Manila Standard - 2018 March 01 - Thursday

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2020 Olympics mascots chosen TOKYO—Tokyo Wednesday unveiled its long-awaited mascot for the 2020 Olympic Games: A futuristic blue-cheeked, doe-eyed character with pointy ears and “special powers” that was picked by schoolchildren across mascot-mad Japan. Next page VOL. XXXII • NO. 18 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net

Is there life in Saturn?

PARIS--Humanity may need look no further than our own Solar System in the search for alien life, researchers probing one of Saturn’s moons said.

The icy orb known as Enceladus may boast ideal living conditions for singlecelled microorganisms known as archaeans

Carpio takes over SC; Sereno girds for trial

By Rey E. Requejo and Maricel V. Cruz

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ENIOR Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio will head the Supreme Court in an acting capacity after Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno went on indefinite leave to prepare for her looming impeachment trial before the Senate.

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US tags Maute IS ally, blocks terror funding

By Vito Barcelo THE United States added the Maute group as an affiliate of the Islamic State in its list of foreign terrorist organizations, a move that Malacañang welcomed Wednesday.

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said the US action reaffirmed the government’s long-held belief that the Maute group, which overran Marawi City last year, was composed of local terrorists aided by foreign extremists.

The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Tuesday included Maute group along with Abu Musab Al-Barnawi of Nigeria and Mahad Moalim of Somalia, and seven groups from Bangladesh, Egypt, Somalia, Nigeria and Tunisia to its sanction list.

“This likewise recognizes the decisive action we have taken in liberating Marawi from these terrorists, which resulted in the success of the government in thwarting the establishment of an Islamic caliphate in the area and the containing of the rebellion from spreading to other parts of the Philippines,” Roque added.

It took five months for the military and police to retake Marawi City, in fighting that left more than 1,100 people dead and that sparked fears that ISIS would gain a foothold in Southeast Asia.

“Terrorism, indeed, knows no borders and the inclusion of the Maute group in the list of specially designated global terrorists and foreign terrorist organizations as an affiliate group of ISIS shows the solidarity and resolve of the international community to flush out evil forces to make the world safe and secure,” the statement added.

A Defense department official said the inclusion of the Maute group in the list of global terrorist groups would also fortify efforts to track and freeze foreign funding from international organizations. This, said Defense spokesman Arsenio Andolong, would stop foreign groups from providing logistical support for local terrorists.

“Such declaration from foreign countries will of course invariably

‘‘

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I don’t have that kind of ambition. I’m too old to be dictator.

President Rodrigo Duterte, rejecting claims by his political opponents

DRUG NET. Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency agents and police arrest Wednesday an alleged drug dealer during a raid in

Maharlika Village, Taguig. The raid was conducted to nab five drug dealers, but only two were captured. President Rodrigo Duterter’s anti-drugs war has left neartly 4,000 drug suspects dead and seen human rights groups claim he was responsible for a crime against humanity. AFP

Deployment ban mulled in Saudi

By Vito Barcelo

THE Department of Labor and Employment may expand the deployment ban to Saudi Arabia due to the common practice of Saudi employers to “trade” Filipino domestic workers to other employers, which results in unreported cases of abuses and maltreatment.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said that “trading or switching” of foreign household workers known as “kafala” is a common practice in Saudi Arabia, where more than 1.2 million Filipinos are working.

He said the country would impose the same deployment restrictions it applied to Kuwait if Saudi Arabia does not strengthen its protection of Filipino workers there.

Saudi Arabia is the biggest employer of Filipino workers, who make up the fourth largest group of foreigners there, and who are the second largest source of remittances to the Philippines.

“Under the kafala or sponsorship system, the Arab sponsor-employer has [complete] control over the mobility of the migrant worker,” Bello said.

A foreign worker, for instance, cannot quit work or transfer jobs without first obtaining the consent of his employer, which practically places the worker at the mercy of his employer, he said.

As part of the government move to improve protection for Filipino workers, the department sent a team to the Middle East, headed by Undersecretary Ciriaco Next page

Carpio, who chairs the Second Division of the Supreme Court and heads the Senate Electoral Tribunal, will also take over as acting chairman of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal and the Judicial and Bar Council.

Sereno took an indefinite leave of absence that begins today, March 1, to prepare for her legal defense as an impeachment complaint before the House of Representatives looks likely to be transmitted to the Senate for trial.

Carpio, who was born in Davao City, was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and assumed office on Oct. 26, 2001, his 52nd birthday. He is set to retire on Oct. 26, 2019 when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70.

Sereno appeared to be in fighting mood as she ruled out resignation as an option despite strong calls from some quarters, including from her colleagues in the Supreme Court, to quit her post.

“Four words. I will not resign,” Sereno said, when interviewed after her speech before the national convention of the Regional Trial Court Clerks of Court Association of the Philippines at the Manila Hotel.

The chief magistrate declined to say whether she was prevailed upon by her colleagues to file an indefinite leave of absence during the Court’s en banc sesNext page sion on Tuesday.

Outbreaks feared amid vaccine fears HEALTH Secretary Francisco Duque III on Wednesday warned disease outbreaks could happen due to public fear on vaccines following the controversy over the anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia.

Speaking at a news forum in

Manila, Duque said vaccination coverage rates had plunged “as a whole” since Dengvaxia’s maker announced late last year the vaccine might aggravate dengue in some cases.

In particular, Duque mentioned Davao City and Zambo-

anga City, where measles outbreaks had been declared, and in Region 3 (Central Luzon).

However, he claimed the Department of Health’s Outbreak Response Immunization effort in Davao City had contributed Next page

FIRE SAFETY OVERDRIVE. As the country welcomes summer and the Burn and Fire Prevention Month of March, some 300 families, or nearly 2,000 people, lose their dwellings in Barangay Tatalon in Quezon City at dawn Wednesday, with victims going back past sunrise to the rubble of their dwellings in hopes to recover reusable materials. Manny Palmero

Foreigner donates $1.5-m Rappler equity to 14 managers RAPPLER’s foreign investor Omidyar Network announced Wednesday it was donating its $1.5-million investment to the media agency’s 14 Filipino managers, in a move seen by industry observers as an attempt to resolve foreign ownership issues.

“This completely eliminates the basis of the unwarranted SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission] ruling,” Stephen

King, Omidyar’s head of Global Governance and Citizen Engagement, said in a statement Wednesday.

But Malacañang downplayed the announced donation, saying there was a breach of the 1987 Constitution.

The investment will be split equally among senior managers Jennifer V. Chua, Marie Fel D. Dalafu, Stacy Lynne M. de

Jesus, Lilibeth Socorro L. Frondoso, Glenda M. Gloria, Dominic Gabriel L. Go, Miriam Grace A. Go, Natashya Marianne L. Gutierrez, Maria Rosario F. Hofileña, Gemma B. Mendoza, Pauline Gel C. Occeñola, Libertad G. Pascual, Maria A. Ressa, and Anne Louise B. Yosuico.

“We...strongly believe that the company Next page

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News

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

UN told not to ‘weaponize’ human rights GENEVA—The Philippines’ top diplomat warned the United Nations on Tuesday not to “weaponize” human rights and urged it to send an impartial investigator to probe President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly anti-drug war.

The Philippines’ human rights record was raised at a UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva this week, with Iceland Foreign Minister Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson urging Manila on Monday to accept a visit from the UN Special Rapporteur.

Duterte was elected by a landslide in 2016 largely on a pledge to kill tens of thousands of criminals, and has presided over a narcotics crackdown that rights monitors describe as amounting to crimes against humanity.

Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano told the council on Tuesday Manila was ready to cooperate, but called for fairness.

“Send anyone except one who has already prejudged us, and who, by any measure, cannot be considered independent and objective,” Cayetano added.

“Let us in this regard take to heart our Secretary-General’s warning yesterday not to politicise—may I even say weaponize—human rights,” Cayetano said. AFP

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help us in many ways in our fight against local terrorist and their foreign cohorts,” Andolong said.

Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Bienvenido Datuin Jr. said the inclusion of the Maute group would make it easier to check money trails, financial sources, logistics lines and conduits of terror groups in foreign countries that may have connections with local violent extremists, he added.

The US declaration comes in the wake of reports that 40 foreign fighters had slipped into Mindanao.

Foreign financial aid to the Lanaobased Maute terror group will become more constricted with the United States’ official tagging of the group as a terrorist organization, officials said Wednesday.

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Lagunzad, to assess conditions there and provde immediate assistance and recommend actions to deal with the situation.

Bello said that the report of the team will be a reliable basis for the amendment or enhancement of existing bilateral labor agreements with Arab countries to provide better protection for Filipino workers.

“If there is an existing bilateral labor agreement but there are still rampant cases of maltreatment, then maybe we need to amend the agreement. The minimum demand of our President is that we will only deploy in countries where our workers are properly and effectively protected,” Bello said.

Meanwhile, the Labor secretary said the deployment ban to Kuwait stays after the arrest of suspects in the case of Joanna Demafelis, whose body was found in a freezer after she was tortured and killed.

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The mascot, which has yet to be named, was selected by elementary school kids from a shortlist of three competitors instantly recognizable as “made in Japan.”

The students picked option “A”, which, according to the Tokyo 2020 organizers, has a “strong sense of justice and is very athletic.”

Helpfully, it also has a magical power that enables it “to move anywhere instantaneously.”

Its Paralympic counterpart sports pink checks derived from Japan’s famous cherry blossom and is “usually calm, however it gets very powerful when needed.”

Its magic power: “It can talk with stones and the wind. It can also move things by just looking at them.”

The pair, which have “opposite personalities” but are “very good friends,” received over 100,000 votes—more than the other two design sets combined.

Mascots are massive in Japan, the land of Hello Kitty and Pokemon, and there are literally thousands representing everything from small communities to prisons.

Known locally as “yuru-kyara” or “laid-back characters,” mascots can also be major money-spinners. AFP

PH wants China to void Sino names in Benham T

HE government plans to contest the features in Philippine Rise, formerly Benham Rise, that China has named, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ernesto Abella said Wednesday.

He told reporters the government raised the issue of the unauthorized research conducted by the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences during the second meeting of the bilateral consultation mechanism between China and the Philippines in Manila on Feb. 13.

“Both sides agreed that all marine science research henceforth must have the consent of the Philippines,” Abella said.

He made his statement even as Senator Bam Aquino said Foreign Affairs’ decision to contest the China-named features was one step toward safeguarding Philippine territory.

“We hope they will follow through on the nullification of these Chinese names in Philippine Rise,” Aquino said.

He said China had violated the Philippines’ sovereignty by naming those features. He expressed hope the administration would protect Philippine Rise and support the Filipino scientists who would be doing research on it.

“We should be investing in our own capacity to do research. We must never depend on foreign partnerships,” Aquino said as he presided over the investigation on Philippine Rise as chairman of the committee on science and technology.

Abella said the Philippines will reg-

ister its objection to China’s action in Philippine Rise before the International Hydrographic Organization, the international body that approves names.

But Jay Batongbacal, a maritime law expert, said he was apprehensive about the IHO recalling its decision to approve the names.

“I am not confident that they will, but it’s worth a shot,” he said in a text message.

At a Senate probe on the naming of Philippine Rise’s features, it was revealed that China had illegally entered it in 2004, and that led to the naming of five features.

Asked if the country would file a diplomatic protest against China, Abella said a mechanism for bilateral dialogue was already in place to discuss the subject with China.

“That’s where next steps are going to be developed but basically, an agreement has been made that no further researches must be done without the permission of the Philippine side,” he said. PNA, with Macon Ramos-Araneta

Pinoys place ‘much trust’ in US—survey

By Vito Barcelo MOST Filipinos trust the United States and are neutral on China, a new survey

by Social Weather Stations showed.

The pollster’s December 2017 survey showed that 75 percent of the Filipinos it polled said they had “much trust” in the United States compared with the 14 other countries included in the poll.

That was equivalent to a “very good” net trust rating of +68 for the US, which was followed by Canada and Japan in the ratings.

The leaders of the three countries visited Manila last year for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit.

SWS said the public trust survey results on the United States, a long-time Philippine ally, had been positive since the country was first included in its polls in December 1994.

The US continued to hold a positive impression among Filipinos despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s tirades over the American officials’ criticism of his war on illegal drugs and the atrocities against

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In her letter to the deputy clerk of court, Sereno said, “[D]ue to the demands of the Senate trial where I intend to fully set out my defenses to the baseless charges, I will take an indefinite leave, until I shall have completed my preparation for the Senate trial…”

She said a portion of her leave would be charged against her wellness leave from March 1 to 15, which was originally set for March 12 to 23.

Sereno’s leave come as the Court is hearing cases challenging the government’s war on drugs, its prosecution of drug charges against Senator Leila de Lima and the tax reform program.

The justices, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, are also set to start a ballot recount on Mach 19 on the protest filed by former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. against Vice President Leni Robredo.

At the House hearing on the impeachment complaint against Sereno, experts who evaluated her for the top post in 2012 said they would not recommend her for the post of chief justice, based on the results of her tests.

“I agree with the findings of the psychologists that based on their findings, it is not recommendable [that Sereno become chief justice],” said Dr. Geraldine Tria.

Tria also disclosed Sereno manifested “five of the nine symptoms” of abnormalities, such as a “lack of empathy for others, grandiosity for self-importance, interpersonally exploitative of others, self-righteousness and a power tripper.”

Tria said this was manifested in Sereno’s unilateral decisions in a collegial body like the high court, where she may have decided based on mood swings.

“She shows a little regard for others. They don’t get along. The validation of this is the testimony of the witnesses,” she said.

Tria said the position of the chief justice should be assumed by somebody with an “above average” IQ unlike Sereno.

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should be allowed to continue operating unhindered in the Philippines,” King said.

Omidyar Network, owned by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, however, clarified it was not “cutting ties” with Rappler.

The move, it said, would remove the “barriers put in place” by the government when the SEC revoked the licenses of

Filipinos during World War II. US President Donald Trump hailed the long-standing ties between the Philippines and the US during his visit to Manila in November.

While the Philippines’ bilateral ties with China have warmed up under the Duterte administration, the majority of Filipinos who participated in the survey said they felt neutral about the country.

SWS said China’s trust ratings among Filipinos went up by a grade from poor to neutral, rising by 20 points from the -13 rating it had in September 2017.

The pollster said the net trust in China had been positive in only nine out of 45 surveys since it first included it in its polls in August 1994.

“It reached as high as a moderate +17 in June 2010 and as low as a bad -46 in September 2015,” SWS said.

Manila and Beijing began regular consultations last year even as the Chinese government continued to ignore an international tribunal’s July 2016 ruling that invalidated its claim over nearly all of the South China Sea.

But the Duterte administration has been pursuing stronger trade ties with China, downplaying the tensions over the South China Sea. The other countries that Filipinos feel neutral about are Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.

The countries moderately trusted by Filipinos are Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei and Vietnam.

Although the trust rating for North Korea has improved, it is still the most distrusted country by Filipinos.

The net trust rating of Pyongyang stayed poor at -19 even as it increased by nine points from -28 in September 2017, SWS said.

The pollster said that since it began surveying public trust in North Korea in March 2003, its net trust rating had always been negative, ranging from a bad -34 in May 2012 to a neutral -5 in March 2017.

Last year, Duterte described North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a “fool” and a “son of a bitch” over its nuclear program.

Sereno’s poor marks in her psychiatric assessment is among the grounds for impeachment cited by lawyer Larry Gadon in the impeachment complaint he filed against the Chief Justice.

Gadon said in his complaint that Sereno’s “psychiatric report described her as ‘dramatic and emotional.’ True enough, this has been manifested throughout her five years in office.”

Psychiatrists Dr. Dulce Liza SahagunReyes and Dr. Genuina Ranoy were hired by the Judicial and Bar Council to administer the psychological test of Sereno, and they were eventually fired by Sereno in 2013. Tria followed up on the results.

Tria said Sereno’s 109 intelligence quotient is just an “average.” In her opinion, that did not make her qualified at all to the judiciary’s top post, she said.

“Based on the interviews I gathered, there were those whose grades were higher,” she said of Sereno’s fellow applicants to the post vacated by the late chief justice Renato Corona after he was impeached in May 2012.

“We do agree with the evaluation of Dra. Tria,” Ranoy said.

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez expressed doubts about Sereno’s appointment after the experts offered their assessment that she was mentally unfit for the job.

Alvarez urged the Office of the Solicitor General to look into the possibility of questioning Sereno’s appointment to the Supreme Court.

“That is serious because for me, that is a betrayal of public trust. Because you pretended to be psychologically capable but you failed it. You fooled the people,” Alvarez said at a news conference.

Alvarez said if he had his way, he would challenge the issue before the Supreme Court.

“If you ask me, I would file a case before the Supreme Court. I will question the validity of the appointment itself,” Alvarez said. “The OSG should study that angle.”

Also during Wednesday’s hearing, Land Registration Authority Deputy Administra-

tor Ronald Ortile said Sereno and her husband Mario Jose had a total of six properties—two in Rizal province, two in Davao City and one each in Cavite and Bataan, but her statement of assets, liabilities and net worth included only four of those.

In his impeachment trial in 2012, the Senate convicted Chief Justice Renato Corona for not being truthful in his declarations in his SALNs. Sereno on Wednesday said she would fight her accusers with “honor, dignity and grace” once the impeachment complaint against her is sent to the Senate for trial.

“I want to give you the assurance that while I will be taking a leave of absence, the ship of state of the judiciary remains on course,” Sereno said in her keynote address at the 25th national convention of the Regional Trial Court Clerks of Court Association of the Philippines.

“It makes me proud to fight for you,” Sereno added.

In her speech, the chief justice exhorted court workers to focus on their jobs while she prepares for her battle in the Senate.

“I have said time and again: focus on your job. That and prayers are the best forms of support you can give me in this fight,” she said.

Lastly, Sereno said she has no plans of resigning after taking an indefinite leave from office.

“I need to prepare to fight the accusations against me fairly and squarely, with honor, dignity and grace,” she added.

Meanwhile, Sereno’s spokespersons-lawyers Jojo Lacanilao and Josa Deinla-bewailed the “coordinated extra-constitutional” efforts to pressure the chief justice to vacate her post even before an impeachment case is brought before the Senate for trial.

They said she would not resign.

They also acknowledged she was going on indefinite leave, after insisting the day before that she was only going on a wellness leave.

At a news conference, they also denied that her colleagues had forced Sereno to take a leave.

Rappler Inc. and Rappler Holdings Corp. in January for violating foreign ownership restrictions.

Rappler CEO Maria Ressa welcomed Omidyar’s decision.

A PDR is a financial instrument that allows foreigners to invest in a Filipino company without owning any part of it or being involved in day-to-day management.

In Malacañang, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque, in a statement, said: “Omidyar Network’s reported donation

of its Philippine Depositary Receipts to its Filipino managers does not remove the fact that Rappler breached the Constitution.

“This latest act is nothing but a circumvention of the law, which restricts ownership of media entities in the country to 100 percent Filipino-owned.

“Rappler’s defense of infringement of press freedom is merely a ploy to distract from the real issue, as resolved by the Securities and Exchange Commission that the former is a foreign entity.”

398 rogue policemen purged from PNP roster

By Francisco Tuyay THE Philippine National Police on Wednesday removed at least 398 policemen from its roster, and of those 167 had been linked to drug-related offenses.

Records from the PNP Directorate for Personnel and Records Management showed that the 398 policemen were among the 1,614 police personnel who had been disciplined over administrative cases covering the period January 2016 to February 2018.

The PNP Public Information Office said among those dismissed were 151 policemen who were found positive for drug use and 18 who had been linked to drug-related activities.

Of those dismissed from the service, 91 were removed for absence without leave, 10 for kidnapping, 22 for murder, three for rape, six for homicide, two for parricide and three for illegal detention.

The PNP also said 1,216 other police personnel were demoted, suspended, reprimanded, restricted or received no pay during the same period.

The Directorate said it investigated 14,515 administrative cases, and of those 8,422 cases were resolved while 6,093 more were still being resolved.

Since assuming the top post in the PNP, Ronald dela Rosa has tried to remove the bad eggs in the organization.

Earlier, President Rodrigo Duterte extended Dela Rosa’s tour of duty indefinitely to help him cleanse promote professionalism in the PNP, which has a very poor public image as a result of many factors, but mostly due to its violent war on drugs.

“As the father of the organization, my heart bleeds when I sign the dismissal orders for delinquent policemen. It’s a tough decision, but it has to be done for the sake of the organization,” Dela Rosa said.

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to the inching up of vaccination coverage rates.

“That’s not a remote possibility, I think that can happen which... [I] hope doesn’t happen,” he told reporters when asked if he feared more disease outbreaks could result from the dengue vaccine scare.

A report from the Department of Health Region 11, Duque said, found that the issue surrounding Dengvaxia was the top reason for people’s unwillingness to be vaccinated.

In related developments: • Malacañang on Wednesday urged government agencies involved in investigating the implementation of the controversial Dengvaxia to cooperate to resolve the case and find out which individuals could be held liable.

Opposition lawmakers earlier called on President Rodrigo Duterte to step in amid apparent conflict between two agencies, the Department of Health and the Public Attorney’s Office, on the sharing of tissue samples of children who allegedly died after being vaccinated with Dengvaxia.

PAO chief Persida Rueda Acosta denied the University of the PhilippinesPhilippine General Hospital Dengvaxia team of experts, which was formed by the DoH, access to the tissue samples.

Acosta said her agency refused to share the samples with the DoH, insisting there would be a “conflict” of interest” since some health officials could be charged.

PNA with Macon Ramos-Araneta

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found in some of the most extreme environments on Earth, they reported in the science journal Nature Communications.

A methanogenic (methane-producing) archaean called Methanothermococcus okinawensis thrived in laboratory conditions mimicking those thought to exist on Saturn’s satellite, the team said.

On Earth, this type of archaean is found at very hot temperatures near deep-sea hydrothermal vents, and converts carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas into methane.

Traces of methane were previously detected in vapour emanating from cracks in Enceladus’ surface.

“We conclude that some of the CH4 (methane) detected in the plume of Enceladus might, in principle, be produced by methanogens,” the researchers in Germany and Austria wrote.

