Manila Standard - 2018 January 17 - Wednesday

DANGER LURKS BUT MAYON REMAINS TOURISTS’ DRAW BEAUTY AND FURY. This photo

taken on Jan. 15, 2018 shows lava cascading the slopes of Mayon volcano as seen from Legazpi City in Albay province. Spectacular lava ‘fireworks’ shooting from its crater are drawing tourists to the Philippines’ most active volcano, authorities said as scientists warned of a potential dangerous eruption within days. AFP

By Rio N. Araja and AFP LEGAZPI—Spectacular lava “fireworks” shooting from its crater are drawing tourists to the Philippines’ most active volcano, authorities said Tuesday as scientists warned of a potential dangerous eruption within days.

Lava spurting from Mayon volcano lit up the sky overnight Monday in what scientists said was a sign of increasing activity that prompted official calls for evacuation of areas under threat from a major eruption.

But even as thousands of residents flee, tourists are flocking to the area, some 330 kilometers southeast of Manila to watch and photograph the spectacle, Danny Garcia, a spokesman for Albay province said.

“It’s a spectacle to watch.

It’s beauty and fury in one, especially at night. But it’s a natural phenomenon so we don’t know when an [explosive] eruption will happen,” Garcia added.

Mayon, a near-perfect cone that also draws thou-

sands of tourists during its periods of quiet, rises 2,460 meters above Legazpi, a city of about 200,000 people surrounded by a largely agricultural region.

The state volcanology institute described the natural pyrotechnics as “short-duration lava fountaining,” an escalation from the slow lava flow from the crater a day earlier.

“If lava has enough gas and material, fragments will be flown up into the air, like the fountain you light up on New Year’s Eve,” Renato Solidum, head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), said.

“There is more force involved when the lava would exit so it’s more intense than just the lava oozing out.”

Ash also rose two kilometers into the sky in the past 24 hours, enveloping surrounding areas in a grey carpet as more residents left their homes for safety.

About 30,000 people in and around Legazpi have fled their homes, the provincial Next page

Rappler fake news outlet—Duterte

By John Paolo Bencito, Rey E. Requejo, Jenniffer B. Austria PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has branded news portal Rappler as a “fake news outlet” a day after the Securities and Exchange Commission revoked its incorporation papers for allegedly ceding control to foreign investors in an

industry exclusively reserved for Filipinos.

“Since you are a fake news outlet, then I am not surprised that your articles are also fake,” the President said as he called Rappler’s attention for a story it ran alleging that Special Assistant to the President Bong Go meddled in discussions for the Next page

VOL. XXXI • NO. 334 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2018 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net

‘Cha-Cha Express’ rolls House hastens okay of Con-Ass Resolution 9 amid quorum issues

Panel: ‘Love’ has no place in Preamble

By Maricel V. Cruz, Rio N. Araja and Macon Ramos-Araneta

T

HE House of Representatives, in plenary session Tuesday night adopted House Concurrent Resolution 9 convening the House and Senate into a constituent assembly to revise the 1987 Constitution to effect federalism.

By Maricel V. Cruz ONE of the sub-committees in the House of Representatives tasked to rewrite the 1987 Constitution has proposed to delete the word “love” from the Preamble.

This developed as the House adopted Concurrent Resolution 9 convening the House and Senate into a constituent assembly to revise the 1987 Constitution to effect federalism.

In a voice vote, the House adopted the resolution authored by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and several other House leaders.

The measure will need the concurrence of Senate before both Houses can sit to introduce the amendments Next page

CRIMEBUSTERS. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and National Police Director General Ronald dela Rosa witness the program proper during ceremonies for the turnover of 26 Mitsubishi patrol vehicles and inauguration of the new Regional Crime Laboratory Office (RCLO)-11 Building in Davao City on Jan. 15, 2018. Presidential Photo

In voice voting, the House adopted the HCR drafted by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and several House leaders.

The resolutionwas adopted despite stiff opposition from members of the leftleaning Makabayan bloc who wished to interpellate Southern Leyte Rep. Roger Mercado, who sponsored the resolution.

A total of 186 lawmakers were present during the roll call.

THREE incumbent Supreme Court justices have dismissed the allegation of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno that the impeachment proceedings against her have undermined the independence of the judiciary.

The justices—Samuel Martires, Lucas Bersamin and

Diosdado Peralta—appeared during Monday’s impeachment hearing by the House justice committee as resource persons in the impeachment case against Sereno filed by lawyer Lorenzo Gadon.

“We see this as part of the constitutional scheme, a reasonable exercise of your power to impeach,” Bersamin Next page

‘Mere threats don’t justify ML’

By Rey E. Requejo A MEMBER of the 1986 Constitutional Commission said Tuesday the grounds for declaring martial law under the 1987 Constitution were limited, and that mere threats of re-

bellion and invasion were not included to justify a martial law proclamation.

During the oral arguments at the Supreme Court on the petition seeking to nullify the one-year extension of martial law in Next page

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Health ‘mafia’ under fire for dengue deals

Three SC justices gang up on Sereno at House hearing

By Maricel V. Cruz

A bid by opposition lawmakers to question the quorum prompted House leaders to rush the approval of the measure.

Mercado earlier said after the approval of HCR 9, all recommendations, including the PDP-Laban’s draft constitution and those reforms or amendments submitted by House members would be discussed by the different committees based

PROLONGED ISSUE. Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno (center) and other justices prepare for the start of oral argument on the one-year extension of martial law in Mindanao at the Supreme Court. Norman Cruz facebook.com/ ManilaStandardPH

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manilastandard.net

A FORMER Health department consultant and the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption are preparing complaints against 19 people suspected to be part of an alleged Health department “mafia” involved in anomalies in the department.

Francis Cruz told a TV interview that he and the VACC had asked Health Secretary Francisco Duque III for the service records of the 19 in connection with the anomalies in the P3.55-billion fund for the Dengvaxia purchase.

“It’s there that you will find who they are during the time of [Health secretary Janette] Garin, and I Next page

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Faeldon wears new hat—OCD deputy

By Macon Ramos-Araneta FOR the second time this month, former Customs chief Nicanor Faeldon has been allowed to leave the Senate detention center, where he has been jailed over contempt charges, to take his oath as deputy administrator III of the Office of Civil Defense.

Faeldon, who was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte to the OCD last Dec. 22 to replace Rodolfo Santillan, took his oath before Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

OCD Administrator and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council executive director Ricardo Jalad, OCD deputy administrator for administration Kristoffer James Purisima, and other officials also witnessed Faeldon’s oathtaking.

Senate Sergeant-At-Arms Jose V. Balajadia Jr. said Faeldon’s temporary release was upon the order of Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee.

Earlier this month, Gordon’s panel also allowed Faeldon to leave his cell for humanitarian grounds. The former soldier visited his wife, who gave birth to their youngest child.

Balajadia said Faeldon returned to the Senate Sunday morning, and the Blue Ribbon committee again granted his request to attend the oathtaking on Monday.

Faeldon has been detained in the Senate for his repeated refusal to testify in the committee’s investigation on the P6.4-billion drug shipment from Xiamen, China, which happened while he was at the helm of the BoC.

‘Mere...

From A1 Mindanao, former Commission on Elections chairman Christian Monsod, one of the drafters of the 1987 Constitution, said the framers included the martial law provision despite its past horrors because “we want to cover an extraordinary situation. That is why the provision is specific, extraordinary and ultimate.”

“Martial law is supposed to be for an exceptional case,” Monsod told the justices.

“We made the window smaller for the declaration of marital law.

We took away imminent danger, insurrection and the like.”

Monsod said Congress’ decision in July last year to uphold President Duterte’s martial law declaration “seems to say that it is a measure of first resort rather than a last resort.”

He reminded the justices of their duty to review the factual basis of the extension of martial law, arguing there was no rebellion or invasion to justify it. ‘‘You asked your honor why are we relying more on 15 justices rather than 292 Congressmen and 24 Senators, [and that’s because] that is the essence of the separation of powers and the system of checks and balances in our Constitution, and there is a vetting process by which the 15 justices are assumed to have the wisdom, experience and the fortitude to stand up to the other powers of government,’’ Monsod said. ‘‘I was taught in law school

Health...

From A1 even requested them to submit SALNs because we have reports that some of them have assets not recorded in the SALN,” Cruz said.

He made the statement even as Senator Risa Hontiveros challenged Sanofi Pasteur to provide compensation to the children affected by the Dengvaxia vaccine, aside from its plan to reimburse the Philippine government the P1.4-billion unused stock of Dengvaxia vaccine.

Senator Richard Gordon expressed the same view, saying that instead of merely reimbursing the government, Sanofi should make provisions for the people, both children and adults, who were injected with the vaccine who needed its full support.

Cruz said the 19 people were suspected of having been involved in the allegedly suspicious activities around the P3.55-billion fund but not in other projects.

He said the VACC was already preparing a case using the documents he had obtained after learning of the illegal activities around March 2017. Macon Araneta

Leni’s rating bounces back

By John Paolo Bencito

V

ICE President Leni Robredo’s net trust ratings surged back to “very good” in the last three months of 2017, according to the latest Social Weather Stations survey released Tuesday.

The poll, conducted from Dec. 8-16, 2017, showed 66 percent of Filipinos with much trust on Robredo and 14 percent having little trust—resulting in a 16-point rise

in her net trust rating to +52, classified by the SWS as “very good.”

Indecision, meanwhile, is at 20 percent.

Robredo’s net trust ratings is up by one grade from the “good” +36 recorded in September 2017.

The SWS said that public satisfaction with Robredo’s performance was higher among those with much trust in her.

Across geographical regions, Robredo’s trust ratings improved to very good in the rest of the country, while stayed moderate in Metro Manila.

It surged 26 points in Mindanao and is up 16 points in both Visayas and Balance

Luzon.

Robredo’s numbers, however, remained moderate in Metro Manila, which is up by 5 points last September.

The Vice President welcomed the improvement in her trust rating, saying that this is an affirmation that her office is on the right path.

“Masayang masaya tayo kasi +16 points yung net sa akin, parang ito kasi parating affirmation na siguro tama yung landas na tinatahak natin, tama yung direksyon na pinapatunguhan ng ating opisina,” Robredo said.

“Medyo mahirap kasi yung Office

‘Cha-Cha...

From A1

ORAL ARGUMENT. Assistant Solicitor General Bernardo L. Pascual (left) and Solicitor General Jose C. Calida huddle before the start of oral argument on the one-year martial law extension in Mindanao at the Supreme Court. Norman Cruz

Rappler...

From A1 supplier of the Combat Management System of two Navy ships that will be built by Hyundai.

“You have gone overboard.

You are not only throwing the toilet paper, you are throwing shit at us,” the President said.

Duterte said Rappler should not hide behind “the name of the holy grail of press freedom” because the SEC ruling is about a Constitutional violation.

“You were funded by foreign money? Are you not ashamed of that? You had the gall to attack people using foreign money,” he added.

For his part, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque denied Duterte had a hand in the SEC ruling, adding that the commander-in-chief could have simply sent troops to padlock Rappler’s office if he wanted to shut them down.

Roque said the President “found it unfair” for Rappler to accuse him of threatening press freedom because he had “nothing to do” with the verdict.

“If the President wanted to do that he could just have sent the armed forces to their offices and padlocked them, which has been done by other regimes. The President has never done that,” Roque said.

In what media watchdogs saw as an attack on press freedom, the SEC on Monday revoked the incorporation papers for Rappler.

Rappler, founded in 2012, has produced reports critical of Duterte’s government, including its centerpiece drug war that has claimed thousands of lives and which has drawn criticism of alleged extrajudicial killings.

Solicitor General Jose Calida on Tuesday said the Palace was not involved in his request to the SEC to investigate Rappler.

“Definitely not. I do things on my own. I do not take orders from anyone,” Calida said when asked by reporters if the Palace had a hand in the move.

Nonetheless, Calida defended the SEC decision, saying the agency was just following the “rule of law.”

“If you engage in the business of mass media you have to comply with the constitutional and statutory regulations because no one is above the law, even a powerful media [company]. This is about the rule of law,” Calida said.

“If you read the SEC decision, it’s not just ownership but control. There must be no control, not even one percent.

It should be zero percent,” he added.

Calida said he asked the SEC in December 2016 to probe Rappler after reading newspaper articles that disclosed that two American companies, Omidyar Network

Inc. and North Base Media, in 2015 “made substantial investments” in Rappler.

Duterte vowed last year to expose Rappler’s “American ownership,” while suggesting the US Central Intelligence Agency funded the outfit.

The government doubled down on the ruling Tuesday, with the Justice Department saying it was studying whether Rappler should now be prosecuted.

“If a law has been violated, then we will file the necessary charges,” Justice Undersecretary Erickson Balmes said.

The case concerns Rappler Holdings’ decision to issue Philippine depositary receipts (PDRs) for shares of Rappler Inc. that the government said were sold to foreign companies.

In Monday’s ruling, the SEC said Rappler had given a foreign fund veto powers in exchange for a 2015 investment in an industry that the Constitution limits to Filipino entities.

Rappler maintains the securities did not constitute equity nor that it had given the investors veto on editorial matters and has vowed to appeal the ruling.

Rights groups and media watchdogs have condemned the move as the latest salvo in a series of attacks on critical media.

“The order to close Rappler amounts to a direct assault on freedom of the press in the Philippines,” Steven Butler, Asia program coordinator for US-based monitor Committee to Protect Journalists, said.

Duterte has also publicly attacked other media outlets including the Philippine Daily Inquirer and leading television broadcaster ABS-CBN, whose application for a franchise renewal he threatened to block.

The SEC said the verdict would take effect in two weeks, while Rappler announced it would continue operating while appealing the ruling in court.

“I will do everything in my power not to let Rappler go down,” Rappler chief executive Maria Ressa told CNN Philippines on Tuesday.

Press organizations in Hong Kong, Thailand and the Philippines all released statements urging the government to reverse the ruling.

“The order for Rappler to be shut down is part of a broader trend by Duterte to silence his critics,” Hong Kong’s Foreign Correspondents Club said in a statement.

Roque continued to deny that the SEC decision was an attack on press freedom, but said it is up to the Justice Department to determine if there was a legal basis to file charges against Rappler.

Violations of the Anti-Dummy Law are penalized by 5 to 15 years imprisonment.

“We would like to deny… that the state has infringed on freedom of the press of Rappler

or any of its reporters,” said Roque, who noted the presence of the portal’s reporter Pia Ranada during the regular Palace news briefing.

Roque insisted that none of the journalists were prevented from exercising their profession, but the news portal will have to shut down.

“Rappler the company will be closed, but the journalists are not being prevented from practicing their profession,” Roque, a former human rights lawyer, said in Filipino. “So there is no violation of their press freedom.”

Ressa, a former bureau chief for CNN, claimed that there was someone who was “running after the SEC on a daily basis for a decision that is adverse to Rappler.”

“What we know is that this is political and if it wasn’t this, it would be something else.

There is a strong move to shut down Rappler,” she said in a CNN Philippines interview.

If the administration didn’t have a hand in the unfavorable ruling against them, why would the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) -- the government’s top lawyer--be the one to question Rappler’s ownership, Ressa said.

“I have stated that this is about political pressure, and that we’ve been told in the same way that the SEC decision actually put on the record that it was the Office of the Solicitor General [behind the move],” she said.

Despite being highly critical against Duterte, Ressa said that the news organization was “not against the government” and the role of the press in a democratic society is to “help the government come up with the right decisions.”

“Although it is publicly questioned, it could be seen as criticism by thin-skinned people, in the end, that is how it works,” she said.

She added that it would be business as usual as they contest the decision.

In a decision dated Jan. 11, 2018, posted on its website and emailed to reporters on Monday, the SEC revoked the certificate of Rappler Inc. and its parent company, Rappler Holdings Corp. for supposedly failing to comply with Philippine laws.

Rappler allegedly violated constitutional restrictions on ownership and control of mass media entities, due to funding coming from Omidyar Network, a fund created by eBay founder and entrepreneur Pierre Omidyar, the SEC said.

The move comes after a Dec. 14, 2016 complaint letter by the Office of the Solicitor General, urging the SEC to investigate the two companies “for any possible contravention of the strict requirements of the 1987 Constitution.”

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said his office has started a review of the SEC decision. With AFP

on the rules on constituent assemblies.

The House measure will need the concurrence of the Senate before Congress can introduce amendments to pave the way for a shift to a federal form of government.

Despite denials from the Palace, the postponement of mid-term elections in 2019 and a term extension for President Rodrigo Duterte may be possible under the proposed federalism being pushed by administration allies in the House of Representatives.

The House committee on constitutional amendments, chaired by Mercado, began its deliberations on specific amendments to the 1987 Constitution to effect federalism that is advocated by Duterte.

One of the subcommittees tasked to review and rewrite the 1987 Constitution proposed a new constitution that will elect a powerful Prime Minister.

“But these are just possibilities. We are also sensitive to public sentiments, especially if the people would not want to suspend the election,” Mercado said, noting that the 2019 elections will push through as scheduled should the people insist on it.

If the federal form of government is approved by the people, the draft bill provides that “the first election under this Constitution shall be held on the second Monday of May 2022.”

The new proposed Constitution will give elected officials five-year terms and up to two consecutive terms.

The proposal provides that the new President will have a five-year term and up to two consecutive terms.

While the Senate will not be abolished, the Office of the President will be dissolved during the first parliamentary election in May 2022.

The proposed bicameralfederalism set-up provides that the Prime Minister who will be elected by the Parliament com-

Danger...

From A1 government said on Tuesday, more than double the official count on Monday.

Local governments are tapping emergency funds and working to ensure clean water supply, officials said.

However hotels reported getting more tourist bookings while people flocked to viewing decks to watch the volcano from a distance, the provincial government said although it

Panel:...

From A1 to pave the way for the shift to a federal form of government.

The House committee on constitutional amendments’ Subcommittee 3, led by Leyte Rep. Vicente Veloso, made the proposal, saying the word “love” had “no place in the Constitution.”

The mother committee is led by Southern Leyte Rep. Roger Mercado.

The Preamble in the present Constitution reads:

Three...

From A1 told lawmakers in response to the query of deputy speaker and South Cotabato Rep. Ferdinand Hernandez.

Peralta shared a similar view.

“We are respecting the independence of Congress. Only you have the power to conduct impeachment proceedings so we respect your invitation [to attend the hearings]. Had you sent a subpoena, there could have been a clash [between the legislature and the judiciary],”

of the Vice President, kasi hindi naman naiintindihan ng marami na wala tayong mandato na para magimplement ng mga proyekto kaya marami din yung hindi nakakaalam kung ano yung ating ginagawa,” she added.

Despite the limitations of her office, Robredo said that the trust increase shows the positive effects of their work, including Angat Buhay, the flagship anti-poverty program of the OVP. The December 2017 survey, fielded amongst 1,200 adult respondents, had sampling error margins of ±3 percent for national percentages.

posed of the Federal Assembly and the Senate will be tapped to head the government.

Under the proposal, the Prime Minister will be the head of the government. Along with the Cabinet, the Prime Minister will constitute the government and exercise executive power.

The Prime Minister will be elected by a majority of all members of the proposed Parliament, which is composed of the Federal Assembly— which will be similar to the current House of Representatives; and the Senate which will consist of a senator from each region.

The President, who acts as the head of state, will proclaim the election of the Prime Minister.

Under the proposal, the Prime Minister shall perform the following functions: the preparation of the program of the government, prepare the annual budget of the Federal Republic, execute all laws, lawful orders and decisions of the Federal Supreme Court, and enter into contracts, including loans, on the government’s behalf.

The Prime Minister will also appoint all heads of executive offices, including Cabinet members and police officials from the rank of police director.

The Prime Minister has the power to remove members of the Cabinet at his or her discretion.

The Prime Minister or any members of the Cabinet may also resign for any cause without vacating his seat in the Parliament.

The draft did specify if the incumbent president, or President Duterte, shall be allowed or barred from running as President under the new parliamentary form of government in its first election to be held in the second Monday of May 2022.

The proposal also calls for the division of the Philippines into five states: Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, the Bangsamoro and Metro Manila.

Each state shall have its its own constitution, name, capi-

tal, flag, anthem and seal.

Each state will have its own unicameral State Assembly, which will handle all the legislative functions of the state government. The State Assembly will be composed of two representatives elected from each province and one representative directly elected from each highly-urbanized or independent cities.

The leftist Akbayan Citizens’ Action on Tuesday hit Congress’ supposed scheme to extend the term limits of President Duterte and give him “almost absolute” power.

“Charter change offers no real change. It’s a scam led by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to keep the old oligarchs, traditional politicians and warlords in power,” Akbayan president Machris Cabreros said.

“The proposal by Partido Demokratiko ng PilipinasLakas ng Bayan to extend the terms of the President and ‘congresspersons’ up to 10 years proves that the trapos shamelessly want to cling to their seats longer,” he added.

Cabreros also slammed a proposal to put the president as head of state and head of government during the transition period, giving Duterte powers over the legislative.

“The proposal to dissolve Congress and replace it with an interim parliament leaves lawmaking to their vested interests before the 2022 elections,” he said in a statement.

“During the transition period, it will be a free-for-all for Duterte and his ilk. Imagine laws like death penalty, immunity for the Marcoses and other draconian measures being passed.”

Senator JV Ejercito, meanwhile, said a bicameral legislature is essential to maintaining checks and balances in a democracy.

He said legislative work is not about how fast one can pass a law or how many laws a chamber can pass.

“Legislation is about passing quality laws that will address the needs of the people.

It is about the quality of debate and not the speed of passage of laws,” said Ejercito.

gave no specific figures.

The Philippines is part of the Pacific “Ring of Fire” of islands that were formed by volcanic activity, and is perennially under threat from 22 active volcanoes.

The most powerful explosion in recent years was the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila, which killed more than 800 people.

Scientists said it was highly unlikely Mayon would have a similar eruption.

“It erupts quite often, and

volcanoes that erupt frequently tend to have smaller eruptions than those that erupt less frequently,” David Rothery, a geosciences professor at The Open University in Britain, said.

Solidum on Tuesday renewed a call for the permanent relocation of residents within Mayon’s six-kilometer danger zone.

Despite efforts of the provincial government to relocate residents, some 900 families still had to be evacuated Monday. With AFP

“We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, in order to build a just and humane society and establish a Government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution.”

The Subcommittee 3 is

tasked to review the Preamble and Articles I, II, XVI and XVIII of the 1987 Constitution.

It has proposed to include the phrase “Federal Republic of the Philippines” in the Preamble to stress the desire of the Filipino people for a federal form of government.

The phrase “competent and reliable and federal form of government” was also proposed to be added, as the federal government is expected to address the basic needs of the Filipino people.

he said in Filipino.

