Manila Standard - 2018 January 11 - Thursday

Nazareno toll: 1 dead, 800 hurt

VOL. XXXI • NO. 328 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2018 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net

ONE devotee died and more than 800 people were injured when millions joined the yearly procession of the Black Nazarene, officials said on Wednesday.

The annual feast, one of the world’s largest Catholic festivals, drew 6.7 million barefoot devotees on Tuesday in what police described as a “generally peaceful” event despite crowds jostling to

touch the icon.

However, a former jail officer died of a heart attack after joining the scramble to climb onto the carriage bearing an image of the centuries-old Black Nazarene on Tuesday morning, city officials and police said.

Devotees have been known to risk life Next page

LASTING REFORM. Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno (above) dashes hopes of the country’s public school teachers that their wages will be increased while students of Araullo High School (right) offer flowers to their mentors in celebration of Teachers Day, which may include a program to honor them for special contributions in a particular field of discipline. Norman Cruz

Govt moves to rearrest former gov on new rap

Diokno ‘bombs’ teachers’ pay hike

By Vito Barcelo, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz

B

UDGET Secretary Benjamin Diokno said Wednesday that increasing teachers’ pay is not the government’s priority, one day after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered his agency to find ways to double the salaries of public school teachers under the second package of the tax reform law.

JOEL REYES

GOVERNMENT prosecutors have asked the anti-graft court to throw former Palawan governor Joel Reyes back in jail days after he was released on orders of the Court of Appeals.

In an urgent motion, prosecutors from the Office of the Ombudsman asked the Third Division of the Sandiganbayan to cancel Reyes’ bail and jail him for his conviction for granting an anomalous mining permit in April 2006.

In a widely criticized decision, the Court of Appeals last week cleared Reyes of the 2011 murder of broadcast journalist and environmentalist Gerry Ortega and ordered his release.

“In spite of his conviction [for graft]...Reyes was allowed bail, over the objections of the prosecution that... [he] was and

“That is not a priority at this time. Our priority is ‘Build, Build, Build’ and… taking care of the poor,” he said, referring to the administration’s massive infrastructure program that aims to create more jobs and promote

economic growth.

Diokno said it would be better to carry out a pay raise in 2020 with the full implementation of the Salary Standardization Law. He said the law will raise the pay of government workers, in-

cluding public school teachers, by an average of 15 percent to 16 percent this year. Another round of pay hikes will be carried out next year.

Diokno said a salary increase for teachers at this time would cost the government an additional P500 billion.

He added that public school teachers are already paid more than their private sector counterparts.

At present, an entry-level teacher in a public school earns P20,000, excluding allowances and bonuses.

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque earlier said the President aims to double the salary of Next page

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P200/mo. aid to ease TRAIN impact on poor SC orders admin to respond to anti-ML petition

FIST POSE. President Rodrigo Duterte, in yet another signature pose Tuesday with Communist Party of China

Central Committee member Meng Xiangfeng and Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua following their meeting in Malacañang. Also in photo are Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, Foreign Undersecretary Ernesto Abella and Special Assistant to the President Christopher Go. Malacañang Photo

By John Paolo Bencito

By Rey E. Requejo

THE poorest of the poor will be getting a measly P200 per month from the government to help them mitigate the impact of the administration’s tax reform package, whose effects they repeatedly branded as “temporary” and would not lead to higher prices of basic goods, the Budget department said Wednesday.

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, who defended ther recentyly passed package, said the P200 monthly dole “is in response to critics who say that

THE Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the government to comment on the second petition filed by human rights lawyers and party-list groups questioning the constitution-

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ality of the one-year extension of martial law in Mindanao.

High court spokesman Theodore Te said the Court gave the respondents until Jan. 13 to submit their comments on the petitions.

The respondents in the second

petition include Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Armed Forces Chief Rey

Island defense buildup targets no one—China CHINA said Wednesday that the defense facilities it has built on the disputed Kagitingan Reef in the West Philippine Sea are not directed at any country.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lu Kang made this comment in reaction to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana’s statement that the Philippines would lodge a diplomatic protest if reports that China was militarizing the reclaimed Kagitingan Reef were true.

“China’s peaceful construction on its territory aims to make greater contributions to regional peace, navigation safety, disaster prevention and relief, maritime search and rescue and maritime scientific research,” Lu said in a regular press briefing in Beijing Tuesday.

“Certainly, China also needs to construct necessary defense facilities for its own territory, which are not directed at any country,” he added.

Lu said China and the Philip-

OVER 800,000 children who have been inoculated with Dengvaxia vaccine are at risk, following the findings of a “strong” pattern in twitter.com/ MlaStandard

the deaths of four children with dengue symptoms, the Public Attorney’s Office said Wednesday.

At a radio interview over dzMM, forensic expert Dr. Erwin Erfe said the autopsy of four children who died within six months

FORMER Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. decried Wednesday the “obvious bias” of Supreme Court Associate Justice Benjamin Caguioa, the ponente of his election protest now pending before the Presidential Electoral

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after receiving the dengue vaccine showed a pattern of internal bleeding, enlarged organs, such as the brain, lungs, spleen, kidneys and heart, and petechial rashes.

“Almost everyday, we receive

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Marcos: Justice Caguioa ‘obvious bias’ for Robredo

‘800,000 kids at risk after Dengvaxia vaccination’

By Rio N. Araja and Rey Requejo

pines, as friendly close neighbors, would maintain unimpeded dialogue and communication on maritime-related issues.

“The Chinese side stands ready to continue stepping up communication with the Philippine side so as to eliminate misunderstanding and enhance mutual trust,” he said.

Malacañang said Tuesday the Philippines was still relying on China’s good faith that the Chinese government would not embark on new reclamation activities in the WPS, known elsewhere as the South China Sea. “When we say we are relying on China’s good faith, it is because China has committed not to embark on new reclamations,” Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said in a Palace briefing.

Roque said Kagitingan was one of the islands that China had already reclaimed and the subject of the arbitral tribunal’s

BONGBONG MARCOS

Tribunal, against him and in favor of former Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo.

Speaking at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay at Café Adriatico in Malate, Manila, Marcos said the series of decisions issued by the PET on his election protest clearly demonstrated the bias of Caguioa against him.

“It has now become fairly obvious that his resolutions are biased against me and biased in favor of my oppositor,” he told journalists at the weekly forum.

Caguioa was appointed by then President Benigno Aquino III. They were classmates from elementary to college at the Ateneo De Manila University.

While the PET is a collegial Next page

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SC ruling on Cha-Cha vote sought

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz

S

ENATE Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Wednesday said the Senate’s Minority Bloc will likely go to the Supreme Court to decide if it will vote either jointly or separately with the House on Charter change.

He told CNN Philippines they were open to elevating the issue before the Supreme Court.

“We are open to it. Ultimately, it will have to be decided by the Supreme Court,” Drilon said.

“I cannot imagine that the

Mary Jane's bday wish: 'Help me, Mr. President'

By Rio N. Araja DETAINED overseas Filipino worker Mary Jane Veloso, facing execution in Indonesia, on Wednesday called on President Rodrigo Duterte to help her seek justice and allow her to testify against Maria Cristina Sergio and Julius Lacanilao, alleged traffickers.

On her 33rd birthday anniversary Wednesday, Veloso sent a video footage of her appeal to the President at a briefing in Quezon City.

She said it was her birthday wish the government would allow her to testify in court, ferret out the truth and hold the real perpetrators liable.

“President Duterte, I am wholeheartedly asking for your help to allow me to tell the whole truth and punish those accountable,” she said.

“It is in your hands that I give my life. I will not lose hope that I will eventually get justice because I know God is with me in this fight. And I will never, never admit any wrongdoing that I have never committed,” she added.

She said it had been three years since she was given reprieve from the death row when Sergio and Lacanilao, in their counter affidavits, maintained her innocence of drug trafficking, “and up to now, justice is elusive.”

“You are the father of our country. It is one of your duties to protect your people, especially victims of other people with ill intentions,” she voiced.

“I know [very well] you hate drugs,” she said, adding “how can we totally wipe out the illegal drugs if those involved, [such as in my case], remained unpunished.”

The Indonesian government was about to execute Veloso in March 2015, but she was granted reprieve to give the Philippine government a chance to run after her traffickers.

In April 2010, Veloso was arrested in Indonesia when authorities found illegal drugs in her luggage hidden in a secret compartment given by one Mr. I. K., a friend of Sergio’s another boyfriend.

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decision that the island was within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

“So when we invoke the good faith of China, it is against making further reclamations and not making further works on islands that it had already reclaimed,” Roque said. PNA

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requests to examine those children who got the Dengvaxia vaccine,” he said.

Just yesterday, PAO examined the body of the fifth child “whose remains still lie in state,” he added.

“If I see a pattern [here], more than 800,000 children [with Dengvaxia vaccine] are at risk. Unfortunately, there

framers of the Constitution contemplated the situation where the Senate’s vote is just equivalent to that of 290 or so congressmen in a joint voting.

No senator will agree to this kind of interpretation.”

Drilon made his statement even as Speaker Pantaleon

Alvarez called on the public, especially his constituents in the first district of Davao Del Norte, to support the shift to a federal form of government in fulfillment of President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign promise in 2016.

“This year, 2018, we will revise our Constitution for a shift to a federal form of government. Let us unite and support this initiative of the President,” Alvarez, who marked his 60th birthday on Wednesday, told supporters, friends, allies and well-wishers at the New Tagum City Hall.

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parts in the military and the police,” Drilon said.

He said that a review of the current government salary structure is made necessary by the increase in the basic salary of the military and nonuniformed personnel.

Senator Loren Legarda said that all public school teachers will receive additional P1,000 in their cash or chalk allowance this year.

Legarda, chairman of the Senate committee on finance, said that additional P770 million was allocated in the Department of Education’s budget to increase the annual chalk allowance of public school teachers from P2,500 to P3,500 per teacher.

“This is good news for our teachers because additional allowance means they can purchase more of what they need to be more effective in

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body composed of 15 justices of the Supreme Court, Marcos said it was Caguioa, who was assigned the case, who decided and issued the minute resolutions regarding his protest.

At the same time, Marcos ruled out the possibility of reclaiming a Senate seat in the 2019 midterm elections, saying he was focused on winning his electoral protest against Robredo.

Marcos said not even an endorsement from President Rodrigo Duterte would convince him to run for the Senate again, mindful of the fact that a victory could mean an abandonment of his poll protest.

The former senator cited the case filed by the late former Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago against former President Fidel Ramos after the 1992 national elections.

The camp of Robredo told Benigno Aquino that [it is] presumptuous to claim you’re vice president.

Robredo through counsel Romulo Macalintal reacted to Marcos’ claim he believed the vice presidency was his.

“It was too presumptuous for Mr. Ferdinand Marcos to claim that he already won the vice presidency or he is just dreaming,” Macalintal said.

“If he won as vice president, why is it that it was Robredo who was proclaimed by Congress as winner?” he asked.

Marcos enumerated some of the Orders issued by Caguioa which showed his one-sidedness in favor of Robredo.

He said as early as April 2017, the PET gave him only two working days to pay his initial P36 million protest fee.

That was right smack during Holy Week of last year when all the banks were closed.

Despite this, he managed to comply with the required fee because under the PET Rules, his protest would be dismissed if he failed to pay on time.

Robredo, on the other hand, failed to meet the deadline set by the PET but Caguioa gave her an extension.

To this day—nine months later, Robredo has still not managed to fully complete the payment of her deposit.

Another manifestation of Caguioa’s lopsided decision,

Marcos pointed out, was his motion concerning the decryption and printing of ballot images in the SD cards, a move that was originally opposed by Robredo’s camp.

Marcos said Caguioa granted his motion on the condition he paid for all the costs involved for the decryption process.

To date, Marcos has paid an additional P7 million for the decryption costs.

Despite having paid for all the costs involved in the decryption and printing, Marcos said his legal team was still waiting for Caguioa’s order to give them the printed images—which has been ready since last year.

However, when Robredo asked for the soft copies of the ballot images, Caguioa immediately granted her request—without requiring her to pay a single centavo.

Another instance was when Caguioa ordered him to produce 8,000 witnesses for his third cause of action (annulment of votes in the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao and Basilan) within a non-extendable period of five days.

However, after his legal team complied with the Order and submitted the names of the 8,000 witnesses within the non-extendable 5 day period, Caguioa merely deferred the resolution of his motion.

Marcos added that after one and a half years, it was clear that the strategy of his opponent was to delay his protest in the hope he would lose hope and throw in the towel.

But their attempts to delay the protest comes with a price: the current political instability of the country.

Marcos said: “It has been almost two years and we have not yet done a recount, not even a single ballot box has been retrieved. How can you say that it is correct for an issue as fundamental or basic as to the conduct of national elections to be kept hanging?

“All these questions are left unanswered and it cannot be good for the stability of our political system.”

Marcos found it strange that Macalintal, counsel of his opponent, kept issuing unsolicited advice that he should run for a Senate position in 2019 and forego his election protest. Rio Araja

was a pattern in the deaths of the four children [we have examined],” he said.

“When we opened the head of those children, we observed severe bleeding, enlarged [internal] organs and many petechial rashes inside the chest.

I pray that this [fifth body] would not manifest a pattern,” he added.

He cited a “rapid downfall” or death of children six months after receiving the vaccine,

saying “there was even one victim who manifested severe fever and died less than 24 hours.”

“The force of the disease was just that fast,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the government to answer the petition filed by the Gabriela party-list and 70 mothers and children seeking to compel certain government officials to provide free medical services

teachers and has ordered the Budget Department to find ways of raising their takehome pay.

Roque declined to comment on Diokno’s remarks, saying he would address them on Thursday, during his regular press briefing at the Palace.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, meanwhile, said salary increase should cover all government workers, including nurses and other professionals aside from teachers.

“It is important that a review of the compensation package for the civilian personnel is undertaken in order to avoid wage distortion and inequality and make the salary of government professionals at par with their counter-

He said Congress will begin the grand debate on Charter change when it resumes session on Jan. 15 to shift to federalism by moving for the convening of Congress into a constituent assembly to rewrite the 1987 Constitution.

Getting the Con-Ass running had been a top priority of the Lower House, Alvarez said.

Drilon said nowhere in the Constitution did it say that voting on Cha-Cha must be done jointly. He said Congress was bicameral and that both the upper and lower chambers must act separate-

ly, just like they do on bills and resolutions.

Drilon said he believed that no senator would agree to a joint voting once Congress convened in a constituent assembly to amend the 1987 Constitution.

“I cannot imagine a situation where the Senate would be an irrelevant institution,” he said.

“Yes, if we vote jointly we become irrelevant. That is an unfortunate interpretation because if we change the name of a high school, in any place in this country, the Senate can veto by not act-

ing on the proposal from the House,” he said.

Alvarez earlier said convening Congress into a ConAss was the top priority of the lower chamber this year.

He said the Senate and the House should vote jointly on the proposals to amend the 1987 Constitution.

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, meanwhile, aims to submit a resolution this week calling for a ConAss for the purpose of revising the Constitution and to study the adoption of a federal form of government.

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remains to be a flight risk; and notwithstanding the fact that during the trial of the case, his counsel could not produce the accused before the honorable court nor categorically state or account his whereabouts on several occasions,” the prosecution said in its motion.

Prosecutors pointed out that Reyes and his brother, former Coron mayor Mario Reyes had fled to Thailand in 2015 to evade prosecution.

“It will be recalled that accused Reyes was a fugitive. Had it not been for the intervention of Thai authorities, accused Reyes would not have been deported to face the criminal charges against him,” the motion read.

“Considering accused Reyes’ previous record and to

prevent its recurrence, the cancellation of his bail and his immediate commitment to prison are warranted,” it added.

Demetrio Custodio, Reyes’ lawyer, objected to the motion, saying his legal victory before the Court of Appeals made it “absurd” to consider him a flight risk.

The Palace commended the Office of the Ombudsman for asking the Sandiganbayan to cancel Reyes’ bail.

“That’s how it should be!

I commend OMB for the order,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, who used to be a lawyer for the Ortega family, said in a text message.

Roque said Ortega’s murder was an example of extrajudicial killing.

The Palace this week expressed alarm over the Court of Appeals decision to clear Reyes of Ortega’s murder.

Vito Barcelo

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MPD Chief Police Senior Superintendent Joel Coronel said the Traslacion, or the transfer of the image from the Quirino Grandstand to Quiapo Church, lasted for more than 22 hours.

Coronel estimated 6.3 million devotees joined the Traslacion.

Quiapo Church Rector Monsignor Hernando Coronel expressed his condolences to the family of a 54-year-old Ramil dela Cruz, a devotee who died during the Translacion.

“More and more people each year join the Traslacion.

This pleases the Nazareno,” Coronel said.

Authorities said devotees this year left 100 tons of garbage, which was less than in 2017.

“Garbage collected this year was less since we gathered 34 truckloads in 2017,” said Francis Martinez, head of the Metro Manila Devel-

opment Authority’s Parkway Clearing Group.

The Ecowaste Coalition said the lack of concern over the environment was a stain on “the awe-inspiring expression of faith and trust in the Black Nazarene.”

“The overnight vigil was a good opportunity for families to bond together and for the children to get to know the Black Nazarene. Unfortunately, many simply dumped their discards at the very spot where they spent the night,” said Daniel Alejandre of the Ecowaste Coalition.

While portable toilets were available for free use by the public, some devotees chose to urinate in the open, or pee in pet bottles, he said.

The group also assailed the sale and use of cigarettes inside the Rizal Park, which is a no-smoking zone. Bill Casas, Sara Susanne D. Fabunan, Joel E. Zurbano with AFP

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TRAIN—the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law—is anti-poor because the informal sector and already tax-exempt wage earners will be faced with higher excise taxes.”

The move, Diokno said, would “augment the incomes of the poorest 50 percent of households” who would be affected by the new tax package.

Some P24.5 billion has been allocated for unconditional cash grants to the poorest 50 percent of households identified by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, with monthly subsidies expected to increase from P200 to P300 by 2019 and 2020, with an allotment of P38.5 billion in the national budget in the coming years.

“In the long-term, TRAIN should even lead to lower prices as it will result to (sic) better productivity and lower transportation costs with superior infrastructure,” Diokno said.

Meanwhile, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board on Wednesday warned operators of public utility vehicles against overcharging passengers following the higher excise tax for petroleum products under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law.

“There is no increase in the jeepney fare, no increase in the UV fare, no increase in the bus

fare, no increase in the TNVS, TNCs, no increase in the P2P (point-to-point)...there must be a petition for a fare hike,” LTFRB board member lawyer Aileen Lizada told reporters in an ambush interview on Wednesday.

Lizada said any overcharging on the part of the operators would have corresponding sanctions.

Under the Joint Administrative Order 2014-01 of the Department of Transportation, first offense violators will face a P5,000 fine, second offense will result in a fine of P10,000 and the impounding of the unit for 30 days.

Third and subsequent violations will be subject to a fine of P15,000 and the cancellation of the certificate of public convenience.

Transport group Pasang Masda earlier bared its plan to file a petition before the LTFRB asking to raise the minimum jeepney fare of P8 to P12, saying the increase would allow operators to cushion the “domino effect” on prices of the newly-implemented tax measure.

Meanwhile, the fisherfolk under the group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas decried the evident impact of President Rodrigo Duterte’s TRAIN on the fishing sector, particularly the abrupt oil price hike that affects smallscale fisherfolk who regularly

consume gasoline or diesel for their fishing operations.

Based on the group’s initial investigation in the fishing capital Navotas City, price of gasoline as of Jan. 4, 2018 had surged up to P49.20 per liter from P43 per liter before the new tax reform was implemented.

This means a small fisherfolk who regularly consumes 12 liters of gasoline per fishing trip has to prepare at least P600 from P516 for the gasoline alone.

Pamalakaya said the cost of petroleum products ate up almost 80 percent of their production trip.

Other production costs include food needs of the boat owner and its companion which costs P150, and the tricycle fare to buy gasoline in the market that costs P40.

Now a total of P790 from P706 is needed to cover the production cost per fishing trip of six to eight hours.

The group noted the output of every fishing trip does not usually guarantee that it could recover the amount spent during the production due to prevalent decrease of the municipal fish catch, which now ranges from two to five kilos per fishing trip. Because they cannot even earn the cost of production, fisherfolk have to borrow money with excessive interest rates to cover the production costs of their next fishing operation, making them buried in debt. Bill Casas

and treatment to children injected with the untested controversial anti-dengue Dengvaxia vaccine.

In a press conference, SC spokesman Theodore Te stressed the Court en banc gave respondents Health Secretary Francisco Duque, Interior and Local Government Acting Secretary Catalino Cuy, and Department of Education Secretary Leonor Briones 10 days to comment on the petition.

Other respondents included in the list are DoH-National Center for Disease Prevention and Control program director Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy, and Food and Drug Administrative director general Nela Charade Puno.

In a Nov. 29, 2017 public disclosure in Paris, the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur, Dengvaxia manufacturer, disclosed Dengvaxia should not be recommended to individuals who had not been

previously infected by dengue virus.

In the 2015 to 2016 school year, the Department of Health under then secretary Janette Garin procured the Dengvaxia vaccines for P3.5 billion for its school-based immunization program covering 830,000 pupils aged nine and older enrolled in grade four.

The vaccine was administered in three six-month interval doses.

teaching. Now they have additional P1,000 to purchase classroom supplies like chalk, markers, paper, erasers and other materials,” said Legarda.

ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio, on the other hand, said the public school teachers deserve nothing less than a salary increase.

“As long-time advocates for decent pay, we welcome the statement coming from the Palace that President Duterte wants to increase the salaries of public school teachers,” Tinio said.

“His administration has already set the benchmark by doubling the basic pay of uniformed personnel starting this year. Our teachers deserve nothing less. We eagerly await the formal proposal from the [Department of Budget and Management],” Tinio added.

and limb to kiss or touch the icon with towels, believing the Black Nazarene to possess miraculous powers.

Two people died during the 2016 event.

More than 800 people were hurt in this year’s procession, including one who sustained a suspected neck and spine injury in a fall, the Philippine Red Cross said.

The procession began before dawn on Tuesday and ended after midnight, some 22 hours later.

During the parade, police shut down mobile phone signals in many areas of Manila to prevent potential terror attacks on the procession.

The Manila Police District said the image of the Black Nazarene was returned to Quiapo Church about 3 a.m.

Wednesday.

Soldier killed in bombing attacks MUSLIM militants who pledge allegiance to the Islamic State group have killed a soldier and wounded three civilians in bomb attacks in Mindanao, the military said Wednesday.

