Manila Standard - 2018 December 5 - Wednesday

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UAAP Game 2: Cops vs scalpers

By Joel E. Zurbano THE National Capital Region Police Office has deployed more police personnel to go against scalpers of tickets for the University Athletic Association of the Philippines championship series. Next page

VOL. XXXII • NO. 293 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2018 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net

Cha-Cha breezes through House in viva-voce voting

By Maricel V. Cruz

I

N VIVA-VOCE voting, the House of Representatives on Tuesday approved on second reading a resolution that amends the 1987 Constitution to effect President Rodrigo Duterte’s proposed shift to a federal form of government.

Resolution of Both Houses 15 (RBH 15), or the draft federal charter, was approved in plenary session with Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Raneo Abu as the presiding speaker. The proposed federal Charter is among the key items in the Duterte administration’s legislative agenda.

Opposition and ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio tried to block the resolution’s approval by proposing several amendments but the House rejected all

of these.

Rep. Vicente Veloso of Leyte, chairman of the House committee on constitutional amendments, told reporters the resolution will be transmitted to the Senate through the House’s Office of the Secretary General.

Veloso said he hopes the Senate will cooperate with the House in its efforts to rewrite the 1987 Constitution.

Veloso said the amended RBH provides a “no term limit” provision.

He played down criticism that the proposed federal charter was railroaded through the House, saying lawmakers have been dicussing the measure since 2017.

RBH 15, which was already amended to return the vice president in the line of succession to the presidency, remains pending in the plenary as Congress is scheduled to begin its Christmas break on Dec. 15.

Veloso, former Court of Appeals associate justice, earlier said “many provisions of the 1987 Constitution have already served, if not outlived, their purpose, hence, the sustained clamor over the years for amendments to or revision of the Constitution finds justification in the need to provide, among other much-needed Next page

THAT’S MY BALL. UP’s

Bright Akhuete tries to grab the brownball from Ateneo’s Kakou Kouame during the first UAAP Finals game last Saturday. The teams meet again today, with Ateneo hoping to nail the championship against a determined UP. Ey Acasio

Rody backs charges vs Satur

By Nat Mariano PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte backed the arrest of former congressman Satur Ocampo, saying he was guilty of kidnapping and human trafficking and endangered the lives of Lumad children.

Ocampo, ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro, and others in their group were arrested last week for allegedly bringing minors out of Talaingod, Davao del Norte. They have since posted bail.

“I support the police and the military.

I think the police did the right thing,” the President said in a chance interview at the Palace Monday evening.

Duterte said Ocampo, a former lawmaker, must be aware that an individual cannot forcefully “remove children from one community to another without the consent of the parents.”

“That is actually a kidnapping. The victims even complained… That’s the problem with the communists, they are using the Lumad. That’s why most of the casualties now are Lumad,” he said.

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Palace wants ‘permanent truce’ with communists PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte is considering a recommendation from the Defense department to dispense with the usual holiday truce with communist rebels, Palace sources said Tuesday.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, they added, was against a holiday ceasefire because the New People’s Army might use it to shore up it ranks, which have been depleted by those surrendering to the government.

Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the government wants a permanent truce rather than a holiday ceasefire.

“It’s time to stop this bloodshed, it’s been 50 years,” he said.

The military on Tueday said it will keep a tight watch on the Communist Next page

AGAINST EMERGENCY. Some 100 workers, farmers, Lumad, Moro and human rights advocates from Mindanao gather Tuesday at the People Power monument in Quezon City then trooped to the Department of National Defense at Camp Aguinaldo to protest the possible extension of martial law in Mindanao. Manny Palmero

CHR bucks martial law extension

By Francisco Tuyay, Maricel V. Cruz and Macon RamosAraneta DEFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Tuesday he would endorse the military recommendation that martial law in Mindanao be extended for another year, but the Commission on Human Rights rejected the proposal, saying President Rodrigo Duterte already had enough powers to deal with the situation in the south.

Ahead of a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, Lorenzana said the continued presence of terrorist elements—including remnants of the Maute group that overran Marawi City—justified the extension of military rule.

He also cited reports that foreign terrorist from neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia have entered the country through its southern back door unnoticed.

“There are incursions of terrorists coming from neighboring countries... but we are validating these [reports],” he said.

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New year, new tax: Rody OKs 2nd round of oil levy

By Nat Mariano PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has backtracked from his earlier promise to temporarily suspend the implementation of the second tranche of oil excise tax for 2019 as he approved its proposal during the Cabinet meeting, Malacañang con-

firmed Tuesday.

“The President has approved the recommendation of the Development Budget Coordination Committee to proceed with the implementation of the second tranche of the excise tax on fuel, effective January 2019,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a statement

Tuesday night.

According to Panelo, Duterte and the Cabinet members considered several factors before reaching a decision.

“Due consideration was given to several factors including, but not limited to, the downward impact on inflation owing Next page

OP workers assured of P50-k Xmas gift

By Macon Ramos-Araneta SENATORS “cannot kill themselves” to tackle the proposed P3.757-billion budget for 2019 just to pass it before Congress adjourns, Senator Panfilo Lacson said Tuesday.

He said a congressman or congresswoman would get an additional P1.5 billion on top of the P60-billion pork divided among House members.

Lacson said it was impossible for them to finish the budget before the year ended since they had to scrutinize the 271 items in the agenda.

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More Pinoys surfing the Net

By Nat Mariano and Maricel V. Cruz PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte says he will give P50,000 as a Christmas bonus to every government employee under the Office of the President.

He made the announcement as he led the Christmas tree lighting ceremony in the Palace grounds on Monday evening.

He made his statement even as the Alliance of Concerned Teachers on Tuesday asked him to give cash gifts to all government personnel.

The group, through ACT national chairman Joselyn Martinez, issued the call following reports that Duterte would give the employees under the Office of the President P50,000 as a Christmas bonus. Next page

Budget impasse likely—Senators

By Nat Mariano FOUR out of 10 Filipinos use the Internet, the latest Social Weather Stations’ survey showed on Tuesday.

According to SWS, 41 percent of Filipinos are Internet users, recording a steady increase from eight

O TANNENBAUM. President Rodrigo Duterte and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte

Carpio watch performers during the Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the Office of the President at the Kalayaan Grounds in Malacañang on Monday, the lyrics of the German song being wafted elsewhere in the predominantly Christian country of 106-million people. Malacañang Photo

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News

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2018

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Food agency intensifies palay buying operations THE National Food Authority said Tuesday it bought 1,012,172 bags of unmilled rice from farmers from January to November this year.

The agency said it bought 926,854 bags or 92 percent of the total in October and November, and this was after it introduced an additional P3 per kilogram buffer stocking incentive (BFI) on top of its support price of P17 per kilogram on Oct. 12.

The NFA said the cumulative procurement total without BSI from January to September was only 85,318 bags, but for November alone it was able to buy 630,934 bags of unmilled rice from the top rice-producing provinces of Mindoro Occidental, Batangas, Mindoro Oriental, Bukidnon, Isabela, Capiz, Iloilo, North Cotabato and Camarines Sur. NFA Administrator Tomas Escarez said the remarkable rise in procurement could be attributed to the agency’s additional P3 per kilogram incentive on top of its P17 per kilogram support price and up to P0.70 per kilogram delivery, drying and cooperative incentives.

“This means that given the right price, the NFA will be able to buy more from our farmers,” Escarez said.

The P3 per kilogram BSI is given across-the-board based on the NFA’s table of Equivalent Net Weight (ENW) parameters for moisture content and purity.

For clean and dry unmilled rice, the total buying price of the NFA may now reach as much as P20.70 per kilogram. PNA

Arroyo presses Energy for supply conservation S

By Maricel V. Cruz

PEAKER Gloria Macapagal Arroyo wants the Department of Energy to secure stable energy supply while conserving energy resources.

Arroyo made the statement as Congress was expected to pass on third and final reading House Bill 8629 before Congress adjourns on Dec. 14.

In a related development: * Bicol Party-List Rep. Rodel Batocabe on Tuesday called for a proper mechanism that would effectively implement the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 designed to significantly lower power rates for big consumers of electricity.

Batocabe was referring to the Retail Competition and Open Access program, which is institutionalized under EPIRA. “Let it be implemented first and let

us see if it will produce the desired effects, that is to reduce power rates,” said Batocabe.

“Anyway, there is the Joint Congressional Power Commission which serves as an oversight to check whether or not it is implemented in accordance with its legislative intent,” the minority bloc member said.

RCOA benefits so-called contestable customers—consumers of more than 750 kilowatts—by allowing them to choose their retail electricity suppliers.

One study by the Manila Observatory says this gives CCs power cost savings of up to 26 percent.

Arroyo, one of the principal authors

Jokes don't make Rody bad leader, Panelo says

By Nat Mariano and Macon Ramos-Araneta

Budget...

From A1

He said that, based on their computation, it would appear that one needed to finish with one government agency for 15 minutes.

“How would you do that?” said Lacson as he took a swipe at the House members’ insertion of what appeared to be “pork barrel” in the national capital outlay.

“So we focused, we agreed to follow the sequence but we cannot kill ourselves to finish the period of interpellation in three days,” Lacson said.

“That’s the schedule: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. By December 7 Friday, we need to close the period of interpellation, and we have to tackle 271 agencies,” he said.

“So on the assumption of 24 hours a day for three days, we have to deliberate without going home, without taking our meals. It would seem that only 15 minutes was allocated for each agency.”

Lacson has stood his ground that they could not finish the budget for the President’s signature this year.

“It is impossible,” Lacson said but added he could not give an exact date when they would finish with the budget. He said they could not predict who among his colleagues in the Senate would interpellate.

He said the Senate. Could not be blamed for a possible impasse in the budget.

“The House had the National Expenditures Program for four months, and we have just three days?” Lacson said.

He said next year’s NEP was transmitted to them by the House in the middle of July.

“Of course we received the NEP, but ideally, we were waiting for the interpellation, we were waiting for the House version before we tackled the budget.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III also took a swipe at House members for delaying the budget.

“Would they expect us to finish the budget in a matter of three days when it was with them for more than three months?” he said.

“Why would they make us suffer for the delay which they caused?”

Sotto said they would not let go of the budget without thoroughly digging deeper into the “insertions” made by House members.

New year,...

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to the steep drop in the Dubai crude oil price, the disruption in the BBB infrastructure program, and reduction in budgets including personal services of national government agencies should excise tax on fuel be suspended,” he said.

The Palace official explained that under the Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion law, the suspension of excise taxes was only provided when the global price of oil averages at $80 per barrel or higher for three consecutive months.

The current oil price in the world mar-

of the bill, said the measure, or the proposed “Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act,” shall encourage the efficient utilization of energy as well as ensure that its use will promote sustainable development.

“The bill shall promote the judicious conservation of energy resources, while minimizing their adverse impacts on the environment. It also intends to ultimately achieve the goal of the government to spur economic activity, and therefore, growth,” Arroyo said in her bill’s explanatory note.

The House on Monday approved on second reading HB 8629, setting the stage for the bill’s approval on third and final reading next week.

The bill mandates the DoE to lead the development and implementation of plans and programs to secure the stability and sufficiency of energy supply in the country, which shall cushion the impact of the high price of imported fuels to local markets.

ANTI-TERROR DRILL. NAIA security men conduct full scale exercise against

terrorism and other acts of 'unlawful interference' at NAIA Terminal 3 in Pasay on Dec. 4, 2018. The drill was held to increase their operational readiness and proficiency to address crisis situations. Norman Cruz

OP workers...

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Duterte’s daughter, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio of Davao City, earlier gave the same amount to city hall personnel, prompting her father to do the same.

In a statement, ACT asked Duterte “to take into consideration the whole government bureaucracy, not to play favorites in giving out benefits and bonuses.”

“It seems Duterte often forgets that he’s no longer merely a mayor anymore, but the President of the Philippines,” Martinez said.

“He cannot continue practicing patronage politics while the rest of the country hardly makes ends meet, with our belts incessantly tightening as the holiday season fast approaches.”

Rizalina Justol, deputy executive secretary for Finance and Administra-

tion of the Office of the Deputy Executive Secretary for Finance and Administration, said the employees under the Office of the President would receive the usual P30,000 bonus plus an additional P10,000.

After a chat with Sara Duterte-Carpio, Duterte said he would raise the bonus of the OP staff to P50,000 to be at par with the bonus of the Davao City employees.

“Hey, Inday said, ‘You are in Manila, the National Capital, and you only have 40? I give my employees in Davao 50.’

So, we’re going to compete with Davao,” he said, referring to his daughter as Inday.

“I told Lina Apostol, I don’t care.

Steal money, borrow, snitch some money as long as you make that 50. So, it’s gonna be 50,” the President said, receiving waves of laughter from his employees.

“Is that okay? I’m okay.”

If martial law is extended when it expires on Dec. 31, 2018, it will be the second extension.

CHR chairman Chito Gascon, meanwhile, said the military and police must justify their proposal to extend martial law because he believed it was unnecessary.

On May 23, 2017, President Duterte imposed martial law in Mindanao due to the Marawi siege.

Congress, in a joint session last year, granted President Duterte’s request to extend the martial law in Mindanao and suspend the writ of habeas corpus in Mindanao from Jan. 1, 2018 to Dec. 31, 2018.

Opposition lawmakers rejected an extension.

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said another extension would mock the Constitution, given the “wanton absence of actual rebellion.”

Lagman said “rebellion does not persist in Mindanao and consequently public safety is not imperiled.”

He said Armed Forces chief Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr. and Lorenzana were dragging their feet in recommending the extension because there was no critical need for it.

Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano also warned that martial law “is for emergency and temporary cases only” and “should never be treated as something ordinary and lasting.”

Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate raised fear that the extension could lead to an expansion of martial law over other parts of the country.

“The problem here is that it may appear as if the declaration of martial law is unlimited depending on the whims and caprice of the military,” Zarate said.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon on Tuesday rejected plans to extend martial law for another year.

“The proposed second extension of martial law is unconstitutional,” Drilon said.

“There is no basis for a second extension of martial law as there was no ground that necessitated the first extension,” he added.

ket, however, has gone down from $53 to $52 per barrel.

“Hence, the legal requirement for the suspension of the excise tax on fuel cannot be met,” Panelo said.

Asked what convinced the President to backtrack on his previous decision by finally greenlighting the recommendation, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno told Palace reporters that Duterte was just “simply implementing the law.”

For his part, Diokno added that the economic managers huddled on three arguments to come up with a decision.

They discussed the sudden change in the oil prices abroad, the non-existence of provision for such suspension, and mas-

sive revenue loss.

“First, [we talked about] the sharp turnaround in world crude prices.

From a peak of close to $80 per barrel (pb) to $68pb in Nov. 29, with Dubai Futures prices projecting further decline below $60 per barrel in 2019,” Diokno said.

“At its peak, diesel price was P49.80 per liter, it will be P37.76 in (sic) Jan 19, inclusive of the P2 peso excise tax. For gasoline [95 octanes] it was P60.90 at its peak, it will be 50.82 on Jan. 19 inclusive of P2 additional excise tax,” he added.

The Budget chief also said the condition for the suspension of the fuel excise tax did not exist.

CHR...

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PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte is entitled to make jokes even if he is the Chief Executive, Malacañang says, adding the President’s remarks made in jest does not make him a bad leader.

“Everybody is entitled to a joke. Even Presidents are entitled to jokes,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo told reporters late on Monday.

He made his statement after Duterte drew flak for saying he uses marijuana to keep himself awake to cope with the “killing” schedule at last month’s summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Singapore.

He later said he was only joking, adding it was his “style” to keep the audience interested in his boring engagements and stating that those who believed in his remarks were stupid.

In other developments: • Senator Grace Poe on Tuesday brushed aside Duterte’s statement that he uses marijuana to keep awake.

“Maybe I have come to get used to it in a way,” Poe told ABS-CBN News.

But Senator Aquilino Pimentel III said he did not believe that Duterte was using marijuana.

Palace...

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Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army as it celebrates its 50th founding anniversary on Dec. 26.

“We will closely monitor them and those who will be extending support and sympathies and we will expose them so the Filipinos will have an informed decision when the moment of choosing comes,” Armed Forces of the Philippines public affairs office chief Col. Noel Detoyato said Monday.

Detoyato said that it will be a hollow celebration as the rebels will be observ-

UAAP Game 2...

From A1

This after authorities arrested two groups of suspected scalpers selling tickets of the Best-of-Three Finals series between the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons and the Ateneo Blue Eagles.

NCRPO chief Guillermo Eleazar directed his men to find the masterminds behind the illegal sale of UAAP tickets.

Last Saturday, more than 21,600 people watched the first game of the series held at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. Today (Dec. 5), the second

More Pinoys...

From A1

percent since the pollster started the survey 12 years ago.

Based on the September 2018 survey, Internet use remains highest in Metro Manila at 64 percent. This was four points higher than the previous 60 percent figure in June.

“Internet use also increased by five points in Balance Luzon, from 42 percent in June to a new record-high 47 percent in September. This surpassed the previous record of 43 percent in June 2017,”

Cha-Cha...

From A1

socio-economic reforms, a longterm solution to the decades-old conflict in Mindanao and regional economic development in the countryside.”

The House leadership remains optimistic that senators will eventually agree to convene as a constituent assembly with congressmen to amend the Charter to effect the shift to a federal form of government.

Rody...

From A1

The President said Ocampo and his group’s actions could have put the lives of the children in danger.

“There might be an encounter, a shootout, putting in danger everybody,” he said.

Ocampo has dismissed the allegations that communist rebels are recruiting minors in Lumad areas, insisting that the Communist Party of the Philippines–New People’s Army has its own “rule against recruiting minors.”

“Definitely, that could not be a part of the program of the NPA,” he told ANC’s Headstart.

He said it was a coincidence that the communist rebels operate in areas where the Lumad are.

“It so happens that most if not all of the communities of the Lumads are in the hinterlands, so they become battleground areas. It is not surprising that the NPA has its main objective of organizing the people in the struggle for their own welfare,” he said.

“It doesn’t deny that there are Lumads who joined the NPA, but they are not minors,” he added.

The President, however, was not convinced, saying that while Ocampo’s groups may “have been motivated by all of the good intentions in the world,” the actions that they took were crimes.

“You know they might have been motivated by all of the good intentions in the world. But there is the intent which is criminal in bringing out and transferring children from one area to another eventually using them in their struggle,” he said.

“Satur Ocampo is fronting Bayan.

Bayan [Muna] is a front of the Communist Party of the Philippines. Why do we need to have drama? We all know that KMU (Kilusang Mayo Uno), that Gabriela, they’re all communist fronts or being used by the communists. We all know that,” he said.

The President then said that 75 percent of the members of the NPA are Lumads.

“It’s a pity. That’s the hard part when it comes to them [communists]. They cannot recruit people, so they are taking the Lumads,” he said.

“So, we have to gather them back again and tell them, ‘Look, stop f****** with the communists. They will just destroy you’,” he added.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development has taken custody of the 14 Lumad children that were with Ocampo and Castro. ing 50 years of deceit, atrocities and lies.

He also said the number of rebels who have surrendered has reached 10,698 from Jan. 1 to Nov. 28 this year.

These were broken down to 1,121 regular NPA members who have surrendered and 9,577 supporters coming from rebels’ so-called “Militia ng Bayan.”

He estimated the remaining regular NPA members at only 3,000 but said this number could vary as group continues to recruit.

Detoyato attributed the steady number of rebel returnees to the ongoing implementation of the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program program. PNA game will be held at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City at 4 pm.

“We will catch and arrest these scalpers. I pity the students who want to enjoy a good basketball game and cheer for their school,” said Eleazar.

“The scalper syndicate controls the tickets, and release these through their crooked salesmen at prices at least 10 times the real value leaving the students at their mercy. Pitiful,” he added.

Eleazar said VIP tickets regularly priced at P450 were sold by the scalpers for P3,000 while general admission tickets priced at P75 were being sold for P750. the pollster said.

“However, it fell by nine points in the Visayas, from the record-high 37 percent in June to 28 percent in September,” he added.

Internet use also decreased by two points in Mindanao, from 29 percent in June to 27 percent in September.

The SWS also found out that since December 2015, Internet use has been higher among women at 42 percent in September, which was down by three points from the 45 percent in June, compared to men, at 40 percent, which increased by four points from the previous 36 percent record.

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2018 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

SC shortlists 4 aspirants for impending vacancy at SC

Mom of 14-yr.-old Sagay massacre witness files case vs cops THE mother of a 14-year old witness in the killing of nine farmers in Sagay, Negros Occidental last Oct. 20 filed a case against policemen and the father of her son for alleged threats at the Justice department.

The complainant, who was assisted by lawyers from the National Union of People’s Lawyers, accused respondent Vic Pedaso for violation of Republic Act 9262 or Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act. The mother, whose name was withheld due to confidentiality under the law, also filed charges of child abuse under Republic Act 7610 or Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act against Sagay City police head Chief Inspector Robert Manqueto, Senior Police Officer 1 Julie Ann Diaz and Police Officer Christine Magpusaw.

“Complainant and her son have experienced threats from respondents, including the filing of trumped up charges in Sagay City against one of the complainant’s counsels. Thus, they sought refuge in Manila,” the complaint stated.

Last month, Pedaso filed charges of kidnapping against human rights group Karapatan over their alleged detention of his son, alias Lester, who reportedly witnessed the Sagay massacre. He specifically named NUPL lawyer Katherine Panguban as the one who kidnapped his son.