“I do not think I have undermined the judiciary; probably the TWG because my decision was against them. I came here because of that invitation and not to undermine the judiciary,” Martires said.

The three colleagues of Sereno also said they had no grudge against her and would not have testified voluntarily had they not been invited by the House Justice committee.

The appearance of the three justices brought to a total of seven—consisting of three incumbent and one retired—

Supreme Court justices who testified in the impeachment proceedings against Sereno.

Earlier, incumbent SC Justices Teresita Leonardo de Castro, Noel Tijam, Francis Jardeleza retired SC Justice Arturo Brion, broke tradition and testified before the committee.

The three SC justices tagged the creation of two Technical Working Groups attributed to Sereno as the cause of inordinate delays in approval of claims for benefits of surviving spouses of justices and judges.

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More govt workers are into drugs—PDEA

By Rio N. Araja MORE government employees have been involved in illegal drugs, according to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

From Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2017, PDEA, in collaboration with the Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Customs and other law enforcement agencies, the PDEA have conducted a total of 38,830 anti-drug operations that led to the arrest of 75,008 drug personalities.

“This is 14 percent more than the operations conducted in 2016. As a result of the increase, the number of arrested drug offenders likewise grew by 167.35 percent from 28,056 in 2016 to 75,008 in 2017,” said director general Aaron Aquino said.

Out of the arrested drug personalities in 2017, 301 are government workers composed of 129 elected

officials, 27 uniformed personnel and 145 government employees.

“More and more unscrupulous government workers are involved in the country’s illegal drug trade as shown in the rising number of arrested state workers each succeeding year,” Aquino said.

From 2011 to 2017, a total of 1,155 government workers were arrested for violation of Republic Act 9165, or “The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002”: 301 in 2017, 231 in 2016, 201 in 2015, 190 in 2014, 138 in 2013, 65 in 2012 and 29 in 2011.

“The significant increase in the arrest of government workers means that authorities are hot on their trails. We must restore trust and confidence of the people in the capacities of their government. In this way, we can achieve real success in the national antidrug campaign,” Aquino said.

Six ‘kotong’cops nabbed in N. Ecija

By Francisco Tuyay AT LEAST six policemen extorting money from traders passing by police checkpoints were arrested by Counter-Intelligence Task Force operatives past midnight Tuesday in Caranglan, Nueva Ecija.

In a report, Chief Insp. Supt Jewel Nicanor, CITF spokesman, identified the arrested enforcers as SPO1 Antonio Otic, PO3 Danilo Sotelo, PO3 Ronald Buncad, PO3 Oliver Antonio, PO2 Rodrigo Edralin and PO2 Romeo Nunez III. ON learning of the arrest of the six socalled “kotong cops,” PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa immediately recommended their dismissal from the police service.

“As I’ve said, I will weed out all those scalawags,” Dela Rosa said of his policy to stampout rotten eggs from the service.

The operation also led to the arrest of two civilians acting as collectors.

Nicanor identified the two civilians as Ramon Cabilangan and Darwin Lagisma.

Confiscated from their possession are money in different denominations and fire-

arms. The police also confiscated their personal belongings and turned them over to Sr. Insp. De Guzman, the Chief of Police of Caranglan police station.

“The truck helpers had been accustomed of throwing P5 as they passed the checkpoint.

Traders who refused to give money are being chased by the policemen and their goods temporarily seized,” Nicanor said.

Nicanor said the six policemen were arrested in an entrapment operations in Digdig, Caranglan town PNP checkpoint at 1:20 a.m.

The operations were triggered by numerous complaints from travelling merchants who were reportedly had been victimized by the policemen every time they pass the said checkpoint.

The CITF operatives also confiscated a cal. .45 pistol and a 9mm pistol from SPO1 Otic and PO3 Antonio respectively which were subsequently turned over to the Local Government Unit of Caranglan Municipality.

The arrested policemen and two civilians were brought to Camp Crame while appropriate cases are being readied against them.

PROTEST. Students of the University of the Philippines participate in a protest to defend press freedom in Manila on Jan. 16, 2017. The government rejected

calls to back off on efforts to close a news website that has been reporting on his deadly drug war, with media watchdogs raising fears for Philippine democracy.

The country’s corporate regulator revoked the incorporation papers of Rappler on Jan. 15, saying the online portal ceded control to foreign investors in an industry exclusively reserved for Filipinos. AFP

Rights groups asked: Comment on OSG plea T

By Rey E. Requejo

HE Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Center for International Law and the Free Legal Assistance Group to comment on the appeal made by the Philippine National Police seeking to recall its order mandating the agency to submit information pertinent to the 3,806 killed during legitimate anti-illegal drug police operations under Oplan Double Barrel.

In a resolution, the SC gave petitioners CenterLaw and FLAG 10 days to submit its comment on the PNP’s motion filed through the Office of the Solicitor General.

SC spokesman Theodore Te said the directive was issued during the Court’s regular en banc

session on Tuesday.

In its motion for reconsideration, Solicitor General Jose Calida branded as “patently irrelevant,” its order issued on Dec. 5, 2017 requiring them to submit details of those killed under legitimate police operations against users

and pushers of illegal drugs from July 1, 2016 to Nov. 30, 2017.

Calida argued that the SC cannot declare a law or ordinance as unconstitutional based on the abuses committed by its implementor.

The CenterLaw and FLAG both assailed the legality of the ongoing anti-illegal drug war of the Duterte administration, In particular, the Centerlaw sought for the issuance of a writ of amparo to shield the residents of 26 barangays in San Andres Bukid, Manila City against the government’s anti-illegal drug war.

The FLAG petition, on the other hand, is seeking to declare as unconstitutional PNP’s CMC 16-2016, or “Oplan Double Barrel,” which Diokno said allows the police to neutralize suspected drug pushers.

Diokno said that the killings of Ryan Dave Almora and Rex Aparri, and the shooting of Jefferson Soriano, are part of “extralegal killings,” thus covered by the rule on the writ of amparo.

In its order issued on December 5, 2017, the SC ordered the OSG to submit the names, addresses, gender of those killed under Oplan Double Barrel including the place, date and time of the drug operations.

The high court also required the OSG to provide the names of PNP team leader and team members who participated in the operation, the pre-operation plan, post ops report, whether research warrants or warrants of arrests were issued, names of representatives of media, NGOs and barangay officials present during the police operations.

Fisherfolk rejects ‘joint research’ in Benham Rise

By Bill Casas THE militant fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas on Tuesday lambasted the Department of Foreign Affairs for allowing China, in partnership with the Philippines, to conduct an unspecified research activities in Philippine Rise, also known as Benham Rise.

“This seemingly ‘joint re-

search’ between our country and China in Philippine Rise is a pretext of Beijing’s another occupation activity in our marine territory. Just like what it did in the West Philippine Sea, we will soon be surprised that our resource-rich waters have been already reclaimed by China with its established defense facilities,” Fernando Hicap, Pamalakaya chairperson, said in a statement.

Philippine Rise is a 13-million hectare resource rich underwater plateau located opposite to the disputed waters of South China Sea; it is endowed with abundant marine species like first-class tuna, and untapped mineral and gas deposits.

It was confirmed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone in

Lawmaker faces another graft case

By Maricel V Cruz

WI-FI ACCESS. The Department of Information and Communications Technology is set to release the implementing rules and regulations of the free Internet access in public places act next week to ensure the full implementation of the free Internet access program. In photo are people using their cellphones inside the park (QC circle) which will soon provide access to free Wi-Fi, if the project pushes through.

Manny Palmero

“The criterion by which the validity of the statute or ordinance is to be measured is the essential basis for the exercise of power, and not a mere incidental result arising from its exertion. This is logical,” Calida said.

“Just imagine the absurdity of situations when laws may be declared unconstitutional just because the officers implementing them have acted arbitrarily,” he said.

Last year, the Supreme Court conducted an oral argument in connection with the two consolidated petitions filed by the respondents.

The petitioners also urged the SC to issue protection orders for the relatives of three persons who ended up as victims of “extralegal killings” in the anti-drug campaign.

FORMER Agriculture secretary and Bohol Rep. Arthur Yap was charged with two more graft charges at the Sandiganbayan for approving the alleged anomalous P15.78-million car loan by the employees of the Philippine Rice Research Institute in 2008-2009.

Yap is currently facing two sets of graft cases at the anti-graft court owing to the alleged misuse of Priority Development Assistance Funds of former lawmakers Rodolfo Antonino and Marina Clarete.

Apart from Yap, the Ombudsman filed at the anti-graft court charges against then PhilRice Board of Trustees members Johnifer Batara, Fe Laysa, William Padolina, Winston Corvera, Gelia Castillo, Senen Bacani, Rodolfo Undan and Executive Director Ronilo Beronio.

They were accused of violating Sec. 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for allegedly giving un-

warranted benefits to PhilRice employee-beneficiaries, as well as Sec. 3(g) for allegedly entering into contracts or transactions that were disadvantageous to the government several years back.

Also named respondent in the case was a cashier named Fe Lumawag with one count of graft.

The Ombudsman said PhilRice officials including Yap, who then served as Board of Trustees chairperson, launched a car plan program that allowed employees to “obtain personal loans from the Philippine National Bank for the purchase of their private cars, secured by the PhilRice funds through hold-out agreements with PNB [Philippine National Bank].”

It said the private cars were then “leased by PhilRice for the official use of the beneficiary-employee without the benefit of public bidding, with the beneficiary-employee still entitled to transportation allowance despite the use of an official vehicle.”

April 2012.

Hicap likened the “joint research” to the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) in 2005 that led to the complete takeover of China of the large portion of Spratly Islands including the Reed Bank near Palawan and other parts of the West Philippine Sea that are now occupied by Beijing.

“This latest version of ‘joint research’ is clearly a manipulative move by

China for its new territorial expansion and usurpation. The research would give China access to potential resources and marine features of the rise, and then it would be followed by exploration and reclamation activities,” Hicap said.

Hicap said knowing China’s conquering capability, they could craft another historical document that will justify their illegal claim.

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Opinion

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2018

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

Adelle Chua, Editor

Just posturing

I

N ANOTHER sign that he is out of touch, Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison said he would welcome one-on-one talks with President Rodrigo Duterte in a neighboring country to discuss the resumption of peace talks.

“In the interest of the Filipino people and for the sake and purpose of resuming the peace negotiations, I am willing to have serious conversations with President Duterte,” Sison said in a statement.

Sison was responding to a statement Sunday by Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque, who said Duterte was open to having a private conversation

with Sison.

But Sison, who has lived in comfortable self-exile in The Netherlands since 1987, may be ascribing more importance and influence to himself than really exists in the communist movement that he founded 50 years ago, but which has moved on in his 30 years of absence from his motherland.

Even when peace talks were going on, none of the communist leaders— Sison included—could stop the NPA from waging war, even as they talked peace.

This situation offered only two possibilities: 1) the government was talking with the wrong leaders, because they could not control their troops on the ground; or 2) the communist leaders were untrustworthy, because they secretly approved of the attacks even

while they were at the negotiating table.

That Sison would now talk about peace negotiations without addressing the reasons for their collapse again suggests the 78-year-old founder of the communist movement isn’t quite up to speed with the realities on the ground.

The Palace, however, has made it clear that the President will not resume peace talks until the communist armed wing, the New People’s Army, showed some “humility” and stopped attacking government troops and talking about power sharing.

The one-on-one talks, the Palace added, are not a condition for the resumption of peace talks, which Duterte scrubbed in November amid continued NPA attacks on state forces.

Notwithstanding the recent exchange between Duterte and Sison, nothing

much has changed since then.

In December, some 50 NPA members ambushed members of the 20th Infantry Battalion who were delivering relief to victims of Tropical Depression “Urduja” in Samar.

Duterte denounced the NPA as “brigands” who no longer had any ideology, and who shot at those who were providing humanitarian aid to their fellow Filipinos.

For the last 50 years, Sison has failed miserably in bringing about the proletarian revolution he envisioned. With each passing year, and with each succeeding generation, his relevance diminishes. A one-on-one meeting with the President would serve little purpose except offer a photo opportunity to two aging leaders, only one of which wields true power in this country.

TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

It’s not press freedom THE closure of Rappler’s website by the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly violating the Constitution’s provision on restrictions on equity, ownership and management, brings to fore several questions on press freedom.

The 1987 Constitution provides, in the General Provisions, Article XVI, Section 12: “The ownership and management of mass media shall be limited to citizens of the Philippines, or to corporations, cooperatives or associations, wholly owned and managed by such citizens.”

This brings us back to the fundamental question of press freedom, which to me is not absolute. Santa Banana, yes you are free to say what you think of anybody and yes, you are free to write.

But it’s not absolute because we have laws against libel and slander. Supposing you call somebody a crook or a murderer? Each person is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The Rappler case is about violation of the Constitution.

An alternative theory LOWDOWN

JOJO A. ROBLES I’VE been going over the theories raised by onlineonly news outlet Rappler, spread mostly by the local and international media, that President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the Securities and Exchange Commission to supposedly close the outfit. And I can’t help but laugh, since you can actually make a stronger argument that Rappler “killed” itself in order to stay alive.

Malacañan Palace has denied that Duterte had a hand in the SEC decision revoking Rappler’s incorporation documents.

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said the President didn’t even know that a ruling on the matter was about to be released.

Solicitor General Jose Calida, who filed the complaint against Rappler before SEC that led to the decision, also denied that he was ordered to go after the anti-Duterte news provider by the President. Calida claimed that he acted alone after reading a column by former Ambassador Rigoberto Tiglao exposing Rappler’s anomalous use of Philippine Depositary Receipts in order to skirt constitutional restrictions on foreign ownership of media companies.

It’s clear that the press freedom “victim card” is being overplayed by Rappler in order to cover up for its flawed documentation.

It’s as if, after being caught with its hand in the cookie jar, Rappler is now saying that it shouldn’t be punished by the government because doing so is an affront to Rappler’s liberty to steal.

Since Rappler and its friends are crying victimhood, they should be made aware that an alternative theory also exists. And to many people who, like

How difficult would it be for Rappler to conspire with an Aquinoappointed SEC in order to fake its own closure?

Duterte himself, have no love lost for Rappler’s brand of Yellow-influenced fake news, may find this scenario is even more plausible.

Consider that Rappler

is already in the throes of financial ruin, having lost hundreds of millions in investments plunked down in Maria Ressa’s great media experiment. In the past months, in fact, Ressa and her team have been soliciting money from their readers, miserably failing to hit even more than the very modest P5 million target they set in their online “crowdfunding” bid.

Then there’s the fact that SEC is actually dominated by a board, led by Chairman Teresita Herbosa, appointed by former President Noynoy Aquino. Duterte has only appointed only one member of the five-member commission, Emilio Benito Aquino.

Now, if Rappler wanted to jump-start its crowdfunding efforts, especially among its foreign-based “constituency,” how difficult would it be for the outfit to conspire

with an Aquino-appointed SEC board in order to fake its own closure (which is not really a closure, actually)?

That Rappler is now terribly impecunious cannot be debated; that it will resort to underhanded tactics —like bringing in foreign investors despite the constitutional prohibition—also makes perfect sense.

Before you discard this as a wild conspiracy theory, take a moment to consider the basis for Rappler’s “attack on press freedom” line.

And remember that it was Rappler that first invented the 7,000 figure of supposed EJK killings in the first year of Duterte while Ressa’s own most recent journalistic contribution was an “exclusive” about a terrorist attack on the Resorts World casino—which was really staged by an out-of-luck gambler gone amuck.

*** Speaking of conspiracies, the new (and currently the only) member of the Energy Regulatory Commission, Chairman Agnes Devanadera, is reportedly under intense pressure to resign, just weeks into her appointment.

An energy industry player identified with the previous administration supposedly wants Devanadera, the only ERC member appointed by Duterte, to quit because she cannot perform the job given to her.

This despite the unqualified support expressed for Devanadera by almost every other industry bigfoot after she was given the mandate

by Duterte to clean up the agency and the power sector.

Ironically, the strategy being employed by the small but well-funded anti-Devanadera lobby is to paint the new ERC chairman as anti-peo-

Turn to A5

Going back to Rappler— was the question of ownership the reason why it was closed by the SEC? This sends chills down the spine of mass media practitioners and owners.

President Rodrigo Duterte of late has been critical of a national broadsheet and a broadcast network for allegedly being biased.

Some say all members of media should band together to protest the case of Rappler and denounce the attack on press freedom.

But is it, in fact, an issue of press freedom?

This is why the SEC and Malacañang should explain why Rappler was closed.

The speculation is that it was closed because it was critical of the Duterte administration. The President himself should assure the Turn to A5

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Opinion

BIZNEWSASIA’S “Man of the Year” for 2017 is President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

A lawyer, former prosecutor for nine years, the mayor of Mindanao’s Davao City for 23 years, romped home with the coveted title with very little competition.

The closest one giving him a good fight is not even a public official. He is Ramon S. Ang, the vice chairman, president and chief operating officer of giant San Miguel Corp. In 2017, Ang brought SMC to new levels of revenues, profits, growth, and expansion that left its corporate rivals eating dust and stockholders smiling all the way to the bank. In 12 months up to this January, SMC’s share price went up 38 percent, valuing the company at a record high of P314 billion and increasing the wealth of its owners by P87.6 billion.

Duterte is BizNewsAsia’s Man of the Year for a number of reasons: One, his free college law; Two, his tax reform law; Three, his winning the Battle of Marawi; Four, his war on drugs; Five, his savvy diplomatic statesmanship; Six, his stewardship of the robust economy; and Seven, his unrelenting war on corruption in government.

Duterte signed the free college for everyone law on Aug. 3, 2017. Republic Act 10931 or “The Universal Access to Quality Education Act” guarantees free college education for more than one-million college-age students who otherwise won’t be able to secure quality tertiary education—and therefore, their future—because of extreme poverty.

The President signed the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law on Dec. 19, 2017, which exempts some seven-million wage earners from paying tax on their income not exceeding P250,000 a year.

Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, principal author of TRAIN in the House, estimates the tax measure will trigger the greatest wealth transfer from the rich to the poor, in the history of this country. About P150 billion in government revenues will now go yearly into the hands of the poor, if TRAIN is properly implemented.

Together, the free college law and TRAIN will set in motion a massive overhaul of Philippine society, leading to the government finally licking the age-old problem of poverty.

Salceda is also the principal author of the free college law.

Only 9.6 million or 9.3 percent of the 2016 Philippine population of 102.78 million are degree holders. Only 64 percent of overseas Filipino expat workers have had a college education.

Under the 2018 General Appropriations Act, the free college bill will amount to P41 billion. The toll will rise to P57 billion in 2019, P53 billion in 2020, and P59 billion in 2021, or a whopping P211 billion in the last five years of the Duterte administration.

Meanwhile, it took the latest in war technology, more than P50 billion in cost, and a longer time frame—four months and three weeks (148 days)— to score victory in Marawi against insurgents wanting to establish a caliphate and a hub for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in Southeast Asia, but the victory was sweet and decisive just the same.

And Southeast Asia could

heave a sigh of relief with the apparent mortal blow to ISIS’s expansionary ambitions in the region, home to some 240 million Muslims.

On Oct. 17, 2017, Duterte declared Marawi liberated.

Liberation does not stop there. Duterte and Congress have extended martial law in Mindanao until the end of 2018.

On drugs, government data show 3,967 drug personalities have died in the anti-illegal drugs operations, from July 1, 2016 to Nov. 27, 2017. The number of those killed in the illegal drugs war could be higher. An indicator is that 16,355 homicides are under investigation, for killings between July 1, 2016 and Sept. 30, 2017.

Some 1.3 million alleged users of drugs surrendered.

Another 118,287 drug personalities were arrested during July 1, 2017 to Nov. 27, 2017.

Duterte’s war on drugs gave him the gravitas of a strong leader, one who matches his rhetoric with deadly action. It also has made him unprecedentedly popular. Some 77 percent of Filipinos are satisfied with his drugs war. Some 88 percent support his campaign against illegal drugs.

The war on drugs also lent Duterte international recognition, although a good part of it unwanted.

Some international papers have referred to him as a butcher. On balance though, the image that emerges is one of a strong leader, single-minded and purposeful in his program of government and vision.

His reputation as a strongman having preceded him, Duterte has ascended to the world stage as of credible statesman and able negotiator, with star power that probably exceeds that of United States President Donald Trump.

The biggest winner of Manila’s hosting of the 31st Asean Summit, Nov. 13-15, 2017 was President Duterte.

“The success of the momentous event is indicative of President Duterte’s ability to lead the country towards global recognition,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said.

“The world community now recognizes not only the fact that the Philippine President is not just the president of the Philippines, a leader of Southeast Asia, but a recognized leader in the international community.”

“The Asean Summit also set in motion a number of constructive negotiations among Asean member states and their dialogue partners,” Roque said.

The summit led to an agreement between Asean and China to start formal talks on the Code of Conduct in the West Philippine Sea by 2018.

The World Bank sees the Philippines as becoming the fastest-growing Asian economy in 2018, along with Myanmar, with 6.7-percent GDP growth.

In 2019, the Philippines will be the fastest growing, with 6.7 percent economic growth.

Finally, Duterte has waged a war of corruption in a manner and viciousness no president before him has done.

Addressing the gambling agency Pagcor on Jan. 11, Duterte said “I want to stress again the point that you can come in, expand, do business peacefully but please avoid graft and corruption whether you are the giver or the receiver.” biznewsasia@gmail.com

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mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Oh no, you don’t!

VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ

Duterte is ‘Man of the Year‘

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2018

BACK CHANNEL ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO FEARING for its very own existence, the Senate is going to convene itself into a constituent assembly (ConAss). Senator Panfilo Lacson said he would file a resolution this week to preclude the House of Representatives from abolishing the upper chamber under a parliamentary/federalism unicameral system.

“The current maelstrom generated by the differing opinions on how the amendments or revision of the Constitution has caused bitter political bickering between and among the leadership in both houses of Congress,” said Lacson.

His Senate Resolution 580 seeks a separate voting on Charter change and intends to prevent the Senate from being abolished.

Senate Majority Leader Tito Sotto, and Senators Grace Poe and Miguel Zubiri said they would join Lacson’s move as co-authors of

the resolution. It didn’t take long before Senators Jayvee Ejercito and Sonny Angara said they too were in favor of the Senate to do its own revision of the Constitution separate from the House plan to change the charter.

Under a parliamentary/ federal system to be proposed by the House in a revised charter, the Senate will be abolished and absorbed into a unicameral parliament. The move would make the former senators less influential against 245 congressmen particularly in the voting for the passage of important bills.

Indeed under the new set-up, the former senators will be no more than bystanders even if they speak up on the parliament floor to oppose the railroading of certain bills that affect the people’s lives.

