Manila Standard - 2018 February 17 - Saturday

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BIELLMANN SPIN. Filipino Michael Christian Martinez competes in the men’s single skating short program of the figure skating event during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics at the Gangneung Arena on Friday.

The Biellmann position, performed as part of a spiral sequence, is done on one foot, with the free leg (the leg not on the ice) is pulled up from behind and pulled above the head.

AFP

VOL. XXXII • NO. 6 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2018 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net

Troops deployed to secure PH Rise

Pinoy skater drops out of Olympic ice

Biggest military contingent ever based in Cagayan

By Francisco Tuyay

T

HE military had deployed hundreds of Marines troopers in the country’s northern frontier to secure and maintain the country’s sovereign rights over Philippine Rise, after China renamed four seamounts and a hill in the undersea plateau.

Battle-tested soldiers under the Marine Battalion Landing Team-8 landed at Port Irene in Cagayan Friday, with orders to protect Philippine Rise from foreign intruders.

Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Salamat, commander of the Northern Luzon Command, said the deployment of a Marine contingent in Cagayan was a compliance to President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to secure Philippine maritime interests, especially in Philippine Rise.

It was believed to be the largest such mobilization of Armed Forces of the Philippines personnel and equipment in the northern province.

“We are privileged to have additional platforms that includes air and sea assets to be able to ensure our regular maritime patrol in the Philippine Rise, and those are the marching orders of the President—to secure our interest and maritime interest,” Salamat said.

Philippine Rise, located 135 miles east of Aurora province, is part of the country’s 200-kilometer exclusive economic zone that the United Nations declared as part of the country’s extended continental shelf.

Next page

Kuwait vows to get couple in OFW slay

By Joel E. Zurbano

SECURITY REASONS. The Philippine military has deployed hundreds of Marine troops east of Luzon to secure and maintain the country’s sovereign rights over Benham Rise (Philippine Rise) after China renamed three seamounts off the undersea plateau.

Battle-tested Marines under the Marine Battalion Landing Team-8 landed at Port Irene in Cagayan Friday, a military complement task to safeguard the country’s eastern and western seaboard particularly at Philippine Rise from foreign intruders.

CJ ready for SALN issue in impeach trial CHIEF Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno said Thursday she looked forward to telling her side to allegations that she failed to file her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth when she goes to an impeachment trial in the Senate.

“Watch out for it in the Senate,” Sereno, speaking in Filipino, told the news website Rappler in an exclusive interview.

“There will be good developments on that issue in the Senate.”

Among other charges, Sereno has been accused of failing to file her SALN for a number of years when she worked as a law professor at the University of the Philippines between 1986 and 2006. The House committee on justice said it has found only SALNs for 1998, 2002 and 2006.

Sereno told Rappler that her enemies were watching her closely for seven years but could not find any taint of corruption.

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Senate urged anew to probe Rody’s wealth

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Rey E. Requejo SENATOR Antonio Trillanes IV on Friday again called on the Senate committee on banks to investigate the alleged ill-gotten wealth of President Rodrigo Duterte following its dismissal by the Ombudsman due to the refusal of the Anti-Money Laundering Council to cooperate and submit vital data.

“Based on the statement of the Om-

budsman, the only reason why the investigation against Duterte was closed, without prejudice to reopening in the future, is the refusal of AMLC to submit vital data, specifically the detailed bank transactions of Duterte,” Trillanes said in a statement.

“Let us remember that the executive director of AMLC was appointed by Duterte and has since been proactively protecting his political master.”

Trillanes made his statement even as Next page

GANGNEUNG, South Korea― Filipino skating pioneer Michael Christian Martinez took to the Olympic ice on Friday―barely three weeks after coming out of retirement.

The 21-year-old, who at Sochi 2014 became the first skater from

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Natl Artist Abueva passes on at 88

Pastor denies news of arrest in Hawaii

By F. Pearl A. Gajunera NAPOLEON ABUEVA

THE Palace on Friday expressed its condolences to the family and friends of National Artist Napoleon Abueva who died while undergoing treatment at the National Kidney Transplant Institute. Next page

DAVAO CITY―The lawyer of Apollo Quiboloy on Friday denied that the pastor was detained or arrested in Hawaii on his way back to the Philippines after attending to the spiritual needs of his members there.

Israelito Torreon said Quiboloy was not arrested and that the source of the news of his alleged arrest came only from one news agency in Hawaii.

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THE Kuwaiti government vowed it will exert all efforts to capture the Lebanese national and his Syrian wife who are suspects in the killing of Filipino worker Joanna Daniela Demafelis, 29, whose body was found in a freezer in an abandoned apartment earlier this month.

This was the assurance offered by Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano when he met Demafelis’ sister Jessica and brother Jojit, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Friday to receive her remains.

Demafelis’ remains arrived at Terminal 1 past 10 a.m. on board Gulf Air flight GF154 from Kuwait.

Cayetano said the Kuwaiti government was outraged by the killing of Demafelis, who bore stab wounds in the neck and torture marks all over her body.

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Duterte sees draft Charter completed before 2019 polls

By Vito Barcelo PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte expressed confidence that a draft of the revised Constitution would be completed before 2019, after 19 members of the consultative committee on Charter change took their oath in Malacañang Tuesday, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said Friday.

In a radio interview, Andanar said that while there was no timeline set by President Duterte to finish the draft, the Chief Executive is hoping Congress can tackle the draft before local elections next year.

“What they recommended this year Next page

A SISTER’S GRIEF. Jessica (center), sister of Filipina worker Joanna Demafelis, whose body was found inside a freezer in Kuwait, after nearly a year when she went missing, wails in front of the wooden casket containing her sister’s body on arrival Friday at the international airport in Manila. An angered President Rodrigo Duterte has lashed out at the Gulf state over reports Filipino workers are suffering abuse and exploitation there. AFP

‘‘

“Inuulit ko po, hindi po ako interesado tumakbo sa Senado sa 2019. Magsisilbi po ako kay Mayor Duterte hanggang kamatayan, kung hindi man ako mauna.” — Special Assistant to the President Secretary Christopher “Bong” Go, on plans to draft him for the Senate run

News

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2018 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Pastor...

From A1

In Manila, Malacañang said Friday it will not involve itself in the incident involving President Rodrigo Duterte’s close friend Quiboloy, founder of the group Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said Quiboloy is a “private individual” and that Duterte knows he can take care of himself.

Quiboloy arrived in Manila late Thursday on a commercial flight. While he was in Honolulu, US authorities found $350,000 in undeclared cash and gun parts from his private jet.

But Torreon said there was no truth to the reports that Quiboloy was arrested or detained, but he did not say if the pastor was questioned due to the alleged presence of large amounts of money and gun parts in his private plane.

“I can definitely say that there were no firearms found in the private plan.

However, I cannot confirm if there were gun parts. Those things are being handled by my American counterpart,” Torreon said.

He said no charge or complaint was filed against Quiboloy, and that he arrived the country around 6:35 p.m. on Thursday.

“My source is Pastor Quiboloy. He personally told me that he was okay and that he would proceed with his scheduled prayer rally in Luzon in the next days to come, Torreon said.

Torreon said it had been Quiboloy’s habit to go to the US every November to address the spiritual needs of his members there and then fly back to the Philippines every February.

A follower and member of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, Felina Salinas, the only American in the plane with Quiboloy, claimed that he owned the money found in Quiboloy’s plane.

The KJC claims more than 6 million followers all over the world.

Natl...

From A1

Abueva, known as the Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture, died on Friday morning at the age of 88. The Bohol native was only 46 when he was named National Artist―the youngest recipient of the award.

“We join the entire nation in mourning the passing of an exemplary artist whose unparalleled contributions in the realm of the arts will forever be etched in the hearts and minds of every Filipino,” Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said.

“He is remembered as the youngest Filipino to become a National Artist who shaped the local sculpture scene to what it is now.

“He will forever be honored as a renowned virtuoso whom future generations of Filipino artists will look up to.

We pray for the repose of his soul.”

Vito Barcelo

Pinoy...

From A1 the Philippines to compete at a Winter Games, had been resigned to missing out on South Korea.

“I was sixth of seven at the qualifying event in Germany so I said to myself, it’s time to pack up my skates, I’m done,” he said after his short program in the men’s singles competition.

“My federation told me that it is not going to happen, the other countries confirmed their spots.

“I retired. Then two-and-a-half weeks later they told me, ‘Michael, you’re in’.

“I said, ‘No way!’”

Hours later, he bowed out in the preliminary phase of the competition.

Despite delivering a graceful performance, the two-time Olympian finished at 28th place, registering a component score of 29.52 and a technical score of 26.04 for a total of 55.56 points.

Martinez glided over the ice to the tune of “Emerald Tiger” by Vanessa Mae. AFP

Senate...

From A1

Solicitor General Jose Calida slammed Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales for her “lame excuses” in justifying the withholding from the public of the status of the plunder case filed by Trillanes against Duterte, which the anti-graft body dismissed in November last year.

Calida was reacting to the statement made

by Morales who said she inhibited herself from the case because “fact-finding investigations are generally confidential in nature.”

“Granting that she inhibited during the fact-finding, [but since] the case was already closed and terminated, there’s nothing more to inhibit from,” Calida said in a post on his Twitter account.

“The Ombudsman has the constitutional duty to publicize this matter as it involves the President of the Republic of the Philippines,” Calida said.

The Ombudsman declared the sole reason behind the termination of Duterte’s plunder case was the refusal of the AMLC to cooperate, Trillanes said, referring to AMLC Executive Director Mel Georgie Racela.

He earlier claimed that Duterte appointed Racela to the AMLC post only in January 2017 so that the start of his term “doesn’t cover that time [the AMLC meeting in 2016].”

“Now, in the interest of transparency and accountability, I am calling on the Senate Committee on Banks to conduct an inquiry so we could summon the AMLC and question the legality of its refusal to comply with the Ombudsman’s request,” Trillanes said.

25k seen in big federalism rally at Quezon Memorial S

UPPORT for the shift to a federal form of government is coming up big at last in Metro Manila.

Up to 20,000 to 25,000 delegates will gather on Saturday at the Quezon Memorial Circle at the vanguard of a movement pushing for a federal form of government to “right the historical inequities and injustice that have been perpetuated in a unitary and highly centralized government.”

IConform-federal Phils., which made the announcement, is a coalition of diverse multisectoral groups headed by long-time federal advocate, Secretary Raul L. Lambino, who is the group’s lead convenor.

“This is clearly a choice of our long-suffering people. We can no longer delay its coming,” Lambino said as the ranks of IConform-federal Phils. begin to swell with multisectoral support.

“It is because our entire experience with a highly centralized system has created two nations in our country―a nation of the “haves,” which is the super-rich tip of the economic pyramid, and a nation of the “have-nots,” which is its impoverished base that has suffered from decades of government inaction and neglect,” said Lambino.

“The shift to a federal form is about making the lives of millions of Filipinos better,” Lambino said.

IConform-federal Phils. predicts that at the pace it is gathering mass support for the federal form, the movement will reach a critical peak faster than could be expected, because, it said, “people who have welcomed change are going to embrace it, too.”

Opponents of federalism, IConform-fed-

eral Phils. said in a statement, have resorted to empty sloganeering trying to defend the economic and political infrastructure of the old elite.

“We see their ranks, and they are the defenders of the privileged and the wealthy,” the movement said.

The two known authorities in the proposed shift away from the unitary system, former Chief Justice Reynato Puno and former Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. have been invited to speak at Saturday’s rally.

Also expected to share the stage with them are members of Congress and local officials from governors to city mayors as speakers during the rally.

Lambino also pointed out the other benefits under a federal format.

He said at least five major federal states could be created to make them economically viable and to encourage wider competition for electoral positions, thus dampening ambitions of family political dynasties.

He said that with fewer federal states, a smoother but competitive redistribution of economic and political power within the nation could be followed in the transition period.

Turning his attention to Saturday’s rally, he said the diverse sectoral groups are united by the belief that a decentralized system would provide solutions to the Muslims’ historical aspirations and preserve cultural diversity while encouraging competition within a state and among the existing states for excellent economic performance.

IConform-federal Phils., he said, also believes in President Duterte’s assertion that the nearly half-century war in Mindanao could be prevented from escalating by the pro-

posed Bangsamoro Basic Law and a federal government that would strengthen Muslim autonomy.

The rush in the approval of Dengvaxia, a vaccine still in trial stage but used in a massvaccination program of the previous government, exposing thousands of Filipino children to risk of death, could be avoided in a federal form of government, Lambino further said.

The issue could have been best addressed by the local regional health departments in a federal state, Lambino said, instead of the national health agency that has at times become insensitive to the realities on the ground.

Lambino said the proposed federal government will unleash the potentials of the states to raise the standard of living, provide more jobs, ensure proper delivery of basic services, maintain law and order, promote quality education, and secure for the people inclusive growth in the countryside.

Based on the outcome of last year’s series of federalism fora held nationwide and launched by various groups led by the administration party PDP Laban and the Centrist Democrats Philippines, Lambino said there is a popular acceptance of the proposed shift.

The other invited speakers are Gov. Ryan Singson of Ilocos Sur and president of the League of Provinces, Gov. Migs Villafuerte of Camarines Sur, Mayor Ed Pamintuan of Angeles City and president of the League of Cities of the Philippines, Secretary Martin Andanar of PCCO, Undersecretary Astra Naik of OWWA, Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Ranibai Dilangalen representing the Muslim community, PCSO director lawyer Jose Bong Suntay, Lito Lorenzana and NYC chairman Aiza Seguerra.

Kuwait...

From A1

Kuwaiti police said she could have been in the freezer for over a year.

“I spoke to the Kuwaiti ambassador yesterday and they promised they will do everything to bring the accused to justice. Her [Demafelis] death was very tragic, but will also be a rallying point for all of the government agencies to be more aggressive in helping OFWs,” he said, referring to overseas Filipino workers.

Demafelis’ body was discovered after a Kuwaiti court gave its approval for the authorities to open the apartment of her Lebanese employer Nader Essam Assaf, wanted for falsifying checks.

Cayetano said Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Villa said the initial autopsy findings showed Demafelis had been beaten several times before she died. She suffered broken ribs, internal bleeding, contusions and trauma to her body, including her pelvis and kidneys.

“We are now working as a one-team approach from the undersecretary level down to the director level, down to the people on the ground. We’re putting a system of communications with our millions of OFWs abroad due to many cases of abuse,” Cayetano said.

Demafelis’ body was later flown to Iloilo for the wake and burial.

Demafelis’ death triggered the Philippine government to declare the total ban on the deployment of workers to Kuwait.

Cayetano admitted that the relationship of Philippines and Kuwait were going through a “rocky” period after the deaths of Filipino workers at the hands of their Kuwaiti employers.

“We’re going through a very rocky period. We have had very, very good relations with them. In general, they love Filipinos,” he said.

“But I think there’s going to be some firm commitments and some resolutions. This is having a cascading effect.

The relationship is important, but we have to communicate to them that our core interest is our people.... They’re responding positively, but we want firm commitments and we want fast action,” Cayetano added.

More than 100 Filipino workers who had availed of the amnesty offered by the Kuwaiti government to illegally staying foreigners also arrived Friday at the Naia. Most of them were undocumented workers.

Senator Juan Edgardo Angara said Friday he would push for the deployment of social welfare attachés to beef up the Philippine diplomatic mission in countries swamped with pleas for help from abused Filipinos or those in trouble with the law.

Angara said there is an urgent need to send more SWAs because there are only four social welfare officers deployed by the government across the globe.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development has two SWAs posted in Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, and one each in Kuwait and Malaysia.

Plans are afoot to send three more SWAs to Dubai, Qatar and Hong Kong.

“In the division of labor inside what is basically a multi-agency embassy, there are assigned personnel that can handle legal cases, liaise with local police, as well as military, trade, agriculture attachés,” the senator said.

But what is lacking is a trained professional who can provide the three essential C’s— care, comfort and counseling—to Filipinos in crisis and in need of special protection.

“Traumatized Filipinos require the services of a trained professional,” he said. With Macon Ramos-Araneta

Norwegian Special Envoy Idun Tvedt listens intently to President Rodrigo Duterte (foreground), who received the envoy at the Presidential Guest House in Davao City on Thursday. Presidential Photo

Norwegians vow to continue hosting PH-Reds peace talks

By Vito Barcelo THE Norwegian government on Friday vowed to continue supporting the peace negotiations between the Philippines and the National Democratic Front, even after President Rodrigo Duterte terminated the peace talks with communist groups including the NDF. Norwegian special envoy Idun Tvedt paid a courtesy call to the President in Davao City and assured that the European country will continue to fully commit in supporting the peace talks between the Philippine government and the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-NDF group.

In a statement, Roque described the onehour meeting between the President and the woman envoy as “warm and open.”

“Tvedt expressed Norway is ready to assist the peace negotiations if and when it is revived,” he said.

Duterte welcomed Norway’s expression of commitment and stressed that the goal of peace “must be achieved with due regard for the national interest of the Philippines.”

The President reiterated that his administration is committed to peace.

Duterte had canceled the negotiations with the communists as he declared members of the CPP and NPA as terrorists.

During the meeting, the President reiterated his strong stance against CPP founding chairman Jose Maria “Joma” Sison’s demand to form a coalition government.

CJ...

From A1

If the House panel finds probable cause in the impeachment complaint, the plenary will vote to decide if her case goes to trial, with the Senate sitting as judges.

Sereno has stayed away from the House hearings and has let her lawyers counter allegations brought up during the sessions.

“The people have seen my house. Everybody knows our lifestyle. They cannot find any hidden wealth, what do I have to hide?

My biggest earning was from the government, reported to the Bureau of Internal Revenue, reported to the Commission on Audit.

My husband and I do not have any wealth to hide,” she said in Filipino.

From 2004 to 2009, Sereno earned P30

Duterte stressed that such setup was “unconstitutional” and would only result in chaos throughout the country.

Since 2001, Norway has served as a facilitator of the peace process between the Philippine government and NDF consultants led by Sison.

The NPA, the armed wing of the CPP, has battled the government for more than 50 years.

Meanwhile, the President is contemplating on arming civilians in the countryside in the event the security situation deteriorates due to the threat posed by the Islamic State.

The President made the proposal after expressing concerns that ISIS-linked organizations might simultaneously attack places in Luzon and Visayas.

“My only worry is that they are really out, dispersed in the Visayas and maybe in Luzon.

And if I may ask you, what if they do another Marawi attack,” he said from Davao.

He said the ISIS terrorists were regrouping, and that is his main concern.

“If the situation deteriorates, then I would allow the ownership of high-powered guns. If they have but a shotgun, it will do to defend themselves,” he added.

In a speech last Tuesday, Duterte admitted that the Abu Sayyaf group and other lawless organizations have “been contaminated” and have “pledged allegiance” to the ISIS. He added that Luzon might even need an “early warning device” amid the latest security threats. million working as a private lawyer defending the government against the Philippine International Air Terminals Co., Inc. (Piatco) in an arbitration case in Singapore over the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.

Malacañang on Friday said it would leave the fate of Sereno to Congress.

“It is up to Congress whether or not to impeach Sereno,” Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said.

Roque’s remarks came after former Court of Appeals magistrate and now member of the House of Representatives Leyte Rep. Vicente Veloso said that President Rodrigo Duterte could recall Sereno’s appointment as Chief Justice.

“We leave the fate of the Chief Justice to Congress,” Roque said, denying suggestions that the President was behind the impeachment complaint. Vito Barcelo

Troops...

From A1 While the Navy and Marines regularly conduct maritime patrols off these areas despite the limited assets the country had, the presence of Marine forces in the northern frontier is dedicated to monitor the daily situation in the country’s maritime waters.

“The commitment of the national government is to really ensure that we are monitoring what is happening in our maritime waters including the Philippine Rise and the Scarborough Shoal so we will continue to perform our mandated task—that is to protect our sovereignty,” Salamat said.

He said the Marines would also be protecting Filipino fishermen in the waters of Northern Luzon.

At present, Salamat said, they are setting up a shelter for Filipino fishermen in Mavulis Island, situated in the northernmost part of the Batanes island chain. It could also be used by the Marines.

The Marines, Salamat said, would protect the public from all threats to national security, including the New People’s Army.

Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said the Philippines would not accept the Chinese names for five Philippine Rise features and said he brought the matter up with his Chinese counterparts during a recent consultation.

Cayetano, however, said China was within its rights to name the features that it discovered.

“In the scientific community, if you discover something, you have the right to name it,” he said in a mix of Filipino and English.

