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Filipino female golfers pull off coup, deliver two gold medals By Riera U. Mallari

VOL. XXXII • NO. 193 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 •

MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 2018 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net

GOLDEN GIRLS.

Filipino golfers Yuka Saso, Kaye Lois Go and Bianca Pagdanganan humble China’s pin seekers to take two gold medals in women’s golf held in Pondok Indah Golf Course, Indonesia.

JAKARTA—On the eve of National Heroes Day, three Filipina golfers joined the ranks of modern-day heroes as they delivered two gold medals during the 2018 Asian Games at the Pondok Indah Golf and Country Club course here on Sunday. The outlook appeared bleak entering the game’s ﬁnal round as Yuka Saso was three shots down t h e

pacesetter, with the team nine strokes off tournament-leading China. But Saso climbed the steep ladder, and with the gold on the line, sank a pressureladen eagle putt from 10 feet on the par-5 19th, snufﬁng out the hopes of erstwhile Chinese leader Liu Wenbo, who collapsed with a quadruple bogey on the same hole in a dramatic conclusion at the par-72, 6,252-yard layout. With identical 3-under 33s on the front on back, Saso capped her golden Asian Games’ debut with a four-round tally of 275, three shots better than Liu, who slumped to a 73 and settled for the silver Next page with a 278 aggregate.

Total Rank Country

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

74 39 25 14 12 11 9 8 7 6 5 3 3 3 3

58 32 29 14 12 5 8 11 9 11 8 7 6 2 0

33 165 45 116 37 91 11 39 22 46 7 23 30 47 13 32 19 35 10 27 28 41 14 24 3 12 5 10 10 13

China Japan Rep. of Korea IR Iran Indonesia DPR Korea Thailand Chinese Taipei India Uzbekistan Kazakhstan Hong Kong UAE Mongolia Philippines

Impeach ax poised on new CJ Joma, after coma yarn, dares Rody to release medical data By Nat Mariano COMMUNIST Party of the Philippines founding chairman Jose Maria Sison on Sunday dared President Rodrigo Duterte to join him in releasing their medical records to the public. “I challenge Duterte to submit himself to medical examination by the best independent diagnosticians of the Philippine General Hospital in order to establish whether he is physically

and mentally fit for his position,” Sison said in a statement. “Despite my right to privacy as a private citizen, I am willing to show a true and verifiable medical certification on the state of my health as soon as he shows his own medical certification as a matter of public interest,” he added. The challenge comes a week after the two took turns casting doubt on the state of health of the other. Next page

Palace: De Castro post no reward for Sereno ouster By Nat Mariano, Rio N. Araja, Rey E. Requejo and Macon Ramos-Araneta

HE Palace on Sunday dismissed as nonsense suggestions that Chief Justice Teresita Leonardode Castro was appointed as a reward for her role in ousting Maria Loudes Sereno, even as opposition lawmakers said they would push ahead with plans to have the new chief magistrate impeached.

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque ence” than her dismissed predecessor. said Sunday that De Castro’s appointment He was reacting to comments from to the top judicial post was reasonable, opposition Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay saying she had “inﬁnitely more experi- and party-list Rep. Gary Alejano that De

Castro’s appointment was a reward. “That is nonsense. President Rodrigo Duterte upheld judicial professionalism by appointing [the] most senior of aspirants,” said Roque in a text message Sunday. Lagman, who has ﬁled an impeachment complaint against the new chief justice and six other associate justices of the Supreme, said De Castro was being rewarded “for her starring role” in Sereno’s ouster. Lagman said De Castro should have declined the nomination as she has an impending complaint for “culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust.” Next page

PhilHealth told: Return P35m in ‘illegal benefits’

Pinoy pilgrims lose P0.6m to burglars in KSA

By Rio N. Araja

By Nash B. Maulana

THE Commission on Audit has ordered officials of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. to refund P35.25 million in unauthorized benefits. The decisions came two weeks after the issuance of two decisions affirming the notices of disallowance on illegal bonuses and allowances worth P183.86 million paid out to PhilHealth officials and employees in 2009, 2010 and 2014. In the first decision, CoA’s Commission Proper overruled the petition for review filed by PhilHealth’s Region 4-A Office seeking the lifting of a Nov. 26, 2013 notice of disallowance that required return of P33.804 million in extra compensation released in January to May 2013. The sum included education assistance of P13.094 million, productivity incentive bonus of P13.062 million, grocery allowance of P2.774 million, hazard pay of P1.882 million, productivity enhancement of P672,500 and laundry allowance of P99,750. Non-regular employees also received P2.22 million extra pay in the form of special events gift, efficiency gift and project completion incentives. CoA flagged PhilHealth, saying the cash benefits were not allowed because they violated Administrative Order No. 365 and Department of Budget Circular No. 16 requiring prior approval from the Office of the President for any additional compensation.

COTABATO CITY―Filipino Muslim pilgrims lost more than half a million pesos to burglars in Mashaer, a suburb of Mecca, according to reports reaching the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos over the weekend. “While the Hujjajj [pilgrims] were in Mashaer, four rooms occupied by Filipino pilgrims under Sheiks Abdulcarim Imam and Said Asgar in Hotel Manarat in Mecca were forcibly entered by unidentiﬁed robbers,” said Jun Alonto Datu Ramos, director of the NCMF Bureau of External Relations in Manila. Ramos said the victims informed the NCMF Supervisory Team under Abdullah Macarimpas, vice-chairman of the 2018 Philippine Hajj Executive Committee. NCMF ofﬁcials said initial investigation showed the intruders used the back window of the hotel rooms to gain entry. The occupants of the rooms reported losing Saudi riyals, gadgets and pieces of jewelry. A total cash of 27,720.84 Saudi riyals, equivalent to P394,054.84, was declared missing. The total value of the lost valuables, including laptops, watches, tablets and smartphones, was pegged at P 154,000, and the pieces of jewelry at P62,000. In all, the total amount of money and valuables lost reached P610,054.84. The Philippine Mission in Jeddah promptly sent Embassy staff to coordinate with the police and the management of the Hotel Manarat, the NCMF report said. Next page

SPRUCED UP.

The tomb of the late President Ferdinand Marcos is prepared for the National Heroes Day commemoration at the Libingan ng mga Bayani on Monday Aug. 27,2018. Norman Cruz

Destroy and kill terrorists, Duterte orders military PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the military to “destroy and kill” the extremist and terrorist groups in the country and assured them of his full support. “I assure you that you have my full support as you conduct intensive military operations against these terrorist groups, particularly those who subscribe to the extremist ideologies of the Islamic State and Al Qaida,” Duterte said Saturday in

his speech in Jolo. “That’s just a bankrupt, a useless ideology,” Duterte told soldiers in Camp Teodulfo Bautista. “They only know how to kill and destroy. Destroy and kill. So my order to you: Destroy and kill also. Why would you want to be at a disadvantage?” Duterte acknowledged the presence of the soldiers as they honored the sacriﬁces of the 22 troopers who were wounded in

an encounter in Patikul. “We are grateful for your heroism and I will personally ensure that you will be taken care of as you recover from your injuries,” said Duterte, adding he would take care of their families. “I said to give my fullest attention and all the things you need, from the time you enter the service up to the time [you ﬁnish it], I have plans already.” Next page

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McCain, US war hero, passes on WASHINGTON—John McCain, a war hero and towering figure in American politics, known for reaching across the aisle in an increasingly divided nation, died Saturday following a battle with brain cancer. He was 81. The senator’s passing marked the end of a storied, 35-year political career that brought the independent-minded Republican within reach of the White House as his party’s presidential nominee. “It’s been quite a ride,” McCain, who was tortured during five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, wrote in a memoir published earlier this year. “I’ve known great passions, seen amazing wonders, fought in a war and helped make peace. I made a small place for myself in the story of America and the history of my times.” McCain, who had been receiving treatment in his home state of Arizona, was surrounded by his wife Cindy and his family during his final hours. “He was a great fire who burned bright, and we lived in his light and warmth,” said Meghan McCain, one of the late senator’s seven children—three of them from a previous marriage. Near the driveway to his ranch in a rural part of Sedona, Arizona, a sign read “Sen McCain, thank you for your service.” A police escort accompanied the hearse that carried his body, as a fiery sunset cast its last light over the rustic countryside McCain loved dearly, and local residents came bearing flowers for the late political titan. A steady stream of friends and colleagues had come to bid him farewell at his Arizona ranch in the months since his cancer diagnosis, in July 2017. US President Donald Trump, who once mocked McCain’s war record, said he sent his “deepest sympathies and respect.” McCain had been a rare and outspoken Republican critic of Trump, accusing him of “naivete,” “egotism” and of sympathizing with autocrats. He made a decisive vote last year that killed Republican attempts to repeal Barack Obama’s health care reforms, and Trump never forgave him. ‘All in his debt’ The sharp-tongued McCain had disagreements with many fellow politicians—including inside his own camp—but the Republican stalwart was widely recognized for his deep integrity, and condolences came swift from the highest reaches of American politics. “We are all in his debt,” said former president Obama, the Democrat to whom McCain lost the presidency in 2008. “We shared, for all our differences, a fidelity to something higher—the ideals for which generations of Americans and immigrants alike have fought, marched and sacrificed.” Democrat Bill Clinton hailed McCain for having “frequently put partisanship aside,” while his former vice president Al Gore said he always admired how the senator “would work to find common ground, no matter how hard.” “John McCain was a man of deep conviction and a patriot of the highest order,” said former president George W. Bush, whom McCain sought and failed to defeat in 2000 and succeed in 2008. On Capitol Hill, McCain became close friends with Senator Lindsey Graham and former senator Joe Lieberman—a trio dubbed the “Three Amigos.” AFP

Destroy... From A1

Duterte said he believed that the troops remained determined to carry on with their mission despite the challenges they faced. “Every time you need me and everything that you need to survive, I will provide,” Duterte said. He ordered the soldiers to end their lives when cornered. “I’m the only President who gave sidearms because the warfare here is really terrible,” he said. “Do not give in that they will take your arms alive. If you get cornered and you run out of bullets, do not surrender. They will only bring you to their camp, treat you like a dog, bring you in front of a camera and then slit your throat. “This I tell you: Don’t let yourselves be treated like pigs. My soldiers are courageous and ready to die. So, when you run out of bullets, take the last magazine and eat it instead.” Duterte said he would do the same, and that if his airplane crashed into enemy territory he would not be caught alive. He thanked the soldiers for their dedication, resilience and support. “With your bravery, selﬂessness and patriotism, I am optimistic that we will one day defeat all threats to our democratic institutions and secure a brighter future for our beloved country,” he said. Nat Mariano

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Ex-Senate head backs NFA abolition S By Macon Ramos-Araneta

ENATOR Aquilino Pimentel III on Sunday vowed to support a call in the Senate to abolish the National Food Authority due to the rice shortage and the staple’s soaring prices.

He said he was disappointed at how existence. the agency’s ofﬁcials led by AdministraHe cited recent issues, including the tor Jason Aquino were handling the issue. rice crisis in Zamboanga City where the The former Senate president said he staple’s prices had been soaring. no longer saw any purpose for the NFA’s He said the NFA’s job was to make sure

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Previously, Lagman, Alejano, Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat, Jr., and Akbayan Partylist Rep. Tom Villarin filed impeachment complaints against the De Castro and six other justices for ousting Sereno through a quo warranto petition in May. The six other justices were Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Francis Jardeleza, Noel Tijam, Andres Reyes Jr., and Alexander Gesmundo. Lagman said that De Castros brief term of 42 days before her mandatory retirement mitigated her appointment. “With the very short period of her incumbency, it is humanly impossible for her to accomplish wonders or anything of substance in the Supreme Court,” he said. Alejano, in a separate statement, said De Castro’s appointment was “clear payback” that signaled the “loss of a sense of propriety” in the government. De Castro will assume office on Tuesday, serving a tenure of 41 days as the country’s highest judicial officer. Her expected incumbency will be the shortest in history, surpassing the record of then Chief Justice Pedro Yap who served for nearly two months in 1988. In the House, Oriental Mindoro Rep. Paulino Salvador Leachon, chairman of the House committee on justice, said he wanted a speedy and independent impeachment case against the seven Supreme Court justices who voted to ouse Sereno in a quo warranto proceeding. Leachon said they aimed for a Sept. 4 hearing on the case. “We have rules to follow. This is part and parcel of democracy,” he said. He said the committee on justice would hear all the separate complaints jointly since these are interrelated, Lagman, one of the four petitioners against De Castro, rejected Roque’s belief that the complaints would be dismissed out of hand by the panel. “These will survive the test of the form and substance. And we believe that there

PhilHealth... From A1

“The payments were also considered an irregular expenditure for violating... CoA Circular No. 85-55-A (Prevention of Irregular, Unnecessary, Excessive and Extravagant Expenditures or Uses of Government Funds/Property),” the decision read. Under Notice of Disallowance No. 2013-004, those who were held liable were Region 4-A vice president Alberto Manduriao, ﬁscal controller Feliciana Pastorpide, division chief Miguel Macalinao, human resource management ofﬁcer Oliver Inocencio, cashier Erlinda Pronton and “PHIC regular and contractual employees.” CoA denied the respondents’ petition for review for lack of merit. “The main source of the PHIC’s operating budget comes from the contributions of its members. Like any other social insurance, the members’ contributions are treated as a trust fund, and

Pinoy... From A1

A settlement was reached with the hotel management to pay the victims for their loss, the report attributed to the NCMF-BEA said. But under Saudi law the recompense is not legally binding, being only a diplomatic recourse available under the circumstances. It would not stop authorities from investigating and from charging the culprits that may later be identiﬁed. In the Philippines, the Hajj pilgrimage is regulated by the NCMF’s Bureau of Pilgrimage and Endowment. The Philippines’ majority Catholic constituents have wondered how government intervention is made possible on the hajj in a country that upholds traditional separation of the Church and State. Each pilgrim pays around P200,000to BPE for the hajj journey for travel expenses, primarily covering the cost of

is probable cause. Let us not think ahead of what the committee on justice would do,” he said on radio dzBB. “We believe our colleagues are reasonable men. They are subservient to what the executive department wants,” he said. Even if an impeachment case is a numbers game, the issues and grounds for an impeachment are important, according to the complainants, the complainants said. “Well, you know, the tyranny of numbers should not deter [us from] filing these impeachment complaints. If we would be afraid of the tyranny of numbers, who else would give our people the opportunity to demand accountability from errant justices,?” he said. Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, who turned down his nomination, said De Castro would assume the top post on Tuesday. Carpio is expected to head the Supreme Court’s Second Division. As she assumes the top post on Tuesday, De Castro will preside over an en banc session as well as the oral arguments on two petitions assailing the constitutionality of President Duterte’s decision to withdraw the country’s membership from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The new chief justice will lead the judiciary until Oct. 8 when she reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70 for members of the judiciary. Once De Castro retires on October 8, the five most senior justices would be Carpio, Peralta, Bersamin, Mariano C. del Castillo, and Estela M. Perlas Bernabe. The Judicial and Bar Council will automatically consider these five as nominees for the chief justice post. Court sources said Carpio, who declined his nomination to the post because of his vote against the ouster of Sereno, is expected to join the race when De Castro retires. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, an ex-officio member of the sevenmember JBC, assured the public that all the nominees underwent “very careful screening,” especially on their statements of assets, liabilities and net worth, which became the basis for Sereno’s ouster

thus, should be managed and protected with utmost integrity... (and) should conform to laws and regulations governing public expenditures,” it said. In another decision, CoA also denied the appeal on the May 19, 2011 notice of disallowance against the grant of salaries, allowances and benefits of P1.446 million to the PhilHealth corporate secretary between September 2009 and December 2010. It said the position was only created by the PhilHealth board’s resolution approved on May 24, 2010 but ignored CoA’s recommendation to first seek the imprimatur of the Department of Budget and Management and the Office of the President. “On petitioner’s invocation of fiscal autonomy, it bears stressing that fiscal autonomy does not mean absolute discretion… neither does it mean immunity from existing rules and regulations against irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant or unconscionable expenditures or uses of government funds,” it added.

the round-trip air ticket and the transient’s accommodation or mutawif in two cities and in Arafa tents. The Hajj pilgrimage consists of a multi-pronged approach to diplomacy, primarily into what is now known as the “people-to-people engagement” in the ﬁelds of socio-cultural dialogue and economic trade. The Philippines’ Maranao Muslims, for instance, explore he free-trading beneﬁt of the huge convergence of Muslims by bringing along packages of small merchandise like disposable slippers, prayer dresses and rug mats, and even sanitary kits. The Chinese and the Pakistanis sell tasbih beads and linens. Muslim Australian raisers of halal livestock transport thousands of heads of sheep and tons of blocks of cheese to Jeddah, months before the pilgrimage. Sadly, however, the BPE has not developed an appropriate concept of endowment for the poor people to perform the Hajj pilgrimage.

the country had enough reserves of the staple to avoid any shortages that would affect consumers―especially the poor, Pimentel said he was also angered by the discovery of imported rice being infested with rice weevil or bukbok at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. “Why does the rice have weevil?” Pimentel said. In a separate interview over dzBB radio, Senator Risa Hontiveros expressed frustration over the rice crisis in Zamboanga in Mindanao, where President Rodrigo Duterte comes from.

She said it was time to choose competent ofﬁcials not only in Zamboanga but in the entire country because of the policy paralysis. Based on the reports they had received, she said, the rice shortage was due to the lack of domestically produced rice that resulted in the importation of additional rice. She also raised alarm over the high cost of rice. “Let us help our farmers augment the rice reserves,” said Hontiveros who expressed dismay at the low farm gate price of unmilled rice of P17.

through a quo warranto proceeding. Various leaders in the legal community welcomed President Rodrigo Duterte’s appointment of De Castro. The heads of the Office of the Solicitor General and Office of the Ombudsman lauded the De Castro’s choice as the next top magistrate. “The OSG family and I rejoice in the well-deserved appointment of Justice Teresita L. de Castro as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. We are elated because her legal brilliance, competence, fairness and integrity ensure that justice will be well-served during her tenure,” Solicitor General Jose Calida said in his Twitter account. Ombudsman Samuel Martires said he was delighted that De Castro has been appointed as the next chief justice. “I am very, very happy that she was chosen by the President as the country’s first lady Chief Justice. She deserves it,” Martires said, a text message. “She is a good person; strict but compassionate, a stickler to the rules, a workaholic,” he added. De Castro was Martires’ presiding justice at the Sandiganbayan when they were still both associate justices of the antigraft court. “She was my Presiding Justice at the Sandiganbayan and I’m pretty sure that the Sandiganbayan justices and employees are happy for her appointment as CJ,” said Martires, who was also a former Supreme Court associate justice before his appointment as Ombudsman following the retirement of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales. The Integrated Bar of the Philippines, the mandatory national organization of lawyers in the country, also backed De Castro’s appointment as top magistrate. In a statement, the IBP President Abdiel Fajardo said that De Castro’s appointment is appropriate considering that she is the next most senior magistrate, after Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, who declined to be nominated for the post. “Justice de Castro is the next most senior in the court. While on the one hand, she faces ethical questions considering

that is succeeding a CJ she helped remove, on the other hand that will weigh heavily in favor of seniority as a tradition,” Fajardo said. Earlier, Carpio and Guevarra backed De Castro’s appointment to the most coveted post in the judiciary. “Her appointment as chief justice is a fitting finale to her illustrious career in both the Department of Justice and the judiciary,” Guevarra said. De Castro will be the country’s 24th chief justice. Sereno, whose appointment was voided, is not on the roster. While most welcomed De Castro’s appointment, opposition lawmakers criticized it. Senator Risa Hontiveros described as short-sighted De Castro’s appointment, saying she fell “terribly short” on many fronts: integrity, vision and courage. She also accused President Duterte just took the shortest and surest path to keeping the Supreme Court under his control. Another opposition senator, Francis Pangilinan, said the appointment did not make sense. “Why appoint someone who will only sit as Chief Justice for less than two months? What public purpose does it serve? What public value does it create?” he said. Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, an ally of the President, said he believed De Castro was being rewarded for Sereno’s ouster. And said she should do her best to address the issues of the Supreme Court in her short term. Former Leyte representative Ferdinand Martin Romualdez of the Philippine Constitution Association lauded De Castro’s appointment. “She is very much qualified for the job and the President’s respect to the tradition of seniority will not only be good for the independence and stability of the judiciary but also to the country’s democracy,” he said. Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Raneo Abu, Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone, Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo and Isabela Rep.Rodolfo Albano echoed Romualdez’s view.

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Last week, Sison said he received unverified reports that the President had fallen into a coma, a claim Duterte denied. He then said it was Sison who had been in and out of hospitals in The Netherlands, where he has lived in exile for three decades. The Palace, meanwhile, dismissed claims by opposition lawmaker Magdalo Gary Alejano that the President’s statements about wanting to resign were indications that he was sick. “Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano’s misinformation is certainly in aid of election,” said Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque Sunday morning. “We hope the people will judge him accordingly.” “Just this week, we have seen the Chief Executive in his usual fiery self addressing the Conference of the League of Municipalities Visayas Island Cluster in Cebu and the 12th Anniversary of the Eastern Mindanao Command in Davao,” he said. “The President has always been forthright about his condition. What he is experiencing is typical of people of his age,” he added. Earlier, Alejano called for a disclosure of Duterte’s state of health. “This is not the first time we heard from the President that he wants to resign. More often, we would also hear from his speeches rants over being tired and experiencing illnesses due to old age,” Alejano said in a statement. “The public has the right to know the health status of the President,” he added. The President has denied all claims that he is seriously ill, but has admitted he suffers from back pains, migraines, and Buerger’s disease.

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“I just never lost faith in myself and I never doubted this team right from the beginning,” said the 17-year-old Saso. “We are all fighters and we really fought hard out there for the country.” As icing on the Philippine cake, Bianca Panganiban came charging home with a similar 6-under 66 to snatch away the individual bronze medal with a combined 72-hole score of 279. With the sterling final-round performances of Saso and Panganiban, the Philippine team, which included Louis Kaye Go, rallied to lift the team championship trophy with a four-round output of 554, relegating South Korea to silver (557) and China to bronze (558). “I feel very happy. I really don’t know what to say,” said Saso of her memorable maiden appearance in the games featuring Asia’s best athletes. “Sobrang saya at ganda ang experience ko this week.” The impressive achievement also ended a 32-year-old gold-medal drought in the sport since former amateur standout Ramon Brobio won the individual men’s title in the 1986 Seoul Asian Games. The country’s last medal of any color in the games came in the 2010 Guangzhou Asiad, courtesy of Miguel Tabuena’s silver. The Philippine golf’s haul catapulted the country’s standing in the medal table from 23rd to 15th with a gold-silverbronze tally of 3-0-10, ahead of Southeast Asian rivals Malaysia (17th), Singapore (18th) and Vietnam (22nd), but behind Thailand at seventh. The golfers’ two golds to go with Hidilyn Diaz’s weightlifting mint has already tripled the 2014 Incheon Asian Games’ finish of a lone gold. Saso stands to receive a cash windfall of P8 million—P2 million from the Philippine Olympic Committee, P2 million from the government through Republic Act 10699, P1 million each from the Siklab Foundation and the Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia Lee Hoong, and her P2 million share from the combined P6 million accorded a gold medalist.

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MoNday, august 27, 2018

BOL info drive hinges on local officials’ role

YOUTH SUMMIT. Tens of thousands of young Filipino leaders attended the Global Youth Summit 2018 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay city. The GYS, held in partnership with Global Peace Foundation and SM Cares, the corporate social responsibility arm of SM Supermalls, is the biggest gathering of young leaders seeking to develop their skills through leadership seminars to create positive change. Ey Acasio

Energy reform sought By Macon Araneta THE government will do well to reform the energy sector and ease the growing burden on consumers reeling from high electricity rates in the country, Senator Win Gatchalian said on Sunday. Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, made the call in response to a recent Pulse Asia Survey poll which revealed that 60 percent of Filipinos were dissatisfied with the electricity prices. Metro Manila residents recorded the highest dissatisfaction rate, with 84 percent expressing their discontent, according to the survey firm. “The people need immediate respite from all these back-breaking commodity price increases, especially when it comes to their monthly electricity bills,” he said. The government must act quickly to institute pro-consumer reforms that will produce energy savings for Filipino households, Gatchalian said. Three primary reasons why electricity rates in the country are some of the highest across the region: bureaucratic inefficiencies that drive away potential investors; the lack of competition and transparency in power supply contracting; and the rising stranded contract costs and stranded debt left behind by the sstate-owned National Power Corp. To solve these issues, Gatchalian urged his colleagues in both chambers of Congress to expedite the passage of three energy-related measures which could save consumers as much as ₱1.85 per kilowatt hour if they are enacted into law, thus resulting in overall savings of ₱370 per month and ₱4,440 per year for a household consuming 200 kWh per month. The first measure, the Energy Virtual One Stop Shop Act of 2017 (Senate Bill No. 1439), seeks to cut pervasive red tape in the permitting process of new power generation projects. EVOSS now remains pending in the House of Representatives after the Senate approved it on third reading last year.

Decongesting nAiA

3rd aviation gateway pushed

THIRD aviation gateway in Bulacan—as proposed by conglomerate San Miguel Corp. —may be the “optimal solution” to the growing congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, a member of Congress said Sunday.