“The bicameral system has been long a form of check and balance against the use of excessive power by the executive,” said Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito.

He added that it would be easier for the executive to control a unicameral parliament than if there were two

chambers like the Senate and the House.

Amid all the talk about Constitutional Assembly and the charter amendments, foremost of which is the proposal for a federalism/ parliamentary form of government, there is a persistent speculation that the agenda of the proponents is to extend their term and that of President Rodrigo Duterte. The Palace has denied the President wishes to extend his term beyond the six-year single term.

The House movers of Charter change, however, are planning to install President Duterte as Prime Minister during the transition period from bicameral to a unicameral parliament.

The duration of the transition period is not specific and could last a couple of years making Duterte PM even after his actual term as president ends in 2022.

False alarm “Hawaii is beautiful, but it’s not where I want to die,” said relieved vacationer Jocelyn Azbell, who like other panic-stricken tourists were herded into the Maui hotel basement.

Native Hawaiians ran for cover in their homes or under restaurant tables while others caught on the street looked up to the sky as if to see what Armageddon was like.

They were later told that a public alert of a missile attack heading for Hawaii was a false alarm. A member of the Hawaii public alert system accidentally pressed the wrong button during a shift in personnel duty.

But hey, you never know when that lunatic leader of North Korea might have finally pushed the button. Kim Jong Un, after all, has been threatening to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles targeting American territory like Guam, Hawaii as far as the US West Coast. Several times last year, Kim sent missiles across and over Japan.

What if the man at the White House reacted instantly and sent US nuclear warheads into the heart of Pyongyang, thinking the missile alert was for real?

It’s a scary scenario we all do not want to see happen.

A bomb attack on this island paradise in the Pacific is not new to the natives.

For those old enough to

remember, it brought back memories of the Japanese attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

The missile menace posed by North Korea is forcing Japan to change its post-war pacifist Constitution and re-arm. For all we know, Japan might already have its own nuclear arsenal without telling the world about it. The Japanese people after all are scientifically savvy as seen by the electronic products they produce and sell in the world market.

In the US, not a few Americans are calling on President Donald Trump to launch a preemptive strike against Pyongyang’s missile madness. It’s a volatile global situation when you have an unhinged North Korean despot and a temperamental American president who just might react and put his finger on the trigger.

Then again, Trump is too busy building walls to keep out illegal Mexicans and presumed terrorists from Middle Eastern and African countries.

Health SO I SEE LITO BANAYO NEWS about the Department of Health in recent months, to put it mildly, have been quite disturbing.

Principally triggered by the Dengvaxia scandal, focus of late has been on the policies and programs of the DoH under the last Aquinoappointed secretary, former Congresswoman Janette Garin, with fall-out covering the un-confirmed first secretary of the Duterte administration, Paulyn Ubial, a career DoH officer.

The French pharmaceutical firm, Sanofi-Pasteur, announced toward the end of last year that a vaccine they had developed against dengue called Dengvaxia may not be effective for those who have not yet been previously infected by dengue, and may in fact trigger more cases of severe disease.

That admission of their own analysis of Dengvaxia created panic in the Philippines where apparently the Department of Health hastily authorized not just the purchase of P3.5 billion worth of the vaccine from Sanofi, but inoculated hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren in the waning days of the Aquino administration.

It‘s not...

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people that press freedom remains.

I don’t think the President would just close a news organization just for being critical of him. He has more than enough defenders.

It’s not a case of press freedom, by the way. It is really an issue of violating the Constitution. *** I agree with what many say that once Charter change gets under way, the Office of the Vice President may not be necessary.

If we are able to change our system of government, the president would be chief executive officer and the prime minister would take care of the day-to-day business of government.

If both chambers of Congress opt to have a vice presi-

An...

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ple, anti-environment and anti-renewable energy—attributes which, if she had them, would certainly make Duterte think twice before appointing her anywhere.

Now there are allegations that some children who died from dengue fever have actually been inoculated with Dengvaxia, and the same may have been the cause of death. It is such a mess, and criminal if true.

Even the World Health Organization denied having certified the validity of Sanofi-Pasteur’s and DoH’s claims about the vaccine, which under normal circumstances should have been sought prior to such a huge purchase. That our children may have become unwitting guinea pigs for the DoH-Sanofi vaccine deal and now potential fatal victims due to a rushed vaccination project is something that strikes terror on every parent’s heart.

No refund, partial or full, can do justice if deaths can really be traced to the vaccination project.

The DoH is the public institution responsible for the health of 107 million Filipinos, even if many of us rely on the private hospitals and private medical practitioners for our health needs.

Lately however, scandal after scandal has been hounding the DoH, which in the past was spared from allegations of corruption, as much as the Bureau of Customs, or the Philippine National Police among others, have become rather poster boys of. Sad. The latest development

comes from a whistleblower, a former consultant of then SoH Ubial, who alleges that there is a deeply-entrenched “mafia” in the department which not only overprices purchase of medicines and equipment, but worse, like Janet Lim Napoles, went into the “conversion” of budgetary outlays into ghost purchases, with 90 percent of the “purchase” amounts going into shared pockets. Wow! During the late sixties, we had an apartment tenant whose business was supposedly supplying medicines and medical formulations to the DoH, then a highly centralized agency before its functions were partially devolved to LGUs by the Local Government Code in the 90s.

After the tenant moved to their own residence in a tony subdivision south of Metro Manila, one of the other tenants informed me when I came to collect rent that the former tenant had flourished from his “racket.” And what was that?

Allegedly, his company would buy cheap medicines from Italy or India and supply the same to the health department, in “connivance” with DoH regional officials. What was wrong about the deals was that supposedly, the medicines were of dubious efficacy because 20 milligram tablets were re-packed as 40

mg. That was the racket, or so the neighbor told me then.

Then a college student, I could not fathom how some people could be so unconscionable as to trifle with people’s health.

Now I got an e-mail from a dear friend from the medical profession who reported irregularities in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., the chairperson of which is the Secretary of Health. This was also a scandal that reached the news a few years back.

Whatever happened beyond the reportage I do not know.

It is bad enough that PhilHealth’s actuarial and therefore future financial capability is already “mortgaged.” It would seem that salvation can come only from massive infusions of public monies to save the insurance system that is supposed to provide universal health care from bankruptcy.

Which means taxpayers will be royally screwed all over again, first for meager returns on their invested contributions because PhilHealth answers only a percentage of their medical bills, and secondly, what if the institution goes belly up, and salvation can come only from taxpayer money?

Opthalmological “crooks” apparently have been charging PhilHealth for proce-

dures on “ghost” patients at worst case, or from unnecessary procedures, which borders on the criminal.

The “modus” or “business model” relied on recruiters who were paid commissions per eye procedure. These recruiters many of whom had not spent a single day in medical school, would dictate to opthalmologists the kind of intra-ocular lenses they should use for their cataract patients. And the sad thing is that many eye doctors particularly young start-up professionals agreed to such dangerous practices lest they lose the “business.”

Despite these shenanigans, PhilHealth kept paying. Obviously, the racketeers had people inside the system in connivance. There is also the racket of paying hospitals and physicians “quickly” in exchange for “rebates” or commissions.

How could people in government and the private racketeers they connive with be so callous as to trifle with the health and wellbeing of human beings?

Newly-appointed Secretary Pinggoy Duque, already re-cycled from the semiretired and infinitely less stressful job as GSIS Chair, will have his hands full dealing with the royal mess that he inherited at DoH. I can only commiserate with him, and wish a friend more power in his new job.

dent, he or she would not just wait to succeed the president in case he dies or becomes incapacitated.

In the United States, the vice president should be in the same party ticket when election comes. Then we would no longer have the problem of the two top officials of the land belonging to different parties.

A better option would be to do away with a vice president once and for all. *** I agree with Supreme Court justice Antonio Carpio who says it would be stupid of the Philippines to allow China to explore Benham Rise, now known as the Philippine Rise.

But Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano did it anyway by allowing a Chinese research entity to explore Philippine Rise, whose plateau under the sea has become rich in natural resources.

The question is why.

Carpio, the leading figure in the Philippines’ fight to nullify China’s aggressive claim to all of South China Sea, said the Duterte administration should instead stop Beijing from conducting maritime research unless China accepts the July 2016 decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

The problem is that Mr. Duterte is friendly to China in exchange for investments and development assistance.

He may be forgetting that the more we give to China, the more it wants.

Carpio also said the arbitral ruling would benefit other claimants to the SCS territory. *** I am confused over the move of President Duterte to urge Congress to enact first the Bangsamoro Basic Law before amending

the 1987 Constitution that would pave the way for a federal system of government.

The President claims this is the answer to the Muslim separatist movement.

I recall Mr. Duterte saying that as a lawyer, he see constitutional defects in the BBL. It would in effect create a sub-state within a republic, which is basically unconstitutional since the territory of the Philippines should be under one government.

The patently unconstitutional provisions of the proposed BBL include having the Bangsamoro sub-state its own police force composed of the MILF and Armed Forces. Santa Banana, the Constitution says that the country is supposed to have only one national police force—the Philippine National Police!

Another provision is that the territory would have its own Comelec and Commis-

sion on Audit.

So if Mr. Duterte doubts the constitutionality of the BBL, why is he pushing it? *** I have been informed that there are two cases before the Department of Justice that have been pending since 2011 and 2015. These involve a former top official of Banco Filipino, closed by the Bangko Sentral many years ago.

There was also this case filed by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation in 2016 against 33 former officials, employees and consultants of the closed bank, charged with syndicated estafa, for allegedly misappropriating bank funds for personal expenses.

I think these cases should be resolved already. It is to the interest of everyone.

Why is Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II delaying their resolution?

That Devanadera is against “green” energy is certainly false. But it also clearly identifies who is behind the move to oust her, because the industry player behind the move to force the new chairman to resign is deeply invested in renewable energy.

The power industry player reportedly needs Devanadera, a former justice secretary and solicitor general, out of the way because it is in dire financial straits. It needs a more malleable ERC chairman and board whom it can bend to its wishes.

Devanadera is faced with

a monumental task of putting the ERC’s house in order after the Ombudsman suspended four of its commissioners soon after Duterte dismissed Jose Vicente Salazar, whom she replaced as chairman.

In a recent interview, Devanadera stressed that

suspension of the four commissioners involved issues affecting the entire power industry and not just distribution utilities like Meralco. In all likelihood, Devanadera intends to also crack the whip on all other power players, including those now plotting her ouster.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

A6

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2018 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

CHED fixes stipend release

By Rio N. Araja THE Commission on Higher Education on Tuesday announced the complete release of allowances to eligible faculty and staff under its K-to-12 transition program.

CHED completed releasing allowances to 2,828 eligible scholars, 2,247 of them for full release, and 581 for partial release following an ongoing effort since last November, it said in a statement.

The Commission on Audit had ordered the disbursement suspended to a total of 4,096 scholars under the transition program.

CHED also faced some challenges due to accounting and auditing rules. It said it could only release partial allowances to scholars with remaining deficiencies in terms of submission of requirements.

For 1,268 scholars who were unable to submit valid enrollment forms, their allowances remained on hold.

According to CHED, the release of allowances was triggered by the complete submission of valid enrollment forms and authenticated copies of grades for the previous semester.

The commission said it is continuously processing the full release of allowances to scholars who are able to submit pending documents as they come. It also sought to resolve issues on documentary submissions, within the bounds of government accounting and auditing rules, to facilitate releases for remaining scholars at the soonest possible time.

The transition program started in 2016 to address the massive displacement of higher education faculty and staff in colleges and universities after the senior high school program—adding two more years to basic education—was implemented.

News

Poe to DoTr: Show jeep report T

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

O AVOID confusion and misinformation, Senator Grace Poe on Tuesday urged the Department of Transportation to submit its report and enlighten the public on the latest developments on the jeepney modernization program amid its planned rollout this year.

“We want to know what has happened to the modernization program. Has the DOTr come up with clear guidelines on how to implement this? There are still many things to be ironed

out,” Poe, chairman of the Senate committee on public services, said.

The senator noted that all the details of the jeepney modernization program should be laid on the table

because as far as ordinary jeepney drivers are concerned, their livelihood is at stake.

She also appealed for sobriety among jeepney operators and drivers planning street protests following the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board’s implementation of the “Tanggal Bulok, Tanggal Usok” program, which some groups are linking to the modernization program.

“The lack of transportation hits the commuters hard and disrupts work and

classes,” Poe emphasized.

In a hearing last December with representatives of jeepney groups and transportation officials, Poe recommended a pilot test of the modernization program amid the absence of clear guidelines and lack of consultation with the transport groups.

She proposed that the DOTr try the program on specific areas, and focus first on doable tests, such as compliance with safety standards, road worthiness and smoke emission.

During the hearing on

the PUV modernization program, the DOTr promised a continuing dialogue with PUV organizations, operators and workers.

As a compromise, Poe appealed that old models that pass roadworthiness tests be allowed to continue plying their routes, and that jeepney operators comply with the Motor Vehicle Inspection System results recently set up by the DOTr. While she believes there is a need to modernize the country’s public transportation, such as jeepneys, the senator said the pro-

gram should not result in unjustly killing the drivers’ livelihood.

“The government should step in to ensure the public a convenient and safe way to commute, with the opportunity for the drivers and operators to upgrade their vehicles. However, it should not be too burdensome for them,” the senator said.

The DOTr had placed the cost of a new jeepney between P1.5 million and P1.8 million, with the government subsidizing a measly P80,000.

5k pass police entrance exams

By Joel E. Zurbano

NEW WHEELS. A policeman stands beside some of the 26 Mitsubishi patrol vehicles turned over by the Japanese Government to the Philippine National Police at the Regional Crime Laboratory Office Region 11 in Davao City on Monday. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte joined PNP Director General Ronald dela Rosa in receiving the donation from Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koji Haneda. Presidential Photo

‘It’s the singer, not the song,’ Cam told PHILIPPINE Charity Sweepstakes Office general manager Alexander Balutan believes there’s an underlying motive behind Sandra Cam’s attacks against the agency.

“It’s about the singer, not the song.

Let us look at the quality of the singer, not the song. What’s her motive?

What does she wants to happen?”

Balutan said in his first press conference for 2018 on Monday.

Cam, who was known as a “jueteng” whistleblower, is a newly appointed PCSO board member, and reports have it that Cam has long been eyeing the agency’s GM position, hence her various attacks, Balutan said.

Last December, she sought a Senate investigation into the agency’s “lavish” Christmas party held at the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel, which allegedly cost about P10 million.

“It’s not about what we ate in Shangri-La, a 5-star hotel, that’s very cheap. That’s not it! It goes beyond; her motive is much deeper than that,” the GM said.

In 2017, PCSO earned nearly P53 billion from its lottery games, compared to P39.56 billion in 2016, Balutan noted.

“It was not just a Christmas Party for close to 1,600 employees, but it was also a ‘yearend’ celebration for our phenomenal success in terms of sales performance. If PCSO was a private sales company with earnings that rose from P39 billion to P52 billion, it was a huge sales performance increase, which is really a cause for big celebration,” said Roger Ramirez, PCSO’s head of human resources.

Ramirez revealed that their approved budget for the event, submitted in 2016, was P14 million, but was reduced further to P11 million, then to P9 million.

But the actual expense for the party was just P6.4 million—P3.3 million for the food and venue reservation, and another P3.1 million for corporate giveaways, raffle prizes, and sectoral presentations, he added.

Ramirez also disclosed that the employees used to enjoy 13th month pay, three months worth of Christmas bonuses, hazard pay, and weekly draw allowances. However, the present PCSO administration under Balutan and resigned chairman Jorge Jose Corpuz yielded to the disallowance issued by the Commission on Audit—including the Christmas bonuses in 2017.

PODIUM POWWOW. Magdalo Party-list Rep. Gary Alejano, Ifugao Rep. Teddy Brawner Baguilat, and Akbayan Party-list Rep. Tom Villarin (from left) discuss a point during a press conference on charter change and other issues at the House of Representatives on Tuesday. Manny Palmero

OVER 18 percent or a total of 5,236 applicants out of 28,654 have passed the Police Entrance Examination last October, National Police Commission vice chairman and executive officer Rogelio Casurao announced Tuesday.

The agency released the partial list of successful examinees in the Philippine National Police entrance and promotional examinations for Police Officer and Senior Police Officer categories only.

Casurao said out of the 5,196 who took the PO test, 2,545 (48.98 percent) passed, while 2,427 out of the 7,045 examinees (34.45 percent) hurdled the SPO test.

The results of the Police Inspector and Police Superintendent exam categories shall be released soon, he added.

“The immediate release of the results of police exams is in consonance with the Commission’s commitment with the PNP and the Department of Budget and Management to make the examination results in synch with the police recruitment process,” Casurao said.

He reiterated the commission’s warning for applicants of the PNP Entrance and Promotional Examinations not to commit any form of examination irregularity, such as cheating, impersonation, perjury or violation of examination rules, since the Napolcom has a computer system that keeps track of the answer patterns of examinees.

The list of successful examinees will be posted at the agency’s central office at the DILG-Napolcom Center, Edsa corner Quezon Avenue, West Triangle, Quezon City, and can be viewed at the Napolcom website at www.napolcom.gov.ph, Casurao said.

Individual reports of rating will be mailed to all examinees, the Napolcom said.

Verification of test results is being entertained at the central office and its regional offices nationwide.

Group hits use of bunting for Sto. Niño fiesta ENVIRONMENTAL group Ecowaste Coalition aired its gross disappointment over the upsurge of bunting or “banderitas,” particularly in Pandacan and Tondo neighborhoods, in time for the popular Feast of Sto. Niño this month.

Also called “lastay,” the fiesta buntings have become an environmental nuisance with the thoughtless use of new single-use plastic bags and other disposable plastics that only add to the fiesta garbage, the group pointed out.

Ecowaste visited Pandacan and Tondo and were again appalled to witness the out-of-control use of plastic bags and other disposable buntings to deco-

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rate streets and alleys.

“We are disappointed with the wild use of plastic buntings in Pandacan and Tondo, as if the city of Manila is not facing any garbage problem. The fiesta buntings are like litter in the sky that will surely end up being hauled to the Vitas Marine Loading Station in Tondo for final disposal at the Navotas landfill,” said Daniel Alejandre, Ecowaste zero waste campaigner.

Alejandre noted only few days ago, Manila’s Department of Public Services collected 75 truckloads of trash—approximately 385 tons—during the recent Feast of the Black Nazarene, and the city’s waste and sanitation personnel are already

bracing for another fiestarelated garbage challenge.

Ecowaste insisted that fiesta banderitas have no aesthetic, functional or spiritual value, and contribute nothing but residual garbage that could even contaminate the oceans and harm aquatic life.

“The super light plastic bags are very problematic as these are easily blown away to canals and esteros and into the Pasig River and Manila Bay, contributing to the worsening marine litter,” the group said.

“Do we really believe plastic bag banderitas add color, joy and meaning to the celebration of the feast of the Holy Child?

It’s high time that we put a cap on non-essential uses of

plastics such as the wild use of plastic bags as fiesta buntings,” said Alejandre.

With the global plastics crisis worsening, Ecowaste urged churches, local authorities and communities to switch to zero-waste celebrations and rally behind the enforcement of stringent policies to prevent and reduce plastic garbage, such as Manila City Ordinance 8282.

It cited the resolution adopted by the United Nations Environment Assembly last December 2017 calling for accelerated action and strengthened partnerships to combat the spread of marine plastic litter and microplastics.

Joel E. Zurbano

Manila

Standard

TODAY

Manila

Standard

TODAY

TRAIN: The horseracing killer THE HOARSE WHISPERER JENNY ORTUOSTE AS IF the horseracing industry isn’t facing enough challenges, the new tax reform law now threatens to spell the end of a sport and business that have existed for almost 150 years.

Republic Act 10963, the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, went into effect last Jan. 1. A couple of its provisions directly affect racing through increases in the tax on prize winnings and the documentary stamp tax on wager tickets.

The pertinent sections of the law amend certain provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997 (NIRC).

TRAIN’s Sec. 5 amends Sec. 24 of the NIRC, which relates to the “rate of tax on certain passive income,” including “interests, royalties, prizes, and other winnings.”

It imposes a “final tax” of 20 percent on, among other things, “prizes (except prizes amounting to Ten thousand pesos (₱10,000) or less which shall be subject to tax under Subsection (A) of Section 24; and other winnings (except winnings amounting to Ten thousand pesos (₱10,000) or less from Philippine Charity Sweepstakes and Lotto which shall be exempt), derived from sources within the Philippines…”

Sec. 63 amends Sec. 190 of the NIRC, which now reads: “Sec. 190. Stamp Tax on Jaialai, Horse Race, Tickets, Lotto or Other Authorized Numbers Gam—On each jai-alai, horse race ticket, lotto, or other authorized numbers games, there shall be collected a documentary stamp tax of Twenty centavos (₱0.20): provided, that if the cost of the ticket exceeds One peso (₱1.00), an additional tax of Twenty centavos (₱0.20) on every One peso (₱1.00), or fractional part thereof, shall be collected.”

What effect does this have on racing? A racing insider explained, “Dividends are now reduced to 62 percent of the pot from 72 percent. Another way to look at it is, if the pot used to be P1 million, it is now only P900,000. And the 10 percent documentary stamp tax is now 20 percent.”

IN OTHER words, the tax on winnings and doc stamps went up and the dividends went down.

This, more than any other challenge, will drive the Philippine Thoroughbred industry to ruin. In fact, for over 10 years now, stakeholders have been pushing for a reduction in racing taxes because it will mean an increase in sales and thus more income for the government through direct and indirect taxes. A health racing industry also benefits the economy as a whole through the operation of its primary and dependent businesses.

The industry has been earning over P7 billion a year in gross sales on average the past several years, with direct revenue to the government of over P1 billion annually in direct taxes.

In 2017, industry sales hit over P7.37 billion. Taxed at 17 percent, the total revenue for government is more than P1.25 billion, an increase of P88 million or 7.56 percent from 2016’s 1.16 billion.

TRAIN and its tax increases on winnings and ticket doc stamps might create gains for the government in the short-term but will kill the industry in the long term.

Not only does the government stand to lose a steady, reliable, P1 billion a year, it will also displace some 5,000 workers on racetracks, farms, and offices that rely on the industry for their livelihood.

The only entities that will benefit from the new tax scenario are the illegal bookies. It was estimated by law enforcement some years back that underground horseracing betting nets about the same amount as the legitimate industry.

Sometime in the mid-2000s, horseowner and then-Mandaluyong City mayor Benhur Abalos launched, along with the rest of the industry, an anti-illegal bookies campaign and received death threats for his efforts. Bookies will now be rejoicing as racing fans flock to place bets with them tax-free.