Ombudsman says Misuari’s trial on malversation, graft to continue

By Maricel V. Cruz FORMER Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Governor Nur Misuari’s trial on graft and malversation will continue after the Sandiganbayan denied his plea to have the cases dropped for alleged “inordinate delay” in the Ombudsman’s investigation of the case.

Misuari, who is also the founder of the Moro National Liberation Front that has since signed a peace agreement with the government, is facing charges for alleged anomalous purchase of education materials when he was chief executive of ARMM. In a resolution dated Nov. 29, the antigraft court’s Third Division said “there is nothing oppressive” in the delay of the Ombudsman’s investigation into the alleged anomaly since it only took investigators 118 days to conduct the preliminary investigation, contrary to Misuari’s claim that the investigation took more than four years.

“To the mind of the court, the period of 118 days that it took the prosecution to resolve its preliminary investigation as regards the accused-movant is reasonable. It was not occasioned by any capricious, vexatious, or oppressive delays,” the anti-graft court said.

The Sandiganbayan added that Misuari cannot claim his rights have been violated because of his admission that he was never notified of the complaint against him, and so he was unable to submit his counter-affidavit.

MASSACRE VICTIMS. A woman and her child, both survivors of the Sagay massacre, arrive at the Department of Justice in Manila on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2018, to file a complaint of violence against women and children and child abuse against the child’s biological father. Norman Cruz

Du30 names 16 new prosecutors for DOJ

By Rey E. Requejo

P

RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has appointed 16 more state prosecutors, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Tuesday.

The DOJ chief said one of the newly appointed prosecutors is Vimar Barcellano, who has been designated as the new city prosecutor of Quezon City.

The latest list of appointees as prosecutors also include Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Jinky

Dedumo, Cagayan Senior Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Alona Luyun and Cagayan Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Erwin Eloi Lasam.

Also appointed were Assistant Provincial Prosecutors Vicente Padilla Managuelod for Isabela, Serafin

Latorre Ramento Ramento IV for Leyte, Tessa Mar Tapangan for Cebu, Fatima Eugenio for Sultan Kudarat, Jonard Doria for Nueva Vizcaya, Kristofferlean Miole for Bukidnon, and Den Ryan Cagas for Surigao Del Norte.

For the position of assistant regional prosecutor, Joseph Edwardsam Eullaran was designated in Cagayan De Oro City.

The list also includes Assistant City Prosecutors Cherry Tacbas Sumaoy for Iligan City, Allen Gasulas for Tandag City; Cristine Cosadio-Umahag for Bacolod City; Hazel Miranda-Caraballe for Cebu City.

Duterte-allied PFP endorses Congress bid of party-list THE Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, a national political party composed of key allies of President Rodrigo Duterte, has endorsed Anakalusugan party-list for next year’s midterm elections.

“Anakalusugan is the only party-list of Partido Federal,” said Harvey Lauglaug, who is running for vice mayor in the municipality of Dumalinao, Zamboanga del Sur under the PFP banner.

The endorsement was given during a meeting between local officials and candidates from Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga del Norte and Anakalusugan nominee Ower Andal, former general manager of the Philippine National Railways,

as well as members of the health advocacy group in Pagadian City on Monday.

According to James Adraincem, PFP provincial officer for Zamboanga del Norte, having a health-oriented partner like Anakalusugan in Congress will help ensure all Filipinos have access to medical services and products.

“After our discussion, the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas has decided to carry Anakalusugan party-list for the 2019 elections. We have committed our support for the group as we are impressed with its health agenda,” Adraincem said.

“Our principles are aligned when it comes to taking care of the health

of all Filipinos, especially those in marginalized sectors who have little to no access to health services,” he added.

Andal, for his part, thanked PFP for its invaluable support, adding this bolsters the position of Anakalusugan as the sole party-list running on a health platform in the 2019 polls.

“Health should be part of the agenda for next year’s elections.

It is the Constitutional mandate of the state to adopt a comprehensive approach to health development and to make essential goods and health services available to all people at affordable cost. It is our right and duty as Filipinos to fight for our health,” Andal said.

DOST scholars run nutrient-testing lab THE Department of Science and Technology has shown time and again that investing in programs to develop the country’s human capital will prove beneficial in the long run.

For instance, the decades-old Balik Scientist Program and Science and Technology Scholarship Program have put the country in the position of being the Asean hub for nutrient testing by producing the experts that are capable of running such specialty laboratory.

“By institutionalizing programs such as the BSP and the scholarship scheme for poor but deserving students, the DOST is helping secure a future where public and private institutions can rely on a steady pool of highly-skilled talent that they can tap even for specialized activities and business ventures,” said DOST Secretary Fortunato T. dela Pena.

One project that directly benefited from DOST’s BSP and scholarship program is the recently launched MetaMetrics,

the first specialty laboratory for nutrient testing in the Asean region.

MetaMetrics, strategically located on Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong City, is a Department of Health registered specialty clinical laboratory that provides the most comprehensive line of micronutrient and macronutrient testing. The laboratory provides testing for cellular levels of vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and amino acids to determine nutrient deficiency or toxicity.

MetaMetrics is headed by Dr. Charina De Silva, a Balik Scientist awardee in 1998. The MetaMetrics Laboratory Director obtained her doctorate degree in Bioanalytical Chemistry at University of Florida.

She was also a graduate of the DOSTfunded Philippine Science High School and a recipient of DOST scholarship while obtaining her BS Chemistry degree. She is determined to “give back” and transfer the expertise she mastered from abroad for the development of the country.

CONGESTION. A congested traffic situation along Edsa- Kamuning southbound in Quezon City becomes even worse as Christmas Day approaches. Manny Palmero

THE Supreme Court has come up with a shortlist of four nominees for an impending vacancy in the 15-member bench as Associate Justice Noel Tijam reaches his mandatory retirement in January next year.

During an en banc session on Tuesday, the SC selected three Court of Appeals justices and an SC official among 19 aspirants as possible successor of Justice Tijam.

Those who made it to the SC shortlist include CA Associate Justice Manuel Barrios, who topped the list with seven votes, followed by CA Associate Justices Ramon Bato Jr. and Ramon Garcia and Court Administrator Midas Marquez who each got six votes.

The list was submitted to the Judicial and Bar Council for consideration in voting for the shortlist set this Friday, Marquez said in his first press conference as spokesman of the Court under Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin.

Marquez said that during the JBC voting, Bersamin will carry the SC’s list when he casts his vote as chair of the council tasked to screen aspirants to the judicial post.

Before voting on the shortlist, the seven-member JBC will conduct public interviews of aspirants for the vacancy today (Wednesday).

Among those who will face the JBC are CA Associate Justices Ramon Cruz, Eduardo Peralta, Ricardo Rosario, and Bato.

Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang and Associate Justice Efren Dela Cruz will also be interviewed by the council.

The 13 other applicants for the high court’s associate justice position will not face the JBC because their previous public interviews for earlier vacancies remain valid.

They are CA Associate Justices Stephen Cruz, Edgardo delos Santos, Japar Dimaampao, Amy LazaroJavier, Mario Lopez, Edgardo delos Santos, Barrios and Garcia; Marquez; Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Alex Quiros; Tagum Regional Trial Court Judge Virginia Tehano-Ang; and former Ateneo law dean Cesar Villanueva and De La Salle University law vice dean Rita Linda Jimeno.

Tijam was appointed SC magistrate on March 8, 2017, and was President Duterte’s second appointee at the high tribunal.

Prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court, Tijam served as a justice at the Court of Appeals Duterte is expected to appoint over 10 members of the high court during his six-year term. He already appointed seven justices so far—now Ombudsman Samuel Martires, Tijam, Andres Reyes Jr., Alexander Gesmundo, Jose Reyes Jr., Ramon Paul Hernando and Rosmari Carandang. Rey E. Requejo

Bill renaming Clark Airport as Diosdado Macapagal okayed THE House of Representatives on Monday night approved on second reading a bill renaming Clark International Airport in Pampanga to Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in honor of the late President Diosdado Macapagal.

House Bill 8549, principally authored

by Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr., said it is but fitting to name the airport in honor of former President Diosdado Macapagal, a Filipino with a sterling legacy and incomparable distinction as a “respected leader, champion of the poor, true statesman, and a nationalist of unquestionable integrity.”

Stressing the primacy of the airport in aviation and the international air transportation community, Andaya said Clark International Airport is the most viable and convenient airport of choice for travelers from North and Central Luzon and the Northern Metro Manila area.

On July 27, 2018, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Pampanga issued Resolution 5124 entitled “A Resolution Urging His Excellency President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and both Houses of Congress to Issue a Presidential Proclamation and Appropriate Legislation, Respectively, Reverting or Renaming the Clark International Airport Located at the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga to Diosdado Macapagal International Airport.”

Meanwhile, on the occasion of the 108th birthday of the late former president last September, the present Board of Directors of the Clark International Airport approved a resolution renaming the airport as Diosdado Macapagal International Airport. Maricel V. Cruz

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Opinion

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2018

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Shifting the blame TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

MY FRIENDS and acquaintances are asking me when I will launch my memoirs.

I have the initial version of my book entitled “Periodista: The Road Never Ends.” But I was not happy for many reasons. First, I missed many aspects of my life as a journalist. Second, I wanted to be as honest as I could be, portraying even my failures and frustrations.

Is the President saying that the military is no longer effective at countering the communists?

For a time I was asking myself why I should be writing my memoirs in the first place. I am, after all, not a celebrity—just a simple journalist who is now 91 years old.

Writing a book is expensive. You need an editor or somebody who can write. You have to produce the copies. Fortunately, Manila Standard will publish my book.

In any case, I have decided to rewrite everything with the help of my son Eric.

Journalism is not just a job or profession. It is a calling. There are pitfalls to avoid and lessons to be learned. *** Perhaps President Duterte has at last realized that his war on drugs is not going anywhere even after two years. Now he wants lawmakers to assess it. Santa Banana, that’s shifting the responsibility and even blame!

From the start, when he assumed

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

office in 2016, he vowed to eradicate the drug menace within months. But the drug issue is a health problem, not a peace and order issue.

True enough, despite his bloody war against drugs, the menace remains. There are some three million to four-million users and addicts.

The president of Colombia warned him that killing all the suspects will not solve the problem. The solution is building community-based rehabilitation centers. I know all this because I used to be president of DARE Foundation. I know that addicts are themselves victims.

In other words, President Duterte started on the wrong foot!

He should meet with experts so he would know the best way the problem can be addressed. Santa Banana, the drug problem can even become an issue of national security! *** Armed Forces Chief of Staff Carlito Galvez says the military needs special intelligence units to address communist rebellion. This, and not Duterte hit squads.

In the first place, the proposal for hit squads is illegal. The President is a lawyer and he should be aware of this. The creation of these units will mean that he no longer trusts the military in doing its job.

Galvez said that what must be done as soon as possible is a check on the activities of the insurgents in the countryside. There is just no substitute for intelligence work.

Some of the party-list representatives in Congress are fronts for the communist movement. Many of the rebels are not ideologues but extortionists. They force businesses to pay what they call revolutionary taxes.

With the upcoming polls, the communists will again extort money from local candidates. They must be stopped by the military! *** Santa Banana, in all commissioned and non-commissioned surveys of senatorial candidates, only

Shock and duh

T

HE time is fast approaching when people will dismiss out of hand the words spewing from President Duterte’s mouth.

The expletives, the meanspirited attacks, the rambling observations and the half sentences that trail into oblivion, and the controversial declarations and outrageous claims all aimed at provoking a reaction— all these will fall on deaf ears, inured by the sound and fury of his voice, signifying nothing.

For better or for worse, this President has accustomed us to his atrocious behavior and his scandalous pronouncements.

They no longer shock us as they should.

Thus none of us were really surprised when Mr. Duterte claimed this week that he used marijuana—still an illegal substance in this country— to cope with the “punishing” schedule at the last summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Singapore.

Nor were we surprised when

he later said this “revelation” was all a joke.

“I’m like that. If you [media] said it was a joke, I do not mind that. Of course, it was a joke, but nobody can stop me from just doing my style,” he said. “If I want to joke, I will joke. Now, if you believed it, then you are stupid.”

Unfortunately, the President’s “jokes” still catch some officials by surprise.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III, for example, seemed to give the President’s initial admission some credence and tried to cut him some slack when he said marijuana is used mostly to calm a person down.

“It is not an upper,” he said— as if that make its use by the Chief Executive all right.

This reaction may have proved the President’s point about people who believe him, but it also highlights the danger that Mr. Duterte’s allies and subordinates will take his words—even the most outrageous ones—seriously and find ways to excuse them, or worse, put them into action.

For example, when Mr. Du-

terte proposed the creation of an armed civilian group called the “Duterte Death Squad” to kill communist assassins, his spokesman defended the preposterous idea as a logical extension of statecraft. The chief of the national police even assured the public that all members of this elite group of assassins would first need to have their gun qualifications certified.

These government official forget that while they serve at the pleasure of the President, they owe their loyalty to the people they have sworn to serve. When the President proposes something that is patently wrong and disastrous—such as officially sanctioned death squads—it is not their duty to applaud him but to caution and advise him to take another, more righteous route.

Mr. Duterte, on the other hand, should know that as he struts and frets his hour upon the stage, he will one day soon be heard no more. Would it not be better that the words he speaks today be remembered for their wisdom rather than their folly?

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Dissonant voices BACK CHANNEL ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO

IT IS noteworthy that there are dissonant voices within the Duterte administration.

First, there was the statement of Philippine National Police Director General Oscar Albayalde disputing President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration on the existence of the communist Sparrow units. The President said he would revive the Davao Death Squad to counter the Sparrows’ assassination teams.

Albayalde, on the other hand, said the Sparrows no longer exist.

The Sparrows gained notoriety during the Marcos martial law regime. Operating in two or three in each team, the Sparrows targeted government officials.

Armed Forces of the Philippines chief General Carlito Galvez also differed with Duterte. He said the AFP will use intelligence agents and not hit men to counter the Sparrows.

Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teddy Locsin in his signature acerbic style, on the other hand, tagged as “bullshit” the arrest of former Bayan Party-List Rep. Satur Ocampo. Ocampo, a leftist militant, said he is no longer involved with the communist movement of Jose Ma. Sison. He was arrested and detained for three days by the police in Davao del Norte while on a mission to help schoolchildren. The police claimed Ocampo was recruiting children to join the communist movement in the Philippines, a charge which Ocampo denied.

Locsin, vouched for Ocampo’s character. He said he got to know

Ocampo well when they were then both congressmen, with Locsin representing his Makati district.

An interesting observation by Rep. Edcel Lagman: “The repeated extension of martial law in Mindanao is an admission that the police and military failed to attain its objectives.”

He added that martial law is against the provisions of the Constitution and that it need not be declared and simply left to the military and police to enforce law and order. In essence, Lagman said that lawless violence is

A series of bad jokes makes the President a bad comedian.

not ground for imposing martial law.

Often, it is an excuse to impose martial law on the whole country. Lagman said martial law in Mindanao is no longer justified since the Islamic terrorists that laid siege to Marawi are now only remnants.

Meanwhile, President Duterte drew f lak anew for saying he uses marijuana to keep awake and cope with the heavy burden of work. As usual, he said later he was only joking. Still, some people think the President was not joking, and that he indeed admitted to using marijuana.

In defending his boss, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said one bad joke does not make him a bad leader. But a series of bad jokes makes the President a bad comedian. Joking aside, a critic said Turn to A5

My Rotary Club of Manila speech (1) VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ (Following is the first part of my Rotary Club of Manila speech on Nov. 15, 2018): I WOULD like to thank the Rotary Club of Manila, Asia’s first, best and largest Rotary Club, for the honor of being invited as your speaker.

Today, I am going to discuss four main topics: One, income inequality in this world, including the Philippines; Two, the ease of doing business in the Philippines;

Three, family values and why they are important to launch and sustain a business; and Four, emerging media trends.

According to Credit Suisse, the bottom half of the global population own less than 1 percent of the world’s total wealth. The richest 10 percent own 85 percent of global wealth. The richest 1 percent owns half of global assets.

The same is true in the Philippines.

The richest 1 percent own more than half of the country’s wealth. The richest 100 families own the politics and business of this country.

According to Credit Suisse, there are only 24 Filipinos with wealth of $500 million or more, the so-called ultra high net worth individuals.

Is there no one else?

And that the Philippines has 32,354 US dollar millionaires (or high net worth individuals) whose combined wealth is $518 billion, an amount 1.67 times the country’s Gross Domestic Product of $310 billion.

The Philippines is a country of 24-million families and a population of

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Opinion

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2018

Not a magic wand

Healthy oceans, healthy people CROSSROADS

JONATHAN DE LA CRUZ (Part 2) PLASTICS have become such a presence in our everyday lives that its ‘disruptive’ presence across the economy can no longer be ignored.

A recent study commissioned by the Dame Ellen MacArthur Foundation founded by worldrenowned philanthropist and sailor Ellen MacArthur (she holds the record for solo circumnavigation of the world) noted that plastics serve as a key enabler in such sectors as packaging, construction, transportation, healthcare and electronics, among others. Plastics, the report submitted at the recent World Economic Forum said, have brought about a revolution of sorts across industries bringing massive economic benefits and unimagined perils if not properly and responsibly manufactured, used and disposed.

As advised, the success of plastics is reflected in the exponential growth over the past 50 years. The report noted: “Since 1964, plastics production has increased twenty fold, reaching 315 million metric tons in 2014, the equivalent of more than 500 Empire State buildings. It is expected to double again in 25 years and almost quadruple by 2050, with plastic packaging its largest application representing 26 percent of the total volume. As a result of its versatility, it has replaced other packaging materials. Between 2000 and 2015, the share of plastics packaging as a percentage of global packaging volumes increased from 17 percent to 25 percent. In 2013 alone the value of plastic packaging put out into the market reached US$280 billion” But, as the same report noted, together with this success was the inevitable increase in plastic rubbish, the disposition of which has put the world in a frenzy. Over the past decade the recycling of plastic waste has grown by leaps and bounds to the point that available recycling facilities worldwide have been up to their limits. The sudden decision of China, which heretofore handled almost 50 percent of plastic waste for recycling, to ban the importation of such rubbish

My Rotary...

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106-million people, of which 62,043,000 (62.043 million) are adults.

On average, each adult Filipino (19 or older) has wealth of $8,335 (debts included), according to Credit Suisse.

Credit Suisse defines net worth as the value of financial assets, plus nonfinancial assets—principally housing and land, less debts.

Of the 32,354 Filipino millionaires, 27,369 (84.59 percent) have wealth of between $1 million and $5 million; 2,757 (8.5 percent) have wealth of between $5 million and $10 million; 190 (.587 percent) have wealth of $50 million to $100 million; 130 (.4) have wealth of $100 million to $500 million; and 24 individuals (.074 percent) have wealth of $500 million or more.

Credit Suisse’s “Global Wealth Databook 2018” indicates the world has 42 million dollar millionaires. Of that number, 17.349 million individuals are in the United States; 3.479 million in China; 2.8 million in Japan; 183,736 in Singapore; 88,845 in Indonesia; 39,814 in Thailand; and 4,943 in Vietnam.

Our politics is monopolized by only a few families—100 families.

Thus you have two brothers running for senator at the same time; a family running for senator, governor, and congressman at the same time; a candidate running for mayor and a sibling running for vice mayor, with still another sibling running for congressman—and all three are unopposed. Two siblings are battling for the mayorship of Makati.

In Taguig-Pateros district, one family, the Cayetanos, will have a stranglehold.

A husband and wife Cayetano are running for Taguig’s two congressional seats. The sister of the husband is

starting this year has put the entire industry in a bind.

With China’s ban, the search for recycling facilities has shifted to high gear to the point that intermediate processors in the waste-exporting countries such as Japan have been given more leeway to deal with recyclable materials. The South China Morning Post report notes that Japan, the world’s third largest economy, “produces the most amount of plastic waste per person after the United States but lags behind other developed countries in curbing the use of plastics despite growing fears over

That’s a threat which can only be ignored at our peril.

environmental pollution.”

Indeed, recyclable waste has been piling up in most of its waste treatment plants prompting it together with the European Union, South Korea, Canada and Australia to voice alarm over the situation. The United States, the biggest plastic waste exporter of all, even argued that if the disruption caused by the Chinese ban on the import of such rubbish continues there “could be a heightened threat of increased marine litter.”

That’s a threat which can only be ignored at our peril. And here we are only talking of land-based plastic rubbish captured in the course of everyday use and disposition. There is a newer and probably even greater threat sooner rather than later in what scientists describe as marine litter which has invaded bodies of water – rivers, lakes, water systems and now the oceans. The Ellen Macarthur Foundation study on marine litter is revealing and frightening noting in particular the harmful effect of single-use plastic which, as everybody knows, is the packaging of record in almost all domestic plastic use.

Said the report: “Unless the world takes drastic action to recycle plastic, by the year 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans. At least eight million tons of plastics find their way into the oceans every year. That is

running for senator. Their brother and this brother’s wife are running for mayor and vice mayor of Taguig.

Is there no one else?

In the movie “Troy,” Brat Pitt, playing Achilles, asked after defeating a monster warrior: “Is there no one else?”

For these families, monopolies are a source of family or clan pride (“public service is a tradition”), a badge of honor (“the people love us, you know,” as if the people had any choice), and revolting of all, legal and constitutional.

The dynastic monopolies have morphed into political monarchies ruling large cities, large provinces, major regions, and indeed, the entire archipelago.

This is democratic inclusion in reverse—a rule by no more than 100 families over the world’s second largest archipelago, 12th largest consumer market, and one of the most dynamic economies in asia.

What has been the impact of dynastic rule by these 100 political families?