Security forces on the island have been pursuing pro-IS armed groups following a five-month battle with militants for the city of Marawi last year that left more than 1,100 dead.

The soldier was fatally hit Tuesday while his unit was tracking Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters gunmen on a mountain trail near the town of Datu Unsay, regional military spokesman Captain Arvin Encinas told AFP. “The dead soldier was involved in a clearing operation [against the BIFF],” Encinas said.

A roadside bomb apparently intended for a military convoy in the neighboring town of Datu Hoffer wounded three civilians instead, Encinas added.

He said both military units were pursuing BIFF members who had clashed with security forces in the same region on Saturday, a firefight that left a soldier and five militants dead.

He said some members of the BIFF had been trained in making improvised explosive devices by Zulkifli bin Hir, a Malaysian killed in a police operation in the same region two years ago.

“These are students of Marwan. There’s quite a few of them,” Encinas said of the bomb makers, referring to Zulkifli’s alias.

The Muslim minority of the mainly Catholic Philippines considers Mindanao as its homeland. Decades of armed rebellion in the region have claimed more than 100,000 lives according to official estimates.

Sporadic fighting has continued despite the defeat of the Marawi militants and a 2014 peace treaty signed by the main Muslim guerrilla group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. AFP

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Leonardo Guerrero and Philippine National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa.

The tribunal also ordered the conduct of oral arguments on the consolidated petitions on Jan. 16 and Jan. 17.

“The parties are directed to submit their respective memorandum not later than 5:00 in the afternoon on Jan. 20, 2018,” the high court said.

On Dec. 29 last year, the high court required Malacañang and congressional leaders to respond to the petition filed by Lagman and other opposition lawmakers in the House of Representatives within 10 days.

In a joint session held on Dec. 13, Congress approved the request of President Rodrigo Duterte for a one-year extension of martial law.

But the two consolidated petitioners both insisted that the martial law extension lacked the factual basis required by the 1987 Constitution since the government had already admitted that there was no more rebellion in the region.

They said Duterte even admitted that the government had defeated the ISISlinked Maute terror group in October last year after a nearly five-month campaign to oust them from Marawi City.

They said even the new alleged grounds cited by Duterte in his letter to both Houses of Congress would still not logically and legally justify an extension because they did not rise to the level of rebellion that constituted a threat to public safety as contemplated by the Constitution.

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DND downplays CPP-NPA’s ‘delusion’ T

By Francisco Tuyay

HE Defense department downplayed the moves by the Communist Party of the Philippines which called for an unholy alliance with groups opposed to the government to topple President Rodrigo Duterte from power.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the latest move by the CPP was published through its official publication, calling on its cadres to work towards the downfall of President Duterte and build an alliance with anti-Duterte groups.

“The CPP’s call for an unholy alliance with all groups opposed to the government to bring down the President, “even those with the biggest contradiction with the revolutionary forces,” brings to light their bankrupt ideology,” Lorenzana said.

Lorenzana said the CPP’s plan is to launch campaigns, “both armed and unarmed to deal serious blows to the regime and weaken it until it falls.”

“This latest statement of the CPP-NPA once again shows how far these communist-terrorist are

from the truth and how years of propagating lies have deluded their sense of reality,” the defense chief said.

However, Lorenzana assured that the defense and military institutions will protect President Duterte and every Filipinos as well

PDEA, LTFRB and transport groups unite vs illegal drugs

By Rio N. Araja

FOR CHILDREN’S SAKE. Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Concerns discuss the top problems confronted by Filipino children in 2017 during the ‘Ulat Bulilit,’ a bi-annual report on the situation of Filipinos, particularly young children. Photo shows members of the Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Concerns discussing the catastrophic impact of government program and policies and unveiled the “DuterTERROR Train” which it said threatens to run over Filipino people, especially children coming from the marginalized sector. Manny Palmero

P25b set for AFP land, air, sea unit upgrade, says Nograles

By Maricel V. Cruz

A LEADER of the House of Representatives on Wednesday said the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ modernization program is expected to improve Filipino soldiers’ fighting capabilities in all aspects.

House appropriations committee chairperson and Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles said the modernization program was made possible this year via a P25-

billion allocation in the national budget.

“We are talking about land, air, and sea upgrades for the AFP. This modernization program will erase doubts regarding the Duterte administration’s commitment to our brave men and women in uniform and protecting the country as a whole,” Nograles said.

Nograles said the details of the P25-billion tranche under the multi-year upgrade plan for the AFP have already been given final approval by

the Department of National Defense.

“While our military personnel will no doubt enjoy their well-deserved increase in base pay this year, their morale will get another huge boost thanks to the new combat vehicles they will be getting,” Nograles said.

Forthcoming purchases under the modernization plan include 24 attack helicopters worth P13.8 billion; one fixed wing jet, P2 billion; and one turboprop patrol aircraft, P1.8

billion, he said.

“If the acquisition of the attack helicopters will be subject to a multi-year acquisition, then the list would also include 44 units of light attack tanks.

These will be worth P9.4 billion,” Nograles said.

As for sea units, Nograles said the program also provides for an P8-billion payment through multi-year obligation for two frigates, an amphibious assault vehicle and a surveillance radar.

“As you can see, we have

our troops covered in all areas.

We won’t stop there either as the upgrades to our mechanized units will continue in the coming years. Let this send a message to the enemies of the state, especially terrorist groups, that we are fully equipped and capable of defeating you,” Nograles said.

Last year, government troops fought against the ISIS-inspired Maute Group extremists who tried to take over Marawi City in Lanao del Sur.

MWSS gears up for its 140th year; opens Carriedo Cup sportsfest IN CELEBRATION of its 140th year, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, the country’s chief agency on water and sewerage services in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, is gearing up for a series of activities from January to February 2018 aimed at forging the spirit of unity and camaraderie among stakeholders, employees, partners in progress,

loyal customers and clients.

Dubbed “MWSS @ 140: From Carriedo to Balara—Ensuring Water Security,” the various activities will be highlighted with the expected presence of President Rodrigo Duterte for the main event in February with the formal opening on Jan. 12, 2018 of the Carriedo Cup and Sportsfest, a month-long sports tournament among participat-

ing agencies located inside the MWSS compound, featuring various sports disciplines such as basketball, bowling, table tennis, chess, and even traditional Filipino games such as sungka.

The Carriedo Cup had its soft opening with the basketball tournament led by MWSS Administrator Reynaldo V. Velasco and graced by TNT Katropa players, Local Water Utilities Adminis-

trator Jeci Lapuz, MWSS RO Chief Patrick Ty, Maynilad VP Randy Estrallado and AVP Anette H. De Ocampo, and Manila Water Group Director for Strategic Asset Management Abelardo Basilio.

“With the support, unity and camaraderie of everybody, the concessionaires, the stakeholders, the support of the staff, I am very confident that we will be

able to attain the objectives that we have set for ourselves and these activities are just the beginning of enduring partnership for sustainable development,” says MWSS Administrator Velasco.

“It’s a very difficult path to thread but we are confident that given the collective efforts of everyone, we will be able to overcome—and we are committed to do just that.”

TO PREVENT the use of public transport in the delivery of illegal drugs, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, along with the transport network vehicle services companies have agreed to work together.

At the signing of a memorandum of understanding, PDEA director general Aaron Aquino said realizing that drug syndicates have exploited the use of transport network vehicle services, PDEA, LTFRB and the TNVS companies have agreed to stop the new trend in drug trafficking.

Apart from Aquino, the other signatories were LTFRB chief Martin Delgra III; Laurence Cua, general manager of Uber Systems Inc.; Brian Matthew Cu, country head of My Taxi.PH, and Nicolas Jose Laude III of U-Hop. Aquino earlier raised concern over drug syndicates using the mobile-application of transport network vehicle services to transport drugs concealed inside packages right at the doorsteps of their receivers.

“The transport network companies shall communicate with partners and drivers on the dissemination of the detailed PDEA contact information for the speedy relay of criminal and other suspicious activities to authorities,” the PDEA chief said.

DoT honors intern who saved woman in MRT-3 mishap CHARLEANNE Jandic, the medical intern who helped save a woman from an accident at a Metro Rail Transit-3 station in November this year, was named one of the Department of Tourism’s “Women of Significance” at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila on Saturday night.

Jandic said that while she was “overwhelmed” by the recognition she received, people must understand it was not really outstanding.

“There is no need for an award. I just did my job,butifitbringstoattentiontheneed for emergency medical services in places such as train stations, then I guess it’s a good thing,” Jandic said.

She hoped “it would open the mind of the lay people to understand” that their job as medical practitioners does not stop once their shifts end.

MRT passenger Angeline Fernando, 24, fell on the tracks seconds before a train departed from Ayala station. She was then caught between the first and second coaches and lost her arm.

Recounting what happened, Jandic said she initially hesitated but “instinct” took over.

“Initially, I hesitated because I did not know the extent of her injury, because I didn’t see what happened,” she said.

as defend the institutions from the wicked-minded ideology of the CPP-NPA. Lorenzana said that Duterte is far from being “increasingly isolated” from the Filipino people after garnering a high 82-percent approval and trust rating in the latest survey.

BI barred 187 foreign sex offenders in 2017 AT LEAST 187 foreign sex offenders or registered sex offenders convicted of sex crimes in their home countries were barred from entering the Philippines last year, the Bureau of Immigration said.

Immigration port operations division chief Marc Red Mariñas said that the number of RSOs denied entry in 2017 were higher than the 144 sex felons intercepted in the different airports in 2016.

RSOs refer to convicted sex offenders who have finished serving their sentences or have been released on probation or parole.

In the United States and most Western countries, the government maintains a sex offender registry that allows authorities to keep track of the activities and movement of sex offenders.

The RSOs intercepted at the airports are immediately turned away as their names and derogatory records would immediately register a hit in the computer screens the moment their passports are swiped by immigration officers in their scanners. Vito Barcelo

Include SUCs in free Wi-Fi rollout —Bam SENATOR Bam Aquino asked the government not to forget our public schools and state universities and colleges (SUCs) as it prepares the rollout of Republic Act 10929 or the Free Internet Access Program in Public Places.

As principal sponsor and co-author, Aquino has been pushing the measure in the Senate, saying Filipino students will benefit from free internet as a vital tool to further enrich their knowledge.

“Internet is an important tool in learning. Students are empowered by the internet in learning lessons, completing assignments, and research,” said Aquino, chairman of the Committee on Science and Technology.

“Our teachers can use this system to improve their system of teaching,” said Aquino.

Republic Act 10929 provides free internet access in all national and local government offices, public schools, public transport terminals, public hospitals and public libraries. Macon RamosAraneta

Govt starts impounding old, dilapidated PUVs

By Joel E. Zurbano

Officials of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and the Transport Networks Companies sign a memorandum of Understanding to prevent the use of public transport in delivering illegal drugs. From left UBER country manager Laurence Cua, LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra, PDEA Dir. Gen. Aaron Aquino, My Taxi Grab country manager Brian Cu and UHop sales manager Nicholas Jose Laude during the signing held at PDEA office in Quezon City. Manny Palmero

“But there was a patient, and there was the nervous feeling that said what if it was beyond what I knew?”

Later, doctors were able to reattach Fernando’s severed right arm.

Apart from Jandic, seven other women were recognized for making a differ-

ence in the community.

Also named 2017 DoT Women of Significance were Aileen Apostol, a special education teacher, Nadine Casiño, founder of “Modern Nanays of Mindanao”, Sol Balbero, Kanlungan sa ERMA executive director, SPO3

Esnairah Lucman, filmmaker Baby Nebrida, former DoT secretary and sustainable tourism advocate Mina Gabor, and Nurture Wellness Village founder Catherine Brillantes-Turvill.

Tourism Secretary Wanda Tulfo-Teo saidthegalanightalsocappedtheMissUni-

verse delegation’s visit to the Philippines.

“It’s a charity ball so part of the proceeds goes to Kanlungan sa ERMA, a place where abused children stay. So part of the proceeds, though it may not be a big amount, will be given to the foundation,” Teo said.

THE government on Wednesday started impounding old public utility vehicles in line with the program to modernize public transportation in the country.

Personnel from the Inter-Agency Council on Traffic impounded two public utility buses, two jeepneys and one tricycle, while summoned the operators of 184 other vehicles found to be unroadworthy.

Most of those vehicles were caught with defective lights, no seat belts, worn out tires while 26 of them were summoned for smoke belching.

Thomas Orbos, I-ACT chief and concurrent general manager of the Metro Manila Development Authority, said they will not be accepting any excuses as they push forward with campaign dubbed “Tanggal Bulok, Tanggal Usok.”

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Opinion

THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2018

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

T

One speech does not make a president

ELEVISION host Oprah Winfrey delivered a speech earlier this week at the Golden Globe Awards. She talked about being Black, and being a woman, and living in a society where injustice continues. But enough of that, she said. It is time to finally speak up.

“For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dared to speak their truth to the power of those men, but their time is up,” she said, to resounding applause.

The success of the speech occasioned talk, largely online, that Winfrey could be a viable presidential candidate for 2020. There was general frustration with

the way United States President Donald Trump has been handling the nation’s affairs—and conducting himself, besides.

That Winfrey could be fielded against Trump in the next elections became an even more attractive idea with the latest controversy involving a book that supposedly details the shady, erratic governing style of the current president.

True to form, Mr. Trump said he was confident he would beat Winfrey if the contest ever came to pass. “Oprah would be fun.”

Indeed, Winfrey’s speech was as powerful as it was timely. We know she has a lot to contribute to the discourse and plenty of good intentions. But to float the idea of a presidential run based solely on her popularity and the viral reaction to her speech smacks too much of desperation.

It’s a feeling not altogether foreign to us Filipinos.

We are also guilty of making ordinary individuals into larger-than-life characters in our desire for change in the way we are governed.

For example, we started glorifying the son of a famous political couple upon the death of his mother. He did nothing spectacular to merit the attention, really—he was simply who he was. Sure, he has had some experience in local politics, but that was not his own handiwork. It was just a benefit of a prominent last name.

At that time, however, there was growing discontent with the current administration, battling so many charges of corruption. Alas, we saw inertia, hypocrisy, vindictiveness and selective justice.

We also voted into office a maverick local official who seemed to display

none of the attributes of the prim-andproper affectations of the leaders we have known in the past. Less than two years before we elected that tough-talking, expletive-uttering local leader to national prominence, we have yet to see whether change is really coming, and if the change is for the better, not the other way around.

Becoming president takes more than just a sound byte, or a death in the family, or a rousing speech. The demands of the position are mind-boggling and even decades of preparation would not seem enough.

Everybody knows this, of course, but sometimes the temptation to rely more on emotions rather than on logic is just so strong. What it guarantees is that we would only find ourselves in the same rut of discontent, even as the names and faces change.

TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

Abandoned parents THIS is a tragic story, happening in our midst and fast becoming a trend.

The story is about parents who live by themselves. Their sons and daughters live elsewhere and have lost all filial attachment to them.

Recently, a friend, a widow, was found dead in her one-bedroom condominium unit. She had been living by herself for so many years. Her daughters were all in the United States.

A friend called her one morning, but there was no answer. She called the widow’s son who had the doors opened. The death was attributed to her diabetes.

Something must be done about this worrying trend.

Bongbong gets going LOWDOWN

JOJO A. ROBLES I’LL make it so simple that even a Yellow can understand it: If Leni Robredo won as vice president in May 2016, a recount of the same votes now, nearly two years later, will only confirm that she did.

And if Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who is protesting Robredo’s victory, is paying for the recount, why can’t the Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, get to it right away? What seems to be the problem, really?

Marcos yesterday identified the problem—and the reason for the delay.

He is Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa,

who was designated by the tribunal to supervise the Marcos electoral protest.

Caguioa, according to Marcos, has done nothing but delay the progress of his protest. That, and rule in favor of his opponent Robredo at every turn.

In the many months since Marcos filed his protest soon after the elections, the son for the former president has quietly and religiously complied with every requirement sought by Caguioa and the PET. It had gotten to the point where his supporters were already wondering if Marcos was willing to let Robredo consume her entire six-year term while he gave in to every single whim and demand of the tribunal.

All through that time, Marcos was also very careful not to say anything

remotely against Caguioa or the PET. That changed yesterday, when Marcos came out swinging not only against the dilatory tactics of his opponent— an old contention of his—

I applaud Marcos for finally declaring that he will no longer allow Caguioa to sit on his protest.

but also against Caguioa, who seems so hopelessly biased in Robredo’s favor that the justice merely agrees with whatever move to delay the proceed-

ings coming from the vice president-under-protest.

“There has been a disturbing series of decisions made by Justice Caguioa that were clearly unfair and unjust,” Marcos said in a press conference. “It’s become very obvious that the strategy has been to delay, delay and delay.”

Of course, it’s very easy to see who benefits from delays in the disposition of the Marcos protest.

That would be Robredo, whose simple strategy is to file motion after motion through her lawyers in a bid to put up legal roadblocks to stop the protest from proceeding.

The circumstances of Caguioa’s designation, of course, have long been questioned, albeit not by Marcos and his camp. The justice is a former Ateneo classmate of the presi-

dent who appointed him, Noynoy Aquino, who is known for his near-pathological loyalty to the people with whom he went to school.

How Caguioa ended up taking charge of the Marcos protest case is also suspicious. Caguioa supposedly won the case in a raffle conducted by a court then still under the influence of another Aquino appointee and former classmate, the currently embattled Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

If Caguioa had any sense of propriety at all back then, he’d have refused to handle the Marcos protest when it was given to him, on the ground that he was an appointee of the president who backed Robredo’s candidacy to the hilt. And if he had developed that same sense

of decency since then, he would step down now, since he has proven by his agreeing to Robredo’s dilatory tactics that he cannot decide the case with any sense of urgency—which is truly scandalous, given the amount of time that’s already passed with not one ballot being counted again. *** I don’t really know if Caguioa can still be shamed into getting off his backside and get cracking on the protest case. But I applaud Marcos for finally declaring that he will no longer allow the justice to sit on his protest and wait for him to abandon it, say, by running for another office in the midterm elections next year.

Because that, I am convinced, is the ultimate

A former classmate of my wife at UP is also living on her own in the ground floor of a rented one-room home. Her dog lives with her.

I accompanied my wife and some of their classmates when they visited her. It was pitiful to see her in that condition— used plates were piled on top of one another, and the air had a putrid smell.

A relative also used to live alone in a condominium even when her married children were living comfortably in Metro Manila. She died recently.

Yet another case is that of a couple, one suffering from dementia and the other of some incapacity. One child visits, occasionally. They have a helper but she’s only a teenager. A son supposedly makes a lot of money, but he could not even hire a caregiver for his parents.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development should do something about this. This

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From A4

should be a government priority!

My wife and I are blessed because we are now living with our only daughter. *** Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency chief Aaron Aquino must be hallucinating when he said that the PDEA is aiming to make 5,000 barangays drug-free. By the end of President Duterte’s term, the country would be free of drugs, he said.

Last year, the PDEA rattled off numbers that seem to say barangays were becoming drug-free.

Obviously, Aquino is an amateur. For as long as there is demand for illegal drugs, foreign cartels would always be ready to supply that demand.

I speak from experience. I used to be with DARE Foundation, a rehabilitation center for drug and alcohol dependents.

I know for a fact that the community has to be involved in rehabilitation, that it takes no less than a year to rehabilitate drug users, and only around 75 percent are successfully rehabilitated.

Still, it is good that it is PDEA, not the Philippine National Police, that is at the forefront of the fight against drugs.There are

Bongbong...

From A4

goal of Robredo’s camp: To make Marcos so disheartened with the inaction of Caguioa that he will do what both Miriam Santiago and Loren Legarda did before him, which is to settle for seeking a Senate seat in the next scheduled elections.

Marcos himself shot down any such plans.

“Why will I run for senator when I already won as vice president?” he said.

Now this is what Marcos’ supporters want to hear from their candidate: That he will not only do everything the law tells him to do, like putting up the money to pay for his protest (which he did, on a Good Friday, no less, upon PET/Caguioa’s instructions), but that he will also fight for them to the very end by not seek-

fewer instances of drugrelated killings. *** Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque now says that there will be no need for mid-term elections in 2019 if people ratified a new Constitution. Otherwise, there is no reason to stop the scheduled polls.

Can Congress amend the Constitution before 2019? Since there is need for a transition period—from amending the Constitution to actually restructuring the government—how will this be handled?

Santa Banana, anything can happen if Congress pushes through with amending the Constitution through constituent assembly. This is why I said earlier that Congress seems to be pushing the country to the edge.

President Duterte must do something about this.

He has the support of the people—he could do whatever he pleases. *** Eric Canoy, chairman of the Radio Mindanao Network, is now the president of the Manila Overseas Press Club.

Tony Lopez, publisher of the weekly BizNewsAsia magazine, will continue to be MOPC chairman and Maloli Espinosa Supnet will take the place of Canoy as secretary. Nelia Gonzales will continue to be MOPC treasurer.

ing to grab the next best position that comes along in order to stay relevant in the national political conversation.

Marcos’ supporters also want to see him take his protest to the limit not only because they want to see him ultimately win it, but also because it will prove to them that he has finally come into his own as a political figure. And yesterday’s fighting pronouncements from Marcos will go a long way towards convincing them that he is finally worthy of the votes they gave him in 2016, instead of just being a stand-in for his late father.

As for Robredo, Caguioa and the rest of the gang that is keeping the Marcos protest from proceeding as it should, they may soon have their comeuppance. Thwarting the people’s will is never a good strategy, for anyone.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2018

A5

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

A Trojan horse?

OVERSIGHT DANILO SUAREZ SINCE the start of his term, the President has been vocal about his dissatisfaction with the services of the country’s top telecommunications providers. Talks about a third player entering the Philippine telco industry have been heard since then.

In late 2015, many Filipinos were excited about the news of Telstra, Australia’s biggest telco company, entering the Philippine telco market to challenge the duopoly of PLDT-Smart and Globe.

San Miguel Corporation and Telstra terminated their negotiations on their supposed joint telecommunication venture in the

Philippines, reportedly because the parties were unable to agree on commercial terms.

Before 2017 came to a close, it was reported that China Telecom, the biggest wired Internet service provider in China and fully owned by the Chinese government, will be the third telco player in the Philippines. In fact, President Duterte ordered the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the National Telecommunications Commission to ensure that the third player is up and running by first quarter of this year.

While I agree that telecommunications and connectivity are serious problems in our country, we must wonder, is China Telecom a Trojan horse?

The public should be aware that 40 percent of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, that is our country’s power distributor is Chinaowned. Last year, I was vocal about my disapproval of the 40-percent ownership. Are we now handing over telecommunications and Internet connectivity to China, as well? If we allow the neighboring country, it can switch off our telecom?