Last Monday (Jan. 15), a core group of racing stakeholders met to discuss the TRAIN law and its effects. Various strategies were crafted and will be pursued. Let us hope that the powers that be will see how badly racing will be impacted by this law and apply remedies to fix its infirmities. *** Dr. Ortuoste is a California-based writer and researcher. Facebook: Gogirl Racing and Jenny Ortuoste, Twitter: @gogirlracing and @jennyortuoste

L

That also enabled the visiting squad, composed of top jungolfers and amateurs from Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, to keep its five-point lead intact, 12.57.5, built on its explosive showing in the first day of the team event among SEA neighbors.

Falling behind at 3.5-11.5 after Team SEA dominated the morning duel, the hosts bounced back in the afternoon on victories by Bernice Ilas-Kristine Torralba, Kayla

Nocum-Tomi Arejola, Mikha Fortuna-Nicole Abelar and Yuka Saso-Harmie Constantino that more than made for the Phl’s loss in the novel three-player match.

Ilas and Torralba nipped Ashley Lau and Zulaikah Nasser of Malaysia, 1-up; Nocum and Arejola edged Audrey Tan and Charlayne Shing Ling, also of Malaysia, 2&1; Fortuna and Abelar fended off Thais Pinkaew Trachuentong and Phannarai Meesom-us, 2&1; and

GEN. TRIAS, Cavite—The men of PGT Asia hopes to come out strong coming off the holiday break as they resume their hunt for fame and fortune in the $100,000 ICTSI Eagle Ridge Invitational unfolding today at the Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club’s Aoki course here.

Tony Lascuña, Justin Quiban and Rene Menor try to become the first two-leg winner in the region’s newest circuit put up

by ICTSI as they shoot for a follow-up to their victories at Wack Wack, Luisita and Splendido, respectively, in the 72-hole championship, which drew another elite cast, including 36 foreign players out to end the locals’ domination of the tour.

“It will be tough to score another win since everybody

toughened up during the break,” said Lascuña, who edged American Nicolas Paez by two at Wack Wack Championship last November.

The veteran campaigner also said premium will be on shotmaking and iron game, adding the Aoki layout, despite its open fairways, remains a tough course to play with its hazards, especially if the wind come into play in all four days.

While Menor will be hardpressed to duplicate his record playoff win over Thai Pasavee Lertvilai at Splendido last September, Quiban is tipped to come into the event in top form following his three-stroke romp over Joenard Rates in the CAT Open last December.

It was Quiban’s first victory in a young pro career and

CALENDAR OF ACTIVITIES AND PERIODS OF CERTAIN PROHIBITED ACTS IN CONNECTION WITH THE MAY 14, 2018 SYNCHRONIZED BARANGAY AND SANGGUNIANG KABATAAN (SK) ELECTIONS x- - - - - - -- - - - - ---------- - - - - - x

LIM, C .R.S ., PARRENO, A.A., GUIA, L.T.F., LIM, A.D., GUANZON, M.R.A.V., ABAS, S .M.,

Acting Chairman Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner

Pursuant to the powers vested in it by the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, the Omnibus Election Code (B.P. BIg. 881), Republic Acts 6646,7166,8189,8436,9189,9369 and other election laws, the Commission on Elections (Commission), RESOLVED to prescribe the following calendar of activities and periods of prohibited acts in connection with the May 14, 2018 Synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Elections: DATE/PERIOD

ACTIVITIES

PROHIBITED ACTS

Appointment or hiring of new employees, creation of new position, promotion, gIvIng of salary increases, remuneration or privileges. (Sec . 261 (g), OEC) as amended by Sec. 5 of R.A. No. 10923.

May 13, 2018 (SUN)

Campaigning (Sec. 3 OEC)

EVE OF ELECTION

Last day to file petition for inclusion of voters (Sec. 34, R.A. 8189 in relation to Sec. 29, RA. 6646 and Resolution No. 10214, Sec. 15)

Selling, furnishing, offering, buying, serving or taking intoxicating liquor, etc., (Sec 261 (dd) (OEC)

February 2, 2018 (FRI)

Last day to file petition for exclusion of voters. (Sec. 35, R.A. 8189 in relation to Sec. 29, R.A. 6646 and Resolution No. 10214, Sec.16).

Giving, accepting free transportation, food, drinks and things of value (Sec. 89, (OEC) .

February 7, 2018 (WED)

Last day for the ERB, Citizens’ Arm and Civic Organizations to verify, certify and seal the List of Voters for the barangay and sangguniang kabataan elections. (Resolution No. 10214)

(Note: Acts mentioned in the three preceding paragraphs are prohibited until election day).

May 14, 2018 ‘(MON)

February 12, 2018 (MON) to Period to constitute the members of February 19, 2018 (MON) the Electoral Board and Barangay Boards of Canvassers (BBOC).

Using the voter’s affidavit of another for the purpose of voting, whether or not he actually succeeds in voting.

[Sec. 261 (y) (10), OEC].

Destroying, substituting, or taking away from the possession of those having legal custody thereof, or from the place where they are legally deposited, any election form or document or ballot box which contains official ballots or other documents used in the election. [Sec. 261 (z) (12), OEC]. (NOTE: May be committed before or even after election day)

Illegal release of prIsoners before and after election. (Sec. 261 (n), OEC).

March 30,2018 (FRI)

Last day of submission of requests / petitions for transfer of voting centers/ polling places.

April 14,2018 (SAT) to April 20, 2018 (FRI)

Filing of Certificates of Candidacy (Sec. 7, R.A. 6679) in relation to Sec. 29, R.A. 6646.

April 14, 2018 (SAT) to May 21,2018 (MON)

ELECTION DAY Casting of votes (From 7:00 o’clock Campaigning (Sec. 3, OEC). a .m. to 3:00 o’clock p.m.) (Sec. 190, OEC)

Last day to post the barangay and sangguniang kabataan Computerized Voters I Lists (CVL). (Sec. 30, R.A. 8189 in relation to Sec. 29, R.A. 6646).

Alteration of territory of a precinct or establishment of a new precinct. (Sec. 5, R.A. 8189).

Project No. 2 Name of Project

:

Location

:

Use of security personnel or bodyguards by candidates (Sec. 33, R. A.7166).

Source of Fund Approved Budget for the Contract

:

Delivery of Various Drugs and Medicines (by item) (refer to bid documents) GSO, Lingayen, Pangasinan (for use of 10 Government Hospitals within the Province – 1st Quarter 2018) Trust Fund (PR#2017-11-11357)

:

P 17,862,445.08

ELECTION PERIOD

Counting and canvassing of votes and Voting more than once or in proclamation of winning candidates substitution of another (Sec. 261 (z) (2) and (3), OEC). immediately after closing of polls.

Soliciting votes or undertaking any propaganda for or against any candidate within the polling place or within thirty (30) meters thereof. (Sec. 261 (cc), (6), OEC).

Selling, furnishing, offering, buying, serving or taking intoxicating liquor, etc. (sec.

261, (dd), OEC).

Coercing, threatening, IntimidatIng or terrorizing any election official or employee in the performance of his election functions or duties.

[Sec. 261 (f), OEC]. (NOTE: Until proclamation of winning candidates)

Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) (for Goods Projects) and seventy –five percent (75%) (for Civil Works Projects) of the interest belongs to citizens of the Philippines (for Goods Projects), and to citizen/organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens pursuant to RA 5183 and subject to Commonwealth Act 138.

Opening of booths or stalls for the sale, etc. of wares, merchandise or refreshments within thirty (30) meters radius from the polling place (Sec. 261, (dd) (2), OEC).

Transfer or detail of officers and employees In the civil service including public school teachers. (Sec. 261 (h) OEC).

The bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 9184 otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

All particulars relative to the Eligibility Statement and Screening, Bid Security, Performance Security, pre-Bidding Conference/s, Evaluating 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 (as amended).

Giving, accepting free transportation, food, drinks and things of value (Sec. 89, OEC).

Organizing or maintaining reaction forces, strike forces or similar forces. (Sec. 261 (u),OEC).

The complete schedule of activities is listed, as follows:

Suspension of any elective provincial, cIty, municipal or barangay officer. (Sec. 261 (x), OEC).

April 14, 2018 (SAT) to May 14, 2018 (MON)

Vote-buying and vote selling [Sec. 261 (a) OEC).

The bidders shall drop their duly accomplished eligibility requirements, technical and financial proposals in two separate sealed envelopes at the abovementioned address. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms. Late Bids shall not be accepted.

April 14, 2018 (SAT) until proclamation of winning candidates

Wagering upon result of election. [Sec. 261 (c), OEC].

Bid Documents can be availed at the BAC Office, 2/F Malong Building, Capitol Compound, Lingayen, Pangasinan upon payment to the Provincial Treasurer’s Office the amount of P1,000.00 Accreditation Fee for new bidders, and a non-refundable amount of P20,000.00/bidder/project for project No. 1 and P1,000.00/bidder for every P1,000,000.00 for project no. 1 to the Provincial Treasurer’s Office. Prospective bidders shall submit their Bid Documents to the BAC Office at the same address.

April 14, 2018 (SAT) to May 14,2018 (MON)

Raising of funds thru dances, lotteries, cockfights, etc . (Sec. 97, OEC.)

(MS-JAN. 17, 2018)

Construction or maintenance of barangay funded roads and bridges (Sec. 3, R.A. 6679) as amended by Sec. 4, R.A. 10923.

January 26,2018 (FRI)

Carrying of firearms or other deadly weapons (Sec. 32, R.A. 7166).

(SGD.) HILARIA J. CLAVERIA Provincial Budget Officer BAC Chairman

May 4, 2018 (FRI) to May 13, 2018 (SUN)

Promulgated: January 15, 2018

P 20,000,000.00 Four Hundred Five (405) Calendar Days

Approved by:

Policemen and provincial guards acting as bodyguards or secunty guards of public officials or candidates.

[Sec. 261 (t), OEC] (NOTE Prohibited on the day before and on election day)

RESOLUTION NO. 10246

: :

The Province of Pangasinan assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation for their bids. Moreover, the Province of Pangasinan reserves the right to reject any or all bid proposals, or declare a failure of bidding, or not award the contract, and makes no assurance that contract shall be entered into as a result of this invitation without thereby incurring any liability in accordance with RA 9184 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations.

THE Philippine Sportswriters Association, under new president Dodo Catacutan of spin.ph, will hold its first Forum today (Wednesday, Jan. 17) at the Tapa King Restaurant at Farmers Market, Cubao, Quezon City.

PBA officer in charge Willie Marcial and Tapa King vice chairman Julius Magallanes will be the guests in the resumption of the PSA’s public sports program. The Forum starts at 2 p.m.

Marcial is expected to talk about the latest developments in the pro league’s search for a new commissioner and other issues, while Magallanes will talk on Tapa King’s sponsorship of the Forum and the PSA Athlete of the Year plum.

Bowler Krizziah Lyn Tabora, cue artist Carlo Biado and boxer Jerwin Ancajas share the PSA’s top honor that will be handed out on Feb. 27 at the Manila Hotel.

The award will be known as the Tapa KingAthlete of the Year plum.

Catacutan enjoins all members to attend the PSA’s initial Forum this year.

Republic of the Philippines COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS Manila

Construction of PDRRMC Emergency Operation Center (EOC) LDH Complex, Lingayen, Pangasinan Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Fund (PR#2017-11-10569)

It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the website of the Procuring Entity, provided that bidders shall pay the fee for the Bidding Documents not later that the submission of their bids.

at Tapa King

the 21-year-old shotmaker will surely be going all-out to nail another win in a bid to bolster his chances for the Order of Merit title heading to the last three legs of the inaugural circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. But Lertvilai, along with Americans John Michael O’Toole and Lexus Keoninh, Indonesian Ian Andrew, Natchanon Varapornkittirat, also of Thailand, Park Jung Sung of Korea and Dutch Guido Van der Valk have area also raring and ready to stop the locals’ romp in the event backed by Custom Clubmakers, Meralco, Champion, Summit Mineral Water, K&G Golf Apparel, BDO, Sharp, KZG, PLDT and M.Y. Shokai Technology Inc.

: : :

Schedule January 4, 2018; 10:00am January 12, 2018 – February 2, 2018 January 22, 2018; 10:00am February 2, 2018; 10:00 am

Nicole Abelar and Mikha Fortuna deliver the lone point for the embattled Team Phl in best ball.

Using armored land, water or air craft (Sec. 261 (r), OEC) . (Note: prohibition includes the day before election and election day) .

Project No. 1

BAC Activities 1. Pre-Procurement Conference 2. Issuance of Bid Documents 3. Pre-Bid Conference 4. Opening of Bids

Saso and Constantino routed Thais Prampun Kultida and Pimkwan Chookaew. 6&5.

Indonesian Michela Tjan, Shannon Tan of Singapore and Thai Onkanok Soisuwan saved the day for Team SEA with a 2-1 escape over Annyka Cayabyab, Laurea Duque and Sofia Chabon.

Despite five points behind, Team Phl co-captain Norman Sto. Domingo remains confident of his wards chances but stresses the need for the hosts to come up with a strong start in today’s deciding singles.

“With the momentum slightly on our side on our good showing this afternoon [yesterday], I think we have a good chance but we need a strong start tomorrow [today],” said Domingo.

PGT Asia resumes at Eagle Ridge today PSA Forum

INVITATION to BID The Province of Pangasinan, through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), invites suppliers/ manufacturers/distributors/contractors to bid for the project/s described hereunder:

A7

UBAO, Pampanga—Team Philippines finally found its stride and struck back in alternate shot format, coming away with a 4-1 triumph to negate Team Southeast Asia’s romp in best ball in the second day of the Pradera Verde Ladies Challenge 2 at the Pradera Golf and Country Club here yesterday.

March 15, 2018 (THU) to June 13, 2018 (WED)

Website@biddingandawards.pangasinan gov.ph, E-mail address: bacpangasinan@yahoo.com

Name of Project Location Source of Fund Approved Budget for the Contract Contract Duration

Sports

Team SEA keeps lead

February 13, 2018 (TUE)

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CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2018 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

May 4, 2018 (FRI) to May 12, 2018 (SAT)

CAMPAIGN PERIOD (Sec. 7, R.A. 6679)

Removing, destroying, obliterating, defacing, tampering or preventing distribution of lawful election propaganda.(Sec. 83, OEC).

Holding of barangay assemblies and Making any donation or gift in cash or in kind. (Sec. 104, candidates’ fora. (Sec. 47,OEC) OEC).

(Note: prohibition includes the day before election and election day).

Appointing or using special policemen, special/ confidential agents or the like.

(Sec. 261 (m), OEC). (Note: prohibition includes the day before election and election day).

Holding of fairs, cockfights, boxing, horse races or similar sports (Sec. 261 (dd), (3), OEC).

June 13,2018 (WED)

Last day to file Statements of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) (Sec. 14, R.A. 7166).

The Education and Information Department shall disseminate copies of this Resolution, and shall cause its publication · in two daily newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.

This Resolution shall take effect on the seventh (7th) day after its publication in two (2) daily newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines .

SO ORDERED. CHRISTIAN ROBERT S. LIM Acting Chairman

LUIE TITO F. GUIA Commissioner

AL A. PARRENO Commissioner

MA. ROWENA AMELIA V. GUANZON Commissioner

ARTHUR D. LIM Commissioner

SHERIFF M. ABAS Commissioner (MS-JAN. 17, 2018)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

So, Karjakin play to a draw

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

A8

By Peter Atencio

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2018

Sports Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) dunks against the Cleveland Cavaliers counterpart LeBron James on January 15 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. AFP

RUSSIAN grandmaster Sergey Karjakin played an accurate defensive game against Filipino GM Wesley So to force a draw in 46 moves last Monday in the third round of the 2018 Tata Steel Chess Tournament.

So could not find a winning line against Karjakin to settle for his third draw which put him in a four-way tie for third place with 1.5 points.

“Very difficult to get into good fighting position. Very scientific. It went to the endgame, that’s what happened,” said So in an online interview with Chess Base.com.

Playing a Queen’s Gambit Declined, So lost a knight in an exchange of pieces in the 31st move and Karjakin managed to slip his bishop and rook to the bank rank afterwards.

All eyes were on Indian GM Viswanathan Anand with his 41-move

Durant powers Warriors past Cavaliers, 118-108 L

OS ANGELES—Kevin Durant scored 32 points as the Golden State Warriors overpowered the Cleveland Cavaliers with a late rally to score a 118-108 win in a pulsating clash between the two NBA arch-rivals on Monday.

Durant added seven assists and pulled down four rebounds as the Warriors completed back-to-back wins over the Cavs following their victory in the Christmas Day meeting.

LeBron James and Cleveland had gone into the game at the Quicken Loans Arena determined to halt a three-game losing streak by beating the Warriors, who they have faced in the last three editions of the NBA Finals.

The Cavs had got off to a

flying start, jumping out to a seven-point lead late in the first quarter before the Warriors clawed it back to 35-37.

The Cavaliers, however, were again on top in the second quarter, building a 64-57 lead as the halftime buzzer sounded.

But the Warriors came back with renewed vigor after the break, and with Durant and Steph Curry finding their range, were back into the contest.

Elsewhere, a packed program

to mark the Martin Luther King Jr holiday saw the Toronto Raptors beaten by the Philadelphia 76ers (117-111).

The Sixers’ Ben Simmons and Toronto’s Kyle Lowry were both ejected in the closing seconds of an ill-tempered clash.

Joel Embiid starred for Philadelphia with 34 points and 11 rebounds as the Sixers improved to 20-20.

In Washington, Giannis Antetokounmpo posted 27 points and 20 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Wizards 104-95.

In Atlanta, the Hawks (12-31) scored an upset over the San Antonio Spurs (29-16) to run out 102-99 victors. LaMarcus Al-

dridge scored 25 points for the visiting Spurs, but was outshone

by Atlanta’s Dennis Schroder who topscored with 26 points.

The Oklahoma City Thunder produced the comeback of the night in their game against the Sacramento Kings, overturning a 15-point deficit to win 95-88.

Russell Westbrook just missed out on a triple-double, finishing with 19 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists. The Thunder improved to 24-20 with the victory.

The Warriors outscored Cleveland by 36-27 in the third quarter, edging into a six-point lead at 91-85 when Durant sunk a 29-foot three-point jumper.

The Warriors led 93-91 head-

ing into the fourth, and with Cleveland starting to tire, the NBA champions turned the screw.

A Draymond Green layup put the Warriors 10 points clear at 105-95 with 5min 44sec on the clock and the visitors duly stretched further clear when Nick Young made a 21-foot jump shot to make it 113-99.

Durant completed a fine night’s work with a sublime 26foot three-pointer to extend the Warriors lead at 116-104.

While Durant led the scoring, Curry finished with 23 points and added eight assists with four rebounds. Draymond Green (11) and Klay Thompson (17) also made double figures. AFP

Sharapova, Djokovic back in business MELBOURNE, Australia— Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka sailed through injury tests at the Australian Open on Tuesday with focused former champion Maria Sharapova also successfully getting back to business after her drug ban.

Twelve-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic has been out of action for six months with an elbow injury, but you wouldn’t have known it in his 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 demolition of American Donald Young.

Former Melbourne champion Wawrinka also returned from half a year on the sidelines after knee surgery, having only decided he was fit to play at the weekend.

With the temperatures heating up, he was pushed to four sets by Ricardas Berankis before prevailing 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7/2) in a tough workout he said was “proud” to come through.

Djokovic, gunning for a seventh Australian Open title, was

also glad to be back, having missed the competitive edge.

“I wanted to start with the right intensity, which I have,” he told the cheering crowd afterwards.

“I played perfect tennis in the first couple of sets and Donald came back in the third set.”

World number one Simona Halep booked her place in round two, avoiding the first round exit that befell her in the past two years. But she made a meal of it against local hope Destanee Aiava.

Both the Romanian and her 17-year-old wildcard opponent needed on-court medical attention before the top seed ran out a battling 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 winner.

Sharapova, still working her way back from a 15-month ban for taking the performance-enhancing substance meldonium in Australia in 2016, showed glimpses of the tennis that made her a five-time major winner.

The 2008 Melbourne Park champion, now ranked 48, beat Germany’s Tatjana Maria 6-1,

6-4 in her first Melbourne match in two years.

“I cherish these moments. I love it here,” said the Russian, who returned from her drugs ban in April last year.

“It’s been a couple of years and I wanted it to be really meaningful to me.”

Fellow former world number one Angelique Kerber, who won the tournament in 2016, was also impressive in dismissing AnnaLena Friedsam 6-0, 6-4.

“2017, I have said goodbye already, I am not looking back,” she said after a forgettable last season that saw her relinquish the number one spot and slide down the rankings.

She is now on a 10-match win streak after a perfect early season.

Sixth seed Karolina Pliskova and eighth seed Caroline Garcia also progressed, in contrast to the other side of the draw that saw Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens and Coco Vandeweghe crash out on Monday. AFP

TNT KaTropa point guard Jayson Castro (left) protects the basketball against a Blackwater Elite defender. PBA

STREAKING teams Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters and Blackwater Elite shoot for a share of second place when they take on separate perennial playoff contenders in the 2018 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup. The Elite (2 wins, 1 loss) certainly wants to continue making noise and keep its streak going when it faces an acid test in TNT KaTropa (1-2) at 7 p.m. tonight at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in an interesting tussle.

In the opening game at 4:30 p.m., the Fuel Masters (2-1) also aim on sustaining their winning run when

CSB battles Arellano in deciding match COLLEGE of St. Benilde outscored Arellano Game today (Jan. 17) (Rizal Memorial pitch) University in a penalty 6 p.m.- AU vs CSB (srs) shootout and escaped with a 4-3 (1-1) victory to send the best-of-three series to one final match in the 93rd NCAA senior football tournament at the Rizal Memorial pitch.

Major Dean Ebarle headed home the equalizing goal off a Carmelo Vicente Genco cross in the second half and then Moiselle Angelo Alforque blasted in the title-clinching strike after AU’s Patrick John Bernarte’s attempt sailed way over the bar from a 3-3 deadlock in the shootout to snatch the win that knotted the series at one apiece.

CSB and AU face each other one last time at 6 p.m. tonight.

Energized by the return of national under-23 standout Roberto Corsame, Jr. from a Game One suspension, the Chiefs, who took the series opener, 3-2, Friday, seized the early lead when Cyrus Sanquilos drilled in a goal on the seventh minute.

But AU looked spent in the second half as CSB came out of halftime the aggressor that resulted to the Ebarle equalizer on the 61st.

After AU’s Cymun Sanquilos, Charles Gamutan and Corsame and CSB’s Earl Real Laguerta, Vincent Erik Lovitos and Renz Joseph Tulayba traded goals, Bernarte missed his, paving the way for Alforque to seal the win.