“Besides Clark International Airport in Pampanga, a second alternate gateway in Bulacan would go a long way in easing the aircraft and passenger traffic buildup at the Naia,” said Rep. Aniceto Bertiz III. The National Economic Development Authority Board in April approved SMC’s “Unsolicited Proposal for the P736-billion Bulacan International Airport Project, with the confirmation subject to final review of the concession agreement.” A large number of overseas Filipino workers were stranded when dozens of flights were either canceled, delayed or

redirected due to the Aug. 17 Naia runway excursion of a Xiamen Air jet. The chaos caused by the 36-hour shutdown of Naia’s main runway lasted for three days, as carriers scrambled to bring in previously rerouted flights right after the airstrip was reopened. Bertiz welcomed the P5,000 cash grant that the Department of Foreign Affairs provided to every OFW stuck at the Naia at the height of the disorder. “The cash subsidy was made possible after Congress approved President Duterte’s request to increase the DFA’s Assistance to Nationals Fund from P400 million to P1 billion for 2018,” Bertiz,

House appropriations committee member, said. The ATN fund is meant to aid distressed Filipinos overseas. Affected OFWs who managed to fly out of the country may claim the cash assistance at any Philippine Embassy or consulate general until Sept. 30, while those still in Manila may get the money from the DFA head office until Aug. 31. Many OFWs failed to report back to their jobs on time when their flights were called off, according to Bertiz. Bertiz said the House transportation committee chaired by Catanduanes Rep. Cesar Sarmiento has tentatively scheduled a Sept. 5 hearing on the Naia accident and the readiness of airport authorities to deal with similar emergencies in the future. Meantime, in Bohol, new airport is set to be inaugurated in October, the Department of Transportation said.

NOT FOR RESALE? A grains center worker in Tondo, Manila holds up a newly repacked 10 kilos of NFA rice for only P360 per pack or P36 per kilo under the grains agency’s Bigas ng Masa, Tulong sa Bayan. Norman Cruz

MWSS reveals new water security roadmap, projects in pipeline THE Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System has unveiled a new water security and sustainability roadmap with new water sources projects in the pipeline that will provide adequate potable water in the next 10 to 25 years. Speaking at the Management Association of the Philippines CEO Forum headed by Maynilad president Ramoncito S. Fernandez the other day at The Peninsula, MWSS administrator Reynaldo V. Velasco presented a new set of water projects that can pro-

duce 3,000 million liters daily (mld) in the next five years consisting of the 600 MLD Kaliwa Dam, the 500 MLD Montalban dam and the development of the 1,950 mld “ABC” projects as alternative sources of water. According to Velasco, “this would involve taking advantage of the untapped and water wastage from Angat, reviving the Bayabas Dam Project, and pushing for the Candaba Multi-Purpose Impounding Dam project. Combined, these so called ‘ABC’

projects have a potential of producing 1,950 million liters of water per day, which will largely complement the existing capacity of Angat Dam, the main source of water of Metro Manila. Velasco added that unlike other major water projects that would take so many years to construct, all these three projects can be started and completed in the span of three to four years, well within the tenure of President Rodrigo Duterte. The MWSS chief also disclosed

about Wawa dam proponent Oscar Violago and his new partner about their intention to construct an 82-meter dam in Montalban primarily to help mitigate flooding in the province of Rizal and to produce 500 MLD through a PPP scheme. Long term, the MWSS chief said there is now a policy shift of constructing the 3,300 mld Kanan Dam over the 1,800 mld Laiban Dam project on account of the high social engineering cost of relocating 4,900 settlers.

OFFICIALS working for the eventual ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law in a plebiscite next year emphasized Sunday the role of Mindanao barangay officials in informing the public about the law and its lasting benefits for the country. A three-day forum on the Bangsamoro Organic Law attended by the Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas in Mindanao is on its second day at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City with the theme “Partners in Promoting Peace in Bangsamoro.” Gerard Hilarion Ramiro, vice president of the Liga ng mga Barangay sa Mindanao and one of the keynote speakers during the event, said the law is one of the paramount legacies of President Rodrigo Duterte and will bring resolution to the long struggle of the region as he urged barangay leaders present during the event to support the BOL. Ramiro, in pointing out the roles of barangay officials in Regions 9, 10, 11, and 12 in disseminating information about the law in time for the scheduled plebiscite next year, said these officials “are vital stakeholders and partners in peace building,” adding that the proposed law will have effects that will transcend to succeeding generations. Interior and Local Government Assistant Secretary for Mindanao and Special Concerns Marjorie Jalosjos said BOL is a key measure that will curb violence in Mindanao. “We have fought to the death...and we are tired of the bloodshed,” said Jalosjos adding that the national government is serious in its attempt to establish lasting peace in Mindanao. “There will be plenty of challenges along the way,” she said as she urged barangay officials to work in organizing public awareness initiatives. Deputy Presidential Peace Adviser Undersecretary Nabil A. Tan said action from Mindanao barangay officials is crucial in “forming an informed constituency for a balanced understanding of what this law is about” and inform the public that it the law “embodies the aspirations of the Bangsamoro.”

Batangas solon dared to reply to vote-buying raps By Rio N. Araja AN EXECUTIVE of the National Movement for Free Elections on Sunday urged Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Raneo Abu to answer accusations of vote-buying in the May 14 barangay elections. Eric Alvia, Namfrel secretary-general, said Abu has a lot of explaining to do, and that he should react to the allegations against him without using Congress. He also called on the Department of the Interior and Local Government to file appropriate charges against politicians involved in other vote-buying activities in the last barangay polls. Earlier, Undersecretary Martin Diño said 100 members of the House of Representatives congressmen and 1,000 local government officials interfered in the barangay elections. Lawyer Erlinda Candy Orense, acting election supervisor in Batangas, summoned Abu to a two-day marathon hearing to investigate complaints of vote-buying and use of public funds for partisan political purposes. On May 10, Norberto Abanilla of Lobo town’s Barangay Tayuman and Nicanor Conti of San Pascual town’s Barangay Alalum filed a five-page complaint, alleging a letter was distributed by Abu to his scholars endorsing his hand-picked candidates for the position of barangay chairman. “Sometime in the first week of May, I was informed that supporters of Congressman Abu distributed to residents of Barangay Tayuman several letters printed on letterheads of the House of Representatives bearing his signature, and marked with the dry seal of the lower house. Said correspondences were addressed to scholars of the congressman,” the complaint read. “In fact, I was informed that the scholars who will not vote for the congressman’s endorsed candidate will be removed from the scholarship program.” The complainants said Abu’s letter was coercing, intimidating, compelling and influencing his scholars, and that failure to heed this could cause the cancellation of their scholarship grant.

Opinion

MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 2018

Prospects dim for new telco player

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

National Telecommunication Commission on the issue of the Draft Terms of Reference for the new major player. PCC wants a prohibition on mergers, combination of a related party with a dominant telco player, voluntary return of frequencies should the new major PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte must player become a related party with a have seen the handwriting on the wall. dominant telco monitoring, perfor“Our efforts to usher in a new major mance evaluation through informationplayer shall be rendered futile if we do sharing in case of non-use and exempnot improve the odds of success in an tion from PCC review of competition. Technically, therefore, the disputed industry that has long been dominated by a well-entrenched duopoly,” said the frequency bands cannot be promised to President in his State of the Nation Ad- the new major player, since if governdress before a joint session of Congress. ment loses this case what can be given The President’s prescience is proving to to the new player will be limited. This be right in light of unsettle legal issues will affect all the annexes of the Terms in the terms of reference and imple- of Reference the bidder is required to menting rules and regulations of the submit. The PCC cases National Telecomrefer to the buyout munications Combattle with the duomission. poly of Globe and Foremost of these What foreign Smart (PLDT) on the barriers is the uncontention that the availability of a reinvestor would PCC can review the served frequency put money in deal between SMC, band for the new and an industry that PLDT and Globe of third telco player. the Ayala Group of What foreign invesis stymied by a Companies. tor would put money pending case Some of the issues in an industry that is here involve frequenin the Supreme stymied by a pending cies and terms of refcase in the Supreme Court? erence which may be Court? It would be too technical for the money down the ordinary man on the drain if the high street. Nonetheless, court rules in favor of what this whole teleGlobe and Smart that communication rigmarole means is that the third frequency sold by industrialthe people’s prospect of having cheaper ist Ramon Ang of San Miguel Corp. to Globe and PLDT is legal and cannot be and more efﬁcient calls and messages appears to be getting dimmer if the duoused by a third new player. The chances of the new major player poly situation remains in place. Rice price rise is now at risk because the Philippine Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz won the Competitive Commission questioned the Department of Information and ﬁrst gold medal for the Philippines in Turn to A5 Communication Technology and the

A return to normal

FTER the turmoil surrounding the removal of the second top magistrate in the last six years, the appointment of Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro is a welcome opportunity for the Supreme Court to move away from the divisive politics that began with the removal of Chief Justice Renato Corona in May 2012 and his replacement by Maria Lourdes Sereno in the same year. In 2011, a vindictive President Benigno Aquino III threw his considerable political capital—and government resources—behind a coordinated campaign to vilify and eventually oust a chief justice with whom he did not see eye to eye. He replaced the chief justice, not with the most qualiﬁed or the most senior associate justice in line, but with the more junior Sereno, who he had appointed a mere two years before to the Supreme Court. Sereno’s removal six years later was no less the product of political meddling, regardless of what the Palace says. This time, however, it was not senators who found the chief justice guilty in impeachment proceedings, but Sereno’s peers in the Supreme Court voting against her in a quo warranto challenge to her 2012 appointment. It is a supreme irony that the ones crying foul today over the constitutionality of Sereno’s removal and her replacement by De Castro are the same ones who saw nothing wrong in Mr. Aquino’s brazen act of bribery to dangle millions of pesos is discretionary funds before the senators to entice them into convicting Corona. In appointing De Castro, President Rodrigo Duterte picked the most senior aspi-

rant from a shortlist submitted to him by the Judicial and Bar Council. Critics of the decision have questioned the wisdom of appointing a chief justice who will occupy that post for only a month and three weeks, but nobody who looks at Chief Justice De Castro’s record can question her qualiﬁcations. De Castro’s career in public service started on Feb. 19, 1973, when she served as a law clerk position in the Ofﬁce of the Clerk of Court of the Supreme Court. From January 1975 to November 1978, she served as a legal assistant and as member of the technical staff of the late Chief Justice Fred Ruiz Castro. In December 1978, she moved to the Department of Justice where she worked as State Counsel I and rose from the ranks, culminating in her appointment in 1997 as Assistant Chief State Counsel. She was designated as one of the international and peace negotiators of President Corazon Aquino and President Fidel Ramos from 1988 to 1997. De Castro rejoined the judiciary as Sandiganbayan associate justice on Sept. 23, 1997 and became its Presiding Justice on Dec. 15, 2004.

During her incumbency, she spearheaded the establishment of the Computerized Case Management System and the adoption of reforms that contributed to easing of the court docket in the Sandiganbayan and to the professionalization of its workforce. At the Supreme Court, De Castro is the working chairperson of the First Division, the chairperson of the Management Committee of the Judicial Reform Support Project, the working vice chairperson of the Committee on Ethics and Ethical Standards and of the Halls of Justice Coordinating Committee, Chairperson of the Committee on Computerization and Library, the Committee on Gender Responsiveness in the Judiciary, and the Special Committee to Draft Rules on Sexual Harassment in the Judiciary, and Member of the Supreme Court Internal Rules Committee. During her stint as a Sandiganbayan justice, she penned the decision that convicted former president and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada of plunder. Ironically, in 2015, she also wrote the decision of the Supreme Court that dismissed the disqualiﬁcation case against Estrada, saying he was eligible to run for Mayor of Manila. Sereno, who illegally occupied the position of chief justice for four years, left the Court divided and in turmoil. If De Castro manages to repair that damage and bring the Court back to normalcy in the time she has left—and insulate it from further political interference—then she will have truly earned her place in history as the country’s ﬁrst woman chief justice.

‘GG, bukbok, atbp.’ Malacañang as the “people’s palace” and sold “galunggong,” then the poor man’s fish right in the grounds fronting Mabini Hall. “Optics” the not-so-beau-geste is called these days, or “PR”, which is really abbreviating propaganda. “GG” had reached the unthinkable heights of I GREW up in our ancestral house in P60 per kilo then, at the time pork was Laguna. At the back of our kitchen was P90 and chicken P75. a backyard with a big carport and yard. As usual, the “greedy and unconscioEach day, trucks would come in with a nable” traders were blamed for the high load of fish and shellfish. price of GG. I asked my then-almost-80 My grandmother was a “consig- year-old lola, retired from business and nitaria,” one of the layers in the daily whiling her time with mahjong in the trading of fish. The truckloads would ancestral house, about the economics of come in when I was asleep, from Luce- high-priced GG. na, Pagbilao, and even from the railroad She advised me to go to the Navotracks where the PNR brought “bany- tas fish port, which is the biggest fish eras” of fish from Camarines Sur. port in the country (then and now), and There was also a Chinese “viajero” I where the biggest haul of GG is traded fondly called Ah-Lim who brought in each day, much like tuna in Tsukiji Fish fish from Navotas, Market in Tokyo. and bangus from I came out of elsewhere. Each Navotas realizing time he collected that one cannot in Go back to the week’s “cuenfact bring fish to ta” from my lola, Economics 101. the daily table of he would bring me every consumer if hopia or lychees or the middle layers some other Binonin the marketing of do “pasalubong.” produce were, as All these produce were delivered media often advocate, “eliminated.” on a weekly credit, and in those times But that’s another lesson in practical when bank remittances were unheard economics for the time I decide to go of, everything was paid for in cash, and back to teaching. The lesson learned the “cuenta” recorded in small note- and will always be learned is the law of books. supply and demand, stupid. My lola, in turn would have the I read a report from our paper last banyeras brought to the San Pablo City Friday entitled “OMGG, Phil seen buymarket, and from there, another layer ing back its own fish!,” and then quotes of smaller traders would bring the fish the BFAR director and DA Undersecreto Rizal, Nagcarlan, Alaminos, and Ca- tary Eduardo Gongona, who said that lauan, or even Dolores and Tiaong in “what we will import could come from neighboring Quezon. us too since the fish may have escaped All these were on short-term cred- and migrated” and prescribed [what] it. The stall-holders in the San Pablo ‘‘we can do is not to allow our fish, parmarket would get their wares on con- ticularly our galunggong to migrate…” signment, hence the appellation “conOMGG indeed! Further this writer signacion” or “consignitaria.” By mid- will comment naught. afternoon—wet-markets closed before *** noon—the “tinderas” would come to And then this brouhaha about “bukthe house and pay my lola for the day’s bok” in NFA rice that supposedly could consigned fish. not be unloaded from the vessels that I grew up understanding the work- brought the Viet and Thai imports due ings of the “market” this very practical to persistent bad weather. way, and later in school, then in busiThe shipping time from Ho Chi Minh ness. to our WPS seaports is not that long for I could not for the life of me grasp “bukbok” to infest “good” rice. That is, why once upon a time, in the reign of if “good” rice was bought. Tita Cory, my friend Oscar Orbos, once The NFA names the pre-shipment her executive secretary, opened up Turn to A5

Pope ‘begs for God’s forgiveness’ for sexual abuse scandal By Joseph Stenson and Catherine Marciano POPE Francis in Ireland Sunday “begged for God’s forgiveness” for the child sexual abuse scandal rocking the church but faced accusations by a former Vatican ofﬁcial that he had

personally ignored allegations against senior clergy. Francis is due to speak in front of some 500,000 faithful in Dublin’s Phoenix Park as part of his two-day visit to the former Catholic stronghold of Ireland, as abuse victims and their supporters gathered in a “Stand for Truth” rally in the city centre to de-

mand justice. During Sunday’s address to 45,000 supporters at the rain-soaked Knock shrine in the west of the country, the pope “begged for God’s forgiveness” for the “open wound” of the scandal and demanded “ﬁrm and decisive” measures to ﬁnd “truth and justice.” Turn to A5

Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher can be accessed at: manilastandard.net Published Monday to Sunday by Philippine Manila Standard Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Roxas, corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. Telephone numbers 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558 (connecting all departments), (Editorial) 832-5554, (Advertising) 832-5550. P.O. Box 2933, Manila Central Post Ofﬁce, Manila. Website: www. manilastandard.net

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Opinion

Prospects.... From A4

the current Asian Games in Jakarta. But her triumph is overshadowed by the state of calamity declared in her province of Zamboanga because of the rice crisis. Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said the rice shortage and continued price hike in Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi Tawi could spread to other parts of Mindanao. “For many years, these areas have relied on smuggled rice from Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand, slipped through Sabah,” said Piñol. But instead of talking about the problem, Piñol should tell

‘GG,.... From A4

inspectors who check the quality of the rice before it is loaded in the docks of the long Mekong River and certify that the shipment/s are according to the specification of the buyer. In my time, I nominated SGS, the international Swiss-based preinspection firm. There are also other reputable inspecting firms like Bureau Veritas, Cotecna of France, Omni of Japan. Which of these inspected the shipments before they were loaded to vessels en route to our ports? Or did we nominate some other less-thanreputable firm? Now the imported rice will be fumigated to rid it of “bukbok” because gov-

CROSSROADS JONATHAN DE LA CRUZ They can try. But that will be another story. In any event, a reading of their charge sheet betrays the group’s sheer disregard for the basics of judicial and even legislative authority. For one how can they in conscience put the seven in the wringer while cavalierly insisting that the eighth member of the High Court who also voted for Sereno’s ouster, Ombudsman Samuel Martires, is exempt from any of the alleged culpability just because he has been put in charge of another ofﬁce? That is not only a lame excuse. It is a cop out. If they really believe that the eight justices who voted to oust Sereno are guilty, then they cannot by that short hand simply waive the culpability away. After all, Ombudsman Martires is himself an impeachable ofﬁcial so they could have just easily included him in the charge sheet. They cannot be selective, one way or the other. They cannot have their cake and eat it too. That cavalier arrangement was in fact a giveaway as one reads the charge. The claim is that the eight justices violated the Constitution by voting in a case presented before them just because the four impeachers and their allies, in and out of Congress, do not agree with their decision. By insisting that they should have voted the case their way, they are in effect insisting that the Court can and should be bended to their liking. What kind of logic is that? I

thought these guys are law for the rule of law and judicial independence. As SolGen Calida himself noted with a tinge of sarcasm, what Lagman and company did was to shame the House as an institution by misusing one of its principal authorities, in this case as an impeachment originator, in haranguing who in their view are impeachable ofﬁcials who act in accord with their best lights in doing their duties but who do not subscribe to their wishes and agenda. Said Calida: “If the opposition legislators’ logic will be followed then all justices whose constitutional interpretation differ from them, can be impeached. Worst, following also this logic, justices who dissented from the majority view in constitutional cases can also be impeached. This will reduce impeachment to a mere vengeance mechanism far from which it is intended for.” How true. This maybe the reason why no less than Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has said that she wants the speedy resolution of the impeachment case. She must have correctly surmised what the impeachers are up to which is to have a platform to shame the justices and ultimately delay the appointment of a new Chief Justice. It’s a contrivance of an impeachment; it does not have a place in any civil undertaking. “The most important thing is to expedite it one way or the other so that it does not really disturb the legislative agenda,” Arroyo said. This is just as well, given the tightness of the period to work on the budget and other more important national initiatives. Tama na.

the people what he and his department are doing to address the rice crisis. Pinol also warned about the dangers of rice importation because it dampens the incentives of local farmers to plant. Over the weekend tons of legally imported rice are arriving from Vietnam with 150,000 sacks to be unloaded in Zamboanga which is suffering from the lack of supply of the basic food commodity. What has Pinol done to spur rice production in almost three years of the Duterte administration? He and National Food Authority Administrator Jason Aquino should resign and not wait for the President to sack them. The NFA has not been able to control the price of rice in the market. In Zamboanga, the price of commercial rice

has reached P70 per kilo—way beyond what the local people can afford. In Metro Manila, the price of commercial rice ranged from P43 to P54 per kilo depending on the variety like Dinorado and Sinondomeng. Senators blame NFA Administrator Aquino for the panic-buying of rice and the failure to go after traders and distributors who hoard supply to jack up prices. The NFA, tasked with the country’s food security, is under the supervision of the Department of Agriculture. In Subic, thousands of sacks of rice were rotting in the hold of a ship that brought the shipment from Vietnam. The shipment could not be unloaded early because of the incessant rain in the last three weeks.

ernment cannot possibly allow even the poorest of the poor to eat weevil-laced 25-percent broken inferior rice. Decades back, Bulog in Indonesia (their NFA) had a similar problem with 25-percent broken rice, and the natives almost broke up in revolt. I am sure our athletes now in Jakarta, if they ever tried eating in “cheap” food stalls, wondered why the rice is so good, and so fragrant. Even their carinderias serve 15-percent broken, minimum standard. In 2010, NFA had a similar weevil problem in its warehouses, because we had rice that were stocked back to 2008. TV cameras also panned on our Valenzuela warehouse, and fumigation rid the rice of pests. That was the time we were “swimming in rice” from unabated huge imports from Vietnam that PNoy decried in his primera SONA. But now we have freshly imported

rice from the same country sources. Wala na ngang murang bigas, may bukbok pa. *** It is almost harvest time in Central Luzon. By this time, any middleman with the smallest of brains would have ﬁgured out the supply conditions, that is, the expected harvest of the staple grain, after ﬂoods and other weather disturbances. Why is the average palay farm-gate buying price, as the Philippine Statistics Authority puts it, an all-time high of P22.10 per kilo? And that is the national average, because in Nueva Ecija, it is P27, even higher, depending on quality. Multiply the palay buying price exfarm by two, and you get your “minimum” selling price of well-milled rice. Again, go back to Economics 101 and the law of supply and demand.

Pope... From A4

The scandal has dogged the visit, and intensiﬁed overnight when a former Vatican envoy to the US accused Francis of personally ignoring sexual abuse claims against prominent US Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was forced to resign last month. Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano wrote in a letter published in the National Catholic Register that he had told Francis of the allegations in 2013, but that he had responded by lifting sanctions imposed on McCarrick by predecessor Pope Benedict. “He [Pope Francis] knew from at least June 23, 2013 that McCarrick was a serial predator,” wrote Vigano,” adding “he knew that he was a corrupt man, he covered for him to the bitter end.” The Vatican said it had no comment to make on the claims. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on Saturday directly urged the pope to take action against abuses and ensure justice for victims worldwide. Francis said inaction over “these repellent crimes has rightly given rise to outrage, and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catho-

lic community. I myself share those sentiments.” Francis on Saturday also met eight abuse victims, including a woman assaulted by a priest when she was in hospital aged 13 and a man who was illegally adopted because his mother was unmarried. In a strongly worded speech at the start of the pope’s visit, Varadkar said the abuses in Ireland were “stains” on the Catholic Church, the state and Irish society as a whole. “There is much to be done to bring about justice and truth and healing for victims and survivors. Holy Father, I ask that you use your office and influence to ensure that this is done here in Ireland and across the world,” he said. He demanded of Francis “that from words flow actions.” Paul Jude Redmond, who was illegally adopted from a Church-run “Mother and Baby Home” and met the pope on Saturday, said the pontiff appeared “genuinely shocked” by the stories of abuse. But at a news conference in Dublin on Saturday by the group Ending Clergy Abuse, victim Mark Vincent Healey said the pope’s speech in Dublin was a “total missed opportunity”. “We’re still waiting. We’re left with uncertain silence. When is he going to act? What is he going to do?”

60,000 cancer deaths per year

No way on impeachment NOW that President Duterte has named Associate Justice Teresitade Castro as the new Chief Justice, there is no way that the impeachment case filed by four House independent minority members led by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman last Aug. 24 will ever pass muster, even at the committee level. The newly appointed CJ is one of seven magistrates charged by Lagman and his colleagues, Ifugao Representative Teddy Baguilat and Party List Congressmen Gary Alejano (Magdalo) and Tom Villarin (Akbayan) for their alleged “unconstitutional act” in voting to affirm the ouster of then CJ Maria Lourdes Sereno based on the quo warranto case filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida. To the four legislators the act of the seven justices was “not only bereft of constitutional anchorage but a blatant subterfuge, an orchestrated charade” which amounted to a betrayal of public trust and, perhaps, in their own reckoning, rising to high crimes and misdemeanor-two of the grounds for impeachment of impeachable public officials. Well, they had two days of pageone media coverage all right, complete with the usual self-righteous push for the Judicial and Bar Council to strike out de Castro and two other CJ candidates, Associate Justices Lucas Bersamin and Diosdado Peralta, from the list. With this appointment, that demand for JBC to hold off has been breached. Given their long-held antipathy against President Duterte, are they going to file a case against him as well for not heeding their injunction to this his bounded constitutional duty?

MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 2018

every 100 breast cancer cases. The figures for childhood cancers is no less alarming, with an average survival rate of only 30 percent. This is a far cry from the 84-percent average in high-income countries. IT DOESN’T get nearly the same It is worrying then that public mileage in the primetime news as oth- healthcare spending to help treat and er pieces of legislation, but, if enacted, fight the disease hasn’t kept pace with one particular bill can help save hun- the trend and has remained dismally dreds of thousands of Filipino lives. low. While the overall healthcare When Congress resumes this week, spending for cancer is in the same on the plate of the powerful House level as Vietnam and Thailand at 4.4 Committee on Appropriations chaired percent of the GDP in 2013, only 32 by Rep. Karlo Nograles (Davao City) percent came from the government, is the Cancer Control Act. compared to 42 percent in Vietnam It’s not an overstatement to say that and 80 percent in Thailand. millions of cancer stakeholders are A big chunk—57 percent—of praying for the bill’s speedy approval. cancer-related spending is paid out The clamor is led by the Cancer Co- of pocket by Filipino cancer patients, alition of the Philippines, a national not to mention the relatively low level multi-sectoral alliance composed of of access to innovative cancer treatcancer patient organizations, medical ments. It is not surprising then that societies, and health advocates. cancer diagnosis in the Philippines of“All of us, ten spell finanmembers of the cial catastrophe. Cancer CoaliThe Philiption of the PhilpineE CostsS ippines, belong in Oncology, or It is worrying then to different PESO Study, that public healthcare NGOs that try to found that a sigdo whatever we spending to help treat nificant percentcan in our own age of cancer and fight the disease sphere of influpatients either hasn’t kept pace with ence, bringing suffer financial the trend. with us wisdom ruin or outright gained from die within a year our experience of diagnosis due with cancer,” to lack of funds, said broadcast support, and acjournalist and breast cancer survivor cess to medication. Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala, coalition Thus, while fundamentally a public co-chairman. health concern, the impact of the stag“We have gone beyond ranting and gering numbers on the economy must started to fill the gaps in cancer care. also be appreciated. After all, we can I feel we should step up the conversa- only surmise how the financial catastion and start talking about what the trophe arising from cancer diagnosis government can do to fulfill the unmet multiplies among families and comneeds of cancer patients in this coun- munities. Statistically, the economic try. While we want to be partners in loss arising from the 100,000 new finding a solution, it’s the government cancer cases and 60,000 deaths cannot that has the resources, after all.” be disregarded. This is approximately The numbers are alarming. Every 10 percent of the 582,183 deaths in year, almost 110,000 new cancer cases 2016 reported by Philippine Statistics. are recorded and 66,000 Filipinos die Amid this backdrop, Rep. Nograles from the disease. Since 2004, cancer has thankfully vowed adequate fundhas been the third-leading cause of ing for the bill some months back. death in the Philippines, next only to “Upholding the funding requirecardiovascular disease. This translates ments of the measure will put it one to 11 Filipino adults getting sick of can- step closer toward its enactment, cer and dying from it every single hour. which can’t come sooner for Filipinos Alikpala said while there have whose loved ones are afflicted by this been a lot of inroads in the past few curse of a disease,” he said. years, these developments are still Under the law, the government’s outpaced by the increase in incidence efforts in helping combat the disease of and deaths from cancer. There is no will be comprehensive and integrated, question that something more drastic, and the ensuing policy will serve as more holistic, more institutionalized the framework for all cancer-related has to be done. activities of the government, Nograles “A comprehensive national cancer said. More importantly, diagnosis will plan is long overdue,” said Dr. Ra- no longer translate to either financial mon Severino, coalition co-chair and ruin or a death sentence. president of the Philippine Society of “Through this bill, the state will be Oncologists. “We need more patholo- able to provide more PhilHealth bengists, we need more oncologists. We efits for cancer patients and access to have limited nurses trained in oncol- better medication and health care serogy. Our cancer centers are mostly vices of the Department of Health,” located in Metro Manila and some big he said. cities. When you add this all up, and Such overdue acknowledgment compare it with the number of cancer is welcome. The reality of cancer as cases, then you will see why we need public health phenomenon and a deto act now.” bilitating disease is something that the Even in the context of the region, government can no longer ignore. the Philippines has the highest death We hope that Rep. Nograles will rate for breast and prostate cancer. For keep his promise of ensuring that the former, the country has the low- the Cancer Control Act will have adest survival rate, with a mortality to equate funding. incidence ratio of 0.58, or 58 deaths Pass the Cancer Control bill now.

Silent vigil This is the ﬁrst papal visit to Ireland since John Paul II spoke in front of 1.5 million people during a visit in 1979. The Church’s role and standing has been badly dented by the abuse scandals and the Irish have shed traditional Catholic mores, voting earlier this year to legalize abortion after approving same-sex marriage in 2015. The pontiff is in Ireland to close the 2018 World Meeting of Families—a global Catholic gathering that addressed issues including the treatment of gay people in the Church. Street vendors in Dublin selling papal souvenirs complained of sluggish trade, as protesters rubbed shoulders with devout Catholics in the streets of the city. In Tuam, a town in western Ireland not far from Knock, a silent vigil was planned for Sunday in solidarity with victims of “mother and baby” homes—institutions accused of being punishment hostels for unwed pregnant women. “Signiﬁcant quantities” of baby remains found in makeshift graves at the site of one such home in Tuam last year shocked the country. Multiple probes in Ireland have found Church leaders protected hundreds of predatory priests and former Irish president Mary McAleese revealed this month that the Vatican had sought to

keep Church documents inaccessible to government investigators. The abuse scandals in Ireland are part of a worldwide crisis for the Vatican. A devastating report earlier this month accused more than 300 priests in the US state of Pennsylvania of abusing more than 1,000 children since the 1950s. AFP

POPE FRANCIS

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MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 2018

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Sewerage treatment a must for Boracay firms T By Rio N. Araja

HE Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Sunday stood ﬁrm on its decision to require establishments in Aklan’s Boracay Island to put up sewerage treatment plants either individually or in clusters to ensure that all waste water would undergo appropriate treatment prior to their discharge into the sea.

“The President described Boracay as a ‘cesspool.’ By that word alone, he meant that the waters around the island is of very poor quality,” DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu said. “And, indeed, it was. The concentration of e-coliform in the water samples that were put to test in the early part of our rehabilitation efforts were too high—millions of times beyond the standard,” he added. Cimatu acknowledged the initiative of the local government in coming up with an ordinance requiring sewerage treatment plants before, but said such measure had not been faithfully enforced. “This time, the Boracay inter-agency task force will make sure that the sewerage treatment plant requirement shall be enforced fully,” he said. “The President’s order has always been to give premium to the environment rather than to economic gains. Therefore, the sewerage treatment plant is non-negotiable. It is one of the primary requirements for the opening of Boracay,” he added. He said there are government financial institutions, such as the Development Bank of the Philippines and Land Bank of the Philippines, willing to assist in financing the sewerage treatment plants amid concerns from stakeholders that these would be “expensive.” Earlier, Malacañang asked the Supreme Court to dismiss a petition questioning the six-month closure of the world-famous Boracay Island resort. In a 61-page comment, Malacañang, through the Office of the Solicitor General, sought the dismissal of the petition filed by three residents of Boracay seeking to nullify President Rodrigo Duterte’s Proclamation 475 that closed the resort to tourists and non-residents from April 26 to Oct. 25.

OUT IN THE OPEN. Male teens sit idly at a plantbox area while holding small solvent bottles along the busy stretch of Manila’s Roxas boulevard. Ey Acasio

Maynilad expands service connection accounts By Rio N. Araja WEST Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. on Sunday said it has expanded its water service connections to 1,386,504 accounts after connecting 753,206 service accounts or over 5.2-million customers since its reprivatization in 2007. With its increased service connections, Maynilad now provides potable water to more than 9.5-million people, an 55-percent hike from the 6.1-million customers it served 11 years ago.

In the ﬁrst half of 2018 alone, a total of 28,641 new service accounts were added to Maynilad’s distribution network. Around 98 percent of Maynilad customers have 24hour water supply, which is up from only 32 percent enjoying the same service level in2006. Moreover, 100 percent of Maynilad customers receive their water pressure at the average pressure of 7 psi (pounds per square inch). At 7 psi, water supply can reach the second ﬂoor of a building without the aid of a booster pump.

“Having access to potable water should be the least of our customers’concerns. Hence, we continue to lay the pipelines that will enable is to connect the most farﬂung areas in our concession where people still rely on deep wells or expensive water deliveries from vendors,” Maynilad president and chief executive ofﬁcer Ramoncito Fernandez said. For 2018, Maynilad has earmarked more than P9 billion for capital expenditure projects, of which P6.6 billion will be for water infrastructure investments, he said. Rio N. Araja

US releases P296.2-m assistance for Marawi

OFW group seeks strict enforcement of fund requirement By Macon Ramos-Araneta

By Nash B. Maulana

MARAWI CITY—The US government has appropriated P296.2 million ($5.55 million) in fresh assistance package for humanitarian and social reconstruction works here and around this war-ravaged city, Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Michael Klecheski said. “The additional assistance will promote the role and inclusion of women in the recovery and rehabilitation of Marawi as well as support ongoing humanitarian assistance work in and around the city,” Klecheski said. The US ofﬁcial said the assistance, to be delivered through the United States Agency for International Development, brings the total US government contribution to humanitarian and recovery work in and around Marawi to more than P1.7 billion ($31.95 million). He added that “women have been disproportionately impacted by the conﬂict in Marawi, including by psychological trauma, reduced mobility, and diminished participation in civic activities.” At least P136.1 million ($2.55 million) of the new assistance will respond to the needs of displaced persons, particularly women and girls, by promoting leadership and fostering peace-building and alternatives to violent extremism, as well as integrate gender into recovery and rehabilitation work. In partnership with local governments and organizations, the embassy said USAID will work with diverse groups of women to promote community dialogue and encourage civic engagement.

NUMBER CRUNCHING. The Laguna Police Provincial Office, led by provincial director Sr. Supt. Kirby Kraft, presents its crime statis-

tics in a forum. Roy Tomandao

GenSan’s Level 1 target in Duterte’s ‘narco list’ killed GENERAL SANTOS CITY—Two alleged drug personalities on President Rodrigo Duterte’s “narco list” were killed in an encounter with anti-drug operatives in a village here on Saturday night. Chief Supt. Eliseo Rasco, Region 12 police director, on Sunday said the encounter ensued during two major search operations in Barangay Fatima here

against three targeted drug personalities, including a police officer assigned in Maguindanao province. He identified the slain suspects as Juliet Sepi Bitayo, 46, and Noren Balawag Apil, 54, both residents of Ondok Gawan Road, Purok 16 in Barangay Fatima. Rasco said the two resisted arrest and engaged operatives in a firefight during a search operation in the area at 10:20

p.m. Saturday. The suspects were rushed to the Dr. Jorge P. Royeca Hospital but were declared dead on arrival by attending doctors, he said. Rasco said the search warrant, which was issued by Davao City Regional Trial Court Branch 16 Judge Emmanuel Carpio, mainly targeted Bitayo for violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act. PNA

THE fate of some 5 million overseas Filipino workers deployed in the Middle East will take a turn for the worse because of the failure of the government to fully implement the escrow funds needed to cover the legal claims arising from violations of employment contracts, an OFW advocacy group said on Sunday. AKO OFW (Advocates & Keepers Organization of OFWs) national president Marcia Sadion said the nonimplementation of a government order requiring foreign recruitment agencies to set aside $50,000 escrow funds has endangered the welfare of some 5 million OFWs who endure maltreatment, non-payment of wages and other violations of their contracts of employment. Under the guidelines of the Philippine Overseas Welfare Administration, Sadion said all FRAs must put up the funds in escrow. He said the amount will cover the legal claims of OFWs against their employers. FRAs, however, are only required to set aside $10,000, which is not enough to cover the cost of the claims. Sadion said his group wrote a manifesto to President Rodrigo Duterte asking him to order government agencies tasked with OFW concerns to more strictly implement the mandatory $50,000 escrow deposit requirement for the accreditation or accreditation renewal of FRAs. “It is in these circumstances and premises that we are calling the President’s attention, hoping and deeply praying that imposition of penalty or sanction be immediately undertaken against non-compliant FRAs to the escrow deposit requirement to continuously protect and promote the beneﬁts, interest, rights, and general welfare of those OFWs,” the group said.

Sports

Tigresses edge Lady Tams for No. 2 seat UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas pulled through in a back-and-forth duel with Far Eastern U, carving out a 25-15, 25-27, 25-18, 22-25, 1511 decision to close out their elims assignments in the Premier Volleyball League Season 11 Collegiate Conference in Cagayan de Oro late Saturday. Though the victory netted the Tigresses the No. 2 seeding in the Final Four with a 6-1 slate, the two teams will still be the ones disputing the other finals seat as the Lady Tams finished their elims campaign with a 5-2 card for third. The top team, which is Adamson, will battle the No. 4 squad in the other Final Four pairing in the midseason conference of the league organized by Sports Vision. University of the Philippines is gunning for the last berth against San Beda at presstime. Eya Laure suited up after missing the team’s last game due to slight injury and the incoming rooking fired 12 points to back Milena Alessandrini and Caitlin Viray, who combined for 31 points while Ysabel Jimenez added 11 for the España-based school. Kecelyn Galdones and skipper Tin Francisco chipped in nine markers each to underscore UST’s balanced offensive sock but the Tigresses needed to come up with a lot of spunk in the stretch to defuse the Lady Tams’ stubborn stand. Czarina Carandang hammered in 12 spikes and finished with 13 points while veteran Heather Guino-O and newcomber Lycha Ebon each shot 10 hits and Kyle Negrito added nine markers for the Lady Tams.

MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 2018 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Del Rosario, Olaivar top BWC finals N ATIONAL athlete Liza del Rosario and Nicco Olaivar topped the list of ﬁrst center ﬁnalists as the 2018 Bowling World Cup competition unwrapped in 14 different keg centers.

Del Rosario carded a 10-game series of 2137 pinfalls at Coronado (Starlanes) to show the way for 23 other initial finalists in the ladies’ division. Olaivar rolled 2581 in 12 games to

pace the first 40 men’s finalists. Another set of men’s and ladies’ finalists from the second center finals will advance to the national championship scheduled on September 29 and 30 and October 3 and 5 in three different venues -- Coronado Lanes, Superbowl and Paeng’s Eastwood Bowl. Rachelle Leon emerged as the No. 2 ladies’ center finalist with 1919, with Rochalle Munsayac taking third spot at 1850. Scott Uy landed second in the men’s division with 2475, followed by veteran Raoul Miranda (2445), former national kegler Paulo Valdez (2422), Maurhic Padawan (2403), RJay Magana (2365)

and Manny Amparo (2347). The other early finalists are: Ladies -- Jo Anne Bonifacio, Mykee Creencia, Soledad Lorna Magabo, Leanie Amparo,Yolly Floralde, Corazon Sangil, Cita Yumul, Erlinda Afos, Melody Bangsi-il, Winnie Kilito, Gina Varilla, Sherry Ann Cruz, Cindy Edquilane, Pure Anselmo, Alyssa dela Rosa, Jill Odulio, Allen Joy Laigo, Vanessa Pabalan, Lorna Misa, Faye Piol and Arlena Bucao. Men -- Art Gamolo, Larry Tinio, Edan Enriquez, Simple Villajin, Rey Tejano,Cesar Perez, Alex Santos, Caloy Guitones, Benedicto Aquino, Rudante Unay, Jerry Bugtong, Norman Lising,

July Vargas, Don Evangelista, Paul Sia, Rolly Magana, Jomin Wong, Merwin Tan, Kenzo Umali, Kurt Mendoza, Jansen Collantes, Nino Pabalan, Kayle Abad, Joe Cabactulan, James Tiu, Toti Daval Santos, Angel Dilig, Carl Lim, Allen Laigo, Wilson Sua, Rolendo Sumuelo, Joel Guevarra and Don Tungala. The men’s and ladies’ national champions will earn the right to represent the Philippines in the International Bowling World Cup slated at Sam’s Town in Las Vegas on Nov. 4-11, this year. Last year, the Philippines’ Krizziah Tabora emerged World Cup ladies’ champion in the internationals in Hermosillo, Mexico.

Bolick, Quinto named NCAA best players

GOLF CHAMP. Philippine Golf Tour Order of Merit frontrunner Jobim Carlos (center) holds his trophy as he poses with PGT executive director Narlene Soriano (left), and Iloilo Golf and Country Club president/CEO Winston Santos after edging Australian Tim Stewart by two to capture the ICTSI Iloilo Golf Challenge last Saturday, his third championship in the last three months.

Enciso leads onslaught as Aces bludgeon Texters By Jeric Lopez A BLAZING start gave Alaska the cushion it needed as it mercilessly routed ailing TNT KaTropa, 12596, to stay hot in the 2018 Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night. Simon Enciso scored 22 of his career-high 30 points in the first half to backstop the Aces in their

torching start that ultimately decided the outcome. Enciso fired nine triples as he had an astounding night shooting the ball, turning in a 10-of-13 clip. Mike Harris had another doubledouble to help Alaska, producing 16 points and 24 points, while Vic Manuel scored 18 and Chris Banchero added 15. Right off the bat, Alaska carved

a gigantic 22-point bubble, 35-13, at the end of one. That proved to be the story of the game as TNT woke up on the wrong side of the bed and was unable to put up a decent fight. By the end of the first half, Alaska’s lead was already up to 68-29 as the game was already beyond reach at the turn. The Aces, led by Enciso, already had four players in double-digits at

halftime. The Aces have now won their second straight win in as many games to seize early lead of the tournament with its 2-0 card. As for the the Tropang Texters, the slide continued as they lost their second straight to drop to 1-3, near the bottom. Stacey Davis led TNT KaTropa with 26 points and 12 boarda for a double-double.

IT was a special kind of week for individual performances in the NCAA Season 94. And two players from rival schools stood at the forefront of it all. San Beda’s Robert Bolick and Letran’s Bong Quinto put up performances which will be remembered for a long time - the type that won’t be replicated in the foreseeable future. This forced the hand of the men and women covering the oldest collegiate tournament in the country to give the Chooks-to-Go NCAA Press Corps Player of the Week award to both of them, the first time in a long while that reporters handed out the weekly individual plum to two players. Bolick came away with the best scoring performance the league has seen in 44 years as he dropped 50 on a hapless Arellano side as San Beda took a 98-79 win last Friday. The 6’1” guard out of Leyte made 18 of his 25 shots from the field and all nine of his free throws to put together the second highest scoring output in league history, next only to Lim Eng Beng’s 55 back when La Salle was still in the NCAA. “You can’t really compare Robert to anyone ‘cause iba-iba sila ng laro but again, nag-iisa lang ang Robert Bolick,” said Red Lions coach Boyet Fernandez. “August 24, I declare it as Robert Bolick day,” he added. While Bolick made his mark when it comes to scoring, Quinto pretty much did everything else. The hulking forward put together two triple-doubles in a span of four days as the Knights swept their last two games of the elimination round with wins over Mapua and Emilio Aguinaldo College. The former Juniors MVP had averages of 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10.5 assists in that stretch - joining the likes of now-PBA stars Calvin Abueva and Scottie Thompson as the only players to notch back-to-back triple-doubles.

Stellar cast to clash in Aboitiz Invitational THE Aboitiz Invitational, one of the premier championships on the Philippine Golf Tour Asia calendar, braces for its grand eighth staging next month with one of the strongest casts being assembled for the $100,000 event on Sept. 5-8 at the Orchard Golf and Country Club’s Palmer Course in Dasmariñas, Cavite. “We are firming up the cast that will feature the local tour’s big guns and a slew of PGTA campaigners from Asia and other parts of the world, making the field one of the strongest in years,” said Colo Ventosa, general manager of the organizing Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. “The Aboitiz Invitational continues to be a strong platform for aspiring local and foreign pros to further improve and excel in the sport.” The Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV), which has major stakes in power, banking, food, infrastructure, and land, joined the golf tour in 2011 and has since become one of the keenly awaited tournaments in the circuit for its prize money and participation. “As an organization that upholds excellence, Aboitiz

prides itself in being at the forefront of promoting the game of golf in the country. Through this annual tournament, the pros, particularly the local players, can improve their games as they compete with some of the best talents in the region,” said AEV Chief Executive Officer Erramon Aboitiz. The Palmer Course has hosted several major tournaments, including the Johnnie Walker Championship in the mid-90s, with the upcoming event serving as the fifth leg of the second season of the region’s newest circuit put up by the International Container Terminal Services, Inc. Miguel Tabuena edged Angelo Que in a thrilling duel to win by one at the Manila Southwoods last year with the same kind of finish expected to unfold in two weeks time. The PGTA campaigners will also be coming into the 72-hole championship fresh from a long break after Jhonnel Ababa broke a six-month spell by ruling the fourth leg at Forest Hills last month although the local aces plus a slew of foreign aces will be competing in top form coming off a series of PGT tournaments.

Miguel Tabuena and Angelo Que likely to banner the elite Aboitiz Invitational cast

Tigers rally past Lanterns; Heroes win THE Davao Occidental Tigers rode on Bonbon Custodio’s hot hands in the pivotal stretch to subdue the Pampanga Lanterns, 82-77, and boost their bid in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Datu Cup at Alonte Sports Arena in Binan, Laguna.

The Laguna Heroes also got back on track following a surprisingly easy 76-52 dumping of the Paranaque Patriots in the second game. Staring at a 12-point deﬁcit, 5870, with less than ﬁve minutes to go, the Tigers clawed their way

back as Custodio scored 12 of his team-high 24 points in that span. With the Lanterns ahead, 7574, Custodio clustered six points to push the Tigers ahead, 80-79, en route to their fourth victory in seven starts that put them in the upper half of the 26 competing teams.

Showing the form that made him a member of the PBA AllRookie team in 2009, Custodio tallied 24 points, six rebounds and six assists to emerge as the game’s best player, his second in the league founded by Sen. Manny Pacquiao.

Sports

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

MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 2018

The Philippine volleyball team bowed to host Indonesia in four sets, 20-25, 20-25, 26-24, 22-25, in the women’s volleyball competition of the 2018 Asian Games Saturday night at GBK Volley Indoor Stadium in Jakarta, but still advanced to the quarterfinals as the fourth seed in the group with a 1-4 card.

Guiao: It’s an even game vs Koreans Games Today (GBK Basketball Hall) 10 a.m. – Korea vs Philippines 12:30 p.m. – Iran vs Japan 4 p.m. – Taipei vs Syria 6:30 p.m. – China vs Indonesia

JAKARTA—It now boils down to execution. Philippine Team mentor Yeng Guiao and his coaching staff have scouted the enemy and mapped out a game plan. It now depends on the Philippine basketball team to executive it to perfection when it takes on Korea at 10 a.m. (11 a.m. in Manila) in a do-or-die basketball quarterfinal match in the 2018 Asian Games today at the GBK Basketball Hall here. “It’s the big game and we’re ready to play Korea. I feel good about this game, my feeling – as I’ve said – this game is even. I feel we have a good chance against the Koreans,” said Guiao. If the Filipinos win, they take on either Iran or Japan – colliding at 12:30 in the afternoon – in the semifinals. The other quarterfinal matches feature Taipei and Syria at 4 p.m., while host Indonesia takes on powerhouse China at 6:30 p.m., with the winners clashing in the other semifinal bracket. Guiao conducted a three-hour session, with the first hour dedicated on team meeting and viewing, while the final two hours were spent on polishing the plays the Filipinos will use against the Koreans. “Of course we want to win the game… we want to get to the medal round. We’ve prepared everything and we tried to keep our game plan as simple as we can,” said Guiao, whose team finished with a 1-1 card to claim No. 2 spot in Group D behind China’s 2-0.

Diaz to cheer PH cagers vs Koreans By Riera U. Mallari

AKARTA, Indonesia –Asian Games gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz will be leading a small group of Filipino fans cheering the Philippine basketball team when it takes on Korea at the Gelora Bung Karno Basketball Hall in the quarterﬁnals of the basketball competitions at 10 a.m. (11 a.m. in Manila) here today (Monday).

A pleasant surprise greeted the Rain or Shine-lead PH team when the 27-year-old Diaz dropped by the team’s practice last Saturday afternoon and had a brief conversation with NBA star Jordan Clarkson, coach Yeng Guiao and other members of the team. “I try to encourage my fellow Filipino

athletes to keep pushing, to keep fighting for flag and country,” said the Asiad weightlifting gold medalist. “For me, if I was able to do it, win the gold, I’m confident our other athletes can also do it and I’m supporting them all out. I want to inspire them.” Diaz, who was also the silver medalist

in the Rio Olympics that led to her being named the 2016 Philippine Sportswriters Association Athlete of the Year, expressed confidence the Nationals can beat Koreans. “I’m confident they can win that, so I want to cheer for them, be part of the Filipino crowd at the venue,” said Diaz of the PH-Korea game, which interestingly coincides with the celebration of the National Heroes Day back home. Diaz was particularly impressed with Clarkson, who she shares a couple of similar traits. “Jordan is also quiet just like me, very simple, but a very nice person,” added Diaz. “I asked him how he feels playing for the national team, and he said it’s an honor and that he’s proud to represent the Philippines, just like me.” Diaz, who won the gold in the women’s 53-kilogram division as she bested

Dumaan, Loon give PH its first pencak medals JAKARTA—Filipino fighters Dines Dumaan and Jefferson Rhey Loon lost their men’s singles tanding semifinal matches Sunday, but the overall effort was still good enough for two bronzes, the Philippines’ first medals in the sport’s history in the Asian Games at the Padepokan Pencak Silat TM III Hall here Sunday. Loon failed to make it to the championship round of the men’s 60-65 kgs category as he bowed to Ngoc Toan Nguyen of Vietnam, 0-5, while Dumaan suffered the same fate in his 55-kg class duel with Muhammad Faizul M Nasir of Malaysia, 0-5. Loon lost on all scores of the five juries, 8-12-12-6-10, compared to Nguyen, who posted 2226-20-17-21. Dines had 14-9-8-11-15 in three rounds of sparring, while Nasir scored of 17-16-13-14 and 18. Meanwhlie, Cherry May Regalado will shoot for the gold medal today (Monday) as she competes in the medal round of pencak silat’s form event, also at the Pencak Silat TM III Hall. Regalado finished in joint second with Vietnam’s Vuong Thi Binh on scores of 447 in Group A of the women’s single preliminary round. Vilaysack Tunee of Laos topped the round with 455 points, while Malaysia’s Ratius Norshahirah was fourth with 440.