The telecommunications industry is a nationalized industry. It is imbued with public interest and public safety. Is it really prudent to allow foreign entities to have access to both sectors?

Giving China access to the Philippine communications infrastructure is a serious threat to national

security. In fact, even the United States banned Huawei and ZTE from bidding on government contracts, after their House Intelligence Committee reported that these were a national security threat due to possible espionage. Currently, only the consumer market (smartphones) is open for Huawei.

The idea of welcoming a third player in the Philippine telco industry is basically coming from the demand for a better telecommunications services.

We have two main players here that have been serving over a hundred million subscribers.

If we want the quality of telco services to improve, we should demand the Philippine telco companies to invest on improving their infrastructure.

The Congress recently renewed the franchises of Globe and Smart, in the condition that they would improve their services at no additional cost to the consumers; hence, we are looking forward to the fulfilment of this promise.

It is an attractive proposition—the infusion of fresh capital, and availability of new technology in an industry that is a continuing disappointment to its many subscribers. However, this to me comes at too high a price.

I suggest that the administration do not rush such a decision. We need to be vigilant about the national security implications here. Remember, 40 percent of the company that distributes power is China owned. What’s next?

Travel restrictions DUTY CALLS FLORENCIO FIANZA THE problem of what is excessive government travel and what is not has been a problem to many administrations in the past. Different presidents dealt with this situation differently.

It used to be that all government officials in the executive department secured their travel permits directly from the Office of the President. This has now been decentralized to allow heads of offices to authorize foreign trips of their subordinates.

Because of President Duterte’s disdain of public officials becoming jetsetters at government expense, his office has since issued new guidelines for all heads of offices. They must submit periodic reports of officials who have traveled overseas to include expenses incurred during the trip.

In that new issuance from the Office of the President, it specifically banned junkets. A junket is a pleasure trip, often funded by someone else and more commonly associated with politicians.

In the case of officials in the executive branch, if the real purpose of the

trip is for pleasure, and public funds were used, the trip can be classified as junket. Normally, when an official is granted authority to travel abroad, the authority includes all expenses allowed by the government such as per diems and other incidental expenses. Depending on the destination, flight duration and length of stay, all authorized expenses are itemized so that the government office where that official belongs can only draw the authorized amount and nothing more.

Travel to Europe and North America is usually more expensive than, say, Africa. This is so because of the higher cost of living there. On flight duration, a flight of more than nine hours usually allows a senior official a business class ticket. Lower ranked government officials get economy class tickets regardless of length of travel. Personal travel must also be sanctioned by the government wherein the travel authority will specifically mention that the travel is at no expense on the part of the government.

It would appear, therefore, that since all expenses are itemized, it would be easy to calculate the total amount used by public officials in their foreign travels.

But it’s not as simple as that.

There are many tricks in the bag that enterprising officials can use to justify going on foreign pleasure trips using public funds.

This is perhaps one of the things that the President wants to eliminate. The most recent public official to be removed from office due to alleged excessive travel is Marcial Amaro III. The erstwhile administrator of the Maritime Industry Authority followed Dangerous Drugs Board Secretary Dionisio Santiago, Development Academy of the Philippines president Elba Cross Jr. and Presidential Commission on Urban Poor chief Terry Ridon whose services were earlier terminated.

Amaro made six foreign trips in 2016 and 18 in 2017 which shows that his office must have a huge travel budget to make that many official foreign trips in one year. And yes, 18 trips does sound excessive.

Still, a formal Investigation should have been conducted to find out why Amaro made 18 official trips in just one year. With a formal investigation, it could have established whether Amaro used funds intended for other purposes to finance his many foreign trips to the detriment of the rank and file

of the agency. An investigation could have also determined whether made-up invitations to the foreign travels were solicited by MARINA just so Amaro can have a reason to travel.

With the abrupt firing of the officials without the appearance of due process, we will never know whether the foreign trips were excessive, unnecessary or junkets. The way they were terminated may also not have been fair to them.

If corruption is the beef of the President here, it might be constructive to compare the amount spent for travel abroad to the alleged hundreds of millions being stolen by other corrupt public officials.

The priority might be misplaced. In spite of the aversion of the President to foreign travels, in this day and age it is necessary for government officials to attend conferences abroad and establish contacts with their foreign counterparts who can support the country on certain vital diplomatic and economic positions that the country may take. If we do not do this, the country will be left behind in many ways.

Take the case of human rights. Currently, we are not the darling of the international community on this issue. It is therefore necessary that officials at-

tend conferences abroad on the issue to solicit support and defend our position. Admittedly, a few of these foreign trips maybe in the borderline of what could be considered junkets but even travels of this nature will allow the public officials to learn a lot from the experience, something that cannot be done by just staying here and accessing the Internet.

I understand the need for avoiding unnecessary foreign travels to save on government funds but sometimes such trips do happen. Even the President himself has already traveled abroad 10 times in his first year in office and more trips are forthcoming to represent and work for the interest of the country and rightly so. This can also be said to lower ranked officials who travel abroad to also advance the interest of the country. Often, these officials are the people who will put into motion what the President signed with his counterparts from other countries at the policy level. Striking a balance to determine that only necessary trips are authorized and unnecessary trip disapproved is going to be always difficult and I suspect that this problem will continue into the future long after President Duterte is gone.

If Google is biased, so are its algorithms

By Leonid Bershidsky JAMES Damore and David Gudeman’s remarkable discrimination lawsuit against their former employer, Google, raises an important issue, though perhaps not quite the one the plaintiffs intended. It has more to do with Google’s oversized role in delivering information to the world than with its work culture and internal rules.

Damore—the author of a famous memo against Google’s diversity policies that got him fired last year—and Gudeman, an engineer who says he was also dismissed for his conservative views, claim in the lawsuit that Google routinely discriminates against Caucasian males and conservatives. They cite internal emails and posts from the corporate social network to demonstrate what they say is widely tolerated and encouraged harassment of people like them. They also describe Google’s hiring and firing practices that they believe are in violation of California law.

As they lay out the examples, they often appear to conflate whiteness, maleness and conservative views, as if they’re equally undesirable parts of a package that Google treats as toxic.

Whatever the legal merits of the case, the conflation doesn’t quite work on a common sense level.

Even if Google is actively trying to recruit more people of color and more women, it seems absurd to allege that it discriminates against white guys.

Google’s workforce is 69 percent male and 56 percent white; another 35 percent of Googlers are Asian, another race Damore and Gudeman allege is not favored by the company’s diversity practices. Only 2 percent of Google employees are black. Someone like Damore, a white guy with a Harvard degree (and mild autism, which people tend to see as social awkwardness), fits the Googler profile perfectly. To feel discriminated against on a race and gender basis while being surrounded by people of the same race

and gender requires a peculiar sense of dislocation —one born of being politically marginalized.

The real complaint, of course, is about that.

Google’s prevailing culture appears to be hostile to right-wing political views. As one manager wrote on an internal bulletin board (the screenshot is used in the lawsuit), “If you express a dunderheaded opinion about religion, about politics, or about ‘social justice’, it turns out I am allowed to think you’re a halfwit” and refuse to work with such a person on a project.

“As evidenced by the fact that the blacklisting posts remain live on Google’s internal corporate network, it is clear that Google took no action to prevent blacklisting,” Damore and Gudeman wrote in the lawsuit. “Google seems to ignore most cases, and occasionally ‘coach’ the worst offenders. However, Google will not openly come out against the practice; instead, it relies on crowdsourced harassment and “pecking” to enforce

social norms (including politics) that it feels it cannot write directly into its policies.”

Gudeman, an open Trump supporter, claims that directly contributed to his being blacklisted and fired.

There’s a reason, however, that Damore and Gudeman need to bring the race and gender into their accusations. Companies are not legally obliged to maintain a diversity of views among their employees. Opinions, unlike race, gender or sexual orientation, can be treated as a lifestyle choice, and these work better with some corporate cultures than with others. For example, Nike might prefer a workout fanatic to a smoker, while a tobacco company would be comfortable making the opposite choice. It can be argued that, because of the talent pool from which it draws—smart millennials who tend to value tolerance over the freedom of expression—Google builds a more cohesive working environment by hiring, to quote from the

lawsuit, “an employee who sexually identifies as ‘a yellow-scaled wingless dragonkin’ and ‘an expansive ornate building’” than a #MAGA cap wearer.

That, however, is exactly the problem. Google is not just a company, it’s the owner of the world’s biggest conduit to information, with a 69 percent global search market share. It leads people to it by using proprietary algorithms and artificial intelligence. And it’s acutely aware of the problem of algorithm bias.

The examples it uses include an algorithm identifying the term “physicist” with maleness based on a set of pictures of the famous physicists of the past or associating “shoe” with men’s footwear because the training set doesn’t contain enough highheeled shoes. These are cases for which Google uses human correction on the algorithm level (and still occasionally misses a surprising result here and there). Even Google Translate algorithms can be seen as biased when

they prefer male pronouns in situations where a modern human translator would make a more politically correct choice.

If the Damore lawsuit correctly describes an aggressively leftist culture at Google, the human input into the algorithms can be expected to favor the leftist worldview. That may lead to overcorrection -- and to the burying of alternative views, noxiously rightwing or even mainstream conservative. When I type “women are” in the Google search window, the first suggestion I get is “women are always right.” How do I know this is not the result of the personal bias of someone who tweaked the suggestion algorithm?

When I type “the earth is,” the first suggestion is “flat”; while this is probably a manifestation of algorithmic bias, I don’t really want it to be overcorrected —it might be fun for a lot of people to be unexpectedly exposed to the lively flat-earther community, even if they may be disinclined to join it.

Google’s search algo-

rithms are a black box to the public. People inside the company can mess with them without telling us, potentially imposing their internal culture on millions of searchers who have no reason and no desire to share it. This world includes Trump supporters and Antifa activists, creationist pastors and evolutionary biologists, climate change deniers and people who consider them evil.

It’s not up to an Internet search company to try to level these differences. But if that company fosters a work culture in which a certain worldview dominates, can its products be trusted to be neutral?

That question is what worries me about the Damore suit. Given its special place in the modern world, Google must strictly enforce political neutrality and punish partisanship and zealotry in any form.

Its mission as a neutral conduit is more important even than workplace cohesion. Silencing any kind of views, no matter how offensive, undermines that mission. Bloomberg

News

A6

THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2018 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Review of 104 IFMAs ordered E

By Rio N. Araja

NVIRONMENT Secretary Roy Cimatu on Wednesday ordered a review of all of the 104 companies granted integrated forest management agreements or IFMAs to prevent a repeat of any “environmental degradation” like the flash floods and mudslides in Zamboanga Peninsula owing to Typhoon “Vinta” last December.

Cimatu vowed to go after grant holders that violated their forest agreements with the government.

While several companies have already stopped operating, he said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources continued to receive reports of illegal poaching at IFMA sites.

“We will make them accountable if we find that there were violations in what are supposed to be their obligation to help manage the forest, and not to be the culprit behind such environmental degradation,” the former Armed Forces chief warned.

Of the 104 IFMAs nationwide, 40 are found in Luzon,

13 in the Visayas and 51 in Mindanao.

According to Cimatu, 10 IFMAs were issued in Region 9, where the Zamboanga del Norte flash floods occurred.

He ordered the need for compliance and performance evaluation of the 104 IFMA sites, including Dacon Group of Companies, which was ordered to stop operations of its two subsidiaries, the South Davao Development C. Inc. and the Sirawai Plywood and Lumber Corp.

President Rodrigo Duterte blamed Dacon’s companies for the flash floods and mudslides that killed dozens of people in Zamboanga del Norte at the height of Typhoon “Vinta.”

He ordered the Environment department to suspend the logging concessions in the

aftermath of the landslides that swept away several seaside villages.

“This after [the President] was apprised of concerns of indigenous populations that they have been displaced by logging operations of some companies,” Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said Tuesday in a Palace news briefing.

In a Facebook post following the monthly Cabinet meeting on Monday night, Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol quoted the President as telling Cimatu to “implement a closure order” against the Sodaco Agricultural Corp., which holds a 60,000-hectare concession under the DENR’s Integrated Social Forestry program.

Under their IFMA terms, Sirawai Plywood and Sodaco are allowed to establish in-

dustrial tree plantations from which they can harvest, but are not allowed to cut residual trees unless authorized by Cimatu under very strict conditions, such as site development and plantation establishment.

A 12-member investigator team, composed of local DENR officers from the forestry, mines and environment bureaus, have been deployed so that “an exhaustive probe can be conducted to see if there have been violations in their permits,” Cimatu said.

“Roy, ipasara mo yan.

Hindi naman maghihirap yan si Consunji kasi Oligarch na yan [Roy, order it closed.

Consunji isn’t getting poorer because he’s an oligarch already],” the President told the Environment secretary, referring to the billionaire family

that owns Sodaco.

Also in his recent talks with Cimatu, Piñol said the DENR chief has already ordered an immediate investigation into the reported logging operations by the company owned by the Consunji group.

“I have formed a team to investigate not only what Sodaco did in the Zamboanga but also in the Kalamansig-Lebak mountains,” Cimatu was quoted as telling Piñol.

Piñol, who recently conducted a helicopter fly-over on the portion of the mountains that have been deforested, said the logging operation “is blamed for the flash floods and mudslides which killed dozens of people and damaged agricultural lands in four towns of Zamboanga del Norte Dec. 22 at the height of Typhoon “Vinta.”

IN BRIEF Graft raps for ex-mayor, VM THE Office of the Ombudsman on Wednesday indicted Reynor Gonzales and Cesar Gonzales, former mayor and vice mayor, respectively, of Lambunao in Iloilo province, for receiving transportation allowances while using government vehicles in 2014.

The two are facing graft charges for violation for violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act or Republic Act No. 3019.

In 2014, the Commission on Audit’s annual audit report showed the respondents received transportation allowances despite being assigned government vehicles for their official use.

Based on CoA’s notice of disallowance, Reynor received a total of P90,000 in allowances, while Cesar received P83,880 from January to December 2014.

Citing the Department of Budget and Management Circular No. 2013103 issued on May 15, 2013, CoA said those who were assigned or who use government motor transportation shall no longer be entitled to the TA, but only to the commutable [representation allowance] for the month.

“Records show that respondents did not deny the receipt of the notice of disallowance. Despite such receipt, respondent Reynor only partially settled the disallowance in the total amount of P40,400 as evidenced by the 21 June 2016 notice of settlement of suspension/disallowance/ charge and the receipts submitted by respondent Reynor,” the Ombudsman said.

Rio N. Araja

Customs creates internal affairs unit CUSTOMS Commissioner Isidro Lapeña has ordered the creation of Interim Internal Affairs and Integrity Unit to investigate and go after customs officials and employees engaged in illegal activities inside the bureau.

In a statement, Lapeña said the agency is being hounded by corrupt BoC officials “for the longest time, that is why we are now facing it head-on.”

He said he already has a list of BoC officials involved in illegal activities, who will be named soon.

“We already know you by name, it’s only a matter of time before I kick you out. I don’t care if you are backed by some officials. The President has given me full authority to lead this agency,” Lapena added.

He said the prime mandate of the unit is to stop the illicit acts of some BoC officials and employees of amassing ill-gotten wealth, to strengthen disciplinary actions on erring BoC personnel, and to encourage everyone in the agency to be compliant with existing directives and policy guidelines. Vito Barcelo

HOLD THE OLD. Operatives of the InterAgency Council for Traffic, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, and Metro Manila Development Authority inspect a dilapidated jeepney as they implement the ‘Tanggal Bulok, Tanggal Usok’ program along Edsa-Pasay on Wednesday. The program aims to provide proper, safe, clean and efficient transport for Filipino passengers. Norman Cruz

One of four Mabuhay Manor robbers identified, charged

By Joel E. Zurbano POLICE identified one of the perpetrators in the P4-million robbery of the Mabuhay Manor Hotel in Pasay City last week.

Charged with robbery in band before the Pasay City prosecutors office was Daniel Constantino. Three John Does were included in the charge sheets.

Southern Police District director Tomas Apolinario said Constantino, who used the aliases Dave Constantino and Anthony Herrera, was positively identified by witnesses as one of the persons responsible in the five-minute robbery on Jan. 2.

Constantino was a former

security guard who lived near the Mabuhay Manor situated at the corner of Ortigas and F.B. Harrison Streets, Apolinario added.

Constantino has no criminal records in Pasay City, the police chief said. He added the suspect was involved in a motorcycle theft but the complainant did not file a case against him.

Earlier, the SPD released the photos of four persons of interest in connection with the robbery. Constantino was among those persons.

The authorities are now hot on the trail of the suspects.

“The Pasay police was able to identify already the group, but their tracker teams are still conducting follow up opera-

tions,” said SPD spokesperson Jenny Tecson.

On the day after New Year’s Day, four men with short firearms barged into the hotel, grabbed the .38-cal revolver service firearm of the duty security guard Jho-An Jabagat and announced the heist around 3:19 a.m.

A few days after the robbery in Pasay, four armed men wearing jackets and motorcycle helmets also robbed Goto Bar in Parañaque City and fled with at least P15,000 cash and valuable from the eatery and its customers.

A customer was also shot and wounded by one of the robbers, who also took his cash and mobile phone. The robbers then fled on board two motorcycles

toward Sucat road.

One of the Mabuhay Manor guests, Dominador Castro, a 57-year-old Filipino-American and resident of 1062 Cuatro De Hulyo Street, Baclaran, Parañaque City, was robbed of cash and valuables, including one Presidente Rolex wrist watch (solid gold) valued at US$30,000, an iPhone 6S with Bluetooth headset valued at US$700, color red Adidas backpack worth US$5, gold necklace with pendant worth US$ 15,000, and a gold ring worth US$10,000.

Some relatives of Castro— Josephine Tadoy and Roberto Castro—who accompanied him at the hotel, and other hotel guests were not spared

by the robbers, who also took their cash, mobile phones, gadgets, jewelries and important personal belongings.

Police said the hotel’s cash register at the front desk containing its daily income of at least P53,000 and company phone worth P6,000 were also taken by the robbers.

Investigators initially described the robbers as armed males between 25 to 30 years old, three of them wearing face masks.

They said the robbers disarmed and took the firearm of the lone security guard, then went to the lobby of the hotel, declared the heist and divested the victims of cash and personal belongings for about five minutes.

3 EOs signed highlight DoH milestones for 2017 HEALTH Secretary Francisco T. Duque III on Wednesday reported the department’s 2017 accomplishments, bannered by the signing of three key Executive Orders by President Rodrigo Duterte which show the health priorities of the administration.

The orders were on access to Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health services (Executive Order No. 12), establishment of smoke-free environments (EO No. 26), and the regulation and controlled use of firecrackers (EO No. 28).

Duque said that the Department of Health, despite the recent controversies, will continue to take the lead in providing vital health programs and services for the Filipino people.

He said 2017 may have been a year fraught with challenges, “but these do not define the health department as an organization still with so many well-meaning, competent and

hardworking people in its ranks.”

“The DoH that I know is number one in terms of public service and satisfaction because Filipinos recognize how they can always count on the expertise and the ready helping hand of the DoH,” he said.

“We will aim once again to regain the trust of our people through integrity and good governance in 2018,” the secretary added.

Duque also reported that through PhilHealth, the DoH was able to provide social health insurance coverage at 91 percent of the total population, and paid out “Z Benefit” claims for catastrophic healthcare amounting to P361 million.

The Z Benefit package covers peritoneal dialysis, coronary artery bypass graft surgery, breast cancer surgery, kidney transplantation, and ventricular septal defect surgery.

Macon Ramos-Araneta

CHINESE SUSPECT. One of three Chinese nationals, identified as Cai Xi Bao, Zhao Xu and Tia Xao Lin, faces the media on Wednesday after the Parañaque police arrested them on charges of serious illegal detention and physical injuries on Taiwanese national Lat Yun Chun.

A report said the three Chinese were asking for P100,000 to release Chun. Norman Cruz

Tourism, DENR act to save Boracay

By Bill Casas THE Department of Tourism and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Tuesday embarked on a joint effort to save Boracay Island in Aklan province from continuous destruction.

Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo and Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu went on an aerial survey of the worldrenowned island, which is fast losing the balance between environmental conservation and tourism development.

The Cabinet officials later presided over a multi-sectoral meeting, including the island’s tourism stakeholders, to address pressing concerns about on and offshore pollution, brought about by waste disposal.

“It’s a shame that Boracay, which has repeatedly been recognized by prestigious travel magazines as the World’s Most Beautiful Island, may yet end up a paradise lost if water contamination continues,” Teo said.

Another major problem that prompted the on-site meeting is the alarming recurrence of flooding in most parts of the tourist hub, particularly the flash flooding that occurred during Typhoon “Urduja” last Dec. 18.

Teo blamed the lack of proper sewerage system, as well as a number of business establishments that tap and dispose their waste through the rainwater drainage system all the way to the sea.

About two million international visitors flock to Boracay for sun and beach holiday, water sports, scuba diving all year round, contributing nearly P50 billion in annual receipts. It has also become a frequent luxury cruise ship destination.

The 10.32-square-kilometer paradise is nestled between the Sulu Sea and the Sibuyan Sea, comprised of three barangays (Yapak, Bulabog, and Manok-Manok) under the municipality of Malay, Aklan, with an aggregate population of 34,000.

Win wants probe on Malampaya

By Macon R. Araneta SENATOR Win Gatchalian on Wednesday called for a full-scale Senate investigation into billions of pesos worth of anomalous disbursements of funds from the Malampaya natural gas project under the past two administrations.

Gatchalian’s Senate Resolution No. 579 directs the appropriate Senate committee to inquire, in aid of legislation, “on the release of the Malampaya Funds by the Department of Budget and Management without complete documentary requirements.”

The release was in violation of Presidential Decree No. 910 Series of 1976, Executive Order No. 683 Series of 2007, DBM-DOE-DOF Joint Circular No. 3 Series of 2008, and other relevant laws and rules and regulations as specified in the Commission on Audit’s Special Report No. 2017-04, the resolution adds.

The Malampaya Fund, which holds the government’s profit share from the exploitation of natural gas resources in the Camago-Malampaya Reservoir under Service Contract 38, accrued P173.28 billion from its operations from January 2002 until June 2013.

These funds were collected by the Department of Energy and managed by the Bureau of Treasury for the exploration and development of energy resources.

In 2007, the DBM was authorized to release money from the Fund according to certain guidelines.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Sports

Manila

Standard

TODAY

Halep, Wozniacki lead chase M

ELBOURNE—Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki spearhead the charge to succeed Serena Williams at an Australian Open left wide open by the withdrawal of the defending champion and new mum.