Is it a coincidence that the Philippines has one of the worst income equality ratios in the world, that it is the only major country that failed to solve its poverty after the entire world solved its poverty in 2015, that in Asean, it has the highest poverty incidence, the highest unemployment rate, the highest inflation rate, the highest interest rates, and the lowest level of foreign investments?

In this year’s World Bank study on Ease of Doing Business in 190 countries, the Philippines ranks a disappointing 124th, down a crucial 11 rungs from its already disappointing 113th for 2018. When President Duterte became president, the Philippines was ranked 99th.

In two years, the country went down 25 places. Or 25 other countries improved their business rules, procedures, and costs, and the Philippines did not.

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one opposition candidate stands out as having a chance of winning—former presidential candidate Mar Roxas.

It may be said the polls are far off and many things can still happen. But I cannot understand why the opposition cannot find a better lineup. This does not bode well for

the equivalent of one garbage truck full of waste every minute.”

A separate study by the European Commission reinforced the grave implications of marine litter on the global eco system and, of necessity, its peoples and economies. The report said: “More than 150 million tons of plastics have accumulated in the world’s oceans, while 4.6-12.7 million tons are added every year. It is broadly assumed that approximately 80 percent of marine litter is land-based. Marine litter can cause serious economic damage: losses for coastal communities, tourism, shipping and fishing. Potential cost across EU for coastal and beach cleaning was assessed at almost €630 million per year, while the cost to the fishing industry could amount to almost €60 million, which would represent approximately 1 percent of total revenues of the EU fishing fleet (in 2010). Taking into account its accumulation and dissemination, marine litter may be one of the fastest growing threats to the health of the world’s oceans.”

All is not lost, however. The just concluded East Asia Congress organized by the Partnership for the Environmental Management of the Seas of East Asia which brought together high level delegations from 19 countries in the region reiterated by way of its final output—the Iloilo Declaration—the group’s commitment to intensify actions and partnerships not only to save the oceans, coasts and river systems but to ensure that these resources are optimally and responsibly harnessed for the benefit of all the people. Taking their cue from similar initiatives in other parts of the world, the participants unveiled a new set of strategies to ensure full and proper participation of all stakeholders especially the millions of inhabitants in the region in this new task of harnessing our oceans and other bodies of water to bring about healthy peoples and healthy economies. By doing so, the benefits derived from an ever increasing plasticinhabited world will not only increase by leaps and bounds but will ensure the sustainability of life in this our one and only homeland.

If only for their perseverance in ensuring the recommitment of all participants, in and out of governments, to a cleaner, more progressive, sustainable and equitable development, PEMSEA and its host agency, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, deserve our best wishes.

Yet, 99th was already a bad ranking.

A total of 190 countries are studied. One half of that is 95. At 99th, the Philippines was below the global average as an easy place for doing business. Since 2016, our ranking has kept getting worse, which means as the years go on, it keeps getting more difficult to do business in the Philippines.

For the Philippine ranking, among 10 factors, the World Bank surveyed how business is started in Quezon City and how many percent of adult Filipinos have access to credit or loans. The Philippines fared badly in both.

For starting a business, Quezon City ranked 166th among 190 cities of the world. As a place to get credit, the Philippines ranked 184th, out of 190.

This means we are one of the worst places on earth to start a business (in the lowest 15 percent) and to obtain a loan (in the lowest 5 percent).

You want to get a loan? You won’t get it. Only 2.7 percent of potential borrowers are covered by the credit bureau, which means only three of every 100 could borrow from their bank. In depth of credit information, the Philippines has a grade of 0 (the worst) out of 8 (the best). The best in depth of credit information—UK and Ecuador.

To get electricity, a Filipino takes four steps, 37 days, and 21.7 percent of his income per capita. It takes 18 days to get electricity in Korea and UAE (the global best). It costs zero in China, Japan, and UAE. To register property, the Filipino must endure nine steps and 35 days and pay 4.3 percent of the value of the property.

The global best for registering property: one step (Norway, Portugal, Sweden), one day (New Zealand); and zero cost (Saudi Arabia).

Email: biznewsasia@gmail.com

the next Senate, which is ideally independent. I dread the prospect of having a Senate that is composed of minions of the Executive. *** President Duterte may love telling jokes to people, but his marijuana joke was just a tad too much. In fact it was not funny at all.

We elected a President to lead us, not entertain us!

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SO I SEE LITO BANAYO SENATOR Ralph Recto, a political economist in the true sense of the word, was correct when he explained his vote on the rice tariffication bill that would soon await President Duterte’s signature to become law.

“Rice tariffication is not the end-all and be-all in attaining food security,” said Recto.

“Much remains to be done to make affordable food available to all, at all times. It is also wrong to benchmark food security to one crop alone—rice, even if it is the national staple,” Recto said.

It is a complex problem, and the solutions to our perennial rice affordability-availability equation are many. It is not a one-size, fit-all solution that some think rice tariffication is.

Flooding the market with cheap imported rice is palliative to the cost-push inflation in food that we recently experienced, and continue to. But flooding it forever with cheap imports will also affect our palay farmers negatively, unless a combination of pro-active measures is done, as the bill envisions.

At the end of the day, it is all about implementation.

Recto hopes that the promise of the proposed law will not be lost in execution. “It is a fear that is not unfounded.

Ours is a government littered with the carcasses of laws full of good intentions, only to die at the hands of bad implementors,” he warned.

Indeed. So many programs have been launched to attain food security, and about the only one that attained rice self-sufficiency, in its time so material because the Indo-Chinese countries were yet to produce a surplus of the national staple, was during the time President Ferdinand Marcos named his executive secretary, Rafael Salas, to undertake a crash program to achieve the same.

But that was a different epoch. The consumption numbers were relatively small, with a population of 38 million compared to today’s 107 million.

And even Salas’ much-ballyhooed achievement did not last long. During the second term of Marcos, when he had left to take a post at the United Nations, rains and floods inundated the central plains of Luzon, creating a severe shortage that later precipitated the declaration of martial law on whose first months the public was forced to eat rice and corn mix.

The next Marcos experiment to achieve rice self-sufficiency was Masagana 99, piggy-backed on a new seed that the International Rice Research Institute developed. Successful at the beginning with bumper harvests, the cost to government and the bad repayment of loans extended to farmers became a drag on the economy.

Successive governments, from Cory to Duterte, were faced with big and small crises pertaining to rice, either on massive spending that was laid to waste by a combination of inefficiency and corruption, or pig-headedness about solutions bound to fail even at inception.

Or natural calamities, from droughts to floods to typhoons.

Our entry into the WTO in 1995 was done with an exception to free trade in the case of rice, through a ten-year quantitative restriction where the Na-

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the biggest joke Digong pulled on the Filipino people is getting himself elected president.

Senators Grace Poe and Panfilo Lacson said the subject of marijuana use is something the President should not joke about. The Senate is scheduled to hold a hearing on the use of marijuana for medical purposes and will call doctors and other experts as resource persons.

Articles appearing in some medical journals claim marijuana use can addle a person’s brain and his way of thinking. Draw your own conclusion if indeed marijuana use has this downside.

In America, the use of marijuana is legal in some states but other

tional Food Authority was to have monopoly and control on the importation of the staple. By 2004, we asked for another extension, and was granted seven years, from 2005 to June 30, 2012.

When I was at the helm of the National Food Authority, I was tasked to negotiate for another extension of five years, and though it was granted years after I had left the NFA, that final extension ended June 30, 2017. It took Congress and the government as a whole one and a half years to pass the rice tariffication bill that would substitute for quantitative restrictions.

Balancing the need to produce enough rice and make the staple affordable and available at all times is not an easy task.

But the law is not a magic wand that would finally resolve the issues bedeviling our romance with rice.

The issue of high consumer prices of a basic commodity would be solved, to a great extent, by importing. But that writes finis to the quest for self-sufficiency, which is truly a rather impossible dream. Worse, it could kill the palay-farming sector, which is something we can ill afford. Creating a balance between the need to produce enough rice (enough, not totally self-sufficient) through greater productivity at lower cost to farmers, and the need to make the staple affordable and available at all times is not an easy task.

In some future column, we would write about this complex problem and the many solutions that need to be done effectively and efficiently by the executive department and its agencies.

For now, we can only echo the hope of Sen. Recto when he reminded fellow senators that as authors of the measure, “we must see to it that the promised minimum P10 billion in Rice Competitiveness EnhancementFund is appropriated annually. And equally important is that the fund adheres to the menuwe have stipulated in this bill.”

When we acceded to the WTO during FVR’s presidency, Congress created an Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund. That was 1995.

Now, 23 years later and counting, where have all the ACEF funds gone?

To paraphrase a Joan Baez classic ballad: “Where have all the flowers gone?,” in the case of ACEF, gone to private pockets…when will they (we) ever learn?

••• Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau reported that as of the weekend past, the number of visitors to the island reached 10 million. The target this year is for 11million visitors, a tad higher than last year’s actual arrivals of 10.73 million.

We hope that despite the Boracay closure and rehabilitation, we in the Philippines reach or at least approximate our seven-million visitor target for 2018.

The “cold” cross-strait relations since 2016 has been marked by a decline in visitor arrivals from mainland China to Taiwan over the last two years, although countries covered by the New Southbound Policy such as the Philippines and Vietnam have seen a 51 percent and 33 percent respective increases in visitors to Taiwan over the same period last year.

states remain firm against its use even for medical purposes. US medical experts express the concern that the proliferation of marijuana use could lead to more serious drug addiction.

In the Philippine where the government is waging a relentless and brutal war against illegal drugs, legalizing marijuana use can only result in a more widespread drug problem—and more extrajudicial killings of suspects.

It’s good to hear President Duterte saying he would not grant pardon to the three policemen convicted for killing teenager Kian de los Santos who was suspected of drug trafficking. The President has earlier stated he would defend policemen in the performance of their duty, but that he would not do this for those who simply take the lives of others.

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PITX ‘word war’ shifts to Senate

By Macon Ramos-Araneta THE “word war” between LTRFB chairman Martin Delgra and outgoing LTFRB board member lawyer Aileen Lizada had shifted to the Senate on Tuesday where they traded barbs over the falsification of the newly-opened Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange.

In the public hearing on the PITX issue conducted by the Senate public services committee chaired by Senator Grace Poe, Lizada divulged that Delgra ordered her to get the third and last page of the first memorandum circular 2018-022.

The first memo circular, which contained Lizada’s signature, provides that all buses should have their terminal at PITX, the country’s first landport.

To bolster her assertions, Lizada presented to the Senate panel a copy of the memorandum sent to the UP Law Center and the Philippine Star for publication during the hearing.

She said her initials on the document were not there.

But Delgra strongly denied the allegations

hurled against him by Lizada, who was transferred to the Civil Service Commission.

The revised memo mandates the exemption of some buses from using the landport along Roxas Boulevard in Baclaran.

In the same hearing, Poe also questioned the failure of LTRFB to issue a fare matrix for provincial buses coming from the south which uses PITX. It was reported that several passengers had complained that there was no change in the amount of fare despite a reduction in the distance.

The buses they were riding no longer brought them to their destinations either in Lawton, Manila or Edsa.

Lizada also questioned the exemption given

by LTRFB to some bus companies to have their terminal at the newly-opened PITX. The DOTR said 159 buses were given exemption, but this was countered by Poe who said 359 provincial buses were instead exempted from ending their routes at the newly-opened Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange.

LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE

NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION

Notice is hereby given that the legal heirs of the late ANTONIO C. JAO (the “Decedent”), who died intestate on January 13, 2018 at San Juan City, have executed a DEED OF EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE WITH WAIVER OF RIGHTS dated June 5, 2018. The legal heirs, being all of legal age, hereby adjudicate unto themselves the properties left by the Decedent. As per Doc No. 212; Page No. 44, Book No. 23; Series of 2018; under Notary Public of Atty.

Joel E. Paner.

Notice is hereby given that the Estate of CARIDAD N. PA G L U M O TA N was extra-judicially settled among heirs as per Doc. No. 73; Page No. 16; Book No. 714; Series of 2018 before Notary Public Atty. Benjamin F. Alfonso of Quezon City.

The public is hereby notified that AVC PHILIPPINES INC. (“Corporation”), a corporation organized and existing under Philippine laws, with registered address at 2/F Fortune Bldg., 144 Pasig Blvd., Brgy. Bagong Ilog, Pasig City, Philippines, will be DISSOLVED through the shortening of its corporate term in accordance with Section 120 of the Corporation Code. Corporation’s dissolution will take effect upon approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission of the amendment made on Corporation’s Articles of Incorporation to shorten its corporate term.

(MS-NOV. 21, 28 & DEC. 5, 2018)

(MS-DEC. 5,12 & 19, 2018)

SCN FORM NO. 1 (R.A. NO. 9139)

or subject is not at war with the Philippines and grants to Filipinos the right to be naturalized citizens or subjects thereof.

001558

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON NATURALIZATION IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION OF SHIRLEY HUI SHI to be naturalized as Filipino citizen pursuant to Republic Act No. 9139.

SCN CASE NO. x------------------ x

PETITION Pursuant to the provisions of Republic Act No. 9139, petitioner hereby submits a petition for naturalization to become a citizen of the Republic of the Philippines and respectfully declares: 1. My full name is SHIRLEY HUI SHI, but I have also been known since childhood as SHIRLEY or I have been judicially SHI, BAOXUAN . authorized to use the alias name(s) 2. My present place of residence is 88 MARCOS HIGHWAY, BRGY. MAYAMOT City/Municipality of ANTIPOLO CITY Province of RIZAL and all my former places of residence are (please indicate periods of residence) 1995 - 2014 731 ELCANO ST., BINONDO, MANILA 2014-PRESENT 88 MARCOS HIGHWAY, BRGY. MAYAMOT, ANTIPOLO 3. I was born on FEBRUARY 7, 1995, in MANILA, Philippines. I have been a resident of the Philippines since birth. At present, I am a citizen or subject of CHINA. 4. My father's name is SHI, JIN LANG and he was born on NOVEMBER 26, 1959, in CHINA. He is a citizen or subject of CHINA. My mother's name is HUI, SAU YEE and she was born on JUNE 17, 1960 in HONG KONG. She is a citizen or subject of PHILIPPINES. 5. My trade, business, profession or lawful occupation is N/A and from which I derive an average annual income of N/A , inclusive of bonuses, commissions and allowances.

My wife's/husband's trade, business, profession or lawful occupation is N/A and from which she derives an average annual income of P N/A .

(Where the above does not apply): I am exempt from the requirement of lucrative trade or occupation and from submitting income tax returns for the past three (3) years because I am a college degree holder [please state (1) degree obtained:BS ARCHITECTURE, (2) name of school: UP DILIMAN and (3) years graduated: 2018] who cannot practice my profession (the practice of which requires a government licensure examination) by reason of my citizenship.

6. My civil status is SINGLE, I was married on N/A in N/A. My wife's/husband's name is N/A and she/he was born on in N/A. She/he is a citizen or subject of N/A and presently resides N/A 7. I am legally separated from my spouse; my marriage was annulled, per decree of legal separation/annulment dated N/A granted by N/A. (please indicate the particular court which granted the same). I am a widower/widow and my spouse died on N/A in N/A. 8. I have N/A child/children, whose names, dates and places of birth and residences are as follows:

Name N/A

Date of Birth N/A

Place of Birth N/A

Residence

PHILIPPINE INSTITUTE

Place of Dates of Highest Grade School Study Completed QUEZONCITY 2002 to 2008 PRIMARY

OF QUEZON CITY U.P. DILIMAN

QUEZONCITY 2008 to 2012 QUEZONCITY 2012-2018

SECONDARY COLLEGE GRADUATE

10. I am able to read, write and speak Filipino and/or any of the following dialects of the Philippines: TAGALOG 11. I have enrolled my minor children of school age in the following public schools or private educational institutions duly recognized by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS), where Philipine History, government and civics are taught and prescribed as part of the school curriculum and where enrollment is not limited to any race or nationality:

Name of Child N/A

Name and Place of School N/A

13. It is my true and honest intention to become a citizen of the Philippines and to renounce absolutely and forever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, and, particularly, to CHINA of which at this time I am a citizen or subject. I will reside continuously in the Philippines from the date of the filing of this petition up to the time of my admission to Philippine citizenship.

14. My character witnesses are BERNADETTE TAN ONG and DANIEL CHEN RATILLA both Filipino citizens, of legal age, and residing at 17 BALER ST., SFDM, QUEZON CITY and 69 KITANLAD ST., BRGY. DOÑA JOSEFA, Q.C. respectively, who have executed sworn statements attached hereto in support of my instant petition, together with: (a) brief biographical data about themselves; (b) detailed statements on the dates they first came to know me, the circumstances of our initial acquaintance and the reasons and extent of our continuing familiarity; and (c) the number of times they have acted as character witnesses in other petitions for naturalization.

15. Attached hereto as annexes and made part of this petition are the duplicate originals or certified photocopies of the following documents (please check the appropriate box): [ / ] a. Petitioner's birth certificate [ / ] b. Petitioner's alien certificate of registration (ACR) [ ] c. Petitioner's native-born certificate of residence (NBCR) [ ] d. Petitioner's marriage certificate, if married [ ] e. Death certificate of his/her spouse, if widowed [ ] f. Court decree annulling his/her marriage or granting legal separation, if such was the fact [ ] g. Birth certificates of petitioner's minor children [ ] h. ACRs of petitioner's minor children [ ] i. NBCRs of petitioner's minor children [ ] j. Affidavits of financial capacity by the petitioner, duly supported by bank certifications, passbooks, stock certificates, or proof of ownership of other properties [ / ] k. Affidavits of at least two (2) credible witnesses who must be Filipino citizens of good reputation in petitioner's place of residence [ / ] l. Medical certificate from a government hospital stating that petitioner is not suffering from mental alienation or a user of prohibited drugs or otherwise a drug dependent and that he/she is not afflicted with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), or any incurable contagious disease. [ / ] m. School diploma and transcript of records of the petitioner from the school/s he or she attended in the Philippines [ ] n. Certifications stating that petitioner's minor children are enrolled in public schools or private educational institutions duly recognized by the DECS, where Philippine history, government and civics are taught and prescribed as part of the school curriculum and where enrollment is not limited to any race or nationality [ ] o. Petitioner's income tax returns for the past three years [ ] p. Petitioner's receipts of payment of income tax for the past three years 16. Other documents submitted by the petitioner in support of his/her petition: NBI, BARANGAY, POLICE CLEARANCES OFFICE OF THE CITY PROSECUTOR, RTC, MTC COURT CLEARANCES JOINT AFFIDAVIT OF SUPPORT OF PARENTS, WITH BANK CERTIFICATES, CERTIFICATE OF EMPLYMENT AND ANNUAL TAX RETURN OF PARENTS PRAYER WHEREFORE, it is respectfully prayed that petitioner be conferred Philippine citizenship pursuant to the provisions of Republic Act No, 9139.

Dated at Makati City, Metro Manila, this 22 day of OCTOBER, 2018.

N/A

9. I received my primary and secondary education from the following public schools or private educational institutions duly recognized by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS), where Philippine history, government and civics are taught and prescribed as part of the school curriculum and where enrollment is not limited to any race or nationality:

Name of School

(MS-NOV. 28, DEC. 5 & 12, 2018)

Date of Enrollment N/A

12. I shall never be a public charge. I am of good moral character. I believe in the principles underlying the Philippine Constitution. I have conducted myself in a proper and irreproachable manner during the entire period of my residence in the Philippines in my relations with the constituted government as well as with the community in which I am living. I mingled socially with Filipinos and have evinced a sincere desire to learn and embrace the customs, traditions and ideals of the Filipino people. I have all the qualifications and none of the disqualifications under Republic Act No. 9139.

I am not opposed to organized government or affiliated with any association or group of persons who uphold and teach doctrines opposing all organized governments. I am not defending or teaching the necessity or propriety of violence, personal assault or assassination for the success and predominance of one's ideas. I am not a polygamist nor a believer in the practice of polygamy. I have not been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude. I am not suffering from mental alienation or from any incurable contagious disease. The country of which I am a citizen

SHIRLEY HUI SHI Name and Signature of Petitioner Address: 88 MARCOS HIGHWAY, BRGY. MAYAMOT, ANTIPOLO CITY Telephone Number: 647-3494/ 682-2095

Right Thumbmark of Petitioner

Petitioner's signature and right thumbmark

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES) CITY/MUNICIPALITY OF QUEZON CITY) S.S. I, SHIRLEY HUI SHI of legal age and a resident of 88 MARCOS HIGHWAY, ANTIPOLO CITY after being duly sworn, depose and say that I am the petitioner herein, that I have read the foregoing petition and know the foregoing petition and known the contents thereof, and that the same is true of my own knowledge.

SHIRLEY HUI SHI Name and Signature of Petitioner

SUBCRIBED AND SWORN to before me at MAKATI CITY, this 22 day of OCTOBER 2018.

(MS-NOV. 28,DEC. 5 & 12, 2012)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

ROTARY DONATION. Marikina City Vice Mayor Dr. Jose Favian Cadiz (left) with Amang Rodriguez Medical Center OIC Director and Joam Rotary Club president from South Korea Bong Sik Lee visit one of the patients at the Burn Unit room. The Rotary Club donated almost P8 million worth of hospital equipment recently, part of the equipment was a milk bank for breast milk donations.