He said the Philippines would not file a diplomatic protest in the same way it did not object to the Americans for naming the area Benham Rise.

He said that under the requirements of the International Hydrographic Organization—Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (IHO-IOC GEBCO) SubCommittee on Undersea Feature Names (SCUFN), if a country has the resources for research, scientists, and equipment, it can name any water features that it discovers.

“Anyone who follows the requirements can name it,” Cayetano said.

Maritime law expert Jay Batongbacal had said in a Facebook post that the IHO approved the names submitted by China for five features all within 200 nautical miles of the east coast of Luzon.

The Chinese names are: Jinghao Seamount and Tianbao Seamount (both around 70 nautical miles east of Cagayan province), Haidonquing Seamount (190 nautical miles east of Cagayan province) and Cuiqiao Hill and Jujiu Seamount.

The names for three of the features were reportedly submitted for consideration in 2014 by the China Navy Hydrographic Office, which discovered the features, Batongbacal said.

The names for the two other features were submitted for approval by the China Ocean Minerals R&D Association in 2016.

Cayetano said as soon as the Philippines is able to officially get the data, the country will apply to the IHO and name the five features in Filipino.

“We will tell IHO that we won’t recognize any Chinese name unless we agree to it,” he said.

The Philippines is not a member of the sub-committee. China’s proposals to name the undersea features were submitted to the body in its October 2015 and September 2017 meetings.

The 13-million hectare Philippine Rise lies in the eastern part of the Philippines in the Pacific Ocean, about 250 kilometers east of Dinapigue, Isabela, and is said to be wider than Luzon, Samar and Leyte combined.

In 2012, the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf approved the country’s undisputed territorial claim over the area, also called Benham Rise.

The Philippine Rise is not within the disputed South China Sea and the Philippines has the sovereign right to explore and exploit all the natural resources found in it as part of the country’s extended continental shelf.

President Duterte renamed the underwater region from Benham Rise to Philippine Rise in May 2017 following sightings of a Chinese survey ship in the territory. With Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

Duterte...

From A1

is to submit the draft to Congress and discuss whether to synchronize the plebiscite with the October 2018 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections or the 2019 mid-term elections,” he said in Filipino.

Earlier, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said the 17th Congress will convene as a constituent assembly as soon as possible to prioritize the revision of the Constitution to tackle the proposed shift to a federal form of government and submit the issue to the public through a referendum in May to coincide with the planned barangay and Sangguniang elections in October 2018.

During the mass oath-taking of newly appointed government officials, Duterte assured the public he would cut short his term rather than lengthen it and ruled out the idea of leading a transition government should his bid for a federal system of government succeed.

“I will to leave the office by 2020 if there will be a working federal setup by that time,” Duterte said.

“I do not want any transition position,” said Duterte, whose six-year term ends in June 2022.

“I do not have any plans of perpetuating myself in power. It ain’t in my system.

And I have told the military time and again as good as any other time that if I overstay even for 24 hours here in Malacañang, you can arrest me and shoot me,” Duterte said.

The League of Provinces of the Philip-

News

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2018 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

CA orders SEC to respond to Rappler’s petition THE Court of Appeals ordered the Securities and Exchange Commission to respond to the petition of online news website Rappler, which filed an appeal to block the state regulator’s order revoking its articles of registration.

The 13th Divison of the appellate court directed the SEC on Feb. 7 to file its comment within 10 days from receipt of notice, after which Rappler will have five days to file its reply.

The CA also ordered both parties to inform the appellate court on whether the same issue is pending or has been filed in the CA as well as other courts.

“The parties are required to promptly notify this court of any other cases or proceedings involving the same parties and issues in the court or other courts within 5 days from knowledge thereof….” the CA said.

On Jan. 11, the SEC has ordered the revocation of registration of the online news portal for alleged violation of the Foreign Equity Restrictions in Mass Media enshrined in the 1987 Constitution, and enforceable through the Mass Media Law, Anti-Dummy Law, and the Foreign Investment Act. Rappler, however, cried harassment over the closure order.

The decision stemmed from Philippine Depositary Receipts, worth over $1 million which Rappler sold to US-based Omildyar Network Fund LLC. The PDR contains a provision wherein Rappler “is required to seek approval of the [Omidyar] PDR Holders on corporate matters.”

NFA should not sink deeper in debt—Recto

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

ENTER THE DRAGON. Members of a Dragon Dance team perform along Binondo, Manila as they celebrate the Chinese New Year in Chinatown Manila. Lino Santos

PAO’s Acosta hits Duque for being ‘defensive’

By Rio N. Araja and Macon Ramos-Araneta

Palace names 16 new DoJ prosecutors MALACAÑANG has appointed 16 new prosecutors to beef up the country’s National Prosecution Service under the Department of Justice.

In a transmittal letter dated Feb. 12, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea informed Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II of the appointments of Editha Canares Fernandez as senior assistant state prosecutor, and Agnes Farida Bagafora-Arellano II as assistant state prosecutor as part of DOJ’s NPS. Fourteen of the new fiscals have been designated as city prosecutor posts, and three were designated to provincial prosecutors’ offices.

Appointed fiscals for Manila City were Senior Assistant City Prosecutors Erma Joyce Foronda Remudaro and Nelson Panapanaan Pagaduan; Assistant City Prosecutors Manolo Geoffrey Cinco Vergara and Melissa Grace Tanco Perola, while Senior Assistant City Prosecutors Julius Caesar Jorge Gaurano, Carmelita Rana delos Santos; and Assistant City Prosecutor Philomel Domantay Francisco Jr. for Makati City Prosecutor’s Office.

Rey E. Requejo

‘Leni will have role in transition government’ COMMUNICATIONS Secterary Martin Andanar said Vice President Leni Robredo will be given a role in the transition government should the shift to a federal government becomes a reality under the Duterte administration.

“Sa palagay ko, certainly meron pong magiging role ang kasalakuyang vice president dahil hindi naman pwede na hindi mo bigyan ng role dahil siya po ay halal ng taumbayan,” Andanar said in a television interview.

Former Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares earlier said Robredo would be removed from her office long before her term expires in 2022 if the ruling PDPLaban party succeeds having the proposed constitution, which allegedly abolishes the Office of the Vice President, ratified during the May 2019 elections.

Robredo’s camp, however, noticed that the proposal on the shift to federalism did not mention of “OVP abolition as a necessary feature.”

P

UBLIC Attorney’s Office chief Persida Acosta on Friday hit Health Secretary Francisco Duque for trying to be defensive in the Dengvaxia probe.

In a radio interview over dzMM, Acosta said “I understand why they are [so] defensive.”

“Two children in Muntinlupa [City] were injected with Dengvaxia vaccine under his administration, the 16th and 18th children who had just recently died,” she said.

“Why create a panel despite the Department of Justice and National Bureau of Investigation’s order on us?” she asked.

She said Duque must not be defensive for saying PAO’s investigations were “inconclusive.”

“I am just wondering why Secretary Duque and Undersecretary [Rolando] Domingo are consistent in their [one] liner that [our] findings were not [that] conclusive,” she said.

“Be aggressive in saving the children’s lives, instead of being defensive.

You always say that the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital is anchored on scientific objective. PAO is more objective and autonomous under Republic Act 9406,”

she added.

“You always rely on the UP even if it does not have a tissue sample [laboratory]. The kin of the children who died do not trust UP-PGH to have them autopsied.”

Duque created a dengue investigative task force composed of medical experts from the UP-PGH, saying more tests must be needed to be able to link the deaths of the children to Dengvaxia vaccination.

He earlier claimed PAO was not cooperating with the DoH and was not sharing information.

Acosta on Friday claimed that 21 children who died due to Dengue fever and who were inoculated with the Dengvaxia vaccine showed pattern of deaths based on the autopsies of PAO’s forensic expert Erwin Erfe.

Meanwhile, Duque has promised to look after the needs of all vaccinated children and address the gaps observed in the rollout and implementation of the first dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia.

“I would like to assure the parents

and the public that investigations are currently under way,” said Duque.

“Should there be any DoH official who will be proven to have transgressed any law or deviate from standard operating procedures in relation to the purchase and implementation of the dengue vaccine, I will make sure that they will face justice,” Duque assured the parents of the Dengvaxia recipients.

The Health chief emphasized his commitment to also unveil the truth with regard to the hasty implementation of the dengue vaccination program since March 2016.

He vowed full cooperation and transparency in the submission of documents to the Department of Justice and both houses of Congress who are separately conducting investigation on the now suspended dengue vaccination program.

“I deny any accusation that I am obstructing justice. I am not protecting anyone, most especially those allegedly involved in the controversial implementation of the dengue immunization. I am also after the truth and I am for the correction of the deficiencies observed in the rollout of the program,” Duque said.

The dengue vaccination program of the DoH started with the administration of former secretary Janette Garin.

PH seeks joint oil exploration with China in WPS Check other

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan THE Philippines is looking to jointly oil explore some 59 disputed islands with China, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said on Friday.

Although he assured that the joint oil exploration deal with China will be in accordance to the Philippine Constitution and International laws, Cayetano said that as soon as the Department of Energy is able to come up a legal framework, the agreement would swiftly move forward.

“Status-quo sa ngayon. So all orders of the past administration is still in place. Right now, I haven’t heard any movement there because it is impractical,” Cayetano said.

“The stage now is a discussion that we both want it the joint exploration,” he added.

Cayetano said they wanted to find out first if the islands have deposit that are commercially viable to have a joint oil development before they create a legal framework.

“We have to find a legal framework... until we have legal framework on oil exploration, mabilis na yan na gagalaw,” he added.

So far, the two sides agreed that China form its own working group while the Philippines cluster, including the Department of Foreign Affairs, Security Cluster and Department of Energy is in consultation with its own separate working group to come up a legal framework under the Philippine constitution.

UNDERWATER. Visitors enjoy watching a diver performs as an Underwater Prosperity God at the Manila Ocean Park as part of the celebration of the Chinese New Year.

Norman Cruz

tourist spots for violations, solon asks DENR

By Maricel V. Cruz A HOUSE leader on Friday urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to check other tourist destinations where business establishments may have been violating environmental laws similar to what happened in Boracay.

“I am sure this is not just happening in Boracay, but this may also be the case in other tourist destinations,” Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said.

“The cleanup should start now for the sake of our people living in those areas,” Barbers added.

Barbers made the statement after DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu announced last Tuesday that 51 establishments were served notices for closure for violating the Clean Water Act of 2004 after these were found to have no wastewater treatment facilities and dumping sewage into the sea.

This after President Rodrigo Duterte blamed local officials for allowing the structures to be built overlapping the coastline of Boracay without a sewerage system.

Under the law, establishments and households are mandated to dispose of their septic waste through a treatment facility.

AS THE country struggles with ways to satisfy the “unli-rice needs” of 106.5 million Filipinos, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said the government should see to it that the solution should not further bloat the P172-billion liabilities of the National Food Authority.

“The debt needle of the NFA should not move upward,” Recto said, noting that a large chunk of NFA’s debt could have been used to boost local production instead of subsidizing foreign rice growers.

“We should resist any notion, especially the one couched in populist terms, that we use borrowed money in buying rice from abroad,” Recto said.

Recto said the audited financial report of the NFA for 2016 shows an agency deep in red.

“It had non-current domestic loans of P82.1 billion and P2.2 billion in interests payable. And P13.9 billion in maturing debts,” Recto said.

“Sa notes payable in 2016, P21 billion was owed to the Development Bank of the Philippines, and P15 billion to the Land Bank of the Philippines,” Recto said.

Recto said “rice security” can be achieved in the long run by boosting production, “by investing in irrigation and in cutting post-harvest losses, which wastes 17 percent of palay harvest.”

Absent or poor post-harvest facilities spoil 2.5 million metric tons of rice a year—enough to meet the annual rice needs of 14 million people, or more than the population of Metro Manila, Recto said.

“If, for example, we have P5 billion, we can use it to buy palay or increase by 40 times the government’s current budget for post-harvest facilities,” he said. “’Yung P5 billion na pambili ng palay, kasya lang sa anim na araw na rice supply ng ating bansa,” he said.

But Recto said the NFA should continue maintaining a buffer stock of rice, “because national interest requires us to have this reserve, but in a manner that is fiscally responsible and financially sustainable.”

Duterte upbeat on stronger ties between PH, Republic of Palau

By Vito Barcelo PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has expressed confidence that the Philippines will build a stronger relationship with the Republic of Palau after Palau President Thomas “Tommy” Remengesau Jr. paid a courtesy call and tackled enhancing areas of mutual interest such as foreign labor, maritime security, medical tourism and education.

Duterte vowed for a stronger bilateral relationship with Palau, noting that the bond between the two countries remain “good and solid.”

In his speech, the Chief Executive commended the people of Palau and its government for being “good-natured” and for having a peaceful nation.

He stressed that police cooperation will not become a problem between the two nations due to the peacefulness of Palau.

He also discussed sustainable maritime defense with President Remengesau saying that he has been working with the key players in the sector to improve maritime security in the Asia-Pacific Region.

The Philippine government also said it would provide scholarships for Palau citizens who wish to study in colleges and universities for higher education, particularly in the field of medicine.

Both leaders likewise noted that their nations had a memorandum of understanding where both countries would exchange knowledge and expertise on medical tourism and referral and higher education.

For his part, President Remengesau expressed his gratitude to the Filipinos for having been “very instrumental” in the economic development of Palau.

He said Filipino workers make up about 60 percent of the foreign population in their country.

He also declared his plan to reopen the consulate and embassy in Palau and the Philippines and to add more direct flights between the two nations to further improve connectivity and boost tourism cooperation.

A4

Opinion

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2018

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

Life so full of blood

By Abdulmonam Eassa EASTERN GHOUTA, Syria— Life has become so scary and so full of blood. Before, the shelling was concentrated in the areas where rebels and the government troops were clashing. But now, any place can be a target, day or night.

Eastern Ghouta, where I live, is the last area held by rebels on the doorstep of the Syrian capital Damascus. It’s a collection of towns home to around 400,000 people.

But last week you would have never suspected as much—the streets were deserted. Last week Syrian government forces unleashed an intense five-day campaign of air strike and artillery fire that killed some 250 civilians. Three times that were wounded.

The roads completely emptied of women and children; there were just men in the streets. People resorted to sitting in the ground floors or basements of their buildings and schools. But the bombardments were so strong that sometimes even people cowering in cellars were killed or wounded.

During the day, you could see some men in the streets, usually keeping close to the entrance of their houses. When the sound of an airplane pierced the air, everyone ran for shelter. But no place was truly safe—the shelling targeted mosques, houses, schools, markets, main roads, even basements.

How do you live in a situation like that? You adapt. Although markets emptied and most stores were shuttered, some remained open all day. Some people just got used to the shelling, it’s as if they were waiting for death in the streets.

The shelling was so omnipresent that people buried their dead as quickly as possible—for fear that the cemetery would be targeted while they were there. Sometimes the dead would be buried at night.

Fear grips you often when you live through something like this, but you learn to deal with it. One day I was with some paramedics and rescuers, taking pictures, when an aircraft returned to target the same place with a missile. We were about 100 meters away. After the strike, we went into an old house, to take out two children and a woman from under the rubble.

Just then, an artillery bombardment struck the area, sending everyone fleeing except for the rescuers and me. I could feel the fear creeping over me, but I realized that it won’t change anything to be scared. So I took my pictures and left as quickly as I could Goods have become scarce and prices for them have skyrocketed.

Main meals consist of mostly rice or bulgur; breakfast is some olives and yogurt. Electricity is available for only about five hours per day and is very expensive. I need electricity for my work, so I have no choice but to use it. I pay about 100 US dollars per month—that buys me just enough to send my pictures and charge the batteries for my cameras.

One day, I went out of the house without eating, as often the case.

Three times I ended up photographing carnage that day, the bloody aftermath of air strikes. When I returned to the house, I couldn’t eat anything. I was too tired and too shaken by what I had seen. Tears were streaming down my face. I sent my pictures and went straight to bed. The next morning I woke to the sound of airplanes.

As a photographer, you see more than most people, because you seek out the places of death. But everyone here has been touched by it. The people of Ghouta have been forgotten and I just hope that my images will serve as a reminder of the bloodshed that is happening here. AFP (Written with Samar Hazboun in Nicosia and Yana Dlugy in Paris)

Call me ‘doormat’

P

RESIDENTIAL Spokesman Harry Roque should stop mouthing off “good faith” when it comes to China, whose most recent stunt was to name undersea features in the Philippine Rise.

The continental shelf is not even located in waters shared by our two countries. That China has had the gall to set its sights on something beyond the land mass of Luzon would have been unthinkable, until we remember we have seen and heard many unthinkable things in the recent past.

“We are not attributing any bad faith to China,” Roque said. “We are just saying, respect us, too.”

The spokesman added that the Duterte administration is now discussing the possibility of itself naming the features, even joking about using their own names for the purpose.

This is no joking matter, even as our officials’ apparent policy of acquiescence to our giant neighbor must be causing the Chinese to double over in their seats.

For instance, just last month, the Philippines

HAIL TO THE CHAIR VICTOR AVECILLA

allowed Chinese scientists to conduct a study in the Philippine Rise. Chinese officials were even gracious enough to say Filipino scientists could come on board if they liked. Eventually President Duterte made the token gesture of revoking licenses given to foreigners to conduct studies in the 13-million-hectare rise, declared by a United Nations Commission in 2012 as being part of our continental shelf.

But when he announced his revocation, the Chinese had already completed their mission and left.

Roque, who was a passionate and combative human rights lawyer in a previous life, finds a way to inflame the people every day. He sounds like a shell of his former self when he talks so meekly about China—even the way he said the Chinese should respect us too only inspires further disrespect.

Naming something implies a claim or a perception of ownership. You can’t name your neighbor’s baby, even his dog. Does China have nothing better to do than ponder names for all countries’ land or water forms?

Nobody is saying we should go to war. But Roque—and the man he is supposed to speak for—must realize we shouldn’t be a doormat, too.

In defense of Dean Nilo Divina IT HAS been almost five months since Horacio Castillo, a young law student of the University of Santo Tomas, died as a result of the hazing he underwent while he was applying for membership in the Aegis Juris fraternity of the UST law school.

A police investigation ensued and the suspects, composed of resident and alumni members of the fraternity, were rounded up and charged.

It was reported by the news media that alumni members of Aegis Juris met at a hotel at the Araneta Center in Quezon City, and that it was agreed that nobody in the fraternity, particularly those who were involved in the fatal hazing of Castillo, will admit to anything.

The Senate conducted its own inquiry into the event. Almost overnight, the Senate became a stage for political grandstanding, with Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri instigating the circus.

As a consequence of the fatal hazing incident, UST law school Dean Nilo Divina found himself in the spotlight, not so much because he was Castillo’s dean, but particularly because he is an alumnus of the Aegis Juris fraternity.

The news media hounded Divina no end, social media bloggers denounced him repeatedly, and a Senate investigation virtually crucified him on nationwide television. To say that Divina became the object of national scorn and disdain is to describe his situation mildly.

The Senate investigation instigated

by Senator Zubiri was both a fishing investigation and a witch hunt.

Fighting disinformation POWER POINT ELIZABETH ANGSIOCO MUCH has already been said about the proliferation of so-called “fake news” particularly on social media.

Studies have revealed that paid “troll armies” are being used supposedly by politicians to skew facts and shape people’s perceptions according to the interests of those in power. ProDuterte bloggers and personalities, some of whom have been appointed to important government positions like dancer-starlet-turned-blogger-

turned-assistant secretary of the administration’s communications arm Mocha Uson, have been identified as sources of “fake news.”

cause one cannot rationalize posts as “personal” when one simultaneously occupies an important government position. A bill on “fake news” has been filed by Senator Grace Poe as an output of the hearings.

For purposes of this piece, “disinformation” will be used instead of “fake news” because as I have said in previWe need to spread ous pieces, the term is an oxymoron. the understanding.

News is supposed to be factual. If it is not, it is not news. Disinformation also is a better term since it implies a sinister motive, that is, to lie and make Senate hearings have also been held people believe in untruths. in relation with the issue where Uson Netizens have been at loggerheads was told outright to better choose be- against one another on the proliferation tween being an Asec or a blogger beTurn to A5

More specifically, the news media lay the main blame on Dean Divina for allegedly tolerating hazing in UST, and for supposedly failing to prevent his own fraternity from engaging in the nefarious practice. Some observers even suggested that as an alumnus of the Aegis Juris fraternity, Divina acquiesced in his fraternity’s practice of hazing its neophytes. Other analysts raised the possibility that Divina gave sanctuary to his fraternity brothers who were involved in the fatal hazing.

