Manila Standard - 2018 February 08 - Thursday

VOL. XXXI • NO. 356 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2018 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net

Special anniversary supplement comes out on Feb. 12, 2018.

RISK-TAKER, SHE. Volleyball player and television host Gretchen Ho, only 27 years old, waves Tuesday to an unseen crowd on top of the flying circus plane to try the death-defying stunt by Aerosuperbatics Wingwalkers at its launching at the Omni Aviation Field in Clark, Pampanga. PNA

‘Floating shabu’ surfaces Rody: Old ships transform into drug labs

Marcos, Robredo swap barbs over poll protests FORMER Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Leni Robredo have traded charges over the signing of a joint manifestation to withdraw all motions and clear the way for the recount of contested votes in the 2016 vice presidential elections.

A day after Marcos signed the joint manifestation, he accused Robredo of being not willing to withdraw her pending motions before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.

Marcos’ spokesperson, Vic Rodriguez said that the reason Mrs. Robredo was not withdrawing her pending motions was because she did not sign the joint motion that her lawyer presented to the media. Rodriguez also pointed out noted that in his the joint motion only the name of Robredo’s counsel, lawyer Romulo Macalintal, appeared on the document.

According to Rodriguez, the absence of Robredo’s signature puts into question her sincerity to hasten the pace

By Vito Barcelo

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RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte vowed to stop shabu being cooked in old ships in international waters from entering the country as he led the destruction of P61.63 million worth of smuggled luxury vehicles in Port Area, Manila on Tuesday evening.

of the electoral process.

It likewise casts doubt on the authority of Macalintal who signed the motion.

Robredo could later on even disown the motion because it was made without her conformity.

“Without Mrs. Robredo’s signature, the motion is a mere scrap of paper and may be later disowned by her a s havi n g been signed without her authority. Tila gustong makalinlang na naman,” Rodriguez said.

Macalintal,

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DON’T BE CORRUPT. President Rodrigo Duterte, speaking before the 45th founding anniversary of the National Economic and Development Authority at the agency’s central office in Pasig City Tuesday, reiterates his tough stance on eliminating corruption in government. Malacañang Photo

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Sereno case takes new twist: BIR to audit tax data

Duque gets clean bill of health; PH acquires 16 dengue vaccine scandal deepens choppers from

By Macon R. Araneta

By Maricel V. Cruz and Rey E. Requejo

HEALTH Secretary Francisco Duque III was confirmed by the Commission on Appointments Wednesday even as his department grappled with a controversial dengue vaccination program approved by the previous administration.

CA health committee chairman Senator Gregorio Honasan said they were confident with Duque’s integrity and his sense of purpose, saying he was not only passionate about public health but also effective as a communicator who manages to get the message across to the Filipino people.

Duque’s nomination for confirma-

THE House of Representatives’ committee on justice hearing the impeachment case against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Wednesday ordered the Bureau of Internal Revenue to initiate an investigation into her tax records when she represented the government in the case of the Philippine International Air Terminals Company Inc. or Piatco.

In that case, the Supreme Court ordered the government to pay Piatco, Next page

Muslim militant draws 10-year jail sentence JAKARTA―An Indonesian court on Tuesday jailed an Islamist militant for 10 years for buying a cache of firearms from the Philippines’ biggest Muslim rebel group for attacks on home soil.

Suryadi Mas’ud, 45, was found guilty of a range of offenses―including planning a terrorist act and procuring weapons―by a panel of three judges at the West Jakarta district court.

The sentencing has highlighted the strong links between the militants in Next page

“There are ships in international waters, old ships—they are cooking shabu.

[The drugs are] placed.. in plastic bins [that are thrown] out to the sea, [with] a homing device [so they can be picked up]. You can see them in Regions I and II and III. It’s all awash with plastic bins.

That’s shabu. And shabu remains [our] number one problem,” Duterte said.

The President said he considered shabu a national security threat that would take longer to address than the three to six months he promised during the presidential campaign.

“I said in six months time, I will solve the problem of drugs. But that was based on the factual situation in Davao, numbers and all. But when I became President, I saw the magnitude of the contamination,” he said.

Duterte also took a swipe at human rights groups who have been taking him to task for the thousands of suspects killed in his war on drugs.

tion was seconded by Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, and Senators JV Ejercito, Manny Pacquiao, and Miguel Zubiri.

In his speech, Recto said Duque is “first and foremost a physician,” but when country calls, he does not shirk from being conscripted to do hard labor in government, as had happened to him seven times in the past.

“And as you have read in his impressive CV, not one of his government postings in the past 20 years was cushy. All had national mandates which require a combination of competence and compassion which only those with a head and a heart, like him, can do,” said Recto. Next page

Canada for P12b THE Philippines has bought 16 new Bell helicopters from Canada for about $235 million to strengthen its fight against Islamic militants and other domestic insurgencies, defense officials said Wednesday.

The two governments announced the deal less than three months after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau clashed with host President Rodrigo Duterte over Philippine drug war killings, on the sidelines of a Manila summit.

The Defense Department signed the P12-billion ($234.8-million) Bell 412EPI deal with the state-run Canadian Commercial Corp, with deliveries set to Next page

Pinay missing after Taiwan World’s ‘loneliest bird’ dies quake; 5 dead, 225 injured

CONFIRMED. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III is confirmed Wednesday as DoH chief by the powerful bicameral body Commission on Appointments. Lino Santos

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S

A FILIPINA went missing after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck Hualien County in Taiwan, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday.

Reports said five people were killed, 145 went missing and 225 were injured following the deadly earthquake that struck the popular Taiwanese city.

Foreign Affairs said a team from the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taiwan, led by Labor Attaché Cesar Chavez, was now checking on the condition of the Filipinos in the area.

Meco chairman Lito Banayo cited Chavez’s initial report saying the authorities were still searching the Next page

manilastandard.net

in New Zealand

WELLINGTON, New Zealand—The country’s wildlife lovers are mourning the death of a gannet named Nigel, dubbed “the loneliest bird in the world” due to the absence of any feathered friends on his island home.

Instead the seabird, also known as “no-mates Nigel,” spent years living among a

colony of fake concrete birds set up by conservationists in a bid to attract wildlife.

The antisocial avian fell in love with one of the decoys on Mana Island, off the Wellington coast, and was seen preening, nestling and even trying to mate with it.

“Nigel chose to live on Next page

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US: Toughest sanctions vs NoKor

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OKYO—Washington will soon unveil its “toughest and most aggressive sanctions” ever against North Korea, US Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday after talks with Japan’s prime minister in Tokyo.

He also warned that North Korea, which will participate in this month’s Winter Olympics as part of a joint delegation with South Korea, would not be allowed to “hijack” the

event with its “propaganda.”

“I’m announcing today that the United States will soon unveil the toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North

Korea,” Pence said, standing alongside Shinzo Abe after talks on the threat posed by Pyongyang.

“Let the world know this: We will continue to intensify our maximum pressure campaign until North Korea takes concrete steps towards complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation,” he added.

President Donald Trump has criticised the policy of

previous US administrations towards North Korea and has already convinced the global community to significantly tighten sanctions against Pyongyang.

But so far, China has failed to agree to a game-changing oil embargo, and there remains fierce debate inside the White House on whether pre-emptive military action will be needed to stop North Korea’s drive for nuclear

power status.

Pence stressed Wednesday that “all options are on the table” and pledged that Washington would continue to deploy some of its “most advanced military assets to Japan and the wider region” to protect against the threat posed by North Korea.

Abe, who like Pence will travel to South Korea’s Pyeongchang for the Winter Games, said he had told the

US vice president: “We can never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea.”

“We shouldn’t be captivated by the charm offensive of North Korea,” he added.

North and South Korea have, at least temporarily, put aside their enmity to allow Pyongyang to send athletes to the Games, an opening that some see as an opportunity to push for a negotiated settlement.

But Pence warned that North Korea would not be allowed to instrumentalize the Games.

“We will not allow North Korean propaganda to hijack the message and imagery of the Olympic Games,” he said.

“We will not allow North Korea to hide behind the Olympic banner the reality that they enslave their people and threaten the wider region.” AFP

‘SC vote on martial law shows trust in lawmen’ Berlin festival tests Pinoy film’s mettle

existent beneficiaries of the government’s Aid to the Poor Program in 2002.

The anti-graft court’s First Division, in decision dated Feb. 2, found Famor guilty of seven counts of graft and falsification and sent him to jail for 120 to 194

years. It also ordered Famor to pay a fine equivalent to the money he misused Since the court applied the so-called three-fold rule that capped the maximum duration at thrice the length of the most severe penalty, Famor’s sen-

tence could still be reduced.

In convicting Famor, the court questioned the Office of the Vice-Governor when it assumed power to evaluate the beneficiaries, a function of the Provincial Social Welfare Development Office.

BERLIN—Filipino Lav Diaz’s movie “Ang Panahon ng Halimaw (Devil’s Season)” will be among those screened in the 68th Berlinale, Europe’s first major film festival of the year, which opens Feb. 15 with 23 other new movies from around the world.

The event is scheduled from Feb. 15 to 25, according to officials.

The movie, shot in black and white, stars Piolo Pascual, Shaina Magdayao, Angel Aquino, Bituin Escalante, Pinky Amador, among others.

Nineteen pictures will vie for the Golden Bear top prize at the event, with a jury led by German director Tom Tykwer (“Run Lola Run,” “Babylon Berlin”) selecting the best film.

Twenty-two of the 24 features in the main showcase are world premieres and two are directors’ feature debuts.

Four of the movies in competition are by women.

“I am just trying to build a country freed from any of those painful experiences of other countries. Do not destroy the youth because I will kill you,” he said.

He accused the human rights group of trying to destroy the country.

During the ceremony, he also said the smuggling that has gone on for centuries must stop.

He said he opted to destroy the smuggled luxury cars rather than auction them off because selling them would simply allow syndicates to bid for the seized vehicles.

On Tuesday, the President

also turned down an invitation to an Asia-Europe summit in Brussels as he again lashed out at the European Union and accused the bloc of insulting him over his deadly war on drugs.

Duterte labeled the 28-country E—the Philippines’ second most important trading partner—”stupid” and warned he would not stay silent in the face of Western condemnation of his anti-crime crackdown.

Europe has been vocal in its criticism of Duterte’s hallmark policy, which has left nearly 4,000 drug suspects dead and seen human rights groups claim he was responsible for a crime against humanity.

Duterte hit out after saying European Council president

Donald Tusk had invited him to the biennial Asia-Europe meeting in October.

“I’ve been invited by the EU, that stupid organization,” Duterte told government workers late Tuesday.

“I said, ‘For what? You thought of me as that kind of person then, so why change your assessment?’”

He continued: “So you get to insult me? I will use whorespeak on you, too. Don’t ever do that to me.”

Despite widespread criticism over alleged “extrajudicial killings” in the drugs war, Duterte has vowed to pursue the campaign until the end of his sixyear term.

The issue had risked threat-

ening the duty-free privileges of billions of dollars in annual Philippine exports to the EU, but Brussels announced last month Manila will retain the trade perks.

The EU mission in Manila confirmed Wednesday that Duterte had been “invited like other leaders from Asia and Europe” to the summit, but declined to comment on the President’s latest outburst.

Duterte said he was “not like other presidents” and would not take perceived slights in his stride, adding he also disliked traveling.

He recalled an invitation from President Donald Trump to visit the United States, which he said provoked a threat from American senators to protest if

he stepped foot on US soil.

“I said, you know guys, you are too presumptuous. Whoever told you that I would visit your place? What is there to see?” he added.

Duterte has branded Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama a “son of a whore” for criticizing his drugs campaign, but enjoys a better rapport with the current American leader who also has a reputation for being outspoken.

Trump declared at a Manila summit in November he had a “great relationship” with his Philippine counterpart.

However, Duterte also said Tuesday he preferred not to visit places where he would be criticized as “sexist” for speaking out. With AFP

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which built Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, after it expropriated the terminal.

During the impeachment hearing, Rep. Eugene Michael de Vera asked BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel Guballa for the records on how much taxes Sereno had paid as a lawyer for the government in the Piatco case.

The committee, led by Rep. Reynaldo Umali, said the BIR should come up with a report

by Feb. 19.

Meanwhile, the camp of Sereno said the hiring of IT consultant Helen Perez-Macasaet was not irregular and her compensation was not excessive.

Jojo Lacanilao, one of Sereno’s spokesmen, said there was nothing irregular or anomalous in the hiring of Macasaet, who was allegedly overpaid.

Lacanilao said the P900,000 per month paid to the IT consultant was not excessive as it was not far from the usual private sector rate of P800,000 per month.

Earlier, the impeachment complainant, lawyer Larry Gadon, said Macasaet was paid an enormous sum of money, all owing to her closeness to Sereno.

Macasaet told the House justice panel she was actually receiving a “net pay of P80,000” when the Supreme Court tapped her from 2013 to 2017.

The impeachment complainant, lawyer Larry Gadon, alleged that Sereno deliberately excluded in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth her lawyer’s fees amounting to P37 million for representing the government in the Piatco case.

“We want to know the truth about it,” De Vera said.

“And we also want to know if she had paid VAT [value added tax] if she earned over P2 million.”

Guballa said the BIR had yet to provide the documents that would answer De Vera’s questions.

Duque first served as Health secretary during the time of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He was also PhilHealth president, GSIS chairman and Civil Service Commission head before President Rodrigo appointed in October after the CA rejected the nomination of former secretary Paulyn Ubial.

Recto said through all these assignments, Duque’s integrity remained “lily-white as the doctor’s coat he wore in the charity wards of the UST hospital, in the operating rooms of Pangasinan medical centers, [and] in the laboratories of Georgetown University.” ”This is the hands-on manager we need at DoH today, one who can solve today’s ills while preventing future problems, one who treats the causes and not the symptoms, one who is both curative and preventive in outlook,” Recto said of Duque.

Ejercito, chairman of the Senate health committee, said he is confident that Duque can “withstand all controversies that the DoH might stumble into.”

Zubiri said Duque is “the man we need to lead the main government agency in charge of providing quality, accessible public health services.”

Grilled over the P3-billion dengue mass immunization program, Duque said his confirmation was vital in the effective discharge of his duties.

Asked by Senator Risa Hontiveros how he would rebuild public trust after the controversy over the use of the anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia, Duque admitted that immunization coverage has dropped due to fears about the government’s vaccination programs.

“It’s a tall order. It’s a struggle, I would be the first to admit—to rebuild the morale of our ailing organization. But as doctors, we are prepared to deal with it,” said Duque.

“It’s vital that the trust and confidence of the Filipino public are regained and I think the prescription again is to make everybody realize in the DoH the importance of well-defined governance program,” he said.

Duque said that he has not missed a flag-raising ceremony so that he could constantly remind his employees that the

Dengvaxia controversy is not only a challenge for the DoH, but also a “great opportunity to reflect on what has happened and what had been lost along the way.”

He said when the department’s budget was a “measly” P10 billion to P11 billion, immunization coverage was better and public trust in the department was high.

“I think we need to recapture the glorious days—if you don’t mind—of the DoH then. And we hope that we will be able to motivate and inspire our people to,” he said.

Duque suspended the government’s dengue immunization program on Dec. 1, 2017 after Sanofi Pasteur said the vaccine may increase the risk of hospitalization for dengue and severe dengue in those with no prior infection.

More than 830,000 children aged nine and above from public schools in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and Cebu were vaccinated with the anti-dengue vaccine.

Interviewed after his confirmation, Duque conceded the DoH is fighting too many battles on too many fronts.

“We just want to get over, hopefully, the many hearings, well-meaning hearings, and hopefully ferret out the truth in so far as the Dengvaxia issue is concerned,” he asserted.

The other issues raised during his confirmation hearing were the reported outbreak of diseases in Mindanao despite the agency’s vaccination drives, the alleged overstocking of medicines in some areas in the country, and issues on the Reproductive Health Law and teenage pregnancy.

Senator Panfilo Lacson asked Duque about the measles outbreak in Davao City amid the Health department’s 2017 budget for purchase of drugs, medicines, and vaccines were worth P17 billion in 2017. He pointed out that measles is “easily preventable” and yet it affected 40 barangays last month.

Duque said there are at least three reasons that would cause a measles outbreak; one is cultural wherein tribes do not want their children to be immunized; two, because of the fear arising from the Dengvaxia controversy; and third, the outright decision of parents with no welldefined justifications.

By Vito Barcelo and Macon Ramos-Araneta PRESIDENTIAL Spokesperson Harry Roque on Wednesday welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court in affirming the extension of the proclamation of martial law and the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in Mindanao, adding martial law extension there proved the high court’s “confidence” in law enforcement agencies.

In a statement, Roque underscored the unity of the whole gov-

ernment in its bid to defeat terrorism and prevent the spread in other parts of the country by any local or foreign terrorist group.

“The majority of votes is a manifestation of confidence [in] law enforcement agencies that they shall, like they had been doing before, continue to protect our people, secure Mindanao, and pursue the bigger task of rehabilitation while upholding the rule of law, Human Rights, and International Humanitarian Law,” he said.

In a related development: • Senator Win Gatchalian

slammed the opposition for considerng as a “failure of the rule of law” the Supreme Court ruling, which upheld the validity of the extension of martial law.

“How can this be the case when the strict constitutional checks and balances that regulate the power to extend martial law have been observed in good faith?” he asked.

He said the recommendation of the President to extend martial law, the approval of the extension during a joint session of Congress, and the Supreme Court’s review of the extension

were all conducted exactly as required by the Constitution.

Voting 10-5 last Feb. 5, the justices dismissed for lack of merit the consolidated petitions of former Commission on Elections chairman Christian Monsod, former Commission on Human Rights chairperson Loretta Ann Rosales, a group of congressmen led by Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman and another group led by Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate and Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao seeking to stop the oneyear extension of martial law.

Former Zambo vice gov gets 200-year jail term

By Maricel V. Cruz THE Sandiganbayan has meted out a prison term of almost 200 years on former Zamboanga Sibugay vice governor Eugenio Famor for his alleged misuse of P593,500 on non-

‘Floating...

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From A1 start in nine months, department spokesman Arsenio Andolong said.

“These are multi-purpose aircraft for anti-terrorism as well as HADR,” he said, using military lingo that refers to disaster response and humanitarian missions.

Troops and police, beset by Islamist and communist insurgencies, fought a five-month battle last year against Islamic State group supporters in the southern city of Marawi.

It is also faced with rising tensions over rival territorial claims in the South China Sea and has been upgrading its navy and air force in recent

years. The country is also regularly battered by typhoons.

“These [helicopters] are a real benefit to Filipinos,” Canadian Ambassador John Holmes said on the mission’s Facebook page, adding it would boost Manila’s search and rescue and disaster relief capabilities.

The Defense Department acquired eight of the same Bell aircraft model in 2015, which it said went mostly to an Air Force unit assigned with providing air transport for the President.

The Filipino military also uses derivations of the Bell-UH-1H helicopter, which first saw service for the US military in the Vietnam War in the early 1960s.

The two governments

announced the deal less than three months after Duterte and Trudeau clashed.

Trudeau said during the November summit that he called out Duterte over “human rights, the rule of law, and specifically extrajudicial killings.”

Duterte, who has overseen a crackdown that has left nearly 4,000 drug suspects dead at the hands of the police, later described Trudeau’s comments as “a personal and official insult,” adding he would only answer to his Filipino electorate.

The government says police only shot the suspects in self-defense and rejects human rights monitors’ description of the crackdown as a crime against humanity. AFP

Muslim...

From A1 Indonesia and the Philippines and comes amid the heightened fears about Islamic State-inspired attacks in Southeast Asia.

Suryadi―who accepted the verdict―raised one finger into the air and shouted “Allah-u Akbar” [“God is greatest”] after he was sentenced on Tuesday.

He was ordered to pay a fine of P50 million ($3,700) on top of a 10-year prison sentence.

Suryadi first traveled to the Philippines from Indonesia in 2015 at the request of death-row inmate Iwan Darmawan, who is awaiting execution for his part in the 2004 bombing of the Australian embassy in Jakarta, the court heard.

While there, Suryadi met with the members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the city of Davao, where he paid $30,000 via a Western Union account for 18 assault rifles and five handguns.

Just under a year later, he bought another 12 M-16 rifles from the group, again at the request of Darmawan, the court heard.

The weapons were then used in attacks in Indonesia, the prosecutors said. AFP

Independent filmmaker The Berlinale Special sidebar section features other notable films that will have gala screenings.

Lav Diaz, an independent filmmaker, is known as one of the key members of the slow cinema movement, having made several of the longest narrative films on record.

Although he had been making films since the late ’90s, Diaz didn’t attract much public attention outside of the Philippines and the festival circuit until the release of his 2013 film “Norte, the End of History,” which was entered into Un Certain Regard section of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

The Berlinale Special sidebar section features other notable films that will have gala screenings.

The complete list including details on the high-profile productions: Main showcase “3 Days in Quiberon”, Emily Atef, Germany/Austria/France (about Franco-German screen

Marcos,...

From A1 however, said Robredo will not sign the “joint manifestation.” “A motion is a pleading where a party asks the court to grant him the relief or remedies or what he wants from the court. A ‘manifestation’ is merely a pleading wherein the party merely makes a representation or statement, which the court may just take note of without any action at all,” Macalintal said.

“This is contrary to what he has been claiming and asking that we should file a joint motion,” he added The Robredo’s camp had invited Marcos to attend a press conference on Wednesday in Manila where they were supposed to sign a joint motion on the withdrawal of motions, but the former senator and his counsel did not show up.

But Rodriguez emphasized that if Macalintal was indeed serious about withdrawing all motions, he should have done it through the official route and not meet in a fast food restaurant for the signing. “Signing a major pleading in a pizza restaurant shows an utter lack of respect for the judicial process. There is a proper way to do things and this involves going to the law office of your opposing counsel and handing over the proper documents to them,” Rodriguez said.

Marcos’ lawyer also questioned the the joint motion prepared by Macalintal saying the same only covered pend-

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From A1 Mana, and we know he was happy there because he could have left any time and didn’t,” Department of Conservation ranger Chris Bell said Wednesday.

“It was odd behavior for a gannet, but every group has their individuals.”

Bell found Nigel’s body lying next to his stony sweetheart late last month and believes he died of old age, although an autopsy is yet to confirm the theory.

Sadly, Nigel may have died just as the fake colony was having its desired effect, with Bell reporting that three gannets began visiting Mana in late December.

siren Romy Schneider’s last interview before her tragic death aged 45) “7 Days in Entebbe”, Jose Padilha, winner of the 2008 Golden Bear top prize, and starring Rosamund Pike and Daniel Bruehl, US/Britain (based on the true story of the daring Israeli rescue mission following 1976 PLO hijacking of an Air France jet, out of competition) “Aga,” Milko Lazarov, Bulgaria/Germany/France (out of competition) “Ang Panahon ng Halimaw” (Season of the Devil), Lav Diaz, Philippines “Black 47”, Lance Daly and starring Hugo Weaving, Jim Broadbent and Stephen Rea, Ireland/Luxembourg (period thriller set during Ireland’s Great Famine, out of competition) “Damsel,” David and Nathan Zellner and starring Robert Pattinson and Mia Wasikowska, US (comic Western with a feminist twist) AFP ing motions and not future motions that may delay the proceedings. He said Marcos’ joint manifestation was more sincere because it covered both present and future motions in the election proceedings.