5 suspected KFR members nabbed, charges prepared

By Vito Barcelo

J

OINT operatives of the Bureau of Immigration and Philippine National Police arrested five Chinese nationals suspected to be members of a kidnap for ransom syndicate victimizing Chinese tourists in the country and rescued a Chinese man they kidnapped.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said agents from the BI Fugitive Search Unit and PNP-Anti Kidnapping Group arrested the suspects in a raid in Sampaloc Street, Casimiro Village, Las Piñas City.

“In the operation, the team rescued a Chinese man who was being held captive while awaiting payment for the ransom money,” Morente said.

Arrested were identified as Wang Rui, Li Ming, Ju Wenping, Liu Ming, and Li Sanjiu, while the rescued victim’s name was withheld to protect his family. Their hometown addresses were not disclosed.

“We received a request from the PNP-AKG to conduct joint operations against two Chinese nationals involved in the kidnapping of their compatriots last year,” Morente said.

The BI official said the foreigners had already victimized a number of Chinese who were released after paying ransom.

“During the raid, the gang’s leader who had been wanted in China eluded arrest and continued to stay in their hideout with more victims,” he said.

BI FSU Chief Bobby Raquepo said the rescued victim, whose name had been withheld for his protection, arrived in the country as tourist.

The suspects are now in the custody of the PNP-AKG and criminal charges will be filed against them.

Airport holds security drill to prepare people for blasts

By Joel E. Zurbano THE Manila International Airport Authority on Tuesday conducted a security drill to prepare people in the event of bomb explosions and other terrorist attacks at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The full-scale drill, according to MIAA general manager Eddie Monreal, was part of the NAIA crisis management plan when bomb explosion occurred at the airport.

Government personnel from the MIAA, National Police, Armed Forces, National Bureau of Investigation, Bureaus of Customs, Immigration and Quarantine, and other agencies attached at the airport, as well as airline operators participated in the emergency exercise.

Monreal said the action plan of the exercise “aims to resolve a bomb explosion incident effectively and efficiently in order to guarantee the fast return to normalcy of operation of the NAIA.” The scenario was of a car bomb incident at the airport’s parking area where aviation police bomb personnel cordoned off the place.

With the assessment by the bomb disposal unit, the airport’s crisis management committee concerned with the formulation of bomb explosion management policy activated the airport emergency plan to handle the crisis where the area was cleared

with non-essential vehicles, equipment and persons near the vicinity of the explosion site.

“This year’s exercise will be a case of a bomb explosion in the NAIA complex. The action plan of the exercise aims to resolve a bomb explosion incident effectively and efficiently on order to guarantee the fast return to normalcy of operation of the NAIA,” said Monreal.

A canine unit from the Special Operations Unit of the PNP-Aviation Security Group performed “bomb explosion intervention/operation” at the seat of the explosion.

The MIAA provided firefighting and rescue personnel, logistics as well as medical team as support group.

In June 2017, Monreal ordered his key officials to put in place heightened security measures in four terminals of the NAIA in light of the threat posed by members of the extremist Maute Group.

The Maute Group on May 23, 2017 attacked Marawi City resulting in the declaration of martial law in Mindanao.

Monreal stressed the need for consistent visibility of security personnel in transport facilities to prevent untoward incidents and to deter lawless elements from conducting activities detrimental to passengers.

Belardo, Cabie top chess duel TWO fifth graders of the Sacred Heart Catholic School in Brookside, Cainta, Rizal copped the first and second prizes for gold and silver medals in the recently concluded Chess Division of the school’s annual Sports Festival.

The gold medal was won by Andrei Joaquin Belardo, who played white against Mikhail Bernard VIII S. Cabie in the finals of the three-day competition that included other sports genres.

The third and bronze medal was garnered by Jared Sese, a sixth grader under the K-12 curriculum of the school, a steward of love and compassion, transforming lives in serving God and community while providing Christian quality education.

Cabie is the son of Korean martial art tae kwon do enthusiast and chess master Andy Lord Cabie and IT specialist Lui Santos Cabie.

The tournament was supervised by teachers who included Ricky Concepcion, who teaches Edukasyon sa Pagpakatao at the Brookside Hills campus.

The awards were given shortly after the Monday flag-raising ceremonies at the campus of the school’s gated subdivision in the first class municipality.

3 rich men in 4 days, says PCSO PHILIPPINE Charity Sweepstakes Office General Manager Alexander Balutan said on Tuesday the agency had produced three new millionaires in just four days from its lotto products.

“The number combinations of these lucky winners were picked from the Mega Lotto 6/45, Lotto 6/42 the past four days,” said Balutan.

On Nov. 30, a lucky bettor got the number combinations of 32-22-0607-02-41, getting the jackpot price of P76,000,000. The ticket was bought at the lotto outlet in Matina Aplaya in Davao City.

On Dec. 1, another bettor won the P22,018,008 jackpot prize with the number combinations of 15-26-11-2324-01 in the Lotto 6/42 draw.

The ticket was purchased at the lotto outlet in Poblacion, Biñan, Laguna.

The third millionaire won the P8,910,000 Mega Lotto 6/45 jackpot draw on Dec. 3 with the winning combination of 06-10-18-02-31-26.

The ticket was purchased at the lotto outlet in Bicutan, Taguig City.

“All the winning combinations were self-picked by the winners. And for you to win, you have to buy ticket of course,” said Balutan.

To claim prizes, Balutan reminded everyone to follow the following guidelines: “Write your name and affix your signature at the back of your winning tickets before claiming your prize. Prize amounting to P20.00 up to P5,000 can be claimed at any authorized Lotto outlet or at the PCSO Branch Offices in your area; while prizes worth more than P5,000.00 up to P200,000 can be claimed at any of the at the PCSO Main Office,” he said.

The PCSO main office is located at the 2nd Floor Conservatory Building, 605 Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City.

“The jackpot prize can only be validated and claimed at the PCSO Main Office. Just keep on buying lotto tickets. Who knows you can be the next lotto millionaire?” he said.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Sports

A7

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2018 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Aces, Hotshots start best-of-7 Governors’ Cup title showdown

By Jeric Lopez THE stage is set for Alaska and Magnolia as the two storied franchises go all out to reclaim glory at the start of their best-of-seven championship tilt in the 2018 Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup. Game 1 of the Finals is scheduled at 7 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City today as the Aces and the Hotshots both seek a nice jumpstart.

Evenly matched on paper and on the floor, both camps expect no less than fireworks as a tough series lies ahead.

“It’s always tough playing Magnolia.

We’re expecting nothing but a grind-out series ahead against these guys,” said Alaska coach Alex Compton. “I have high respect for them (Hotshots), but I believe in my team.”

“It will be a battle of execution. Both teams are capable of winning,” said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero. “We are positive that we have the ability to

Barrientos’ son rises in PPS net tournament ALEJANDRO Barrientos and Geanlijah Ros Sagandoy pulled off a pair of reversals to rule their respective divisions and lead the winners in the PPS-PEPP MCTA National age group tennis tournament at the Olivarez Sports Center in Sucat, Parañaque City last Monday.

The sixth-ranked Barrientos, son of former Davis Cupper Felix, strung up a series of straight-set victories to nail the boys’ 14-andunder crown, capping his romp with a 6-3, 6-0 triumph over No. 3 Keno Enriquez while the second seeded Sagandoy rallied from a set down to repel No. 1 Kryssana Brazal, 3-6, 6-2, 10-1, and snare the girls’ 16-U diadem as they shared the MVP honors in the Group 2 tournament sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop and Mac’s Crankit Tennis Academy.

“The series of reversals only underscored the level playing field in our circuit that has continued to produce new faces,” said Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro after the fifth-to-last tournament in another successful season of the annual, nationwide circuit.

“With another 70-leg circuit lined up next year, we expect to produce more and more talents, particularly from the countryside.”

Sharing the spotlight in the five-day event presented by Dunlop and sanctioned by the Unified Tennis Philippines, made up of PPS-PEPP, Cebuana Lhuillier, Wilson, Toby’s, Dunlop, Slazenger and B-Meg, are Leyton Portin, Sebastien Lhuillier, Joshua Diva and Roque Lim in the boys’ side and Denise Bernardo, Chelsea Roque and Airies Tanawan in the girls’ division.

The unseeded Portin produced a stirring victory in the boys’ 18-U section, beating top seed Jester Ocio, 5-3, 5-4(6) in the second round en route to pocketing the crown with a 6-3, 6-1 win over doubles partner John Rombawa; Lhuillier nipped Edgardo Angara in a tightly fought duel, hacking out a 7-5, 7-6(5) decision to snatch the 16-U title; Diva scored a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Benedict Aguilar to clinch the 12-U plum; while Lim toppled Kendrick Bona, 5-4(4), 2-4, 5-3, for the 10-unisex diadem.

get the championship.”

The import match-up between Magnolia’s Romeo Travis and Alaska’s Mike Harris, the leading candidates for the Best Import Award, is expected to be a titanic clash, similar to the teams’ backcourt battle.

The prolific Magnolia trio of Paul Lee, Mark Barroca and Jio Jalalon are to go up against Alaska’s Chris Banchero, Simon Enciso and Jvee Casio.

Upfront is likewise an interesting bout as top power forward Vic Manuel and Ian Sangalang are bound to gut it out down low.

Both protagonists took the similar path on their way to the finals as they dislodged the two finalists from last season.

Alaska and Magnolia both took their semifinal duels in four games, with the Hotshots dethroning powerhouse Barangay Ginebra and the Aces eliminating Meralco to set-up their encounter at the big stage.

DEEP IN TRAINING. Filipino boxing icon Senator Mannny Pacquiao trains with coach Buboy Fernandez in preparation for his Jan. 19 fight with Adrien Broner in Las Vegas. Sonny Espiritu

Ateneo eyes title, UP seeks 1-1 tie

By Peter Atencio

P

Games Wednesday

LAYING a more focused game will be the key to victory for the defending champion Ateneo Blue Eagles, who want to beat the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons and claim the 81st University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball crown.

For the Fighting Maroons, the return of big man Bright Akhuetie and a better defensive effort will allow them to survive Game 2 their best-of-three series with the Blue Eagles.

Gametime is 3:30 p.m.

The Blue Eagles will be shooting for their 10th crown since joining the league 1979, while the Fighting Maroons aim to stretch the finals to a deciding Game 3 on Saturday.

Blue Eagles’ coach Sandy Arespacocha-

ga, speaking on behalf of head mentor Tab Baldwin, said for the team to be focused, they have to avoid having an emotional matchup with the Fighting Maroons.

Doing so will allow the Blue Eagles to maintain their killer instinct throughout the game.

“Emotion is good. But you have to make sure that it doesn’t force you to lose focus,” said Arespacochaga.

Earlier, the National University Bulldogs

(Game 2 at the Araneta Coliseum) 11 a.m. FEU vs NU (women) 3:30 p.m. UP vs Ateneo(men)

will go for their fifth straight crown when they meet Far Eastern University at 11 a.m. in the Game 2 of the women’s finals.

The Maroons showed their fighting heart and were able to withstand many rallies that the Eagles came up against them, even after they lost big man Bright to a knee injury in the third period.

But the Blue Eagles bucked the return of Akhuetie as they went on to post an 88-79 win last Saturday.

“If we hold on to our focus until the end, we will still have a chance. Against Ateneo, you can’t sleep, you can’t lose focus for a bit,” said UP coach Bo Perasol.

Judiciary’s hot shooting vs AFP keys UNTV victory JUDICIARY buried six triples in the payoff period and became the first team to beat Armed Forces of the Philipppines, while the Philippine National Police continued its surge in the 7th UNTV Cup held recently at the Pasig City Sports Center.

Chester Tolomia and Frederick starred for Judiciary’s third win in eight games by exploding for 37 points each to help the Judiciary Magis beat the AFP Cavaliers, 95-93.

Despite the loss, the Cavaliers still lead the standings with a 6-1 card followed by MalacañangPhilippine Sports Commission (5-1) and PNP 6-2.

The top two teams after the second round of elims will advance outright to the semis of the event organized by UNTV president and CEO Daniel Razon for public servants.

The PNP Responders, on the other hand, leaned on the hot hands

Games Tomorrow (JCSGO gym, Cubao) 12:30 p.m. – Agriculture vs AFP 2 p.m. – PITC vs Malacañang-PSC 3:30 p.m. – NHA vs Senate

of former University of the East player Olan Omiping to beat the National Housing Authority Builders, 102-93.

PNP’s win was its fifth straight since a 1-2 start, fortifying its bid to claim one of two outright berths in the semis.

In his best game so far, Omiping erupted for 35 points aside from post i ng 9 boards, four steals and three steals. Richard Villanueva backed him up with 14 points.

Meantime, Senate snapped a threegame losing run with an 84-76 win over the skidding Department of Agriculture—thanks to 23-point performance of Garri Sevilla.

The win improved Senate’s record to 4-3.

Harley Ng drives to the basket against Department of Agriculture to help Senate snap a three-game losing run with an 84-76 win in the UNTV Cup.

Strong start nets Thai 2-stroke Pradera lead over Ardina, 6 others LUBAO, Pampanga – Thai Ornicha Konsunthea sizzled in an early start then bucked the strong wind late in the round to churn out a bogey-free four-under 68 and wrest a two-stroke lead over a late-charging Dottie Ardina and six others at the start of the ICTSI Pradera Verde Ladies Classic here yesterday.

Konsunthea birdied four of the last six holes at the front, spiking his solid start with a near-ace on No. 8 then survived the exacting conditions at the back with a run of pars that put her in front of stellar field with a 32-36 card at the flat but challenging

22nd birthday, Ardina put on a Pradera Verde layout. scorching windup when things “I thought it was a hole-ingot a lot tougher to get back one,” said Konsunthea of his into the mix after blowing a superb 9-iron tee-shot on the fine start with four bogeys in a 146-yard hole. “The wind was seven-hole stretch from No. 5. strong and the greens are a But the LPGA Tour-bound bit slow. It’s good I made this ace rallied with a pair of backround.” to-back birdies from Nos. 14 While the Bangkok naand 17 to crowd Thais Chontive, who tied for ninth in the lada Chayanun, Trichat Cheenopening leg of the 2019 Ladies Ornicha Konsunthea glab, Yupaporn Kawinpakorn, Philippine Golf Tour season at John Hay last October, leaned on a strong Chankansim Khamborn and Chommapat start to seize control on a day before her Pongthanarak and compatriot Princess Su-

peral at second at 70.

“I got caught by the gusts at the back,” said Ardina, who still rose to the challenge and drilled in birdies from long range to wheel back into early contention in her rare stint in the circuit put up by ICTSI and organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. Superal missed grabbing solo second with a bogey on No. 14 but remained confident of her chances for a third victory in the year after scoring back-to-back triumphs at the Riviera and Midlands stops of the 2018 LPGT season.

Metro Turf to suspend operations next year THE HOARSE WHISPERER JENNY ORTUOSTE THE Metro Manila Turf Club, Inc. recently wrote the Philippine Racing Commission regarding their intention to temporarily suspend operations from January to March 2019.

The club cited “huge losses in its racing operations since January 20128, mostly due to external factors such as illegal sabong operations, decline in patronage due to higher taxes, waning interest of bettors, ex-

cessive regulations and controls, decreasing numbers of horse breeders and horseowners, among others” for its decision.

The club’s congressional franchise to operate expires in April 2022.

The racing industry is already scrambling for a solution to this development.

A group of horseowners met last Monday to discuss their possible takeover of MMTCI operations.

Philracom, for its part, is proposing a schedule of four racing days a week alternating between the two other clubs, Manila Jockey Club, Inc.’s San Lazaro Leisure Park and Philippine Racing Club, Inc.’s Santa Ana Park.

As I have mentioned in previous columns, the TRAIN law that took effect at the start of this year had a negative effect

on the sales of the racing industry. The doubling of direct taxes under the law led to a decline in sales that has the sport as well as the racehorse breeding industry reeling from financial losses.

Likely related at least in part to this is MJCI’s decision to sell its racetrack property of some 77 hectares in Carmona, Cavite, to a major developer, which has given the club two years to wind up its operations at Carmona. MJCI plans to relocate the track, but has not disclosed the new location.

All this means huge changes for the industry. Expect more news on this front in the weeks to come. *** The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office Presidential Gold Cup on Dec. 9

at SLLP promises a thrilling race with a field of eight runners. Almost 50 years old, it is the most important race of the year and is eagerly anticipated by race aficionados and participants.

This and other racing traditions, as well as an entire industry built over nearly 200 years, are under threat of dying out because of the adverse economic conditions under TRAIN. The government, which benefits from racing to the tune of P1 billion yearly from direct taxes alone, should think twice about this law lest it kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. *** Ortuoste is a writer and researcher. FB: Gogirl Racing, Twitter: @drhoarsewhsprr -Jenny Ortuoste, Ph.D.

Tarlac throws support to PH training center THE province of Tarlac will share responsibility in the development of the Philippine Sports Training Center that will rise in Rosales, Pangasinan.

The facilities will be built in a 20-hectare located in the border of Pangasinan and Tarlac, according to Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez following a discussion with the Senate bicameral conference committee that recently approved a bill.

Senate Bill No. 1716, or the Philippine Amateur Sports Training Center Act, was sponsored and authored by Senator Manny Pacquiao, chair of the Senate Committee on Sports, and was co-sponsored by Senator Sonny Angara.

“We discussed that Tarlac, through governor Susan Yap will have some of the venues, while the main hub is in Pangasinan,” said Ramirez following a press conference yesterday.

The PSTC is expected to help boost the country’s performance in the Olympics and other international sports events, because it will be an additional venue for the training of national athletes.

Bidding for the construction of the facilities is expected to happen within the next six months of 2019.

Ramirez added that this will boost the PSC’s effort to also have a venue for their grassroots sports development program.

Under the bill, P3.5 billion will be allocated initially for the project.

Peter Atencio

Guiao: Gilas PH lacked maturity GILAS Pilipinas needs to play a more matured game in the future.

National coach Yeng Guiao said this when he expressed his thoughts after Iran came up with a strong finish, held the Gilas Pilipinas scoreless in the final minute and pulled off a 78-70 triumph Monday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.

“We were holding on to a small lead.

And they were on the verge of breaking out. But it just did not happen. And towards the endgame, I felt, that was a lack of maturity for our game,” said Guiao.

As the Philippines suffered its second straight setback in Group F of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers, Gilas will now have to win its last two games to stay in contention.

“It was not as cohesive as we wanted it at this point. The guys tried their best,” added Guiao.

Behnam Yakhchalidehkordi showed the way with 21 points for the Iranians, who posted their seventh victory in 10 games.

Jason Castro made 19 points for the Philippines, whose chances of qualifying are now in danger with their 5-5 win-loss record.

With the setback, Japan has overtaken the Philippines for third place (6-4) after its 86-70 win over Kazakhstan earlier in Toyama, Japan. Solo leader Australia (9-1) toppled Qatar, 110-59, in Melbourne.

Only the top 3 teams from Groups E and F will advance to the World Cup. Gilas is slated to meet Qatar again on Feb. 21, and Kazakhstan on Feb. 24 in two must-win encounters. Peter Atencio

IN BRIEF Energy to decide on LNG hub offer

THE Department of Energy will decide within the year if it will give the notice to Tanglawan Philippines LNG Inc. to proceed with the development of the country’s first liquefied natural gas hub.

Tanglawan, the joint venture of CNOOC Gas and Power Group Co. Ltd., a unit of China National Offshore Oil Corp., China’s largest LNG importer and terminal operator, and Phoenix Petroleum Philippines led by businessman Dennis Uy submitted a proposal to the DOE to build the LNG facility.

“It’s under evaluation, under process.

It’s on the final stage. We are rushing it, making sure that the decision coming out will be the correct one. Within the year, hopefully,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said Tuesday at the sidelines of an investment forum.

“Towards the weekend, hopefully the report is already on my table so next week we can act on it already,” Cusi said.

Tanglawan was one of the 23 parties that expressed interest to participate in the DoE’s selection of investor who will build the country’s first LNG hub.

Alena Mae S. Flores

Business

LGUs asked to pay bills owed to co-ops

NATIONAL Electrification Administration administrator Edgardo Masongsong appealed to local government units to address unsettled electricity bills owed to electric cooperatives, stressing the “unpaid amounts may be used to bring power to hundreds of sitios yet to be served by electricity all over the country.”

“We emphasize that this plea for payment should not be taken negatively as a reproach. Our LGUs are now in a uniquely privileged position to be instrumental not only in keeping their electric cooperatives financially afloat but in electrifying the unserved and underserved communities in their jurisdictions. They should grab this opportunity to viably partner with electric cooperatives in nationbuilding,” the NEA chief said.

Outstanding financial obligations of local governments to ECs across the country have ballooned to over P1.4 billion, according to latest figures from the agency.

Masongsong added the amount was on top of millions in unpaid power bills to ECs incurred by some government institutions, including the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, as earlier reported by the Department of Energy.

THE Department of Transportation and Philippine National Railways extended the rail services to Malabon City with the opening of PNR Governor Pascual Station.

It said with the new station, there would be four trips daily from Tutuban in Manila to Governor Pascual in Malabon, and vice versa. There would also be eight trips from Governor Pascual to FTI Station in Taguig, and vice versa.

A part of the Metro North Commuter service, the route extension is part of the PNR management strategy to revive and add more railway lines for better connectivity.

Transportation Secretary Arthur

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2018

B1

By Alena Mae S. Flores

MANILA WATER AWARD. Manila Water is named among the top 50 Asean publicly listed companies in the region for achieving excellence in corporate governance best practices based on the rigorous assessment using the Asean Corporate Governance Scorecard in 2017. The project, initiated by the Asean Capital Markets Forum with the support of the Asian Development Bank, establishes a common governance framework across the region. Receiving the award at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre is Manila Water corporate secretary Solomon Hermosura (third from right).