“I told the players at halftime that if we score the equalizer in the second half, we’ll win this.

And we did,” said CSB coach Marlon Maro.

Cyrus Sanquilos turned hero to goat when he also missed his attempt in the shootout.

Unbeaten Lady Chiefs stop JRU

Russia’s Maria Sharapova hits a return against Germany’s Tatjana Maria during their women’s singles first round match on day two of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne. AFP

Phoenix, Blackwater try to extend winning runs

By Jeric Lopez

triumph over Fabiano Caruana in their Petrov Defense encounter.

Anand pulled even with Anish Giri, who drew with Peter Svidler in 21 moves of a Four Knights Opening.

Caruana challenged Anand with a b4 pawn capture on the 28th. But Anand found counter plays which resulted after the black-playing Caruana’s bad f5 pawn push.

Anand was able to maneuver his queen for an attack. He put his queen and bishop to the kingside back rank.

World champion Magnus Carlsen drew with Wei Yi in 46 moves of a Catalan to move up to second spot with two points.

He shares second with Gawain Jones and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.

Jones drew with Baskaran Adhiban in 55 moves of a French Defense while Mamedyarov halved his point with Maxim Matlakov in 25 moves of a Queen’s Gambit Declined.

they go toe-to-toe with the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (1-2).

Should they win against their respective foes, Blackwater and Phoenix will move up into a second place tie with the Magnolia Hotshots (3-1).

Flaunting its evident improvement, Blackwater posted one of its best wins in franchise history.

The Elite dominated Barangay Ginebra before cruising to a 94-77 drubbing last Friday in a stunning display for its second straight win.

Blackwater continued to bank on the rising core of Mike DiGregorio, Poy Erram, Allein Maliksi and Mac Belo as the four continue to shine.

“We’re coming off a great win

and we hope we can keep our level of play,” said Elite coach Leo Isaac. “We envisioned to compete and possibly beat even the usual contenders and we believe we can continue to have a good chance against them.”

On the other hand, the Tropang Texters have lost their last outing against defending champion San Miguel, 76-88, last Saturday and they are looking to bounce back against the Elite.

Like Blackwater, Phoenix has been a team on the rise as of late.

After losing their first game, the Fuelmasters found their groove and have racked up two wins in a row. They beat NLEX, 102-95, last week.

DEFENDING champion Arellano University turned back upset-conscious Jose Rizal, 25-11, 2225, 25-18, 25-16, to remain unscathed and on top in the women’s division of the 93rd NCAA volleyball tournament at the Filoil Arena in San Juan City.

Regine Ann Arocha and Jovielyn Grace Prado powered their way to 20 and 17 points, respectively, while skipper Mary Ann Esquerra, Necole Ebuen and Andrea Marzan chipped in 12, 11 and 10 hits to help lift the Chiefs to their fourth straight victory and the solo lead.

“I’m happy that we won but I’m still concerned on some issues like our reception,” said AU coach Obet Javier in Filipino.

Javier said he hopes to extend their streak and eventually sweep the single-round elimination as they tackle Lyceum of the Philippines University next on Sunday.

“We’re targeting it (sweep) but we’d also like to take it one game at a time starting with LPU,” he said.

Premier Volleyball League veteran Shola Alvarez paced her team with 19 points but she couldn’t match the Lady Chiefs’ firepower as the Lady Bombers fell to their second defeat in as many wins.

AU’s men’s team likewise kept its unbeaten streak going as it nailed win No. 4 at the expense of JRU, 25-18, 21-25, 25-14, 25-22.

The Bombers fell to their fourth loss in row.

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

P0 M+ P0 M

SM Prime issuing P20-b bonds to fund expansion

B2

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2018

B1

GSIS investing $800m overseas

By Julito G. Rada

IN BRIEF

S

TATE-RUN pension fund Government Service Insurance System plans to invest $800 million overseas this year as a part of the multi-asset strategy to increase its funds, a top executive said Tuesday.

DBP to boost 2018 lending social services

STATE-OWNED Development Bank of the Philippines will expand lending activities for social services that cover health care, education, housing and community development this year, its top official said Tuesday.

DBP president and chief executive officer Cecilia Borromeo said the bank was gearing up to support more initiatives that would enhance the delivery of basic social services across the archipelago.

“We’re looking to build more schools and hospitals this year,” Borromeo said. “This is part of our continuing commitment to support government’s efforts to improve social services to our citizens especially in the countryside.”

DBP is the eighth largest bank in the country with assets of P557.84 billion as of the end of the end third quarter of 2017. At least 16 percent, or about P33 billion of the bank’s portfolio, is devoted to social services.

BFAR clears 2 Western Samar bays of red tide

THE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources said Tuesday the Maqueda and Villareal Bays in Western Samar are now free of the toxic red tide, based on the latest laboratory results conducted by the government and local government units.

But the ban still stays for shellfishes collected at IrongIrong Bay in Western Samar; Matarinao Bay in Eastern Samar; coastal waters of Leyte and Carigara Bay in Leyte; Lianga Bay in Surigao del Sur; Honda Bay, Puerto Princesa City in Palawan; coastal waters of Mandaon in Masbate; and coastal waters of Bataan (Mariveles, Limay, Orion, Pilar, Balanga, Orani, Abucay and Samal).

Shellfishes in the areas remain positive for paralytic shellfish poison beyond the regulatory limit.

All types of shellfish and shrimp fry gathered from the areas are not safe for human consumption, but all types of fish, squids, shrimps and crabs are still safe to eat provided they are washed thoroughly and the internal organs removed before cooking.

Othel V. Campos

New Skyway toll plaza open January 26

SKYWAY O&M Corp., operator of the Skyway System, is set to open January 26 its newly-completed runway toll plaza in the northbound section of the elevated Skyway, near the NAIA Airport on-ramp.

The new toll plaza, which consists of three lanes dedicated to the faster electronic toll collection (ETC) system and four cash lanes—with up to five tellers per lane dedicated to cash payments—is designed to better handle increased traffic volume by facilitating faster toll collection.

“At Skyway, traffic volume is a reality we all have to contend with. But for our part, we continue to look for ways to manage traffic better,” Ramon Ang, president of San Miguel Corp,, parent unit of Skyway O&M, said.

Darwin G. Amojelar

DTI implements directive to ease building permits

THE Department of Trade and Industry recently implemented a joint memorandum circular directing local government units to streamline the issuance of building permits and certificates of occupancy.

Joint Memorandum Circular 2018-01, which was issued by the Public Works, Interior and Local Government, Information and Communications Technology and Trade Departments, sets service standards for processing simple applications for construction-related permits to support the Build Build Build infrastructure program of the government.

The circular covers single dwelling residential buildings of not more than three floors, commercial buildings of not over two storys, renovation within a mall with issued building permits and warehouses storing non-hazardous substances.

Local government units were advised to set up a processing system where applicants follow a four-step procedure in securing building permits. Othel V. Campos

LRT DRINKING FOUNTAINS. Light Rail Transit Line 1 operator Light Rail Manila Corp. and Maynilad Water Services Inc. inaugurate five additional drinking fountains to bring the total to ten units across ten LRT-1 stations. Leading the inauguration are (from left) Maynilad central district head Bernard Padilla, Maynilad president and chief executive Ramoncito Fernandez, LRMC president and chief executive Juan Alfonso and LRMC chief operating officer Rodolfo Chansuyco.

DoF submits 2nd tax reform package to Congress THE Department of Finance said Tuesday it formally submitted to the House of Representatives this week the second package of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program that aims to reduce the corporate income tax rates and modernize the fiscal incentives granted to investors.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III earlier committed to submit the second package through the Office of the Speaker upon the resumption on Jan. 15 of the second regular session of Congress.

The Constitution provides that all revenue measures should emanate from the House of Representatives.

Package 1 of the CTRP, also known as the Tax Reform for Acceleration and In-

clusion Act, was signed into law by President Duterte on Dec. 19. It reduced the personal income tax rates―the first time that the government did so by law―while raising additional revenues for infrastructure and social services through the repeal of several non-essential exemptions to the value-added tax; adjustments in the excise tax rates for fuel, coal and automobiles; and a tax on sugarsweetened beverages.

The CTRP’s Package 2, which the DoF designed to be revenue-neutral, proposes to gradually reduce the corporate income tax rate from 30 percent to 25 percent, while modernizing incentives for companies to make these “performancebased, targeted, time-

bound, and transparent.”

Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua said that under the second tax reform package, the government would ensure that incentives granted to businesses would generate jobs, stimulate the economy in the countryside and promote research and development; contain sunset provisions so that tax perks would not last forever; and are reported so the government can determine the magnitude of their costs and benefits to the economy.

He said incentives enjoyed mostly by big businesses such as income tax holidays and other perks with no time limits needed to be corrected as they were costing the government

over P300 billion annually in foregone revenues.

Chua, citing 2015 data, said income tax holidays and special rates accounted for P86.25 billion of the revenue losses, while custom duty exemptions accounted for P18.4 billion.

Exemptions from paying value added tax on imports led to P159.82 billion in foregone revenues; and local VAT, P36.96 billion, although a part of this tax would eventually be refunded because these were imposed on exporters.

He said these incentives totaling P301.22 billion did not include exemptions from the payment of local business taxes and the estimates on tax leakages.

Julito G. Rada

GSIS president and general manager Jesus Clint Aranas said the investment overseas would depend on “global market behaviors.”

“We will ‘test the waters’ with the $800-million investments overseas but we have to understand the global market,” Aranas said in a news briefing at the GSIS headquarters in Pasay City.

GSIS senior vice president Gracita Bocanegra said around 10 percent of GSIS’ total assets were currently invested abroad.

Aranas said the fund was not putting all its money in the global markets as it would also be a financier or equity partner under the “Build, Build, Build’ program of the Duterte administration.

“We will look for the right partners for infra projects,” Aranas said, adding that the returns on investments would eventually benefit the beneficiaries.

GSIS’ total assets increased 8 percent year-onyear in the first 11 months of 2018 to P1.09 trillion.

Aranas said the growth was driven by income from financial assets, which doubled to P52.12 billion on the back of the robust performance of financial markets.

Revenues earned from insurance grew 11.2 percent year-on-year, beefed up by increased social insurance contributions as the number of contributing members rose to 1,707,795 as of November 2017.

GSIS paid more than P85 billion in social insurance claims and benefits in January to November

Third telco set to pay P3b to PLDT for 3G frequency

ADB lends $105m to support PH infra deals

By Darwin G. Amojelar THE National Telecommunications Commission said Tuesday it will assign all available mobile frequencies, including the third-generation frequency surrendered

by PLDT Inc., to the country’s third major telecom player.

NTC deputy commissioner Edgard Cabarios said in an interview the agency was now preparing the list of mobile frequencies that would be assigned to the third telecom operator.

Cabarios said the 3G frequency surrendered by PLDT in particular would be assigned to the new player, but the latter must compensate PLDT for the acquisition of the frequency.

He said the NTC and the Department of Information and Communications Technology would prepare rules and regulations on how PLDT should be compensated for the 3G frequency owned by PLDT unit Connectivity Unlimited Resources Enterprises.

Cabarios said the third telco player would likely pay PLDT over P3 billion for the 3G frequency.

“There would be no auction for the other frequencies as directed by DICT,” he said.

Under the policy guidelines for the entry of a new major telco player in the public telecommunication market, the NTC will assign radio frequency bands that are now available for assignment to the third player.

SL AGRITECH DONATION. SL Agritech Corp. donates P2 million worth of Doña Maria rice to soldiers in Marawi City. SLAC chairman Henry Lim Bon Liong (front row, third from right), Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana (fourth from right) and top officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines lead the donation ceremonies.

PSALM prepares to sell more power plants this year to meet obligations

By Alena Mae S. Flores tricity end-users.

POWER Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. said it will sell more assets this year to reduce operational costs and raise funds for debt repayment.

PSALM, which is tasked under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 to manage the assets and liabilities of National Power Corp., said in a statement the move to aggressively pursue the privatization program would benefit the government and the elec-

The privatization agency said it would seek the board’s definitive policy on the privatization of staterun 620-megawatt Malaya Thermal Power Plant in Pililia, Rizal and the 210-megawatt Mindanao Coal-Fired Power Plant in Misamis Oriental.

“The sale of Malaya plant was previously deferred because of the plan of the Department of Energy to convert it into a liquefied natural gas plant. PSALM has yet to receive a final

last year, representing a 13-percent increase from P75.1 billion a year ago.

The amount included disbursements for monthly old-age pension of P7.5 billion covering 316,323 pensioners; survivorship amounting to P65.3 billion for 132,449 pensioners; and life insurance and retirement claims of P616.2 million and P980.2 million, respectively.

Social insurance contributions still exceeded claims and benefits by P7.84 billion.

Income generated from loans went up 3.8 percent to P22.49 billion. Active loan accounts as of November climbed to 1.2 million from 720,342 a year ago.

Data showed that as of Nov. 30, 2017, the pension fund’s assets were 62-percent invested in financial assets, 24 percent in loans to GSIS members, 6 percent in investment properties, 4 percent in cash and 4 percent in property, equipment and other assets.

Aranas said the key challenge for GSIS was to sustain the growth in funds through investment returns, “so we can provide for the benefits of our members and pensioners, as and when they fall due.”

He said while this was becoming more difficult in the current environment of low interest rates in global and domestic fixed income markets, “ I assure our stakeholders that GSIS is well-equipped to meet this challenge given our sound investment policy and capable investment team.”

word from the DoE on the natural gas policy which will be included in the plant’s sale terms of reference,” PSALM said.

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi earlier said he wanted to convert the Malaya diesel power plant into an LNG facility.

“For Mindanao Coal, the sale of which was deferred in 2015, PSALM may further await an appropriate time to offer the plant on the sale block,” PSALM said.

“Reprieved from power outages in recent years, Min-

danao, this time, is currently experiencing oversupply of electricity following the entry of new power plants.

Under this circumstance, PSALM deems that the plant may not attract maximum investment,” the company said.

PSALM said it would continue to manage, trade and sell the energy output of the Unified Leyte Geothermal Power Plant including the 40-MW ‘strip of energy’ under Phinma Energy Corp.’s administration.

PSALM and Phinma Energy recently terminated the

independent power producer administration agreement for the Unified Leyte power plant.

“PSALM may no longer subject the plant to public bidding as its independent power producer contract will be expiring in 2021-2022,” it said.

PSALM said it was also keen on commencing the rehabilitation of the 982-megawatt Agus-Pulangi Hydroelectric Power Plants in Mindanao to extend the facilities’ service life by 30 more years and to increase the plants’ reliability and availability.

THE Asian Development Bank said it extended a $105-million assistance to help improve and speed up the rollout of major infrastructure projects of the Duterte administration.

It said the amount included a $5-million aid and $100-million loan.

Under the $5-million aid, the Department of Transportation proposed that preparation activities for the Tagum-Davao-Digos segment of the Mindanao Rail Project be covered by the ADB grant, while the National Economic and Development Authority aims to tap it to help prepare for the recently-approved Project Facilitation, Monitoring and Innovation Task Force.

Under the $100-million loan, the Philippine government will provide a counterpart fund of $60 million to set up an Infrastructure Preparation and Innovation Facility to support initiatives of the DOTr and the Department of Public Works and Highways in conducting preinvestment activities.

The Infrastructure Preparation and Innovation Facility will include support for feasibility studies, detailed engineering design, preparation of bid documents, due diligence review and other activities that will improve the preparedness of the DOTr and DPWH in implementing public infrastructure projects.

Julito G. Rada

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Business

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2018 extrastory2000@gmail.com

SM Prime issuing P20-b bonds to fund expansion

By Jenniffer B. Austria SM PRIME Holdings Inc. plans to raise P20 billion in fixed rate bonds to fund mall expansion and residential projects.

SM Prime said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission an application for a permit to sell fixed-rate bonds in the amount of P15 billion with an oversubscription option of up to P5 billion and with maturities of five years and seven years.

SM Prime’s latest bond offering is the third of the company’s P60 billion three-year debt securities program approved by the SEC in July 2016.

SM Prime has tapped BDO Capital and Investments Corp., China Bank Capital, BPI Capital Crop., First Metro Investments Corp., PNB Capital and Union Bank as joint underwriters for the offering.

SM Prime plans to open eight malls this year, mostly geared toward the provincial cities, to hits it target 75 malls by the end of 2018.

The malls slated for opening this year are SM Center Imus, SM City Legaspi, SM City Urdaneta, SM City Telabastagan, SM City Ormoc, SM Center Dagupan, SM Moonwalk Parañaque and SM Center Cabuyao.

Stock market advances; Jollibee, Megaworld rise

T

he stock market pared its gains at the close of trading Tuesday on profit-taking, with investors positioning ahead of the release of fourth-quarter earnings reports and the full 2017 data on the gross domestic product next week.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index added 7.41 points, 0.08 percent, to 8,865.13 on a value turnover of P7.4 billion. The PSEi climbed to an intraday trading high of 8,969.18 before retreating to the day’s low at the close.

Jollibee Foods Corp.,

the biggest fastfood chain advanced 5.2 percent to P277.60, while Megaworld Corp., the largest lessor of offices spaces, rallied 2.5 percent to P5.

PLDT Inc., the biggest telecommunications firm, rose 2.4 percent to P1,432, but conglomerate Ayala Corp. fell 3

percent to P1,052.

The rest off Asian markets mostly rose again Tuesday with Hong Kong resuming a rally towards its record high while the dollar struggled to recover from further losses against major peers.

While there were few leads from Wall Street owing to a holiday, investors continued to push into equity markets in Asia to maintain a healthy start to 2018, with Hong Kong skirting its all-time high.

The Hang Seng Index sank

on Monday for the first time this year as a record-breaking 14-day surge came to an end on profit-taking.

However, the optimism running through global markets, combined with a flood of cash from mainland Chinese investors, has fired up buying in the financial hub.

In afternoon trade the HSI was up 1.4 percent— putting it less than 200 points short of its October 2007 peak—while Tokyo climbed one percent to a more than 26-year high.

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW TUESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2017

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 3.31 166,000 59.95 11,340 115.3 1,656,010 3.91 104,000 161 2,341,690 1.99 1,038,000 37 608,000 15.68 1,700 31 2,301,700 9.86 400 0.7 11,000 1.7 77,000 975 110 0.58 417,000 107 2,592,720 1.35 18,616,000 12.8 42,500 25.5 500 56.9 562,430 242 2,580 100.2 1,010 88.5 5,350 56.8 286,750 255 823,620 1,925 195 90 77,490 1.29 1,000

540,460 678,959 192,413,330 406,510 380,539,082 2,062,320 22,510,560 26,656 70,653,925 3,944 7,700 131,060 107,250 238,720 277,245,865 23,494,540 543,804 12,510 32,074,597.50 624,640 101,756 473,975 16,323,669.50 210,314,338 376,950 7,018,502.50 1,290

6,600 606,005.50 -51,550,468 -213,172,098 11,740 -690,995 7,840 523,890 7,700 8,550 9,750 7,980.00 -36,804,759 13,040 7,668 -7,876,196 8,392 -3,075,269 73,291,742 9,700 2,336,437 -

40.85 10.64 0.62 1.32 16.98 0.214 120 5.16 15.62 158 53.8 19.22 62 58.65 83 1.9 5.45 10.5 11.38 15.34 12.84 7.85 5.59 1.77 15.84 62.9 29 9.98 17.9 2.01 263.8 52.05 4.08 3.11 19.26 28.25 18.06 18.52 330 0.197 8.91 2.22 4.89 9.2 5.04 8.3 1.77 12.1 63.8 6.3 532 4.8 2.05 4.1 1.78 14.8 5.45 0.132 1.15 164.2 2.77 2.04 23.5 0.8

INDUSTRIAL 41 2,127,400 10.8 1,868,700 0.62 238,000 1.32 182,000 17 15,800 0.214 100,000 130 1,230 5.22 2,347,500 15.78 804,900 175.9 380 53.95 495,900 19.22 11,900 62 1,279,400 58.65 1,300 83 130 1.93 46,000 5.58 21,100 10.82 12,500 11.9 4,279,900 15.38 1,086,600 13 2,065,700 7.92 1,397,600 5.75 3,846,900 1.77 4,000 15.9 1,628,400 63.1 139,580 30 1,564,100 9.99 399,500 18 726,400 2.03 1,669,000 277.6 1,795,160 60 11,300 4.1 327,000 3.11 8,000 19.26 400 28.65 589,500 18.12 1,360,100 19.36 6,857,900 336.8 287,470 0.2 330,000 9.29 209,700 2.25 2,428,000 4.9 258,400 9.26 2,508,100 5.46 219,900 8.39 5,200 1.79 2,008,000 12.28 572,700 64.05 408,000 6.35 113,200 532 76,330 4.82 117,000 2.05 5,000 4.1 15,000 1.81 91,000 15.3 3,463,300 5.48 123,900 0.133 1,260,000 1.16 53,000 166 1,002,410 2.8 85,000 2.1 18,009,000 23.5 1,300 0.8 708,000

87,149,130 20,139,790 149,190 240,670 269,612 21,480 150,537 12,246,402 12,750,118 60,325 26,920,677 231,250 79,322,806.50 76,252.50 10,790 88,000 116,897 132,726 50,599,720 16,724,874 26,824,864 11,080,836 21,787,330 7,080 25,880,022 8,797,208.50 47,103,175 3,990,799 13,065,964 3,427,750 494,300,384 672,966.50 1,340,520 25,390 7,947 16,868,525 24,618,890 130,586,784 96,528,046 65,150 1,951,655 5,505,990 1,270,802 23,266,804 1,149,802 43,412 3,598,680 6,968,878 26,109,409 713,417 41,874,485 562,240 10,250 61,740 164,650 52,430,308 678,688 168,160 61,450 166,560,958 238,430 37,622,730 31,040 567,620

8,252,565 -1,225,506 7,560 18,660 12,140 8,600 1,089,520 5,143,696 -750,576.50 7,800 -29,004,220 830 -13,370 7,742 10,542 33,714,572 1,075,296 -7,416,116 2,383,710 6,839,794 7,080 10,180,846 2,646,348.50 -1,347,875 -3,720,162 -8,922,778 8,360 320,858,914 7,572.50 8,260 9,840 -1,998,450 5,491,032 11,968,796 74,711,164 61,150 568,510.00 7,500 9,343,080.00 7,650.00 1,843,040 7,404 9,898,370 7,572.00 -15,039,600 48,100 8,200 -32,420 9,963,562 7,700 5,400 24,873,943 28,370 8,843,040 7,500 8,000

0.31 77.25 16 0.99 7.05 0.44 0.5 1,091 1,474 7.72 15.06 7.65 5.6 0.19 1,439 7.8 80 5.4 5.28 0.7 5.77 22.1 0.35 6.72 3.29 0.045 1.4 2.06 2.63 132 2.58 1,065 0.86 1.76 180.1 286 0.225 0.182 0.189