Rodriguez also took exception to the assertion made by Macalintal in his the joint motion that Marcos has a pending “Partial Motion for Reconsideration” dated Dec. 4, 2017 asking the Presidential Electoral Tribunal to reconsider its earlier ruling allowing them to secure soft copies of the ballot images.

Rodriguez pointed out that the said Partial Motion for Reconsideration had already been resolved by the Tribunal in its Resolution dated January 10, 2018.

This is the reason, he pointed out, why the Marcos camp went to the law office of Macalintal and his co-counsel Ma. Bernadette Sardillo located at Ortigas Avenue in Pasig City. They went there first thing today (Wednesday) to give them the complete set of copies of the joint manifestation signed by Marcos and his counsel, George Garcia, together with the corresponding cover letter.

“The challenge to meet at a fast food restaurant is unbecoming of an officer of the Court. It is unlawyerly and at most more of a publicity stunt.

We hope the other camp has the decency to act accordingly,” Rodriguez said.

Marcos lost to Robredo by 263, 473 votes in the May 2016 elections.

Bell said Australasian gannets like Nigel, while not endangered, needed nesting sites that were not vulnerable to introduced pests such as rats and stoats.

“Gannets are extremely social birds and they make their decisions on where to live based on that,” he said.

“The decoys are our way of telling passing-by gannets that this place is safe, it’s predator free and it would be a good place for them to live.”

He said the three gannet newcomers were now regular visitors to the island and may yet set up a colony that could act as Nigel’s legacy.

“We are conscious that without Nigel the other three might not choose to nest here but only time will tell. We’re optimistic,” he said. AFP

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area where the Filipina, a caretaker, was working.

“They’re also checking the hospital right now if there are any Filipinos injured but, so far, no one was reported to have died,” Banayo said.

At least four establishments were reported to have caved in or tilted dangerously.

Raul Dado, executive director for the DFA-Office of Migrant Workers Affairs, said 133,577 Filipinos are working in Taiwan.

Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

News Audit telcos — Duterte PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said he would ask the Bureau of Internal Revenue to audit the two giant telecommunication firms, Globe and Smart, for demanding numerous conditions for a third telecom provider in the country.

The President’s directive came in the wake of complaints against the two telecom firms, PLDT-Smart Communications of Manuel V. Pangilinan and Globe Telecom of the Ayala Group for their failure to upgrade their services.

Millions of Filipino mobile users had complained of poor phone service and slow Internet speeds being provided by the two telcos.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar earlier said a third player will increase the competition and end the two-player competition or “duopoly.”

Duterte said he would ask the BIR to look into the book of accounts of the two telecoms if they are complying with the agency’s tax regulations.

“To these telecommunication firms, I don’t want to crow, they have too many demands. But I had a warning for these people dito sa telcom.

Sabi ko sa kanila, just send them this message: “Do not—f….- this government.”

“Don’t threaten me with filing of cases.

Maya-maya magdating ‘yang BIR and start to audit you during the first year of your business,” Duterte said.

Vito Barcelo

Alvarez hits poll ‘anomaly’ in Tadeco barangays SPEAKER Pantaleon Alvarez on Wednesday disclosed alleged poll anomalies that had been practiced in the land owned by the Bureau of Corrections but operated by the Floirendo familyowned Tagum Agricultural Development Corp.

In Wednesday’s joint hearing of the joint House committee on good government and on justice on the controversial land deal between the Bucor and Tadeco, Alvarez said Barangay AO FLoirendo was created inside the area operated by the firm and isolated for the purpose of determining election results.

“Eto kasi ang problema dyan: yang barangay na yan, yan ang determinant factor in every election.

Kino-cordon nila yan, para yung result ng elections palaging nananalo yung mayor na sinusuportahan nila. Hindi makapasok dyan yung mga kandidato,” Alvarez said.

But Davao del Norte Rep. Antonio Floirendo Jr. denied the allegations.

“There is no truth to these allegations. During campaign period, for varying security concerns and considerations, access to Tadeco properties requires coordination in order to ensure biosecurity against plant diseases, safety of the workers, residents, properties, and assets situated within Tadeco. All legitimate political organizations, parties, and candidates are provided equal opportunities to conduct sorties and activities without hampering the production and commercial activities of the company,” Floirendo said in a statement. Maricel V. Cruz

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‘Ambitious’ Du30 upbeat on PH economic growth

By Vito Barcelo

P

RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte expressed optimism that the Philippines would become an upper middle-income economy by 2020, citing the improvement in infrastructure, public sector and social welfare programs.

The President, who graced the 45th anniversary of the National Economic and Development Authority, said he is “quite ambitious” but expressed optimism at the same time.

“Quite ambitious… I hope so. In the fullness of God’s

time, we may be lucky,” he said.

“I am optimistic that we can achieve this goal because of the professionalism of our Neda officials and personnel.

Your accomplishments in the past year and a half speak a lot about your skill and

competence to fulfill your mandate,” Duterte said in his speech, where he recognized the dedication and commitment of the men and women of Neda in shaping the country’s socio-economic agenda in the past four decades.

“Neda is the primary agency tasked to oversee the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022, and will play a crucial role in the medium-term vision of turning the Philippines into an upper-middle income economy by the year 2022,” the President said.

President Duterte cited some of the agency’s undertakings that uphold the integrity and efficiency of the

national development agenda such as the streamlining of guidelines in the processing and approval of flagship projects; the creation of a task force to ensure their timely implementation, and the integration of 15 Regional Development Plans into the PDP. “We will build on these gains by boosting development in the regions,” he said, adding that the government will create more jobs, improve social services, encourage innovation and connect the country to growth centers by aligning regional plans with the national development agenda.

“Indeed, we have a bright future ahead and I count

on Neda to never waver in supporting government’s middle-term and longterm socio-economic agenda. Always uphold good governance in the civil service as you provide direction to the formulation of our economic policies.”

The President also called on Neda to ensure that public interest remains at the heart of all government plans, programs and projects.

“With Neda at the helm, I am confident that we can realize our vision of a prosperous Philippines by working together in laying a solid foundation for a stronger and more resilient nation,” he said.

PROTEST.

Members of women`s group Gabriela, along with parents of children vaccinated with the controversial Dengvaxia, hold a protest in front of the main office of the Department of Health in Sta. Cruz, Manila on Wednesday, Feb. 7,2018.

Norman Cruz

Senators go on the road for BBL ‘listening tour’ SOME members of the Senate are taking the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law on a roadshow again this week as part of the upper chamber’s “listening tour” to strengthen and improve the proposed bill for Muslim Mindanao self-rule.

The lawmakers, led by Senator Sonny Angara who chairs the Committee on Local Government, and Senator Migz Zubiri, who heads the sub-committee on the BBL, will visit the

provinces of Tawi-Tawi and Sulu tomorrow as part of the Senate panel’s consultation with stakeholders to gather inputs in crafting the final version of the BBL. Zubiri’s sub-committee, to which the Palace-endorsed BBL draft was referred to, will also take the local government panel hearings to Zamboanga and Basilan on Friday.

Two weeks ago, the senators visited Cotabato City and Marawi City to

listen to the sentiments of the people on the ground.

Angara said there are many “shades of grey” in the current form and shape of the BBL draft that needed to be ironed out in order to clear and remove some ambiguities.

“Ang gusto natin ay isang black and white document that is airtight para pumasa sa Kongreso, ma-ratify ng tao sa isang plebesito, at ang implementasyon ay hindi maantala ng mga probisyon

na hindi klaro, “ he said.

Because of the proposal’s contentious subject, “we are making doubly sure that our final output is veto-proof, TRO-proof and one that will not be turned down by the people,“ Angara said.

“And we can only do that if we will conduct exhaustive consultations. A shortcut is a no-no. This bill has been aborted once. If it is scuttled again, there might be no third time,“ Angara said.

Among the elements of

the BBL that need finetuning, Angara said, are the provisions on revenue sharing, financial block grants from the national government, the status of the police and other security forces, as well as some aspects of the asymmetrical political relationship.

He said the BBL is no ordinary bill since it is not the type that normally passes through the legislative mill. It contains “radical provisions.”

Macon Ramos-Araneta

Solons seek probe on purchase of machines used in 2016 polls

By Maricel V. Cruz THE minority bloc in the House of Representatives on Wednesday sought a congressional probe into the decision of the Commission on Elections to acquire the P2.2-billion vote-counting machines that were used in the 2016 elections.

House minority leader

and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez questioned the move of the Comelec to purchase the VCMs from Venezuelan firm Smartmatic, citing alleged irregularities and allegations of cheating in the 2016 elections.

“The issue of whether or not the 2016 elections is a true reflection of the people’s choice remains

a dark cloud that is cast on the integrity of the electoral process and the Commission in charge of its proper conduct,” Suarez said at a news conference.

“It behooves us now to conduct the appropriate investigations in aid of legislation, to determine whether the Commission and Smartmatic have been, and

continue to be equal to the task of maintaining honest elections,” he added.

Suarez said looking back at the 2016 elections, Comelec and Smartmatic faced allegations of cheating in the national and local levels.

“We have seen the most number of election protests and contests filed—14 for local positions, 28 in the

House of Representatives, 1 in the Senate, and 1 for the second highest position in the country,” Suarez said.

“We cannot help but question, why would the Comelec purchase from the same supplier, the same units which were used in the contentious 2016 elections?” he asked.

Insist PH’s right over disputed sea, govt urged

By Macon Araneta AMID the reported Chinese militarization of the artificial islands in the Spratly archipelago, Senator Joel Villanueva on Wednesday called on the government and the public to insist on the country’s rightful claim over the West Philippine Sea. Villanueva said that since the decision of an international tribunal has no enforcement apparatus, it would be best for the government and its citizens to fully exercise its sovereign rights over its Exclusive Economic Zone in the West Philippine Sea. “We implore the government and the entirety of the Filipino nation to continuously uphold and express our claim of rightful ownership over the West Philippine Sea. Through concrete solidarity in expressing our rightful claim, we can continue fully exercising our sovereign rights,” Villanueva said.

The senator also noted that the Philippines cannot rely solely on ‘good faith’ in ensuring that China won’t occupy the islands in the West Philippine Sea despite its ongoing buildup in the area.

A recent report showed aerial photographs of construction of runways, military facilities, and stationary weapons on Kagitingan Reef, Calderon, Burgos, Mabini, Panganiban, Zamora, and McKennan reefs.

China’s militarization has been ongoing despite the ruling of UN-backed tribunal favoring the Philippines’ claim to exclusive sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea. The international court also ruled that China’s “nine-dash line” is invalid and that Beijing violated Manila’s sovereign rights to fish and explore for minerals in the disputed territory.

In December last year, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque downplayed the reported Chinese construction in the West Philippine Sea saying that the Philippines will still rely on China’s good faith despite Beijing’s expansion of its manmade islands to boost their defense capabilities.

“It will not be enough to rely solely on ‘good faith’ on the part of China.

We have to consistently express and stand by our sovereign rights,” Villanueva said.

“We sincerely urge everyone to champion our claim to the West Philippine Sea. Our victories in international arbitration have proven the validity of our claims to the area. We should maximize these gains to solve the issues in the West Philippine Sea,” the senator said.

‘Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act‘ bill OKd

FEARLESS. House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez shares his thoughts on the implications of federalism on Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples during a roundtable discussion on the issue. A member of the Manobo IPs, Alvarez gave assurances that under a federal government, the IPs will have their own state, enjoy self-governance, and manage their own natural resources. The discussion was organized by the House Committee on Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples chaired by Rep. Nancy Catamco.

The participants lauded the Speaker for his fearless advocacy to grant the IPs what they deserve under a federal government.

THE House of Representatives unanimously approved on Tuesday night House Bill 6938 which seeks to provide special protection of child passengers in motor vehicles.

The Lower House, presided by Maguindanao Rep. Bai Sandra Sema, approved the proposed “Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act” with 220 lawmakers in favor of the measure which acknowledges the State policy to ensure the safety of children while being transported in any

form of motor vehicle.

The bill declares that the State recognizes the right of children to assistance, including proper care and special protection from all forms of neglect, abuse and other conditions prejudicial to their development, including exposure to safety risks while aboard motor vehicles.

To guarantee the safety and welfare of infants and children and prevent traffic-related deaths and injuries, the bill stresses the need to require, regulate and promote, and inform

the public on the use of child restraint systems in motor vehicles and provide access to safe, appropriate, quality and affordable child restraint systems, in accordance with international standards accepted by the United Nations.

It mandates the use of child restraint systems in privately-owned motor vehicles. It shall at all times secure a child while being transported on any road, street or highway.

The child restraint system shall be appropriate to the child’s size, height and weight. Maricel V. Cruz

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Opinion

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2018

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

Adelle Chua, Editor

By any other name

T

HE House committee on population and family relations on Wednesday heard several arguments on what to do when a marriage falls apart.

One lawmaker wants to establish that five years of separation in fact can be an additional ground for the nullification of marriages. The Philippines allows this—the effect is as if there was no marriage to begin with—but at prohibitive costs and protracted processes.

Five years is enough time for an estranged couple to determine whether they could still reconcile,

said Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers.

With this additional ground, seeking annulment would be simpler, faster, and more importantly less expensive.

Another lawmaker, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, introduces absolute divorce in a country that is the last to go without it in all the world.

Gabriela Reps. Emmi de Jesus and Arlene Brosas want to include divorce provisions in the Family Code of the Philippines.

Finally, House Bill 6027, filed by a handful of congressmen led

by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat, proposes that marriages be dissolved if there are irreconcilable differences

or chronic unhappiness.

All this talk about what couples can do when they realize they want out betrays our propensity to keep up appearances, for religious or social reasons, and our refusal to acknowledge the truth that some relationships simply do not last.

This is a society that still frowns upon women opting out, for instance, even in the context of violence.

This is a society that claims to hold the family structure sacred, dismissing the fact that what shatters them in the first place are small but consistent acts of unkindness, dishonesty and disrespect.

There is some comfort in the fact that the issue is finally being discussed

in relation to legislation; such a thing would have been unheard of years ago.

Still, the lawmakers that would decide on the matter will first have to shed their pretensions, especially as these apply to their personal circumstances.

Call it what they want—declaration of nullity, divorce, dissolution of marriage, give each variation specific provisions, even try to define abstract and subjective words.

The conversation boils down to one basic fact we need to neither judge nor deny: With the best of intentions, some unions succeed, and some just fail. Assuming all means to reconcile are attempted, it would make no sense to consign anyone to a life he or she neither wants nor deserves.

TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

How to end corruption at Customs THE Bureau of Customs recently marked its 116th anniversary amid persistent reports of corruption and smuggling.

For a government agency that has existed that long, and given the usual rigodon of commissioners and officials, one might expect it to shed its label as the most corrupt agency in the country. But no —it has kept this distinction despite the efforts of newly appointed Commissioner Isidro Lapeña to crack down on smuggling and corruption.

When I was business editor of The Philippines Herald, one of my beats was Customs. I saw firsthand the staggering extent of corruption at that agency.

Just privatize it already.

Out for pizza LOWDOWN

JOJO A. ROBLES VICE President Leni Robredo, I fear, is not really interested in speeding up the recount of the votes cast in the 2016 elections. If she really was, she’d be signing with her own hand a document stating that she is withdrawing all motions that she filed—and may still file—to delay the counting.

If Robredo were serious about accepting the challenge thrown down by former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., she would declare her intentions herself, instead of letting her hired help, lawyer Romulo Macalintal, do the talking. But we only hear from Macalintal, whose latest stunt yesterday was

going to a pizza restaurant with a supposed document he signed himself that purports to say that Robredo will withdraw all her motions.

Marcos signed his own petition for the Presidential Electoral Tribunal to withdraw all motions, past and future, so that the counting may begin. He had his lawyer bring that document to the Ortigas area office of Macalintal and his partner in the Robredo case, Ma. Bernadette Serdillo, for forwarding to Robredo; but Macalintal, who had apparently stepped out for a pizza, was not there to properly receive the Marcos-signed document.

(Serdillo, by the way, may be a lot less prominent than the veteran Macalintal, even if she is more than a match for him in the “big lie” department. It

was Serdillo who declared that there was no need for Robredo to sign any document dropping all motions to delay the recount, since no such motions have been filed by Leni’s camp.)

Robredo can only hope that Marcos is stymied until 2022, when his protest will be rendered moot.

I find Marcos lawyer Vic Rodriguez more believable here because Robredo seems to want to show that she wants a speedy recount by having Macalintal sign

a document to that effect, while making sure that she can deny its authenticity by ensuring that she doesn’t sign it herself. And I find it truly suspicious that Robredo, who really isn’t as busy as she lets on, can’t even directly respond to Marcos’ challenge, allowing Macalintal and Serdillo to discuss it on her behalf.

I’ve said it before and I’ve said it again: Robredo’s strategy (as it has been laid out a long time ago by Macalintal) is to delay the recount for as long as she can, in the hope of convincing Marcos to abandon his protest and return to the Senate in next year’s elections. But now that Marcos has shown his resolve to continue with his protest all the way to the end, Robredo can only hope that Marcos is stymied until 2022, when any results of

his protest will be rendered moot.

I’d call Macalintal and ask for his comment, but I think he hasn’t returned from his favorite pizza place. *** Health Secretary Francisco Duque has been confirmed by the Commission on Appointments. Whether this should be taken as a sign that he will now focus his energies on addressing the Dengvaxia scandal remains to be seen.

Getting confirmed by the CA, which has developed a reputation for thumbing down nominees to Cabinet positions made by President Rodrigo Duterte, is certainly a vote of confidence by Congress that Duque will do his job. Especially at this time, when Duque’s department is wracked by controversy over the anti-dengue vaccination program em-

barked upon by the previous administration, I think the message that the CA sent is that he should no longer be paralyzed into inaction by the threat of being bypassed or even of being rejected altogether.

But like so many private medical practitioners and state health workers who stand accused of being involved, in one way or another, with Sanofi and other pharmaceutical companies that have basically dictated local health policy with their huge, well-funded marketing campaigns, Duque will have to prove that he is no “big pharma” stooge. And because Duque already worked as health secretary during the Arroyo years and officially advised DoH as civil service chief in the Aquino administration,

Is it because of those in the private sector all too willing to bribe? Is it the government employees willing to be corrupted?

A study on how corruption has persisted at the BoC shows that the tools of corruption are mostly orchestrated by Customs brokers and forwarders working for importers big and small. It starts the moment a broker goes to an office to submit applications for entry of imports.

Believe it or not, desk drawers were then almost always open.

There was a time when newspaper reporters considered the Customs beat a plum post. Even some reporters were on the take, especially when tabloid reporters were allowed there. Would you believe there were at least two tabloids focused on Customs activities? The motive was clear: Customs officials who did not cooperate would be smeared by

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Opinion

FANCY a job at the North or South Pole? A French research institute is looking for you.

The Paul-Emile Victor Polar Institute in northwest France has launched a public appeal to recruit around 40 French-speaking people for a wide variety of jobs at its six bases in the Arctic and Antarctica.

From chemists and carpenters to bakers and pastry chefs, the institute is stepping up its efforts to reach potential candidates for 12- to 14-month stints at its bases with endless summer days and winter nights.

“We get lots of interest from the biology fields but not enough mechanics or tool operators, because these people don’t know about us,” said Laurence Andre Le Marec, hiring director at the institute named for a French polar explorer and pioneer.

It operates at the Spitzberg base in the Arctic and the Dumont d’Urville and Concordia bases in Antarctica, as well as three bases on France’s sub-Antarctic islands of Amsterdam, Crozet and Kerguelen.

Women in particular are being sought in this year’s recruitment drive, which includes six testimonial videos from female alumni.

At the Dumont d’Urville station there are just six women compared to 24 men. “I haven’t been able to get balance” among the sexes, Andre Le Marec admitted.

The 40 successful candidates—30 of whom are reserved for France’s corps of Civic Service volunteers— will have to pass a medical exam that includes psychological evaluations.

“We make sure they are physically apt for this type of mission, and psychologically ready to live in a small group on an isolated site under conditions that can at times be extreme,” Andre Le Marec said.

The mechanic being sought for the Concordia station, for example, will have to mesh with a group of about 60 people in summer and just 14 in winter—when temperatures can plunge to minus 80 degrees Celsius (minus 110 degrees Fahrenheit).

“There’s no going back over winter,” the job posting on the institute’s website warns.

Concordia, which houses a French-Italian team, is one of three permanent bases maintained in the interior of Antarctica, one of the most isolated and inhospitable places on the planet.

“Not all the bases have temperatures this extreme,” Andre Le Marec assured, adding that a biologist sought on the island of Amsterdam, in the southern Indian Ocean, would be able to work “in a T-shirt.”

It was incredible,” said Claire Le Calvez, who spent a tour at Dumont d’Urville as a chemist and glaciologist in 2003 and eventually joined the roughly 50 permanent employees at the institute. AFP

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the tabloid. This was during the late 1950s.

After the approval of entries of imports came the role of examiners. These were the Customs people most sought after.

During the Ramon Magsaysay administration, the government sought the help of Philippine Military Academy cadets, who were supposedly honest, untarnished and idealistic. Alas, soon enough, the 400 cadets became tangled in corruption, themselves.

Smuggling persists because of human intervention. Even computerization cannot fully eradicate this. Would you believe that some corrupt Customs people, in cahoots with smugglers, had a way to make the computers not function properly?

Then came the Societe Generale de Surveillance, a global outfit that monitored imports and exports. It was used to stop technical smuggling. This succeeded for a while—until smugglers, conniving with legislators, started a campaign against SGS. Congressional investigations were conducted, and of course congressmen and senators worked for the abolition of the SGS contract with government.

When I was covering the agency I even witnessed a Customs commissioner being challenged by the late Manila mayor Arsenio Lacson to a duel in Luneta.

Indeed, during my time there, Customs officials had a way of evading the law.

They had an area beside the Pasig River devoted to “dangerous cargoes.” Supposedly, these were for chemicals and explosives. But it was so easy for barges, used by smugglers, to make cargoes disappear.

The intervention of politicians in Customs’ affairs is the name of the game. They did, and do, appoint their proteges to sensitive posts to enable them to continue their nefarious trade.

Santa Banana, how do you think P6.4 billion worth of shabu managed to come in from China? It passed through the express lane without the knowledge of Customs officials. Or did they just keep quiet about it?

It is almost impossible for any administration to stop

corruption and smuggling.

The only way is to privatize the agency. I am sure there will be a lot of takers. *** The short supply of cheap National Food Authority rice forces Filipinos to buy more expensive rice. This will become an issue unless the government does something now.

According to statistics, the country needs at least 500,000 metric tons of rice every year.

But since the government has been giving rice to communities affected by disaster, there is now a shortage.

Government must be reminded that revolutions have been caused by the lack of staple commodities. *** The Supreme Court has turned down the petition to give Congress advice on how to go about amending the 1987 Constitution. The issue of how the House and the Senate should vote remains a contentious one.

The two houses should settle the issue once and for all.

The consultative commission headed by retired Supreme Court justice Reynato Puno has already convened, and should be able to submit its recommendations in good time. Still, it will be Congress that will make the decision on whether to adopt these recommendations. *** Yesterday I wrote about writing my memoirs after Manila Times chairman emeritus Dante Arevalo Ang challenged me to do so.

I naturally had to seek the permission of Manila Standard’s chairman, Philip Romualdez, and publisher Rollie Estabillo.

And so I am finishing my book after agonizing about it for a long time. I had been thinking about the untold stories that I know which naturally involve big names. I must confess I could not come up with that kind of book.