BSP to continue raising interest rates next year T

By Julito G. Rada

HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will likely increase interest rates twice next year as inflation remains a threat to domestic growth, DBS Bank of Singapore said Tuesday.

DBS said in a report monetary authorities should remain on their toes although the prospects of lower oil prices next year could soften inflation.

“As such, even though inflation is expected to soften, it is likely to remain above BSP’s upper limit. Hence, we pencil in another two rate hikes in 2019 and flat in 2020,” DBS said.

The Monetary Board, the policy-making body of the BSP, raised the overnight borrowing rate by 175 basis points this

year to 4.75 percent to temper the rising inflation. The board is set to hold its last policy meeting for the year this month.

DBS said the rise in inflation this year was partly caused by the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion or Train law which imposed higher excise taxes for automobile, fuel products, tobacco and sugar-sweetened beverages. Higher oil and rice prices also pushed inflation this year.

“The prospect of lower oil price on average next year would soften inflation. Yet, we think, in terms of inflation, it is no time to be complacent just yet. We estimate inflation will ease, but would stay above BSP target range at 4.7 percent in 2018 and ease to 3.8 percent in 2020,” DBS said.

Inflation in the first 10 months averaged 5.1 percent, above the target range of 2 percent to 4 percent this year, driven by higher food and oil prices. Inflation in October stayed at a nine-year high of 6.7 percent.

Economists blamed the decline in agricultural output and higher inflation

PNR opens new station to extend rail services to Malabon

By Darwin G. Amojelar

business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com

Cusi advises PXP to apply for lifting of ban on exploration

BoC Subic posts record collection

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—The Port of Subic district collection unit of the Bureau of Customs achieved last month its highest revenue collection performance in its 20-year history after generating P2.347 billion, or 12.8 percent over its target for the period.

The BOC district unit headed by lawyer Ma. Rhea M. Gregorio registered a surplus of P265.429 million, according to the data gathered on the revenue performance of the district. Its target was P2.082 billion.

This is the third consecutive months that the district achieved positive collections record since September when Gregorio assumed the post as district collector.

BOC Subic accomplished the double digit revenue targets by upgrading trade facilitations and closer dialogs with both Subic Freeport locators and port users.

Subic raised P2.182 billion revenues on import duties and taxes in October, netting P87.733 million, or a surplus of 4.2 percent. With Joel E. Zurbano

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

Tugade said more improvements would follow to accommodate the expected increase of passengers in Malabon.

Train fare from Governor Pascual to FTI station is P25 for air-conditioned coaches, and P20 for non-air conditioned units. The route takes only 58 minutes.

The Philippines and China earlier signed a P14.38-billion contract for the project management consultancy of the 639-kilometer Philippine National Railways South Long-Haul Project.

China Railway Design Corp. and Guangzhou Wanan Construction Supervision Co. Ltd. Consortium of China won the bidding for the P14.38-billion management consultancy of PNR Bicol.

The CRDC-WACC Consortium will

conduct all pre-construction surveys (topographic, geotechnical, hydrological, parcellary, environmental, etc.), preparation of designs for bidding, preparation of bidding documents, bidding assistance, construction supervision and defects liability period (warranty) supervision for the PNR Bicol Project.

The PNR Bicol Project is one of the flagship projects of the Duterte administration under the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program.

Upon completion, the PNR Bicol Project will connect Metro Manila, Region IV-A (Calabarzon) and Region V (Bicol), reducing travel time from Manila to Legazpi City from 13 hours to under six hours.

that caused a slowdown in household spending as the culprits in the slowerthan-expected 6.1 percent gross domestic product growth in the third quarter.

DBS said while growth decelerated this year, the Philippines remained one of the fastest-growing economies in the region.

“The main support to growth came from both public expenditure and infrastructure projects. Government’s strong commitment to the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion initiative bore fruits.

The revenue generated from Train was used for infrastructures development and direct transfers to support consumption of the lower income,” the bank said.

It said consumption remained robust despite the high inflation, partly due to tax cuts as part of the Train law, which benefited wage earners with annual income of less than P2 million.

It said given the resilience of the economy and the prospect of inflation easing in the next two years, “we believe consumption could grow even stronger.”

ENERGY Secretary Alfonso Cusi on Tuesday advised PXP Energy Corp. to apply for the lifting of the exploration moratorium on its service contracts in the West Philippine Sea following the breakthrough in negotiations between the Philippines and China.

“We will see. I will await their application and work from there. They can apply,” Cusi told reporters at the sidelines of the Energy Investment Forum.

Cusi said PXP Energy should formalize its request and state that it was ready to resume exploration in its service contracts.

PXP Energy, through 79-percent owned Forum Energy Ltd., controls Service Contract 72 (Recto Bank) and SC 75 (Northwest Palawan).

Both service contracts are under force majeure because of the territorial dispute with China.

PXP Energy president Daniel Carlos said the board would discuss its next course of action.

“If he says that it should come from us, then we will request to lift the force majeure. They imposed it so we were waiting for instructions from DoE,” Carlos said.

Carlos said PXP was waiting for an advice from the government after the recent signing of the memorandum of agreement between the Philippines and China to cooperate on oil and gas development during the state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Manila.

He said China designated China National Offshore Oil Corp. to work with PNOC Exploration Corp. and other service contract holders such as PXP Energy.

Carlos said PXP Energy needed to drill two exploratory wells under its work program with the government for SC 72 with estimated investment of about $60 million.

PXP Energy chairman Manuel Pangilinan earlier said the signing of a cooperation with China would boost the local oil and liquefied natural gas industries.

“The signing of MOU with China is a small but significant step, [in terms of the] the impact [it will] have on the LNG sector and our goal of achieving energy security from domestic resources in the country today,” Pangilinan said.

Energy supports implementation of second round of oil tax increase THE Energy Department said it is supporting the recommendation of the Finance Department for the continued implementation of the second tranche of excise tax increase on petroleum products under Republic Act No. 10963, or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law.

“Next week, we expect another rollback and the DOF made a recommendation for the second tranche to be reinstated so we made our forecast for oil,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said at the sidelines of the Energy Investment Forum Tuesday.

Pump prices have declined for the eighth consecutive week amid a supply glut in the world market.

“We are seeing Dubai crude oil to be around the low $50 [per barrel] in the coming months. We have submitted our position already alongside the forecast. The excise tax will proceed because the country will really need to build infrastructures, so we need the funds,” Cusi said.

Cusi said the agency’s forecast supported the recommendation of the interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee last week.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III earlier said the DBCC decision followed the favorable outlook in world oil prices, as the cost of Dubai crude oil prices declined 14 percent from an average of $79 per barrel in October to $68 a barrel in November. Alena Mae S. Flores

Philip Morris asks govt to study tax hike PHILIP Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp., the biggest tobacco manufacturing company in the country, asked the government to carefully study the impact of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law before imposing further increases in excise taxes on tobacco products.

PMFTC, a joint venture of Philip Morris Philippines Manufacturing Inc. and Fortune Tobacco Corp. that controls over 90 percent of the domestic cigarette market, said its position on the issue submitted to Congress was unchanged.

“We believe any further increases in excise taxes on tobacco at this time is unwarranted,” it said in a statement Tuesday.

“There is still a need to review the impact of the last increase under Train 1 in terms of tax collection, revenue utilization, on the livelihood of farmers, jobs in the manufacturing sector and the rise of counterfeit cigarettes,” PMFTC said.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said his agency would “try its best”

to convince Congress to impose new sin tax rates on tobacco products because pricey cigarettes would discourage smoking especially among the youth.

Dominguez said increasing the current tobacco excise tax rates to levels that would effectively curb smoking would help supplement funds for the Universal Health Care program, especially for the treatment of smoking-related diseases.

“There’s still the Senate. We will try our best. This thing doesn’t end until the president signs it. We’re there, we’re keeping at it. We hope that they will come up to what is good for the country,” Dominguez said during a press briefing.

Dominguez’s statement was in reaction to the recent approval by the House of Representatives on third and final reading of House Bill 8677, which provides for an increase in tobacco excise tax rates to levels that did not go far enough to what the Department of Health and anti-tobacco and health advocates recommended. Julito G. Rada

ENERGY CONSERVATION.

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi leads the opening of National Energy Consciousness Month 2018 and the Department of Energy’s 46th anniversary at the agency’s headquarters in Bonifacio Global City. Cusi reminds members of the energy family that a mindset of energy conservation should be complemented by a strong recognition that power should be made available not only to some, but to all Filipinos.

B2

Business

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2018 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Stocks rise ahead of inflation data T HE stock market rose sharply for the second straight day Tuesday ahead of the release of the official inflation data today, lifted by easing prices and strong buying on certain blue chip issues.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index surged 171.02 points, or 2.3 percent, to 7,703.92 on a value turnover of P11.5 billion. Gainers overwhelmed losers, 128 to 54, with 52 issues unchanged.

Local pump prices have steadily declined, along with transportation fares, following the recent sharp drop in oil prices in the world market.

The Finance Department last week said it expects the inflation rate to slow

down to 6.3 percent in November from a nine-year high of 6.7 percent in October.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, meanwhile, said inflation in November likely slowed to as low as 5.8 percent from 6.7 percent in October amid the downtrend in oil prices and as the supply of rice and other agricultural products stabilized.

GT Capital Holdings Inc. of the late tycoon George Ty, advanced 5.9 percent to P971, while unit Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., the second-biggest lender in terms of assets, climbed 4 percent to P79.90.

JG Summit Holdings Inc. of industrialist John Gokongwei rallied 5 percent to P52.90, while Alliance Global Group Inc. of tycoon Andrew Tan rose 3.9 percent to P11.84.

The rest of Asian markets mostly dropped Tuesday as the previous day’s euphoria over the China-US trade war

ceasefire gave way to questions about whether the two can ultimately resolve their differences.

Tokyo tumbled 2.4 percent on profittaking and a strong yen, while Sydney and Singapore shed one percent each.

Seoul dropped 0.8 percent, while Taipei eased 0.5 percent and Wellington gave back 0.1 percent.

However, Hong Kong staged a late rally to end up 0.3 percent, while Shanghai and Jakarta were also up.

However, oil prices continued to rise, building on Monday’s surge fueled by the agreement as well as news of a Russia-Saudi Arabia pact to cap output.

Global investors were given some much-needed Christmas cheer at the weekend after Donald Trump and Xi Jinping called a halt to their painful tariffs battle for 90 days while they try to resolve their differences.

The news lit a fuse under markets af-

ter a torrid year that has been dominated by the trade war between the world’s top two economies, which many fear will hit global growth.

However, there is concern that the three-month grace period will not be enough for them to hammer out agreements on key issues, particularly on intellectual property protection.

“Can the US and China really resolve their differences in 90 days?” asked Rodrigo Catril, senior strategist at National Australia Bank.

“It seems that more details and signs of progress will be needed if the initial trade truce warm fuzzy feeling is to be sustained.”

Also, later Monday there was uncertainty about Trump’s claims in a tweet that China had agreed to slash tariffs on car imports, with two of his top advisers unable to provide clarity on the issue.

With AFP

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2018

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 60 22,210 94 4,932,190 2.36 29,000 136 3,862,880 1.6 19,000 27.6 164,100 15.9 20,600 12.2 808,300 3.98 235,000 8 900 1.42 36,000 835 450 0.47 650,000 79.9 12,649,690 0.8 418,000 42.55 275,400 176 2,000 117 480 71.2 1,940 29.2 75,900 166.9 454,750 1,825 440 66.6 16,490

1,332,365 461,312,067.50 67,050 524,167,525 30,120 4,531,500 326,724 9,689,408 908,230 7,150 50,860 375,750 306,550 1,002,828,884.50 332,010 11,682,240 352,020 54,524 139,371 2,216,460 75,428,809 803,000 1,110,031

1,325,820 -26,293,564 124,411,025 -4,048,355 1,784,828 14,400 380,996,495 -80,000 984,180 17,500 -1,168,000 -2,871,860 492,750 -841,439.00

32.9 17.44 1.01 1.24 0.248 1.67 15.24 32.3 17 37 1.57 6.6 10.48 15.2 8.5 6.97 17.84 62.2 24.5 2.1 5.91 9.32 1.77 286 3.22 8.52 26.85 9.98 17.8 385 0.169 6 1.34 3.94 8.28 4.78 8.78 0.88 10.9 46.05 5.49 4.72 1.86 2.8 1.26 10.32 83.55 5.44 0.126 0.83 128 1.77 17 1.72

INDUSTRIAL 33.45 2,732,600 17.62 540,900 1.03 8,262,000 1.25 139,000 0.248 1,100,000 1.68 17,558,000 15.58 544,800 32.75 507,600 17.98 3,900 37.2 1,183,700 1.6 152,000 6.6 28,000 10.5 4,174,600 15.2 109,800 8.55 542,800 6.99 144,500 17.88 2,198,300 63.4 67,750 24.55 23,700 2.21 35,967,000 6.1 54,800 9.5 2,058,000 1.78 2,150,000 289.6 1,533,830 3.33 4,000 8.52 500 28 2,001,800 10 936,900 18.5 14,776,600 388 388,770 0.178 290,000 6 21,000 1.37 589,000 4 29,000 8.5 2,063,800 4.93 38,000 8.78 2,600 0.9 380,000 10.98 48,400 46.2 2,438,800 5.5 25,400 4.81 832,000 1.92 54,000 2.8 5,000 1.37 315,000 10.38 83,100 84.4 2,578,730 5.44 1,263,700 0.128 540,000 0.86 62,000 130 3,104,380 1.79 19,316,000 17 100 1.74 7,179,000

90,602,240 9,536,046 8,457,890 173,790 273,890 30,406,280 8,506,578 16,675,395 66,802 43,797,475 243,300 186,448 44,067,398 1,672,234 4,632,778 1,008,636 39,638,672 4,288,909.50 588,130 79,263,850 328,086 19,503,149 3,886,010 448,105,466 13,070 4,260 55,439,290 9,378,908 281,162,790 150,746,692 50,250 127,290 803,280 115,240 17,341,913 185,770 22,828 343,030 529,968 112,685,970 139,732 4,000,350 102,560 14,000 424,560 866,250 216,940,085 6,930,905 68,060 52,380 404,470,949 35,329,390 1,700 12,566,420

-20,828,915 897,208 52,960 74,400 -12,922,540 952,762 -2,467,975.00 0 17,530 3,355 -7,591,900 -1,169,770 241,895 -403,554 18,735,364 -825,923.50 682,180 2,121,773.00 39,090 94,590,834 -4,260 36,192,470 -2,994,446 27,773,684 34,468,892 23,660 -752,330 2,049,706 -19,640 -201,600 -3,300 -19,226,685 -32,970 495,310 88,554,270.50 95,010 6,320 -93,722,472 557,820 -1,700 -37,000

0.65 54.75 11.84 0.89 23.85 1.52 1.5 978 7.42 13 10 6 971 5.95 52.9 0.55 4.13 17.6 0.62 5.05 0.04 2.45 175 2.2 980 0.75 1.34 430.2 281 0.27 0.218

0.6 51.9 11.52 0.89 21.5 1.42 1.45 947.5 7.26 12.56 9.8 4.61 923 5.95 50.2 0.51 3.92 16.3 0.57 4.9 0.037 2.31 173.5 2.2 948 0.74 1.27 422 275 0.25 0.218

HOLDING FIRMS 0.61 45,234,000 54.45 11,295,570 11.84 24,826,800 0.89 1,000 23.25 300,400 1.45 14,276,000 1.46 2,178,000 970.5 581,690 7.35 3,639,100 12.9 5,437,300 9.9 450,600 4.61 11,000 971 298,320 5.95 6,000 52.9 2,980,690 0.54 1,171,000 4.1 17,613,000 16.9 9,845,400 0.61 1,234,000 4.94 53,016,000 0.038 18,900,000 2.4 1,989,000 175 275,310 2.2 12,000 980 610,900 0.74 1,010,000 1.32 64,000 430.2 60 281 2,650 0.255 14,390,000 0.218 110,000

28,017,710 590,407,682.50 290,350,108 890 6,925,520 20,816,650 3,207,700 563,156,770 26,755,897 69,373,994 4,467,137 58,390 286,061,685 35,700 154,621,664 622,440 70,319,480 167,272,446 754,830 262,433,460 720,000 4,769,580 48,106,802 26,400 593,860,070 747,620 83,160 25,570 741,528 3,729,950 23,980

774,380 22,706,609 55,624,360 231,490 539,880 -91,488,210 901,511 -22,615,526 -9,850 121,348,760 21,600,569.50 -692,380 68,372,382 4,060.00 16,159,340 -24,000 -7,194,032 154,930,555 -7,500 -465,100 -

7.59 0.81 10.6 1.84 0.6 42.65 2.35 4.12 6 0.41 0.88 0.226 0.35 8 18.78 0.495 1.5 1.13 4.82 0.41 0.49 2.48 0.395 3.82

7.56 0.78 10.6 1.84 0.56 41.15 2.24 4 6 0.405 0.84 0.218 0.34 7.9 17.96 0.485 1.47 1.06 4.73 0.385 0.47 2.37 0.39 3.6

808,238 1,044,230 3,180 5,520 1,099,460 893,087,990 4,296,990 1,229,430 600 1,160,450 18,890 958,790 110,000 1,458,135 5,871,706 63,350 10,897,030 7,056,320 112,279,480 13,749,650 1,343,000 24,223,150 121,600 3,950,470

9,096 1,060 29,631,175 -3,952,360 -575,900 45,050 -42,000 -10,283 2,376,240 4,950 1,562,700 139,040 33,415,080 -485,450 -10,137,820 -475,090

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

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

59.2 92 2.3 133.2 1.58 27.8 15.82 11.84 3.95 7.5 1.42 835 0.48 76.85 0.78 41.85 175 106 74.7 29.05 164.4 1,825 67.3

60 94.25 2.36 136.4 1.6 27.8 15.9 12.2 3.98 8 1.42 835 0.48 80.75 0.8 42.65 180 117 74.7 29.25 167.8 1,825 68

59.2 91.55 2.28 133.2 1.58 27.5 15.82 11.78 3.8 7.5 1.39 835 0.47 76.6 0.78 41.8 175 106 71.15 29.05 164.3 1,825 66.5

ABOITIZ POWER AGRINURTURE ALLIANCE SELECT ALSONS CONS BASIC ENERGY CEMEX HLDG CENTURY FOOD CIRTEK HLDG CNTRL AZUCARERA CONCEPCION CROWN ASIA DEL MONTE DNL INDUS EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP EMPERADOR FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG GINEBRA GREENERGY HOLCIM INTEGRATED MICR IONICS JOLLIBEE 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 RFM CORP ROXAS AND CO ROXAS HLDG SFA SEMICON SHAKEYS PIZZA SMC FOODANDBEV SPC POWER SWIFT FOODS TKC METALS UNIV ROBINA VITARICH VIVANT VULCAN INDL

33.1 17.8 1.04 1.27 0.248 1.73 15.58 33.3 17.02 37.45 1.57 6.99 10.58 15.24 8.64 7 17.86 63.2 25 2.1 6 9.62 1.77 286.8 3.3 8.52 27 10.16 18.78 388 0.169 6.09 1.39 3.94 8.3 4.78 8.78 0.89 11 46.2 5.58 4.8 1.88 2.8 1.37 10.7 83.6 5.44 0.126 0.83 130 1.88 17 1.73

33.45 17.84 1.05 1.27 0.255 1.8 15.8 34.35 17.98 37.45 1.62 6.99 10.8 15.46 8.64 7 18.2 63.55 25 2.26 6.1 9.62 1.86 298.8 3.33 8.52 28.35 10.26 19.38 392.8 0.179 6.1 1.4 4 8.51 4.93 8.78 0.92 11 46.45 5.58 4.83 1.92 2.8 1.37 10.7 84.4 5.52 0.128 0.86 132 1.92 17 1.78

ABACORE CAPITAL ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL ANGLO PHIL HLDG ASIABEST GROUP ATN HLDG A ATN HLDG B AYALA CORP COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV FJ PRINCE A GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP MABUHAY HLDG METRO PAC INV PACIFICA PRIME ORION SAN MIGUEL CORP SEAFRONT RES SM INVESTMENTS SOC RESOURCES SOLID GROUP SYNERGY GRID TOP FRONTIER WELLEX INDUS ZEUS HLDG

0.64 53 11.54 0.89 21.7 1.51 1.5 949.5 7.35 13 10 6 923 5.95 50.3 0.55 3.99 16.4 0.58 4.91 0.039 2.31 175 2.2 948 0.75 1.28 422.2 275 0.26 0.218

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

7.58 0.79 10.6 1.84 0.58 41.8 2.3 4.05 6 0.41 0.88 0.218 0.35 7.91 17.96 0.495 1.47 1.07 4.75 0.39 0.47 2.38 0.39 3.6

VOLUME

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

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

21.65 1.96 3.12 36.45 1.19 5.3 0.73 5.24

21.8 1.96 3.12 37.5 1.19 5.85 0.73 5.25

21.1 1.95 3.11 36.3 1.16 5.29 0.73 5.21

21.8 1.96 3.12 37.4 1.19 5.61 0.73 5.24

3,212,600 127,000 60,000 21,873,900 1,367,000 1,341,500 91,000 5,867,200

69,438,615 248,800 187,190 812,243,975 1,592,110 7,604,137 66,430 30,745,842

-12,479,425 257,195,145 5,150 -12,459,614

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

10.5 19.84 0.37 0.038 13 2.47 8.41 74.95 7.98 6.87 8.09 17.16 2,038 5.2 316 3.31 93.5 0.106 6.19 13.88 3.79 0.79 14.42 5.49 7.19 2.3 1.95 2 15.52 3.87 10.18 8.39 3.38 119 3 1,180 0.7 0.32 42.7 76.1 7.1 2.39 0.6 0.41 5.24 0.66 11.98