0.305 74.95 15.86 0.99 6.99 0.39 0.31 1,052 1,474 7.6 14.82 7.6 5.6 0.19 1,420 7.7 76.2 5 5.28 0.68 5.68 21.65 0.325 6.56 3.25 0.044 1.2 2.05 2.5 131 2.53 1,030 0.85 1.67 175.1 281 0.22 0.182 0.189

HOLDING FIRMS 0.31 50,000 75 2,056,760 15.98 12,894,700 0.99 34,000 6.99 60,700 0.395 17,460,000 0.445 5,048,000 1,052 166,235 1,474 5 7.64 609,600 14.82 4,505,000 7.65 167,500 5.6 2,700 0.19 100,000 1,435 154,025 7.8 7,600 76.2 1,982,980 5 23,000 5.28 100 0.69 156,000 5.68 910,700 21.85 7,808,200 0.34 80,000 6.63 20,405,100 3.25 32,000 0.044 6,200,000 1.28 1,001,000 2.06 480,000 2.5 34,000 131.1 138,100 2.53 30,000 1,049 244,280 0.85 17,000 1.76 645,000 175.1 350 286 5,660 0.225 60,000 0.182 50,000 0.189 400,000

15,350 155,679,969 205,682,104 33,660 424,311 7,175,250 2,307,605 177,349,435 7,370 4,664,067 67,199,676 1,278,105 15,120 19,000 220,329,580 59,080 153,442,856.50 117,431 528 106,730 5,192,157 170,728,165 26,700 135,832,534 104,540 275,400 1,323,690 987,760 85,580 18,139,783 76,100 257,140,050 14,540 1,111,890 62,671 1,613,106 13,450 9,100 75,600

9,150 123,756,560.50 -51,742,908 7,920 64,190 -11,649,690 7,370 2,485,548 5,257,110 15,120.00 36,337,875 7,800 -28,082,299.50 7,560 7,480 2,524,772 27,680,525 6,500 58,075,195 6,580 8,220 -28,840 -69,800 7,651,018 7,590.00 14,380,620 7,740 8,800 7,204 39,914 -

6.3 1.07 13.36 2.3 0.98 45.5 3.86 4.97 5.77 6.09 0.48 1.14 1.16 0.218 0.45 41.4 0.65 1.94 1.38 0.8 4.8

6.1 1.03 12.6 2.19 0.93 44.8 3.8 4.85 5.73 6.09 0.475 1.12 1.13 0.216 0.445 39.95 0.65 1.87 1.36 0.78 4.8

4,201,065 5,215,100 526,890 767,830 4,940,880 424,037,910 3,025,500 2,381,090 430,495 7,917 788,300 32,820 41,300 718,730 182,550 10,237,075 130,650 29,279,980 5,899,260 142,200 9,600

-176,792 -7,880 7,764 8,800 7,840 -21,322,005 426,710 576,100 306,387.00 7,917 -38,400 545,000 9,000 2,552,330 -130,000 5,961,360 19,180 7,800 9,600

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 SUN LIFE UNION BANK VANTAGE

3.3 59.85 116.5 3.92 165 1.92 37.25 15.68 30.7 9.86 0.7 1.71 975 0.57 107 1.12 12.78 24.9 58 243 104.9 89 57 258.8 1,940 91 1.29

3.31 59.95 118.3 3.92 165 2.05 37.3 15.68 31.35 9.86 0.7 1.71 975 0.59 107.7 1.36 12.8 25.5 58 243 104.9 89 57.2 258.8 1,940 92 1.29

3.24 59.5 115.3 3.9 161 1.92 36.8 15.68 30.25 9.86 0.7 1.7 975 0.57 106.2 1.1 12.42 24.9 56.75 242 100.2 88.5 56.1 254 1,925 90 1.29

ABOITIZ POWER AGRINURTURE ALLIANCE SELECT ALSONS CONS ASIABEST GROUP BASIC ENERGY BOGO MEDELLIN CEMEX HLDG CENTURY FOOD CHEMPHIL CIRTEK HLDG CNTRL AZUCARERA CONCEPCION CONCRETE A CONCRETE B 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 MACAY HLDG 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 10.72 0.64 1.35 17.48 0.216 123 5.3 15.8 158 53.85 19.5 62.05 58.7 83 1.91 5.53 10.84 11.5 15.48 12.9 7.9 5.6 1.77 15.84 63 29 10 17.92 2.12 263.8 58.25 4.13 3.28 20.45 28.8 18.1 18.52 333.6 0.198 9.34 2.25 5 9.2 5.12 8.3 1.79 12.34 64.2 6.31 557 4.8 2.05 4.12 1.8 15.36 5.5 0.132 1.15 164.2 2.85 2.04 25 0.8

41.2 10.94 0.64 1.35 17.48 0.216 130 5.33 16.2 175.9 55 19.5 62.05 58.7 83 1.93 5.59 11 11.98 15.5 13.06 8 5.75 1.77 15.94 63.2 30.8 10 18.1 2.12 278 60 4.13 3.28 20.5 28.95 18.14 19.4 336.8 0.2 9.35 2.29 5 9.34 5.46 8.39 1.8 12.4 64.2 6.35 573 4.82 2.05 4.12 1.85 15.44 5.55 0.135 1.16 168 2.85 2.12 25 0.81

ABACORE CAPITAL ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL ANGLO PHIL HLDG ANSCOR ATN HLDG A ATN HLDG B AYALA CORP BHI HLDG COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV FJ PRINCE B FORUM PACIFIC GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT JOLLIVILLE HLDG KEPPEL HLDG A 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 SOC RESOURCES SOLID GROUP SYNERGY GRID TOP FRONTIER UNIOIL HLDG WELLEX INDUS ZEUS HLDG

0.305 75.5 15.92 0.99 7.05 0.44 0.5 1,085 1,474 7.65 15.06 7.65 5.6 0.19 1,437 7.8 78 5.4 5.28 0.69 5.75 21.9 0.325 6.56 3.29 0.044 1.37 2.06 2.63 132 2.58 1,049 0.86 1.76 180.1 282 0.22 0.182 0.189

8990 HLDG A BROWN ANCHOR LAND ARANETA PROP ARTHALAND CORP AYALA LAND BELLE CORP CEB LANDMASTERS CEBU HLDG CEBU PROP B CENTURY PROP CITY AND LAND CITYLAND DEVT CROWN EQUITIES CYBER BAY DOUBLEDRAGON EMPIRE EAST FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE IRC PROP KEPPEL PROP

6.12 1.07 12.94 2.22 0.98 44.8 3.8 4.95 5.77 6.09 0.475 1.12 1.13 0.217 0.45 40.45 0.65 1.88 1.37 0.8 4.8

VOLUME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED PHIL ESTATES PHIL REALTY PRIMEX CORP PTFC REDEV CORP ROBINSONS LAND ROCKWELL SHANG PROP SM PRIME HLDG STA LUCIA LAND STARMALLS SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND

4.91 0.32 0.36 0.58 4.95 40.4 21.3 2.11 3.2 39.4 1.02 9.39 0.83 5.95

5.04 0.335 0.365 0.6 4.95 40.4 21.3 2.11 3.2 39.65 1.05 9.5 0.85 5.95

4.89 0.32 0.355 0.58 4.77 34.95 21.15 2.07 3.19 39.3 1.02 8.58 0.83 5.92

5 0.325 0.36 0.6 4.77 34.95 21.2 2.08 3.2 39.3 1.04 8.62 0.83 5.95

47,959,000 63,440,000 1,010,000 3,982,000 617,000 300 3,154,000 427,000 1,435,000 7,642,700 124,000 18,500 183,000 3,145,300

239,645,520 20,785,200 364,100 2,347,090 2,970,990 11,355 66,865,350 888,820 4,591,460 301,456,530 128,020 172,815 152,350 18,646,080

-18,592,360 -3,131,750 7,200 189,600 -40,972,660 8,320 -22,300 84,424,960 -17,100 -8,300 -13,654,067

2GO GROUP ABS CBN ACESITE HOTEL APC GROUP APOLLO GLOBAL ASIAN TERMINALS BERJAYA BLOOMBERRY BOULEVARD HLDG CEBU AIR CENTRO ESCOLAR CHELSEA DFNN INC DISCOVERY WORLD EASYCALL FAR EASTERN U 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 PAL HLDG PAXYS PHIL RACING 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

22.45 34.75 1.4 0.45 0.044 11.52 5.05 11.16 0.07 99.65 9.03 8.4 7.1 2.34 40 999.5 1,711 6 21.9 12 4.26 2.63 111.8 14.48 8.34 0.14 1.39 3.15 15.5 3.89 1.17 21 0.54 4.2 8.34 3.67 19 2.95 10.9 11.2 2.89 8.9 108.9 7.35 1,410 1.3 0.375 54 98.1 5.8 3.14 1.55 3.8 4.09 0.99 8.75

22.5 34.75 1.4 0.45 0.046 11.98 5.05 11.46 0.07 99.95 9.03 8.42 7.1 2.34 49.9 999.5 1,740 6.01 21.9 12 4.46 2.63 114 14.48 8.35 0.142 1.46 3.38 15.5 4.12 1.17 22.1 0.54 4.29 8.46 3.68 19 2.95 10.9 11.56 2.9 8.9 109 7.36 1,432 1.3 0.375 54.15 101.5 5.8 3.19 1.57 3.9 4.09 1 9.04

21.2 34.4 1.4 0.445 0.044 11.52 5.04 11.1 0.069 99.55 8.81 8.36 7.1 2.15 37.5 990 1,711 5.97 21 11.16 4.2 2.63 109.2 13.68 8.33 0.14 1.38 3.15 15.5 3.89 1.12 20.85 0.54 4.13 8.08 3.66 18.4 2.83 10.88 11.2 2.85 8.9 108.9 7.1 1,398 1.28 0.375 53.7 98.1 5.6 3.1 1.54 3.2 4.01 0.97 8.68

SERVICES 21.5 34.4 1.4 0.445 0.046 11.8 5.04 11.3 0.07 99.95 8.81 8.38 7.1 2.29 42 990 1,738 5.99 21.85 11.16 4.42 2.63 109.2 13.82 8.35 0.141 1.42 3.34 15.5 3.99 1.13 22 0.54 4.15 8.25 3.66 18.4 2.86 10.88 11.3 2.85 8.9 108.9 7.21 1,432 1.29 0.375 53.75 101.5 5.72 3.15 1.54 3.2 4.01 0.99 9

268,300 49,700 17,000 290,000 15,800,000 53,600 7,100 4,003,900 5,840,000 250,870 13,200 404,800 52,300 71,000 2,381,900 40 35,550 173,200 65,200 2,300 2,139,000 9,000 1,472,820 3,300 105,100 3,480,000 203,000 185,000 200 2,111,000 1,129,000 3,636,000 28,000 394,000 8,164,500 682,000 1,400 4,260,000 3,800 24,300 41,000 900 3,080 720,700 149,545 291,000 20,000 2,083,610 469,060 27,400 614,000 1,130,000 20,804,000 282,000 4,837,000 13,056,000

5,828,425 1,715,890 23,800 129,900 709,300 620,156 35,850 44,881,398 405,020 25,021,789 116,604 3,392,142 371,330 163,150 103,608,140 39,790 61,655,565 1,038,756 1,420,290 26,256 9,263,840 23,670 164,988,780 45,776 876,094 489,190 285,580 600,340 3,100 8,517,370 1,273,240 79,202,920 15,120 1,644,420 67,475,143 2,502,940 26,354 12,254,960 41,380 274,812 118,650 8,010 335,549 5,176,726 213,005,930 373,660 7,500 112,238,889.50 47,144,094.50 155,716 1,931,890 1,746,690 71,859,890 1,133,840 4,749,080 116,389,048

8,900 -7,080 2,520 7,224,276 7,700 4,903,273.50 8,127.00 838 7,810 7,020 -2,282,880 28,096,215 6,570 8,400 -423,560 -21,373,691 7,240 6,672 54,540 6,950.00 6,300 -1,237,700.00 -401,080.00 19,385,175 8,400 19,760,806.00 550,300 112,860 7,630 164,892 8,010 -46,852 97,614,205 59,340 7,500 10,773,088.50 20,977,614.50 -3,620 698,460 196,890 1,854,900 -104,650 57,420 27,181,342

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

0.0022 1.6 5 14.6 1.74 1.73 1.59 0.33 7.49 2.6 0.155 0.156 0.0093 1.69 6.66 1.48 0.93 0.013 0.012 0.012 2.1 7.19 8.3 37.7 0.0069

0.0022 1.62 5.01 14.6 1.74 1.73 1.6 0.33 7.59 2.63 0.156 0.157 0.0093 1.69 6.7 1.49 0.93 0.013 0.012 0.012 2.3 7.21 9.46 38.5 0.0069

0.0022 1.57 4.99 13.8 1.72 1.71 1.58 0.32 7.3 2.59 0.154 0.156 0.0093 1.68 6.59 1.44 0.91 0.011 0.012 0.011 2.1 6.85 8.3 37.3 0.0069

MINING & OIL 0.0022 2,000,000 1.61 7,908,000 4.99 145,000 13.8 700 1.74 37,000 1.71 35,000 1.59 828,000 0.33 1,090,000 7.32 36,900 2.63 1,082,000 0.154 4,510,000 0.156 2,190,000 0.0093 5,000,000 1.68 134,000 6.6 3,759,300 1.45 25,000 0.92 12,000 0.012 77,100,000 0.012 100,000 0.012 11,100,000 2.29 49,000 6.98 1,943,500 9.4 19,083,700 38.5 2,271,800 0.0069 6,000,000

4,400 12,651,550 724,860 9,818 63,890 60,120 1,311,080 355,700 270,722 2,820,800 699,150 342,640 46,500 225,480 24,978,637 36,400 11,040 874,200 1,200 128,500 111,820 13,478,589 171,859,052 86,732,830 41,400

264,900 -64,970 6,880 15,850 6,600 7,490 36,750 8,450 8,382,036 7,400 924,776 -441,163 10,004,755 6,900

ABS HLDG PDR AC PREF B1 AC PREF B2 DD PREF FPH PREF C GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF A HOUSE PREF A LR PREF MWIDE PREF PF PREF 2 PNX PREF 3A SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

33.8 520 518 104.4 510 5.74 1,008 101.1 1.05 108 1,005 104.7 76 80.5 76.7 78.8 75 79

34 520 518 104.4 510 6 1,008 102 1.05 108 1,005 104.7 76 80.5 76.7 78.8 78.85 79.8

33.8 520 518 104 510 5.67 1,008 101.1 1.05 105.6 1,002 104.7 75.8 79.1 76.7 78.8 75 79

PREFERRED 33.8 89,900 520 400 518 6,340 104 54,770 510 7,090 6 75,900 1,008 105 102 12,220 1.05 4,000 108 28,810 1,002 1,085 104.7 10 75.8 760 79.5 5,010 76.7 20,510 78.8 55,180 76.5 116,650 79.8 112,200

3,043,070 208,000 3,284,120 5,696,780 3,615,900 440,418 105,840 1,245,990 4,200 3,045,740 1,087,425 1,047 57,660 397,838 1,573,117 4,348,184 8,942,292.50 8,863,808

-2,803,090 15,540 42,236 -

LR WARRANT

2.38

2.5

2.38

WARRANTS 2.47 749,000

1,831,970

-

PHILAB HLDG ITALPINAS XURPAS

3.48 7.68 4.82

3.9 8.31 4.82

3.45 7.6 4.64

3.83 8.15 4.69

423,000 12,889,462 10,415,480

-55,000 -80,750 241,450

FIRST METRO ETF

134.5

135.5

134.1

2,103,093

-25,610

209,100 100,104

100,104

NAME

MS

PROPERTY 6.29 1.03 12.98 2.19 0.94 45.05 3.82 4.9 5.77 6.09 0.48 1.14 1.16 0.218 0.445 40.1 0.65 1.9 1.38 0.78 4.8

676,700 5,029,000 41,300 347,000 5,211,000 9,383,000 794,000 486,000 74,700 1,300 1,650,000 29,000 36,000 3,300,000 410,000 253,700 201,000 15,374,000 4,306,000 182,000 2,000

USD DMPL A1 USD DMPL A2

10.2 10.32

TRADING SUMMARY FINANCIAL

10.2 10.32

SHARES

32,350,637

INDUSTRIAL

74,353,071

HOLDING FIRMS

84,575,448

PROPERTY

181,758,600

SERVICES

103,370,118

MINING & OIL

146,937,112

GRAND TOTAL

627,302,122

10.2 10.32

SME

117,000 1,599,600 2,216,000

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 134.6 15,610 DDS

10.2 10.32

20,500 9,700

VALUE 2,290.48 (down) 14.89 1,319,753,661.43 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 11,767.99 (up) 176.84 1,730,182,353.73 HOLDING FIRMS 9,046.58 (down) 41.00 1,638,904,659.986 PROPERTY 4,054.26 (up) 13.63 SERVICES 1,628.67 (up) 10.05 1,191,410,660.635 MINING & OIL 12,183.16 (up) 277.61 1,182,774,438.37 PSEI 8,865.13 (up) 7.41 317,864,277.44 All Shares Index 5,127.25 (up) 0.66 7,406,763,734.59 Gainers: 108; Losers: 102; Unchanged: 61; Total: 271

Shanghai added 0.8 percent and Seoul was 0.7 percent up.

Jakarta, Wellington, Taipei and Bangkok also saw strong rallies but Sydney slipped 0.5 percent.

With confidence in the global economy improving and central banks beginning to shift their policy stance away from crisisera stimulus, the dollar has suffered weeks of selling pressure, with the euro and pound the main winners.

The European single currency surged last week on the back of news that German Chancellor Angela Merkel was close to a coalition deal that will end months of uncertainty in the region’s top economy.

And on Monday it almost broke $1.23 for the first time since December 2014 on strong economic data and after a key member of the European Central Bank hinted that it could start cutting back its bond-buying stimulus by September.

And despite uncertainty over Brexit, the pound is also sitting around levels against the dollar last touched in June 2016, when Britain voted to leave the European Union.

Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trading at OANDA, warned the greenback could face further selling.

“With the dollar trading ‘three sheets to the wind’ and ‘wobbling like a drunken sailor,’ there is a stronger chance that panic dollar selling will ensue and hammer the dollar lower,” he said. With AFP

Cebu real estate firm sees sales rising 52% CEBU Landmasters Inc. said it expects reservation sales to grow 52 percent in 2018 to P7 billion from P4.58 billion in 2017 with the launching of more projects in Visayas and Mindanao.

CLI said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it planned to launch 10 new projects in Cebu—two residential subdivisions, three residential condominiums, three offices, one hotel and one industrial park The property company also plans to expand in new areas, especially in the cities of Bacolod, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro and Davao.

CLI will build two residential condominiums and a hotel in Bacolod while a residential condonminium is planned for neighboring Iloilo.

In Mindanao, CLI is launching two residential subdivisions and one residential condominium in Cagayan de Oro and unveiling a central business district and two residential condominiums in Davao.

“In 2018, we will continue to expand our footprint in the Visayas and Mindanao, and develop projects that respond to the growing market in these areas,” CLI chief executive officer Jose Soberano III said.

The upcoming projects will boost CLI’s total number of projects to 66 from 46 last year.

The company’s residential condominiums are mostly designed for the fast-growing mid-market segment.

Meanwhile, CLI said it expects that an increase in household incomes resulting from the newly approved package 1 of the government’s Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law will be channeled to housing.

Jenniffer B. Austria

Manila

Standard

TODAY

World

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2018

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Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

Several dead in operation to arrest pilot CARACAS―Several people, including two police officers, were killed in an operation to capture a helicopter pilot who bombed Venezuela’s Supreme Court during anti-government protests last year, the interior ministry said Monday.

A ministry statement said members of a “terrorist cell” were killed in a fierce gun battle, and five were captured, but did not say whether the pilot, Oscar Perez, was among the dead or detained.

Six police were wounded, President Nicolas Maduro told lawmakers.

The cell had planned to set off a car bomb outside the embassy of “a beloved and prestigious country,” Maduro said.

Reports said Perez and associates were holed up for hours in a house 25 kilometers northwest of Caracas during the raid.

Perez released videos on Instagram in which he said authorities were trying to kill him and his people even though they wanted to surrender.

IN THE PARK. An elderly woman pulls a girl along a road at a park in Beijing on January 16, 2018. AFP

Press reports said Perez did in fact die in the raid.

At the height of street protests against Maduro last June, Perez and unidentified accomplices flew over Caracas in a police helicopter and dropped four grenades on the Supreme Court before opening fire on the interior ministry.

There were no casualties.

Perez has been on the run since Venezuelan authorities issued an arrest warrant through Interpol after accusing him of a “terrorist attack.”

The 36-year-old former elite police officer and actor has regularly taunted the government during his time in hiding, saying he was fighting against Maduro’s “tyranny” and the “narco-dictatorship.”

He urged Venezuelans “not to lose heart. Fight, take to the streets, it is time we are free.”

Two weeks after the attack on the Supreme Court, Perez -- at the time Venezuela’s most-wanted man -- turned up at a Caracas ceremony to commemorate those

who had died in the wave of antigovernment protests.

In all, 125 people were killed between April and July as authorities used force to put down protests to unseat Maduro.

Eventually, the protests fizzled out and the socialist president prevailed, despite a staggering crisis caused by falling oil prices, spiraling inflation and corruption.

“These terrorists, who were heavily armed with high-caliber weapons, opened fire on the officials responsible for their capture,” the interior ministry statement said.

It said those who resisted had been killed.

The police were “attacked violently” when they were negotiating the surrender of Perez’s group, it said, adding that they had “tried to detonate a vehicle loaded with explosives.”

AFP journalists trying to reach the area saw an army tank, special forces and ambulances rush to the scene. AFP

Allies meet over N. Korea problem

V

ANCOUVER―Foreign ministers from 20 nations began crisis talks Monday on North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs, though China’s absence cast doubt over the effectiveness of any deal.

The two-day Vancouver meeting hosted by Canada and the United States comes amid signs of easing tensions on the Korean peninsula, after the North and South met for the first time in two years and Pyongyang agreed to sent athletes to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

And the tensions between Washington and Pyongyang, which claimed it had successfully tested ballistic missiles that could deliver atomic warheads to

the United States, appear to have calmed as well.

But the United States, which will review with allies at the summit the effectiveness of current sanctions against the hermit kingdom and explore adding more, remains skeptical that Kim is ready to negotiate away North Korea’s weapons program.