They also calculated that sufficient hydrogen to support such microbes could be produced by geochemical processes in Enceladus’ rocky core. AFP

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THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EU, PH sign Partnership and Cooperation Agreement THE Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the Philippines will enter into force on March 1, the EU Delegation in Manila said Wednesday.

In a statement, EU Ambassador to the Philippines Franz Jessen welcomed the movement on the two parties’ bilateral ties.

“I am happy to see the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement coming into force.

The EU-Philippine relations are now firmly anchored on an ambitious and shared agreement,” he said.

Through ratification of the PCA, the EU and the Philippines have reaffirmed their joint commitment to the principles of good governance, democracy, the rule of law, the promotion of social and economic development, as well as to peace and security in the region.

The agreement provides new and enhanced legal framework, enabling the EU and the Philippines to strengthen their bilateral relationship, in particular on political, social and economic matters, including human rights.

The PCA, signed in 2012, has now been ratified by all of the parties after ratification by the Senate of the Philippines on Jan. 22, 2018.

The EU Delegation said this reflects the longstanding partnership the EU has with the people of the Philippines and its commitment to investing in a strong and beneficial relationship that benefits both parties’ citizens. PNA

‘Govt transitions to annual cash-based budgeting in 2019’ LINE agencies of the government are in position for the landmark shift from multi-year obligations-based to annual cash-based budgeting in Fiscal Year 2019, according to the Department of Budget and Management.

In January, DBM began conducting executive briefings with national government agencies including Department of Health, Department of Transportation, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Education, and Department of Agrarian Reform. This is in addition to the briefings conducted to all agencies last July and August 2017 to introduce the Budget Reform Bill and annual cash-based appropriations.

Through the briefings, agency heads obtained a deeper understanding of the operational implications of annual cash-based appropriations and the transition process for the current year (2018) where agencies were requested to implement the 2018 budget as if it were a cash-based budget.

In 2017, DBM implemented the one-year validity of appropriations instead of the usual two years to push the agencies to speed up the execution of projects and prepare them for the transition to annual cash-based budgeting in FY 2019.

NEW RANKS. Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III (center) poses with the five new-ranked General/Flag and Senior officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, including Alden Juan Masagca to the rank of Brigadier General, Reynaldo M. Aquino to the rank of Brigadier General, Perfecto M. Mirando Jr. to the rank of Major General, Ramolito A. Guinomma to the rank of Commodore , and Jose B. Mier to the rank of Brigadier General. Also in photo are (from left): Rep. Roy Loyola, Senator Risa Hontiveros and Rep. Rodolfo Albano during their confirmation by the Commission on Appointments in the Senate. Lino Santos

Senators want NFA chief to resign over rice prices

By Macon Araneta and Vito Barcelo

T

WO senators want National Food Authority administrator Jason Laureano Aquino to quit his post, saying that he failed to do his job in securing the buffer stock of NFA rice that caused a spike in the price of commercial rice in the market.

Senator Grace Poe and Senator Bam Aquino IV both want Aquino to resign for his inefficiency that they claimed has prejudiced the consumers, especially the poor buyers.

Assistant Secretary Mercedita Sombilla of the National Economic and Development Authority, a member of the NFA Council, also said that the NFA administrator’s press release on the shortage of NFA rice resulted in pubic panic.

Senator Aquino agreed, as he pointed out that the NFA administrator’s statement created an increase in the cost of commercial rice.

Sombilla also admitted that a week after the press release was issued, the prices of rice shoot up.

The NFA rice was previously sold at P27/kilo (costs a maximum of P17/ kilo of palay or rice grain), but has since increased at P42 to P45.

“We are talking about food security

ConCom, voting 11-7, adopts presidential form in federal setup VOTING after almost nine hours of deliberations, the Consultative Committee Review the 1987 Constitution on Tuesday night opted to adopt a presidential form of government in a proposed federal setup.

Eleven of the 18 members present in the panel’s second en banc session since convening on Feb. 19 voted in favor of a federalpresidential system while seven voted for a semi-presidential or mixed presidential-parliamentary.

In its first major decision, the ConCom considered three options on the form of the Federal (or Central) Government— presidential headed by a president directly elected by the people, parliamentary headed by a prime minister elected from among the members of the parliament, and a hybrid where the powers of the executive are divided between a president elected by popular vote and a prime minister elected from parliament.

In the first round of nominal voting in which each member explained their vote, the result was 9 for presidential, 8 for the hybrid (or semi-presidential) and one for parliamentary.

But the rules of the panel required approval by majority of those present so a runoff vote was taken resulting in 11 votes for presidential and seven for parliamentary.

Those who voted for the

presidential system considered foremost the need to have a strong federal government and executive branch that can hold the center and keep country together as it transitions to a federal setup.

“I submit that when we talk of a strong center in our federal union, we need a President with such a plenitude of executive powers he cannot fail in leading our people in their continuing odyssey to peace, progress and prosperity,” said former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno, chairman of the panel, when he case his vote for presidential system to break an 8-8 tie in the nominal voting.

“The President in our presidential system has all the powers to hold together the federal union,” he added.

He said he was not prepared “to gamble with the hybrid option” where executive power is divided between a President and a Prime Minister.

Puno said that adopting the hybrid form of government would incur a lot of risks that country could not afford to take. “We all want meaningful change, but this change cannot be hinged on chance,” he stressed said.

Former Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel, said the Filipinos’ familiarity with presidential form is an advantage.

for the poorest Filipino families. We need someone who can get the job done,” said Senator Aquino.

He stressed that poor Filipinos will have to spend P500 more a month for rice until June due to the NFA’s failure to ensure the supply of affordable NFA rice in the market.

During last Tuesday’s Senate agriculture and food committee hearing, committee chairperson Senator Cynthia Villar castigated NFA’s Aquino for making a public announcement on the scarcity of NFA rice.

“The NFA press release confused the people. The NFA said there was no rice. The NFA should not have come out with the PR because it created confusion, no need for that PR creating panic,” Villar said.

“If you cannot do your job, just keep quiet and do not make us panic,” Villar added.

“It seems you want to sow panic.

That’s what I do not understand.

We in government should think of the welfare of the people,” said Villar.

Since the NFA has facilities in 87 provinces, Villar said said they should have gone to the Visayas and Mindanao region, Bicol and Palawan where the rice is being sold at P14 per kilo so they can sell them in the market at much cheaper price.

In asking Aquino to quit his job, Poe said he had been remiss in his job, which had a huge effect especially to people who have small earnings. She cited the big increase in the cost of comercial rice.

Poe hopes President Rodrigo Duterte would be able to find a replacement who will do the job.

“Your job in the NFA is to ensure that its rice in the market will not be

the way it is now,” said Poe. “So if he still has delicadeza or conscience, konsiyensya, perhaps, he should resign,” she added.

She also questioned Aquino’s leadership and choice of personnel and his decision to remove personnel from the ports to check on the rice imports.

She bared that a certain Marigold de Castro was in charge of ricerelated businesses in Region 3 and acted as “front” for the NFA chief, while a certain Ritchie Carpio, De Castro’s cousin, allegedly acted as an “enforcer” of Aquino’s directives who has a direct hand in employees’ transfer if they defy Aquino’s orders.

Aquino denied the accusation saying he does not meddle in the local procurement of rice but admitted that NFA has failed to comply with the 15day buffer stock policy for almost a year.

With no lower-priced rice available in the market, prices of rice skyrocketed, making the expensive variety the only available option for Filipinos.

The NFA was put on a spotlight after it said its buffer stocks of cheap rice were running low. Aquino said it only has 1.7 days of existing stock, as against the mandated 15-day buffer stock at any given time and 30 days at the onset of the lean months of July to September.

The heavily subsidized state-run grains agency will import 250,000 metric tons of rice mainly from Vietnam and Thailand to replenish its stock.

Meanwhile, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Wednesday dared the National Food Authority officials who got a dressing down from the senators to resign if they it find it difficult to serve the public.

I’m too old to cling to power —Duterte

By Vito Barcelo and Macon Ramos-Araneta PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said he is too old to cling to power and become a dictator, as he reiterated that he would step down from office before his term expires should the Bangsamoro Basic Law and federalism are passed by Congress before 2020.

“I’m already old [Matanda na po ako].

I don’t have that kind of ambition. [Wala akong ambisyon na ganun], the President told a crowd of Maranaos during the inauguration of the Bahay Pag-Asa in Marawi City.

The President said he already wants to take a break and prefers to stay and live in Marawi if they would allow him which he described as a scenic place and with pleasant weather.

In his speech, Duterte said he is firm on his appeal to Congress to pass the BBL ahead of the shift to a federal form of government.

Duterte assured the Maranaos that BBL will pass Congress, saying “this is one of the top priorities of his administration.”

He strongly denied that he wants to stay in power as what his political opponents would like it appear to be because of his persistent pronouncement for a shift to federal system of government.

“Believe me, because your President is a Maranao. The blood of Maranao runs into my veins. ‘Yang BBL na ‘yan titingnan namin, lulusot ‘yan,” he said.

The President said that his term would end on or before 2022. This means that if he needs to resign before 2022 for the sake of our new Constitution, the new system of government, he would do so immediately.

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Opinion

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

Hoist by her own petard COMMUNICATION Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson once more displayed her unfitness for her position when she put up an online poll on her Facebook account asking netizens whether they believed that the People Power Revolution was a “product of fake news.”

Over 80 percent of those who replied to the poll said “yes.”

Uson was lambasted by critics for not knowing the history of Edsa and for implying that the event was fake.

Even the Palace had to step in, with spokesperson Harry Roque stating that People Power indeed happened, hence it is observed as a holiday.

After that counter by Roque, Uson tried to control the damage by disingenuously saying that she didn’t say Edsa was fake, she merely asked if it were a “product” of fake news (and she claims there’s a difference there), and that she was just asking a question and it was up to folks to chime in with their opinion.

Suffice to say that she has embarrassed herself—and this administration—again.

S

All is not well

UPREME Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno is taking a “wellness leave” beginning today until March 15.

Her lawyers deny however that she is resigning, or that she had been swayed by calls for her resignation among fellow justices and other Supreme Court employees.

She will use this time to prepare for her impeachment trial at the Senate, in which she would face her accusers with honor, dignity and grace.

At a recent speech she exhorted court employees to focus on their jobs. “That and prayers are the best forms of support you can give me in this fight.”

Her spokespersons, meanwhile, deplored attempts to pressure Sereno to step down before the impeachment case

against her is transmitted to the Upper House. They also said Sereno was in fact looking forward to her trial where she would be able to prove that charges against her were baseless and unfounded.

Like Sereno, the public cannot wait for the impeachment trial to begin—and end. The process has become some sort of a spectacle, beginning from the House committee and no doubt when it reaches the Senate.

When the trial does begin, senators will be taken away from their usual responsibilities. They will in fact find an excuse to grandstand at the expense of public time and resources.

Sereno’s spokespersons can harp about their continuing faith in the impeachment process, but the truth remains —it is a political process, and the results will hinge on political affiliations rather

TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

than the evidence presented.

Sereno’s definite indefinite leave will then be about anything wellness.

Her case has become unprecedented in that it has driven some members of the court to speak out against one of their own. Before, justices often kept silent about what goes on in their chambers and have always presented a united front.

The chief justice must, by now, have a fair inkling of the fate that awaits her at her trial, and whether her defense team can put up a good fight against the damaging things that have been unearthed against her.

Sereno must know that what awaits her is not a holiday. We wonder how she can ask court employees to just focus on their jobs when she herself is likely preparing to weather a storm— one likely of her own making.

We can only hope the tempest comes, and passes, soon.

It’s difficult to believe she doesn’t know that basic bit of history.

She either didn’t know or doesn’t believe Edsa really happened, or she was deliberately stirring up trouble.

It’s difficult to believe she doesn’t know that basic bit of history. She’s a college graduate—she can’t be that ignorant. And even if she was just a toddler in 1986 and didn’t witness People Power herself, there is a mass of documentation on it that’s trotted out annually on the anniversary.

It’s impossible she hasn’t seen any of that, and improbable that she thinks it didn’t really happen.

But if she put up that poll to foment discord among people with opposing political views, then that is downright malicious. It is conduct unbecoming of a government employee, much less of an official of her rank and high salary grade.

Uson’s ongoing stint in the Philippine Communications Operations Office is marred by numerous mistakes of fact, lazy and shoddy work, and ignorance of the principles of civil service, good governance, and effective developmental communication.

She is, however, extremely proficient at using social media to communicate a particular agenda, in this case, support for President Rodrigo Duterte.

However, she only communicates effectively to her own supporters, people who are already part of her fan base. She fails spectacularly at communicating to people on the opposite side of the fence.

Because of this, Uson has been called divisive and polarizing. Certainly she cannot and is not rallying all Filipinos to unity. Rather, she emphasizes differences and creates conflicts where there are none (that ill-considered poll again).

And this is where her incompetence is the most glaring, and it’s where it reflects horribly upon the present administration that handed her a high government position on a golden plate.

Uson can only keep the followers who are already supporting the President.

She cannot make any new supporters.

As a communicator, at the very least she should have a communication plan. She seems to act on a knee-jerk basis, without forethought for possible consequences. Uson does not have a strategic mindset. She doesn’t seem to consider what her actions might bring about, she exists and acts in the now.

Perhaps she thought the poll was a good idea at the time, and didn’t think ahead to “what will happen if I do Turn to A5

What ails the judiciary THE impeachment case against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno brings to fore the need to reform the judiciary from top to bottom.

With the House justice committee now winding up the case after a series of hearings, it’s a foregone conclusion that the articles of impeachment will be transmitted to the Senate for trial.

This is why Sereno has gone on indefinite leave. Her camp described it as “wellness leave.”

Testimonies clearly showed that Sereno, who was appointed by President Benigno Aquino III, was not fit to become chief justice. She bypassed other justices more senior than she is, all because Aquino wanted his own chief justice—for many obvious reasons.

The most damning among these was the revelation that she did not submit a complete set of Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth. Despite this, Aquino still made her chief justice.

Failure to submit the required SALN is enough to disqualify aspirants to the Supreme Court. Why did Aquino appoint her still?

This was clearly the fault of the Judicial and Bar Council which had Sereno in its shortlist despite these lapses. The JBC was not thorough in looking into her background.

Santa Banana, the JBC itself has been responsible for the appointment of many justices and judges, even those with links to corruption and other crimes.

There have been damning allegations against the chief justice.

Japan firm seeks to spawn salmon farm revolution

By Natsuko Fukue JAPAN may be an island nation surrounded by the bounty of the sea, but businessman Tetsuro Sogo is looking inland to raise one of the country’s most loved sushi fish: salmon.

In a mountainous area near Tokyo, the water in a tank is a murk of writhing grey salmon, slithering past each other as they angle for food.

They are part of an experiment that Sogo, chief operating officer at FRD Japan, hopes will one day allow costeffective inland farming of salmon, and enable Japanese to buy the homegrown fish for their sushi.

“We’ll be able to easily get quality

salmon wherever we are,” Sogo told AFP. The majority of the salmon consumed worldwide is farmed, not wild, and the aquaculture market is dominated by Norway, which produces 1.3 million tonnes a year.

But farming at sea, the most common way to produce the fish, is a complicated prospect: the sea must be the right temperature—colder than 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit)—and only areas without strong waves and currents are suitable, normally inlets or bays.

Inland farming of salmon is often an impractical, expensive endeavor requiring lots of water and electricity to keep

tanks clean.

That hasn’t stopped demand exploding since the 1980s, with the United States, Russia, Europe and Japan all clamoring for the fish’s rich pink flesh, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

“Supply is not catching up with the growing demand,” said Sogo, speaking at his test facility in Saitama, 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the sea.

Dressed in a suit like a typical Japanese salaryman, except for a pair of white rubber boots, Sogo carefully monitors the fish as though he is watching his own children.

He explained: “We thought we needed a new way to produce more salmon.”

This is why the judiciary must be overhauled, from top to bottom.

Something drastic must happen. *** The case of the island paradise of Boracay becoming a cesspool, according to President Duterte, can only show the utter neglect of government agencies. It is a shame because Boracay has been described as being one of the best beaches in the world.

Now that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Interior and Local Government, Tourism, and Public Works and Highways are trying to restore its former glory, there are questions that must be asked: Who gave licenses and permits to those who violated the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act? Now we are told that hundreds of establishments violated laws on easements, particularly in connecting with the main pipeline of Malay, Aklan. Go to Boracay and see for yourself.

Why didn’t the DENR inspect the establishments that committed these violations? Why didn’t Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo coordinate with other agencies when she was aware of the problem? And what did former DENR Secretary Gina Lopez do about the problem, given her advocacy for the environment?

Authorities must also look at Panglao Island in Bohol, and El Nido in Palawan.

It’s a pity that our crown jewels in tourist are going this way. President Duterte must crack the whip and make those who are accountable answer for their ineptitude and neglect. *** This we must take seriously—the report that no less than 40 foreign jihadists from the Middle East have entered Mindanao to join the Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups in casting terror.

Turn to A5

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Opinion

WORKERS spending their lunch break at the gym may be commonplace in most Western countries, but in Sweden some employers are pushing the idea even further, making on-the-job exercise compulsory.

Every Friday, employees of fashion and sportswear retailer Bjorn Borg leave their desks at the company’s Stockholm headquarters to get their weekly workout at a nearby gym.

There is no getting out of it: for more than two years the company founded by the Swedish tennis legend has made on-the-job exercise mandatory at the initiative of chief executive Henrik Bunge, a 44-year-old built like a wrestler.

“If you don’t want to exercise or be a part of the company culture, you have to go,” says Bunge, without batting an eye. So far no one has quit because of the requirement, he adds.

The main aims of the policy—shared by other firms such as city water company Kalmar Vatten and construction consultancy Rotpartner—are to boost productivity and profitability while fostering camaraderie in the work force.

In 2014, a University of Stockholm study showed that exercising during the workday was advantageous for both employees—who were healthier and more concentrated—and the employer.

The study found there was a 22 percent decline in work absences, not negligible in a country where the average person is on sick leave four percent of the time, twice the European average.

Rosy-cheeked and smiling, the 60 Bjorn Borg employees taking part in this week’s gruelling yoga session head to the changing rooms, their endorphins soaring.

“Most of us think it’s a really good part of the work week,” says employee Cecilia Nissborg.

Healthy outdoor lifestyle Swedes have long been known for their healthy outdoorsy lifestyle. Long walks to pick mushrooms or berries, or just for pleasure, regardless of the weather, are part of their everyday lives.

“In Sweden there’s this idea that you’ll be healthy, strong and happy if you get a lot of exercise, if you spend a lot of time in nature,” says Carl Cederstrom, an economics researcher at Stockholm University and the author of “The Wellness Syndrome,” a critique

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Keeping it clean The company’s process is twofold: First, simple tap water is converted to seawater by adding artificial sea salt, which allows the farming process to be set up anywhere tap water is available.

Second, a patented technology involving bacteria cleans the water, consuming the ammonia produced by the fish, and dissolving nitric acid, meaning energy-sucking cleaning systems are not necessary.

“We’ll be the world’s first successful case for this type of land-based salmon farming if we can turn a profit,” Sogo said.

The process was born out of technology developed by Sogo’s company for sewage disposal systems.

In 2008, they developed the breakthrough bacteria technology and the following year it was being used at an aquarium in Tokyo, at which point Sogo realised it could be used for salmon farming.

The innovation could be a massive boon for Japan, where a 2017 survey found salmon was the country’s favorite sushi fish.

It first began appearing in restaurants in Japan in the 1980s, after the Norwegian Seafood Council began a campaign to popularize it.

But Sogo hopes Japan can one day overtake Norway’s production, and export the technology to other consumers in the region.

“Asian markets are likely to grow bigger than the Japanese market,” said Sogo.

“We’re looking at the possibility of delivering fresh salmon there (through technology imports).”

Scaling up After a test run last year, which pro-

Hoist...

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of the pervasive ideology of wellness.

He notes that it is a common belief in Sweden “that if you exercise and take care of your body, you’re a better person.”

Swedes get more exercise than anyone else in Europe. A 2014 Eurobarometer poll found that 70 percent of Swedes exercised once a week, and 51 percent two to three times a week. At the bottom of the rankings, only 22 percent of Bulgarians exercised once a week.

Swedes also generally see being in shape as a duty to oneself and society, an expectation dating to the 1930s, when a cult of youth, vigour and “social hygiene” flourished, Cederstrom says.

But people also see it as a responsibility you have to your employer,” he adds.

‘Everyone is equal’ at the gym Since the late 1980s, most Swedish companies subsidise their employees’ sporting activities—from golf to water aerobics—contributing up to 500 euros ($615) per year, which is tax deductible for the employer.

And some, like at Bjorn Borg, go so far as to organise exercise classes during work time.

Bunge is convinced the workplace he has created has made employees happier and more productive, noting that all the company’s key numbers have gone up since the new regime was introduced.

Mandatory workouts, usually in a group, also have other benefits.

They bring together all the departments of a company, allowing employees to put their work responsibilities aside and get to know each other on an equal footing.

“When we go into the gym, we’re all on the same level. Your place in the company has no importance, everyone is equal,” says Ida Lang, who works in Bjorn Borg’s accounting department.

For Cederstrom, while the search for wellbeing and performance through physical activity is not unique to the Scandinavian country, “Sweden is really extreme when it comes to companies that make exercise on the job mandatory.”

It is a development he finds worrying.

“When you start to think that you’re a better mother or a better father or a better friend if you exercise, you can get to a point where you think that people who don’t live healthily, who are overweight or who smoke, are less good people,” he says. AFP duced one ton of salmon that was sold to a major supermarket in Tokyo, Sogo plans to have a larger pilot facility up and running by July in Chiba, near Tokyo, producing 30 tons a year.

By 2020, the firm is aiming for a commercial plant capable of producing 1,500 tons of sushi-ready salmon.

Sogo is far from the only salmon farmer in Japan: in 2015, the central city of Imizu started farming “sakuramasu” or “cherry blossom salmon,” named for their delicate colour.

Rarely caught in the wild, the fish are considered a luxury product.

But the city is farming the salmon using existing inland techniques, meaning running costs for water and electricity are high and capacity is relatively small—just 15 tons a year.