Kristina Shermetova of Turkmenistan and Surodchana Khambao of Thailand last Tuesday, has become some sort of a head cheerleader for the PH team in these games, supporting her fellow athletes whenever she can. After winning against Kazakhstan, 9659, and losing to the Chinese, 80-82, the Nationals are hoping that they are close to achieving the chemistry Guiao wants to see in his wards. Guiao said cohesion could come in handy against the Koreans, who have been a pain in the neck of the Filipinos in past Asian Games. “I have a good feeling that with Clarkson, and of course the way the players are playing, the way they are developing and the way we are getting that cohesion, I think things are even this time going to the game against Korea,” said Guiao.

SEAG decathlon champ injures elbow, pulls out

SEA Games decathlon champion Aries Toledo clears the bar during men’s high jump of the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.

JAKARTA — The Philippine athletics’ team suffered a setback here Sunday after one of its medal bets, reigning Southeast Asian Games decathlon champion Aries Toledo injured his right elbow when he was warming up for his afternoon events. Toledo began his bid on a bright note on Saturday as he placed second in the ﬁrst event of his discipline, clocking 10.84 in the 100m behind Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Jasem Al Qaree (10.77). He even placed second in the 110m hurdles early Sunday with a 14.85 clocking, just a tad behind Korea’s Choo Donghwi, who ran 14.27. The SEAG champion was preparing for the pole vault, javelin and his pet event, the 1,500 meters, at around 12:30 p.m. on Sunday when he body fell on the pole vault cross bar as he missed the practice height, with the crossbar pinning his right elbow resulting in swelling. The coaching staff decided to pull him out of the games. “It’s a setback on our medal campaign as Toledo was well on his way to a podium ﬁnish when the accident occurred,” rued Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association president Dr. Philip Juico. It was the second time in two years that pole vault injuries have created havoc on PATAFA’s intense medal campaign as Asian Championship bronze medalist EJ Obiena suffered an ACL injury while practicing on the eve of his departure for the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games.

Tabal 11th, but still Southeast Asia’s best JAKARTA — Mary Joy Tabal placed 11th in a tough marathon ﬁeld but remained the best Southeast Asian long-distance runner in the 2018 Asian Games here Sunday morning at the Gelora Bung Karno Athletics’ Stadium. The reigning Southeast Asian Games marathon champion clocked 2:51:41 in the ultra competitive marathon competition here, where she failed to crack the top 10, ﬁnishing the race 16 minutes and 50 seconds behind champion Rose Chelimo of Bahrain (2:34:51), the gold medalist in the 2017 World Championships in London with a time of 2:27:11. The 29-year-old Tabal tried to stay with lead pack for 30 kilometers, but couldn’t keep up when eventual champion Chelimo, Keiko Nogami

of Japan and Kim Hye Song of North Korea amped the pace the rest of the way in the 42.195-km race traveling through the main roads of Jakarta. “I really tried my best, kaya lang talagang malakas ang pacing ng mga kalaban,” said Tabal, who trained for months in Tuscany, Italy. She also was not able to improve on the eighth-place ﬁnish of Christabel Martes (3:09:48) in the 2002 Busan Asian Games. Tabal’s clocking here was also slower than the 2:48:26 she set in ruling the 2017 Southeast Asian Games in Singapore last year and the 2:43:31 time she did when she placed 8th during the Olympic qualifying 2016 Gold Label Road Races held in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, but it was enough to keep her status as the best marathoner

in the SEA region. Thailand’s Jane Vongvorachoti ranked 15th overall with 3:03:11 and was 28:20 off the pace, while her compatriot, Linda Janthachit placed 17th with 3:08:14 and trailed the champion by 33:23. Nogami ﬁnished runner-up to Chelimo with her 2:36:27, just 1:36 behind, even as Kim salvaged the bronze (2:37:20), some 2:29 behind the winner. Meanwhile, Kristina Knott was set to run in the semiﬁnals of the 100m later in the day after qualifying with a time of 11.74 in heat 2. Also, Eric Cray was scheduled to run straight in the semifinals of the 400m hurdles with Francis Medina, also later in the day after the heats were canceled due to lack of participants.

GOMA WITH GOLD GOLFERS. Philippine Team Chef de Mission Richard Gomez (left) is shown with members of the women’s golf team which won the gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games. They are (from right) individual gold medalist Yuka Saso, Bianca Pagdanganan and Lois Kaye Go.

IN BRIEF

Business

NTC holds hearing on new major telco THE National Telecommunications Commission conducted its first public hearing on the rules and regulations over the selection of the new major player in the public telecommunications market. The public hearing Thursday is one of the steps in the NTC’s rule making process in determining the next telecommunications company, according to the regulatory body. The meeting, presided by NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba, was attended by several offices in government, telecommunications experts and legal representatives of companies who were interested to bid. Philippine Competition Commissioner Johannes Benjamin Bernabe also outlined the commission’s recommendations to the draft directive during the hearing. Cordoba said the public hearing was second of the seven-step process that also included submission of position papers, finalization, publication, effectivity of the final directive and the bidding process. Cordoba said the possibility of holding another hearing will depend on the inputs put forward during the hearing, as well as the position papers that will be submitted to the NTC.

San Miguel set to start Quezon toll road project T By Darwin G. Amojelar

HE tollway unit of San Miguel Corp. will start the construction of the P13.1billion Southern Luzon Expressway-Toll Road 4 that will extend the highway from Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Lucena City in Quezon province this year, the Public Works Department said over the weekend.

NGCP breaks ground on Batangas substation GRID operator National Grid Corp. of the Philippines recently held the groundbreaking of its Tuy 500-kV Substation project in Batangas. “The new project will enable the connection and dispatch of new generating capacities in Batangas to the grid,” NGCP said. The project, set for completion by the first quarter of 2020, also includes the TuyDasmariñas 500-kV transmission line as one of its important components. NGCP, meanwhile, recently energized the Aurora-Polanco 138-kiloVolt (kV) transmission line as part of efforts to upgrade its facilities and address the recent voltage fluctuations in Northern Mindanao. “The energization of the Aurora-Polanco 138kV Transmission line is another step towards decreasing power interruptions, mitigating the recent series of voltage fluctuations in the area, and ensuring the best quality of power that flows into homes, businesses, and industries in Northern Mindanao,” NGCP said. Alena Mae S. Flores

“We are targeting to start the construction of an expressway from Star Toll to Lucena in Quezon by third quarter of the year,” Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said. Villar said the agency already acquired more than 5 kilometers of right

of way for the project. The four-lane, 58-kilometer expressway project is expected to make travel from Southern Tagalog provinces such as Batangas, Laguna and Quezon to Bicol Region faster and safer. The project is divided into ﬁve sections. Section 1 covers Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Macban, Laguna (10.58 km); Macban, Laguna to San Pablo, Laguna (12.2 km); San Pablo, Laguna to Tiaong, Quezon (8.1-km); Tiaong to Candelaria, Quezon (14.4 km); and Candelaria to Lucena City, Quezon (12.31-km). The project is expected to cut travel time between Sto. Tomas and Lucena to just one hour from the usual four hours. South Luzon Tollways Corp., a unit of San Miguel, is the proponent of the project. SLEX-TR4 is the latest project in San Miguel’s infrastructure portfolio, which already includes the TarlacPangasinan-La Union Expressway, the Skyway Stage 3 project, the Naia Expressway project, the existing South

Luzon Expressway and the recently upgraded and expanded Southern Tagalog Arterial Road or Star Tollway. San Miguel also submitted an unsolicited proposal to the DPWH to extend TPLEx to San Juan, La Union from Rosario town for P23.95 billion. The project involves a 59.4-kilometer four-lane toll road starting from the exit of TPLEx in Rosario to San Juan. The Rosario section of the expressway is expected to be completed this year, while its Pozorrubio section opened in December 2017. The extension project would be divided into three segments, with the ﬁrst segment spanning 18 km from Rosario to Tubao. The second segment will stretch 23 km from Tubao to Naguilian and the last segment will run 18.4 km from Naguilian to San Juan. San Miguel said the project aimed to promote the development of Northern Luzon and facilitate connectivity to Central Luzon and Metro Manila through high-speed and secure access.

EJAP forum tackles tax, infra programs MEMBERS of the government’s economic team will speak at the 2nd EJAP Economic Forum organized by the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines on August 28, at the Ayuntamiento de Manila in Intramuros. The theme of this year’s forum is “Tax Reform and Infrastructure Development: The Road to an Inclusive Philippine Economy.” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Nestor Espenilla will open the event with a discussion on inﬂation and reforms in the banking system. The ﬁrst part of the forum will focus on the government’s Comprehensive Tax Reform Program and other macroeconomic developments. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez will lead the lineup of speakers that also include Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno and Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia. The second part will center on the “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program. Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade and Public Works Secretary Mark Villar will discuss the government’s infrastructure road map.

LC-PEPSI TIEUP. Customers can now enjoy their delicious and affordable LC BigMak burger with a refreshing Pepsi-Cola products as homegrown burger chain Southern Processing Corp. signs an exclusive partnership with Pepsi Cola Products Philippines Inc. From a small outlet in Lucena City in 1984, LC BigMak has expanded to more than 800 outlets nationwide. At the signing of the partnership agreement are (from left) PCPPI general manager Oliver Onrubia II, finance director Lyn Udarbe, senior general manager Aris Alindogan, senior vice president and head of national sales Domingo Almazan, SPC president Francis Dy, chief executive Mark Dy, marketing director Dave Dy and general manager George Basco.

Absolut Distillers investing P1.3b in renewable energy ABSOLUT Distillers Inc., a subsidiary of Tanduay Distillers Inc. controlled by businessman Lucio Tan Jr., is investing P1.3 billion for a three-year renewable energy project in Batangas province, a top executive said. ADI chief operating ofﬁcer Gerardo Tee said the expansion program would bring the power generation capacity from its distillery operations in Lian, Batangas to 12 megawatts from 2 MW at present. Tee said the company acquired more lands in preparation for the renewable energy expansion, which included the establishment of a cane mill. ADI is spending over P700 million for the cane mill that will not only boost the company’s operations, but also pro-

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 2018

Second package of tax reforms seen to increase electricity prices By Alena Mae S. Flores A CONSUMER watchdog warned the implementation of the second package of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law will increase power prices. “We are monitoring the removal of incentives in the power sector under the Train-2, particularly in the renewable energy industry. Everything will be subjected to 12-percent value added tax,” Laban Konsyumer Inc. president and former Trade undersecretary Vic Dimaguiba said. Dimaguiba said Train 2 would become an additional burden to the consumers, on top of the package one of the tax reforms. He said the removal of the incentives might force developers to pass on the additional cost to consumers. “It is part of the supply chain,” he said. Section 15(g) of Republic Act No. 9513 or the Renewable Energy Act exempts renewable energy from the value added tax. It states that “the sale of fuel or power generated from renewable sources of energy, such as but not limited to, biomass, solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal, ocean energy and other emerging energy resources such as fuel cells and hydrogen fuels, shall be subject to zero percent value-added tax.” The National Geothermal Association of the Philippines earlier called for the the exemption of the Renewable Energy Law from the proposed Comprehensive Tax Reform Package 2 as it would affect the competitiveness of the geothermal industry. The Petroleum Association of the Philippines also asked the government to continue to grant incentives to the industry given its “high risk” nature. PAP proposed that Presidential Decree 87 be excluded from Train 2, which was being pushed by the Finance Department. Train 2 seeks to reduce corporate income tax rates closer to the regional averages and modernize the ﬁscal incentives regime to attract the industries of the future and beneﬁt micro, small and medium enterprises.

Task force monitors China-funded infra projects By Julito G. Rada

vide a venue for sugarcane farmers to sell their produce. “The mill will be set up for raw material security and create additional income for the farmers, giving them more options. One of our dreams is to set up a small mill so that we will be independent of this molasses, which is a very hard commodity to reckon with. Our raw material is molasses,” Tee said. The mill, which will have a capacity of 1,800 tons of cane per day, will also allow ADI to convert its bagasse into electricity with a target capacity of 3.5 MW. ADI is also investing P100 million for the expansion of a bioethanol facility to 150,000 liters per day from 115,000 liters per day at present. Alena Mae S. Flores

AN interagency task force created in April is closely monitoring the preparation and processing of flagship infrastructure projects that are being rolled out with funding support from China, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said. Dominguez said during a high-level meeting in Beijing with Chinese officials led by Commerce Minister Zhong Shan on Aug. 23 the China Projects Task Force “has been effective in monitoring and facilitating the preparation and implementation” of projects proposed for China’s official development assistance loans. Dominguez said the Philippines also welcomed the creation of the China International Development Cooperation Agency as one of the reforms announced during China’s 13th National People’s

Congress in March 2018. “We look forward to working with them,” he said. CIDCA, which is directly under China’s State Council, is the lead agency that provides government concessional loan ﬁnancing. Led by Dominguez, the other members of the Philippine delegation who also attended the meeting were Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago Sta. Romana, Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Public Works Secretary Mark Villar, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade and Bases Conversion and Development Authority president Vivencio Dizon. Dominguez, on behalf of the Philippine government, expressed appreciation for China’s continuing support to

the Philippines and said that he was looking forward to “greater cooperation and stronger engagement” between the two countries to ensure the timely implementation of the priority projects under the Duterte administration. Zhong said China was willing to step up the exchange of information with the Philippines involving the projects being undertaken with Chinese funding support and meet more frequently with Filipino ofﬁcials to speed up project implementation. Zhong said the Philippines’ plan to invest revenues from tax reform in the Philippines’ infrastructure modernization program was a “visionary move” on the part of President Duterte given that transport and infrastructure development was also a key factor in the rapid expansion of China’s economy.

PH gets more booths for China international expo By Othel V. Campos THE Philippines is preparing to participate in the upcoming China International Import Expo in Shanghai in November 2018, after the Chinese organizers opened more booths to accommodate Filipino exporters. International Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine chairman Francis Chua said the Chinese government considered the Philippines petition for additional space, as the Philippines worked hard in promoting the expo to all major cities in the country. “I think we have good spaces for the booths. We can promote well Philippine products and we’re hoping we’ll land contracts for our products. China is the

world’s biggest market. It will be needing a great deal of supply and we can deliver them―from agricultural products to electronics and consumer goods,” Chua said over the weekend. China Commerce Minister Zhong Shan also assured that more space would be allocated for Philippine exhibitors as a demonstration of China’s commitment to “make new progress” in the bilateral relations. Zhong said CIIE demonstrated China’s ﬁrm support for trade liberalization and globalization. Chua said in addition to seven booths, the Philippines would also have 348 square meters in the food hall, plus 45 sqm in the consumer goods hall, all located in an open space set-up, for a total

of 393 sqm. About 30 Philippine companies already paid for the registration. The Trade Department earlier said it was looking at about 100 participants in the expo, but news spread that only two booths were made available for the Philippines. Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez then wrote a letter to Zhong to help Filipino exporters acquire more space to promote Philippine products. The import expo in November 2018 is the ﬁrst sellers event where China will open its market to possible import arrangements for goods needed by the 1.38 billion Chinese population. Chinese companies will participate as buyers and not as sellers during the expo.

INNOVATIVE IDEAS. Accenture, through its 5th annual Program The Future: The Accenture Technology Campus Challenge, recently recognizes the top innovative ideas of Filipino college students that use new and emerging technologies to address critical problems and help improve how we work and live. Shown are the winners of the competition Team Coop from the Cebu Institute of Technology University who developed Tingog, a reading and speech app designed to help young children with cleft palate. With them is Ambe Tierro (left), Accenture’s advanced technology centers lead in the Philippines and global AI capability and delivery lead.

Business

MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 2018 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Market to test 7,800-point mark By Jenniffer B. Austria

HE bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange Index is expected to test the 7,800-point level during this shortened trading week as sentiments have turned slightly bullish.

“With the index failing to push further ahead (Friday), we should continue to watch out for the 7,800 level next week as a breakthrough. This would put 8,000 as our next resistance,’ Papa Securities trader Gio Perez. “Should foreign selling hinder the PSEi once again however, we look to the 7,500 area as our initial support,” he added. Analysts said the market would continue to look overseas for catalysts while

monitoring local developments. Investors will be concerned about the trade dispute between the United States and China overseas, while they will be watching the August inflation numbers in the domestic front . The local financial markets is closed today in observance of National Heroes Day. The PSEi last week gained 2.4 percent to 7,766.47, while the broader All Shares Index rose 2.6 percent to 4,728.82. Except for the mining and oil index, which dipped 0.5 percent, all major subindices ended in the green, led by property (+3.53 percent), industrial (+2.64 percent), services (+2.26 percent) ¡and holding firms (+1.87 percent). Foreign investors were net sellers for the week by P492 million, while the average daily valued traded reached P6.7 billion from the previous week’s average of P5.3 billion.

Weekly top price gainers were San Miguel Food and Beverage, which rose 18.6 percent to P96; San Miguel Corp., which advanced 16.5 percent to P171.80; and Top Frontier Investment Holdings Inc., which climbed 16.4 percent to P300.80. SMFB plans to raise as much as P142.8 billion from the sale of up 1.02 billion secondary shares in a bid to widen its public ﬂoat to nearly 20 percent. Weekly top price losers, meanwhile, were Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corp., which declined 12.7 percent to P34.90; Manila Water Co. Inc., which dropped 4.1 percent to P24.15; and Roxas Holdings Inc., which dipped 3.7 percent to P3.08. Wall Street stocks, meanwhile, pushed to fresh records Friday, while the dollar sagged as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said there was no sign of an overheating economy and policymak-

ers expected to continue gradual interest rate increases. Speaking at the annual gathering of global central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Powell said the US economy remained strong and anyone who wanted a job could ﬁnd one. He said prices were rising at about the Fed’s target pace of two percent, signaling the US central bank does not expect to accelerate interest rate increases as some investors have feared. “We have seen no clear sign of an acceleration above two percent and there does not seem to be an elevated risk of overheating,” Powell said in prepared remarks. All three major US indices pushed higher, with the S&P 500 notching its ﬁrst closing record since January and the Nasdaq jumping 0.9 percent to 7,945.98, smashing past a record set last month.

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS WEEKLY STOCKS REVIEW STOCKS

AUGUST 20-24, 2018 Close Volume

Value

Asia United Bank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Bank of PI BDO Leasing & Fin. INc. Bright Kindle Resources China Bank COL Financial Eastwest Bank Ferronoux Holding Filipino Fund Inc. I-Remit Inc. Manulife Fin. Corp. MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl. Reinsurance Corp. PB Bank Phil Bank of Comm Phil. National Bank Phil. Savings Bank Philippine trust Co. PSE Inc. RCBC `A’ RCBC B Security Bank Sun Life Financial Union Bank Vantage Equities

59.9 128.00 92.70 2.68 1.71 31.05 16.36 14.44 4.12 8.67 1.55 805.00 0.550 72.5 0.98 11.96 21.90 47.25 88.05 106.5 196 29.3 199.3 202 1850.00 83.55 1.24

55,870 6,530,180 5,329,170 92,000 1,580,000 1,110,700 12,600 1,108,100 804,000 1,300 92,000 1,230 5,030,000 15,707,090 1,100,000 4,700 3,700 1,321,300 620 1,240 105,100 817,700 266,520 590,530 25 26,630 88,000

FINANCIAL 3,338,810.50 830,677,877.00 491,145,711.50 239,340.00 2,739,410.00 35,337,090.00 206,388.00 16,031,748.00 3,229,580.00 11,472.00 147,240.00 986,670.00 2,916,280.00 1,148,744,103.50 1,083,460.00 56,212.00 80,270.00 61,215,530.00 54,604.50 130,220.00 20,600,873.00 24,037,440.00 53,101,896.00 117,964,821.00 46,250.00 2,231,027.50 109,120.00

Aboitiz Power Corp. Agrinurture Inc. Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cons. Asiabest Group Basic Energy Corp. Bogo Medelin C. Azuc De Tarlac Cemex Holdings Century Food Chemphil Cirtek Holdings (Chips) Conc. Aggr. ‘A’ Conc. Aggr. ‘B’ Concepcion Crown Asia Da Vinci Capital Del Monte DNL Industries Inc. Eagle Cement EEI Emperador Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) Euro-Med Lab First Gen Corp. First Holdings ‘A’ Ginebra San Miguel Inc. Holcim Philippines Inc. Integ. Micro-Electronics Ionics Inc Jollibee Foods Corp. LMG Chemicals Mabuhay Vinyl Macay Holdings Manila Water Co. Inc. Maxs Group Megawide MG Holdings Mla. Elect. Co `A’ Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp. Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. Petroenergy Res. Corp. Petron Corporation Phil H2O Phinma Corporation Phinma Energy Phoenix Petroleum Phils. Pilipinas Shell Pryce Corp. `A’ RFM Corporation Roxas and Co. Roxas Holdings SFA Semicon Shakeys Pizza SMC Food and Beverage SPC Power Corp. Swift Foods, Inc. TKC Steel Corp. Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp. Vivant Corp. Vulcan Ind’l.