Over the weekend, a false alarm in Hawaii warning of an incoming ballistic missile rattled nerves, while US President Don-

ald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un have traded bluster over who has the bigger nuclear launch button at his desk.

The so-called Vancouver Group is formed by 20 countries that fought in the 1950-53 Korean War. They include Australia, Britain, France, India, Japan, the Philippines and South Korea. Military officials will also be present at the meeting.

Many have questioned the utility of a conference where China -- Pyongyang’s main ally -- and Russia are absent.

But officials said both countries, which hold veto power at the United Nations Security Council, would be briefed afterward.

China and Russia “absolutely will play an important role in mov-

ing toward peace on the Korean peninsula,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last week.

On Monday at his annual press conference, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov repeatedly attacked the US, accusing Washington of issuing ultimatums and failing to recognize “the reality of the emerging multipolar world.”

“Unfortunately, our American colleagues and their allies still want to do business solely on the basis of issuing ultimatums and do not want to listen to the views of other centres of world politics,” he said, adding that Washington was to blame for having “seriously aggravated” tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Pope Francis, meanwhile, admitted that he was frightened by

the prospects of an accidental nuclear war.

“I think we are at the very edge,” he told reporters aboard his plane en route to Chile for a weeklong visit there and in Peru.

“I am really afraid of this. One accident is enough to precipitate things.”

The Vancouver meeting kicked off late Monday with a dinner and several bilateral meetings, before a full gathering on Tuesday to hammer out next steps in the standoff.

Among the proposals to be considered is sending warships to the Sea of Japan to stop and inspect suspect ships bound for North Korea in order to enforce sanctions.

South Korea already seized two ships carrying oil to the North in

December.

Some countries, however, have warned that such methods could increase military tensions or be interpreted as an act of war by Kim’s isolated regime.

The ultimate aim is to force Kim into a diplomatic negotiation to abandon the weapons his regime sees as crucial for its survival.

Trump recently said that, under the right circumstances, he would be willing to speak directly with the North Korean leader, whom he has described as mad and a “rocket man.”

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, meanwhile, sought to drum up EU pressure on North Korea over the weekend during a sixcountry trip to the Baltics and the Balkans. AFP

Torture probe launched after 13 siblings found being held captive in US home PERRIS―A California couple has been arrested on charges of torture after authorities on Monday said their 13 malnourished children were held captive in their home, with some shackled to beds in the dark.

Authorities said they were alerted after a 17-year-old girl managed to escape the house on Sunday and call police using a cellphone she found.

She was so emaciated that officers said they originally thought she was just 10 years old.

The 13 victims at the house in Perris, California, ranged in age from two to 29, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.

“Further investigation revealed several children shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks in dark and foul-smelling surround-

HK democracy activists appeal their jail terms HONG KONG―Hong Kong’s leading democracy activists appealed Tuesday against their jail terms in a case seen as a litmus test for the independence of the city’s judiciary, which some fear is under pressure from Beijing.

Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow were jailed in August last year for their role in the 2014 Umbrella Movement mass prodemocracy protests, after Hong Kong’s government pushed for harsher sentences.

A lower court had given Wong and Law community service orders and Chow a suspended sentence. But after the government’s intervention they were jailed for between six and eight months by the Court of Appeal.

All three activists were later bailed pending their appeal.

The government’s move was seen as further evidence of Beijing’s growing influence over the semi-autonomous city, with Chinese authorities particularly riled by the emergence of activists calling for independence for Hong Kong.

Wong and Law’s political party Demosisto wants self-determination for the city.

“Now is the chance for us to be aware how the courts of Hong Kong will recognize, will position, the motivation of civil disobedience,” Wong, 21, told reporters ahead of the hearing at the city’s court of final appeal.

The unlawful assembly charges for which the three were jailed related to their involvement in

the storming of a fenced-off government forecourt known as Civic Square in September 2014.

Their arrests sparked wider rallies which exploded two days later when police fired tear gas at the crowds, triggering the Umbrella Movement protests which brought parts of the city to a standstill.

Defense lawyer Robert Pang warned that harsher sentences had a “chilling effect” on young people expressing their views.

“We must guard against discouraging young, idealistic persons who are doing this not for their personal benefit...from expressing their point of view,” Pang told the court.

Prosecution counsel David Leung argued the role of the court of appeal had been to judge whether the original magistrate had given “proper weight” when assessing the culpability of the trio for the clashes.

Court of final appeal judge, chief justice Geoffrey Ma, warned protesters should not “overstep the mark”, whatever their motivation.

But he questioned whether the original magistrate had “erred in principle” as non-custodial sentences were common for unlawful assembly offenses.

The case was adjourned for judgment with a date not set.

The Umbrella Movement called for fully free leadership elections to replace a system where the city’s chief executive is selected by a pro-Beijing committee, but failed to win any concessions. AFP

ings, but the parents were unable to immediately provide a logical reason why their children were restrained in that manner,” the statement said.

“Deputies located what they believed to be 12 children inside the house, but were shocked to discover that seven of them were actually adults, ranging in age from 18 to 29. The victims appeared to be malnourished and very dirty.”

The sheriff’s office said “the

victims were provided with food and beverages after they claimed to be starving”.

The parents, 57-year-old David Allen Turpin and 49-year-old Louise Anna Turpin, were booked on torture and child endangerment charges with bail set at $9 million.

The Spanish-style stucco house where the victims were allegedly held is located in a middle class neighborhood of Perris, a small

SEC Memorandum Circular No. 1 Series of 2018 SUBJECT : ADOPTION OF REVISED AUDITING STANDARDS AND AMENDMENTS TO EXISTING ACCOUNTING STANDARDS, AND INTERPRETATIONS The Commission, in its meeting held on 09 January 2018, approved the adoption of the following pronouncements as part of SEC’s rules and regulations on financial reporting: A. Revised Auditing Standards Title Philippine Standards on Auditing 800 (Revised), Special Considerations-Audits of Financial Statements Prepared in Accordance with Special Purpose Framework and Conforming Amendments to PSA 700 (Revised) Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements Philippine Standards on Auditing 805 (Revised), Special Considerations-Audits of Single Financial Statements and Specific Elements, Accounts or Items of a Financial Statements (2016) Philippine Standards on Auditing 810 (Revised), Engagements to Report on Summary Financial Statements (2016)

Brief Description This PSA is effective for audits of financial statements for periods ending on or after December 15, 2016.

PSA 800 (Revised) (2016) supersedes PSA 800 (2009). However, this PSA does not override the requirements of the other PSAs. This PSA does not also purport to deal with all special considerations that may be relevant in the circumstances of the engagement.

This PSA is effective for audits of financial statements for periods ending on or after December 15, 2016.

PSA 805 (Revised) (2016) supersedes PSA 805 (2009).

city some 110 kilometers southeast of Los Angeles.

The home boasted three cars as well as a van with tinted windows.

One of the cars, a blue compact, had a child’s seat in the back.

There are indications that the children were allowed outside the house in recent years.

A Facebook page under the name of David-Louise Turpin includes pictures of the couple attending var-

InvItatIon to BId for Supply and Delivery of Min. 8 HP Diesel Engine with 4x4 Centrifugal Pump and Accessories ITB No. NIAR3-2018-TARLAC PUMP-G1 1.

NATIONAL IRRIGATION ADMINISTRATION – REGION 3, through the General Appropriations Act of Cy 2018 intends to apply the sum of Thirty Four Million Six Hundred Eighty Eight Thousand Two Hundred Two Pesos (P 34,688,292.00) being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for NIAR3-2018-TARLAC PUMP-G1. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

2.

Bidder must secure Site Inspection Certificate from IMO Office as a technical requirement for Eligibility and Technical Document (Envelop A). Non compliance will be a ground for disqualification.

3.

Only those Letter of Intent with a company profile, submitted by the owner or its authorized liaison officer, will be accepted to participate in the bidding.

4.

The NATIONAL IRRIGATION ADMINISTRATION – REGION 3 now invites bids for Supply and Delivery of Min. 8 HP Diesel Engine with 4x4 Centrifugal Pump and Accessories. Delivery of the Goods is required Sixty (60) Calendar Day. Bidders should have completed a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

5.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

6.

This PSA is effective for audits of financial statements for periods ending on or after December 15, 2016.

Issued this 09 day of January 2018 at Pasay City, Philippines.

For the Commission:

TERESITA J. HERBOSA Chairperson (MS-JAN. 17, 2018)

Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to RA 5183.

(ii)

Bidding is open to all interested bidders, whether local or foreign, subject to the conditions for eligibility provided in the IRR of RA 9184.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from NATIONAL IRRIGATION ADMINISTRATION – REGION 3 and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M., Monday to Friday.

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

B. Amendments to Existing Accounting Standards, and Interpretations

All of the foregoing pronouncements have been adopted by the Auditing and Assurance Standards Counciland Philippine Financial Reporting Standards Council and approved by the Board of Accountancy and Professional Regulation Commission and published in the Official Gazette.

(i)

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders on January 11, 2018 to January 30, 2018 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday, and January 31, 2018 from 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., except holidays from the address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of Thirty Five Thousand Pesos (P 35,000.00).

PSA 810 (Revised) (2016) supersedes PSA 810 (2009).

Title Brief Description Transfers of Investment An entity shall apply these amendments for Property (Amendments to PAS annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2018. Early adoption of the amendment is 40) permitted.

Philippine Interpretation An entity shall apply this interpretation for IFRIC-22, Foreign Currency annual periods beginning on or after January Transactions and Advance 1, 2018. Earlier application is permitted.

Consideration Annual Improvements to The amendments to PFRS 12 are effective for Philippine PFRSs 2014-2016 annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2017 whereas the amendments to PFRS 1 Cycle and PAS 28 are effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2018.

ious marriage or exchange of vows ceremonies from 2011 to 2016 with their children present.

In the latest set, uploaded in AprilJuly 2016, Louise Turpin wears a long white wedding gown while her husband is dressed in a suit.

An Elvis Presley impersonator holds a microphone and poses with the couple and children in a scene reminiscent of a Las Vegas wedding. AFP

7.

The NATIONAL IRRIGATION ADMINISTRATION – REGION 3 will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on January 22, 2018, 10:00 a.m. at NIA-R3 Office, Conference Room, Brgy. Tambubong, San Rafael, Bulacan, which shall be open only to all interested parties who have purchased the Bidding Documents.

Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before 9:30 a.m. (PST) of January 31, 2018.

All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

Bid opening shall be on 10:00 a.m. (PST) of January 31, 2018 at NIA-R3 Office, Conference Room, Brgy. Tambubong, San Rafael, Bulacan. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.

8.

All particulars relative to the eligibility screening, bid security, performance security, pre-bid conference/s, evaluation of bids, post qualification and award of contracts shall be governed by the pertinent provisions of RA 9184 and its revised IRR.

9.

The NATIONAL IRRIGATION ADMINISTRATION – REGION 3 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 IRR, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

10. For further information, please refer to: BAC Secretariat/s; NIA – Region 3,Tambubong, San Rafael, Bulacan Tel No. (044) 766-4839 and 816-8608 (SGD) VIRGILIO J. ILAO Chairman, Bids and Awards Committee Noted by: (SGD) JOSEPHINE B. SALAZAR Regional Manager (MS-JAN. 17, 2018)

LGUs

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

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wednesday, january 17, 2018

LocaL government units

TAKEDOWN. Young women ranch hands take down a bull during the 7th Tanay Rodeo Festival on Sunday. The municipal government of Tanay, Rizal celebrates the festival to promote its cattle and agricultural ecotourism industries, drawing rodeo enthusiasts, veterinary and animal science students from across the country. Teddy Pelaez

Cinema passes for 500k QC seniors

By Rio N. Araja THE Quezon City government has distributed free movie passes to benefit over 500,000 registered senior citizens.

Mayor Herbert Bautista said a pass holder can watch a total of 210 movies in 2018.

Senior citizens can use their movie passes every Monday and Tuesday from the first screening until 5 p.m. only, with a maximum of two movies per day, in all National Cinema Association of the Philippines theaters in Quezon City such as at TriNoma, Eastwood, Gateway and Ali Mall.

Seniors who will watch movies on screening times outside the designated schedules can avail of an additional 10 percent discount on top of the 20-percent cinema admission discount for them under Republic Act 9257 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2003.

The QC Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs said movie passes are not valid during official special holidays and the first week screening of blockbuster movies declared by NCAP members.

Meanwhile, the city council gave Bautista the green light to extend financial aid to over 2,000 informal settler families affected by the construction of a housing project in Kaingin Bukid in Barangay Apolonio Samson.

District 6 Councilor Donato Matias introduced Resolution 7300 of 2017, allocating P13.5 million for distribution to 2,706 affected informal settler families with each of them to get P5,000.

Rescue teams in Tacloban resume search

By Robbie Pangilinan TACLOBAN CITY―The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council continued its rescue operations after a landslide caused by heavy rains across the entire Eastern Visayas hit the city on Saturday.

The rescue team retrieved two bodies from the Barangay 43-B Quarry District landslide site, at the corner of Cong. Artemio Mate Avenue and Rizal Extension streets, after a threeday search and retrieval operation led

by CDRRMC chairman Mayor Cristina G. Romualdez.

“It’s difficult but we are doing our best. I salute the resuce team for not giving up despite the risky task,” said Romualdez.

The victims were identified as Delia Carson and Zoe Hernandez.

The CDRRMC team continues to search for two more missing persons identified as a certain “Alex” and the mother of Zoe Hernandez, who was also the barangay secretary.

The landslide caused a concrete wall to collapse, flattening eight houses.

‘Use patrol cars properly’

By F. Pearl A. Gajunera

D

AVAO CITY—President Rodrigo Duterte reminded city police to never use police mobile patrol vehicles for their personal use during the turnover ceremony at the Crime Laboratory compound here.

President Duterte led the turnover of the 26 sports utility vehicles donated by the Japanese government together with Japanese

Ambassador Koji Haneda, Philippine National Police Director General Ronald dela Rosa, Police Regional Office 11 Chief Supt. Ma-

nuel Gaerlan, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, and Davao City Police Office Sr. Supt. Alexander Tagum.

The SUVs were part of 100 patrol vehicles donated by the Japanese government to the PNP last November. “[These vehicles] should not be used for personal errands for any officer. It should be where the regulation directs them to be where they are,” President Duterte said.

It is best for the police offices to create their maintenance schedule of the new patrol cars to ensure their good condition and preserve them, said Davao’s longtime leader before becoming Chief Executive.

The President thanked the Japanese Government, who he said “remains to be in a good relationship with the Philippines since the 1980s,” for its generosity.

“We are truly grateful to the people and government

of Japan for their unwavering support for this administration and the Filipino people,” he said.

Haneda also assured the President the Japanese are looking forward to extend the countries’ cooperation and friendship.

“As maintaining peace and order is one of the President’s main priority, we are happy to help him on his campaign,” Haneda said.

Tagum assured the President that the vehicles are

in good hands, and that the DCPO will never use them for personal errands.

“I have already asked Mayor Sara Duterte to hire more than 70 civilian drivers that will be in charge of the patrol cars of the DCPO, including its maintenance,” he said.

Tagum said the SUVs will be assigned to the Mobile Patrol Group, which goes around the different parts of the city for faster dispatch and response.

Smart trains students in emergency response

Lawyer Ma. Louella ‘Peaches’ Aranas (second from right) stands with volunteers as The Sandy Project dengue awareness and prevention outreach recently served 200 children at Barangay Loyola in Quezon City.

Sandy Project dengue fundraiser set Feb. 12 THE Sandy Project, an advocacy that aims to teach school-age children the dangers of dengue and how best to protect themselves from the mosquito-borne disease, will mark its fifth year with a fundrasing activity on Feb. 12 at the Green Sun building in Makati City.

Lawyer Ma. Louella “Peaches” Aranas, who started the advocacy in 2013 after her daughter Sandy succumbed to dengue at 10 years old, said her

group is looking for benefactors who would help the project reach at least 5,000 school kids this year.

With dengue making headlines again following the deaths of several children related to the controversial vaccine and immunization program launched by the government last year, Aranas is convinced the Sandy Project is on the right track, hence their “Night of Thanksgiving and Charitable Giving”

Dads push for extension of tax deadline for Quezon City biz THE Quezon City government is pushing for an extension of the tax payment schedule to accommodate 74,000 business operators until Feb. 4.

District 1 Councilor Victor Ferrer Jr. said the 36-member city council shall convene a special session to act on a proposed ordinance extending the Jan. 20 tax payment deadline.

The number of business establishments in Quezon City swelled from 64,000 to 74,000 in 2017, Ferrer noted.

Mayor Herbert Bautista called on taxpayers to take advantage of the February extension.

Under Republic Act 7160 of the Local Government Code of 1991, all local taxes, fees and charges shall be paid within the first 20 days of January or of each subsequent quarter.

The law, however, has allowed the city, municipal or provincial council to pass an ordinance to extend the payment period not exceeding six months for a justifiable reason or cause.

Ferrer, the ordinance’s principal author, reminded the city’s business operators to pay on time and avoid penalties and surcharges. Rio N. Araja

event next month.

“More and more it’s becoming clear to me that my advocacy, and how it started, I’m really in the right direction, because of the relevance and importance of keeping the children aware of dengue and teaching them how to take care of themselves, which leads to the prevention part,” Aranas told Manila Standard.

The advocacy, she stressed, is a dengue awareness and prevention cam-

paign with the children as the target audience. Until this year, the project has been largely self-funded

by Aranas, a successful tax lawyer running her own LMA Law firm.

“Incidentally, when you teach the children, you’ll also teach the mothers, when they attend the outreach the mothers will be there,” she added. “I realize now with the vaccine scare, children are the ones dying, so we need to educate the kids.”

TO HELP strengthen communities’ disaster preparedness, PLDT wireless unit Smart Communications Inc. recently organized an emergency response and management training for college students in Leyte.

The activity is part of the TNT Tropang Ready caravan, which aims to empower the youth to be disaster-resilient as well as be able to disseminate the preparedness lessons in their own communities.

The caravan is an initiative under Smart’s advocacy for a #SafePH, which promotes preparedness through mobile solutions and on-ground activities to help communities mitigate disaster risks.

This “Training of Trainers” program will enable the youth to become ambassadors of preparedness in their own communities, according to Smart community partnerships senior manager Nova Concepcion.

“We aim to integrate disaster preparedness in the educational curriculum,” Concepcion said. “It is important to equip students with the necessary skills to be able to mobilize members of their households and their commu-

nities when disasters strike.”

The need for disaster preparedness has been highlighted in recent years in the aftermath of the devastation wrought by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” across the Visayas in November 2013.

Lawyer Maria Jane Paredes, Smart AVP and Visayas-Mindanao public affairs head, pointed out the role of the youth in disseminating disaster readiness.

“The youth of Eastern Visayas play an important role in propagating a culture of preparedness, most especially since they have experienced calamities like Yolanda,” Paredes said. “We are moving on from what happened four years ago.

It’s time to rise by acquiring new skills so that we are better prepared.”

The trainings were held at Southern Leyte State University in Sogod and Eastern Visayas State University in Tacloban City.

Louie Domingo and Kris Lorraine Tayer of Emergency Management Center taught the students how to prepare for and what to do during typhoons, earthquakes, landslides and tsunamis, among other calamities.

DONATION. Nueva

Vizcaya Gov. Carlos Padilla (sixth from left) shows the P700,000 check from SN Aboitiz-Power Magat Inc. as livelihood assistance for the all-women Federation of Barangay Nutrition Scholars and Abot Palad Foundation Inc.. The aid is part of SNAP-Magat’s CSR efforts as the firm operates the Magat Hydro Power Plant in Ramon, Isabela.

Also in photo are engineer Wilhelmino Ferrer, SNAPMagat vice president and plant manager, and former governor Ruth Padilla (flanking the governor).

Ben Moses Ebreo

Life

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

fashion & beauty

wednesday, januaRy 17, 2018

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Kate Spade New York

spring 2018 collection

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018 marks kate spade new york’s 25th anniversary, and to celebrate, it’s taking a joyful adventure—a yearlong road trip across America.

Spring 2018 is inspired by the warmth of southern charm, particularly the sights, sounds, and welcoming energy of New orleans. the magnificent flora and fauna in the garden district embracing glamorous estates suspended in time; the playful sounds of jazz spilling out of dance halls onto

the streets of the French quarter, where the good times always roll; and the expanse of possibilities traveling up the Mississippi, onto the next adventure.

Ready-To-Wear

in a palette of soft dusky pink, strawberry, and denim-blue hues, along with touches of green from verdigris to Spanish moss—prim silhouettes, sharp tailoring, and athletic styles define the collection.

Ladylike, high-neck dresses and blouses capture the southern spirit, done in billowy botanical-print chiffon or vintage-y lace with embroidered butterflies fluttering about. Flouncy, peplum tops feature eyelet or pintuck details, and sit alongside culottes and cropped denim for a fancy-casual look. A shirred, off-the-shoulder dress and top in muted gingham capture a folky, bohemian spirit. oversized trench coats with playful embroidery and twill ponchos round out the outerwear, while sporty styles from track jackets to hoodies embrace New orleans’ relaxed vibe. the collection’s mix-and-match effect lends it to unexpected styling twists and turns—much like our road trip.

It’s back: The Sam Handbag

As we rediscover the diverse array of what makes America so beautiful, we’re thrilled to reintroduce Sam, our original handbag from 1993. You’ll see her reimagined in a variety of forms that represent our brand over the past 25 years, beginning with black and white stripes, botanical prints and satin, then moving on to wicker, denim, quilted leather, and printed canvas.

Handbags

the return of our iconic Sam handbag is the big news of the season, joined by the Carter Street Kylie, a micro tote crafted in buttery, pebbled leather.

Novelty handbags and accessories get a warm-weather update. A strawberry-carton bag is a standout, as is a wicker picnic basket with a sweet charm, and an alligator shaped bag—a ferociously fun nod to New orleans wildlife.

Shoes

Floral printed dress and wicker picnic basket from kate spade new york’s Spring 2018 collection

Shower slides, reimagined with glimmering, golden floral applique or white wicker-like leather are seen throughout the collection. While sparkling medallions, butterflies and magnolia motifs adorn mules, slingbacks, kitten heels, and pointy-toe flats. Slip-on sneakers done in woven leather, or floral embroidery with ruffle trim, round out the sporty charm.

Turn to C2

Belgium’s ID Diamonds Investment Bar in Manila

Polaris Treasure Trove introduces its jewelry collections, highlighting its line of south sea pearls

NothiNg can add oomph to your outfit like jewelry. it makes an ordinary ensemble outstanding, livening up an entire look, no matter its shape or size. Always loving how its sparkle instantly lifts the spirit, Isha Ivonne Ricaña found herself in the jewelry industry, successfully working with indian treasures in 2010. this opened up a whole new world, and later on paved the way for her to create her own brand, Polaris treasure trove. initially named Polaris Antique and Jewellery, the brand takes a new route and a new name this year. Named after the North Star that remains unmoving while the entire northern sky moves around it, Polaris treasure trove, founded in 2016, symbolizes Ricaña’s dream of establishing her own brand.

it is also a celebration of the memories of Ricaña’s daughter Sujin, who passed away in 2012 at the age of six.