“We’ll boost production once we clear the capacity hurdle as there is a strong demand for this very tasty fish in the Tokyo area,” Tetsuya Murashita, a city official in charge of the project, said.

Seafood company Maruha Nichiro also built a plant last year to farm the prized salmon using a closed inland system, though it lacks Sogo’s patented technology.

Japanese salmon fans say they are eager to see locally produced fish available for sushi.

Wild-caught Japanese salmon is already popular locally for grilled dishes, but it is unsuitable for eating raw because it can harbor parasites not present in farmed salmon.

“I’d love it if I could eat made-inJapan raw salmon,” said Megumi Yamanaka, a company employee in her 40s.

She added: “Imported salmon isn’t cheap. It would be great if I could buy cheaper and safer homemade salmon.” AFP Senator Grace Poe suggested during the Senate investigation into fake news that perhaps Uson might be most effective in her private capacity as a blogger. That would be better for her style of communicating, because as a public official, Uson is a model of what not to do.

this?” Either that, or she knew many people would be offended but she went ahead and did it anyway. That points to a negative intent and purpose that Filipinos should rightly inveigh against, Dr. Ortuoste is a writer and because silence means consent, silence means approval. Which, again, shows communication consultant. Twitter: @ that she is not qualified for her position. jennyortuoste

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Dengvaxia—a morbid lesson

Mandatory exercise at the office, Sweden’s latest craze

By Camille Bas-Wohlert

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018

OVERSIGHT DANILO SUAREZ IN THE heat of public discussion is the controversial dengue immunization program of the Department of Health.

The House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability and Committee on Health held a joint probe on the Dengvaxia mess on Monday. Former and incumbent officials of the Department of Health and its attached agencies, as well as former Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, and no less than former President Benigno Aquino III, faced the House panel to shed light on the previous administration’s controversial dengue immunization program.

Under the leadership of then Secretary Janette Garin, the DoH officially launched the P3.5-billion school-based dengue immunization program in April 2016. The department purchased the dengue vaccines from Zuellig Pharma, the sole distributor of Sanofi Pasteur’s Dengvaxia vaccine in the Philippines.

It took Sanofi Pasteur 20 years to develop the world’s first anti-dengue vaccine, and the Philippines was the first to make it commercially available.

However, some doctors questioned the DoHs haste in launching the program.

The DoH did not wait for the result of the report of the World Health Organization’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts, which reported that Dengvaxia, “may be ineffective or may theo-

retically even increase the future risk of hospitalized or severe dengue illness in those who are seronegative (those who have not yet had dengue) at the time of first vaccination regardless of age.”

This prompted then Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial to temporarily suspend the school-based dengue immunization program. Two months later, she issued a Certificate of Exemption for Dengvaxia so it can still be used despite having seen some red flags relating to the dengue vaccine. Several trusted medi-

We pay the price of irresponsible decisions.

cal research facilities and institutions have also released reports on the risks of Dengvaxia vaccine.

The issues surrounding the dengue immunization program led to a House investigation in November 2016. The House Committee on Health then recommended the suspension of the expansion of the vaccination program, and urged the completion of necessary studies on Dengvaxia.

In November 2017, Sanofi Pasteur released the result of its new clinical data analysis, which determined that Dengvaxia is riskier for those who have not been previously infected by dengue virus, so it should not be recommended to this group.

Over 800,000 grade school students received immunization since the program was launched in 2016. Only 8 to 10 percent of these children have not had dengue yet. The DoH is now monitoring 40 cases of children who fell seriously ill, up from 30 in 2016, and nine deaths.

In a recent Senate probe, DoH Secretary Francisco Duque III revealed that the DoH did not wait for the results of clinical trials of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine on Dengvaxia before launching the school-based dengue immunization program. While in the House probe last Monday, Food and Drug Administration Director-General Charade Puno revealed that Sanofi Pasteur was aware of the health hazards of Dengvaxia even months before its launch in the Philippines, but it failed to disclose this.

Over 800,000 leftover vaccines were returned by the DoH to Sanofi. It was confirmed by DoH Secretary Francisco Duque III that Sanofi Pasteur has refunded P1.6 billion worth of unused Dengvaxia. He has also submitted a formal request for a full refund of all the used and unused vaccines.

This is the tragic reality. We pay the price of irresponsible decisions. My sympathy goes to the parents of children who have been vaccinated because they are living each day with fear due to the health risks their children are facing. As the Minority Leader, I will be vigilant in monitoring this issue. Definitely, criminal charges should be filed against those who will be proven to have neglected their duties.

The Boracay problem DUTY CALLS FLORENCIO FIANZA TO HIS critics, the leadership style of President Duterte is nothing short of dictatorial. But there are instances when this type of leadership can have positive results.

The government bureaucracy is usually slow moving. But when President Duterte made two pronouncements recently, agencies snapped to attention and reacted aggressively.

This is what happened in the case of Joanna Demafelis.

This is also what is happening to Boracay. The President simply said that Boracay has now become a virtual cesspool, and look at what is happening. With that statement, government agencies descended on the island to do what should really have been done long before the problem developed. The focus now is how to improve, protect and maintain Boracay as a world-class tourist destination.

Whether the government will eventually come up with the right decisions to solve the problem is another matter. At least now, it has been given the opportunity to solve a long-festering problem. Secretary Roy Cimatu of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has already ordered the demolition of some structures and for all business establishments to connect to the island’s central sewer system.

This is a good first move but a lot more really must be done. We have to remember that this Boracay problem as in many other problems in the country did not develop overnight. It happened over several years of poor government planning, insufficient environmental regulations, and the lax enforcement of environmental and other regulations.

This is not only happening in Boracay but in other major tourist destinations in the country as well.

Several years ago, the presence of algae on the beach should have alerted authorities as a sign of sewer being discharged into the beach because

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This validates reports that these terrorists are determined to set up a caliphate in Mindanao.

No less than Moro Islamic Liberation Front chairman Ibrahim Murad has warned the administration that young Moros are being recruited, given as much as P30,000 to P50,000.

It is not known where and when jihadists will strike next. This is why Mindanaoans favor the extension of martial law there.

The Australian ambassador has

of the uncontrolled building of so many establishments so close to the shoreline. The response to this was at that time at best very anaemic, so the problem worsened over the years.

Now, it will be difficult to demolish or move structures to conform to building regulations. This was because the effort before to limit construction was a total failure. It should also have been clear to responsible government officials both local and national that due to the size of the island, it cannot support unlimited structures and people without degrading the environment. Even the well-meaning attempts of planning, were never realized. And sadly it is like this in many tourist gems that we have. The Banaue Rice Terraces, the so-called eighth wonder of the world,

is also having problems because of population pressure. Many houses have been built along the road constricting the magnificent view of the terraces.

So far, the underwater river in Palawan has escaped environmental degradation due to the strict policy of limiting the number of visitors allowed during the day which hopefully will continue in order to preserve the pristine condition of the river. The location of the river is also helping in preserving its condition. If there was land near the river, it is doubtful whether the government will be able to prohibit the construction of business establishments near the river or at its entrance.

Several years ago, there was also a news item about an attempt to quarry the famous chocolate hills of Bohol.

Fortunately before any huge damage

was done, the quarrying was stopped.

What is it with us that we have a gem of a place but cannot seem to preserve and maintain it for the people to enjoy? Instead, we end up degrading the place. Is that what Filipino standard is all about? Until such time that we learn to upgrade our standards, we will never be able to step out of being a third world country. We are the second largest archipelago in the world after Indonesia and therefore have many other beautiful beaches to offer to tourists both local and international. But we have to learn to develop and maintain tourist facilities in a manner that is internationally acceptable. Otherwise, we will lose out to other countries in the region.

Thailand and Malaysia attract more than 20 million foreign tourists each year while we attracted a little more than 6M tourists last year. If we will not be able to get Boracay back to its old condition, then our country will eternally be playing catch up with our neighbors. Boracay is not a big island like Bali so there is therefore really no reason why we cannot upgrade the tourist facilities there. The white powdery beach of the island which is the main attraction is more than five kilometers long and is a lot longer than the famous Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro which is only a little over three kilometers long. The Boracay beach is something that we as a country should be able to preserve for everyone to enjoy because there are very few places like it in the planet. It is a good thing that the President took notice of the situation and got all relevant government agencies to start moving. Hopefully, things will improve and be kept that way. There are many things that both local and national agencies must look at. The distance of structures to the shoreline, the number of structures to be allowed and the kind of business to be permitted to operate.

Demolishing those structures without building and business permits are probably not enough. Planning has got to be done and regulations must have to be enforced strictly.

Even if Boracay is a public beach, some protocols must be established if we want the place to be attractive and clean and not a cesspool as President Duterte describes it.

warned the Duterte administration that terrorists are already regrouping. Intelligence reports say that they are all over Maguindanao.

This is why President Duterte is talking about the possibility of arming Reserve Officers Training Corps and civilian reservists. *** National Food Authority administrator Jason Laureano Aquino deserved the scolding he got from Senator Cynthia Villar for the agency’s press release that the buffer stock of the NFA was low, thus creating panic among the public.

My gulay, even if Aquino was telling

the truth, there are some things about supply that must not be made public.

To be told we don’t have enough rice is a sure way to alarm the people.

The Senate is now looking into the rice stock of NFA. Aquino has the duty to ensure that the stocks are sufficient.

Likewise, it is also the responsibility of the NFA Council headed by Cabinet Secretary Jun Evasco to see to it that the buffer is high.

There have been complaints that NFA rice is being sold as commercial rice and that it is no longer affordable.

What is happening now is the ultimate responsibility of the NFA administrator.

The focus now is how to improve, protect and maintain it as a world-class tourist destination.

News

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THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

42k barangays to get free Internet via DTH satellites

By Vito Barcelo AT LEAST 42,000 barangays in the country will have free Internet access by June this year to ensure adequate and accessible quality information on national government programs, a Malacañang official said.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar said in a radio interview that the government will roll out 42,000 satellite receivers, particularly in remote areas where communications are not accessible or have no internet signals.

Andanar said not only barangay halls will be given free internet access, but all local government offices nationwide for them to easily communicate with the Office of the President.

“We are fully aware that many barangays in the country don’t have telecommunication signal.

So through the government satellite network, we can provide free

Internet to barangay halls with no Internet,” Andanar said.

He said the project is part of President Rodrigo Duterte’s program to have free internet access granted by the government, which he signed in 2017 under Republic Act 10929, the Free Internet Access in Public Places Act. “The satellite to be installed is similar to the Direct To Home discs, which have routers. We can also give an infinite amount of TV channels for national government and local government like DILG TV or DoH TV,” the PCOO secretary said.

The Information and Communications Technology Office of the Department of Science and Technology is the lead agency for providing the Internet connectivity.

If the DoST is unable to provide the wireless Internet connection, the commercial Internet service providers would be tapped to provide the free services, Andanar said.

CHINA TOKEN. Philippine Constitution Association President and former Leyte congressman Martin Romualdez (right) receives a token of

appreciation from Guo Yezhou (left), Vice Minister of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, during a meeting and courtesy call at the Manila Golf and Country Club in Makati City. The Communist Party delegation includes Ma Xuesong, Deputy-Director General, Bureau One of IDCPC; Shen Chuanliang, expert on Xi Jinping; Chen Jian, Secretary to Vice Minister Gou Liang Bihan, Third Secretary staff of Bureau One; and Wu Erchao, English interpreter and staff of Bureau One.

PH, Japan ink Bulacan bypass deal House OKs bill on ‘mandatory report’ diseases

By Maricel V. Cruz THE House of Representatives on Tuesday approved on third and final reading a bill providing policies and procedures on surveillance and response to notifiable diseases, epidemics, and health events of public health concern.

The chamber approved House Bill 7134 with an overwhelming 192 lawmakers supporting the measure.

The bill, authored by Quezon Rep. Angelina Tan, chairperson of the House committee on health, and deputy speaker and Bulacan Rep. Linabelle Ruth Villarica, refers to notifiable disease as one “that by legal requirements, must be reported to public health authorities.”

It refers to a health event of public health concern as “either a public health emergency or a public health threat.”

The proposed “Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act” seeks to protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them.

The bill also acknowledges the State policy to: 1) protect the people from public health threats through the efficient and effective disease surveillance of notifiable diseases, including emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, diseases for elimination and eradication, epidemics and health events of public health concern; and 2) provide effective response system in compliance with the 2005 International Health Regulations of the World Health Organization.

The State also recognizes epidemics and other public health emergencies as threats to public health and national security, which can undermine the social, economic, and political functions of the State, the bill noted.

The State recognizes as well the disease surveillance and response system of the Department of Health and its local counterparts as the first line of defense against epidemics and health events of public health concern that pose risk to public health and security, it added.

The bill aims to continuously develop and upgrade the list of nationally notifiable diseases and health events of public health concern with their corresponding definitions and enforce mandatory reporting of notifiable diseases and health events of public health concern to the DoH and its local counterparts.

By Julito G. Rada

T

HE Philippine and Japan governments on Wednesday signed the 9.399-billion yen ($89 million or P4.25 billion) loan agreement for the construction of the third phase of the Arterial Road Bypass Project in Bulacan, which is designed to ease traffic congestion and spur economic growth in the province.

The officials who signed the agreement were Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III on behalf of the Philippines and Susumu Ito, the chief representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, on behalf of Japan.

The Philippines will provide counterpart funding of P1 billion or around 1.476 billion yen ($15 million) for the project, which has a total cost of 10.87 billion yen (P5.26 billion or $104 million).

“This is an economically worthwhile investment. It symbolizes the economic calculation, immediacy of impact and longterm multiplier effects that we wish to see in all the ‘Build Build Build’ projects,” Dominguez said after signing the agreement with Ito at the National Economic and Development Authority office in Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

Dominguez thanked Jica for its continued funding support for the construction of the bypass as well as the flagship infrastructure projects of the Duterte administration, and assured it of the “efficiency in the use of the loans and urgency in the implementation of the projects.”

The Arterial Road Bypass, also known as the Plaridel Bypass, is a 24.61-kilometer arterial road that will link the North Luzon Expressway in Balagtas, Bulacan with the Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway, also called Maharlika Highway, in San Rafael, Bulacan.

It will bypass the town proper of Plaridel and the central areas of Pulilan, Baliuag, and San Rafael in Bulacan along the existing Maharlika Highway.

“We are grateful for the generosity of the Japanese people through Jica and the

Japanese government as well as the strong support you have extended to us at this key juncture in our own economic emergence,” Dominguez said.

Areas linked by the bypass road project are among the most congested, as these places connect towns hosting new industrial estates and numerous agribusiness enterprises.

“The bypass road will complement the food route supplying Metro Manila. It is a vital link in the food chain highly appreciated by the population of Bulacan province,” Dominguez said.

The agreement for Phase 3 of the project provides for interest rates of 1.5 percent per annum for non-consulting services and 0.01 percent per annum for consulting services with a repayment period of 20 years and a 10-year grace period.

Phase 1 of the Arterial Bypass Road Project cost 6.3 billion yen ($55.6 million), and Phase 2 at 4.591 billion yen ($40.90 million) were both financed with Official Development Assistance loans from Japan signed in 2004 and 2012, respectively.

The project’s first component was completed in November 2012, while Phase 2 is nearing completion and is expected to be inaugurated in May this year.

P8m in beauty products seized

by Customs

FANS GALORE. An enterprising trader drives a tricycle full of ‘abanicos’ (native

fans) for a delivery for his customers as he traverses along Burgos Drive in Manila on Wednesday. Lino Santos

THE Bureau of Customs has seized illegally imported beauty products worth more than P8 million, which were declared as personal effects at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The seized shipment consigned to a certain James Malinao Halasan came from Bangkok, Thailand, and arrived in Manila on board PR731 last week, according to Naia district collector Vincent Phillip Maronilla.

The shipment was ordered seized after the x-ray examination showed images of irregularity and found out the misdeclared items.

“To ensure that the packages will not slip under our sleeves, BoC already issued an alert order on the remaining eight packages of Halasan,” Customs Commissioner Isidor Lapeña said.

He said the shipment was already considered abandoned after the consignee did not show up to claim the packages.

“The value of the remaining packages weighing more than 501 kilos will be determined once the inventory is done.

It will be subject to seizure for the violation of section 1400 of RA 10863,” Lapeña said.

The confiscated items will be destroyed, he added. Vito Barcelo

Negros solon twits Cam: STL not used as front for jueteng A VISAYAN lawmaker on Wednesday threatened to cite in contempt Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office Director Sandra Cam owing to her allegations that the Small Town Lottery operations are being used by gambling lords as a “front” for illegal gambling, and that the solon himself was allegedly into it.

At a hearing conducted by the House of Representatives committee on games and amusements, Negros Oriental Mindoro Rep. Arnulfo Teves said Cam must substantiate her claims, even as he cried foul over the accusation that the PCSO

was shortchanging the revenues supposedly earned from the STL due to illegal numbers game such as jueteng.

Cam said an estimated P500 million has not been declared by STL operators as their income since 2005.

“I move that she submit proof to her claims to this committee. She must be able to provide this committee substantial evidence on the P500 million. It is hard to make accusations without having any proof of the claim. So I move that Director Sandra submit to this committee proof of her claim,” Teves said.

Cam also singled out Teves and accused him of running an STL operation in his province.

But Teves said he will resign if Cam is able to come up with evidence to back up her clams. Otherwise, Cam should be the one to resign for peddling false accusations, the solon said.

“I was accused of being an operator, then Sandra [Cam] must be able to submit before this committee evidence that will prove that I am. If she does, and is able to substantiate her claims, then I will resign. If not, she must resign as director of the PCSO,” Teves said.

“No problem, I will call that,” Cam responded to Teves’ dare.

“Please submit to this committee legal documents [which] indeed prove that I am the operator of Negros Oriental, if my name is listed as one of the incorporators of STL,” Teves said.

Teves earlier disagreed with the allegation that STL agents were being used as jueteng fronts by illegal gamblers.

Unless they are earning more than their expected sales, he said using jueteng as STL fronts will only destroy their reputation. Maricel V. Cruz

Canadians get life for P100-m shabu charge TWO Canadians were sentenced to life imprisonment Wednesday on charges of illegal possession of shabu and other illegal drugs worth around P100 million during simultaneous raids in the cities of Makati and Taguig in 2014.

In an 11-page ruling, Makati City Regional Trial Court Branch 63 Acting Presiding Judge Selma Palacio Alaras said the accused, James Clayton Riach and Ali Memar Mortazavi Shirazi, had been found “guilty beyond reasonable doubt” for possession of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu.

Aside from the life imprisonment, Alaras also ordered Riach and Shirazi to pay P500,000 fine each.

The court also directed the forfeiture of the shabu in favor of the government and the same be turned over to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency for disposition.

“The point of contention in this case is whether the accused are guilty of possession of dangerous drugs found in Unit 3803 of Gramercy Residences,” the decision read.

“After due assessment of the facts and evidence adduced, the Court is of the considered view that there is basis to support a finding of guilt against both accused for illegal possession of methamphetamine hydrochloride, also known as shabu, found in Unit 3803,” it added.

The two were arrested in a drug raid conducted by National Bureau of Investigation agents on Unit 3803 of the Gramercy Residences on Kalayaan Avenue on Jan. 15, 2014.

Simultaneous operations conducted by the bureau on The Luxe Residences and One Serendra condominiums in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, led to the seizure of P100 million worth of “shabu” or methamphetamine hydrochloride, cocaine and ecstasy pills.

Riach had denied the accusation against him, saying the test-buy operation was “all made up and fabricated for reason of physical impossibility.” He claimed he was at a Makati police station and at the Makati prosecutor’s office at the time of the operation, where he was said to have received the search warrant against him. PNA

Speaker spares Naia airlines HOUSE Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez has extended to six months the initial 45-day deadline he imposed for airline companies to transfer their domestic flights to Clark International Airport, in a bid to decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

In a press conference Wednesday, Alvarez said six months was the recommended timeline of airport authorities for the complete terminal reorganization at Naia.

“So from 45 days, I think the assessment of airport authorities is quite reasonable. So I said that’s fine with me,” the Speaker said.

Alvarez has earlier directed Manila International Airport Authority officials to divert domestic flights to other airports such as Clark International Airport to ease congestion at the NAIA. The lawmaker told airline companies to comply with government rules or face possible cancellation of their franchises. PNA

Sports Luisita puts PAL Srs’ title on the line BACOLOD—Luisita Golf Club wrapped up its practice rounds at Marapara yesterday, confident it can extend its domination when the 32nd Philippine Airlines Interclub golf team championships start today in two courses.

“We have a strong eight-man team and everyone’s playing well,” said Luisita non-playing captain Jeric Hechanova who has yet to pick the four players that will first see action at Marapara, considered the toughest of two courses.

“I would like to get their sentiments before we decide our lineup for tomorrow,” Hechanova added.

Last year, the Tarlac-based squad took a huge 21-point lead over old rival Canlubang in the first round at the Apo Golf and Country Club in Davao and went on to win its 16th crown by 11 points.

Canlubang is bringing in Pem Rosal, a club champion based in the United States to replace the late Mike Preysler, but the addition is the least of Hechanova’s worries.

“We’re not concerned with Canlubang, we’re not concerned with anyone else,” Hechanova said. “What we are concerned about is ourselves.”

With an intact lineup, Luisita remains the team to beat in the fourday event that will also be played at Binitin, a wind-swept course.

“Luisita is very strong, but we will be there fighting,” said Canlubang veteran Rolly Viray, still mindful of Canlubang’s poor opening round that cost them the title last year. “We certainly don’t want a repeat of that.”

Del Monte Golf Club is the only other team in the elite championship division.

The four-to-play, three-to-count event also features competition in four categories—Founders, Aviator, Sportswriters and Friendship.

Oba-ob, Barredo clinch Prima Pasta crowns RABIE Jayson Oba-ob and Sarah Joy Barredo blasted their respective foes to capture the singles’ open titles of the 11th Prima Badminton Championships over the weekend at the Oba-ob Powersmash Badminton Court in Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City.

After dethroning last year’s defending champion Malaysian Shahrul Shazwan (22-20, 21-14) in the semifinals, Oba-ob displayed consistency in both sets against fellow Michael Kevin Cudiamat in the finals to score a 22-20, 21-8 victory and bag the men’s open singles crown.