A pregnant Williams sealed her 23rd Grand Slam singles title and seventh Melbourne Park crown a year ago, but last week announced she wouldn’t defend her title, saying she was “super close” but not quite ready to compete after giving birth in September.

With the 36-year-old having to wait to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles, the tournament is there for the taking by a host of players, led by world number one Halep, second-ranked Wozniacki and fourth-ranked Elina Svitolina.

Last year there were two firsttime major-winners while Serena was on maternity leave—Jelena Ostapenko at the French Open and Sloane Stephens at the US Open.

But their chances in Melbourne look slim: Stephens hasn’t won a match on tour since her Flushing Meadows triumph, and Ostapenko was far from her attacking best in her first-round defeats in Shenzhen and Sydney in the past week.

Halep’s chance Wimbledon champion and world number three Garbine Muguruza retired with severe cramps in Brisbane last week, in what could be a further boost to Halep’s hopes of a maiden Grand Slam.

The 26-year-old Romanian is full of confidence after lifting

the title at Shenzhen in dominant fashion, but will need to overcome her sorry record at Melbourne Park where she has lost in the first round in both of the past two years when seeded in the top four.

Wozniacki is riding high after her resurgence in 2017 when she reached eight finals, with victories in Tokyo in September and at the season-ending Tour Championship.

The Danish former world number one lost in the Auckland Classic final on Sunday to Germany’s Julia Goerges, but said she felt great heading to Melbourne as she too looks to make her Slam breakthrough.

“I’ve got a lot of matches under my belt this week, it was the preparation I hoped for,” said Wozniacki, who is back up to second in the world and, if results go her way, can return to the top spot after a gap of six years.

In-form Svitolina last week won the Brisbane International after picking up five WTA Tour titles last year, more than any other woman.

The Ukrainian believes hard work in the off-season is paying dividends. “I’ve started to play more consistently,” she said. “I’m stronger physically. I have a different look to my game.” AFP

Trail Blazers silence Thunder; Heat edge Raptors

LOS ANGELES—C.J. McCollum scored 27 points and passed off seven assists to lead the Portland Trail Blazers over Oklahoma City 117-106 in an NBA matchup Tuesday.

Shabazz Napier added 21 points and Bosnian big man Jusuf Nurkic had 20 for the Trail Blazers (22-18), who edged ahead of the host Thunder (22-19) for fifth place in the Western Conference.

Damian Lillard missed his second game in a row with a strained right calf, Napier starting in his place.

“That was a big win. It was for fifth place,” McCollum said.

“Damian will be coming back any day now. We’ve got to keep the ship afloat until he gets back.”

McCollum sparked a Portland surge in the third quarter that kept Oklahoma City at bay the

Thai up by a stroke; Dottie, Chihiro lurk MEXICO, Pampanga—Thai Yupaporn Kawinpakorn held off Chihiro Ikeda’s late assault and withstood Dottie Ardina’s solid game as she grabbed a onestroke lead with a three-under 68 and moved closer to nailing another victory on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour.

Kawinpakorn matched Ikeda’s closing birdie that capped her backside attack where she stepped up after a par-game at the front to thwart the local aces’ charge in the second round of the ICTSI Beverly Place Ladies Classic at the par-71 Beverly Place Golf Club here yesterday.

Her second three-under card shoved her to the top at 136 as the veteran Thai campaigner moved 18 holes away from scoring a follow-up to her two-stroke triumph at South Forbes in the 2017 season ending LPGT event last month.

“I played so relaxed today [yes-

terday] and my irons and wedges contributed to my good score,” said Kawinpakorn, adding she’ll need to play smarter and make the most of her birdie opportunities in today’s final round.

Her last-hole birdie also dropped erstwhile joint leader Ikeda to second at 137 after a 69 which the Fil-Japanese built on three birdies in the last six holes to remain in the title hunt in the P750,000 event sponsored by ICTSI. Despite her fall, Ikeda remained confident of her title chances but hoped her irons would tick and her putting would continue to click.

“I struggled with my irons at the front but the good thing was my putting clicked,” said Ikeda, seeking to score another victory after ruling the Forest Hills leg last November.

“I’ll just play my game tomorrow [today] and try not to put pressure on myself.”

Perpetual, Benilde eye top spot PERPETUAL Help and St. Benilde shoot for Games today a share of the lead with defending champion (Filoil Arena, San Juan) 8 a.m.- LPU vs CSB (jrs) Arellano University as the two tackle San a.m.- LPU vs CSB (m) Beda and Lyceum, respectively, today in the 9:30 11 a.m.- LPU vs CSB (w) 93rd NCAA volleyball tournament at the 12:30 p.m.- UPHSD vs SBC (w) 2 p.m.- UPHSD vs SBC (m) Filoil Arena in San Juan City.

The Lady Altas got off to an impressive start 3:30 p.m.- UPHSD vs SBC (jrs) as they downed the Lady Pirates, 25-21, 25-17, 25-22, Sunday, while the Lady Blazers trounced the Letran Lady Knights, 25-22, 25-11, 25-20, last week to likewise jumpstart their campaign.

The Perpetual-SBC duel is set at 2 p.m., while the LPU-CSB showdown is at 12:30 p.m.

Macky Carino of Perpetual and Arnold Laniog of St. Benilde were also impressive on their coaching debuts.

“We’ve set big goals for this year but initially, we want to make it to the Final Four first,” said Ca00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ rino, who was the coach when CSB won the women’s title two years ago before 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ making a big jump late last year to take over from DIGITS 00-00-00-00-00-00 Sammy Acaylar.

For Laniog, who succeeded Carino, losing is DIGITS 00-00-00 not an option.

“This is a short tournament so every victory EZ2 00-00 counts,” he said.

LOTTO RESULTS

6/49 6/42 6 3 2

and nine rebounds, while Carmelo Anthony contributed 19 points and New Zealand center Steven Adams had 16 in a losing cause.

In a thriller at Toronto, Miami’s Wayne Ellington scored inside with 0.3 of a second remaining to give the Heat a 90-89 victory.

Back-to-back baskets by DeMar DeRozan gave the host Raptors an 87-86 edge with two

rest of the way.

“I just try to play at my pace, let the game come to me and when I have to take a big shot I’m not afraid of it,” McCollum said. “Guys did a great job of setting me screens and I was able to get to the middle.”

Russell Westbrook and Paul George each had 22 points to lead the Thunder, with Westbrook adding game highs of 12 assists

For fast ad results, please call Advertising Department 832-5547

minutes to play, but Miami’s Goran Dragic answered on a driving layup with 19 seconds remaining to lift the Heat ahead 88-87.

But DeRozan, who led the Raptors with 25 points, wasn’t finished yet. He answered by tipping in his own miss with three seconds remaining to put the Raptors in front again, setting up Ellington’s clutch heroics. AFP

National road cycling set in Subic, Bataan RIDERS in the national and continental teams stake their reputation against equallypotent cyclists on a level playing field―the PhilCycling National Championships for Road―which gets going tomorrow (Friday, January 12) and Saturday (January 13) in Subic and Bataan.

At stake is the right to wear the coveted national champion’s jersey in the Men and Women Elite, Under 23 and Junior categories, according to PhilCycling President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.

The national championships highlight the PRU Ride PH 2018, a cycling festival staged annually by Pru Life UK. The event will be graced by Filipino-American Coryn Rivera, one of the world’s best women elite rider who won last year’s Tour of Flanders in Belgium.

“The national champion’s jersey is the most prestigious jersey a cyclist riding for his country would ever want to wear,” Tolentino, also a congressman from Tagaytay City said. “We therefore expect a very tough competition among our best cyclists.

Tolentino is expected to grace the races, along with PhilCycling Chairman Alberto Lina and Secretary General Atty. Billy Sumagui and Pru Life UK Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Allan Tumbaga.

The men’s road race tomorrow (Friday, January 12) will be on an out-and-back 138.27km course at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center marked by a treacherous 7-km climb on an average 7 percent gradient atop the Dambana Ng Kagitingan giant cross on Mount Samat.

The women’s event will be staged simultaneously with the men and will cover 96.55 kms of circuit racing inside Subic. Both races will start at 9 a.m.

The individual time trial on Saturday, on the other hand, will test the men on a 30.12-km route and the women on a 21.94-km distance.

The national championships will conclude with the Criterium races on Janaury 21 at McKinley West in Taguig City.

Republic of the Philippines

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE

Roxas Boulevard Corner Pablo Ocampo, Sr. Street Manila 1004 Request foR expRession of inteRest foR PROCUREMENT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS SERVICES FOR THE 2018 ADB ANNUAL MEETING 1.

The Department of Finance (DOF), Government of the Philippines under the General Appropriations Act for CY 2018 intends to apply the sum of Seven Million Pesos (Php7,000,000.00) being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for Public Relations Services. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at the opening of the financial proposals.

2.

The Department of Finance (DOF) now calls for the submission of eligibility documents for Public Relations Services. Eligibility documents of interested consultants must be duly received by the BAC Secretariat on or before January 19, 2017, 9:45 am at 7th Floor, Procurement Management Division, EDPC Bldg. cor. P. Ocampo Sr. St., Malate, Manila. Applications for eligibility will be evaluated based on a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion.

3.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from Department of Finance (DOF) and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.

4.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested Bidders on January 11, 2018 from the address below and upon payment of the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents, pursuant to the latest Guidelines issued by the GPPB, in the amount of Seven Thousand Pesos (Php7,000.00).

NOTICE This is a notification to all concerned that I, Edmundo Elpidio Santella, born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, son of Federico Santella and Dionisia Alconis, has officially effected a change in name to Edmund Santella, as habitually used in school and employment records and publicly known for in the community.

(MS-JAN. 11 & 18, 2018)

1598 M.H. Del Pilar corner Dr. J. Quintos Streets Malate, Manila Tel. Nos. 522-0000, 551-2200 connecting all departments

INVITATION TO BID

It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the website of the Department of Finance (DOF), provided that Bidders shall pay the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.

The Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK), through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), invites consultants/ suppliers/manufacturers/distributors/contractors to bid for the hereunder project: Approved Budget Bidding for the Contract Documents Fee (ABC)

Items ITB - GS-20171116-01 Three (3) Years Subscription of Managed Detection and Response

P 98,460,000.00

P

49,300.00

Project Completion

5.

Delivery Period: Within sixty (60) calendar days after receipt of Notice to Proceed (NTP) Installation Period: Within seven (7) calendar days to start seven (7) calendar days after delivery

ITB - GS-20171129-01 Supply, Delivery and Installation of Signages, Merchandising Materials, ATM Enclosures, ATM Sunshades and Glass Panel Stickers plus Dismantling of Existing Signages, when necessary, at the following LANDBANK Offices: Lot 1 - North and Central Luzon Areas (12 Offices) Lot 2 - South Luzon and Visayas Areas (18 Offices) Lot 3 - Mindanao Area (6 Offices)

For Luzon Area: Twenty five (25) working days per office after receipt of NTP

P

4,200,000.00

P

2,100.00

3,500,000.00

1,800.00

3,800,000.00

1,900.00

ACTIVITIES

2. Pre-Bid Conference 3. Submission / Opening of Bids 4. Post-Qualification 5. Notice of Award

SCHEDULE January 11 to February 1, 2018 January 18, 2018 - 2:00 PM Bidding Room, 25th Floor, LANDBANK Plaza Building 1598 M. H. Del Pilar corner Dr. J. Quintos Streets, Malate, Manila February 1, 2018 - 11:00 A.M. Procurement Department, 25th Floor, LANDBANK Plaza Building 1598 M. H. Del Pilar corner Dr. J. Quintos Streets, Malate, Manila February 2 to 8, 2018 February 13, 2018

Bid documents will be available to prospective bidders upon payment of the applicable Bidding Documents fee to the LANDBANK Cashier.

LANDBANK reserves the right to (a) reject any and all bids at any time prior to the award of the contract; (b) waive any minor formal requirements in the bid documents; (c) accept such bids, it may consider advantageous and beneficial without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE

- 60% - 30% - 10% 100%

The minimum passing score is eighty percent (80%).

6.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using non-discretionary “pass/ fail” criterion as specified in the Revised IRR of RA 9184.

Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, cooperatives, and partnerships or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines.

7.

The Department of Finance (DOF) shall evaluate bids using the Quality-Cost Based Evaluation/ Selection (QCBE/QCBS) procedure.

The Department of Finance (DOF) shall indicate the weights to be allocated for the Technical and Financial Proposals. The criteria and rating system for the evaluation of bids shall be provided in the Instructions to Bidders.

8.

The contract shall be completed within five (5) months.

9.

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

All particulars relative to Eligibility Statement and Screening, Bid Security, Performance Security, Pre-Bidding Conference(s), Evaluation of Bids, Post Qualification and Award of Contract shall be governed by the pertinent provisions of R.A. 9184 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRRs).

The schedule of activities are as follows:

The BAC shall draw up the short list of consultants from those who have submitted Expression of Interest, including the eligibility documents, and have been determined as eligible in accordance with the provisions of Republic Act 9184 (RA 9184), otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”, and its Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (R-IRR). The short list shall consist of at least one (1) prospective bidder who will be entitled to submit bids. The criteria and rating system for short listing are: I. Applicable Experience II. Quality of Personnel III. Workload Relative to Capacity Total

For Visayas and Mindanao Areas: Thirty (30) working days per office after receipt of NTP

Prospective bidders should have experience in undertaking a similar project within the last five (5) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, with an amount of not less than 50% of the ABC. The Eligibility Check/ Screening as well as the Preliminary Examination of Bids shall use non-discretionary “pass/fail” criteria. Postqualification of the lowest calculated bid shall be conducted.

1. Issuance of Bid Documents

A7

THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2018 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

10. For further information, please refer to: Ms. Liceria A. Te BAC Secretariat 7th Floor EDPC Building, BSP Complex Cor. P. Ocampo Sr., Street Roxas Boulevard, Manila Telefax No.: 526-4786 Email: bac@dof.gov.ph

(MS-JAN. 11, 2018)

(SGD) GIL S. BELTRAN Undersecretary and BAC Chairperson

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Sports

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

A8

THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2018

Saso grabs PH Ladies’ Open lead with a 70

Pichay: New POC polls not possible

By Randy Caluag REP. Prospero Pichay yesterday said a new election is not possible in the Philippine Olympic Committee.

Speaking as a member of the POC executive board, Pichay said the court order for an election may not hold water because it’s not in accordance with the by-laws of the country’s highest governing body for sports.

A court decision penned by judge Maria Gracia Cadiz-Casaclang of Pasig RTC Branch 155 declared null and void the POC polls on Nov. 25, 2016 wherein Peping Cojuangco ran without opposition for his fourth consecutive term as POC president.

Pichay said they will contest the decision.

“We will make an appeal (to the court of appeals) and we will say the judge erred in making the decision because we conducted our elections in accordance with articles and incorporation (of the POC),” said Pichay, who added the case may drag on for years.

“Punta din kami sa Supreme Court. By that time, it will be overtaken by events because mag-election na uli sa POC.” Cojuangco’s term is four years in conjunction with Olympic cycle. The next POC election will be in 2020, just after Tokyo Olympics.

In the last election, Ricky Vargas of the Association of the Boxing Alliances of the Philippines, filed for candidacy against Cojuangco but he was disqualified by the election committee due to technicality, which is now the point of legal contention.

The camp of Vargas sought legal redress and won the initial battle when Casaclang handed the favorable decision last week ordering a new election on Feb. 23.

Braving possible contempt charges, Pichay said they will file the appeal before the said date.

“No need for TRO, appeal lang ‘yan,” said Pichay.

He said and other members of the POC executive council will meet on Jan. 17 to tackle their next move.

Some camps are in favor of a new election, including Squash chief Robert Bachmann, who said he will raise the issue during the general assembly on Jan. 31.

“Let’s proceed with the elections,” said Bachmann.

“If Peping (Cojuangco) wins, then let’s unite under him.”

Chinese champ banned 8 years for doping SHANGHAI—China’s national marathon champion and Olympian Wang Jiali has been banned for eight years after failing a drugs test, her second violation, the Chinese Athletics Association (CAA) said on Wednesday.

The 31-year-old, who won gold at the 2017 National Games, tested positive for the banned blood booster EPO during out-of-competition testing in August and her career now appears over.

The CAA also fined Wang 40,000 yuan ($6,000) and banned her coach Lyu Qiang for life.

Wang—who came 57th in the marathon at the 2012 London Olympics—was banned for two years in 2013 for a previous violation, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.

Separately, China’s AntiDoping Agency (CHINADA) said it uncovered 77 violations last year, calling it proof that the country is stamping down on drugs cheats ahead of next month’s Winter Olympics in South Korea. AFP

Kia’s Eric Camson bites to the fake of Magnolia’s Ian Sangalang in a PBA Philippine Cup game won by the Hotshots, 124-77.

Hotshots hand Picanto a 47-point PBA beating

By Jeric Lopez

A

BOOMING third quarter surge propelled Magnolia to a merciless 124-77 massacre of woeful Kia as it bounced back in the 2018 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

Justin Melton was steady for the Hotshots all game long, pouring in a game-high 23 points, six rebounds and eight assists off the bench to lead the way, while Ian Sanggalang did the same, scoring 21 points and hauling nine rebounds for a near doubledouble as he stabilized his

team on both ends.

After a competitive first half, the Hotshots stepped on the gas pedal hard to start the second as they finally created the separation they needed in the third canto.

Midway to the latter part of the third, Magnolia launched a decisive 29-7 bomb to

turn its then one-point lead into an insurmountable 8158 distance after two free throws from Melton, capping the run with 15 seconds left in the period.

It was then 81-60 for Magnolia entering the final quarter.

There was no looking back after as the Hotshots coasted all the way to the finish line to secure their second win in three outings, moving them in the upper echelon in the standings.

The changes Kia made still didn’t do the Picanto any good as it remained winless and dropped to 0-3 at the cellar.

Magnolia star Paul Lee

turned up the fire in his team’s fiery form in the third, scoring all of his 13 points in the period on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting, after being held scoreless for the entire first half.

The biggest lead for Magnolia was actually the final tally as it led by 47 whopping points twice in the dying seconds. Overall, the Hotshots outscored the Picanto 77-28 in the second half.

First-time PBA coach Ricky Dandan made his debut for Kia after taking the place of former mentor Chris Gavina.

The teams were tied at 22 at the end of one and Kia ac-

tually held a slim 49-47 edge at the turn before Magnolia emphatically took over in the last 24 minutes.

The scores: MAGNOLIA 124— Melton 23, Sangalang 21, Herndon 14, Lee 13, Simon 11, Jalalon 11, Ramos 7, Gamalinda 6, Pingris 6, Barroca 4, Pascual 4, Dela Rosa 2, Brondial 2.

KIA 77—Reyes 12, McCarthy 11, Celda 11, Tubid 11, Corpuz 9, Yee 6, Khobuntin 5, Paniamogan 5, Jamon 3, Caperal 2, Sara 2, Camson 0, Ababou 0, Galanza 0.

Quarters: 22-22, 49-47, 81-60, 124-77.

DASMARINAS, Cavite —Yuka Saso took off from where she left off last week, shooting a twounder 70 to seize a onestroke lead over defending champion Bianca Pagdanganan and four others at the start of the 2018 Champion Infinity Philippine Ladies Open at the Orchard Golf and Country Club here yesterday.

The Fil-Japanese actually bucked poor putting in the early going at the backside of the Palmer layout where she muffed at least three birdie chances but hit birdies on Nos. 18, 1, 2 and 7 to negate her missed green bogeys on the third and eighth.

“The greens were difficult to read, there were putts that I thought would have gone in. But that’s golf. I just have to putt better tomorrow (today) to get a good score,” said Saso, who set in motion her bid for a first PLO crown after a runner-up and third place finishes in the last two years of the country’s premier championship organized and conducted by the Women’s Golf Association of the Philippines.

It likewise lined up the 16-year-old Saso for a second straight championship after humbling an elite pro field in the ICTSI Ayala Greenfield Ladies Challenge, the kickoff leg of the 2018 Ladies Philippine Golf Tour, last Friday.

Pagdanganan, hardpressed to keep the crown she won in record fashion last year, also struggled on the unpredictable surface and had two three-putts and a missed-gree bogey but came up with four birdies to momentarily seize the lead at 71 with Harmie Constantino, Mikha Fortuna, Isabella Leung of Hong Kong and Thai Phannarai Meeson-us before Saso came in one of the late flights to wrest control.

“I kept misreading the greens,” rued Pagdanganan, who pooled a 16-under 200 total at Wack Wack to win by nine last year. “Luckily, I’m not far behind.”

Davao hosts ASEAN chessfest; Pinoy bets shoot for FIDE Master norms

By Peter Atencio TWO young woodpushers Daniel Quizon and Michael Concio Jr. are upbeat of their coming participation in the 19th ASEAN Age Group Chess Championships to be held in Davao City this June.

They will get a chance to earn FIDE Master norms that will be at stake for the first time in the lower age levels of 16, 14 and 12.

“Sana makapasok ulit ako sa qualifiers,” said the 13-year-old Quizon, who won three gold medals the last time it was held in Kuala Lumpur last November.

He took home the individual medals in the standard, rapid and blitz categories and 14-under division.

On the other hand, Concio claimed a silver in the under-12 rapid action.

Because of this, Concio feels that it will be his chance to come with bet-

ter finishes this time around.

“Expected ko po ito,” said Concio, who is playing out of Dasmarinas, Cavite, just like Quizon.

In the higher age-group categories, international master titles will be up for grabs in the 20-under and 18-under action.

Organizers are expecting 500 participants from 11 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to join, along with those

from Hong Kong, Macau, Chinese Taipei and South Korea.

The last time around, the Philippines won the overall crown when it was held last November in Kuala Lumpur.

Filipino woodpushers collected a total of 28 golds, 29 silvers and 29 bronzes.

Indonesia was second with its 105-5 gold-silver-bronze performance.

National Chess Federation of

the Philippines president Prospero Pichay said having the tournament played in Davao City is very significant and after Martial Law was extended for another year in Mindanao.

“The President (Duterte) has declared martial law and extended it for a year in Mindanao. This tournament will showcase that Mindanao is a peaceful place and we can show this to the world,” said Pichay.

Stephan Lhuillier: Like parents, like son

By Lito Cinco

ther is an active sportsman, who plays tennis, basketball, softball and golf, not necessarily in that order. He has long been a sports patron, having been a many-time Philippine Davis Cup team manager and President of ASAPHIL. His Cebu Gems were an Metropolitan Basketball Association title contender in the early years of the league and he has also extended support to both the national men’s and women’s

STEPHAN Lhuillier is destined to be in sports.