11.28 19.88 0.38 0.039 13 2.55 8.75 75.9 7.98 7 8.09 21.95 2,100 5.32 325 3.4 95.6 0.117 6.25 14 3.94 0.79 14.94 5.53 7.2 2.31 2.21 2.15 19.48 3.97 10.18 8.5 3.45 121 3.41 1,200 0.71 0.325 42.7 77 7.88 2.45 0.62 0.42 5.3 0.74 12.4

10.5 19.76 0.37 0.038 13 2.38 8.34 74.95 7.97 6.8 7.14 16.2 2,036 5.2 316 3.29 93.5 0.106 5.85 13.88 3.62 0.79 14.42 5.48 6.95 2.25 1.95 2 15.52 3.55 10 7.55 3.38 118 2.95 1,171 0.67 0.31 42.5 75.1 7.1 2.34 0.6 0.405 5.24 0.66 11.98

SERVICES 10.9 19.8 0.375 0.039 13 2.51 8.57 75.5 7.97 6.81 7.14 21.1 2,090 5.32 325 3.29 95.55 0.115 6.14 14 3.64 0.79 14.6 5.48 6.95 2.28 2.15 2.15 18.4 3.7 10 8.28 3.44 120 3.35 1,196 0.68 0.325 42.55 76.35 7.5 2.36 0.6 0.405 5.26 0.71 12.38

117,300 258,900 780,000 800,000 200 6,059,000 13,088,400 140,510 12,600 2,338,100 13,300 2,504,700 86,135 205,200 2,350 2,739,000 1,747,340 10,350,000 16,513,400 1,100 3,178,000 8,000 1,315,500 40,400 47,000 1,978,000 3,404,000 354,000 2,000 6,254,000 2,900 62,300 13,000 15,590 3,324,000 161,505 13,342,000 250,000 3,258,500 1,650,750 7,729,200 5,477,000 12,710,000 25,470,000 143,800 14,637,000 2,409,000

1,287,744 5,139,062 292,900 31,100 2,600 14,989,620 112,314,295 10,609,640.50 100,547 16,027,411 100,652 49,973,148 179,399,030 1,090,467 757,310 9,167,130 165,712,013.50 1,158,200 100,075,260 15,388 11,895,040 6,320 19,277,266 221,687 334,575 4,517,160 7,173,120 739,270 37,620 23,365,510 29,198 483,909 44,400 1,863,644 10,586,660 192,946,340 9,133,470 79,800 138,804,530 125,814,312.50 58,114,668 13,134,240 7,677,540 10,433,850 757,566 10,261,500 29,733,712

-5,400 -77,730 -1,549,036 8,047,779.50 887,280 -25,615 93,136,710 311,310 -20,317,179.50 18,530 -105,318 254,050 1,110,512 51,695 232,370.00 -269,210 88,785 1,278,314 -3,282,290 -26,631,645 -274,540 -54,887,700 7,554,392 -53,804,039 -857,190 -6,317,550 40,500 -582,749 59,350 7,666,670

716,100 2,051,630 396,820 84,446 3,640 1,060 1,936,490 73,750 120,064 3,086,560 43,400 125,660 1,020 4,400 18,208,300 25,240 27,500 290,990 882,400 615,900 56,400 353,150 4,218,100 13,105,680 42,246,905 45,800

32,600.00 -31,480 20,900 46,310 -3,283,900 -1,050 930 -9,900 137,690 -1,010,612 -16,750,325 -

MS

PROPERTY 7.59 0.79 10.6 1.84 0.6 42.65 2.25 4.1 6 0.405 0.87 0.225 0.35 8 18.38 0.49 1.47 1.12 4.82 0.395 0.485 2.43 0.395 3.75

106,700 1,316,000 300 3,000 1,882,000 21,121,300 1,903,000 302,000 100 2,860,000 22,000 4,290,000 320,000 183,200 319,200 130,000 7,332,000 6,411,000 23,399,000 34,570,000 2,770,000 9,905,000 310,000 1,051,000

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

0.0019 1.64 2.64 14.1 1.24 1.06 1.91 0.295 7.29 1.7 0.201 0.094 0.102 1.1 2.27 1.03 0.55 0.92 0.013 0.013 0.012 3.06 2.52 14.56 26.6 0.0067

0.002 1.64 2.64 14.7 1.24 1.06 1.94 0.295 7.79 1.71 0.208 0.096 0.102 1.1 2.43 1.07 0.55 0.93 0.013 0.013 0.012 3.18 2.75 14.84 26.8 0.0067

0.0019 1.6 2.38 14.1 1.2 1.06 1.9 0.295 7.07 1.69 0.2 0.094 0.102 1.1 2.26 1.03 0.55 0.91 0.012 0.012 0.012 3.02 2.52 14.46 25.8 0.0065

MINING & OIL 0.002 365,000,000 1.63 1,263,000 2.64 152,000 14.7 5,900 1.2 3,000 1.06 1,000 1.94 1,018,000 0.295 250,000 7.35 16,400 1.7 1,815,000 0.205 210,000 0.096 1,320,000 0.102 10,000 1.1 4,000 2.34 7,755,000 1.05 24,000 0.55 50,000 0.91 317,000 0.012 73,000,000 0.012 51,300,000 0.012 4,700,000 3.12 116,000 2.69 1,563,000 14.52 899,700 26 1,619,800 0.0066 7,000,000

ABS HLDG PDR AC PREF B2 DD PREF FGEN PREF G GLO PREF P GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B HOUSE PREF A PCOR PREF 2A PNX PREF 3B SMC FB PREF 2 SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2I

19.1 490 97.9 102.5 475 943 895 95 990 102 970 76.35 73 74.95 73.5

19.14 490 98 102.5 475 943 895 97 990 102 998 76.35 73.9 75 73.5

19 489 97.9 102.5 475 943 895 95 980 102 970 76.35 71.4 74.95 73.5

PREFERRED 19.1 53,500 489 4,030 98 2,860 102.5 18,550 475 620 943 550 895 1,480 97 330 980 300 102 1,000 998 60 76.35 14,680 73.9 13,450 75 11,220 73.5 130

1,022,340 1,970,700 280,254 1,901,375 294,500 518,650 1,324,600 31,450 296,000 102,000 58,480 1,120,818 973,060 841,450 9,555

-961,520 -25,454 -1,120,818 -

LR WARRANT

2.24

2.39

2.09

WARRANTS 2.13 1,271,000

2,805,220

-

1,867,760 9,803,130

51,330 -3,188,240

1,783,390

46,592

123,124 108,600

-

ITALPINAS XURPAS

4.58 1.34

4.7 1.39

4.58 1.31

FIRST METRO ETF

111.9

114

111.9

USD DMPL A1 USD DMPL A2

10.1 10.2

TRADING SUMMARY FINANCIAL

10.1 10.2

SHARES

27,221,383

INDUSTRIAL

141,683,121

HOLDING FIRMS

231,852,379

PROPERTY

156,971,232

SERVICES

174,607,489

MINING & OIL

519,587,096

GRAND TOTAL

1,259,562,391

10 10

4.67 1.37

SME

402,000 7,220,000

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 114 15,750 10 10

DDS

12,290 10,740

VALUE 1,814.76 (up) 39.06 2,332,715,834.81 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 10,896.00 (up) 47.41 2,321,214,161.341 HOLDING FIRMS 7,652.39 (up) 222.44 3,228,803,958.86 PROPERTY 3,775.17 (up) 69.40 SERVICES 1,440.18 (up) 28.08 2,058,813,543.935 MINING & OIL 8,573.10 (down) 22.38 1,444,806,851.98 PSEI 7,703.92 (up) 171.02 88,742,239.72 All Shares Index 4,602.51 (up) 78.26 11,488,559,120.00 Gainers: 128; Losers: 54; Unchanged: 52; Total: 234

8990 set to launch P50b worth of projects

By Jenniffer B. Austria MASS housing developer 8990 Holdings Inc. plans to launch over P50 billion worth of residential projects in 2019 as demand remains strong amid the rising interest rate environment.

8990 Holdings president and chief executive Willibaldo Uy said the company was poised to unveil next year its biggest residential project to date that will offer 19,000 units in a 13-hectare development along Ortigas Extension.

The whole development which will take five years to complete will offer 22 residential towers and generate P38 billion in sales value at an initial selling price of P2 million per unit.

Uy said the company was also poised to launch other residential projects in Davao, Cebu, Bulacan, and Bacolod.

Uy said the company would spend P10 billion in capital expenditures next year, of which P9 billion will be allotted for residential projects and P1 billion for a planned hotel venture.

The mass housing developer early this month said it would venture into hotel and resort development. The group is looking at Cebu, Makati, Davao, Palawan, Boracay, Siquijor, Alabang, Manila, Iloilo, Legazpi, Clark, Lapu-Lapu, Siargao and Baguio for its foray into the leisure and hospitality industry.

The company has earmarked P5 billion to build a hotel portfolio with 3,000 room keys over the next five years.

Meanwhile, Uy said 2018 would be a banner year for 8990 Holdings. The company is set to reach its full-year target of P11.5 billion in revenues and P4.3 billion in net income.

The company booked net income of P3.4 billion and revenues of P8.63 billion in the first nine months of 2018.

The company as of end-September had nearly 540 hectares in land bank with potential sales of P154 billion.

Uy said the company was initially looking at a 10-percent growth in revenues next year amid measures to temper rising costs.

Uy said the group would implement belt-tightening measures to hit its target margins without affecting demand.

PLDT acquires 46% of Multisys in deal worth P2.16b

By Darwin G. Amojelar PLDT Inc. on Tuesday said it closed a P2.16-billion investment in a Philippine software development and IT solutions provider.

PLDT told the Philippine Stock Exchange it completed the closing of its investment in Multisys Technologies Corp. on December 3.

Upon the approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission of the capital increase of Multisys, PLDT said it would own an equity stake of 45.73 percent in Multisys through a combination of new and existing shares. The total transaction was estimated at P2.15 billion.

PLDT’s investment would be done through wholly-owned subsidiary PLDT Global Investments Holdings Inc. It said the transaction was expected to be completed by next month.

Multisys, founded by software programmer and entrepreneur David Almirol Jr., developed over the past eight years a number of software platforms that can be used by its pool of programmers to create highly scalable, flexible and customizable software solutions as required by clients.

The software platforms include those for payment gateways such as Bayad Center, utilities like power and water, data center setup and connectivity, big data handling and analytics and cybersecurity.

“This investment positions PLDT as a telecoms and digital services provider with core software development capabilities,” PLDT chairman and chief executive Manuel Pangilinan earlier said.

The specialized industry solutions of Multisys complement those of PLDT Enterprise and ePLDT. They can be further fortified by ePLDT’s managed infrastructure and cybersecurity solutions.

Multisys can also strengthen the ongoing digital initiatives of ePLDT and Voyager Innovations, especially in the fields of electronic payments and digital financial services.

PLDT earlier closed a $175-million investment in Voyager by KKR, a global investment firm, and Tencent Holdings Ltd., a leading provider of internet services in China.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Manila

Standard

World

TODAY

B3

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2018 CESAR BARRIOQUINTO, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

US will fight climate change—Terminator

K

ATOWICE, Poland―Governments must protect citizens from the killer effects of climate change, movie tough guy-turned-statesman Arnold Schwarzenegger told AFP, insisting the United States was committed to a greener future despite Donald Trump reneging on the Paris agreement.

FILM AWARDS. Amy Adams attends the 2018 SFFILM Awards at the Palace Of Fine Arts Theater on December 3, 2018, in San Francisco. Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images/AFP

Israel launches an operation to destroy Hezbollah tunnels JERUSALEM-Israel’s army said Tuesday it had detected Hezbollah tunnels infiltrating its territory from Lebanon and launched an operation to destroy them, a move likely to raise tensions with the Iran-backed group.

The surprise announcement came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Brussels over regional dangers, with both having repeatedly warned over the activities of Iran, Israel’s main enemy.

Israeli army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said the “attack tunnels” were not yet operational. He declined to say how many were detected or how they would be destroyed.

“We have launched Operation Northern Shield to expose and thwart cross-border attack tunnels dug by Hezbollah terror organization from Lebanon into Israel,” Conricus told journalists.

The area around the Israeli town of Metula has been declared a closed military zone, with the army distributing images of heavy machinery digging into the ground.

All operations would take place within Israeli territory, Conricus said, though it still raised the risk of a response from Hezbollah, the Shiite militant group with which Israel fought a devastating war in 2006.

According to Conricus, the tunnels were part of Hezbollah’s 2012 plan to “shift the battlefield to Israel” and “conquer the Galilee” in a future conflict by infiltrating its territory.

In 2013 the army acted on reports Hezbollah was digging tunnels, but failed to locate any, he said. AFP

In an interview on the sidelines of a UN climate summit in Poland this week, the Terminator actor and three-time Mr. Universe winner said he was on an “environmental crusade” and urged everyone to join in the climate fight.

Schwarzenegger added a sprinkle of stardust to Monday’s opening session of COP24 climate talks in Poland, where nations must agree on a rulebook to limit global temperature rises and the devastating economic and health impacts global warming will bring.

“I think governments’ responsibility is to protect people. That’s why we have armies to avoid an attack.

Well, here is the biggest attack,” he told AFP. “Seven million people die every year because of [air] pollution, 25,000 of them die alone in America. If we don’t want to fight that, then there is something wrong with us.”

In his two terms as California governor between 2003 and 2011, Schwarzenegger helped shape America’s richest state into a green powerhouse.

He signed legislation giving local and state officials the tools to bring down greenhouse gas emissions by reducing urban sprawl and promoting renewable energy and green technology.

The 71-year-old said the US was committed to act on climate change regardless of President Trump’s controversial decision to take the richest country in the world out of the Paris accord.

“Just because Donald Trump dropped out of the Paris agreement, it doesn’t mean that America dropped out,” he said.

“All of our states that were always environmentally friendly are still going in the same direction. All of our cities in America are going in the same direction, they are still in the Paris agreement.

“People are investing in green technology. It’s a booming industry and people should understand that we all have to work together. America is in and our crazy leader is not, so be it.”

During his presidential campaign Trump promised to protect the nation’s coal workers and even reopen mines that had been mothballed.

The COP summit is being held in the Polish mining city of Katowice, and the Polish government is pushing for a “just transition” that gradually reduces coal usage while protecting the miners whose livelihoods depend on it.

Schwarzenegger said the idea that fossil fuel-dependent economies would suffer as they transition to renewables was a fallacy.

“Green technology creates a huge amount of jobs and the reality is that we don’t have to choose between one and the other. You can protect the environment and protect the economy at the same time,” he said.

The Advanced Energy Economy Institute said California employed more than half a million people in green energy in 2016—several times the amount of US coal workers nationally. AFP

Republic of the Phillippines Department of Health National Capital Regional Office VALENZUELA MEDICAL CENTER BIDS AND AWARD COMMITTEE Padrigal St., Karuhatan, Valenzuela City Telefax No. 294-4625 Email addressvmc_bac@yahoo.com

InvItatIon to BId Procurement of varIous Pathology and laBoratory suPPlIes cy 2019 PuBlIc BIddIng no. vmc-2019-008 1.

The Valenzuela Medical Center (VMC), through the General Appropriations Act/Income CY 2019, intends to apply the sum of Philippine Currency: FIFTY FOUR MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED FORTY EIGHT THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED THIRTY SIX PESOS AND 50/100 ONLY, (PhP54,748,736.50)being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments for the Procurement of Various Pathology and Laboratory Supplies CY 2019 under PB No. VMC-2019-008. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

2. The VMC now invites sealed Bids from eligible Bidders for the procurement of the abovecaptioned package. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II, entitled “Instructions to Bidders”.

3. Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a nondiscretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act” and is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or corporations 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 Republic Act No. 5183 and subject to Commonwealth Act 138.

4. Only Bids from Bidders who passed the eligibility check will be opened. The process for the eligibility check is described in Section II of the Bidding Documents entitled, “ITB”. The Bidder with the Lowest Calculated Bid (LCB) shall advance to the post-qualification stage in order to finally determine the responsiveness of the bid submission to the technical and financial requirements of the project. The contract shall then be awarded to the Lowest Calculated and Responsive Bidder (LCRB) who was determined as such during the post-qualification procedure.

5. Interested bidders may obtain further information from the VMC and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below from 9:00am-11:00am and 2:00pm-4:00pm starting December 04, 2018.

6. The VMC will hold a Pre-Bid Conference for this bidding activity on December11, 2018, 10:00 am at the Valenzuela Medical Center, Padrigal St., Karuhatan, Valenzuela City. Only those who have purchased the bidding documents shall be allowed to participate in the Pre-Bid Conference. Those who have not purchased the bidding documents may act as observers and submit written queries, subject to the guidelines as stated in the IRR of RA 9184.

7. A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders from the address below and upon payment of a non-refundable fee in the amount of: Maximum Cost of Bidding Documents ABC to be Bid (in Philippine Peso) 500,000 and below 500.00 More than 500,000 up to 1 Million 1,000.00 More than 1 Million up to 5 Million 5,000.00 More than 5 Million up to 10 Million 10,000.00 More than 10 Million up to 50 Million 25,000.00 The method of payment will be in cash, manager’s check, bank guarantee or surety bond. The Bidding Documents shall be received personally by the prospective bidder or his authorized representative. 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 nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.

8.

Bids and eligibility requirements must be delivered to the address below on or before December 27, 2018, 10:00am, at the VMC BAC Secretariats’ Office.

9. Bid Opening and Eligibility Check will be on December 27, 2018, 10:00am. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below. Late submission of bids will not be entertained. All bids must be accompanied by a Bid Security in the prescribed form, amount and validity period.

10. The Valenzuela Medical Center reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all Bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

For further information, please refer to: BAC Secretariats’ Office Valenzuela Medical Center, Annex Building, 2nd Floor, Padrigal St., Valenzuela City Telefax No. 294(SGD) JOSEPH T. NOCOM, MD, FPOA Chairperson Bids and Awards Committee (MS-DEC. 5, 2018)

Republic of the Philippines Department of Education REGION IV-A CALABARZON Gate 2, Karangalan Village 1900 Cainta, Rizal INVITATI0N TO BID BOARD AND LODGING FOR THE PMIS REGIONAL ROLL OUR - PHASE 2

Watchdog fines Delhi over smog NEW DELHI―India’s environmental watchdog has slapped New Delhi’s government with a $3.5-million fine for failing to enforce rules to reduce smog in the world’s most polluted major city, officials said Tuesday.

The National Green Tribunal penalized the capital administration for its lack of oversight after it emerged some polluting industries were still burning harmful waste in the open.

The tribunal, a national body tasked with ruling on environmental matters, had been hearing a plea from Delhi residents complaining about factories flouting laws on trash fires.

It said the Delhi government needed to instruct the court on how it would proceed with tackling the annual crisis that plagues the capital city of 20 million.

Each winter, Delhi chokes through haze so extreme that levels of airborne pollutants routinely eclipse safe limits by more than 30 times.

An estimated 1.1 million Indians die prematurely from air pollution every year.

The US Embassy website in Delhi showed the level of harmful airborne particles hit 290 on Tuesday -- nearly 12 times World Health Organization’s safe limits.

Delhi, which has shut down power plants and banned heavy trucks from the city in a bid to curb smog, has accused other states of not playing their part.

In particular, the capital has blamed governments in neighboring Punjab and Haryana for crop fires that burn every year, sending smoke eastward.

Acrid smoke from these fires mingles with pollutants from cars, factories and construction sites in Delhi to create a lethal and persistent smog cocktail. AFP

IN BRIEF Still hoping to host Kim soon AUCKLAND―North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could still visit Seoul for the first time in the next few weeks, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday, describing the possible trip as a major boost in the efforts to make the peninsula nuclear-free.

Moon and Kim have met three times in 2018 amid warming ties between the two Koreas, with South Korea hoping to host a first-ever visit by Kim to Seoul before year’s end.

But prospects of another meeting in the coming weeks have dimmed as denuclearization talks have stalled, prompting Moon to say that the planned visit’s timing should not overshadow its historic nature.

“There is a possibility that Chairman Kim Jong Un’s visit to Seoul may be made within this year, but there’s more important things than the timing,” he said in translated remarks during a visit to New Zealand.

“Whether it’s this year or not isn’t that important, what’s important is that the North Korea leader’s visit to South Korea will definitely accelerate the denuclearization process in the Korean peninsula.”

Moon said a visit by Kim to the South would also improve US-North Korea relations as Kim and President Donald Trump look to follow up their June summit in Singapore.

“I believe that our efforts will definitely give a positive impetus to the second US-North Korea summit meeting,” he said. AFP

Separated twins go home DHAKA―The Bangladeshi twins conjoined at birth have gone home nearly a year and a half after being separated in the country’s first such successful operation, a doctor said Tuesday.

Two-year-old sisters Tofa and Tahura, joined at the spine and at the rectum, underwent a grueling ninehour operation in August 2017 conducted by a team of two dozen doctors.

“They were released from hospital late Monday after their conditions improved,” Shahnoor Islam, a pediatric surgeon who led the groundbreaking surgery, told AFP. “They can walk and also play like any other normal babies. They are on their way back home. But we’ll observe them from time to time,” she said.