In sum, many in the news media demanded that Divina resign as UST law school dean for what they insisted was his failure to prevent the hazing incident from taking place. “Ditto,” said Divina’s critics in the social media.

The Senate investigation instigated

by Senator Zubiri was both a fishing investigation and a witch hunt.

It was a fishing investigation because Zubiri had no tangible evidence against Dean Divina to begin with, and he expected the officers of the Aegis Juris fraternity, whom he summoned to the Senate inquiry, to incriminate themselves and their fraternity alumni, and to provide the very evidence which Zubiri badly needed to be able to crucify them in the arena of public opinion.

Surprisingly, when the fraternity officers refused to admit to any wrongdoing and simply invoked their constitutional right against self-incrimination, Zubiri was livid. Later, in a television interview, Zubiri denounced the Aegis Juris members, but kept quiet about his close ties to the father of the deceased.

As Zubiri expected, his grandstanding brought him a great deal of free publicity. It also demonstrated his inability to understand the concept of constitutional rights—which further confirms that a thorough

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An insult on our sovereignty Pause, see, and return ONCE again, I start my annual series who are not guided by the spirit of for the season of Lent. I offer these benevolence, humility and the sincere to my readers, to believers, and oth- desire to serve. ers, who are in search of meaning and In his Ash Wednesday homily a few peace. days ago, Pope Francis observed how Lent, for Christians, is a time to call we are confronted today with numerto mind the paschal mystery—the pas- ous temptations. According to the sion, death and resurrection of Our Pope: Savior Jesus Christ. It is the time for “Each of us knows the difficulties atonement, penance, almsgiving, and we have to face. And it is sad to note self-denial. While the Holy Mother that, when faced with the ever-varying Church continuously exhorts us to circumstances of our daily lives, there humble ourselves before the eyes of are voices raised that take advantage our creator, mindful of our unworthi- of pain and uncertainty; the only thing ness because of our sinful nature in they aim to do is sow distrust. If the the face of God’s perfection, at no oth- fruit of faith is charity—as Mother Teer period of the liturgical year but Lent resa often used to say—then the fruit are we called to reflect on the salvific of distrust is apathy and resignation. meaning of our Lord Jesus Christ’s Distrust, apathy and resignation: these sacrifice on the cross as expression of are demons that deaden and paralyze his universal redeeming love. the soul of a believing people.”

In the Gospel for the First Sunday Francis emphasized that Lent is the of Lent, Matthew brings us to the wil- best time to unmask and face these derness where Christ, after fasting for temptations, “to allow our hearts to 40 days, is tempted by the devil. Many beat once more in tune with the vinowadays are wont to believe that the brant heart of Jesus”. He says Lent ofdevil is a vestige of the past, a relic of fers three words to us that will rekinthe dark ages, that the devil is some dle our hearts as believers: “pause, see abstract notion of what is bad. But the and return.”

Gospel teaches us that Christ himself The Pope then elaborates what these confronted the tempter, a real per- words tell us to do. See excerpts beson, not some nebulous concept. Pope low: Francis consistently warns that Satan “Pause a little, leave behind the unis a real person, not merely a mist. In rest and commotion that fill the soul fact, theologians keep on reminding us with bitter feelings which never get us that the greatest deception of the devil anywhere. Pause from this compuland the reason why so many fall, is sion to a fast-paced life that scatters, to dupe people into believing that he divides and ultimately destroys time does not exist. with family, with friends, with chilIn the Gospel on this first Sunday of dren, with grandparents, and time as Lent, from Mata gift... time with thew, the tempter God . . . tries to distract Pause for a litChrist from the tle while, refrain Pope Francis task assigned to from the empHim by the Father consistently warns that tiness of eveby distorting the Satan is a real person, rything that is task that claim to not merely a mist. instantaneous, be its true fulfillmomentary and ment. The first is fleeting, that deto turn stones into prives us of our bread (4:3); the roots, our ties, of second to jump off the value of conthe Temple pinnacle (4:6); and third, tinuity and the awareness of our ongoto worship Satan (4:9). These illus- ing journey. trate three kinds of control: material, Pause in order to look and contemspiritual and civil. They are based on plate! the depraved and distorted notion that See the gestures that prevent the exmaterial goods will bring satisfaction tinguishing of charity, that keep the and contentment; that spiritual powers flame of faith and hope alive. Look at derived from the devil will bring sal- faces alive with God’s tenderness and vation; and finally that great political goodness working in our midst. power will bring glory and honor.

See the face of our families who conAt the heart of all three temptations tinue striving, day by day, with great is the idea that God is inconsequen- effort, in order to move forward in life, tial and unnecessary because all these and who, despite many concerns and three resources are far more urgent much hardship, are committed to makmatters that fill our lives, thus mak- ing their homes a school of love. ing God superfluous. These temptaSee the faces of our children and tions are treated as archetypes of the young people filled with yearning for temptations we experience daily: the the future and hope, filled with ‘totemptation to amass through our own morrows’ and opportunities that deefforts material possessions, spiritual mand dedication and protection. Livpower and political power and social ing shoots of love and life that always influence for their own sake, without open up a path in the midst of our selfthe beneficence of God from whom ish and meagre calculations . . . everything and everyone emanates.

See and contemplate the face of The first temptation is about mate- Crucified Love, who today from the rial goods. Much of what ails our pre- cross continues to bring us hope, his sent day is the single-minded focus on hand held out to those who feel cruciacquiring material wealth and carnal fied, who experience in their lives the pleasures. Because of the over em- burden of failure, disappointment and phasis on materialism respect for one- heartbreak. self and others, compassion, honesty, See and contemplate the real face of dignity and honor give way to greed, Christ crucified out of love for everydishonesty, conceit and pride, self- one, without exception. For everyone? centeredness and indifference toward Yes, for everyone. To see his face is the suffering of others. Much of hu- an invitation filled with hope for this man misery and failings such as cor- Lenten time, in order to defeat the deruption, divorce and abortion can ul- mons of distrust, apathy and resignatimately be traced to man’s inordinate tion. The face that invites us to cry out: and excessive love for material wealth ‘The Kingdom of God is possible!’ and physical gratification.

Pause, see and return. Return to the In the second temptation, the tempt- house of your Father. Return without er, as he told Jesus, tempts us into be- fear to those outstretched, eager arms lieving that we can test and challenge of your Father, who is rich in mercy God into yielding to our own will, (cf. Eph 2:4), who awaits you. threatening him that we will resort Return without fear, for this is the to our own flawed devices should he favourable time to come home, to the fail us. Oftentimes, we seek solutions home of my Father and your Father (cf. elsewhere rather that trusting in God’s Jn 20:17). It is the time for allowing providence. one’s heart to be touched...

The third temptation is the arroReturn without fear, to join in the gance of power. Power corrupts; abso- celebration of those who are forgiven. lute power corrupts absolutely, as the Return without fear, to experience adage goes. We know how people re- the healing and reconciling tenderness act to power and authority. A powerful of God.” individual, devoid of moral compass, will most certainly abuse his authoriFacebook page: Professor Tony La ty. Power is a corrosive potion to those Viña (deantonylavs) Twitter: tonylavs

BACKBENCHER ROD P. KAPUNAN WE REALLY do not know whether the so-called International Criminal Court, sometimes called the Statute of Rome, is a legacy or a residue of man’s inhumanity to man now trying to covet the rules of international law and wanting to usurp the UN Charter.

There is much reservation about the ICC that some say that it is being operated by countries that carried out the most ruthless and barbaric form of colonialism with a trail of oppression and slavery. The ICC’s birth was, at the outset, stained with blood with its principal architects, mostly European states, renewing their call for peace after their military organization called Nato collectively and murderously pounded Serbia in 1998.

Before going to the issue of ICC wanting to conduct a preliminary examination on the alleged extrajudicial killings of drug suspects by the Duterte administration, it is best for us to re-examine whether our membership as approved by former President Joseph Estrada and ratified by the Senate through the adulated effort of the late Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, was valid.

In fact, many are wondering why, in the land where there are so many lawyers just as there are plenty of violators, failed to bring this issue to the Supreme Court not exactly on the validity of our membership but whether our joining the ICC violated our Constitution.

Our leaders are so gullible to believe that everything that is choked into our throat by an international organization is legitimate because of the title they accorded to it. Our former president, a senator who claims to be an international relations expert and Senator Loren Legarda, for their fealty to the West, rushed to ratify it. Unfortunately, as soon as they accomplished their assignment, their patron forgot everything it promised by renewing its alliance with the opposition in seeking the ouster of Estrada and dumping into the trash can their promise to endorse Santiago to become a member of the ICJ. While the Senate need to ratify a treaty or international agreement under Section 21 of Article VII of the Constitution, its ratification can never be interpreted as automatic. Neither can the ICC assume that we have waived our jurisdiction over our citi-

Fighting...

From A4

of disinformation in social media. Many have been busy posting, reposting, and refuting propaganda churned out by the DDS—Diehard Duterte Supporters— troll army to counter disinformation.

All these happen primarily in Facebook and Twitter.

Recently, a Democracy and Disinformation conference was held for two days and the who’s who in media (both mainstream and social), journalism, academe, and politics came in full force. The roster of speakers was quite impressive. One glance at the A-list and you would be certain that the conference will be filled with superior ideas on how to defend democracy and counter disinformation.

Because I had other equally important things to do and the venue was in Makati (a place I only go to when absolutely necessary because of the traffic), I opted to just follow the conference on Twitter. Indeed, there were a good number of discussions and inputs worthy of spending time on.

Then it hit me. Ordinary folks in poor communities will benefit much if they will also have the opportunity to hear, understand, and learn from these prominent journalists, professors, political analysts, and personalities say. After all, it is the community people who are more prone to being victimized by disinformation because they have little opportunity to vet information that reach them. Unfortunately, Juan and Juana also do not have the opportunity to go to gatherings such as this conference.

While it is good that the middle and upper classes discuss these important issues, there is a big gap between what the “learned” ones know and what com-

In defense...

From A4

understanding of the Constitution is not a requirement for senators.

When news about the hazing incident was no longer current enough to warrant coverage in the print and broadcast

zens to be tried abroad even before our local courts could indict them for alleged crimes which may not even exist in our penal code. The issue is not so much in determining the guilt or innocence of our accused citizen, but in asserting our right as an independent and sovereign state that through our courts, we have the sole and exclusive power to try and hear our citizen or any citizen who stands accused of violating our penal laws.

Our leaders and lawmakers can never assume that we have impliedly waived our sovereignty by virtue of our membership. Our adherence to ICC was a blatant violation of our Constitution. Humbug lawyers can never argue that our membership is pursuant and consistent to Section 2, Article II which states, to quote: “The Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy, adopts the generally accepted principles of

The International Criminal Court was created by countries that continue the dual policy of defying international law and committing aggression.

international law as part of the law of the land” because nobody in his right mind can call it an international agreement for the fact that of the 270 states that exist on our planet today, only 121 are members.

More than that, we are the only Asean country that joined it. Of the 10 active cases currently handled by ICC, nine are African leaders, which means that Africa today is being tried by its former colonizers that once plundered their resources and enslaved them. The US, Russia, China, India, Pakistan and Turkey which stand as either economically powerful, politically influential, or has a large population are not members of that imperialist-sponsored Kangaroo Court.

We are appalled at why presidential spokesman and human rights lawyer, Harry Roque, insisted that our adherence is based on the “principle of complementarity,” meaning the ICC

can intervene to assume jurisdiction if our local courts are unable to enforce the law. Where on hell did the promoters of the ICC get the idea that there is a breakdown of law and order in this country? Logic will tell that if there is a breakdown in our judicial processes, the ICC should run after the violators of the law, and not against those who are desperately trying to contain the menace of drug addiction that has been the principal source of so many crimes in this country. The trouble is that the ICC has already prejudged our situation to make it ripe for them to intervene in the guise of enforcing the law.

Our membership to the ICC clearly indicates that many of our leaders do not value our independence as a sovereign state or understand what patriotism is. Most outrageous, we will be forced to surrender the custody of our citizen to a foreign court before we could even conduct our own preliminary investigation like what this stupid browbeating lawyer did in filing a complaint on behalf of a selfconfessed murderer named Edgar Matobato. Common sense will tell us that one cannot prosecute anybody for the act committed by this deranged selfconfessed killer until after he admitted and identified the persons he killed, when, where and how he killed them before pointing to Duterte as the one who allegedly gave him the order to kill.

Even if the Senate has approved our membership, they ought to know that jurisdiction is integral to our sovereignty, such that our courts would react if they are deprived or diminished of their jurisdiction on the power to try cases brought to them. This is clear in Section 5, Article VII, which says that “The Supreme Court shall have the following powers (to) Review, revise, reverse, modify or affirm on appeal or certiorari, as the law or the Rules of Court may provide, final judgments and orders of lower courts in all cases in which the constitutionality or validity of any treaty, international or executive agreement, law, presidential decree, proclamation, order, instruction, ordinance or regulation is in question.”

For this most stupid decision, we now find ourselves trapped in a cage where our elected president could be possibly tried in an alleged international criminal court created by countries that continue the dual policy of defying international law and committing aggression. rpkapunan@gmail.com

munity people know and think. We are miserably failing in connecting with our brothers and sisters in poor communities when it comes to political issues such as human rights, democracy, charter change, West Philippine Sea, and disinformation. We do not engage and talk with them. Rather, we talk ABOVE millions of Filipinos.

I have heard people say in exasperation that we are a country of fools. That people are apathetic. I do not for one second believe these. People form their opinion based on information they have and understand. This administration, led by the President, knows how to connect with its target audience – the ordinary people. They speak in a language understood by the people. Their messaging is simple and straightforward. Yes, Digong is populist and he knows how to use this to connect with those that many social media personalities virtually ignore.

And they make up the majority of our more than 100 million population.

Therefore, we should not wonder why Duterte’s popularity remains skyhigh despite all the horrendous things happening in our country. He knows his target audience and connects with them. It does not hurt that he is covered by mainstream and social media, and he has the troll army in the latter.

Duterte’s approval ratings is a wakeup call as it is a call to action.

In every way, fighting for democracy and against disinformation is an advocacy. In all advocacies, a critical mass is needed to effect change. The critical mass is formed through constituency building among stakeholders through the old-fashioned ways of activism— education among the people in ways and language that resonate with them, and organizing around these issues.

These cannot be done through social media alone. We cannot continue to just

talk with people who are on the same side of the political fence. Otherwise, we become an echo chamber oblivious to the millions out there who do not have the same access to information we have.

There is a need to get out of our comfort zones and talk with people. It could be the drivers, market sellers, salon attendants, acquaintances, etc. For organizations, these are the people in communities where we work in. They are the ones who may be in Facebook but have limited time online. These are Duterte’s target audience that many online activists neglect touching base with.

We cannot continue to talk above people just because we are secure in our understanding of things. We need to spread that understanding. We need to have discussions WITH the people and help facilitate their ownership of the issues confronting the country. We need to help develop critical thinking by deepening people’s understanding of these issues’ relevance in their lives.

Do not think that nothing is to be learned from the people. They may not have the kind of formal schooling we have but they are educated by life itself.

In my dealings with community women, I find profound meaning in what others may call simple thinking. Their insights sometimes jolt me despite not being congruent with mine.

Fighting disinformation is not easy and cannot be done through social media alone and by simply talking among ourselves. There are around 105 million Filipinos. Members of the academe, political analysts, online activists, and personalities will do well in sharing their knowledge. We should actively go out and reach out to the people.

media, Zubiri turned his attention elsewhere.

The Senate inquiry triggered by Zubiri was also a witch hunt because despite Zubiri’s dismal failure to pin the fatal hazing incident on Divina, Zubiri’s committee so badly needed someone to blame that, in the end, it came out with a sweeping recommendation that the

Supreme Court should disbar Divina.

There is no doubt that from September 2017 all the way to the waning weeks of that year, Divina had sleepless nights and suffered from numerous bouts of anxiety. Fortunately for him, the controversy surrounding the UST hazing incident was eventually overtaken by other news stories.

bethangsioco@gmail.com @bethangsioco on Twitter Elizabeth Angsioco on Facebook

News

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2018 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Villar cites P9-t infra, lauds MWSS gains A

S MUCH as P9 trillion of the national budget for 2018 has been earmarked for infrastructure over five years under the government’s “Build, Build, Build” program, according to Public Works Secretary Mark Villar.

Addressing the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System 140th anniversary Wednesday, Villar said the huge allocation would finance such projects as railway system and interisland bridges that would spur development in the provinces and decongest Metro Manila.

Villar congratulated MWSS Chairman Franklin Demonteverde and Administrator Reynaldo Velasco for what MWSS had achieved in just a year to ensure clean, affordable and sustainable water for the 20 million customers in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Serving as guests of honor for the event were former President Fidel Ramos and Villar who officially represented President Rodrigo Duterte.

Velasco and Demonteverde led employees in welcoming guests from the water agency’s three concessionaires: Manila Water, Maynilad and Luzon Clean Water Development Corp.; former MWSS officials; and dignitaries.

They attended the launching of the MWSS coffee table book “From Carriedo to Balara: Celebrating 140 Years of MWSS and Ensuring Water Security” at the new world-class MWSS MultiPurpose Hall which was blessed and formally inaugurated along with the new cafeteria and the presentation of the Palafox Master Plan for the MWSS Water Eco-Tourism Hub. The commemorative book, authored and published by Media Touchstone Ventures Inc. president Melandrew Velasco, was

among the major highlights of the MWSS 140th anniversary celebration.

In his welcome remarks, Velasco recalled that the 140th anniversary celebration coincided with his first anniversary at the helm of the water agency.

“What a year it has been after being plucked out from retirement to serve this great water institution under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte,” he said.

Velasco noted the presence of Ramos, the acknowledged father of the MWSS privatization program. The successful Public-Private Partnership is now 20 years old and is being replicated in other parts of the country and in countries of the Asia-Pacific region.

Apart from the book launch, other activities for the 140th anniversary celebration included the unveiling of the MWSS multipurpose gymnasium and cafeteria markers, presentation of water eco-tourism masterplan, and the presentation of the MWSS/ Concessionaries flagship projects.

SUDI KEN TALUGADING. Students enrolled in Baguio City, among 64 cities in 44 countries designated as UNESCO Creative Cities, perform the Kalinga banga (Ilocano term for pot) dance, a tradition among Igorot women on their way to the river to fetch the daily water supply for their families. It shows the skill and strength of the women as they would carry heavy clay pots full of water. Dave Leprozo Jr.

‘3rd telco could be worth up to P300b’

Binay warns negligent brgy leaders

By Joel E. Zurbano

By Maricel V. Cruz THE country’s third telecommunications service provider could eventually have a “market value” of up to P300 billion, an opposition leader in the House said Friday.

“There is room for the new entrant to come in, simply because there is pent-up demand for faster mobile phone Internet connection speeds among Filipinos,” Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr. said.

“This unusually strong demand is not being fully satisfied because neither of the two existing players is willing to supply the superior connection speeds at a lo wer price,” Campos, a deputy minority leader, said.

At present, the Philippines has the slowest average Internet connection speed in Asia, according to Akamai Technologies Inc. Campos earlier filed House Bill 5337 which seeks to reclassify Internet access as a “basic telecommunications service” to enable regulators to compel suppliers to provide rising connection speeds under pain of severe punitive fines.

Under the bill, Campos wants Internet access tagged as a basic service so that the National Telecommunications Commission may be empowered to regulate both the quality and the cost of the service.

The bill seeks to amend the 23-yearold Philippine Public Telecommunications Policy Law, which treats Internet access as a “value-added service,” which means that suppliers may provide the service on their own terms.

Campos said P300 billion was around the range of the current market values of PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. Citing data, Campos said as of Feb. 15, PLDT and Globe had market values of P336 billion and P240 billion, respectively, based on the closing prices of their common shares at the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Market value, or market capitalization in the case of publicly traded companies such as PLDT and Globe, refers to the price that the market is willing to pay for an asset.

Campos earlier backed the government’s resolve to give preferential treatment to the third player, saying it was “absolutely justified” to drive market competition and give Filipinos access to faster and cheaper Internet connection speeds.