For how else can this 17 year old not get involved in sports when both of his parents, Bea Lucero Lhuillier and Jean Henri Lhuillier have made it a non-negotiable “requirement” to all their four kids, not just with Stephan, the eldest.

The mother is an accomplished athlete, who made good not just in one but in two sports—gymnastics and taekwondo.

She started off with gymnastics at an early age and was a fiercely competitive athlete, who won her share of medals in international competitions, highlighted by her two-gold, three-silver medal haul in the 1987 SEA Games in Jakarta.

After outgrowing the sport and her body craving for physical activity, she shifted to taekwondo. And in a short time, she went all the way to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where she and teammate Stephen Fernandez bagged bronze medals in taekwondo, which was then still a demonstration sport.

On the other hand, the fa- Stephan Lhuillier

basketball teams.

The Lhuilliers firmly believe that sports would teach their children the proper values in life.

“That is why we made it a ‘no-choice’ thing for them.

However, we leave it to them what kind of sports to go into and whether they want to be competitive or just recreational athletes, we will respect that. But we will give them the support they need, including getting the best trainors in whatever sport they choose,” said Bea. The good thing is Stephan embraced sports with a passion and in fact has even gone beyond just playing, with tennis on top of the list, although he also skis, swims and plays golf, among others.

Two years ago, Stephan initiated the Pinoy Tennis Trainers Program, after he personally saw the plight of provincial tennis trainers when he was actively playing in age-group tennis tournaments.

“They were earning so little for the hours they spend and I thought if I could get them to improve on both their knowledge and skills, or even bring them up to

the level of being coaches, it would help improve their lives, too. This was why I thought of the PTT and I got national coach Roland Kraut, the only Level 3 tennis coach here, to over see the program. From the feedback we have gotten from the graduates, they really appreciated what they have learned,” said Stephan.

In just two years, the program has already graduated 536 participants, including coaches. It has also been held on a nationwide basis, covering a total of 13 legs in Bohol, Negros Oriental, Cebu, Palawan, Bulacan, Oroquieta, Cavite, Olongapo, and Manila. Its side program “Adopt-A-Racket” resulted in 188 rackets being collected and distributed to participants during PTT sessions.

Trudy Amoranto, its best graduate in 2015, was sent a year ago to attend the ITF Level 1 coaching course. She expects to complete it by this year, while John Rey Moreno, a multi-awarded collegiate coach currently with St. Benilde and selected as the best graduate for 2017, will be going for his Level 2 status.

The good thing is Stephan Lhuillier embraced sports with a passion and in fact has even gone beyond just playing.

“We are looking at available Level 2 courses for him and we plan to send him if we find one. Also, if we can get other sponsors, we are looking at sending people to Australia for training.

For 2018, even as we continue the program, we are

also looking at sustaining the gains made to ensure a continuous development for our best graduates, “ added Stephan, who is contemplating playing in collegiate tennis in the United States after he graduates from senior high.

Foreign partner joining Voyager in Q1—PLDT B2

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2018

B

Foreign investments soar to $7.9b IN BRIEF

Manufacturing down by 8.1% in November

MANUFACTURING declined 8.1 percent in November 2017 from a double-digit growth of 15.1 percent a year ago, pulled down mainly by sluggish output in chemical products, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Wednesday.

Data showed six major sectors posted declines in industrial production for the month.

Chemical products fell 62.7 percent, outpacing the increments of 14 major sectors.

Three other major sectors that contributed to the shortfall in Volume of Production Index were tobacco products, -48.3 percent; textiles, -33.8 percent; and footwear and wearing apparel, -23.9 percent.

The Value of Production Index for manufacturing also declined 9.3 percent in November 2017 from a 9.6-percent growth in the same month of the previous year.

“Despite the recent performance of the manufacturing sector, we remain optimistic given strong domestic and external demand. There are also considerable public and private investments in the country,” Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said. Julito G. Rada

By Julito G. Rada

N

et inflows of foreign direct investments jumped three times in October from a year ago to hit an 18-month high of $2 billion, amid sustained investor confidence in the strong macroeconomic fundamentals and growth prospects, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas show.

The figure was significantly higher than $670 million recorded in the same month a year ago and was the strongest since April 2016 when net inflows reached $2.2 billion.

FDIs refer to job-generating investments in companies based in the Philippines.

The figure brought the total FDI net inflows in the first 10 months of 2017 to

$7.856 billion, up 20.6 percent from $6.52 billion registered in the same period in 2016. The 10-month figure also nearly matched the record annual FDI figure of $7.933 billion in the whole of 2016.

“The upswing in FDI reflects continued investor confidence in the country’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals and growth prospects,” the Bangko Sentral said.

More than three-fourths of FDI net inflows in October were in the form of equity capital, with gross placements rising to $1.6

CLARK VISITOR.

Clark International Airport Corp. president and chief executive Alexander Cauguiran (left) shows Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo (right) the facilities of Clark International Airport Passenger Terminal while she is on her way to boarding a PAL Express flight to Batanes. PAL Express flies daily between Clark and Basco, another addition to the growing domestic destinations of what is touted as Asia’s next premier gateway.

ERC impasse is disruptive, says Meralco MANILA Electric Co., the biggest retailer of electricity, is confident the regulatory quandary at the Energy Regulatory Commission will be resolved this month, cautioning that the impasse may affect the country’s economic growth trajectory.

Meralco also warned that if the leadership vacuum was left unresolved, the power sector might find it hard to ensure adequate supply in the future.

Meralco president Oscar Reyes said without a fully functioning commission, “it may put at risk the capability of the industry to assure not only supply to customers but security of supply moving forward.”

“The power industry is a very heavily regulated industry.

Its operations and its service to customers are largely affected by the ability of its regulator, ERC, to function effectively,” Reyes said.

The Office of the Ombudsman earlier ordered a one-year suspension of all four commissioners of the ERC. Alena Mae S. Flores

NEA: Impact of higher coal tax minimal THE National Electrification Administration on Wednesday assured that the increase in the excise tax on coal has minimal impact on power rates.

NEA administrator Edgardo Masongsong said electric cooperative consumers might expect price adjustments in their power bills by March, but these will be “nominal because not all distribution utilities derive their energy sources purely from coal.”

Masongsong said customers of electric cooperatives consume an average of 136 kilowatt-hours per month at a cost of about P680 to P700.

“The effect of the excise tax is about P0.70 per bill,” Masongsong said.

He said the impact was very minimal and even lower than the cost of text messages or candy.

“The effect of the excise tax is very minimal if electricity supply comes from coal,” he said. Alena Mae S. Flores

Cusi orders inspection of gas stations THE Energy Department deployed a team of inspectors from its Oil Industry Management Bureau to randomly inspect the inventory of gasoline stations and depots to ensure proper compliance to the oil excise tax implementation.

The department said the inspectors would verify if the excise tax under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act was applied on inventories after December 31, 2017.

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi also warned against any violation of the TRAIN law.

“Violators may be administratively subjected to the cancellation of their certificates of compliance,” said Cusi.

Energy officials have confirmed that some oil companies implemented the impact of the higher excise tax on petroleum products after their old inventories were depleted.

Alena Mae S. Flores

billion from $84 million a year earlier.

A significant portion of the equity capital placements went to electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply activities.

The other sectors that received investment inflows were manufacturing; construction; real estate; and wholesale and retail trade.

Top sources of FDIs in October were the Netherlands, Singapore, Kuwait, the United States and Germany.

Investments in debt instruments, or inter-company borrowings between

foreign direct investors and their subsidiaries/affiliates in the Philippines, amounted to $431 million in October. Reinvestment of earnings reached $57 million during the month.

Data showed that in the 10-month period, net equity capital investments increased 54.7 percent to $2.6 billion as gross equity capital placements of $3.1 billion more than offset withdrawals of $465 million.

Gross equity capital placements came mostly from the Netherlands, the United States, Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong.

Meralco power rates to decline this month

By Alena Mae S. Flores POWER rates in the franchise area of Manila Electric Co. will drop P0.5260 per kilowatt-hour in January, translating into a P105 reduction in the monthly bill of a typical household consuming 200 kilowatt-hours.

Meralco said in a statement the overall rates would decline to P8.7227 per kWh in January from P9.2487 per kWh in December.

“The lower January rate is mainly due to a P0.5277 per kWh reduction in the generation charge,” the country’s biggest power retailer said.

This marked the second consecutive month that power rates declined, bringing the total reduction to P0.9045 per kWh in the two-month span.

Generation charges declined to P4.0768 per kWh in January from P4.6045 per kWh in December on lower rates covered by power supply agreements and lower Wholesale Electricity Spot Market charges.

Charges from Meralco’s power supply agreements registered a decrease of P0.9810 per kWh brought about by a reduction in capacity fees as a result of the annual reconciliation of outage allowances done at the end of each year under the PSAs approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission.

Meralco said the reduction in capacity fees of generator companies were also passed on to consumers by way of lower electricity rates.

World Bank retains PH growth forecast at 6.7% THE World Bank retained its 2018 growth forecast for the Philippines at 6.7 percent, saying the country will continue to outperform most of its peers in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The Washington D.C.-based multilateral lender also predicted that growth would remain at 6.7 percent in 2019 and 6.5 percent in 2020.

“The Philippines will continue to be the fastest-growing economy in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, despite some stabilization of investment growth,” the World Bank said in its January 2018 Global Economic Prospects.

The country’s gross domestic product grew 6.9 percent in the third quarter, bringing the first three quarters’ average growth to 6.7 percent, within the government’s target range of 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent.

The World Bank said global economic growth was expected to edge up to 3.1 percent in 2018 after a much stronger-than-expected 2017, as the recovery in investment, manufacturing and trade continued. and as commodity-exporting developing economies benefited from firming commodity prices.

“However, this is largely seen as a short-term upswing.

Over the longer term, slowing potential growth―a measure of how fast an economy can expand when labor and capital are fully employed―puts at risk gains in improving living standards and reducing poverty around the world,” the World Bank said. Julito G. Rada

Trade gap hit record $3.78b in November

SOLID CEMENT’S ACCOLADE. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources - Environmental Management Bureau recognizes Cemex Philippines’ subsidiary Solid Cement Corp. for its commitment as donor partner to the government agency’s Adopta-River Program. Shown are representatives of Solid Cement receiving the environmental accolade from the EMB during the Environmental Summit in Tagaytay City. Solid Cement gives importance to making a positive impact to the environment through proper waste management, sustainable operations and supporting river and coastal clean-up initiatives.

ADB extends $680-m loan for road project, capital market reforms

THE government and the Asian Development Bank on Wednesday signed a $680-million loan agreement intended for a Mindanao road project and the capital market reforms program.

The Improving Growth Corridors in Mindanao Road Sector Project is supported by a $380-million loan from the ADB. Meanwhile, the Encouraging Investment through Capital Market Reforms Program (subprogram 2) is backed by a $300-million loan.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and ADB president Takehiko Nakao

signed the agreement at the ADB headquarters in Mandaluyong City.

“ADB’s support is vital in the realization of our development goals. The road project in Mindanao will improve growth corridors in the area... This this is part of our ‘Build, Build, Build’ program,” Dominguez said.

The capital markets reforms program would encourage investments in the country, Dominguez said.

“We look for more areas of cooperation in the coming days,” Dominguez said.

Nakao said ADB’s support for the two important projects would help address

By economic activity, equity capital investments were channeled mainly to electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply; manufacturing; real estate; construction; and wholesale and retail trade activities.

Non-residents’ net investments in debt instruments totaled $4.6 billion in January to October, or 8.5 percent higher than the level recorded a year ago.

Reinvestment of earnings amounted to $662 million.

The Bangko Sentral said net FDI inflows in 2017 were expected to reach $8 billion.

one of the most critical constraints to the country’s growth prospects, which was infrastructure.

“Both projects align with the government’s development strategy under the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022. The two projects are part of a total $1.08-billion in new assistance to Philippines in 2017,” Nakao said.

“Last year’s $1.08-billion assistance reflects ADB’s commitment to scaling up our support to the Philippines and its development agenda,” Nakao said.

Nakao said the Improving Growth Corridors in Mind-

anao Road Sector project was particularly important because Mindanao is the second largest island in the country and home to about a fifth of the Philippines’ total population with the highest poverty incidence among the country’s three island groups.

Nakao said addressing Mindanao’s road connectivity constraints would help unlock its potential as a major contributor to the country’s overall growth.

“The project is ADB’s first support for a regional project under the government’s flagship ‘Build, Build, Build’ infrastruc-

ture development program.

This project is consistent with our work over the past five decades to support the government’s efforts to improve the lives and livelihood of the people of Mindanao,” Nakao said.

Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said the road network project in Mindanao, covering the Zamboanga peninsula and TawiTawi, were already in the planning stage.

Villar said the Zamboanga project would start in the first quarter this year while the Tawi-Tawi project would be completed in two years. Julito G. Rada

THE country’s trade deficit widened to a record $3.78 billion in November from $2.49 billion a year ago, as imports continued to outpace exports, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show.

This brought the 11-month trade deficit to an all-time high of $25.7 billion, up from $24.2-billion gap recorded in the same period in 2016.

Data from the PSA showed that merchandise imports jumped 18.5 percent to a record $8.74 billion in November from $7.38 billion a year earlier. Merchandise exports grew by only 1.6 percent in November to $4.96 billion from $4.89 billion in the month in 2016.

Total imports in January to November rose 9.3 percent to $83.8 billion from $76.7 billion a year ago, while total exports increased 10.8 percent to $58.1 billion from $52.4 billion.

The strong imports led to a balance of payments deficit amounting to $1.8 billion in the 11-month period last year, weighing on the value of the peso and the gross international reserves.

Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said the continuous improvement of export competitiveness and identification of emerging markets for exports would help sustain merchandise trade growth.

Julito G. Rada

B2

Business

THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2018 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Foreign partner joining Voyager in Q1—PLDT

By Darwin G. Amojelar PLDT Inc. expects to close a deal in the first quarter of the year for the entry of a foreign financial and strategic partner in its digital innovations arm Voyager Innovations Inc. “I think it will push through... soon [may be] first quarter,” PLDT chairman and president Manuel Pangilinan told reporters Wednesday.

Pangilinan said talks with the new foreign investors in Voyager were in advanced stages..

Rival Globe Fintech Innovations Inc., Mynt, a wholly-owned unit of Globe Capital Venture Holdings under Globe Telecom Inc. and Ayala Corp., earlier signed a strategic partnership with Ant Financial Services Group.

Ant Financial is an affiliate of Chinese billionaire Jack Ma’s Alibaba Group.

Voyager earlier extended its digital transformation program to help equip micro-, small- and medium-sized companies in the Philippines to become more competitive in the growing digital economy.

Under its Voyager DX for MSMEs program, the company is setting up DigiHub, a physical facility in its Launchpad headquarters in Mandaluyong City that entrepreneurs can use as a space for consultation, mentoring, learning and sharing.

Stock market retreats; Meralco, BPI advance

T

HE stock market slipped Wednesday on profit taking, a day after the Philippine Stock Exchange Index soared to a record high.

The PSEi fell 3.43 points, or 0.04 percent, to 8,920.29 on a value turnover of P6.5 billion. Gainers edged losers, 105 to 104, with 53 issues unchanged.

JG Summit Holdings Inc. of industrialist John Gokongwei dropped 2.4 percent to P79.10, while major property developer Ayala Land Inc. declined

1.6 percent to P45.65.

Bank of the Philippine Islands, the third-biggest lender in terms of assets, rose 3.8 percent to P119.50, while Manila Electric Co., the largest retailer of electricity, surged 1.8 percent to P334.

The rally across Asia that welcomed in 2018 looked

to have run out of steam on Wednesday with most markets slipping into the red on profit-taking, but Hong Kong rose a twelfth day as energy shares climbed.

Strong economic fundamentals and corporate earnings as well as optimism about the impact of Donald Trump’s massive US tax cuts have helped fuel a global advance to record or multi-year highs.

However, some analysts say the surge has also been propelled by a fear of missing out, and with the next

round of company reports about to kick off traders are taking a breather before making their next moves.

“You have to ask yourself what has changed really in these first six trading days of 2018, which has so materially driven prices higher?” asked Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at AxiTrader.

“For me, the rally is starting to feed on itself, or people’s fear of not participating in the upside, despite the fact that I also believe the global growth outlook and the impact of US tax

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2017

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 3.13 718,000 59.9 5,480 119.5 3,254,660 3.9 26,000 164.8 1,377,670 1.99 156,000 35.3 1,636,300 15.7 2,400 31.1 1,968,900 7.7 900 0.7 26,000 1.78 15,000 970 70 0.57 260,000 107.8 1,967,600 1.17 17,880,000 12.66 18,700 24.25 37,200 56.65 234,370 239 590 107 40 88.9 1,200 55.4 228,380 253 584,750 88.75 24,620

2,202,640 327,700 378,074,718 101,300 226,366,974 305,150 57,200,190 36,858 61,171,095 6,930 16,950 25,920 67,900 148,210 211,633,195 21,451,940 237,230 902,100 13,346,439 141,010 4,280 106,577 12,680,551 148,023,854 2,183,866.50

18,240 239,600 71,162,079 32,835,652 3,275,725 12,892,605 33,851,141 218,600 -11,240,845 -6,246,182 26,166,488 -85,234

41 10.74 0.62 1.33 17 0.215 113 5.07 15.54 51 19.14 62.75 58.9 1.91 5.3 10.98 11.6 15.42 12.8 7.9 5.58 1.66 15.84 62 27.1 9.98 17.86 1.99 255 58.55 4.2 3.21 29.05 18.18 17.8 329.6 0.205 9.01 2.16 5.08 9.2 5.3 8.4 1.78 12.8 63 6.4 528 4.88 2.11 4.06 1.78 13.6 5.4 0.132 1.16 170 2.9 2.01 23.4 0.81

INDUSTRIAL 41.45 997,200 11.1 744,800 0.64 2,094,000 1.35 119,000 17.7 21,100 0.22 150,000 123 1,140 5.16 3,252,700 15.78 2,281,200 53.8 521,420 19.5 7,100 62.75 370 58.9 900 1.91 373,000 5.3 2,000 10.98 4,200 11.88 3,438,500 15.5 3,539,000 12.94 2,046,500 8 3,268,900 5.61 5,983,800 1.66 1,000 15.9 5,368,800 62.2 47,070 28.2 333,500 10 268,800 18.24 876,500 2.01 1,536,000 255.4 447,710 58.55 90 4.3 20,000 3.21 4,000 29.15 1,409,700 18.18 947,400 17.8 2,908,300 334 846,630 0.205 400,000 9.44 21,000 2.18 2,252,000 5.15 489,500 9.21 3,182,500 5.3 266,900 8.4 21,300 1.8 2,902,000 12.8 1,178,700 63.9 74,780 6.4 49,200 555 249,540 4.95 53,000 2.11 28,000 4.46 11,000 1.82 327,000 13.8 612,100 5.45 60,300 0.133 930,000 1.17 53,000 172 1,774,700 2.9 387,000 2.05 6,545,000 23.4 2,900 0.84 1,042,000

41,150,885 8,230,486 1,312,960 159,330 366,752 32,530 142,824 16,855,520 35,553,770 27,381,353 137,296 23,224.50 53,229 712,430 10,600 46,140 40,319,028 54,865,076 26,577,738 26,034,495 33,538,477 1,660 85,446,132 2,935,300.50 9,313,825 2,690,030 15,891,684 3,108,580 ( 114,405,846 5,269.50 84,500 12,840 41,099,425 17,289,532 52,262,150 281,134,504 82,680 194,512 4,929,820 2,522,621 29,361,805 1,444,221 179,086 5,231,320 15,262,640 4,755,867 315,250 134,848,285 259,530 59,360 48,190 589,230 8,468,348 330,137 124,150 61,820 305,642,008 1,144,400 13,383,360 68,010 855,230

5,533,390 1,760,172 -2,305,527 3,966,326 -3,840 -2,517 18,977,788 10,492,830 7,580,332 22,806,650 17,615,121 26,025,244 930,468 50,445 -588,206 -8,140,924 203,299.9998) 24,098,238 -5,420,485 770,514 -10,942,128 221,579,160 41,000 -1,126,700 51,500 -2,477,427 158,076 2,378,960 23,108 1,596,881.50 -99,990,930 48,800 -8,440 -149,290 3,860,098 10,710 157,758,766 837,240 -

0.305 75.25 16.2 1.03 6.99 0.44 0.49 1,052 7.72 14.9 7.6 5 0.182 1,360 7.6 78.5 5.51 0.69 5.7 20.7 0.31 6.68 3.29 0.043 1.15 2.08 2.5 125.9 2.53 1,041 1.76 284.6 0.217 0.19

HOLDING FIRMS 0.305 70,000 75.95 488,890 16.28 3,221,000 1.03 1,000 7.05 34,400 0.46 35,600,000 0.495 13,590,000 1,060 180,545 7.72 7,512,500 14.98 5,858,300 7.6 73,800 5 35,000 0.182 350,000 1,382 88,760 7.77 231,500 79.1 1,597,560 5.51 4,700 0.7 249,000 5.73 250,000 21.4 4,375,700 0.33 80,000 6.83 11,753,200 3.29 27,000 0.044 15,400,000 1.15 205,000 2.08 10,000 2.5 110,000 128 924,790 2.53 46,000 1,046 277,465 1.79 1,270,000 284.6 1,400 0.217 70,000 0.192 120,000

21,550 37,146,561 52,353,046 1,030 242,015 16,389,850 6,846,650 191,221,635 58,081,791 88,097,576 562,161 175,000 63,700 122,302,535 1,798,458 126,374,308 26,385 172,300 1,435,845 92,747,400 25,200 79,350,496 89,280 673,200 237,520 20,800 275,180 118,250,653 116,380 290,263,035 2,250,340 398,808 15,190 23,000

7,836,163.50 4,692,698 234,550 3,470,155 -15,101,934 29,752,368 46,729,400 1,743,361 -4,842,182 738 30,444,980 6,362,925 -20,800 -4,257,416 -21,853,620 79,906 -15,190 -

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

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

3.08 59.95 115 3.85 164.6 1.96 33.5 15.3 30.95 7.7 0.65 1.7 970 0.58 107.5 1.14 12.7 24.25 57 239 107 88.95 55.75 252.8 88.5

3.23 59.95 119.5 3.9 165.3 1.99 35.3 15.7 31.5 7.7 0.7 1.78 970 0.58 107.8 1.27 12.7 24.25 57.45 239 107 88.95 55.75 255.4 88.9