Barredo, 18, regained her women’s open singles’ title for the third straight year by dismantling fellow national player Airah Mae Nicole Albo, 21-16, 2113, in the chamBarredo pionship round of the annual competition sanctioned by the Philippine Badminton Association and affiliated with the Philippine National Ranking System.

The tourney was supported by Babolat, SMART Communications, Boysen Paints, Morning Star Milling Corporation., Mabz Builders, ILO Construction, Monocrete Construction, Pioneer Insurance, Promax International, Regent Foods Corp., RFM Corp and Del Monte Phils.

Jewel Angelo Albo seized two singles’ titles by beating Lyrden Laborte twice.

He rallied past Laborte, 18-21, 21-12, 21-8, to bag the boys’ singles’ Under-19 crown and also beat the same foe in the boys’ singles’ U-17 finale for his second title.

Rey Angelo Pedron blasted Munir Bartolome, 17-21, 21-19, 21-14, for the boys’ singles U-15 title, while Aldreen Rae Concepcion overcame a bad start to beat Mikaela Joy De Guzman, 1621, 21-11, 21-19, to clinch the girls’ U-19 diadem.

Athea Marie Gonzalez won over Viana Meryl Antonio 21-15, 22-20, to take home the girls’ singles U-17 title, while Angela Valle outlasted Athena Sonota, 21-14, 21-18, to cop the girls’ U-15 title.

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THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

James oldest Triple-Double King L

OS ANGELES— LeBron James became the oldest player in league history to average a triple-double in a calendar month, scoring 31 points on Tuesday in the Cleveland Cavaliers 129-123 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

INTERSPORTS Philippines opened its very first store in Ayala Vertis North Mall, in the bustling heart of Quezon City, through local franchise partner, Planet Sports Incorporated.

Largest sports retailer in Europe now in PH

WHEN people think big retailers, they usually think American retail brands.

Footlocker, Sports Authority, Dick’s Sporting Goods, to name a few.

But few people think across the Atlantic, to the European giants.

On Sept. 9, 1968, INTERSPORT International Corporation was founded by 10 national wholesale companies of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.

INTERSPORT, a global leader in sporting goods retail, with a turnover of more than 10 billion euro and over 5 800 stores in 45 countries, is now on its 46th country, the Philippines.

On Feb. 8, INTERSPORTS Philippines opened its very first store in Ayala Vertis North Mall, in the bustling heart of Quezon City, through local franchise partner,

Planet Sports Incorporated.

As stated by Visionary CEO, Anton Gonzalez: “The sports retail game in the Philippines is changing rapidly, and the Global Pinoy of today demands and deserves only the very best in product quality, value and expert service.”

Ayala Vertis North Mall is Ayala Land’s new retail development in the North, right next to the well-loved Ayala Trinoma Mall.

INTERSPORTS prides itself as being a multi sports specialist, with a sharper focus toward Running, Swimming, Basketball and Performance Training.

“We are committed to offering customers the best products by the best brands.

At INTERSPORT, It doesn’t matter what you do, or how fast or slow you do it, the benefits of an active lifestyle are free for everyone to enjoy. Sports offers a multi-

tude of benefits to people of all ages and all walks of life. From beginners to athletes, there’s the right physical activity for everyone.”

Stay tuned to @Intersport Philippines on Facebook, and @Intersportphil on Instagram for all the latest events, activities, promos and exciting product releases from Intersport, which started with the much awaited NIKE EPIC REACT releasing in limited quantities last Feb. 22.

Planet Sports Incorporated is the exclusive distributor and franchise partner of INTERSPORT in the Philippines, together with other brands and concepts such as New Balance, Arena, K-Swiss, Etnies, Pro Touch, Energetics, Techno Pro, Rookie USA, Jordan bags, The Sports Warehouse, The Athletes Foot and Planet Sports stores nationwide.

National University, Elite rule MBBL tourney NATIONAL University used its height advantage to beat San Beda CollegeTaytay, 70-62, in a one-game title match to capture the 14-Under title in the Manila Brotherhood Basketball League Association, Inc. over the weekend at the Trinity University of Asia in Quezon City.

The age-group’s Most Valuable Player in MJ Vinoya lorded it over the paint as he top-scored for the team with 18 points, while Kenji Duremdes and AJ

Militar provided an offensive spark from the outside en route to Bullpups’ first championship victory in the league organized by MBBLAI founding president Erick Kirong of Macway Travel, along with Commissioner Benjamin “Boy” Quisido.

The Bullpups dictated the tempo in the early goings and slowly padded their 31-24 halftime lead into a double-digit spread in the third canto as they never looked back.

In the other age bracket final match, Elite Pilipinas of coach Mark Herrera prevailed over Warriors Basketball Club, 94-70.

Slotman Derrick Dumangcas led all scorers with 18 points, while Lebron Nieto, Luis Barros and Tim Cruz provided support in a third-quarter breakaway.

Meanwhile, San Beda College-Taytay outplayed the Warriors BC, 76-62, for the 13-Under title.

Underpants Run erupts at Filinvest on April 8

Runners must be in their underpants that are 8 inches or more above the knee.

Perlas 1, Ato ni Bai top BVR on Tour THE sands of Puerto Galera witnessed a competitive weekend of beach volleyball last Feb. 24 and 25, the continuation of Beach Volleyball Republic’s “BVR On Tour” Season 3, with Perlas 1 and Ato Ni Bai coming away as the winners of the leg, streamed live on the ABS-CBN Sports Youtube.

BVR founders Charo Soriano and Bea Tan of Perlas 1 topped the Women’s Division, after outlasting UST 1 pair Babylove Barbon and Genesa Eslapor in the Finals with a score of 21-14, 26-24.

Over at the Men’s Division, Team Ato Ni Bai of Jade Bacaldo and Calvin Sarte ran away with the top spot as they won handily over team Kremie, which had Pemie Bagalay and KR Guzman dominating in straight sets, 21-13, 21-17.

Perlas 1 and Ato Ni Bai each took home the top prize of P30,000, with the second placers pocketing P10,000.

BVR founding member Bea Tan said

the group’s mission to grow the love and appreciation for the game of beach volleyball in the Philippines continues as they eye new destinations for the tour.

“BVR has always been frequent in Northern parts of Luzon hitting Cagayan Province, Ilocos, Pangasinan and La Union. This year it is in our plans to expand to other coastal communities of the Philippines specifically Southern Luzon areas, Visayas, and Mindanao,” she said.

Meanwhile, she said beach volleyball fans can still enjoy their previous matches that can be viewed on www.youtube.com/ abscbnsports.

For news and updates on which beach the “BVR On Tour” of Beach Volleyball Republic will visit next, head to sports.abscbn.com or follow @abscbnsports on Facebook and Twitter, or follow @BeachVolleyballRepublic on Facebook and Instagram, and @bvr_ph on Twitter.

SHOW off your strength and stamina in the cutest and most fun way as Century Tuna Superbods Ageless 2018 brings the popular Underpants Run to Manila!

One of the most awaited, most fun, and exhilarating running events in the country, the Underpants Run will be held on April 8, at Filinvest City in Alabang, Muntinlupa.

The Underpants Run is one of the many fun events lined up for the muchawaited Century Tuna Superbods Ageless 2018 that promises to be the biggest and most exciting summer event in the country.

The exciting race has two categories: Superbods for 18 to 37 years old and Superbods Ageless for 38 to 50 years old.

Participants can join the 3K, 5K or 10K race.

Runners must be in their underpants that are 8 inches or more above the knee.

The top three male and female finishers in both Superbods and Superbods Ageless categories will receive cash prizes and gift packs.

Awards will also be given for best underpants for female, male, and groups.

For online registration, visit www. pinoyfitness.com until March 15.

Those who register online can get their personalized race bibs starting March 22, 2018.

For in-store registration and claiming of bibs, visit GNC Alabang Town Center, GNC Glorietta, GNC Megamall, GNC SM Aura, GNC SM Mall of Asia and GNC Trinoma from March 1 to April 1, 2018.

Entry fee is P600, inclusive of race bib, timing chip, finisher’s medal, finisher’s bath towel, and loot bag.

For more details and updates, visit Century Tuna Superbods on Facebook: www.facebook.com/centurytuna.

It is the first time in his brilliant 15year NBA career that the 33-year-old James has averaged a triple-double for a month, a milestone that he doesn’t take for granted.

“It is a long list of so many great players that have come through this league and for you to be the only one in a category it is pretty cool,” James said.

“I take pride in being a triple threat ever since I started playing basketball.

“I never wanted to be labelled as (just) a scorer. I always wanted to be labelled as a basketball player. I get more gratification from assists more than anything. To give my guys great looks is awesome.”

The previous oldest player to average a triple double in a calendar month, containing at least 10 games, was Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain in March 1968 at 31 years old.

James had 12 rebounds and 11 assists for his 12th triple-double of the season and 67th of his career. He also reached 8,000 assists and became the first player in league history to reach that milestone, along with 30,000 points and 8,000 rebounds.

James and George Hill nailed two free throws each in the final 16 seconds to clinch the victory. The free throws came just after Rodney Hood’s threepoint play with 40 seconds left gave Cleveland a 123-121 lead.

Jarrett Allen’s two free throws gave Brooklyn a 119-117 lead with 78 seconds to play.

Jordan Clarkson drained a shot from beyond the arc to give the Cavaliers the lead but the Nets answered with an Allen Crabbe drive to the basket to give Brooklyn a 121-120 lead.

Hood sank a jump shot and made a free throw that gave Cleveland a twopoint lead.

The Cavaliers are doubling down every time they beat Boston. Not only do they get the win but it also helps their draft position.

The Cavaliers own Brooklyn’s top draft pick, acquired in a trade. The Brooklyn has now lost nine of their last 10 games and own the seventhworst record in the league.

D’Angelo Russell led Brooklyn with 25 points while Caris LeVert scored 18 and DeMarre Carroll had 16. AFP

Batangas City stretches streak Games Today (JCSGO Gym) 7 p.m. – Paranaque vs Valenzuela 9 p.m. – Quezon City vs Caloocan

TANDUAY-Batangas City extended its winning streak to six games by downing Muntinlupa-Angelis Resort, 82-77, in the MPBL-Anta Rajah Cup held Tuesday at the Navotas Sports Complex The Athletics banked on another steady game from Teytey Teodoro to remain undefeated, while snapping Muntinlupa’s own winning run to four games in the event organized by Sen. Manny Pacquiao with former PBA MVP Kenneth Duremdes as commissioner.

The burly guard out of Jose Rizal University sizzled with 24 points, including clutch baskets that repelled Muntinlupa’s determined comeback.

Teodoro’s solid all-around performance was a fitting sequel to his heroics the last time that saw the Athletics pull off a hardfought overtime win over the Paranaque Patriots-Gamboa Coffee in Batangas City a few days back.

Muntinlupa slipped to 4-2.

Meantime, former PBA hotshot Gary David came up with another explosive performance and the Bataan DefendersBai Shipping picked up their second straight victory with an inspiring 96-88 victory over home team Navotas ClutchBig J Sports.

LOTTO RESULTS

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

Sports

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

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THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018

Boxer Jerwin Ancajas (left), bowler Krizziah Lyn Tabora (center) and cue artist Carlo Biado raise their PSA Athletes of the Year trophies during a gala honoring last year’s sports achievers at the Manila Hotel Tuesday night. Sonny Espiritu

Meesawat, Mamat grab golf control STA. ROSA, Laguna—Former champion Mardan Mamat of Singapore birdied the difficult backside par-3s of The Country Club in impressive fashion but fumbled on the daunting closing hole and dropped to joint lead with Thai Prom Meesawat at 70 at the start of the 100th Solaire Philippine Open at The Country Club here yesterday.

Englishman Steve Lewton actually kept it a three-way logjam in one stretch at the back in a separate flight but the defending champion wavered at the finish, bogeying two of the last six, including the 18th, to fall to joint third with Korean Taehoon Kim at 71.

The elite field struggled on the long layout that measures up to 7,735 yards despite the absence of the wind early on and majority floundered when the gusts started to whip up in afternoon play, sending the scores soaring and the players tumbling off the crowded leaderboard in the record $600,000 event presented by Solaire Resort and Casino.

But Mamat, 50, and Meesawat stood up to buck the challenge and seize control in a kind of start that could lead to a shootout in the next three days over a course where small mistakes could lead to big numbers.

“It’s very fortunate to play under-par in this course. It’s not easy out there but got a lucky break in some of the holes and made a couple of putts,’” said Mamat, a five-time winner in Asia, including the Phl Open at Wack Wack in 2012, and the Singapore Masters in 2006 that also served as a European Tour event.

He used a 3-wood on the 276-yard No. 11 and banged in an 11-foot putt then hacked a 9-iron to within two feet and drilled it. But he missed grabbing the lead with a closing bogey after missing the green and a bad chip, enabling Meesawat, who had two victories in Asia, including a playoff win over Miguel Tabuena in 2016 in Taiwan, to get a shared view of the top.

Lewton, who nipped absentee American Johannes Veerman in a playoff here last year, looked headed to taking up from where he left off‚putting up a three-under card after 12 holes. But he bogeyed No. 13 then dropped another stroke on the tough par-4 closing hole.

KaTropa keeps hopes alive with rout of NLEX

By Jeric Lopez

T

NT KaTropa staved off elimination after putting on one of its best games this season, impressively dismantling NLEX, 101-75, to stay in the hunt for a berth in the quarterfinals of the 2018 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City last night.

Debuting after being traded a week ago, spitfire Jericho Cruz immediately went to work for his new team, making his presence felt right away for the Tropang Texters, scoring a team-high 17 points, three rebounds and four assists, while Kelly Williams was a monster inside, tallying a double-double of 17 points and 16 rebounds to likewise impress.

The Tropang Texters ended their elimination round at 5-6, allowing them to keep their tournament life, for now.

Should the remaining results of the

games left involving other teams looking to secure a spot in the quarters favor them, the Tropang Texters might still be able to make the top eight by earning a playoff for a spot and winning it.

“We knew going to this game that we needed a win to give ourselves a chance in the playoffs. We’re out if we don’t win and we were able to work hard and focus to get this win and stay alive,” said TNT coach Nash Racela. “The other things, we just have to wait now.”

As for the Road Warriors, they ended up with a 6-5 slate. They also need to wait for the results of the final games to see where they’ll land. However, they have a good shot of being one of the top eight teams having six wins.

Mardan Mamat stood up to buck the challenge and seize control in a kind of start that could lead to a shootout in the next three days over a course where small mistakes could lead to big numbers.

Go for Gold fields developmental team to Ronda GO for Gold is fielding in a developmental team in the Ronda Pilipinas 2018 presented

by LBC with the hopes of giving promising young racers a chance to hone their skills and potentially excel in the future.

Veteran campaigner Ronnel Hualda, former team captain of the Go for Gold’s main team, will skipper the team composed of youthful riders that included Ismael Grospe, Jr. Ronilan Quita, Roel Quitoy, Jay Lampawog and Bryant Sepnio.

The other members of the squad are Joshua Mari Bonifacio and Jericho Jay Lucero in this race presented by LBC and supported by MVP Sports Foundation, CCN, Petron, Versa.ph, 3Q Sports Event Management, Inc., Boy Kanin, Franzia, Standard Insurance, Bike Xtreme, SH+, Guerciotti, Prolite, Green Planet, Maynilad, NLEX Cycling, Lightwater, LBC

Foundation and PhilCycling.

“This is a team full of promise because all of our riders have a potential to really blossom if given a chance,” said Hualda.

Apart from its youthful squad, Go for Gold has also fielded a team that will go for nothing less than the individual and team championship.

George Oconer will spearhead Go for Gold’s main team that also included Boots Ryan Cayubit, John Renee Mier, Jerry Aquino, Jr. Elmer Navarro, Jonel Carcueva, Orlie Villanueva and Arjay Arbasto.

The riders to watch out for are defending champion Jan Paul Morales and last year’s runner-up Rudy Roque of NavyStandard Insurance, two-time Ronda champion Santy Barnachea of Team Franzia, 2012 titlist Irish Valenzuela of CCN Superteam, and last year’s third

placer Cris Joven of Army-Bicycology.

A cool P1 million will be at stake in this 12-stage race that will be jumpstarted by the 40-kilometer Vigan criterium Stage 1 on March 3 and the 155.4km Vigan-Pagudpud Stage 2 the next day.

The race resumes with the 223.5km Pagudpud-Tuguegarao Stage 3 on March 5, 135.2km Tuguegarao-Isabela Stage 4 on March 6, 179.4km Isabela-Nueva Ecija Stage 5 on March 8, 111.8km Nueva Ecija-Tarlac Stage 6 on March 9, 31.5km Individual Time Trial Stage 7 and 42.14km Team Time Trial Stage 8 both in Tarlac on March 10 and 11.

Winding up the race are the 207.2km Silang-Batangas-Tagaytay Stage 9 on March 15, 147.8km Tagaytay-Calaca Stage 10 on March 16, 92.72km Calaca-Calaca Stage 11 on March 17 and the 50km Filinvest Alabang criterium Stage 12 on March 18.

While San Miguel, Magnolia and Alaska are already into the quarters, NLEX, Rain or Shine, Barangay Ginebra, GlobalPort, Phoenix, TNT KaTropa and Blackwater are all fighting for the last five berths with two of them eventually getting booted out, along with already ousted Meralco and Kia. Desperately fighting for its tournament life, TNT KaTropa came out with guns ablaze.

The Tropang Texters turned in a resounding opening quarter surge to zoom to a double-digit lead at the end of one, 27-16, after a 13-4 blitz.

Apparently, they were just starting.

Carrying all the momentum and clicking on all cylinders, TNT KaTropa continued its onslaught in the second, further distancing itself against the out-of-sync Road Warriors completely.

After Troy Rosario’s jumper with over three minutes left in the second frame, the Tropang Texters saw their lead balloon to a whopping 28 points, 50-22.

By halftime, the game was broken wide open with TNT already having a gigantic 30-point cushion, 58-28.

There was no looking back from there.

San Beda bags 4 tennis titles SAN Beda University dominated the recent 93rd NCAA Tennis and Soft Tennis tournaments by ruling four divisions at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

San Beda University edged Lyceum, 2-1, in an exciting championship battle to clinch the NCAA junior division; then turned back Arellano University, 2-1, to capture the NCAA women’s tennis crown; nipped College of St. Benilde in a dramatic 2-1 victory for the NCAA women’s soft tennis jewel; and concluded its campaign by winning the men soft tennis demonstration event for its fourth NCAA trophy.

Graduating senior high school netter Dawson Ormoc edged Renz Pacheco of Lyceum, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5, for the championship point in the junior division.

But it was the inspired game of SBU team captain Eduardo Bagaforo and Aidyl Ignacio that equalized the contest following a 6-4, 6-4 doubles’ victory over Stefano Gurria and Elvin Geluz.

Pirate Jarell Edangga had earlier given LPU the first point with a 6-2, 6-2 rout over Red Directo.

Bagaforo was awarded the Most Valuable Player trophy.

Melanie Faye Dizon bagged the women’s tennis MVP, Ela Javier and Siobe Penados were declared co-MVPs for their outstanding performances in the women’s soft tennis, and team captain Arjay Canoza won MVP honors in the men’s soft tennis division.

SBU mentor Jovy Mamawal, who captured the Coach of the Year award, celebrated his 36th year in the NCAA with his 22nd tennis and soft tennis career titles.

Only the Seniors’ tennis trophy slipped away after the College St. Benilde edged the Red Netters, 2-1 .

Biado, Tabora get boost from PSC

By Peter Atencio CARLO Biado, who defeated compatriot Roland Garcia, 13-5, last December to become the first Filipino in seven years to win the World 9-Ball Championship in Doha, Qatar, said his title conquest is the biggest thing that ever happened to his life.

“Ito na ang pinakamagandang nangyari sa buhay ko,” said Biado, 34, after he joined bowler Krizziah Lyn Tabora and boxer Jerwin Ancajas in receiving their awards as PSA Athletes of the Year Tuesday evening at the Manila Hotel.

Biado ruled the world’s premier 9-ball competition to put a fitting end to a banner year that also saw him win gold medals in the World Games and the Southeast Asian Games.

On the other hand, Tabora said that with her award, she feels pressured to be always at her best in the coming months.

“I feel that all eyes are on me. People are now expecting me to always be at my best,” said Tabora.

After 14 years, Tabora brought the glory back to Philippine bowling, as she was crowned the 53rd Qubica AMF Bowling World Cup Champion in the women’s division last Nov. 11 in Hermosillo, Mexico.

Tabora, ranked 28th in Asia (2016), bested Malaysia’s Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman, 232-196, in the stepladder finals to clinch her first international singles’ championship.

Biado and Tabora also got a big boost from the Philippine Sports Commission after being included in the list of eight elite athletes put in the Platinum Classification of the government sports agency’s new allowance scheme.

Under the new scheme, Biado and Tabora will get monthly allowances of P45,000 meant to athletes who have won medals in the Olympics and the world championships.

Deputy executive director Rachel Dumuk said the two are in the list with Olympian weightlifting silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz, windsurfer Gaylor Coveta, para dancesport pair Julius Obero and Rhea Marquez, along with Baguio taekwondo jin Jeordan Dominguez.

Last year, Dominguez won a gold medal in the individual freestyle event during the 14th World Taekwondo Championships in the 17-above individual category.

Dumuk said they have crafted a new allowance scheme for athletes in place of the prioritization program.

Class A athletes, or those who won gold medals in the Asian Games and the Southeast Asian Games will get P40,000, while Class B and C athletes, or those who got silver and bronze medals in the Asian and SEA level will get P30,000 and P20,000, respectively.

The scheme is almost similar to what the Sports Ministry of Malaysia has for the national athletes.

“When we did our research, the sports ministry of Malaysia has almost the same rate that the PSC board has passed,” said Dumuk.

With the new scheme, the agency has reduced the number of athletes it is supporting from 939 last Dec. to 730.

NU-Ateneo finals down to a Game 3 HOLD the celebrations. There is still another game to play.