Both the living and the dead are in it—and the living might just kill me for telling what I know.

Let me share with you one of my favorite prayers, which offers great comfort to me now: God, grant me the serenity To accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And the wisdom to know the difference.

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The cost of vote-counting machines

Work among the Penguins? France is looking for candidates

By Sandra Ferrer

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2018

OVERSIGHT DANILO SUAREZ THE Commission on Elections is buying over 97,000 vote-counting machines from Venezuelan-owned Smartmatic Corporation.

This purchase did not go through public bidding as the Commission decided to exercise its “option to purchase” the machines.

According to Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez, the Commission is purchasing the VCMs for P2.2 billion. These are exactly the same machines it leased from Smartmatic for P8 billion during the 2016 elections.

The 2016 polls is the most

controversial of all elections, in terms of results.

Numerous election protests and contests were filed— 14 in the local government units, 28 in the House of Representatives, one in the Senate, and one in the Vice Presidency. In my more than 20 years of public office, this is the highest number of complaints I’ve seen filed.

This casts a dark cloud on the integrity of the Commission and of Smartmatic.

Last week, former Senator Bongbong Marcos, a 2016 vice presidential candidate, presented his evidence that the poll results were rigged. He showed several ballot images that had “questionable” marks, which may indicate electoral fraud. As an example,

he showed a ballot image that had two shaded circles under the vice president position—Robredo and Trillanes. Instead of voiding the vote for the vice president because of two shaded circles, the machine counted the vote as valid for Robredo. This was a clear evidence of the irregularities of the VCMs from Smartmatic.

Poll results from clustered precincts in Leyte, Basilan, Quezon City, and even in overseas absentee voting precincts such as in South Korea, recorded 0 votes for three out of five presidential candidates, which were a statistical impossibility.

Last year, the Department of Justice ordered the filing

of criminal charges against Comelec and Smartmatic for altering the script in the transparency server during the transmission of the 2016 poll results. According to Smartmatic, it was only done for cosmetic purposes, wherein they corrected the character, “ñ” that appeared as “?”, and had no effect on the poll results.

Smartmatic insisted that there was no criminal intent in the said action. However, DoJ said that it was a clear violation of RA 10175 or the Cybercrime Protection Act, which does not require any criminal intent.

Despite the irregularities of Smartmatic and their machines, the Comelec still chose to purchase the VCMs used in the 2016 polls. To

investigate on this matter, I, together with all the Minority group members, filed House Resolution No. 1647, or “Resolution Calling for an Investigation in Aid of Legislation by the Appropriate Committee of the House of Representatives on the Comelec’s Procurement of Smartmatic Vote Counting Machines for the May 2019 Elections.”

It is the mandate of the Comelec to ensure fair and honest elections. With all the contentions about the 2016 elections, it is only right that we conduct proper investigation, in aid of legislation, to determine whether Comelec and Smartmatic are equal to the task of conducting fair and honest elections.

Meanie at the PCOO PRESIDENTIAL Communications Operations Office Assistant Secretary Lorraine Badoy-Partosa appeared at the second Senate hearing on fake news last Jan. 30 and once more treated the world to her abrasive manner, reminding many why they dislike her so much.

Among other things, she accused Vice President Leni Robredo of being “one of the purveyor of fake news.” In her own words on a Facebook post of Feb. 2, she said, “You must explain to us why you [Robredo], for instance, sent a video to the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs during their annual meeting in Vienna of March last year and said, “We are now looking at some very grim statistics: since July last year, more than 7,000 people have been killed in summary executions.”

“That very same body where you spun a tale of bloodshed and carnage of

our beloved country that spread throughout the world and tainted not just our President’s reputation but the very reputation of our country.”

She went on to say, “In fact, drug-related homicide cases from July 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017 (when she delivered that speech) that were recorded by the NBI and PDEA totalled 1,847. And as of January 2018, the number of drug-related homicides is nowhere even near the 7,000 Leni Robredo unleashed to the UN and that spread all over the world.

(Exact figure to follow.) I just came from a run and am catching my flight back to Manila.”

Whether 7,000 or 1,847 or the often bruited about number of 13,000, the fact remains that they were extrajudicial killings that took place without due process of law. Among those killed were innocent bystanders, people who were caught in the crossfire or mistaken for someone else. Badoy-Partosa herself used the word ‘homicide,’ which means, according to Google Dictionary, “the deliberate and unlawful

killing of one person by another; murder.”

Unlawful killing. Murder.

Let those words sink in.

Apart from taking a cheap shot at Robredo, Badoy-Partosa also had to apologize to Senator Manny Pacquiao, who hauled her over the coals for her scurrilous 2016 Facebook post that in part went: “Guess what I saw when I went on a run this morning in my village. Manny Pacquiao campaign car in front of his mistress’s house.”

Pacquiao demanded that she take down the post, which at that time was still up. When confronted, Badoy-Partosa admitted that she got the information from a security guard and a taho vendor. Pacquiao said this to her face: “That’s a fake news. What you did is fake news.”

Aside from making sure to let her readers know that she’s a runner, BadoyPartosa has elsewhere been described as a “rabid” supporter and defender of President Rodrigo Duterte.

This is obvious from her social media posts and other pronouncements. In fact, she maintains a blog entitled “Digongmylabs:

My Rodrigo Duterte Journal.” She has called him the “best president” the country’s ever had and takes care to always portray him in a sympathetic light. Not surprising considering she is an official of the PCOO, but just around election time she sang praises for Robredo and even voted for her.

While on one hand she protects her own, on the other she savages opponents, even stooping so low as to make ad hominem insults about something as shallow as a person’s appearance. In another social media post, Badoy-Partosa sneered at anti-administration blogger Jover Laurio’s looks: “Her ugliness is extraordinary… the dirt in her pusod (navel) is extraordinary. And so is the libag (dirt) in her kili-kili (armpit).” She went so far as to post unflattering photos of Laurio beside carefully-curated glamor shots of her own. Now that’s so low that’s scraping the ground.

And in some unfathomable mental quirk, when the European Union criticized the EJKs, she told them “Just engage in on-

line child porn. That’s what you are all good at.”

That was uncalled for and malicious.

While touting kindness and compassion in her former job at the Department of Social Welfare and Development and now at the PCOO, she is cruel and unkind to those whose views are contrary to hers, or are perceived by her to be enemies. While she writes very well and enthusiastically about the administration’s programs, her narcissistic and spiteful jabs undermine her credibility.

We are willing to hear about this administration’s gains and achievements. We are willing to give kudos where they are deserved. However, we will always take a dubious view of whatever Badoy-Partosa says, not only because she’s reversed herself before, not only because a senator has proven her to have made up fake news, but also because she’s mean.

Dr. Ortuoste is a California-based writer. FB: @DrJennyO, Twitter: @ jennyortuoste

Bollywood’s ‘menstrual man’ movie targets Indian taboo

By Udita Jhunjhunwala the movie will help raise thing about it and started vice which could produce an A BOLLYWOOD movie about an inventor who created a revolutionary machine that makes cheap sanitary pads hits screens this week, challenging taboos surrounding menstruation in socially conservative India.

Arunachalam Muruganantham is nicknamed India’s “menstrual man” for transforming the lives of poor women forced to use items like old rags, sand and leaves during their periods.

He has been lauded by India’s government and is now getting the star treatment with Bollywood Alister Akshay Kumar portraying him in “Pad Man,” releasing on Friday.

It is the latest socially conscious movie to come out of a film industry known more for producing complex love stories featuring handsome heroes and elaborate dance routines.

Muruganantham hopes

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he will have to work extra hard to gain the credibility that his high post deserves.

Duque has not been doing a lot to gain the public’s trust in the wake of the Dengvaxia brouhaha.

For one, Duque has not initiated any kind of internal, department-wide

awareness about the importance of menstrual hygiene in patriarchal India where women, particularly in rural areas, are frequently shunned during their monthly cycles.

“Menstruation is still a taboo subject in India and a tough subject for a film,” he told AFP by phone from his home state of Tamil Nadu in southern India.

“But I read the script and I was also on the sets to guide them. I think [R.] Balki [the writer and director] has handled the subject beautifully.

“People will talk about personal hygiene and it will give hope to the younger generation to do innovative things,” he added.

Muruganantham’s remarkable story began in the late 1990s when he was shocked to discover that his wife was using newspaper and dirty cloths during menstruation because sanitary pads were too expensive.

He decided to do some-

experimenting with different designs using cotton.

His first few prototypes were not very successful and quickly his wife and sisters refused to be guinea pigs any longer.

When other women in the village baulked at his requests to try his products he started testing them on himself, using a football bladder and animal blood.

Muruganantham was mocked and ostracized by fellow villagers, and his wife even left him for a while, but he remained undeterred and intensified his search.

After two years he discovered that sanitary pads are made from cellulose found on trees.

Risky Muruganantham also learnt that the machine which ground down the pulp before turning it into napkins cost hundreds of thousands of dollars so he decided to create his own.

In four years, he had invented an easy-to-use de-

pads at a third of the cost of the commercially produced ones. The machines themselves were also vastly cheaper at around 75,000 rupees ($1,170).

“I wanted to make sure that technically we did not go wrong, so he agreed to supervise,” Balki, the director, said of Muruganantham’s role on set.

Actresses Radhika Apte and Sonam Kapoor star alongside Kumar whose character based on Muruganantham is called Lakshmi.

The 50-year-old actor, whose films regularly rake in more than one billion rupees ($15.6 million) at the box office, is no stranger to starring in movies with an important message.

Last year’s comedy, “Toilet: Ek Prem Katha” (Toilet: A love story), focused on the lack of toilets in India and the problem of open defecation.

It was a soaraway success, but Balki says a film about periods is

altogether different proposition.

“Pad Man is possibly the riskiest film Akshay has done because of the taboo, unexplored subject,” he told AFP. Several million more Indian women are now estimated to use sanitary pads, thanks to Muruganantham.

His company, Jayaashree Industries, has more than 2,000 units across the majority of India’s states and also exports to dozens of countries. The machines also provide employment to thousands of rural women.

In 2014, he was included in Time magazine’s list of 100 most influential people in the world. Two years later, India’s government awarded Muruganantham one of the country’s highest civilian honors.

The release of “Pad Man” is set to elevate his fame further but he insists he won’t be letting it go to his head.

“The cause is becoming big, but I am remaining the same,” he told AFP. AFP

investigation of the “deep state” bureaucrats who helped Noynoy Aquino and his health secretary, Janette Garin, implement the P3.5-billion campaign launched at the tail-end of Noynoy’s term.

Instead of cleaning up his own backyard, as any top bureaucrat in his position would do, Duque has repeatedly declared that he wants Sanofi to pay

back the money spent by the Philippine government for the vaccine, which is really the province of state prosecutors, not the health secretary. Duque has not even complied, to this day, with demands for DoH to complete a definitive registry of all the 830,000 schoolchildren who were given Dengvaxia.

And Duque is not only a public health insider but a

political player, one of the few who has held high office under the last three presidents, which is a testament not of medical his expertise but of his family’s political clout in his home province of Pangasinan. Duque, if he really wanted to, could become the ultimate crusader and whistleblower, if that’s what he wants, instead of being just the most du-

rable political survivor of the last two decades.

I sincerely hope that Duterte and Congress made the right decision by choosing Duque. Any more mistakes at this point would be ruinous to the government’s public health campaigns, which have been rocked to their very foundations by Aquino’s misguided Dengvaxia experiment.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

News

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2018 A6 Standard Manila

TODAY mst.daydesk@gmail.com

House tackles marital issues

Caritas pushes Lenten ‘P40 for 40’ campaign

By Sara Fabunan

By Maricel V. Cruz A LAWMAKER on Wednesday sought the passage of his bill that seeks to ease nullifying a marriage by making actual separation of at least five years as a valid ground for annulment.

At a hearing of the House committee on population and family relations, Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, chairman of the House committee on dangerous drugs, said House Bill 1062 will help alleviate the lives of many estranged couples who suffer from failed marriages.

Barbers said his proposal that an actual separation of at least five years should be a valid ground for an annulment, as that time “is enough time for a estranged couple to determine if there are any chances of a reconciliation.”

“Why are we making it hard for aggrieved partners to annul their marriages? With the simple ground of a fiveyear separation as a valid reason, seeking an annulment of a marriage from court would be faster, simpler and less expensive,” Barbers said.

Unlike the other grounds for annulment, the court would not need to investigate or prove collusion between the parties because they would just have to show they had been separated for five years, he noted.

“This could be done through affidavits from their relatives or whatever documents the court may further require,” Barbers added.

Instead of being stuck in an unhappy marriage, or exposing the children to harm when their parents are fighting, or couples brazenly engaging in extramarital affairs, Barbers said these couples should have decided to find a way to make life easier for both of them and other parties concerned.

KOREANS CAUGHT. The National Bureau of Investigation Anti-Organized and Transnational Crime Division presents to the media four Koreans on Wednesday. Young Tae Youn, Byung Wook Ahn, Kim Min Dung, and Park Hyun were arrested for alleged carnapping. Norman Cruz

INSTEAD of abstaining from certain food, habits, or physical pleasures during the Lenten Season, the Archdiocese of Manila’s social action arm, Caritas Manila, urged all Filipino Catholics to join their “P40 for 40” campaign.

With just over a week before Ash Wednesday, Caritas Manila said it will be good if they make their Lenten vows worthwhile through a donation.

“We would like to invite you to join our Alay Kapwa ‘P40 for 40’ campaign,” the Catholic group said. “Maybe you will be able to save at least P40 a day. At the end of the Lenten season, that is a minimum of P1,600 that could be used as a lifeline by our brothers and sisters in times of life-threatening emergencies and crises.”

To participate in the “P40 for 40” campaign, the faithful may send their message through Caritas Manila’s Facebook page, the group said.

Doing so, Caritas said, will surely be a stark upgrade from the usual acts of abstaining from certain foods, habits, or physical pleasures during Lent.

On Feb. 14, Catholics will observe Ash Wednesday, when a cross of ashes is placed on a worshipper’s forehead during Mass.

It also marks the start of the 40-day Lenten season, which ends on April 1, Easter Sunday.

During Lent, Catholics are expected to practice fasting, abstinence, and alms giving.

Metro mayors to aid Albayanos

By Joel E. Zurbano

E

ACH of the 17 Metro Manila mayors will shell out at least P500,000 to help families in Albay province affected by the continuous eruption of Mayon Volcano.

The city chief executives met with officials of the Metro Manila Development Authority on Wednesday and discussed how to help local government units through financial assistance, human resources and logistic supports.

“There were resolutions adopted here, one is that the Metro Manila Council will assist LGUs affected by Mount Mayon, the second resolution is the fund shall be sourced in the local disaster

risk reduction and management funds of LGUs of Metro Manila,” said Quezon City mayor and MMC spokesman Herbert Bautista.

MMDA assistant general manager for planning Jose Arturo Garcia Jr. said agency chairman Danilo Lim and the metro mayors are now in close coordination with Presidential Political Adviser and former MMDA chief Francis Tolentino to identify the areas affected in the province.

Garcia said President Rodrigo Duterte tapped Tolentino to be the overall in-charge for disaster management.

“This is a special meeting and not a regular MMC meeting,” said Garcia.

“We will be having a common fund, minimum of P500,000. We also discussed the deployment of 100 personnel to Albay to check, help and distribute food, medicines, ambulance and fire trucks for clean water,” he added.

The MMC, composed of 17 mayors and other local government officials in Metro Manila, is the governing board and policy-making body of the MMDA. Two weeks ago, the Taguig City government initially

sent medical teams to Albay and gave the provincial government P3 million as financial assistance.

Mayor Laarni Cayetano said members of the City Council approved the release of P3 million in calamity assistance to Albay, which was declared under the state of calamity.

The city’s special medical mission was conducted at Bagumbayan Central School where free checkups and medicines to evacuees from Barangay Boyuan were rendered. The medical mission then proceeded to Sto. Domingo.

The city government also sent 3,000 relief goods consisting of hygiene kits, face

masks, rice and canned goods.

“We’ve seen the news and we know that they really need our help. We hope that through this simple act, we will be able to give them hope and love,” said Mayor Cayetano, who also hails from Albay.

The financial and medical help extended by Taguig to Albay is the latest of its regular assistance provided to other local government units in the country.

In July, the city government also gave P1.5 million as relief assistance to evacuees in Marawi City following the attack of extremist Maute Group in Barangay Basak Malutlut on May 23 last year.

Last September, House

New air conditioners installed at Naia 3 TO ADDRESS poor ventilation at terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the Manila International Airport Authority has started installing 12-tonner 15-horsepower standalone air-conditioning units at the pre-departure gates of the terminal’s domestic wing.

MIAA general manager Eddie Monreal said a total of 16 units are expected to improve the warm temperature passengers have complained about while waiting for their flight at gates 116 to 120 of the domestic wing.

Each of these pre-depar-

ture gates will have four units strategically positioned in the open waiting areas at a calculated 19-20 degree Celsius, Monreal added.

Similarly, temperature at pre-departure gates 107 to 115 of the International wing will likewise improve once 36 air-conditioning units, earmarked to be equally distributed there, have been awarded to a winning supplier by Feb. 13, he added.

Installation of all the AC units are expected to be finished next month, Monreal said.

“With this development,

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CHED grants university status to San Beda College-Manila

INVITATION TO BID The Municipality of Sevilla, Bohol through its Bids and Awards Committee, (BAC), invites Bidders/ Contractors to apply for Eligibility and to Bid for: Name of Project : CONSTRUCTION OF EVACUATION FACILITY Location : Cambagui, Sevilla, Bohol Contract Duration : 150 Calendar Days Approved Budget for the Contract: Php3,000,000.00 Fund Source : 2017 LGSF-ADM Bid Documents Fee : Php 5,000.00 Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedure using non-discretionary pass/fail criteria as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations of R.A. 9184 known as the Government Procurement Reform Act. Only bids from Bidders who pass the eligibility check will be opened.

Prospective bidders should possess a current and valid PCAB License applicable to the Contract, have completed a similar contract with a value of at least 50% of the ABC within the last five (5) years, have key personnel and equipment (listed in the eligibility forms) available for the prosecution of the contract and meet the other minimum eligibility requirements stated in the eligibility documents.

All particulars relative to the Eligibility Statement and Screening, Bid Security, Performance Security, Pre-Bidding Conference, Evaluation of Bids, Post-Qualification and Award of Contract shall be governed by the pertinent provisions of RA 9184 and its Implementing Rules and Regulation.

The schedule of BAC Activities is as follows: BAC ACTIVITIES Newspaper Publication Posting of Invitation to Bid at PHILGEPS Pre-Bid Conference

Availability of Bidding Documents Deadline of Submission of Bids Opening of Bids

Bid Evaluation Post-Qualification

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February 8, 2018

MADRID ENVOYS.

The Philippine Embassy assumed the chairmanship of the Asean Committee in Madrid in an official turnover ceremony held on Jan. 22, 2018 at the Philippine Ambassador´s official residence. Ending his six-month stint as chair, Malaysian Ambassador to Spain Zainal Abidin Bakar (3rd fom left) handed over the Asean flag to Ambassador Philippe J. Lhuillier in a simple ceremony which signaled the start of the six-month chairmanship of the Philippines. Lhuillier immediately chaired the first working meeting of the year after the ceremony.

The ACM is composed of all ambassadors of Asean countries with embassies in Madrid, namely, the ambassadors of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

passengers can be assured of convenient and relaxing atmosphere while waiting for boarding, especially this coming summer season,” he said.

MIAA is also rehabilitating the central air-conditioning system of Terminal 3 by replacing the air handling units and cooling coils there.

A total of 30 cooling coils and six primary AHUs are now being replaced, the MIAA chief added.

When Monreal took over the airport in 2016, the terminal’s air-conditioning system was already in bad shape.

Joel E. Zurbano

Republic of the Philippines Province of Bohol MUNICIPALITY OF SEVILLA 1.

Deputy Speaker and Taguig 2nd District Rep. Pia Cayetano and other city officials also made a personal visit to Marawi residents and turned over 46 crates of relief goods to the disaster operation center of Department of Social Welfare and Development Region 10 in Marawi City.

When Typhoon “Nina” severely struck Bicol Region in December 2016, Taguig also provided a P9-million calamity assistance.

The city also handed a P1million calamity assistance to the residents affected by Typhoon “Lawin” which lashed the provinces of Kalinga, Apayao, Mountain Province, Abra and Benguet in October 2016.

SCHEDULES

February 8, 2018 Date: February 13, 2018 Time: 9:00 A.M. Venue: Sangguniang Bayan Session Hall, 2nd Floor Main Municipal Building Poblacion, Sevilla, Bohol February 13-18, 2018 March 1, 2018 @ 9:30 in the morning c/oBAC Secretariat LATE BIDS SHALL NOT BE ACCEPTED Date: March 1, 2018 Time: 10:00 A.M. Venue: Sangguniang Bayan Session Hall, 2nd Floor Main Municipal Building Poblacion, Sevilla, Bohol March 2, 2018 March 6-9, 2018

Prospective bidders can secure the Bidding Documents during office hours on the period indicated above at the BAC Secretariat, Office of the Municipal Accountant, Ground Floor, Municipal Hall, Sevilla, Bohol upon payment of a non-refundable amount of Five Thousand Pesos (Php 5,000.00) only.

Prospective bidders are required to secure a “Certificate of Site Inspection” to be signed by the Municipal Engineer. The said document shall form part of the Technical Requirements.

Implementation of the Project shall commence upon receipt of the Notice to Proceed issued by the Head of the Procuring Entity.

The Municipal Government of Sevilla, Bohol reserves the right to accept or reject any bid or to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award. Likewise, the LGU assumes no responsibility or liability for any and all costs associated with the Bidder’s Participation in the bidding process regardless of its result.

Bids and Awards Committee.

(SGD.) ARTEMIO D. PERIN BAC Chairman Municipal Hall Poblacion, Sevilla, Bohol 09988846108 (MS-FEB. 8, 2018)

THE Commission on Higher Education has granted University Status to the Benedictine-founded Notice to the Public SeedWorks International Pvt. Ltd. Philippine Representative Office with address at 1775 Gov. San Luis Rd., Puypuy, Bay, Laguna will file its petition for the withdrawal of its license to operate to the Securities and Exchange Commission after March 31, 2018.

(MS-FEB. 8,15 & 22, 2018)

NOTICE OF EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE: Notice is hereby given that the estate of the late Spouses Rafael S. Santayana & Aurea Cancio Santayana was extra judicially settled by and among their heirs as per affidavit executed on 28 December 2017 entered as Doc. No. 17510, Service No. 130-132, Series of 2017, of the Consular District of Consul KERWIN ORVILLE C. TATE of New York, Conn., Del., Main, Mass., N.H., N.J., Penn., RI. and Vt.; affidavit executed on 29 December 2017 entered as Doc. No. ACK17-12443, Series of 2017, Service No. 27966, O.R. 36 of Vice-Consul DARRELL ANN R. ARTATES for the District of Columbia & the States of Alabama, Fla., Ga., Kentucky, Md., N.C., S.C., Tenn., Va and W.Va., affidavit executed on 4Jan. 2018 entered as Doc., No. 246, Page No.77, Book No. 60, Series of 2018 of the Notarial Registry of PEDRO SANTOS, a notary public per PTR No.992068, IBP No. 101683, Roll No.8364, Appt. No. 89.