3.02 59.5 114.8 3.85 163.4 1.94 33.5 15.3 30.85 7.7 0.65 1.7 970 0.57 106.6 1.12 12.66 24.25 56.6 239 107 88.8 55.4 252.8 88.5

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

41.25 11.08 0.62 1.33 17.64 0.215 126.1 5.14 15.54 53.8 19.14 63 58.9 1.91 5.3 11 11.74 15.54 12.8 7.95 5.59 1.66 15.86 62.3 27.7 9.98 17.92 1.99 256.2 58.55 4.2 3.21 29.15 18.26 18 329.6 0.206 9.65 2.17 5.14 9.3 5.43 8.4 1.79 13.5 63 6.6 530 4.95 2.13 4.06 1.84 13.6 5.5 0.132 1.17 173 2.95 2.02 23.5 0.82

41.45 11.18 0.64 1.35 17.7 0.22 149.6 5.26 15.8 53.8 19.5 63 61 1.91 5.3 11 11.88 15.6 13.3 8 5.64 1.66 16 62.7 28.3 10.08 18.28 2.06 256.6 58.55 4.3 3.21 29.45 18.26 18.18 334 0.21 9.65 2.2 5.25 9.3 5.48 8.41 1.82 13.5 64 6.6 555 4.95 2.13 4.46 1.84 13.9 5.51 0.135 1.17 173.9 3.15 2.06 23.5 0.84

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

0.315 77.45 16.32 1.03 7.01 0.44 0.495 1,065 7.77 15 7.6 5 0.182 1,360 7.76 80.2 5.74 0.71 5.75 21 0.31 6.7 3.34 0.044 1.16 2.08 2.51 126 2.53 1,046 1.79 287.6 0.217 0.19

0.315 77.45 16.32 1.03 7.05 0.475 0.52 1,065 7.77 15.18 7.65 5 0.182 1,390 7.77 80.2 5.74 0.71 5.75 21.55 0.33 6.83 3.34 0.045 1.16 2.08 2.51 128.3 2.53 1,059 1.79 287.6 0.217 0.192

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

6.11 1.03 12.14 2.36 0.88 46.35 4.03 4.7 5.6 5.69 0.485 1.13 0.218 0.435 41 0.64 0.139 1.9 1.41 0.79 5.25 0.365 0.345 0.57 5.3 21.3

6.4 1.06 13.54 2.36 0.88 46.35 4.03 4.79 5.75 6.1 0.49 1.13 0.222 0.435 41.05 0.64 0.139 1.9 1.41 0.85 5.25 0.37 0.345 0.6 5.31 21.5

6.11 1.02 12.14 2.28 0.87 45.4 3.98 4.69 5.6 5.69 0.48 1.13 0.217 0.435 40.5 0.64 0.139 1.88 1.39 0.76 5.18 0.355 0.345 0.57 4.94 21.05

VOLUME

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

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

2.19 3.21 39.65 1.01 8.7 0.85 6.01

2.25 3.21 39.65 1.04 8.7 0.87 6.01

2.19 3.18 39.1 1.01 8 0.84 5.94

2.23 3.18 39.1 1.04 8.1 0.87 5.95

2,281,000 314,000 3,455,600 610,000 10,900 54,000 6,148,200

5,063,790 1,003,180 135,691,610 627,190 90,267 45,490 36,682,936

11,000 13,008,165 -23,072,508

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

21.8 35 1.39 0.455 0.044 11.84 11.12 0.07 100 8.8 8.55 6.99 2.3 15.7 1,695 6.04 21.9 11.26 4.56 2.63 108 14.88 8.34 0.139 1.39 3.18 15.7 3.9 1.13 23.05 0.53 4.45 8.7 3.75 18.1 2.95 10.9 2.77 111.5 7.3 1,450 1.31 0.36 53.8 95.6 5.44 3.15 1.53 2.62 4.09 0.98 8.55

21.8 35 1.42 0.455 0.045 11.84 11.34 0.071 102.9 8.8 8.63 7.99 2.39 15.7 1,728 6.04 22 11.5 4.71 2.63 112.4 14.9 8.34 0.142 1.39 3.18 15.7 3.9 1.15 23.45 0.57 4.64 8.7 3.75 18.1 2.98 10.96 2.8 111.8 7.32 1,450 1.31 0.385 53.9 97 5.78 3.15 1.58 2.68 4.09 0.98 8.72

21.25 34.5 1.37 0.45 0.043 11.84 11.04 0.07 99.8 8.8 8.42 6.99 2.1 15.12 1,695 5.95 21.2 11.04 4.52 2.62 107.9 14.8 8.32 0.139 1.37 3.07 15.5 3.8 1.1 22.9 0.53 4.45 8.38 3.65 18 2.86 10.9 2.77 109.9 7.1 1,420 1.3 0.36 53 95.6 5.44 3.08 1.52 2.61 4.03 0.97 8.55

SERVICES 21.35 34.7 1.42 0.45 0.045 11.84 11.3 0.071 101.7 8.8 8.43 7.95 2.3 15.14 1,720 5.95 21.85 11.5 4.62 2.62 112 14.86 8.33 0.142 1.38 3.07 15.5 3.89 1.15 22.9 0.53 4.6 8.41 3.65 18 2.86 10.96 2.8 110 7.14 1,450 1.3 0.385 53.8 96.7 5.78 3.1 1.56 2.61 4.04 0.97 8.61

269,200 66,700 48,000 4,320,000 31,300,000 200 8,160,600 2,660,000 649,300 300 2,090,900 319,900 59,000 59,100 58,300 634,400 48,000 3,300 2,831,000 5,000 1,003,570 27,900 150,000 740,000 158,000 60,000 4,100 762,000 904,000 1,836,400 41,000 317,000 8,264,500 1,991,000 5,500 3,287,000 110,200 54,000 32,270 759,400 107,945 3,730,000 2,390,000 2,089,210 300,810 258,600 836,000 2,753,000 736,000 819,000 2,324,000 6,627,200

5,778,380 2,312,350 66,430 1,944,950 1,378,500 2,368 91,600,902 188,250 65,084,229.50 2,640 17,702,483 2,388,401 134,110 898,832 100,083,710 3,798,858 1,049,295 36,982 13,115,430 13,120 111,560,279 415,012 1,249,090 103,280 217,110 184,540 63,930 2,928,500 1,018,220 42,360,310 ( 21,770 1,448,560 69,831,959 41 7,319,040 99,010 9,545,150 1,201,192 150,820 3,576,529 5,453,203 155,660,085 4,849,710 893,400 111,998,136.50 28,972,739 1,477,871 2,599,790 4,288,460 1,930,050 3,314,610 2,261,320 57,255,929 11

-8,600 26,870,914 10,844,955 5,671,784 -210,000 6,263,050 -601,550 21,159,150 11,610 -149,650 600,939.9998) ,541,689.9996 2,410,730 98,760 -3,121,039 -868,102 12,211,375 -4,401,800 49,739,286 1,384,748 -47,328 -999,420 1,736,320 26,200 68,740 -61,740 ,345,445.0003

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

0.0023 1.56 4.9 14.8 1.75 1.74 1.6 0.33 7.28 2.61 0.204 0.152 0.154 0.0094 1.76 6.69 1.47 0.445 0.91 0.012 0.012 2.1 6.41 7.91 36.2 0.0074

0.0023 1.58 4.98 14.8 1.75 1.74 1.6 0.33 7.92 2.68 0.204 0.153 0.158 0.0094 1.76 6.83 1.47 0.47 0.93 0.012 0.012 2.1 6.5 7.93 38.3 0.0075

0.0022 1.56 4.9 14.8 1.75 1.74 1.59 0.325 7.15 2.6 0.195 0.152 0.154 0.0094 1.69 6.63 1.41 0.445 0.91 0.012 0.011 2.1 6.38 7.81 36.15 0.0074

MINING & OIL 0.0022 57,000,000 1.56 1,139,000 4.98 212,400 14.8 1,300 1.75 2,000 1.74 4,000 1.59 361,000 0.325 450,000 7.36 27,400 2.68 11,525,000 0.196 1,190,000 0.152 5,700,000 0.158 640,000 0.0094 18,000,000 1.69 130,000 6.7 2,964,800 1.46 54,000 0.47 380,000 0.93 67,000 0.012 500,000 0.012 128,900,000 2.1 1,000 6.41 457,100 7.84 1,488,600 38 7,817,000 0.0075 5,000,000

125,700 1,782,960 1,040,768 19,240 3,500 6,960 574,160 147,550 203,185 30,227,140 236,610 867,950 99,880 169,200 224,020 19,986,213 76,350 169,350 61,370 6,000 1,532,100 2,100 2,929,955 11,687,148 294,450,225 37,300

19,240 131,970 180,900 -47,740 -96,690 4,671,555 -2,200 -62,080 538,019 -101,675,105 -

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

34.5 517 512 104.5 107 525 5.79 1,050 1,020 102 1.05 1,070 1,005 103.7 108.7 2.01 75.3 80.1 75.7 76.7 78.8 76.6 78.6 77.9

34.5 517 516 104.5 108 525 5.79 1,050 1,030 102 1.06 1,070 1,005 103.7 108.7 2.02 76.75 80.8 75.75 76.7 78.8 76.6 78.6 78

34.2 517 512 104.2 107 523 5.7 1,007 1,017 102 1.05 1,070 1,002 103.7 108.7 2.01 75.3 79 75.55 76.6 78.8 76 77.5 77.8

PREFERRED 34.2 147,900 517 2,000 516 870 104.4 33,240 108 240 523 230 5.75 803,900 1,007 8,030 1,017 975 102 2,080 1.05 262,000 1,070 20 1,002 60 103.7 1,650 108.7 160 2.02 4,000 76.75 4,630 79 33,450 75.55 14,930 76.6 91,200 78.8 20,000 76 25,660 77.5 10,170 77.9 124,100

5,071,675 1,034,000 447,460 3,470,154 25,710 120,350 4,606,375 8,087,530 994,555 212,160 276,100 21,400 60,150 171,105 17,392 8,070 350,814 2,662,270 1,129,286.50 6,992,664 1,576,000 1,959,256 789,914.50 9,664,730

-2,491,480 134,160 22,470 -4,292,212 106,050 -1,576,000 -1,557,000

LR WARRANT

2.38

2.41

2.37

WARRANTS 2.4 162,000

385,490

2,410

64,668,134 2,820 307,560 8,540,788

208,526 -745,928

MS

PROPERTY 6.39 1.06 13.54 2.3 0.88 45.65 4 4.77 5.75 6.1 0.485 1.13 0.219 0.435 41.05 0.64 0.139 1.88 1.4 0.84 5.2 0.355 0.345 0.59 5 21.1

613,600 2,349,000 95,800 206,000 393,000 10,036,600 3,316,000 386,000 181,900 1,500 4,720,000 25,000 2,450,000 280,000 135,400 24,000 50,000 10,609,000 3,918,000 3,001,000 17,974,600 16,560,000 1,090,000 8,472,000 2,185,600 5,314,300

3,859,319 2,455,410 1,270,278 474,310 344,080 458,841,225 13,283,410 1,827,170 1,037,335 8,940 2,279,900 28,250 532,710 121,800 5,541,520 15,360 6,950 20,045,680 5,484,430 2,490,980 93,469,330 6,002,650 376,050 4,985,990 11,068,259 112,692,830

-1,095,289 10,600 27,080 -47,921,085 5,744,170 476,740 594,720 -462,450 28,340 -325,355 -1,390 10,880,310 190,980 -31,833,023 32,950 -1,902,364 -48,742,265

ITALPINAS MAKATI FINANCE PHILAB HLDG XURPAS

7.99 2.82 3.5 5.16

8.5 2.82 4 5.2

7.7 2.82 3.5 4.98

FIRST METRO ETF

134.4

135

134.1

USD DMPL A2

10.26

TRADING SUMMARY FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL HOLDING FIRMS

10.26

SHARES

30,942,655 66,793,364 104,624,154

PROPERTY

114,899,104

SERVICES

101,256,698

MINING & OIL

244,048,778

GRAND TOTAL

672,171,405

10.26

8.36 2.82 3.5 5

SME

7,824,800 1,000 83,000 1,686,300

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 135 11,540 DDS 10.26

2,000

1,554,456 20,520

5,400 -

VALUE 2,320.72 (UP) 28.20 1,207,419,028.03 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 11,691.14 (UP) 27.00 1,470,714,128.79 HOLDING FIRMS 9,095.73 (DOWN) 34.69 1,369,189,791.25 PROPERTY 4,082.66 (DOWN) 55.28 SERVICES 1,636.04 (UP) 22.13 1,061,113,802.54 MINING & OIL 11,863.52 (UP) 253.53 975,263,415.50 PSEI 8,920.29 (DOWN) 3.43 366,698,030.559 All Shares Index 5,144.17 (UP) 5.54 6,525,473,403.77 Gainers: 105; Losers: 104; Unchanged: 53; Total: 262

cuts is a positive.”

Tokyo ended 0.3 percent down, Sydney shed 0.6 percent, while Singapore gave up 0.2 percent and Seoul lost 0.4 percent. Wellington and Taipei each sank 0.8 percent.

However, Hong Kong continued its outstanding run by rising 0.5 percent in the afternoon—a twelfth successive gain—while Shanghai finished up 0.2 percent, a ninth straight advance.

Jonathan Slone, chief executive officer of CLSA, told Bloomberg TV that traders were in for some nail-biting months. “Markets will be higher at the end of next year than they are right now, in my opinion, but it’s going to be a little volatile getting there,” he said.

Despite the losses on broader markets, energy firms stood out as oil pushed higher.

Crude has more than doubled from its lows below $30 back in early 2016, supported by an output freeze deal between OPEC and Russia and, recently, tensions in the oil-rich Middle East.

Market-watchers say unrest in key producer Iran could dent the country’s capacity, while others point out that any suppression of protests by Tehran could also lead Trump to reimpose export sanctions.

Both main oil contracts jumped more than one percent on Tuesday, also helped by data showing a huge drop in US stockpiles as a big freeze in the northeast fans demand for heating fuel. With AFP

Sixty listed companies compliant with Shari’ah

By Jenniffer B. Austria THE Philippine Stock Exchange said 60 listed companies made it to the latest list of Shari’ah-compliant securities.

The PSE said in a memorandum it finalized the list for the period ending December 2017.

The review resulted in the inclusion of three new companies in the list, namely Ionics Inc., Keppel Philippine Properties Inc and Philab Holdings Corp.

Four companies, meanwhile, were removed from the list, namely Apex Mining Inc., Asian Terminals Inc., Philippine Estate Corp. and Philippine Realty and Holdings Corp.

The local bourse has engaged the services of IdealRatings Inc. to screen listed companies for Shari’ah compliance as stipulated by the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Finance Institutions.

IdealRatings is a provider of Islamic finance information that specializes in screening securities for Shari’ah compliance.

To be considered Shari’ahcompliant, the nature of a company’s primary activities must not be involved in prohibited business activities in accordance with Islam.

Shari’ah is the moral code and religious law of Islam covering the rules, regulations, teachings and values that govern the lives of Muslims.

Listed companies involved in ventures like interest-based lending, pork, alcohol, gambling, casinos, pornography, arms and weapons, tobacco and human stem cell research are excluded from the Shariahcompliant list.

extrastory2000@gmail.com

World

THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2018

B3

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

‘Deal will do little to disarm N. Korea’

SEOUL―An agreement for North Korea to send athletes to the Winter Olympics in the South signals a step change in relations, analysts say, but will do little to curb Pyongyang’s nuclear capabilities.

The North and South on Tuesday held their first official dialogue in more than two years, agreeing that Pyongyang would send a large delegation to next month’s Winter Olympics and promising further highlevel talks.

The meeting came after months of confrontation over North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests, with both parties seeking to dial down tensions.

“Both sides wanted to win and they got it,” said John Delury, a professor at Seoul’s Yonsei University.

Seoul and Olympic organizers have been keen for Pyongyang -- which boycotted the 1988 Summer Games in South Korea’s capital -- to take part in what they repeatedly proclaimed as a “peace Olympics” in Pyeongchang.

DEVASTATED CITY. A man walks through a street in Syria’s devastated city of Raqa on January 9, 2018. AFP

But the North gave no sign it would do so until leader Kim Jong-Un’s New Year speech. It pursued its banned weapons programmes in defiance of United Nations sanctions, launched missiles capable of reaching the US and staged its sixth and most powerful nuclear test.

North Korea’s participation in the Pyeongchang Games is a tacit guarantee that it will refrain from such provocations during February and March, when the Olympics and Paralympics are held.

Seoul and Washington also agreed earlier to delay their annual joint military drills―which Pyongyang views as a rehearsal for invasion―until after the events.

Go Myong-Hyun, an analyst at Seoul-based Asan Institute of Policy Studies, said North Korea secured so-called “strategic composure”―shelter from a possible US military strike which has repeatedly been described as an “option on the table” by Trump administration officials. AFP

Myanmar’s press under attack Y ANGON―Myanmar’s media has long been on the rack. On Wednesday the situation worsened markedly when police formally charged two Reuters reporters with breaching the Official Secrets Act.

The case against Myanmar nationals Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years, follows their work on the Rohingya refugee crisis.

Hopes of a new dawn for free speech under the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi have

been dashed.

At least 11 journalists were arrested in 2017 and dozens of non-media workers have been charged with online defamation since she took office the year before.

At the same time, rights groups say the Rohingya crisis has created a toxic atmosphere of self-censorship among the media.

Here are some of the other prominent legal cases involving the media and freedom of expression in recent months in Myanmar, which ranked 131st out of 180 countries in the 2017 World Press Freedom Index.

In October three journalists and their driver were arrested for flying a drone near parliament while working for Turkish broadcaster TRT. The reporters, Myanmar national Aung Naing Soe, Malaysian journalist Mok Choy Lin and Sin-

gaporean cameraman Lau Hon Meng, were later jailed for two months along with their driver Hla Tin for violating a colonial-era aircraft act.

They were released in December shortly before finishing the sentence.

Observers linked the case to antipathy towards Turkey after its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Myanmar of genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority.

Investigative journalist Swe Win was arrested at Yangon’s airport in July and charged under the notorious 66(d) statute, which covers online defamation.

His case stemmed from Facebook comments in which he criticized a nationalist monk. Swe Win was released on bail but the case is continuing in the city of Mandalay.

Scores of writers, poets, journalists and civilians

have been subject to 66(d) complaints, which have soared under Suu Kyi’s administration.

Complaints have been filed against critics of both Suu Kyi and army chief Min Aung Hlaing.

Three Myanmar journalists from the Irrawaddy and the Democratic Voice of Burma were arrested in June after reporting on a drug-burning ceremony.

The event took place in territory controlled by the rebel group the Ta’ang National Liberation Army.

The reporters were charged with unlawful association, a law used against supporters of Myanmar’s many ethnic armed organizations fighting for autonomy in border areas.

The case was eventually withdrawn but the reporters spent more than two months in jail, in what was seen as a warning against giving publicity to rebel groups. AFP

Record heat in Australia

Trump blocked on immigration WASHINGTON―A US judge late Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump from ending an Obamaera program that protected from deportation migrants who entered America illegally as children.

The ruling came hours after Trump presided over a high-profile White House meeting with lawmakers from both parties on the fate of the so-called Dreamers.

Judge William Alsup in San Francisco issued his 49-page ruling ordering the administration to reinstate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known popularly as DACA. The government is “HEREBY ORDERED AND ENJOINED, pending final judgment herein or other order, to maintain the DACA program on a nationwide basis on the same terms and conditions as were in effect before the rescission,” he wrote.

Alsup said the Department of Justice’s view that the program was illegal was based on a “flawed legal premise.”

Unless his order is overturned by a higher court, DACA recipients will now be eligible to submit renewal applications and the government will be required to “post reasonable public notice” that the program is once again active.

The so-called Dreamers were protected from deportation under the policy enacted in 2012 during Barack Obama’s presidency.

In September, Trump said he was scrapping the DACA program but delayed enforcement to give Congress six months―until March―to craft a lasting solution.

The government was sued on grounds that ending the program was arbitrary and done without following proper legal procedures.

Judge Alsup wrote Tuesday that he questioned the administration’s argument that DACA had not been implemented legally.

Alsup said DACA must be resurrected while the legal challenge to it proceeds.

Earlier Tuesday, Trump had taken command of the White House meeting to coax Republican and Dem-

ocratic lawmakers toward a compromise on the fate of Dreamers.

He also signaled he was open to more comprehensive immigration reform to address millions of other undocumented people living in the shadows, as long as Democrats are willing to countenance greater border security, including a controversial wall along the Mexican border.

“It should be a bill of love,” Trump said of a measure under negotiation that would protect hundreds of thousands of Dreamers from deportation.

“But it also has to be a bill where we’re able to secure our border. Drugs are pouring into our country at a record pace. A lot of people are coming in that we can’t have,” Trump added, urging lawmakers to “put country before party” and strike a quick solution.

Trump, seated at a long table with some two dozen lawmakers from the House and Senate, presided over the bipartisan talks, allowing journalists rare access to nearly an hour of the meeting. AFP

TRADITIONAL MASK DANCE. Buddhist Monks from Bhutan perform a traditional mask dance at Bhutan Temple in Bodhgaya on January 10, 2018. AFP

Migration to dominate meeting of 7 southern European states in Rome ROME―The heads of seven southern European states gather in Rome on Wednesday to tackle one of the stubbornest thorns in the EU’s side: flows of migrants from war-torn and impoverished countries.

The leaders of Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain will meet in the Italian capital for a short meeting at 7pm (1800 GMT), followed by a joint press conference and a working dinner.

It will be the fourth meeting of the ‘Southern Seven’ since Greece’s Alexis Tsipras launched the initiative in September 2016. The group met twice last year, in Lisbon and Madrid.

Issues on the agenda are expected to range from the

future of the eurozone, to efforts to propel growth, employment and investment, as well as preparation for the 2019 European Parliament elections.

But from overcrowded reception centers on Greek islands to packed boats heading for Spain, the hottest topic is bound to be migrants.

For Italy, 2017 was a turning point: the country went from large-scale arrivals in the first six months to a sharp drop off, thanks to controversial agreements in Libya.

In the end some 119,000 people landed here, down 35 percent on 2016.

For its part, Spain saw a notable increase in Algerians and Moroccans sailing in, from 6,000 attempt-

ing the crossing in 2016 to nearly 23,000 picked up last year.