36.9 17.18 1.02 1.26 35.15 0.240 125 20.60 3.23 14.7 210 34.9 72.95 90 49 1.84 5 7.6 10.180 15.62 10.20 7.31 7.05 1.8 15.8 63.9 27.20 7.22 14 2.100 288.00 5.1 3.26 12.50 24.15 13.4 18.8 0.196 366.00 6.85 2.18 4.27 9.00 5.2 7.89 1.03 11.00 55.9 6.1 4.83 2.57 3.08 1.71 13.14 96 5.45 0.129 1.03 143 2.51 2.08 20.50 1.76

4,652,100 5,673,000 150,183,000 4,294,000 490,600 8,430,000 300 46,000 12,014,000 411,700 60 2,713,600 3,110 250 2,322,210 200,000 29,900 42,400 7,601,700 1,258,900 680,100 2,856,100 13,567,600 1,000 1,754,600 468,190 1,157,000 1,115,500 2,245,200 6,381,000 4,730,980 142,400 44,000 9,400 3,072,500 2,143,400 3,545,500 10,750,000 827,420 40,400 981,000 243,000 8,064,000 916,800 42,200 6,537,000 643,000 417,610 79,000 79,000 3,568,000 1,173,000 1,956,000 1,563,700 7,609,990 566,100 650,000 2,325,000 3,835,740 65,000 26,765,000 50,300 195,417,000

INDUSTRIAL 170,783,575.00 96,365,900.00 165,425,720.00 5,528,690.00 17,061,685.00 1,990,980.00 37,500.00 933,975.00 39,306,430.00 6,071,708.00 12,600.00 99,957,305.00 231,456.50 22,098.50 112,680,303.50 361,040.00 149,860.00 324,207.00 77,736,136.00 19,678,528.00 6,985,660.00 20,813,758.00 95,614,907.00 1,800.00 27,384,940.00 29,586,460.50 32,214,995.00 8,152,099.00 30,421,016.00 13,875,090.00 1,348,419,402.00 708,328.00 140,750.00 117,452.00 75,428,785.00 28,553,636.00 67,286,362.00 2,053,320.00 300,235,072.00 277,262.00 2,142,020.00 1,030,330.00 72,394,271.00 4,739,970.00 320,708.00 6,846,490.00 7,409,810.00 23,350,371.50 480,870.00 375,600.00 8,711,100.00 3,904,550.00 3,366,750.00 20,593,948.00 716,687,658.00 3,055,373.00 83,320.00 2,414,400.00 528,379,812.00 163,090.00 58,050,560.00 1,031,000.00 370,789,620.00

Abacus Cons. À’ Aboitiz Equity Alliance Global Inc. Anglo Holdings A Anscor À’ ATN Holdings A ATN Holdings B Ayala Corp À’ BHI Holdings Inc. Cosco Capital DMCI Holdings F&J Prince ‘A’ Filinvest Dev. Corp. Forum Pacific GT Capital House of Inv. JG Summit Holdings Jolliville Holdings Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. Lopez Holdings Corp. LT Group Mabuhay Holdings À’ Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. Pacifica À’ Prime Media Hldg Prime Orion Republic Glass ‘A’ San Miguel Corp À’ SM Investments Inc. Solid Group Inc. South China Res. Inc. Top Frontier Transgrid Wellex Industries Zeus Holdings

0.340 56.70 13.18 0.92 6.09 1.480 1.470 990 1400.00 5.97 12.02 5.38 7.09 0.209 870 6.00 54.85 5.45 0.61 4.45 17.24 0.650 5.02 0.0380 1.300 2.870 2.78 171.80 948.00 1.56 0.79 300.800 400.00 0.3550 0.207

58,610,000 4,258,130 23,354,000 156,000 45,500 161,175,000 33,863,000 919,860 5 24,324,800 13,857,100 1,700 5,200 460,000 511,600 14,000 5,279,900 18,500 1,707,000 12,995,000 5,310,700 15,248,000 55,760,900 219,400,000 24,385,000 27,435,000 4,000 8,267,030 952,810 2,260,000 610,000 223,440 270 105,780,000 1,230,000

HOLDING FIRMS 19,220,400.00 240,297,053.50 302,406,004.00 144,980.00 275,950.00 236,125,770.00 50,019,610.00 898,215,670.00 7,000.00 145,918,080.00 161,456,982.00 8,538.00 36,484.00 96,500.00 451,501,740.00 83,923.00 284,017,065.00 100,105.00 1,009,180.00 57,391,990.00 92,853,398.00 9,968,230.00 275,206,399.00 8,928,100.00 35,259,640.00 83,686,190.00 11,140.00 1,351,250,984.00 889,427,440.00 3,544,140.00 489,340.00 65,480,900.00 108,818.00 37,587,000.00 255,560.00

8990 HLDG A. Brown Co., Inc. Anchor Land Holdings Inc. Araneta Prop À’ Arthaland Corp. Ayala Land `B’ Belle Corp. À’ CEB Landmasters Cebu Holdings Cebu Prop. `B’ Century Property City & Land Dev. Cityland Dev. À’ Crown Equities Inc. Cyber Bay Corp. DM Wenceslao Double Dragon Empire East Land Ever Gotesco Filinvest Land,Inc. Global-Estate Interport À’ Megaworld MRC Allied Ind. Phil. Estates Corp. Phil. Realty À’

7.300 0.97 13.00 1.940 0.720 43.900 3.08 4.6 5.52 5.9 0.450 0.94 1.010 0.240 0.435 9.550 26.45 0.580 0.124 1.48 1.19 1.65 4.68 0.620 0.5500 0.495

6,494,400 17,372,000 134,800 222,000 1,713,000 57,818,700 886,000 4,340,000 106,700 1,400 15,020,000 704,000 1,662,000 378,500,000 11,250,000 804,500 1,265,300 1,158,000 870,000 29,961,000 3,674,000 135,835,000 87,171,000 82,615,000 144,917,000 6,520,000

PROPERTY 48,272,482.00 17,282,790.00 1,822,902.00 433,010.00 1,243,390.00 2,519,119,490.00 2,728,800.00 19,587,810.00 591,963.00 8,260.00 6,784,300.00 683,170.00 1,668,480.00 97,333,240.00 5,165,400.00 7,809,162.00 34,094,000.00 673,670.00 102,320.00 45,471,810.00 4,403,540.00 230,974,190.00 420,865,530.00 50,365,910.00 74,021,300.00 3,223,925.00

AUGUST 13-17, 2018 Close Volume Value 59.95 128.10 89.50 2.71 1.78 32.65 16.42 14.48 3.99 8.65 1.53 810.00 0.560 74.75 1 11.96 21.40 45.60 88.3 105 198 29.5

18,700 5,637,240 7,355,880 336,000 2,350,000 279,200 51,500 1,522,000 1,522,000 11,600 184,000 270 1,998,000 7,574,470 1,402,000 119,300 1,600 1,007,500 10 220 21,510 230,300

1,117,415.00 727,721,155.00 673,849,562.50 872,080.00 4,217,580.00 8,876,150.00 844,054.00 21,985,342.00 5,996,550.00 101,088.00 282,380.00 219,450.00 1,106,240.00 475,070,945.00 1,391,990.00 1,398,070.00 33,960.00 46,044,385.00 883.00 23,118.00 4,279,807.00 6,817,870.00

199 1805.00 84.00 1.24

760,120 850 16,150 18,000

151,276,805.00 1,546,100.00 1,354,886.50 21,570.00

36.5 16.84 1.05 1.19 33.1 0.240 125.9 20.50 3.29 14.48 230 40 75 77.25 49.5 1.84 5.1 7.5 10.300 15.88 10.52 7.30 7.03 1.7 15.4 63.35 26.90 7.35 13.4 2.290 271.20 5.05 3.2 12.50 25.2 13.08 18.88 0.182 363.00 6.87 2.17 4.26 8.62 5.26 7.55 1.07 11.92 56.25 6.24 4.80 2.45 3.2 1.74 13.3 80.9 5.33 0.126 1.04 134 2.64 2.39 20.50 1.91

4,317,200 7,996,200 238,888,000 6,651,000 2,378,700 4,800,000 230 50,600 43,759,000 2,001,100 30 1,535,300 1,760 60 5,800 146,000 4,800 82,500 7,437,900 3,021,100 222,700 2,016,800 38,504,300 1,000 4,314,300 1,106,620 326,200 881,300 2,969,500 7,253,000 2,593,270 304,600 126,000 7,000 3,240,800 2,146,200 10,897,600 4,990,000 854,990 62,800 12,111,000 436,000 3,198,300 1,835,200 277,400 11,139,000 186,800 1,081,240 51,500 1,357,000 22,221,000 60,000 1,024,000 776,000 3,536,200 678,800 1,610,000 863,000 2,924,150 22,000 17,025,000 1,500 160,373,000

155,138,955.00 130,198,788.00 245,586,080.00 7,882,010.00 82,008,095.00 1,140,400.00 28,268.00 1,033,970.00 146,063,430.00 29,421,280.00 6,900.00 62,280,950.00 132,683.50 5,017.50 283,950.00 265,500.00 24,280.00 622,253.00 76,440,390.00 47,643,416.00 2,358,524.00 14,690,635.00 270,010,209.00 1,700.00 68,306,112.00 70,031,999.50 8,865,175.00 6,487,765.00 40,411,254.00 16,766,650.00 700,062,230.00 1,508,394.00 412,800.00 92,164.00 82,591,700.00 28,298,222.00 203,449,524.00 925,520.00 304,875,854.00 432,223.00 26,639,450.00 1,815,800.00 28,593,465.00 9,601,083.00 2,120,372.00 12,783,720.00 2,211,348.00 61,167,705.50 317,930.00 6,511,140.00 59,555,500.00 192,160.00 1,765,980.00 10,285,688.00 286,256,394.00 3,537,224.00 202,160.00 898,650.00 396,237,564.00 56,930.00 41,417,070.00 30,750.00 288,747,960.00

0.310 56.00 12.40 0.97 6.10 1.430 1.420 999

140,710,000 4,797,260 25,379,900 84,000 413,100 371,620,000 69,461,000 1,382,460

41,569,150.00 274,614,202.50 312,193,612.00 80,160.00 2,517,006.00 513,498,080.00 95,839,940.00 1,317,901,850.00

6.05 11.38 5.42 6.95 0.208 895 6.19 53.50 5.49 0.57 4.4 17.5 0.660 4.89 0.0370 1.530 2.900 2.60 147.50 927.50 1.59 0.78 258.400 412.00 0.3400 0.209

13,819,000 17,524,000 32,300 125,000 560,000 647,290 70,900 4,597,220 3,700 3,811,000 5,564,000 12,614,300 40,758,000 73,993,000 14,900,000 15,512,000 7,926,000 81,000 2,256,290 1,161,350 1,046,000 230,000 13,850 770 75,080,000 640,000

83,612,138.00 202,218,448.00 157,082.00 872,696.00 115,870.00 589,964,340.00 445,818.00 247,453,501.50 20,430.00 2,218,480.00 24,099,440.00 220,848,312.00 26,455,210.00 356,462,780.00 552,400.00 21,697,980.00 22,514,100.00 213,410.00 326,051,722.00 1,080,506,575.00 1,658,800.00 181,170.00 3,546,340.00 334,010.00 25,264,800.00 135,200.00

7.790 1.05 13.38 1.950 0.730 42.500 3.11 4.59 5.66

13,974,200 27,830,000 72,300 270,000 8,230,000 35,120,200 2,242,000 4,597,000 85,300

106,220,729.00 28,643,800.00 971,298.00 527,950.00 6,211,080.00 1,447,708,965.00 6,943,150.00 20,462,470.00 476,752.00

0.450 0.94 1.030 0.231 0.395 9.840 26.7 0.600 0.129 1.50 1.20 1.60 4.94 0.620 0.4500 0.490

43,890,000 648,000 5,854,000 69,240,000 1,180,000 1,199,000 1,582,500 558,000 40,000 49,720,560 2,015,000 37,326,000 81,729,000 202,459,000 14,130,000 8,729,000

22,556,550.00 607,140.00 5,968,680.00 15,513,900.00 470,150.00 11,826,443.00 42,510,305.00 329,420.00 5,110.00 62,938,200.00 2,430,030.00 57,798,480.00 401,733,930.00 126,610,310.00 6,361,200.00 4,415,255.00

STOCKS

AUGUST 20-24, 2018 Close Volume

AUGUST 13-17, 2018 Close Volume Value

Value

Primex Corp. Robinson’s Land `B’ Rockwell Shang Properties Inc. SM Prime Holdings Sta. Lucia Land Inc. Starmalls Suntrust Home Dev. Inc. Vista Land & Lifescapes

3.5 20.60 2 3.2 38.50 1.15 7.22 0.750 6.340

8,638,000 7,011,200 400,000 1,887,000 33,846,200 3,275,000 1,061,400 210,000 10,592,900

30,596,790.00 144,463,160.00 796,700.00 6,038,130.00 1,273,154,555.00 3,738,950.00 7,688,871.00 158,250.00 67,006,879.00

2GO Group’ ABS-CBN Acesite Hotel APC Group, Inc. Apollo Global Asian Terminals Inc. Berjaya Phils. Inc. Bloomberry Boulevard Holdings Cebu Air Inc. (5J) Centro Esc. Univ. Chelsea DFNN Inc. Discovery World Easy Call “Common” FEUI Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Golden Haven Grand Plaza Hotel Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. Imperial Res. À’ IPeople Inc. À’ IPM Holdings Island Info ISM Communications Jackstones LBC Express Leisure & Resorts Lorenzo Shipping Macroasia Corp. Manila Broadcasting Manila Bulletin Manila Jockey Melco Crown Metro Retail MetroAlliance A MetroAlliance B NOW Corp. Pacific Online Sys. Corp. PAL Holdings Inc. Paxys Inc. Phil. Seven Corp. Philweb.Com Inc. PLDT Common PremiereHorizon Premium Leisure Puregold Robinsons RTL SBS Phil. Corp. SSI Group STI Holdings Transpacific Broadcast Travellers Waterfront Phils. Wilcon Depot

13.78 24.8 1.43 0.580 0.045 13.5 2.95 9.68 0.0610 72 8 6.47 8.70 2.37 25.45 910 1998 5.50 319.00 11.20 4.13 92.5 2.07 12.06 7.85 0.123 3.0300 3.67 15.04 3.78 1.02 20.00 17.78 0.440 5.55 7.09 2.89 2.09 2.10 8.200 11 8.70 3.73 112.30 5.18 1439.00 0.375 0.880 46.50 81.95 8.37 2.26 0.950 0.69 5.12 0.810 11.580

137,700 285,600 129,000 366,898,000 74,100,000 2,879,300 135,519,400 41,779,000 144,340,000 1,490,730 9,200 4,906,000 1,258,300 60,000 277,600 80 289,065 1,166,700 20,360 300 9,222,000 9,416,130 33,000 67,000 81,600 17,320,000 19,022,000 84,000 2,100 2,445,000 968,000 1,853,100 1,200 310,000 1,237,200 10,512,200 1,277,000 1,480,000 43,000 5,456,900 14,147,100 9,500 49,000 154,190 2,551,700 294,810 16,780,000 6,144,000 2,490,700 1,389,570 99,600 25,657,000 11,962,000 257,663,000 7,084,000 27,287,000 12,921,900

Abra Mining Apex À’ Atlas Cons. À’ Atok-Big Wedge À’ Century Peak Metals Hldgs Coal Asia Dizon Ferronickel Geograce Res. Phil. Inc. Lepanto À’ Lepanto `B’ Manila Mining À’ Manila Mining `B’ Marcventures Hldgs., Inc. Nickelasia Nihao Mineral Resources Omico Oriental Peninsula Res. Oriental Pet. À’ Oriental Pet. `B’ Philex À’ PhilexPetroleum Philodrill Corp. À’ Phinma Petro Semirara Corp. United Paragon

0.0027 1.60 3.53 21.70 1.98 0.300 7.38 1.980 0.208 0.122 0.127 0.008 0.0083 1.4 4.7 1.14 0.5800 1.1900 0.0130 0.0120 4.05 16.64 0.0110 3.4400 29.25 0.0066

MINING & OIL 1,511,000,000 4,038,300.00 8,413,000 13,515,510.00 763,000 2,719,740.00 135,700 2,889,600.00 4,121,000 8,099,490.00 300,000 90,050.00 31,800 234,476.00 15,262,000 30,284,120.00 1,300,000 270,420.00 6,220,000 761,030.00 40,000 5,050.00 43,000,000 340,900.00 8,000,000 66,400.00 2,885,000 4,080,100.00 8,326,000 39,116,180.00 645,000 723,840.00 2,678,000 1,510,780.00 12,603,000 14,804,730.00 13,300,000 164,000.00 305,400,000 3,668,200.00 4,196,000 17,051,780.00 23,686,200 382,090,362.00 43,000,000 490,800.00 2,440,000 8,484,070.00 10,367,200 307,250,145.00 306,300,000 2,211,000.00

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp. Alco Preferred B Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ DD PREF First Gen G GLOBE PREF P GMA Holdings Inc. GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B House Preferred Leisure and Resort MWIDE PREF PCOR-Preferred A PCOR-Preferred B PNX PREF 3A PNX PREF 3B SMC FB PREF 2 SMC Preferred B SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred D SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred F SMC Preferred G SMC Preferred H SMC Preferred I Swift Pref

23.6 101.6 501 505 101 100 503 5.3 950 987.5 99.6 1.04 105 1010 1050 100 106 1000 77 80 75.05 75.5 77 75.9 75.6 77 1.92

115,200 5,800 2,950 40 198,750 48,130 60 1,035,600 6,030 370 10,540 6,000 4,690 1,670 6,230 13,200 3,100 9,420 356,150 67,170 10,200 3,380 31,780 111,160 184,040 252,870 13,000

LR Warrant

2.380

426,000

SERVICES 1,902,858.00 7,128,275.00 185,040.00 220,887,400.00 3,360,200.00 38,879,456.00 470,585,665.00 398,394,617.00 8,680,600.00 107,905,528.50 73,600.00 32,196,998.00 11,061,263.00 140,100.00 7,217,465.00 72,800.00 577,907,500.00 6,431,777.00 6,358,526.00 3,360.00 38,307,850.00 869,652,774.00 68,570.00 821,172.00 635,910.00 2,140,510.00 56,598,640.00 299,590.00 31,542.00 9,316,050.00 993,020.00 36,859,921.00 21,498.00 136,250.00 6,823,022.00 74,111,193.00 3,742,210.00 3,000,090.00 86,940.00 45,069,666.00 156,754,770.00 81,686.00 178,990.00 17,515,403.00 13,184,080.00 416,862,865.00 6,296,100.00 5,364,890.00 114,795,550.00 113,043,510.50 819,288.00 58,252,760.00 11,649,160.00 176,443,960.00 36,755,088.00 21,879,710.00 149,866,204.00

PREFERRED 2,808,430.00 590,084.00 1,446,510.00 20,200.00 19,921,105.00 4,814,798.00 30,180.00 5,461,797.00 5,779,400.00 365,365.00 1,050,516.00 6,160.00 474,200.00 1,697,710.00 6,391,500.00 1,320,530.00 328,600.00 9,353,850.00 26,909,837.50 5,328,634.00 765,510.00 255,069.50 2,435,880.00 8,410,146.00 13,898,236.00 19,207,778.50 24,970.00

WARRANTS & BONDS 995,280.00 SME 8,435,948.00 12,615,980.00

3.59 20.30 2 3.2 36.00 1.14 7.24 0.780 6.350

3,882,000 8,326,100 912,000 2,259,000 43,692,700 2,917,000 2,049,000 271,000 33,942,800

13,939,120.00 170,228,915.00 1,808,560.00 7,165,650.00 1,591,182,920.00 3,318,270.00 14,933,514.00 208,280.00 208,372,341.00

14 24.5 1.43 46.000 0.044 13.68 6.48 9.43 0.0620 71.65 8 6.68 8.26 2.23 26.00 910 1970 5.48 300.00 11.18 4.19 89.95 2.08 12.3 7.85 0.129 3.0800 3.72 15 3.82 1.05 19.64 18.00 0.465 5.18 7.05 3.02 2.06 2.19 8.280 11 8.20 3.69 111.00 5.24 1395.00 0.390 0.860 44.25 81.05 8.27 2.27 1.000 0.67 5.1 0.780 11.660

73,600 258,200 469,000 15,780,000 25,000,000 250,700 8,771,800 70,769,000 773,590,000 1,250,020 24,000 4,010,500 3,903,400 95,000 722,100 110 576,780 622,500 28,590 600 13,861,000 4,150,190 63,000 46,300 80,400 11,360,000 77,267,000 294,000 37,900 3,553,000 2,361,000 6,220,600 300 5,250,000 652,900 23,148,300 59,144,000 2,078,000 42,000 11,540,500 550,300 67,600 112,000 105,910 1,197,800 213,280 18,240,000 22,671,000 15,528,800 2,180,960 66,200 47,448,000 13,745,000 293,761,000 5,521,500 11,468,000 10,441,100

1,032,318.00 6,410,530.00 672,360.00 7,324,550.00 1,107,300.00 3,281,080.00 68,378,802.00 688,964,712.00 48,490,440.00 88,453,471.00 193,608.00 26,880,728.00 34,273,060.00 214,080.00 18,786,085.00 99,510.00 1,094,801,470.00 3,391,789.00 9,214,690.00 6,822.00 55,525,600.00 367,009,217.00 133,810.00 569,594.00 627,284.00 1,440,440.00 234,114,890.00 1,072,660.00 558,590.00 13,836,480.00 2,448,310.00 129,562,882.00 5,270.00 329,200.00 3,410,080.00 163,751,483.00 166,012,250.00 4,510,740.00 90,460.00 97,665,071.00 6,071,318.00 471,369.00 411,770.00 11,817,668.00 6,272,814.00 291,156,665.00 7,262,200.00 19,991,640.00 685,809,685.00 178,479,858.50 548,073.00 109,226,280.00 13,948,160.00 201,945,250.00 27,912,199.00 8,850,600.00 122,006,672.00

0.0026 1.58 3.61 20.90 2.01 0.300 7.40 1.980 0.210 0.124 0.127 0.008 0.0083 1.38 4.75 1.16 0.5500 1.2000 0.0130 0.0140 4.10 15.52 0.0110 3.3500 30.00 0.0060

202,000,000 14,619,000 530,000 204,100 8,711,000 1,810,000 98,200 47,118,000 2,430,000 13,180,000 2,200,000 16,000,000 5,000,000 4,985,000 16,970,000 1,127,000 367,000 51,623,000 1,699,300,000 302,000,000 4,137,000 24,806,200 489,700,000 5,431,000 16,162,900 20,000,000

504,300.00 23,112,150.00 1,952,870.00 4,312,175.00 17,235,660.00 543,250.00 718,948.00 94,230,570.00 504,880.00 1,613,450.00 280,850.00 133,000.00 41,500.00 7,162,690.00 80,428,520.00 1,268,550.00 201,100.00 61,592,030.00 21,538,300.00 4,227,100.00 17,279,950.00 375,182,654.00 5,830,700.00 18,210,020.00 495,213,935.00 119,000.00

24.3 101.6 495 504 100.7 104 490.6 5.25 998 987.5 101.1 1.02 102.5

630,700 21,300 25,030 780 1,084,530 3,700 1,820 401,900 820 20,090 14,720 532,000 22,160

15,689,915.00 2,164,080.00 12,413,970.00 393,140.00 109,428,850.00 403,198.00 912,762.00 2,097,169.00 798,895.00 19,488,875.00 1,472,652.00 547,380.00 2,271,156.00

1028 104 112 1000 77 80.5 75 75.4 76.5 75.2 75.8 76.4

1,000 30 14,660 5,590 118,560 45,980 12,600 1,300 27,930 97,270 2,000 106,830

1,028,000.00 3,118.00 1,582,470.00 5,531,105.00 9,020,933.50 3,692,498.50 945,001.50 98,020.00 2,140,220.00 7,336,699.00 151,300.00 8,045,804.00

2.330

622,000

1,443,470.00

5.05 2.9

3,604,700 13,578,000

18,313,923.00 39,964,140.00

Italpinas Xurpas

5.07 2.83

1,664,800 4,448,000

First Metro ETF

115.3

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 23,220 2,641,047.00

113.3

109,910

12,576,883.00

10.3 10 1.04

DOLLAR DENONIMATED SEC. 9,000 92,700.00 21,900 219,525.20 1,520 1,525.60

10.2 9.8 1.01

43,010 2,500 26,860

438,228.20 24,894.00 27,128.60

USD DMPL A1 USD DMPL A2 USD TECH B2

WEEKLY MOST TRADED STOCKS Abra Mining Crown Equities Inc. APC Group, Inc. United Paragon Oriental Pet. `B’ Transpacific Broadcast Pacifica À’ Vulcan Ind’l. ATN Holdings A Alliance Tuna Intl Inc.

VOLUME 1,511,000,000 378,500,000 366,898,000 306,300,000 305,400,000 257,663,000 219,400,000 195,417,000 161,175,000 150,183,000

STOCKS Ayala Land `B’ San Miguel Corp `A’ Jollibee Foods Corp. SM Prime Holdings Metrobank Ayala Corp `A’ SM Investments Inc. I.C.T.S.I. Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. SMC Food and Beverage

VALUE 2,519,119,490.00 1,351,250,984.00 1,348,419,402.00 1,273,154,555.00 1,148,744,103.50 898,215,670.00 889,427,440.00 869,652,774.00 830,677,877.00 716,687,658.00

Globe bullish, investing more to hike capacity and coverage By Darwin G. Amojelar GLOBE Telecom Inc. said its strongerthan-expected revenue growth across all businesses continues to fuel investments in higher network capacity and wider coverage. The company, owned by conglomerate Ayala Corp., said it was allocating about 30 percent of gross service revenues to capital spending every year. “We intend to continue providing more of what our customers want which include superior content through global partnerships, pervasive internet and superior mobile experience,” Globe president and chief executive Ernest Cu said. The Globe network’s combined 3G and 4G data traffic volume to date has increased by 140 percent, with 390 petabytes in the first half of 2018 from 280 petabytes in the same period last year. The growing data traffic volume is also seen in its revenue growth across all businesses. Globe sustained its market leadership in mobile, with revenues surging to P51.6 billion in the first six months of the year, one of the strongest performances in Southeast year-to-date. The mobile subscriber base totaled 65.1 million as of end-June 2018, up 9 percent from 59.7 million subscribers year-on-year. The company’s growth in home broadband business provides Globe with a second engine, posting total revenue of P8.7 billion in the first half of the year. The higher revenue was driven by subscriber expansion in fixed wireless solutions as well as the positive market response to the new and more flexible home broadband bundles and plans. The gains in mobile data and broadband were complemented by corporate data, which posted P5.4 billion in revenues in the first six months of the year, fueled by sustained demand for corporate connectivity and business solutions.

UnionBank set to start shift to digital banking By Julito G. Rada UNION Bank of the Philippines, the ninth-largest lender in terms of assets, will renovate some of its branches and turn them into the so-called “Arks,” as the bank shifts from manual to digital banking. Bank president and chief executive Edwin Bautista said Union Bank would build around 14 Arks before the close of the year strategically located nationwide. “[We have] fourteen by the end of the year. There will be four big Arks like this [in Makati] and 10 smaller versions,” Bautista told reporters before the weekend during the launch of the first big Ark near the corner of Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas in Makati City. He said the other three big Arks would be in Cebu, Davao and one in Bonifacio Global City. He declined to estimate the total cost of putting up all the 14 Arks before the year ends. “I don’t know how much it will cost but we are not building new branches anymore but we are spending to renovate the old ones into Arks. We are not building additional branches, so whatever is in place, that’s it but we will turn them into Arks,” he said. Bautista said the Ark’s main purpose was to make it easier for existing customers to migrate to digital banking in a safe and convenient manner. Importantly, these “digital converts” often turn out to be the bank’s best customers—based on the “4-6-12” formula. This means “digitized Union Bank customers are likely to have 4 times the deposits, perform 6 times more transactions, and end up 12 times more profitable than the average bank customer. With no bank tellers, the Ark is manned by ambassadors who are knowledgeable and capable of processing customer transactions and introducing new, tailor-fit Union Bank products to customers. The Ark has various spaces for customers to sit down and execute transactions, view and interact with screens enabled by augmented or virtual reality.

extrastory2000@gmail.com

IN BRIEF Rain brings relief to Australian farmers SYDNEY―Widespread rain fell across drought-affected parts of eastern Australia over the weekend, bringing relief to farmers struggling to cope with the driest conditions in more than half a century. Grazers have had to hand-feed sheep and cattle, sell down stock―and in some cases even shoot them to end their suffering―as they run out of hay and grain in the severe conditions affecting Queensland and New South Wales states. The wet weather was the ﬁrst farmers in some areas had seen for more than a year, and even included hail. But locals cautioned the ground had become so dry in recent months that more downpours over the next few weeks and months would be needed to make a difference. “Those rains will be far from drought breaking,” National Farmers’ Federation president Fiona Simson told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Sunday. “What we need is 20 [millimeters, 0.79 inches] next week on 20 the next week, 20 the next week, and... [in the] next few months... to aptly build up those depleted soil and moisture reserves in the soil.” AFP

Business/World

Giant mass scheduled in Dublin D UBLIN―Pope Francis will visit an Irish shrine and hold a giant mass in Dublin on Sunday as he wraps up a visit overshadowed by abuse scandals and coverups in the Catholic Church.

