

prevent the occurrence of mouth sores or singaw and pangingilo.

The only gum care brand with Gumshield +, Gumtect Gum Care toothpaste stimulates the growth of new tissues for faster wound healing, soothes and moisturizes gums, reduces inflammation, and inhibits bacterial growth.

Meanwhile, Gumtect Sensitive Toothpaste helps relieve pain from sensitive teeth or pangingilo with its Dynamic Desensitizing System that helps prevent the pain caused by sensitive teeth as it protects the exposed dentin of the

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Tuesday, December 26, 2017

ACROSS 1 Oktober ending 5 Mince 9 Intelligent 14 Radius companion 15 Town east of Wichita 16 Excessive 17 Flood, probably 19 Comic-strip queen 20 Homer-hitter Mel 21 Bede of fiction 22 Push down 23 Used-car deals 25 Makes public 26 Dues payer, for short 27 Likes (2 wds.)

30 Facilitates 33 Truffle’s cousin 34 Bowler 36 MD employers 37 Privilege 38 Ibsen woman 39 Sun, in Acapulco 40 Assumed as fact 41 Cloud follower 42 Partied hearty 44 Diner lunch 45 WWW addresses 46 Spare time 50 Mild and

pleasant 52 Tentative project 53 Early evening 54 Russian boatman’s river 55 Be attracted toward 57 Flu strain 58 Several 59 Culture medium 60 Suspicious 61 On the horizon 62 Quip DOWN 1 Turmoil 2 Bring cheer 3 Nasty moods 4 Camel’s-hair color 5 Tiara 6 Whits 7 Kadiddlehopper 8 It may be bent or lent 9 Spat 10 Hedger’s word 11 “Et tu” time 12 Prunes back 13 Mauna — 18 Corduroy ribs 22 Skinflint 24 City in Iowa 25 Burr or Copland 27 — down

(got quiet) Odin’s son Skiff movers Geezers’ replies Eros, in Rome Loafer part Budges Do lacework Rolling, in a way They may be mixed 40 Where to find Dresden 41 Deli crepes 43 Coarse 28 29 30 31 32 33 35 37 38

44 Lodge builder 46 Pack animal 47 Common practice 48 Rudner and Moreno 49 Apply oneself 50 Big name in speakers 51 What never to tell (2 wds.)

52 Univ. staffer 54 Actor — Kilmer 55 Youth org.

56 — Mahal

teeth. The Gumtect Sensitive Mouthwash, the first Filipino-made mouthwash, is clinically proven to enhance relief from hypersensitivity. It is alcohol free and aids in preventing cavities without causing any burning sensation.

Gumtect also has a new look that makes it more appealing to the modern taste of the market, but still appearing therapeutic.

“As we age, we experience gum problems like singaw and pangingilo, and these hinder us from enjoying our day to day activities,” explains Chesca. “Now that we’re using Gumtect, we have more time to spend with our lovely kids.”

With products for every need of the Filipino family, Lamoiyan aims to protect the radiant smiles of the happiest people in the world. “We continue to be the everyone’s goto brand and strive to put our high quality oral care products in every Filipino home,” Pedro remarks.

sound technology, and its lively mix of shops and restaurants.

The MMG president recalled how Christmas lights are a traditional part of the Christmas celebration and how parols – the traditional Filipino symbols of Christmas – lit the way for country folk on their way to Simbang Gabi. “We want to show that the Christmas spirit of hope and joy are forever alive in us. We want these Christmas lights to

provide hope and cheer to our surroundings. Pinoy Christmases are always bright,” Florentino said.

For more information about activities, movies, dining places, shops, stores and more at the Promenade and Theater Mall, go to www. musicmuseum.com.ph, Like https://www.facebook. com/musicmuseumgroup on Facebook and follow h t t p s : / / t w i t t e r. c o m / musicmuseumph?s=09 on Twitter.

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2017

DAWN ZULUETA excited with her team-up with VIC SOTTO ISAH V. RED

M

EANT to Beh is the first big screen project of Dawn Zulueta in tandem with Vic Sotto.

Dawn admitted she got pretty excited when she was offered to play a role in the movie produced by Sotto’s MZet Productions with Orly Ilacad’s OctoArts Films and Tony Tuviera’s ATP Entertainment.

“That’s right,” she said. “This is the first time we are in a project together for the big screen. I played for sometime the role of Faye in Okay Ka Fairy Ko. It was short lived and we never had a chance to work together again.”

“That’s why Meant To Beh is very special to me as it has many firsts for me, too, like working for the first time with Chris Martinez (director), Daniel Matsunaga, JC Santos, Gabbi Garcia, Ruru Madrid, and Baby Baste (costars). It’s exiting.”

She added, “It’s a breather, I think, from the emotionally draining roles I played on TV recently.”

Meant To Beh tests the comic timing of Dawn. And based on the feedback from those that had seen the film during its preview, she was able to stand up to Vic Sotto’s comic skills.”

The film is one of several that is

ALL-STAR CAST. Dawn Zulueta (center) and Vic Sotto (third from left) flanked by the other members of the cast of the family-oriented comedy drama, ‘Meant To Beh’ touted to top the box office during the entire run of the Metro Manila International Film Festival. *** Kim Hye Jin gave Heart Evangelista a hand-painted scarf while Alexander Lee acted interpreter for both Kim and Andy Ryu. That happened when the Hye Jin, an actress in Korea, visited the set of My Korean Jagiya recently to meet Heart. The two seemed to have an instant connection because they share the same interest. She is also a painter, like Heart who was gifted with a handpainted scarf by Hye Jin. “We have a lot of things in common. I’m so excited so I hope

they’ll go to my house for dinner.