In Greece, an accord struck between the EU and Turkey limited the number of arrivals to 28,800 people―six times fewer than in 2016―but it did not solve the problem of how to care for those who had already made the journey.

The death toll in the Mediterranean dropped, from nearly 5,000 people dead or reported missing during crossings in 2016, to 3,116 in 2017.

But asylum applications―and the inevitable delays and lengthy appeals―have placed great strain on some countries.

Greece is struggling to deal with over 50,000

migrants and refugees, 14,000 of whom are crammed into tents or centers on overcrowded Aegean islands.

In Italy, the authorities have stopped providing details on the number of asylum seekers housed in its reception centers, with the last available figures showing there were almost 200,000 last spring.

Despite a proliferation of small structures aimed at improving integration, tens of thousands of people are still forced to idle away their days in large centers as a climate of mistrust and racism grows ahead of the general election on March 4.

Spain has faced a backlash over the state of the detention centers where mi-

grants are held before being expelled.

Anger was fueled in December after the suicide of an Algerian who was locked up in a prison in Andalusia along with nearly 500 other migrants for lack of space elsewhere.

The southern European countries have urged time and again for the migrant burden to be shared across the EU. “Italy can no longer continue to pay for everyone, in financial terms as well as in terms of political effort,” Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said on Monday in Brussels.

Interior Minister Marco Minniti―the man behind the morally-questionable yet Brussels-backed deal

with Libya to block migrants from setting out for Europe―has urged the EU to follow Italy’s lead on humanitarian corridors.

Three days before Christmas, Rome was the first to welcome a group of 162 Ethiopian, Somali and Yemeni refugees who flew directly in from crisis-hit Libya.

Some 10,000 refugees are expected to follow in 2018, Minniti said―provided they are spread across the EU. With France also facing a record increase in asylum applications, the migration issue is also expected to figure at a bilateral meeting Thursday between President Emmanuel Macron and Italy’s Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni. AFP

SYDNEY―Australia sweltered through its third-hottest year on record in 2017 despite the lack of a warming El Niño weather phenomenon, official figures showed Wednesday.

Seven of the vast continent’s 10 warmest years have occurred since 2005, with only 2011 cooler than average, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said in its annual climate statement.

“Despite the lack of an El Niño―which is normally associated with our hottest years―2017 was still characterized by very warm temperatures,” the weather bureau’s climate monitoring chief Karl Braganza said in a statement.

“Both day- and nighttime temperatures were warmer than average, particularly maximum temperatures, which were the second-warmest on record.”

The data came ahead of the release of global mean temperatures by the World Meteorological Organization, with BOM projecting that 2017 was one of the world’s three warmest years on record―and the hottest without an El Niño.

El Niño occurs when trade winds that circulate over waters in the tropical Pacific start to weaken and sea surface temperatures rise.

Australia’s annual mean temperature has increased by approximately 1.1 degrees Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) since 1910, with most of this warming occurring since 1950, the bureau added in its report.

Experts have also warned that climate change has pushed up land and sea temperatures, leading to more extremely hot days and severe fire seasons. AFP

LGUs

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

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LocaL government units

thursday, january 11, 2018

NAZARENE MASS-GOERS. Manila Mayor Joseph ‘Erap’ Estrada (right) and his son, former Senator Jinggoy Estrada, pay respects to Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia (left), representative of Pope Francis, and Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle before the midnight Mass held at the Quirino Grandstand at Luneta Park on the celebration of the Feast of the Black Nazarene on Tuesday. Norman Cruz

Congress to hasten new ‘DDR’ agency bill CONGRESS will likely prioritize and expedite the passage of the pending bill that seeks to create the proposed Department of Disaster Resilience, and President Rodrigo Duterte may likely highlight the importance of such agency in his next State of the Nation Address.

The DDR will be a well-structured agency designed to manage a broad climate-disaster program of governance as the country confronts more and more calamities of greater frequency and magnitude, said Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, a noted economist and disaster resilience advocate.

Salceda, who authored the principal DRR bill (House Bill 6075), noted: “Now more than ever, we feel the need to create a super government agency, seeing the devastations around us every time disasters strike.”

He said the new agency will be “tasked to carry out a continuous, consistent and fortified calamity defense program and ensure the country’s sustainable development and inclusive growth.”

Under the concept, the DRR will be separate from the Office of Civil Defense, which will continue to perform its original mandate particularly its duty to administer a comprehensive national civil defense and civil assistance program, training of community volunteers for civil defense and assistance, and other mechanisms for community preparedness.

QC hosts Smart Sustainable Cities Summit

By Rio N. Araja QUEZON City Mayor Herbert Bautista on Wednesday tasked city hall officials to start the preparations for their hosting of the Smart Sustainable Cities Summit on Oct. 17 to 19.

Bautista issued Office Order 3-2018, creating a steering committee and a technical working committee tasked to plan, administer, implement, monitor and evaluate all activities for an efficient, effective and secure conduct of the summit.

He directed city administrator Aldrin Cuña to head the steering committee, along with Information Technology Development Office chief Reynald Paul Imjada as the co-chairperson.

Quezon City Police District’s Chief Supt.

Guillermo Eleazar, Quezon City Investments Promotions Office chief Regina Samson, Public Affairs and Information Services Office chief Ares Gutierrez, Department of Public Order and Safety chief Elmo San Diego, Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office chief Karl Michael Marasigan, and Tourism Department officer in charge Divina Gracia Pascua have been tasked as the other committee members.

According to Bautista, Quezon City was chosen to host the annual executive meeting of the World Smart Cities Organization, formerly known as the World e-Governments Organization of Cities and Local Government, owing to its active participation in the group.

Makati milestones cited

By Joel E. Zurbano

M

AYOR Abigail Binay underscored the City of Makati’s P16.97-billion revenue collection in 2017 as she delivered her State of the City Address during the first monthly meeting of the Rotary Club of Makati held at the Peninsula Manila.

The record revenue collection was one of Makati’s biggest achievements, Binay said, as it was 12 percent higher than the city’s actual collection in 2016.

“We have reason to be jubilant about the two-digit

increase because based on official records, the city has only posted one-digit yearon-year increases for the past 12 years,” Binay said.

She said the Business Tax remained the top source of revenue with P8.22 billion,

up 10 percent over 2016, followed by Real Property Tax with P6.22 billion, higher by 15 percent than the previous year.

“We are heartened by the apparently robust state of our finances. We humbly thank you, our faithful taxpayers and stakeholders, for your contributions to Makati’s continuing progress,” said Binay.

The mayor underscored innovations done in the field of public health in 2017, such as the launching in July of the Eye Center at the Ospi-

tal ng Makati, which aims to give the best ophthalmic care to Makatizens.

The Makati Health Department has also run vaccination programs among students and City Hall employees, matching the city’s thrust on preventive health care.

“The city was the first local government unit to implement a vaccination drive against Japanese Encephalitis, which has covered 1,056 employees as of December. This year, the drive will be implemented among our public school students also to complete our ini-

tial target of 60,000 beneficiaries,” she said.

Increasing the budget for the free medicines program turned out to be a prudent decision, the mayor said, as the city was able to provide free maintenance medicines, vitamins and other medications to some 527,989 beneficiaries.

Last October, the citywide Pet Microchipping Program was launched, making Makati the first city in Asia to use PET iChip technology on a large scale. The program is

Tacloban expects P1-b tax collection

DENR CITATION.

Officers of limestone aggregates company Island Quarry and Aggregates Corp. receive a citation from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources― Environmental Management Bureau for its Adopt-a-River Program at Taal Vista Hotel in Tagaytay City.

IQAC was a donor partner to the DENREMB’s Adopt-a-River/ Adopt-an-Estero Waterbody Program, which helped clean up and rehabilitate the waterways leading to Tagbac River in Antipolo City, near the firm’s operation sites in Rizal province.

By Robbie Pangilinan

US-based Filipino doctors to treat Nueva Vizcaya villagers

By Ben Moses Ebreo BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya—At least 30 United States-based doctors are expected to arrive this week to conduct a threeday medical and surgical services for poor villagers in the province.

Dr. Edwin Galapon, provincial health officer, said the doctors are members of the Nueva Vizcaya-San Francisco, California Lions Club International, where most of its members are natives of the province.

The outreach, which is organized by Dr. Augusto Valera, engineer Rufo Mac-

araeg and Governor Carlos Padilla, will be funded by the provincial government.

“This is now the second time that our fellow Novo Vizcayanos abroad give back to their fellow poor provincemates the medical treatment and services they truly deserve,” he said.

Galapon said the free medical and surgical services will start Jan. 15 to 17 at the Nueva Vizcaya Provincial Hospital in Bambang town.

The services offered will be major and minor surgical operations on hernias, thyroidectomy, hemorrhage, cholecystectomy (gall bladder

removal), breast mass, nose diseases, cleft and lip palate, ear, eyes, nose and throat diseases, among others.

Galapon said the screening for patients is now going on at the NVPH for reservations, while minor patients will be accommodated first come, first serve.

‘Yes’ landslide in Navotas plebiscite

By Jun David THE residents of three barangays in Navotas voted overwhelmingly in a plebiscite on Jan. 5 to add four more villages to the city’s present 14 barangays.

“Majority of [the voters] opted for the division,” Mayor John Rey Tiangco said on the proposal to divide Barangays North Bay Boulevard South, Tangos

and Tanza.

In Barangay NBBS, 6,676 voted “Yes,” Tangos delivered 4,315, and Tanza with 2,279. The opposition were counted as 1,633, 455 and 655, respectively.

NBBS will be divided into three barangays, and Tangos and Tanza into two.

After the plebiscite, positions are scheduled to be filled in the newly created barangays in the barangay

aimed at promoting animal identification, pet recovery, and rabies prevention, the mayor said.

“As of December, the program has covered some 241 pets in four villages, including our own pet dogs.

By January 20, the City Pound will be accepting pets for microchipping. The Makati Veterinary Services Office will also be issuing ‘pet passports’ for each dog to assist owners who travel with their dogs as well as those who bring dogs in from abroad,” said Binay.

elections this May. “It is mandated by the law to be elected within 90 days, but since the nationwide barangay elections are in the near future, it will be held then,” Commission on Elections-Navotas election officer Eric Torres said.

Should the election be postponed in May, Tor res said special elections are needed to f ill the vacancies.

E-BIKE FOR ESKINITA. Noveleta, Cavite Mayor Dino Reyes Chua (center) tests one of three

electric bikes to be used for garbage collection in the ‘eskinita’ (small streets) in the locality during the turnover ceremony of the first Monday flag ceremony of the year at the town plaza. Also in photo are Vice Mayor Donnie Torres and city councilors.

THE city government of Tacloban expects to surpass its business tax collection target in 2017 as the annual registration and renewal of business permits begins this month.

“Last year, the collection reached more than a billion pesos, an alltime high since “Yolanda.” This means that businesses are thriving and booming in the city. And of course this is very good news,” said Tacloban City Mayor Cristina Gonzales Romualdez.

City Treasurer Zosima Cordaῆo projects the city government will collect around P130 million in business taxes, based on the actual collection of the same period last year. A 25-percent surcharge and 2-percent interest will be imposed on late applications.

The streamlined business registration and renewal center opened on Jan. 3 at the spacious ground floor of the newly constructed city hall building, at the back of the old one.

A total of 126 business permits and nine transport permits were released on that day. More than 7,000 existing and new businesses are expected to register on or before Jan. 20.

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com thuRsday, januaRy 11, 2018

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Life shopping

Fashion brands Zara, Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius, Pull & Bear, and Bershka are offering discounted items during their End of Season Sale Superdry ‘s latest collection features cool and modern timepieces

End of season

saLE in most stores

Z

ARA, one of the Spanish retail giants loved by stylephiles around the globe welcomes the New Year with its much anticipated Fall/ Winter 2017 End of Season Sale.

Get your fill of velvets and sequins at Zara Woman or get a hold of Zara Man’s pieces to complete that contemporary smart casual look with subtle sophistication. You can also opt for stripes, metallics, or strappy dresses and tops at TRF to take your ensemble from day to night.

For the young ones (or young at heart), pull off a playful look through a combination of sweaters or jersey shirts capped off with skinny jeans. Ready your fashion game plan and restock your wardrobe with impeccable high street selections from clothes to shoes and accessories.

Looking for more fashion options?

Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius, Bershka,

and Pull&Bear will also be having their end of season sale. Plunge into urban, sophisticated, and easy styles from the latest collections of Massimo Dutti. Delight in Stradivarius’ wide assortment of styles— from sporty and masculine to western and classic. Express individualism as you take your pick from Bershka’s fun silhouettes and colors. Find laidback yet modern chic options from Pull&Bear’s selection of cardigans and sweaters with a wide variety of oversized, asymmetrical, cropped, boat neck, and frilled pieces.

Start 2018 with a bang as you satisfy your sartorial palate with your go-to fashion brands at up to 50 percent off.

Zara is available in Ayala Center Cebu, Glorietta 3, Greenbelt 5, Mega Fashion hall, Power Plant Mall, Shangri-la Plaza Mall, SM Mall of Asia, and TriNoma. Massimo Dutti is available in Greenbelt 5 and Power Plant Mall. Stradivarius is available in Glorietta 2, Megamall, Shangri-la Mall East Wing, and SM Aura Premier. Bershka is available in Ayala Center Cebu, Glorietta 2, Mega Fashion hall, and SM Aura Premier. Pull&Bear is available in Ayala Center Cebu and Mega Fashion hall. in the Philippines, Zara, Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius, Pull&Bear, and Bershka are exclusively distributed by international Specialty Concepts, inc., international Specialty Fashions inc., international Specialty Wear inc., international Specialty Apparel inc., and international Specialty Retailers inc., members of SSi Group, inc.

The Athlete’s Foot breaks ground in Vertis North ThE Athlete’s Foot launched its newest specialty store at Ayala Malls Vertis North, in Quezon City.

The premium retail outlet will supply lifestyle-conscious shoppers with footwear and apparel from a number of internationally trusted brands such as Nike, Adidas, and New Balance.

The launch is one of three nationwide openings initiated by The Athlete’s Foot last month, with stores just launched in Bataan and Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

Since its inception in 1971, The Athlete’s Foot (TAF) has become the global retail leader in high-quality footwear and sports apparel. The retail destination has garnered the support and enthusiasm of athletes and consumers in over 518 stores across the world, in 29 countries. in the Philippines alone, TAF has launched 17 shops and is looking to dominate the local market with seven concept specialty stores in Metro Manila.

“The Athlete’s Foot is the original sneaker store in the United States. And now, as sports is becoming an important part of fashion, TAF is transitioning to support the everyday young adult who

is into sneakers, basketball, running, and lifestyle,” shares Jose Cervero, Marketing and Merchandising manager for The Athlete’s Foot.

The newly launched Vertis North branch highlights TAF’s shift from sports apparel to lifestyle-centered fashion choices, including sneaker culture, streetwear, and athleisure fashion. in addition, the store showcases a number of reintroduced collections and highly coveted footwear that is sure to excite enthusiasts and collectors. The Athlete’s Foot’s private streetwear collection is also available for purchase at this branch.

“We are proud to say that we are really trying to cater to men and women,” says Cervero. “Most sneaker stores are very masculine, and through our new stores, we try to be more balanced. We want our stores to speak to both men and women.”

Through their launch at Ayala Malls Vertis North, The Athlete’s Foot is poised to become one of 2018’s major trendsetters. in 2017 alone, the brand launched eight stores nationwide, in-

cluding three franchise stores. in 2018, TAF is looking to expand with seven new lifestyle stores.

“We are really excited about the prospect of this mall,” says Cervero. “We’ve been itching to open in Quezon City, and Vertis is the perfect place to start in the North. in 2018, we are opening more stores in key areas in Metro Manila and slowly expanding into the countryside.” in addition, The Athlete’s Foot will continue to push their e-commerce platform. Available to users all over the Philippines, the newly integrated platform will connect online shoppers to every store in the country. For sneakerheads in the provinces, this service will provide them with access to the latest and the rarest goods in the market.

“We want to serve the sneaker needs of Filipinos nationwide,” Cervero adds. if there’s anything sure, it’s that The Athlete’s Foot is ready to meet the needs of today’s active and trend-conscious consumer.

For more information about The Athlete’s Foot, check out www.theathletesfoot.com.

Edgy style of Superdry watches ThiS season, the watch collection provides a perfect mix of cool and modern timepieces featuring military-style details, revamped color block Scubas, and new sport-urban additions. The range reveals rich autumnal color palettes with hints of color pops to highlight the branding and essential time keeping features. Each model comes in an array of different colorways to suit your individual styling.

The Autumn/Winter watch selection, complements the Superdry apparel range with its distinctive, confident designs.

Urban.

This season, fresh new styles are introduced to the ever popular urban family and sees the launch of a new larger 43mm case size for gents. The key model to watch out for is the urban brand fluoro; it has a fun cool look with its striking two-tone design with bold branding along its soft silicone strap and dial. A feminine version is available with a glitter infused silicone strap, in pink, white, and coral. Perfect for a dress-down casual look.

Navigator.

Autumn/Winter sees the launch of Superdry’s exciting new family ‘The

Navigator.’ Packed with strong design features, the Navigator offers a bold premium sport style look with a Superdry twist.

There are three designs to choose from: Navigator 3-hand, Navigator Military, and Navigator Multi-Function. Each design has a sleek brushed metal bezel combined with integrated soft touch shoulders. The striking pyramid textured soft touch silicone strap is marked with confident 3D branding.

The Navigator 3 hand, features a matt colour dial with raised markers, whereas Military, offers a more detailed time tracker with a sunray seconds sub dial.

For those who want a more premium look, the Multi-Function model has a multi-function dial (day, date, 24hrs).

The Navigator collection is ideal for a confident individual, who accessorizes their daywear with cool detailing. This exciting new range takes the Superdry Watch collection to a whole new level and is not to be missed!

In the Philippines, Superdry is located at Central Square in Bonifacio High Street Central, Ayala Center Cebu, Shangri-La East Wing, and SM Mega Fashion Hall

Swap your loose change and earn 50 Snap points from FamilyMart

Family coin campaign

The Athlete’s Foot’s branch in Ayala Malls Vertis North highlights the brand’s shift from sports apparel to lifestyle-centered store

FAMiLYMART has got the solution to lighten up your bags and save your wallets from bursting by switching your loose change for peso bills.

That’s right. The Family Coin Campaign makes your daily visits to the popular Japanese convenience store more worthwhile by letting you put your coins to better use.

You can take all your coins to FamilyMart and exchange them with peso bills. Not only do you get to swap your loose change, you’ll also earn 50 bonus Snap points every time you do so. Exchange the equivalent amount of 5 centavos, 10 centavos, 25 centavos, 1 peso or 5 pesos for P50 bills, P100 bills, P500 bills, or P1000 bills. And if you pay the exact amount of your item using coins,

you’ll also get an additional 50 bonus Snap points.

FamilyMart definitely makes your daily routine a whole lot more convenient and satisfying. So, head on over to your nearest FamilyMart store and swap or buy with those heavy coins to lighten your wallet.

For updates, exciting products, and awesome deals, like and follow FamilyMart Philippines on Facebook, @ familymartph on instagram, and @ FamilyMartPh on Twitter. For store locations or more information on FamilyMart Philippines, log on to www.familymart.com.ph. in the Philippines, FamilyMart has branches in Makati, Fort Bonifacio, Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Pasig, Pasay, Alabang and Laguna.

Life

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thursday, january 11, 2018 isahred@gmail.com

The best from the Land Down Under

A

USTRALIA is famous for its beautiful scenery, fascinating wildlife, and bustling urban spaces, but the Land Down Under is also known for the variety of flavors found in their unique snacks, wines, and premium cuts of meat.

Rustan’s Supermarket is kicking off the year with the Australian Fest, where you can get a taste of Australia’s best food offerings from now until Feb. 4.

Stick to your New Year’s resolution of healthy eating and work in a bottle of Parker’s Ginger and Raspberry Kombucha into your diet, or incorporate Always Fresh Crab Meat, John West Salmon, and premium Italian-style Sirena Tuna into your favorite low-fat recipes.

Put a spin on snack time and dig into Hart & Soul’s Pho Cup, Tom Yum Cup, and Wonton Dry Soup Cup that you can eat on the go, or challenge yourself to sample the famous Vegemite Concentrated Yeast Extract and Arnott’s Jatz Crackers for an authentic taste of Australia.

Kids will love the fruity flavors of Berri juices and Aeroplane Jelly in Original Blue Heaven, Berry Blue, Vanilla Berry, Black Currant, and Raspberry. Make sure they get as much calcium as their growing bones need Harvey Fresh and Bulla dairy products as well.

Shop for sweets before the Valentine’s rush and assemble a unique assortment of Cadbury chocolate treats, such as the Cadbury Twirl, that your special someone is sure to find delightful, or gift yourself a mix of your favorite M&M, Mars Bars, Snickers, Timtam and Twix treats.

Whip up a special dinner of Bega cheeses, San Remo pasta and Australian steak cuts or lamb chops from Rustan’s Supermarket, paired with a fine bottle of Australia’s choice wines such as the Trentham Family Sangiovese Rose or the Wolf Blass Yellow Label Merlot to make your February an unforgettable one.

John West Salmon

Vegemite Concentrated Yeast Extract

Hart & Soul’s Pho Cup

Trentham Family Sangiovese Rose

Parker’s Ginger and Raspberry Kombucha Aeroplane Jelly Cadbury chocolate treats

You won’t want to miss the chance to take home these exclusive premium items, so be sure to visit Rustan’s Supermarket to find your favorite Australian products or discover new treats the whole household will enjoy.

For more info, visit www.rustans-

fresh.com, follow and like rustansfresh on Facebook, and @rustansfresh on Instagram and Twitter.

Rustan’s Supermarkets are located at Makati Area: Glorietta, Greenbelt 1, Paseo de Magallanes, Alphaland Makati Place, Paseo Center, Century City

Mall. North Area: Gateway Mall, Katipunan, Tomas Morato, P. Guevarra, Corinthian Hills, Village Center Antipolo, The Grove by Rockwell, Ayala Malls The 30th. South Area: Ayala Alabang Village, Evia Lifestyle Center, Uptown Mall BGC. Cebu: Oakridge Business

Park, Ayala Center, Arcenas Estate CDO: Ayala Centrio Mall. Also, visit Marketplace by Rustan’s at San Antonio Plaza, Rockwell Power Plant Mall and Central Square Bonifacio High Street, Connecticut San Juan, Eastwood City, and Shangri-La Plaza.