Francis is due to speak in front of some 500,000 faithful in Phoenix Park, as abuse victims and their supporters gather in a “Stand for Truth” rally in the city center to demand justice. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on Saturday urged the pope to take action against abuses and ensure justice for victims worldwide, while Francis admitted the Church’s “failure”.

Francis said inaction over “these repellent crimes has rightly given rise to outrage, and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community. I myself share those sentiments”. Francis on Saturday also met eight victims, including a woman assaulted by a priest when she was in hospital aged 13 and a man who was illegally adopted because his mother was unmarried. In a strongly-worded speech at the start of the pope’s visit, Varadkar said the abuses in Ireland were “stains” on the Catholic Church, the state and Irish society as a whole. “There is much to be done to bring about justice and truth and healing for victims and survivors. Holy Father, I ask that you use your ofﬁce and inﬂuence to ensure that this is done here in Ireland and across the world,” he said. “Far too often there was judgment, se-

verity and cruelty... people kept in dark corners, behind closed doors, cries for help that went unheard,” he added. He demanded of Francis “that from words ﬂow actions”. Paul Jude Redmond, who was illegally adopted from a Church-run “Mother and Baby Home” and met the pope on Saturday, said the pontiff appeared “genuinely shocked” by the stories of abuse. But at a news conference in Dublin on Saturday by the group Ending Clergy Abuse, victim Mark Vincent Healey said the pope’s speech in Dublin was a “total missed opportunity”. “We’re still waiting. We’re left with uncertain silence. When is he going to act? What is he going to do?” This is the ﬁrst papal visit to Ireland since John Paul II spoke in front of 1.5 million people during a visit in 1979.

Two dead, 241 injured in earthquake in Iran TEHRAN―Two people were killed and more than 200 injured in a strong 6.0-magnitude earthquake that struck western Iran near the border with Iraq early Sunday, ofﬁcials told local media. The shallow quake hit 26 kilometers southwest of the city of Javanrud in Kermanshah province, the US Geological Survey said, near the site of a powerful quake last year that killed hundreds. The head of the emergency department Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Saeb Sharidari, told state news agency IRNA that two people were killed and 241 people injured, six critically. Sharidari said the two dead were a pregnant woman and a 70-year-old man who died of a heart attack. The provincial head of the Red Crescent, Mohammad Reza Amirian, said there had been at least 21 aftershocks. He said there were potential problems with drinking water due to damaged infrastructure in villages, but that it had not yet been necessary to distribute food and tents. AFP

RAYMUND B. HABARADAS

GREEN LIGHT THE Social Security System has been in the news recently due to concerns about its long-term viability, in spite of its efforts to increase collections. Because of the pension hike approved by the national government, the second tranche of which will be implemented next year, the SSS fund’s life is expected to last only until 2026. In fact, according to SSS president and chief executive Emmanuel Dooc, SSS is expected to shell out an additional P2.5 billion a month beginning 2019. Aggravating the rapid rise of SSS’s expenditures is the decline in its investment income following a drop in the stock market. For the millions of SSS members in the country (including myself), it is not comforting to be told that SSS may no longer have funds to give out benefits after seven years. Overlooked in the news are the gains made by SSS in terms of its collections, which increased by almost 2 percent during the first quarter of the year compared to the same period the previous year, partly due to its aggressive collection drives and to the implementation of the real-time posting of contributions. Playing a central role in achieving these gains are the thousands of SSS employees, many of whom do their work conscientiously often beyond the call of duty. It was a privilege to have met nine of these employees, all of whom are national finalists of the 2018 SSS Search for Best Employees. I was a member of the five-person National Selection Com-

The Church’s role has been badly dented by abuse scandals and the Irish have shed traditional mores, voting earlier this year to legalize abortion after approving same-sex marriage in 2015. The pontiff is in Ireland to close the 2018 World Meeting of Families―a global Catholic gathering that addressed issues including the treatment of gay people in the Church. But street vendors in Dublin selling papal souvenirs have complained of sluggish trade, as protesters rubbed shoulders with devout Catholics in the streets of the city. In Tuam, a town in western Ireland, a silent vigil was planned for Sunday in solidarity with victims of “mother and baby” homes—institutions accused of being punishment hostels for unwed pregnant women. AFP

Venice Film Festival courts controversy

Flood toll in India’s Kerala rises to 445 KOCHI, India―The death toll from devastating floods in the southern Indian state of Kerala rose to 445 Sunday with the discovery of 28 more bodies as the waters recede and a massive cleanup gathers pace, government officials said. Around a million people are still packed into temporary relief camps and 15 are reported missing even as the government mounts an operation to clean homes and public places that have been filled with dirt and sand left by the floods. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in a tweet said that more than 130,000 flood-hit houses had been cleaned, or nearly a third of those affected. Authorities are also in the process of restoring electricity connections. People returning to their homes have been told to stay alert as receding waters leave behind a glut of snakes. State authorities and wildlife experts have formed teams to come to the aid of those who have found snakes in their home, according to local media. AFP

MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 2018 CESAR BARRIOQUINTO, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

DOMINANT FEATURE. In this photo taken on August 25, 2018, Bhutanese people walk in a square dominated by The Buddha Dordenma statue atop a hill in Kuensel Phodrang Nature Park in Bhutan’s capital Thimphu. AFP

Hong Kong’s cardboard collectors sent packing HONG KONG―Her fingers are bent from 20 years of collecting cardboard from Hong Kong’s streets, but Au Funglan says she has no desire to give up the grueling work. At 67-years-old she is one of around 2,900 collectors, mainly women over the age of 60, whose frail figures are a familiar sight, guiding trolleys loaded with cardboard through a city clogged with traffic and people. They pick up discarded packing boxes from shops, markets and residential buildings, selling them for a few dollars to recycling depots, where cardboard is more valuable than plastic. The depots then ship it abroad―up to 95 percent of it to mainland China in

2016, according to local authorities― as Hong Kong has no recycling plants of its own to convert it into usable materials. However, as China closes the door to imported rubbish, even from semi-autonomous regions such as Hong Kong, Au’s livelihood is under threat. Beijing no longer wants the country to be a global trash can and has already started phasing out taking solid waste― a process it expects to complete by 2020. Pragmatic Au says she tries not to think too much about her work drying up. She continues to put in 14-hour days so she can afford a carer for herself and her 77-year-old husband, also a card-

board collector, when they ﬁnally decide to give up work. “Some people think our work is arduous and look down on us. They say: ‘You are so old, go home and enjoy life. Why collect cardboard?’” Au told AFP. “But if I can still work, I don’t want to rely on others.” Au turned to cardboard collecting after being laid off as a factory worker and courier. She has three grown-up children with jobs but does not want to depend on them for help. By working from dawn to dusk, she earns up to HK$300 (around $38) daily, selling 300 kilograms of cardboard at HK$1 (13 US cents) per kilo. AFP

ROME―Global superstars Lady Gaga, Ryan Gosling and Vanessa Redgrave descend on Venice this week as the annual film festival kicks off Wednesday to controversy over the inclusion of Netflix productions and there being just one female director in competition. Some 21 features will be locking horns for the prized Golden Lion, which will be awarded on September 8 at the Palazzo del Cinema on the Venice Lido, the iconic setting for Luchino Visconti’s masterpiece “Death in Venice”. The festival jury is led by Guillermo Del Toro, last year’s winner with “The Shape of Water”. Australian Jennifer Kent is the only woman gunning for the Golden Lion this year, with “The Nightingale”. The lack of female directors was blasted by feminist associations in an open letter sent on August 11 to the festival’s artistic director Alberto Barbera. The letter was a reaction not just to the festival’s male-centric selection but also to statements by Barbera, who in a recent press conference explained that he made his choices based on “the quality of the film and not the sex of the director”. “If we impose quotas, I resign,” he said, defending a selection criticized as “politically incorrect”, especially compared to the latest edition of Cannes, which saw a call for gender equality in cinema. A number of films being shown in Venice have been picked up by streaming service Netflix, including the Coen Brothers’ “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”. AFP

Public servants par excellence—SSS employees in the limelight mittee who interviewed them on August 17. Allow me to give you a glimpse of the inspiring stories that these dedicated SSS employees shared with us. Aileen Aducal, a junior member service representative, developed a virtual document finder that resulted in a quick and easy search of registration documents, a key ingredient in achieving ISO 9001:2008 in her branch. Aside from improving customer service, this innovation also eased her workload and that of her co-employees. Erika Palado, a senior member service representative, introduced improvements on the existing processes at the Corporate Legal Services Division, which yielded timely and accurate processing of inquiries and claims for housing loan records, certificates of title to mortgaged properties, notice of full payments, and release of real estate mortgage, and other important documents. This resulted in a noticeable decrease in the number of irate and unsatisfied member-borrowers. Cristita Tadili, a roving service representative, conducts information seminars for establishments in the BPO industry, assisting them with respect to their SSS-related concerns such as reporting new employees and proper accomplishment of SSS forms. She does not mind visiting these companies during the graveyard shift, even if it meant having less time for her own family. Aducal, Palado, and Tadili are the

finalists for Best Customer Service Employee. Christina Alexia Castro, a junior human resource analyst, studied, on her own, several computer and design-related applications that allowed her to administer the SSS HR Intranet Site, successfully migrating over 300 files, and uploading over 700 files, among others. She also developed and currently manages the database of issues and concerns raised by employees, which is a critical element of SSS’s Employee Relations program. Dina Flores, an assistant program specialist, prepared guidelines on the threemonth advance pensions for pensioners affected by the armed conflict in Marawi City, tropical storm Urduja and typhoon Vinta, and the Mayon Volcano phreatic eruption. Known for her sunny disposition, she serves as an example to her coemployees on how to execute ordinary tasks extraordinarily well. Ysmael Samorillo, a junior executive assistant, introduced the SSSsipag Collect, which allows members in far-flung areas to consistently pay their contributions. Coming from a poor family himself, he founded a volunteer organization named AtinOrg in 2014, which conducts weekly feeding, storytelling, and educational games for children; and which provides school supplies through the help of donors. He also encourages the parents of these children to continue paying their SSS contributions, and explains to them the benefits and privileg-

es of regularly paying members. Castro, Flores, and Samorillo are the finalists for Best Support Service Employee. Corporate Executive Officer III Dolores Carranza initiated the review of existing Provident Fund processes and developed enhancements that greatly improved the delivery of service. The expeditious processing of PF member loans significantly reduced the volume of telephone calls and follow-ups. Her efforts also improved the fiscal standing of PF, the earnings of which increased from 2.5 percent to a maximum of 5.50 percent of the total portfolio. Corporate Executive Officer II Arvi Jonathan Resultay developed productivity tools that reduced the time spent by account officers in preparing monthly reports, which they could now allocate for the more urgent and difficult tasks of collection and coverage, and employer visits or investigations. His innovations also reduced the time spent in doing manual tasks such as verifying employer records, preparing payments, and computing delinquencies and collectibles among others. These have benefitted account officers in the Agoo, Dagupan, Urdaneta, La Union, and Baguio branches. Foreign Representative I Lucille Blesilda Simbol manages all operational aspects of both the Hong Kong and Macau Foreign Representative Offices. In her desire to have as many OFWs registered for SSS membership and to ensure universal coverage, she coordinated

with the Hong Kong authorities and the social welfare attache of the DSWD on extending services to OFWs incarcerated in Hong Kong prisons. The various programs she manages resulted to a 21 percent increase in OFW contributions year-on-year. According to her, she deals with loneliness in a foreign land by applying dedication to her work. Carranza, Resultay, and Simbol, are the finalists for Best Supervisor. These SSS employees are examples of public servants par excellence. Their deeds serve as inspiration for other government employees who strive to give their best in spite of the challenges of working in a bureaucratic organization and in a highly-charged political environment. Raymund B. Habaradas is an Associate Professor at the Management and Organization Department of the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business of De La Salle University, where he teaches Management of Organizations, Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility, and Management Action Research. He is also the Director of the DLSU Center for Business Research and Development, a fellow of the Social Enterprise Research Network and president of the Philippine Academy of Management. He welcomes comments at rbhabaradas@ yahoo.com. The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.

LGUs

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

monday, august 27, 2018

LocaL goVerNmeNt uNitS

Salceda: Threat of climate disaster scarier than DoST boss threat to quit

In BrIef Free caskets for NV poor, says Lantion BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya― Mayor Ralph Lantion of this town said free caskets are being given to the bereaved families in this town to uplift their condition. “This is one of the major reasons why our town is being promoted as the happiest town in Nueva Vizcaya,” he said during the recent multi-sectoral forum on the Department of Energy’s “E-Power Mo” program. Lantion said caskets worth up to P200,000, the most expensive kind, are given to the needy and poorest of the poor. Close to 20 caskets, funded from various sources, have been distributed since the mayor’s term started in 2016. They are temporarily stocked at the back of the municipal gymnasium here. “These are not ordinary caskets, that is why bereaved families are happy when we give these to them because they saved much expenses,” Lantion added. The mayor’s monthly salary is also being given to more than 1,000 scholars of the local government, who are pursuing studies in various levels or schools in Bayombong town, he added. Ben Moses Ebreo

Support trash law, mayor asks citizens BAMBANG, Nueva Vizcaya—Acting mayor Arnel Hernandez has called on barangay officials and ordinary villagers here to give their full support to the implementation of Solid Waste Management law in their respective communities. Hernandez made the call during the recent SWM Summit in town to address the indiscriminate dumping of wastes along its roads. “We have already reiterated this law to our barangay officials hoping that they will comply with its provisions with our support,” he said. Hernandez said he sternly warned barangay officials for not properly implementing the law in their areas. “We are mandated by law to file cases against our barangay officials who refuse or fail to comply with the provisions of the SWM law,” he said. Ben Moses Ebreo

CITY PROJECTS. Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez (second from left) unveiled during his recent birthday the four major building

projects of his administration—the Materials Recovery Facility, the City Motorpool, the Animal Shelter, and the Socializing Housing (pictured here), all located at the C-5 Extension in Barangay La Huerta. About 3,000 informal settlers living along the banks of the city’s waterways were relocated at the new two-story mid-rise buildings in cooperation with the Habitat for Humanity, Rotary Club International, and Gawad Kalinga. Olivarez was assisted by his wife Janet, Vice Mayor Rico Golez, PIO Chief Mar Jimenez, and other city officials.

‘Federalism is better for Eastern Visayas’ By Ronald O. Reyes

ACLOBAN CITY―Eastern Visayas would benefit more under a federal form of government, a party-list leader said Sunday.

Jude Acidre, first nominee of Tingog Sinirangan, sees federalism bringing more funds from the national government for the region’s development. “Eastern Visayas’ population of four million more or less represents 4 percent of our country’s population of 110 million. If we were to peg our fair share of the nation’s wealth on the basis of our population, we should have at least 4 percent of our country’s spending,” Acidre said. However, he said that an initial assessment of the national budget “shows that

the region receives less than 2 percent of the annual government expenditures.” The party-list leader said that with the passage of federal form of government, it would pave the way for “internal selfdetermination, allowing the regions, long neglected under a highly centralized form of government―a more equitable share in the nation’s resources and a stronger stake in its self-government.” As an advocate for regional development, Acidre said the current unitary form of government only gave the region

Subdivision caters to informal settlers

“less than half of what the people of Eastern Visayas are entitled to receive.” This limited budget would mean less money “for healthcare, education, infrastructure and other social services necessary for our region’s population,” he said. Acidre said “political challenges” have played an important role on how the country’s budgetary resources are distributed. “Take for example the differences in the political behavior of the people of the three Visayas regions. Western Visayas is home to the landed sugar barons, providing them the resources needed to actively participate not only in local, but even in national politics. That is why a considerable number of the first generation of Visayas politicians to make it to national politics were from Western Visayas.

FISH FARMING.

Senator Cynthia A. Villar, chairman of the Senate agriculture and food committee, drops fingerlings at the Vintahanan Lakefront in Laguna to demonstrate the need to boost the aquaculture sector or fish farming in the country. Officials from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources joined Villar in a bid to stem the significant drop in the country’s total fisheries production. The senator’s Villar SIPAG Foundation, in coordination with BFAR, has been training trainers on freshwater aquaculture. Lino Santos

MARIVELES, Bataan—Fiesta Communities Mariveles is catering to informal settlers in this town who wish to own decent houses. “Originally about 150 informal settlers in Mariveles processed papers to own units in our project here, but only 70 settlers continued the purchase,” Gene Ryan Bautista, Fiesta Communities Regional Manager, said during their recent Mariveles project Open House event. “We are engaged in socialized housing, our units are very affordable,” Bautista said. Aside from Freeport Area of Bataan workers, informal settlers in this industrial town, particularly those residing in Sitios Acapulco and Baseco County, are the target market of Fiesta Communities. Butch Gunio

Mindanao farmers, co-ops introduced to blockchain technology By F. Pearl A. Gajunera DAVAO CITY—Farmers in Mindanao can now use blockchain technology to securely receive their salaries through their electronic wallets. TraXion, a translation management company, has introduced blockchain as a form of financial security for the farmers using its e-wallet technology.

TWIN FISTS.

Davao Mayor Sara Duterte Carpio (left) and former Laguna governor Jeorge ER Ejercito flash their fists as they hold a brochure promoting Laguna province during the Kadayawan Float Parade competition at 33rd Kadayawan Festival in Davao last week. Roy Tomandao

Ann Cuisia, TraXion chief executive officer, explained over the weekend that through the e-wallet, farmers can receive their salaries without carrying around sizable amounts of cash. “By engaging farmland owners, they can use the QR code. The QR code will be their e-wallet and can be used in cashless transactions. They can also cash out it through ‘bayad’ [payment]

centers,” Cuisia said. Using blockchain does not require the location to be a high-technology area, since the tech can easily be accessed by the farmers even in the hinterlands, Cuisia noted. TraXion is already coordinating with over 600,000 sari-sari stores in the country to engage and encourage them to use blockchain so that farmers can

transact with them. “We can also work out on drastically bring down the price on remittance, we can have it at [just] 1 to 2 percent remittance change,” said Jojy Azurin, chief operating officer of TraXion, in a press conference here. Money transactions and the farmer’s salary are safe using the blockchain since it is permission-based, Azurin stressed.

GenTri, Cavite LGUs child-friendly GENERAL TRIAS, Cavite—This city’s local government joined its fellow LGUs in Cavite in receiving the 2017 Seal of ChildFriendly Local Governance during the Regional Awarding Ceremony at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City. The seven cities and 16 towns of Cavite all received the Child Friendly Local Governance award for the Calabarzon Region, held as part of the annual Niyogyugan Festival of host Quezon Province. They received plaques of recognition from the Council for the Welfare of Children under the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of the Interior and Local Government as partners.

The award is based on the results of the mandatory Child-Friendly Local Governance Audit conducted annually and covering all cities and municipalities in the country. GenTri and Noveleta were among Cavite’s LGUs that completely passed the mandatory Child-Friendly Local Government Audit as announced by the DILG last January. City Social Welfare head Bengky Generoso and City Health Officer Dr. Jonathan Luseco, received the plaque for Gen. Trias. Gloria Fernandez, Municipal Administrator and Jinky Sidocon, Municipal Social Welfare and Development Head, received the plaque for Noveleta.

CLIMATE and disaster threats should scare Congress more than the resignation threat and “bullying tactics” of Science and Technology Secretary Fortunato dela Peña in opposing the transfer of two key agencies from his department to the proposed Department of Disaster Resilience. Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, principal author of the House of Representatives’ DDR measure, voiced this candid observation in reaction to Dela Peña’s reported threat to resign should the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Service Administration and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology be transferred to the proposed DDR. Salceda’s bill envisions the DDR to be the primary government agency to lead and manage national efforts to mitigate and address disaster risks, and take under its wings the Pagasa and Phivolcs from the DoST. Salceda noted that Dela Peña’s opposition was “very disappointing” since the proposal was already unanimously voted by the House committees on Government Reorganization, Defense, and Appropriations, which has also proposed an initial P21-billion budget for the new department. “We value his opinion but climate and disaster threats scare Congress more than his personal threat,” said Salceda. “Climate and disaster threats have more force than Dela Peña’s personal threat.” Pagasa is mandated to “provide protection against natural calamities and utilize scientific knowledge as an effective instrument to ensure the safety, well-being, and economic security of all the people, and for the promotion of national progress.” Phivolcs is mandated to mitigate hazards of volcanic activities through appropriate detection, forecast and warning systems, and to formulate appropriate disaster preparedness plans by predicting volcanic eruptions and earthquakes and their related geotectonic phenomena; determining how eruptions and earthquakes shall occur and also areas likely to be affected; and generating sufficient data for forecasting volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.

Tanza’s feast for saint ‘Tata Usting’ today TANZA, Cavite—Parishioners and residents here will gather together as the city celebrates the annual fiesta of its patron saint St. Augustine, or locally known as “Tata Usting,” today and tomorrow with cultural and religious presentations. On Fiesta Day, Aug. 28, Masses will be held hourly from 4 am to 7 pm at Sta. Cruz Church. A “Toro at Higantes” parade at the city proper will cap the night’s celebrations along with a fireworks display at the plaza. Other events to celebrate the feast day include the Ginoo and Binibining Tanza 2018 coronation night at the Tanza Sports Complex, beside the town hall; The “Himig ng Pagkakaisa” concert at Poblacion 1 covered court; Five local brass bands―the Sta. Cruz Band, Tanzanian Band, Sta. Monica Band, San Lorenzo Band and St. Augustine Band―performing simultaneously to serenade the residents; The “Caracol ng Bayan” at the town proper. The “Masaya sa Tanza Jam Session,” a free concert at the park at Poblacion 1 covered court, featuring the Franco band plus guest performers Straptunes, Jamlaya, DJ Knightmare Fallen, Omillet, and Android 18; and the Karakol street dancing at the St. Augustine School grounds. The city will also commemorate 238 years since the foundation of the Sta. Cruz parish on Aug. 29, and will hold a Thanksgiving Mass on Sept. 2 with a “Grand Augustinian Saints” procession at night. Bishop Reynaldo Evangelista, the Bishop of Imus, also led a concelebrated Mass last Friday. Tanza Traffic Bureau advised the public and motorists to expect heavy traffic on Monday between 6 am to noon along Daang Amaya to A. Soriano Highway, Umboy area, and on Tuesday at Poblacion Proper from 4 am to noon.

Life

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

food

@mstandardLIFE monday, august 27, 2018

mAGIne this: 25,000 liters of German beer, 20,000 pieces of pretzels, 5,000 kilos of assorted sausages, and 7,000 kilos of roasted pork knuckles. You can’t get any more German than this.

From October 4 to 6, German Club manila and Solaire will host the biggest and most authentic celebration of Oktoberfest to date. “Oktoberfest is about having a good time, about celebrating with friends. Just about everything is allowed, just don’t fall down after several bottles of beer,” said Solaire vice president for food & beverage Bastian Breuer. “We focused on authenticity and calculated generously. It will be a disgrace AUTHENTICALLY GERMAN. German Club Manila and if we run out of beer or food. This will Solaire’s Oktoberfest celebration on Oct. 4-6 will feature freebe the biggest and best Oktoberfest in flowing wheat beer from Weihenstephan and sausages from the Philippines ever that truly puts the the family recipe of German chef Michael Dinges. spotlight on the best that Germany has to offer,” he added. Oktoberfest traces its origins to the royal wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese in 1810. Ironically, no beer was sold during the festivities capped instead by horse races. Almost two centuries later, it is celebrated not just in Germany but in other countries as well, and the Philippines is no exception. The celebration is all about the Bavarian spirit of gemütlichkeit—a cozy feeling because of friendship and a sense of belonging—where communal long wooden tables encourage revelers to make new friends over gulps of beer. The three-day event will be held at the 2,400-sqm Solaire Oktoberfest Tent located at The Gallery. It will feature free-flowing German wheat beer from Weihenstephan, the world’s oldest brewery; traditional Bavarian food prepared by Solaire’s German chef; and a 12-man German band, the Bavarian Sound express. This grand showcase of German culture is a fitting way to celebrate as well German Club manila’s 80th anniversary for the Oktoberfest. “We are very delighted to continue this tradition in the Philippines and celebrate the occasion with our Filipino friends. We are pleased to have a new partner in Solaire,” said German Club An assortment of appetizer to start the party.