(MS-JAN. 25, FEB. 1 & 8, 2018)

NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION The public is hereby notified that the Philippine Representative Office of INPAY SWITZERLAND AG, with registered address at Unit 10A, 5th Avenue Cor. 26th Street, Crescent Park West, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, Philippines, will be CLOSED. The closure of the Philippine representative office will take effect upon approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

(MS-JAN. 25, FEB. 1 & 8, 2018)

San Beda College-Manila, an official of the school’s Alumni Association confirmed Wednesday.

CHED granted the status during its 501st Joint Management Committee and Commission en banc meeting Tuesday, after the school complied with the requirements, Wilma Abellanosa of the Alumni Association said.

San Beda, a private Roman Catholic university founded in 1901 and run by Benedictine monks in the Philippines, also has a campus in Taytay, Rizal, and a campus in Alabang, Muntinlupa, known as the San Beda University Alabang which is autonomous from the two other campuses.

According to CHED officer-in-charge J. Prospero de Vera III, San Beda College-Manila, as

a university “is expected to contribute to nationbuilding by providing highly specialized educational experiences to train experts in the various technical and disciplinal areas.”

At the same time, San Beda is expected to emphasize “the development of new knowledge and skills through research and development.”

SBC-Manila houses four colleges: Arts and Sciences, Nursing, Medicine, and Law. The three graduate schools of San Beda—Business, Law, and Liturgy—are in the Mendiola campus.

According to CHED, San Beda University “is also expected to produce experts, knowledge, and technological innovations that can be resources for long-term development processes in the globalized context.” Honor B. Cabie

Duterte weighs in on feuding 'Nayong' execs

By Vito Barcelo MALACAÑANG on Wednesday urged officials involved in infighting in the Nayong Pilipino Foundation to file their complaints before the Office of the President to resolve their issues.

NPF chairperson Patricia Yvette Ocampo has reportedly filed a cyber-libel complaint against NPF board member Maria Fema Duterte over her accusations posted on social media site that Ocampo is corrupt.

In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said

a complaint should be lodged before the Office of the President before the Palace can take appropriate action on the issue.

“Reports of an ongoing rift in the Nayong Pilipino Foundation have reached the Office of the Executive Secretary,” Roque said.

Ocampo said the attacks by Duterte, a relative of President Rodrigo Duterte, have affected her mother and her children.

The NPF chairman said Duterte was accusing the NPF officials, through social media, of corruption and making the Nayong Pilipino “an ATM” (au-

tomated teller machine) despite receiving mere honoraria from the foundation.

Duterte slammed the members of the NPF Board of Trustees and cited the state auditor’s findings that the NPF, a government-owned and -controlled corporation, had “extravagant, irregular, unconscionable, immoderate, prodigal, lavish, luxurious, grossly excessive, [and] injudicious expenditures of government funds” in 2017.

The President’s relative also hinted that one of the NPF members has a dual citizenship.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Sports Munti, QC post similar big wins QUEZON City and Muntinlupa scored similar lopsided wins late Tuesday night to pick up their second straight triumphs in the MPBL Anta-Rajah Cup at the JCSGO Gym in Quezon City.

In front of their packed hometown crowd, the Royal Manila-backed Capitals dominated from start to finish on their way to an 84-75 victory over the Imus Bandera-GLC Truck and Equipment.

The Cagers of Muntinlupa, supported by Angelis Resort, dumped the Caloocan Supremos-Longrich, 89-76, in the other game.

Both Quezon City and Muntinlupa teams asserted their dominance from the early goings.

The Capitals turned to exLa Salle stalwart PJ Barua in the early goings to take a 2917 lead, then went to big man Jessie Collado in the second half to pick up their second win in as many games and join Navotas and Batangas City in a share of the lead.

Collado finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Barua contributed 15 markers.

The Capitals led by as many as 24 points, 75-51, off Jeymark Mallari’s split charities halfway the fourth period.

But Quezon City’s dominance was also noticeable on the defensive end as the Capitals grabbed a total of 60 rebounds, 14 more than the GLC Truck and Equipment-backed Bandera team. Quezon City’s bench production was also more superior, producing 58 compared to Imus’ 38.

Jomar Santos and Joco Tayongtong added 10 apiece for Quezon City, which joined Novaliches and Batangas City in a share of the lead with 2-0 win-loss records.

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2018 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Morales is rider to watch in Ronda

D

EFENDING champion Jan Paul Morales will be the rider to watch and Philippine Navy Standard Insurance the team to contend when the Ronda Pilipinas 2018 presented by LBC unfolds from March 3 to 18 starting from Vigan City and ending at Filinvest, Alabang.

Morales, 32, is looking at defending the crown he won by reigning supreme in the 14-stage race last year ahead of fellow Navyman Rudy Roque and Cris Joven of Philippine Army and should be the heavy favorite to repeat in the eighth edition of this annual race considered the big-

gest in the country.

The Calumpang, Marikina-based Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, who also won it two years back, is also seeking to become the most titled rider in the Ronda Pilipinas history as he guns for a third championship, putting him ahead of

two-time winner Santy Barnachea, who won the inaugural stage and in 2015.

Other past Ronda champions were Irish Valenzuela (2012), Mark Galedo (2013) and Reimon Lapaza (2014) in this race presented by LBC and supported by MVP Sports Foundation, CCN, Petron, Versa.ph, 3Q Sports Event Management, Inc., Boy Kanin, Franzia, Standard Insurance, Bike Xtreme, SH+, Guerciotti, Prolite, Green Planet, Maynilad, NLEX Cycling, Lightwater, LBC Foundation and PhilCycling.

“I hope to win it again this year,” said Morales in

Filipino.

While it lost racing team captain Lloyd Lucien Reynante and Daniel Ven Carino, Navy has tapped many-time Ronda King of the Mountain winner Junrey Navarro while re-injecting Ronald Oranza to the team after missing last year’s race to beef up an already loaded line up.

Other members of Navy are Roque, El Joshua Carino, Jhon Mark Camingao, Ronald Lomotos and Archie Cardana.

Morales, however, knows he faces a tougher challenge this year against a field that included Barnachea, who

will represent Team Francia, Joven, Valenzuela and Marlboro Tour champion Warren Davadilla of CCN Super team, Go for Gold’s George Oconer and Jaybop Pagnanawon of Team Bike Xtreme.

A whopping P1 million will be staked in this 12-stage race that will open with the 40-kilometer Vigan criterium One on March 3 and the 155.4km Vigan-Pagudpud Stage Two the next day.

The other stages are the 223.5km Pagudpud-Tuguegarao Stage Three on March 5, 135.2km TuguegaraoIsabela Stage Four on March 6, 179.4km IsabelaNueva Ecija Stage Five on

March 8, 111.8km Nueva Ecija-Tarlac Stage Six on March 9, 31.5km Individual Time Trial Stage Seven and 42.14km Team Time Trial Stage Eight both in Tarlac on March 10 and 11.

Winding up the race are the 207.2km Silang-Batangas-Tagaytay Stage Nine on March 15, 147.8km TagaytayCalaca Stage 10 on March 16, 92.72km Calaca-Calaca Stage 11 on March 17 and the 50km Filinvest Alabang criterium Stage 12 on March 18.

Other teams joining are Nueva Ecija, Ilocos Sur, Go for Gold Developmental team, South Luzon and Tarlac Province.

Porzingis out for year

Kristaps Porzingis of the New York Knicks is carried off court after tearing his ACL in his left knee during the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. AFP

NEW YORK—New York Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis suffered a season-ending knee injury on Tuesday in his team’s 103-89 defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Porzingis fell to the court and clutched his left knee in agony as he landed after a dunk in the second quarter.

He played no further part in the game and an MRI scan later confirmed he had torn ligaments in his left knee, the Knicks said.

“An MRI confirmed that Kristaps Porzingis tore the ACL in his left knee,” the club said.

The popular Latvian star was averaging just under 23 points per game this year, with 6.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks.

He had been due to play in the AllStar game later this month for LeBron James’ team.

James was among several players to send words of support to Porzingis after the injury.

“Was hoping for the best news when I saw the play after the game,” James wrote on Twitter. “Best wishes and have a speedy healthy recovery.”

Los Angeles Clippers star DeAndre Jordan added: “Damn, hate to see that happen to @kporzee. He’s having an amazing year! Come back stronger and better brother.” AFP

Manila Council, MMDA Cavs buried by Orlando ‘avalanche’; Harden is MVP? strengthen sports pact BUOYED by the success of last year’s Metro Basketball Tournament themed “Isang Liga, Isang Laro Para sa Pagbabago”, the Metro Manila Development Authority and Metro Manila Council have agreed to continue to promote sports activities among the youth of the 17 cities and municipalities in Metro Manila this year.

MMDA Chairman Danny Lim said the heads of local government units under the MMDA were encouraged by the results of last year’s 24-year-old-and-under and 16-year-old-and-under basketball tournaments and decided to continue with the programs initiated by Metroball Basketball Tournament Director and PBA Globalport Batang Pier Team Manager Bonnie Tan. “Pursuant to President Duterte’s campaign to promote sports and eradicate illegal drug use and the city mayor’s desire to raise the level of sports competitions, the MMDA and the MMC will again jointly host the Metro Manila-wide basketball and volleyball competitions this year,” said Chairman Lim. Lim re-appointed Tan as overall Tournament Director

for both basketball (24-under and 17-under) and the inaugural volleyball (women/ girls) competitions under the Metroball Volleyball Tournament, set to be also participated in by the 17 cities and municipalities under the MMDA and MMC. Lim and Tan recently signed a long-term Memorandum of Agreement for the staging anew of the Metro Manila SportsFest during a courtesy call at the MMDA office in Makati last Thursday.

Among those who witnessed the MOA signing were MMDA Chief of Staff Jojo Garcia, MMDA Sports Director Atty. Crisanto Saruca Jr. and other MBT officials, which included finance manager Waiyip Chong and deputy tournament director Fidel Mangonon III. “I’m truly grateful to the Metro Manila Council headed by the MMDA and the entire 17 Metro Manila City mayors for again entrusting us with their sports programs. Together we shall spearhead to promote sports, develop home grown talents, discover and nurture future Filipino Athletes in all our cities,” said Tan.

LOS ANGELES—LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers crashed to yet another humiliating defeat against the Orlando Magic on Tuesday as James Harden scored his 15,000th career point to extend Houston’s winning streak to five games.

In Orlando, James scored 25 points but it was not enough to prevent the Cavs from slumping to a 116-98 loss in a roller coaster game.

Cleveland looked to be in the mood for an emphatic win after piling on a massive 43 points in the first quarter and powering to 67-51 at half-time.

But Orlando dominated the second half, outscoring the Cavs 65-31 in the final

two quarters to complete a crushing win before their home fans.

A grim night for Cleveland also saw coach Tyronn Lue leave courtside midway through the second quarter with an undisclosed illness.

Lue did not reappear and reportedly watched the remainder of the game from the locker room.

Orlando were sparked by 34 points from Jonathon Simmons, on a night when all of Orlando’s starters cracked double digits.

Cavs star James pinpointed a disastrous third quarter— when Orlando poured on 41 points—for the loss.

“They hit some big-time

shots in the third quarter,” James said. “The snowball turned into an avalanche in the third. A 41-point quarter is hard to come back from.”

James said Lue’s illness had also affected the team. “Unfortunately he’s sick and that’s all we heard,” James said.

“He’s the captain of our ship so it’s a tough blow.”

The Cavs face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday back in Cleveland, who have already beaten the Cavs this season.

“We’ve got a great opportunity tomorrow against a team that beat us up pretty good before,” James said. “We look forward to the challenge.

We’ve got to come out and

sustain the challenge.”

Harden MVP? In New York meanwhile, Rockets star Harden brought up 15,000 career points on as Houston swept to a 123-113 win over the Brooklyn Nets to maintain pressure on Golden State at the top of the Western Conference.

Harden finished with 36 points as the Rockets bagged a fifth straight victory to improve to 39-13, two wins back from the Warriors.

Chris Paul had 25 points, with Clint Capela adding 18 and Gerald Green contributing 16 points from the bench.

Harden was bombarded with chants “M-V-P!” during the game but said afterwards

Korean grabs 1-shot lead in Eagle Ridge Ladies Invitational GEN. TRIAS, Cavite—Korean amateur Hwang Min-jeong sizzled at the back and shot a four-under 68 then pounced on Chihiro Ikeda and Princess Superal’s last-hole bogeys to wrest a one-stroke lead at the start of the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Ladies Invitational here yesterday.

Hwang, coming off a runaway victory in the Philippine Amateur Championship at Riviera last month, broke a two-birdie, two-bogey stint at the front with a pair of back-to-back birdies (1011 and 15-16) at Aoki’s backnine to jump from the middle of the pack to the top of the heap in the third leg of

this year’s Ladies Philippine Golf Tour put up by ICTSI. Ikeda, winner at Forest Hills last year who placed second to Thai Yupaporn Kawinpakorn in the second leg at Beverly Place last month, and Superal looked headed to joining Hwang at the helm but both fumbled with bogeys on the par-4 18th. They dropped to joint second with another Korean amateur Lee Ji Hyeon, who also bogeyed the tough 18th, for 69s.

Thai Pavarista Yoktuan also wavered with a closing bogey and settled for a 70 while Thanuttra Boonraksasat, also of Thailand, birdied two of the last

six holes to save a 71 for sixth.

Dottie Ardina, seeking an end to a string of mediocre finishes in the country’s premier ladies circuit which she used to dominate, gunned down three birdies but made three bogeys for a 72 while Cyna Rodriguez hardly recovered from a double-bogey mishap on the par3 No. 4 with three birdies against two bogeys. The former three-time LPGT Order of Merit winner slid to joint eighth with Apple Fudolin, former LPGT leg winner Saruttaya Ngam-usawan and Korean amateur Kim Hee Ji. Thai Chonlada Chayanun, who has posted a number of runner-up finishes

Perpetual men’s tossers reach semifinals MBT Tournament Director Bonnie Tan (second from left) shakes hands with MMDA Chairman Danilo Lim after their recent signing of a memorandum of agreement for the 2018 season of the Metro Basketball Tournament, which will now have the PBA Metro League, a partnership with the Philippine Basketball Association and volleyball tournaments for girls (16-and-under) and women’s (24-and-under) also expected to be participated in by the 17 cities and municipalities in Metro Manila. With them are MMDA sports director Atty. Cris Saruca Jr. (left) and MMDA chief of staff and general manager Jojo Garcia (right).

he was not thinking about personal honors.

“Just want to win, and put ourselves in the best position that we can for post-season and then we’ll take it from there,” Harden said.

Golden State meanwhile were thumped 125-105 by Oklahoma City Thunder. Paul George and Russell Westbrook combined to dismantle the Warriors defence. George finished with 38 points while Westbrook added 34.

Kevin Durant led the scoring for the Warriors with 33 points against his former team. Draymond Green was ejected for the third time this season after lobbing the ball at an official. AFP

PERPETUAL Help turned back defending champion College of St. Benilde, 2325, 25-22, 25-22, 23-25, 159, to complete a nine-game elimination round sweep and clinch an automatic finals berth in the men’s division of the 93rd NCAA volleyball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan City Tuesday.

Joebert Almodiel unleashed a match-best 23

points including 21 off attacks while Ridzuan Muhali, team captain Rey Taneo, John Patrick Ramos and Ronniel Rosales chipped in 14, 13 and 11 points, respectively, to power the Altas to a pristine 9-0 (win-loss) record and straight to the best-ofthree finale.

“When we lost the first set, I just told them to play with pride and I’m happy

that they responded,” said Perpetual Help coach Sammy Acaylar.

The Las Pinas-based spikers await their finals foe as Arellano University, San Beda and CSB, which finished second to fourth place with 8-1, 7-2 and 6-3 records, claw at each other in the stepladder semifinals.

San Beda and CSB tackle each other in the first semis

tomorrow in a knockout duel with the winner battling AU on Tuesday in another do-or-die showdown for the right to clinch the last seal to the finals against Perpetual Help.

The Altas, who last won two seasons ago, will be gunning for their 11th men’s title including a five-peat feat from 198589 and a four-peat from 2011-13.

in the circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc., blew an impressive 33 start with a harrowing backside stint marred by a triple bogey, a double bogey and three bogeys against a lone birdie. Her closing 43 instead dropped her to joint 17th at 76, eight shots off the pace.

Hwang, eyeing a follow-up to her 2015 LPGT feat where she humbled the likes of Superal and Rodriguez at Mt. Malarayat, shook off an early struggle with birdies on Nos. 10 and 11 then after a three-par run, she birdied the par3 15th then added another on the par-5 next hole to cap a closing 32.

LOTTO RESULTS

6/49 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ 6/42 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ 6 DIGITS 00-00-00-00-00-00 3 DIGITS 00-00-00 2 EZ2 00-00

Sports

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

A8

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2018

Phoenix’s JC Intal rams into TNT’s Norbert Torres in a PBA Philippine Cup game won by the Fuel Masters, 74-72, at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Phoenix stuns KaTropa

By Jeric Lopez

D

OUG Kramer connected on a go-ahead floater with three seconds left to allow Phoenix to steal a 74-72 nail-biter over TNT KaTropa as the Fuel Masters got back to the win column in the 2018 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City last night.

The game was tied at 72-all when Matthew Wright pitched a perfect pass to a cutting Kramer, who converted on the short stab to give the Fuel Masters a 74-72 lead, which stood out to be the final tally.

3 squads eye 2nd wins in football Matches today:

(Rizal Memorial Stadium) 9 a.m. – AdU vs UST (Men) 2 p.m. – UP vs UE (Men) 4 p.m. – FEU vs DLSU (Men) 6:30 p.m. – FEU vs DLSZ (Jrs Finals)

THREE teams seek to maintain their place on top of the table today in the UAAP Season 80 men’s football tournament at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

University of the Philippines and University of the East, both needing late second half goals to prevail in their respective season openers, vie for second victory at 2 p.m.

Also aiming for maximum points is University of Santo Tomas, which plays Adamson University at 9 a.m.

De La Salle and Far Eastern University clash to cap a three-match bill at 4 p.m.

The afternoon fixtures will be aired live on S+A 23.

The one-game juniors championship between eightpeat seeking FEU-Diliman and De La Salle-Zobel in a rematch of last season’s Finals, meanwhile, is set at 6:30 p.m.

The Fighting Maroons, the Red Warriors and the Growling Tigers are level with three points following last Sunday’s conquests.

UP turned to JB Borlongan to beat defending champion Ateneo, 1-0, while Jasper Absalon powered UE to a 1-0 win over National University.

UST posted the most lopsided victory, as the Tigers drew a hat-trick from Marvin Bricenio in a 4-0 rout of the shorthanded Tamaraws.

The last two teams to open the season, the Green Archers and the Falcons, who failed to make it to the Final Four last year, hope to rebound and make an impact this time.

Still with a chance, the Tropang Texters went to Kelly Williams in the final play and he almost sent the game into overtime as his leaner almost found its mark before rimming way out, allowing Phoenix to escape with the win.

Wright led Phoenix with 16 points and five rebounds, while getting bench support from Jeff Chan and Gelo Alolino, who chipped in 11 and 10 markers, respectively.

The two teams are now tied in the middle of the pack on identical 4-4 slates with three games to go for both.

TNT was actually in a good position to win as it held a 67-62 edge with over six minutes to go.

But Phoenix stood its ground and gave itself a chance before finishing the game with a 5-0 run to steal the victory away from TNT KaTropa.

Early in the fourth, TNT for-

However, Phoenix clawed its way back slowly but surely in the second half to put itself in a winning position in the endgame.

Anthony Semerad led TNT with his team-high 12 points.

The scores: PHOENIX 74—Wright 16, Chan 11, Alolino 10, Perkins 8, Kramer 8, Wilson 8, Jazul 5, Chua 4, Mendoza 4, Dehesa 0, Cortes 0, Eriobu 0, Intal 0, Revilla 0.

TNT 72—Semerad 12, Pogoy 10, Castro 9, Tautuaa 9, Williams 8, Tamsi 5, Reyes 5, Carey 4, Rosario 4, Garcia 3, Torres 3.

Quarters: 20-24, 30-40, 5661, 74-72.

ward Troy Rosario fell hard on his chin after a rebounding sequence. The nasty fall caused Rosario to stay on the ground for an extended period after hitting his head hard.

He stayed conscious before eventually being taken out on a stretcher following the play.

The Tropang Texters were actually the ones who had a grip on the contest for most part as they were able to create a significant distance early on.

A 13-2 blast midway in the second period gave TNT KaTropa a sizeable 37-24 cushion with less than three minutes left before halftime.

Ababa tries to extend winning streak at TCC Invitational WITH two PGT Asia victories, Jhonnel Ababa is looking not just to contend but win the rich The Country Club Invitational when the P5 million event is fired off Feb. 14 at the TCC course in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

The former national amateur hotshot snapped a three-year title spell with an emphatic sevenstroke victory at ICTSI Eagle Ridge Invitational over Elmer Salvador then edged Aussie Andrew Campbell by two at ICTSI Pradera Verde Classic last month.

“I feel good. I’m so confident and my game is clicking – driving, iron, putting,” said Ababa, after sweeping the sixth and seventh legs of the inaugural PGT Asia and becoming the first player to score a “double” in the inaugural season of the region’s newest circuit sponsored by ICTSI.

Five players split the first five PGT Asia legs late last year with Miguel Tabuena ruling the Aboitiz Invitational at Southwoods, Rene Menor snaring the Splendido crown in a fivehole playoff with Thai Pasavee Lertvilai, Clyde Mondilla reigning at Riviera, Tony Lascuña topping the Wack Wack and Justin Quiban scoring a breakthrough at the Central Azucarera de Tarlac Open at Luisita.

But Ababa opened the new season with those twin wins, easily making him the marked player in the upcoming TCC Invitational put up by ICTSI president/chairman Ricky Razon in 2003 to honor the memory of his father and ICTSI founder Don Pocholo Razon, himself an avid golfer.

Ababa, however, will need more than form and confidence when he slugs

it out with cream of the country’s pro crop with the dreaded, wind-raked TCC layout also expected to bring out the best – and the worst – from the elite 30-player field featuring the top 30 players in last year’s Philippine Golf Tour Order of Merit ranking and past TCC champions.

Ababa’s best finish in the annual event, organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc., was third in 2014 and he finished tied for fifth in last year’s resumption of the event which was shelved for two years to give way to the refurbishment of the world-class TCC layout.

Tabuena, who nipped three-time champion Juvic Pagunsan by one last year to nail his first TCC crown, has confirmed his participation in the 72-hole championship with the Rio Olympics veteran also coming into the event in top form with strong fin-

Jhonnel Ababa swept the sixth and seventh legs of the inaugural PGT Asia and became the first player to score a “double” in the inaugural season of the region’s newest circuit sponsored by ICTSI.

ishes in the Singapore Open and Maybank Open in Malaysia.

Lascuña, winner in 2004, is also raring to snap a long spell in the event along with fellow former champions Artemio Mu-

rakami (2009) and Frankie Miñoza (2013) and reigning OOM winner Clyde Mondilla, Zanieboy Gialon, Jay Bayron, Rene Menor, Michael Bibat and Elmer Salvador.

FEU Baby Tamaraws clinch semis berth; Bullpups secure no. 2 spot TWO veterans, LJ Gonzales and Daniel Celzo, stepped it up in the last three minutes, and helped lift the defending champion Far Eastern University-Diliman Baby Tamaraws to a 65-56 stopping of the University of the Philippines Integrated School Junior Maroons.