Top Gifts for Pampered Furbabies

Bounty Fresh offers eggs that are guaranteed safe and come from laying hens that are fed with nutritious ingredients and raised in eco-friendly houses

Secret behind delicious, nutritious golden yolk BOUNTY Fresh finally reveals the reason why its eggs set the “Golden Standard” in the Philippines, when they spearheaded the World Egg Day 2017 celebration recently.

It is because of the “Golden Yolk” that assures consumers the eggs are fresh, nutritious and come from laying hens that are fed with nutritious ingredients and are raised in an environment-friendly and controlled houses that follow the global standard for food safety and management.

“The golden yolk is the unique color of the yolk of Bounty Fresh eggs,” said Edwin Chen, managing director of Bounty Farms Inc., the company that produces the Bounty Fresh eggs.

“The golden yolk denotes the good quality of eggs from our hens and signifies freshness enhanced by good internal (strong abdomen and yolk) and external (strong egg shell and shell membranes) quality of the eggs.”

Not just any laying hen can produce the golden yolk.

At Bounty Fresh, the laying hens are kept in excellent health and their immune system remained strong by giving them feeds that are especially formulated by the company’s nutritionist. Laying hens are regularly checked and given supplements to remain healthy. Moreover, Bounty Fresh eggs are free from hormones, making them totally safe for human consumption.

The hens are raised in tunnel ventilated and fully automatic chicken houses so that

human interaction and intervention is limited, making them less vulnerable to diseases. They are kept on cages arranged on tiers that are imported from Germany. Feeds and eggs conveyors go around the house per tier to dispense feeds, while water is administered through nipple drinkers.

To ensure the comfort of the laying hens, Bounty Farms use fans and cooling pads to cool down the facilities housing the chickens. These facilities are also closed to safeguard the hens from contacting diseases from the outside or surrounding environment. They also help prevent contacts from rodents, wild bird, stray animals and other carriers of diseases.

The temperature and humidity in the chicken houses are controlled and constantly monitored by a computer. A farm supervisor also goes around the building to monitor the flock condition, as well as all the data.

Bounty Farms also ensures that once the eggs are produced, they are brought straight to storage facilities employing a series of fully automated conveyors for faster sorting and to avoid getting in contact with contaminants and bacteria. The eggs also pass through a stringent selection process to ensure that the eggshells are consistently smooth, clean and blemish free – signs of good breeding.

Because of the state-of-the-art, ISO-rated facilities, Bounty Fresh eggs are guaranteed fresh, clean, safe for human consumption

and most importantly, rich with nutrients and vitamins necessary for a healthier, more active and disease-free lifestyle.

Bounty Fresh eggs are rich in vitamins D, B2, B6 and B12. They are also a good source of minerals such as zinc, iron and copper. This is evident to the wide array of Bounty Fresh eggs variants.

Premium Eggs have light golden yolk, proof that chickens were raised in healthy environment. It is best to use as an ingredient in baking or in any family dish that calls for a lighter yolk. Specialty Eggs such as Organic Selenium enriched, Vitamin E enriched, Omega-3 enriched and Nutri-filled eggs have mid golden yolk, proof that these are enriched with certain vitamins and minerals that for our family to enjoy anytime of the day. Free-Range and Cage-Free brown eggs have Dark golden yolk, proof that this are highly nutritious and tastier for our family.

So wonder no more why Bounty Fresh eggs, famous for their Golden Yolk, have become the Golden Standard in the Philippines.

“When a product is the best in its category, it is usually considered the ‘Golden Standard’,” Chen pointed out. “Through the years, Bounty Fresh has become the country’s most trusted brand that provides not only fresh and high-quality eggs, but are distinctively nutritious and delicious too.”

You can catch Bounty Fresh eggs ‘freshness’ at Shopwise, S & R, and any SM supermarket near you.

MOST pet parents find much delight in splurging on their pets every so often. There are practical gifts that may also make furry companions feel loved and appreciated. Looking for unique gifts for pooches and felines need not cause you any trouble. Look no further than Bow & Wow, the all-natural pet products store that carries a wide array of nourishing meals, grooming products, toys, outfits, and accessories for dogs and cats. Here are some useful items suited for pampered pets like yours: 1. Bed Just about every dog and cat needs personal space and a bed is the best way to provide just that. A bed is a safe haven and something your furbaby can call his own. When considering a pet bed, there are some characteristics you need to look out for, namely: size, features, quality and ease of cleaning. Consider also the pet’s size and weight, and any health issues. If your pet suffers from arthritis, it might be worth purchasing an orthopedic bed to help ease the pain and difficulty of moving. It is always best to choose a good quality bed.

2. Grooming essentials Quality grooming essentials like naturally formulated shampoo and conditioner can come very handy. Dogs who have thicker coats need good quality shampoo and brushes. Do not forget to consider your furbaby’s skin and coat needs to match these with the best gentle and chemical-free products available.

3. Interactive toys There are many ways you can get your dogs and cats to stay healthy and active, like playing and learning new tricks, and interactive toys can help make these happen. Interactive toys come in different varieties like those with treat dispenser, mazes and playground, and so on. As your furbaby grows up, the creature will need different interactive toys that engage. Choose quality interactive toys that will stimulate your pup or kitty’s mind and body; are durable, and will enrich your bonding experience.

If your pet is a cat, a useful gift may be a cat tree. The ultimate cat tree will keep your Kitty entertained for hours on end. This cat tree (or, more fittingly, cat mansion) may have multiple perch levels that lead to a lookout tower that will make your curious cat feel like she is on top of the world. Dangling cat toys will satisfy your cat’s inner lioness while refining her hunting skills. And when your playful kitty is ready for a catnap, she can choose between a kitty apartment or hammock to snuggle up in for a quick snooze.

4. Travel essentials Travel essentials for pets range from nourishing food to comfy outfits and life jacket (for dogs brought to outings), to durable accessories. Packing the right amount of food especially important when going on a trip. A food container to keep food fresh and sanitized will be useful. A crate that may help control your pup’s behavior and prevent mess is also a practical gift. Other travel essentials include accessories like leashes, collars and many more.

These may help make your travels a lot easier and smoother. The best part about this is that you can use it even after your travels.

Opt for quality product finds for your beloved pet. Choose from the wide assortment of quality items and gifts for your loyal and affectionate furry friends – at Bow & Wow, with stores located at: the 6th Level of Shangri-la Plaza Mall; lower ground floor of Greenbelt 5; 3rd level Robinsons Magnolia; ground floor of Excelsior, Eastwood City; 3rd level of Ayala Center Cebu; and ground floor of Ayala Malls Solenad 3, Nuvali, Sta. Rosa Laguna. For lots of other pet care tips and insights, visit www.bowandwow.com.ph.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2018

The Chainsmokers wear Tommy Hilfiger their debut studio album Memories...Do Not Open, which debuted at no.1 on the US Billboard 200.

Taggart wore a midnight navy two-button tuxedo with a black peak lapel, and side stripe in black and forest green, and a white French cuff tuxedo shirt all from the Fall 2017 Tommy Hilfiger Tailored collection.

Pall wore a navy, black, and forest green tartan doublebreasted tuxedo with a black peak lapel, and white dress shirt all from the Fall 2017 Tommy

TOMMY Hilfiger, which is owned by PVH Corp. [NYSE: PVH], announced that Grammy award-winning American DJ duo and Tommy Hilfiger menswear global brand ambassadors Andrew Taggart and Alex Pall, also known as The Chainsmokers, wore Tommy Hilfiger Tailored at the 2017 American Music Awards in Los Angeles.

The Chainsmokers, who were nominated in five award categories, are currently headlining a world tour promoting

Hilfiger Tailored collection.

Tommy Hilfiger Tailored is currently available at select Tommy Hilfiger stores globally and on tommy.com.

In the Philippines, Tommy Hilfiger is exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists, Inc., with stores at Central Square in Bonifacio High Street Central, Greenbelt 5, Kiss & Fly – NAIA Terminal 3, Newport Mall, Rustan’s Makati, Rustan’s Shangri-La, Rustan’s Cebu (children’s wear only), and Shangri-La Plaza Mall.

‘Saludo sa Sundalong Pilipino’goes to Nueva Ecija BEFORE the year 2017 ended, ABS-CBN had the privilege to once again entertain and pay tribute to hundreds of soldiers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in a pre-Christmas celebration filled with “Just Love” vibes held in Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija in December.

Kapamilya stars led by Karla Estrada and Melai Cantiveros of Magandang Buhay and Jason Gainza, Shine Kuk, and Ritz Azul of Banana Sundae had the opportunity to bring joy and love to the country’s heroes in the event, which was the third “Saludo sa Sundalong Pilipino” program organized by the Kapamilya network and the AFP last year.

Hosted by MOR 101.9 DJs Eva Ronda and Rico Romantico, the program featured performances by ABS-CBN artists like Noven Belleza, Maricel Callo, and Hazelyn Cascano of “Tawag ng Tanghalan” fame. Soldiers also got to experience some of the games from the popular Minute To Win It game show.

As in most of the Christmas parties in the country last year, the brave men and women in uniform also gamely danced the “Baby Shark” craze with the Banana Sundae cast, while multi-talented soldiers turned in song and band performances for their comrades.

To make sure the soldiers in the camp will continue to be entertained and inspired through ABS-CBN shows, ABS-CBN Corporate Services Group 1 head Mark Nepomuceno presented as gifts a brand new television set and an ABSCBN TVplus mahiwagang black box to Fort Magsaysay, represented by the commander of its Army Station Hospital, AFP Col. Mamerto Losa.

On behalf of the entire ABS-CBN, Mark thanked the soldiers not only for fighting for the country, but for also showing how it is to be a Filipino. “If we will just learn your discipline, your courage, and how you love the nation, then maybe there would no longer be wars to be fought in this country,” he said.

All wearing “Just Love” shirts from ABSCBN, the soldiers then rose and sang the popular ABS-CBN Christmas theme “Just Love Ngayong Pasko,” with Kapamilya stars and executives to end the program. Capping the day of fun was a boodle fight enjoyed by the soldiers and the ABSCBN family in what served as an early Noche Buena for everyone.

Before the war in Marawi ended, ABSCBN also flew Kapamilya stars like Judy Ann Santos, Jessy Mendiola, and Beauty Gonzales

Soldiers and ABS-CBN team during the third edition of 'Saludo sa Sundalong Pilipino' event organized by the network to thank and recognize modern-day heroes

Influential chart-toppers Drew Taggart and Alex Pall of The Chainsmokers as faces of Tommy Hilfiger's global campaign

from Manila for another “Saludo” event to cheer up and pay tribute to over 700 soldiers, medical staff, and family members at Camp Evangelista in Cagayan De Oro, and even more via live feed in another military camp in Iligan.

Earlier, the cast of FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano also shared their time and talents in the first “Saludo sa Sundalong Pilipino” program held at the Victoriano Luna Medical Center last August. Later that month, it was the cast of “Wildflower” and other Kapamilya stars that brought cheer to the wounded soldiers and hospital staff when ABSCBN was invited to the hospital’s founding anniversary celebration.

Our soldiers became used to hearing gunshots and explosions at a daily basis while fighting terrorists in Marawi.

However, memories of their struggles in the middle of war were set aside and replaced by happier ones through the shows organized by ABS-CBN for the country’s heroes.

AXN to reveal magical new series SEEING is believing, when AXN unleashes its latest original production, The Elements: Cosentino, on Jan. 18. Hailed as Australia’s most successful magician, illusionist and escapologist, The Elements: Cosentino will see the man himself performing mesmerizing street magic and epic stunts against iconic backdrops in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan.

“AXN is all about redefining action and Cosentino is the true embodiment of the channel: he’s adventurous, thrilling, intriguing and full of surprises. As the leader in original productions, AXN has teamed up with Cosentino to create a

series that fuses riveting and mystifying illusions in relatable, local settings across the region. We also invited celebrities in four countries to assist Cosentino with his tricks so viewers will be excited to see popular and familiar faces appearing in each episode,” said Virginia Lim, senior vice president and head of Content, Production and Marketing, Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia.

The four-part series will be themed around the four elements – earth, wind, fire and water – and viewers can expect Cosentino’s unrivalled showmanship while he performs astonishing largescale illusions and death-defying es-

capes. Celebrity appearances in each of the episodes include Asia’s Got Talent’s Alan Wong and Justin Bratton, Singapore’s Aaron Aziz, Tabitha Nauseur and Sezairi, Malaysia’s Diana Danielle, Juliana Evans and Joe Flizzow, Philippines Alex Gonzaga, Bianca King, Marc Nelson and Rovilson Fernandez and Taiwan’s Alex Niu and Ozi. “I had such an incredible experience filming this series in Asia,” said Cosentino.

“Despite the language barrier, people’s reactions to magic are universal – from the kids in Manila to royalty in Malaysia.

Magic can truly transcend cultural barriers and that’s what The Elements: Cosentino is

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Thursday, January 11, 2018

ACROSS 1 Egypt’s capital 6 Sell cheap 10 Gawk at 14 Poe’s middle name 15 Son of Rebekah 16 Mailbox attachment 17 Rotisserie parts 18 Actress Deborah — 19 Snake’s tooth 20 Far East cuisine 21 Relevance 23 The blues 25 Provided financing 26 Moo goo — pan 27 Muddies up 29 The thick of things 32 Long short story 36 Bother 37 Gave out sparingly 38 Mattress problem 39 Mall amenity 42 River horse, for short 44 Softball teams 45 Crooner — Damone 46 Sewed loosely 49 Snapshot takers

53 Disagreement 56 Speech imperfection 57 Not enclosed 58 Wyatt the lawman 59 End-of-year temp 60 Dispatch 61 Gin-fizz flavor 62 Rile up 63 School period 64 Take care of 65 Some bouquets DOWN 1 Flings 2 Precedes beta 3 Siege of Troy story 4 PG and R 5 Add- — (extras) 6 Fakes out, on the rink 7 Tech-support caller 8 Retail center 9 Cleansed 10 Stadium cry 11 Hormone producer 12 Knight’s weapon 13 Urged on 21 Frat letter 22 Invalid 24 Munch on

27 Flies alone 28 In charge of 29 Daisy — 30 Badges 31 Rx giver 32 Jot down 33 Sugar amt.

34 Knock politely 35 Id companion 37 Most nifty 40 “Low” re “high” 41 Golf positions 42 “She Done — Wrong” 43 Island nation

45 Mover’s rental 46 Upward shove 47 Fruit stand buy 48 Javelin 49 Managed somehow 50 Beatles drummer 51 Autumn flower 52 Ships’ booms 54 Scheherazade offering 55 Tailor’s need 59 — Paulo, Brazil

all about: uniting the region.”

The Elements: Cosentino premieres on Jan. 18 at 9 p.m. first and exclusive on AXN. AXN is the leading English general entertainment channel in Asia with engaging content that redefines action.

For the latest programming schedule at www.AXN-Asia.com or join the conversation on Facebook @AXNAsia.

AXN is available on Cablelink Channel 38, Cignal Channel 121, Destiny Cable Channel 49, Dream Satellite TV Channel 20, G Sat Channel 51, and SKYCable Channel 49. AXN HD is available on SKYCable Channel 247.

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2018

GEM celebrates New Year with star-studded dramas from Japan NEW YEAR with star-studded dramas from Japan New year is for new beginnings. A professional villain teams up with a girl his polar opposite in May I Blackmail You?.

A player who doesn’t believe in love gets to relive the final week of his life over and over in Kiss that Kills.

Finally, two people broken by their experiences get a second chance at building a real family in anone.

May I Blackmail You? Senkawa Kanji (Dean Fujioka) is a “professional villain” who takes on cases that the police or private investigators cannot handle. He solves cases by blackmailing people to get the answers or clues that he needs. In one of such cases, he meets Mio (Emi Takei), a wealthy university student who has a heart of gold.

How will this highly unusual pair work together to solve the cases? May I Blackmail You? airs 9 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays.

Kiss That Kills Dojima Otaro (Kento Yamazaki) is the most sought-after host at a club. He is the ultimate player who is quick to move on to his next target as soon as he sees no value in in a woman. One day, a palelooking woman with bright red lips appears before Otaro and gives him the “Kiss of Death.” This kiss causes Otaro experience breathing difficulties and heart palpitations, before sending him into a seizure — and finally, he dies. Yet he wakes up to seven days before the event and relives the events over and over again. Can Otaro unravel the mystery behind the “kiss” and the “death loops”?

Kiss That Kills airs Sundays at 9:30 p.m. same time as Japan.

Anone Harika (Suzu Hirose), a girl who lost her family and became separated from society can no longer figure out a way to live. One fateful day, Harika meets an elderly woman, Anone (Yuko Tanaka). Both of them were deceived, betrayed and have lost faith in other people, but somehow, they gravitate towards each other and so the older woman gives shelter to Harika. Can they become a real family and eventually find true humanity? anone premieres Jan. 13, and airs Saturdays at 7.30 p.m., same week as Japan. GEM is available on SKYCable

Japanese stars Dean Fujioka and Takei Emi in 'May I Blackmail You?'

Sony Channel’s 2 new reality REALITY takes the limelight as the competition heats up in two brand new reality series - Nail’d It and Cyrus vs. Cyrus: Design & Conquer –on Sony Channel.

Nail’d It

A life-changing experience awaits 18 of America’s top nail artists as they compete against one another for the grand prize of $100,000.

In each episode, the contestants take part in a series of creative challenges using a combination of traditional and unorthodox materials wherein a rotating panel of judges decides a winner and runner-up. The winners and runners-up from the first six episodes compete in a four-part finale to determine the overall champion. In addition to the cash prize, the winner’s designs will be featured in a cover story for Nail It! magazine.

The 10-episode reality series is hosted by singersongwriter and TV personality Adrienne Bailon.

Nail’d It airs 7:55 p.m. weeknights.

Cyrus vs. Cyrus: Design & Conquer

After years of practicing their passion in their own homes, the mother-daughter interior design duo of Tish and Brandi Cyrus take their talents to the streets of their hometown, Nashville, to lend their design expertise to those in desperate need of guidance.

In each episode, Tish and Brandi face off against each other as they present competing ideas to a client. After the client decides on one of the plans, the family pair must work together to turn the chosen concept into reality. Facing decor dilemmas and makeover malfunctions along the way, the mother-daughter team hopes to deliver the desired results without cracking under the pressure.

Cyrus vs. Cyrus: Design & Conquer premieres on Jan. 24 and airs 8:20 p.m. weeknights at Sony Channel available on Cablelink Channel 39, Cignal Channel 120, Destiny Cable Channel 35, G Sat Channel 48, and SKYCable Channel 35.

3 gentlemen and Regine Erik Santos, Martin Nievera, Ogie Alcasid and Regine Velasquez join forces celebrating Pinoy music in a pre-Valentine concert

ISAH V. RED

O

N Feb. 10, the SM Mall of Asia Arena will reverberate as four powerful voices are featured in a pre-Valentine concert called #paMore.

Yes, the show features Regine Velasquez with her husband Ogie Alcasid, the singer known in the Philippines as the “concert king,” Martin Nievera, and singing contest alumnus Erik Santos.

“It’s really a rare thing for someone to be in a cast like this. Sana more pa like this,” Nievera said at a press conference on Monday.

According to Alcasid, they will be performing timeless hits.

“Sa totoo lang hindi pa kami nagmimeeting pero ang gusto ko sanang i-propose na sinasang-ayunan naman ni Martin ay kumanta kami ng mga kantang minahal ng mga Filipino through the years. So isama na natin ‘yung mga lumang-lumang kanta, especially ‘yung mga kantang kinanta ng groups like The Platters, The Jacksons, The Osmonds, Earth Wind and Fire, Carpenters, Bread.”

Santos said it’s a dream come true to work with his idols.

“After po ng concert na ito puwede na po akong mamatay. Isa po itong dream come true for me. Dream come true na ‘yung ‘Royals,’ mas dream come true pa ito kasi iniisip mo lang makakasama mo ang tatlong icons natin sa isang stage ay talagang speechless na ako sobra po,” Santos said recalling his 2016 concert with Nievera, Velasquez and Angeline Quinto.

“Actually isa ito sa ipinagdasal ko na matagal na panahon, na makasama

ko sa stage ang mga tinitingala kong mangaawit. Ang pagkakataong ito ay hindi dumarating sa lahat. I’m just so grateful and thankful to God na ibinigay sa akin ito. It’s really a good blessing to me,” Santos said.

Velasquez noted that while Santos is younger, he is not new in the music industry.

“Si Erik hindi na ng siya new artist kasi 15 years na siya sa business. He’s such a great singer and in this concert malaki ang makocontribute niya. So I’m really very happy that he is with us,” she said.

The four are among the more stable in the current concert circuit, though they admit t h e y

don’t do more shows than what they did a decade or so ago. Still, all of them say they are grateful they are still around and music lovers still pay for shows in which they are the featured performers. *** Alden Richards renewed his contract with GMA Records recently, which means the Pambansang Bae will have a new album and more. Present in the contract signing were GMA Network Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Felipe S. Yalong, GMA Artist Center Senior Assistant Vice President for Alternative Productions Gigi S. Lara and GMA Records Managing Director Rene Salta.

The multi-platinum recording artist is excited for his upcoming album, which he said would have a millennial sound, including his most favorite praise songs. Alden is thankful that the label has been helpful and attentive with what he plans on doing about his newest album.

“GMA Records has been continuously researching and doing a lot of brainstorming kung ano yung mga project na ibibigay sa’kin, which I appreciate, dahil like what I’ve said before, hindi naman talaga ako kumakanta. And with their help, slowly, nahanap ko na yung fulfillment sa singing.

So I’m happy that I’m still with GMA Records, it’s my 3rd year and I’m looking forward to more,” he said.

Meanwhile, Yalong has noted that despite being in the digital age, Alden remains to sell out in physical sales, “We are very happy, especially GMA Records, kasi pumirma muli sa’tin ng kontrata si Alden.

The last albums that he released, lahat ‘yan platinum kaya masaya kami na kasama pa rin natin siya sa GMA Records, and hopefully magkaroon ulit tayo ng concert this year.”

The plans for his music career is already up and running as Salta discloses the upcoming activities for the Pambansang Bae under GMA Records.

“Ngayon, limited edition ang magiging album ni Alden and it will probably be a bundle sa upcoming concert niya na ipo-produce ng GMA Records. Kumpleto na ang album, but the recording is still in the process and it will contain five songs and syempre kasama yung praise songs na si Alden mismo ang pumili,” he reveals.

Surely, the New Year has welcomed Alden with positivity and another successful year is in view as he begins to roll up his sleeves for his upcoming shows and album.

Pambansang Bae Alden Richard signs another contract with GMA Records and plans to co-produce a concert with the record label