The biggest Oktoberfest in this part of the world

president Tobias Rast. Ticket holders are entitled to a oneday entry and will be given a wristband based on their designated zone. They will also be given a German beer mug, which they can take home. A quick reminder, though: you must be 18 years old and above to be allowed inside the Oktoberfest Tent. And there is a dress code: German traditional outfit of lederhosen or dirndl, or if you are feeling a bit conservative, smart casual will do. Just don’t forget to bring your love for beer and a good time.

Classic apple and walnut strudel and Kaiserschmarm—shredded pancake topped with a mixed berry sauce.

I’m at joyce.panares@gmail.com.

Tokyo Tokyo launches new store concept By Marianne Ilumba FROm establishing the image of Japanese dining that only consists of basic restaurant setting, Tokyo Tokyo decided to take it to another level by providing customers an authentic Japanese restaurant vibe. After months of expansive remodeling, the Japanese fast food chain has opened its flagship store in Trinoma, featuring a fresh, vibrant look. The modern style of the restaurant’s facade was inspired by Japanese Fusuma Screens and neo-pop anime culture of Japan streets, thus achieving the ambiance of street-style dining. The main dining area, also called the Chef’s Kitchen Dining Room, features a contemporary style. It is connected to a bar counter that leads to the perfect view of the master’s Open Kitchen.

The central service area, on the other hand, is wide and evokes a warm vibe. JJ Acuna, the multi-awarded architect and interior designer of JJ Acuna / Bespoke Studio said this new concept can be seen as a next-generation version of Tokyo Tokyo. He also distinctively designed the restaurant to have two large dining rooms: the Garden Room and the Tatami Room. Coinciding with the new store concept launch, Tokyo Tokyo has also unveiled new food items exclusively available at its Trinoma branch. Tempura Dragon maki, Crazy Kani maki, Chicken Teriyaki Salad and Waffle Bowl sundaes await customers craving a complete package of delicious Japanese fare and amazing dining place. Tokyo Tokyo plans to renovate all its 60 store locations nationwide. Tokyo Tokyo’s flagship store in Trinoma features a modern Photos by Julianne Gabis

and vibrant design concept.

New food items exclusively available at Tokyo Tokyo Trinoma.

Chicken Teriyaki Salad

Life

monday, august 27, 2018 manilastandardlife@gmail.com

Chef gives sisig P

a healthy twist

iNOy sisig has been served and done in many ways—there’s the classic pork version as well as lighter alternatives using chicken, seafood, and tofu.

Before one can say we’ve seen it all, young chef, Nikko Roa of Hizon’s Catering presents his vegan sisig version, the Toasted Quinoa Vegan sisig. Chef Nikko spent hours of testing to come up with his original dish, which won the grand prize at the Knorr funlasang Pinoy year 2 luzon Cook-off. “Sisig has always been my comfort food. i just took it to another level and made a healthier version of it without losing that classic taste we’ve always loved,” said Chef Nikko. Knorr funlasang Pinoy year 2, a platform initiated by Unilever food solutions Philippines and Knorr, invites filipino chefs and cooks to showcase their talent and creativity by innovating classic Pinoy dishes with fun twists. Using quinoa as the main ingredient, mixed mushrooms, chilies, tamarind soup base, and Knorr liquid seasoning for flavor, Chef Nikko presented a modern and healthier alternative to the traditional sisig, which won the hearts and palates of the judges. His creation stood out among the dishes of eight other talented filipino chefs and cooks from luzon who also presented different creative takes on filipino classics: sisig, kare-kare, bulalo, crispy pata, and adobo. The 35-year-old chef from

Around the world in bowls RiCe bowls hit all the check marks of a perfect weeknight dinner: they’re versatile, delicious, and most importantly use less dishes that need cleaning. They’re also perfect to bring to work or school for lunch on-the-go. Here are four bowls inspired by favorite international flavors.

Kawalidon serves: 4

ingredients: 1 pack 2 cups 1 pc 1 pc 4 pcs 4 cups

425g Purefoods Heat & eat lechon Kawali, cooked and sliced store-bought donburi or tonkatsu sauce onion, sliced onion leek, sliced Magnolia Brown eggs, beaten cooked rice

Procedure: 1. Heat donburi sauce in a sauté pan. add onion and leeks. add beaten eggs and simmer for 2 minutes. 2. Portion rice in bowls and top with cooked lechon kawali slices. Drizzle sauce.

Mexican chicken rice Bowl serves: 5

Chef Nikko Roa creates a healthier version of classic Pinoy sisig using quinoa, (inset) dubbed Toasted Quinoa vegan sisig, which won the grand prize at the Knorr funlasang Pinoy Year 2 Luzon Cook-off.

P a s ig started as a kitchen helper in a hotel before pursuing a diploma from the academy for international Culinary arts. He then took a teaching stint before becoming one of the current sous chefs at Hizon’s Catering. Being his first time to join a culinary

recipe files

competition outside of culinary school, winning the luzon cook-off was something Roa never expected. “Pinag-isipan ko talaga yung concept ng dish [i really thought hard about the concept of the dish]. i knew i wanted to do something creative with sisig. i wanted it to be unique,” he shared.

Chef Nikko shares the same advocacy of Ufs and Knorr in taking filipino cuisine to brand new heights. He also constantly thinks of new ways to present local dishes. “Masarap ang Pinoy food [filipino food is delicious]—i think we know that well. Our local cuisine has a lot of delicious dishes to offer to the world and we just have to keep on innovating these dishes to cater to the ever-evolving taste of diners,” he stated. The grand winner from luzon bagged P100,000 cash prize. Together with the grand winners from Visayas and Mindanao, Chef Nikko will attend the Ufs Chefmanship academy to further expand his culinary knowledge through mentorships from esteemed chefs in the country. Visayas and Mindanao cook-offs were held on aug. 9 and 22, respectively.

ingredients: ½ kg 3 tbsp 1 tbsp 1 pc ¼ cup 5 cups 1 pc ½ pack

Magnolia Chicken station Chicken Breast strips taco seasoning Magnolia Coconut Oil Vegetable Oil green bell pepper, sliced star Margarine Garlic cooked rice tomato, chopped Magnolia Cheezee, shredded

Procedure: 1. Rub chicken with taco seasoning. 2. Heat oil in a pan and sauté seasoned chicken for 4 minutes or until cooked through. add red onion and bell pepper. 3. in a separate pan, melt margarine and add rice. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. 4. Portion rice into 5 bowls. Top each with chicken, tomato, and cheese.

Mongolian rice Bowl serves: 5

6 food combinations to try at Zoo Coffee Waffles and bingsu might seem like an unlikely food combination, but it’s a favorite pairing at a Korean zoo-themed cafe. Zoo Coffee serves a variety of dishes that can satisfy different cravings. Here are six food combinations diners can try from their menu.

Mango waffle (2 pcs) and lemon iced tea

ask any Zoo Coffee patron and they will probably say that Zoo Coffee’s waffles are the best solution to their sweet cravings. One of their bestsellers, the mango waffle is the perfect snack after a long day. Pair it with their lemon iced tea for a refreshing combo.

chicken ham teriyaki sandwich + hot or iced Americano

ingredients: ½ kg ¼ cup ¼ cup ¼ cup 2 cloves ½ tbsp 2 tbsp 5 cups 1 cup 1 pc

Monterey Beef sukiyaki Cut corn starch soy sauce brown sugar garlic, finely crushed grated ginger Magnolia Coconut Oil Vegetable Oil cooked rice togue, blanched carrot, sliced and blanched

Procedure: 1. Dredge beef in corn starch and let it set for 10 minutes. 2. in a bowl, combine soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger. set aside. 3. Heat oil in a pan and sauté beef. add prepared sauce and continue to cook for 2 minutes. 4. Portion rice in 5 bowls then top with beef, togue, and carrots.

The cafe’s chicken ham teriyaki sandwich has a generous serving of meat as well as fresh lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber. Pair it with a hot or iced americano for the ultimate jolt of energy.

salted egg pasta and lemon iced tea

Try its savory and creamy salted egg pasta paired with its sweet Banana waffle and lemon iced tea and refreshing lemon iced tea—an addicting combination.

Garlic honeybread and green tea frappe

Zoo Coffee’s garlic honeybread is ideal for a quick pick-meup. Pair it with their green tea frappe for an energized and refreshed feel.

cheesy hotdog and cookies and cream frappe

Try the filling cheesy hotdog paired with cookies and cream frappe for the ultimate lazy day meal.

Oreo bingsu and churro waffle (buy 1 get 1)

The fluffy shaved ice topped with crushed Oreos and churro waffles will no doubt please anybody, regardless if they’re craving desserts or not. These sweet treats are exclusive only to Zoo Coffee’s newest and biggest branch in ayala Vertis North in partnership with mobile food app, Booky. Zoo Coffee has branches at Ayala Vertis North, Alphaland garlic honeybread and coffee Makati Place, and SM Megamall.

pulled pork Garden rice Bowl serves: 4

ingredients: 2 tbsp 3 cups 1 can 1 pc ½ cup 1 pc 2 pc

Magnolia Nutri Oil Coconut Oil cooked rice 185g Purefoods Pulled Pork asian style carrot, thinly sliced corn kernels cucumber, thinly sliced tomato, thinly sliced

Procedure: 1. Heat oil in a pan and fry rice. add pulled pork, carrots, and corn. Mix well. 2. Portion rice into 4 bowls. Top with cucumber and tomato and more pulled pork.

Manila

Standard

TODAY

Republic of the Philippines ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City

IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSED RATES FOR THE CONTINUED OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE OF THE 24MW BUNKER FIRED POWER PLANT OWNED BY THE CABANATUAN ELECTRIC CORPORATION, WITH PRAYER FOR THE ISSUANCE OF A PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY OR INTERIM RELIEF

both currently under the name of FCVC. Both of these permits will be transferred to CELCOR upon the expiration of the term of the PPA. Copies of the COC and ECC/ PTO of the Power Plant are attached hereto as Annexes “K” and “L” respectively and made integral parts hereof. PROPOSED RATES FOR COST RECOVERY

ERC CASE NO. 2018-086 RC CABANATUAN ELECTRIC CORPORATION (CELCOR) Applicant. x--------------------------------------------------x NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES: Notice is hereby given that on 30 July 2018, Cabanatuan Electric Corporation (CELCOR), filed an Application dated 18 July 2018, seeking the approval of the Commission of its proposed rates for the continued operations and maintenance of its 24 MW bunker-fired power plant, with prayer for the issuance of provisional authority or interim relief. CELCOR alleged the following in its Application: 1. Applicant CELCOR is a private corporation, organized and existing under the laws of the Republic of the Philippines, with principal office at Maharlika Highway, Bitas, Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija 3100. Applicant CELCOR may be served with orders, notices and other legal process of this Honorable Commission through the address of the undersigned Firm; 2. Applicant CELCOR is the holder of an exclusive franchise issued by the Congress of the Republic of the Philippines through Republic Act No. 9968, to construct and operate the electric power distribution system in the City of Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija. Cabanatuan City is a chartered and independent city under R.A. 526. A copy of the Certificate of Franchise of Applicant CELCOR is herein attached as Annex “A” and made an integral part hereof. Copies of CELCOR’s Certificate of Registration, Articles of Incorporation and latest General Information Sheet and Audited Financial Statements are attached hereto as Annexes “B”, “C”, “D” and “E” respectively and all made integral parts hereof; NATURE OF THE APPLICATION 3. By and pursuant to Section 25 of Republic Act No. 9136, otherwise known as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (“EPlRA”), and by suppletory application of Rule 20 (B) of the ERC Rules of Practice and Procedure, and of Article VI, Sections 1 and 2 of the Guidelines for the Recovery of Costs for the Generation Component of the Distribution Utilities’ (DUs) Rates, and other pertinent laws, Applicant CELCOR, in its capacity as the owner of the 4x6.4 MW (Gross) Cabanatuan Bunker Fired Power Plant (“the Power Plant”), submits this Application to the Honorable Commission for its due consideration for the approval of the proposed rates for the continued operations and maintenance of the Power Plant which rates would then be recovered by CELCOR, upon approval by the Honorable Commission through the generation charge formula, as provided in ERC Resolution No. 16 Series of 2009.

21. As stated above, Applicant CELCOR will establish a separate business segment for power generation that wiIl handle the continued operations and maintenance of the Power Plant. The costs associated with such continued operations and maintenance will be recovered by Applicant CELCOR only and strictly through the rates as proposed herein and there will be no cross- subsidization between the distribution, supply and generation business segments of Applicant CELCOR in accordance with the guidelines and policies of the Honorable Commission. Further, any gains or losses incurred by the generation business segment of CELCOR will not be passed on to the consumers of CELCOR but will be shouldered by the stockholders of CELCOR only. 22. The proposed rates for the recovery of the costs for the continued operation and maintenance of the Power Plant by Applicant CELCOR is as follows: Proposed Fixed Operations and Maintenance Fee 23. A Base Fixed Operations and Maintenance (FOM) Fee of PhP246.64 per kw per month was determined to allow CELCOR to recover its projected fixed operations and maintenance costs for the Power Plant. 24. In accordance with the decisions of the Honorable Commission, the proposed FOM is based on the capacity of the plant and not on the level of its utilization or use. This is because the FOM is meant to recover expenses that are incurred in order to maintain the Power Plant regardless of whether it ran or was utilized in a billing period. Thus, the FOM will be collected even if the Power Plant is on pure stand-by mode and did not generate any electricity during a billing period. However, with the collection of the proposed FOM, Applicant CELCOR can continue to maintain the Power Plant and thus the consumers of CELCOR can be assured that even in the event of any major disruptions in the delivery of power from the Luzon grid to CELCOR, they will have a ready and immediately available embedded generation facility that can supply a portion of their electricity requirements until the normalization of supply from the grid. 25. Portions of the Base FOM Fee shall be adjusted monthly based on the Philippine Consumer Price Index and the German Consumer Price Index and the prevailing Euro-Peso Exchange Rate. The Peso component of the FOM fee is indexed against the Philippine Consumer Price Index to capture any increases or decreases in the Peso denominated components of the operations and maintenance costs for the Power Plant Conversely, the Euro Dollar component of the FOM fee is indexed against the German Consumer Price Index and the prevailing exchange rate between the Euro Dollar and Philippine Peso to capture any increases or decreases in the Euro Dollar denominated components of the operations and maintenance costs for the Power Plant as well as changes in the exchange rate as they affect such Euro Dollar denominated costs. The formula for the Base FOM fee adjustments is as follows:

Compliance with Pre-Filing Requirements

6. In addition, Applicant CELCOR caused the publication of the instant Application in a newspaper of general circulation within its Franchise Area. Copies of the newspaper where the publication of this Application appeared and the corresponding Affidavit of Publication from the publisher of such newspaper attesting to such publication are attached hereto as Annexes “H” and “H-1”. STATEMENT OF FACTS 7. On 30 August 1993, Applicant CELCOR entered into a Build Operate and Transfer Agreement (BOT Agreement) with First Cabanatuan Ventures Corp. (FCVC) whereby FCVC undertook to build, on a Build-Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis, a Banker Fired Power Plant in Cabanatuan City with a 2x6.4MW generating units that would be connected directly to the distribution system of CELCOR. The terms of the BOT Agreement where approved by the Energy Regulatory Board in ERB Case No. 95-41. 8. On 10 April 1997, Applicant CELCOR further entered into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with FCVC whereby FCVC undertook to install another 2x6.4MW Bunker Fired Generating Units at the same power plant that would also be connected directly to the distribution system of CELCOR. The PPA was approved by the Honorable Commission in ERC Case No. 2001-696. Like the BOT Agreement, the additional units in the PPA were also contracted on a Build-Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis. 9. Pursuant to its obligations under the BOT Agreement and the PPA, FCVC constructed, operated and maintained a 4x6.4MW Bunker Fired Power Plant in Sitio Mampulog, Bgy. Bitas Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija (the “Power Plant”) for the supply of the electricity requirements of CELCOR. Under the BOT Agreement and PPA, it was the obligation of CELCOR to provide the fuel and Start-up power that would be utilized by the Power Plant for the generation of the electricity required by CELCOR and CELCOR undertook to purchase the electricity generated by FCVC from the Power Plant in accordance with the terms of the BOT Agreement and PPA.

Land Lease Recovery Fee 26. As stated, above, the Power Plant will be turned over by FCVC for continued operations, to CELCOR but the land on which the plant is built will be excluded. Thus, in order to be able to continue operating the Power Plant, CELCOR will have to lease such land from FCVC. CELCOR and FCVC have executed a Lease Agreement whereby CELCOR will lease from FCVC the land on which the Power Plant is located, with an area of ten thousand square meters for a period of ten years at a monthly lease rate of Pesos: Five Hundred and Eighty Five Thousand Pesos (P585,000.00) per month, inclusive of VAT with an escalation of 10% every three years. The Lease Recovery Fee of P24.375/kw was derived by dividing the Lease Fee of P585,000.00 by the 24,000kw capacity of the Power Plant. 27· A copy of the Breakdown of the Components and calculation of the FOM Fee and lease recovery fee is attabhed to this Application as Annex “M” and made an integral part hereof. 28. The proposed total FOM fee of CELCOR of P271.015/kw per month, inclusive of the lease recovery fee, is lower than the FOM fee for other similar bunker fired plants recently approved by the Honorable Commission in ERC Case no. 2016073RC between PSI and SOCOTECO II (P303.42/kw/mo.), ERC Case no. 2015194RC between BPC and FIBECO (P418.00/kw/mo.) and in ERC Case no. 2016088RC between PBI and BUSECO (P317.26/kw/mo.) Proposed Variable Operations and Maintenance Fee. 29. A Base Variable Operations and Maintenance (VOM) Fee of PO.7703 per kwh was determmed to allow CELCOR to recover its projected variable operations and maintenanne costs for the Power Plant. The proposed Variable O&M Fee of Php 0.7703 per kWh will be charged only for actual energy delivered by the Power Plant. 30. Portions of the Base VOM Fee shall be adjusted monthly based on the Philippine Consumer Price Index and the German Consumer Price Index and the prevailing Euro-Peso Exchange Rate. The Peso component of the VOM fee is indexed against the Philippine Consumer Price Index to capture any increases or decreases in the Peso denominated components of the operations and maintenance costs for the Power Plant. Conversely, the Euro Dollar component of the VOM fee is indexed against the German Consumer Price Index and the prevailing exchange rate between the Euro Dollar and Philippine Peso to capture any increases or decreases in the Euro Dollar denominated components of the operations and maintenance costs for the Power Plant as well as changes in the exchange rate as they affect such Euro Dollar denominated costs. The formula for the Base VOM fee adjustments is as follows:

SALIENT FEATURES OF THE POWER PLANT AND CONNECTION TO THE CELCOR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM 17. The Power Plant consists of 4x6.4MW (Gross) Bunker Fired Generating Units. The units are Deutz Brand, Model BV16M640, turbocharged with intercooler, with 16 Cylinders per unit and with a Rated Speed of 600 Revolution per Minute (RPM). These Units have a net dependable capacity of 6MW per unit. The primary fuel of the units is Bunker C but diesel fuel will be utilized during start-ups and shutdowns. 18. All necessary equipment and accessories of the Power Plant shall also be transferred by FCVC to CELCOR such as the control room, power house, protection equipment, metering equipment, monitoring equipment communication equipment, grounding system, synchronization and load sharing module. Further, the substation and interconnection facilities to the distribution grid, which are owned by CELCOR, are all already in place. Thus, upon turnover from FCVC, CELCOR can immediately continue the operations of the Power Plant without need for the installation of or investment for any facilities needed for such operations. 19. The Power Plant is connected to the distribution system of CELCOR via the CELCOR Bitas substation. The Power Plant has two outgoing feeders each rated at 24MVA/13.8KV. Each feeder is connected to a 20/25MVA, 69/13.8KV transformer of CELCOR Bitas Substation. Within the substation is another 20/25MVA, 69/13.8KV transformer that serves 4 - 13.8KV distribution lines of CELCOR. The CELCOR Bitas Substation is also connected to the NGCP’s Cabanatuan Substation via CELCOR’s 69KV sub-transmission line. CELCOR Bitas Substation has all the associated equipment and devices necessary for the safe operation, control and dispatch of the Power Plant. 20. The Power Plant currently has a Certicate of Compliance (COC) from the Honorable Commission and an Environmental Compliance Certificate/Permit to Operate (ECC/PTO) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources,

Projected Rate Impact 45. As stated above, Applicant CELCOR plans to retain and continue the operations and maintenance of the Power Plant, upon turnover by FCVC, to provide a portion of the peak power requirements of its captive customers, when the spot market prices are higher than the fuel and operating costs of the Power Plant, and as an emergency or back-up power source for its franchise area. Based on this, Applicant CELCOR has formulated three scenarios for the rate impact simulation for the continued opetations and maintenance of the Power Plant. The projected rate impact of the proposed cost recovery for the continued operation and maintenance of the Power Plant by Applicant CELCOR are as follows:

47. The second simulation is based on a scenario where the Power Plant is utilized for electricity generation during periods when WESM Prices are high. The FOM Fee and the VOM Fee, Fuel and Lubricant Costs and Start-up Costs are collected from the consumers of CELCOR for the actual electricity generated by the Power Plant for the billing period. This scenario will occur during times when the prices in the spot market are high and there is a tightness or shortage in the supply of power in the Luzon Grid. In this scenario, the continued operations and maintenance of the Power Plant would result in a DECREASE of Php 0.6690 centavos per kwh in the generation rate of Applicant CELCOR when compared against the generation charge for April 2018. A copy of the details of this simulation is attached to this Application as Annex “0-1” and made an integral part hereof. Scenario C: 48. The third simulation is based on a scenario where the Power Plant will be decommissioned and no longer be utilized for electricity generation and CELCOR will just source the balance of its supply requirements from the WESM. This scenario will occur if the operation and maintenance of the Power Plant is discontinued. In this scenario, the discontinued operations and maintenance of the Power Plant would result in an INCREASE of Php 0.0334 centavos per kwh in the generation rate of Applicant CELCOR when compared against the generation charge for April 2018. A copy of the details of this simulation is attached to this Application as Annex “0-2” and made an integral part hereof. 49. It is worth noting here that the electricity sourced by Applicant CELCOR from its bilateral contract and from the WESM is subject to the full Transmission Charges imposed by NGCP while the electricity that will be generated by the Power Plant will not be subject to the Power Delivery Charges of NGCP as the Power Plant is an embedded generation facility. 50. SECRETARY’S CERTIFICATE. A copy of the Secretary’s Certificate containing the Board Resolution adopted by the Board of Directors of CELCOR authorizing the continued operations and maintenance of the Power Plant, the filing of the instant application for the recovery of the costs associated with such continued operations and maintenance and authorizing undersigned counsel to represent Applicant CELCOR before the Honorable Commission is attached hereto as Annex “P”’ and made an integral part hereof. ALLEGATIONS IN SUPPORT OF THE PRAYER FOR PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY OR INETERIM RELIEF 51. Applicant CELCOR hereby repleads by way of reference the foregoing allegations to form part of its application for issuance of provisional authority. 52. As stated above, since the Power Plant is complete, in good operating condition, directly connected to the distribution system of CELCOR and will be transferred for continued operations to CELCOR for no additional consideration at the end of the term of the PPA, It would be more prudent and practical for Applicant CELCOR to retain and continue the operations and maintenance of the Power Plant to provide a portion of its peak power requirements, when the variable costs (fuel, lubes, start-up and VOM Fees) of the Power Plant are lower than the prices in the spot market, and as an emergency or back-up power source for its franchise area.

54. Upon filing of the instant Application and pending the hearing and final resolution of the same, a Provisional Authority or Interim Relief should respectfully be issued by the Honorable Commission to enable Applicant CELCOR to collect the proposed fees associated with the continued operation and maintenance of the Power Plant as indicated in Paragraph Nos. 23 to 43 of this Application beginning from 26 July 2018 which is the turnover date for the Power Plant. Otherwise, Applicant CELCOR will! not be able to ensure the continued operation and maintenance of the Power Plant, to the detriment of the security of the power shpply of its consumers. In compliance with the Rules of the Honorable Commission, attached as Annex “Q” of this Applicaton is the Affidavit of Engr. Villamor Dagamac, the Chief Operating Officer of Applicant CELCOR, in support of the Prayer for Provisional Authority.

12. Currently, the balance of the power supply requirements of CELCOR are sourced either from the FCVC Power Plant or from the Spot Market, if the spot prices are lower than the fuel costs of the Power Plant for a given trading interval.

16. To continue the operations and maintenance of the Power Plant and keep it ready to serve the needs of the consumers in the franchise area, Applicant CELCOR must recover from its consumers the costs associated with such operations and maintenance and the costs of fuel and lubricants and start-up costs for the Power Plant by filing the necessary application with the Honorable Commission for approval of the rates proposed herein and the recovery of the said rates through the generation charge formula as provided in ERC Resolution No. 16, Series of 2009 and Resolution No. 21, Series of 2010, hence the instant Application.