Their big plays down the stretch allowed the Baby Tams to secure the third semifinal slot yesterday in the 80th University Athletic Association of the Philippines junior basketball tournament.

Gonzales went on to finish with 21 points, while Celzo made only 10 points but hauled 11 rebounds when action ended at the Blue Eagle gym in Quezon City.

Already out contention, the Junior Maroons gave the Baby Tams quite a

Allan Albano. scare when they rallied Games Sunday The Baby Tams have from 8 points down at (at the Blue Eagle gym) improved record to 7-5, the end of the third and 9 a.m. UPIS vs UE into a 51-all deadlock 11 a.m. Adamson vs La Salle Zobel leaving the Adamson 1 p.m. FEU vs UST Baby Falcons and the off John Allan Grego3 p.m. Ateneo vs NU University of Santo Torio’s drive. mas to fight it out for a A split charity and a driving shot from Gonzales in the last semifinal berth.

Winderlich Coyoca banged in14 3:46 put the Baby Tams in front, 54-51.

After the Baby Tams stayed within points, while Michael Malonzo added 13 range off Ralph Labao’s penetration shot, for the Nazareth School-National UniCelzo struck anew with a putback off La- versity Bullpups, who waylaid the Baby bao and Gonzales knocked in a basket in Falcons, 73-62.

The Bullpups are now sure of the no. 2 the last 2:25, giving FEU a 58-53 spread.

A trey from Xyrus Torres in the final seat with their 10-2 slate.

The Baby Falcons, with Jose Sabandal 2:01 allowed FEU to nurse a 61-53 edge firing 22 points, are to fight for the last in the ensuing play.

“We just had to be consistent. As for LJ, semis berth with the University of Santo he had less turnovers today. With Celzo, he Tomas Tiger Cubs, who share the same worked on his rebounds,” said FEU coach slate with the Adamson Juniors.

The Scores: FIRST GAME NU 73—Coyoca 14, Malonzo 13, Amsali 11, Minerva 11, Oczon 8, Gonzales 6, Fortea 4, Javillonar 4, Manalang 2, Pangilinan 0, Pradella 0 ADAMSON 62—Sabandal 22, Doria Ad 14, Doria An 10, Canoy 6, Manlapaz 4, Hanapi 2, Santos 2, Prodigo 2, Engbino 0, Padilla 0 QUARTER SCORES: 14-13, 35-24, 53-45, 73-62 SECOND GAME FEU-DILIMAN 65—Gonzales 21, Celzo 10, Torres 9, Tolentino 8, Bautista 5, Alforque 4, Abarrientos 2, Ona 2, Boc 2, Armendez 2, Sajonia 0, Mariano 0 UPIS 56—Santiago 17, Labao Ral 14, Gregorio 12, Tupaz 8, Vergeire 3, Labao Raf 2, Estrera 0, Gomez de Liano 0, Villa-real 0 QUARTER SCORES: 16-14, 31-24, 49-41, 65-56 Peter Atencio

‘PH netters can beat Thais in Davis Cup’

By Peter Atencio THE Philippines will have a good chance of beating Thailand in their next encounter in the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group 2 tie.

The matches will be played on home soil and Team Philippines will be able to choose the playing surface that will suit them.

National coach Chris Cuarto said this a few days after the Philippines pulled off a 4-1 win over Indonesia in the first round at the Gelora Bung Karno Tennis Stadium Complex in Jakarta, Indonesia.

In the second round against Thailand, Cuarto said the Thais will be fielding a young team during their encounter slated on April 6 and 7.

“We have good chances, specially now that we are playing it at home,” said Cuarto.

The Philippines leads their head-to-head confrontation with Thailand at 4-3.

Last year, the Philippines took the tie with a 5-0 verdict in Nonthaburi, Thailand.

Last weekend, newcomer John Otico wrapped up the Philippines’ campaign with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Anthony Susanto in the fifth rubber match.

On the other hand, the Thais pulled off a 3-2 beating of Pakistan to arrange a showdown with the Philippines.

They are expected to field in two of their best netters in Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul and Kittiphong Wachiramanowong.

Trongcharoenchaikil is ranked 457 in the world in the singles, while Wachiramanowong is ranked at 1282.

Meanwhile, Otico’s two-set triumph provided the Filipinos a 4-1 win over Indonesia in the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group 2 tie.

Preparation for National Games starts R E P R E S E N TAT I V E S from the Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Health, Department of National Defense, Philippine National Police, Public Communications Operations Office, Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Department of Education met with the Executive Board of the Philippine Sports Commission yesterday and discussed preparations for the Philippine National Games.

PSC Chairman William Ramirez expressed his gratitude to officers in attendance and told everyone that the “PSC is a small agency with a huge task.

We can only do this successfully with your help.”

The Philippine National Games, considered the national Olympics, shall see almost 9,000 participants from 115 local government units from all over the country when it is held May 19 to 25 in Cebu.

The PNG was initially scheduled in December with 5 areas in Cebu to serve as clusters for the different events.

Ramirez cited the “security, comfort and health of all participants as prime concerns that we want to ensure are covered.”

Commissioner Ramon Fernandez, the oversight official for Visayas region, seconded Ramirez, saying “ we are happy that we can all come together for sports.”

Deputy Director General Angelo Villar of the Philippine Information Agency expressed his agency’s support and contributed ideas as to the communication and promotions plan for the event. Representatives of the other agencies followed suit, each expressing their support and suggesting actions their agencies can do for the event.

Globe bares tighter rules vs load theft B2

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2018

B

PLDT gives up P3-b 3G frequency IN BRIEF

Cagayan Zone viewed as ‘fintech’ hub

TOKYO –The Cagayan Economic Zone Authority, technology company Iwave Inc. and publicly listed Traders Holdings (Japan) signed a milestone memorandum of understanding to develop the first Asian special economic zone in Cagayan to regulate, license and propagate financial technology companies from around the world.

The agreement also plans to promote Cagayan Special Economic Zone as the premier hub for the development of these financial technologies. The aim is to turn Cagayan Valley into the Asian version of ‘Silicon Valley’ by providing an unparalleled ‘technological’ environment.

This environment will combine nature’s serene beauty―in this case Cagayan’s surrounding Sierra Madre mountains and some of the world’s finest beaches―with wide bandwidth submarine cable landing points that are soon to be completed to ensure that the Special Economic Zone is firmly connected to the rest of the world, according to Ceza.

“This is a planned, calibrated development, which would be in stark contrast to the large unmitigated growth of Asian cities with their huge traffic and unproductive environments,” said Ceza administrator and chief executive Raul Lambino.

By Darwin G. Amojelar

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LDT Inc. said Wednesday it is waiving its rights over unused 3G frequency which was earlier valued at P3 billion, after President Rodrigo Duterte rejected the company’s compensation claims.

The government wanted to give unused telecom frequencies to a third player in the industry. President Duterte warned the existing telecom players― PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom―against pursuing their claims over these unused frequencies or they

would be subjected to a more stringent tax evaluation by the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

PLDT Inc. chairman and chief executive Manuel Pangilinan said the company was now ready to surrender the frequency previously assigned to unit

Connectivity Unlimited Resources Enterprises Inc. even without proper compensation.

“We actually have returned the Cure frequency to the NTC [National Telecommunications Commission] in 2011, I believe.

What we are entitled to basically is reimbursement of our cost to acquire such frequency as part of our investment in Digitel Celluar then,” Pangilinan said in a text message.

“We are now prepared to waive our rights to such reimbursement. Effectively, we have returned the Cure frequency for free,” he said.

The NTC earlier estimated the cost recovery of the Cure 3G frequency at P3 billion, including PLDT’s investment in Cure and payment of regulator fees.

Smart bought Cure for P419.54 million from the group of former trade minister Roberto Ongpin in 2008. The divestment of Cure’s 10 megahertz 3G frequency was one of the conditions set by the NTC in approving the acquisition of Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc. Cure’s 3G frequency will be assigned to the new third telco player on top of the

BCDA to build 40-story tower in Fort Bonifacio

STATE-RUN Bases Conversion and Development Authority tapped Arup and Henning Larsen Architects to design the 40-story Icone Tower that will rise in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.

BCDA said the detailed architectural design, signed in Hong Kong, would create a new iconic tower concept to pay tribute to Filipino soldiers.

“We are proud and excited to sign the contract for this iconic project.

In a few years, we will stand by the foot of this tower that celebrates the people of the Philippines. It is envisioned to be a symbol of humanity and the Filipino culture,” said Henning Larsen design director in Hong Kong Claus Bøjer Godefroy.

The 40-story structure will host areas dedicated to the Filipino troops, public plaza that promotes engagement, exhibition and conference spaces, a rooftop observatory, dining facilities and a new corporate office for BCDA. The project will be designed out of Henning Larsen’s Hong Kong office led by design director Claude Bøjer Godefroy and managing director Elva Tang, with Arup providing total engineering services from Hong Kong and Manila offices. Othel V. Campos

Foreign banks allowed to invest in BSP facilities

THE Monetary Board, the policymaking body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, eased the guidelines prohibiting the placement of funds from non-residents in the term deposit and overnight deposit facilities.

Bangko Sentral Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. signed a circular maintaining that all eligible banks should not place in the TDF and in the ODF facilities funds obtained, directly or indirectly, from non-residents.

The circular, however, stated that funds inwardly remitted by a foreign bank “intended as capital of its branch or subsidiary in the Philippines” should now be eligible for placement in the TDF and the ODF of the Bangko Sentral. “ The TDF and ODF are monetary instruments deployed by the Bangko Sentral for the purpose of managing domestic liquidity in the financial system.

“These facilities should not be made available for opportunistic investment activities funded from non-resident sources,” the Monetary Board said.

“In the case of funds inwardly remitted by a foreign bank intended as capital of its branch or subsidiary in the Philippines, the same funds shall be eligible to be accepted in the TDF and the ODF of the Bangko Sentral,” it said. Julito G. Rada

with a performance bond.

The potential candidates for the third player should invest at least P250 billion to P300 billion over five years to compete with the existing players.

The third player should have a valid congressional telecommunications franchise and should not be a subsidiary of or affiliate of either Globe and PLDT Group.

Among the applicants are Mel Velarde’s Now Telecom, PT&T and Converge ICT Solutions Inc. These companies are expected to team up with foreign players to fund the investment.

Ayala poised to bag distributorship of Kia

By Jenniffer B. Austria

BSP seen hiking interest rates 3 times this year

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is now expected to adjust the benchmark interest rates this year as inflation rate threatens to breach the upper limit of the government’s target range of 2 percent to 4 percent, ING Bank Manila senior economist Joey Cuyegkeng said Wednesday.

Cuyegkeng said in a forum held at Makati Shangrila Hotel the Dutch bank revised its earlier forecast of two rate hikes to three hikes this year, on higher inflation environment.

“Inflation may average at the upper end of the target range [of 2 percent to 4 percent] this year... Possibly higher than 4 percent,” he said.

Inflation in January accelerated to three-year high of 4 percent from 3.3 percent in December 2017, driven by higher oil and food prices and the first-round impact of the implementation of Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law.

Cuyegkeng said the upside surprise would lead to adjustments to inflation expectations. “We are reviewing our 2018 average inflation forecast of 3.7 percent for an upward revision likely to be at least at the top end of BSP’s inflation target range of 2 percent to 4 percent. Second-round effects are still to be determined by regulators,” Cuyegkeng said.

Julito G. Rada

other frequencies held by NTC. Other available frequency bands for the new player are 700 MHz, 800 Mhz, 2100 Mhz, 2500 Mhz and 3400-3500 Mhz. The Department of Information and Communications Technology said it expected to announce the new major telco player by end of March, paving the way for the rollout of its services by end of the year.

According to DICT guidelines, the applicant for a third player with the highest committed investment for the first five years will be selected and this commitment should be secured

MIRIAM BACKS EDC PROGRAM. Miriam College, a premier Filipino Catholic institution of learning, teams up with Energy Development Corp. in implementing a project to save and preserve endangered premium Philippine timber tree species. Sgning the memorandum of agreement are (from left) EDC senior manager Allan Barcena, EDC vice president Ricky Carandang, Miriam College Dr. Rosario Lapus and Maryknoll College Class of 1972 chairperson Ma. Monserrat Oliva-Valencia.

CONGLOMERATE Ayala Corp. said it was chosen as the “preferred bidder” for Kia distributorship in the Philippines, a deal that could expand its automotive portfolio.

Ayala Corp. said in a disclosure to the stock exchange wholly-owned subsidiary AC Industrial Technology Holdings Inc., through one of its group companies, received a notice from Kia Motors Asia’s regional headquarters that it had considered the Ayala group as “the preferred bidder” to start negotiations for the Kia distributorship in the Philippines.

“However, no definitive terms have been reached and we will make the appropriate disclosure of any agreement reached,” Ayala Corp. said.

The deal, once finalized, will enable the conglomerate to expand its automotive distribution business which currently includes Honda, Isuzu, Volkswagen and KTM motorcycles.

Kia cars in the Philippines are currently assembled and distributed by Columbian Autocar Corp. of businessman Jose Alvarez.

Latest sales data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. showed that Columbian Autocar sold 5,186 units in 2017, down 29 percent from 7,304 units sold in 2016. It accounted for 1.22 percent of the total vehicles sales in 2017.

Ortigas investing P50b to redevelop 16-hectare property in Pasig NGCP ORTIGAS & Co Inc., a partnership of the Ayala, Sy and Ortigas groups, earmarked P50 billion to redevelop a 16-hectare property within the Ortigas central business district in Pasig City.

Ortigas & Co said the redevelopment of Ortigas East, formerly known as Frontera Verde, would transform the mixed-use development into the new residential, retail and business hub in the eastern part of Metro Manila.

“Ortigas East moves us another step closer to our

goal of fully realizing the potential of our 52-hectare landbank. We started with Greenhills last year, and now, it’s Ortigas East. We are building this as an ecoefficient, connected community filled with the comforts that will allow people to live and move better inside a well-planned estate,” Ortigas & Company president and chief executive Jaime Ysmael said.

Under the plan, Ortigas East is set to redefine mixed-use developments through the advanced planning and design for the

property.

Ysmael said to achieve the vision of an eco-efficient, connected community, Ortigas teamed up with world-renowned firms such as Callison RTKL which worked on the masterplanning, WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff for traffic analysis, AIT Wind Solutions for wind analysis on the buildings and Langan for seismic analysis.

The first phase of the redevelopment will bring new residential, retail and office developments in Ortigas East.

Ortigas is set to launch Glaston Tower, a 34-story structure being positioned as the metro’s new prime business address catering to both local and multinational businesses.

The property firm also plans an improved road network inside Ortigas East to provide more space for people to walk and bike in.

It said at least 40 percent of the estate’s total space would be allotted for open parks and areas to provide balance amid the tall structures.

Ortigas & Company said

it would also put up a transport terminal to help people get in and around the property and the surrounding areas.

Aside from Oritgas East, Ortigas & Co’s real estate portfolio includes Greenhills Shopping Center, Ortigas Center, Capitol Commons and Tiendesitas.

Meanwhile, two members of the Ortigas clan are trying to recover their rightful share of inheritance from their grandmother, the late Remedios Miranda de Ortigas.

Jenniffer B. Austria

San Miguel allots P700b for expansion until 2022 CONGLOMERATE San Miguel Corp. said it allocated P700 billion in capital expenditures from 2015 to 2022 to fund the expansion of its brewery, food, power and infrastructure businesses.

San Miguel chief finance officer Ferdinand Constantino said in an interview the amount would be on top of the planned P700-billion airport project in Bulacan, which was under review by the Duterte administration.

Constantino did not say how much the group spent so far out of the P700 billion, but said the balance would be allotted for the construction of two brewery plants, expansion of its food business and construction of infrastructure and power plant projects.

Constantino said the company planned to put up a new brewery in Mind-

anao and another in Southern Luzon which could increase the company’s beer production by 15 percent.

He said for the food business, San Miguel would spend P60 billion over the next three years to expand poultry, processed meat and flour milling businesses.

Constantino said the company was also completing the second 300-megawatt power plant in Limay while the construction of several infrastructure projects such as the Metro Rail Transit Line 7, Skyway connector road, Boracay Airport expansion and Bulacan bulk water project were ongoing.

Constantino said he expected the amended tax reform program of the government to have a minimal impact on the company’s business.

Jenniffer B. Austria

SHELL’S SOLAR DONATION. Shell, a global leader in power, energy and gas technology, teams up with Liter of Light to donate solar-powered house lights to around 100 Dumagat families living within the Angat Dam area in Bulacan. The campaign forms part of the company’s “Less Waste, More Light” advocacy. Shown is Salvador Cruz (center), one of the project’s beneficiaries who is also the leader of the Dumagat tribe in Bulacan, while receiving a solar-powered house light from Silvana Diaz (third from right) of Liter of Light. With them are (from left) Shell digital marketing manager Aldwin Angeles, payment and loyalty manager Lorrie Ramirez, convenience retail manager Millicent Ngo, social investment manager Sankie Simbulan and external relations manager for brand Karla Zarate.

pushing broadband program

NATIONAL Grid Corporation of the Philippines said it is willing to let the government use its transmission networks for the development of the National Broadband Program.

“We would like to reiterate our support of the NBP and we are ready to sit down and sign a bilateral agreement with the DICT for the use by government of NGCP’s fiber optic network,” NGCP said in an open letter to President Rodrigo Duterte.

NGCP said it was supportive of the administration’s initiatives toward the use of the dark fiber inherent to the transmission network for the development of the NBP. The Department of Information and Communications Technology and NGCP met in May 2017 to discuss dark fiber network and how this could potentially be used to support the NBP. Representatives of the DICT, upon NGCP’s invitation, visited NGCP’s Dasmariñas substation to inspect the fiber optic cables embedded in the transmission system.

NGCP also drafted and sent to the DICT a memorandum of understanding to provide the protocol for the inspection and use of its facilities.

Darwin G. Amojelar

B2

Business

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2018 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Ayala’s IMI allocates $75m for 2018 capex

By Jenniffer B. Austria INTEGRATED MicroElectronics Inc., a unit of conglomerate Ayala Corp., plans to invest $75 million in 2018, up 14.8 percent from $65.3 million in actual spending in 2017, mainly to support the expansion of its Philippine and overseas operations.

IMI said in a recent filing it would spend P2.39 billion to purchase additional machineries and equipment and P600 million to build a new manufacturing plant in Serbia, buildings and facilities and other factory improvements in Bulgaria, the Philippines and the Czech Republic.

It is allotting another P180 million for costs associated with the maintenance of plant and other facilities, and P300 million for investments in IT infrastructure.

Spending for this year’s capital expenditures will mainly come from a planned P5-billion stock rights offering.

IMI plans to use up to P1.49 billion from the rights offering to settle short term obligations with several financial institutions.

Meanwhile, IMI reported a net income of $34 million in 2017, up 21 percent from 2016, while revenues registered a record high of $$1.09 billion, an increase of 29 percent from the 2016 level.

Market bounces back; Bloomberry, URC gain

T

he stock market rebounded Wednesday on bargain hunting, taking a cue from a surge in Wall Street overnight.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index gained 117.14 points, or 1.4 percent, to 8,667.56 on a value turnover of P9.1 billion. Gainers overwhelmed losers, 127 to 82, with 47 issues unchanged.

Casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp. advanced 5.8 percent to P12.80, while Universal

Robina Corp., the biggest snack food maker, climbed 5.7 percent to P165.80.

Major property developer Ayala Land Inc. rose 2.7 percent to P45.20, while parent Ayala Corp. increased 2.9 percent to P1,034. Now Corp. gained 4.1 percent to P6.83. Now has expressed interest to bid for the third telecommu-

nications slot to challenge the duopoly PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. A rebound across Asian markets, meanwhile, ran out of steam Wednesday, with most falling back into the red and extending the previous day’s hammering.

Traders had started the day on a bright note as they took their lead from a surge on Wall Street and ate into Tuesday’s deep losses.

The gains, which saw Tokyo and Hong Kong jump sharply, came as analysts said they had expected a

pullback following months of rises that sent world markets to record or multi-year highs.

However, as the day wore on selling began to kick in. By the end of the day Tokyo had added just 0.2 percent—having opened almost three percent up— while Shanghai lost 1.8 percent and Seoul plunged 2.3 percent.