Top scorer Miguel Oczon said this after the Nazareth School-National University Bullpups denied the Ateneo Blue Eaglets a 16-game sweep and an outright 19th title in their 25th finals appearance on Tuesday at the Arena in San Juan.

“I felt good. Pero sabi ni coach, may isa pang game. Kaya no time to celebrate,” said Oczon after scoring 17 points in Game 2 of NU’s best-of-three finals’ series with Ateneo in the 80th University Athletic Association of the Philippines junior basketball tournament.

Oczon stole off SJ Belangel as time ran out, sending the Bullpups to a 68-67 win over the Blue Eaglets in Game 2 of their best-of-three finals series.

This tied the finals series at 1-all, with Game 3 set at 4 p.m. on Friday.

The Bullpups hung on until the end, getting a boost from Michael Malonzo’s undergoal stab in the 55 seconds.

The win shifted the momentum into the Bullpups’ favor in their bid for their seventh crown since they last won it via a 16-game sweep back 2014.

“Compared to Game 1, the team had better composure. Nakailang lead change. Pero nag-stick sila sa game plan.

Ang defense namin, gumanda towards the end,” said Bullpups’ coach Goldwin Monteverde. Peter Atencio

IN BRIEF

Investors swarm weekly BSP auction THE P110 billion worth of term deposits auctioned by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Wednesday remained oversubscribed on investors’ strong demand for longer term instruments.

Data showed total tenders for the P110billion deposits reached P117.11 billion. The seven-day instruments worth P50 billion was undersubscribed, with total bids hitting P43.75 billion. But the 14-day deposits worth P40 billion attracted total bids of P44.49 billion.

The month-long instruments worth P20 billion, meanwhile, attracted bids of P28.87 billion.

Earlier, over-subscriptions prompted the Bangko Sentral to raise the weekly volume to P110 billion from P80 billion on Feb. 21 due to strong demand for both short- and long-term instruments.

The seven-day deposits worth P40 billion was increased to P50 billion, the 14-day to P40 billion from P20 billion, while the 28-day instruments of P20 billion remained.

Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo earlier said the return of liquidity to the banks was evident after the holiday season. Julito G. Rada

Global Power eyes stable regulations GLOBAL Business Power Corp. on Wednesday stressed the importance of a stable regulatory environment to support the energy sector’s development.

GBPC President Jaime Azurin said regulatory issues must be addressed to avoid potential gaps in policy.

He said the forthcoming implementation of the renewable portfolio standards, which require distribution utilities to secure a portion of their power supply from eligible renewable energy producers, as well as the green energy option, must have the option to choose RE as their energy source.

GBCP is also calling for the energy sector to adopt a sustainable approach to development and called for energy stakeholders to work together to address both economic and environmental challenges.

“Energy is the lifeblood of all economic activity, without power our factories and offices and railways will simply not run, but generating power to support these activities cause pressures on the environment,” he said.

Alena Mae S. Flores

Business

By Julito G. Rada

T

he Philippine economy can grow up to 8 percent in the medium term, on the expected increase in infrastructure spending under the government’s ambitious P8.4-trillion ‘Build, Build, Build’ program, the Finance Department said Wednesday.

The Finance Department said in an economic bulletin the strong fiscal fundamentals would continue to sustain the robust economic growth and stable inflation.

“In the medium-term, infrastructure outlays under the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program will exceed 5 percent of GDP [gross domestic product] and push GDP

growth to its optimum level of 7 to 8 percent as the competitiveness of the economy rises and more jobs are created,” it said.

It issued the bulletin a day after the Bureau of the Treasury reported that full-year spending hit P2.823 trillion in 2017, or 3 percent short of the programmed P2.909-trillion fiscal expenditures for the year.

The Finance Department said fiscal reforms including debt management led to the maintenance of the debt-toGDP ratio at 42.1 percent as of year-end 2017. Interest payments as a ratio of GDP declined 0.1 percentage point, expenditures by 0.9 percentage point and revenues by 1.3 percentage points. Debt service ratios declined at a similar pace.

The government projected that economic growth this year could settle between 7 percent and 8 percent, driven

by higher spending on infrastructure and robust investments.

Data showed the government’s budget deficit in 2017 slightly narrowed to P350.6 billion from P353.4 billion in 2016, because of the combined effects of stronger-than-programmed receipts and slower expenditure growth.

The Treasury also said the 2017 deficit was 27-percent short of the year’s target of P482.1 billion. It said the narrower deficit was equivalent to 2.2 percent of GDP, within the 3-percent ceiling set for the year.

Data showed the 2017 revenue collection hit P2.47 trillion, exceeding the program of P2.426 trillion by 2 percent. It was also 13 percent, or P277.2 billion higher than P2.195 trillion collected in 2016.

Government expenditures increased 11 percent, or P274.4 billion, to P2.823 trillion last year from P2.549 trillion in

MLM ACCREDITATION. The Department of Trade and Industry teams up with the Direct Selling Association of the Philippines to compel multi-level marketing or MLM companies to get accreditation from DTI and to educate the public on legitimate MLMs. The partnership also promotes legitimate direct selling and multi-level marketing as a business opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs by letting them visit the 800 Negosyo centers around the country. Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez (seated from left) shakes hands with DSAP chairman Josefino Sarmiento during the signing of the agreement. With them are (standing, from left) DSAP compliance and enforcement committee head Bernardo Mercado, DTI regional operations group Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya, DSAP head of corporate social responsibility Elizabeth Añana and DSAP vice chairperson Arlene Asidao.

By Othel V. Campos

POWER retailer Manila Electric Co. said Wednesday it received an offer of P3.50 per kilowatt-hour from a wind energy developer to supply 150 megawatts from a proposed wind project in Rizal province.

Meralco received the offer from Island Wind Energy Corp., which plans to put up a 150-MW wind project in Talim Island in Binangonan and Cardona, Rizal and an alternative site in Sembrano, Laguna.

“The total capacity is 150 MW, comprised of an initial 80 MW and then 70 MW. The offer that will be subjected to price challenge is an indicative price of P3.50 per kWh. This would be much lower than the wind FIT [feed-in tariff] rates of P8.53 per kWh and P7.40 per kWh,” Meralco head of utility economics Lawrence Fernandez said.

Meralco already issued the invitation for price challenge to other wind developers.

The proposed wind energy project is expected to start commercial operations on June 30, 2020 for the first plant and the second plant a year later.

The contract covers 20 years at P3.50 per kWh subject to an annual escalation of 2 percent, applied to the offer price.

“An offer made by the price challenger should be under the same terms and conditions of the power supply agreement provided by Meralco, except for the financial proposal,” the power distributor said.

Meralco set the deadline for expression of interest on March 5. Price challengers that previously submitted an expression of interest were asked to submit qualification documents not later than March 21. Qualified price challengers are also required to submit financial proposals not later than April 10.

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018

B1

2016. It was, however, 3 percent below the programmed spending of P2.909 trillion for the year.

The Treasury said that in December alone, the budget deficit narrowed 9 percent to P107.1 billion from P118.2 billion a year ago.

Revenues grew 35 percent in December to P223.1 billion from P165.3 billion a year earlier while spending rose 16 percent to P330.2 billion from P283.6 billion.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue collected P151.2 billion in December, up 29 percent or P34 billion from the final month of 2016, marking its highest yearon-year growth for 2017.

Full-year BIR collections totaled P1.772 trillion, missing the program by 1 percent but rising 13 percent from a year ago.

SMIC’s net profit rises 6% to P32.9b

By Jenniffer B. Austria

Wind energy January ecozone investments climbed 27% to P14b firm offering P3.50 per kWh to Meralco

By Alena Mae S. Flores

business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com

Finance sees growth hitting 8%

Ningbo’s purchase of Takata cleared THE Philippine Competition Commission cleared the acquisition of substantial assets of Takata Corp. by Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp.

Once consummated, all Takata assets cited in the proposed transaction will be wholly owned by Ningo Joyson Electronics.

The mergers and acquisitions office of the PCC in a decision on February 27 said the transaction “does not result in substantial lessening of competition in the relevant market.”

“There are no product overlaps between the parties in the domestic market (Philippines),” the Commission decision read. Ningbo Joyson Electronics and Takata are Japan-based companies.

Ningbo Joyson Electronics is into the production of automotive electronics and functional modules for global distribution, especially in China.

Its local subsidiary, Key Safety Systems Holdings Inc., is active in the research and development, design, manufacture, marketing and sale of automotive safety systems.

Othel V. Campos

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

Investment commitments approved by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority climbed 27.2 percent in January to P14 billion from P11 billion a year ago despite a steep decline in information technology projects.

Peza director-general Charito Plaza said the growth came from a combination of expansion projects and investment pledges to develop more economic zones.

“There is none that pulled out investments, but there was no significant increase either. What we noticed is the decrease in the amount and number of new projects. Investments now are at a steady pace,” she said.

The agency said it was hoping that investments in the IT sector would rebound in 2018, following a 73-percent

decline in IT projects from P1.976 billion in January 2017.

Data showed that the number of IT projects plummeted 63.6 percent to eight projects from 22 projects a year ago. This reflected the 42.9-percent decline in Peza projects to 32 from 56 projects in January 2017.

Peza said it was expecting a resurgence in IT and business process outsourcing investments this year. “We hope to rebound from a slowdown in investments from BPOs in 2018 and an expansion from other industries,as well,” she said.

Full-year investments in the BPO sector dropped 49 percent to P15.56 billion in 2017 from P30.44 billion in 2016.

Peza said the decline was due to the unclear policy of the Trump government on offshore American businesses and the slow presidential proclamation

on new economic zones.

Investments in the manufacturing sector declined 46 percent in January, continuing the huge drop in 2017.

Peza communications manager Elmer San Juan said the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law affected investors’ overall confidence to commit to the Philippines.

“The manufacturing sector is somewhat scared of the uncertainty that goes with the new Train package. They will not invest if there is uncertainty. Investments from manufacturing are definitely higher compared to IT, although BPO/IT is the biggest employer among all the industries within the economic zone,” he said.

Peza expressed concern that the second package of the comprehensive tax reform program could impact on industries inside the economic zones.

CONGLOMERATE SM Investments Corp., the holding company of tycoon Henry Sy, said Wednesday net income climbed 6 percent in 2017 to P32.9 billion from P31.2 billion in 2016, on the strong results of property, banking and retail businesses.

SMIC said in a disclosure to the stock exchange consolidated revenues grew 9 percent in 2017 to P396.1 billion from P363.4 billion in 2016.

“Our core businesses continued to deliver strong results in 2017 with recurring net income growth of 9 percent, driven by overall growth in the economy and our nationwide expansion plans. Our property and specialty retail businesses delivered particularly strong results,” SMIC president Frederic DyBuncio said.

“During the year SM made substantial investments in its banks and in new business opportunities, which we expect to contribute to higher earnings growth in future years,” he said.

Property accounted for 40 percent of total earnings, with banks comprising 38 percent and retail 22 percent.

SM Retail Inc., which consists of food and non-food stores, reported a net income of P10.4 billion and revenues of P297.4 billion in 2017, up 7 percent year-on-year.

“The underlying performance of our retail operations remained good, led by strong growth in our higher margin specialty retailing and with the addition of the successful Miniso variety store chain during the year,” DyBuncio said.

The department store business under The SM Stores opened in SM CDO Downtown Premier and SM City Puerto Princesa to end 2017 with 59 department stores with total gross selling area of 0.76 million square meters.

Bank loans, liquidity sustained double-digit growth in January

BACOLOD RECOGNIZES TELEPERFORMANCE. Teleperformance, the world’s leading provider of outsourced omni-channel customer experience management services, is honored with the Symbol of Highest Recognition during the 10th anniversary of Bacolod-Negros Occidental Federation for Information and Communications Technology at Seda Hotel in Bacolod City. Teleperformance executive vice president for operations Richard Loveland (second from right) receives the “Symbol of Lifetime Appreciation” from BNEFIT executive director Jocelle Batapa-Sigue, past presidents Levi Trio and Julie Dizon and current president John Dave Dueñas.

BANK loans and money supply sustained the double-digit growth in January this year, reflecting the continuous expansion of the economy.

Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed that domestic liquidity or the money supply circulating in the financial system grew 12.8 percent year-on-year to P10.6 trillion in January, faster than the 11.9-percent expansion in December.

“The growth in M3 is consistent with the BSP’s prevailing outlook for inflation and economic activity. Nevertheless, the BSP will continue to monitor monetary conditions closely to ensure that domestic liquidity conditions remain in line with the BSP’s price and financial stability objectives,” the Bangko Sentral said.

Domestic claims grew 13.5 percent, slightly slower than the 13.7-percent increase in December as the growth in bank lending eased. Preliminary data showed that

outstanding loans of commercial banks expanded at a slower rate of 19.1 percent in January compared to the 19.4-percent expansion in December 2017.

Loans for production activities― which comprised 88.4 percent of banks’ aggregate loan portfolio―grew 18.1 percent in January, slower than the 18.6-percent growth in December.

Production loans were driven by increased lending to real estate activities, with 18-percent growth; electricity, gas, steam and airconditioning supply, 24.8 percent; wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, 13.2 percent; manufacturing, 11.9 percent; information and communication, 52.6 percent; and financial and insurance activities, 15 percent.

Loans to other sectors also increased during the month except in agriculture, forestry and fishing, and administrative and support services activities.

Julito G. Rada

B2

Business

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Stocks plunge; Ayala, JG Summit fall

T

HE stock market and the rest of Asia sank on Wednesday as an upbeat assessment of the US economy

by Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell fanned new fears of a sharp rise in interest rates.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index plunged 117.09 points, or 1.4 percent, to 8,475.29 on a value turnover of nearly P10 billion. Gainers, however, beat losers, 111 to 96, with 52 issues unchanged.

Major property developer Ayala Land Inc. lost 3.3 percent to P41.10, while JG Summit Holdings Inc. of industrialist John Gokongwei dropped 4 percent to P72.

SM Investments Corp. of retail tycoon Henry Sy fell 3.1 percent to P940, while unit SM Prime Holdings Inc. declined 3 percent to P35.30.

The new US central bank boss in his

closely watched debut before lawmakers said the outlook had improved since December, when Donald Trump pushed through massive across-the-board tax cuts.

While it was a positive sign for the world’s top economy, the appraisal spooked investors already on edge at the prospect of higher borrowing costs.

They forecast four rate rises this year rather than the three previously expected.

Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trading at OANDA, said Powell’s tone suggested he would be moderate, but added that “his pointer at the topside potential for both inflation and growth suggests the risks are skewed for a bolder monetary policy response”.

The Fed boss’s comments sent all three main Wall Street indexes plunging more than one percent and the dollar surging against most other currencies.

The yield on the key 10-year US Trea-

sury bond, a proxy for interest rates, also jumped.

World markets suffered a sharp drop at the start of February after strong jobs and wages data sparked concerns that inflation would surge, and in turn force the Fed to ramp up borrowing costs.

On Wednesday Hong Kong sank 1.4 percent and Shanghai closed down one percent. Traders were also weighed down by faltering Chinese factory activity, which slowed to a 19-month low in February.

While the reading was hit by the Lunar New Year break, it was a third successive monthly fall in the purchasing managers’ index.

Tokyo finished 1.4 percent lower, hit by a stronger yen, while Sydney dropped 0.7 percent.

Singapore eased 0.2 percent and Seoul was off 1.2 percent, with Mumbai also lower.

However, Jim McDonald, Northern Trust Corp’s chief investment strategist, remained upbeat.

“If they do go four times, we think it’s going to be for the right reasons—which is that growth is good, inflation is not out of control,” he told Bloomberg TV. “That will not be a bad environment for risk-taking.”

With bets piling up on higher interest rates, the dollar rallied on Tuesday and extended the gains in Asia against the pound and euro, though the safe-haven yen edged back up.

The greenback also racked up strong gains against other regional currencies, with the Australian dollar down 0.5 percent and South Korea’s won more than one percent down. The Thai baht, Indonesian rupiah and New Zealand dollar were also well down.

Mexico’s peso, the South African rand and Canadian dollar were also almost one percent off. With AFP

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2018

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 59.35 14,030 119.9 2,712,290 3.37 129,000 155.8 2,461,710 1.64 139,000 35.2 1,149,900 15.5 300 28 1,435,200 3.64 36,000 8.66 4,900 0.67 5,000 1.62 56,000 0.54 1,412,000 97.85 1,745,090 1.59 4,089,000 24.15 1,800 57.25 94,700 245 3,730 106.6 260 46.55 48,900 246.2 689,540 1,920 95 91 188,030 1.2 47,000

830,924.50 325,188,767 444,840 382,050,590 225,180 40,373,595 4,650 40,191,385 129,680 42,404 3,350 90,720 776,180 170,413,403.50 6,568,200 41,620 5,410,698 913,814 27,151 2,277,840 169,456,894 182,400 17,101,987 56,400

535,330 28,897,584 -14,482,643 84,210 404,790 17,180,125 -3,350 -53,760 15,618,193 370,120 4,890 3,619,373.50 -64,865 8,703,836 13,548,935 -

38.5 12.86 0.56 1.26 18.38 0.215 108 3.61 16 238 52 20 63.95 54.2 100 1.88 5.3 10.16 11.16 14.2 11.3 7.71 5.55 1.82 14.44 62 28.5 9.88 19.2 2.15 289 50 4.35 3.15 26 16.42 20.5 322 0.19 2.9 4.75 9.14 6.35 8.29 1.53 12.48 56.6 5.9 610 4.75 3.02 3.4 2.45 15.26 5.18 0.131 1.01 145 2.65 1.78 1.6

INDUSTRIAL 38.5 1,974,700 12.94 2,644,900 0.58 353,000 1.27 394,000 19.2 157,900 0.22 1,910,000 108 620 3.66 3,741,000 16.24 843,300 238 50 54.5 944,350 23.6 35,900 63.95 60 54.3 840 100 50 1.92 178,000 5.3 66,200 10.6 22,700 11.8 1,240,700 14.4 371,400 11.68 554,300 7.8 159,300 5.57 408,600 1.82 6,000 14.5 4,565,700 62.25 107,460 29.1 132,700 9.9 32,700 19.2 1,099,600 2.2 2,989,000 298.4 1,052,820 60 790 4.45 222,000 3.15 8,000 26 1,405,700 16.5 2,342,300 21.15 3,291,000 336.6 537,470 0.195 300,000 3.03 3,791,000 4.8 1,097,000 9.19 4,755,300 6.35 241,100 8.3 35,000 1.54 911,000 12.6 125,700 56.8 100,370 5.93 17,000 620 7,500 4.85 208,000 3.07 990,000 3.4 32,000 2.6 19,254,000 15.34 851,300 5.3 75,600 0.132 25,540,000 1.01 94,000 149 1,356,170 2.65 40,000 1.84 3,136,000 1.64 8,612,000

76,334,610 34,246,226 202,040 497,520 2,969,856 411,710 67,310 13,659,760 13,615,408 11,980 53,801,319.50 789,360 3,845 45,675 5,000 338,990 351,072 238,516 14,342,714 5,348,356 6,432,640 1,238,096 2,273,727 10,920 66,281,132 6,668,129 3,813,440 323,478 21,364,090 6,603,080 313,188,434 48,333.50 987,080 25,200 37,671,910 38,645,318 69,000,865 178,577,212 58,160 11,504,520 5,399,190 43,689,784 1,551,136 290,460 1,402,340 1,579,158 5,696,920.50 101,918 4,602,145 1,002,330 3,121,210 109,020 50,734,270 ( 13,140,120 395,915 3,514,000 94,940 203,114,542 106,000 5,705,320 14,419,560

-38,957,180 5,708,282 1,545,160 7,839,052 1,956,150.50 -110,000 0 9,918,892 -400,948 284,309 389,452 2,618,236 1,315,857 -234,304 122,750 78,735,584 176,880 -26,194,525 33,039,600 37,743,560 80,185,412 -1,695,260 1,065,760 38,333,948 -113,790 764,860 -3,982,452.50 4,375 270,880 1,002,330 721,419.9998) -2,450,590 13,200 25,409,990 -79,500 845,620 -412,500

0.295 74.5 14.64 0.92 7.56 0.65 0.66 1,052 7.29 13.9 7.41 5.2 5.3 1,310 7.24 72 5.13 0.66 5.22 22.5 5.57 3.35 0.045 1.14 3.35 2.52 140.5 2.58 940 1.57 281.4 0.234 0.18 0.187

HOLDING FIRMS 0.31 2,930,000 77.4 2,124,190 14.86 4,886,500 0.95 30,000 7.68 16,300 0.66 16,704,000 0.66 3,226,000 1,057 304,555 7.32 1,445,700 13.92 5,299,900 7.5 22,500 5.3 290,000 5.35 148,000 1,350 156,725 7.24 500 72 3,370,360 5.13 14,800 0.68 587,000 5.39 469,400 22.95 3,694,000 5.63 43,345,700 3.35 2,000 0.049 349,100,000 1.17 4,000 3.37 15,743,000 2.52 2,000 141 210,010 2.58 4,000 940 566,470 1.59 623,000 284 190 0.28 33,540,000 0.18 30,000 0.187 80,000

920,250 162,390,865.5 ( 72,581,324 27,810 124,536 11,155,600 2,154,020 322,465,535 10,561,016 73,791,022 166,860 1,646,940 844,580 210,912,615 3,623 244,628,845 76,036 397,930 2,517,060 85,015,960 243,674,809 6,700 17,213,600 4,590 54,333,550 5,040 29,605,113 10,320 535,942,525 987,230 53,634 9,269,010 5,400 14,960

41,364,313.5) 14,062,280 102,000 -27,311,440 -3,902,819 -3,324,096 -21,137,935 -119,687,477 -197,882 -15,659,325 -70,471,233 -17,600 -4,557,130 -4,103,195 -232,424,360 11,320 -5,600 -

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 FIRST ABACUS IREMIT MEDCO HLDG METROBANK NTL REINSURANCE PBCOM PHIL NATL BANK PHIL STOCK EXCH PHILTRUST RCBC SECURITY BANK SUN LIFE UNION BANK VANTAGE

59.35 119 3.5 156 1.62 35.4 15.5 28.4 3.75 8.51 0.67 1.62 0.56 98 1.6 24.45 56.8 244.4 107.9 46.5 247 1,920 90.5 1.2