Born to poor farmers, Tofa and Tahura -- who do not use a surname -- were brought to Dhaka from northern Gaibandha district, 260 kilometers from the capital.

Their mother, Shahida Begum, told AFP how happy she was.

“I have never thought they would be separated and live a healthy life. But thanks to Allah, we are now returning home with Tofa and Tahura no longer conjoined,” Begum said. AFP

1.

N OTICE Notice is hereby given that COMMUNITIES DAVAO, INC., with office address at LGF Bldg. B. Evia Lifestyle Center, Daang Hari, Almanza Dos, Las Piñas City, is applying for registration with the Board of Investments (BOI) as an Expanding Developer of Economic and Low-Cost Housing Project under the Preferred List - Mass Housing (Lessandra Davao Phase 2) with a capacity of 463 house and lot units on a Non-Pioneer status, with project site located at Brgy. Communal, Buhangin, Davao City.

Any person with valid objections on the above-mentioned project may file his/her objection in writing, under oath, with the BOI within three (3) days from the date of this publication.

2.

3.

N OTICE

Any person with valid objections on the above-mentioned project may file his/her objection in writing, under oath, with the BOI within three (3) days from the date of this publication.

Php2,720,000.00

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a nondiscretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 91 B4, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

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.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from DepED Region IV-A CALABARZON (BAC Secretariat) and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during office hour at 8:00am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday.

Note: (For lot procurement, the maximum fee for the Bidding Documents for each lot shall be based on its ABC, in accordance with the Guidelines issued by the GPPB; provided that the total fees for the Bidding Documents of all lots shall not exceed the maximum fee prescribed in the Guidelines for the sum of the ABC of all lots.}.

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.

4.

The DepED Region IV-A CALABARZON will hold a Pre-Bid Conference2 on December 5, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. to be held at the Bulwagan ng Karangalan, DepEd IV-A, Cainta, Rizal which shall be open to prospective bidders.

5.

Bids must be duly received by the BAC Secretariat at the address below on or before December 18, 2018 at 10:00 a.m.. 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 December 18, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. at the Bulwagan ng Karangalan. 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.

N OTICE Notice is hereby given that FILINVEST LAND, INC, with office address at No. 79 EDSA, Highway Hills, Mandaluyong City, is applying for registration with the Board of Investments (BOI) as a new developer of economic and low-cost housing project (New Leaf Phase 1A and 1B) with a capacity of 1,001 economic and low-cost housing units on a non-pioneer status, with project site at Brgy. Hugo Perez, Trece Martirez City, Cavite.

Approved Budget

340

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested Bidders on November 29 to December 18, 2018 from the address below and upon payment of the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents, pursuant to the latest Guidelines issued by the GPPB, in the amount of Five Thousand Pesos (Php5,000.00) Only.

Notice is hereby given that COMMUNITIES DAVAO, INC., with office address at LGF Bldg. B. Evia Lifestyle Center, Daang Hari, Almanza Dos, Las Piñas City, is applying for registration with the Board of Investments (BOI) as an Expanding Developer of Economic and Low-Cost Housing Project under the Preferred List - Mass Housing (Lessandra Trails Davao Phase 2) with a capacity of 401 house and lot units on a Non-Pioneer status, with project site located at Purok Durian, Brgy.

Visayan Village, Tagum City.

(MS-DEC. 5, 2018)

No. of pax

(i)

(MS-DEC. 5, 2018)

(SGD.) MARY ANN E. RAGANIT Officer-In-Charge Infrastructure and Services Industries Service

Date of activity December 26 - 29, 2018

The DepED Region IV-A CALABARZON now invites bids for the Procurement of Board & Lodging for the PMIS Regional Roll Out - Phase 2. Delivery of the Services is expected for the Contract duration. Bidders should have completed, within five (5) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description o f an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

(SGD.) MARY ANN E. RAGANIT Officer-In-Charge Infrastructure and Services Industries Service

Any person with valid objections on the above-mentioned project may file his/her objection in writing, under oath, with the BOI within three (3) days from the date of this publication.

The DepED Region IV-A CALABARZON, through the PMIS downloaded fund intends to apply the sum of Two Million Seven Hundred Twenty Thousand Pesos Only (Php 2,720,000.00) being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for the Procurement of Board & Lodging for the PMIS Regional Roll Out - Phase 2. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

6.

The DepED Region IV-A CALABARZON 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.

7.

For further information, please refer to: Ann Geralyn T. Pelias DepEd Region IV-A CALABARZON Gate 2 Karangalan Drive, Cainta, Rizal 6477487 & 6474914 www.depedcalabarzon.ph (SGD) CARLITO D. ROCAFORT BAC Chairman

(SGD.) MARY ANN E. RAGANIT Officer-In-Charge Infrastructure and Services Industries Service

2May be deleted in case the ABC is less than One Million Pesos (PhP1,000,000) where the Procuring Entity may not hold a Pre-Bid Conference.

(MS-DEC. 5, 2018)

(MS-DEC.5, 2018)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

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

B4

wednesday, december 5, 2018

QC rounds up 1,633 violators of ordinances over 24 hours

LGUs

By Maricel V. Cruz AT LEAST 1,633 violators of laws and city ordinances have been rounded up in Quezon City, city police head Chief Supt. Joselito T. Esquivel Jr. reported Monday.

In reports sent to Philippine National Police chief Director General Oscar D. Albayalde and National Capital Region police commander Director Guillermo Eleazar, Esquivel said those arrested were rounded up from 5 a.m. on Dec. 2 to 3 a.m. on Monday.

He said Station 1, which has jurisdiction over La Loma Police Station and is led by Supt. Robert Sales, accosted six persons for jaywalking and 220 for various traffic violations.

The Masambong Police Station under Supt. Rodrigo Soriano rounded up six for drinking in public places, 28 for smoking in public places, two for creating excessive noise, and 180 for jaywalking.

The Talipapa Police Station commanded by Supt. Alex Alberto arrested 143 for traffic violations and rescued 35 minors caught violating the curfew imposed on juveniles in the area.

Supt. Rossel Cejas, Novaliches police commander, reported the arrest of nine for drinking liquor in public places, 11 for smoking in prohibited areas, 27 for creating excessive noise, 70 for jaywalking and 149 for other traffic violations.

Metro Angeles Council to help ease Clark woes ANGELES CITY―A mayoralty candidate has crafted a master plan for the creation of a commission that will address the impact of progress and social problems of the massive multibillionpeso investment in the Clark Freeport Zone and its surrounding communities here.

Alexander Cauguiran, who is running under the Kambilkan banner, said the master plan aims to anticipate the future so that progress and development in the Freeport will prepare the local government units near Clark.

The solution is the establishment of a Metro Angeles Council that will oversee the short and long-term solutions of the impact of the Freeport’s development on the lives of the people.

Owing to the conversion of Clark as a growth area of the country, Cauguiran said traffic density in Angeles and nearby communities will reach record highs, threatening the quality of life and safety of the residents.

A former president and CEO of the Clark International Airport, Cauguiran said: “While we welcome progress and development, we also need be wary about the danger, problems and other social ills it may bring to the communities.”

“In a few years from now the population of LGUs will surely triple because of the opportunities offered for business expansion and employment [in Clark],” he said. Romeo Dizon Signing the agreement (from left) are Maria Martina Geraldine Dimalibot, Senior vice president for the St. Luke’s Medical Center Nursing Care Group and chief nursing officer; Edna Sacedor, assistant regional director for DSWD-NCR; Dr. Arturo S. de la Peña, president and CEO of St. Luke’s Medical Center; and Olivia Yao, Resource Generation Director for St. Luke’s Medical Center Foundation.

LocaL government units

BELENISMO WINNER. Tarlac Foundation Co-Founder Dr. Isa Suntay (2nd from left) joins Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana (3rd from right) in standing with the awardees during

the 11th Belenismo sa Tarlac 2018 awarding ceremony at the Robinsons Place Tarlac City on Saturday. Municipality of Moncada bagged 1st prize in the Grand Municipal category, earning P100,000 cash and a trophy. A total of 52 entries competed in the annual event, which features the art of making ‘Belen’ (Nativity) displays. Attending the event were Interior Secretary Eduardo Manahan Año, Agrarian Reform Secretary John Rualo Castriciones, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei Nograles, and Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista. Lino Santos

Makati schools to get P100m

By Joel E. Zurbano

M

AKATI City Mayor Abigail Binay has allocated P100 million for free educational field trips and other off-campus activities of thousands of public school students in the city.

The city chief executive said the local government gave its full support to the project falls under the Talent Optimization Programs for Students of the Department of Education-Makati (DepEd-Makati) as part of continuing efforts to develop “globally competitive Makatizens.”

“As I have vowed from the start of my term as mayor, my administration will strive to provide cutting edge and relevant education for the youth of Makati, at no cost to them or their parents and guardians,” said Binay.

She noted that students have different learning curves, and outdoor activities such as educational field trips help stimulate their thirst for learning at their young age.

“I believe that the early years of education is the ideal time for children to be allowed to explore and learn from the things they discover firsthand outside the classroom and school grounds.

By creating a link between the concepts taught to them and how these apply in the real world, we will optimize their potential for learning,” added Binay.

“We only need to ensure their safety during the entire trip, and that the places they visit are safe and wholesome,” she underscored.

Last Nov. 26, Binay together with Makati City Rep. Luis Campos joined some 3,175 students from various public elementary schools on their trip to Kidzania Manila at Bonifacio Global City.

Kidzania is a play city built to scale for children aged four to 17, complete with paved streets, transport system and a functioning economy. It is designed to provide realistic role-play experience to children to develop their life skills and explore their potentials.

Schools that visited Kidzania on the same day included F. Benitez Elementary School- Main, East Rembo Elementary School, Fort Bonifacio Elementary School, Bangkal Elementary School I, Bangkal Elementary SchoolMain, Cembo Elementary School, Comembo Elementary School, F. Benitez III Elementary School, Guadalupe Viejo Elementary School, Hen. Pio Del Pilar Elementary School- Main, Hen. Pio Del Pilar Elementary School I, Jose Magsaysay Elementary School, and La Paz Elementary School.

In the coming weeks, students will also visit historical places such as Luneta Park, Intramuros, and Barasoain Church and Museum in Bulacan. Other

PLDT to boost Cagayan ecozone ICT services

Cagayan Economic Zone Authority Administrator and CEO Secretary Raul L. Lambino (center) and SOiVA Chairman Kim Sang Young (2nd from right) pose after the South Korean firm committed to providing CEZA global trade and investment linkages to business cooperatives in a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two parties.

Others in photo are (from left) Ching Caballero, Oh Kwa Chil and Roland L. Sianghio (extreme right).

By Brenda Jocson

Pagsanjan sets weeklong fiesta for 350th year THE Municipality of Pagsanjan in Laguna, one of the country’s first tourist hotspots, marks another milestone as it celebrates its 350th foundation day through the weeklong Lagaslas Bangkero Festival on Dec. 6 to 12.

Themed “Sa Panahong Lumipas, Pagsanjan Lalong Tumikas,” the eventful festival is a tribute to the bangkeros or boatmen who skillfully navigate and shoot the rapids all the way to the picture-perfect falls.

popular sites lined up for the educational tours include Mind Museum and Manila Ocean Park.

Earlier, Mayor Binay presented her State of the Children Address before some 2,400 students and youth from different barangays, reiterating her commitment to the protection and promotion of their rights and welfare.

In her report, she enumerated the new additions to the free items being provided by the city to public schoolchildren under Project FREE (Free Relevant Excellent Education), including a brand new pair of rubber shoes, raincoats and rain boots. She also announced that starting next school year, the city will also provide them free school socks, which elicited loud applause from the audience.

The mayor assured them that the city will continue to seek ways to ease the burden of their parents in sending them to school, so they can instead spend on their other essential needs.

According to Pagsanjan Mayor Maita Javier-Ejercito, the festival will showcase the town’s road to progress over the years due to its good governance program tourism promotional efforts.

Merry-making kicks off with the unveiling of the commemorative marker of the Spanish-era Royal Arch by the National Historical Commission, which was built in 1878 to memorialize Pagsanjan’s glory years as Laguna’s provincial capital from 1688 to 1872.

The site is believed to be the place where the town’s patroness, Our Lady of Guadalupe, appeared and drove away the pirates who are about to raid the town in the late 1800s.

The celebration coincides with the town’s patronal fiesta which converge at the Diocesan Shrine of the Our Lady of Guadalupe, as its first church was founded in 1687. In its Chapel of the Tilma is enshrined the stone where the Virgin Mary is believed to have appeared in Mexico.

SANTA ANA, Cagayan—The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., Inc. said it will help bring the latest telecommunications technology to the Cagayan economic zone in this town.

With this, Secretary Raul Lambino, Cagayan Economic Zone Authority Administrator And Chief Executive Officer, said a partnership agreement between PLDT and CEZA was already sealed at the ecozone’s Mandaluyong office.

Lambino said the partnership is for the installation of underground fiber optic cable facilities that will equip Santa Ana with a high-bandwidth internet connection.

The facilities include other transport services like software-defined networking (SDWAN), multiprotocol label switching (MPLS), and other premium services.

“This will not only help CEZA and its locators meet their high internet bandwidth requirements in and out of the country but will also add value and increase the competitiveness of the Cagayan Freeport as an investment option in the global market,” Lambino said.

St. Luke’s, DSWD ink pact for Baesa families THE St. Luke’s Medical Center Foundation, Inc., St. Luke’s Quezon City Nursing Care Group, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development-NCR have formalized their solidarity to assist in the health requirements of families in Barangay Baesa, Quezon City.

This endeavor, through signing a Memorandum of Agreement, reinforced St. Luke’s Medical Center’s commitment to give back to the community where everyone has equal access to quality healthcare.

Dr. Arturo S. de la Peña, president and CEO of St. Luke’s Medical Center; Edna Sacedor, Assistant Regional Director for DSWD-NCR; Maria Martina Geraldine Dimalibot, Senior Vice President for St. Luke’s NCG; and Olivia Yao, Resource Generation Director for St. Luke’s Medical Center Foundation, signed the tripartite agreement at the Auditorium 2 of St. Luke’s Quezon City.

The agreement will pave the way for the group to conduct integrated community health services for the poverty-stricken families of District 6 in Barangay Baesa, Quezon City, who are also members of the 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program) of DSWD. The program, which will be spearheaded by the nurses of St. Luke’s Quezon City, will include education, training, and other integral activities centered on improving the health of the community through the active engagement of the families.

The program components are identified by both the community and the DSWD field personnel as high priority and with high impact value.

For inquiries and more information, proceed to the St. Luke’s Quezon City Medical Social Service Department or contact them at trunk line 723-0101 ext.

4731/4733.

Life

Bernadette Lunas, Issue Editor manilastandardlife@gmail.com @manilastandardlife @MStandardLIFE

fashion and beauty

wEdnESday, dEcEMBEr 5, 2018

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f

Or an Italian eyewear manufacturer, eyeglasses should not only help improve a customer’s vision but also empower; they should fit the style and personality of the wearer.

Safilo, a brand that has made eyewear in Italy since 1934, brings six of its luxury brands to the Philippines, through its official distributor Ark trends Inc., thus expanding its global presence. It brings designs from its core brand, sports eyewear Carrera, as well as licensed labels Jimmy Choo, fendi, Hugo Boss, Max Mara, and Dior.

“Safilo believes that style is about being yourself. It’s a matter of authenticity, consistency, and personal style which Safilo’s line-up of eyewear brings about,” said Safilo’s associate director brand for APAC Vincent Cleme.

Promising fit, finish, and comfort, each pair in the Safilo collection is made with utmost attention to the smallest of details. this claim is seen in features such as laser engraving designs, the colors, and materials used to ensure that each pair is not only fashionable, but also built to last.

“We at Ark trends, Inc. are very proud of our new partnership with Safilo; we’re lucky to serve as a bridge between Italy and the Philippines by bringing these brands into the local market for filipinos to enjoy,” said Ark trends chief executive ramesh Dargani.

Highlighting the brand’s efforts to combine artisan skills and advanced technology to create and evolve its products and services, Safilo and Ark trends, Inc. selected a group of artists from the art, fashion, and design world to sketch a number of personalities during its media launch at the Manila House Private Club. each personality represented the different Safilo brands launched in the Philippines.

Looking through rose-colored glasses PRETTY IN PINK. Coleen Garcia-Crawford wears a pair of Dior eyewear, which Italian manufacturer Safilo brings to the Philippines.

From left: Rhian Ramos wears Max Mara eyewear, Mara Lopez enjoys her pair of Carrera, and Isabelle Daza looks stylish in Fendi sunglasses.

Innisfree opens first store in Manila

to represent Carrera, artist Miguel Chavez sketched Mara Lopez. for Jimmy Choo, Soleil Ignacio drew Bubbles Paraiso. fendi, on the other hand, was brought to life through the tandem of Jojie Lloren as artist and Isabelle Daza as the model. the other artist-model pairs were Carlos Celdran and Atticus King for Hugo Boss; Maria Isabel Lopez and rhian ramos for Max Mara; and Mich Dulce and Coleen Garcia-Crawford for Dior. the sketches, all depicting the models wearing the various Safilo brands, were then exhibited for each one to see. the guests marveled at the unique way that each model was depicted in the different drawings, with their choice of eyewear reflecting their individual styles and influencing the artist’s rendition.

“By bringing these eyewear choices to the Philippines, we aim to help filipinos show their individual style through their eyewear,” enthused Cleme.

Safilo’s eyewear collection is available at LS Pascual in Rockwell, Edsa Shangri-La Mall, Robinsons Ermita, Robinsons Magnolia, and TriNoma; Optical Works in SM Lucena, SM Lipa, Festival Mall, SM Dasmariñas, SM Southmall, SM Bacoor, Shoppesville, SM North Edsa, SM Marilao, and SM Pampanga; and George Optical in Solenad Sta Rosa.

The Super Volcanic Pore Clay Mask contains volcanic rocks from Jeju Island that help absorb sebum.

Innisfree brings its wide range of beauty and skin care products to its first store in the Philippines, located on the Level 1 of SM Mall of Asia’s Main Mall.

By Paola Navarette After years of waiting, Innisfree, one of Korea’s top cosmetics brands, has finally opened its first store in Manila—on the Level 1 of SM Mall of Asia’s Main Mall.

Launched in 2002, Innisfree is part of the Amore Pacific cosmetic empire in South Korea.

It currently has a vast presence in countries like Hong Kong, Singapore, India, taiwan, Malaysia, thailand, China, Vietnam, and the USA. With boy band Wanna One, actors Lee Min Ho and Yoona as its brand ambassadors, it is an instant hit with K-pop and K-drama lovers.

Now available exclusively at SM Mall of Asia, it brings to Manila its innovative beauty solutions powered by the finest ingredients found on Korea’s pristine Jeju Island.

“We are excited to offer our filipino consumers skin care with quality selection of products and sustainable practices. We are also committed to expanding and establishing a long-term presence here,” says general brand manager Stephen Lee. With its green philosophy, the brand promises

to preserve and protect nature through collective activations and campaigns in the coming years.

Innisfree’s star products include its hydrating Green tea Seed Serum which has dual moisturerizing technology and is formulated with green tea seeds that nourish the skin.

Another cult-favorite is the pore-clearing Jeju Pore Volcanic Clay Mask which contains volcanic rocks that help absorb sebum. then there is the No-Sebum Mineral Powder, the brand’s bestselling powder, which controls oil to maintain a matte complexion. the Orchid enriched Cream, which reduces signs of aging, is also very popular with skin care and K-beauty fans. even guys can experience the transformation with the Innisfree forest for Men Set, which effectively moisturizes and nourishes the skin, as it uses soothing properties to calm irritation from shaving.

Other Innisfree products like facial masks, hair care, nail polish, and cosmetic accessories, are available at their flagship store at SM Mall of Asia.

Photos by Paola Navarette

The nourishing and hydrating Green Tea Seed Serum is one of Innisfree’s bestselling products.

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wednesday, december 5, 2018 manilastandardlife@gmail.com

Life

As timeless as Marian Rivera’s pearls M

AriAN rivera, one of today’s beautiful faces, has launched her jewelry collaboration with kultura.

The Marian x kultura pearl collection is a jewelry line composed of freshwater pearls that come in variety shapes—baroque pearls, keishi pearls, and coin pearls that are paired with semi-precious stones.

Each piece in the collection was intricately designed by rivera and kultura. According to kultura, the 34-year-old actress was involved in every step, process, colors, and designs like the dainty, floral pearl earrings that reflect her personality. The baroque pearl pendant, the matching earrings and ring, definitely show boldness of her style. The pink box packaging was also her design. “i am fond of jewelry, when i was asked to collaborate for a pearl line for kultura, i said yes and was really excited with the outcome of the collection,” shared rivera.

She also expressed excitement as the jewelry line is made locally, and that her collaboration with kultura will be able to reach and help a lot of people especially the pearl farmers. rivera will be donating a portion of the Marian x kultura’s sales to her beloved foundation, the Smile Train Foundation.

The Marian x Kultura pearl collection, is available at Kultura stores in SM Megamall, The Podium, and SM Makati.

Marian Rivera launches her pearl jewelry collection made in collaboration with Kultura, which consists of earrings, rings, and pendants made of freshwater pearls in different shapes.

Fearless and pretty

Diamond is an oversized sneaker style that showcases an inventive sole construction and striking design.