Singapore was down 0.6 percent and Hong Kong shed 0.5 percent in the afternoon, extending a more than five percent loss in

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 3.48 176,000 59.5 29,410 119.5 1,707,990 3.67 2,000 153 3,221,450 1.85 209,000 35.8 171,000 15.4 2,500 28.15 1,227,300 9.19 57,300 1.67 9,000 0.55 950,000 97.2 2,708,680 1.46 10,439,000 13.08 500 57.3 165,820 238 8,940 103 1,460 87 3,140 49 322,400 246 303,970 1,895 150 90.75 25,430

601,750 1,744,115 204,329,683 7,340 489,536,322 386,900 6,091,910 38,360 34,682,300 504,665 15,010 508,040 263,932,824.50 15,656,150 6,578 9,459,201.50 2,127,518 151,140 273,180 15,795,370 74,770,822 284,625 2,294,693

826,745 -63,233,551 -104,720,067 1,262,065.00 10,695,610 -48,803,731.50 -308,010 -3,224,288 1,904,000 8,638,570 947,670 47,375 1,391,542

39.95 12.76 0.61 1.29 19.28 0.213 113.6 4.18 14.9 189 48.9 18.8 62.5 56.7 1.87 5.35 10.68 11.3 14.7 11.48 7.53 5.62 1.7 15.64 62.45 28.5 10.1 20.3 1.75 288 50.5 4.09 3.16 27.4 17.88 20.8 319 0.191 8.4 2.83 4.82 9.3 6.05 8.13 1.59 12.4 59.9 5.91 610 4.85 3.64 1.56 15.3 5.35 1.08 159 2.79 1.9 24.1 0.87

INDUSTRIAL 40.4 646,800 12.82 1,312,300 0.62 344,000 1.3 699,000 19.6 94,600 0.215 4,490,000 113.6 230 4.19 4,086,000 15.2 1,572,900 189 30 49.5 651,100 18.8 400 62.8 200,300 56.7 10 1.89 551,000 5.35 5,500 11 140,200 11.4 2,962,600 14.86 255,600 11.78 1,073,800 7.6 721,500 5.65 16,282,500 1.71 14,000 16 528,300 62.95 345,300 30 333,800 10.22 36,600 20.8 3,173,500 1.77 1,678,000 293.2 582,230 57.45 2,420 4.14 314,000 3.16 3,000 27.4 1,556,600 18 87,900 21.45 2,996,200 327 308,060 0.195 780,000 8.4 53,700 2.84 16,019,000 4.91 167,000 9.35 3,056,900 6.2 62,500 8.13 1,400 1.61 723,000 12.54 117,700 60 721,040 5.91 53,500 610.5 26,980 4.9 62,000 3.65 8,000 1.57 962,000 15.62 957,000 5.38 102,600 1.1 274,000 165.8 1,210,460 2.89 30,000 1.94 9,475,000 24.1 400 0.97 33,776,000

26,035,215 16,820,678 213,600 906,210 1,876,029 964,390 26,128 17,182,300 23,870,476 5,670 32,547,495 7,520 12,519,046 567 1,034,480 29,425 1,557,418 34,152,930 3,784,200 12,550,574 5,488,737 91,975,389 23,930 8,406,068 21,724,915.50 9,883,155 372,774 65,997,685 2,982,890 170,664,024 137,322 1,294,910 9,650 42,739,690 1,578,506 63,709,845 100,716,554 151,610 451,843 45,670,620 812,330 28,844,614 386,700 11,407 1,162,540 1,467,022 43,261,540 316,668 16,518,385 302,220 29,170 1,522,000 14,894,248 552,137 300,490 196,860,937 85,120 18,376,600 10,080 34,138,360

232,195 1,019,194 -18,900 19,440 -4,143,820 1,103,520 910,710 -3,140 93,140 -12,720,384.00 1,496,886 -3,239,728 -1,521,922 14,420,545 3,581,020 9,698,085 32,770 163,200.00 -15,209,335 194,700 96,063,904 -249,000 10,137,060 1,122,830.00 32,553,455 26,736,360 -54,460 78,240.00 -7,507,534 12,700 -36,577,366 -3,184,835 292,500 -189,000 2,837,548 43,578 75,317,908 26,100 -301,370

0.31 73.95 16.02 0.95 6.96 0.65 0.65 1,040 7.55 14.3 7.46 1,340 7.3 74.8 5.26 5.38 0.74 5.55 23.5 0.335 6.38 0.04 1.2 2.68 149 2.59 1,020 1.66 279 0.25 0.181 0.192

0.295 72.1 15.46 0.94 6.96 0.55 0.57 1,011 7.41 13.98 7.4 1,310 7.16 73.3 5.25 5.38 0.7 5.45 22.35 0.31 6.27 0.039 1.1 2.58 145.3 2.58 973 1.61 277.4 0.235 0.18 0.19

HOLDING FIRMS 0.295 180,000 72.85 600,790 15.58 13,059,900 0.94 24,000 6.96 20,800 0.61 73,744,000 0.6 23,315,000 1,034 208,800 7.41 520,900 14.3 3,107,600 7.46 210,600 1,325 86,335 7.16 214,800 74.8 2,360,710 5.25 5,100 5.38 200 0.7 709,000 5.52 18,300 22.5 5,058,600 0.335 70,000 6.35 16,313,000 0.039 5,000,000 1.2 101,000 2.61 2,114,000 147.4 578,750 2.58 27,000 990 777,310 1.66 1,984,000 278.4 8,660 0.25 1,470,000 0.18 140,000 0.191 400,000

53,650 43,748,341 204,261,922 22,660 144,768 44,977,670 14,348,410 214,921,440 3,897,443 43,949,892 1,568,970 114,308,820 1,538,012 175,376,076 26,795 1,076 507,050 101,223 113,946,850 21,950 103,322,258 196,600 114,340 5,578,320 85,437,038 69,710 772,462,067.50 3,207,350 2,409,024 348,300 25,220 76,350

-19,098,924 26,538,158 -210,120 -7,864,465 1,726,642 9,241,930 22,278,715 -37,100,598 -22,616 -61,558,265 -25,994,270 292,800 -149,880 -487,035,267.50 88,550 386,678 -

6.45 0.93 19.2 2.14 0.94 45.2 3.74 4.74 5.87 0.46 1.11 1.14 0.244 0.435 39 0.64 0.138 1.85 1.35 0.78 5.01 0.32 0.33 0.54 4.29 41 21 2

6.3 0.91 16.42 2.12 0.88 44.15 3.6 4.62 5.75 0.455 1.08 1.1 0.236 0.43 37.2 0.63 0.137 1.8 1.34 0.76 4.95 0.305 0.33 0.52 4.2 37.85 20.7 1.95

6,374,188 2,405,110 3,565,968 170,390 4,059,370 658,871,125 881,520 3,381,620 559,911 6,811,000 438,330 94,060 2,785,140 260,000 13,704,380 634,590 70,250 15,003,540 1,861,130 33,460 137,363,190 12,995,200 198,000 2,066,880 2,929,760 398,890 47,100,970 1,528,120

-2,249,312 7,280 9,110 -334,530 62,874,240 80,350 2,235,730 105,966.00 -925,000 -23,800 43,000 22,945 -557,440 618,270 62,325,100 90,900 16,500 -208,300 101,200 25,375,210 373,130

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

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

3.53 58.1 120 3.67 150.5 1.91 35.5 15.3 27.8 9 1.67 0.55 99 1.42 13.26 57.7 238 104 87 49 247 1,900 90.9

3.57 59.5 120 3.67 153 1.91 35.85 15.4 28.55 9.5 1.67 0.56 99.2 1.58 13.28 57.8 238 104 87 49.95 248.8 1,900 90.9

3.24 58.1 119.1 3.67 149.9 1.83 35.45 15.3 27.8 8.52 1.66 0.53 97 1.42 13.08 56.85 237.4 103 87 48.75 242 1,895 89

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

40 12.84 0.63 1.3 21.75 0.214 113.6 4.23 14.9 189 49 18.8 64.3 56.7 1.89 5.35 11.26 11.54 14.7 11.48 7.53 5.62 1.7 15.94 62.5 28.5 10.2 20.9 1.81 290 57.5 4.12 3.33 27.5 17.9 20.8 319 0.192 8.5 2.84 4.85 9.6 6.05 8.29 1.61 12.4 60 6.05 612 4.85 3.65 1.6 15.3 5.4 1.09 160 2.96 1.91 26.3 0.87

40.45 12.86 0.63 1.31 21.75 0.22 113.6 4.3 15.44 189 50.9 18.8 64.3 56.7 1.9 5.35 11.26 11.78 14.86 11.84 7.7 5.65 1.71 16 63.1 30.3 10.22 21 1.81 294.6 57.5 4.2 3.33 27.95 18 21.5 329.8 0.202 8.5 2.9 4.91 9.62 6.35 8.29 1.62 12.58 60.2 6.05 620 4.9 3.65 1.6 15.7 5.4 1.13 165.8 2.96 1.98 26.3 1.11

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

0.295 73.95 15.52 0.94 6.96 0.55 0.57 1,030 7.54 14 7.4 1,320 7.16 73.5 5.26 5.38 0.73 5.55 23.05 0.31 6.35 0.04 1.13 2.58 145.5 2.59 1,015 1.63 278.4 0.24 0.181 0.191

8990 HLDG A BROWN ANCHOR LAND ARANETA PROP ARTHALAND CORP AYALA LAND BELLE CORP CEB LANDMASTERS CEBU HLDG CENTURY PROP CITY AND LAND CITYLAND DEVT CROWN EQUITIES CYBER BAY DOUBLEDRAGON EMPIRE EAST EVER GOTESCO FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE IRC PROP MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED PHIL ESTATES PHIL REALTY PRIMEX CORP PTFC REDEV CORP ROBINSONS LAND ROCKWELL

6.45 0.91 18.6 2.14 0.88 44.2 3.6 4.62 5.75 0.46 1.1 1.14 0.236 0.43 37.6 0.64 0.138 1.85 1.34 0.76 4.95 0.315 0.33 0.54 4.22 39.9 20.75 1.97

VOLUME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

SHANG PROP SM PRIME HLDG STA LUCIA LAND STARMALLS SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND

3.26 36.4 1.02 17.3 0.81 6.21

3.27 36.65 1.03 18.2 0.84 6.39

3.21 35.55 1.02 15.98 0.81 6.09

3.25 35.95 1.02 16.06 0.84 6.19

97,000 11,008,200 85,000 630,700 62,000 11,243,000

311,780 398,844,300 86,710 10,701,344 50,580 69,790,213

-121,478,810 -34,091,464

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

19.2 32.5 1.33 0.44 0.046 11.58 4.95 12.5 0.068 99.8 8.8 8.79 2.5 57 1,828 5.92 154 11.02 5.41 2.83 110 13.28 8.31 0.142 1.6 3.4 15.08 3.96 1.05 24.75 4.37 8.53 3.54 17.2 7 10.68 10.08 2.82 105.1 6.79 1,532 1.2 0.355 51.35 97.25 5.64 3.01 1.42 0.66 3.66 0.93 9.8

19.8 32.95 1.38 0.44 0.046 11.8 5 12.82 0.068 101 9.08 8.8 2.55 63.75 1,900 6 173.9 12.58 5.87 2.99 111.9 13.98 8.31 0.147 1.65 3.42 15.5 4.15 1.09 25.2 4.7 8.85 3.69 18.8 7.66 10.68 10.1 2.84 109 6.9 1,567 1.28 0.355 52.9 97.8 6.15 3.02 1.47 0.72 3.75 0.94 10.04

19 32.4 1.31 0.44 0.044 11.58 4.95 12.5 0.066 99.8 8.8 8.67 2.43 57 1,828 5.88 154 11.02 5.41 2.82 108 13.28 8.3 0.142 1.59 3.4 15 3.96 1.02 24.45 4.37 8.53 3.54 17.2 6.7 10.5 10.08 2.82 104.9 6.53 1,530 1.2 0.355 51.35 94.5 5.64 2.95 1.37 0.63 3.66 0.92 9.8

SERVICES 19.48 32.9 1.32 0.44 0.045 11.8 5 12.8 0.066 100.8 8.96 8.67 2.55 60 1,870 5.95 170 12.58 5.65 2.99 111 13.9 8.3 0.144 1.64 3.42 15 4.02 1.04 24.5 4.54 8.76 3.55 18.7 6.83 10.5 10.1 2.84 105 6.86 1,560 1.21 0.355 51.35 95 6 2.95 1.45 0.64 3.74 0.94 9.98

102,300 26,900 29,000 400,000 8,700,000 2,800 8,000 18,748,300 31,120,000 120,100 1,412,200 57,000 161,000 766,450 25,180 403,900 339,550 200 17,884,400 99,000 589,490 14,100 28,600 10,540,000 1,326,000 6,000 179,300 599,000 1,117,000 8,410,300 1,187,000 5,685,600 715,000 3,200 114,649,700 29,800 9,700 18,000 590,560 528,200 165,555 8,365,000 10,000 863,260 489,000 1,591,200 1,000,000 4,761,000 348,055,000 497,000 3,481,000 7,889,600

1,963,376 877,330 39,290 176,000 391,400 32,898 39,650 238,651,764 2,082,570 12,057,864 12,671,055 500,210 402,150 46,189,449.50 47,125,985 2,390,295 56,460,457 2,360 101,592,760 291,080 65,048,643 190,794 237,416 1,520,290 2,125,990 20,420 2,776,836 2,437,930 1,160,880 207,635,215 5,270,360 49,845,689 2,555,590 58,760 812,618,369 314,486 97,968 50,970 62,010,878 3,570,751 256,484,230 10,251,220 3,550 44,449,528 46,710,088.50 9,271,136 2,975,350 6,750,100 232,470,310 1,849,190 3,242,580 78,593,906

9,750 23,600 85,099,706 8,438,024 -151,930 203,090 926,641 16,012,940 1,557,204 1,239,376 -15,992,099 13,780 57,700.00 2,649,958 3,240 44,945,820 17,430 11,117,012 198,300 -2,795,752 2,100 10,100 -27,993,317 261,731 51,843,790 -1,993,630 -6,986,510.50 -7,256,219.50 -91,640 1,012,270 -1,808,540 18,550 98,580 16,620,392

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

0.0023 1.53 4.98 1.59 0.31 7.24 2.47 0.19 0.152 0.156 0.0093 1.55 6.45 1.4 0.95 0.013 0.012 0.011 2.33 6.63 8.32 36.55 0.0067

0.0023 1.57 5 1.61 0.32 7.47 2.55 0.199 0.153 0.16 0.0093 1.6 6.6 1.41 0.95 0.013 0.012 0.012 2.33 6.84 8.72 37.3 0.0069

0.0022 1.51 4.81 1.58 0.31 7.23 2.45 0.19 0.151 0.156 0.0092 1.51 6.45 1.35 0.9 0.012 0.012 0.011 2.12 6.63 8.32 36.5 0.0065

MINING & OIL 0.0023 82,000,000 1.52 6,501,000 4.81 403,000 1.6 1,450,000 0.32 340,000 7.26 12,200 2.5 2,192,000 0.191 730,000 0.151 15,910,000 0.16 80,000 0.0093 9,000,000 1.58 205,000 6.52 1,613,400 1.4 158,000 0.9 304,000 0.013 5,600,000 0.012 100,000 0.011 48,500,000 2.12 21,000 6.7 1,147,500 8.59 3,642,900 36.5 1,239,000 0.0068 11,000,000

181,900 9,975,930 2,012,480 2,311,210 107,550 88,831 5,479,100 139,140 2,415,760 12,600 83,500 316,400 10,579,620 214,060 273,950 70,100 1,200 556,400 46,170 7,734,529 31,109,050 45,398,730 73,500

4,400 -1,855,100 -39,750 70,080 4,844,099 -223,500 9,900 1,516,423 2,262,617 -24,898,385.00 -

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

32.5 511.5 518 108.9 104 107.9 111.5 522.5 5.76 1,006 1,015 101.5 1.03 108.4 1,000 105.5 1.96 76.5 81 76.3 76.85 77 78 78

32.5 511.5 518 108.9 104.3 107.9 111.5 522.5 5.83 1,007 1,015 101.5 1.04 108.4 1,002 105.5 1.96 76.5 81 76.3 77 77 78 78

32.5 511 515.5 107 104 107.9 111.5 522.5 5.76 1,005 1,009 101.5 1.03 108.4 1,000 105.4 1.96 76.5 80 76.3 76.85 77 78 78

PREFERRED 32.5 127,900 511 180 518 1,350 107 200 104 1,050 107.9 50 111.5 1,000 522.5 1,000 5.83 84,100 1,007 105 1,009 310 101.5 4,100 1.04 163,000 108.4 10 1,001 3,395 105.4 40 1.96 1,000 76.5 5,140 80 5,000 76.3 2,000 77 4,530 77 10,000 78 500 78 20

4,156,750 91,990 696,980 21,590 109,206 5,395 111,500 522,500 487,022 105,690 312,850 416,150 169,510 1,084 3,397,440 4,217 1,960 393,210 404,930 152,600 348,510 770,000 39,000 1,560

195,000 81,814 -393,210 -

LR WARRANT

2.39

2.49

2.31

WARRANTS 2.34 908,000

2,162,640

-

27,635,608 5,790 3,320,880 5,109,620

17,619 -31,500 -1,002,460

NAME

MS

PROPERTY 6.36 0.92 17.5 2.12 0.92 45.2 3.65 4.64 5.87 0.455 1.08 1.11 0.24 0.435 37.2 0.64 0.137 1.8 1.34 0.78 4.99 0.31 0.33 0.53 4.28 41 21 1.99

997,300 2,625,000 205,600 80,000 4,452,000 14,773,700 241,000 726,000 96,800 14,940,000 400,000 84,000 11,630,000 600,000 364,700 992,000 510,000 8,240,000 1,387,000 44,000 27,501,000 41,760,000 600,000 3,935,000 692,000 10,100 2,254,000 775,000

ITALPINAS MAKATI FINANCE PHILAB HLDG XURPAS

7.1 2.89 4.28 4.1

7.25 2.9 4.59 4.16

6.55 2.89 4.28 4.01

FIRST METRO ETF

131

132.1

131

USD DMPL A2 USD TECH B2

10.26 1.01

TRADING SUMMARY FINANCIAL

10.26 1.01

SHARES

23,284,575

INDUSTRIAL

127,810,221

HOLDING FIRMS

154,594,792

PROPERTY

172,042,422

SERVICES

605,319,878

MINING & OIL

193,324,494

GRAND TOTAL

1,282,432,266

10.26 1.01

6.59 2.9 4.38 4.05

SME

4,011,700 2,000 756,000 1,251,000

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 131.5 24,710 DDS 10.26 1.01

20,000 9,000

3,245,925 205,200 9,090

76,020 -

VALUE 2,212.47 (up) 32.55 1,305,942,209.20 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 11,757.26 (up) 243.68 1,363,770,212.828 HOLDING FIRMS 8,755.12 (up) 65.51 2,017,750,468.73 PROPERTY 3,912.43 (up) 52.83 SERVICES 1,714.65 (up) 28.89 1,715,603,763.42 MINING & OIL 11,653.78 (up) 144.40 2,520,607,233.40 PSEI 8,667.56 (up) 117.14 119,214,553.764 All Shares Index 5,086.08 (up) 58.17 9,082,261,117.01 Gainers: 127; Losers: 82; Unchanged: 47; Total: 256

Hong Kong Tuesday. Wellington, Mumbai and Kuala Lumpur also fell, though Sydney held up to close 0.8 percent higher while Taipei climbed 1.4 percent.

Asian trading floors were a sea of red Tuesday after a record one-day points drop on the Dow sparked panic selling, wiping billions from valuations on worries about rising US interest rates.

Profit-taking also played a big role in the retreat after the buying euphoria, fueled by optimism in the world economy and strong corporate earnings.

But while markets stutter, analysts remain upbeat.

“The pullback may be considered a healthy correction,” Candice Bangsund, a fund manager in Montreal at Fiera Capital, told Bloomberg News.

“The favorable conditions that have underpinned the stock market rally over the last year remain largely intact at this time—the global expansion continues and corporate earnings remain in acceleration mode.”

And Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at AxiTrader, said: “At the moment, the safe bet is that this was part of the socalled ‘sell-off we had to have’.”

With dealers looking to safer assets Wednesday the dollar resumed its falls against the yen, while it pared morning losses against higher-yielding currencies such as the Australian dollar, South Korean won and Thai baht.

Globe bares tighter rules vs load theft

By Darwin G. Amojelar GLOBE Telecom Inc. said it enforced tighter rules to protect customers against unscrupulous practices of some third-party value-added service providers resulting in prepaid load deduction.

“We want to assure our customers that we have clauses in our contracts with partner content providers which penalize those who resort to fraud. We are also implementing stricter opt-in guidelines to make our customers aware that they are signing up for VAS subscription which entails charges,” Globe general counsel Froilan Castelo said.

Unknown load deductions occur when customers click on an online advertisement link or button of VAS providers.

As a rule, customers should get a verification code via SMS on how to optin as well as another SMS for successful subscription and cancellation instructions.

However, there are instances when partners circumvent the rule, thus, automatically enrolling the customers without consent.

The theft happened to a prepaid customer who complained online about load reduction from a VAS provider, GotDeals Mobile Inc. GotDeals Mobile Inc. issued a public apology after a customer complained in social media about the alleged load theft.

Globe also reminded customers that upon receipt of any push text message with an access code, they could text HELP to verify the service status, then text STOP to discontinue the service if they want to.

extrastory2000@gmail.com

Ortigas tiff simmers; Balicasan’s woes DISCONTENT remains in the wealthy Ortigas clan. Members of the family are still waging a legal battle against each other over a property inheritance issue reminiscent of the once-popular US prime time television soap opera “Dallas.”

The riveting narrative of Dallas that aired on CBS channel from April 2, 1978, to May 3, 1991 revolved around the family feuds, machinations and scandals of the Ewing family, which owned an oil company and vast swath of lands used for cattle-ranching.

The Ortigases may not have an oil field and cattle ranches, but they do own immense expanse of prime Metro Manila real estate properties.

To the uninitiated, it is as if the Ortigas lands were boundless.

The saga of sisters Michelle and Francesca Litton Ortigas, two descendants of the ultrawealthy and old world money couple Francisco Ortigas Jr. and Remedios Miranda de Ortigas, started when their relatives left them out.

Michelle and Francesca claimed their relatives deprived them of their rightful share of inheritance from their grandparents. They feel they are being “robbed of their share of the inheritance” due their father, the late Jose Miranda Ortigas—one of the six children of Francisco and Remedios Ortigas.

Jose died in a car accident on May 2, 1977.

The Ortigas patriach Francisco and matriarch Remedios were among the largest shareholders of Ortigas and Co. Limited Partnership (OCLP). OCLP is a giant real estate firm with a portfolio that includes Greenhills Shopping Center, Ortigas Center, Tiendesitas, and other prime locations such as Frontera Verde, Valle Verde, and Greenmeadows.

In April 2013, the Litton-Ortigas sisters instituted an intestate case for administration of the estate of their late grandmother, who died in 2012 without leaving a valid will.

The case, now on its fifth year, remains pending with the San Juan City Regional Trial Court.

The sisters were trying to prevent of a repeat of what happened to the estate of their grandfather, where they were “deliberately left out” of the extrajudicial settlement.

Majority of the assets of their grandmother’s estate, including shares in OCLP, have been transferred to the other five heirs, namely Victoria Ortigas-Arando, Francisco “Paqui” Ortigas III, Eduardo Ortigas, Fernando “Nando” Ortigas and Remedios “Nenuca” Ortigas-Luzuriaga, the two said.

Michelle and Francesca cited a recurring pattern to deprive them of their rightful share as the legal heirs of their father, who was a legitimate child of Francisco Jr. and Remedios and “entitled to inherit just like his five surviving siblings.”

The Litton-Ortigas sisters accused their aunts and uncles of “falsifying a document to deprive them of a share in the inheritance of the estate of their grandfather, Francisco Jr.” When the Ortigas patriarch passed away in 2003, his five surviving children purportedly submitted to the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Registry of Deeds an extrajudicial settlement agreement to close the estate. But it did not include the Litton-Ortigas sisters.

Their non-inclusion prompted the sisters to ask their aunts and uncles for their share of the estate in 2006, or three years after their grandfather died.

During a meeting with their uncles Nando and Paqui in October 2007, the Litton-Ortigas sisters were told that they were excluded from the settlement because their grandfather was “broke” before he died.

After three years of negotiation,

an out-of-court settlement was reached in 2009 when the sisters reluctantly accepted the compromise.

The Litton-Ortigas sisters said it “strains credulity, based on what their uncles would like them to believe, that their grandparents were broke and relied on the generosity of their children to pay medical bills when they were still alive.”

“The fact is the wealth of their uncles and aunts enjoy today comes from what they were given and inherited from their parents,” the two said.

The sisters noted that in 2015, their uncles and aunts sold 39.65 percent of their shares in OCLP Holdings Inc. to the SM Group for P15.4 billion.

PCC misery Former National Economic and Development Authority directorgeneral Arsenio Balisacan will have a hard time convincing the corporate world about his and that of his agency’s pure intentions.

The findings of the Commission on Audit that he allegedly received unlawfully-granted incentives is casting doubt over his authority to head the Philippine Competition Commission as well as his moral ascendancy to lead aggressive, high-profile attacks against what he deems as “anti-competitive” behavior by corporations.

The CoA recently ordered Balisacan and other Neda officials to return to the government P73.64 million in employee incentives unlawfully granted from 2010 to 2012. In a six-page decision, the CoA directed its Prosecution and Litigation Office to forward the case to the Office of Ombudsman for investigation and the filing of appropriate charges.

CoA said Neda’s grant of the socalled cost economy measure award for personnel who propose timesaving measures was not reviewed by the Department of Budget.

“All told, the grant of CEMA is not clothed with authority, considering that it lacked review by the DBM and the eventual approval by the President. Hence, its disallowance is proper,” read the decision.

CoA also noted that Neda Office Circular No. 03-2005 did not even set the criteria for entitlement to the incentive.

Neda claimed it managed to meet or exceed its target accomplishment despite only having 64 percent of the manpower requirement, but CoA said it did not specify or quantify how manhours and costs were saved with sufficient evidence.

The payment of CEMA, according to a source, was not supported with a specific appropriation from the annual financial budget. Instead, the awards were generated from the savings, such as those from Neda’s maintenance and other operating expenses.