59.45 129 3.6 156 1.64 35.4 15.5 28.4 3.75 8.66 0.67 1.62 0.57 98.05 1.66 24.45 57.3 245.4 107.9 46.9 247.4 1,920 92 1.2

59 118 3.37 153.1 1.6 35.1 15.5 27.95 3.57 8.51 0.67 1.62 0.54 97.05 1.59 22.8 56.8 244.4 103.2 46.5 244.2 1,920 90.3 1.2

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

38.75 12.92 0.57 1.27 18.88 0.217 110 3.61 16 240 54.5 20.3 64.75 54.3 100 1.88 5.4 10.5 11.3 14.2 11.6 7.72 5.6 1.82 14.5 62.55 29.4 9.9 19.22 2.19 295 50 4.45 3.15 27.95 16.56 21 327 0.201 3.01 4.75 9.14 6.58 8.29 1.55 12.7 57 6.25 626 4.75 3.2 3.4 2.63 15.76 5.39 0.132 1.01 151 2.65 1.86 1.65

39 13 0.58 1.28 19.52 0.22 110 3.68 16.24 240 59.5 23.6 64.75 58.2 100 1.92 5.44 10.6 11.8 14.5 11.72 7.81 5.6 1.82 14.7 62.55 29.4 9.9 19.9 2.26 298.8 63.25 4.5 3.15 27.95 16.56 21.35 336.6 0.201 3.1 5.09 9.21 6.58 8.3 1.55 12.7 57 6.25 626 4.85 3.45 3.45 2.8 15.76 5.39 0.147 1.01 155 2.65 1.86 1.73

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

0.305 76.9 14.88 0.92 7.57 0.67 0.66 1,052 7.4 13.98 7.41 5.3 5.39 1,336 7.25 73.5 5.16 0.68 5.45 22.7 5.74 3.35 0.046 1.14 3.64 2.52 141 2.58 959 1.6 282 0.234 0.18 0.187

0.32 77.5 14.96 0.95 7.74 0.69 0.68 1,070 7.4 13.98 7.5 6.3 6.38 1,350 7.25 73.5 5.16 0.69 5.45 23.45 5.74 3.35 0.053 1.17 3.64 2.52 141.8 2.58 980 1.6 284 0.3 0.18 0.187

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

6.92 1.12 16.8 2.04 0.86 42.5 3.74 4.8 7 7.5 7 0.425 1.11 1.03 0.285 0.47 30.65 0.64 0.128 1.77 1.3 0.68 4.8 0.69 0.31 0.53

6.92 1.14 17.46 2.06 0.87 42.6 3.79 4.82 7.68 7.5 7 0.43 1.14 1.07 0.31 0.47 32.5 0.64 0.128 1.79 1.3 0.69 4.85 0.81 0.315 0.54

6.79 1.07 16.6 2.03 0.84 41.1 3.72 4.72 6.28 6.5 6 0.42 1.11 1.03 0.285 0.455 30.1 0.62 0.128 1.76 1.3 0.68 4.68 0.67 0.305 0.51

VOLUME

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

PRIMEX CORP PTFC REDEV CORP ROBINSONS LAND ROCKWELL SM PRIME HLDG STA LUCIA LAND STARMALLS SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND

4.11 37.5 19.74 1.92 35.9 1.03 25 0.8 6.4

4.18 37.5 19.74 1.92 36.4 1.03 25 0.83 6.5

4.1 32.3 19.4 1.9 35.3 1.01 23 0.8 6.3

4.13 36.95 19.4 1.91 35.3 1.01 23.5 0.83 6.5

542,000 4,200 2,550,300 708,000 10,871,800 446,000 462,000 40,000 5,014,500

2,241,000 153,095 49,822,516(37 1,353,030 387,096,115 452,660 11,057,570 32,650 32,343,114

,096,722.0001) -32,250 -113,660,375 4,120 16,550 -5,988,791

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

17.46 31.85 1.29 0.67 0.07 11.9 5.36 13.96 0.066 100.5 8.71 7.15 8.06 3 32 1,740 6.2 316 5.43 2.79 110 13.02 8.2 0.129 1.57 15.4 4.3 1 29.7 0.5 5.72 7.6 3.31 17.1 13 10.5 11 2.83 120 7.18 1,569 1.22 0.335 50.45 92 5.95 3.07 1.41 0.54 3.43 0.91 10.86

18.3 31.85 1.35 0.7 0.07 11.9 5.4 14.4 0.068 100.5 8.71 8.2 8.25 3.36 47.25 1,740 6.22 320 5.59 2.79 111.8 13.08 8.31 0.136 1.57 15.4 4.3 1.02 29.7 0.5 5.93 7.7 3.6 18.18 13.94 10.5 11.36 2.83 120 7.24 1,569 1.26 0.355 52.15 95 6 3.11 1.43 0.62 3.43 0.92 10.86

17.46 31.7 1.29 0.61 0.065 11.9 5.36 13.76 0.065 99.9 8.71 7.11 8.06 2.55 32 1,707 6.19 306.6 5.09 2.65 110 13.02 8.2 0.129 1.52 15.4 4.12 1 28 0.5 5.32 7.59 3.31 17.1 12.6 10.5 11 2.83 115 6.88 1,520 1.21 0.335 50 92 5.95 2.95 1.38 0.52 3.4 0.91 10.64

SERVICES 18 31.75 1.35 0.64 0.065 11.9 5.4 14.4 0.067 100.3 8.71 7.6 8.09 2.6 47.25 1,722 6.22 318 5.09 2.65 110 13.08 8.31 0.134 1.52 15.4 4.26 1.02 29 0.5 5.83 7.65 3.43 18.18 13.02 10.5 11 2.83 117 7 1,520 1.26 0.355 51.9 95 6 3.11 1.41 0.6 3.4 0.91 10.7

76,100 35,500 25,000 146,381,000 465,050,000 1,000 3,000 16,638,000 58,130,000 174,010 2,000 4,984,100 28,900 1,536,000 989,900 82,330 195,400 61,030 8,552,600 142,000 1,227,760 23,000 41,500 17,590,000 415,000 200 3,819,000 381,000 2,682,100 20,000 2,829,900 1,555,700 1,469,000 2,300 21,671,900 4,500 9,300 3,000 32,480 1,764,300 172,035 2,639,000 790,000 1,361,730 404,010 63,200 866,000 1,745,000 377,989,000 239,000 3,773,000 5,471,800

1,334,238 1,127,725 33,550 95,107,430 31,380,910 11,900 16,120 234,259,820 3,852,110 17,418,166.50 17,420 38,934,563 233,637 4,466,320 43,933,135 141,724,950 1,213,470 19,153,262 45,387,637 382,080 135,353,105 299,556 343,674 2,310,450 635,620 3,080 16,196,800 382,830 77,286,510 10,000 16,036,483 11,872,527 5,085,220 40,518 289,150,346 47,250 103,982 8,490 3,746,865 12,271,304 264,290,380 3,276,890 268,450 70,233,167.50 37,839,690 ( 378,954 2,628,760 2,441,850 223,335,610 814,720 3,436,740 58,545,102

6,550 -18,864,290 -3,400 99,714,528 8,409,379 -2,936,921 33,298 10,400 992,045 -850,170 9,592 -15,323,540 -39,782,768 16,630 -90,930 20,000 -6,549,125 210,438 2,045,903 965,370 -127,414 -34,962 -3,926,795 79,420 6,346,786.50 10,410,353.5) 248,200 1,304,290 -2,158,680 350,800 -2,760 3,291,752

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

0.0026 1.71 5.04 17.98 1.79 1.6 1.74 0.315 7.38 2.31 0.234 0.146 0.157 0.0097 1.42 6.38 1.33 0.43 0.9 0.012 0.012 2.3 6.3 18.36 37.4 0.0069

0.0033 1.79 5.04 17.98 1.99 1.96 1.74 0.315 7.38 2.35 0.255 0.148 0.157 0.0097 1.49 6.38 1.38 0.43 0.9 0.013 0.012 2.3 6.3 19.38 37.4 0.0069

0.0026 1.7 5 16.56 1.79 1.6 1.68 0.305 7.18 2.31 0.221 0.145 0.153 0.0097 1.39 6.23 1.33 0.43 0.85 0.011 0.011 2.2 6.05 17.8 36.8 0.0069

MINING & OIL 0.003 13,680,000,000 1.7 18,857,000 5 85,000 17.96 2,900 1.85 196,000 1.96 369,000 1.71 899,000 0.305 1,070,000 7.21 11,100 2.32 2,793,000 0.24 5,070,000 0.145 8,430,000 0.155 700,000 0.0097 1,000,000 1.44 1,034,000 6.27 372,600 1.38 25,000 0.43 10,000 0.87 492,000 0.012 132,500,000 0.012 16,800,000 2.3 52,000 6.22 236,200 18.34 25,550,400 36.8 1,815,900 0.0069 8,000,000

40,748,400 32,626,420 425,578 50,734 368,760 711,390 1,523,320 326,950 80,105 6,506,660 1,226,190 1,227,810 107,990 9,700 1,466,960 2,334,803 33,870 4,300 423,870 1,590,800 193,700 119,490 1,454,969 480,078,626 67,053,885 55,200

-114,900 90,210 4,527 546,680 319,770 9,700 1,575,365 4,140 267,200 1,862,186 -48,534,495 -

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

31.5 518 514 103.8 108 510 6 1,015 101.3 1.03 106.1 1,034 990 109 77.5 81 76.2 79 78.1 79

31.5 518 514 104 108 510 6.12 1,015 101.3 1.05 106.1 1,034 990 109 77.5 81 76.2 79 78.1 79

31 518 514 103.8 108 510 6 1,015 101.3 1.03 105 1,034 990 109 77.5 80 75.75 78.9 78.05 77.9

PREFERRED 31 107,500 518 50 514 10 103.8 9,450 108 100 510 160 6.11 9,900 1,015 20 101.3 200 1.05 3,000 105 1,610 1,034 500 990 2,120 109 170 77.5 1,500 80.25 22,640 75.75 31,950 79 80,800 78.05 7,700 77.9 72,330

3,354,750 25,900 5,140 981,110 10,800 81,600 60,418 20,300 20,260 3,110 169,671 517,000 2,098,800 18,530 116,250 1,815,274 2,431,600 6,383,140 601,348 5,653,608

-2,336,500 -3,071 -1,734,284 -545,650 -3,950,000 -

LR WARRANT

3.8

3.9

3.24

WARRANTS 3.33 5,182,000

18,011,590

-27,950

30,609,029 2,820 1,030,610 3,272,990

-17,460,040 -14,800 -1,604,430

1,222,280

64,900

104,500

-

MS

PROPERTY 6.9 1.1 17.24 2.05 0.86 41.1 3.72 4.74 6.4 7 6.9 0.425 1.14 1.07 0.29 0.47 32 0.62 0.128 1.77 1.3 0.68 4.85 0.81 0.31 0.52

974,100 26,936,000 96,800 122,000 1,366,000 24,035,000 787,000 2,358,000 964,200 81,500 7,500 5,130,000 49,000 107,000 223,840,000 940,000 1,111,300 269,000 10,000 4,157,000 996,000 680,000 29,465,000 866,635,000 1,350,000 3,647,000

6,633,493 29,799,010 1,651,736 250,120 1,171,180 999,892,300 2,953,810 11,259,180 6,458,107 591,650 49,608 2,171,350 55,590 113,030 66,183,750(10 433,600 34,540,095 166,930 1,280 7,366,470 1,294,800 463,100 141,443,520 658,305,050 417,800 1,909,580

445,934 -7,830 -173,232 -534,253,790 -59,050 1,676,260 96,276 8,400 ,378,500.0002) -2,491,705 -119,520 -2,354,560 15,608,250 -6,480 7,650

ITALPINAS MAKATI FINANCE PHILAB HLDG XURPAS

6.65 2.82 3.71 3.5

6.65 2.82 3.84 3.5

6.1 2.82 3.6 3.42

FIRST METRO ETF

130

130

129.5

USD DMPL A1

10.44

TRADING SUMMARY

10.46

SHARES

FINANCIAL

16,463,935

INDUSTRIAL

105,404,709

HOLDING FIRMS

490,088,459

PROPERTY

1,226,166,448

SERVICES

1,159,459,464

MINING & OIL

13,907,268.247

GRAND TOTAL

16,911,000,574

10.44

6.1 2.82 3.7 3.45

SME

4,907,000 1,000 281,000 945,000

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 129.6 9,420 DDS 10.46

10,000

VALUE 2,225.65 (down) 11.28 1,162,829,797.70 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 11,440.91(up) 13.00 1,350,134,303.87 HOLDING FIRMS 8,585.06 (down) 147.41 2,251,941,953.536 PROPERTY 3,721.70 (down) 91.59 1,745.89 (down) 5.45 2,592,694,990.11 SERVICES MINING & OIL 12,253.82 (up) 24.43 1,940,297,947.52 PSEI 8,475.29 (down) 117.09 640,789,594.90 All Shares Index 5,082.94 (down) 35.79 9,974,847,726.10 Gainers: 111; Losers: 96; Unchanged: 52; Total: 259

PH AirAsia posts profit, pushes IPO

By Darwin G. Amojelar THE Philippine unit of Southeast Asia’s biggest budget airline plans to conduct an initial public offering in the second semester of 2018 after posting a profit last year.

Philippines AirAsia reported a net profit of P621.2 million in 2017 from a loss of P3.05 billion in 2016.

“We are extremely proud with the turnaround by our Philippines operations, which has proven that perseverance and our business model truly works,” PAA said.

“We are looking forward for an exciting year leading to an IPO for our Philippines operations by second half of 2018,” it added.

The airline earlier said it planned to raise over $250 million, with the proceeds to be allocated for the acquisition of new aircraft, building, a hangar and new headquarters in Clark.

Philippines Air Asia operates a fleet of 17 aircraft with domestic and international flights out of hubs in Manila, Cebu and Kalibo.

AirAsia plans to add international flights from Clark International Airport to Korea, Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore this year.

AirAsia launched commercial flights at Clark in 2012 before transferring its hub to Metro Manila following a strategic partnership with ZestAir in 2013.

Philippines Air Asia resumed flights from Clark with three weekly flights to Kalibo (Boracay) in March.

The airline operates several flights to/from Manila, Davao, Cebu, Kalibo, Caticlan (Boracay), Tacloban, Tagbilaran (Bohol), Puerto Princesa (Palawan), Clark, and Iloilo in the Philippines with international flights to/from Shanghai, Taipei, Incheon (Seoul), Hong Kong, Macau, Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Guangzhou, Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore.

Chelsea’s net income climbs 22% to P161m

By Jenniffer B. Austria CHELSEA Logistics Holdings Corp. of businessman Dennis Uy reported a net income of P161.2 million in 2017, up 22.4 percent from P131.7 million in the previous year, following recent acquisitions.

CLC said in a filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange CLC revenues more than doubled in 2017 to P3.9 billion from P1.63 billion in 2016, as the company’s acquisitions resulted in additional freight of P1.38 billion, passage revenues of ₱773.5 million and sales from logistics services of ₱243.8 million.

Tugboat fees also improved by over 100 percent to ₱261.3 million in 2017 from just ₱118.2 million in 2016 due to the acquisition of Davao Gulf Marine Services Inc., which contributed revenues of ₱121 million.

The increased port calls in Calaca Seaport (formerly Phoenix Petroterminals & Industrial Park) also contributed to higher tugboat fees.

Charter fees, meanwhile, declined 20 percent in 2017 due to the change in agreements involving M/T Great Diamond and M/T Great Princess, the two largest vessels registered in the Philippines.

“With the capital raised from our initial public offering on 8 August 2017, we were able to significantly expand our businesses and operations. As a result of the acquisitions during the last quarter of the year, we were able to increase our market share not only in the shipping industry but covering the end-to-end supply chain solution of the logistics industry,” CLC president and chief executive Chryss Alfonsus Damuy said.

Operating income jumped 133 percent to P517.3 milli from ₱221.7 million, while company’s EBITDA improved 81 percent to P1.36 billion from ₱756.2 million in 2016.

Cost and expenses also more than doubled to P2.86 billion from P1.26 billion in 2016 due to the strategic acquisitions. In addition, the increase in bunkering costs as a result of higher prices of fuel in the global market contributed to CLC raised P5.8 billion in proceeds during its IPO which enabled it acquire higher cost of sales and services.

Business/World

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018

Manila

extrastory2000@gmail.com

Standard

B3

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

TODAY

US and allies condemn Iran over missiles sent to Yemen

LAST RESPECTS. Indian Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, right, and Jaya Bachchan leave after paying their last respects to the late actress Sridevi Kapoor ahead of her funeral in Mumbai. AFP

New violence mars first day of ceasefire in Syria enclave DOUMA, Syria―A “humanitarian pause” announced by Russia in Syria’s deadly bombardment of Eastern Ghouta failed to end violence Tuesday, with fresh bloodshed and no sign of aid deliveries or residents leaving the besieged enclave.

Nine days after Russian-backed regime forces intensified their campaign against the rebel-held enclave, the deal offered some respite to civilians who had been hiding in their basements.

But the first day of a five-hour daily “pause” that was ordered by President Vladimir Putin Monday and kicked off at 9:00 am (0700 GMT) was marred by violence that saw seven people killed.

Moscow’s plan falls short of a broader 30-day ceasefire it agreed to at the United Nations Security Council but which has yet to take effect, and has inspired little trust from among the besieged enclave’s 400,000 residents.

The regime deployed buses at the AlWafideen checkpoint to transport residents wanting to use a humanitarian corridor to flee what UN chief Antonio Guterres last called “hell on Earth”.

But no civilians were seen venturing towards the regime forces guarding the checkpoint, where large portraits of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Putin could be seen side-by-side.

The “humanitarian pause” ordered by Putin echoed a similar tactic employed by Russia and Syrian regime during the ferocious battle to force rebels out of Aleppo in 2016.

Russia’s defense ministry accused armed groups in Eastern Ghouta of shelling the corridor, and said rebel fighters had “continued attacking the positions of the government forces” and “went on the offensive in other directions too”.

Syrian state news agency SANA said a former Al-Qaeda affiliate present in the enclave was blocking civilians “to use them as human shields”. AFP

UNITED NATIONS―The United States and three European allies condemned Iran on Tuesday after the United Nations found Tehran had violated the arms embargo on Yemen by failing to block supplies of missiles and drones to Huthi rebels.

Britain, France, Germany and the United States urged Iran to “immediately cease all activities that are inconsistent or would violate” the UN resolution that established the arms embargo in 2015.

The joint condemnation came a day after Russia vetoed a British-drafted resolution renewing sanctions on Yemen and citing “particular concern” about a report’s findings on Iran.

The report by a UN panel of experts in January concluded that Iran was in violation after determining that missiles fired by the Huthis at Saudi Arabia last year were made in Iran.

Russia, however, questioned the findings and blocked the resolution, saying the report did not contain conclusive evidence of Iran’s violation of the arms embargo.

“We condemn Iran’s non-compliance,

as described by the panel, which poses serious risks to peace and stability in the region,” said the joint statement released by the US mission.

All four countries are signatories to the Iran nuclear deal of 2015.

In response to Tuesday’s condemnation, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, “for three years now the behavior of the United States and Britain at the UN Security Council has been harmful, and tantamount to legitimizing the aggressors in Yemen.”

The statement said these countries were stoking “Saudi aggression” in Yemen by acting as the kingdom’s main backers and arms suppliers.

The Russia veto was a setback for the United States as it pushes the Security Council to take a stronger stance toward Iran over its role in regional conflicts and missile tests.

The US administration maintains that Iran is not living up to its commitments under the nuclear deal, which President Donald Trump has criticized as the “worst ever.” AFP

Eyes on Xi’s lifetime power play B EIJING―President Xi Jinping’s leap toward lifelong rule has largely been met by guarded silence in world capitals as governments try to predict how China’s formidable leader will wield his newfound power on the global stage.

The Communist Party’s move to lift presidential term limits will allow Xi to reign supreme as he pushes through an ambitious agenda to turn China into a military and economic superpower by mid-century.

“Xi has all this power. But we don’t really know what he wants to use it for,” said Kerry Brown, the director of the Lau China Institute at King’s College London.

“If it’s to address the challenges that

need sorting out in China then that will be a good thing. If not, then it will be deeply problematic.”

China is already causing global jitters with its growing assertiveness, from its territorial claims in the South China Sea to the opening of its first overseas military base in the Horn of Africa and its influence in capitals across the Western world.

Xi has championed one of the largest international infrastructure projects in history, the $1 trillion Belt and Road initiative, which has drawn both interest and suspicion about China’s intentions.

At the same time, it is teetering on the brink of a trade war with the world’s largest economy, the United States.

At home, the move has been hailed by state media as a necessary measure to usher in an era of “stability” that will provide a reassuring beacon of hope to countries spooked by the turmoil of American politics.

“In the future, with Xi leading the country for a very long time, it’s guar-

anteed that foreign relations will be stable and predictable,” Wu Xinbo, a US politics expert at Fudan University, told AFP. The Communist Party’s constitutional amendment is certain to be approved by the rubber-stamp National People’s Congress when it begins its annual session next week, which will enable Xi to remain president beyond 2023.

Where countries stand on the move largely depends on where they sit.

In Russia, whose President Vladimir Putin’s unyielding grasp on power is often cited as a model for Xi’s rule, the reaction to the abolition was largely positive, according to Alexander Gabuev, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center.

Although some China-watchers expressed concern that China could slip back into Mao-style authoritarianism, the government thinks that Xi “staying in power beyond 2023 is a good thing,” especially as “relations with the West are hitting new lows every month.” AFP

ERRORS & OMISSIONS

Petition for change of first name from ANGELINA P R E C I O S A ISABELITA to PRECIOSA was filed by Preciosa Resurreccion Ponsones at the City Civil Registry, Manila under Doc. No. 76; Page No. 17; Book No. 11; Series of 2018

by Notary Public Atty.

Rogelio Bolivar.

In Classified Ads section must be brought to our attention the very day the advertisement is published. We will not be responsible for any incorrect ads not reported to us immediately.