As it re-launched with new branding, Polaris treasure trove introduces its stunning collections, which are made up of exquisite pieces. one of these collections showcases the beauty of the south sea pearls that are sourced in Palawan, and the craftsmanship of Filipino plateros who place them on gold. this is Ricaña’s way of supporting the Philippine pearl industry. the brand also offers diamond jewelry, antique jewelry, and gemstones and crystals from india, indonesia, Nepal, and Cambodia. Clients can even have designs of raw crystal jewelries customized according to their liking.

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wednesday, january 17, 2018 isahred@gmail.com

StyliSh little StepS

with Sugar Kids and Tough Kids at SM

K

IDS can welcome the New year with stylish little steps with Sugar Kids and Tough Kids shoes from The SM Store.

Sugar Kids has trendy platform slip-on with bows and ties and everything nice for little girls; as well as cage sandals with laser cut and metallic gladiators with studs for an edgier look. Flatties are fun and fab – from fancy mules to ballerina f lats with ankle tie straps for long hours of party and play. ankle boots are great for travelling or for weekend fun.

Tough Kids, on the other hand, has leather or suede loafers for casual cool. There’s a lot of fun and action ahead for little boys with ankle boots, high cut sneakers, and sports shoes. all-lit-Up leD sneakers from Sugar Kids and Tough Kids make every step merry and bright.

Sugar Kids and Tough Kids shoes is available at The SM Store – Children’s shoes department.

Everything’s nice and in style with Sugar Kids

Tough Kids for the dapper dude

These lit-up sneakers from Sugar Kids and Tough Kids give the New Year a warm welcome

Bata celebrates 1st anniversary Global brand bata recently celebrated its first anniversary in the Philippines with a stylish get together at its SM Makati store.

Since its first store in SM Megamall opened a year ago, bata Philippines now has branches in SM City bacoor, SM Makati, SM Mall of asia, SM City Marikina and SM City Fairview. The brand is also available at the SM Stores. bata was established in 1894 by a Czech shoemaker named Tomas Bata along with his siblings Anna, and Antonin. Since then, it continuously provides quality and trendy footwear around the world. bata has been a pioneer in footwear innovation with its Shoe Innovation Centres, which focus on new technologies, materials, and designs that support shoe comfort features and guarantee fashion-forward design. bata, a brand synonymous with quality for more than 140 years, predominantly makes their shoes in their own manufacturing facilities to ensure a superior product.

Today, bata has a presence in 70 countries and operates over 5,000 international retail stores. The brand sells more than one million pairs of shoes a day.

The event also showcased bata’s line of stylish yet comfy shoes. These include its Insolia line for women, trendy sneakers, glitzy pumps, fancy flats and boots with attitude. There are also sleek and classic designs in real leather which are “Made in Italy”, as well as casual sneakers, slip-ons and sandals for men.

Kids also join in the shoe party with adorable and fun footwear.

Kate Spade...

From C1 Jewelry

earrings are a focus, with styles ranging from everyday studs to statement pieces. Fine gold metalwork and creamy pearls define a delicate butterfly pair of studs, as well as an assortment of lavish blooming chandelier earrings. a collection of molded disc earrings is understatedly masculine, while black pearl stunners with darling gingham bows are decidedly feminine.

In the Philippines, kate spade new york is exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists, Inc., with shops at Square in Bonifacio High Street Central, Greenbelt 5, Power Plant Mall, Rustan’s Makati, Rustan’s Shangri-La, and Rustan’s Cebu.

Belgium’s...

From C1

Bata offers a line of formal shoes with waterproof technology for men

Nail Avenue: Not just for nails Newly opened Nail avenue in Quezon City boasts being a one-stop place for total wellness from head to foot.

“Nail avenue is a haven for men and women who not only wish to de-stress and relax, but also for those who hate the hassle of hopping from one spa to another salon, because we also offer a complete set of hair services. our clients are guaranteed to step out feeling rejuvenated and beautiful!” says owner Mary Cristy Roque.

Coming to the salon, clients immediately get a soothing and relaxing feel because of the ambience. while other spas and salons offer their clients coffee and tea, Nail avenue adds a choice of red wine for its clients’ utmost relaxation. The staff is well trained in giving clients the ultimate satisfaction with the services, comfort, and queen/king-like service and accommodation.

Further, Nail avenue’s JeTSPa chair is truly state-of-the-art. “our Jetspa gives the otherwise ordinary foot-spa service the extra boost, since it gives one’s feet the total luxurious feel or pampered feel after one is done with its service,” adds co-owner Joji Lim.

Nail avenue also boasts a wide array of colors and types of all-imported nail polish at a rate that is quite competitive – even lower compared to other salons.

Cristy says that it is a must to keep hands and feet well taken care of and beautiful because one of the first things people look at when they first meet a person are the hands and feet.

She has always taken an interest in having her nails extended and done to keep them pretty and having hands that are nice to hold.

“I’ve always been a frequent spa goer for the services on a bi-monthly basis for my beauty and wellness. Hence, putting up a spa/salon is a good move, since I will be handling a business that I truly love and understand; this would help me manage it best,” she shares.

Joji says that the secret to success is faith in God, the will to succeed, faith in oneself, positive attitude and hard work.

Cristy and Joji are looking at having Nail avenue franchised and at the same time further stabilize its existing signature procedures and services.

For everyone who wants the best nail

Nail Avenue offers a complete set of nail and hair services

and hair service, visit Nail avenue at Mayon St., Quezon City. Call 0917the 2nd f loor, asian United bank bldg., 5061140 for appointments.

During the recent celebration of pearls and diamonds, Polaris Treasure Trove opened its doors to officially introduce its jewelry collections and welcome ID Diamonds—along with owner and Ceo Pierre de Bosscher—being a partner and the certified distributor in the country. as the main jewelry line of the brand, the south sea pearls were showcased through an elegant fashion presentation, with each lady modeling various ways on how to stylishly wear the jewelry. Gracing the runway was Miss International 2013 Bea Rose Santiago, subsequently unveiled as Polaris Treasure Trove brand ambassador.

Partnering with an international label, Ricaña also brings in ID Diamonds to Manila, the first diamond investment bar in the world. originating in belgium and having its headquarters in london, ID Diamonds offers a way for collectors and investors to preserve certified natural polished diamonds in an ultra-secure, safe and transparent manner, using its multi-patented ID-Knox technology. It allows diamonds to be traded around the globe in a consistent, profitable, and efficient way.

Capping off the afternoon’s festivities was the formal opening of Polaris Treasure Trove’s store through a ribbon cutting and ceremonial toast piloted by Isha Ricaña of Polaris Treasure Trove, Pierre de bosscher of ID Diamonds, brand ambassador bea Santiago, and distinguished guests.

Polaris Treasure Trove’s first and only physical store can be found inside Styled Pop-Up, a pop-up store housing different fashion brands founded by Christine Bersola-Babao. as it moves forward to 2018, the brand aims to expand and open more stores in the country.

Ricaña’s brand does prove to be a trove of treasures, never short of stunning pieces that are worth holding dear forever. and whether you just want beautiful jewelry to adorn your look, or you’re in it for the investment (or both), you’ll find something just for you. Visit Polaris Treasure Trove at Styled Popup, located on the second floor of Shangri-la Plaza Mall’s east wing.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2018

The first throwback music festival in the Philippines relives the best music of the 90s

Unleash the '90s kid in you FINALLY, the festival all 90s kids have been dreaming of is here – Playback Music Festival.

The first ever throwback music festival in the country is set to give you a nostalgic journey down memory lane. Relive the best music and memories of the late 90s and early 2000s, and be ready to sing your hearts out as Playback Music Festival gives you four international artists and three homegrown bands to perform their greatest hits.

Headlining this festival are BLUE, Vertical Horizon, Stephen Speaks, and Leigh Nash of Sixpence None the Richer; and joining them are local favorites, Rivermaya, Moonstar88 and MYMP. Get to see the most iconic retro video games, movie and tv series screenings, fashion styles and so much more, all in one venue.

Mark your calendars. Playback Music Festival is happening on Feb. 10 at the Circuit Makati Event Grounds.

Get your tickets at https://smtickets.com/ events/view/6258 or at all SM Ticket cinema outlets nationwide. Limited seats and chances for meet and greet passes for Platinum A and Platinum B buyers, and unlimited beer for all Gold and Platinum buyers with access to festival activities for all ticket types.

ABS-CBN's Gus Abelgas (second from right) accepts SOCO's award at the GCIC Awards for TV

Most innovative network A BS-CBN hauled a total of 23 awards including the Most Innovative Network for the third consecutive year, making it a Hall of Famer at the 3rd Global City Innovative College (GCIC) Awards for Television.

that embody what it considers as innovation, “a change that creates a new dimension of performance.”

Four Kapamilya shows were also elevated to its Hall of Fame, namely TV Patrol, Matanglawin, Umagang Kay Ganda, and ASAP. FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, the reigning most watched program in the country, was cited as the Most Innovative Primetime TV Program, while lead star Coco Martin as the Most Innovative TV Actor. On the other hand, child star Mcneal “Awra” Briguela clinched the Most Organized by Global City Innovative Innovative TV Child Star award.

College, the annual awards is given to It’s Showtime, the top-rating television programs and personalities Kapamilya noontime variety show,

took home the award for Most Innovative Noontime TV Show.

Meanwhile, three of its main hosts were also recognized for their talent including Vice Ganda (Most Innovative TV Comedian and Most Innovative Male TV Fashion Icon), Anne Curtis (Most Innovative Female TV Host), and Billy Crawford (Most Innovative Male TV Host).

Several Kapamilya entertainment and news and current affairs programs also triumphed at the GCIC Awards for Television including Asia’s longest-running drama anthology Maalala Mo Kaya (Most Innovative TV Drama), Magandang Buhay

‘Maze Runner: The Death Cure’ soon THE third and final chapter of the massively-followed YA blockbuster book-tomovie franchise will open in Philippine cinemas on Jan. 24 with returning cast Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Ki Hong Lee, Rosa Salazar and Thomas Brodie-Sangster.

In (the first movie) The maze Runner, the Gladers found themselves in the middle of a giant maze patrolled by deadly monsters. With no memory Dylan O'Brien (left) and Thomas Brodie-Sangster in the last and final of who they were before installment of 'Maze Runner' movie series they found themselves in the Glade, mystery abounded, during which Teresa betrayed this core group of people that and getting out of the maze’s her friends and Minho (Ki- are just trying to survive the oppressive walls was their Hong Lee) was captured by Flare virus. They’re looking main preoccupation. the shadowy organization for safety, a cure, whatever.

In Maze Runner: The Scorch WCKD. As the movie opens, “So in The Death Cure, we Trials, they had achieved their the Gladers are orchestrating come full circle. Where in The goal, only to discover that the an elaborate train heist to try Maze Runner, the Gladers outside world contained just as and rescue their friend, finally were trying to escape their many horrors. ready to fight rather than flee. prison, now they’re trying to And now, in Maze Runner: “It’s the world of WCKD,” break into WCKD’s idea of The Death Cure, the Gladers director Wes Ball says. “The paradise. “It’s essentially a have finally caught up to the last city left standing. WCKD heist movie this time.” nightmare of their reality. has built, essentially, the “When we pick up with the Time has passed since the same maze walls around it, characters in this, it’s the first events of The Scorch Trials, surrounding the city to protect time we’re seeing any time

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Wednesday, January 17, 2018

ACROSS 1 Mongolian desert 5 Jewelry box 10 Apportion 14 Verve 15 Astrologer’s scales 16 Funny Bombeck 17 Housing expense 18 Sphere of influence 19 Ta-ta in Turin 20 Contemporary 22 Historical periods 24 Tart fruit 28 Century plant 31 Mouths, in zoology 32 Cravat cousin 36 Senate attire 37 Like cloudless nights 39 Literary medley 40 Type of desk 42 Facial feature 44 Altar vow (2 wds.)

45 Banished 47 Black bird 48 Egyptian dam 50 Poetic contraction 51 Brick bakers

52 Was made of 55 Shark tagalong 58 Hole for a shoelace 62 Ship’s boom 63 Scratchy 67 Renoir model 68 Marble streak 69 Physicist Marie — 70 Song refrains 71 Markers 72 Burn slightly 73 Bird-feeder treat DOWN 1 Bug 2 Low-fat spread 3 Wedding — 4 Lull or gap 5 Lairds’ households 6 “She Done — Wrong” 7 Wane 8 Title of respect, in India 9 Spud 10 Fake drakes 11 Stoltz or Idle 12 Far East nanny 13 Thailand neighbor 21 — Dawn Chong 23 Beseeches 25 Some TV dinners

26 Bikini top 27 Breadwinners 28 Open-air lobbies 29 Wares 30 Softly lit 33 Wassailers’ tune 34 — rings 35 Compares notes 37 Chicago White — 38 Retina cell 41 Male voice 43 Marine spears 46 Don Ho’s neckwear

49 Potential oaks 51 Sardine-can opener 53 DEA agents 54 Snicker (hyph.)

55 Host’s plea 56 Thrust-andparry sword 57 Principal 59 Kauai feast 60 Threshold 61 Challenge 64 Garcon’s yes 65 Coffee brewer 66 Temporary job

pass in these movies,” says Dylan O’Brien. “This is really the first time you’re seeing Thomas experienced and a little more mature. He’s dead set on this goal of redemption, and taking down WCKD once and for all. He’s driven. And they’re all dialled-in.”

For Ki-Hong Lee, Minho’s kidnapping has hit him hard.

“He’s very broken and up against the wall,” the actor says. “I’ve never seen Minho this desperate before. Because he’s always got it together, he’s always got a plan, he’s always trying to help people, he’s always trying to lead. So you stripped him of his family, and you stripped him of his abilities and that’s what you get for the third movie. I guess in the first two movies he’s always fighting for his family, but in this one he’s fighting for himself, and the sliver of hope he has of getting out.”

Maze Runner: The Death Cure runs in cinemas on Jan. 24 nationwide (also available in IMAX screens) from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

(Most Innovative TV Talk Show), Wansapanataym (Most Innovative Fantasy TV Program), Gandang Gabi Vice (Most Innovative Late Night TV Program), the news and current affairs show S.O.C.O. (Most Innovative Investigative TV Program), and I Can See Your Voice (Most Innovative TV Talk Show).

Kapamilya stars emerged as winners as well like Enrique Gil and Liza Soberano (Most Innovative TV Loveteam), Wildflower lead star Maja Salvador (Most Innovative TV Actress), Angelica Panganiban (Most Innovative TV Commedienne), and Yeng Constantino (Most Innovative TV Singer).

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2018

ISAH V. RED

T

HE local film industry seems to be in an upswing mode this year.

Just after the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) wherein eight films thrashed each other at the box office with one emerging as the box-office champion (the MMFF organizing committee has yet to declare it), two new films will try to outrace each other at the tills beginning today.

First and more promising of the two is Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes with drama queen Judy Ann Santos and dramedy princess Angelica Panganiban.

It has an interesting premise: two women married ideal husbandmaterial guys who turn out to be interested in something else.

“First project namin ni Angelica together after such a long time. Of course, it’s a comedy film. happy lang siya. Walang connection sa kapaligiran o sa kumonidad.

Tungkol lang sa amin.

Kaming dalawa lang,” she said at the press con for the film last week.

They are portraying two very different women that will find themselves stuck with the same problem.

“Isa akong successful dermatologist [dito].

Eventually nagkakilala kami ni Angelica dahil ‘yung mga husbands namin nangaliwa.

Dun kami nagkakilala, dun na nagsimula ‘yung ganap.

Strong personality [‘yung character ko] at careerdriven na tao,” said Judy Ann. Meanwhile, Angelica’s character plays on the sweet side. “Ako ‘yung opposite.

Housewife naman, mas under ako sa kanya. Ako ‘yung pa-sweet, mas may arte ako,” she said.

So, what’s the problem, really?

Apparently, the two women can't accept the fact that their husbands have gone on a detour and seems to have put aside their duties to their wives. And they want to find out why?

Things get complicated when the women find out that their husbands are involved with each other.

Director Jun Robles Lana said that the film has been inspired by true-tolife stories of people who have undergone the same dilemma. “It happens in reality, we just don’t know much about these people and how they react to that kind of situation.”

The actors playing the husbands of Santos and Panganiban are Joross Gamboa (straight from the success of Deadma Walking in which he also played a male gay character) and JC de Vera.

Another interesting fare is the film from Regal Films titled Mama’s Girl

by Connie Macatuno from a story and screenplay by Gina Marissa Tagasa.

Sylvia Sanchez stars as the mother to a character played by Sofia Andres.

Also in the cast are Diego Loyzaga, Alyana Asistio, Karen Reyes, Heaven Peralejo with Jameson Blake and Arlene Muhlach.

Angelica Panganiban (left) and Judy Ann Santos team up in the comedy film, 'Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes'

Sylvia Sanchez (left) and Sofia Andres play mother and daughter in the family drama, "Mama's Girl'

2 NEW FILMS battle it out in CINEMAS TODAY

Sanchez plays a single mother who brings up difficult daughter Sofia.

The mother and daughter pair encounter struggles and conflicts within their relationship and it will be interesting how the two lead stars will patch all their problems up with the help of friends in the cast.

“We want to start the year right by giving our audience something that will inspire them more to embrace change, make more time for people who matter the most and live life to the fullest,” Roselle Monteverde, daughter of Regal matriarch Lily Y. Monteverde, said.

So, who do we think will rake in more moolah at the box office? From the looks of it, expect a neck-andneck race.

Good luck to Regal and Star Cinema. The cinemas are yours for the next 10 days. *** Alden Richards turned a year older on Jan. 2 and to celebrate his birthday he gathered his loyal supporters and treated them to a fun day at Enchanted Kingdom on Jan. 6.

It was actually Alden’s idea to spend a special day with his fans. He came up with the concept in November 2017 and he was so hands-on with everything that he even attended all the pre-production

meetings.

The fans all had a great time. Apart from enjoying the rides in the theme park the whole day wearing personalized blue shirts with “One Fun Day with the Bae” printed on them, they also got up close and personal with the Pambansang Bae, taking selfies with him and basically bonding with him.

In the evening, Alden’s fellow GMA Artist Center stars held a concert.

Bea Binene, Kristoffer M a r t i n , Rodjun Cruz, and boybands T.O.P. (Top One Project) and One Up all performed s o n g numbers a n d had

nothing but good words for the birthday boy.

“Si Alden, kahit sobrang busy niyan, isang tawag lang, andiyan ‘yan,” shared Kristoffer.

Rodjun added, “Kapag hindi siya sumasagot, isa lang ang ibig sabihin nun – may trabaho siya. At pagkatapos na pagkatapos niya dun, umasa ka na siya mismo ang tatawag sa’yo.”

Bea also reminded the audience just how familyoriented Alden has always been by sharing that time when the actor was about to buy a car. She thought he would choose a good-looking twodoor car, but he instead chose a four-door. “Sabi niya, mas magagamit daw ng pamilya niya kung four-door car ang bibilhin niya,” she said.

Alden Richards surely started the year right – by showing his appreciation for his loyal fans, who are sure in for a treat this 2018 considering all the exciting projects of the Pambansang Bae. *** As a brand that celebrates true love in all its forms, Tiffany& Co. is delighted to be part of the love story between Maxene Magalona and Rob Mananquil, who proposed to Maxene with a brilliant Tiffany Setting engagement ring. To commemorate the couple’s wedding, Tiffany hosted a bridal shower for Maxene on Jan. 4 at the Tiffany & Co. Rustan’s Shangri-La boutique.

Maxene Magalona is all smiles during a bridal shower hosted by Tiffany & Co.

Contestants compete against one another in grueling physical activities in 'Steve Austin Broken Skull Challenge'

Steve Austin is back with a tougher ranch IF YOU’RE a fan of Steve “Ice Cold” Austin and his killer challenges, then you’re in luck. KIX, the ultimate destination for action entertainment in Asia, proudly brings you the fifth season of the action packed show, Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge.

Each episode brings a group of eight contestants, four men and four women, to the “Broken Skull Ranch” to compete in a series of physical challenges, unlike any other.

This season, a new set of America’s toughest individuals get ready to face an even tougher ranch. Each week, world-renowned athletes and everyday heroes battle I out against each other — and the desert heat — in a series of intense challenges.

After the elimination rounds, the two of the toughest challengers will take on

each other in “The Pit.” Only one will advance to the dreaded “Skullbuster,” personally designed by Austin. In the “Skullbuster,” the challenger goes head to head with the Broken Skull Challenge defending champion in the hopes of winning $10,000.

Witness the epic showdowns and the unwavering determinations of the challengers. Who will make it to the Skullbuster? Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge premieres Jan. 26, with new episodes every Friday at 9 PM only at your ultimate action destination, KIX! KIX is available on (Cablelink Ch. 31, Cignal TV Ch. 264, Destiny Cable Ch. 10, Gsat Ch. 117, and SKYcable SD Ch. 63 and HD Ch. 242). For more information, you can log on to www.

KIX-TV.com.

Love, Basil: A Valentine’s Concert WITH A HEART

THE Maryknoll/Miriam College Alumni Association (MMCAA) presents Love, Basil, a post-Valentine’s concert featuring OPM and inspirational balladeer and one of People Asia Asia’s 2017 People of the Year, Basil Valdez Valdez, with the Ateneo Chamber Singers.

Set on Feb. 15, 8 p.m. at the Music Museum, this is for the benefit of Project MMARIA, the MMCAA’s Quick Response to Calamities mobilization initiative.

Known for giving life to OPM classics and memorable movie themes penned by the country’s most celebrated songwriters, like the late George Canseco (“Ngayon at Kailanman” and “Ikaw”, among many others) and Ryan Cayabyab, Basil Valdez will take concert-goers on a journey of timeless hits that will make them smile, cry, fall in love and feel inspired once again.

Enjoy the iconic voice of the country’s top male balladeer with your special someone and other loved ones in this one-night-only concert.

Tickets are available at www.ticketworld.com. ph and the Music Museum Ticketron: Orchestra

Center – P3,000; Orchestra Side – P2,500; and Balcony – P1,500.

The concert is also still open for sponsorship. For more details, please contact: the MMCAA Alumni Office at alumni@ mc.edu.ph or ( 0 2 ) 580-5400 to 2 9 ext. 1187.

OPM legend Basil Valdez