The realignment of MOOE to its personal services expenses in 2012 violated Section 56 of that year’s General Appropriations Act, which required the prior approval of the DBM. The violation could give rise to possible criminal or administrative liabilities which the Ombudsman could look into, CoA said.

Balicasan and the PCC are in a bind. He is heading a vital regulatory body that is supposed to “protect markets from anticompetitive behavior of firms and prohibit abuses of dominant position.” His task of creating a “level playing field” has become more arduous.

E-mail: rayenano@yahoo.com or extrastory2000@gmail.com

Business/World

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2018

Buildings searched after deadly quake H UALIEN, Taiwan― Rescue workers pulled survivors and bodies from buildings tilting precariously in the Taiwanese city of Hualien Wednesday, after an overnight earthquake killed at least five, injured more than 200 and left dozens missing.

Emergency responders were focusing on a 12-story apartment block and a nearby hotel, both of which were leaning dangerously after their lower floors pancaked when the 6.4-magnitude quake hit the popular tourist city late Tuesday.

Local broadcaster TVBS showed rescuers carrying a victim covered in a white sheet from the Marshal Hotel some 14 hours after

the quake struck. A walking survivor was rescued a short while later.

In an afternoon update, the national fire agency said at least five people had been killed and 247 injured across the city. But the toll could rise as rescuers discovered further bodies.

There were grave concerns for the badly leaning Yun Tsui residential building, which also housed a restaurant, shops and a hostel.

The national fire agency said 88 people were unaccounted for as of 2 pm (0600 GMT) but it was not immediately clear how many of those were trapped inside buildings.

Dozens of residents―and a pug dog―were rescued with ropes and ladders from the Yun Tsui apartment block overnight. But fire department staff at the site told AFP at least four bodies had been pulled out of the building.

One local resident who lives nearby told AFP how he watched the tower block partially collapse.

“I saw the first floor sink into the ground.

Then it sank and tilted further and the fourth floor became the first floor,” said Lu Chih-son, 35, who saw 20 people rescued from the building.

“My family were unhurt but a neighbor was injured in their head and is bleeding. We dare not go back home now. There are many aftershocks and we are worried the house is damaged,” he told AFP. Chen Chih-wei, 80, said he was sleeping in his apartment on the top floor of the building when the quake struck.

“My bed turned completely vertical. I was sleeping and suddenly I was standing,” he told AFP. He said he managed to crawl his way to a balcony to wait for rescue, adding that the quake was the strongest he had felt in more than five decades of living in Hualien.

President Tsai Ing-wen visited the apartment block Wednesday morning. AFP

VISITORS FROM THE NORTH. North Korean cheerleaders walk to their accomodation at the Inje Speedium, a racetrack and hotel complex, in Inje, north of Pyeongchang, on February 7, 2018 ahead of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games. More than 200 young North Korean women arrived in South Korea to root for the athletes from both sides of the peninsula at the Winter Olympics. AFP

Kim Jong-Un’s sister to visit S. Korea SEOUL―The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un will visit the South this week for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Seoul said Wednesday―the first member of its ruling family ever to do so.

Kim Yo-Jong, who is a senior member of the ruling Workers’ Party, will be part of a high-level delegation due Friday and led by the North’s ceremonial head of state, the unification ministry said.

The two Koreas have been divided by the Demilitarized Zone since the end of the Korean War in 1953, and Pyongyang’s pursuit of nuclear weapons have seen it subjected to multiple rounds of United Nations Security Council sanctions.

Tensions soared last year as the North carried out multiple weapons tests, including intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the US mainland, and by far its most powerful nuclear test to date.

But the Olympics have triggered a rapid rapprochement on the peninsula.

“It is highly significant that a member of the Kim family is coming to the South for the first time in history,” said professor

Yang Moo-Jin of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

She was likely to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-In and give him a personal letter from her brother, expressing his hopes for a successful hosting of the Olympics and desire to improve inter-Korean ties, he added.

“This will mark Kim Yo-Jong’s debut on the international stage,” Yang told AFP. “She is being groomed as one of the North’s most powerful figures by her brother.”

Kim Yo-Jong, believed to be aged about 30, was promoted in October to be an alternate member of the party’s powerful politburo, the decision-making body presided over by her brother.

She has frequently been seen accompanying her brother on his “field guidance trips” and other events and is known to have been involved in the party’s propaganda operations.

The North has always kept its leadership within the family― Kim Jong-Un is the third generation of the dynasty to lead the country, after his father Kim JongIl and grandfather Kim Il-Sung,

the North’s founder.

Kim Jong-Il fathered both Kim Jong-Un and Kim Yo-Jong with his third partner, former dancer Ko Yong-Hui. But other family members have not fared so well―Kim JongUn’s uncle was executed for treason two years after the younger man came to power, and his halfbrother was assassinated in a Malaysian airport last year.

The delegation’s three-day trip will be the diplomatic high point of the rapprochement between the two Koreas triggered by the Pyeongchang Olympics in the South, which have their opening ceremony on Friday―although analysts warn that their newly warmed relations may not last long beyond the Games.

For months Pyongyang ignored Seoul’s entreaties to take part in a “peace Olympics”, until Kim Jong-Un indicated his willingness to do so in his New Year speech.

That set off a rapid series of meetings which saw the two agree to march together at the opening ceremony and form a unified women’s ice hockey team, their first for 27 years. AFP

What Hong Kong doesn’t have that Manila has MANILA today is the Hong Kong and Singapore of 30 years ago, (and) the level of development in the metropolis over the last decade has been unprecedented and reflects the accelerated expansion of the property market.” Thus said the chairman of Santos Knight Frank, a leading property advisor in the AsiaPacific region, a few weeks ago. The Santos in the company name is Rick Santos.

Rick Santos knows whereof he speaks.

Not only is Mr. Santos a FilipinoAmerican but, during his years as president of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, he also was a resident of this country.

In effect, Rick Santos believes that Manila – or, more precisely, Metro

B3

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Manila—is the new Hong Kong. What Metro Manila is today is, in his opinion, what Hong Kong was in 1988. “Manila is a rapidly rising megacity powered by a growing pool of high-value talent, real estate expansion and a robust, consumption-driven economy,” Mr. Santos said.

He went on to note that Metro Manila had a population greater than the combined population of Hong Kong and Singapore. The population of this country’s premier metropolis has been placed at 25 million.

Metro Manila had become one of the favorite locations of the world BPO (business process outsourcing) industry, Santos Knight Frank’s chairman declared. In 2007 it ranked fourth in the Tholons Services Globalization (Outsourcing) Index, he said.

In two of the areas that are of utmost significance to the real property management industry—rent trends and vacancy rates—Metro Manila has been performing very well vis-à-vis Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei and other major East Asian cities, Rick Santos said.

Prime office rents in Metro Manila have risen between 5 percent and 6 percent annually since 2011. And in mid-2017 Metro Manila’s 3.4 percent was one of the lowest vacancy rates in the AsiaPacific region.

Santos Knight Frank’s chairman is right. Because of the frenetic construction activity of the last two decades, undertaken principally to meet the residential investment needs of the OFW (overseas Filipino worker) community and the office-space requirements of the BPO industry, Metro Manila has today

what Hong Kong had 30 years ago.

But there is something that Metro Manila has in 2018 that Hong Kong does not have. That is the assurance of a secure juridical future. The agreement signed by China and the United Kingdom providing for a gradual change in Hong Kong’s juridical status from that of a British Crown colony to that of a Chinese SAR (Special Administrative Region) will expire in 2047. That is only 30 years away.

Is Hong Kong likely to retain its attractiveness and allure as a center of finance and trade when it is fully incorporated into a country as politically and administratively configured as China? I don’t think so.

What do you think, Rick Santos?

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

World’s biggest rocket to fly to Mars CAPE CANAVERAL―The world’s most powerful rocket, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, blasted off Tuesday on its highly anticipated maiden test flight, carrying CEO Elon Musk’s cherry red Tesla Roadster toward an orbit near Mars.

Screams and cheers erupted at mission control in Cape Canaveral, Florida, as the massive rocket fired its 27 engines and rumbled into the blue sky over the same NASA launchpad that served as a base for the US missions to the Moon four decades ago.

“The mission went as well as one could have hoped,” an ecstatic Musk told reporters after the launch, calling it “probably the most exciting thing I have seen literally ever.”

“I had this image of a giant explosion on the pad with a wheel bouncing down the road with the Tesla logo landing somewhere,” he said. “Fortunately that is not what happened.”

Loaded with Musk’s red Tesla and a mannequin in a spacesuit, the monster rocket’s historic test voyage captured the world’s imagination.

SpaceX’s webcast showed the Tesla Roadster soaring into space, as David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” played in the background―with the words “DON’T PANIC” visible on the dashboard, in an apparent nod to the sci-fi series the “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.”

The Roadster was also outfitted with a data storage unit containing Isaac Asimov’s science fiction book series, the Foundation Trilogy, and a plaque bearing the names of 6,000 SpaceX employees. AFP

Davao among 3 PH cities to earn Asean ‘clean’ title

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

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By F. Pearl A. Gajunera

thursday, february 8, 2018

LGUs LocaL government units

DOG’S YEAR. Motorists pass by a colorful giant dog display along McKinley Road at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City ahead of the Chinese New Year of the Dog on Feb. 16. Lino Santos

QC opens 350 slots to student workers QUezON City Hall has allotted 350 slots for students who are willing to work parttime during the summer at the local government’s different departments, Qualified students will receive a minimum wage of P512 per day, 60 percent of which will be shouldered by the QC Hall and the remaining 40 percent will be provided by the Department of Labor and employment.

According to Gene Gonzales, project officer for the Special Program for the employment of Students, the objective is to provide additional financial to students who want to pursue their college education.

“We want to help poor but deserving students who wants to pursue their college education,” Gonzales said.

Students who are employed in the program will have to report for 20 days starting from April 3 to May 2, 2018.

To qualify, students should have at least graduated from Grade 10, computer literate, and know how to file paper works.

The application period for students is divided into three periods: Jan. 22 to 31 for registration and orientation, Feb. 1 to 28 for the submission of requirements, and March 8 to 14 for the posting of the qualified applicants.

DAVAO—The city has received the 1st Association of Southeast Asian Nations Clean Tourist City Award.

The awarding ceremony was held during the Asean Tourism Forum at the ShangriLa Hotel in Chiang Mai, Thailand on Jan. 26. The cities of San Carlos in Negros Occidental and Pasig City in Metro Manila also received the same award.

On Monday, Mayor Sara Duterte formally received the award from new Davao Tourism Regional Director Antonio Fernando Blanco.

The city was chosen for conforming with the criteria and requirements set by the Asean Clean Tourist City Standard. They include a solid environment management program, cleanliness, waste management, awareness-building about environmental protection and cleanliness, green spaces, health safety, urban safety and security, tourism infrastructure and facilities.

Davao City has set policies to keep its remaining environmental frontiers intact and rehabilitate those that have been damaged, Duterte noted.

“This has been one of the indicators, which is undeniably the important element among all the criteria and policies that relate to the improvement and enhancement of living standards of the general public,” she added.

3 precinct chiefs axed

By Joel E. Zurbano

T

HRee police precinct commanders in Muntinlupa and Pasay cities were relieved after Director Oscar Albayalde of the National Capital Region Police Office made a surprise inspection Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning and caught their men sleeping, drinking liquor, and not being in proper uniform while on duty.

Muntinlupa City Police Ferdinand Oyad; Pasay City Community Precinct 4 (PCP) PCP-8 (Maricaban) comcommander Senior Insp. mander Senior Insp. Fer-

dinand Durren, and PCP-7 (Malibay) police station commander Senior Insp. John Glenn Siguan were immediately relieved of their posts.

These officials were reassigned on floating status to the NCRPO Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit in Camp Bagong Diwa, Bicutan, Taguig City, pending further investigation and disciplinary sanctions.

At least 10 other policemen in the three commu-

nity precincts were also ordered relieved, aside from the police commanders.

Southern Police District spokesperson Jenny Tecson said Oyad and his men, PO2 Michael del Monte, PO1 George Guay and PO1 Joceleen Montero, were caught drinking liquor and not in their proper uniform inside their precinct at the Sucat Interchange.

Oyad and his men made an alibi that they were just

celebrating the birthday of one of their personnel, but Albayalde, did not buy it.

Tecson said Durren was relieved after his subordinates, PO3 Joede Rizare and PO1 Michelle Flores, were caught sleeping and not in uniform while on duty around 1:30 a.m.

Wednesday at their precinct.

Siguan was also caught not wearing a proper police uniform around 10 p.m.

Tuesday, she added.

“They will undergo pre-

charge investigation to determine their administrative culpability, and if probable cause exists, those caught sleeping will be charged for less grave neglect of duty, while less grave misconduct for those drinking on duty,” said Tecson.

Albayalde made the surprise and random inspections during “graveyard time” in line with the Philippine National Police’s cleansing program against erring cops.

Makati trains 150 SHS pupils for city hall jobs

BEST JAIL. The Las Piñas City Bureau of Jail Management and Penology has received awards for its outstanding performance in the last quarter of 2017. It was adjudged as the Best Jail for its Female Dorm (Top One) and Male Dorm (Top Two) in the National Capital Region. The NCR-BJMP awarded the city to recognize its exemplary performance in operational jail facility, welfare and development of inmates, and jail administration. The award was presented to Mayor Mel Aguilar (center) by Senior Insp. Aileen Ramirez (left) and Chief Insp. Reuben Olivo (right).

‘Mining doesn’t increase poverty’

By Brenda Jocson VILLAGe leaders in the upland Barangay Didipio in Nueva Vizcaya have debunked claims that mining increases poverty incidence in host communities.

Didipio, host area of OceanaGold Philippines, Inc. and its surrounding communities in the mineral-rich upland town of Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya, have interesting numbers on income level, employment sources and crops production.

Henry Guay, Didipio village council member, said that on average, monthly household income in Didipio increased 35 percent, from about P7,764 in 2013 to P10,555 in 2017.

“What used to be an idle upland village of Didipio, which can only be reached for days by foot from the nearest town or by logging trucks, has been transformed into a dynamic industrial estate whose development is attributed to the coming of the mining firm,” Guay said.

He said their village was previously an agricultural settlement, and farming was the primary source of household income. Now many residents have shifted to wage and salary earners (86 percent) with a few households (12 percent) sticking to farming and the rest running small businesses (5 percent).

“The shift is a result of the employment opportunities created by OGPI and other private firms operating in affiliation with the mining operations,” Guay added.

THe city government of Makati is training more than 150 senior high school (SHS) students in city hall in line with a program to prepare them for employment, entrepreneurship, or higher education after their graduation.

Mayor Abigail Binay signed an agreement with the Department of education Schools Division of Makati on the Senior High School - Work Immersion Program, approving the deployment of students to various offices and departments of the city government.

As of Jan. 31, the city’s Human Resource Development Office already tapped 159 student-trainees to their assigned offices, noting that the selection of assignments was based on the students’ respective academic tracks, qualifications and aptitude.

“In support of Deped’s K to 12 program, we have agreed to open city hall to senior high school students for their work immersion under the SHS-WIP. Their exposure to a work environment related to their field of specialization will help enhance their technical knowledge and skills, and increase their competitiveness vis-à-vis the current standards in the job market,” Binay said.

Based on the records of Deped-Makati, the first batch deployed consists of students from Maximo estrella Senior High School with 52 student-trainees;

Nemesio Yabut Senior High School, 20; Pitogo High School, 13; and AMA-Makati, 74.

As part of the senior high school curriculum and as a requirement for graduation, students have to undergo two weeks of work immersion, equivalent to 80 hours of training, in a business organization or establishment with work requirements related to their specialization.

The work immersion partnership with the city government of Makati is expected to help equip student-trainees with practical skills honed through the actual application of principles and theories learned in the classroom in an actual work setting.

Under the agreement, the city will deploy students to its different sections, departments, and project sites, and will provide them with training related to their course as well as activities consistent with those listed in the prescribed template for the Immersion Program of Activities.

The city is also bound to make its workplaces and facilities available to students and their teachers, and shall take all the necessary measures to ensure the safety of students in their respective areas of assignment at all times.

At the end of the program, the students will receive certificates of completion as proof of satisfactory compliance. Joel E. Zurbano

5 gunmen shoot dead San Jose Del Monte woman official

By Orlan L. Mauricio CASE UPDATE. Quezon Police Provincial Director Sr. Supt.

Rhoderick C. Armamento stands with television host Gus Abelgas (right) as he interviewed Elizabeth ‘Inday’ Lazarte Berena (center), wife of Barangay Capt. Eduardo H. Berena of Barangay Ibabang Iyam in Lucena City, who was recently murdered. Mrs. Berena and Armamento gave Abelgas an update on her case. Benjie A. Antioquia

MALOLOS CITY—Five unidentified gunmen shot and killed the head of the Bids and Awards Committee of the City of San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan around

7:20 p.m. Monday evening, police reported.

Orpha Morauda-Velasquez, 44, of Sto. Domingo Street, Barangay Fatima 2, CSJDM, was pronounced dead on arrival at the Sapang Palay District Hospital. She sustained

three gunshot wounds in the face and one in the body from .45 caliber pistols.

The gunmen escaped aboard a Mitsubishi Adventure and a big motorbike, police sources told Manila Standard.

Velasquez was concurrently the assistant city administrator, and was former chief of staff of SJDM City Mayor Arthur Robes when he was still a congressman representing the city’s lone district.

Police are looking at work-related motives. Velasquez was one of Robes’ most trusted officials and oversaw all procurements of the city government, amounting to some P1.5 billion yearly.

Model and mom of three Mikaela LagdameoMartinez with son Tyler

Life

bernadette Lunas, Issue Editor manilastandardlife@gmail.com @manilastandardlife

household

@MstandardLIfe thursday, february 8, 2018

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Reshaping

a child’s future

T

oDay’S world is vastly different from what it was a decade ago, causing anxiety among parents trying hard to provide their children a future full of possibilities.

Football player Anton del Rosario got his son Myles Luna to embrace an active lifestyle

Author and social media influencer Stephanie ZubiriCrespi with son Sebastian

Many individuals who resolve to start living a healthy lifestyle think the first step is getting a gym membership or subscribing to a meal delivery service.

We often forget that in committing to such a lifestyle, we need to start from where we live. a global appliance company shares a few tips we can do at home to get started on a healthier lifestyle.

Technology, environmental changes, and lifestyle shifts have redefined the way people do and view things, so much so that today’s parents sometimes feel overwhelmed by the world their children are growing in.

Unlike a generation ago when school children often ate home-cooked meals and played games with neighbors, today’s children often consume fast food items while playing video games on their handhelds.

Parks and outdoor spaces have been replaced by sprawling malls, while the ever increasing population has meant traffic congestion, pollution, and other urban challenges that did not exist or were not as bad 10 years ago. as a result, many children have become couch potatoes with limited socialization opportunities. a number of growing kids struggle with issues such as obesity, socialization difficulties, attention problems, and the like.

Despite all these challenges, parents still possess the power to reshape the future of their children.

To guide parents in reshaping the future of their children, nestlé nankid is partnering with them in advancing Parentology+, an advocacy to help parents take charge of their future with simple steps that can be taken right at home. These day-to-day measures cover the different phases of life, such as diet and nutrition, exercise and activity, socialization, and creativity. nestlé nankid will be holding a series of events to bring the advocacy closer to parents across the country. The events will feature bloggers/parents, who can share their experiences about different aspects of their parenting journey.

Blogger Stephanie Zubiri-Crespi and nestlé nutritionist aleli Magtibay will give insights on nutrition and diet.

Football player anton del Rosario will share how he got his son to embrace an active lifestyle and love sports.

Entrepreneur and stylist Cat arambuloantonio will speak on how she helped her children learn to socialize with their peers, and tidbits on how to stimulate their creativity and confidence.

Parentology+ recreates a typical home and its rooms. The space will consist of three stations touching on three important topics: Food, Physical activity, and Socialization. Fill your day with ways you can stay lean at the Foodie station and make sure to get that drool-worthy photo, jump into a ball pit at the Play station and play on a giant piano at the Social station, and so much more.

Entrepreneur and stylist Cat Arambulo-Antonio with her dashing son Asher

Parents and children learn about living a healthy lifestyle through the food we eat

Parentology+ kicked off on Feb. 3 to 4 at the activity Center in Trinoma Mall. The event will head to SM City Clark on Feb. 10 to 11, abreeza Davao on Mar. 3 to 4, and SM City Cebu on Mar. 17 to 18.

Health starts at home

Load up on fruits and vegetables

Get someone on board

Get someone close to you to join you in your workouts and diets—like a friend, relative, or your spouse. The company will make it more fun and you’ll have someone to bond with over the process. Having a support system is one way to keep you on track when it comes to your goals.

Start small

Start with small changes in your diet, like incorporating vegetables in your regular meals. Slowly remove processed food from your refrigerator and cabinets. Start with short jogging sessions once a week then gradually increase in frequency. Eventually, you will get more comfortable as these small tasks turn into habits.

Have a ready stash of fresh fruits and vegetables in your refrigerator so you can easily whip up healthy dishes at home.

Start with 25 to 30 grams of protein proven to lessen cravings and hunger pangs throughout the day, thus you’ll for breakfast every day. Some healthy Breakfast is considered the most be less tempted to indulge in carbs ingredients you can include in your important meal of the day, as it is and sugary food. morning meals are fruits, vegetables,

Begin your day with protein

usual ingredients like peanut butter and jelly oats. For a more savory meal you can create a sweet potato, black bean, and egg white breakfast burrito. Just wrap everything together and you have a quick, easy, and healthy meal.

eggs, and sweet potatoes. Try mixing oats with yogurt and your choice of fruits and leave them overnight in the freezer or be adventurous with more un-

The easiest way to increase you fruit and vegetable intake is to incorporate them to your meal. Make beef and broccoli stir-fry or prepare a turkey taco lettuce wrap that uses lettuce as a substitute for taco shells. another idea is adding fruits, egg, or a little meat to salads to add more flavor or create your own protein shake using various fruits. you may also opt to eat fruits or veggies for snacks instead of the usual chips, cookies, chocolates, and other processed food.

Make sure you always have a ready stash of fresh fruits and vegetables with the help of Electrolux nutriFresh Inverter Refrigerator.

It’s equipped with the FreshShield Crisper, which has a unique tight seal that keeps temperatures stable, minimizes water loss, and provides higher humidity, which allows fruits and vegetables to stay market-fresh for up to seven days. It also attracts and absorbs stray odors as well as eliminates 99.8 percent of bacteria through its FreshTaste Deodorizer.

Life

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thursday, february 8, 2018 manilastandardlife@gmail.com

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Where to buy premium meats

RUe-BLUe meat lovers appreciate a shop that offers a premium and extensive roster of choice cuts. Luckily, Marketplace by Rustan’s brings every meat kind and cut, from Wagyu to prime rib, closer to home.

The supermarket houses what is dubbed “the best beef in the world,” as it sources its top of the line Wagyu beef from the operator of the largest Wagyu herd in Western Australia.

The secret to the Wagyu beef’s distinct flavor and tenderness is in its marbling, and this kind produces succulent steaks without being as fatty. At Marketplace by Rustan’s, you are guaranteed the highest standard with the Margaret River Wagyu Beef that is free from Hormonal growth Promotants, delivered vacuum packed and chilled for your convenience.