(MS-FEB.22 & MAR. 1, 2018)

DISSOLUTION NOTICE NAME

: BENTLEY CCY EXCHANGE INCORPORATED

ADDRESS : 11F APPLE ONE EQUICOM TOWER, CEBU BUSINESS PARK BO LUZ, CEBU CITY, PHILIPINES 6000 (MS-MAR. 1,8 & 15, 2018)

‘Looming Tower’ brings 9/11 intel failures to TV NEW YORK―Published 12 years ago, the best-selling and Pulitzer-prize winning book “The Looming Tower” remains a definitive account of US intelligence failures that littered the path to the September 11, 2001 attacks.

On Wednesday it airs as a television mini-series, narrating the power struggle between the CIA and the FBI, whose refusal to cooperate may have prevented the world’s greatest superpower from failing to stop 19 Al-Qaeda hijackers training at US flight schools and smashing passenger jets into New York and Washington, killing nearly 3,000 people.

The 10 episodes of roughly 50 minutes each are being released in the United States on Hulu from Wednesday, and will be available on Amazon Prime from March 1 in other English-speaking countries and from March 9 for everyone else.

It traces the rising threat of Al-Qaeda

and puts a rarefied CIA pressing for preemptive military action on a collision course with the law enforcement muscle of the FBI, which together failed to avert the world’s deadliest terror attack, ushering in wars still being fought today.

“The Looming Tower” mini-series begins in 1998, shortly before the AlQaeda bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania killed 224 people, and closes on September 11, 2001, the date seared into global infamy.

The drama romps from Afghanistan to London, from Nairobi to Washington, spliced with archive footage of Osama bin Laden, the Saudi millionaire outcast who founded Al-Qaeda.

The shooting took place across three continents and six countries, with the bulk of the filming in New York, Morocco and Johannesburg, in not altogether convincing efforts to portray the Hindu Kush or an Al-Qaeda camp in Afghanistan.

Woven in are period features from the late 1990s. The Monica Lewinsky scandal engulfing a distracted Clinton presidency is a constant backdrop. Look out for chunky cell phones, green-screen computers and sexist dialogue in the workplace.

Lawrence Wright, the New Yorker journalist who wrote the book, shares an executive producing credit with Dan Futterman and Oscar-winning documentary maker Alex Gibney.

Early reviews are largely positive, predicting it will be Hulu’s second major success after “The Handmaid’s Tale” and tipped for future awards.

Jeff Daniels, 63, plays the lead role of John O’Neill, the charismatic ladies man and bull-in-a-china-shop agent who heads up the FBI’s counter-terrorism unit in New York, with a side-line in mistresses, bunches of flowers and cheap one-liners. AFP

Political discipline: US Senate vs Supermajority WHENEVER I read about or watch on television the proceedings of the upper chamber of the US Congress, one word is always at the back of mind. That word is ‘supermajority.’ As any person conversant with contemporary Philippine politics knows, supermajority refers to the informal coalition of political parties that decided, following the announcement of the results of the 2016 Presidential election, to ally themselves with the administration of newly elected Rodrigo Duterte.

Why do I think of the Duterte supermajority whenever I read about or watch the Democratic faction of the US Senate? Because the actions, demeanor and utterances of the non-PDP Laban parties in the House of Representatives could not be more different than those of the Democratic Party members of the US Senate. Indeed, the contrast could not be starker.

The sequence of events in the House of Representatives following theelectoral victory of the standard-bearer of the PDP Laban Party was entirely predictable. The nation had witnessed it countless times in the political history of this country. It was totally a case of déjà vu.

As in past immediately-after-the-election instances, the winning candidates for Representative of the parties that opposed PDP Laban in the election – the Liberal Party, the Nacionalista Party, NPC (National People’s Coalition), Lakas-NUCD, KBL and KAMPI – lost no time becoming members of

Mr. Duterte’s party. After the breakdown of the two-party (Liberal Party and Nacionalista Party) system following the EDSA Revolution, newly elected Representatives belonging to the parties of the unsuccessful Presidential candidates habitually switched, in quick fashion, to the party of the victorious Presidential candidate. Thus, virtually all the members of the Batasang Pambansa – the sole exceptions were the courageous Assemblymen belonging to UNIDO – were members of President Ferdinand Marcos’ KBL. And winning candidates in the succeeding elections lost no time taking oaths as members of Lakas-NUCD-UMD after Fidel Ramos’s 1992 victory, as members of Partido ng Masa after Joseph Ejercito Estrada’s 1998 victory, as members of KAMPI after Gloria Arroyo’s assumption of the Presidency in 2004 and as members of the Liberal Party after Benigno Aquino III’s victory in 2010.

What happened to the tenets of the parties whose colors the switching Representatives wore in the electoral combat? And what about their personal beliefs and platforms? Like the skins that are shed by snakes, those were shed when the defeat of their party’s standard-bearer was announced.

Let us now compare the actuations and behavior of the House of Representatives of the current Congress with the actuations and behavior of the Democratic members of the current US Senate. The contrast, to repeat, couldn’t be starker.

Among the 49 Democratic members of the 100-member upper chamber of the US Congress

there was absolutely no party-switching upon the announcement of the defeat of their party’s standardbearer, Hillary Clinton, by Donald Trump. The 49 men and women, led by New York Senator Chuck Schumer, have remained solid, united and unflinching.

In the process they have derailed or stalled the legislative proposals of the Trump administration, especially those sufficiently important to necessitate 60 affirmative votes. On issue after issue – immigration, health care, taxation and trade – the lacent and patriotic Democratic members of the US Senate have placed society above self and national interest above personal politics.

A true and functioning democracy requires the existence of at least two groups of individuals that discuss, argue about and debate legislative proposals with the best interest of the nation – not personal interest – in mind. How can such discussion and debate take place when, at the beginning of every new administration, victorious candidates use one hand to take the oath of membership of another party and use the other hand to receive the material rewards of such party-switching?

I dare say that the glaring contrast between the kind of government represented by the US Senate and the kind of government represented by the present House of Representatives supermajority goes a long way to explain why the US is in the First World and the Philippines is mired in the Third World.

E-mail: romero.busines.class@gmail.com

N OTICE Notice is hereby given that PHILIPPINE POWER AND DEVELOPMENT COMPANY is applying for registration with the Board of Investments (BOI) as Renewable Energy Developer of Hydropower Resources (1.0 MW Palakpakin Hydroelectric Power Project) in Calauan and San Pablo City, Laguna to avail of the incentives under the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 (RA 9513).

Any person with valid objection/s 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.

(SGD) NESTOR P. ARCANSALIN Director Resource-based Industries Service

(MS-MAR. 1, 2018)

N OTICE Notice is hereby given that PHILIPPINE POWER AND DEVELOPMENT COMPANY is applying for registration with the Board of Investments (BOI) as Renewable Energy Developer of Hydropower Resources (0.70 MW 8alugbog Hydroelectric Power Project) in Nagcarlan, Laguna to avail of the incentives under the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 (RA 9513).

Any person with valid objection/s 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.

(SGD) NESTOR P. ARCANSALIN Director Resource-based Industries Service

(MS-MAR. 1, 2018)

N OTICE Notice is hereby given that PHILIPPINE POWER AND DEVELOPMENT COMPANY is applying for registration with the Board of Investments (BOI) as Renewable Energy Developer of Hydropower Resources (0.22 MW Calibato Hydroelectric Power Project) in San Pablo City, Laguna to avail of the incentives under the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 (RA 9513).

Any person with valid objection/s 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.

(SGD) NESTOR P. ARCANSALIN Director Resource-based Industries Service (MS-MAR. 1, 2018)

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES REGIONAL TRIAL COURT NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGION

SUMMONS ZALDE B. VALE Unit-J Marvilla Townhomes, No. 629 F. Cruz St., Malibay, Pasay City, M.M.

BRANCH 113, PASAY CITY YOLANDA M. FRENCILLO-VALE, Petitioner, -versusCIVIL CASE NO. R-PSY-17-25756-CV For: Declaration of Nullity of Marriage ZALDY B. VALE Respondent, x---------------------------------------x

ORDER A Motion for Leave of Court to Serve Summons by Publication was filed by the petitioner through counsel, copy of which was furnished the Office of the Solicitor General, and the Trial Prosecutor of Pasay City.

Allegedly, the summons to the respondent cannot be served personally on the ground that she is not residing / unknown at the given address and her present whereabouts unknown.

WHEREFORE, as prayed for, let the Summons in the above-entitled case be served on the respondent by publication in Manila Stadard a newspaper of general circulation chosen by raffle at least, once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks.

SO ORDERED. Pasay City, Metro February 21, 2018

Manila,

(Sgd.) CARIDAD H. GRECIACUERDO JUDGE

GREETINGS: You are hereby required within thirty (30) days after service of this Summons upon you, to file with this Court and serve on the plaintiff your Answer to the Complaint, copy of which is attached, together with the annexes and a Civil Case Information Statement. If you fail to answer within the time fixed, the plaintiff will take judgment by default and may be granted the relief applied for in the Complaint.

Moreover, pursuant to the IBP-OCA Memorandum on Policy guidelines dated March 12, 2002, you are expected not to file a Motion to Dismiss but instead, you are requested to allege the grounds of such Motion as defenses in your answer.

Likewise, you are expected to utilize the deposition-recovery measures under Rules 23, 25, 26, 27 and 28 of the Rules of Civil Procedure. Failure to resort to deposition by written interrogatories under Rule 25 and the request for admission of facts under Rule 27 may be prejudicial to your interest.

WITNESS my hand under the seal of the Court this 21st day of February, 2018.

(Sgd.) RENATO C. OCZON (OFFICER-IN-CHARGE/L.R.) (MS-Mar. 1 & 8, 2018)

LGUs

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

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LocaL government units

thursday, march 1, 2018

Davao police score 9.5 grade on simulation

By F. Pearl A. Gajunera DAVAO CITY―Police Director General Ronald dela Rosa graded the Davao City Police Office with a 9.5 on its preparedness level after the “Southern Storm” simulation exercise at the abreeza mall here on Wednesday morning.

Dela Rosa said he is satisfied with the performance of the DCPO during the simulation exercise, but there is still room for improvement.

“They might relax if I give them a perfect grade, so I am giving them a 9.5. There is still room for improvements and they should never relax,” the chief of the Philippine national Police said.

During the simulation exercise, personnel from DCPO, Bureau of Fire Protection, Task Force Davao, Central 911, Public Safety and Security Command Center, and other agencies showed their capacity in terms of terroristic attacks in the city.

The different attacks portrayed was a bombing incident, hostage taking, high jacking and new People’s army attack in a police station here.

Different scenarios were dramatized by the members of the security agencies and even real actress like JC Parker who portrayed as Mayor Sara Duterte.

DCPO Director Senior Supt. alexander Tagum said that even though the police are lacking with some equipment, they are still ready to respond in any eventualities that might appear in the city.

In BrIef Cavite board passes LGBT rights ordinance The Cavite Provincial Board led by Vice Governor Ramon ‘Jolo’ Revilla III and ex-officio Provincial Board member Kerby Salazar of Cavite Councilors’ League has approved an ordinance that will protect lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders from discrimination.

The ordinance named “Upholding and Protecting the Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and every Citizen Regardless of their Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity or expression in the entire Province of Cavite,” protects each LGBT individuals from all forms of discrimination in terms of employment, education, accommodation and services, among others.

By Vito Barcelo

BIÑAN HOLIDAY. The long

wait will soon be a reality, as Biñan Rep. Len Alonte Naguiat delivered her sponsorship speech on House Bill 2747 with substitute Senate Bill No. 5260 (inset), declaring Feb. 3 of every year as a special non-working holiday for the City of Biñan in Laguna. In her speech, Naguiat underscores that the direction of a nation’s future ‘is deeply rooted in its past, and to look back is equally important as looking forward.’ The bill has been approved on the committee level, with Naguiat later meeting with Senators Sonny Angara and Joel Villanueva (right photo).

Makati ramps up data privacy work M

aKaTI Mayor abby Binay has directed all city departments and offices to give their full support to ongoing efforts of the city government to fast-track the city’s full compliance with the Data Privacy act of 2012, otherwise known as Republic act 10173.

Given the city’s thrust towards digital transformation, the mayor said it is “absolutely necessary” to take adequate preemptive measures in order to protect Makatizens and all other stakeholders from all forms of cybercrime.

“My administration is firmly committed to pursuing full compliance with the Data Privacy act of 2012. We regard this as a fundamental and absolute necessity if we are to attain our vision of a Digital Makati where our citizens and other stakeholders can enjoy the optimum benefits of information technology, without worrying about threats to data privacy and exposure to cybercrime,” Binay said.

The mayor also pointed out that being the country’s financial center, Makati’s compliance with the law will boost investor confidence and strengthen its competitive advantage as an ideal investment destination in asia.

She said the city has taken the initial steps towards the creation of its own Privacy Management Program and Privacy Manual.

“We recognize the urgency of establishing safety protocols against data privacy breaches, identity theft and fraud. Our desire to promote efficiency and transparency in governance with the aid of modern technology can never

SBMA employees donate blood SUBIC BAY FREEPORT―The Subic Bay Metropolitan authority, in collaboration with the Philippine national Red Cross, conducted over the weekend a bloodletting project that aimed to collect some 300 bags of whole blood donations to help patients in need.

SBMa chairman and administrator Wilma T. eisma said the project is part of the agency’s health agenda for the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

“It is my wish for every SBMa employee to have and maintain good health, and that is why we are pursuing a health agenda for the free port,” eisma said. “Besides, bloodletting is also good for the donors.” Butch Gunio

be greater than our commitment to uphold the highest level of public trust,” Binay said.

“We must ensure that information we gather will serve solely as tools for innovation and development for the benefit of all Makatizens,” she added.

In September 2017, Binay initiated the registration of Makati City in the Data Privacy System of the national Privacy Commission.

To accomplish the first phase of the Data Privacy accountability and Compliance, she has designated atty. Joselino n. Sucion, a certified public accountant, as the city Data Protection Officer. as DPO, the tasks of atty. Sucion shall include the following: Monitor the Personal Information Controller’s or Personal Information Processor’s compliance with the DPa, its IRR, issuances by the nPC and other applicable laws and policies;

SenIOR citizens or persons more than 60 years old will be exempted from the color coding scheme and parking fees in Manila, according to Manila Mayor Joseph estrada. estrada said the new policy, which will be implemented soon, is part of the city government’s way of giving back to the elderly persons what they contributed during their active years.

“The council and I have agreed that elderly, who are 60 years old and above be exempted from parking charges and exemption from color coding scheme,” estrada said. however, the new policy will only be applied to residents of Manila, while those living outside Manila are not exempted, he said.

“Our senior citizens have contributed to our society during the prime of their lives. They have sacrificed much so that we may now enjoy the fruits of their labors,” estrada added.

Senior citizens who are residents of Manila are now entitled to free movies every Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays in any movie house in the city. estrada also said that the city government will implement an ordinance that will order all establishments and malls in Manila to give free parking for all senior citizens.

“We must reward our elderly and this ordinance shall further give the enjoyment in their twilight years,” estrada said.

Since February 2017, Manila city senior citizens were entitled to free medical and services and other laboratory test in all city operated hospitals and health care facilities. according to Manila health Department chief Dr. Benjamin Yson, for this year alone, the city government has appropriated P70 million for free maintenance medicines. a sick and indigent elderly can get P3,000 worth of maintenance medicines for one month, and other services like free regular physical examination, cardiac stress test, endoscopy and the like. efren Manangan, Office for Senior Citizens affairs head, said that as of December 2017, Manila has 145,830 registered senior citizens, 20 percent or 29,166 of which are diagnosed and are required to be given constant medication for their sicknesses.

Other benefits given to senior citizens are: birthday cash gift of P500; an annual P6,000 social pension from nCR DSWD in coordination with the city government. also a P100,000 cash gift is awarded to a citizen who has reached the age of 100 or more.

SM Foundation fixes 1st barangay health service unit in Cebu City

‘Muntipreneurs’ receive no-interest loan MUnTInLUPa City is living up to its name as the Most Business Friendly LGU as it rolls out the first quarter distribution of zero-percent loan assistance to 117 budding entrepreneurs last Tuesday.

Mayor Jaime Fresnedi led the distribution of cheques amounting to P1.7 million to the beneficiaries of Tulong negosyo program (formerly Dagdag Puhunan) facilitated by the Joint Resource Financing at Muntinlupa City hall, Brgy. Putatan.

“The local government is committed to help our MSMes and grassroot players making up the totality of Muntinlupa’s economic scene so they can thrive their businesses in the city,” Fresnedi said.

Senior citizens in Manila get free parking, ‘coding’ exempt

The Lahug Barangay Health Center (inset) was built through the efforts of former Supreme Court Justice Marcelo Fernan. More than four decades later, the renovation through SM Foundation was facilitated with the help of SM Prime Holdings Inc. vice president Marissa Fernan, daughter of the late Cebu stalwart. Also present at the inauguration were SM Foundation’s Connie Angeles (center) and Chito Macapagal (right).

LahUG, Cebu City—In pursuit of its commitment to provide quality and excellent health services to the community it serves, the SM Foundation undertook the renovation of the Lahug health Center to better address the health concerns of the barangay’s residents.

The refurbished center houses an activity center for children, a lounge for the elderly, dental clinic, doctor’s consultation rooms, labor and recovery rooms, a pharmacy with medicine storage area, nurses and midwives’ station, reception and waiting area, TB DOTS Center and Birthing Center to conform with Philhealth’s requirements for accreditation.

This is the first barangay health service unit established among the 80 barangays of the city of Cebu. It caters to 39,573 families in 48 sitios, the biggest barangay in the city. Its renovation and improvement showcased a strong and cordial public-private partnership in the pursuit of a healthy community.

Speaking during the inauguration and turnover ceremony, Cebu City’s Deputy Mayor for health Mary ann Delos San-

tos said: “a collaborative social participation by the private sectors such as SM Foundation can make a significant difference in the quality of life by raising the people’s awareness to health.”

The Barangay health Center was built through the efforts of former Supreme Court Justice Marcelo Fernan, a beloved son of Cebu. More than four decades later, the renovation was facilitated with the help of SM Prime holdings Inc. Vice President Marissa Fernan, daughter of the former top magistrate.

The Lahug health Center was upgraded into a main health center and is now considered a one-stop shop to house the first ever established Barangay Behavioral health Unit pursuant to an ordinance sponsored by Delos Santos.

The BBhU will address the behavioral related causes of problems in drugs, suicides, depression, domestic violence, and family conflicts, among others.

The Center, which is the 132nd Wellness Center so far of the SM Foundation, is also the 36th improved community center nationwide.

QC retrofits city hall for quakes

By Rio N. Araja FOR the first time in 46 years, the Quezon City hall building is undergoing a structural retrofitting to strengthen its foundation and make it more resistant to a powerful earthquake, Mayor herbert Bautista said Wednesday. he said the city hall high-rise building’s structural retrofitting started as early as aug. 29 last year, and is expected to be finished in 270 days.

The rehabilitation is being implemented in the east and west wings of the main building, including the construction of the shear wall or retrofitting from the foundation up to the third level to add rigidity to the building.

The construction shall also include the enlargement of the interior columns and the extension of west wing elevator to up to 15th floor, Bautista said. according to engineer JP dela Cruz of the City engineering Department, the construction work aims to cause minimal disturbance to affected offices, such as the QC General Services Department and City Treasurer’s Office.

The affected offices shall be moved to the other side of the floor so as not to hamper the flow of work and other tasks of the said offices.

The city hall building was constructed in 1964 and was completed in 1972 during the term of the late mayor norberto amoranto.

4AS PARTNERSHIP. The Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies-Philippines

(4As) recently signed a partnership with Manila Broadcasting Corp. in anticipation of Ad Summit Pilipinas 2018 at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone from March 7 to 10. In photo are (seated from left) Bong Pascia, 4As chairman; Ruperto S. Nicdao, Jr., MBC president; and Norman Agatep, Ad Summit 2018 chairman; and (standing, from left) Nap Carrao, Ad Summit Ways and Means chairman; and Jomay Parroco, vice president, MBC. Manny Palmero

Life

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

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COOKING WITH GOOGLE. Global City Innovative College chefs and members of the press whipping up dishes with the help of Google apps.

(Inset) Each team created a three-course meal, composed of (from left) Smoked Salmon and Caviar Profiterole, Glazed Pork with Mashed Sweet Potato, and Strawberry Flambe.

Breaking barriers through technology Text and photos by Mae Gianina C. Pascual

h

OW would an english-speaking person cook a dish following a recipe in German or French or Italian? Or how could someone ask for instructions from a distant person? Thanks to technology, what were once impossible to do, can now be done.

In a recent Cook Match challenge held at Global City Innovative College, four teams, each composed of YouTube content creators (Bret Maverick higham, Crisha Uy, Daniel Marsh, and Raiza Contawi), GCIC chefs, and members of the press, tested Google’s technology by cooking dishes with the help of the tech company’s apps.

Teams were divided into two with each pair delegated a task. Pair 1 was handed a print-out of the list of ingredients in German, Italian, and French w h i c h they needed to translate using Google Tr a n sl a t e app. In addition, the measurements were in different units which they had to convert using Google Search. Meanwhile, the second pair waited for the translated list in the marketplace.

During the challenge, the two pairs were only allowed to com mu nicate via Google Duo. each team created a threecourse meal, which consisted of Smoked Salmon and Caviar Profiterole, Glazed Pork with Mashed Sweet Potato, and Strawberry Flambé. All presentations were praised by the judges, but it was Crisha Uy’s team who went home victorious.

The challenge offered a fun way to carry out certain tasks with the help of technology, enabling everyone to become productive and effective at the same time.

natural way. It is because the neural system translates whole sentences at a time, rather than just piece by piece.

In September 2016, they introduced Neural Machine Translation, an end–toend machine learning systems that learn over time, to create better, more natural translations. It uses a so-called “deep neural network” with many layers of “neurons,” which lets it learn to recognize patterns and structures in sentences.

German, Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish, and Vietnamese.

With the Google Translate app (Android and iOS) users can easily type in 103 different languages or hand write phrases in 95 languages.

There’s also a feature that instantly translates when phone is pointed to the text. This feature is available in 37 language pairs, and works even without Internet connection.