NEW ROAD. Senator Cynthia A. Villar and her son, Public Works Secretary Mark Villar, flank Las Piñas Mayor Imelda Aguilar (center) as they led the inauguration of a new road in Las Piñas City, as part of the senator’s continuing commitment to help ease traffic in the area and enable the faster movement of residents from the city and its surrounding areas. Norman Cruz

Bill on special protection of children in conflict areas THE House of Representatives has taken a major step toward enhancing state protection of children’s lives and their rights in times of war during which they are most vulnerable.

This came after the funding provision of a substitute bill titled “An Act providing for the special protection of children in situations of armed conflict and providing penalties for violations therefor” was approved by the House committee on appropriations committee chaired by Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles.

Nograles said the approved measure was the consolidation of five bills, namely House Bill 13, 1280, 2345, 3050, and 4676.

The funding provision of the bill was approved by the House appropriations committee last Jan. 17.

“The battle of Marawi City last year between government forces and Maute Group terrorists showed that dangerous situations for children can spring up anytime and out of nowhere. Having this proposed law in place would at least give us a legislative countermeasure to such instances,” Nograles said.

Terrorists occupied Marawi, Lanao del Sur on May 23, 2017.

This sparked a grueling door-to-door campaign by government troops, who would manage to liberate the city later in October.

“During that span of time, there were several reports of children being among the civilian fatalities of the various skirmishes.

We must give our kids greater protection from all forms of abuse and violence based on law,” Nograles said The bill provides protection to all children involved in, affected by or displaced by armed conflict as guaranteed under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, its Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict and all other core human rights treaties.

The bill also identifies the rights of Children in Situations of Armed Conflict, which, among others, includes the right to be considered objects of special respect, to be protected from any form of attacks or acts of violence, to be protected from participating in armed conflict, to be treated humanely in all circumstances, to seek asylum, to have access to justice, and to be united with their families. Maricel V Cruz

Manila

TODAY

6th Floor, Sunnymede IT Center, Quezon Avenue Quezon City

NOTICE

Notice is hereby given that CITYLAND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION. (owner/developer), has filed with this Board for the sale of condominium units of 101 XAVIERVILLE located in Xaviervillle Ave., Brgy. Loyola Heights, Quezon City, specifically described as Lot 3 Block 20 & Lot 2, Block 29, Psd-35337, covered

by TCT Nos. 004-2017000804 and 004-2016014690, respectively, with a total area of 1,800 square meters.

AIl papers relative thereto shall, upon request and payment of processing fee, be available for inspection during business hours by any person having legal interest thereon.

Absent any legal impediment, the name of the above-cited project is deemed registered and a certilicate, in evidence thereof, shall forthwith be issued after five (5) days from the last day of publication.

Quezon City, Metro Manila, FEB. 15, 2018.

(Sgd.) ATTY. NORMAN JACINTO P. DORAL Officer in Charge

(MS-FEB. 17 & 23, 2018)

By Rio N. Araja AS the country’s human immunodeficiency virus epidemic continues to worsen, Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte is batting for a nationwide implementation of an age-appropriate HIV education program for high school students.

“At a young age, they should be taught more about HIV and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome prevention,” she said during a forum on women and health.

As an advocate of reproductive health, she took into account the importance of raising the youth’s awareness about HIV and other infectious sexual diseases as a means to stem the seemingly unabated increase in the number of HIV infections, particularly in Metro Manila.

“I think there must be a need to raise awareness among the youth so they themselves could avoid getting the diseases,” she said.

Citing figures from the Department of Health, the vice mayor said there had been 11,103 confirmed HIV cases in 2017 nationwide, higher than the 9,264 cases recorded in 2016.

Bill on free dialysis OK welcomed

HOUSING AND LAND USE REGULATORY BOARD Standard Expanded National Capital Region Field Office

That the above owner/developer has issued an Affidavit of Undertaking in lieu of the proof of compliance to the modes and manners provided by RA7279 as amended by RA 10884. That within six (6) months after the issuance of the License to Sell, the owner/deve/oper of the main project shall submit the proof of compliance per HLURB’s revised IRR by which the developer of the main project can fulfiII and satisfy the balanced housing development requirement

Belmonte wants HIV education

MAKATI City Mayor Abigail Binay has warned village officials who failed to maintain safe and clean environment in their community they might be suspended or removed from the service.

Binay said failure to maintain sidewalks and streets already cleared and restored by city’s Department of Environment Service would make the community leaders liable for gross negligence or dereliction of duty.

Under Section 60 (c) of Republic Act 7160 (Local Government Code), these offenses are grounds for disciplinary action, including suspension and removal from office.

On Friday, Binay ordered DES personnel to intensify their sidewalk recovery operations throughout the city.

She also reminded the barangay officials to help the city government in the campaign and do their part in maintaining areas that have already been cleared.

The city chief executive said her administration remained firm in promoting order and discipline on the streets of Makati, mainly through the strict enforcement of local and national laws on environmental protection and road safety.

“We will continue to clear out all forms of obstruction on our streets and sidewalks, and that includes illegal vendors and their wares. We will apprehend violators of our environmental and traffic laws until they learn to obey the law,” said Binay.

Binay tapped DES chief engineer Leopoldo Parumog to keep track of areas cleared and flag those repeatedly found with obstruction during followup clearing operations.

“We will identify areas where our efforts are wasted because of incorrigible violators and negligent barangay officials,” she stressed.

She pointed out that pedestrians, motorists and the riding public were all put at risk when sidewalks were not ‘walkable’ and people were forced to walk on the street, which slowed down flow of traffic and added to traffic congestion.

Based on the full-year report of DES to the Office of the Mayor, its Solid Waste Management Division had cleared a total of 464 streets and sidewalks in 2017, with 294 in District 1 and 170 in District 2.

STAR TOLL WORK. These pictures show the ongoing regular and preventive road maintenance of Star Tollway Corp. along portions of its 42-km Star Tollway in Batangas (top photo) to further raise the level of safety and comfort of its motoring patrons.

Sabang Bridge (bottom photo) connects traffic between the Ibaan and Batangas City exits of the Star Tollway. Last year, STC restored and fortified the partly damaged bridge in Batangas City ahead of schedule. The P200-million project was completed in time for the Christmas season. Star Tollway now services more than 50,000 of vehicles daily. For immediate assistance, motorists may call 0917 511STAR (7827).

“We believe the substitute bill acA PARTY-LIST lawmaker on Friday welYELLOW knowledges two things: BLACK one, that health comed the approval at the committeeCYAN level MAGENTA of a substitute bill requiring government is something that the ordinary Filipino hospitals to provide free dialysis treatment could not afford, and two, that the government is scrimping on health budget despite to indigent patients.

Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Carlos the desperate need of our people. Our Isagani Zarate expressed.confidence the people begging for help for dialysis treatmeasure would hurdle plenary approval in ments is a common sight at the House of Representatives,” Zarate added. both chambers of Congress.

Last week, the House committee on “We call for the immediate passage of this bill. The government should decisively act on health approved the substituted House the worsening renal diseases in the country, Bills 621, 2466, 3924, 4391 and 5503 and exacerbated by worsening poverty,” Zarate, House Resolution 244.

The bill mandates all government hospitals member of the Makabayan Bloc, said.

Zarate said the bill recognized the “cata- to establish, operate, and maintain a dialysis strophic” financial drain caused by fight- service facility in their respective hospitals.

The bill provides for the establishment ing kidney diseases.

Zarate said “the steep cost of health of affordable and accessible kidney transservices of our country will set you back plant facilities in strategic areas across P25,000 to P46,000 a month for dialysis the country, as kidney transplantation has been shown to provide the highest treatment, a price very few can afford.”

“We filed this measure knowing that quality of life for end-stage renal disease patients. Maricel V. Cruz lives hang in the balance.”

Sports

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2018 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Petron faces souped-up Sta. Lucia in PSL opener

Henry Cojuangco Golden Miles Stakes Race set Sunday

Games Today

(Ynares Sports Center) 2 p.m. – Generika-Ayala vs Foton 4 p.m. – Sta. Lucia vs Petron

POWERHOUSE Petron takes the first step back to the crown when it clashes with a souped-up Sta. Lucia Realty squad to fire off the Chooks to GoPhilippine Superliga Grand Prix today at the Ynares Center.

Battle starts at 4 p.m. with the Blaze Spikers looking to come up with a roaring start in a bid to finally reclaim the elusive title in this tough club tourney bankrolled by Isuzu, Rebisco and UCPB Gen with ESPN5 as official broadcast partner.

Foton and Generika-Ayala will also gun for their first victory when they clash in the 2 p.m. first game of this battle that also has Asics, Mikasa, Mueller, Senoh, Gold’s Gym, Grand Sport and LGR as technical sponsors.

Although the much-anticipated import-flavored conference already gets underway with its first two matches, it will have the formal opening ceremonies at the Sta. Rosa City Sports Complex on Feb. 24 where all eight teams together with their imports, team captains and head coaches featured in the traditional parade of colors.

After losing in the finals for three straight years, the Blaze Spikers will be marching in this year’s Grand Prix with fire in their eyes, hoping to finally conquer the title in what is billed as the most prestigious, most competitive women’s volleyball tourney in the country.

American spikers Lindsay Stalzer and Hillary Hurley and Japanese libero Yuri Fukuda will be back to power the Blaze Spikers, who will parade the same core of Mika Reyes, Aiza MaizoPontillas, Frances Molina and Rhea Dimaculangan.

The only additions, however, are middle blocker Luth Malaluan, setter Angelica Legacion and libero Pia Gaiser, who will be making her PSL debut after a suffering knee injury in her final playing year for University of the Philippines in the UAAP.

TOP PH CYCLIST. Rex Luis Krog (third from right) is presented to the media by (from left) Jeremy Go, Vice President for Marketing of Powerball Marketing and Logistics Corp.; PhilCycling President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino and Go For Gold coach Ednalyn Calitis Hualda.

Krog, a student from Kalookan City, started off the year on a high note as he bagged a silver medal in the mass start event of the junior men’s division of the Asian Cycling Championships in Naypyidaw, Myanmar. It was the best finish by a Filipino in an Asian tournament.

POC to present new provisions to assembly

By Peter Atencio

T

OP officials of national sports associations who have been active members of the Philippine Olympic Committee for two consecutive years are eligible for election for president and chairman.

This is just one of the provisions that the executive board of the POC approved following a meeting Thursday at the Philsports Complex in Pasig City.

The provisions, however, will have to be approved by the General Assembly when they meet on Feb. 19.

If approved, the new resolution will be amended into the POC constitution and

bylaws, and affirmed by the POC elections’ committee.

“We are guided by the International Olympic Committee letter that we should take it among ourselves. That’s our guiding principle. When things go wrong, we should bring it to the General Assembly,” said POC spokesman Prospero Pichay.

On the legal side, lawyers of the POC will tackle the case that’s going on with the Pasig Regional Trial Court.

The next step is to designate an official representative of a national sports association to the POC general assembly when it holds its extraordinary meeting on Feb. 19.

Once resolved, elections can then be held on Feb. 23.

Pere Miro, IOC director general for National Olympic Committee relations, advised of their recommendations on the situ-

ations that the POC is currently facing.

Miro said that it is up to the POC general assembly, and not the courts, which should decide on internal issues concerning elections.

The director general cited Rule 27.6 of the Olympic Charter, which states that the IOC General Assembly has the final authority within the NOC to adopt (and consequently interpret) the NOC constitution, and freely elect the members of the executive board.

The executive board also resolved that each NSA should designate one official representative to the general assembly, and it could be the president, secretary general or vice president.

The board felt that another another acceptable interpretation of active membership is that a member must have attended around 50% of their meetings.

Thai cruises Rep. Antonio to 7-shot win savors World

PAVARISA Yoktuan pounced on Dottie Ardina’s wobbly start to fashion out a lopsided wire-to-wire seven-stroke victory in the ICTSI Splendido Ladies Classic yesterday, becoming the second Thai player to win after four legs of the 2018 Ladies Philippine Golf Tour.

Bracing for a fierce final round duel with the local ace, Yoktuan hardly found a challenge, pulling away by five despite a par-game at the turn as Ardina self-destructed with three bogeys in a birdie-less frontside stint despite near-ideal condition at the rolling Splendido Taal Golf Club course.

It was cruise control for the Thai bet from there as Ardina failed to rebound with three more bogeys against a lone birdie and Yoktuan scooted home to victory in sweltering heat past noon with a closing 72 on a two-birdie, two-bogey stint for a 54-hole total of 210 worth P150,000.

“It’s a nice feeling to win here for the first time,” said the 24-year-old Yoktuan who placed third in last week’s ICTSI Eagle Ridge Invitational won

by Chihiro Ikeda in a three-hole playoff over Korean amateur Lee Ji Hyeon.

“The greens were fast but overall, the course was in perfect shape.”

She thus added up to the growing list of Thai winners in recent LPGT tournaments, including Renuka Suksukont at the Phl Ladies Masters and Yupaporn Kawinpakorn at South Forbes last December and Beverly Place last month with Ikeda breaking their romp with a victory at Eagle Ridge earlier this month.

Ikeda actually tried to give chase in an earlier flight but the nine-shot overnight deficit proved too big to overcome for the Fil-Japanese shotmaker, who hit three birdies in the first 12 holes but could only come closest at six. She bogeyed No. 15 for a 70 and tied Ardina, who limped with a 77 after two 70s, and Korean amateur Kim Hee Ji, who matched par 72, at 217.

Ikeda and Ardina split the combined P155,000 purse with Kim taking the low amateur honors in the event sponsored by ICTSI and organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc.

Slasher feat

By Peter Paul Duran “MINSAN, malungkot din pala kapag solo champ ka lang, hindi gaanong maingay,” World Slasher Cup 2018 solo champ Patrick “Idol” Antonio jokingly said during his winner’s press conference at Novotel-Araneta Center in Cubao.

“Pero ‘di bale na, dito nalang tayo sa tahimik at masaya kaysa magulo at maingay,” he added during his speech.

Rep. Antonio, one of the winningest cockers in the Philippines, emerged as the lone victor of the International Invitational 9-cock Derby as he bested nearly 300 local and foreign participants.

His entry Sagupaan B-50 Forten/ Hammer PA and Inguel finished the tourney with 8.5 points after a grueling 88-fight Grand Finals, hosted by Pintakasi of Champions and sponsored by B-Meg, Thunderbird, Petron, Excellence Poultry, & Livestock Specialists.

The weeklong spectacle was also supported by Warhawk, media partners PitGames Media Inc., and the Journal Group.

Those that came close to victory with eight points each were Biboy Enriquez’ Firevbird 2 entry; Arnold Mendoza’s Legacy LSU; Frank Berin (WSC 2017 Solo Champ)/ Danny Buldog’s Feb 9

Toyota at stake in Gov Cup golf Patrick Antonio (right) with son Tony Antonio brandishing their WSC 2018 championship trophy

Entry; Henry Teves’ Tiffany entry; and newbie Rey Canedo of Davao and his teammates Chris Sioson and PitGames CEO Manny Berbano’s RC Warriors & Chris Purple Entry.

With the surprise good performance of first-timers, newcomers are expected to try their luck when the WSC 2 returns on May 6 to 12. The same nine-cock format will be adopted in the shorter, seven-

day cockfest.

For updates and more information, follow @WorldSlasherCUpOfficial page on Facebook, or visit the website www.worldslashercup.ph for more information.

Aspiring participants and Slasher returnees may call the Derby Office for registration details at 588-4000 local 8227 or 911-2928.

NBA All-Star Weekend on ABS-CBN, S+A THE world’s biggest basketball stars are set to converge once again for the annual NBA All-Star weekend, which will air live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, USA on ABS-CBN on Saturday and on S+ A on Sunday and Monday.

The festivities, which will feature a new All-Star Game format, begin with the Mountain Dew Kickstart Rising Stars Challenge this Saturday, which will be aired live on Channel 2 at 10 a.m. for “NBA SabaDOS” with coaches Ronnie Magsanoc and Benjie Paras covering the game.

The event features the top performing rookies and sophomores in a

THE Horse Aficionados of the Philippines (HAPI), in partnership with the Philippine Racing Commission and Manila Jockey Club, Inc., will hold their second annual Henry Cojuangco Cup, dubbed as the “2018 Henry Cojuangco Golden Mile Stakes Race” featuring the best imported and local horses.

Three undefeated thoroughbreds will headline the blue-ribbon event. Santa Clara Stockfarm’s Hitting Spree, Cool Summer Farm’s Tin Drum and Jade Brothers Farm’s Mystic Award all have their respective undefeated records at stake against the field that includes Joseph Dyhengco’s Atomicseventynine, Story Read Horse Farm’s Temecula, Emmanuel Santos’ Daiqui Lass and Atty. Narciso Morales’ Messi.

Last year saw Santa Clara Stockfarm’s Sakima besting six other horses in the inaugural race dedicated to one of the true gentleman and distinguished personality in Philippine horses racing, former Congressman Enrique “Henry” Cojuangco.

For this year, the total guaranteed prize is P1,500,000 with the winner getting P800,000, while 2nd to 4th placers will get P400,000, P200,000 and P100,000 respectively.

Race distance is 1,600 meters.

The event will take place at San Lazaro Leisure Park this coming Sunday, to be broadcast live at Cignal Channel 107 and Sky Cable Channel 113.

Hitting Spree will be ridden by KB Abobo, while Tin Drum will have RG Fernandez.

Mystic Award, which recently won the Imported Division of the Japan Cup, will have JD Juco as jockey, while Atomicseventynine, Temecula, Daiquiri Lass and Messi, will be ridden by AP Asuncion, JB Guce, JP Guce and JA Guce, respectively.

Established in 1867, the MJCI is the country’s premier horse racing club and one of the oldest existing racing clubs in the Asia Pacific region.

As a business entity, the MJCI was formally incorporated in 1937, operating the San Lazaro Leisure Park in Carmona, Cavite, which features world-class horse racing, gaming, and hospitality facilities.

MJCI’s broadcast outfit, the San Lazaro Broadcasting Network, transmits live horse races, eight days a month, enthralling a growing number of 300,000 horse racing fans at Off-Track Betting stations every race day.

Through partnerships with the Philippines’ leading cable-television and satellite-television providers, SLBN broadcasts Manila Jockey Club races to the entire country.

battle between Team USA and Team World. Team World is led by Philadelphia 76ers’ young superstars Joel Embiid from Cameroon and Ben Simmons from Australia. The US team, on the other hand, is bannered by electrifying Utah Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma.

On Sunday at 9 a.m., Embiid and fellow big men Andre Drummond, Lauri Markannen, and Al Horford will take on the Taco Bell Skills Challenge. Rockets guard Eric Gordon, meanwhile, will try to defend his crown in the JBL Three-Point Contest against the likes of 2016 threepoint king Klay Thompson, Kyle Lowry, Paul George, and Bradley Beal, while

high-flyers led by Victor Oladipo, Larry Nance Jr., and explosive rookies Mitchell and Dennis Smith Jr. will rock the crowd in the Verizon Slam Dunk contest.

The action peaks on Monday as Team LeBron and Team Stephen collide in the 67th All Star Game, which will also air LIVE on S+A at 9 a.m.

Team LeBron will be starting the King along with New Orleans’ Anthony Davis, Golden State’s Kevin Durant, Boston’s Kyrie Irving, and Oklahoma City’s Paul George. Matching up with them in Team Stephen are Curry, Houston’s James Harden, Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Embiid.

A BRAND-NEW Toyota Sienna and Toyota Wigo will be staked in the inaugural Governor’s Cup which fires off today (Saturday) at the 27-hole Pradera Verde Golf and Country Club in Lubao, Pampanga.

The Sienna is the top grand raffle prize while the Wigo is the major prize in the four-day tournament using the Stableford scoring system and organized by Pampanga Gov. Lilia Pineda.

Aside from the cars, a total of P5 million worth of raffle items and giveaways will be up for grabs for more than 500 participants, some will get the chance to test the course’s third nine.

The huge field will be divided into several groups according to their respective handicaps, according to Pradera Verde course designer and general manager Mike Singgaran.

LOTTO RESULTS 6/45 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ 4 DIGITS 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

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Shin shines with a 67, grabs 2-shot TCC golf lead

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2018

Micah Shin moves 18 holes away from blasting the opposition with superb bunker play.

Rivera picks up from where he left off REIGNING four-time National Slalom King and two-time FIA-Asian Gymkhana Champion Milo Rivera resumed his winning ways as he topped the kickoff leg of the 2018 Philippine Autocross Championship Series at Meycauayan Commercial Complex in Bulacan.

Rivera, backed by Federal Tyres, AutoPerformancePH, Brembo, United Auctioneers, Inc., and Placewell Intl.