Another meat option you can look forward to finding on Marketplace by Rustan’s shelves are the Certified Angus Beef products, which are extremely tender, juicy, and packed with flavor. it is considered as the best brand there is because of its 10 quality standards which include abundant marbling, consistent sizing, quality appearance, and tenderness.

Stepping up to the platter is the Collinson & Co. Black Angus beef. One of the brand’s most popular products is the Black Angus beef, which received the gold medal in the Royal Melbourne Fine Food Awards. Collinson beef is so superior because they hand select each cut, raise the best grass-fed cattle in lush pastures, and always ensure a richer taste of beef that suits discerning customers.

CHOICE CUTS. The Wagyu beef available at Marketplace by Rustan’s is sourced from the operator of the largest Wagyu herd in Western Australia.

Marketplace by Rustan’s also of- enees Lamb. Lambs are specif ical- der ness with a mild f lavor prof ile For more information on the sufers its shoppers the f inest quality ly selected to ensure high muscle that distinguishes the White Pyr- permarket’s meat selection and other of lamb meat from the White Pyr- yield, consistent quality, and ten- enees Lamb. products, visit www.rustansfresh.co.

5 ways to engage kids in good hygiene habits KeePing your child clean is a huge challenge for parents. At an early age, children don’t see the wash, lather, and rinse routine as a necessity, so it’s up to you as parents to include fun and engaging activities in your daily cleanliness routine.

Here are a few tips from Licealiz Head Lice Treatment Shampoo to make your kids look forward to their hygiene routine.

1. Send them off with a hygiene kit

Blogger and stylist Chichi Tulao lends her expertise at the photo curation activity

Will you feed your child organic milk? going organic is said to offer multiple benefits that help us lead healthy lives. With the recent launch of an organic milk brand in the market, Filipino moms now have the option to provide their children with nutrition that will help develop their minds and bodies..

Wyeth nutrition debuts the new Promil Organic in a fun-filled and informative launch at Palazzo Verde in Las Piñas. The latest innovation from the leading nutrition firm is made from the best of nature and expertly designed to nurture children’s gifts.

“Promil, moms’ trusted partner for the past 30 years, recognizes the growing needs of moms to provide a healthier foundation for their child through the organic lifestyle. We developed Promil Organic to address the growing demand

for organic products,” says Wyeth Philippines, inc. marketing director Theresa Chong.

Promil Organic is made from 100 percent organic dairy milk from certified organic european farms. it contains docosahexaeonic and arachidonic acid (DHA and AA) and is also a source of zinc and selenium to support brain and body development. it is the only organic formula milk expertly designed with these key nutrients.

Proud moms Andi Manzano, Cat Ledesma, and Hindy Weber Tantoco, who hosted the event, shared their own inspiring stories about motherhood to encourage parents to try an organic lifestyle.

Visit the Promil Organic Pop-Up store at the Activity Center in Trinoma Mall to know more about the product.

Before sending them off to school, it’s helpful to pack a hygiene kit for them to use. Baby wipes are a great fix for cleaning hands before and after e a t ing at school. it’s also a safer option for younger kids to use instead of rubbing alcohol which might spill or come into contact with their eyes. Opt for alcohol-free wipes that are specially designed to use for eating.

Other must-haves are lightly scented baby powder, cologne, fresh face towel, and other toiletries.

3. Make brushing teeth fun, too

it’s also helpful to buy cute and charming products that can boost their excitement. A toothpaste with their favorite cartoon characters or a light up toothbrush is a great way to make brushing fun. invite your child to join you while brushing. You can dance to the tune of the swish-swish sounds your toothbrush makes.

Don’t be afraid to incorporate music into your routine.

4. Sing the germs away

The music trick can also be helpful with handwashing by singing together as you rub and scrub your way to clean hands.

You can try simple nursery rhymes like “Wash, Wash, Wash Your Hands” (to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”), “This is the Way We Wash Our Hands” (to the tune of “Mulberry Bush”), or better yet, create a unique song together.

5. Trim their nails

2. Make bath time fun

Wyeth Nutrition product manager Patricia Cuna (second from left) with mothers/influencers Cat Juan Ledesma, Andi Manzano Reyes, and Hindy Weber Tantoco

it is a surefire way to create priceless moments with your children, as well as ensure they are thoroughly cleaned.

To make sure your kid is lice-free, it helps to use Licealiz Head Lice Treatment Shampoo twice a week. Use the 10-minute lathering time to style your kid’s hair into a shark’s fin or an outrageous mohawk. This way, you can make sure your child is well bathed and lice-free while creating happy bonding moments.

not all kids are fond of having their fingernails cut; sometimes it’s as hard as making them eat vegetables. To avoid dirt from getting stuck underneath their tiny fingernails, help your child enjoy nail-clipping by singing them a fun song or telling them a short story that involves their fingers. “This Little Piggy” and “Finger Family” are just a few examples of songs and stories that will keep your kids distracted while you cut their nails.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2018

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nickie.standard@gmail.com

FDCP honors

film ambassadors

By Seymour Barros Sanchez

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HE Film Development Council of the Philippines will pay tribute to Filipino films, filmmakers and actors who made waves internationally, in the second FDCP Film Ambassadors’ Night tomorrow at the Sampaguita Gardens in Quezon City.

FDCP Chair and CEO Liza Diño said that the event is “the best way to start the year. It’s a special night which celebrates the triumphs of our Filipino filmmakers, especially those who brought honor to our country by winning awards various international film festivals last 2017. This is our small way of showing our appreciation for their passion and hard work.”

Among those to be cited are the documentary films Sunday Beauty Queen by Baby Ruth Villarama and Two Way Jesus by Jet Leyco, television documentaries Warmer by Atom Araullo, Front Row‘s Bata sa Bintana produced by Joseph Conrad Rubio, Reel

Time‘s Maling Akala produced

by Jayson Bernard Santos, and Reporter’s Notebook‘s PasanPasang Pangarap produced by Ian Simbulan. The last three are all GMA Network programs.

In addition, FDCP will also recognize short films, namely Jared Joven and Kaj Palanca’s Contestant #4, TJ Collanto’s Diliman, Carlo Francisco Manatad’s Fatima Marie Torres and the Invasion of Space Shuttle Pinas 25 and Jodilerks Dela Cruz, Employee of the Month, Raymund Ribay Gutierrez’s Imago, JP Habac’s Maria, Richard Legaspi’s Pipo, Phil Giordano’s Supot, and Joella Cabalu and Milena Salazar’s Do I Have Boobs Now?

Mystery and madness this month on History THIS February, History excites and surprises with shows that will have viewers glued to their screen Go back in time and uncover the mysteries of God’s Holy Warriors of the Middle Ages every Thursday at 9:55 p.m.. The new series Buried: Knights Templar and the Holy Grail premieres Feb. 15 to take us on a wild ride as two former military men, Mikey Kaye and Garth Baldwin, investigate the 700-year old mystery of what happened to the Knights Templar and the Holy Grail.

Then on Feb. 21, Wednesday at 9:55 p.m., a new season of the chilling Hunting Hitler comes to the screen. Season 3 continues to follow Bob Bar, this time as he and his team enlist the help of a terrorist targeting expert with evidence from actual captured Nazi escapees to illustrate the vast Nazi network and how Hitler escaped.

Mystery lovers will not be able to change the channel once The Curse of Oak Island comes back. A special episode, The Curse of Oak Island: The Journey so Far, kicks off the fifth season on Feb. 21 at 9:55 p.m..

Then the season begins on Feb. 28, and will air every Wednesday at 10:50 p.m.. Follow the series as its stars, the Lagrima brothers from Michigan, continues to explore and dig into the island of enigma off the coast of Nova Scotia to discover why it has been a subject of so much

mystery since the 1700s.

More binge-worthy TV is coming this month with Manson Speaks: Inside the Mind of a Madman. The two-part special happening 9 p.m. on Fridays, Feb. 2 and 9, attempts to connect the infamous criminal and his family to an unsolved murder.

LAPD Cold Case detective Cliff Shepard and researcher Charlie Cook take on the case, hearing from witnesses and gathering new evidence.

Airing on Feb. 9, Friday at 9 p.m., Lionheart is a show about wildlife conservationist Simba and how he traveled from China to Kenya to save the lions who are being hunted. Of course, everyone’s favorite pawnshop owners return in Pawnstars season 19. Don’t miss the premiere on Feb. 26, Monday at 9:55 p.m., as Rick and Chumlee head to the Sunshine State to check out a vintage yacht.

Also to be given honors during the event are the full length films 1st Sem by Allan Michael Ibañez and Dexter Paglinawan Hemedez, 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten

by Petersen Vargas, Across the Crescent Moon by Baby Nebrida, Ang Babaeng Humayo (The Woman Who Left) by Lav Diaz, Ang Araw Sa Likod Mo by Dominic Nuesa, Area and Laut

by Louie Ignacio, Baboy Halas

by Bagane Fiola, Baka Bukas

by Samantha Lee, Birdshot

by Mikhail Red, Dagsin (Gravity) by Atom Magadia, Huramentado (Oath to Die) by Noriel Jarito, Ignacio de Loyola

by Paolo Dy, Imbisibol by Lawrence Fajardo, Paglipay by Zig Dulay, Pamilya Ordinaryo

by Eduardo Roy, Jr., Patay Na Si Hesus by Victor Kaiba Villanueva, Pitong Kabang Palay by Maricel CabreraCariaga, Sikreto sa Dilim

by Mike Magat and Ramon Roxas, Singing in Graveyards by Bradley Liew, Tale of the Lost Boys by Joselito Altarejos, and Women of the Weeping River by Sheron Dayoc.

Cable channel’s fresh ideas in love month discover this February, so dive in lifestyle channel. FYI™ is available THIS February, FYI is rolling out the and find loads more inspiration on SKYCable Ch 79; Cable Link red carpet for inspiration to fill every on FYI, the leading contemporary Ch. 44; Dream Satellite Ch 21. aspect of your life: from imaginative home revamps to cutthroat culinary competitions to the hottest style trends, you’re sure to find new ideas for the things you love.

Get Seoul Inspired by the colorful Korean lifestyle with two FYI specials this month, covering everything under the trendy Hallyu sun starting Feb. 16. The back-to-back installments kick off with The Friends in Taiwan at 8 p.m., which follows Korean personalities Kang Dong Jun, Ko Tae Yong and Lee Jung Jin Ten-year-old TV chef Estie Kung in as they explore a new city and try 'Man vs Child Chef Showdown' to uncover its mysteries. Then at 8:55 p.m., Playing Oppa features the youngest chefs in fight club trendsetters Kim Ji Hoon and history? Find out every Thursday Lee Ki Woo as they take you on a at 8 p.m..

Man vs. Child Chef Showdown special tour of popular restaurants continues to bring the world’s most and the latest in fashion.

Family and business come talented young cooks up against together in a unique way in their culinary idols starting Feb. Sheffield’s Real Estate Estate, an all- 8, every Thursday at 8:55 p.m.. new series that follows DeLeon All-new episodes follow the team Sheffield as she juggles her fast- of five child prodigies as they take growing real estate business in on chefs Katherine Humphus the Tampa Bay area while raising and Frankie “The Bull” Terzoli three sons with her husband and as they try to impress worldbaseball legend Gary Sheffield. famous celebrity masters Hubert Catch the antics and escapades Keller and Waylyn Lucas.

Don’t miss new episodes of of this fun crew starting Feb. 26, Income Property starting Feb. every Monday at 8 p.m.

A new generation of talented 20, Tuesday at 8 p.m. as Scott young chefs is battling it out on McGillivray takes you through his new episodes of Stove Tots, where entire process of flipping houses, the latest installment “The Crying from the design development to Game” pits cutthroat chef versus the construction. This time, you’ll the sensitive chef versus the small get to know Nelson and Sarah, a wonder. However, things get spicy savvy couple wanting to renovate for these young chefs when their their basement apartment to moms can’t seem to contain their attract a good tenant and help with enthusiasm. Will this challenge their expenses.

There’s so much more to prove to be too much pressure for

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Thursday, February 8, 2018

ACROSS 1 Flapjack franchise 5 Cruise vessel 9 Hard to find 13 Egyptian Nobelist 15 Polynesian image 16 Elevator guy 17 Deli crepes 18 Blissful spot 19 Room under a roof 20 Born as 21 Unwanted guest 23 Saffron dish 25 Your Majesty 26 Muss up 27 Tall cactus 30 Have a cough 31 Grads 32 Imagination (2 wds.)

37 Irene of “Fame” 38 Full-grown 40 Think ahead 41 — down (went to work) 43 Spooky 44 Draw a bead on 45 Goes over again 47 Molecule cores 50 Exiled Roman poet 51 Morose

52 Parting words 53 LP successors 56 Novelist — Ferber 57 Zone 59 — cotta 61 Culture dish goo 62 Mallard cousin 63 Dark ale 64 Oater backdrop 65 Large deer 66 Pinnacle DOWN 1 Library ID 2 Comet — -Bopp 3 Fat cat’s victim 4 Stovetop item 5 Boom box sound 6 Cover up 7 Much-liked prez 8 Locate 9 Thespians’ quests 10 Ring-shaped island 11 Cartridge holder 12 Is, in Avila 14 Shinbones 22 Hockey great 24 “— Lang Syne” 25 Wild shrub 26 Plane part 27 Flour holder 28 Astronaut — Shepard

FDCP will also hand out awards to filmmakers Brillante Mendoza, Diaz, Ignacio, Dayoc, Red, Gutierrez, Fritz Silorio, Sari and Kiri Dalena, as well as actors Tommy Abuel, Sandy Andolong, Mary Joy Apostol, Joem Bascon, Dina Bonnevie, Iza Calzado, Ana Capri, Gabby Concepcion, Ricky Davao, Ai Ai Delas Alas, Matteo Guidicelli, Hasmin Killip, Christopher de Leon, Lotlot de Leon, Angel Locsin, Anna Luna, Ronwaldo Martin, Leon Miguel, Carlos Morales, Arnold Reyes, Charo Santos-Concio, and Laila Ulao.

Apart from those to be honored for their global achievements under the creative, technical and performance categories, FDCP will also award the A-listers and recipients of the Camera Obscura, the highest Artistic Excellence Award given by the council to outstanding filmmakers from last Independent films 'Birdshot,' (top photo) 'Ang Babaeng Humayo,' (left) and year. Previous Camera Obscura 'Pipo' (right) are among the films that will be recognized at the second awardees include directors edition of FDCP Film Ambassadors' Night Mendoza and Diaz, and actors Jaclyn Jose, Allen Dizon, and will also be an opportunity for come together to strengthen Teri Malvar. filmmakers and industry movers collaboration among the creative FDCP hopes that the event of different backgrounds to industries.

29 Meditation guide 32 Beauty pack 33 Zoom 34 Charles Lamb 35 Length measure 36 Terminates 38 Ruin a friendship 39 It means “half” 42 Green vegetable 43 Watch sites 45 Palace dwellers 46 Festive night 47 Push gently 48 Humerus

neighbors 49 Peller of “Where’s the beef?”

51 Bed of coal 52 Large nose 53 Gator kin 54 Oil barrel 55 Cloy 58 Family mem.

60 Airport info

Nickie Wang, Issue Writer nickie.standard@gmail.com

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2018

ATOM ARAULLO’s

‘Adventure Your Way’ fuels your wanderlust

it’s only going to get better as I kind of get more comfortable also in this role of being a host, just a host not a reporter or a producer,” he shared.

For Atom, the show calls on people to create their own adventures. It aims to encourage them to pack their bags, hop on a bus, and visit and explore a place they’ve never been to before.

Similarly, it promises to be very spontaneous that at the end of its season, audience would be inspired to create their own adventure bucket list.

“I want people to have fun watching this show, first and foremost, along the way they will discover or rediscover how beautiful the Philippines is. Not everyone has the luxury of traveling. We have to be honest and realistic, some people don’t have the resources for it. But sometimes that’s not what’s holding us back. Sometime we are just to fatigued or afraid and we just wanted to stay at home. Traveling does wonder for the soul,” he ends.

By Nickie Wang

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OCUMENTARIAN and broadcast journalist Atom Araullo is embarking on an exhilarating journey as host of a brand new original series, a weekly 30-minute crowd-sourced travel show that explores thrilling experiences across the archipelago.

In the program, which premieres today at 8:30 p.m. on AXN, the award-winning TV personality begins his journey with a blank bucket list.

Through social media, the list rapidly becomes populated with a variety of suggestions and tips including skydiving, bungee jumping and camping on a cliff ledge under the stars. Basically, netizens decide what destination and adventure Atom will take.

We sat down with the 35-year-old reporter to talk about Adventure Your Way, the show title, and his experience filming the first five episodes of the series – a first of its kind in the Philippines.

“Social media fans play a big part in the show.

They will help shape my itinerary as I traverse the country with a phone as my only guide,” he told Manila Standard.

According to him, the show wants its audience to be highly-engaged. The fact that it is crowdsourcing, the viewers and netizens play an active part in the travel program as Atom gets random suggestions – from strange to outrageous requests – which the show will try to accommodate.

“There have been a couple [of outrageous suggestions], one is a suggestion to actually fly a plane, which takes one day to learn. There are a lot of different levels to flying a plane but to actually being in a tiny plane and having control over it was both nerve-wracking and quite thrilling. I won’t reveal too much it but you really have to watch the show,” Atom said.

Talking about the premiere episode, Atom experiences his first adventure in Cebu and must

ISAH V. RED

ONE day, Jessica Maloles was having lunch with her friend at a popular restaurant on Roxas Boulevard when, from across the room, a gentleman made his way to her table and asked if they could be acquainted. Apparently, the man was smitten, and why not? Jessica looked like the film star, Rita Avila, when she was younger.

Though in recent years, she has defied aging, winning first runner-up at the 2014 Mrs. Asia International beauty pageant in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Back to the gentlemen at the restaurant, Jessica was both surprised and confused. And yet she was also curious.

Introductions were made and they kept in touch, getting to know each other. And in time, he made his honorable intentions known. Drawn by his kindness and refined manners, she accepted his proposal.

Did she have an inkling about how her life would change from that point on? Perhaps not. Nonetheless, her decision ushered in a new world that would be marked with such abundant blessings.

Being the only son of an ambassador and the sole heir when his parents passed away, Jessie’s husband (Octavio “Rico” DeSantos Maloles II) was well able to provide for her and their five children (Eric James, Mark Lawrence, Rico Jessie, Jessie Rico, and Maria Angelica). But the Davao-born lady was not one to sit idly by. She could have, but she preferred not to.

Loftier dreams Growing up in General Santos City, she was familiar with her

Atom says the show calls on people to create their own adventures bucket list.

decide whether to go river trekking or interbuilding ziplining. The activity to take on depends on the popular comment on Adventure Your Way’s social media pages on Facebook, Instagram and Twiter using #AdventureGoals.

“It was very fun, like any other program, there are birth pains, this is the first time I’m working with this group of amazing and talented people. It came out better than I expected, better than I hoped actually. And the great thing about the series is that

What ‘blessed’ means to Jessica Maloles grandfather’s fishing boats.

Then, while taking up Business Administration at Davao Holy Trinity Academy, Jessie was also a working student. She was employed at a hardware store, where she learned how to run a business from its Chinese owners.

And from this experience, her entrepreneurial dreams were born.

In the last two years, Jessie and a business partner established Bless Amare Group of Companies, with enterprises engaged in restaurants and the hospitality industry.

First, there is the flagship Spanish-Filipino restaurant, Bless Las Paellas. With its branches located south of the metro (Taguig, Paranaque, Laguna, and Greenhills). Bless Las Paellas serves Spanish classics like Paella, Gambas, and Lengua, along with Filipino favorites like Crispy Kare-Kare and Pinoy Shortribs Caldereta, in a casual dining atmosphere.

Another restaurant, Bless Okiniiri Japanese Resto, is a Japanese tabehoudai (buffet) located at BF Homes, Paranaque.

It offers high quality popular Japanese cuisine, available for both a la carte and buffet servings.

Jessie admits that she really does not know much about running restaurants.

She confesses, “Mahilig talaga akong kumain. Wala akong ibang bisyo kundi kain lang. (I really just love to eat. I do not have any other vices, except eating.)” But because her business partner is well acquainted with restaurant operations, she confident she will succeed.

To date, Las Paellas has a total of four branches. A second Okiniiri branch will open in this

Former Mrs. Asia International first runner-up Jessica Maloles extends her generosity to charitable efforts, such as assisting feeding programs in Mindanao and compassionate giving to the disabled.

month.

Hospitality is her business On the hospitality front, there are two properties: Bless Amare Boutique Hotel in Paranaque and Bless Amare Sunrise Resort in Mindanao.

Bless Amare Boutique Hotel in BF Homes, Paranaque, draws

inspiration from the landscape of Santorini, Greece with its blue-and-white-themed accents and Mediterranean architecture.

Opened in 2016, the hotel hosts 12 boutique rooms in a plush yet more intimate ambiance. “I was inspired by the scenic landscapes of Greece, and wanted to bring

that here for our guests to enjoy,” she says.

Dining at the hotel’s Café Amare is casual and easy; the menu of which is influenced by Mediterranean, Italian, Moroccan, and Filipino cuisine. For special occasions, The Upper Room by Amare is the best spot to celebrate or simply chill out while enjoying the panoramic view of the south.

In Baliangao, Misamis Occidental, Bless Amare Sunrise Resort, on the other hand, is a haven for those who love nature and the beach. Relatively unscathed by commercialism, the resort’s white sands lead to unspoiled waters teeming with marine life like corals and a variety of fish. Picnic huts are available for day trips; guests wishing to extend their stay can avail of affordable accommodations.

By 2018, Jessie plans to open another Amare Boutique Hotel in Abreeza, Davao. Likewise, Bless Amare Sunset resort in Batangas is in the pipeline.

The “blessed” philosophy When asked why her businesses always carry the word “bless,” Jessie explains, “When you hear the word ‘bless,’ you normally associate it with ‘blessings.’ In Tagalog, pinagpala. And there are no obstacles to a blessing; it is freely given and received.”

This philosophy extends to how she relates with the company’s employees. Seeing how she has recently acquired some of the businesses from their previous owners, Jessie had to implement some changes designed for the greater good. One modification that she values most is the need for spiritual nourishment. Thus, there is a venue for religious services

every Tuesday, as well as Mass every first Friday of the month. She encourages employees to reflect on their relationship with God, and to share their insights with management. “God has always been at the center of my life,” shares Jessie. “He is the source of the blessings and the One who provides. In business and in life, He sustains.”

Above and beyond the usual, the company is also aware of its employees’ needs. Jessie knows all too well how costly is. That is why in June, provision is made for enrollment expenses of the company’s employees. There are also bonuses in October, November, and January. “We are not confined to the 13th month pay,” Jessie says proudly. “I believe in the circulation of money. When business performance is good, the profit goes around. We do not keep the entire profit to ourselves. We share it with those who work for us.”

This generosity of heart likewise extends to charitable efforts, such as assisting feeding programs in Mindanao, compassionate giving to the disabled, supporting seminarians, and hosting priests and bishops.

For the lady who seems to have it all, life is something to be truly enjoyed. Work and business, while they require focus and attention, will sort themselves out. Jessie stresses: “When I go into business, I do not think of the immediate return on investment. If that is what is most important, then you cannot focus on growing that business. I am more concerned about how to manage it. If you manage it well, and it develops and flourishes, you will reap the good rewards sooner than you think.”