Another amazing feature is the twoway chat using conversation mode, which supports 32 languages. To get started, pick the language pair you want, hit the microphone, and from there, Translate will listen to both languages as you speak and translate so you can have a smooth conversation.

Google Translate is also integrated into other Google products like Chrome, Search, Gmail, and Youtube.

Elegance in your home The combination of the ornate style of Neo-Baroque and the glamorous and mysterious quality of Ultra Violet, Pantone’s Color of the Year, in a furniture piece instantly puts an elegant punch into any home.

Ultra violet is an opulent shade, which the Pantone Color Institute describes as dramatically provocative and thoughtful, that conveys originality, ingenuity, and visionary thinking. extravagance, opulence, and luxurious elements, meanwhile, define the Neo-Baroque style of the 17th century.

The Renaissance style employs the use of symmetrical figures presented in smooth texture giving preference to beauty and luxury.

Together, Neo-Baroque and Renaissance styles are perfect for city living with style and substance while maintaining a high-spirited character.

Our home brings together these two regal elements in its furniture pieces for living, dining, and bedroom. Wing chairs in deep purple brocade, tables with ash gray wood finish, Ultra Violet candles, plush purple velvet dining chairs, floral centerpieces, lilac sheets, and lavender pillows, among many others, exude a contemporary glamour.

Check out these pieces at Our Home stores located in SM Bacoor, Mall of Asia, Megamall, Fairview, North Edsa, Southmall, BF Parañaque, San Lazaro and Virramall Greenhills.

Face-to-face conversation

Google also presents its latest app Google Duo, a simple, high quality video calling app. Its innovative feature allows seamless t ransitions from Wi-Fi to cellular network connection without dropping the call.

Google Duo is ava i l a ble for both YouTube content creators (from left) Raiza A n d r o i d Contawi, Bret Maverick Higham, Daniel Marsh, and Crisha Uy and iOS devices, and This technology makes grammar it is based on your phone number so in a translated sentence sound much you can reach everyone without havmore like a human speaking and since ing to create an account. Its Knock it’s easier to understand each sentence, Knock feature allows users to see the translated paragraphs and articles are a person calling them even before they lot easier to read. pick up.

In fact, with Neural Machine TransGoogle Duo’s video and audio stay lation, the company saw a bigger trans- synced even with slow network conlation quality improvement in a single nection, as it optimizes every aspect jump than in the last 10 years com- of the call so that calls connect faster Language barrier no more bined, rolling out for 97 language pairs than other video calling apps which are You’re probably wondering how (to and from english) including 11 In- heavily reliant on fast internet connectoday’s Google is able to translate a dian languages, Chinese, Thai, Japa- tion. It also guarantees security as all sentence or paragraph in a much more nese, Korean, Russian, hindi, French, calls are end-to-end encrypted.

Our Home offers Neo-Baroque pieces in Ultra Violet for bedroom, living room, and dining area.

Life

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thursday, march 1, 2018 manilastandardlife@gmail.com

5 ways to help build a better community

It pays to be a responsible member of a community as a single person’s action has a great impact on where he lives.

M

any community problems can be solved when people work together, with or without government help.

The thing is, we can do a lot to improve our lives if we keep in mind that we are part of a community and what we do or don’t do, even in the confines of our homes, will have an impact not just on us but everyone around us.

Here are some suggestions from LPG company Solane that we can do as individuals to better our communities.

Enthusiasm for STEM sparks early among girls in Asia-Pacific FInDInGS from the third edition of MasterCard’s STEM research found that enthusiasm for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields starts early among girls.

In the research which surveyed 2,426 girls aged 12-25 across six markets in asia-Pacific, 68 percent of 12- to 14-yearold girls consider the fields interesting overall. In fact, STEM-related jobs are a popular choice among this demographic; three out of the 15 top-ranked careers are Doctor (22 percent), Teacher (20 percent) and Engineer (18 percent). according to the study, passion and an abundance of opportunities for learning were key factors that spoke to the staying power of STEM careers and fields of study. yet while many teen girls are interested in pursuing a path in STEM, catalyzing and cultivating their passion requires an early start. The study identified 15 as the critical age when girls decide to pursue STEM or not, and that older girls on a STEM track are more likely to commit to the path. although 50 percent of 15- to 19-year-old girls surveyed considered STEM-related subjects when they were younger, 51 percent of girls aged 15-16 changed their mind, while only 12 percent of those aged 17-19 did so.

Despite an overall interest in the subject, perceptions of difficulty are common among respondents (12-19 years old), coloring their views on STEMrelated careers.

While 66 percent of respondents found such subjects challenging, near-

ly two in five girls found science lessons dull and irrelevant towards their future pursuits (35 percent). Moreover, perceptions of gender bias continue to discourage young women from embarking on a STEM path. 50 percent of teenaged girls expressed that girls are less likely to pursue STEMrelated jobs because of its strong male presence. This sentiment was echoed by their older peers, who felt that women are generally less interested in STEM than men (42 percent).

Seeking to change these perceptions, MasterCard has rolled out a series of comprehensive suite of research assets and education outreach initiatives aimed at sparking and sustaining an interest in STEM among young girls.

One such program is Girls4Tech, where employees are engaged as role models and mentors, to showcase MasterCard’s innovative payment technology and demonstrate the value of STEM-related subjects and careers through various fun, discovery-based exercises.

Since its launch in 2014, Girls4Tech has impacted more than 30,000 girls across 17 countries, as part of MasterCard’s global commitment to reach 200,000 girls by 2020.

MasterCard has also partnered with various organizations and universities across asia-Pacific to offer scholarships and internships for young women, including the MasterCard Scholarship for Women at Singapore University of Technology and Design, and MasterCard MBa Scholarships for Women at Singapore Management University.

Help prevent crime

Maintain a positive and healthy relationship among neighbors

Start a social media group for your community where you and your neighbors can post timely and relevant information, updates, warnings, and requests for help.

Install more lights around your home to make you and your neighbors feel safer and more secure. If you can, install security cameras to discourage trespassers and to record events that may be of concern to the community.

Keep your surroundings clean

By keeping your own space neat and tidy, you help keep your community clean.

It might also encourage your neighbors to follow your example. Dispose of your garbage properly and segregate your trash. a pleasant environment will brighten up your community and help create a cheerful mood.

Prepare for emergencies

Work together to help prevent prevent crime in your neighborhood

attend meetings and seminars to orient your family on what to prepare and what to do in case of emergencies. Consult an expert on what to do before, during, and after a calamity. Ensure that everyone in the family has everything he or she needs, like first-aid kits and go-bags. Making sure that you are prepared and know what to do is the best way to secure your safety.

Organize activities

To maintain a positive and healthy relationship among neighbors, bring them together through social and de-stressing activities. Hold a small yard party and invite everyone in the neighborhood. Encourage the adults to talk to each other and the children to play and get to know each other. If you can’t initiate such activities, participate in them when they are available.

Be considerate

Treat your neighbors and their homes the same way you want to be treated

Treat your neighbors and their homes the same way you want to be treated. Whenever problems occur, do your best to settle them amicably. avoid starting arguments or gossiping about others. Offer assistance to a neighbor who needs help.

Ormoc City upgrades to LED lights RECOGnIzInG the benefits of LED lights, the City of Ormoc partnered with Philips Lighting for its city-wide LED street lighting upgrade.

The project, a significant milestone in Ormoc’s complete transformation as a sustainable agro-commercial and industrial hub in Eastern Visayas, upgraded over 1,641 street lights with energy efficient Philips LEDs. “Peace and order has been my number one focus for the city of Ormoc, the city lighting upgrade translates my mission for the city,” Mayor Richard Gomez said during the official lighting ceremony.

He added, “Investing in Philips Lighting’s new LED systems is one of the great steps we took in better equipping Ormocanons in undertaking productive pursuits. aside from the operational and energy savings from our new LED road lights, the upgrade evidently transforms the visual appearance of Ormoc as an urban area—making our community more accessible, usable and safer especially at night.”

With the city’s ongoing completion of fast street LED lighting retrofit, Ormoc

The City of Ormoc and Philips Lighting, represented by (third from left) 4th District of Leyte Representative Lucy Torres-Gomez, Philips Lighting country manager Jagan Srinivasan, and Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez, led the lighting ceremony at the Old Ormoc City Hall.

can expect over 70 percent energy savings coming from the its previous sodium street lighting.

“The City of Ormoc, through the leadership and vision of Mayor Richard Gomez, is one of the pioneering cities who saw how switching to LED light-

ing can affect not only the city’s energy consumption, but also the way of life of Ormocanons in general—and Philips Lighting is proud to be the chosen partner of Ormoc in making this initiative happen,” enthused Philips Lighting country manager Jagan Srinivasan.

MasterCard’s Sparking The Path for Girls in STEM research findings

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018

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nickie.standard@gmail.com

Bruce Willis turns deadly avenger in

Bruce Willis in his latest action-packed movie, 'Death Wish'

‘Death Wish’

H

OLLYWOOD A-list star Bruce Willis stars in his latest action-packed movie where fury and fate will collide in Death Wish, based on Brian Garfield’s novel.

A must-see with a new twist from the original film, Death Wish trails the brutal reality of Willis’ character as Dr. Paul Kersey, a surgeon who only sees the the aftermath of Chicago violence as it’s rushed into his ER – until his wife (Elisabeth Shue) and college-age daughter (Camila Morrone) are viciously attacked in their suburban home. With the police overloaded with crimes, Paul, burning for

revenge, hunts for his family’s assailants to deliver justice. As the anonymous slayings of criminals grabs the media’s attention, the city wonders if this deadly avenger is a guardian angel or a grim reaper.

Death Wish opens today in cinemas nationwide from OctoArts Films International. Trailer link - https://www. facebook.com/octoartsfilms.international/videos/1637122439702033/

Simply Red… From C4

Erich Gonzales plays loving mother and club dancer Erika in 'The Blood Sisters.'

With its superb location in the heart of Metro Manila, DMCI Homes’ Tivoli Garden Residences easily tops the list of favorite shooting spots of cityscape photographers.

Nikon Philippines brand influencer Cris Magsino, for one, considers the Iris tower in the 2.7-hectare community in Barangay Hulo, Mandaluyong City as the top condominium building in Metro Manila which offers the most amazing view of the cityscape.

The DMCI Homes’ resort-inspired community’s excellent location and proximity to key cities with views of picturesque lines of high-rise buildings, gives a good vantage point to get a good composition, Magsino shares in an interview.

“As a landscape and cityscape photographer, having a good vantage point is a key element to get a good composition. Tivoli Garden Residences provides several spots that offer interesting compositions for a cityscape photograph,” he points out.

Led by Magsino, Nikon Philippines in partnership with DMCI Homes, recently led a free cityscape photography workshop dubbed as “Urbanscapes” at the roof-deck of the Iris Tower of the fivetower development.

Landscape photography enthusiasts were taught proper camera handling and basic post-production techniques during the seminar.

“The deck of Tivoli Garden Residences provides a spectacular unobstructed view of the metro that allows you to marvel at the city skyline spanning several cities from Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig, and as far as Pasay as well as enjoy both the beauty of sunrise and sunset panorama,” Magsino notes.

“Based on places that I have been to, Tivoli Garden Residences tops my list.

Next would be The Grove, City Garden

Hotel, Vista Shaw, Avant,” Magsino says of the five condominium buildings, which offer the most picturesque views of Metro Manila’s cityscape.

Located near the Makati-Mandaluyong Bridge, Tivoli Garden Residences offers a serene retreat amidst the bustling metropolis. It is the first property to feature DMCI Homes’ proprietary Lumiventt technology, which is an architectural innovation that allows natural lighting and airflow to permeate the building through Sky Patios and breezeways.

A multi-awarded photographer, Magsino has been shooting commercially since 2006 but only started doing serious landscape and cityscape photography in 2013 as a way to escape the pressures of commercial photography.

“Landscape photography gave me a relaxing way of doing both things I love and enjoy which are travel and photography. It is one of the genre wherein you get to enjoy nature or the city view in a relaxed pace,” he relates.

“It combines the joy of travel and photography at the same time. It suits people who love the adventure of immersing one’s self into different places, its culture and its people,” Magsino explains.

Aspiring photographers, he notes,

A view of the Tivoli Garden Residences

should have tons of patience to be able to capture stunning landscape photos.

“The key to be a good landscape photographer is to have a lot of patience. Patience to look for the perfect spot. Patience to wait for the perfect light. And patience to learn and develop your skills both on camera handling and post production,” the veteran photographer says.

“With landscape photography, you are at the mercy of nature in terms of light, weather and other uncontrollable conditions. Landscape photographers learn how to react, adjust and improvise to make the most of what nature provides,” he concludes. *** Viewers nationwide watched Erich Gonzales’ return to primetime TV as the pilot episode of her new teleserye The Blood Sisters rated high nationwide.

The program, where Erich plays triplets, recorded a national TV rating of 25.2 percent versus its rival Wowowin, which only recorded 16.9 percent, according to data from Kantar Media.

The action and mystery began in Davao, where Erika worked different jobs, including dancing in a club, in order to support his son and pay for his medical bills.

But her life suddenly changed for the worse when she witnessed the death of a man in the club. The men involved with the crime sought her down in order to silence her – an unfortunate incident that forced her to leave her son and seek refuge in Manila.

In the city, Erika soon crosses paths with her twin, Carrie, whom the criminals mistake as her. With Carrie gone, Erika assumes the identity of her sister, gets to experience a life of luxury, and is thrust into a world secrets and surprises.

Erich’s TV comeback also caused a stir online as the show’s hashtag #TBSSimula topped the list of trending topics on Twitter.

ABS-CBN’s digital creative content head Sierra Kris Borlongan named one of this year’s Young Market Master awardees.

ABS-CBN’S Digital Creative head named Young Market Master awardee ABS-CBN’s digital creative content head Sierra Kris Borlongan was named one of this year’s Young Market Master awardees by the leading training and consultancy company Mansmith and Fielders, Inc. at its 13th Young Market Master Awards (YMMA) held recently.

Borlongan is among this year’s eleven awardees, who are all 35 years old and below, selected by Mansmith and Fielders, Inc. for formulating and implementing responsive and creative marketing and sales strategies for businesses. She was selected for her achievements in digital marketing and inspiring young people “to be innovative entrepreneurs and outstanding brand builders.”

She is the brains behind ABSCBN’s award-winning digital campaigns, including the website OTWOLISTA.com, which sustained the fans’ loyalty to the series On the Wings of Love even after it had ended. The project won Gold at the Anvil Awards.

Borlongan also led the team behind the Spark Awards-winning

“Pinoy Big Brother Online Bahay ni Kuya,” which expanded the PBB experience for viewers by allowing them to perform Big Brother’s challenges as online housemates.

During Pope Francis’ visit in the country in 2016, Borlongan headed an inspired digital campaign that collected heartfelt messages of gratitude from Filipinos that were compiled into a Book of Thanks, which was personally handed to the Pope as a gift from the Philippines.

The campaign won a Platinum Anvil Award.

Borlongan has also successfully steered her team to create success not just for ABS-CBN but for other brands, such as Revlon, with the “Love is On” campaign that increased awareness of its products, as well as McDonald’s with the #McDoBonfries campaign, which enabled students and alumni to be more involved in the 2016 UAAP Cheerdance Competition online.

Before Borlongan, ABS-CBN’s OIC-head of digital media division Elaine Uy was named a YMMA awardee in 2016.

Nickie Wang, Issue Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com

C4

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018

ISAH V. RED

Kapuso network holds on to Marian Rivera WHILE everyone seems to be aware of Marian Rivera’s clout as a star in the Kapuso network, she is still the Primetime Queen. And that’s what the top guns of the network say, and Marian Rivera is glad she has their trust and so she remains a loyal and full-fledged Kapuso.

Last month she renewed her contract with GMA Network, Inc., a sign she would be their ever-loyal mascot.

Marian has been a Kapuso for more than a decade. In renewing her contract, she said she feels happy and fulfilled, “Malaki ang pasasalamat ko sa GMA dahil sobra sobra yung tiwala nila sa akin after all na nagpakasal, nagkaanak ako, binibigyan pa rin ako ng magagandang proyekto. Of course, looking forward ako sa mga gagawin pa namin this year.”

She is GMA Network’s most prized artist.

Her career started in 2005 when she appeared in a variety of soap operas and movies.

How can an NBSB sing songs for the

brokenhearted?

By Nickie Wang

T

HE audience will be more forgiving of a singer whose emotion is genuine even if the notes are a little off in places than one who is technically perfect but displays no expressiveness or enjoyment during their performance.

Marian Rivera

In 2007, she became a household name when she bagged the title role of the toprating Philippine adaptation of Marimar opposite the now Kapuso’s Primetime King Dingdong Dantes.

Atty. Felipe L. Gozon couldn’t be prouder and happier with her contract renewal, “Napakaraming salamat kay Marian at kami ay talagang natutuwa na napili nanaman niya tayo to renew her contract.

Si Marian ay isa sa pinakamaganda at pinakamagaling na artista sa Pilipinas ngayon. Kaya nagagalak kami na kasama na naman natin siya at sa tingin ko, malayo pa ang mararating ni Marian at talagang tutulungan natin siyang marating yung sukdulan ng kanyang career.” *** Myx TV, the leading English-language Asian American entertainment network, scored a milestone in January. Netflix has ordered two seasons of the show, Eat Your Words, Myx TV’s food competition show that challenges participants to recreate dishes that they didn’t enjoy at a given restaurant.

“We’re very proud of this accomplishment,” said Myx TV General Manager Miguel Santos. “Myx TV has been producing reality shows of late that are out of the box and out of the ordinary. We offer a different palette of storytelling, perspective and experience that appeal across the board and I’m glad that Netflix saw something new and special in one of our works.”

Eat Your Words turns the table on Internet food critics. Host Kara Birkenstock was quoted by Variety: “In the age of social media, anyone who goes to a restaurant thinks they’re food expert, and they’re happy to broadcast their picky opinion over the Internet.”

The show then challenges the critics to cook the dish they negatively rated and be subjected to the evaluation of a panel of judges. If they score high, they get a gift certificate to the participating restaurant; if they score low, they have to apologize to the restaurant they critiqued and, well, “eat their words”.

Eat Your Words is the first TV series to be picked up by Netflix from Myx TV, a network owned and operated by ABS-CBN International, a subsidiary of ABS-CBN Corporation, which is the largest Filipino media and entertainment network in the world. It is also the first show picked up by Netflix from any ABS-CBN company. Continued on C3

Singing from the heart and feeling the mood of the song will add natural emotion to your music. Ask any singer or vocalist and he or she would say that you should always put your life experience — good or bad — so you can relate to and express well through your singing.

But what if the song’s message is something you haven’t experience before, say like a serious romance?

“That’s the real challenge,” says Klarisse de Guzman who shared an afternoon with some members of the press in a recording studio inside the ABSCBN building.

The homegrown Kapamilya talent is all set to fascinate listeners this year as she promotes her much-awaited, selftitled album Klarisse, her first major project with her new record label Star Music.

The second placer in The Voice of the Philippines season 1 recently released her seven-track album, all love ballads in Tagalog, featuring the female balladeer’s beautiful voice.

The song “Wala Na Talaga,” theme song of the Kapamilya Asianovela My Dearest Intruder, is the album’s carrier single.

Also part of the We Love OPM contender’s latest offering is an original composition by the award-winning singer-songwriter Dingdong Avanzado, the all-time favorite “Paalam Na.” She also has a duet with Morisette en-

titled “Ikaw Ay Ako,” the heartwarming theme song of ABS-CBN’s former hit Kapamilya Gold series Doble Kara.

Klarisse’s 2016 Himig Handog P-Pop Love Songs entry composed by Joel Mendoza, “Sana’y Tumibok Muli,” is also included.

“I’ve never been heartbroken before, never been in a relationship either. I’m an NBSB (no boyfriend since birth).

That’s one of the challenges I encountered in recording the album. I have to immerse myself into the song. I had to imagine the emotion in the lyrics so I could feel the message,” she enunciates.

It turns out that behind all that romanticism there is just a rather vivid imagination since the singer is reveals that she has never had a boyfriend before.

But obviously, she’s able to capture the attention of the listeners. It’s a clear indication that her effort to study the songs she has recorded now pays off.

The Birit Queen’s album, produced

by Rox Santos, also includes other emotional ditties like “Sa Pangarap Na Lang,” which is currently creating buzz on air, “Eto Na Naman Tayo,” and “Mahal Mo Pa Ba Ako.” Grab a copy of Klarisse album, now out in ABS-CBN Store and on Facebook @starmusicstoreph for only P250, while tracks are also available for download in digital stores. For more details, visit starmusic.ph, like Star Music on facebook.com/starmusicph, and follow it on Twitter and Instagram @ StarMusicPH.

Klarisse, an NBSB, sings emotional songs for the brokenhearted in her new album.

Public film screenings to celebrate International Women’s Month

DLS-CSB screens 'Sister Stella L' in celebration of International Women’s Month.

IN celebration of International Women’s Month this March, a selection of films on women’s experiences and empowerment will be screened at the SDA Cinema of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) School of Design and Arts (SDA) Campus.

The screenings are produced by the Digital Filmmaking program of college in partnership with Benilde Film Works.

All shows, scheduled from 12:30 to 2 p.m., are free and open to the public.

The series begins on March 7

with Mike de Leon’s Sister Stella L., where Vilma Santos stars as a nonpartisan religious lady, who confronts labor injustice at a local factory. In the process, she identifies with the workers and joins the protests.

The following Wednesday, March 14, Marilou Diaz Abaya’s Moral will be showcased. The movie touches on the lives of best friends Joey (Lorna Tolentino), Kathy (Gina Alajar), Sylvia (Sandy Andolong) and Maritess (Anna Marin), their problems in life, and their attempts at overcoming these challenges.

The series closes on March 21 with another Abaya piece, Karnal.

Set in the 1930s, the story revolves around Narcing (Philip Salvador) and his father (Vic Silayan), who has a fascination for his daughterin-law Puring (Cecille Castillo) – who resembles Narcing’s late mother.

The SDA Cinema is located at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) School of Design and Arts (SDA) Campus, 950 Pablo Ocampo (Vito Cruz) Street, Malate, Manila.