Services, clocked a winning time of 52.31 seconds, a good 1.3 seconds ahead of Autocross champion Danby Yaptinchay. Coming in third was Carlos Anton of Mark Young Racing.

Rivera, who is aiming for his 5th straight National Slalom Crown this year, admitted that the race was one of the most grueling so far.

“This Autocross race was supposed to be an opportunity to fine tune and shake our car down in preparation for the 2018 Slalom Season, but we also wanted to win today in the process -- and it did not come easy at all,” said the multi-titled driver after the high speed track layout provided a thrilling and drama-filled battle between the Top 3 drivers throughout the day, as the event saw them exchanging best time after best time until the late stages of the afternoon. “Given we had one of the oldest cars on the grid, it became a huge challenge for us to keep up with the more dated and powerful cars of the others. We needed to make up ground on the corners and on the technical sections of the track, and we thank God that it was enough to give us the win in the end,” added Rivera, who pushed his green race-prepped 1970’s Toyota Starlet to its absolute limit.

Rivera now sets his sights on the season opener of the 2018 Phoenix National Slalom Series on March 11 at Robinsons Novaliches.

“It’s back to the drawing board for us as we continue to prepare for the 1st slalom leg, chasing a fifth straight title will probably be a steeper mountain to climb.

This win was very sweet but we have to continue doing our homework since we know this year is going to be very tough.

We’re happy with our start, but we can never be complacent. But nevertheless, we’re very excited with the year has in store for us,” added Rivera, who will still figure in some Autocross races in addition to running the 2018 Slalom season.

Blackwater wallops Kia Picanto, 95 to 76

By Elmer Manuel

B

LACKWATER made short work of Kia Picanto last night via a masterful 95-76 victory in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Elite notched their breaking away in the third Game today second straight victory in the quarter to coast to their (Batangas City Coliseum) season-opening conference 5 p.m. fourth win in nine games – Alaska vs. San Miguel as they improved to a 4-5 and claim a piece of eighth win-loss record while dealing spot with Phoenix. the Picanto their fourth straight loss, leaving Mike Digregorio sustained his hot shootthem languishing at the cellar with a 1-8 card. ing, while Poy Erram was a force down low The Elite previously beat powerhouse once again for the Elite. Digregorio finished San Miguel, 106-96. with 21 points, while Erram contributed 17 The win also kept Blackwater’s hopes points and 14 rebounds for Blackwater. alive in the playoffs, while eliminating Kia Allein Maliksi was the only other player in the process. in double figures for the Elite, chipping in 14 The Elite saw the cellar-dwelling Pi- points. canto engage them in a close battle before Nobody is more elated than coach Leo

La Salle stays perfect in UAAP volley Games Saturday

Milo Rivera blazes his green Toyota Starlet to victory during the 1st Leg of the 2018 Philippine Autocross Championship Series at Meycauayan Commercial Complex. Inset shows Rivera lifting his 4th straight National Slalom King trophy during the 2017 Phoenix Petroleum National Slalom SeriesChampionship Awards Night.

Nickey Jones Bautista, Bong Boado

Arellano University draws 1st blood in volley finals ARELLANO University’s Christian dela Paz finished as the second best outside spiker behind rookie MVP Joebert Almodiel of Perpetual Help.

Dela Paz, however, made sure he will be second fiddle no more in the biggest stage of all—the finals.

Drawing strength from Dela Paz outshining Almodiel, Arellano University pulled the rug from under Perpetual Help, 12-25, 25-21, 19-25, 26-24, 15-9, yesterday to inch closer to snaring its very first

men’s championship in the if necessary, is on Thursday.

Games Monday 93rd NCAA volleyball tour“We just focused on (Filoil Flying V Center) nament at the Filoil Flying V 11 a.m.- UPHSD vs Letran (jrs) helping each other as a team 2 p.m.- UPHSD vs AU (m) Center in San Juan City. and not get intimidated 4 p.m.- SBU vs AU (w) The 20-year-old dela Paz, a by them,” said dela Paz, transferee from of University who hails from Parang, of the Philippines, unleashed a 24-point Marikina, in Filipino. performance, including 23 off kills to In juniors’ action, Letran eliminated power the Chiefs to a 1-0 edge in their top seed Emilio Aguinaldo, 25-23, 28-30, best-of-three title duel and a victory away 25-23, 25-23, to arrange a best-of-three from claiming their first ever crown. title duel with No. 2 seed Perpetual Help Game 2 is on Monday while a decider, starting on Monday.

P.5M up for grabs in Philracom 3YO Stakes Race A GUARANTEED prize of P500,000 will be up for grabs in the 1st leg of the Philippine Racing Commission’s 3YO Local Fillies and Colts Stakes Race on Sunday at the San Lazaro Leisure Park in Carmona, Cavite.

To be run over a distance of 1,400 meters, the race will award P300,000 to the champion horse. Second to fourth placers will get P112,500, P62,500 and P25,000, respectively, with P15,000 awarded to the breeder of the winning horse.

Aiming for bragging rights as the best three-year-old local in the country today are Aphrodisiac of multi-titled owner Hermie Esguerra; Misha of Leonardo M. Javier Jr.; Probinsyano of Napoleon M.

Isaac, who sees the win as a big moral boost for his wards.

“We want to keep our hopes alive and that could only happen if we continue our winning ways,” Isaac said.“That win against San Miguel was like a shot in the arm and with this convincing win against Kia, maybe we can go on and move up to the next level in terms of confidence, maturity, and all things that could add up to our game on Sunday.”

Kia actually was putting up a decent fight in the first half as it trailed, 2125, in the first quarter and 41-47 at the break, although Blackwater managed to keep its foe at bay.

A different story unfolded in the third canto, as Digregorio picked up the pace and led the Elite’s fiery run to erect a 75-58 advantage in the 1:56 mark.

STA. ROSA, Laguna—Micah Shin provided the spark and sheen in an otherwise punishing day at The Country Club here yesterday, producing a stirring five-under 67 that shoved the young American past Miguel Tabuena in the third round of the TCC Invitational-Don Pocholo Razon Memorial Cup. While the rest of the elite field came in ruffled by the gusts for the third straight day and rued the tough pin placements in the pivotal third round, Shin made it look a little bit easy with his crisp driving, near-impeccable iron game and exceptional putting, taming the dreaded backside with a mind-boggling 32 to grab the lead at four-under 212.

What made his feat doubly astounding was he did it despite fumbling with a triple-bogey on an errant drive on the tight par-4 No. 4, playing the last 12 holes in six-under, capped by a birdie-birdie windup in a finish that could easily win major championships on an exacting course like the TCC. “I made a number of solid drives today (yesterday). Most of them landed on the fairways, an important aspect that I must duplicate in the final round to get a shot at the time,” said Shin, who grew up and honed his talent and skills in Davao.

But outside his birdie splurge, Shin, whose lean frame belies his power off the tee, made mention of his spectacular par-save on the par-4 No. 9 where he hit a wayward drive into the bushes, took a penalty drop and hacked a solid approach to within five feet.

“That’s my shot of the day,” he said.

Tabuena held sway majority of the way, mixing two birdies against the same number of bogeys after 15 holes but after Shin holed out with that birdie-birdie feat and moved up by one in a flight ahead, the defending champion went for a birdie to tie but ended up with a bogey and fell by two, his 73 dropping him to second at 214.

Magno; Smell My Tail of Antonio V. Tan Jr.; coupled entry Sotogrande and The Barrister of Dennis C. Tan; and Yosemite of Stony Road Horse Farm Inc. “These are among the best three-yearold horses around and are slowly carving a name for themselves in the business. I’m sure our racing aficionados will be in for another good racing treat,” said Philracom Chairman Andrew A. Sanchez.

Many eyes will be trained on Aphrodisiac, sired by Quaker Ridge out of Bourbon St. Blues, and Misha, with Zap and Syrinx as parents, as they are the only fillies in the field and the lightest too at 52 kilograms, with all the colts weighing 54 kilograms.

The rest of the field are just as

impressive as their bloodlines.

Probinsyano has Fantasticat and Destiny’s Gold as parents, while Smell My Tail Male came from Prize Cat and Constatic. Sotogrande was sired by Cat Brulay out of Baranawa; while The Barrister was also fathered by Cat Brulay with K Mister Vee as its mother. On the other hand, Yosemite boasts of Borobudur and Tereshkove as its parents.

The race will be run over the short distance of 1,400 meters.

The Philracom is slowly reaping the benefits of its innovations and membership in the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities as it arrested the decline of horse-racing revenues for the past three years.

(Filoil Flying V Centre) 8 a.m. – Ateneo vs UE (Men) 10 a.m. – FEU vs UP (Men) 2 p.m. – Ateneo vs UE (Women) 4 p.m. – FEU vs UP (Women)

DEFENDING champion De La Salle remained perfect, but not without overcoming a tough Far Eastern University stand, 25-22, 25-17, 24-26, 23-25, 15-7, in the UAAP Season 80 women’s volleyball tournament Wednesday night at the Filoil Flying V Centre.

The Lady Spikers doesn’t mind going through the tough grind.

“It’s a good thing. Kasi at least nakikita mo kung anong dapat ayusin sa team at ma-test ‘yung character,” said coach Ramil de Jesus, as De La Salle will face National University in a duel of unbeaten squads on Sunday.

The Lady Spikers were at match point in the third set before the Lady Tamaraws got their bearings to extend the game and eventually force a decider.

The game was hanging in the balance in the fifth set when De La Salle broke away from a 5-5 standoff, as FEU gave away four points from errors and Desiree Cheng closed out the game with a kill from a superb Michelle Cobb toss.

Letting it rain in the service zone, Adamson University exceeded its one-win output last year and moved up in third place, with a 25-9, 27-25, 25-20 win over University of the Philippines in the curtain raiser.

Kim Kianna Dy had 18 points, including two blocks, reigning MVP Majoy Baron added 16 points, while Aduke Ogunsanya added 11 points, including four blocks, for the Lady Spikers.

Do-or-die UNTV tiffs THE NHA Builders and the Games on Sunday AFP Cavaliers will try to avenge (Meralco gym, Pasig City) 3 p.m. – AFP vs Senate their losses in the UNTV Cup 4:30 p.m. – NHA vs semifinals to the Senate DeMalacañang-PSC fenders and Malacañang-PSC, respectively, on Sunday at the Meralco gym in Pasig City.

The winners will arrange a championship showdown for the UNTV Cup Season 6 crown.

The two-time champions AFP Cavaliers go headto-head against the rejuvenated Senate Defenders at 3 p.m., before the NHA Builders battle league veterans Malacañang-PSC Kamao at 4:30 p.m.

The champion will receive the top prize of P4 million for its chosen charitable institution, while P2 million goes to the runner-up.

The AFP Cavaliers will rely on their veteran and championship experience, while the Senate Defenders, led by the playmakers/lawmakers Senators Sonny Angara and Joel Villanueva, will capitalize on their unselfish plays and rigorous NHA Builders’ John Derick defense, but this time without James Ryan Mangaran who Dizon elevates for a reverse lay up in the UNTV Cup. will serve a one-game suspension.

IN BRIEF Dominguez invites Alibaba to help PH FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has invited the Alibaba Group to team up with the Duterte administration and the private sector in building an inclusive financial system in the Philippines.

Dominguez said in a statement having an inclusive financial system would help fuel growth in rural communities and level the playing field for small businesses.

Dominguez said a closer relationship between the Philippine government and Alibaba was among the ways of further cementing bilateral ties between the Philippines and China.

Ma, during a closed-door meeting with visiting Philippines government officials in Hangzhou, China on Feb. 1, said the Philippines, like other emerging economies, had a “huge potential” to embrace the technology revolution, especially because he believes that e-commerce was specifically designed for developing countries.

“This delegation coming here made a very brave and inspiring step forward to embrace and understand the technology revolution,” said Ma. Julito G Rada

Business

Phoenix’s ‘17 profit rose 65% to P1.79b PHOENIX Petroleum Philippines Inc. is bullish on growth this year after recording a 65-percent increase in net income last year to P1.792 billion from P1.092 billion in 2016 “Phoenix Petroleum’s momentum in 2017 is a result of its investments over many years in its people, products, and partnerships. We will continue to be opportunistic as we grow the business,” said Phoenix president and chief executive officer Dennis Uy. The company reported triple all-time highs in sales volume, revenues and net income on core business.

Phoenix said core income still reached an all-time high of ₱1.421 billion, or a 30-percent increase year-on-year, taking out the non-recurring gains and costs related to the newly-acquired liquefied petroleum gas business.

The 2017 financial results include the partial consolidation of the LPG business beginning August 2017.

Phoenix’s revenues also increased 45 percent to ₱44.426 billion last year.

“The solid full year core income growth underscores the strength of the fuels business, in which sales volume increased by 17 percent to 1.76 billion liters from 1.5 billion liters in 2016,” Phoenix said. Alena Mae S. Flores

Hot money fell to $162.16m in January—BSP

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2018

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By Darwin G. Amojelar

PTT AT SCTEX. PTT Philippines president and chief executive officer Sukanya Seriyothin (middle) is assisted by top executives from PTT headquarters in Thailand, led by Auttapol Rerkpiboon, chief operating officer of PTT Downstream Petroleum Business Group, Poomsak Aranyakasemsuk, board member of PTT Oil and Retail Business Company Limited; Wilaiwan Kanjanakanti, executive vice president of PTT Group Finance and Accounting Policy; and Wisarn Chawalitanon, EVP of PTT International Marketing, during the recent grand opening of PTT’s biggest service station in the Philippines at the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway. Manny Palmero

ERC vows to rule on 100 pending energy petitions

By Alena Mae S. Flores

T

HE Energy Regulatory Commission vowed to issue promulgations on 60 pending and 40 new cases within 60 days after the four suspended commissioners received a 60-day reprieve from the Court of Appeals.

The four commissioners are now back at work, with ERC immediately extending the certificate of compliances and provisional authority to operate of nine generation companies to allow them to trade in the electricity market.

“We have extended the COCs and PAOs of nine gencos so they can continue to operate and participate in the

WESM (Wholesale Electricity Spot Market),” ERC chairperson Agnes Devanadera said. WESM operates the country’s electricity spot market.

The development is expected to allay concerns on possible power supply shortage due to the inability of the generators to trade their output at the WESM. ERC said it approved two new COCs with a capacity of 175 MW. The regulator is also presently evaluating seven COCs with a capacity of 1,124.7 MW. ERC is set to inspect eight COCs for renewal of certificates set to expire in June and with a total capacity of 856.68 MW. The regulator extended the provisional authority of seven generation firms to operate a total capacity of 479.97 MW and granted extension to 19 expiring PAOs with a combined capacity of 510.73 MW.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, head of the Senate committee on energy, is confident reinstatement of the four commissioners at the ERC would avert any power supply shortage during the dry months.

He said the ERC committed to resolve two pending cases everyday over the next 60 days to address a pending backlog following the suspension of four commissioners by the Office of the Ombudsman in December.

The Court of Appeals issued a 60-day temporary restraining order stopping the suspension of the four commissioners.

The Ombudsman ordered a one-year suspension on commissioners Josefina Patricia Asirit, Alfredo Non, Geronimo Sta. Ana and Gloria Yap-Taruc in December for allegedly giving Manila Electric Co. an undue advantage when it extended the submission of its PSA applications.

By Julito G. Rada FOREIGN portfolio investments, or “hot money,” posted a net inflow of $162.16 million in January on fund managers’ optimism over the passage of the first phase of the government’s tax reform program and positive news on corporate earnings, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Friday.

The bank regulator also attributed the expected higher government spending for infrastructure projects under the ambitious P8.4-trillion “Build, Build, Build” program for the net inflow.

However, the January figure was lower than the net inflow of $301 million a year ago, and $457 million a month ago.

Total inflows in January reached $1.62 billion, up from $1.147 billion a year ago, while total outflows hit $1.46 billion, higher than $845 million on year.

“About 69.2 percent of investments registered during the month were in Philippine Stock Exchange-listed securities (pertaining mainly to holding firms, banks, property companies, food, beverage and tobacco firms, and utilities companies),” Bangko Sentral said.

The 30.8-percent balance went to peso government securities. Transactions in PSE-listed securities and peso government securities yielded net inflows of $80 million and $82 million, respectively.

The United Kingdom, the United States, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong were the top five investor countries for the month, with a combined share of 80.2 percent.

The US continued to be the main destination of outflows, receiving 79.9 percent of total remittances.

Foreign portfolio investments are also called “hot money” because of the ease they are invested in and taken out of the domestic financial markets.

business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com

Common tower policy enforced in early 2019

Banks’ reserve cut to depreciate peso THE local unit of Dutch financial giant ING Bank said Friday the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ one-percentage point cut in banks’ reserve requirement ratio from 20 percent to 19 percent will likely result in a weaker peso.

The reserve requirement (or cash reserve ratio) is a central bank regulation employed by most, but not all, of the world’s central banks, that sets the minimum amount of reserves that must be held by a commercial bank.

ING Bank Manila senior economist Joey Cuyegkeng said in a report the cut in the reserve requirement ratio was consistent with the bank’s perception of a dovish Bangko Sentral bias following last week’s statement on policy rates and upwardly-revised inflation forecast.

“The cut supports the view of greater tolerance towards a weaker currency. The 1 ppt cut infuses P90 billion of liquidity into the system,” Cuyegkeng said. Julito G. Rada

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor

THE government is pushing for the implementation of a common tower policy by early next year despite the opposition from telecommunications companies.

“The estimated implementation of common tower policy is early next year,” Presidential Adviser on Economic Affairs and ICT Ramon Jacinto said.

A common tower policy means operators will no longer be allowed to build towers and instead lease space from a tower company (TowerCo).

Jacinto said Tower Cos. would concentrate on rapidly deploying towers to cover the entire Philippines, adequately freeing up the telecom operators.

“TowerCo’s are not a new concept around the world and is in fact a policy in many countries, including the US, Indonesia, India and many others. In each country, it has proven to improve the deployment of cellular towers and improve cellular services and coverage,” Jacinto said.

“The Philippine needs at least around 50,000 cellular towers to be able to have the proper coverage and provide adequate service to the Philippine people but right now only has around 16,000, covering only 8,000 locations,” he said.

He estimated that building a tower would cost an average of roughly $100,000 each, and require $50 billion roll out of 50,000 towers nationwide.

Earlier, PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. said the government could not prohibit them from building their own cellular towers.

“Under our franchise, we are authorized to put our own networks (as) an act of Congress. They can only amend that though Congress and not even Malacañang can amend that,” Globe general counsel Froilan Castelo said.

He said prohibiting companies to build their own tower was a monopolistic act.

PLDT chairman and chief executive Manuel Pangilinan said his company should be allowed to build its own cellular towers pursuant to the requirements of Smart and PLDT.

Okada Manila bares operating loss of P4.45b

By Jenniffer B. Austria

MSME HELP. The Department of Trade and Industry teams up with telecommunications giant PLDT Inc. and Go Negosyo to equip over 100,000 medium- and small-scale enterprises with digital solutions and expand opportunities through e-commerce by 2020. At the MSME e-commerce enablement program launch are (from left) PLDT SME Nation head Mitch Locsin, DTI-Bureau of Small and Medium Enterprise Development director Jerry Clavesillas, DTI-Bureau of Domestic Trade Promotion Assistant Director Marievic Bonoan, PLDT Enterprise senior vice president Jovy Hernandez, League of Provinces of the Philippines executive director Sandra Tablan-Paredes, DTI-Regional Operations Group Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya, DTI-ROG Assistant Secretary Demphna Du-Naga, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo Founder Jose Ma. Concepcion, PLDT Chief Revenue Officer Eric Alberto and Voyager and PayMaya President and CEO Orlando Vea.

PH air panel seeks talks with Canada, HK, four others THE Philippine air panel plans to hold air talks with six countries this year in a bid to expand flights in these major sources of tourists for the country, the Civil Aeronautics Board.

“We are asking Australia, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, India and Papua New Guinea,” CAB executive director Carmelo Arcilla said.

Arcilla said these countries were growth areas to expand for Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Air Asia Inc. He said the Philippine air panel was still waiting for the availability of the countries to hold bilateral air talks.

The Philippine air services negotiat-

ing panel is composed of officials from the CAB, Department of Tourism, Departments of Transportation and Foreign Affairs, as well as from Clark International Airport Corp. and representatives of local airline companies.

Data from the Department of Tourism showed that Japan, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and India were the country’s major sources of tourists last year.