Jimmy Choo

launches deluxe sneakers

SNEAkErS are given a luxurious up- Diamond sneaker showcases an invendate as Jimmy Choo launches the Dia- tive double sole construction, a flat mond sneaker, a women’s and men’s classic sole attached to the upper as trainer that utilizes modern innova- an inner shoe then encased in the first of its kind transparent diamondtions in performance inspired sole developed and materials and design. engineered in italy.

The result of the The sole takes brand’s innovation is a inspiration from next generation overtank treads sized sneaker that is a cored out at the visual composite that key flex points to sees the refined sportsDiamond Sport Calf allow each shoe to wear silhouette of a vintage racing shoe, superimposed be as functional and as flexible as it is striking. into a Diamond-soled footprint.

Each Diamond sneaker design de“Stepping in to a Jimmy Choo has always lifted the mood, igniting a mands attention; the hero style is sense of emotional trans- f o r m a - adorned in Swarovski crystals for both men and women. Additional styles tion. For the debut defeature tonal leather in a palluxe Jimmy Choo ette of white and silver sneaker we imagined for women’s; and how it would feel to amber, black and step into a multinavy contrasted faceted diamond, with white for playing with the men’s as well as sense of lightness Diamond Sterling Silver a limited-edition and clarity the difDipped Python sterling silver plated pyferent angles reflect. it was from this idea the Diamond thon.

In the Philippines, Jimmy Choo sneaker was born,” said creative direcis located at Shangri-La Plaza East tor Sandra Choi.

Throughout the product range, the Wing and Rustan’s Makati.

To highlighT the strengths of a modern Filipina, a cosmetics brand brings together two celebrities known for their stunning looks and headstrong personalities: Max Collins and glaiza De Castro.

Featuring the new tagline, “Next level You,” EB Advance empowers and emboldens the modern Filipina with products that show off the next level version of themselves through its full range of high-quality, on-trend, and affordable beauty products that work with them.

EB Advance, in a statement, said Collins and De Castro personify the different kinds of beauty of a modern Filipino woman, from classic to edgy. Beyond the physical, they are brave, fiery, strong, and self-assured—women who stand for something.

During a recent photo shoot for the campaign, the two shared their mutual admiration for each other.

Collins said of De Castro, “i love working with her because she gives 100 percent in everything she does. And working on this campaign with her is such a pleasure because we are showing women how to advance themselves through makeup.”

For her part, De Castro said, “i admire how, at her age, she has a clear direction of what she wants to do in life. She knows her strengths and weaknesses and she uses her influence to empower and encourage women.”

Despite their differences, they share one trait in common—they are fearless. This shows in their personal styles.

Max Collins

Glaiza De Castro

Collins prefers the flirty and feminine look, favoring light, natural makeup shades.

“My go-to makeup products consist of the EB Advance Brow Define Waterproof Brow liner, EB Advance lip and Cheek Stain, and the EB Advance lash Define mascara especially when i don’t want to put too much makeup on when i’m going out,” she shared.

Meanwhile, De Castro’s style is edgy and cool. She loves to experiment. “i love exploring. This is not just in the roles i portray, or when i travel. it also applies to my hairstyle and makeup. i want to see different sides of me.”

Playing around with different looks helped her discover what works and what doesn’t. For her makeup, her surefire bets are the EB Advance lTD liquid lipstick in Fire opal, EB Advance Silky Eye liner in onyx and EB Advance lip and Cheek Stain.

Although makeup is a big factor in boosting their confidence, both believe that being empowered means more than a made up face.

De Castro said being empowered means knowing what a woman wants and standing by her convictions and passions regardless of what people will say or think. “She is daring kasi ang dami mong kakalabanin para sa isang bagay na sa tingin mo ay tama para sa’yo (because you have to fight a lot for things you know are right for you).”

And for Collins, it’s not just being sexy or pretty. “it’s all about being strong and being proud to be a woman. That also means encouraging fellow women by helping her build her confidence as well. We as humans can get judgmental of others but it’s really a conscious effort on my part to avoid being one if i also don’t want to be unfairly judged.”

Entertainment

T

HIS December, Pinoys abroad can come home to a special musical extravagance as GMA Pinoy TV brings Kapuso stars to join fellow Filipino performers through Awit Pasasalamat: A Tribute to Overseas Filipinos.

Slated on Dec. 15 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World Manila, witness a night of sheer Pinoy talent featuring no less than Asia’s Romantic Balladeer Christian Bautista and actress Andrea Torres together with guest performers Joey Ayala, Rose Fostanes, and Tanya Dawood, to name a few.

“This show will serve as a warm welcome to our kababayans and we promise to make their stay even more memorable as they celebrate Christmas with their family and loved ones,” Christian assured.

“Para sa mga minamahal nating Kapuso galing abroad, let us treat you this Christmas with an unforgettable entertainment. At sana po through this show ay madama ninyo kung gaano kayo ka-special para sa amin,” said Andrea.

The special concert is organized by Advocates and Keepers Organization of OFWs in partnership with BANTAY OFW Inc. and JSP Events, and with the exclusive media partnership of GMA Network’s flagship international channel GMA Pinoy TV as their way of giving back for the overseas Filipinos’ sacrifices, hard work, and contribution to the country.

More importantly, in true Christmas and OFW spirit, the proceeds of the concert will be used to finance Pasay General Hospital’s equipment for its OFW ward.

Ticket prices for Awit Pasasalamat are at P850; P1,200; P1,500; P3,000; and P5,000. For ticket inquiries, visit www.ticketworld.com.ph or call Doc Chie Umandap at 0908-128-7864.

For more updates on Kapuso events, follow GMA Pinoy TV on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram (@gmapinoytv), and visit the GMA Pinoy TV official website at www.gmapinoytv.com.

Eat Bulaga...

From C4

“Until now, I can’t fully explain how happy I am that I was chosen to be an EBest scholar. If I was not chosen to be a recipient of the scholarship nine years ago, my family wouldn’t be able to send me to school, let alone get a degree. I’m grateful to all the men and women of the show.”

He relates being an EBest scholar and topping the licensure exam to winning the lottery. “I feel like I won the lottery because after years of hard work, long hours of studying, and all the challenges I’ve been through, I was given such blessing. Because of the kindness of other people, I am able to fulfill my wishes and dreams.”

One of the challenges Jaydee faced while in school was the passing of his father two years ago due to liver cancer. He said it shook their whole family to the core

GMA Pinoy TV’s tribute to overseas Filipinos

C3

nickie.standard@gmail.com

Simply...

From C4

Christian Bautista and Andrea Torres for Awit Pasasalamat, an OFW tribute concert.

and he almost lost track of his studies.

What pushed him to do better in school was his promise to his father to finish his education, get a degree, and help provide a better life for their family.

“When Papa passed away, it was the most difficult and darkest days of my life. But I also realized that I want to finish my education so that I could help my family. All my successes now, I dedicate them to my father. I want to continue all his dreams.”

Jaydee said his path to topping the board was never a walk in the park. He said it took a lot of focus, patience, hard work, and determination to achieve his dreams.

He added that what Eat Bulaga taught him over the years is the ability to believe in himself and that he can make the impossible possible.

“Aside from the assistance they gave me, the show really taught me a new outlook in life. That one’s economic status should not hinder his ability to make something of himself. Being poor does not automatically

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2018

spoils your chances of having a good and bright future.

You still have an opportunity to reach for your dreams.”

Right now, Jaydee received offers from different design and construction firms in the country. But apart from practicing his profession, he is eager to share the opportunity and assistance Eat Bulaga afforded him.

“My dream is to be able to return the favor to other aspiring engineers. My ultimate goal is to be able to join the academe and to teach college engineering students and pass on my knowledge. I want to continue that ripple of change Eat Bulaga started.”

As for his advice to students who are also working in achieving their dreams, Jaydee reminded them to always obey their parents, study hard and have confidence.

“Just continue to persevere in reaching your dreams.

And if there are challenges ahead, keep a positive mind and never lose sight of your goals and inspirations in life. Have courage and confidence, and most importantly always seek guidance from the Lord,” he ended.

But just like in most Tagalog movies about failed marriage, the Sharon-Richard off-screen romance failed to rev up, and the two followed each of their path to separate directions.

Now, Richard, mayor of Ormoc City, lives a happy married life with wife Lucy, a congressman in the same city, and Sharon with his Kiko Pangilinan, a senator.

In Three Words to Forever however, the audience is able to take a peak at what Richard and Sharon’s love chapter off-screen, though implicitly. And that’s what makes Three Words to Forever something fans are looking forward to see in theaters nationwide. *** ‘The Flash” ‘ Season 5 on iflix Look out, DC Super Hero Fans! Barry Allen (a.k.a. The Flash) is now on iflix.

Running straight from the U.S. screens into your hands, the highly-anticipated series from Warner Bros. International Television Distribution is now available within 24 hours of its U.S. debut for iflixVIP users.

In season five, Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) and his new wife, Iris (Candice Patton) are surprised by the arrival of Nora West-Allen (Jessica Parker Kennedy), their speedster daughter from the future.

Her arrival brings to light the legacy of every member of Team Flash. While they rally to find a way to return her to her own time, they also discover her presence has altered the timeline and brought the early arrival of the most ruthless, vicious and relentless villain the Team has ever faced: Cicada (Chris Klein).

One of iflix’s most popular television shows, The Flash, from Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, is part of iflix’s extensive library of popular international titles fast-tracked from the US including criticallyacclaimed Mr. Robot, hit comedy The Good Place S3, horror anthologies Channel Zero: The Dream Door and Midnight Texas S2 – all available on iflix.

“We are thrilled to give our subscribers front row seats to such fast-paced action. This underpins our commitment to provide our users with the latest episodes of the world’s most popular shows along with the best local and regional titles available.”

Notes Sherwin dela Cruz, co-founder and country manager for iflix Philippines.

Now available to over one billion consumers throughout Asia, the Middle East and Africa, iflix has established itself as the clear market leader in video streaming. Offering consumers a vast library of top Hollywood, regional, and local TV shows and movies, including many first run exclusives and award-winning programs, and now news, each subscription allows users to access the services on up to five devices, including phones, laptops, tablets, and television sets, for viewing wherever, whenever.

Learn more at https://blog.iflix.com *** More stories of these kinds at www.isah.red. Follow me on Facebook (@isahvr), Twitter (@isahvred) and Instagram (@isahvred). ΙŘ

HOLLYWOOD

‘Ralph’ beats the ‘Grinch’ to stay atop the box office DISNEY animation Ralph Breaks the Internet held the past $500 million. The Harry Potter prequel stars Eddie top spot in North American theaters for a second straight Redmayne as Newt Scamander; also starring are Jude weekend, taking in an estimated $25.8 million, industry Law and Johnny Depp.

Placing fifth, and in its fifth week out, was Fox’s tracker Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday.

The sequel to 2012’s Wreck It Ralph sees the title Bohemian Rhapsody, with $8.1 million. Rami Malek character (voiced by John C. Reilly) and friend plays rock group Queen’s talented front man Freddie Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) venture into Mercury. AFP the weird world of the internet, with predictably screwy results.

The Grinch, Universal’s family-friendly feature about the not-so-friendly green creature from Dr. Seuss’s manic menagerie, placed second, with $17.7 million for the three-day weekend and a cumulative domestic total of $203.5 million. Benedict Cumberbatch voices the irritable title character.

In third was MGM’s boxing drama Creed II, with a take of $16.8 million. This latest in the Rocky series stars Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Creed as he takes on the son of the boxer who killed his father. Sylvester Stallone, of course, plays aging ex-champ Rocky Balboa, now a restaurant owner and Adonis’s mentor.

Holding in fourth place was Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald from Warner Bros., The animated sequel to “Wreck-it-Ralph” generated $25.8 at $11.2 million, pushing its worldwide total million dominating the U.S. theaters for the second weekend.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Wednesday, December 5, 2018

ACROSS 1 Wandered freely 6 Clod 10 Quick drive 14 Give an address 15 China’s place 16 Actor James — 17 More competent 18 Skillful 19 Rolling — — (rich) 20 Carioca’s home 21 Henri’s island 23 Future bride 25 Raucous 28 Comes in 29 Drop — — line 30 Red Sea peninsula 32 Moves up and down 35 Sudden rush 36 See-through fabric 40 Latest fad 41 Short skirts 42 Perjurer 43 Eros, in Rome 44 Woe is me!

45 Fills a pipe 46 Get out fast 48 Plant sci.

49 Go for pizza, say (2 wds.)

52 Bold 57 Dagwood’s

wife 59 Not just mine 60 Broad st.

61 Sorority letter 62 Barcelona boy 64 Journalist — Pyle 66 State, to Pierre 67 Steel ingredient 68 Consumer advocate 69 Hill’s opposite 70 Works on a quilt 71 Irritate mischievously DOWN 1 Jungle noises 2 Planet’s course 3 Gallantry 4 Paris summer 5 Mocks or knocks 6 Weighed down 7 Find a job for 8 Irk 9 Dentist’s clients 10 Glitter 11 Puerto Rican port 12 Slicker 13 Jots down 22 Meadow 24 Collection of tales 26 Do a send-up 27 Tidal wave

31 Mother of Horus 32 Monastic title 33 On the — 34 Past 35 Arizona river 37 Draw a bead on 38 Mushroom morsel 39 Uh cousins 41 Dry cocktails 45 Flood 47 Cow’s “second course” 48 252 calories 49 Receded

50 Comic-strip queen 51 Demolish 53 Midnight opposites 54 Chinese mammal 55 Dorm climbers 56 Tractor pioneer 58 Limerick locale 63 Parent’s order 65 Funny Charlotte —

Beyonce, Jay-Z dazzle South Africa at Mandela tribute BEYONCE led an all-star line-up including Ed Sheeran, Jay-Z and Usher in Johannesburg at Sheeran a concert to honor the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela on Sunday.

The concert was the climax of a year of events celebrating the centennial of Mandela’s birth in 1918, and part of a campaign to tackle poverty, child malnutrition and boost gender equality.

This year’s Global Citizen Festival was held at Johannesburg’s 94,736-capacity FNB stadium and saw Beyonce perform several of her hits as well as a duet with Sheeran.

Thousands of music fans, many of whom had received free tickets to reward their activism and campaigning work, flocked to the stadium hours before the concert began.

“I’m proud to be part of the global citizen movement because they are trying to make a positive impact on people’s lives—especially women’s and children’s issues,” said Nokthula Khuzwayo, 23, from Soweto.

Khuzwayo “I loved Dbanj’s performance and of course Queen B and Jay-Z, even though it was a brief one.”

As well as a constellation of global stars that also included Pharrell Williams and Coldplay’s

Chris Martin, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa hosted fellow heads of state from Ghana, Rwanda and Sierra Leone.

“We are here to act in one voice,” said Ramaphosa.

Beyonce’s performance of her smash hit “XO,” during which she wore a flowing pink-red dress and paid tribute to Mandela, drew an outpouring of emotion from the crowd. AFP

Power couple Beyonce and Jay-Z perform during the 'Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100.'

Entertainment

Nickie Wang, Issue Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com

C4

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2018

ISAH V. RED

‘Three Words To Forever’ Director Bona Fajardo (leftmost) with the cast of the film pose for a photo op during a media launch held recently.

Empress Schuck and Daniel Matsunaga in a scene from the film

Strangers discover common past in

‘KAHIT AYAW MO NA’

In 'Kahit Ayaw Mo Na,' Empress Schuck, Kristel Fulgar and Andrea Brillantes are three total strangers who are forced to face a past, which will change their future forever.

T

HREE complete strangers find themselves embroiled in a veiled attempt to reunite them with their common past, a situation none of them is crazy about.

Bona Fajardo, the writer and director of romantic drama movies such as Iliw and I Found My Heart in Santa Fe, is back with another heart-warming movie in Kahit Ayaw Mo Na. The film, which unspools at cinemas today, tells the story of three girls, Joey, Mikee and Ally, who are all drawn to the beautiful province of Samar.

Joey (Empress Schuck), a designer, with her boyfriend Reggie (Daniel Matsunaga) is looking for a local start up business which takes them to Samar, hometown of Edlyn (Desiree Del Valle), who runs a banig weaving business with her partner Dong (Alan Paule). Further, Dong announces their wedding and asks for Joey’s help. But Joey is not a big fan of weddings. Her contempt for serious relationships stems from her mother’s own ordeal.

She grew up resenting her father.

Meanwhile, Mikee (Kristel Fulgar), a food and travel vlogger, together with her friend Jiro (Kuya Sawa), meets Tupe (Neil Coleta). Tupe helps her feature Samar’s Secret Kitchens – a well-guarded family recipes of Dong’s Nanay Caridad. Mikee is a wandering soul and will never stay in one place.

Like Joey, she grew up not knowing her father. She maybe searching for something and she doesn’t know what it is, but it’s definitely not the father who left the house.

Ally (Andrea Brillantes), an aspiring composer is very fond of her father Dong. She immerses herself in music. Her inspiration is her longsuffering affection for Tupe. What begins as an unrequited love turns worse when Mikee enters the picture.

She nonetheless finds a willing friend in Jiro, whom Mikee neglected on her real purpose in Samar when she met the local tour guide, Paco (Karl Gabriel).

Wedding day arrives. Dong is the man of the hour. During the reception, everyone gets taken aback with his revelation that he’s the unknown father to Joey and Mikee, and that he is finally doing penance for his sins in the past, for abandoning Joey and Mikee during his heydays.

What seemed to be an ordinary trip for Joey and Mikee turned out to be something more than they presume.

When the missing pieces are finally set in its proper places, can the spark of blood kick in and erase what transpired before?

Watch as Empress Schuck, Kristel Fulgar and Andrea Brillantes have the most fun, memorable, and life-changing summer in Samar in Kahit Ayaw Mo Na. Get hooked with the movie’s official soundtrack titled, “Kahit Ayaw Mo Na,” performed by This Band.

Kahit Ayaw Mo Na is produced by VIVA Films and BluArt Productions, Spark Samar and Saga Prefecture Film Commission.

posts P6.5M opening-day gross LOWER your eyebrows now. It has been a week since the much-ballyhooed flick reteaming former sweethearts Richard Gomez and Sharon Cuneta has been released in cinemas across the archipelago and some cities offshore.

Three Words to Forever, a Star Cinema gamble on a love team that never was, raked in P6.5 million at the box office when it opened on Nov. 28. Not much compared to the take of the recent Daniel Padilla-Kathryn Bernardo outing though the latter is also in the movie sans her on and off screen darling. Still, the leading movie production company in the country is hopeful the movie has legs to stand up till about another second and third week in the plexes.

Unfavorable notices notwithstanding, the film company proceeds to barrage the potential audience with positive vibes about the Richard-Sharon movie….that it is one members of the family shouldn’t miss because everyone in a family can relate to any of the characters.

The movie’s simple premise that is typical of Cathy Garcia Molina’s is about a couple. Rick (Richard Gomez) and Cristy (Sharon Cuneta), after 25 years of marriage, now separated. Both agree to be quiet about it but will go on with the separation only after their trip to Ormoc for the celebration of the 50th wedding anniversary of Cristy’s parents, Cito (Freddie Webb) and Tinay (Liza Lorena).

While in Ormoc, Rick and Cristy’s daughter Tin (Kathryn Bernardo) tells them that she is tying the knot with her boyfriend Kyle (Tommy Esguerra).

Those that had seen the movie likened it to Four Sisters and a Wedding (2013) and Seven Sundays (2017) that starts out as a humor-laced depiction of an imperfect Filipino family and later explodes with each and every single character unloading all their pent up frustrations with each other.

But fans of the abortive SharonRichard love team are certainly jubilant about 3 Words to Forever and why not?

Star Cinema has proudly claimed it had been able to bring back the tandem that once tickled the fantasies of many Sharonians (especially at the time after the Sharon-Gabby tandem crumbled to the ground like pulverized hollow blocks after a 7.5 magnitude earthquake.

The Sharon-Richard tandem was the aftershock of that major blow and it gave many a Sharonian reason to fantasize that their beloved idol’s broken marriage would also get through a rainbow filled fulfillment. Continued on C3

Lead cast of 'Three Words To Forever'

'Eat Bulaga' scholar Jaydee Lucero tops Civil Engineering licensure exam.

‘EAT BULAGA’

scholar dedicates board exam success to late Pa

EAT Bulaga scholar Jaydee Lucero, who topped the November 2018 Civil Engineering licensure examination, dedicated his wellearned success to his late father.

Lucero, who graduated magna cum laude from the University of the Philippines—Diliman, got the highest passing rate of 97.20 percent among all the 13,887 examinees who took the board exams this year.

The 22-year-old said he did study for six straight months but never expected to come out on top.

“It was a grueling six months for me. My focus was just to review as much as I can. During the exam day itself, I was confronted by topics that really challenged me.

Though I expected to pass the board, I never thought that I’d actually top it because I know a lot who are smarter and better than me,” he said.

Jaydee recalled that it was his mother who eagerly waited for the results to be posted on the Professional Regulation Commission’s (PRC) website.

“My mother was the one who was really excited to see the exam results. She was checking the PRC website relentlessly until they posted it online. She was the one who relayed the good news to me and the happiest for my success.”

The youngest of two siblings, Jaydee is a product of Eat Bulaga’s scholarship program called “Eat Bulaga Excellent Student Awards” or EBest.

Launched in 2009, EBest Awards was established to provide scholarship grants to outstanding elementary, high school and college students from all over the country whose family does not have the means to support their education.

The longest-running noontime variety show provided Jaydee with high school and college scholarship grants, monthly allowances, and annual cash assistance for his other educational needs.

According to Jaydee, if it’s not for Eat Bulaga, he could have not finished his education and earn his degree. Continued on C3