I will prepare dinner,” said Heart.

Hye Jin used to be a model and became an actor. She was in the cast of Iris and the historical drama Dong Yi. Both were seen on the Kapuso network.

She came to Manila to visit Andy Ryu who plays Gong Woo in the top-rating My Korean Jagiya and also to meet Heart and Alexander.

Alexander related what Andy felt when Hye Jin visited them on the set, “[He’s] really happy that she [Kim Hye Jin] is visiting him [Andy Ryu] because as a Korean actor, having another Korean to support him in a foreign country really makes him feel good.”

Korean actress Kim Hye Jin (second from right) spends time with ‘My Korean Jagiya’ lead cast (from left) Alexander Lee, Heart Evangelista and Andy Ryu during a set visit

Alexander added how Hye Jin felt, “It’s the first time she came here to the set, and she sees Heart for the first time. And she sees that they have many similarities, and also differences from Korea.

But she’s really excited about everything in this experience.”

Hye Jin learned a few Filipino words and phrases while she was in Manila, like salamat po and mahal kita. *** We met Jonas David at Cabalen at Trinoma recently.

But, who is Jonas, by the way?

Jonas is a pop and R&B singer based in San Fernando, Pampanga.

He took up a multimedia course at Informatics Computer Institute and latet a brief course in music at the University of the Philippines College of Music.

So, Jonas makes a living by singing. In 2004, he was a recording artist at Emmanuel Records along with Arnel De Pano, Jonathan Manalo, and Ricky Sanchez.

In 2007, he was a Pampanga Tourism artist. Also, he represented Pampanga at the Pampanga Day Celebration in Las Vegas USA in 2011.

During our brief chat over the restaurant’s Kampangan dishes (his family owns a franchise of the famous restaurant in Subic), we learned that the Cabelen singer is also a songwriter. He has a couple of songs that other singers have interpreted, like “Let Go” sung by Jed Madela in the album Breath Again.

Jonas’ voice is heard in all Cabalen Restaurants with the jingle of the restaurant. He also wrote songs for the Philippine Dental

Association, sang the jingle of Eternal Peace Memorial Park, Mystique Lane Hotel.

Recently, he penned the Christmas Jingle of Pampanga (“Pasku Na Pampanga”), sang “Inasal ATBP,” and the Mutya Ning kapampangan jingle in 2005.

He’s a nice guy to talk with, being very positive about himself and what he does. He said he has no ambition to break into the music carnival in Metro Manila being happy with where he is.

After all, despite b e i n g based in Pampanga, he had been able to perform as a front act for t h e

likes of Kuh Ledesma, Dulce, Bitiun Escalante, Kitchie Nadal, Sponge Cola, and the Madrigal Singers.

In between gigs he hosts KTube Pampanga and Pasyal at Saya aired on GNN TV 44 Pampanga.

Ivory Music & Video signed Jonas for his Kapampangan Christmas song titled “Mamasku Ta Pampanga.”

The song can be downloaded through Spotify, amazon, and itunes.bAlso, the said recording company is lining up mall and city tours for the promotion of his song.

Here’s the YouTube link to “Mamasku Ta Pampanga” https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=JnuiO0B88yw Pampanga-based singer-songwriter Jonas David

‘Sorry For the Inconvenience’ lauded at Cinema One Originals 2017 CARL Chavez’s Sorry for the Inconvenience was named Best Short Film at the recent Cinema One Originals 2017 .

The short film tells the story of Joshua (Ronwaldo Martin), a timid teenager who comes home one night after being beaten up by a bully in school. With revenge on his mind, the teenager decides to take matters into his own hands. When things didn’t go as planned, he is left with no choice but to seek help from his policeman father

(Simon Ibarra). Cherry Malvar and Luis Ruiz are also in the film.

Chavez, a graduate of the Digital Filmmaking Program of the De La SalleCollege of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB), previously won third best short film at the 2016 CineFilipino Film Festival for his BenildeFilm thesis Not Applicable, and was likewise a finalist in last year’s Cinema One Originals with Yes Mami, about a young boy who dreams of getting the role of Mary for

their high school theater club’s annual nativity presentation.

Other finalists include Big Boy by Jethro Jamon, Bilang by Edsel Uy, Caramel Child by Kim Timan, Diskarte by Agu Crisostomo and Mich Cervantes, Ina N’yo by Mary Evangelista, Mga Paro sa Dulo ng Lupa (Lords at the Edge of the Land) by Paulo dela Paz, Suerte by Carlo Fajarda, and Supot by Philip Giordano.

Timan, de la Paz and Fajarda, are likewise alumni of

BenildeFilm, while Crisostomo and Cervantes are from the college’s Animation program.

Chavez has recently participated in the ASEANROK Film Leaders Incubator: FLY 2017 Program, along with fellow Filipino Jean Cheryl Dizon Tagyamon, and 20 others from Brunei, Cambodia, Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the host country. The workshop aims to nurture young future leaders of the industry.

Young filmmaker Carl Chavez directing Ronwaldo Martin in Cinema One’s best short film, ‘Sorry for the Inconvenience’