Tourists arrival from Japan grew 9.1 percent to 584,180 last year from 535,238 tourists in 2016, while arrivals from Australia expanded 3.3 percent to 259,433 from 251,098.

Arrivals from Canada reached

200,640, while Hong Kong and India registered 111,135 and 107,278, respectively.

Tourists from Papua New Guinea rose 4.8 percent to 8,110 last year from 7,738 in 2016.

Other major tourists market for the Philippines are Korea, China, US, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Singapore and Malaysia.

The Philippines in 2017 registered a total 6.62 million tourists, up 11 percent from 5.97 million tourists in 2016.

The government aims to attract 7.5 million foreign tourists this year.

Darwin G. Amojelar

OKADA Manila, the resort and casino complex owned by Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada in Pagcor Entertainment City, reported an operating loss of 9.024 billion yen (P4.45 billion) in nine months ending December 31, 2017 due to higher expenses.

Parent firm Universal Entertainment Leisure said in the latest filing with the Tokyo Stock Exchange that Okada Manila booked sales of 16.05 billion yen (P7.91 billion).

Universal Entertainment said it would pursue efforts to increase the revenue and improve profit of Okada Manila, adding it saw the casino resort business becoming the second core business of the Japanese gaming company.

“Consequently, the outlook is for the Casino Resort Business to grow to become the second core business alongside the Pachislot and Pachinko Business in 2018, resulting in a substantial change in the composition of consolidated sales,” Universal Entertainment said.

Universal Entertainment said Okada Manila was focused on the final stage of construction, which included completing more hotel rooms in preparation for the full opening of Okada Manila.

The start of full-scale operations of a VIP casino is also expected to make a big contribution to sales.

Okada Manila in December 2017 started operating Cove Manila, an allweather dome that features Southeast Asia’s largest night club and beach club.

“The clubs immediately became a popular destination for guests. The dome is a key symbol of this casino and resort along with The Fountain, a multi-color fountain that is one of the world’s largest,” Universal Entertainment said.

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Business

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2018 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Purchase of Chicago exchange is blocked NEW YORK―US regulators Thursday blocked the purchase of the Chicago Stock Exchange (CHX) by a group of investors including the Chinese company Chongqing Casin.

Two years after the announcement of the deal, US Securities and Exchange Commission regulators cited a lack of clarity in the details of the deal, including an inability to identify who exactly would control the exchange.

US congressmen last summer expressed concern at the prospect of a Chinese company being among the largest shareholders of a US stock market―while President Donald Trump also raised the issue during his campaign.

The decision comes as commercial relations between Washington and Beijing remain tense.

US President Donald Trump, denouncing unfair trade, once again threatened trade sanctions against China Tuesday. The next day, Beijing warned against “any sign of unilateralism or protectionism” from Washington.

According to CHX’s proposal, Chongqing Casin would have acquired 29 percent of the Chicago Stock Exchange. The son of Chongqing Casin’s board chairman, a US citizen, would have bought 11 percent of the company. The rest would have been divided among various American groups and individuals.

The SEC assessed that there was not enough information to prove those parties were not somehow linked to the Chinese company.

It also argued it could not be certain that it would be able to access the Chinese shareholder’s accounts if necessary.

Faced with suspicion from the authorities, three other Chinese groups initially looking to invest pulled out last autumn. AFP

US Bankcorp owns violation, to pay $613m WASHINGTON―American lender US Bancorp has agreed to pay $613 million to US authorities for violations of money laundering controls, including an attempted cover-up, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.

The parent company of US Bank, the fifth-largest lender in the United States, also admitted the bank processed billions of dollars in questionable transactions for disgraced payday lender and former race car driver Scott Tucker, who was sentenced to 16 years in prison in January.

“We regret and have accepted responsibility for the past deficiencies in our (anti-money laundering) program,” US Bank CEO Andy Cecere said in a statement.

“Our culture of ethics and integrity demands that we do better.”

Federal prosecutors said US Bank deliberately capped the number of suspicious transaction alerts generated by its internal monitoring system from 2009 to 2014, and then hid this from the Treasury Department.

The bank also processed Western Union cash transactions on behalf of senders who were not bank customers without scrutinizing them for money laundering risk, according to the statement.

The bank also failed to make timely reports on billions in transactions by Tucker between 2011 and 2013, who laundered funds from a fraudulent payday lending scheme using sham accounts opened in the names of companies purportedly owned by Native Americans, according to the Justice Department.

Bank employees disregarded Tucker’s suspicious activities, including millions spent on an Aspen, Colorado vacation home and his Ferrari racing team, and failed to file suspicious activity reports even after closing some of Tucker’s accounts in the face of media scrutiny, the statement said.

US Bank continued to open new Tucker accounts and did not file a suspicious activity report even after learning of a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit against his businesses, doing so only after being served with a federal subpoena, prosecutors said. AFP

Asian, Tokyo markets advance

COLOMBO MAZE. This photograph taken on February 15, 2018, shows hows heavy traffic moving along a road in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo. AFP

French economy recovers

By Adam Plowright

P

ARIS, France―The good news keeps coming for the French economy: data published Thursday showed unemployment at its lowest level since 2009 while the head of the IMF praised recent reforms by President Emmanuel Macron.

Long seen as the weakest of Europe’s major economies, French GDP is expanding at its highest rate in years, with optimism underpinned by the pro-business agenda being implemented by the government.

Statistics agency INSEE said Thursday that unemployment had fallen to 8.9 percent nationwide in the final quarter of 2017, down 0.7 percentage points to its lowest level since 2009.

The uptick in the jobs market has led some companies to warn about skills shortages, a dramatic turnaround for an economy that has consistently lagged its better performing neighbors.

“We’ve had new job creation at a very high level in 2017 which was sufficient to reduce unemployment,” commented economist Bruno Ducoudre at the OFCE economic institute.

On a day of bumper announcements, online giant Amazon also said that it planned to create 2,000 new jobs in France in 2018, most of them in its warehouses.

Economists stress that the improving conditions are partly down to stronger

growth across Europe generally, as well as reforms launched by previous president Francois Hollande.

But the head of the International Monetary Fund emphasized Thursday the role of recent policy changes under Macron.

“We need to recognize clearly the quality and the ambition of the reforms that have been started,” Christine Lagarde said on Thursday during a visit to the economy ministry in Paris.

Macron, a 40-year-old centrist elected in May, has promised a “transformation” of the economy and social system to make France an easier place to start companies and more attractive for investors.

His first annual budget cut taxes on companies and profits on financial investments, while his government is preparing a second wave of reforms focused on improving training for workers and the unemployed.

Economic growth is forecast to be around 2.0 percent in 2018, while expansion of 1.9 percent in 2017 was the highest level in six years, according to INSEE. Fragile president Tackling mass unemployment is Macron’s number one priority, with joblessness a scourge for high-poverty areas around major cities and felt particularly acutely by the under 25s.

Around 20 percent of young people are out of work, according to the INSEE figures, down from around 25 percent.

Macron has promised to bring the overall unemployment level down to 7.0 percent by the end of his term in 2022, but early complaints about skills shortages underline the scale of the task.

France has high levels of long-term unemployed workers who are unskilled, making them unattractive for companies looking to take on new staff.

A survey by INSEE in October found that half of companies in the construction sector were having difficulty finding skilled labor, while 38 percent of industrial groups faced the same problem.

“Everything is just starting for us,” Economy Minister Economy Minister Bruno commented as he played down the unemployment figures. “I think that for results, notably on the jobs front, we will need two years.”

Despite the improving economy, Macron’s approval ratings remain low and volatile, with a new survey out on Wednesday showing him down five points in February to 35 percent.

This makes him less popular than his predecessor Francois Hollande at the same point in his term in office, the polling group Ispos said.

Other surveys have shown that French people are worried about their own household budgets and are not convinced that Macron’s reforms will deliver improvements in their own lives.

The young president, a former investment banker, has been labelled the “president of the rich” by opponents to his pro-business agenda that has so far favored company owners.

“I’m not obsessed at this stage whether people have confidence in me or not for their purchasing power because if someone asks you a question about it, we’re all the same, we want more,” Macron told reporters on Tuesday. AFP

Extended deal with non-Opec members eyed

SECOND TERM.

Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda (right) answers a question beside Japan’s Finance Minister Taro Aso (behind, left) while attending a financial committee meeting of the lower house of the parliament in Tokyo on February 16, 2018. Japan’s government nominated Haruhiko Kuroda for a second term as central bank governor on February 16, handing the veteran finance chief more time to battle deflation and kick-start the world’s number-three economy.

AFP

Indonesia mulls over lax palm oil rules in EU deal JAKARTA, Indonesia―Palm oil giant Indonesia is pressing the European Union to abandon plans to apply strict environmental standards to the sector and silence “negative” criticism about the commodity, documents obtained by AFP have revealed.

The papers, marked “not for publication” and for distribution only on a “need to know” basis, reflect Jakarta’s wish list for a critical industry as the two sides hammer out new rules for a trading relationship worth $35 billion a year.

Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of palm oil―used in everything from food to cosmetics―and vast swathes of rainforest have been destroyed to make way for plantations that are the backbone of Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.

This annual slash-and-burn clearing threatens endangered species and fuels annual forest fires that plague the region.

Indonesia and the EU kick off a fourth and possibly final round of negotiations―covering a wide range of trade, investment and intellectual property rules―from Monday in the archipelago nation.

The documents outline a call for the EU to apply Jakarta’s own government

TOKYO―Asian stock markets climbed on Friday in thin holiday trade, led by gains in Tokyo, as volatility eased after last week’s rollercoaster ride.

Tokyo tracked Wall Street higher as investors gradually regained confidence heading into the weekend and set aside inflation fears that had sparked the market meltdown last week.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 1.19 percent, or 255.27 points, to 21,720.25 while the broader Topix index was up 1.05 percent, or 18.10 points, at 1,737.37.

However, trading was generally subdued in the region as many markets, including in China, Hong Kong and South Korea, were closed for the Chinese New Year break.

“Risk-averse attitude will be receding gradually with a sense of bottoming out in US shares,” Okasan Online Securities said.

Among major individual Japanese stocks, Sony rose 1.75 percent to 5,264 yen and Toyota gained 0.92 percent to 7,208 yen.

Tokyo Electron, a manufacturer of chip-making equipment, added 1.81 percent to 20,425 yen after a brokerage upgraded its estimate of the firm’s value.

On Thursday Wall Street had continued its rebound from a sixday losing stretch that sent major indices down more than 10 percent―considered correction territory.

US indices closed higher for the fifth straight session, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both gaining 1.2 percent.

There were also gains in Europe, though more muted.

As for other markets open in Asia, the Australian ASX ended fractionally down 0.08 percent.

The New Zealand market fared better, closing up nearly 0.77 percent.

Oil markets also firmed, driven by greater risk appetite and a weaker dollar, which has been a “significant component driving market sentiment”, according to Stephen Innes, an analyst at OANDA. AFP

sustainability standard―despite serious concerns about its credibility―rather than a tougher European certification scheme that was proposed in April last year.

Only a minority of Indonesian palm oil plantations currently even meet Jakarta’s relatively lax standards.

Separately, Indonesia and neighboring Malaysia―another major palm oil producer―have slammed the European Parliament’s move to ban the use of the commodity in biofuels from 2021.

They say that the ban would devastate rural communities where many smallscale farmers survive by cultivating the crop.

Indonesia’s trade ministry declined to comment on the leaked text, which is dated June 2017.

The last round of talks were in September last year, and it is not clear if the documents reflect Jakarta’s latest position in negotiations, which began in mid-2016.

European Commission officials said they would not comment on an alleged leak. However, they said any final deal would not come at the expense of acceptable environmental or labour standards.

One passage calls for the EU to leg-

islate against “negative” messaging and campaigns with “misleading nutrition, health and/or environmental claims,” in an apparent bid to head off criticism about palm oil’s impact.

The industry frequently accuses rival foreign vegetable oil firms of working with NGOs to launch “black campaigns” against the sector.

However, there is “no question of limiting the possibilities of any entity in the EU to inform consumers about products available in the market”, a Commission spokesman told AFP. Jakarta also wants the EU to agree that one party must compensate the other for any economic losses “due to the pursuit of sustainability.”

Environmentalists said Jakarta’s call to apply its own sustainability program demonstrates Indonesia isn’t serious enough about addressing the ecological impact of its palm oil sector.

“The (government standard) is not sufficient enough to ensure sustainability as it allows conversion of natural forest” to plantations, environmental group WWF’s Indonesia office said in a statement after reviewing documents supplied by AFP. “So, in our mind, (it) does not fulfil (the) EU market requirement of sustainability compliance.” AFP

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates―Oil cartel Opec aims to agree on a longerterm partnership with non-member producers by the end of the year, United Arab Emirates Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei told local media Thursday.

Mazrouei, who currently holds the rotating Opec presidency on behalf of UAE, says putting a “draft charter” in place by the end of 2018 is a goal of his government, in an interview published by The National.

The objective, the minister said, is “for this group to stay together for a longer time”.

Opec kingpin Saudi Arabia in January first called for extending cooperation between the 14-member cartel and independent producers after a deal it spearheaded with Russia to cut output succeeded in shoring up prices.

The call, the first explicit invitation

by Riyadh for long-term cooperation between Opec and non-Opec oil producers, came with oil prices topping $70 a barrel thanks to the deal, after they dove below $30 a barrel in early 2016.

Producers have hailed the cut of 1.8 million barrels per day as a major boost for crude markets.

Mazrouei in January said the number of independent producers who have joined the deal had climbed to 16 countries, up from 10 originally.

Leading non-member Russia has appeared less committed to the idea of establishing a permanent framework, however.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak in January said the cooperation had thus far been a “successful experiment” but added that “mutual action between Opec and non-Opec countries” could also continue in the form of “consultations.” AFP

World

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2018

B3

Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

Movie fans toast release of Marvel’s ‘Black Panther’ KISUMU, Kenya―The release this week of Marvel Studios’ latest superhero outing, “Black Panther”, has triggered the enthusiasm of African movie fans and a sense of pride that Hollywood has finally plugged a gap.

With an almost entirely black cast and a young African-American director, Ryan Coogler, the film has already won rave reviews for its stereotype-busting portrayal of Africa.

After all the hype, select audiences in African countries have got a sneak preview of the new blockbuster―and many agree it’s an important moment in popular culture.

“As I was watching the movie with friends, I remember we all felt part of history. This is beyond a movie. This is huge,” said Brian Barasa, a 29-year-old Kenyan who says he has loved comic books for as long as he can remember.

Set in the fictional African country of Wakanda, the film’s focus on black protagonists, stories and culture sets it clearly apart from other superhero movies.

But hero T’Challa, the king of Wakanda played by Chadwick Boseman, is not the first black superhero to hit the big screen.

Barasa, who co-founded the Nairobi Comic Convention in 2014, points out that was “Blade”―a vampire with human traits portrayed by actor Wesley Snipes in the trilogy between 1998 and 2004. AFP

YEAR OF THE DOG. A woman holds traditional lanterns during celebrations marking the first day of the Lunar New Year in Yangon’s Chinatown district on February 16, 2018.

The 2018 Lunar New Year fell on February 16 across much of Asia, marking the start of the Year of the Dog. AFP

Troubled teen admits to killing 17 students P

ARKLAND-A troubled teen has confessed to gunning down 17 people at his former high school in Florida, court documents showed Thursday, as the FBI admitted it had received a tip-off about the 19-year-old gunman yet failed to stop him.

POSE. Indian Bollywood actress Aditi Rao Hydari poses for a picture during the ‘Femina Beauty Awards in Mumbai. AFP

Oxfam unveils action plan after sex scandal LONDON―Oxfam unveiled an action plan Friday to tackle sexual misconduct following a prostitution scandal described as “a stain on Oxfam that will shame us for years” by the charity’s global chief.

The organization said it would create a commission that will “operate at arms-length from Oxfam” and be given access to the charity’s records and interview staff in a bid to stamp out abuse.

Oxfam will triple funding to more than $1 million to address safeguarding processes, while also doubling the number of staff in this area and increasing investment in gender training.

The new plan comes a week after revelations that Oxfam staff used prostitutes while working on the aid operation following Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake.

“What happened in Haiti and afterwards is a stain on Oxfam that will shame us for years, and rightly so,” said Winnie Byanyima, executive director of Oxfam International.

“From the bottom of my heart I am asking for forgiveness,” she added.

The charity has denied a lack of transparency over the Haiti affair, which has prompted a flight of supporters and led the British government to threaten cutting funds to organizations which cover-up sex scandals.

Oxfam carried out its own internal investigation in 2011 which led to four employees being fired and three others being allowed to resign, including country chief Roland van Hauwermeiren. AFP

As Americans reeled from the country’s worst school massacre since the horror at Sandy Hook six years ago, President Donald Trump suggested the root cause of the violence was a crisis of mental health― and defied calls to address gun control.

Terrified students hid in closets and under desks on Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, texting for help as the gunman, Nikolas Cruz, stalked the school with a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle.

Cruz has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder, appearing Thursday afternoon via video link before a judge who ordered him held without bond. More than a dozen other people were injured in the shooting spree.

“Today is a day of healing. Today is a day of mourning,” Broward County Sher-

iff Scott Israel said.

After being read his legal rights, “Cruz stated that he was the gunman who entered the school campus armed with a AR-15 and began shooting students that he saw in the hallways and on the school grounds,” court documents showed.

Cruz arrived at the school in an Uber at 2:19 pm, authorities said. Less than three minutes later, he started spraying multiple classrooms with bullets. At 2:28 pm, he left the campus, according to an official time line.

Cruz told police that he discarded his rifle―which he bought legally in Florida― and tactical gear in order to blend in with the crowd so he could flee, the documents showed.

After the shooting, he stopped at a Wal-

Mart and then McDonald’s, Israel told reporters. He was detained 40 minutes later, after police identified him using school security camera footage.

In a somber televised address to the nation in response to the 18th school shooting so far this year, Trump vowed to make mental health a priority―after tweeting about the “many signs” the gunman was “mentally disturbed”― while avoiding any talk of gun curbs.

Earlier in the day, Trump had asserted that “neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!”

Expelled from school for disciplinary reasons, Cruz was known to be fixated on firearms -- and had reportedly been identified as a potential threat to his classmates.

But US authorities themselves were under scrutiny, after the FBI confirmed it was alerted last September to a message posted on YouTube, in which a user named Nikolas Cruz vowed: “I’m going to be a professional school shooter.” AFP

Desperate to come home, Syrians brave IS mines in Raqa RAQA―Mohammed Kuraji returned to Syria’s Raqa to prepare a homecoming but ended up organizing a funeral. Stepping into his home, an unexploded mine detonated and killed his elderly father.

“It was terrifying. The blast was so strong that I couldn’t hear,” said the 26-year-old, who was also wounded in the incident two months ago.

The Islamic State group was ousted from its de facto Syrian capital Raqa in October, but it left mines scattered across the ravaged city.

Residents are desperate to return home, but they are being maimed and killed by unexploded―and sometimes insidiously hidden―ordnance.

Under piles of rubble, behind old refrigerator doors, in blown-out buildings, IS has sown death everywhere.

The explosives in Kuraji’s home were triggered when his father leaned down to pick up a copy of the Koran.

“I was thrown back into the neighbor’s house and a wall collapsed onto my father,” said Kuraji, who has two young

children.

He spoke to AFP from under a mountain of blankets, pulling back the covers to reveal his legs, set in place by splints and screws in his shins.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces ousted IS from Raqa in October, then handed the city over to the Raqa Civil Council.

But Raqa natives are complaining that de-mining firms hired by the RCC are taking too long, and have taken matters into their own hands. AFP

Sex scandal opens rift in Aussie govt SYDNEY―Australia’s parliamentary sex scandal opened a rift in the governing coalition on Friday as deputy leader Barnaby Joyce described Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull as “inept” for criticizing his affair with an aide.

Joyce, 50, whose National Party rules alongside Turnbull’s Liberals, admitted last week to having an affair with his 33-year-old media adviser, who is pregnant with their child.

Turnbull on Thursday harshly admonished Joyce for making a “shocking error of judgment” for the affair and said he had created a “world of woe” for his wife, four daughters and lover Vikki Campion.

Turnbull, head of the Liberal Party, acknowledged that he was powerless to remove Joyce, who holds the deputy position as leader of smaller National Party on which he relies to govern.

He instead announced that a formal ban on sexual relations between cabinet members and their staff would be added to the ministerial code of conduct.