Procurement of Fuel 44. As stated above, CELCOR currently supplies all the fuel requirements of the Power Plant pursuant to its obligations under the BOT Contract and PPA with FCVC. CELCOR currently sources the Diesel requirements of the Power Plant from Total Philippines and the HFO requirements are supplied by SL Harbor Bulk Terminal Corp. These fuel requirements are delivered by tanker trucks to the FCVC Power Plant Site. Applicant CELCOR intends to continue sourcing the fuel requirements of the Power Plant from Total Philippines and SL Harbor Bulk Terminal Corp. once the said plant has been turned over for operation by CELCOR.

53. In order to ensure that it is capable of continuing the maintenance and operations of the Power Plant once it is turned over by FCVC and thus be ready to provide peaking power, when the variable costs (fuel, lubes, start-up and VOM Fees) of the Power Plant are lower than the prices in the spot market, or emergency/back-up power for the requirements of the consumers within its franchise area, should such need arise, Applicant CELCOR must be allowed to collect the tariff proposed herein upon turn-over of the Power Plant. Thus, the provisional approval of this Application must be secured as there might be a difficulty in getting a final decision in such a short span of time due to the tremendous case load of the Honorable Commission.

CELCOR DEMAND-SUPPLY SITUATION AND PROJECTIONS

15. CELCOR is also advocating the continued availability of the Power Plant as an emergency or back-up power source for its franchise area due to its past experience particularly in October 2013 when Typhoon Santi directly hit Cabanatuan City and affected a big portion of the Distribution System of CELCOR and cut off the 69kV sub-transmission lines that supplied electricity to CELCOR from the NGCP Cabanatuan Substation. Within three days, as soon as some of the CELCOR distribution lines were restored the Power Plant started to supply power on an Island Operating basis. During this period the Power Plant operated continuously absorbing the load of CELCOR as soon as the distribution lines were restored and became available. It was only Cabanatuan City then that had power in the entire province of Nueva Ecija. Due to the availability and utilization of the Power Plant as a back-up and emergency power supply source, CELCOR was able to provide much needed electricity in its franchise area particularly for the restoration of basic services and relief efforts during a time of crisis.

43. In accordance with the allowed policy of the Honorable Commission, there will be an allowed plant degradation of no greater than 1.5% per year on the fuel and lubricants consumption cap. Further, Fuel and Lubricants Costs will be recovered by Applicant CELCOR only for the fuel and lubricants actually consumed by the Power Plant, including those consumed for the necessary heat rate and maintenance runs of the generating units.

Scenario B:

11. The franchise area of CELCOR had a total peak power demand of 45.58MW as of April 2018, excluding contestable customers. Currently, CELCOR sources its electric power requirements from SN Aboitiz Power - Benguet, Inc. with a maximum allowable contract demand of 41.8MW with yearly escalation, under a power supply agreement up to December 2023.

14. Since the Power Plant is complete, in good operating condition, directly connected to the distribution system of CELCOR and will be transferred to CELCOR for actual operation, for no additional consideration at the end of the term of the PPA, it would be more prudent and practical that Applicant CELCOR to retain and continue the operations and maintenance of the Power Plant to provide a portion of its peak power requirements, when the variable costs (fuel, lubes, start-up and VOM Fees as defined below) of the Power Plant are lower than the prices in the spot market, and as an emergency or back-up power source for its franchise area.

42. The Start-Up Costs shall also include the electricity consumed by the Power Plant complex when the generating units are not operating and are on stand-by mode. Such electricity is required in order to keep the Power Plant, particularly the engine auxiIiaries ready for operation when CELCOR will require generation from the Power Plant. For this purpose, the Power Plant shall be treated as a metered regular customer of CELCOR and CELCOR shall collect all the approved applicable charges for the stand-by electricity consumed by the Power Plant for the Billing Period. However, to reduce the stand-by electricity costs, CELCOR shall exclude its approved distribution charges. The charges for the stand-by electricity consumed by the Power Plant will be included in the monthly Start-Up Costs of the Power Plant.

Scenario A:

10. The term of the PPA, which was the later agreement between CELCOR and FCVC, was for 20 years beginning from the date of commercial operations of the additional 2 generating units which occurred in July of 1998. Thus, the PPA is scheduled to end on 25 July 2018 and thereafter, the operations of the whole Power Plant, excluding the land on which it is located, would be turned over by FCVC to CELCOR.

13. The demand within the CELCOR franchise area is projected to grow by an average of 5% yearly from 2017 as demonstrated in its Distribution Development Plan. This is consistent with the Distribution Development Plan of CELCOR a copy of which with its average load curve, demand supply scenario and forecasts is attached to this Application as Annex “I’ and made an integral part hereof. A copy of the Certification on the Demand Side management Projects of CELCOR is also attached hereto as Annex “J” and made an integral part hereof.

41. During such start-ups/ramp-ups and ramp downs/ shut downs, the plant/units generate electricity at an average consumption rate of 0.4li of diesel per kwh. This increased diesel consumption rate during start-up is due to the fact the generating units do not immediately produce electricity upon start-up and need to be properly warmed up first before they can be loaded. The energy produced during such startups/ramp ups and ramp downs/shut downs shall be excluded from the total energy produced by the plant for purposes of determining the consumption rate for and total consumption of Diesel and Bunker Fuel for normal plant operations for the billing period but such energy produced during such start-ups/ramp ups and ramp downs/ shut downs shall still be included in the total energy produced and delivered by the plant for purposes of determining the recoverable VOM Fee and ER 1-94.

46. The first simulation is based on a scenarib where the Power Plant is not fully utilized for electricity generation in a billing period due to low WESM Prices and the FOM Fee, Start-up Costs, Fuel and Lubricant Costs and the VOM fee for the minimal generation are collected from the consumers of CELCOR. This scenario will occur during times when the prices in the spot market are low and there is no shortage in the supply of power in the Luzon Grid. In this scenario, the continued operations and maintenance of the Power Plant would result in a DECREASE of Php 0.7916 centavos per kwh in the generation rate of Applicant CELCOR when compared against the generation charge for January 2018. A copy of the details of this simulation is attached to this Application as Annex “0” and made an integral part hereof.

4. In accordance with the Business Separation Guidelines, As Amended, of the Honorable Commission, Applicant CELCOR will treat the operation and maintenance of the Power Plant as a separate business segment apart from its distribution and supply business segments. Applicant CELCOR has already informed the Honorable Commission of the proposed material change in its Business Separation and Unbundling Plan with the creation of a separate business segment for power generation that will handle the continued operations and maintenance of the Power Plant. There will be accounting separation between the business segment for power generation and the other business segments of CELCOR in accordance with the Business Separation Guidelines of the Honorable Commission. A copy of the Letter of Applicant CELCOR informing the Honorable Commission of the creation of a separate business segment for power generation is attached to this Application as “F” and made an integral part hereof. Further, should the Honorable Commission require and order, Applicant CELCOR is willing to incorporate and establish a separate wholly owned entity that shall undertake the continued operations and maintenance of the Power Plant, for purposes of complying with the Business Separation Guidelines of the Honorable Commission.

5. In compliance with the pre-filing requirements mandated under Rule 3, Section 4 (e) of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 9136, otherwise known as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 or the EPIRA, and Rule 6 of the 2006 ERC Rules of Practice and Procedure, Applicant CELCOR furnished the legislative body of the local government unit where it principally operates with a copy of the present Application together with all the annexes and accompanying documents. A Copy of the Certification from the City Council of Cabanatuan City, where Applicant CELCOR principally operates, attesting to the fact that the said Council was served a copy of the full Application is attached hereto as Annex “G”.

shut down costs shall be recovered based on the actual total number of start-ups/ramp ups and ramp downs/shut downs of each unit for the billing period multiplied by 320 liters and multiplied by the actual delivered cost of diesel to the Plower Plant per liter.

PRAYER WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is respectfully prayed of the Honorable Commission, that: 31. The indexation of portions of the FOM and VOM to the German Consumer Price Index and the prevailing Euro-Peso Exchange Rate is due to the fact that the Power Plant is composed of 4 units of 6.4 MW Deutz Brand, Model BV16M640 Bunker fired generating units that were made in Germany. Thus, most of the spares for the said units will come from Germany the cosfs of which shall be denominated in Euro. Since CELCOR bills its consumers only in Philippine Pesos, the indexation to the prevailing Euro-Peso exchange rate is necessary in order for CELCOR to capture any fluctuations in the said exchange rate as they affect the O&M costs for the Power Plant. 32. The E.R. 1-94 component of Php 0.01 pet kWh will then be added to the applicable VOM Fee for the Billing Period as this should not be subject to any escalation. 33. A copy of the Breakdown of the Components and calculation of the VOM Fee is attached to this Application as Annex “N” and made an integral part hereof. 34. The proposed Base VOM fee of CELCOR of PO.7703/kwh, is lower than the VOM fee for other similar bunker fired plants recently approved by the Honorable Commission in ERC Case no. 2014-153RC between KEGI and FIBECO (P1.2834/ kwh) and ERC Case no. 2015-194RC between BPC and FIBECO (P1.049/kwh). 35. NO CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES. Since the Power Plant was turned over by FCVC for continued operation by CELCOR pursuant to the BOT nature of the PPA, Applicant CELCOR did not pay any additional consideration for the acquisition of the Power Plant. Thus, CELCOR will no longer recover any Capacity Recovery Fees from its consumers for the Power Plant. Fuel Costs Lube Costs & Start-Up Costs 36. Fuel costs will be a pure pass-through cost based on the actual delivered price of Diesel and Bunker C/HFO Fuel to the Power Plant and shall be subject to the following efficiency caps at various load factors: Fuel Consumption Rate 0.26 li/kwh 0.28 li/kwh 0.30 li/kwh

Load Factor per Generating Unit At 100% load per unit at less than 100% up to 75% load per unit at Less than 75% up to 50% load per unit

37. The Power Plant utilizes Diesel during initial normal operations after start-up. This is primarily due to the fact that the plant utilizes a heat recovery system using exhaust gas boilers. This system produces steam for the heating requirements of the heavy fuel conditioning system and the lube oil/heavy fuel purification system. The plant cannot shift from diesel to Bunker/HFO until such time that there is enough steam to heat and condition the HFO. The use of exhaust gas boilers to produce steam for the heating requirements of the heavy fuel conditioning system and the lube oil and heavy fuel purification system results in a lower parasitic load for the Power Plant which yields a higher net plant output. Without the use of the heat recovery system, the power Plant will have to consume a larger amount of electricity (either from CELCOR or its own generation) for the fuel heating and conditioning requirements. 38. Lubricant costs will also be a pure pass-through cost based on the actual delivered price of the required lubricants to the Power Plant and shall be subject to a consumption cap of 0.003 Ii/kwh of lubricants.

(1)

Upon filing of the Application and pending hearing thereon, Issue an Order granting a PROVISIONAL APPROVAL OR INTERIM RELIEF for the Proposed Fixed Operations and Maintenance Fee and Land Lease Recpvery Fee, Proposed Variable Operations and Maintenancei Fee, Fuel Costs, Lube Costs & Start-Up Cost as describe in pars. 23 to 43 of this Application associated with the continued maintenance and operation of the Power Plant by Applicant CELCOR from 26 July 2018 which is the date of turnover of the said Plant by FCVC to CELCOR as well as a provisional authority to Applicant CELCOR to recover said fees from its consumers, and

(2)

After due hearing, issue a DECISION approving with finality the said fees proposed in this Applicatlion and to recover the same from its consumers. Applicant prays for all other reliefs just and equitable under the premises.

The Commission has set the Application for determination of compliance with the jurisdictional requirements, expository presentation, Pre-trial Conference, and presentation of evidence on on 7 September 2018 (Friday) at nine o’clock in the morning (9:00 A.M.), at the Nueva Ecija University and Technology (NEUST) Campus at Brgy. Sumacab Este, Cabanatuan City. All persons who have an interest in the subject matter of the instant case may become a party by filing with the Commission a verified Petition to Intervene at least five (5) days prior to the initial hearing and subject to the requirements under Rule 9 of the 2006 ERC Rules of Practice and Procedure, indicating therein the docket number and title of the case and stating the following: 1)

The petitioner’s name and address;

The nature of petitioner’s interest in the subject matter of the proceeding and the way and manner in which such interest is affected by the issues involved in the proceeding; and

A statement of the relief desired.

All other persons who may want their views known to the Commission with respect to the subject matter of the case may file their Opposition or Comment thereon at any stage of the proceeding before Applicant rest its case, subject to the requirements under Rule 9 of the 2006 ERC Rules of Practice and Procedure. No particular form of Opposition or Comment is required, but the document, letter, or writing should contain the following: 1)

The name and address of such person;

A concise statement of the Opposition or Comment; and

The grounds relied upon.

All such persons who wish to have a copy of Application may request from Applicant that they be furnished with the same prior to the date of the initial hearing. Applicant is hereby directed to furnish all those making such request with copies of the Application and its attachments, subject to the reimbursement of reasonable photocopying costs. Any such person may likewise examine the Application and other pertinent records filed with the Commission during the standard office hours Pasig City, 01 August 2018. FOR AND BY AUTHORITY OF THE COMMISSION

39. The Fuel and Lubricants Fees are based on: a) the established policy of the Honorable Commission of passing on only actual fuel cost inclusive of transportation cost and other pertinent charges (import duties, fees, taxes), and b) subject to a consumption efficiency cap.

AGNES VST DEVANADERA Chairperson and CEO

40. START UP COSTS. The power plant also utilizes diesel fuel for start-up/ramp up and ramp down/shut down at an average quantity of 320 liters of diesel per start-up/ ramp up and ramp down/shut down per unit. The start-up/ramp up and ramp down/ (MS-AUG. 20 & 27, 2018)

Nickie Wang, Issue Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com

Entertainment

MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 2018

K-Drama ‘While You Were Sleeping’ now on PH TV

Anne Curtis marked her 21 years in the business via a sold-out concert at the Big Bome

Anne Curtis scores another major hit

SHE’S no singer and she admits it. But, her being honest about her musicality was no hindrance for her to draw a multitude to the humongous Smart Araneta ISAH V. RED Coliseum on Aug. 18. The concert was a certified hit. Her fans took every seat available in the venue and scream their lungs out when Anne Curtis came down on stage from the ceiling to begin her biggest show thus far. It was Anne’s 21st anniversary celebration for being in show business. With critically acclaimed movies, Sid & Aya (Not A Love Story), now the highest-grossing film of 2018, and Buy Bust, which exceeded expectations locally, and internationally when it premiered in New York, Canada, and South Korea, and a long-running TV show, It’s Showtime, the star has never shone as brightly as she does these days. The show was directed by Paul Basinillo with Louie Ocampo as musical director, and Teacher Georcelle as dance director. Joining Anne to celebrate her milestone was powerhouse line-up of Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Ex Battalion, Aegis and Regine Velasquez. It will be recalled that Anne made the incredible and very successful transition to singing star with her concert debut in ANNEbisyosa: No Other Concert on January 28 2011 also at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, which she later took on the road abroad and around the Philippines to packed audiences. This was followed by ANNEkapal: The Forbidden Concert again at the Big Dome on May 16, 2014 which also toured successfully with a more daring Anne as a singer, dancer and total performer. ANNE kulit: Promise Last Na ‘To was an even bigger and more entertaining show with surprise guests, more songs, more eye- popping dance moves, magnificent sets and costumes and the stunning Anne, braver than ever. With the smashing attendance, I am sure, that wouldn’t be Anne’s last. Promise! Moving to Quezon City Themes & Motifs opens its new corporate office in the heart of bustling Quezon City to serve as headquarters for its wedding and special events related businesses. The new 200 sqm Themes & Motifs headquarters will serve as its home for its various business units including Events Management, Publications, & E-commerce. The past 17 years has seen the tremendous advancement of Themes & Motifs from its humble beginnings as a home-based business to its dominant stature as the Philippines’ most prestigious wedding company. Themes & Motifs produces the country’s biggest and most prestigious wedding fairs including the upcoming Wedding Expo Philippines (33rd edition on Sept. 8 and 9) at the SMX Mall of Asia. Free e-tickets to this event may be downloaded from www. themesnmotifs.com. A free hard copy of Inspirations for Weddings Magazine, Themes & Motifsonline publication available internationally, will be distributed to soon-to-weds visiting the two-day grand wedding fair. Still no. 1 in July It seems Victor Magtanggol’s mjolnir isn’t powerful enough to topple Cardo Dalisay from staying on top of Kantar’s monthly ratings. In July, just before Kapuso piloted it’s Thor derivation fantasy series with the network’s golden boy Alden Richards, ABS-CBN’s FPJ’s Ang Probinsayno racked up a whopping 42.8 rating cementing its claim as the most-watched program on prime time TV nationwide. As a whole, the Kapuso network is still claiming leadership nationwide, too, with 42 percent rating in Metro Manila, vis a vis GMA’s 28 percent, and in Total Luzon a two point lead (39 perent) over GMA (37 percent). Down south, in Visayas, the Kapuso network is still holding its claim firmly with 51 percent over GMA’s 26 percent, and in Total Mindanao with 53 percent against the Kapuso’s 26 percent. Naturally, the Kapuso officials look at these figures with raised eyebrows as they subscribe to a different survey/ratings provider that tells them they are doing all right nationwide, including those that are traditionally Kapamilya countries. But as the broadcasting universe is gradually shifting to Kantar, I can understand why the Kapamilya bosses are steadfastly insisting on its leadership claim. Apart from FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, other shows that figured in the top 10 were Your Face Sounds Familiar (32.8 percent), TV Patrol (30.7 percent) , Bagani (29.3 percent), MMK (28.6 percent), Wansapanataym (25.2 percent), Home Sweetie Home (23.5 percent), and Rated K (20.4 percent). ABS-CBN also won across all time blocks, particularly the prime time, which is considered the most important when most Filipinos are glued to their TV sets. Advertisers are mainly interested in this block’s ratings figures as they think their ad placements would be most costeffective. The Kapamilya network scored a 14 point lead with 47 percent over its chief rival, GMA, that obtained only 33 percent. The Kapamilya network also led the morning block (6:00 a.m. to 12:00 nn) with an average audience share of 39 percent versus GMA’s 30 percent; the noontime block (12:00 nn to 3:00 p.m.) with 43 percent compared to GMA’s 33 percent and the afternoon block (3 p.m. to 6 p.m.) with 42 percent versus GMA’s 36 percent. Yeoh on ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ In an interview with CNN’s Kristie Lu Stout, Michelle Yeoh outlined the cultural significance of Crazy Rich Asians and its box office success. Speaking on News Stream, Yeoh tells CNN that she feels “very emotional” about the film’s success and states she believes its predominantly Asian cast marks a watershed moment for diversity in cinema. Yeoh reflects on how the success of Crazy Rich Asians compares to her other cinematic roles as well as addressing criticism of the film and whether it’s not an accurate portrayal of Asian life. Read the full story on CNN: https://cnn.it/2OKKfu

'Will While You Were Sleeping' stars Lee Jong Suk and Suzy Bae

BEGINNING tonight, K-Drama fans can start following the thrilling romance fantasy and the award-winning Korean drama of 2017 While You Were Sleeping. The newest drama on primetime tells the story of three young adults who work their way around their ability to see the future. With the advantage of seeing things before it happens in their dreams, they also have to face the consequences that come along with it. Headlining the story is 54th Baeksang Arts Awards Most Popular Actress Suzy Bae, who plays as Alexa, a journalist who originally possesses the ability to see events in the future. She tries to stop the worst scenarios from happening, and inevitably altering the course of nature. Lee Jong-suk then plays Jordan, a rookie prosecutor who used to have a carefree

attitude until his father was slain by a runaway soldier. He shares this fate with Alexa, whose psychic ability was transferred to him when she saved him from drowning. Meanwhile, Jung Hae-in plays Wesley, a top-notch police ofﬁcer who hides his colorblindedness as a secret in order to protect his reputation. He acquires the same ability from Jordan, who saved his life from a car accident. With Alexa’s encounters with Jordan and Wesley, they team up to manipulate each of their fates in order to favor their advantage. What consequences will ensue after they try to change their destinies? How will they face these challenges when they unconsciously entrap themselves in a love triangle? While You Were Sleeping airs Monday to Thursday after Inday Will Always Love You on GMA Telebabad.

‘METEOR GARDEN,’ ‘NGAYON AT KAILANMAN’ give huge ratings win for ABS-CBN

The new F4 (from left) Darren Chen (Huazelei), Caesar Wu (Ximen), Dylan Wang (Daoming Si) and Connor Leong (Meizuo).

By Nickie Wang

IEWERS nationwide tuned in to the premiere of the much-anticipated remake of the classic Meteor Garden, and JoshLia’s ﬁrst television series, which both opened to strong ratings last Monday (Aug. 20). The pilot episode of the new Meteor Garden enjoyed a national TV rating of 21.4 percent, winning against Wowowin, which only registered 15.4 percent, according to data from Kantar Media. Filipinos once again follow the life of the feisty Shancai, a girl from a family who runs a delivery service of meals cooked by her mother to make ends meet and stands up to the notorious group of rich, brilliant, young men who always get their way in the university she is attending. She becomes a target of the F4 and is subjected to every horrible bullying tactic they can employ to make her quit school. However, one of the boys, Huaze Lei takes an interest in her and comes to be her white knight during times she is unable to defend herself. But at the same time, their leader, Daoming Si, falls for the unyielding heroine and starts to appreciate her

strong-willed nature. The 2018 iteration of the Taiwanese series is headlined this time around by Chinese stars such as Shen Yue as Dong Shancai, the main character of the series. The boys, meanwhile, are played by Dylan Wang as Daoming Si, the main love interest of Shancai,Darren Cheng as Huaze Lei, Connor Leong as Fang Meizuo, and Ceasar Wu as Ximen Yan. “We’re very excited to be once more giving our Kapamilyas the famed ‘Meteor Fever’ that once swept the nation, thanks to this muchanticipated remake,” said ABS-CBN Acquisitions head Macie Imperial. In 2003, the Philippines fell in love with the original series that starred the famed, and what became to others as the original F4 composed of Jerry Yan, Vaness Wu, Vic Zhou, Ken Chu, and female lead Barbie Xu. Fans can catch the original version again on iWant TV as it brings back the remastered original Taiwan version starting Sept. 1. Meanwhile, the Ngayon at Kailanman episode that introduced the powerful Cortes clan, garnered a national TV rating of 31.2 percent, or 13.9 points higher than its rival Onanay’s 17.3 percent. Although series lead stars Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto did not make an appearance in the episode, viewers tuned in and tweeted about the show, making its hashtag #SimulaNgKailanman trend on Twitter. Ngayon at Kailanman airs evry night on ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida, after FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, while Meteor Garden airs right before TV Patrol. Julia Barretto and Joshua Garcia

GMA Regional TV pioneers unified Hiligaynon newscast with ‘One Western Visayas’ AFTER breaking ground with the launch of Mindanao-wide local newscast One Mindanao last year, broadcast giant GMA Network, through its regional arm GMA Regional TV, makes history once again―this time pioneering a Hiligaynon news program One Western Visayas. Airing weekdays at 5:00 p.m. beginning today, the 30-minute newscast is produced in GMA TV-6 Iloilo with simultaneous broadcast on GMA TV-6 Guimaras and via satellite on GMA TV-13 Bacolod, TV-10 Sipalay, TV-5 Roxas, TV-2 Kalibo, and TV-7 Tablas. With Balitang Amianan consistently leading in North Central Luzon, Balitang Bisdak already winning in Central and Eastern Visayas, and after the successful one-year run of our uniﬁed local newscast One Mindanao, we are proud to launch our 4th groundbreaking regional news program, this time in Western Visayas,” says GMA Regional TV Vice President and Head Oliver Amoroso. One Western Visayas delivers comprehensive and in-depth delivery of news and information in Western Visayas―all tailored ﬁt to the needs and demands of the

local TV audience. The Kapuso newscast is anchored by Atty. Sedfrey Cabaluna. He is joined by Bacolod co-anchor and correspondent Adrian Prietos, and Iloilo co-anchor Kaitlene Rivilla. Completing the team is the network of stringers across Western Visayas. “With the full support of the Kapuso Network especially by our Chairman and CEO Felipe L. Gozon, and President and COO

GMA Regional TV pioneers unified Hiligaynon newscast with ‘One Western Visayas.‘

Gilberto R. Duavit, Jr., GMA Regional TV is committed to produce regional programs that are attuned to stories, voices, and viewership outside of Metro Manila,” explains Amoroso, who underscores that having access to local news is as important as being well-informed about national news. “We are very excited about One Western Visayas,” shares GMA Western Visayas Station Manager Jonathan Cabillon. “We prepared long and hard for this and finally it’s here―the first and only unified local newscast in Hiligaynon. One Western Visayas aims to serve the needs of our Kapuso viewers in Region 6 as the primary source of news, information, and public service in the entire Western Visayas,” he adds. Catch One Western Visayas, weekdays, 5:00 p.m. on various GMA channels across Western Visayas. For local news and updates in Western Visayas, visit www.GMARegionalTV. comwww.GMARegionalTV.com and follow One Western Visayas at www.facebook.com/ OneWesternVisayaswww.facebook.com/ OneWesternVisayas.