Joyce hit back in a defiant press conference in Canberra Friday, refusing to resign and accusing Turnbull of interfering with internal National Party affairs.

He blasted the PM’s comments as “inept”, “unnecessary” and causing “further harm”.

“I don’t believe people should be resigning in any job over personal issues,” Joyce added.

“In any workplace in Australia, when personal issues become the determination of a job, then I think we’ve moved to a very sad place,” he said.

He also batted away revelations he accepted a rent-free apartment from a millionaire after his marriage collapsed, saying the accommodation was just a gesture of support from a friend.

Daily media headlines about the affair have riveted the public and sparked debate about workplace culture in Australia amid the global #MeToo movement against sexual harassment. AFP

Malaysia sorry for gaff during Chinese New Year KUALA LUMPUR―Malaysia has apologized after a government ad in Chinese-language newspapers featuring a picture of a barking rooster to mark the Year of the Dog sparked a flood of mockery.

The full-page advert by the domestic trade, cooperatives and consumerism ministry showed a rooster emitting the word “wang”, used to represent a dog’s bark in Mandarin.

The advert, printed in Chinese-language newspapers in the multi-ethnic country on Thursday, also carried a message welcoming a “prosperous Year of the Dog”.

Chinese New Year is being celebrated across Asia, marking the start of the Year of the Dog and the end of the Year of the Rooster.

Ethnic Chinese are a substantial minority in mostly Muslim Malaysia, making up about a quarter of the population. AFP

GLASS ART. French glassblower Mathieu Le Guiader shapes a piece at les Verreries de Brehat manufacture in Ile-de-Brehat, an island off the western coast of France. AFP

Motoring

RAMON L. TOMELDAN Editor DINO DIRECTO III Asst. Editor

B4

Ford unveils theRaptor SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2018

Text and photo by Dino Ray V. Directo III

O

NE night in Bangkok and Ford unleashed an upgraded version of its popular Ranger series. With DNA derived from its elder brother, the F-150 Raptor, the Ranger Raptor has all the bells and whistles of a performance Dubbed as the ultimate Ranger, the Ranger Raptor was purposely designed, built and tested to set a benchmark as the only factory built performance truck in the Asia-Pacific region. Designed by the elite team at Ford Performance, the Ranger Raptor embodies the brand’s commitment of producing “Built Ford Tough” pick-up trucks. “We are so excited and proud to unleash this vehicle to the public, driving it really makes you feel like a hero,” said Jamal Hameedi, chief engineer, Ford Performance. “The Ford Performance team is excited to extend the Raptor name from our flagship off-road performance F-150 to Ranger. Just like the F-150 Raptor, the Ranger Raptor builds upon the core capability of the range of vehicles it comes from and carries the unmistakable Ford Performance DNA appearance.”

With the regional motoring media in attendance, the Raptor experience begins at the entrance of the launch venue, with a structure that reminds us of a scene out of Jurassic Park. Inside the massive climate controlled structure were display areas chronicling the design and engineering involved in creating the Ranger Raptor. Ford’s Design team members were on hand explaining each of the display areas, from chassis and engine development, down to its exterior and interior design.

Visible changes to this Asian-spec Raptor were the front end, with a stunning new grille takes styling cues from the world’s first factory-built high performance off road truck, the F-150 Raptor. A frame mounted front-bumper system is designed to offer desert durability performance and a distinctive presence.

The front bumper also includes new LED fog lamps with functional air-curtain ducts, which help to reduce air resistance of the body. Using composite materials, the front fenders not only look tough, but resist dents and dings often associated with off-road usage. According to Hameedi, the flared shape of the fenders were required for the long travel suspension and oversized tires.

Starting from the ground up, vehicle stance is noticeably bigger from every angle, standing at an impressive 1873mm tall, 2180mm wide and 5398mm long, with wider front and rear tracks at 1710mm. Ground clearance is increased to 283mm, while the approach angle of 32.5°, ramp over angle of 24°, and departure angle of 24° as a package are superior to anything seen before. The step boards were designed specifically to prevent rock spray from hitting the rear of the truck and the holes have been designed to drain sand, mud and snow. The tough highstrength aluminium alloy die-cast main step board is designed for durability, undergoing testing which includes a load of 100kg being applied 84,000 times to simulate over 10 years in the field.

At the rear, a modified rear bumper comes with an integrated tow bar and two recovery hooks rated at 3.8 tons. Updated styling to the rear includes flush sensor bezels and specially packaged and styled tow connectors. Providing an abundance of space, the 1560mm x 1743mm tray has been designed with the weekend explorer in mind, while the 2500kg towing capacity also accounts for dirt bikes or jet-skis, as well as traditional work needs during the week.

Inside, Ranger Raptor offers a tailored Ford Performance DNA interior design with a high level of craftsmanship, harmonious colours and durable materials suitable for both offroad driving and everyday use. The gauge clusters has aggressive styling, encompassing a host of Driver Assist features. The steering wheel is distinctively different; new Raptor DNA lightweight magnesium paddle shifters for crisp gear changing are easily accessible near the perforated leather hand grip sections on the rim for precision off-road shifting when you really need it.

At the heart of this metal beast is a power train that offers more power and torque, better fuel economy. Under the bulging hood is a new 2.0-liter Bi-Turbo diesel engine that boasts of a healthy 213PS (157kW) of power and 500Nm of torque and matted to a 10-speed automatic transmission. To maximize the power of the Ranger Raptor, this

truck’s Terrain Management System (TMS) offers six modes for various driving experiences, which can be selected via a dedicated five-button switch located on the steering wheel. Each mode has been calibrated to offer the best possible combination of technologies working in unison to tackle the chosen terrain or driving style.

Based on the Asian-spec Ranger, the Raptor version was built for one thing

in mind: to satisfy the most fervent offroad enthusiast with performance to match. “The Ford Performance team is excited to extend the Raptor name from our flagship off-road performance F-150 to Ranger. Just like the F-150 Raptor, the Ranger Raptor builds upon the core capability of the range of vehicles it comes from and carries the unmistakable Ford Performance DNA appearance,” adds Hameedi.

BMW X3: On a mission

SMC Car Asia Distributors president Maricar Parco strikes a pose beside the BMW X3.

Text and photo by Diana B. Noche A COMPANY not known for restraint when one talks of coming up with uncompromising new levels of technological expertise and exemplary quality on its cars has done it again.

Through its arm in the country, the SMC Asia Car Distributors Corp., a wholly owned Filipino company under San Miguel Corp. chaired by Ramon S. Ang, appointed by BMW in 2017 as its importer, distributor, and services provider, took the covers off the new BMW X3 xDrive20d M Sport and the BMW X3 xDrive20d XLine models.

The launch once again trumpets a major event in BMW’s long history of creating striking impact on the country’s motoring map, incorporating innovations and other possibilities while perpetuating BMW’s originality.

It is difficult not to sound breathless about the new BMW X3. Both models were designed to breathe into them a new kind of vitality and motion, at the same time, give the driver the kick of sporty playfulness with radiator grille and characteristic 19-inch light-alloy wheels. The face maybe familiar but take another look.

It has a five-centimeter longer wheelbase, long bonnet and has short front overhang which creates a 50:50 distribution of weight between the front and rear axle.

The front end has a “three-dimentional” kidney grille treatment and fog lamps. At the rear end, the three-dimentional LED light clusters on a downward-sloping roof spoiler and twin-exhaust tailpipes give the new BMW X3 a machismo overtone.

Justifiably renowned for its fastidious craftsmanship, the driver’s comfort has not, of course, been neglected. The seats, standard-fitted with full Vernasca

leather upholstery, décor stitching and interior trim strips, have been exceptionally contoured to offer absolute ease and support. The lighting above the trim strip in the instrument panel and ambient lighting give the interior a sense of luminescence that makes the driver feel like being cradled in warmth and luxury.

Both models come with new features their predecessor lacked. Embodied are three-zone automatic climate control for separate temperature controls for the rear compartment, driver, and front passenger.

The windscreens are fitted with acoustic glazing greatly lessening noise levels even at high speeds. The rear back rests are also adjustable.

There’s more. In addition to the standard BMW iDrive system, the Navigation System Professional opens up the touchscreen and gesture control. The 10.25” touch sensitive central display instantly summarizes most important information while on the road. The Gesture control allows various infotainment system and telephone functions by using finger and hand gestures. The Parking Assistant estimate spaces and helps the driver steer, accelerate, brake, select gear to position the car into parallel and lateral parking positions. The two models come in traffic-stopping colors: orange, lilac, mint, bronze, blue, and white and are available to anyone with fondness for cars approaching perfection and opulent money to drop. The BMW X3 xDrive20d xLine goes for P4.390M and the BMW X3 xDrive20d M Sport, P4.590M. The BMW X3 launch exemplified any car owner’s illusion of the perfect car into reality. The launch would linger in the head long after the next day’s cups of coffee.

Race proven

car

for your

RACING experience, stringent research and years of experience is what you get for every KYB shock absorbers purchase.

At the forefront of this technology is the SR Special, which was developed and designed as a premium direct replacement shock absorber with greater durability ensuring the quality, structural reliability and safety of a genuine KYB shock absorber.

With years of experience in manufacturing shock absorbers, KYB engineers obtained the most optimal damping characteristics through constant research and development, plus actual suspension tuning. This allows the New SR Special to enhance the basic performance of any car. Most especially in everyday driving situations we normally encounter such as, accelerating, turning and stopping.

More importantly, using the New SR Special will not only make your car perform better, but safer as well. Gen Leong, the Marketing Manager, of Massiveparts

Inc. “The KYB NEW SR is for those who would like to upgrade their daily drive.

This works well with those who like to do long distance driving (like a sports car) on weekends and yet able to drive around in traffic and uneven roads comfortably on a daily basis. The New SR Special offers a comfortable ride, stability, better handling and cornering plus reduced braking distance.”

The New SR Special was developed based on motorsports technologies based on inputs from popular Japanese D1 drift and Super GT racecar driver Nobutero Taniguchi aka “NOB” or ‘No One Better’ to test the New SR Sports. I recommend the New SR for drivers who like a comfortable ride in town who ride with family or want to improve performance without sacrificing comfort,” says Taniguchi. “ We have fitments for most sedans, compact cars , SUV’s and tuned cars from brands such as Subaru, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Honda, Ford and Suzuki,” says Leong.

Life

bernadette Lunas, Issue Editor manilastandardlife@gmail.com @manilastandardlife @MstandardLIfe

travel and leisure

saturday, february 17, 2018

C1

Breathtaking

BaTanEs The imposing façade of the Catedral de Santiago de Compostela in Galicia

Northern Spain’s allure The beautiful Roman Catholic Catedral de Santiago de Compostela is a Romanesque structure in Galicia in northwestern Spain, and is believed to be the resting place of St. James, one of Jesus Christ’s apostles.

This church is also the end of the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage route, with several interesting landmarks along the way, taken

by Catholic devotees as a form of spiritual mercury rising cleansing towards their spiritual growth.

BY BOB zOzOBRadO Modern-day sports enthusiasts, however, Spain is such a diverse country that also take this route for hiking and cycling.

Bilbao, the largest city in the Basque every region displays characteristics different from those of the others. The land- region, is famous for world-class art at scape differs from one region to the other, the ultramodern Frank Gehry-designed the residents’s cultural preferences vary, Guggenheim Museum and the futuristic areven the language spoken by the locals chitecture of some of the city’s landmarks. differ. But Spain is there for visitors to en- The city’s pulsating and fun nightlife conjoy because these differences add attrac- tinues to attract party animals from the rest of the country. tive facets to its beauty.

But what i am looking Unfortunately, every forward to in a northern time i visit Spain, it’s alSpain visit is the plethora ways just a quick business of culinary delights that the trip so i am restricted only region offers. Bilbao alone to either Madrid and Barhas its famous pintxos celona. Of course, there’s which is the Basque name nothing to complain about for tapas. San Sebastian, because Madrid’s attracwhich is still in Basque tions are enough to keep Country or paiz Vasco, my leisure hours occupied. is sometimes referred to Spain’s capital city is beauas the Food Capital of the tiful, with its impressive world. in fact, some reboulevards and well-manports say that there are icured parks. i am dazzled more Michelin-star restauby the masterpieces of rants in that city than there Velazquez and Goya at the are in paris. prado Museum. and, the The good news is that i romantic, beautifully decan now have easy access signed plaza Mayor is my to the culinary delights of favorite hangout.

Sandee and Andrew Masigan northern Spain, here in But, in my book, Bar- brought northern Spain’s Manila, anytime i want, celona has more to offer. culinary specialties to the through the newly opened The famous Basilica de la Philippines through their Oye! Spanish-influenced restauSagrada Familia, flaunt- Tapas and Grill restaurant rant, Oye! Tapas and Grill, ing the unusual design of at the Bonifacio Global its architect antoni Gaudi, is the city’s most popular landmark. it is the largest City. Owned by andrew and Sandee Masiunfinished Roman Catholic church in the gan, the dining venue serves the popular world, and has been featured in so many traditional dishes from Spain’s rich culinary heritage that we are all very familiar with. foreign and local movies. it also prides itself with some adventurThere’s also La Rambla, which has become Barcelona’s social hub. it is a pedes- ous infusion of a youthful element to the trian mall, lined with lush greenery, which northern Spanish region’s cuisine, a menu stretches 1.2 kilometers across the city’s innovation designed by Spanish head chef downtown area. and for the art connois- Joseba Sola, who is an expert in modern seurs, there are Museu picasso and Fun- Spanish cooking.

Some of the northern Spain-influenced dació Joan Miró which feature the masterpieces of the eponymous world-famous scrumptious specialties served at Oye which i often go back for Spanish artists. include Relleno But one thing Calamares con that jolted me the Chorizo (lightvery first time YOUR weekend ly grilled baby i visited Spain CHUCkLe squid stuffed with was that the lochorizo, grapes, Two nuns are tasked to paint a room cals really take and honey), the siesta hours in the convent, with a warning from Huevos Trufado seriously. Shops the Mother Superior not to get (poached egg yolk and businesses their habits dirty. Obeying Mother with egg white close at around Superior’s directive, the two nuns and truffle foam, two o’clock in decide to take off their clothes and topped with crispy the afternoon and stay naked while painting the room. chorizo and poresume work at tato), and Pollo a All of a sudden, there is a knock at five o’clock unla Brasa con Salsa til around eight the door. “Who is it?” says one of Majada (grilled o’clock, the reathe nuns. “Blind man,” says the voice chicken with mason why Spanoutside the door. The two look at jada sauce). Feastiards are used to each other and shrug, no harm in ing on them makes having late dinletting a blind man into the room. me feel like i’m in ners. So, every They open the door. “Nice boobs,” Bilbao or Galicia time i visit Spain, or San Sebastian. says the man. “Where do you want i see to it that my although business is done the blinds?”

Spain’s northern in the morning, region remains at otherwise, it will the top of my list be a very long for my next European sojourn, i will conwait for me for office hours resume.

The next time i visit Spain, however, it tent myself, meantime, with savoring Oye’s will have to be in the northern region, as my well-crafted culinary offerings, while i try friends have been raving about its beauty. to figure out something about El Paiz Vasco That part of the country is sometimes re- (Basque Country) that has piqued my curiferred to as “Green Spain” because of the osity: Why do Basque names almost always landscape’s rich vegetation and “Secret have an “x” or a lot of “z” in them, as in my Spain” because it has remained undiscov- name? Oye, por favor, explicamelo. ered by many international visitors, even if For feedback, I’m at it offers a feast for the eyes, the mind and bobzozobrado@gmail.com the palate.

PICTURE-PERFECT. Batanes is home to many scenic spots such as the ChamantadTinan Viewpoint.

W

hEn you talk about picture-perfect, postcard-worthy destinations, Batanes is always on the list—and for many good reasons.

The group of islands in the northernmost tip of the philippines is home to rolling hills, spectacular panorama of hedgerows and slopes, lush vegetation, natural stone arcs, stunning beaches, lighthouses, and many other dramatic sceneries.

Those lucky enough to visit this idyllic destination say Batanes is like a different country—a different world even—reason why it’s on most travelers’s bucket list. But the thing about Batanes is that it is not easy to reach: weather and airfare can be quite restricting.

Luckily, the country’s leading lowcost airline Cebu pacific now flies from Manila to Basco, Batanes starting March 25. according to Cebu pacific, Batanes emerged as the “most requested” destination among netizens on social media in a crowdsourcing campaign the airline company launched last year.

Using the hashtag #CEBFlyMeTo, netizens were asked which destinations in the philippines they would want Cebu pacific to fly next. Other popular choices among netizens were Daet (Camarines norte), Mati (Davao Oriental), Bantayan island (Cebu), San Vicente (palawan) and Siquijor. all top picks were then assessed in terms of readiness for commercial flights, with criteria that included airport infrastructure, safety and security processes, and passenger facilities.

Cebu pacific, through subsidiary Cebgo, will fly once daily between Manila and Basco, Batanes beginning March

25 until Oct. 27, 2018. The flight departs from the naia Terminal 4 in Manila at 6:20 a.m., with the return trip from Basco, Batanes departing at 9:15 a.m.

“Our new flight to Basco is in keeping with our commitment to connect more of the philippines and make air travel safe, affordable, reliable, and fun-filled for everyjuan. What makes this route more special is that netizens were actively engaged in the selection of our new destination— our customers were part of the process,” said Cebgo president and chief executive alexander Lao. The year-round fare from Manila to Basco is p4,241, all-in.

Fundacion Pacita Batanes Nature Lodge, the former residence of international artist Pacita Abad, offers cozy accommodation.

Life

C2

saturday, february 17, 2018 manilastandardlife@gmail.com

New Zealand for two HOLDING HANDS WHILE HIKING. Be one with nature and your partner as you embark together on a one-day hike along the Tongariro Crossing.

Homegrown hotels

F

OR the outdoorsy and active couple looking for a romantic getaway with a side of adventure, New Zealand may be the dream destination to beat.

win Condé Nast Johansens excellence award

As the crowded city life and driving in hour-long traffic just to get to a dinner date becomes tiresome, you may find this island country’s uncrowded glory, beautifully set against the backdrop of unspoiled natural wonders from north to south, as your next romantic destination.

Think luxe accommodations nestled between trees and coastlines, paired with helicopter rides over majestic mountains, and stargazing upon the As night falls, watch as the clearest skies (you two might get lucky southern stars reflect in the eyes of your and even catch a glimpse of the South- partner in the Aoraki Mackenzie Dark ern Lights).

Sky Reserve—the minimal light pollution makes it a perfect place to make a Gourmet getaway in Kaikoura or wish upon a shooting star.

Marlborough

Take your tastebuds on a trip in two South Island regions. The Gourmet Getaway tour begins in Kaikoura, known for its bountiful seafood, venison, and fresh organic produce, and ends in Marlborough, the Sauvignon Blanc capital of New Zealand and purveyor of organic and biodynamic wines.

Picnic on a peak in Queenstown

Hailed by Lonely Planet in 2014 as one of the top honeymoon destinations in the world, Queenstown takes adventure and luxury to new heights.

Helicopter tours can take visitors on a scenic ride to a secluded location in the mountains that rise above the playful town. Couples can enjoy a

Helicopter tour in Queenstown

a private viewpoint to the lake and breathtaking views of the Remarkables mountain range and Cecil Peak.

Fly high in Auckland

Leave the city behind as you take flight high into the sky and above the volcanic crater of Rangitoto aboard Auckland Seaplanes. Enjoy a romantic picnic on a secluded beach, an afternoon of feast and fancy at Waiheke’s delectable Oyster Inn, or a few hours watching the clear blue waters crash onto white sandy shores with an overnight stay on the unspoiled Great Barrier Island.

Thrilling adventure in Tongariro

Be one with nature and your partner as you embark on the best one-day hike in the world along the Tongariro Crossing.

The hike takes you through lunar-like volcanic landscapes, past deep blue and green lakes, and rugged slopes filled with wild alpine flora and fauna. For extra romance, Adrift NZ Out Outdoor Adventures has sunrise and sunset guided tours.

T THE Discovery Leisure Companymanaged Discovery Shores Bora Boracay and Discovery Primea Makati recently bagged the coveted Condé Nast Johansens Awards for Excel Excellence 2018.

A member of the vibrant Preferred Hotels & Resorts Lifestyle Collec Collection, Discovery Shores Boracay was hailed as “Best for Families.” Mean Meanwhile, Discovery Primea Makati, part of the prestigious Preferred Ho Hotels and Resorts LVX collection, was named the “Best Urban Hotel.”

Condé Nast Johansens is the leading reference guide for independent travelers, with property within the collection annually selected by its team of experts. It was created to acknowledge, reward, and celebrate excellence across its recommended properties, with the world-renowned Awards for Excellence standing as a trusted mark of quality recognized by consumers and travel professionals alike.

Condé Nast Johansens took special note of the sandbox play zone at Discovery Shores Boracay that “duly entertains the little ones (babies to 12-year-olds) allowing mum and dad to check-in to the Terra Wellness spa.”

For Discovery Primea Makati, the accommodations, especially for those intending to stay for an extended period, was highlighted, “with every element of the 141 classically elegant rooms, suites, and lofts skillfully designed to feel like a home-away-from-home. (Guests staying for more than 30 nights enjoy a whole host of added benefits.)

The lofts are exceptionally grand and sprawling; some spread across two floors with two bedrooms, a fully-fitted kitchen, and dining area for entertaining.”

TDLC president John Tiu welcomed the recognition, saying, “We are deeply honored to win this international award as a homegrown hospitality group.”

He continued, “Our sincere gratitude goes out to all our guests and partners who voted for our hotels and gave their unwavering support.

Ultimately, this would not have been possible without the remarkable men and women behind Discovery, who relentlessly work as one family and deliver thoughtful ‘Service That’s All Heart’.”

Visit www.discoveryhotels-resorts.com for reservations and more information.

Wedding fit for a hobbit in Waikato

Take a stroll among hobbit holes at the Hobbiton movie set

Stargazing in Tekapo

Bask in the swoon-worthy ambience of Lake Tekapo’s Church of the Good Shepherd, surrounded by colorful lupins that grow on the shores of the turquoise-hued lake—the perfect setting for a wedding.

private, gourmet picnic surrounded by unrivaled panoramic views.

After a day of thrilling adventures, it’s time to relax, unwind and indulge.

The award-winning Matakauri Lodge offers luxury accommodation with

More Filipinos travel solo A survey by an online travel booking platform reveals that more Filipinos are traveling solo

Couples ready to take their re relationship to the next level can en enjoy a romantic stroll amongst the blooms, birds, and hobbit holes at the Hobbiton movie set, made fa famous in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.

Out of Hobbiton and into the whimsical Underhill Valley, the glamping site situated on a farm, is a secluded spot built on a hillside which offers couples the chance to be alone together.

Visit newzealand.com/int for more information on these destinations.

Put your feet up as you relax at Terra Wellness spa in Discovery Shores Boracay

WHILE traveling with companions, especially loved ones, comes with a host of benefits in addition to creating memories together, embarking on an adventure alone can also be a rewarding experience.

In fact, more travelers from the Philippines are now traveling solo, according to the survey of agoda, an online travel booking platform, conducted from Jan. 2016 to Dec. 2017. agoda’s booking data shows there was a 45 percent increase in one-person bookings since 2016.

The growth of solo travel in the Philippines can be equally attributed to domestic (45 percent) and international bookings (44 percent), which grew at a similar rate in 2017.

Interestingly, Pampanga’s 1st class city, Angeles, is the most popular domestic destination for solo travel, with a 55 percent increase in 2017. Angeles City is home to Clark International Airport, Holy Rosary Church, and the muchanticipated Philippine Hot-Air Balloon Fiesta.

Meanwhile, Japan was the top international destination for Filipino solo travelers. Solo bookings to Japan accounted for 21 percent of all international solo bookings, and grew by 46 percent year-on-year in 2017.

Explaining the result, agoda’s global director for Brand and Communications Andrew Edwards said, “With food and accommoda-

tion options for every budget, hospitable locals, and diverse experiences on offer, Japan is the perfect solo travel destination.”

“In recent years, we’ve seen the rising popularity of capsule hotels, catering for solo travelers who want a budget-friendly way to explore the rich tradition and unique eccentricities of Japan,” added Edwards.

Philippines’s neighboring countries were identified as the fastest growing international destinations for solo travelers. Taiwan took the top spot with 177 percent increase, followed by South Korea, up by 90 percent, and Indonesia, by 65 percent.

On the domestic front, other top growth destinations included the island paradise of Palawan (46 percent) and the historical province of Batangas (41 percent).

The increasing number of solo travelers reflects the undeniable shift occurring in the travel industry. Google Trends reports solid growth in interest in solo travel over the past 10 years, with July 2017 seeing the most searches for “solo travel” ever on Google.

“As the far-flung corners of the world are becoming easier to reach, travelers are more willing to experience destinations with the freedom that comes from traveling alone, allowing them to fully immerse themselves amongst a new culture,” averred Edwards.

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2018 nickie.standard@gmail.com

Nickie Wang, Issue Editor

6 movies to watch

at 12th Spring Filmfest N OPM Balladeer Chad Borja

Way back into love of standards THE general public may see singer Chad Borja, the voice behind the now-classic ‘90s pop ballad “Ikaw Lang,” as a living testament to what one radio-friendly love song can do to establish one’s career. But digging deeper into the man’s catalogue and roots, there is more to this cancer survivor than meets the eye.

It’s almost an understatement to say that Chad likes music from the yesteryears. Truth be told, he was primarily drawn to music because of pop standards, a genre molded by the big band swing of the mid1930s and defined by the soothing singing style of legends like Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. As a youngster he had an epiphany after hearing Nat King Cole’s “Stardust” on the radio.

In an exclusive chat, he recalled, “One day noon, nagpapatugtog ang Papa ko in our house in a sitio in Medellin, Cebu where I grew up. Narinig ko ang boses ni Nat King Cole. Yun ‘yung moment na sinabi ko sa sarili ko, ‘masarap siguro maging singer.’”

Chad’s father died when he was only 12. To practice the craft he would sing while having his long walks from home to school and back. Soon he was a soloist at the University of San Carlos, eventually becoming a band vocalist doing jazz fusions and soul before landing a spot at New Minstrels whose alumni include Joey Albert and Ray-An Fuentes.

And then he became a solo act, recording pop albums in the ‘90s. He even collaborated with Japanese musician Yutaka Yokokura and sang with Brazilian jazz vocalist Kevyn Lettau for a song called “Love Letter from the

Heart.”

He expressed, “Throughout my career, YUGEL sumasabay lang LOSORATA ako sa hinihingi ng panahon. But the fact remains I’ve always wanted to do standards. In life you must try doing that special something na alam mong kaya mong gawin.”

On the evening of March 7, Solaire Resort and Casino is providing him the Eclipse Entertainment Lounge as venue to showcase Chad Borja in a new suit, with around eight musicians - including trumpet, trombone and sax players - backing him up.

He mentioned Tony Bennett’s “Yesterday I heard The Rain” and “Left My Heart In San Francisco” as two songs that will surely make it to his repertoire of Big Band tracks. On that note it’s impossible to not hear him sing a Sinatra song.

Now 51 and eyeing men in suits, Rotarians, and golfers like him to become part of his audience, Chad is excited again to play three sets, around 30 songs long, just like he used to during his startup years. This time though he will be crooning. Spectators can even expect him to sing “Ikaw Lang” swinging. He quipped, “Ako ‘yung artist na mahirap pasuotin ng suit. But I am doing it because it is required, in the same way that it fulfills me singing live with a professionally trained band and not banking on minus one accompaniment to get that swinging sound.”

Chad’s singing daughter Gabrielle Gross, who already launched her own career performing with a ukulele or guitar, is likely to come up on stage and do a duet with him.

OW on its 12th year, the Ateneo de Manila University’s Ricardo Leong Center for Chinese Studies, together with Film Development Council of the Philippines, and Credit Suisse, with the cooperation of Ateneo Celadon, and Shangri-La Plaza and Shang Cineplex, once again bring you the Spring Film Festival.

Running until Feb. 18, the film festival is organized every year to promote Chinese language and culture in mainstream Philippine society, particularly among young Filipinos, so that they may become bridges between the Philippines and China.

Here is this year’s lineup:

Our Shining Days In order to win the heart of the handsome leader of the Classical Orchestra, wacky sophomore student Jing (Xu Lu) teams up with her male buddy You (Peng Yuchang) to form a Chinese music ensemble along with a bunch of cosplaying outcast. What started out as a reluctant alliance among a group of misfit slowly becomes a journey of self-discovery, and ultimately a daring quest to revitalize what has long been considered ageing musical tradition. Despite all odds, Jing and You manage to hold the band together and prove that it’s not the appearance, but the heart and will that shine and define you as a person.

What a Wonderful Family A husband (Lee Lichun) and wife (Zhang Weixin) have been married for 50 years. For her birthday, the husband asks the wife what she wants for her birthday present. She replies that she wants a divorce. The wife’s divorce announcement sends the entire family into chaos. Their three children are thrown into a state of panic to hear this news of separation, not to mention their own issues: the marriage crisis between the eldest son (Huang Lei) and his wife (Sun Li), the domestic conflict between the career daughter (Christina Hai) and her deadbeat husband (Wang Xun), and the financial struggle between the youngest son (Wei Daxun) and his fiancée (Ren Rongxuan). Amid the sudden tumult of life, each member of the family begins to voice out their respective grievances.

Walking Past the Future Yaoting, daughter of aging migrant workers living in the city, is coping with harsh reality whilst their dreams of a better future are crumbling in an era of drastic changes in China. With a dim hope of providing her family with a home of their own, she takes part in a series of highlypaid medical experiments, with tragic consequences.

Office Monster Hunt The film takes place in the distant past, where the Human race existed alongside the Monster race. They once shared the world in peace and harmony until the Humans drove the Monsters out from their home, for they sought total dominion over their lands. Recently, a civil war took place in the Monster Realm which resulted in the usurpation of the Monster King’s throne from a treacherous minister, who later sought the

Monster Queen and her unborn baby, and the Monster Queen fled to the Human Realm.

The story begins with Song Tianyin (Jing Boran), an unnerved young village mayor who becomes pregnant with the Monster Queen’s baby, and he encounters an aspiring Monster-hunter named Huo Xiaolan (Bai Baihe), and they both embark on an adventure to protect the baby from villains of the Human and Monster worlds alike.

Billion-dollar Company Jones & Sunn is going public. Chairman Ho Chung-ping (Chow Yun Fat) has promised CEO Chang (Sylvia Chang), who has been his mistress for more than twenty years, to become a major shareholder of the company.

As the IPO team enters the company to audit its accounts, a series of inside stories start to be revealed. Lee Xiang (Wang Ziyi), a new hire at Jones & Sunn, brings with him youthful ideals and dreams. Within the neoliberal market, the logic of intrigue rules, complicated by entanglements of lovehate relationships, which weaves a power play and a pathos-laden tragedy inside the office.

Cold War 2

Bela Padilla and JC Santos in an episode of ‘MMK.’

JC and Bela star in ‘MMK’ JC SANTOS and Bela Padilla bring their big screen team up to television for the first time as Gia and Karla whose seemingly perfect love story is tested by infidelity in MMK today.

All Karla wished for is to go to Hong Kong Disneyland and see the fireworks display up close. Her father, Alex (Christian Vasquez), promised to grant her wish if she continued doing well in school.

One day, however, Karla visited her father to work and unexpectedly saw him kissing another woman. From that moment on, Karla vowed not to enter in a relationship in fear of getting hurt.

But love does move in mysterious ways and later on Karla met Gio, the only guy she opened her heart to.

Their relationship went well for

years and Gio was even there when Karla finally set foot in Hong Kong Disneyland. Everything was like a fairy tale love story until Karla discovered Gio’s indifelity.

How did Karla deal with this heartache? Did she give him another chance?

Joining this upcoming episode are Belle Mariano, Zaijian Jaranilla, Almirah Muhlach, Eda Nolan, Heaven Peraleja, Sophia Baars, and Chienna Filomena.

The episode is directed by Nuel Naval and written by Joan Habana.

The weekly drama anthology, led by business unit head Roda C. dela Cerna, airs every Saturday after Little Big Shots on ABS-CBN or ABS-CBN HD (SkyCable ch 167).

In this sequel to the 2012 Hong Kong mega hit, a psychotic killer’s desperate escape attempt turns rival police chiefs against one another, battling it out on the streets and at the station.“Cold War”, the codename for the rescue operation of five hijacked police officers, is deemed a partial success. Despite political outcry, the potent rescue led by Acting Police Commissioner Sean Lau (Aaron Kwok) gains him promotion to the highest rank in the police force, yet causes Deputy Police Commissioner Waise Lee (Tony Leung Ka Fai) his reputable career.

Joe Lee (Eddie Peng Yuyan), son of Waise and the sole suspect of the conspiracy, is captured and taken into custody. The missing of the hi-tech police sprinter is still a misery.

‘The Clash’ auditions in Cebu today

Songbird Regine VelasquezAlcasid is on the lookout for the next music singing stars.

ASIA’S Songbird Regine VelasquezAlcasid is back in the Queen City of the South, this time to lead the nationwide auditions for GMA Network’s newest singing competition—The Clash.

Airing soon on GMA-7, The Clash is set to feature hopefuls who will compete against each other to be the country’s next solo singing superstar.

The Cebu-leg of the auditions will be held today from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., at the Gaisano Island Mall Mactan.

The competition is open to all male and female Filipinos, amateur and professional, 16-years-old and above.

Interested applicants need to bring the original and photocopy of their birth certificate and two recent photos (1 2x2 and 1 full body shot). They also need to prepare at least two songs (English and Filipino) for the audition with minus-1 audio or to be performed with musical instruments.

Joining Regine during the screening process are directors Bert de Leon and Louie Ignacio.

As a treat to the loyal Cebuano fans, GMA Regional TV has also organized a ‘Kapuso Meet and Greet’ with Regine at 4 p.m..

Joel D. Lacsamana, Editor jdlacsamana@gmail.com

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2018

Quick in, quick out through NLEx, Cavitex

BOOTS ON THE GROUND. A Center for Conservation Innovations team inspects a site in Kan-rag, Cebu.

ALI eyes 450 hectares as carbon forests

METRO Manila Development Authority (MMDA) vehicles can now breeze through North Luzon Expressway and Cavitex toll plazas during emergencies, natural disaster, courtesy of EasyDrive Radio Frequency Identification sticker tags installed by Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC).

Luigi Baustista, Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. South president and CEO, Rodrigo Franco, president, MPTC and Danny Lim, MMDA chairman, signed a memorandum of agreement to install 100 MMDA registered vehicles with MPTC EasyDrive sticker tags to facilitate delivery of MMDA’s metro-wide services.

Shown in photo are Lim (right), Franco (middle) and Bautista (left) while watching MPTC personnel install a tag on one of the vehicles.

EasyDrive (powered by Easytrip) is the country’s first RFID sticker tag used for toll payment instead of cash payment. It uses the latest RFID technology in paper-thin battery-less sticker form that contains a chip and antenna attached to a vehicle’s windshield or headlamp, and can be used at EasyDrive-dedicated or mix toll lanes. Currently, 163,162 private vehicles use MPTC’s RFID tag stickers, allowing them to quickly pass through toll gates in the north and south.

According to data, it takes 9-12 seconds to pass through South Luzon Expressway/North Luzon Expressway and Cavitex toll plazas when motorists prefer to pay cash, while it only takes 2-4 seconds to enter and exit if their cars are tagged with EasyDrive or EasyTrip stickers.

A

YALA Land, Inc. recently earmarked 450 hectares as carbon forests, in line with an aggressive target to neutralize the carbon emissions of its properties by 2022.

“We have been tracking, among other environment, social, governance metrics, our greenhouse gas emissions throughout the various stages of our project development process,” said Anna Maria Gonzales, ALI sustainability manager. “We are taking this a step further by aiming for carbon neutrality, and one of the ways to achieve this is through our carbon forests.

The carbon forests consist of five sites located in different parts of the Philippines. Three of the sites are within or adjacent to existing Ayala Land developments. Forest sites in Lio and Sicogon are integrated into the estates’ masterplans as part of the developments’ nature trail areas, while the Alaminos site lies north of BellaVita subdivision. The Kan-irag and Talomo sites are located in the cities of Cebu and Davao.

Together with Center for Conservation Innovations, Inc, a study was conducted to determine the baseline carbon stock in these carbon forest sites.

The carbon pool baseline of the five sites are estimated to be at 68k tCO2e.

The study also identified the best protection approach through Assisted

RUDYARD KIPLING WOULD HAVE BEEN PROUD. Tree-measurement at

Talomo in Davao.

Natural Regeneration (ANR), and other methods to maximize the carbon storage potential for each site.

ANR initiatives are activities that support forest regrowth through protection, tending of diverse native wildings found on site, and enhancement planting of other indigenous species.

ALI has partnered with communitybased, non-government organizations like Pusod Foundation Inc., Soil & Water Conservation Foundation and Philippine Eagle Foundation which specialize in reforestation, native tree nursery manage-

ment and volunteer mobilization.

Other than forest regeneration, ALI said it is using a combination of strategies to reach its carbon neutrality target, such as the implementation of passive cooling design in its developments, energy efficiency and renewable energy sourcing.

Ayala Land, a developer of largescale, mixed-use estates, is embarking on an aggressive carbon emissions offsetting program – one of first Philippine companies to target carbon neutrality by 2022.

Calm Pillar in Quezon City Going with the flow HOMEgrown water company Richli Corp., recently started construction of a water treatment facility in Barangay Patrocinio, Cortes, 32 km northwest of Panglao Island. For a long time, Bohol has had problems with its existing water sources -- an increased incidence of cholera and kidney stones — that has hampered development of Panglao Island.

The 1.5 billion project will source water from the Malingin River and distribute bulk water to towns in Bohol, including Tagbilaran, Panglao, and Andaois.

The facility will cover an initial output of 10,000 cubic meters of water per day and is expected to reach a peak target of 25,000 cubic meters per day. This is good enough to supply potable water to 10,000 - 15,000 households.

At the launch were Richli Corp. chairman Richard Lim (third from left), Tourism secretary Wanda Teo, office of the presidential assistant for the Visayas secretary Michael Diño, and local government officials. The water treatment facility will be operational by August 2018.

DMCI Homes recently launched the second building of its Infina Towers development along Aurora Boulevard in Project 3, Located across the LRT 2 Anonas Station, Infina Towers offers a good set up for startup families with easy access to educational institutions such as University of the PhilippinesDiliman and Ateneo de Manila University, as well as businesses in nearby Araneta Center in Cubao area.

The South Tower, with a mix of two-bedroom and three-bedroom units, started selling last month. The units with a gross floor area ranging from 52.50 to 81.50 square meters, are priced at P5.08 million onwards.

Residents can use an array of resort-

Bullish on PH luxury real estate scene

THE Philippine real estate market is projected to continue its stellar growth, List Sotheby’s International Realty said recently in a press conference in Bonifacio Global City.

“With the right economic fundamentals, coupled with investors’ confidence and sound government policies, the luxury real estate market in the Philippines will keep on growing,” predicted Darius Tenerife, chief operating officer of List Sotheby’s International Realty Philippines.

With 930 affiliate offices across 69 countries, the company puts premium properties in the country on a more global platform. Tenerife told the Manila Standard that List Sotheby’s helps investors make sound decisions about sought after trophy properties – “the crème dela crème of real estate”, such as this Avignon penthouse (Shown in photo).

At the launch, where List Sotheby’s formally announced its presence in Manila, in addition to its offices in Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Hawaii, were (Inset) asset manage-

inspired amenities such as lounge areas lounge, among others. Infina Tower’s (Seen here), snack bar, game area, North and South Towers will be turned fitness gym, audio-visual room and sky over in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Rolling out the welcome mat AMAIA Land recently welcomed clients to their new homes in Amaia Steps Capitol Central in Bacolod. A total of 99 percent of units have been sold. Located at San Juan Street, Brgy.

8, in Bacolod City, Amaia Steps Capitol Central gives its residents a good view of the cityscape, wide-open spaces as well as access to amenities soon such as a swimming pool, a play

ment president & CEO Kenji Minoda; asset management senior manager Naoki Hasegawa; investment advisor Kaye Cawili; Singapore COO Yasushi Yamada; Darius Tenerife; Singapore CFO Hiroki Tanaka; and asset management general manager Takeo Maezawa.

area for kids, a landscaped garden, and a multipurpose hall. Residents are close to Capitol Central’s main park, Seda Hotel, the Ayala Mall that will soon rise in the area, assorted retail shops found within the property, and as soon as construction is completed, an imposing establishment in the vicinity—Capitol Central corporate center.